Aramex founder shares tips for success with Young Leaders

Ghandour presented his 25-year journey, tracing his efforts to make Aramex International one of the leading logistics and transportation companies in the Middle East and South Asia. He related how Aramex grew to become the first Arab company to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

He said: "For the past few decades, the Middle East has witnessed many ordeals. Some observers were critical of any decisions to invest in this environment, let alone start and grow an express and transportation provider.

"It is our belief that our region is booming with young reliable and ambitious talents and our will to succeed that motivated us to face up to every challenge and set new standards for the industry regionally and globally. Against all odds, we created what is today one of the five global transportation and logistics providers."

The audience included more than 35 senior government officials and private sector executives, members of the Young Leaders Programme, in addition to CEOs and Executive Directors from top corporations, including PriceWaterHouseCoopers, DHL and Daimler Chrysler. The event was sponsored by Axiom.

Adel Al Shared, Director of Mohammad Bin Rashid Leadership Development Programme, said: "The success of Aramex international was due to outstanding leadership provided by Fadi Ghandour. Today, Aramex has become a business model for the Arab world. Based on his rich experience, Fadi Ghandour was able to provide invaluable, practical advice.

"He fits perfectly into our plan of helping young leaders gain insights into effective leadership through exchange of experiences from different parts of the Arab World. As Fadi Ghandour's account amply demonstrated, through these programmes we not only get to learn from others' success, but, more importantly, their failures."

Ghandour is a Founding Partner of Maktoob.com, the world's largest Arab online community, and member of the Board of Abraj Capital and the Advisory Board of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut.

The Young Leaders Forum is part of Young Leaders Track, a periodic event held in partnership between the Dubai School of Government and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme For Leadership Development, aimed at facilitating exchange of ideas and promoting dialogue on leadership concepts in the Arab world.