Yasser Taqi, one of the two winners of NTIBizPro Awards 2019, is a paragon of grit and hard work, who does never make light of any task assigned to him. He is passionate about his job and fully dedicates himself to it, leaving no stone unturned in making it a success

Yasser believes that one of the hallmarks of an accomplished professional is the ability to align one’s skillsets with the changing dynamics of the market wherein one works. Therefore, he thinks, even extremely skilled professionals need to keep abreast of the changing trends in order to better position themselves in the market.

Impressive track record
Testifying to this is his impressive education and professional track record. Yasser received, on completing his secondary school in Oman’s prestigious Sultan’s School, a scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with specialization in Business Law and Finance from Monash University in Australia. After his graduation, he returned to Oman to embark on his legal career as a paralegal for an international law firm in Muscat.

While working fulltime, he completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP Law School in the United Kingdom and then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (the Legal Practice Course also known as the LPC), which is prerequisite for practicing law in the UK. He was soon hired by Dentons, one of the world’s largest law firms, where he has been working for the last seven years.

Yasser has worked in three different offices with Dentons. He started in London, then moved to Dubai and eventually to Muscat. The experience has been quite enriching for him as it gave him a first-hand exposure of different ways of doing business and helped him build a personal network within one of the world’s largest law firms.

Yasser firmly believes in ‘work hard, play hard’ as way of life. “I give it my all when I am working; and I also try to enjoy and get the most of my time when I am not,” he says. This relentless pursuit of excellence coupled with an ability to take a broad spectrum view of the challenges he tackles, paid off well, when it came for NTI BizPro 2019. “Initially I was a bit intimidated, walking into a room with over 100 candidates taking an exam,” he recalls. “That exam can be daunting; but I told myself to take one step at a time; tackle each assessment as it comes and give it my best. It’s been quite an interesting experience. I had the pleasure to meet and interact with a number of very interesting people coming from various backgrounds.”

Broaden your horizon
He says the youngsters in Oman are fortunate as they are blessed with all ingredients of success such as good education, quality infrastructure etc. But in order to utilise them efficiently, they have to work hard, identify the opportunities as they arise and broaden their horizons.

He asks the young Omanis aspiring to launch on their career not to shy away from work. “Roll your sleeves up and be ready to get your hands dirty, and always see things in the bigger picture,” he says. “Set yourself a goal, and see if what you are doing on a day-to day basis takes you closer to that goal.”

He is of the opinion that those who are starting off their career should get their priorities right. “They should not focus only on the monetary aspect of the job. At least to begin with, their focus should be on what job will give them better exposure and where do they learn the most, as opposed to where they earn the most. If you have the passion to do something and you do it well, money would follow,” he says.

He also encourages them to broaden their horizons, by keeping abreast of the wider global market and not limiting themselves to the local market. “In Oman, we have an incredible number of graduates who have passed out of reputed international universities, including the best universities in the world. And they do possess knowledge and amazing skillsets. But I think what we lack are people who go abroad and get the experience of working in major financial and industrial cities there and bring that experience back to Oman. And I think that is the way we have to take our nation to the next level,” adds Yasser.

Bouncing off ideas
Yasser says he has been blessed to have several mentors wherever he has worked as well as in different walks of his life. “On a personal level, my family, parents and elder siblings have been immensely helpful. On a professional level, my elder siblings have always served as good role models for me. I have also been blessed with a number of mentors throughout my career who have helped me not only on the day-to-day works but also turning the spotlight on the big picture of my career trajectory. I am still in touch with most of them.”

He encourages young professionals to go and find their mentors. They have to bounce their ideas off with somebody with experience and insight. But he feels mentors do not have to be from the same industry. “One of my mentors with whom I closely work is based in London; he is a senior partner at the firm; the fact that he is in a different office, has a different focus and is in a very different stage in his career does not mean he cannot be my mentor. Mentors need not be your immediate bosses.”

Cooking and travel are some of Yasser’s favourite pastimes. He loves to meet new people, experience new culture and new ways of doing business. “I always like to try out new things, be it food, a destination or an activity,” he says.

Yasser, who was recently blessed with a baby girl, his second child, is looking forward to spending more quality time with his family. He aspires to be a leader not only in his professional domain, but also in giving back to the society by working with communities
and helping youngsters achieve their dreams.