{"id":121996,"date":"2025-10-07T05:42:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T05:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alj.com\/?post_type=perspective&p=121996"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:01:53","slug":"abdul-latif-jameel-80-years-of-inspiring-change","status":"publish","type":"perspective","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/abdul-latif-jameel-80-years-of-inspiring-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdul Latif Jameel: 80 years of inspiring change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Abdul Latif Jameel (center) as a young entrepreneur with two Saudi businessmen of the time (circa 1930s).\u00a0 \u00a9 The Jameel Family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the young Abdul Latif Jameel launched the business bearing his name in 1945, he could scarcely imagine what Saudi Arabia would look like eight decades later, let alone the world.<\/p>\n

But Abdul Latif Jameel had a vision . . .<\/p>\n

And despite the turbulent backdrop to his business\u2019s foundation, he successfully established the principles for a venture that would prosper for generations \u2013 a business capable of adapting to fit the contours of a fast-evolving world yet forever remaining true to its original values.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not have any specific job objectives, but I knew that you could not reach the top by sitting and doing nothing.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

You have to make an effort; read a lot; work hard and look for challenges, instead of waiting for them to come to you<\/em>,\u201d he said in an interview for the \u2018Okaz\u2019 newspaper in 1981, outlining the reasons that prompted him to establish his own business.<\/p>\n

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A reproduction of the interview with the late Abdul Latif Jameel that appeared in Okaz September 24, 1981. (Okaz is an English Saudi Arabian daily newspaper located in Jeddah, launched in 1960 (its sister publication is the Saudi Gazette). The paper is simultaneously printed in both Riyadh and Jeddah and has offices all over Saudi Arabia).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And make an effort is exactly what he did.<\/p>\n

Today, Abdul Latif Jameel<\/a> is a multinational organization, employing over eleven thousand people (referred to as Associates) from over 80 nationalities in dozens of businesses across more than 35 countries on six continents, worldwide, encompassing an array of cultures.\u00a0 It has forged longstanding partnerships with globally-recognized names like Toyota Motor Corporation<\/a>, Imperial College London<\/a> and MIT<\/a>, and across multiple sectors \u2013 mobility<\/a>, financial services<\/a>, investment<\/a>, real estate<\/a>, renewable energy<\/a>, water and environmental services<\/a>, health, <\/a>consumer products<\/a>, facilities management<\/a>, lean management consulting<\/a>, and much more.<\/p>\n

Such an enduring impact can be no accident.<\/p>\n

It is predicated on a foundation of ideas, values, and behaviors that still guide the network of Abdul Latif Jameel business to this very day.\u00a0 Many of which reflect the unique experiences and character of the late founder himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI witnessed the people who walked a straight path, and the ones who were manipulative. \u00a0The latter ones went up so high then fell down to the bottom; but the ones who chose to walk a straight path went up on a solid base,\u201d<\/em> said Sheikh Jameel, outlining his honest approach to business in his 1984 Okaz interview.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Founder\u2019s principles helped to shape a new future<\/h2>\n

Abdul Latif Jameel believed that the purpose of life extends far beyond mere personal advancement alone. \u00a0Rather, it covers a wider and deeper responsibility for addressing the needs of the many, improving prospects for all, and unleashing everyone\u2019s personal potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person has duties towards his country and has to make helping his brothers a main objective<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Himself a man of humble origins, Mr. Jameel empathized with the plight of the ordinary citizen. \u00a0He began his career following in the footsteps of his father, working in the Customs Office as an apprentice and working his way up from the bottom rung. \u00a0Later, when he forged a successful career as a merchant and trader, he recalled those early struggles and started giving back to society which had nurtured him and offered such opportunities. \u00a0Abdul Latif Jameel built quality homes for the families of people who worked for him, alongside healthcare facilities and social clubs, establishing embryonic communities with a family spirit.\u00a0\u00a0His business was also the first private company to establish a training facility for vocational and management training.<\/p>\n

And, realizing the personal and economic freedom offered by personal transport, in an effort to widen access to Toyota vehicles, Abdul Latif Jameel was one of the first to pioneer installment-based sales in the early 1960s for both individuals and small businesses, even before the domestic consumer financial services market was really recognized (leading to the foundation of Abdul Latif Jameel Finance<\/a>, Saudi Arabia in 1979).<\/p>\n

It was easy, in those early years as a trader, for the founder to personally oversee his business from his office, knowing all staff by name and ensuring the high values he cherished were upheld.\u00a0 As the business grew, that level of personal oversight became harder, but he determined that the Abdul Latif Jameel business would not fall into the trap of many large corporations, which often lost sight of their foundational principles and values as they grew.<\/p>\n

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The late Abdul Latif Jameel with his son, and current Chairman, Mohammed Jameel, KBE (circa 1950s) \u00a9 The Jameel Family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Abdul Latif Jameel, today, remains a family-run business, its culture and values protected from the short-term goals of ever-changing CEOs and leadership teams.<\/p>\n

The late Abdul Latif Jameel made a significant investment in his sons\u2019 and daughters\u2019 education from an early age, sending them abroad to Egypt and the US for their studies to which some later added Japan.<\/p>\n

This demonstrated his strong belief in the importance of global learning and the value he placed on their future success.\u00a0 Today, his son and grandsons, respectively, still run the business: Mohammed Jameel, KBE<\/a> (Chairman); Fady Jameel<\/a> (Vice Chairman, International), Hassan Jameel<\/a> (Vice Chairman, Saudi Arabia), Faisal Alsamannoudi<\/a> (Chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel Enterprises<\/a>) and Hisham Hamza<\/a> (Chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel Electronics<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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The second and third generation: from left to right: Mohammed Jameel, son of our late Founder, and Hisham Hamza, Fady Jameel, Faisal Alsamannoudi, Hassan Jameel, and Hussein Jameel, all grandsons of our late founder. \u00a9 The Jameel Family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inspired by the founder\u2019s vision, they have solidified and developed his ethos into a set of four fundamental values which underpin the organization\u2019s approach to its people and business dealings.\u00a0 These are as pertinent and applicable today as they have ever been in the businesses 80-year heritage:<\/p>\n