For any company, irrespective of its industry and size, cruising ahead to attain success, the role of a leader is of paramount importance. Leadership is the cornerstone of strong management in an organization; one who guides the employees in precise manner in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and ensures the overall productivity of the firm.
Mona Yousuf Almoayyed, the Managing Director of YK Almoayyed & Sons, is one such defining example of the above statement. Boasting years of industry experience, the Businesswoman and Philanthropist, Mona has been an instrumental figure in leading her family business towards success
A Change of Fortunes
After the completion of Mona’s graduation, she entered into the family business of YK Almoayyed & Sons in 1974, as part of its furniture division. Her frequent visits to furniture shows across Europe and US enabled her to improve the furniture collection of the company.
Early 90s saw her hardwork pay off as she got promoted to the automobile business. After the demise of Mona’s father, she became the Managing Director of the company; which she describes to be “the turning point of my life.” She thereby became in charge of all the sub-divisions of Almoayyed & Sons.
A Company with a Rich History
Established in 1940, YK Almoayyed & Sons is a diversified group with divisions specializing in Trading, Contracting, Concrete Products, Air-Conditioning, Toys Electronics and Home Appliances, Furnishing and High-end Luxury goods. Said to be one of Behrain’s oldest conglomerates, YK Almoayyed’s most profitable segment lies in the automobile division. From Nissan to Ford to even Renault, almost seventy per cent of its profit comes from automobile business. In addition to this, its heavy machinery division as well as the electronics, building materials, furniture, and fire alarm systems are profitable too.
The products and services of the company supports the growth of diversification of Behrain, and has even expanded its regional presence to other GCC markets. Speaking about its expansion, Mona asserts “The best decision we made was expanding the business to the GCC countries. We started electronics in Dubai and recently children toys from a Spanish brand called Imaginarium.”
With a cumulative strength of over 8,000 professional staff, Almoayyed group represents over 300 internationally acclaimed and renowned brands, including Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Renault, Sony, Bose, Jaquar, Casio, Toshiba, Nikon, among others.
Mona hopes to see the company expand further into international shores and contribute to the Bahraini society and the global poverty by helping international causes.
Industry Insights and Employee Satisfaction
“At present the retail business is suffering because of the internet shopping,” mentions Mona. The company has reduced its retail outlets and has encouraged selling projects in markets such as residential houses for middle income families, hotels, apartments and residential buildings. With the automobile sale having a major drop in 2017 and the economy suffering in general because of falling oil prices, Mona makes sure to give special attention to train its employees and encourages them to think out of the box.
Alongside this, the company pays special attention to customer satisfaction, which is the main factor behind any successful business. It also goes above and beyond to ensure employee satisfaction by offering them with different training schemes and strives to continually improve their standard of working as well as motivates them.
Balancing Professional and Personal Life as a Women
Being a woman, it is always difficult for them to create a balance between family and professional commitments, especially when one has children of young age. “We compete with men who have no family responsibilities. Today with my children grown up the balance is not so difficult. I spend most of my time at work with a few social responsibilities.”
Mona goes on and advices women to work hard and never give up, even when their boss ignores them and their efforts. “If they are good they will be successful,” she states. She continues by saying that if they have their own business, they must look at its profit side by reducing its expenses and using clear and effective marketing. “They need to know their customers thoroughly in order to satisfy them,” she adds.
I believe in giving back to the society
Mona believes in corporate social responsibility (CSR) of business and understands the need to take care of the society. “At our Y.K. Almoayyed & Sons we have an active corporate social responsibilities department. We spend a percentage of our profit every year for charity. We built many projects such as the Mohammed Almoayyed Drug Unit in Salmaniya in 1987 and Yousuf Almoayyed Nephrology and Renal transplant Centre in 1997. While in December 2001, BD 1 million was donated to expand the nephrology department at Salmaniya Medical Complex which will be used to provide operation theatres and beds at the intensive care unit for organ transplant patients and donors and help reduce the pressure on staff and the patient waiting list,” she concludes.
Source :- The 20 Most Successful Businesswoman to Watch 2018
