THE NEWS OF AL HABTOOR LEIGHTON GROUP Dubai - UAE ...

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NEW Perspective
engineering and one of my earlier assignments was with the
completion of the Tyne Tunnel. After eight years I left Brims to
join Dowsett Engineering who were one of the top road building
companies in the UK during the 70’s. We had recently moved
to Yorkshire and I was able to work on the York By-Pass heading
up the claims team.
In 1976 I came to Dubai and joined Al Futtaim Wimpey where
I worked on the construction of Mina Seyahi harbour and the
breakwaters for Jebel Ali Port. Construction at that time was as
hectic as it is today. I remember the Company being awarded
a huge project one day and mobilising a complete site with
cabins, etc the very next day. Time for completion was just as
tight then, but at least you could concentrate on the job in hand.
Not only were there no mobile phones, we didn’t have landlines
either! After leaving Wimpey I joined John Laing International
and spent 4 years in Jordan and then a further 4 years in the
Sultanate of Oman before returning to the UK in 1987. After a
short period working within the building division of Laing in the
UK I rejoined John Laing International firstly as Chief Quantity
Surveyor before becoming Commercial Director, a position I
held for 10 years. I then spent a further 4 years as Commercial
Director for Jarvis Construction before deciding to go overseas
again, before hanging up my boots.
What brought you to HEE? Tell us about your role here
I had been speaking to David Knowles about wanting to get
involved with a major ‘signature’ type contract and to be based
on site. I suppose there is an element of reliving your youth, but
there is something incredibly satisfying about working in a site
team. So I joined HEE as the Project Commercial Manager at
Business Bay (Site 592). A few months later, the company’s
Commercial Manager left and I was asked to take over his
role. It is a fascinating job made all the more so by the recent
alignment with Leighton. The major challenge in this region
for the Commercial Department, is recruiting the right senior
people in sufficient quantity. With the ever increasing demand
with each new project that we are awarded, we are constantly
on our toes to have our teams in place.
Take us through your schedule of a typical workday
I typically get in to the office at 7am and spend the first couple
of hours dealing with ERP approvals and email.I never fail to
be amazed at the way email traffic has increased over the last
12 months, a fact which probably reflects the total growth in
our business. A typical month will involve at least 14 separate
meetings, some of which will last all day, some may take place
in Abu Dhabi or Qatar and some of which involve our strategic
partners – Murray and Roberts. Lunch varies from a rapidly
grabbed sandwich at my desk or a slightly more relaxed trip
to the Bin Sougat Mall with Richard Corish. Those afternoons
when there are no meetings are used to catch up on other
paperwork and correspondence. After work I normally put
in about an hour of exercise, three times a week, followed by
dinner, and then its off to bed at 11pm.
What are your hobbies and how do you spend your leisure
time?
Cycling is my passion. I started racing when I was 15 and
continued doing so until I was 22. The nearest I got to anything
significant was a trial for the 100 kilometre Team Time Trial
for the Mexico Olympics. Needless to say I didn’t actually go!
I became disillusioned with cycling at that time, probably as
a result of the huge effort required for minimum recognition,
together with a realisation that there were other things going
on in the world around me. I got into motor rallying through my
brother and became absolutely hooked. I competed at National
and International level for over 18 years with such results as
2nd in the 1986 Middle East Rallying Championship, 3rd in
the 1972 Motoring News Championship and 6th in the 1973
RAC National Championship. My last event ever was the 1986
Dubai International Rally which we were leading at the half way
point, only to have the prop shaft fly out at high speed in Jebel
Ali, thus gifting the win to Mohammed Bin Sulayem.
When I went back to the UK, I did nothing for four years except
putting on weight. I eventually persuaded myself to take out an
old bicycle for a ride, and over a period of time got back into
the swing of it. After doing 7 years of cycling, specifically for
weight control purposes, 4 years ago, I began racing again in
the UK. The changes that had taken place over the intervening
30 years in training techniques, dietary control, bike design,
aerodynamics and technology is staggering. At the age of 57
I was able to ride a 40 kilometre time trial in a time only 25
seconds slower than when I was 17! I now spend about 4 hours
cycling each weekend in Dubai with a group that has been in
excess of 120 on some Fridays and includes such luminaries
as Graeme Dunn and Neil McKay from Gulf Leighton. My next
major event will be L’ Etape du Tour which takes place in France
in July at the same time as the Tour.
What are the values that you cherish and live by?
One of my key beliefs in my working life is ‘A problem shared is
a problem halved’. I can never understand why people would
want to keep problems to themselves. Once you share the
problem, you have more minds working on trying to solve it, and
therefore have a much better chance of reaching a solution. I
try, whenever possible, to develop an understanding amongst
the staff that nobody is going to shoot the messenger. The last
thing management wants is surprises at the last minute, and
it’s in everybody’s interest to get the issues out in the open as
quickly as possible•
AKHBAR ALDAR - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2007
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