After 45 years in the construction business the man is a legend and his strong relationship with the 1,200 or so men who work for MACE is recognised as among the best in the business.

In Abu Dhabi, it has millions of dollars worth of civil engineering contracts having moved there in 1974 after successfully starting MACE in the Libyan desert building oil pipelines.

“Put simply, we put pipes in the ground: waste, water, oil, gas and irrigation,” Haddad told Construction Week in an interview earlier this year.

“There is an English saying, ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’. I disagree with that. I am happy to put them all in one basket with the skills that MACE has.  But I keep a careful eye on the basket.”

He is a man who saw success out of the 2008 crash saying it was “good” for his company (“We had work in place and the cost of raw materials actually fell.”) and who is happy to pass on  advice to newcomers.

“Know what you are good at, where your strengths lie and do not bite off more than you can chew.”