The age-old idiom ‘behind every successful man is a strong woman’ no
longer rings as true as it used to. There are some men that are managing to
move mountains on their own while still having a choice of damsels. Rana
Ballout talks to pioneering investment banker Tarek Haffar about focus,
success, marriage and power.
What makes a successful bachelor, I ask myself, as I enter Tarek Haffar’s massive 21st-floor apartment overlooking Beirut’s Raouche. For a winter afternoon, the sky is awesomely icy blue and at this elevated vantage point, you can catch the deceptively warm Mediterranean sun playing a game of hide-and-seek with the sea as it sprinkles its reflections on the lapping waves. It must be one-hell-of-a-ride to be 35-years-old, successful, self-made and sitting on top of the world – well atop Pigeon Rock, at least.
Haffar is gracious, generous and a little unnerved by the prospect of the interview. “This is my first real interview,” he makes a point of telling me as I sit on one of two classically beige Ralph Lauren leather couches, “I’ve never done this before,” he beams. You may also have seen Haffar in 2006 representing Merrill Lynch over 13 episodes on Al Arabiya's Portfolio economic programme.
Though not a commonly known name in regular circles, Haffar is a rising star in the investment banking industry and – curiously for a region and sector that traditionally prides itself on family values as part of a banker’s advancement – he’s a single one at that. Within the space of ten years, he has grown from being an investment advisor at Merrill Lynch in Beirut and then London, becoming the powerhouse’s first vice-president for global investments before being poached by Credit Suisse First Boston as its managing director for investments in the region. “It actually took one-year-and-a-half of negotiations,” admits Haffar somewhat shyly. “I don’t like to change much. It’s contrary to my understanding of success.”
Born of a mixed Syrian-Chechen heritage, Haffar spent most of his childhood between military school in Damascus, where he claims to have been somewhat of “a geek” and his father’s farm. The Haffars are one Syria’s biggest landowning families, but government policy stipulated that the lands could not be liquidated during his youth. Today, the Haffar lands have appreciated by 200 per cent and will host of some of Syria’s largest development projects. “It [my life] was very routine and simple. Instead of
going to Switzerland, I went to the farm. And from there I learned that I
needed to be independent to really succeed,” he admits.
There is much to be said about Haffar. A man that has, in a short space of time, reached heights that many men his age can only dream of, not least owning a Range Rover, a Ferrari and his favourite, an Aston Martin Vanquish, which I instinctively refer to as a ‘chick-magnet’ and which he acerbically dismisses with a few curt words.
Over the next couple of hours, I find Haffar to be surprisingly candid yet very controlled. A man that has come to a cross-roads in his life professionally and personally. He breaks out into a bright white smile every so often and even a sardonic laugh when I try to ask him questions relating to business investments for 2008. (Credit Suisse pulled the plug on those in return for the interview, according to Haffar). But for the most part, he is a very serious person, compelling, driven, multifaceted and philosophical.
His plans also include sponsoring a scholarship at his alma mater, the American University of Beirut, as well as creating university seminars throughout Lebanon on post-graduate skills. A star with the force of a meteor, perhaps?
Rana Ballout You made it big in a short space of time, how did you manage that?
Tarek Haffar I work in a very condensed way. I stayed in one job. I was focused and
specialised. I am extremely motivated and I was blessed in the sense that I picked up [on] a trend. I always thought ‘aim big, think big'’. Being specialised and making a vertical integration of your knowledge and sharpening your competitive advantages is key. I focused, ever since the early 1990s, on venture capital and worked with the private equity
department [at Merrill Lynch] and managed to raise billions of USD mainly from the Middle East. I also focused on the Islamic portion of that business which has grown. We did very well for our investors. I think we did something unparalleled.
Did this success surprise even you?
We knew it was good. But the global environment was even better.
How did you manage such success?
It’s a competitive industry certainly. But you really have to know your strengths and your weaknesses.
What are your strengths?
I’m a tough negotiator. I study my counterpart very well. I believe in a win-win situation. I am a confrontational person but with a positive attitude. I am not pretentious by wanting people to believe that I got my way. I don’t care. Let people believe the other party got their way. I always respect people who work for me, whether they are older or younger and the same goes for my clients. I always put myself in their shoes. I never believe in a quick sell, I always believe in a relationship. I don’t have the investment banker mentality of ‘one deal and that's it’. No. I believe in the deal but I believe in the next deal and the one after. I want to become the benchmark for these people. It has paid off in a very good way. I made the move from Merrill Lynch to Credit Suisse about six months ago. And
I moved out of London to Dubai for tax reasons. When it comes to my work environment – and despite its ruthless nature – I try to make it as pleasant as possible for the people I work with. I try to make it simple and easy and not to waste time. And to think of the big picture.
And your weaknesses?
I try to detach myself emotionally but sometimes it’s hard. I have a sensitive side to my character. Another is that sometimes I ask too much of myself and if I don’t achieve it, I reproach myself. Sometimes I over-expect which is bad. Another weakness that I have tried to overcome in the last year was being a workaholic. I lost my inner-balance. So I have taken the resolution that, inshallah, I will be able to always keep an equilibrium
between my work, my family, my emotional life and my physical life which is
sports and activities. And whenever the equilibrium tilts, it will always do so in a negative way. This industry if full of sharks and you have to be a
shark. But if you don’t put a stop-lock mechanism you get sucked into all
these numbers which makes millions of dollars which is beautiful but if you
don’t have the savoir-vivre or the time to enjoy it and appreciate the wealth you made, then it means nothing. Sharing in your success is the most important aspect of it.
What impression do you think you have left your former co-workers with?
I hope it’s a good one. I think I won their respect on a personal and professional level. Actually they have all left Merrill Lynch and some are now with Credit Suisse.
You have read the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers, which one applies best to the Middle East?
Unfortunately, people in this part of the world respect another man based on how influential or powerful he is and in my opinion that’s bad.
If there was a 49th Law, one you would create, what would it be?
Forgive and forget.
Really? How is that powerful?
The biggest power in the world is to forgive and forget. If you have negative in you, it will affect you. It’s the laws of attraction, as demonstrated in Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative, even in the workplace. It’s hard to [forgive and forget] but it is possible. It’s made harder by the simple fact that in my work life, my guard is up. And in my personal life, I let my guard down.
When you think of the word bachelor, what comes to mind?
A real man is not the man who can sleep with a hundred women, but it is the
man that can get that woman to come back and sleep in his bed over a hundred
times. It’s all bullshit. The stereotypical bachelor who is surrounded by beautiful women all the time is compensating for something he has lost, which is love. Every bachelor who looks happy really, in most cases, isn’t.
What is happiness?
Self-recognition is real happiness, finding someone you appreciate and
appreciates the man in you is happiness. Finding success in a way that makes you feel
accomplished is happiness. Buying a nice house or a car or travel is happiness, but it means nothing if you don’t have someone you love to share it with.
So, if you are so romantic, why aren’t you married yet?
I went into every relationship with the intention of getting married. I was even engaged at the age of 24. But unfortunately, none of them worked out. There were some exogenous factors. The problem with marriage is that you are also marrying each other’s families so there are lots of factors to the equation. Sometimes the devil lies in the details. A woman can make or break a man. I am not scared to get married. [But] the problem with men is that we compare the unconditional love we have with our mothers to the conditional one we have with the women in our lives. It’s a dilemma we face: to transfer the
unconditional love into a conditional one.
You seem to be a man that is difficult to please.
No. I would just like to respect the woman I am with. She needs to have respect for herself. Building respect for someone is one of the most difficult things to do. I like to feel her positive vibes and her innocence. I also look at how she treats herself and her family. I don’t like a woman that is easy to get. And I hate women who are materialistic.
But it seems you're living a wonderful bachelor life. These days you don’t need to get married to enjoy the pleasures of life, do you?
You know, it’s a very thin line. Now you can have and do what you want. Just like that, I stopped drinking two years ago.
Do you always do things in such extremes?
Yes. One of the reasons that I stopped drinking was to stop myself from becoming the wild excessive bachelor and to be able to land a serious relationship. Whenever you're going out excessively you can’t get into a serious relationship. I mean there is nothing more satisfying than finding that woman that looks up to you as a hero. Going out with a beautiful or good looking girl just doesn't scratch the surface.
Which celebrity do you most aspire to?
George Clooney. I love his calmness, attitude, his male confidence and the
classical look. I consider myself to be a classical man.
What was your biggest moment?
When I was 15-years-old I contracted meningitis and I was in a coma for 53
days. I died and came back. So the biggest moment was when I was told that I
was going to live without any handicaps. Now, I am a very health conscious
person.
Why is Muai Thai your martial art of choice?
Because it reflects the way that I think. Total and full body contact. It is the most brutal contact [sport] and the strongest martial art ever. I broke my nose three times and some bones in one of my fingers. I had to have reconstructive surgery.
So, are you brutal?
If I am pushed, yes.
But don’t you have to forgive and forget?
Sometimes I teach a lesson beforehand.
Where would you put your money in 2008?
I am a believer in real estate and private equity. All the opportunities are
there, especially in emerging markets.
Do you think of setting up your own business?
Not now but in ten years the time should be right.
Do you believe yourself to be a visionary in your work?
Yes. Because I always find solutions for the problems we face. The clients
need to have the big deals and this is what I aim for. The profit margins
are great. These deals made my clients, the company and myself a success. I
never wasted energy going after the small deals. I focused on the big cash
flow.
What do you think of local investment groups like Mubadala that are growing
rapidly?
The market is big enough for everyone to grow. The pie is becoming bigger.
Based on how competitive and professional they are, they will become bigger. To each his own.
Is there a correlation between youth and accomplishment?
No. It’s a matter of the energy levels that you have and how competitive you
are.
What’s your dream?
To enjoy what I have without it being interrupted by the Heavens.
