A family affair

Andrew White meets the woman charged with keeping BinHendi Enterprises ahead of the competition.

On her way home from work every evening, Miss Amna BinHendi hits the mall. Alongside thousands of other shoppers, she strolls from store to store, casting her eye over hundreds of designer brands, and taking in the tiniest details. Is she shopping? Occasionally. Learning? Always.

"It's like taking care of your own baby instead of a nanny taking care of it," she explains. "You have to be hands-on, especially if it's yours - and if I'm not there then I don't think people will care as much as I care."

Such dedication suggests that the family business is not the only thing that Amna has inherited from her father, Mr Mohi Din BinHendi. Over 30 years ago, when he opened the emirate's first international fashion outlet - Pierre Cardin, in Deira - he sowed the first seeds of a business empire that has since successfully introduced more than 60 prestigious international brands to the UAE.

Still headquartered in Deira, today BinHendi Enterprises might as well be a world away from its humble beginnings. With over 3000 employees, Amna is CEO of a company that is renowned across the GCC and India for its achievements in fashion and food retail. Brands such as Hugo Boss, CK Jeans, Porsche Design, Japengo and Bella Donna mean that, whether we know it or not, we've all bought BinHendi.

"Believe me, if you enjoy the work, I don't think you get stressed," she smiles, when reminded of the task in front of her. "I love what I am doing, and I know I can give more, achieve more, and address any issues that need changing.

"I like to work with a team of people, and because it's my company I never feel insecure - I always try to get the best people and to be successful," she continues. "Of course, my senior management makes some decisions because dealing with 3000 employees isn't that easy. I focus on the smaller things when I can, but you have to be able to delegate as well, and that's why we have such a strong management team in place."

Amna's confidence in that team is undoubtedly buttressed by her experience working in other positions at BinHendi Enterprises. Having studied at Latifa Private School for Girls and the American University of Dubai's School of Business, Amna graduated from Zayed University in 2002 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration and Information Technology.

After a three-month work placement with Dubai e-Government, she finally joined the family business working in the Human Resources (HR) & Information Technology division.

"When I first joined the company I went through each division, spending a couple of weeks in each department to get to know how they worked," she recalls. "I am very social and like to deal with people, so I quickly gravitated to HR, where I took courses and had the opportunity to work on implementing new systems within the company."

One such system involved creating a grading structure for BinHendi Enterprises' entire workforce. Of three competing proposals on the table, Amna's was selected as the strongest, and was implemented as companywide policy.

"Having only recently graduated it was very challenging for me, but despite the long hours I enjoyed learning how the business was run," she says. "When we used to be at home we would hear that ‘this is happening' and ‘that is happening', but actually to be there on the field was quite different and very exciting."

In September last year Amna was asked, with just a couple of days notice, whether she felt ready to take on the challenge of CEO. Taken aback - "it was a complete surprise to me," she laughs - Amna nevertheless felt that five years' experience at the company meant she was ready to take the helm.

"When I first worked with Dubai e-Government I had many offers from government sectors and the private sector," Amna recalls, matter-of-factly. "But I thought ‘why should I go and work for someone else when my dad needs me to be with him?' My father had always left it up to me, but I knew I was in the right position to take on the challenge."

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