Nadia Al- Dossary – Emerging Middle Eastern Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 and Arab News Columnist

A new category, Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year, was added to the awards of the Middle East Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 by Ernst & Young.  It was won by Sheikha Nadia Al-Dossary, CEO & Partner of Al Sale Eastern Company in Saudi Arabia. The award was presented at a glittering awards ceremony held under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, and attended by HRH Prince Ali Ibn Al Hussein, at the King Hussain Bin Talal Convention Center on the Dead Sea, Jordan.

Sheikha Nadia Al Dossary was also the first woman to become a finalist of the Middle East Entrepreneur Of the Year awards. All winners were selected by an independent panel of judges after a grueling process of evaluation, which included an analysis of the economic and social value added by the finalists to regional development. The judging process was based on the criteria of entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, global impact, innovation and personal integrity and influence.

Nadia Al-Dossary is a true leader and a business role model for women, interview.

Q: You are back from the Dead sea. What was the occasion and how was your trip?
Nadia: I guess reaching the position as a partner and CEO in a male oriented country like Saudi Arabia made a big difference to the people of Earnest & Young prize selection.

The event was the second in the Middle East and I am the first among 16  - all male contestants  - from the movers and shakers of the Middle East . I was awarded "Emerging  Businesswoman of the Year 2008" during the event which took place in the luxurious Dead Sea Kempenski Hotel . Prince Ali AlHashmi and 300 guests of the Jordanian society elite attended the ceremony.

Q: You were presented with the award an elaborate ceremony there. Would you like to tell us more about and the ceremony, and what the award means to you?
Nadia: In the past five years I have received many awards and recognitions either nationally or Internationally, but this award in 2008 is special to my heart since I was a finalist among 16 well reputed businessmen of the Middle East .

Q: You are CEO and partner of Sale Eastern Company. Would you like to tell us about your business activity, introduce your company and colleagues, how you feel in the world of business, what approaches are you using, what your day in office involves..?
Nadia: When I joined Al-Sale Co.  For steel  ten years ago, I was well aware of the challenges that I will be facing in a man-oriented environment. But then I  already worked with Avon Global Marketing to expand its markets in Saudi Arabia , was trotting the universities for training ( USA, UK, Turkey …etc) and  worked almost in all of Saudi major cities and suburbs .

Al-Sale is a family company , so the borders are wider to move.  Steel is like water ,and fuel  an essential and vital source that no country could ignore . We, at Al-Sale Eastern Co.Ltd. are proud to have capitalized on the market for 30 years .

When I joined , I tried to listen more than work my brain , and thus gained the employees trust and they were happy to work with me … I made it clear the we win if we work as team . I introduced safety and medical Insurances to all employees and labors , a long  with well established environmental codes to be inserted in their daily work routine .

I never  had, what you can call a normal working day . Everyday is different, full of challenges and rewards .It is amazing how we can achieve through delegation and training . Never a dull moment I can assure you…

Q: You are also columnist with Arab News newspaper and I myself eagerly await your column. Breaking down barriers and stereotypes, is this what is your aim?
Nadia: Since you read my column on weekly basis , I am sure that you have noticed the two parts . The second  -  Q&A - are not my aim ,but I had to go with the flaw and use a niche to spread my thoughts.

The first part is for me the most important, the massage I need to deliver . I write also short stories, mostly in Arabic . The aim is the same -  to spread my word.

Q: The reader gets the impression that there is a warm and caring person behind the lines. Are you like that?
Nadia: Well … I hope I am like that . ..I know that I care about many things, nature – environment – human race – over population – terrorism.. I do my best … I would do more if I was in the driver seat …but I only have my pen .

Q: Your topics range – from visiting art exhibition in Amsterdam, vacationing in Geneva or watching the desert in your native Saudi Arabia, or advise a reader how to get back her thick black hair. How do you select your topics? What sort of responses are you getting and from whom? What inspires you?
Nadia: Like I said, the questions and answers section in my column are just a service I render to my foreign readers about Saudi Arabia . I receive a lot of mail full of inquiries , some are silly and some are serious …I am almost certain I have thick layer of satisfied readers . But again … my main core topic and goal is the weekly introduction …its my soul as a human watcher, because I have this drive to tell people how my soul and senses reflect  the beauty around us .

I do not like word hate , but then again , I was raised in an evangelical missionary school in Bahrain … The word hate is almost non existent in my vocabulary … and I only use it to emphasize my dislike to historic or current  situations of the world. Humans are the most controversial creatures of this universe , and they are full of hard core badness and goodness . And since life is short .. I try hard to reflect the love and beauty around us as much as possible .

Q: You are well traveled, which place is close to your heart?
Nadia: I was raised between Bahrain -  my late mother`s home (my rebellious grandmother is Shaikah Latifah bint Shaheen),  and my father`s home town  in Saudi Arabia – AlKhobar.  In my childhood my well known grandmother was a worldly person … she had friends from all walks of life,  the Colonial English , American evangelical missionaries , pro Iranian Shah followers , and the Bahraini locals . She did not believe that homes are nothing more than a place to crash for sleep .

In Saudi Arabia was the same thing, my father  took us everywhere every summer, Beirut , London , Rome , Geneva, etc,  and since then , I have traveling and feeling all the spots on our precious Earth . As a matter of fact I am planning to live a month in each country starting from when I reach 45.

I love to see and feel everything as much as writing about it .

My grandmother used to call me her sweet curious cat .

Q: In one of your column you say that "unless we can figure out why we should go against nature – we have no excuse but to follow – can you elaborate?
Nadia: The earth and the universe obviously were created before humans …. That’s what we all agree upon so far … It is obvious that nature is governed  by  perfect , sensitive laws - naturals laws. And we , humans, have the right to tamper into natural balances with our stubborn ignorance .

We all live very short life … our egos got so big that we thought we were Gods .

Q: How do you view the present state of the world, what should be done to get back on the track, in order to regain the natural balance. What role should the Asian countries play or can offer or contribute?
Nadia: Whether in the advanced countries or the third world states- as they call it – the formula is the same . We need a board of leaders , philosophers that are not afraid to spill the beans. Sharing should not be only on the weather scale …money is not the solution , otherwise we are creating vast nations of beggars and  ignorant underlines . .that are easily moved by radical and greedy governments .

What we need is simple and easy – to share common wisdom .

Q: What is the secret of your strength?
Nadia: I have discovered it at the age of six years old that nothing is more freighting than fear itself . Life is short for all even when it seems …it’s the quality of life that we lead  - that’s my secret .

Q: Tell us about some of your important decisions, favorite sayings…
Nadia: My secret is discovering  me … the real discovering of the authentic me …

My favorite saying is  " to lead by example".

Q: What is your advise to the youth?
Nadia: To relax and enjoy the trip because everything comes when you are relaxed.

Q: Which books inspire you, some of your favorites?
Nadia: I read like a maniac ever since I discovered that I can spell the words without understanding the meaning at the age of six. What mattered is that I could read all my grandmothers papers , magazines ,and books . Nowadays , I read between one to two books a day …I love everything ..sadly and seriously my sight is complaining so are my headaches. I read both in Arabic & English. .
 
Q: Do you have a long hard road behind you, or were things for you easy?
Nadia: The road was rough and bumpy but I wouldn’t have it otherwise ..it would be boring . Can you imagine the world without the four season, and rain , snow, heat, spring?

Final thoughts, what is next for you…
Nadia: I like to believe with my 38 years of acquired wisdom that I will probably have a rich and fulfilling life ahead. My next project on the writing level is a novel , I shall be working on it during 2009

Nadia Al Dossary, thank you very much.

Writings by Nadia Al-Dossary/Arab News
It all started one bright night in the winter of Dec. 20, 1976 and only two months from my seventh birthday. The sky was unusually clear after a week of storms and heavy rain, and millions of stars that I used to count on a daily basis as part of my child ritual play were scattered all over the fabric of the bright sky.

It must have been that night, for all details are still vivid and in full color. It was that amazing night when I witnessed my first sighting of a shooting star. It was so bright and visible that I knew even with my child eyesight that I was watching a miracle unfold. The tale of the shooting star was silver shine, and the speed that it took to reach its destiny was incredible. I had to call her a name since I was naming everything that passed my brain. And the name had to reflect what I felt the moment I watched flick and zoom. I called it My Wishing Star.

Every year of the same time, or since I remember. I would gaze at the winter sky, every 20th of December, and call My Wishing Star. Not that I saw it again. But I felt good pretending that I saw it. It was enough to reminisce in its memory and its after effect.

My wishes are differed every year according to my age and wisdom. The early wishes were as simple and naïve as my first: A tricycle, a Barbie doll, a telescope, a red dress. From then on it escalated to more mature wishes: To lose weight, to be calm, to succeed at work. My wish last year was for an everlasting peace in the world. The one before that: A better life for the whales. My wishes were my command; they were my floating wood in the dangerous seas of life. Yet somehow this year I have a different wish. It’s not so peaceful at all. It might be a one-of-a-kind wish. I cannot tell you this wish yet because the month has yet to pass.