The Full Written Exclusive Interview with Rachid Mohamed Rachid
In this eniGma exclusive, Enigma’s Founder & CEO Yasmine Shihata caught up with Egyptian business mogul and former Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid in Paris during the 2024 Paris Couture Week. As the Founder of Alsara Investment Group and the Chairman of Valentino and Balmain, Rachid is now one of the most important figures in the luxury industry. In this exclusive, Rachid opens up about the challenges and triumphs he has faced in life, leadership and luxury.
The Alexandria-born Rachid Mohamed Rachid is a highly respected Egyptian entrepreneur who continues to leave an indelible mark on the global business community. Hailing from a prominent Egyptian family with interests in shipping and consumer goods, Rachid earned a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alexandria and further honed his skills with an Advanced Management Diploma from the Harvard Business School.
His career began in his family’s shipping and consumer goods business, which he strategically transformed into a major player in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. This was done through strategic partnerships with Coca-Cola and by establishing several leading food manufacturing and distribution businesses, such as Dreem Foods and Fine Foods.
In 1991, Rachid formed a joint venture with the global consumer goods giant Unilever and joined its board of directors, eventually becoming President of Unilever North Africa, Middle East and Turkey. Rachid led several of Unilever’s top multinational enterprises while also representing Unilever in the Arabian Mashreq region.
During his successful period at Unilever, Rachid was asked to serve as Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry in 2004, a post which he held until 2011. As Minister, Rachid spearheaded sweeping economic reforms in Egypt, which fueled unprecedented growth and attracted substantial foreign investment. Under his leadership, Egypt experienced unprecedented high rates of economic growth and employment, with the country’s annual industrial growth surpassing 20% and yearly exports tripling in value.
After his term as Minister, Rachid went on to become the CEO of Mayhoola, an international investment fund focusing on global investments in the luxury sector. There Rachid orchestrated the fund’s notable acquisitions of the luxury fashion houses of Valentino in 2012 and Balmain in 2016. Rachid went on to transform both businesses, resulting in significant revenue growth where Valentino revenue growth quadrupled and Balmain revenue tripled.
In 2017, Rachid founded the Alsara Investment Group, which has invested in companies such as the Akoni Group and Khrisjoy. Additionally, in 2021, Rachid founded Bidayat, an international investment group that supports creative entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean region, investing in startups and nurturing local talent.
To date, Rachid’s contributions have garnered widespread recognition, including being listed in The Business of Fashion 500, the definitive list of the most important figures in fashion. His strategic prowess was also evident in recent landmark deals, such as his purchase of the Lipton Global Tea business at a value of 4.5 billion euros. In 2023, under Rachid’s leadership, Mayhoola also sold 30% of Valentino to the fashion giant Kering Group for 1.87 billion euros, marking a new strategic relationship between Mayhoola and Kering.
To this day, Rachid continues to be one of the most resilient and well-respected trailblazers in the international business arena, with enduring success and vision.
Read on for this exclusive and truly personal interview:
You’ve had a fascinating life with many different reincarnations and several challenges along the way. Going back to your early years, what were your hopes and dreams? And how did they affect the choices you made along the way?
I started my life in my city, Alexandria, which I love a lot. I went to school and university there; and based on my father’s advice, I studied mechanical engineering. Yet, my ambition was always to be in business. My father believed that if you become an engineer, you have a better way of organising your thoughts and understanding investment and production. I now see he was right.
After graduation, I went for training as a refrigeration mechanical engineer at a refrigeration company in Denmark, which provided me with great technical exposure and experience. Then I went back to Alexandria and started working in my family’s business.
Yet, I knew I wanted to be involved in the creation of things. I didn’t want to do work that was just about numbers or pushing papers. I didn’t care about the money; it was more about my ability to create something that did not exist. I was obsessed with that idea from my first day in business; I wanted to really add value, and create a brand and a product.
My father was in the shipping business, and he had a very successful career. But I started a completely different line of business, with his support and guidance, in beverages, foods and consumer products. And during my career in Egypt, I built 17 factories, and this involved bringing in equipment, making designs, setting processes, creating the buildings, getting machines; then going through the whole installation period, until we created our own products. And that was the most exciting thing.
“I love creating quality products and brands that look attractive, and that has always guided me in business”
Do you consider yourself a creative at heart?
I consider myself a person who likes to contribute positively. I like the idea that something has been positively created and built because of my contribution. I love creating quality products and brands that look attractive, and that has always guided me in business.
Of course, your businesses in Egypt became extremely successful and you also merged with the consumer goods giant Unilever. Then at the height of your business career, you were presented with the opportunity to join the Egyptian government. As a successful businessman, how difficult was that decision?
When I look back, I see my life as different phases, each of which added a lot to my development and capabilities. That’s why I encourage young people to be open to the idea of doing something different every few years if they have the chance. If we do the same thing for a long time, we get bored, and we feel that the return is diminishing. But when there is an element of change, you build on your previous experience and create something new.
In Alexandria, I had my own businesses, which became very successful, and then we created a very successful joint venture with Unilever in Egypt. That Unilever business expanded across borders to other countries in the Middle East, the east Mediterranean, and all the way to Turkey. Then something very unusual happened. Unilever, which is a multinational company, offered me an executive director position. This meant leaving my family business and going to London to be an executive in a different company. I had never worked for anybody in my life, but the chairman of Unilever convinced me to take the job.
It was really exciting to be in charge of a very significant global operation, as at that time Unilever was expanding into food. And I was going to be involved in an operation valued at about $60 billion in different countries.
Then, after four years with Unilever, I got the call to join the Egyptian government, which was totally unexpected. As with any government position, I was asked to be there in 24 hours. At the time, I said to the prime minister, “How do you expect me to do that? I am a board member of 26 companies with so many responsibilities.” I hesitated in the beginning, especially since at the time, it was unusual to have someone from the private sector join the government. I was actually the first minister since 1952 to come from the private sector.
After consulting my family, I decided to be open to a different phase of my life, and I agreed. My time as a minister in the government was successful and I don’t regret it. I always say that if I can make a difference in one person’s life, it’s worth it. During my time in the government, we had a real positive impact; not only in industry, trade, exports, development, and creativity, but we also touched the hearts and minds of young people. And impacting young people is something very close to my heart in all the positions I have held during my life.
When I left the business world to join the government, there were 7000 people working with me, 95% of them between the ages of 30 and 35. And to this day I get a lot of satisfaction when I meet people I worked with, who tell me that I had a positive impact on their lives and success.
My time in the government was very special, and I learned that in government there is a different way of doing things. Politics and business are very different, but there are certain characteristics which can be useful in both. I approached my meetings as minister, using the same techniques I used in business. Some of my colleagues used to ask me, “Why are you pushing to get results?” And I replied, “This is what I do, I go after results.” They said, “Politics is not about results, it’s about the activities. Just take it easy.” Yet, I didn’t change because I wanted to make a difference.
When I made the shift from my family business to join Unilever, I also went to a different environment after being my own boss, running my own business. Three weeks after I arrived in London, Unilever’s chairman, who was a very good friend, asked me how I was coping with being in a giant company like Unilever, operating in 200 countries, with a staff of 600,000. I said I was fine and that I was trying to adapt. But he advised me not to try to adapt. He stated, “You are here because of who you are. You have been chosen because of what you do and how you do it. So, if you try to change and do things the way we do them, that won’t make any sense.” That was very valuable advice. I understood then the value of maintaining your integrity and your way of doing things.
I remembered that advice when I went into government. I was there because of who I was, and I was not going to do things the way others did. I’m not saying others were doing anything wrong, but my strengths and my ability to achieve things and make a difference are based on me being myself. I knew that I should not lose my integrity and character when performing a different type of job. And some people felt a bit uncomfortable about that in the government.
You became one of Egypt’s most successful and respected ministers, and the work you did, including so many trade agreements, impacted Egypt very positively. What were your proudest moments as a minister?
I knew very little about being a minister when I joined the government and I was trying to catch up to understand how to perform the job and set priorities for the work agenda. I was lucky to have a very competent and cooperative team. They helped me do my job and gave me the ability to set my agenda. And I set an agenda that had a great impact on the development of the economy, trade, and industry.
I started with two ministries, the ministries of Foreign Trade and Industry. After that, I took over Internal Trade, and then a few months before I left, I also ran the Ministry of Investment. So it was very important for me to have a clear direction. I’m not saying I was the one who set the direction, because that was part of the government’s policy. But I knew it was essential to positively integrate our economy into the international economy, because no country can succeed in isolation. Your position in the world today depends on how much you are integrated globally and on your openness to competition.
You must be able to compete. So, it was very important to develop trade agreements between Egypt and the rest of the world. And we succeeded in creating an amazing network of trade agreements, which still exist and benefit the country to this day. Those agreements included trade agreements with European countries, African countries, the United States, Switzerland, Turkey, and Latin American countries. All these agreements gave us preferential treatment in these markets, and gave those countries access to the Egyptian market.
Meanwhile, I had to train Egyptian industries to be up to the competition. So, we pushed for the development of our industries and traders, and we pushed for opening the markets internationally and domestically. It’s crucial to train people to become more prepared for competition. The big issue in countries like Egypt is that the educational system is not aligned with the requirements of the market. I was probably the first Minister of Trade and Industry to meet with the heads of all 27 universities in Egypt. I debated with them openly about how to align education with market requirements.
I told them we have a serious problem; as our graduates do not fit in the current job market and are then unemployed. In the meantime, our production units, institutions, banks, and accounting firms can’t find the right skills they need. As a result, we put in motion useful mechanisms to focus on human development, which was high on my agenda, as it is a key factor in the development of any country. After all, people are the ones who make the difference.
Did you meet any resistance to the changes and policies you were making?
We faced tremendous resistance. I discovered that the real battle was how to change minds. We had arguments from my first day to my last day in office, with resisting minds that wanted to make sure nothing would change. Some people don’t want to accept the reality of the world today. Of course, we can have different views, but at the end of the day, your ability to change influences your ability to succeed. You need to be open to new ideas from around the world.
Today, Egypt, like many countries around the world, has a lack of diversity. Even in the U.S. and the U.K., people want to have less diversity. That is dangerous because it makes people prisoners of their own mindset and ideas, and not open to what is happening around them. People often convince themselves of the same approaches they take in life, even when they don’t work. To evolve and progress, you must stay open-minded and accept criticism, different ideas and views.
We were accused of being against socialism, against Egyptian beliefs, against poor people. We were told that if you come from a rich background, you don’t understand how poor people think. I used to tell them, yes, I come from a good background, but if you assume that a rich person can’t understand what needy people require, then we must choose a sick person to become the minister of health! I tried to explain that people shouldn’t just focus on the source of the ideas, but judge things on their own merit.
But this happens everywhere. If people want to stop your ideas and plans, they attack you on a personal level. So it was always a battle to change minds and face the resistance to the implemented changes, despite the fact that things were getting better (since people don’t always feel the effects of these changes immediately). Yet, most countries around the world face the same battle.
This was probably the first time in your career you had to deal with so much resistance. How did you overcome these challenges and still manage to succeed?
Part of growing is being able to deal with challenges and resistance. It was not an easy job to transition from business into politics, but the transformation happened in a way that was effective and made a difference. That was exciting to me because I could see value being created and results being produced, such as all the new factories that were built, the increase in exports, the extra skills that were developed amongst young people, and the expansion of the creative industry. We created a lot of initiatives. Of course, there were some failures, but at least the successes were greater than the failures, which is what drove me to overcome such resistance.
“Only a few things in life are truly important: your family, your integrity, your beliefs, and your inner peace”
Of course, the Egyptian revolution was a challenging time for Egypt, and for you personally, it was a life-altering experience. How were you able to deal with the overnight turbulence in your life, and what inner resolve did it take to get through that period?
That was a very difficult time for my family and me, as we were forced into an unstable situation. The most painful aspect was the level of injustice we were subjected to. There was a lot of injustice and misrepresentation and a lot of very negative and unfair things were said about us. And we were forced to change our lives overnight.
My family is the most important thing for me, and our closeness and support for each other was how we overcame this experience. It was not easy, and I don’t want to live that again, or have any of the people I love be subjected to that again, but it made us all stronger and strengthened our belief that if you are truthful and ethical, God will be with you and things will work out eventually. Just stay the course, and hold on to your principles, integrity, and beliefs. That was a very valuable lesson for my daughters and me.
That time also made me realise the importance of teaching our children principles and values, because one day these ethics will be tested. Nowadays not everyone understands the importance of this. Many families prefer their children to be street-smart in order to deal with life, but this isn’t right. I have seen with my own eyes that principles are necessary to get through the tough times in life, and everyone will have their own share of tough times and will be in desperate need of such values. Then, if you are able to overcome these times, you become much stronger.
When you face challenges in life, you realise what’s important and what isn’t. Only a few things in life are truly important: your family, your integrity, your beliefs, and your inner peace.
“My role in every business is to set the vision and the direction, select the right people who can do the job, and motivate them while keeping them accountable”
How long did it take for you and your family to adjust and reestablish yourselves and your lives?
One of the most important capabilities of any human being is adaptation. If you are rigid and insist on having the same things in the same environment, you are not an adaptable person. Life changes, and if you’re able to adapt as you face challenges, you become much stronger.
We went through another adaptation phase and were able to overcome a lot of the difficulties we faced when we had to move to a new country, community, culture and phase of life. And we continue to deal with a lot of bad feelings because there was so much injustice at that time. But we had to adapt, and we did.
This phase led to another completely new phase in your life, where you emerged with even more of a high international profile as the CEO of Mayhoola for Investments, which bought Valentino and Balmain, where you now serve as chairman. It’s been amazing to see you adapt from the consumer goods industry to the government, and now to the heart of the luxury fashion world. Was it something you chose or was it an opportunity that was presented to you?
I went through a difficult phase, as I was unjustly deprived of all my wealth and assets. Later, everything went back to normal because all the accusations against me were proven false. Yet, I was put in a situation where I had to start almost all over again. And surprisingly, having the chance to do that at my age was an exciting challenge, especially since I was in a new country and environment when I decided to begin this new phase of my life. At the same time, people were trying to take away the possessions my family and I worked hard and ethically to achieve. Before joining the ministry, we had no relations with the government in any of our businesses; it was one of my father’s principles to only start businesses that have nothing to do with the government. That’s why we focused on consumer products, as consumer goods were just between us and the consumer.
We built an extremely ethical and successful business that created value, and people wrongfully tried to deprive us of all of it. Eventually, justice was served, and every institution in the country came back and cleared all the accusations. But, during that period I had no access to anything and I was challenged to reestablish myself. And that’s fine. If you have the mental capabilities, and the trust of the people and the business community, which I was blessed to have, you can build yourself again. Thankfully everyone who knew me in the business sector trusted me and treated me with a high level of respect.
It was really an exciting time, because if you go back again to what excites me in life, it wasn’t the money. I remember my wife always kept on telling me during that time, “Money in the bank doesn’t mean anything, it’s all about what you can do and how you can do it,” and I started to think in a very open way, about how I could go back into business, and that’s what I did. When I was in the government, I had zero involvement in business, and I am a very practical man. I want to wake up in the morning and get involved in business matters.
When I decided to go back into the business world, I had to choose which industry to get into, and I chose something very unusual and challenging for me: the international luxury business. I started by investing in Valentino, with the support of several investors. And I started to build my business in the luxury world in a very aggressive manner. Luxury fashion is international, and you can’t run it on a small level, as the competition is fierce. And the Valentino brand already had a high level of visibility.
At the beginning of my reestablishment phase, I was more dedicated to businesses with a creative element. I started with Valentino, then I expanded into many other businesses later. I wanted to go into the luxury goods industry and back to consumer products, but I didn’t have a chance to do that until 2023 when I acquired Lipton from Unilever. Now I am also one of the main investors in Lipton globally, but that was a nostalgic decision, as it was a business I had built in the past.
What influenced you to get into the luxury fashion world in particular?
It was a very rational business decision. I come from a background where I understood consumer products. I have a large network of people in the luxury business, especially in Italy. When I was in the government I learned the power of creative businesses. I traveled extensively and saw that countries like China were becoming richer and their middle classes were starting to develop a great appetite for luxury products. It was very clear to me this was a sector that would continue to grow for a very long time, and that it has amazing international appeal.
When I was working in consumer products, I was always attracted to global brands. And one of the most unique industries where you have true global brands is luxury. For example, a Valentino bag is the same all over the world; there are no changes in the specifications, advertisements, or communication. Luxury has this power of talking in a global language, and that was very attractive. I knew that this industry would continue to be big and relevant in the future; not just because it is big in size, but because it has global appeal.
Since you’ve taken over Valentino and Balmain, the businesses have boomed under your leadership. This tremendous success also shows that leading such businesses is primarily about one’s business skills, correct?
Business skills have a lot of commonalities across sectors. You need to understand this sector and what fashion and luxury stand for. Of course, these businesses have a glamourous side, with celebrities, models, and parties, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You have the whole set of operations behind that, which involve real businesses and manufacturing. You have factories, salespeople, and designers. So, the business side is one part of it, but you also need to have the necessary sectorial knowledge. For example, when I was with Unilever, we used the most cutting-edge marketing, and I learned marketing is about identifying consumer needs and fulfilling them.
We did all this consumer research to find out what consumers needed in order to give them the perfect product for their needs. In my first meeting at Valentino, all that was turned upside down, because in luxury consumers are told what they should want without asking them. The more unexpected a trend or an item is, the more attractive it will be for them. That’s luxury fashion for you!
During my first days in Valentino, the commercial director came to me and said, “I love Cucinelli because they have these cashmere shoelaces. You can’t imagine the feeling in the morning, when you tie shoelaces made of cashmere.” I laughed, as there is no research on earth that will give you this information. So, I learned to respect and understand that fashion and luxury are based on creativity. Our companies produce 12 to 16 new collections a year, and every one of them is like a new movie that can either fail or succeed. It is all about creativity, and without it you can’t create a successful brand. Functionality doesn’t matter as long as the products look attractive, especially for women’s products. When Valentino came out with extremely high platform heels, women loved them, even though they’re probably not that comfortable!
“Luxury fashion is international, and you can’t run it on a small level, as the competition is fierce”
How many times were you completely surprised by a trend that you thought wouldn’t work, that turned out to be a big hit?
I learned very quickly because every time I was shown any product before hitting the market at the stage of inception and I gave my opinion, I was wrong! When we acquired Valentino, the brand was perceived as a brand for relatively older women, with very expensive evening dresses and not many products to suit young individuals. And this drove younger consumers away from the stores. So, I told them we needed to change the strategy to focus on young consumers. To achieve that, we needed a different approach focused more on accessories, shoes, and bags.
We decided to reimagine two new ideas, studs and camouflage, which Valentino’s founder, Valentino Garavani, had used in the past. Those ideas were part of the archive he built over 30 years, but they needed a more modern interpretation.When we introduced the iconic stud shoes, which became very popular with women, I was shown the new communication for them where the shoes were held by a man’s hand covered in tattoos. That was the advertisement that would go in all of the publications and communication around the world.
I thought that was crazy and that it didn’t align with the brand positioning, as Valentino is supposed to be about elegance, beauty, magic, and not the hand of a man filled with tattoos. They insisted the idea would work, and I decided not to interfere. And it turned out to be the most successful advertisement at the time, due to the contrast between the super femininity in the stud shoes and the masculinity of the man’s hand. So, I learned my lesson (he laughs). If there is anything successful about these products, I can’t take credit for them; the credit goes to my creative and production team. I can’t predict what women will want next season, let alone what the women in my life want (he laughs).
So you focus more on the business side, and you let the creatives do their work…
That is part of it, providing the proper environment and supporting your creative people. My role in every business is to set the vision and the direction, select the right people who can do the job, and motivate them while keeping them accountable. You have to know your objectives and targets, and then ensure you have the right people, which is the number one element of success in any business.
Even though you have your hands full with Valentino and Balmain, you also established Alsara Investment Group, which is managing a whole new set of younger brands. How did that idea come about?
Alsara was established after all my assets were returned to me, as I wanted to redirect myself in a way to focus on a business that would be relevant for the future. It is a machine I’ve put in place to be able to continue to invest in new businesses. As I believe in focusing, my area of focus is definitely in creative businesses, which means fashion and luxury, but it also involves consumer products. Alsara invested in the Lipton operation and it also supports creative projects in several countries, with a special focus on the Mediterranean region, where there is a lot of value in terms of creativity and lifestyle. We started investing in a few companies in Italy, in addition to establishing some firms in Switzerland. We also invested in two Egyptian companies, Okhtein, and Azza Fahmy, and we are currently supporting them to go global.
We are also considering making investments in more companies across the region, including in the Gulf area, Lebanon, and Morocco. Yet, Alsara is based in Milan and all of our capabilities are based in Italy, where there is a very strong ecosystem for creativity in fashion and several different areas. Alsara has invested in the furniture company FROMM, which is led by my daughter, and several other companies in eyewear, fashion and jewelry.
Every young person has the capability to do great things, but I encourage them to take risks, as you have to accept failure. If you don’t fail, you won’t learn much. Being afraid to fail means doing nothing, and if you’re afraid you will never succeed. I want to create a safe business environment for myself, my children, and others, so that they can give their maximum in terms of creativity and operation while feeling safe. That means that even if they’re exposed to failure, they always have the chance to get back on their feet and proceed with their goals. People learn a lot from their failures, but only if they have the willingness to rise again. You need resilience and a strong desire to succeed, no matter what.
Now that you’re managing all these different businesses, how do you divide your time?
It’s a matter of organisation and having the right people. I’m not an operational person. My role is setting the vision, getting the right people, and creating the right environment for them. If I am in a situation where I’ve overextended myself, I refocus my priorities. And that is only possible when you have the right people doing their jobs.
Nowadays, I am adapting to a new life. I know I must do things in a different way, including time management. I owe it to myself now to only work with people I like, and do things I enjoy, which is a little bit of a luxury but, after all, I’m in the luxury business (he laughs).
This summer, you did a huge deal with the luxury fashion powerhouse the Kering Group, which acquired 30% of Valentino. Did that also signify a shift in your perspective?
It was a very strong sign of the success of what we had achieved. Valentino was acquired almost 10 years ago for a value of $700 million, and this deal was done at an evaluation of $6 billion; and Valentino can still reach much higher values in the future. When we acquired Valentino, nobody wanted to buy it. However, after we transformed the business, everyone wanted a share of Valentino, and they were willing to pay amounts never been seen before in the industry because of the position that the brand has achieved. The credit goes to the creative team, the CEO and the management team. At the end of the day, our achieved vision gave us a good reputation in the industry; a reputation that we are not amateurs, and that we are capable of matching the highest standards in the industry. That is what I always wanted to do in life; to create value and build these amazing products and brands that I am proud to be leading.
So what’s next for you, with all this success and these different brands under your belt?
More of the same thing. I don’t care about the size of the company or how much money it makes. For me, I’m just as excited about building a brand that’s worth 1 million euros as I am about building one worth 2 or 3 billion. What really matters is going through the process of building a brand and achieving something out of it. That process gives me a lot of satisfaction. During that journey, you build a lot of souls, characters, and capabilities. I’m very grateful for my role in this development, as I meet a lot of people in different countries, who come to me saying, “We were part of one of your journeys, and we learned a lot from it.”
Recently a Lebanese lady with exceptional achievements, whom I met and mentored 30 years ago while building a company in Lebanon, sent me a video of her on a television show where she spoke about how my interactions with her changed her life and made her who she is today. That was truly amazing to see. Fortunately, I have had many instances like this, with different people around the world. And that’s my biggest source of satisfaction; nothing else is worth as much to me.
Which five words best describe you?
I’m creative, I love people and love being among people, and I’m a romantic.
What would you like to change about yourself?
Nothing. The most important thing for all of us is to be able to assess ourselves and to know our strengths and weaknesses. And sometimes you need to accept your weaknesses. I have certain weaknesses I have to deal with. You need to continuously assess yourself and be able to evolve and adapt.
What qualities do you dislike in people?
Lying. Not telling the truth is the worst.
What qualities do you admire in others?
Resilience. I admire people who have the amazing resilience to achieve something against all odds. This is one of the noblest capabilities in a person.
Who are your real-life heroes?
My wife.
If there was a book or a movie made about your life, what would the title be?
“A Man from Alexandria”. But I think other people would call it “The Comeback Kid” (he laughs).
If this book was made into a movie, who would you like to play your role?
I will have to check with my daughters! (He laughs).
What keeps you up at night?
I’m the type of person who thinks ahead, so sometimes it is a silly thing, and other times it’s something very important. But usually, it’s just an extra cup of coffee (he laughs).
What makes you laugh?
I always laugh when I see somebody laughing next to me.
What is your proudest moment?
When I see something I’ve worked on becoming a reality. Today that is also happening through my children; I see things I’ve been dreaming about being achieved by them.
What do you love most about your life?
That I’m living it! That’s the most beautiful thing about life: you can live it with everything in it. You have to live it with all the bad and good moments and share it with the people closest to you.
What is left on your personal bucket list?
I wake up every morning with a long list of things I have and want to do. I want to learn new languages and skills, and visit certain countries. But then usually by the time evening comes, I tell myself “maybe it’s better to enjoy a quieter life” (he laughs).
What advice can you give on choosing the right partner in life?
My advice is to make the right decision about choosing your partner as soon as possible because it’s important to do it early and correctly. No person can claim success in life if they don’t have the right partner with them. In today’s world, people delay these decisions and give priority to professional lives, which is fine, but this is also a very important part of life. When I went through the many stages in my life, I learned that achieving stability and balance in your life is very important.
How do you keep your marriage working for so long? You’re also a role model in that respect.
Adaptation. You have to accept to change everything (he laughs). If you sleep at 8 o’clock at night, and your wife wants to stay up until midnight, then you adapt and do that. If you eat three times a day, and she wants to eat only twice, you adapt as well, and so on (he laughs).
Photography
Richard Ugo
