W. J. Towell & Co.

LLC’s successful family business

Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Company history and description ........................................................................................................ 4
Family history ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Family genogram (Tree) ................................................................................................................... 6
Management team- Family members: ............................................................................................. 8
Non family members and their roles................................................................................................ 8
Current analysis: .................................................................................................................................. 9
Description of products and service ................................................................................................. 9
Financial analysis ........................................................................................................................... 10
Succession Planning: .......................................................................................................................... 11
Critical family and business challenges faced by the business ........................................................... 12
Recommendations for improvement ................................................................................................. 13
Appendix's ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Introduction

Family businesses are very much important for an economic activity to happen.
Companies that undertake family business have recorded a continuous growth and has been
using advanced technology for its development. Sometimes due to internal conflicts and
many other reason some companies do not continue their business. The life of family
businesses is short after the demise of the founder. The businesses have lacked the
preparation of next generation to the business which will increases the number of family
members and their conflicts which has been the major reason for the failure of the family
business. Almost 95% of the family business has come to an end after the third generation.
For the continuation of the family business it is essential to undertake the concept of family
governance.

Towell Group is a diverse corporation, headquartered in Oman Muscat. It has a presence in

many countries such as Kuwait, UAE and, India. It is employing over 10,000 employees, the
business activates various businesses like joint ventures, dealerships, engineering to
organisations of several other famous world-wide and local brands.
Company history and description
WJ Towell & Co. LLC was established in Muscat as a British company in 1866 and acquired
by Sultan family in 1914 and became an Omani company. The company has maintained the
family business for generations and it is worth to note that the business is in the hands of
5th generation management. The company follows ethical and moral values of conducting
business and succeeded in blending with corporate governance. The association of the
company with international business houses has been successful lasting for 70 years and
more. The blend of tradition and modernisation has helped the management in achieving
several milestones.

Detailed history
1866:
W.J.Towell was found and named after William Jack Towell. The major business was the
transport of commodities and people from the Gulf countries to India. The major exports
were dates, pomegranates and other agricultural products to European countries.

1893 to 1914:

Retail trader Mohammed Fadhil was appointed as deputy to the US consulate and became
counsel representative in 1907. Mohammed Fadhil purchased W.J.Towell in the year 1914
and continued the business with the same name as the company was well known to the
public. Hence in the year 1914 the company became an all Omani company.

1916:
After the demise of Mohammed Fadhil the business was taken over by his elder son Sultan
Mohammed Fadhil. As the business is a family business it was succeeded by the next
generation successors. Each member in the family took over the role of managing and
expanding the business and has reached the heights as it is existing today.

1947:

After war11, Towell company open the first branches in Kuwait by Ahmed Sultan, Qamar
Sultan and Ali Sultan. They stay at Kuwait and development the business. Moreover, the
open Towell Holding company as first distribution division of food at region.
1956:

Towell business development and expanded to many countries such as Iraq and Dubai.

1970- 1990
When His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said started his successful rein in the Sultanate of
Oman in 1970, the country was introduced to a new era of renaissance and prosperity.
Ahmed Sultan take the chance to shifted focus of Towell business from mere trade to
infrastructure projects. Towell contribution to establish the National Bank of Oman (NBO) as
the first private bank in the Sultanate. Also, Towell build the first hotel in Oman which called
(the Matrah Hotel).

Current,

Now a day, Towell Group is one of important and the largest businesses in the Sultanate of
Oman. It is including seven groups with memberships of the board from the fourth and the
fifth generation of the Sultan family. The groups are Automotive, Consumer Product
Division, Services and Trade, Construction, Engineering, Property, and Enhance.
 Family history

Family genogram (Tree)

Mohammed Fatima
A fadhal
Fadhal Fadel

Qasim Nooruddin Jaleel Habib Jala Hassan Noor Khadijah Saffayeh

Nahar

Sultan fatima Hassan

Jamalani

Nargis Zahra Noorjehan

Qamer ALI Abdulamir Abdulredha

Foud ali Ebrahim Mohammed Jawad Hussain Jamil Ali Jawad

Jawad ALI Siddiqah Jamil Jawad Hassan Anwar Shawqi

Hussain Jawad Naeem Maqbool Iqbal

Mushaq Riyadh Mustafa

Redha Taqi Issam

Anees

Kamal

Ali Hussain Jawad Mohammed Ali

Imand Kamal

Mohammed Fadhil, affiliated with Shia of Lawatiya, the founder of the Towell co. LLC was
born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India in 1858. He was graduated of languages from Ambstan
college in India. He was a father of seven sons and three daughters. he took over the
management of 2 companies. And further in his personal life had become father of 7 sons
and 3 daughters. He passed away 1916 due to his physical illness. After his demise, his elder
son Sultan took over the management of the business, Sultan was father of 5 sons:
Abdluameair, Ali, Qumer, Ahmed and Abdluradha and three daughters: Noorjeahan, Zahra
and Nargis. However, the third generation of family entered into family business. The
business has expanded to a large extent during his period. In the year 1947, 3 of his sons Ali,
Qumer and Ahmed moved to Kuwait and opened their first branch outside OMAN. After the
Shikah Abdullah ALsalim ALSabah asked Abdlurdha to open branche of Towell business in
Kuwait. Moreover, the fourth generation of the family came to power and started managing
the business. Hussian Jawad Al Lawati, born in Muscat was taken to Kuwait and graduated in
University of Kuwait and later in 1971 he went to USA to gain diploma in economics. He
joins the family business in 1973 in its branch in Kuwait. He married his uncle's daughter in
1973. The family came back to Oman and had an extended its membership Up to 22
members living in two big houses in Muscat. Even though family members wanted to stay in
Oman. He moved from one department to another in Towell company in Kuwait. Then he
became the head of the company in Kuwait. Many family members decided to stay at Oman
even after the invasion finished in Kuwait but Hussain Jawad travelled frequently to Kuwait.
This made the company management board to decide that he has to stay in Kuwait which
was rejected by Hussian Jawad. 20 years after his marriage he had a son by name Ali. In
1991 Maqbool Ali Sultan appointed as Minister. So he became busy and there no time to
manage the family business. As Kamal Sultan, uncle of Hussian Jawad was the Chairman of
the Board he stay with him and make improvement for the business. In the year 2000 Kamal
Sultan died of cerebral palsy and Hussain Jawad became chairman of the board from 2000
until now.

Organization structure
 Management team- Family members:
Redha Qamer Sultan GM, Towell Tools

Iqbal Abdul Redha Sultan GM, Business Development, Head Office

Riyadh Ali Sultan GM, Towell Auto Center

Issam Kamal Sultan GM, Real Estate Business Development, Property Division

Anees Redha Sultan Head of Supply Division

Taqi Ali Sultan GM - Ajyal Al Mustaqbal (Future Generations)

Non family members and their roles

Manohar Shenoy Group CFO

B.Jayaraman Group Chief Of Management Assurance

Head - Strategic Planning & Business Analysis, CEO - Towell

Ivor Braganza
Property

Mkr. Sai CEO - Towell Construction

Dominic Myers CEO - Enhance Operating Companies

Balaji Srinivasan CEO - Towell Engineering

S. Kasthurirengan CEO - Towell Auto Centre

Ali Abdul Hussain

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Shaban

Biju George GM - Consumer Product Division

 Current analysis:
Description of products and service
In the year 1970 when Sultan Qaboos took over the rein of the Sultanate, Towell Company
made its focus on infrastructure projects other than its existing trading business. The
company has committed itself to the national goals of diversification and to broaden the
industrial base in the Sultanate. The company is one of the largest in the Sultanate having
business in enhance, engineering, construction, property, services and trade, customer
product division and automotive. The company has expanded its business from trading to
other areas and the various business clusters are as below:

Enhance Consumer Services

Engineering Constructio Automotive Property
product and Trade
cluster cluster n cluster cluster cluster
division cluste

The company has a diversified business concept and has been successful in all its areas. In a
highly uncertain and volatile business environment, business performance appears to
depend more on a firm’s dynamic capability to learn and capture new product-market
opportunities than on factors like size, geographical scope, organizational structure and
physical resources. (Akram Sadat Hosseini, 2018).

The various clusters of the company have been successfully running and is leading in its area
of business. Few highlights are Towell property, which is one of the strongest pillars of the
group companies providing infrastructure development to the country since 1970. The
projects include residential, commercial, warehouse and Talat Al Khoudh which is one of the
premier business. Moreover, Oman International Development Company (OIDC) in which
Towel group holds 90% shares. The company is involved in building premium commercial
properties for rentals by establishments in Food, Entertainment, Lifestyle and Shopping,
thus bringing the best brands and a complete family experience under one roof.
furthermore, trading in foodstuff is a traditional business of W J Towell and one in which
Consumer Products Division excels. The division deals primarily in branded foodstuff i.e.
beverages, biscuits, chocolate, cheese, coffee, confectionery, dairy products, ice-cream,
sunflower oil, pastas, rice and shaving products. The company also withstands it dealings in
the international market having cluster and joint ventures outside the Sultanate. The
international business is in the following countries:

• Enhance UAE
UAE • Gulf seafood company UAE
• Towell mattress and furniture industry

Kuwait • Al Bustan and Al Khaleeji

• Hephzi Elevators International

India • Spring Air Bedding
• Towell Engineering International LLP

Towell company operates several businesses such as joint ventures with Unilever and Nestlé
in Oman, dealerships of Mazda,March , Chicopopnomatic, Geely and Bridgestone,

Financial analysis
Succession Planning:

The company is run by the family of Sultan and it is a family business. The business is taken
over by next generation successors of the family and the same has been followed in the past
four generations. The young members of the family are trained and provided responsibility
in the business before they take up higher official positions. The experience of elderly family
members is sked in case of decision making. Mr. Hussain Jawad Sultan states that
‘We are in the process of preparing the 5th generation with the right training and
orientation to take over the mantle and go forward. In our forefathers' time, their
word was the "agreement" and their promise was the "cheque". These fundamentals
together with ethical and moral values of conducting business continue to be
followed by us and we have, to a great extent, succeeded in blending these with
modern corporate governance.’
Hussain Jawad says. “I want to tell the younger generation that there are so many
chances for them to succeed, You will never achieve your goals if you start your life
on the easy track!”
There several strategy that Sultan Famliy followe To ensure a smooth transition of
business from generation to generation:
1- Teach the younger generation and see if they interested in family business.
Moreover, they realize their talent. It is very essentional to stay close with family
members.
2- Inegrate with younger generation by giving them external experience for at least two
years. Which will make them ready to work with family busineess.
3- Orgnize the work through giving position in company to the right peaple and offering
competitive fees.
4- Lay foundation for next generation such as training academy, allocate budget for it
and run high competitive program to shape the best talent for future leadership.
5- Allow for new generation to work outside family business. That will enable them to
exposed to different prespectives,experience and enable them to take
responsibilities. Which can applied in family business when joining out in the future.
Furthermore, that will reflected in the way they make business decisions.
Critical family and business challenges faced by the business
As the business developed from small trade to extensive range of industries in Oman at last
century, Also, the family members grew. It expands from Mohammed Fadhl to more than
150 members. So the challenges raised in both business and family members. The main
challenges included:

1- The integration of the next generation into the family business.

2- Due to fast growth in the business the informal corporate governance system could
not be well equipped.
3- The decision making process and procedures unclear where the decision take ad hoc
4- Awareness on next generation owners and employees.
5- Disputes on position and benefits for family members.
6- Lack of support of family members
7- Business assets used for personal use
8- Lack of proper communication
9- Ownership dilution due to more number of owners.
10- Many members of the parents do not begin hand over and transfer the experience
to next successor. Which puts new generation in big trouble and could threat the
stability of business.

It was recognised by the owners that practices in the business and family must be enhanced
to put in place clear goals and strong foundation for next generation owners to mitigate the
conflicts. The complexities were both business and family and it was solved as per the
decision below.

1- Improvement in the governance structure by creating board of directors.

2- The board consist of two family representatives
3- Currently the board has nine members and meets 4 times a year
4- The roles and responsibilities of the members are defined clearly
5- Four committees (Audit committee, Investment committee, Human resource
committee, Finance committee) were formed which meet regularly.
 6- To make the administration function smoother, the varied businesses were divided
into 7 clusters and each cluster was given board of directors which includes
members from holding board, cluster CFO and CEO.
7- New job titles were created and categorising position of family and non-family
members.
8- Family members involved in the business was fixed.
9- Monthly family assemblies were conducted and all the members were encouraged
to attend.
10- Gatherings by each branch were conducted weekly to close the communication gap.

Over the past years of togetherness in business and family, the members have learnt unity
and equality are the key concepts of growth. Communication and strong corporate culture
leads to good governance systems. Informal meetings with entire family gives better
decision making and sharing of knowledge from the elderly family members.

Recommendations for improvement

It is very important for the new generation to work in companies that are not affiliated with
the family company, especially if these companies are prestigious and large companies at the
regional or global level, where this enables them to be exposed to different perspectives and
gain wide experience, which can be applied and benefit from the family company when
joining Out in the future. Working outside the family business will also enable them to take
on better responsibilities. They will be treated there as regular employees and not as
employers, which will be reflected in the way they make business decisions. The family has
taken up family governance at a much later stage which has been a challenging period for the
family and the business. The company is very much keen to train the next generation
members so that they can take up the business after the senior family members. The
recommendation based on the information of the study is expresses below:

- The family governance can be enhanced by framing rules which can be followed by
the young generation.
- Motivating and teaching the next generation members on family and business
handling techniques.
- The role of the members must be clearly explained so that conflicts arising can be
reduced.
- Towell family most put good plan for succession. The succession plan should include
detailed career, skills, responsibilities and the way of succession to next generation.
- Allow to family members to work outside family members. This will help shape their
credibility if they do ultimately choose to come back to the family company.
- Written family governance, constitution and family council which will describe how
to solve the misunderstandings and dangerous conflicts between family members
and non- family members. Moreover, the family politics and ethics.
- Keep the lines of communication between family members through set regular
schedule of family meetings to debate and discuss issues of concern in family as well
as in business.
References
 Appendix's
Appendix 1: Non family members at Towell Company

MANOHAR
SHENOYGroup
CFO

BIJU DOMINIC
MR.B.JAYARAM S. BALAJI VOR
GEORGEGM - MYERSCEO - MKR. SAICEO -
ANGroup Chief KASTHURIRENG SRINIVASANCE BRAGANZAHead -
Consumer Enhance Towell
of Management ANCEO - Towell O - Towell Strategic Planning
Product Operating Constructio
Assurance Auto Centre Engineering & Business
Division Companies
Analysis, CEO -
Towell Property

Appendix 2:Towell Group Cluster

Enhance cluster
The company provides distribution and retail management solution in Oman and other GCC market.

Engineering cluster
This includes construction projects, oil and gas, power industries, etc. it also supplies engineering products to the
markets in Oman.

Construction cluster
The company takes up construction of in-house and third party projects. Few notable projects done by the company
are the new Supreme Court and the Civil Aviation headquarters, Industrial plants like the Vale steel pelletizing plant
or warehousing solutions to fit business needs and high end residences and villas.

Automotive cluster The company also has its involvement in automobile industries by supplying batteries and few
allied products. The company produces paints, furnishings, building materials, concrete and fibre glass pipes.

Consumer product division cluster

The company has not left out its traditional business of retail trading. WJ Towell is one of the largest distribution of
commercial products. Food and other commercial products are distributed under the company name. The products
are sourced from different countries and distributed through well established distribution network.

Services and Trade cluster

The company is well established in its software packaging area which covers computer and telecommunication
services. The company was the first to bring out an Arabic management software.

Property cluster
The company aims to provide premium commercial, residential and staff campus in Oman. It is a solution to all the
real estate needs of a customer starting from premium villas to commercial buildings is available with the company.
Appendix 3: Interviews:
The following are some of the exclusive interviews collected from the family members which
were published in various platforms.
Mohamed Fadl and Sir William Jack Towell began exporting Omani lemons and dates in
1866. Over the past 140 years, WJ Towell Group's activities have expanded exponentially
and is one of the oldest family businesses in the Middle East. Tharwat Magazine spoke with
Hussain Jawad, Chairman of WJ Towell Group, about the financial crisis, the younger
generation and the success factors of strong family businesses.

First, I think family businesses are less affected than public companies in those turbulent
times. Family businesses are inherently conservative. The challenge is to support business in
those turbulent times, and I fear that at this time they really want to be strong enough to
maintain the family's internal foundation.

Do you believe that family businesses need strategic change?

Yes, I strongly believe in this. For example, in our case there are many newcomers to our
company and we have entered the 21st century. Family businesses must be effective enough
to equip new generations with new ideas and face their own challenges. Of course, family
businesses must be vigilant in those crises that are a surprise to the world. No one is prepared
for them. That is why family businesses that are not reactive enough to withstand these
changes must change themselves. Traditionally, there are many long-term employees who are
difficult to make a difference.

Many families live in an unstable state of uncertainty. Even if you have already been hit
indirectly, but if you follow the media you will experience global fear, there is something
unknown and this will affect the entire region.

Banks have been liquidated, but boards are resisting giving up the money, and this will affect
many companies as well as family businesses.

Human capital management has several critical issues for the success of any type of
enterprise more than ever. Do you have any recommendations for family businesses to focus
on HR strategies?

Yes, now all companies recognize the question of human resources, we maintain who? And
give up who? Family businesses have close links with businesses and those who work, so
obviously this is a big challenge and the question is how to address it. However, family
businesses must also make those tough decisions. We are all looking forward to a different
kind of talent especially in these times. We need talent that can deal with those dangerous
times and also be able to innovate.

What kinds of lessons do you think young generations have learned from these financial
crises? I think they have already learned their lesson. No one expected these crises so the
shock was too great for the younger generations, and soon they would face a steep decline.

The obvious effect is the depression of species. Everything that the youth has prepared for
has been removed and new challenges have emerged. They are very optimistic to start a new
business and now face a lack of capital.

Although it is a family business nature, in other institutions the younger generation may be
separated within a day. In family businesses, however, positive action is taken to teach
experience where the younger generation can live and learn. Crises have already occurred but
we do not want those crises to weaken the younger generation.

How motivated the younger generation to enter the business world?

This depends first on the field. For example, if the field is financial, we try to provide young
people with the same benefits they would have obtained elsewhere. Now, in financial crises,
they estimate that if they were in another company they would not have seen what would
happen, security is a good incentive.

So you should teach them and see if they are really interested in family businesses and realize
their talent. It is essential that you stay close to your family members or you will lose those
things.

How did you first get involved in family business? What preparations have you made for
that? Has that way of entry changed in our day?

You do not learn in a traditional way in the family business, you grow up in the family and
this happens to you in most cases: You open your eyes and see your father, you eat together
every day so before you go to university you hear and feel these things through family
conversations. The family mind has automatically become a business mind. I studied
psychology, sociology and social sciences, then worked in the Kuwaiti government for two
years and eventually went to family businesses. When you are there, you have to make your
way. I studied several courses in economics and then worked at the United Nations as a
psychologist and then as an economist. Our way to integrate with the younger generation is
by giving them external experience for at least two years. This will make them ready to work
with family businesses.

How did you see family businesses before entering them, and how did that vision change
when you became a worker?

If you are still in school, you also live in family businesses. There are not many secrets in
family businesses. In the end, you know a lot about them. When the family entered
everything was traditionally there was no written organization where he did not know who is
the president. There was no written organization until the early 1990s. It is very sensitive to
distribute positions to members of family businesses. But we see that we have already taken
that step and this helped us to be well supported when we distributed those positions and the
appropriate compensation.

It is very important for the new generation to work in companies that are not affiliated with
the family company, especially if these companies are prestigious and large companies at the
regional or global level, where this enables them to be exposed to different perspectives and
gain wide experience, which can be applied and benefit from the family company when
joining Out in the future. Working outside the family business will also enable them to take
on better responsibilities. They will be treated there as regular employees and not as
employers, which will be reflected in the way they make business decisions

Historian Will Durant says: civilization will not remain immortal. To ensure its survival, each
generation must re-learn it. When an organization establishes its own methods and
procedures, it is often difficult to convince people of the effectiveness and usefulness of
conducting comprehensive reviews of traditional methods of work. Anis Qamar Sultan, Head
of Marketing Development at WJ Towell in Oman, shares his experience when he insisted on
reinventing the calf at his family's company. I had completed an introductory year in the
family business on a variety of tasks when it seemed to me a good time to go deeper. It also
seemed to me that nothing deeper than the sea of numbers. I was given the task of building
some management reports that would serve the owner. As a large company as our company
has a long history with multiple companies and groups it was natural to include corps of
accountants who get us with their periodic financial reports. The reaction to this was not
surprising to me as it would have been interpreted as interference or scepticism in what
specialists were doing, let alone what would be the reaction if I had a gap or a bug. So with
great enthusiasm I assured everyone that what I would do would be a parallel or
complementary work to what the professionals produce.

The reaction was swift and loud from my direct manager, explaining what I intend to do by
going back to zero or as “reinventing the calf.” At a wild moment - I realized the rightness of
my decision - I challenged the manager with 'Yes, I want to start from scratch!' I firmly
stated, 'I want to learn, I want to know how to make that calf!' No matter how daring the
manager or his influence, it will be difficult to prevent one of us - family members of the
family business - from 'learning'. In the name of the desire to learn, and of course my official
duties, I embarked on what I wanted to go into.

I quickly realized that I had to hone my financial analysis skills that needed to be done. It is
not too late in my opinion to learn, even if a little about the world of numbers, but I think that
there is no alternative to analysing the numbers and dilemmas himself and to benefit from the
opinions of others as well. She remembered, like a car driving in a strange city, he must first
lose his way until the city's hideouts unfold in front of him. However, what I found in my
numbers was nothing supernatural or unexpected, but I strengthened my position as a link
between abstract financial reporting and the concerns of the owners.

All of this led me to think about my past experiences. In the past, she worked with an
executive who had used a simple vocabulary to find the cause or the "truth." "Why?" And
"How?" Have repeated them repeatedly without any shame, in every conversation and with
everyone. I now see that such a question descends under the section of 'learning', making it
difficult to ignore the questioner, especially since the goal is knowledge and understanding
and access to the essence of things. "Why?" And "How?" Pose a challenge to the speaker to
prove his hypothesis, and also impose a return to zero, and there is nothing wrong with going
back to zero if one starts from a simple rule wants to strengthen. The CEO would not have
told us that this habit had a negative impact on his popularity, but no one in his position
would have been indifferent to the afflictions of his staff if he insisted on asking him…

The return to zero point and its acceptance in the business world take me to the view of the
big business owners of university education. Personally, I am in pain when I hear more than
one Gulf president or “Shahbandar” who uses explanations that undermine the ability of a
university degree. 'Theoretical university' is the most common sentence. Of course no
university creates a businessman. But experience and science - including accounting and
finance - lead to a safer and deeper decision. The words of books remain theoretical in the
books, but an enlightened businessman knows how to face the tragedy of analyses or
statements (or dreams) better than the use of assistants may turn loyalty to the benefit of their
company.

Reflecting on what the figures revealed to me, it became clear that what I would release from
a report would be resentful to some. I wondered if I rushed my report to the office of the
president, and I imagined myself in defiance of it that if the report asked others, it would get a
bit of the truth. But soon the mind intervened purely for such fictional tournaments. There is
no desire for me to create enmities in an already sensitive situation. What would have be
filled me if my information were incomplete or inaccurate? Indeed, after a meeting of
stakeholders, what it started seemed incomplete, which made everyone work to complete it. If
it seems to the reader that all of the above administrative challenge or an example of the
difficulty of communication, what I see in front of me more; the challenge here is how to
change the way the presentation of reports or even the content has been worked on by its
producers age and did not see the readers only? I think I need more time, experience and
science, but I will not give the subject a right until I say to those who fault the 'reinventing
the calf': if someone worked on making a bicycle wheel - and I'm not talking here about car
wheels or planes or high-tech uses - To learn assets in engineering, physics, chemistry,
metallurgy and production. Doesn't it seem like going back to zero here is a noble goal that
brings us to light?

The integration of the next generation of family into the company is one of the biggest
challenges associated with human capital management for family businesses. On the one
hand, the company aims to equalize the treatment of all its members, whether they are family
members or not. However, the company's family members face slightly different work
experiences compared to other employees. Anis Sultan, Head of Marketing Development at
WJ Towell & Partners LLC, recounts his first day of work at the family business and his
observations on the management methods of family-owned companies.

I became a family business employee after spending several years gaining external expertise.
Our family business “WJ Towell & Co. LLC” in Oman has been in the “market” since 1866.
I am already part of the company's fifth generation. At the moment, the company is employed
by my father, uncles, cousins and some of their sons and daughters. The number of our
family members has exceeded 100 since many years ago and the number of our family
members is just under 20. And a few of them in my age groups. The debate over whether my
generation is modern and innovative or whether it is a well-known type of "waste of money"
remains controversial. But after a conversation with the chairman and other family members,
I was introduced to the family business.

Like any hardworking employee on his first day of work, I went to the company when the
official working hours started at 8 am. Now, despite having spent 15 years of glory at the
company, I still feel guilty whenever I find my boss at work in the parking lot before my car.
I quickly realized that the chairman came to work at 7:30 am every day, challenging us all to
keep up with his rhythm and at the same time sending a clear message that he was not
interested in monitoring employees and knowing who was there and when.

Some HR staff greeted me and greeted me and took me to a temporary office with a quick
apology for its small size and an immediate promise to provide me with a better office once
the premises were allocated and distributed. I am used to small offices and are well aware of
the cost of the building and the space allocated, so the whole thing was not as uncomfortable
as the sympathizers around me felt. Coincidentally, one of my cousins visited me a few days
after work began. I think the appearances are important, and soon my office space has
increased. I already realized that being close to human resources would not help gain the
reputation of a hard-working, hard-working employee; my new office was on another
“dynamic” floor.

On that very first day of my work, my journey with the Chairman started at 9 am. He asked
me to join him in the next few hours to see what he was doing on a daily basis. “You have to
switch your minds from dairy products and rice to engineering projects in a matter of
seconds,” he said. While I was with him we met some of the people I met or met in different
circumstances, and I found in my presentation to them by the Chairman of the Board of
Directors as part of the group a great comfort and peace.

During the interesting narrative of the story of one of the companies represented by our
company, his close assistant came to remind him of the guest waiting for him. He answered
him on the screen "Please enter it" and then added: "This person can benefit from it."

The guest continued to speak non-stop, however, the Chairman of the Board did not show
any hint of boredom leaked to him or that the idea is clear and clear. She asked whether I
should intervene and exempt the chairman from the hardship of ending this meeting. And I
remembered my former boss in a bank who might violence others to endure half of this
hardship. I just had to wait. As soon as this person left, I asked the Chairman of the Board to
bear such long meetings. "He gives us valuable advice every time and then, so let him enjoy a
quarter of an hour in which he feels his importance," he replied.

As we approached the end of another hour, he assigned me some tasks with a batch of files.
In the end, he allowed me to leave, saying: “Attention to all new recruits, please prove
yourself and your eligibility.”

Anis Reda Qamar Sultan, Head of Marketing Development, WJ Towell & Co. - SAE,