Prominent Emirati businessman lectures at AUS

Hussain Ali Sajwani, Chairman of Damac, a Dubai-based private residential, leisure and commercial properties developer, spoke to American University of Sharjah (AUS) community with a lecture entitled "Successful Business in Challenging Times" at the university's Lecture Hall A on Thursday, May 3.

Founder, owner and chairman of the Damac group of companies, Sajwani is a self-driven UAE national and an ambitious entrepreneur who has proven his capability to transfer business vision into corporate reality and to provide the leadership that is necessary to maintain its continuity and growth.

"Damac is one of the strong companies and under the leadership of Mr. Sajwani, this company, which focuses on the regional market, was able to survive the economic challenges that affected a number of other companies," said Dr. Peter Heath, AUS Chancellor, as he welcomed Sajwani to AUS.

In his lecture, Sajwani shared the reasons Damac survived the recent economic crisis.

"We saw the crisis coming, so we prepared for it and we immediately took action to minimize its effects to our company," said Sajwani. "To be successful in challenging times you need to be ahead of the game. You need to be brave and not worry about making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes."

Sajwani then went on to give valuable tips on how to be a successful leader in business and in other areas of life. His tips includes loving work as a hobby, knowing customers and the people you serve, knowing the business in details, knowing how to deal with people of all kinds, knowing how to manage crisis as well as perseverance.

"Don't ever give up; every business goes through difficult times, so when times are hard, keep trying," he said.

Sajwani is a graduate of the University of Washington in the United States with a degree in industrial engineering and economics.

The lecture was part of the AUS Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series, and was organized in collaboration with the AUS academic units and the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs. It was attended by Dr. Thomas Hochstettler, AUS Provost; Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs; Dr. Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs; and other senior university officials.