One of the best things about life is that we never have to stop learning. There are always new skills to learn and techniques to adopt, says Adam Al Jabry, Assistant Manager of Marketing & Branding at Alizz Islamic Bank

Coming from a business and communications background, Adam Al Jabry started off his career as a media and events coordinator with a leading local events management company. He then used his expertise in applying strategy and communications solutions to move into the marketing, advertising and public relations sector. Adam spent several years widening his horizons and honing skillset in marketing, communications and public relations by working at the market-leading agency for public relations in Oman. During this time, he had the privilege to work with a vast variety of clients in sectors such as oil and gas, banking, tourism, telecommunications and public sector entities. This led to his assuming his current role in the strategic development of the marketing and corporate communications department at Alizz Islamic Bank. “I pride myself in being a highly efficient, innovative and methodical marketing manager with extensive experience of increasing sales and brand awareness by reviewing, developing, and defining their overall marketing strategy,” says Adam. He possess a proven track record of the ability to ensure that brand messages, standards and communications are understood and implemented effectively.

Adam has always been a natural leader and have exceeded his KPIs in every organisation where he worked. “I look back at the successes in my career and know that I wouldn’t have reached them if I hadn’t built and led teams composed of highly skilled and diverse individuals,” he says. “I pride myself in my ability to get cross-functional groups on the same page. I would have to say that my biggest strength is that I have strong self-belief and the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines while maintaining quality and focus. I love to learn and help others learn and I’m proud that I have the drive to effectively lead team activities by motivating and engaging members to bring out their best. I thrive on my flexibility to handle changes in marketing and digital marketing trends and developing a very supportive team that believes in the overall vision and mission of Alizz Islamic Bank. I have extremely strong public relations, digital communication, marketing and branding skills and solid attention to detail to fit the task and requirements of a specific audience. I also pride myself on my customer service skills and my ability to resolve what could be difficult situations as my years of experience have enabled me to learn to effectively understand and resolve customer issues.”

Fountain of inspiration

Adam’s wife has been a great source of inspiration in his life. “Those who know me intimately will tell you I don’t give away my affections easily but she brings out the best in me even when I don’t want her to,” he says. “I have seen many things over the years, which have caused me to view life in colours of black and white while she sees things in every colour of the rainbow. She has taught me more about business and cultivating the tools I needed to succeed more than anyone. Without her direct support, I wouldn’t be able to do any of this and she never ceases to amaze me. She has truly been my biggest influence, my best friend, and my most encouraging champion. On top of helping me chart my path to success she constantly amazes me with her dedication and commitment towards the betterment of not just herself but the world as a whole.”

Another role model of Adam is former Liverpool FC captain Steven Gerrard whom he describes as ‘arguably the most influential captain the club has ever seen’ and as a person ‘who always led by example’. “Once in a generation a player comes along to whom nothing seems impossible and Stevie G was the epitome of that. The way he carried himself both on and off the pitch was second to none and even in matches when all hope seemed lost he always managed to carry the team by the scruff of their necks and achieve the unachievable. He was a true leader with exemplary visionary leadership,” he adds.

Talking about his experience with Alizz Islamic Bank, Adam says, “It is an extremely wonderful and rewarding experience to work in an organization that believes in its team members and works hard to provide the best customer experience in the Sultanate. The bank has a young and dynamic team that is dedicated to providing an exceptional banking experience. I played a key role in transforming the brand image of the bank and increasing its share of voice within the media landscape and I managed the responsibility of revitalizing the marketing efforts, including complete redevelopment of the corporate website, revamp of all marketing material, update of branch branding in terms of customer experience, improved presence at events and enhancing the social media presence. It has been my aspiration and passion to raise the profile of Alizz Islamic Bank in Oman and ensure that we are at the forefront of regional and International business trends.”

Adam thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of BizPro Awards 2018 and recommends it to all young business professionals in Oman. “The assessments and the evaluation process unlocks skills and abilities that you have hidden inside you that you didn’t even know you possessed,” he says. “It was a privilege to represent Alizz Islamic Bank and extremely rewarding to make it to the final. The experience inspires you to lead, guide and help other Omanis to excel which is something I am extremely passionate about. This is an ongoing process for me and with continued dedication there is no limit to what the young generation of future Omani business leaders is capable of.”

Adam asks young Omanis to trust their intuition, but by verifying and questioning it. “You are not always right but your gut feeling is usually spot on. Revisit your five-year business plan regularly and update it. It should be a ‘living’ road map: a vision that drives your career decisions. Always have belief in yourself, embrace mistakes, and never stop learning. Self-confidence and self-assurance in your own abilities is a quality you need to develop early on. You need to not only have a passion, but a belief that you and your skillset are making something special that other people will benefit from. Take a deep breath and jump. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t be afraid to fail. And if you do, get back up – and try again.”

He believes that making mistakes is inevitable and therefore one has to learn from the mistakes instead of letting them bring one down. According to him, one of the best things about life is that we never have to stop learning. There are always new skills to learn and techniques to adopt. “You should always have belief in your team. You are all working towards the same goal so remember that you’ll never walk alone,” he exhorts the youngsters.