Arab Business Leaders

Samih Toukan, Co-Founder of Maktoob.com and CEO of Jabbar Internet Group

Samih Toukan is the current CEO and Chairman of Jabbar Internet Group.  Toukan began his work in web development as a young adult, working for agencies like Andersen Consulting.  It was with Andersen that Toukan met Hussam Khoury, with whom he eventually founded Business Optimization Consultants (BOC) in 1994.  In 2000, with many years of Arabic and English web development under their belt, the two men partnered with Fadi Ghandour, the CEO of Aramex International, to launch the revolutionary Maktoob Group. 

Maktoob.com—the group’s pioneer service—offered the world’s first Arabic-based email service, and today is a leading Arabic portal with over 15 million unique visitors. Maktoob Group has since grown to be an integrated group of companies and websites. This network was sold to Yahoo! in the summer of 2009, marking one of the largest mergers in Middle East mass media history. 

Retiring from the reins at Maktoob after ten years of ground-breaking leadership, Toukan became CEO and Chairman of a new group-entity called Jabbar Internet Group. The group consists of the remaining sister companies of Maktoob Group that weren’t part of the Yahoo! deal, namely CashU, an electronic payment system; Souq.com, an online auctions forum and marketplace; Araby.com, the first Arabic search engine; Tahadi, a publisher of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG’s) targeting the Middle East and North Africa region; and Ikoo, an e-marketing business focused specifically on the MENA region.

Toukan is proud of the achievements he has made in the Arab media world and believes that the region has a good future in terms of Internet, media, and advertising.

Jacques Nasser, Chairman of BHP Billiton and Former-CEO of Ford Motor Company

Jacques “Jack” Nasser was born in Amyoun, Lebanon, in 1947 and later became a citizen of Australia.  A seasoned business executive, he is most well-known for his time as CEO of Ford Motor Company, serving from 1998 until 2001. In 2009, Nasser was nominated as Chairman of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, a position he will assume in the upcoming year. Nasser is also Managing Director of One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase.

At age 20, Nasser joined Ford Motor Company in 1968 as an analyst in its Australian unit. He moved rapidly up the management ranks and in 1973 he joined the company's global financial staff, transferring to Ford's North American Truck Operations.  Over the next several years Nasser would travel extensively, working on projects in Australia, Asia, and South America. In 1987, he became vice president for Autolatina, a joint venture between Ford and Volkswagen in Brazil and Argentina.

For Nasser, the promotions kept on coming throughout the 1990s.  He was promoted to the Chairman of the Board of Ford Europe, to Vice President of Ford Motor Company in 1993, and Group Vice President of global product development in 1994.  In 1996, he was the headed Ford Automotive Operations.  David Blackhall, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Australia who worked with Mr. Nasser over 30 years ago, says that the young Nasser was determined and focused, never leaving the office until a project was done.

On 1 January 1999, he became CEO of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. Nasser was known for his cost-effective initiatives and strategic brand and product positioning. Using the business models of companies like Dell and some of the Dot.com firms as benchmarks, Nasser sought to increase the return on Ford's invested capital. Under the banner of making Ford Motor Company "the world's number one provider of automotive products and services", Nasser purchased several adjacent businesses, such as service repair shops, extended service businesses and recycling facilities.

During his tenure at the top of Ford Motor Company, the company:
• Formed a single global enterprise, under “Ford 2000” project, that helped deliver more than a dozen consecutive quarters of improved earnings;
• Increased market capitalization more than threefold to $70 billion;
• Delivered total shareholder returns in the top 25 per cent of S&P500 companies;
• Reduced costs by more than $5bn, enabling Ford to become the world’s most profitable mass-automaker by 1999

Dr. Ray Iran, Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation

The year was 1953, and a young Ray Irani had just graduated from American University of Beirut with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.  He moved in the same year to Los Angeles, California, and at age 18 he began graduate studies in physical chemistry at the University of Southern California (USC). Just four short years later, Irani received his PhD.

Equipped with an incredible education, Irani went to work for companies like the Monsanto Company, Shamrock Corporation, and even became chief operating officer of Olin Corporation.  He was brought to Occidental in 1983 to help its struggling chemicals division, and was soon promoted to President and then CEO and Chairman of the entire Occidental Petroleum Corporation. 

Since moving to Occidental, an international oil and gas exploration and production company and major North American chemical manufacturer—Irani’s expertise has grown the company to far beyond anyone’s expectations.  By 2006, not only had Irani expanded Occidental’s revenues, but was also one of the richest CEO’s in the industry with a compensation that some estimated at around $450 million. Occidental didn’t mind.  After all, the stock price had rose from $9 a share when Irani succeeded Armand Hammer to $48.60 at the end of 2006. The company's market capitalization also grew from $32.1 billion at the end of 2005 to $42.5 billion at the end of 2006.

While Irani continues to capture headlines in Forbes and similar magazines, he is respected as a quiet and down-to-earth individual, as well as an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also vice chairman of the board of American University of Beirut, and his alma mater USC even dubbed the primary life sciences building as the Ray R. Irani Hall in 2007.

Roger Farah, President of Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.
For over 40 years the Polo Ralph Lauren brand has been synonymous with quality, confidence and class.  Roger Farah embodies every one of these traits, and looks for talented staff that can demonstrate all of these ideals in their daily work. 

Farah began his career in retail holding a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Saks Fifth Avenue, Inc. from 1975 to 1987. He had just graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and—as he’s later recalled—was ready to “go to work”.

He has since served as the CEO of Foot Locker, Inc., CEO of Federated Merchandising Services,  President and CEO of R.H. Macy & Co. Inc., and Chairman and CEO of Rich's/Goldsmith's Department Stores in the late 1980s.

Today, Farah is President and Chief Operating Officer of Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.; a position he has held since April 2000.  During his time with the company, he has headed a number of campaigns to raise the company’s profile and maintain the brand’s “classic” value while also introducing new product lines.  While that would be enough responsibility for any normal person, Farah has also developed non-retail experience throughout his professional career. He is currently a director at Aetna, Inc., a leader in American healthcare practices, and a director at The Progressive Corporation, a property & casualty insurance organization.