Home Coming
A large number of Omani professionals like bankers, advocates and business consultants who could have made it big in foreign countries have instead chosen to come to the land of their fathers. Visvas Paul D Karra finds out why

When Wasfi Jamshid Al Said walked into Polyglot Institute some years ago, it would have been construed that he came to enroll for one of the several training courses. But everyone was taken aback when he expressed his desire to join the Arabic language training course. The staff and students had a mixture of amusement and amazement written large on their faces, because Wasfi is not an expatriate but a true blue Omani, complete in a flowing white disdasha and masar. And certainly their eyes would have popped out had they known he is of the royal family.
Yet, there are many Omanis like Wasfi for whom Arabic would have sounded like greek for a major part of their life because they lived abroad. This new breed of professionally qualified persons, who had a chance to make their name, fame and money in the west, turned around and homed in on their roots and have entrenched themselves firmly here.

One may suspect that Oman is an obvious choice for these people, simply because it is their own country. However there is more to it than meets the eye.

Give more of yourself
Wasfi came to Oman armed with several degrees in financial management and worked with the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) for almost a decade before becoming the deputy general manager and head of investment banking at National Bank of Oman in June this year. Thirtysix-year-old Wasfi was born and brought up in Portsmouth, England after his parents moved there in 1964. His father was a great believer in education who always felt that anyone can take everything from a man but not his education. Wasfi obtained two degrees in European Business from the European Centre for Corporate Management in Spain and University of Portsmouth.

So what was ticking in Oman that made Wasfi to come here and stay put. One of the things that drove Wasfi to Oman was the passion for the country. “I don’t think I can say that I came here thinking that I could contribute more than the next man or woman but it was that I could give more of myself here than in the UK,” says Wasfi. Ofcourse he misses the UK but at a more primordial and emotional level, this is his place.

Wasfi came here, virtually with a blank column in his CV, not knowing Arabic and not knowing where to begin. But his gut feeling was that this was the place he was going to be in. By the grace of god, he met someone who was indeed searching for a person with sound financial skills and that is how he landed at SGRF. It was an incredible feeling waking up everyday to know that he was contributing something to the wealth of a nation. But it was a great responsibility which he fulfilled it with élan. Wasfi recalls one of Gandhiji’s quotes to reinforce his views, saying: “most of what you do will be insignificant, but you must do it.”

Safe grounds
His Majesty’s wise policies which have earned the country the reputation of being the most peaceful state in the region is, surprisingly, a key factor which has triggered an exodus to Oman of Omanis. This political setup has seen the integration of many cultures into one single unified patriotic nation irrespective of diverse ethnic cultures, languages etc. The vision of His Majesty The Sultan to ensure that the country marches into modernity while retaining its tradition and culture has permeated every aspect of the society. This has also paved the road on which the economic policies of the country have been built upon.

Almost all the regulatory bodies that govern the nation have been hailed for their far-sighted policies and strict governance that have enabled the country to remain buoyant in the face of the global meltdown. The economic success of Oman despite the financial crisis holds an attractive premise for luring back many Omanis.

Predestinated
Ghalib Al Busaidi, Director, Investments Department, SGRF is another individual whose dream was to become a banker on Wall Street. However, looking at the present financial mayhem, he declares that he would have lost his job three or four times by now had he been living in the west. “In hindsight, I think that my decision to come to Oman was destined by god because I believe in predestiny and the package in life was acceptable to me. God smiled on me by sending me to Oman,” says Ghalib.

Like Wasfi, Ghalib was born in England in a medical family. His parents moved from Oman to England in the 1960s to work there. Even though his folks wished that he take up the medical profession, Ghalib indulged big time in the London stock market. He says that perhaps he would have been the only 16-year-old who was taken seriously by stock brokers. He dabbled in penny stocks in London and bought his first sports car with the money he made there at the age of 18.

After his schooling, he went to Middlesex University and got his bachelors degree in finance and accounting and went on to get his certification in ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) for articleship for four years working for clients like Lloyds Bank, Chemical Bank, Hill Samuels etc. Those were the days when investment banks were coming into existence. In 1991, he got a call from PWC to go to either Dubai or Oman before going to Wall Street which was Ghalib’s ultimate destination.

Seeing an opportunity to learn the language and the culture of Oman, Ghalib chose the Sultanate naturally on a 2-year contract with PWC. At that time, the world was going through a sticky patch just like the present day but it was a lot less toxic and young investment bankers were losing their jobs. So Ghalib scanned the Omani newspapers and found a vacancy in SGRF and the rest as they say is history. Coming to think of it now, Ghalib says he wouldn’t have traded the Omani opportunity for anything else. “I cannot monetise the quality of life I am leading here now,” he confesses.

Values of life
For some other people like Sahar Askalan, a lawyer (Solicitor-Advocate); and Sami Ahmed Macki, managing director of Al Mashriq Hotels & Tourism the west been the place where they were able to gain learning experiences and imbibe many values in life like punctuality, empowerment, efficiency etc.

Sahar spent nearly 16 years of her life in the west both for studies and work. In England, she did her undergraduation as well as postgraduation in law from BPP Law School in England, considered as the mecca for lawyers. She then worked for Allen & Overy as well as Clifford Chance in France.

Although, she had an option of staying abroad, Sahar felt that she could contribute to the legal system of Oman. She feels that developing the standards of the Omani laws will help in bringing more foreign investments by removing ambiguities in the existing regulations. “Bringing back the western efficiency of doing business and being fluent in Arabic as well as English, makes a great difference and I feel those are the main advantages that I bring with me,” points out Sahar.

For Macki, it was the deep-rooted cultural compulsion that made him give up his career in the western hemisphere and look for something at home. Born in the US in 1974, he did his initial schooling in Oman and later went abroad for higher studies in 1992. He obtained his Mechanical Engineering Degree, did a training with BMW in Germany and worked for Oman LNG, Shell, Dow Chemical and Oman Petrochemicals Industries Company. As part of these job profiles, Sami spent nearly eight years working in places like The Hague, Spain and England. “As an Omani, the family pull was very strong on me and I decided to steer my career to be closer to the family. Moreover, having seen how things work outside of Oman, you realise you can bring back a lot of valuable insight. You realise you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to adapt our experiences to the existing system in order to continue the development of our country,” says Sami.

Then there are diehard patriots like Omar Adli Al Sharif, Director, Assurance/ Business Advisory Services, PWC who studied and worked in London before coming back to Oman. He believes that there is nothing like the love of his own country. But having foreign exposure can give you an advantage in order to succeed in life because the knowledge you gain when you live or work abroad, be it work-specific or not, can add value to your job back home, he quickly points out. According to Omar, “The business environment is good here, the family is here and most of all this is my country. And when the country is offering youngsters good opportunities why shouldn’t we come back.”

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