A STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS

Through his expanding portfolio of positions in Ras Al Khaimah, His Highness Sheikh Saud demonstrated his astute business acumen and passion for building management teams that could excel. He went on to join RAK Rock (later to become known as Stevin Rock) as Deputy Chairman in 1978 and immediately immersed himself in the quarrying business, which had a primarily domestic focus at the time. Within 18 months of joining RAK Rock, half of the company’s output was being exported across the Gulf countries and His Highness Sheikh Saud ensured that RAK Rock’s affiliated entity, Stevin Rock (a Dutch company acquired in 1996) became the international company it is today, exporting to markets as far afield as Hong Kong and Australia.

Further business successes followed, with His Highness exhibiting impressive strategic skills in creating and turning companies around. This included Julphar Pharmaceuticals, which in the 1980s became a formidable generic medicines producer in the region under his stewardship. His Highness Sheikh Saud also set up RAK Ceramics in 1989 to further harness the abundance of materials found in the Al Hajar Mountains. RAK Ceramics became one of the largest ceramics producers in the world, with annual turnovers of about $1 billion and serving clients in 150 countries.

By now, His Highness was a well-respected figure in the UAE but he was not one to dwell on successes, instead always looking forward to the next opportunity to improve the lives of the people of Ras Al Khaimah. When pressed on his many achievements, he defers to the pride he places in the teams he has built; the people he has enabled to achieve their personal goals, which has had a positive bearing on the development of Ras Al Khaimah as a whole.

However, his hard work, dedication and success had not gone unnoticed and His Highness Sheikh Saud was appointed Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah on June 14, 2003. His Highness reflects that attaining the position of Crown Prince was a great honor, though a weighty responsibility. Supported at every step by his father’s wisdom and keen insight, His Highness Sheikh Saud dutifully set about his work to transform many aspects of government, utilizing his experience to run the Emirate he loves, by his own admission, like a business, where the people are shareholders who reap the dividends of holistic development.

Over the next few years, His Highness oversaw structural changes that put an even greater emphasis on education, with the American University of Ras Al Khaimah being established in 2005, Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU) being inaugurated in 2006 and the University of Bolton campus opening in the Emirate in 2008. He created an investor-friendly business environment by developing free zones and business parks, a project that culminated in Ras Al Khaimah gaining an ‘A’ rating by international ratings agencies S&P and Fitch in 2008. To this day, the Emirate is consistently rated in the ‘A’ range.

On October 27, 2010, His Highness Sheikh Saud officially took up the position of UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, after the passing of his father Sheikh Saqr, may his soul rest in peace, who had ruled Ras Al Khaimah for more than 60 years. His father had lived a long and successful life and now was the time for His Highness to take on the ultimate responsibility. His pride was, of course, tinged with a sadness, and a knowledge that he could no longer rely on his father’s wise advice. It was a time of reflection for His Highness Sheikh Saud, who knew that he had to make significant decisions for his people, on his own terms, but one factor he was clear on was that he would not fear failure, as failure is but a learning on the road to success. As His Highness has said many times, you should never let fear be your enemy, never let arrogance prevent you from acquiring knowledge from others and never let humility stop you from trusting yourself. With knowledge, confidence and a vision for the future, His Highness Sheikh Saud embarked upon the next and most defining stage of his life.