Saudi businessman Adnan Sharbatly was born into commerce, and as a young boy and even as an older man, he continued to benefit from the experience of his father, Hassan Abbas Sharbatly, who was given the honorary title of minister by King Abdul Aziz.
Nonetheless he often had to rely on himself, he told Arrajol, a sister publication of Arab News. “Despite growing up in a well-off family, I frequently had to depend on myself,” Adnan said. “I worked as an administrator of my father’s holdings in Saudi Arabia and abroad for about nine years and at the same time was a salaried employee in my father’s property division. When I took charge of his holdings, the income from the properties was SR480,000 annually. With God’s help I got it up to SR29 million in seven years. At the end of the 1970s I decided to resign.”
He is trying to instill that same independence into his children. “Naif received an MBA from the American College in London, Ahmad and Nujoud have BAs from the same university and my other children Abdul Aziz, Nouf, Muntasir, Ala, Hassan and Uday are completing their education in Saudi Arabia. I steer a middle course in dealing with my children; I am neither overly firm nor overly lenient. I try to implant in them the principles and values that we have inherited from our ancestors. I encourage them to be independent but only once they have been armed with a good education because success in commerce is based on knowledge.”
Real success for Adnan Sharbatly began in a small office in his father’s building in Jeddah toward the end of the 1970s. “I had many sleepless nights because I was responsible for a small group in charge of providing meals to around 230,000 students. We had to meet certain standards set by doctors and nutritionists under the supervision of one of the biggest European companies — the French company Servire.” The company later provided meals to army officers, soldiers, the National Guard in the Eastern Province and Riyadh and various other regions of the Kingdom.
This marked the beginning of his ability to seek out profitable investment opportunities which eventually led him to the position of CEO of the Sharbatly Group. From real estate to catering, Sharbatly went from one success to the next. He went on to invest in the bonds and securities market, which forced a complete change in his way of life. He was working with an agency of financial consultants and communicating directly with the biggest financial organizations in Europe and the US such as Merrill Lynch. He was also on the Internet daily to discover currency and bond rates and read reports from his companies.
How does he keep charge of such varied business interests in the group?
“I rely on my own efforts and those of my sons Naif and Ahmad. Together we form a successful team capable of staying abreast of all our investments.”
Sharbatly’s belief that the Kingdom was on the verge of opening up to tourism was the beginning of his investment in tourism projects beginning with the Sharbatly Beach Resort in Jeddah. He has also recently begun investing in ready-to-wear clothing. Comparing today’s business environment with when he first began, Sharbatly feels people were formerly more honest in their dealings. Today he says there is dishonorable competition, agencies being one example. “But there are advantages to the present, of course. Ease of communication and transport are examples. The world has become a global village, and while that increases business opportunities, it also means greater competition.”
An early success was a Sharbatly bid to clean the Grand Mosque in Makkah. “Some competitors thought that our lack of experience would mean that the contract went to someone else. When I heard this, I went to King Faisal and told him the story. I asked him: ‘Does the sweeping and cleaning of the Grand Mosque require experience?’ The king laughed and reassured me that so long as my company had tendered the lowest bid, I would get the contract. That was the happiest day of my life — not because of the profit but for the chance to serve the House of God.”
Sharbatly says he spends a great deal of his time at the office, sometimes until the early hours of the morning, and admits that he rarely has time to exercise. In London he jogs in Hyde Park or on Hampstead Heath near his house, and in Jeddah he relaxes at his beach resort in Abhur.
Even when abroad he keeps in touch with his childhood friends to whom he is still close. “Some of them are ministers, deputy ministers and billionaires; others just get by,” he said.
To escape from the grueling day-to-day business of running his companies, he reads history books which he describes as travel into the depths of time. He also enjoys books by the Nobel Prize winner, Naguib Mahfouz, the poems of Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and works by other authors.
The influence of his father remains the most powerful force in Sharbatly’s life. He taught him to love and serve his country and to have not only a steady work ethic but to be kind and considerate of the poor and needy. He also instilled in his son an interest in printing the Qur’an and other Islamic literature, Sharbatly said. “My father always made sure that I accompanied him on visits to hospitals and the sick during Ramadan, and I make sure that my children do the same with me,” he added.
- Arab News Features 11 September 2003
