Sport and family sustain YahSat chief

YahSat chief executive Masood Sharif Mahmood enjoys spending time with his young daughter outside of work. But he admits it's hard to carve out a balance between his career and his home life.

Masood Sharif Mahmood says the secret to succcess is having passion for what a person is doing. Lee Hoagland / The National

Masood Sharif Mahmood was appointed chief executive of the UAE satellite operator YahSat in July last year. Before joining YahSat he worked as vice president of Mubadala’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) unit, where he was in charge of corporate strategy and asset management of all assets under ICT such as du, EMTS and Injazat. The Emirati has also served for more than decade at a number of government and semi-government entities in the UAE, such as Dubai Holding.

What are your favourite things to do on the weekend?

For me, my relaxation time is time with the family, I try as much as I can to spend time with the family, with my daughter and the extended family. As much as I can I try to exercise as well, whenever my schedule permits, which helps take my mind off work. A long time ago I was given the advice to be able myself to switch off once in a while, but, honestly, if you ask me if I ever fully switch off, I find it something that’s very hard to do.

What do you consider to be your favourite hobby?

I like to try new things all the time. Travel, especially new places, that’s something I’m very passionate about when my schedule permits. I also like trying new sports, the new skill element in things like skiing, snowboarding, golf.

What can’t you live without?

If you’re asking me what’s most important to me, without doubt it’s my family. If you’re talking about in my professional life, it’s hard to get away from the technology that surrounds us these days, particularly my BlackBerry.

What do you consider the secret to your success?

I think it’s having a passion for what you do, but also focusing on the people element. All through my life I’ve had good managers and good mentors who showed me how to get a multiplier effect, and in turn how to get the best out of people. It’s really about a focus on people. It may sound like a cliché, but it can make all the difference.

What advice would you offer entrepreneurs or others starting out in your business?

My experience in my role in YahSat is very different to that of people who are starting up their own businesses. While you definitely need an entrepreneurial spirit to lead an organisation, we have a very established corporate structure in place. So we’re perhaps the other side of the coin to a new business just starting up. What I see above all is the need for a real passion for what they do. Most of the time starting and running your own business is not as exciting as it is for the 1 per cent of entrepreneurs that hit the big time and make millions. They need a passion for their work that will sustain them through the rough times, so they need to be doing something they’re passionate about. My philosophy at the core is to create a place where people are excited to come and work. It’s partly for selfish reasons, as I like to push people, and if they’re not excited about what they’re doing, I won’t be able to get the best out of them and the organisation will not be able to grow.

How do you achieve a work-life balance?

With difficulty. It’s really tough to carve out such a balance. I don’t know if I’m doing a good job of it at the moment but then again I don’t have any complaints, as I really do enjoy my work. Above all, it helps if you have the right people around you to support you.

How do you relax after the working day?

I’ll go home and watch some sport on TV, go on the net to see what’s happening in the news and what’s going on locally. But mainly it’s time with the family, playing with my young daughter.

If you weren’t chief executive of this company, what else would you be doing?

I think I would have been a teacher. I enjoy putting structure and explaining things to people, making them easier to understand. I enjoy uncluttering things, and making things simpler for people.

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