Sheikh Dr Majid Bin Sultan Bin Khalid Al Qasimi talks about making career decisions, working hard, and prioritising his family
Sheikh Dr Majid Bin Sultan Bin Khalid Al Qasimi has always had an interest in food security and sustainability. He grew up familiar with the farming practices in more temperate European climates and the reality that the Middle East doesn’t have the same farming systems and has a reliance on imports was always front of mind.
He was advised to study for a veterinary degree because it would provide a broad understanding of nature and the natural world. “I never considered becoming a doctor. As my career progressed as a veterinarian doing conservation work, then in the Environment Agency, then into terrestrial biodiversity, this growing portfolio of experience meant I became someone who could have very technical conversations with many different people,” he said.
This skill set became useful when he began his role at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment where he could talk to anybody about agriculture, green economy, conservation, biodiversity, and even waste management. Over those five years, he realised he was trying to engage across sectors because many of these areas are siloed but related.
Currently the Partner and Founder at Soma Mater, Sheikh Dr Majid said, “We’re a food security and sustainability consultancy, but ultimately, that’s the same. If you have a sustainable food system that’s built properly, you can ensure food security long term; if you want to achieve sustainability, it cannot come at the cost of food security.”
Working on the food security strategy of the UAE was a culmination of his passion and by the end of it, more people came to him for consultation and advice. When he looked at his career and decided he had plateaued at the Ministry, and he said his transition into the private sector was a bit surprising but the right move for him. He was also given a bit of a nudge by one of his mentors, who told him that if he wanted to make the move to the private sector, he needed to do it before he turned 40.
PUBLIC TO PRIVATE
In the run-up to his departure from the Ministry and with his colleagues wanting to know what was next, there was very little surprise when Sheikh Dr Majid shared that he was thinking of moving into the private sector. “I get up every day and go out and give it my all. I think what surprises me is how comfortable I am with that risk and that accountability,” he said.
Something that was a bit of a shock is the amount of time it can take to close a deal in the private sector because a lot of people like to talk but when it comes time to sign on the dotted line, there are delays. “This has probably been my biggest peeve. I’d rather get an outright ‘no’. Rather come back and tell me you’re not ready or this isn’t the time. I also think what we’re doing for this region is still quite new and people haven’t properly planned for it.”
Taking cultural differences into account, he also understands that it can be uncomfortable for his Emirati colleagues to outright say they aren’t ready. He cited the example of taking six months to put a proposal together, submit it, and be told that the policy he was meant to implement hadn’t yet been approved and they would have to wait. Speaking frankly, he described himself as becoming more blunt when asking about budgets at the beginning and whether the person he is engaging with is the decision maker.
He added that in general, he has experienced his fair share of ghosting, where people disappear and phones stop being answered after handing over a proposal that he made clear was valid for two weeks because he’d been told the project was ready to execute.
“I’d rather they come back and just say that they got ahead of themselves. So, I look at where I can help. rather than trying to rework and resubmit the pitch. If the price is the issue, then I ask them what isn’t working. It’s frustrating to have people tiptoe around me and it has been hard for me to realise people might be a bit afraid to tell me something is outside of their budget or there was something they didn’t account for,” he said.
Sheikh Dr Majid is also under no illusions that coming from a royal family could be a factor in people not wanting to communicate directly. “But if there’s anyone in the room who can take bad news, it’s me. I’ll take it on the chin. I am so good at that. There is nothing you could do in a business relationship to me, other than outright betraying me, that would disappoint me. I’m ready to roll my sleeves up and get to the reality of the situation. You’ve run out of budget? Let me figure out how I can close this up for you as best as possible. I understand the realities of business and, and how things work,” he added.
His goal is to create a sustainable food system in the Middle East and North Africa with the belief that the MENA region can do a lot for itself. The minimum positive impact he is working towards is to catalyse a system that can feed itself and show the world what new models of agriculture food processing, production, and circular economy can be developed, without simply adapting existing western practices. He believes that the UAE can serve as a model for a lot of the countries that are going to be hardest hit by climate change, where temperatures are too extreme or natural resources are too low or decreasing.
ALL ABOUT FAMILY
Sheikh Dr Majid is perfectly frank about the difference between being a Government employee, where he had the freedom to leave work early and come home and spend time with his family, and working in the private sector. Now, his business lives or dies with his input, and like any entrepreneur in the first five years of their business-building journey, he has to give it his all.
“It’s not about the number of hours I spend with my family, it’s about the quality of hours. If we’re doing something together, I’m not going to take calls or check emails. If I’m with the kids or my wife, I’m fully there. But, if that means I’m only getting a few hours in the evening, or a few in the morning, then let those be the best hours we can have, as opposed to me sitting there all day and saying I’m working from home and I’m doing neither very well,” he said.
He added that being self-employed means being able to dictate the way he works and a policy he and his partner want to implement is that employees can travel whenever they want, as long as the results are being delivered. Being able to work remotely provides the freedom to travel with his family while still running the business without geography being a barrier.
“I want to build a business and deliver it well, while still being there for my family; I don’t want to be a father in absentia,” which he agreed seems to be a trend among men as gender roles adapt to the changes in the world. “We’re [men] very concerned about not being there for our kids, so we’re overcompensating by doing the drop-offs in the morning. We want to be home for dinner. I’m always home for dinner, and always put my kids to bed. Parenting is a very important thing to me because I think our parents were very busy at the office and doing work. So, part of me moving out of Government was also dictating the way I want to work and the way I want to be a parent and entrepreneur and design my life.”
One area he admitted needs improvement is being able to delegate but he credits his wife for helping him. “My wife asks me, ‘If I pay other people to work on things, why am I constantly involving myself when it’s their job? Don’t constantly roll up your sleeves and try to do it for them because I should be able to give them the task and just oversee,” he said.
LEGACY VALUES
When Sheikh Dr Majid accepted the role at the Ministry, he did it in part to build security for his family. But having moved to run his own business, aside from showing them they can leap to follow their pursuits, he also wants to teach them accountability, both to themselves and to others. He wants his children – who are still really young – to grow up knowing they can rely on themselves to be okay.
The kids have chores, and they are paid AED 10 a week provided they don’t miss two out of their six chores a day. “People tell me that’s harsh, but you know what? The real world isn’t going to be any prettier, and wait until they move out. I want to embody some of this realism in their lives, the accountability for doing their chores and the consequences if they don’t,” he said.
His approach to teaching them to save has also been criticised as somewhat harsh. If they tell him they want something, he’ll tell them to get their money and he’ll take them. “I pay for the house, their education, their clothes, their food, and the staff. And I pay them to do their chores. Then they save for what they want, and they buy it. I also want them to understand that they don’t have to go to others to earn their way through life,” he said.
This article appeared in Issue 002 – the Men’s Edition
