• Mahmood Al Bastaki

    ...be determined, trust yourself

    Trusting one self, I must say, is a stepping stone towards success. There is always something that an individual can do better than others, which makes him/her unique in this world. Strong determination to accomplish one's goals in life gives an individual the resolve to keep going in spite of the obstructions that are laid before. Dream on, keep your spirits alive and strive till the end - Trust yourself - These forgotten lessons of life were revived during our talk with a determined personality in the logistics and supply chain industry and we were just about to find out why.

    Mahmood Al Bastaki was born on the 19th of June 1971 in Dubai, UAE in one of the oldest residential areas in the city, called "Al Bastakiya", currently a popular tourist attraction area. He was born in a house which is presently almost 80 years old, set on the creek where he used to watch traders unload their goods. "I come from a family whose father and ancestors were into the trade business. From my father's side, my grandfather and all the Bastakis contributed so much to the growth of trade in Dubai. They were merchants by inheritance. From my mother's side, my grandfather was the village teacher and religious scholar. He taught many people from Bur Dubai side including Al Shindaga area." His wife belongs to the field of education and they are blessed with five lovely children, three boys and two girls. He has two brothers and two sisters who are university graduates; his eldest brother also holds a Master degree in Telecommunication from UK . His brothers are currently officers in Dubai Police. His eldest sister is a school principal while youngest is a Bio-Chemist working in Dubai Health Authority.

  • Mahmood Al Bastaki

    Mr. Al Bastaki graduated from Imam Malek High School in 1988 with high distinction in the science section. In 1993, he completed his degree in Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the USA. He has also received his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering with emphasis in Digital Signal Processing and Speech analysis in the year 1998 from Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, USA with honor and distinction.

    His professional career started in the year 1993 as a Speaker recognition expert in the Forensic Laboratory of Dubai Police & succeeded in setting up a Voice Analysis Division. In the year 1999 he joined Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company where he worked as a senior Engineer in Products & Services Development. From 2002 until 2005, he was working as a Business Process Reengineering Consultant in Dubai EGovernment , where he managed critical projects such as the Electronic Payment Gateway, Ask Dubai Service (Contact Center) and hosting of websites for the government departments in Dubai. Appointed as the Acting Director of E-Services of Dubai eGovernment where he formulated the 2005 EGovernment Strategies. He was selected as a leader in various programs mainly Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development in 2005, Dubai Leaders Program - a Dubai World Program in alliance with Wharton School of Government in USA in August 2006 and Government Technology Leader by "The Who's Who of Government Technology - Middle East in June 2006. He is currently heading Dubai Trade, an entity under Dubai World focusing on Trade facilitation via the usage of technology.

    We all cherish our childhood days the most, it's the time when our imagination and aspirations are influenced by the environment in which we are brought up. Mr. Al Bastaki recalls his childhood days when he used to monitor ships coming from Karachi, Delhi, Oman, Yemen, Iran and Zanzibar. Those were the days which inspired him to the trading business "I had an inclination towards being associated with trade business despite the fact that my academic education was not leaning towards it. The good news is that I am able to apply my technical knowledge and background experience into the trade and commerce oriented business in my current capacity as

  • Mahmood Al Bastaki

    the Director of Dubai Trade." Living in Al Bastakeya and being close to Dubai Creek where all the business used to take place inspired him to join the maritime field in the first place. "My ancestors' history in trade grabbed me to this field. My father used to have a shop in Deira where I used to accompany him every day after school. I quite remember enjoying crossing the creek in a ship made of wood. Every day's journey was a total thrill. In the shop, I closely paid attention to how my Dad interacted with all merchants and how he fulfilled trade transactions. These merchants came from different countries and cultures, including India, Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, and many neighboring Arab countries.My father used to speak Persian and Urdu fluently and also had a working knowledge of English. Fortunately, I managed to learn some Persian and Urdu but I am not as fluent as he is. An important lesson I learned from my father is to give respect to other religions and accept different cultures and ethnic groups. The lessons I acquired from the market as a child when I used to accompany my father to his shop was the biggest inspiration that moved me towards the trade business."

    When you are deeply involved into something, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing that you are working to make things better, that accomplishment is the one which an individual cherishes throughout his life as his major achievement. According to Mr. Al Bastaki, his greatest achievement lies in gaining the trust of top executive management to establish Dubai Trade as an independent department, trading community to adopt online services, undivided support of his staffs to be their inspiring leader and managing relationship with their key stakeholders (DP World, Dubai Customs, Jabel Ali Free Zone and Dubai Multi Commodities Center). Someone has truly said Life is not a bed of roses, for all accomplishments one has to go through challenges in life which churns out the best in an individual. It was just the same for Mr. Al Bastaki, he too had to face many challenges in the marine industry before affirming his roots in this industry "I had to face the diversified nature of the trading communities. Some of the trading community had low electronics literacy and some showed resistance to change and to abandon manual paper-based transactions. It was very difficult for us to unify the vision of single window of Trade among our key stakeholders and to convince the management to continue investing in this technology."

  • Mahmood Al Bastaki

    Being an expert in this industry we sought his advice on what are the Do's and Don'ts of this industry, the major points which can either help you make a fortune or make your life difficult in this industry. According to him, forcing new laws on the trading community without getting prior feedback from them is a big No; having disintegrated view of trade and logistics in Dubai and ignoring the competition in the region are the points which should be avoided in this business while, knowing how to deal with people is the major skill which one requires to be successful in this field. "Each person holds a key to gain. For some people, finding that key may take a life time."

    The power to make decisions gives you the capacity to get past any excuse and to change any and every part of ones life in an instant. Being, the head of a big organization troubleshooting and decision making is an important part of his work. We thus decided to know his views on making important decisions alone. "I believe that certain decisions in life should be taken alone without waiting for a unanimous consent. As a leader, you shall be accountable for whatever decision you make and shall be able to rationally justify the decision."

    Who doesn't like to have free time to enjoy his hobbies? Being a very busy man, Mr. Al Bastaki too was devoid of much free time as a common man would do, but it was interesting for us to note that he, just like every ordinary man loves to spend his free time mostly with his kids, either going to movies, entertainment parks or the beach. "I love travelling with my family. It is so reviving."

    What would you envision yourself doing when you turn 80 was the next question we put forth to Mr. Al Bastaki to which he gave us another interesting reply "I pray to God that I won't live to that age and I am dependent on my kids or grand kids." is what he told us. He wishes to be independent during that age "I will be telling anecdotes to my grand children and give the wealth of my wide experience in life."

    Getting an advice from someone who has moved through various paths of life to be successful

  • Mahmood Al Bastaki

    not only in the material aspects of life but also in being a good human being "Be determined, always trust yourself" is what he advised us "Act differently and be a pioneer. Always search for unchartered territories and untapped areas. 'The poison that does not kill me makes me stronger'.

    With this short note of advice for our youngsters we decided to end this long conversation with Mr. Al Bastaki. His encouraging words were really a boost for our morale and imbibed in us the spirit of self esteem and determination to dream big in life.

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