Moving from the Alameddine building in the heart of Hamra to the Homsi building on Damascus Road in Downtown Beirut was a challenging experience for the HIMA team. We were huddled in a much smaller office and a very informal surrounding. The sheer fact that we had to walk along a lengthy corridor to get to our own rooms, then had to climb a staircase to brief our creative teams, felt so different. All of this was coupled with the fact that whenever our paths crossed that of our big new boss, Erwin Guerrovich, we waited in vain for our morning greetings to be reciprocated. The fact that this rarely happened created a stark contrast to Raymond Hanna and Nahi Ghorayeb, whose loud calls greeted each of us as we walked into HIMA’s office early every morning.
In brief, this felt like alien territory, which I was personally keen to conquer the moment I realized that HIMA’s corner gossip was becoming more intense by the minute. My AUB experience had taught me to avoid shying away and re-trenching in such situations. On the contrary, one needs to step forward and introduce oneself, in a pleasant manner, to the earlier residents. It became instantly clear that Guerrovich was to be left to my two earlier bosses – his new partners – at this early stage.
My focus turned in the direction of Darwish Massoud, the old hand at MEMAS, and the only employee who walked into Guerrovich’s office without knocking on the door. Becoming the buddy of this fellow, I felt, could be the door opener for my entry into MEMAS’s gated den.
Massoud was a typical Beiruti in his mid-50s, which made him older than my two bosses, Raymond Hanna, and Nahi Ghorayeb. He was known to be the best client at the Iwan Maktabi Carpet Gallery, as he had the habit of walking in every mid-December to buy Persian carpets in large numbers. These would be presented as New Year gifts to the clients of MEMAS and even his previous employers at KFF, based on the conviction that every man had a price. This assumption seems to have applied particularly to the expatriate representative of the big multinational companies.
Pan Am had its regional office in Beirut and was responsible for all the airline’s general sales agents across the Middle East up to Iran. During the first year of Intermarkets, a huge display unit was received from the US, which was to be installed at the main sales office of Hull Blyth & Araouzos, Pan Am’s general sales agent in Cyprus.
Intermarkets was instructed to ensure safe delivery and proper assembly of the different components so that the showpiece delivered an impactful image of the airline to the Cypriot travelling public. Massoud felt that the young newcomer who was fluent in English would be the perfect person to handle the task, and this is how I had my first practical interaction with him, as he briefed me before I flew to Famagusta with my bulky accompanying luggage. On arrival, a young Cypriot who I instantly realized to be an AUB alumnus, since he was wearing my university ring, welcomed me. This turned out to be an instant bonding opportunity as we chatted on our way to the Ledra Hotel, where Hull Blyth & Araouzos had booked me a room. Markos joined me for breakfast on the terrace early the next morning, then we drove to the company’s main sales office close to Famagusta’s port, where a team of assistants and a carpenter were waiting for our arrival.
While I was being introduced to the general manager, the wooden boxes that contained the display unit were opened and the assembly work started without waiting for my instructions. By the end of the day the display unit was perfectly assembled and operated, which seemed to attract crowds of passers-by. Markos had also arranged to have a photographer on standby, so all the photos I needed to take back to Beirut with me had already been taken. This allowed me a free day on the island and Markos acted as my driver and tourist guide, showing me Nicosia, Paphos and the Troodos Mountains in a whirlwind tour.
Back at Intermarkets on Monday, as I presented a bottle of St Georges Keo Commandaria dessert wine to Darwish Massoud, the entire HIMA group gathered around to welcome back their hero, who had demonstrated to the merger skeptics what our young blood could bring to the distinguished but ageing agency.