Last Sunday (well sunday is the beginning of the week for most of us here), a person called me saying he was looking for some solar panels.
After he told me the name of his company, I asked what his company was doing. As soon as he said that they were into real estate, I didnt take them very seriously. Have handled several enquiries where people call and ask all sorts of funny questions, this was surely one among them.
The man on the phone then went on to say that his boss wanted to visit us on thursday. He also asked me to send him an official letter, confirming the visit. He explained to me that his boss should be well taken care of, etc. I told him not to worry and said that we handle several EU customer visits.
Thursday it was and as scheduled, Mr. Marwan walked into our office with his 3 young children, said he was on holiday in Fujairah. He was in the traditional Arab clothing, which was another sign that this entire deal would not be very serious. There have been several meetings where I have Arab men listening to me talk on solar, as though I was a master on the subject. It was only their lack of knowledge that made me look good.
Must admit that i was not very well prepared, as the projector and the presentation was 10min from ready. I asked for a few minutes of the guest. After fidgeting with the wires and computer, i was finally ready.
The presentation begin telling Mr. Marwan about the company, our strengths, solar industry and more. It was only me that was doing the talking, he was patiently listening and acknowledged what I was saying with a nod here and there.
Then I asked my colleague Khalid to take him around for a plant tour, thinking some arabic talk might help. Khalid, as his usual style, explain in so much details, where i had to intrupt and ask Mr. Marwan if it was too technical for him.
Mid way Khalid came and we had a conversation like this:
Khalid: Dude, who is this guy- he knows so much. He is screwing me with his questions.
Me: Common Khalid, I am sure u being an engineer in the line will know more than him
Khalid: Ok let me manage, but he does know a lot!
The plant tour was done with, and I assisted Mr. Marwan into the conference room. There i started to talk on production, marketing strategies, pricing, etc. Thats when he intrupted and started to pick holes in my points. Some of his questions, I replied to, but the rest, he really knew what he was talking.
Then is when Mr. Marwan took off. In the best 20 min he touched upon the following topics:
1. How Production companies must optimise costs by managing over-heads
2. How you over come entry barriers in a country (from sales point of view)
3. How being competitive on price is the key in the long run
4. The potential of the Solar market in Middle east and the UAE's solar plans
While all of this was happening, Khalid and myself stunned, wondering what just hit our confidence. The examples he quoted displayed his depth in knowledge, and I must say i was awe struck.
After 20 min, i paused and asked, "Sir, what does your company do".
He replied, "Have you heard of the Ghurair Gruop in Dubai?"
I replied, " Yes ofcourse".
Here i must pause and tell you about the Ghurair group/family is. They are one of the most richest and influential families in Dubai and UAE. They are probably like the Birlas and Tatas in India, have been in business for almost 100 years. They are into Real Estate (very huge), Food products, aluminum extrusions, and many many more industries.
The owner of the group Mr. Ghurair is the 77th richest man in the world, net worth $2.4Billion (Forbes rating- 2006). A bit more on the Ghurair is available on:
Continuing:
He replied, "Have you heard of the Ghurair Gruop in Dubai?"
I replied, " Yes ofcourse".
Mr. Marwan: " Well my name if Marwan Al Ghuraih, and i am the chairman of the group".
Lightning had hit! I didnt know what to say for 2 seconds.
However i acted calm, and quickly asked about his interest in Solar.
Then he went on to explain that he has been trading in solar products for over a decade now. He was curious about a UAE solar manufacturer and hence wanted to visit us. He was open to investment opportunities, thats when i said that we have also been looking at financing for some time now.
He asked me to send him the investment proposal, so that he can forward it to his bank in Bahrain, called VC Bank (yes they own the bank). Their family also has a stake in the Mashreq Bank. He said he would be happy to pass on our proposal to his investment people in the banks.
Here we concluded the session. While talking out, I thanked him and told him that i was inspired by what he has to share. Apologized for the shaky start, but again said that it was an honour meeting him. He has a very pleasant smile and said that he would send me an email, since he didnt have his card. I waved bye, while he drove away in his white Merc.
While I was walking back to my seat, I was so happy meeting a man like this. So wealthy, knowledgeable, yet to simple with no sense of arrogance. I read for the next 2 hours all about the Ghurair family, and smiled to myself! I had no hopes that Mr. Marwan would send me an email that evening, simply because he does not need to.
7.3pm, inbox has an email from Mr. Marwan, thanking me for the visit and how we can move forward.
Life can be very exciting, at the most unexpected moments!
