Building a legacy

When it comes to his father’s words of wisdom, Kareem Farah has no shortage of favorites to choose from. One that stands out is: “Money is the cheapest thing – your reputation is worth billions.”

Having grown up around Engineering Contracting Company (ECC Contracting), which was founded by his father Hatem Farah and business partner Khodr Aldah, construction has been part of Farah’s life for as long as he can remember. Today, as Director, he is leading one of the United Arab Emirates’ longest-running construction companies through a new era of growth and transformation.

“We’re in it for the long run,” Farah tells The CEO Magazine. “We’re doing succession planning to ensure that this legacy continues for future generations, which is very, very important because apparently 97 percent of family businesses don’t make it past the third generation.”

Built on a foundation of governance, innovation and, above all, reputation, ECC Contracting recently celebrated its 50th year in business, expanding and evolving while never losing sight of those pillars.

“The most important thing for us is our reputation. We’re people of our word,” Farah emphasizes.

“It’s not the money, it’s about maintaining that reputation in the market. Unfortunately, construction can be a bit of a profit-forward industry, which can paint a bad picture overall. So we want to maintain a good image.”

A different direction

When Farah joined ECC Contracting full-time in 2007, he planned to build experience through a traditional operational route, progressing from site engineer to project manager and eventually construction manager. But the global financial crisis threw those plans into disarray, forcing him to look elsewhere for opportunities to add value.

Rather than focusing solely on project sites, he turned his attention to areas of the business that had received less strategic oversight, including service centers, labor accommodation and operational support functions.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, I do believe a bit in destiny,” he says. “I think life is all hard work – you have to go and open the doors, but destiny has a factor in there as well. I felt like, ‘At this point in my life, maybe I don’t have as much value to add to the site. Let me look at the areas that I feel like nobody’s really looking at in the company.’”

What followed was transformative. Farah introduced reporting systems, dashboards and data management processes that drastically improved the way information flowed throughout the organization. Not only that, but he also revived a legacy project initiated by his father to convert discarded palm tree biomass into locally manufactured construction material. In 2020, the first boards were released to the public.

“They’re reducing the amount of carbon that goes into the atmosphere every year,” he explains. “It’s a locally produced material. It comes from an icon of the country, the palm tree, so it’s a great story for the United Arab Emirates. It’s the only sustainable board that’s locally manufactured.”

The venture forms part of a broader environmental strategy for ECC Contracting that includes renewable energy exploration, waste reduction initiatives and growing ESG commitments.

Data driven

Under Farah’s leadership, ECC Contracting has embraced digitization, expanded its vertically integrated business model and become an early adopter of lean methodologies. The company has also invested heavily in technology and data-driven decision-making to improve efficiency and maintain a competitive edge.

“We’ve definitely brought the company into a more structured era,” he reflects. “We focused a lot on digitization and on expanding our vertical integration with our different sister companies. We’re one of the first companies to implement lean methodologies and we’re constantly looking to see how we can adapt and grow with the market.”

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“Al Shirawi Contracting is proud to be a trusted strategic partner of Engineering Contracting Company. Built on more than three decades of collaboration, our partnership reflects a shared commitment to quality, innovation and excellence in delivering landmark projects across the United Arab Emirates.” – Rohan Navin Valrani, Deputy CEO, Al Shirawi Contracting

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Farah believes modular construction represents one of the most significant opportunities for the industry and has personally led the development of ECC Contracting’s modular and pods division.

“Of all the technologies out there, the most prominent, most dynamic one would be modular construction – this is where I see the future of construction going.”

Prioritizing relationships

ECC Contracting’s reputation-first philosophy extends far beyond clients to suppliers, subcontractors and financial partners. For Farah, respect goes both ways in cultivating good working relationships that are essential for the long-term success of the company.

“Communication is key. We are human beings at the end of the day. So the words coming out of our mouths are very, very important,” he stresses.

Farah regularly meets with suppliers personally and encourages his team to view them as genuine partners rather than external vendors. The approach has consistently paid dividends.

“They see us as a safe company. They see us as a company they can depend on. A company that doesn’t like to play games,” he says.

A leader who values transparency and humility, Farah encourages an owner mentality for all his employees. For him, as it was for his father before him, leadership is not about hierarchy or authority, but about creating an environment where people feel empowered to contribute, challenge ideas and drive improvement.

This is especially evident in ECC Contracting‘s leadership opportunities for employees outside the family, whose presence helps further expand the company’s expertise.

“If someone tells me something I’m doing wrong and how I could improve it, I should be humble and secure enough to sit there and understand that I’m not perfect at the end of the day,” he explains. “I’m a human being. I’m allowed to make mistakes.

“It’s an open-door policy. We have no egos. We don’t want anyone, any manager to suppress their employees from talking. It’s a family-run company and we’re very accessible. Everybody knows us. Everybody has our phone numbers.”