CEO Today Middle East Awards

31 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Middle East Awards 2019 oman Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish is Chairperson of Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC. As a Chairperson of the MHD Group, she is instrumental in the planning and implementation of the company’s strategy. Her focus is to improve the growth trajectory of the company and ensure that it continues to be successful. She is always looking at identifying and exploring opportunities and new business ventures. The origin of Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC goes back to over half a century. Her father, the Late Mohsin Haider Darwish, with his determination and foresight, established and steered the company to great heights, thus evolving it into a highly successful business group today. Today, MHD’s various business divisions such as automotive, ICT, electrical and electronics, engineering products, gases, chemicals, tyres and batteries, project management and building materials represent some of the most reputable and desirable brands from across the world which include Land Rover, Jaguar, Dell, Huawei, Michelin, KDK, Mitsubishi Forklift, Ford Trucks, Ashok Leyland, HONEYWELL, CAME, YALE to name a few. Also of note is Mrs Areej’s representation at various Boards in the private and government organisations and the Awards that have been conferred on her over the years. She currently represents at the boards of many organizations in Oman, namely: a) Chairperson – Areej Vegetable Oils & Derivatives SAOG b) Chairperson – Duqm United Logistics c) Board Member – Muscat University d) Board Member – Unicef Leadership Circle Previous representations at various boards: 1. Board of Directors - Areej Vegetable Oils & Derivatives SAOG during the year 2001 2. Vice chairman - Areej Vegetable Oils & Derivatives SAOG during the year 2000-2001 3. Board of Directors – Armour Insurance from 2005 - 2008 4. Member of the Board of Capital Market Authority (CMA) from 2008 – 2014 5. International Who’s Who for professionals She has a host of enviable achievements to her credit and has been the recipient of many prestigious awards such as: 1. Forbes Most Influential Arab Woman 2013 2. Forbes 200 Most Powerful Woman 2014 3. Awarded “Oman Web Award for Best Corporate website” 4. Al Mara Excellence Award 2014 – Entrepreneurship & Innovation 5. Al Mara Excellence Award 2015 – Most promising Woman of the year 6. Al Mara Special Commendation – Corporate Leadership In 2018, Areej Darwish has been conferred upon four prestigious awards which further substantiates her as an exceptional achiever and her accomplishments make her a strong role model for other women. • Al Mara Excellence Awards 2018 – Corporate Leadership • CEO Today Middle East Award 2018 • Forbes Middle East’s Most Influential Women 2018 • Middle-East, North Africa & Asia Award Organisation (MENAAO) award for Best Business Leader for being one of the most influential leaders in the regional market in 2018. Her entrepreneurial lead motivated her to establish her own business venture under the name of “Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC”. She launched and spearheaded two well-known brands – “BLESSING Chocolates & Gifts” and “First Impression Artwork”. How would you describe your leadership style? In the words of John Maxwell - A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. Though I would hold this true to my leadership style, MHD Group is too large and complex to be run single-handedly or in an authoritative manner. We have professionals running the various Divisions, and together, we roll out the vision for each division and for the Company as a whole. The management ensures that it creates the right environment to achieve the objectives by providing full support of resources and policies. At MHD, we accord utmost priority to meetings, consultations and collective decision making. Collaborative discussion, listening and study of the issues is the key. We listen to our employees’ ideas and opinion on various business matters as they give us additional insight into the business operations and then take a collective decision. If I take a decision as a Chairperson, it is not my decision per se. It is a shared decision. So it means every person in the company has a role. At MHD, we are equipped with experienced employees who have worked with us for decades. They are an asset to us; they know the policies and procedures and have played a pivotal role in the growth of the company. I would thus like to believe that our management style is Co-operative rather than authoritative or delegative. To sum it, as a leader, I am determined to walk that extra mile to ensure that MHD’s talented team leverages MHD’s strengths and capitalizes on its