Olayan School of Business Launches Its Strategic Leadership Executive Program

Left to right: George Najjar, John Waterbury awarding Kamal Shair a plague of appreciation

Pioneering business leadership education in the Arab world, the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) launched on April 4 the Kamal Shair Strategic Leadership Executive Program.

"Business schools in the United States were quick to realize that the academic study of leadership is important for business success and academic scholarship," said OSB Dean George Najjar. "Leadership is what allows people to build institutions that last and to transform organizations in ways that could not have been possible otherwise."

Unfortunately, Middle Eastern business schools have neglected leadership training in their curricula, he remarked, and "the Olayan School of Business at AUB is determined to be the first to do something about it."

Recognizing AUB Trustee Kamal Shair's vision and determination in realizing the executive leadership program, Najjar said that the program will allow the business school to host prominent world-known speakers who can share their experiences in leadership and success in business.

President John Waterbury welcomed Shair's endorsement of the leadership program at AUB, emphasizing his own belief that leadership can be taught. "I don't believe in the old proposition that some are born leaders, while others are born to be led," said Waterbury. "In fact, I would hope that our business school will teach leadership not only to those who want to become leaders, but more to those who say they have an idea."

Kamal Shair, who in 1956 founded Dar Al-Handasah, a Beirut-based multidisciplinary architecture/engineering consultancy firm, recounted how the firm was established after he realized that, with some leadership, regional talent could be better tapped into. As a result, he and some colleagues established Dar-Al-Handasa with only $10,000 in capital. The firm quickly started bringing in revenues and is now known internationally.

"I believe that a fundamental aspect of Dar al-Handasa's success has been the creation of a corporate environment which provides the motivation to realize leadership potential and mechanisms for the perpetual renewal of the firm's leaders," he said.

Shair was the sole owner of Dar Al-Handasah from 1956 to 1970, after which he gave away 60 percent of the company's shares to ten senior engineers and architects, as a means to further extend the development and growth of the company. By extending ownership to a small group of people, everyone became determined to ensure the success of the company, said Shair. Indeed, the company grew very fast and it now has 8,000 employees.

Shair, who earned a PhD in engineering from Yale University, has held a number of prominent positions, especially in his native country, Jordan, among them as governor of the World Bank on behalf of Jordan, member of the Jordan Senate, member of the Board of Advisors of the World Bank, and chairman of the Consultative Scientific Council of the Hussein Fund for Excellence.