ABDULSALAM ABU-ISSA

What began as a core retail and distribution business, shaped by his relentlessly committed entrepreneurial vision, has grown into a successful diversified corporate entity, thanks to my grandfather’s diligence and foresight, as well as that of my father and uncles – the co-founders of Salam International – and the wisdom of our Board of Directors. And more importantly the contribution of our employees throughout the years.

During my previous tenure as Deputy Chief Operating Officer, I worked closely with all levels of management to understand the company’s potential and opportunities, as well as to identify and address risk factors. As CEO, my focus – and that of our executives and senior management – is to utilise these insights to move forward, forging and following a roadmap for SIIL that is resilient, innovative, and that creates and delivers sustainable value for our shareholders and stakeholders.

Salam, after all, is a name that is synonymous with performance and quality. Ours is a solid record of managing high growth, from our inception as the entrepreneurial success story of my grandfather, to the massive leap made by the second generation, who spearheaded Salam’s expansion beyond its core business. This includes the decision to take the company public, and to diversify from retail into power and energy, contracting and trading, real estate, technology and investment activities.

It is our plan to build even further on this exceptionally strong foundation in the years to come. Operational excellence, scale management and optimum asset utilisation are the basis of our strategic initiatives to capitalise on opportunities and to provide strong, sustainable, long-term investments that prioritise shareholder returns. Based on my role as CEO, let me share in the most brief and concise manner the target I desire to set for the Company. Our primary goal as Salam’s Management and as members of SIIL’s family at every level is to create and deliver sustainable value to our shareholders and stakeholders. we need to focus on operational excellence. in the coming years, I firmly believe that the concept of “scale management” will rise in importance. and it will be applicable to us whether we are managing the scale of risk taking, managing the scale of investment appetite or managing the scale of new opportunities.

Salam faces a compelling and exciting future, driven by our ethos of excellence. We will continue to maintain the impeccable reputation we have established, as well as our commitment to evolve and enhance relationships with our customers, suppliers, financial institutions, government and regulatory authorities, the communities in which we operate, and, of course, with our employees, who are at the beating heart of our company.

As a third-generation CEO of this family of businesses, I am immensely proud of and inspired by our company’s evolution. It has been a journey of ingenuity, agility, resilience and commitment, and, by remaining true to our values, mission and vision, we look forward to progress that will, God willing, see it pass the 100-year mark in business.