Should you ever happen to spy Maalouf at one of the 22 Casper & Gambini’s operations in six countries, you may mistake him for a quiet and conscientious customer. Seeing him at work, you could be forgiven for thinking him a bit too exacting and extremely contained, “Unfortunately, a lot of people think that I am too serious and it is something I do criticise myself for,” he says, “and sometimes I think that I do need to let loose more.” In times of leisure, Maalouf enjoys spending time with his family, especially his daughter and son; Sky aged almost three and six-month-old Troy respectfully. He is also passionate about the movies, wanting a business deal he is working on to succeed so, “I would have enough money to play with to produce a movie, documentary or something for TV,” he says.
There is more than a hint of the unconventional to the young ceo. You can’t judge this book by its cover. Tall, clean shaven and with short black hair sprinkled with the odd white strand, his attire gives the impression of him being more of a computer programmer than a regional business guru – Maalouf graduated from the American University of Beirut with a B.Sc. in Computer Science and helped set up the graphics department at the Xerox Centre in Beirut before his sister Annette cajoled him into managing a small sandwich delivery shop in Achrafieh. “It was a risk. I even took a massive salary cut. But I think that it is the Lebanese nature to take risks and I am not the nine-to-five type of employee anyway,” he explains.
Spending time with Maalouf in his impeccable office which he named ‘The Beach’ because it “is a pleasant environment to work in,” it’s hard to mistake his sense of ease and his modest confidence for anything other than someone at peace with himself. Maalouf is an extremely pleasant person, intelligent, wise and not overly preoccupied with the material side of life. Having created and built an innovative and successful business, he now has time to spend exploring his most recent passions: Italian cuisine and wines.
He is also an unconventional traveller. Refusing to be follower, he looks to the details of a trip, seeing it as a journey. “My approach to travel would not be of the typically tourism kind. I would like to go to a city, rent an apartment and mingle with the locals. I would like to go places maybe that others wouldn’t think of. For instance, going to The North Pole and spending time there when there is only darkness throughout the day,” says Maalouf.
“So, you do have a sense of adventure,” I ask believing that I had finally managed to shatter that cool, calm and collected veneer he assumes when talking business. Maalouf leans back in his chair and clearly states for the record, “I have always wanted to go to an airport and decide then and there where to travel to. It hasn’t happened yet though,” he says with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.
7am – 12pm Room To Plan
Maalouf prefers to get to bed late and sleep in during the early morning hours. He will spend an hour or so with his children before occasionally dropping his daughter off to school. The first couple of hours at work are spent thinking and planning the day, “I like to have a couple of hours to myself when I get to the office which is usually at about 8.30am. It gives me the space to think.” Now that Casper &Gambini’s daily operations are running smoothly, he has more time to focus on strategy and marketing. Morning meetings generally start at 10am.
1pm – 6pm Work Over Lunch
“For lunch, I try to spend 80 per cent of my time outside of the office. I take the chance to oversee the operations at Casper & Gambini’s outlets,” he says. There is an expression that Maalouf believes best describes his working day, “Breakfast in Kuwait, Lunch in Jeddah and Dinner in Beirut.” Previously not too interested in food itself, he has come to enjoy Italian dishes.
6pm – 12midnight Family Only
Rushing home to spend time with his children before they go to bed, Maalouf also schedules time at the gym, “I am not really into bodybuilding but I have realised working out can relieve a lot of stress,” he says. “I tried yoga once thinking that it would automatically relax me only to discover it is quite a painful discipline.” Three nights a week, Maalouf whisks his wife, Shirine, off to dinner or a movie.
Movie Favourite “I really identify with Dead Poet’s Society because it promotes the ideas of seizing the day and never giving up.”
Names “I really believe that a first name adds to a person’s character. For my daughter Skye, for instance, I want her to grow up with the idea that the sky is the limit.”
Collections “I have become increasingly interested in the Italian wines. I also collect shot glasses from every country I visit.”
Chance “I don’t believe in luck. If you prepare yourself for an opportunity and if the time is right, I think that you can achieve anything that you want.”
Work “I would tell my kids that it doesn’t matter what people think. They should think and dream big and follow their intuition.”
Life “Sometimes it is easy to slip into your daily routine. But life passes by so quickly. It is important to step back and look at the whole picture and enjoy what you are doing.”
