Secrets of my success: Zena Malek

"I might be smiling but it's not as easy as it looks," says Zena Malek Andari. She should know. The 37 year-old Lebanese born architect formed her own company Arabian Concepts Development four years ago, and has since been a huge success in the industry. She has won several lucrative contracts from big-name developers - beating off much better known architects, and having to overcome scepticism in a male dominated industry. ACD is now one of the region's most sought after firms, with Zena often speaking on the international lecture circuit about the challenges facing businesswomen in the Arab world.

"It sounds like a cliché but, yes it was a big struggle at first. When you are young, and an architect, and female, the Arab world isn't necessarily the best place to start your own business. But I knew what I was doing was right, and I just had to keep persevering," she says.

Her company has won several contracts in the past two years, including a major new project for Hydra Properties unveiled last week at Cityscape. Her company operates on a strict "pay on invoice" policy - her philosophy is that if they can't pay now they never can.

"I think that's very important in business. If I commission some work, whatever the price, I must have the money in my account to pay for it.
And if I can pay for it, then I should do so straight away. What is the point in waiting? You only get yourself into trouble by doing that," she says.

She is also the brains behind the revolutionary Sakani software, a totally new architectural style of design which enables different configurations of houses, buildings, restaurants and facilities to be built through mass-production methods. This means an entire housing development can be designed with each unit receiving an individual configuration. The software has been a huge hit in the Middle East with the Bahraini Investment Bank and Bahraini government both implementing it, while several international institutions are now reviewing it.

"It's early days but I would like to think this will be one of the things we are most remembered for at ACD," she says.

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