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This banker is as comfortable giving a rendition of western classical music as in taking decisions in a corporate boardroom

Spending time at airport lounges
Unlike a lot of people, I like airport lounges. I usually check in quite early and spend most of the time there reading. Some airports have good bookshops and it is a good opportunity to browse through them. As I usually do not get the time to see movies, flying is a good time to catch up.

Dress code
I will not be seen dead in a suit outside office but in customer interactive organisations like ours, formals convey a sense of discipline.

In my previous job at a bank, there was one day a week when employees were allowed to wear casual clothes. Somehow, that day turned out to be less intense and finally the bank went back to having formal clothes on all working days.

Office parties
I think office parties are good as they help people see each other socially. At Alliance Housing Bank we organised a family fun day at Al Sawadi Resort where all our employees came in with their families and it was fun. After the success of that party, we are now planning to organise more such get togethers.

Working hours
The hours should be fixed, as customers like to have some kind of certainty. Flexible working hours in a way reduce the flexibility of an office.

What would you have been if you were not a corporate executive
Definitely it would have been something to do with music. I trained as a tenor at the Guildhall School of Music. I was not good enough to be a trained opera singer, but was too good to be a stringer so I ended up becoming a light western classical singer. There was a time when I considered singing as a serious career option.

Advice to those who want to work with you
Put the customer first. Secondly, when you promise to complete a task, go ahead and deliver. Anyone who misses deadlines will find it difficult to work with me.

Your vision of an ideal office
An office where people are happy, they take personal responsibilities and add value.

Any person who has left an indelible mark on your attitude to work
Banking is about taking competitive risks. Bankers either take too much risk and land in trouble or they over-promise and under-deliver. I started my career at Midland Bank and there I had a manager who struck the perfect balance between these two. Even when he could not promise something, he would do it in such a fashion that the customers never felt bad. The other person is John Wright, the former CEO of Oman International Bank, whose philosophy of putting the customer first has left a strong impression on me.

Your big dream
Taking on BankMuscat, though it will take over a year to achieve this.