Custer Taming the Indians....

Please take no offence in this weeks blog title (surprisingly it took over two years for my first blog title apology...lol), but I have been trying to blend into my Indian dominated company (Just shy of 1,000 employees, approximately 900 of which are of Indian Nationality), and this week I feel like I have made some good progress. The customers are responding well, and so are the sales people in the corporation.
There is a new British Seafood Chain coming to the UAE. It is a white table cloth restaurant that is opening it's first Mideast eatery in the financial district in downtown Dubai. We hosted the "Chef Team" at our retail outlet http://goodliving.gulfnews.com/GoodLiving_Planner/planner-details?pid=1027&display=1
and they enjoyed the fresh juices and seemed to get really excited about our fresh Ice Creams that are made from our fresh juices and Camel's milk (I had a nice Camel Milk Vanilla Ice Cream myself). Then we took them on a tour of our Fruit and Vegetable Market. Trying to tie the 7 total Barakat managed companies together- concentrating on the three that I am responsible for, has been a challenge that I am just beginning to understand the magnitude of.
You must remember my friend and former Transmed employee Vineet Varma.(Known affectionately as Winny The Pooh) He has joined one of our sister companies (Mehtab Produce) and I am responsible to try and aid his development of a "Restaurant Channel" in a company that mostly sells to Hotels and Grocery stores. He accompanied the tour interjecting his good humor and much like me listening and learning also.

Good ole Vinny the Pooh is now the Sales Manager and is really excited about his opportunity. I am quite proud of him. Our Business Development manager from Barakat Fruits and Vegetables (Jitesh - Not the same one from Kenny Rogers Food service Fame-lol) Led the Tour and is quickly showing himself to be a integral member of my team.

Jitesh is on the left in the above, and was feeding California grown grapes to our guests from one of our coolers. We continue to have running jokes about how superior the American Fruit is, but I am quite happy with the tone of our employees. Jitesh is in his early 30's and has been with the company for 11 years. Very Professional and just a good guy.
Wrapping the business blog, Kumail finished his last day at Transmed, and he will be joining our Food service Restaurant team as soon as his Visa is ready (hopefully within a week). JR(Baraket CEO) and RK (Barakat International GM) have left for a quick trip to Morocco. There are a lot of short Regional trips for business opportunities, but with the Regional unrest - I am sitting on the sidelines keeping hunkered down in Dubai.
I was privileged to share a nice dinner with Kelly on Wednesday at a nice Italian Eatery near my office. Kelly has started at ACE Hardware and she is loving it so far. She fly's to Chicago for a couple of weeks of training tonight. I am so happy for her. It is very rewarding to be a friend and mentor for her, and I can't wait for her career successes to pile up. She has come such a long way in two short years, and I cherish her happiness.
The pending Israeli/Iranian conflict has seemed to paused, it feels like the "red line" the Israel talks about has been pushed to the spring. That, of course could be just a head fake to set up an element of surprise, as I have been convinced that something would happen shortly after the US elections and before Inauguration Day. Speaking of Elections, I got up early yesterday (just after 4 am sigh) to watch the debate on Fox News. Somehow, when I left for work I felt fine and refreshed, probably a lot better than our President felt. I must figure this Vote from abroad thing out. I am officially registered in Tennessee, so it is not critical (not a swing state) that my vote gets counted, but I haven't missed voting in a Presidential Election since I first voted for Ronald Reagan shortly after my 18th birthday in 1980. My how time flies....
In sports news, (sometimes this blog is as painful to write as sure as I am it is painful to read) My Cincinnati Reds are officially in the playoffs, and I can't wait to watch them hopefully plod towards the World Series. My Cowboys are certain of not losing this weekend (they have a bye - off week) lol, and are very frustrating to watch. Dan Scott's and my fantasy baseball team finished 3rd this year (made a few $$$$'s) and somehow I am still in first in the football pool (this is truly a miracle, 105 players and 20% of season done). Golf pool, Fred and I have somehow climbed into the money race. It sounds like a lot of stuff to keep up with, and yes thankfully it is. American sports and TV keep me sane and help the time to go by. Have a great week, I will try to join you in that mission.