Page 12 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

x Acknowledgments

research and perspective on marketing, supporting Chapter 6. Ryan
also provided research for other chapters.
Zohaib Patel led the research for Chapter 8, on Gulf capital.
He, like the entire research team, sacrificed evenings and weekends
to contribute to these efforts. Mohamed Serageldin’s research for
Chapter 9, on the GCC’s infrastructure, was comprehensive and rich.
Ursula Jessee supported Chapter 10, on organization, and demon-
strated drive and creativity through her research and management
interviews. Masooma Hussain supported Chapter 1, producing
thorough research on the market “clusters” within the Middle East.
The research team’s diligent efforts helped add a great deal of rigor
and detail to the analysis.
Several advisors provided valuable feedback and support on
the manuscript. I am grateful to Mohamed Ali Vaid, Omar Khan,
Hassan Jaffar, Umair Khan, Imran Javaid, Rafi Shikoh, Imraan Mir,
and Case Dorkey for the insight they provided throughout the
process. Abdur-Rahman Syed, in addition to providing feedback
and advice, helped recruit the research team. Seema Rathod and
Amin Venjara provided similar support in recruiting our high-
caliber team.
I am indebted to the great many mentors, colleagues, and well-
wishers who have encouraged my decade-long passion for the GCC
and global strategy. Many mentors at Harvard University, most
notably Dr. S. Nazim Ali and Thomas D. Mullins, provided me access
to Gulf business leaders very early in my career. Hatim Alireza, Taha
Abdul-Basser, Abbas Kanji and Majid Jafar, dear friends from
Harvard, have encouraged my GCC work tremendously. HSBC
Amanah, The Boston Consulting Group, the Harvard Business
School, the Monitor Group, and Creative Good were all pivotal in
shaping a passion for strategy and for thought leadership. I am espe-
cially grateful to the Middle East leadership team of BCG—Tom
Lewis, Zafar Momin, and Tom Bradtke—for enabling me to work
with inspiring GCC clients on a fascinating set of strategic issues.
Iqbal Khan, founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, has been a cher-
ished mentor and enabler of my Gulf-related efforts. Iqbal’s values-
based leadership has been a powerful source of inspiration for over
a decade. I thank Iqbal for the countless lessons that his example
and his words have taught me over the years. His enthusiasm for
this book has been heartwarming.