God remembers all, no exception is my dear and near childhood friend, Beirut’s American University classmate, family friend, and fire-forged brother and business partner at the outset of our careers; the bridge that aided me crossing to various opportunities, and above all else the kind-hearted soul of a person, who cherished goodwill and endless generosity.
Nadim Lababidi, may Allah rest his soul, was my senior when I joined the American University in Beirut; he had already moved on and became alumni as I enrolled. This did not stop our bond from growing. In fact, my classmates then – Ramzi Alamuddin (now my brother-in-law, married to my sister Bareha) and Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, may Allah rest his soul, who will become Labour Minister in Bahrain, and I could only view Nadim with a mixture of astonishment and determination. We saw greatness and accomplishments in him and we saw our future through his.
Our friendship grew stronger with the passage of time; friends turned brothers, naturally as the sibling of my brother-in-law. One day Nadim would call me with the news that he had become the manager of Cathay Pacific Airlines in Lebanon, and with a sizable budget of $2,000 a year for advertising and marketing he enlisted me to do promotion work for the company. Indeed, I began promoting Cathay Pacific Airlines with small adverts on the front page of Al Nahar newspaper.
Little did I know this small commission would be the seed to flourish greater projects between us in the future. I cannot deny the support Nadim has lent me over time. It is true, I overachieved for him, rose above his expectations, always worth earning his trust. In hindsight, it was his trust in me that allowed me to do so.
In the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, the Lebanese people found themselves caught between the dangers of staying behind and the fires of migration. For me, I had only one option, I could not be a murderer nor would I fall a victim to one, so I left and so did Nadim.
I moved to Dubai where I founded Promoseven for marketing and advertising; within six months I would get a call from Nadim with a business opportunity, as usual. He has been to Bahrain, where he would partner up with Jamil Wafa, an honest and hard-working businessman. Both aimed to make Bahrain the pivotal foundation for all business concerning the future of Cathay Airlines, an aim that would come to pass as days would prove. Nadim and Jamil were old-timers, their friendship goes back to 1955, I believe they were more brothers than friends.
In 1975, Mr Wafa would be the one to also encourage me to move my business to Bahrain, having himself what I believe to be one of the biggest corporations in the Kingdom at that time, namely Unitag Group. I would be remiss not to mention how much he as helped me set up my business in Bahrain and re-launching here.
When I came to Bahrain, I studied the advertising market. I found two main companies: Intermarkets and Gulf Public Relations GBR, owned by Mr Abdulnabi Al Shoala and Mr Khamis Al Muqla. These two companies were the largest of the five advertising companies in Bahrain at the time, but the challenge that Cathay Pacific found in dealing with them was that they were providing advertising and communication services to other competing airlines.
Under these circumstances, the head of co-ordination at Cathay Pacific, Mr Peter Sachs, visited Bahrain, and I was the most suitable choice for him even though I had not opened my office in Bahrain yet. We agreed on a period of six months during which Cathay Pacific would complete all requirements for establishment and launch, and I would then start operations in Bahrain. This came to pass as Jamil Wafa helped me as much as he could in matters of incorporation, company registration, residency, etc., and Nadim was always there, advising and supporting.
Nadim was a man of incredible knowledge and punctual authentic professionalism and craftsmanship. Cathay Pacific at that time did not employ ordinary people, but rather those who excelled in this field and demonstrated high ability. It must be remembered that Jamil Wafa has a glorious history in the business of airlines, as does Nadim, and I can say that these two preached to the world that the Gulf would be the new world; a world of opportunities come the end of the 70s and the dawn of the mid-80s.
Not to mention that Nadim was creative and innovative in other fields as well, including the hospitality sector with its various branches, hotels, restaurants, etc. From his position as director of the Oasis Hotel, he was able to reinvent hoteling and offered fresh ideas to the hospitality field and even raised the level of competition in this sector, without downplaying of course, his achievements in the restaurant and dining industry, as his name was associated with the first Italian restaurant in Bahrain, La Taverna Restaurant, in which he was partner, with Mr Ezra Nonoo and myself, albeit in a small share. In addition to Tarboush and other restaurants, where his help aided me in reinventing some of the industry stables.
Nadim had been coming to Bahrain since the 1960s and would settle here permanently in 1974. Around 1990, he decided to close his business. He retired from Cathay Pacific and returned to Lebanon. There he became an associate for Gulf Air, and helped the company to a great extent in revitalising its business on a regional level, and was an associate for American Airlines, and others.
My brother-in-law, Ramzi Alamuddin, sent me a letter in his eulogy for Nadim in which he said: “Of all my very dear friends, living and deceased, Nadim was the closest to my heart. From the time of study, travel and work later, we laughed a lot to tears during our travel together and in the classes of the IC School.” In our early years, we used to talk on the phone every day or meet for lunch. I miss him so much now.”
Parting ways with this giant in the world of tourism, hospitality and business, Nadim is surely a great loss, to his family, affiliates and to me personally, to everyone that once knew him I would say. I’m grateful to Allah to have a friend as dear to me as Jamil Wafa, who appreciates what I do, allow me to renew my thanks to him and to all those who stood by me and mentored me, gentlemen such as Mr Nadim Lababidi and Mr Jamil Wafa.
&uuid=(email))