One of the greatest privileges of being successful, according to Alistair Davidson, who was crowned Oil Baron 2011 at the prestigious Oil Baron's Charity Ball held in Dubai last month, is having freedom in your life.
"I get up in the morning and if I choose not to go to the office but to spend time with my family I can do that. Many people are tied to doing things they do not enjoy. I realise my success has granted me this privilege and I think I am very fortunate," he says.
Success came early for this 48-year-old Scotsman, an engineer in the oil industry. A sailor at heart, he loves to travel, something he's had the opportunity to do thanks to his job.
In Alistair's 27-year career, he's worked for almost all the world's major oil companies. He came to Dubai in 2001 to take a job with Enterprise Oil but once he realised the tremendous business potential the region had to offer, he quit and in 2002 set up a well engineering management consultancy firm called SPD along with three partners.
He confesses that he and his partners started the venture in a somewhat unorthodox manner. There were no business plans and no budgets, just a lot of goodwill, enthusiasm and their combined technical skills and experience in the oil industry.
In the first six months to keep costs low, Alistair and his partners shared an apartment. Working hard to consolidate their position and to gain respect they put all their energy into their contracts.
Alistair recalls: "We pretended we were a big company; one of my partner's wife is a doctor so we listed medical services as one of our company's additional highlights. The attitude of accepting all kinds of assignments paid rich dividends. In eight years the company grew and today has 40 employees and international oil drilling projects. It has been amalgamated into the international oil giant Petrofac.
"We were the right people, at the right place at the right time," says Alistair, of his success.
When he is not busy with projects at work, the father of five enjoys joining his children and friends at school events. "I dreamed of a large family and am determined not to miss anything," says Alistair, who has even been interviewed by the International Olympic Committee for a potential volunteer position at the 2012 Olympics in the UK.
It is Alistair's community work, in particular his involvement with the Friend's of Cancer Patients (a charity supported by the Oil Baron's Charity Ball), that motivated people in the oil industry from around the world to vote for him to become the 2011 Oil Baron.
In a chat with Friday he discusses the two great loves of his life - his work and his family.
Work
My wife Collete and I arrived in Dubai in 2001 and we promptly fell in love with this place.
It did not take long for me to realise - along with my colleagues Clive Smith and Colin Finnegan - the tremendous business opportunities the country offered. So we decided to quit our jobs and get into business together. Six months later a fourth partner Alex McDonald joined the team.
What worked was our pool of talents - one of us had strong people skills, another was good at conflict resolution, another had a knack to deliver technology at a high speed and another was strong in sales. Together we were a formidable combination filling in all the gaps. That is how our firm, SPD, was established.
I would advise anyone who wants to succeed in a venture to have a few essentials before starting. First, have absolute confidence in the nature of the work you are planning to take up.
It is always essential to start with a good core team. I do not think I would have been able to survive the emotional and financial setbacks that we went through had I been alone. You must also have absolute confidence in your skills and those of your partners.
What has continued to work is the personal touch I like to keep at my workplace. I want people to not be just numbers but real human beings and work that way. Whoever joins my organisation is always made to feel an intrinsic part of the team. This policy of inclusion where a person feels he is required helps generate the family feeling.
Besides work, I have always loved to do my bit for the community. Being crowned the Oil Baron was an amazing experience. What really touched me was the fact that so many people from around the world voted for me.
The Oil Baron's Charity Ball has evolved into a major patron of charity. We raised about Dh1.4 million in the last four years for the Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP). But on the night of the ball on November 18 alone, we raised close to Dh1 million with donations and auctions.
Play
I never want to miss out on any important events in the lives of my children - Lauren, 17; Grant, ten; Louis, eight; James, six; and Elle, four. I am fortunate that I have flexible working hours and can accommodate these diversions. It doesn't make sense not to be a part of my children's life whenever I can.
There is no doubt sport played a great part in shaping my life. I lived for most of my childhood in and around Aberdeen. At ten I was playing football with some of my classmates and even captained the school football team. Managing all kinds of teammates helped me greatly in honing my people skills. My assignments around the world gave me a great lifestyle. When you spend a month on an oil rig you focus on nothing but work. You acquire a certain discipline to work hard and live in a confined space sharing a good camaraderie with your colleagues.
Once the job was over, I would go onshore and play hard as well. My work took me from the sand-covered Sahara desert to the sub-zero Murmansk Mountains in the Russian Arctic to the dense rainforests in the Amazon basin to tropical Thailand, among many other places. I was 21 when I joined the oil industry and by 27 had lived in seven countries around the world.
One major lesson my extensive travel has taught me is that no matter where you go around the world, there is one common theme. The vast majority of people want peace, happiness and success. This lesson helped me greatly in business and in personal life when dealing with people from around the world.
Dream
I have many personal dreams related to my family. I would love to move back to the UK in a few years. While Dubai has everything and has given me and my family so much, I also want my children to be able to appreciate the special features of their country such as the St Andrews Golf Course, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.
When they read about the First and Second World Wars in school in a few years from now, I want them to actually see the places where some of the significant events in our world's history took place.
I also have my own milestone to reach. I plan to run the London Marathon at 50. I did it at 40 and promised myself that I would run it again in a decade.
In 18 months when I turn 50 I want to be in that run. I have begun working out and building up my stamina.
