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According to this CEO, an out-of-the-box attitude is needed to allow people to deliver their best

Spending time at airport lounges
For me, travel for business or pleasure is a welcome distraction from the day-to-day activities. It is a time to reflect on things, catch up on my reading and plan forward.

Dress code
While I see dress codes as a restriction on people’s freedom, I believe that one has to be culturally sensitive and do the right thing at the right time.

Office parties
They serve as a good way to celebrate achie-vement and promote teamwork. But like with everything else, there is a point when they become counterproductive.

Working hours
Many people seem to think that working hours are a given, forced by the market or by society. I believe that they are not. Each business should design a system that balances the requirement of customers and the staff’s need for a good life-work balance.

Your vision of an ideal office
My vision of an ideal office is a place that does not feel like an office. It is place that can be located anywhere, as long as it allows the people working there to deliver their best.

Had you not been in this industry, what would you have been doing?
I am now in the water/environment industry, I was in the oil and gas industry before, and there are many other industries that I am interested in.

Advice to those who want to work with you
That would be to build on your strengths, learn from your mistakes and do not accept no for an answer.

How do you unwind?
I spend most of my free time with my family, whether at home or out and about. And I also enjoy reading novels, self-development books and biographies.

Any incident that has left an indelible mark on your attitude to work
I believe that my fortunes and attitudes have been shaped by many incidents, coincidences and turns of events. Some of these happened long before I was born.

Working in a global village
Telecommunication and air transport has made it possible to overcome the time barrier and this is slowly fusing the diverse cultures of the world into one global culture. One can spend many hours arguing whether this is good or bad. However, the fact is that it is happening and we need to be ready for it.

Your big dream
My big dream is to find a way to make everyone I meet a change agent for the better.