I was born on December 12, 1971, in Goregora town (near Lake Tana), Gonder province, Ethiopia. Now, I am a father of three and principal in supporting all family and beyond. I believe in education, continuous improvement and hard work. I support many in the course of their education, as well as in establishing their own small firms. When I was young I was good at playing football; even now I am very good at it, playing with my friends at weekends. Watching football games entertains me a lot. To serve this interest of mine, we have established a football club, having three teams with 84 members (to whom we pay not only a salary, but also provide them with other fringe benefits) in the name of our company. The teams are under 13, under 15 and under 17 age groups. Encouraged by their performance and commitment, I am dedicated to helping these members (by availing resources and financing their activities).
Education
Having secured a high school diploma in radio electronics in June 1990, I was admitted to Addis Ababa University and graduated in the field of building engineering in October 1994. I am the first person in my family to attend education in a university. Back then higher education institutions in Ethiopia had to accept very few students; joining a university was seen as an awestruck moment not just for the family but also for neighbors and the surrounding community. Contrary to what we have achieved as a country today, securing a pass grade on leaving high school during our days was not a guarantee to have access to higher education.
Continuing my education I did a Bachelor of Art degree in Organizational Management at the University of Greenwich, a UK-based university, and graduated with very great distinction on September 29, 2010. Encouraged by the lessons I got in the area of business, I continued my studies with a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) at Greenwich University and successfully completed it on September 20, 2012. I was awarded with certificates for all my accomplishments.
Experience
Immediately after graduation I was employed at one of the private construction contractors and I was assigned to one of the hottest regions in Ethiopia (Afar Region). I worked as a site engineer, project manager and project coordinator from 1995 up to 1998. Throughout my employment, I was strategizing as to how I could establish my own firm. The fact that I have worked across the hierarchical levels while I was working for my employer helped me learn a lot.
Those experiences I think are the sources of my unique capabilities in managing projects of various natures and at various levels of work in progress at a time.
For the past 17 years now, I have been working as an owner/general manger of one of the leading construction companies in Ethiopia: Afro-Tsion Construction Plc.
We have many other business organizations now (those working in the manufacturing of construction materials, in import and export, as well as transportation sectors and agriculture) and I am working as a chairperson of the board of directors.
Areas of Expertise
My life is attached to construction and related activities. My special skill is my ability to quickly understand problems in the construction projects management and fix them quickly. My commitment to planning ahead of time and working so hard is paying off for me.
What have been the main lessons you have learned in your career and how do you implement them in your management?
As a general manager of a leading construction company, I learned that construction is all about managing resources. Resources such as time, human, material, equipment and financial resources need to be managed well, as failure in the proper management of one could lead to the failure of the whole operation.
In a developing country like ours, being a business leader is so challenging. It is challenging in a sense that fit-for-purpose human resources are in short supply and thus you need to invest in training people, but the turnover is high for qualified people.
The leader should actively follow up the progress and performance of each project, the proper utilization of machinery and equipment, etc.
As there are insufficient suppliers of certain construction materials at times, construction contractors like ours are forced to supply their projects by them. Subcontracting can’t be relied upon as a strategy due to their low capacity. However, there is improvement in most areas and the future is more promising and bright.
Mentors
My family and friends were and are the sources of everything, they are there to advise me, give me feedback and encouragement when it matters. My professional life started in the Deseret area of Ethiopia. Life there is more communal; such exposure gave me an opportunity to develop my communication and leadership capabilities. I learned what social life and social responsibility mean there.
The area gave me the courage to work hard and it was there that my current big company started its operations. Since the business I am in is my profession, I found it interesting and enjoyable.
Quotes
Though I don’t remember whose quote it is my favorite quote is “work hard in silence, let success make the noise”. To me it means that so long as one works hard, his or her deeds can speak a lot.
