Stories
Stories
A Leveraged Investment

Omar, Hesham (OPM 37, 2008), Adlina (OPM 46, 2015), and Adam Hafez
Hesham Hafez, who was born in Egypt and grew up in
Austria, launched the Paper Distribution International
Group in Dubai while in his 30s, and within a decade he
had grown the company into a multinational enterprise.
In 2006, with revenues at $20 million per year, a friend
encouraged him to apply to HBS’s Owner/President
Management (OPM) program. “I didn’t even know where
Harvard Business School was,” says Hesham with a laugh.
The experience changed his life. “Simply put, OPM taught
me how to think,” notes Hesham, who has expanded his
business almost tenfold since attending the program.
Hesham was so enthusiastic about OPM that he
convinced his wife, Adlina, that she should attend. Adlina
was at a key juncture with her business—a consumer electronics
concern in Dubai that she launched after working as
an investment banker in her native Malaysia. “OPM helped
me understand that vision, mission, and strategy are three
different things. It made me a much better leader,” she
says, noting that the program gave her the confidence
to expand and fill a niche that her competition was
not meeting.
The couple, who divide their time between the United
Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and the United States, both
stress that attending OPM improved their businesses
as well as their personal lives. “HBS enriched us
tremendously,” says Hesham. “It has made us tackle
our problems, not sweep them under the carpet.”
Hesham and Adlina were able to translate their OPM
learnings into increased success for their businesses.
Their desire to thank the School for cultivating future
leaders inspired them to fund two fellowships at Harvard,
one for undergraduates and the other for HBS students.
“We wanted to give back in a way that would help others
develop,” explains Hesham. “If you help someone become
a better leader, that person can help 1,000 others.” That,
the couple agree, is a worthwhile investment.