Buhaleeba Contracting: An Unforgettable Journey from Lawyer to CEO

Popularly recognized for his moral and ethical conduct, Ahmad Hussein arrived in Dubai 25 years ago with a background in advocacy, in hopes of building a distinguished professional profile on high principles and enriching it with high quality skills. From a young age, Ahmad had established a commendable reputation serving as a lawyer for several businesses and providing them with legal advice that ensured productive and ethical business practices.

After years of being involved in business agreements, Ahmad began to consider ways in which he could use his knowledge to advise businesses on more commercial aspects. "I never thought of getting out of the advocacy and legal scope, until 2001 when I joined Buhaleeba Group. I always disliked how some lawyers would typically provide legal advice without touching on the commercial side of businesses and often felt that my colleagues neglected its importance." Ahmad voiced some concerns about changes in circumstances and alternative plans, wondering if these were taken into consideration within business plans and financial and management systems, especially for situations where a certain target should be achieved, or certain budgets should be considered.

"From this point onwards, I was permitted by the top management to supervise negotiations and deal-making. For this purpose, I found it necessary to study about operation auditing, managerial accounting, business development, process making, and other financial and managerial elements. This helped me understand how to respond and control long-term agreements."

By 2006, Ahmad became heavily involved in administrative management and implemented systems that ensured more productive outcomes for the group. "I was authorized to review various companies' management reports, and often led the change in charts of accounts and reporting systems. Over time, I gained significant appreciation from the Chairman, who then made me responsible for leading certain assignments and playing parts of his own role in correcting companies' structures and strategies."

Ahmed officially became a Board Member in 2012 and was appointed as the Group CEO four years later - a first in the history for Buhaleeba Group. "I realized that I was chosen to implement the group's vision successfully and it was at this stage where I evolved from a lawyer with a vision to a leading executive figure, trusted with the ongoing success of the group."

Buhaleeba Group was founded in 1984 and is considered to be one of the UAE's leading business houses, having executed a number of prestigious residential and commercial projects across the country. The group takes on a customer-centric approach, with its core values being integrity, honesty and fairness.  Its main offerings include: construction, property management, one-stop auto services, supplying food and office equipment, as well as providing integrated engineering, construction, planning and management solutions. Today, Buhaleeba Group is growing and developing despite tough market conditions. "We are greater in value, greater in turnover, greater in profitability, greater in productivity, greater in quality and greater in confidence," stated Ahmad.

"Due to our team of experienced and talented professionals along with our systematic approach and strong financial position, Buhaleeba Contracting advanced its superiority over other competitors in the market."

The adoption of special and dynamic systems has ensured efficient reporting with regards to cost mapping, cost effectiveness, cost allocation, revenue recognition, labor deployment, project planning and resources management. This has enabled the group's management to successfully select the right projects and strengthen its business partnerships with strong market players when it comes to choosing the project size, challenges, owners, consultants and subcontractors.

Additionally, the group launched Buhaleeba Community Foundation, a nonprofit foundation incorporated specifically to train the youth and to equip them with certain skills, which highlights the group's devotion towards giving back to the community, making it stand out amongst its competitors. Hence, it is no surprise that Buhaleeba Group has acquired ISO certificates over the years in quality management, environment and safety by internationally recognized auditors.

More importantly, the governmental audits conducted on its various government projects have awarded these projects and have also praised the company's management for their dedication and hard-work.

With the much-anticipated success of Expo 2020, many companies are determined to take advantage of the event as an opportunity to showcase their projects to attendees from across the globe, with the aim of potentially enhancing their client base, building new partnerships or generating new business. The decision for Dubai to host Expo 2020, has paved way for new opportunities and business development within the region.

There has been immense focus on developing Dubai's infrastructure in preparation of the event, which has consequently resulted in a dramatic increase in construction taking place in the city over the past two years. Ahmad explained that during this time, "Buhaleeba Contracting has steadily increased its market share with expansionary ambitions, reflected in a 40% additional turnover in 2018 from 2017, and 30% from 2016. This is accompanied by the same growth ratios of profitability."

Thus, the group is looking forward to the global event and has numerous projects planned for it as well. Moreover, at a time where market conditions are poor and many businesses are struggling to survive, Ahmed remains unfazed and optimistic about the future. He is confident in the group's capabilities and mentioned that Buhaleeba has many domestic and international projects in the pipe line that are yet to be announced. "Locally, our growth in market share and profitability has encouraged the owner, Mr Abdulla Buhaleeba, to invest more in our business vision. We recently reactivated our MEP company for carrying out the group's projects as an initial plan. We will also be launching a new company for interior and fit-out is in progress, besides other plans to get engaged in other related industries, such as the aluminum and joinery."

Furthermore, Ahmed unveiled the group's desire to enter the Omani market. "We believe that the ideal scenario will be going into joint ventures, where we offer business partners wide range of project management using our up to date techniques and systems to help carry out iconic projects with Omani local partners."

Reflecting on his journey, Ahmed shared his sentiments on his time with the company and group. "Buhaleeba Contracting has been the greatest story of my career. I always felt lucky and proud of the team selection and the amazing combination of various qualities and skills. We have brilliant financial and accounting management, intensive cost control, a reliable tendering team, an excellent operation management and overall, great contracts and commercial management." In just a year, the old-fashioned management style transformed into an advanced, modernized one.

Ahmed believes the success of the company's new era began with the leadership and delegations together, along with the cooperation of the company's reliable team, who responded positively to the changes, stabilizing the company and helping it overcome all market challenges. Ahmed expressed his gratitude towards the company's owner for having faith in him, "I am extremely thankful to Mr. Abdulla for the trust he vested in me. His belief in my capabilities drives me to work every day and encourages me to keep going,"

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