By Tarek Aldabaa
Serdar Toktamis joined Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros, popularly known as AAB, as the Chief Executive Officer three months ago. Qatar is not a new country for him. Serdar, who brought a wealth of experience from the global automotive industry to AAB Group, knows Qatar and its people well before he joined the company through his frequent trips to Doha, which gave him opportunity to interact with the country’s influential business community.
In a freewheeling chat, Toktamis shares his experience and future plans for AAB Group, one of the biggest and most important companies in the local market. He is confident that AAB will continue to remain as the market leader in Qatar. Toktamis stated the Group has a great association with its principal partner Toyota Motor Corporation which has provided tremendous support to AAB’s business operations. The Group consists of strong shareholders, a professional and committed management team and dedicated operational teams.
In the one-one-one interview Toktamis also talks about his love and enthusiasm for the industry and his vision to take AAB to the next level of success. Below is the excerpt:
First let us have an idea about the beginning of your career in the automotive sector and the important stages that influenced your path of success?
I started my automotive career in early ‘90s (1992) with Toyota Turkey. I have been in the automotive industry for about 24 years and since then I still have the same enthusiasm and love for the industry. Hopefully I will also be with the Toyota brand until I retire.
Major turning point in my career was my meeting with Abdul LatifJameel (ALJ) group in 1999 and after joining the group things changed significantly for me, where I spent around 14 years in the region namely in Saudi Arabia and Oman. I gained a lot of experience in many countries in the GCC and dealing with the various brands such as Toyota, Nissan and other leading American and European automobile brands. Over that period of time, I had the blessings to work with many diverse nationalities and had the opportunities to interact with people from different cultures.This I believe has helped me to develop one of my strengths to work with different cultures and its people.
Meanwhile, having gone through the global meltdowns in Asia in the late 1990’s and in 2008 (which also affected this region) also presented many challenges and all these exposures helped me to build significant experience.
Have you ever faced difficulties while restructuring/ rehabilitating any of the companies that you took over previously?
Firstly, I do not think the word restructuring or rehabilitating is the appropriate word to use in this instance. This word can be misunderstood as it implies that a lot of things have been done to make the changes like people, process etc. I would use the word adapting to the circumstances, to changes.
I have been with four major companies in the past that did not require restructuring as they are all good and this includes AAB. We have great people and management team. I think it is very wrong to consider restructuring AAB. However, there are times when the management team needs to adapt to economic circumstances or other circumstances.
These changes though can only be done with your team when everyone on board. The team needs to discuss, strategise, plan and execute together. The whole team needs to work together for success. At the end, we are on a ship that has a destination. If we need to change anything we do it together. My aim is to lead the team so we can head to our destination together. That’s how I did it in the past and how I will continue. I don’t believe in restructuring.
Do you support and advocate the idea or the management school theory that is based on getting rid of the current administrative system and restructure your own system or you just advocate the long run strategy based on substitution and renewal?
I don’t believe in restructuring in that sense. It’s not my style. Everyone has their own value. We need to bring the best of the individual to the surface so that people can deliver and achieve the results we want to achieve. As leaders in this company, we need to do this so we all enjoy greater success.
I try not to make significant changes and at first, I try to win people over. To be a stronger company, we need good people and we have good people anyway. Together- we become stronger and have the chance to become greater. If some people decide to leave, then it is their choice. I don’t like losing good people by all means.
How was the way you perceived the world of business in Qatar before your appointment as a CEO of the biggest local automotive company and head of one of the largest groups of company in Qatar? Have you changed your viewpoint and perception after two months you spent here dealing with people and the world of business?
Of course it’s natural for a person to have perceptions on something that he/she doesn’t know through what they have read and seen. But being in the region for 14 years, I had the opportunity to visit Qatar many times prior to my appointment both for business and pleasure and had the chance to interact with the business community in the country. So, before joining, I had an idea about the country, the business and the economy and it was very positive for me. After joining, nothing has dramatically changed. So in that sense I have been fortunate to know about the country and its people beforehand.
How do you assess the experience of separating the management from the shareholder in a family company?
AAB is currently a family owned company and will continue to be the same for years to come. The only difference now is that the family will be at Board level and has allowed a professional management team to carry the flag in order to successfully take the job forward and they are very keen to ensure that the business continues its success as it has been experiencing. I don’t see any separation apart from the day to day operations managed by the professional team. There is not much difference from how it used to be. It is important that we have the family as well to support the business.
Do you think that as you are the head of the biggest automotive company in Qatar during a critical economic phase caused by oil price crisis you will resort to the implementation of an unconventional strategy to successfully overcome this situation?
I do not see AAB going through any unconventional strategies. Yes, There is a global economic slowdown not only in Qatar and has been going on so for a while. These are difficult days which may continue for a while. To date, we have been doing well and based on current research, our market share is as strong as it has been in the previous years. Maybe compared to previous years we are selling less products but overall, the company is in good shape. From the market point of view, things have changed because of the oil and gas prices are being on a low. Over the last several years, this region particularly, was experiencing an abundant of income and was also spending at the same rate. Now I believe the economies and the income is more stable and the countries in the region are adjusting and stabilising. My observation is that it’s a transition period now after a while, things will go to being normal as the region will continue to grow.
You have assumed a plenty of leadership position in different companies in the region, what could you say about your current experience as CEO of Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros. CO?
In a way, I have already answered this question. Again, I knew of the AAB group before I joined and knew its successful track record over the past 50 years. It’s a company of great successes and great history. This to me reflects that the company has a good set of people. Everyone in this group consisting of its shareholders, Board of Directors and employees deserve the acknowledgement and credit for their contribution to this successful track record. I am proud to be part of this team and to lead this group now for our future success.
How do you think you are going to manage a group of companies of different sectors?
What’s the difference if I manage this company or that company? I believe it’s all the same thing and does not matter what line of business it is in. My previous job in Oman for example, we had five different companies and one of them was similar to our AAB Commercial & Industrial portfolio of construction equipment. At the end of the day it’s about managing the company and managing the team. Whether it is one company or many companies in the same or different sector, my role remains the same — which is to manage and to lead. As such, I don’t see any difference.
The Peninsula
