Interview with Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish: Empowering Businesses, Inspiring Generations

Beverly Sills once said, “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”. Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish indeed is every bit an epitome of these words. Her journey is an example of how climbing the ladder one step at a time is indeed an opportunity to learn at every stride, making one know the pulse and heart of businesses and employees. And hence she has scripted a history for others to follow.

Business Tabloid spoke to Areej to understand her journey, her leadership traits and how she is transforming whilst creating the next generation of leaders in the industry.

How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far?

My journey as a leader has been driven by Purpose, Passion and Perseverance. It’s been a very enriching and fulfilling journey of over 2 decades as it has given me unique insight of the dynamic business world.

As a Computer Science & Math Graduate from Sultan Qaboos University, I began my career at Petroleum Development Oman as a Programmer. This gave me a platform to acquaint myself with new technology. I joined the family business in 1994. My aim was to grow professionally & in order to get in-depth insight into the business, I started from the grass root level & scaled the corporate leader with my dedication & determination.  Being involved in every decision of the business, I grew to understand the process of the business and its values meticulously. As technology was my strength, it helped me to enhance the systems and software in the Computer Systems division at MHD LLC. I worked with my team to achieve the ISO certification. I gave importance to processes and procedures as these were important in order to run the business effectively.

Running a business empire can be challenging but being involved in the operations minutely helped me to tackle any kind of challenges. I also believe that ‘Leadership’ is an ongoing journey & it can never be a destination as we constantly evolve along with the way. 

We are constantly making decisions about our organisations, d a new country to work in or a new industry. At every instance & every decision we make sets us on a new pathway. As a leader, I always find new ways to lead and achieve better results for the organization.

How much have the business challenges changed over the time? What are some of the new age challenges that the pandemic brought to the fore?

Business & challenges walk parallelly. As a business grows, different problems and opportunities demand different solutions. However, effective leadership makes the most of the opportunities, creating sustainable growth for the future.

The challenges a business faces is constantly evolving due to the dynamics of the markets & products around the world.  The challenges have undergone a change over the years. Earlier the challenges were products, technology & automation and competition. Over the years, there has been a shift. However, challenges which are perpetual are resource management, increased competition, brand selection and customer preferences. The swiftness of economic and technological changes means that what worked yesterday may not work today. Recognizing and overcoming the common pitfalls associated with growth is essential if business has to continue to grow and thrive.

I think the most prominent new age challenge is ‘Uncertainty’. It is more distinct today than in the past. COVID-19 is an example of this. The pandemic brought about far reaching challenges than one could have imagined. The new fore challenge posed by COVID was supply chain management where procurement & distribution was severely affected. Operational challenges were faced by those businesses whose IT Infrastructure was unable to cope up with remote working arrangements, health and safety of the workforce is a challenge as the situation around the pandemic is constantly evolving. Consumer’s lifestyle & purchasing trend has changed dramatically. Earlier consumers required an end-to-end retail experience, which they still do. But due to the pandemic, there has been a shift from physical stores to a digital shopping experience; E-commerce is definitely on the rise.

Running a multi-billion dollar organization requires undivided attention, focused strategies and burning mid-night oil. What are your learnings and strategies to deal with the growth?

Running a business empire is an ongoing process that requires hard work, patience and dedication. There are different aspects of business management which have to be kept in mind for an organization to be successful.

Every organization aims to grow across different facets of the business. Changes in business environments will require organizations to constantly assess their strategies for success. At every stage, we are constantly learning and our business plans change with each passing day.

Experiencing a period of rapid business growth can be an exhilarating time for a company. But it’s essential to manage this growth effectively.  

My learning on growth has been that it does not happen in a single day; it’s a continuous process of evaluation, forecasting, planning and evolving business models. Creating strategic initiatives, implementing plans & assessing the progress are vital towards achieving our goals. Being eminent gives us the competitive advantage but the key to sustaining it is to constantly evolve & have the unflinching commitment to get better every single day.

Our strategy for growth has been achieved by practices like identifying our customer needs, evaluating revenue streams, investing in a strong team, adding new locations, growing our market share, expanding & diversification of our product portfolio, and effective planning of resources.

Developing a growth strategy isn’t same for all. Due to changing market conditions, strategic decisions keep changing. We need to evolve and plan our business, refine its strengths to better suit the changing business scenario.

You are an ambitious leader who puts growth at the top of every agenda. What are your secretes to achieving this?

There are no shortcuts to success – this is something I have learnt early on from my father, Late Mohsin Haider Darwish. there is no such thing as overnight success.

There are various factors which are attributable for the success of any business. Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC has risen the ladder of success gradually over the years. The company’s success is a culmination of foresight, strategic planning, perseverance and determination.

The greatest factors for success are passion, hard work, focus, persistence, embracing opportunities and optimism. Understanding changes in the industry and staying ahead of the competition in key areas, such as customer service, technology, and efficiency is the key to success.

As the chairperson of MHD ACERE, how have you devised the future of the organization?

MHD LLC has achieved a place of eminence in Oman as it has been successful in creating excellence of the highest levels. Our key objective is to continue the family legacy by making a noteworthy contribution to the country. We are focussed on our vision of the future & our business goals are aligned with Oman’s Vision 2040.

Oman’s economy is on the path of accelerated growth as it is building a productive & diversified economy with innovation, infrastructure, education, development of workforce, sustaining national resources and modern legislative framework as its key drivers.

At MHD, our business strategy & plans are constantly evolving. Our strategy is to diversify our revenue across different sectors, expand our presence across Oman and globally, introduce new brands & build strategic partnerships.

Besides business objectives, we are also committed to sustainable growth and development. As every industry is turning towards more environmentally friendly technology, there is a growing trend & use of electric vehicles, which can drastically cut down on transportation costs. We have taken the lead & leveraged this opportunity by introducing electric charging stations. This is a relatively new concept but we foresee immense potential in this sector.

We also believe in creating a sustainable economy by venturing into sustainable business ventures. Sustainable energy is the future of tomorrow & working towards this, we have ventured into Solar business as conservation of Energy is a national priority. 

A leader is one who creates more leaders than followers. How are you inspiring your team, investors, and clients/customers to reach their full potential and create better opportunities for the society?

As a leader, it is important to inspire people around us. People are constantly influenced by our leadership qualities & achievements. Our actions play an instrumental role as they will tend to see how we make the best of the opportunities & how we brace challenges in our businesses. We can also help them see their potential and achieve more. If through our actions we can make a difference to anyone & inspire them to progress in their professional growth, we are definitely creating better opportunities for everyone around us.

Creative thinking is also at the forefront for me; I have always encouraged ‘thinking out of the box’ solutions & ideas. I believe that it is through creative thinking that we can achieve distinctive breakthroughs & devise better strategies. Allowing ourselves to think more often results in more creativity, innovation and new approaches to build a business. Our core values define us and help us in achieving our mission and vision. We will reach our vision when we continue to be progressive and successful in achieving our goals through our core values and creative thinking.

What would be your piece of advice for the emerging entrepreneurs and leaders?

Leadership is a way of bringing people together to accomplish a goal. Business leaders play an important role in the success of an organization as they formulate and devise strategies to achieve organizational goals. Being a business leader and rising to the top is the dream of many.

However, business leadership has its share of challenges. It is not smooth sailing at all times. My first and foremost advice to the potential leaders is to set a goal for themselves – use good determination to achieve it. They need to focus & persevere to do the best.

Knowledge is power & a business leader never stops learning. Emerging business leaders have to master their skills; this will allow them to work effectively in today’s dynamic business world. They have to be willing to think outside the paradigm; do things unconventionally. Curiosity is a prerequisite to continuous improvement. They have to constantly seek opportunities & work towards achieving excellence. They also need to embrace the challenges positively & face adversity calmly and work on being agile.  Finally, they need to keep in mind that success is a culmination of many factors but all of them put together are incomplete without a team.