Chapter 83\ And you too…

I was invited to become a founder member of the Dubai World Trade Club when it was established in 1979. The founder members were selected by nationality and representing Lebanon were two members: Adib Nadar of Abela and myself. The club had a monthly members’ lunch, which was a great opportunity for newcomers to Dubai to meet. At one of these lunches, a gentleman named Manu Chhabria, the owner, and CEO of Jumbo Electronics, sat next to me. After we had completed our introductions, I found out that my next-seat neighbor was the agent for Sony. When Chhabria found that I was in advertising and I was the affiliate of Saatchi & Saatchi, he seemed to find in me an answer to one of his not-so-easy-to-achieve wishes. He instantly asked if I could arrange a meeting with Maurice and Charles Saatchi. Obviously, I had to enquire about the reason for such a meeting and Chhabria was frank and forthcoming. He explained that he was most impressed by how the Saatchi brothers had helped to change the fortunes of the Conservative Party in Britain and propel Margaret Thatcher to 10 Downing Street. That was why he wanted to persuade the Saatchis to partner with him in India, as he was keen to offer Rajiv Gandhi their services, with the hope of making him India’s prime minister.

I explained that Saatchi & Saatchi were already present in India in the form of an affiliation agreement with an agency called Sista’s Advertising, which had been introduced to Saatchi & Saatchi by BA at the same time as Intermarkets. Chhabria instantly responded, saying he was ready to buy this agency. I realized that I was becoming entangled in a matter that I had no influence over and consequently arranged a meeting for him at Charlotte Street.

At the following club meeting, Chhabria rushed to sit next to me and thank me warmly. He had returned to Dubai fascinated by his meeting with Maurice Saatchi. Following his one-hour meeting, he had emerged impressed by Saatchi’s charismatic character, but more with the absolute sense of solidarity that Maurice had demonstrated when insisting that any work for India had to be channeled via Sista’s, even though his host adored political advertising and had shown real interest in helping to get Rajiv Gandhi elected. Then, when Gandhi won the elections, I called Chhabria and congratulated him. He laughed his heart out, insisting that he had nothing to do with the result.

In the meantime, Marc Cunningham was transferred to the Johnson & Johnson business and was replaced by a set-up that included Salim Barakat, a Lebanese who had been recruited in England, and Graham Thomas. At that time, people started coming to Intermarkets warning of an eventual divorce that was being secretly cooked at Saatchi.

In 1990, Saatchi & Saatchi announced the appointment of Ravi Arapurakal as its CEO for the Middle East. Ravi, an Indian who had worked in Kabul with the Afghan Wireless Communications Company and then with Young & Rubicam in New York and Frankfurt, embarked on a tour of the Intermarkets network. When he left, we registered mixed reactions from our general managers. Some disliked his contrived attempt to speak with an American accent and his never-ending stories about his experience in the US. Others liked his blunt language and direct approach, feeling these to be directional signs to a new world and a promise of promotion from regional to international.

In March 1991, Intermarkets organized a regional meeting for its managers at the Semiramis Intercontinental in Cairo. As we had often done, we used the services of American Express to arrange the “meet and assist” for our delegates. I then returned to Cairo three months later for a meeting with Captain Hassan Hamdi, the chairman of Al Ahram Advertising Agency. As I walked into Cairo International Airport’s terminal one, I was greeted by Salem, the American Express executive who had always met us. After the traditional Egyptian welcome, Salem asked who else was coming that day, as only five of the Intermarkets people had already arrived. Salem being quite talkative, continued enquiring – to my surprise – why our regional meetings were held so frequently. Not wanting to sound uninformed, I asked him, in a casual tone, who else had already arrived, to which he mentioned Ramsay Najjar, Eli Khoury, Joe Ayash and one more gentleman who seemed to be Indian.

As soon as I reached my hotel room, I instantly called Erwin Guerrovich in Geneva, where he was being hospitalized. Erwin assured me that none of our people had contacted him recently and he had not authorized any Cairo trips that I did not already know about. He asked me not to be anxious about what Salem said, as he could be mistaken. I hung up and went down to the reception to find that all the names mentioned by Salem had already checked into the same hotel. It was a Friday, and my appointment was set for the next day. It was lunchtime, so I went around all the hotel restaurants looking for the suspects. All food outlets were packed with hotel residents and Egyptian families enjoying their day out. I was about to give up my search when I remembered The Ambassador Club on the mezzanine floor. I had ignored it, thinking that people would not be using the hotel bar at that time of day. I pushed the door open to find the place completely empty except for a lonely round table in a dark corner. There I saw Ravi Arapurakal addressing Intermarkets’ seniors, who all seemed to be listening attentively.

My blood began to boil as I stormed to their table and, in an aggressive tone, asked Ramsay Najjar, the most senior of the group, to step outside. Ravi interrupted Ramsay’s response, arrogantly telling me that it was the weekend, and my colleagues were free to engage in private meetings. Sarcastically, Ravi suggested that I wait for them to finish. I walked back to my room expecting Ramsay Najjar to call, but he never did. I shared my discovery with Erwin and spent a sleepless night planning the wisest way to announce the firing of these three defectors before they announced their plot. I spent the rest of that long night planning how and when I would be able to lead Intermarkets in finding replacements for BA and P&G.