Where can I start! It has been a long and an amazing journey.
The Start
In June 1998, one week after I passed the 4th (last) exam of the MCSD certification (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer), I got my first job interview. I was the second person in Kuwait to be MCSD certified, a huge credential at that time. The first was a Russian Tech guru working for NBK. Even my instructor, I still remember his name, Urfan, who taught me the MCSD courses at New Horizons center was not MCSD certified. The poor guy failed the test 3 times in a raw! When I passed the test from my first attempt he just couldn’t believe it. It was really tough.
So New Horizons center was looking for a certified MCSD instructor, so they quickly scheduled a job interview for me with the operations manager. I wasn’t sure at the time whether I should pursue a technical job as a software developer in an IT company, or start an academic career as an instructor in a training center. More about that in the Major Decisions page.
After taking a leap of faith, accepting this job offer, I started my career in New Horizons center. There were about 6-7 of us that were hired as instructors for various IT specializations. Our induction started with a full-week of Train The Trainer (TTT) course. An important milestone in my training career where I learned and practiced the basics of training delivery.
I was assigned two Diploma cohorts to teach. One full-time class in the morning (5 hours), and one part-time in the evening (2.5 hours). In most days I wouldn’t go back home during afternoon break, so I ended up working 12-14 hours daily. Voluntarily. I was hungry to learn and develop.
An impressive start
Mr. Fahad Al-Othman, who became a billionaire years later, is the founder and CEO of New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in GCC. It’s an American franchise business that he brought to Kuwait in the mid 90s, the time PCs spread in the world. Mr. Fahad, or “Bo Tariq” as he likes to be called in the company, is a charismatic leader and a unique visionary. He was greatly respected and “feared” among employees. My first meeting with Mr. Fahad was after a couple of months of joining the company. He called for a general meeting with all instructors (there were about 25 of us at that time). After an introduction for the meeting, he started a brainstorming exercise where he asked all instructors to raise the issues and problems we were facing at work.
The points started pouring from one instructor after the other, and Mr. Fahad was writing each one of the points on a big white board. Points like “course materials were received late”, to “littering near elevators by students”. Important and trivial issues of all sorts. I was quietly observing, listening, and waiting for the right time to mention the point that I came up with. It was after point 27 that I raised my hand. “I think that the problem is in the shortage of the workforce” I said. Mr. Fahad paused and stared at me showing obvious interest in the point, and asked “shortage in organizational structure or in number of staff?”. I answered confidently “both”. I felt that his eyes lit up. He wrote my point, number 28, and carried on with the rest of the points raised by my colleagues until we reached over 40 points.
He thanked everyone for their contributions in raising all the 40 points on the board. “I can not solve all these problems” he said talking to us. “Maybe I can solve one or two. So which one or two points can I focus in solving which will resolve the majority of the remaining points you raised?” he went asking the audience. It’s point 28: “If we hire more people and reorganize our structure in a better way, you as a team will resolve the remaining problems by yourselves” he enthusiastically explained. I was proud of myself that I came up with the most important point, the root cause if you may say, to solve our issues. I’m sure that resonated with Mr. Fahad, and my guess is that since then he realized that I can be a great asset that’s worth developing and grooming.
Best Trainer Award
I enjoyed, and still do, delivering training. Within my first year of my career working primarily as a Trainer for Software Development courses, I got the “Best Trainer of the Month” Award 4 times. This was a notable achievement considering my very young age and lack of experience compared to over 22 competent trainers in the team.
CRM System
During my first year, I was asked to do a side software development project. I ended up fully developing a customized CRM system for New Horizons Kuwait. Basically I developed a system using Microsoft SQL Server as the back-end database system and Microsoft Access as the front-end application for the sales team. It started as a system with basic features for logging customer calls and visits, and then progressed to include many advanced features like batch-assigning of cold calls to salesforce, and conflict resolution of duplicate customer records.
After deploying the CRM system successfully in Kuwait for a couple of months, management were very pleased with the results and the increased productivity of our salesforce (averaging 20 salesperson at the time). They asked me to arrange deploying it in all other branches operated by our group (Dubai, Abi Dhabi, and Doha) within a period of 6 months. It was an exciting mission, as I had to interact with 3 branches in 2 countries and arrange trips back and forth with conducting training sessions for sales staff, management, and IT support. It gave me the chance to gain invaluable experience and exposure to real-life implementation issues of IT solutions.
After working on this project for over a year, while teaching classes as well in the same period, I handed over the whole project to another developer to be able to move on to my new position after my first promotion.
New Horizons continued to use my CRM system satisfactorily for about 7 years before upgrading it to Microsoft CRM (Dynamics).
A Big Challenge
A major landmark in my career was Microsoft OpenDoor Conference 2000. It was the opportunity that exposed my public speaking talent. With that said, I have to admit that back then I was mortified and terrified of the enormous challenge I had to face with this opportunity.
New Horizons was basically asked by Microsoft to nominate someone to be the main Speaker of their OpenDoor Conference for the Developers’ Day, and guess who they nominated. It was a 2-day conference: the first day for system administration and networks, and the second day was for developers. The developer day included three 1-hour sessions. It was a MENA event (Middle East and North Africa), so the same conference was touring the region city by city weekly.
My tour, where I delivered my sessions, was in 5 cities in this order:
- Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Beirut, Lebanon
- Doha, Qatar
- Muscat, Oman
In each city, I delivered my three sessions on Microsoft’s newly released products (Database systems, Business Intelligence, and .NET solutions) for audiences ranging between 200 to 300 attendees. By the end of the conference day, roughly 80-85% of the attendees that started with me would still be present to the very end. According to Microsoft’s Events Director, it was something unprecedented in OpenDoor Conferences (their average was 30-40%). “Usually a lot of people leave during the day and after lunch. They seem to be enjoying your sessions to stick around to the very end.” he told me. He was so impressed and satisfied that he tried to headhunt me to join Microsoft MENA. Although their HR contacted me and asked me to submit my papers for the position, they soon after backed off. I later knew that they didn’t want to upset Fahad Al-Othman by stealing his “star” employee. I wonder how my life would have changed had I joined Microsoft and moved to Dubai in that young age. Would my life have been better or worse? I can only wonder at the possibilities. I have to mention though that I’m fully satisficed how my life turned up to be.
Microsoft’s conference tour was a great success for me. It definitely boasted my confidence level in public speaking, and provided me the chance to improve it further. It was also a great learning experience for me in the region by visiting Qatar, Oman, and Lebanon for the first time ever in my life. It’s amazing that I’ve had done that.
A Bigger Challenge
Few months later that year, I was asked to be a panel speaker in Kuwait e-Government Conference 2000. What upped the ante for me in this conference is that the audience was primarily composed of high-ranking government officials, parliament members, and senior executives. My speaking panel was headed by the Minister of Communication Shiekh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah (a royal family member). Pretty intimidating for a 22 years old.
I prepared a good presentation for my speech. Although I was slightly tensed I think I handled myself pretty well and did a very good job presenting, and later responding to audience questions for the panel.
It’s worth mentioning that within that time period I’ve participated as a speaker in various other regional conferences related to IT and training. A couple of events that I can recall are Kuwait HR Summit 2001, and Learning Management Systems Seminar 2002.
Moving Up
After a couple of years, I got promoted again. My new title was: Assistant GM for Humansoft Learning Solution. In that position, I was of products development for all our GCC branches (Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar). My team of SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) grew to 12 members that I was managing. I had SMEs in programming, network & system administration, English language, and fields of business administration. I led the team to develop numerous corporate training programs, Diploma programs, and vocational programs.
Our team propelled the development of the Diploma training program to advance it to #1 ranking in the GCC region with total sales revenues of $40 million USD achieved within 5 years. I set the framework for standardization for all curriculums and courses across the region. For every program, we had a detailed manual that included Program objectives, detailed outlines, lesson plans, evaluation system, exams and quizzes, projects and assignments, and all operational details for execution.
This standardization elevated operational efficiency by creatively designing modular products and eliminating unnecessary components of some products, boosting bottom-line of training centers by around 18%.
During this period, I spearheaded wining 4 major government training contracts with a total value of USD $17.5 million within 3 years. This included PAAET in Kuwait and TANMIYA in UAE. My contribution included designing the training solution, building technical and financial proposals, presenting and selling the solution to the government agencies, and overseeing execution of the contracts. Before execution of these programs, I orchestrated the development of 34 course textbooks and the localization of 26 titles within a period of 18 months.
During these years, we’ve also introduced blended learning into our Diploma programs. We basically pioneered a new pedagogical approach for our adult education programs based on latest applications of blended-learning theories, and utilized the cutting-edge technologies of e-learning (Thomson NETg) and Learning Management Systems (SumTotal LMS) to implement these progressive methodologies.
The Pinnacle
The two years that I headed Tawteen HR Solutions as a General Manager were the pinnacle of my career at Humansoft. It was an amazing period full of professional achievements. Now that I reflect on it, I realized that my managerial and leadership development has actually reached its maturity during this period. Remembering “Sadegh” in that period gives me goosebumps. Absolutely Grande.
It started by getting a surprise promotion that I wasn’t expecting, and it came with a substantial 40% salary increase. I am now the General Manager of Tawteen HR Solutions. I became a general manager at age 26. A real general manager, not just a title. And I’ve earned every bit of it. I was quite happy and proud.
But the reality of the responsibility thrown on me was daunting. Tawteen was a start-up business. An idea for a company that specializes in qualifying Kuwaitis for and placing them in private sector jobs. At that time there were about 7000 Kuwaitis only in the private sector, compared to 350’000 Kuwaitis in the governmental sector, just merely 2%. Our first mission was to qualify and place 1000 Kuwaiti in private sector jobs.
I picked 4 people from various departments in Humansoft to join me in Tawteen team, and soon after started recruiting. The team grew to about 15 employees within the first 6 months. We continued growing, and a year later we reached 52 employees. The team was functioning beautifully, and we managed to achieve profitability in the 2nd year.
During these two years of rapid growth, my challenge, and focus, was to groom a group of young Kuwaitis to be first-line managers of Tawteen. These were a group of inexperienced but ambitious Kuwaitis that recently graduated university. In addition to one-to-one coaching that I frequently do, I started something new. A book club that is modified in a way to make it a serious yet fun leadership development activity. I chose an amazing book at the time: “Winning” by Jack Welch, and it didn’t disappoint. The group was so hungry to learn and develop, and they got so engaged. I used to schedule a weekly session after working hours. They had to read a chapter every week, and we’d basically discuss that chapter in our weekly meeting. We used to do it in a board meeting room, all setting around a long meeting table. I’d start the session by setting up the ground rules, and ask them to debate the ideas of the chapter. I’d then ask them to discuss how can we apply the concepts they learned in our organization. And finally I gave them a quiz at the end of the session. We had a lot of good laughs and a lot more learning.
During this fast-pace development, we fueled revenue growth from $0 to over $2.6 million USD within a year and excelled by achieving 132% of profit target for the newly established Tawteen in its 2nd year of operation.
At the end of the second year, I was asked to work on a new mission. I recruited and led a team of 5 experienced Business Consultants (all were PwC alumni) for a 4-month management consulting project. My mission was to develop a comprehensive corporate business strategy for Humansoft Group, reporting directly to the Chairman & CEO. The consulting project resulted in a major business strategy change and restructuring of the whole organization that improved the bottom line by 22% in the succeeding year.
After an amazingly successful journey in Humansoft, I had to take the hard decision to resign and immigrate to Canada (more on that in Major Decisions page). It was a tough goodbye.
Trainer
After immigrating to Canada and settling down, I soon got an opportunity to work as a freelance trainer and consultant. So I established my own training and consulting practice, and started to provide training solutions and consulting services for large to medium-sized companies and Canadian government entities through training centers that I partnered with like New Horizons Computer Learning Center (Toronto), ctc TrainCanada, Acend Corporate Learning, and HOTT.
I’ve conducted projects for employees of numerous renowned organizations like: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Royal Bank of Canada, Bell Canada, Cadillac Fairview real estate company, and Ministry of Health (Province of Ontario). Projects involved business intelligence applications, curriculum design, content development, and employee training.
Going Green
After my comeback to Kuwait, I soon after got offered a nice job opportunity. Al-Dhow Environmental Projects wanted to establish a training arm as part of its group, so the idea of the “Environmental Academy” was born. They offered me the position of General Manager to establish the academy from scratch and build it as a fully functional profitable business.
I established the new start-up’s infrastructure from scratch starting from business planning, to building the legal, physical, and corporate identity of the new firm. I employed my small team of sales, operations, and administration.
I soon after secured alliances with the globally-recognized and prestigious names in HSE training and consulting, particularly with WATA training association in the United Kingdom with accreditations for IOSH, NEBOSH, CIEH, and IEMA training. Through these associations, the Environmental Academy started to offer accredited programs that lead to internationally-recognized certifications. We successfully offered numerous HSE programs to governmental entities and large organizations in Kuwait.
We’ve also launched the Green Business Certification (GBC). It’s an innovative program for businesses in Kuwait wishing to conduct their operations in an environmentally friendly way. We’ve managed to enroll over 20 companies in the program in its first year. I managed to secure the blessing of the Environment Public Authority of Kuwait (governmental body) for the GBC program. EPA’s General Manager co-sponsored the awarding ceremony we organized to recognize the companies that achieved the Green Business Certification.
Award ceremony for Green Business Certification
Keynote speech in Green Business Ceremony
Although the Environmental Academy was progressing very steadily in its 3rd year towards achieving profitability, the parent company (Al-Dhow Environmental Projects) changed everything. It underwent a take-over by new investors who decided to change the group’s strategy and direction. They decided to shut down all subsidiaries of the group and focus only on big governmental tenders. So unfortunately the Environmental Academy came to an end.
Academic Life
I joined Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) as a Director of Professional Advancement and Continuing Education (PACE) center. So I was the new Director of PACE @ GUST.
GUST was the cherry on the cake in my career journey. It was the most relaxed working hours (8am – 3pm) compared to my prior jobs, with a laid-back management style. It was the most chilled out working environment. GUST frequently had events, seminars, ceremonies, conferences, concerts, and all sorts of activities year long. GUST has an amazing fitness center, a gym, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. My office window was overlooking the campus outdoor square, full of students and café kiosks. It was a lively University Campus. I truly enjoyed the GUST life style.
With that said, I had a big challenge in front of me and I don’t settle for mediocre results. So I started shaking things up right away. Of the 4-employees that were there in PACE when I got appointed, I had to let 2 of them go within the first 6 months.
Within the first 2 years. I focused on recruiting, mentoring, and developing PACE team while doubling headcount to accommodate operational growth.
I made sure to set clear vision and mission for the team. So I threw away the current nicely worded vision and mission statements that had no real substance. No one of the team knew about them anyways. I had to answer the question for myself first as the leader of the team. What are we trying to achieve? what is our strategy to achieve it? Once I had the clear simple idea on how to do it, I wrote down our mission and vision. I made sure to discuss them in various ways in our monthly meetings until all my colleagues understood them very well and memorized them by heart.
It was easy to increase sales by focusing on corporate business, but strategically that was risky and potentially unsustainable. We’d be under the Mercy of a bunch of companies. So I made the decision to do it the hard way. The right way. I focused on developing the consumer sector, which are individuals paying from their pockets to advance their education. We developed a strong portfolio of profitable products that made PACE-GUST a leader in the market.
We developed and offered specialized programs for professionals in accounting, audit, finance, human resources, health care, aviation, and project management. We achieved great results in sales and execution of these programs, and were recognized by the majority of customers as the leaders in these fields.
In parallel, I also worked on revamping our offering for corporate business. We focused on improving quality in delivery, facilities, and technologies. With time, it paid off in an excellent way and our corporate sales went through a upward movement.
I also worked hard with the team on some major opportunities, and succeeded in winning a major 3-years contract from the oil sector with an estimated value of $5 million USD.
Year 3.
Year 4 and departure of Dr. Salah
Fueled revenue growth to quadruple within 4 fiscal years. In addition to the fantastic growth in market share, PACE achieved unprecedented net profits for GUST. For 5 years before my joining, PACE was barely breaking even or recording a loss. Never profitable.
Year 5.
Highlights of Career Achievements
Here are the highlights of my career achievements in time order:
- Best Trainer of the Month Award 4 times in my first year
- CRM system development and implementation for New Horizons GCC (Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar)
- Present Developer Day of Microsoft OpenDoor Conference in 5 countries, for an audience of 200-300 attendees
- Keynote speaker in Kuwait e-Gov Conference
- Promotion to R&D Manager at age 21
- Promotion to Assistant General Manager at age 23
- Promotion to General Manager at age 26
- Tawteen great success internally and externally
- Establishing Environmental Academy and forming international partnerships with global leaders in the field of HSE training
- Turn around of PACE at GUST
