Passion for Adventure: Turning Zain into a Telecom Giant - Hardcover

Barrak, Saad Al

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9992194677 ISBN 13: 9789992194676

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2012

Synopsis

As the Arab spring sweeps the Middle East, old ways are disappearing. Communications technology is breaking down national barriers and undermining rulers, while the youth look to new role models. Instead of the litany of Arab political failures, they look to business and the arts for inspiration.

Saad al Barrak has been a pioneer of this Arab renaissance. In just seven years, he transformed a moribund ex-state-owned telecoms operator, MTC, from its base of 500,000 customers in Kuwait into the international giant Zain, a company with 72 million customers across 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa. Over the same period, revenues leapt from $400 million to a staggering $8 billion.

Saad al Barrak has followed a distinctive philosophy of leadership and management, insisting that the purpose of business is to create "a wonderful world." Indeed, leading global consultants McKinsey admit Saad al Barrak has changed their business models.

His approach has its origins in the souks of his native Kuwait, but is shaped by a US education; by invasion, occupation, and war in the modern Middle East and by modern management gurus like Steve Jobs.

His call to "be bold, be daring, be different" saw Zain operate in challenging markets like post-war Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa and, for the first time, in A Passion for Adventure, Saad al Barrak tells the inside story of the audacious, 2005 "Easter weekend" $3.3billion purchase of the African operator Celtel.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr Saad al Barrak was born in Kuwait and is an engineer and a businessman of international repute. Formerly CEO of the Zain Group from July 2002 until his resignation, he led the rebranding effort from MTC to Zain, a brand that became one of the most distinguished names in the Middle East and Africa region, and the sweetheart of the telecommunications industry.

Review:

His 260-page autobiography, A Passion for Adventure, could be described as a true reflectio of the corporate culture in the Gulf where professionals from different parts of the world come and work together...A Passion for Adventure is a simple monologue, written in easy-to-understand English...Gulf CEOs rarely write, especially about themselves and their success stories. Books on corporate successes are rare, especially those written by corporate leaders. In that context, the publication of the book itself is an encouraging development. -- Saifur Rahman Gulf News If anyone can help companies see their potential, it is Al-Barrak. -- Claire Valdini Arabian Business Judging from the success he had at Zain, it won't be too long before SMEs are knocking his door down in a bid to get his expert advice. ArabianBusiness.com (A) narrative of how Zain became a marker in the history of Arab enterprise success. -- Thomas Schellen Executive Magazine His East/West blend has produced a... man who embraces comfortably two different worlds Mo Ibrahim, entrepreneur and philanthropist

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 9992194677
• ISBN 13: 9789992194676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272