01 / My story
The interests came first.
Buildings, computers and photography were part of my life before I had decided what to do professionally.
Architecture gave those interests a direction. Construction brought me closer to the decisions and practical problems that turn an idea into something people can use.
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Before the job titles
As a child in Abu Dhabi, I watched a building go up beside our home, following it from the foundations to the finishes. Computers gave me another kind of thing to investigate. I wanted to understand what was happening beneath the surface.
Studying architecture gave me a way to think about space, use and the relationship between an idea and its details. A course in project management caught my attention in a different way. I recognized something in organizing a project and understanding what it would take to deliver it. I went on to study construction management, with research into the adoption of information technology in construction.
Working in construction brought a different kind of education. Drawings had to meet site conditions. Procurement decisions affected the sequence of work. A building had to be completed, tested and brought into use. I became increasingly involved in resolving the gaps between those things.
Moving into owner representation widened the view. I was looking at what a development needed to achieve, what it would cost, how it would operate, and which decisions were holding it back. That experience still shapes the questions I ask.
I come from a working-class background. I have had to create the room, resources and opportunities to pursue what I wanted to build. What has driven my career decisions is the desire to build more and take on greater responsibility.
MawadOnline grew out of this background in construction and a long interest in computing. Building a marketplace brings its own problems to understand, from how suppliers describe their products to what buyers need before placing an order. It has given those earlier interests another place to meet.
Photography has been part of my life since childhood. A camera gives me a reason to pay attention to something I might otherwise pass by. Some of those observations will find their way here.