• Fazel A. Fazelbhoy

    ...never say never

    Never is an undependable term, and life has too many rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it. Thus, never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are that you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. We can never say which way our life will take us; though we plan, things could change at any moment. These words of wisdom are from yet another achiever in whose dictionary the word 'NEVER' does not exist.

    Mr. Fazel A. Fazelbhoy was born in Pakistan. His academic career began in the British and American educational systems culminating with a Bachelors degree in Science from New York University (NYU), USA. After graduation, he worked with Honeywell Inc.in the Controls and Automation business in the USA, UK and Saudi Arabia; he then moved back to Pakistan for some time. "I headed up the Projects and Manufacturing business of a leading Engineering firm and was responsible for mechanical, electrical, manufacturing and construction projects. I subsequently moved to UAE and joined Topaz in 1999 where I led activities in ship and rig repair, oil and g a s , a n d b u s i n e s s development areas until two years ago when I was appointed CEO."

    For very few people, does the world turn the way, they want it to. Others have to shape their destiny through their own efforts. We decided to find more about Mr. Fazelbhoy's experiences in his career, "Fifteen years ago, I did not know what direction my career would take." Life and education is about developing a tool kit. What you do with it, depends on what opportunity comes your way. This profession was not planned, it evolved through a series of circumstances. The challenges today, are to recognize opportunities and to capitalize upon them. Keep your principles and your work ethic strong and the rest will follow."

  • Fazel A. Fazelbhoy

    We firmly believe that leaders aren't born, they are made. We asked Mr. Fazelbhoy about his views on leadership, and he said - "I have many leaders in my team and I am fortunate to be a leader of leaders. They're all seasoned professionals with a strong track record in their fields and they are all driven by the passion and ability to do great things in the future. Therefore, I consider it my responsibility to drive their career, and with it the future of this company, by providing them the guidance, direction and the freedom they need to succeed."

    According to Mr. Fazelbhoy, there are many styles of leadership; each effective in their own way. "My style is to lead from the front and never ask anyone to commit more than I am willing to commit myself. I believe that you have to have passion, ambition, and a willingness to take on challenges. This attitude towards leadership is reflected through the financial performance and HSE track record of Topaz." Business is a huge risk, it's all about striking the right cord at the right time "The cardinal principle is to understand and manage risk. At the end of the day, it is all about risk and reward; good judgment is about maximizing rewards while minimizing risk. Focusing only on today's profits and not thinking about what is good for business in the long run, is to be avoided. Not allowing assets to be run down and not focusing on re-investing in the business is a trap that many fall into, especially, if they try and please shareholders only for the short term. Success is about sustainability."

    We further asked him about his advice on what one should do to be successful in this industry "I firmly believe that being passionate about your work and putting 100% into it will always yield positive results. No matter how brilliant you may be, without dedication, you will never be truly successful."

    We asked Mr. Fazelbhoy about how he takes his decisions, whether they're his own or does he consider brain storming as an option before taking any important decision "Consultation is extremely valuable, but for a leader, decision making is a lonely task. A good decision is usually better if it has stakeholder input, but the price of leadership is responsibility. At the end of the day, it's the leaders call."

  • Fazel A. Fazelbhoy

    Mr. Fazelbhoy has enjoyed creating value throughout his career, "Building teams, starting new businesses, exploring new countries and economies while delivering results and exceeding the expectations of the various stakeholders that I am accountable to are the challenges that drive me, but I still believe that my greatest accomplishments are yet to come."

    We asked Mr. Fazelbhoy about his hobbies and the answer came just as we expected it to be, "The one thing I generally don't own is 'free time'. The nature of our jobs is such that work doesn't stop when you leave the office. Sleep is a precious commodity and just kicking back, unwinding with a good book is a rare pleasure." Indeed a productive way to spend one's leisure time.

    We could not hold back from asking a very interesting question which we had put forward to all the achievers in the league, how do you envision yourself when you turn 80? Mr. Fazelbhoy raised his eyebrows when he heard 80 "Not sure I want to ever be that old!" he said with a laugh, "Right now that seems pretty far away so I will cross that bridge when and if I get to it."

    Being one of the icons of the maritime industry it was important for us to seek his valuable advice for all those youngsters striving hard to make it big in this industry. Mr. Fazelbhoy said, "At the outset, I would say "NEVER SAY NEVER! In business, what is right at a particular point in time, could be completely wrong at another time so the only thing that really matters is to do the right thing at the right time."

    Finally we bid our adieu to Mr. Fazelbhoy with a thank you note for spending his precious time with our team and we hope he achieves his greatest accomplishment very soon..

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