Mahmoud Malhas must be a busy man. He holds executive posts in over 10 major companies in the Middle East, the U.S. and Europe and has diversified investments that range from banking and biotechnology to shopping malls. In Jordan, he is the largest single shareholder of the five-star Four Seasons Hotel and president of Al Mahmoudia for Watches and Jewelry, which owns the Chopard Boutique in Amman.

He is also president of Al Mahmoudia Vehicle Trading, the exclusive franchise owner of Jaguar automobiles in Jordan. Jaguar set up its facilities at Al Mahmoudia with a total investment of $2 million in 2000, and the business has seen healthy year-on-year growth since its inception.
 
In many ways Mr. Malhas’ forte stems from having been very selective in the investments that he chose. And that paid off well.  In the early stages of his career, he put money into diverse fields - real estate, telecom, hotel management, biomedical research. Today his broad exposure means he brings creativity and value to the table.

Together, his businesses are estimated to be valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Jordan Business met with Mr. Malhas to learn more about his distinct investment portfolio.

JB: You started your career with a family catering business in Jordan before moving to Saudi Arabia. What took to you to the Kingdom in the 1960s?
M.M.: I went there to get a catering contract for the Saudi army. When the [Saudi] army came to Jordan in 1967, some partners and I acquired the contract here with the late Walid Bitar. But we didn’t have the funds to maintain it. So I went to Saudi to get the contract there, but was unsuccessful.

JB: What was the nature of your business in Saudi Arabia? You worked very closely with the royal family. How did you come to this position?
M.M.: When I was introduced to the late King Fahd, who at that time was the minister of interior of Saudi Arabia, I was invited to stay with him as his guest for around two months. After some time, the [then] prince suggested that I join him. That was a difficult decision because I’d always been self-employed. But a challenge was there, and I decided to take it. I started working for him in 1968 as chief adviser of the executive office of the prince, the second deputy prime minister and the minister of interior.

In the 1970s, my responsibilities increased when my boss became the crown prince after the assassination of King Faisal. I was appointed the position of private secretary. We used to travel abroad a lot on private, state and official visits. I handled a lot of responsibilities; I was the interpreter, private secretary, the organizer, and handled the private business of His Royal Highness, which included acquiring houses around the world for him. I learned a lot from him. He was a great man. When I made mistakes, he was extremely patient with me and taught me a great deal about life.

JB: You resigned from your post as King Fahd’s private secretary in 1982. What prompted this decision? It must have been a hard one to make.
M.M.: My job took me all over the world, and because of that it kept me away from my family. I didn’t get to see my three children, Reem, Basem and Fahd, who were all very young then. Nadine wasn’t born yet. Also, their mother fell very ill. At this point, I realized I had to take a decision. Working for His Royal Highness meant I had to be available 25 hours a day. I asked him to let me go. That was one of the most difficult decisions I have made in my life.

After that, I concentrated on private business. I was representing several companies in Saudi Arabia and undertook a lot of major projects. Some were in the telecommunications field, and another in desalination. I had some very big contracts and did extremely well.

In late 1980s, I moved to London. At that time, I was heavily involved in investments in Switzerland, Spain, the UK, and mainly in the U.S., where I had been involved in real estate development and hotels. In 1985, I acquired the McLean Shopping Mall in Virginia.

JB: Your businesses stretch across the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Other than McLean Mall, what are your main businesses outside the region?
M.M.: I opened the Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, which has 410 rooms, in 1982. I was also involved in the development of several real estate projects in and around Washington, D.C., and two in Dallas, Texas. I was among the few investors who made money in real estate in Texas. My main investment in Europe was in Switzerland, which is a very difficult country to work in. In 1983, I got involved in a small company called Tecan, which developed medical instruments. We developed a state-of-the-art robotic finger to test blood. Instead of testing just one sample at a time, this finger could cope with up to 500 samples. Back then, hospitals were badly in need of this kind of technology because of the AIDS epidemic, which had surfaced.

That was a very challenging job because prior to introducing the equipment, I owned 49% of the company and had to keep pumping funds into the research and development. In 1986, we finally entered the market. By that time we had created three-finger robots and were the number one manufacturer in that field internationally. Also that year, the Swiss government, which used to annually donate half a million Swiss francs to the best-managed Swiss company, selected Tecan and gave us the money. We decided to go public and had a phenomenally successful IPO.

JB: This is an incredibly diverse portfolio. What are the factors that decide where and how you make your investments?
M.M.: I have a hunch where I can make money. But I do my homework and don’t venture into business without assessing it first. And I have one golden rule: I never overstretch myself in business. I never over-borrow. I would never go into any investment where 70% is not cash.

JB: In most of your businesses, you are an investor. How much are you involved in the operation of them?
M.M.: For the past two or three years I have been extremely involved in all of the businesses. The problem is we have difficulty in finding the right people to manage the investments and businesses. But I’ve learned to delegate authority. Now, every business has a manager or head who reports to me. [My eldest son] Basem is handling the Jaguar business; Fahd, my other son, is in Saudi Arabia working in banking and with the family business in Riyadh; my eldest daughter Reem is in charge of Chopard; and Nadine, my youngest, is studying architectural design, which will be helpful if she wants to get involved in real estate projects.

JB: Speaking of Jaguar, you own the dealership for the car manufacturer in Jordan, which you started in 2000 with an investment of $2 million. Have the cars been well received in the country, where Mercedes and BMW have traditionally been the cars of choice?
M.M.: The car business was new to us, so it was a big challenge. Jaguar used to sell one to two cars a year before we came in. Through my contacts I was able to get the dealership and we did something different with it to the usual way people handled the car business. We succeeded in getting around 500 cars on the road, when in 10 years Jaguar had sold just 10.

JB: In Jordan, you seem to have concentrated on high-end products, including Chopard. How successful has this particular venture been?
M.M.: I believe that we have built a boutique as good as any other Chopard around the world. I wanted the shop to impress the ladies of Amman, who can be very difficult to please as they have become very selective! Chopard in Jordan provides them with unique items. When you give them a choice of things they would only find abroad, they’ll want it.

JB: You are also the largest single owner of the Four Seasons Hotel, with a 25% share. What prompted you to enter the hotel business in
the country?
M.M.: I do have 25% in the Four Seasons, but this does not mean other groups do not own more than me. As a single owner, I’m the only one who owns this much.

I started with hotels in the late 1970s, when I acquired the White House Hotel in London, a 760-room hotel. I was the co-owner of and refurbished the Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, and still have a major investment in the Marriot in Beirut. I am a board member and the deputy chairman of the Cote D’Azur Hotel in Lebanon, of which my group and I own 50%.

My time abroad taught me a lot and when I returned to Jordan I implemented much of what I’d learned. I saw that there was a lot of room for growth and development here, and that the tourism industry had a great deal of potential. It seemed natural for me to enter the hotel business.

JB: Are you planning to expand into other businesses
in Jordan?
M.M.: I have a very big project in progress in Amman, but it has been delayed for the past seven years because of the electricity company confiscating part of the land to build a transformer on it. It’s too soon to discuss the details.

JB: Having done business in so many countries, how do you think Jordan compares to them and what needs to be done to make it more attractive to investors like you?
M.M.: Doing business internationally is very different from doing it locally. Outside, you really are on your own. And you either survive or fail. In my experience, it was very difficult working abroad sometimes, especially in Europe. You cannot rely on tribal, political, or social support like you can here. In other parts of the world, you do the work and have to be strong enough to survive. I must mention that our country is blessed. Over here, your investments are safe. Their Majesties have been extremely focused on and involved in the business sector and social issues. King Abdullah was faced with a huge challenge of a weak economy, but continues to work towards developing Jordan.

JB: Corporate philanthropy is big trend here and abroad. Do you think the business community is doing enough in terms of philanthropy, especially with the hardships faced by the people of the region?
M.M.: Unfortunately, we in the Arab world do not have the same characteristics that the West has in regards to philanthropy. We understand philanthropy as feeding people and giving money to stop hunger. The West diversifies. Over there, they don’t only focus on that aspect of life; they try and cover all sides of it. They initiate projects, build institutions and donate. We still do not have that trend of setting aside a part of your wealth for philanthropy.

JB: Are you involved in any philanthropic efforts?
M.M.: I am, but there is a story behind this. I graduated from the American University in Beirut (AUB). While I was in my sophomore year, I spent the tuition fees my father worked very hard to get. This was a very silly thing to do. I had no choice but to go to the university president, Archie Crawford. I told him I had to leave university because I didn’t have the funds to continue. Archie was known to be extremely strict; he had just expelled 29 students in their fourth year for taking part in a demonstration. He was not liked at all because he was so severe. Two days later, I went to see the [university] treasurer and told him I was leaving AUB because my tuition fees had run out. But he told me everything had been paid. My fees were paid, and I even had an allowance for books and extra pocket money. I didn’t know how this had happened.

Years later, when I was working with King Fahd, during one of our meetings, Nicholas Thatcher, who was the U.S. ambassador at the time, asked me if I knew Archie Crawford. I said I did, and that he was the president of AUB while I was studying there. He said Archie was not well. It turned out that Mr. Thatcher was Archie’s neighbor. The ambassador told me that Archie was the one who had paid for my scholarship from his own pocket. I never knew this. I couldn’t believe that this tough man would do this for me without mentioning it. I told His Royal Highness, and he was so moved by the story that we contacted the Saudi ambassador in Washington and did whatever we could to help.

This was something I have never forgotten in my life. Archie had helped me so much and I benefited so much from this university. It educated me not just academically, but socially, politically and culturally. Because of what happened to me, I provide scholarships at the International College, and am currently refurbishing the common room of the West Hall building of the AUB, which will be finished this summer. I have also participated in the rebuilding of the college hall. The common room will be named after me.

In Jordan, I have made also donations that help cover scholarships for university and high school students, as well as medical and engineering students who want to study outside of the country. And I financed the construction of the lecture hall at Beir Zeit University in Ramallah.

When my sons got married, I matched half of the expenses from their weddings and donated it to the social welfare of the needy in Jordan.

JB: With all of your years in the business world, and in so many different fields and countries, what are the most important lessons you have learned?
M.M.: You should surround yourself with the right people and learn that others have the right to benefit as well. Also, you should know that you still need to learn to be humble, thankful and dedicated without greed and, with some luck, you will succeed.