The leading entrepreneurs are billionaires and founders of huge businesses in the country that range from retail, education to health care and real estate. Among these entrepreneurs, some of them run family-owned organizations that have been in the region for several decades. One of such entrepreneur in United Arab Emirates is Yogesh Mehta the Founder and CEO of Petrochem Middle East, who established this organization in the year 1995 with a driven passion and a need to succeed.
In 2003, Yogesh well known as ‘Yogi’ became a Harvard Business School Alumnus when he obtained his MBA. He has been widely documented across several publications worldwide including BBC, CNN and Forbes. Yogesh strongly believes that Petrochem Middle East’s success has been a result of forecasting and anticipating the market and customer needs. He is an enthusiast of ‘the people’, constantly asserting that his employees are the business’s greatest assets.
The Journey of an Ardent Leader
Yogi mentions “He loves Dubai. For him, Dubai has always been melting pot of cultures and a great place for Business. It’s a Retail hub; it’s a financial hub and a hub for Petrochem.”
Yogesh graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from National College Bandra in Mumbai, India. His first job was at his father’s chemical manufacturing factory in western India, where he honed his innate leadership skills and gained valuable hands-on business experience. At the beginning of his journey, with his hands-on business experience and due to young age, he lost his own business in India and he faced a severe challenge due to financial problems. Meanwhile, Yogesh got married to his childhood friend Falguni and found a great companion who was like a pillar through his tough times and a great admirer of his achievements. Yogesh made a bold move by relocating to Dubai in 1990 with a will-power to open up his own chemical trading business which gave a kick-start to his dream.
Within five years, Petrochem Middle East achieved success which has grown from strength-to-strength to become the largest independent petrochemical distributor in the Middle East and Africa with global offices and a turnover of more than a billion dollars.
The Leading Chemical Distributing Company
Yogesh mentions the ethos of the company through his mission statement which is outlined by three words – love, respect & integrity.
The high-tech Jebel Ali terminal of Petrochem provides just-in-time logistics and specially blended quality products. The Terminal adheres to the strictest of Health & Safety norms to be part of environment friendly, making sure all operations upkeep the Health & Safety of their Personnel. Petrochem had acquired ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 & OHSAS 18001:2007 accreditations. Within short span of time from the company’s inception, Yogesh managed to establish a business by opening a state-of-the-art storage terminal for bulk and drum chemicals. As per the ICIS 2014, Petrochem is the 13th largest in the world.
Yogesh’s greatest attributes are mentoring and leading by example. His grasp on the dynamics of the chemical industry, and on building a strong reputation with buyers and sellers in the fraternity. All these factors have assisted the company to become the ‘Petrochem Brand’ and raising the company to new heights. Under his leadership, Petrochem Middle East has evolved into one of the largest independent petrochemical distributor in the Gulf. Yogesh is credited with an ability to carve water out of stone, a burning desire to succeed against odds, with a do or die attitude. Today, Petrochem has offices around the globe such as in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Shanghai, Taiwan and Distribution terminals in Jebel Ali and Adabaiya (Egypt) with a turnover in excess of a billion dollars.
Contribution to the Business Recognized at many Awards Ceremonies
A key for any spinoff or verticals depends upon the monetary investment. All new projects (or verticals) of Petrochem planning will have a progress on future due to the diligence done by them to view if there is a return on investments. Yogi has developed an honest and ethical organization culture team who did not even think of taking shortcuts on their way to success. Embedded in Petrochem’s corporate philosophy was the only fact that Petrochem would not dilute their success for faster returns by their business on distribution of chemicals globally.
“Success is to be found internationally rather than being local-centric” states Yogi. His contribution to the business has been recognized at many awards ceremonies and has been widely documented. In 2010 during an Alumnus at Harvard Business School, Yogesh was ranked seventh in the Arabian Business Indian Power List. He has also been recognized as one of the Top 100 Indian Business Leaders in the United Arab Emirates by Forbes Middle East in 2013. Further, he went on gaining more glory by receiving the Power Brands ‘Hall of Fame’ Award Big Ideas – Entrepreneur Icon Award, Indian Innovator Award – Energy Innovation in 2014 and Dubai SME Award.
Contributing towards the Progress of his Company
Yogi reveals “Today, Petrochem Middle East has offices all over the world with a turnover in excess 1.5 billion dollars. With his son Rohan having joined the business recently they strive for growth and diversification into new industries and markets globally.”