Bahous brings diverse insurance experience from reinsurance to retail. He possesses a great talent in integrating big and small businesses to positive effect; and he has also an entrepreneurial style that puts empowerment and quick decision-making at the right time in highly chaotic environments.
MIG Holding president and CEO holds a diverse experience from reinsurance to wholesale broking and retail broking. Bahous brings a unique blend of business savvy, he climbed the professional corporate ladder as a result of over 25 years of experience in the business and insurance industry where Nagib has seen the insurance industry change around him.
He is known locally and internationally as an expert in team leadership development. Bahous has spoken on this subject on various occasions and he is recognized for his contributions in the insurance industry and for achieving the best technical and financial results. He is reputed for his groundbreaking management style which produced extraordinary outcomes. Both his clients and business acquaintances describe him as intuitive, practical, inspiring, trustworthy, creative and quick to understand organizational issues and opportunities. He is a corporate leader who delivers more than just financial returns; he built the careers of thousands of female and male employees and thus improved the lives of the region's youth.
BL: Why did you choose this industry?
Bahous: I did not choose the industry as I entered it by pure luck. At the risk of repeating myself, briefly, during the Lebanese war a close friend asked me to join him to an interview with a travel agency having vacancies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. My friend had seen an ad in the newspaper and at the time I had no idea who the company was. Our plan was to go to KSA, work for a period of one year, apply for a US visit visa, travel and stay in the US. Going to the US was the dream of all young Lebanese during the war.
My visa to KSA was rejected. The Group that was sending me to KSA (I later knew it was ACE) offered me a position with the insurance operation in Athens, I hesitated at first but later joined the Group in Athens to do a clerical job. I liked the business and decided to build a career in this field.
BL: From a clerical position to becoming CEO is a big leap; how did you do it?
Bahous: I believe each one of us would have at least once in his career the opportunity of a lifetime. If we are ready and seize the opportunity we would have made it.
I knew early in my career that one day I will get “The Opportunity” that will change my career. I had good managers that tutored and trained me well; at the same time the company was going through changes. I was eager to learn, perused professional education, training, worked long hours and gave the business everything I had. The Group went through several phases of change and I was always ready to assume more responsibilities every time there was an opportunity. With time I progressed through the hierarchy of the Group and worked in several positions before ending up where I am now.
BL: Are you happy with the success you made?
Bahous: I know I did well but I would not yet call this a success as there is more to be done. Putting aside delivering on the commitments made to shareholders, I will only consider myself to have succeeded if I am able to prepare a new generation of young talent to take over and lead the Group in the future. Ensuring the future continuity is a key driver for me and for this reason I support recruiting, training and developing new generation of managers that could lead the Group in the future.
My message to the young managers working within the Group is that each one of them is capable of reaching the highest positions through dedication, hard work and professional qualification.
BL: What are the necessary changes or plans that you would like to implement at this stage in your busy career on a personal and work level?
Bahous: On a personal level I would not change anything; I am happy with the career I made for myself and the fact that I work for the MIG Group which is one of the leading insurance Groups in the region. I relate to everything around me; the senior team I am working with is professional, creative, devoted and loyal to the Group. In addition we have very supportive shareholders with the right vision.
With regards to work, the insurance industry is continuously evolving and as a business, insurance is affected by regulatory, political, and economic changes. Planning and adjusting to change is an on-going exercise that we do in order to keep ahead of the game and deliver results. We can never relax and say that our work is done or that what we planned for the present will work in the future.
BL: What are MIG’s present directions, engagements and worries?
Bahous: The strategy and the direction of MIG are set by our shareholders whose vision and long term strategies have put us in the spot where we are at the moment .Our direction continues to be strengthening and growing the existing business and operations while we expand into new territories. We also have international relationships that we continuously maintain, nurture and develop. We do not have worries or concerns about the future of the MIG Group or any of the operational companies; we are confident that the Group has a solid base, is heading in the right direction and will continue to lead in the territories where we operate
BL: What is selection criterion for the MIG senior team members
Bahous: Selecting executives is never a one person’s decision and the Group has set guidelines that are always followed. Senior executives are selected based on their leadership skills, professionalism, business integrity, and ability to deliver results. Often good performing executives stand out and the company cannot ignore their good performance; we do acknowledge and support good performers and reward them by giving them more benefits and responsibilities.
With new recruits, the selection is based on a defined criteria and qualification that is needed to perform the assigned job. We have to acknowledge that the candidates often look good on paper with good references and yet after joining their actual performance would fall below expectation.
However we do not give up easily on any recruit. We are firm believers that young educated candidates, with the right attitude and background would succeed if properly trained mentored and supported; at times those that do not perform well in one job will do better in another. We give everybody a fair chance to succeed. One thing is sure that while we give a fair chance, we do not tolerate bad performance that is not reversible.
BL: How do you allocate responsibilities to senior management in the various countries where your Group has presence?
Bahous: We operate a flat structure involving two tiers of senior managers and executives. The first tier involves the senior managers heading main functions and or operations. The second tier involves the executives in charge of offices, regions or even countries.
The experiences of the senior managers are diversified and complement each other. Important decisions are always taken after consultations amongst the senior team. We often conduct offsite meetings to brainstorm direction and strategy; such meetings always give us the best results as all feel part of the decision making process and fully commit to achieve results.
BL: How was the MIG Group performance in 2014
Bahous: The MIG Group achieved exceptionally good results in 2014 for all of its divisions. For the past few years we have had impressive and continuous growth in our top line figure. Whilst we have had growth in the bottom line the percentage growth was not as high as the top line. That was understandable considering we have been investing in new technology and offices at a time in certain territories regulators imposed a cap on the income brokers can make and stopped us from engaging in certain activities that eliminated a good portion of our income. So at a time our sales were increasing, the percentage income was reducing at a time our investment expenses were increasing.
We worked on plans to increase our efficiency and re-engineered our business model to drop the less profitable and focus on the more profitable business. The plans took some time to work, however with increased sales we knew that we were heading in the right direction. The results of 2014 proved that our diagnosis, plans and measures were correct. As a result we saw in all divisions over 50% increase in top and bottom line figures. I can only command the effort and good work of the MIG Group team that worked with me to make this turn around and achieve the excellent results
BL: What will be your biggest challenge in the year 2015?
Bahous: The economic and political developments during 2015 will present all industries including insurance with several challenges and it would be difficult to say which is the biggest challenge amongst all.
A challenge that tops the list, common to the insurance industry, continue to be finding qualified resources to support the growth plans. Coping with continuous regulatory changes in some territories, achieving the required localization percentage in several territories will remain to be big challenges. Coping with irrational competition, new capacities and market entrants etc are serious challenges as well.
More specific to the MIG Group, when setting the 2015 budget, encouraged by the 2014 excellent results the senior management committed to a very aggressive budget; I have to stress that this was self-imposed and not dictated by shareholders on the operations. Achieving the set targets will be a real challenge but we feel confident that the operations will achieve the 2015 budget as our senior team has been delivering the agreed targets year after year.
BL: Do you have any immediate plans for further growth or acquisition?
Bahous: The MIG Group is always looking for good business opportunities. As mentioned earlier we have our shareholders blessing to expand into Qatar and there are other plans in the pipeline that will be announced when formalized.
BL: What are the latest developments at MIG Group?
Bahous: Our shareholders have ambitious long term vision for the Group. Our shareholders have decided to move MIG Holding into the DIFC which has become a leading financial center in the region. We recently started the process and we aim to finish within the second quarter of 2015
BL: Is it true that insurance is about relationships? (Please elaborate).
Bahous: In a way this is correct however the more accurate description is that insurance is about trust and respect with the people you deal with in business.
Clients would want to deal with individuals they trust, that offer them good advice and do not mislead them. As an insurance Group when we select insurers or other parties to do business with, we select the companies with professional management whom we can trust. It is not only the size of the company that matters; it is also the integrity and professionalism of the executives that manage the business.
I always tell the teams within our Group that “We do not mind losing business on price because we know we will always have a chance to quote for the business at subsequent renewals. However we cannot afford to lose a business on account of bad advice or service because we will not get another chance to quote for the business again”.
Our client facing teams embrace the above and this is why ACE is highly trusted by clients and has the highest client loyalty ratio amongst all brokers.
BL: What is your view on the 3rd MENA Insurance Barometer which was published by the QFC Authority?
Bahous: The insurance barometer is an annual survey that summarizes the perception of top insurance leaders in the MENA region relating to the same topics and challenges that are faced by all. I am convinced that the report is an important tool for insurers to assess if the challenges they face are common to the industry or unique to their organizations. The report can be used as a valuable diagnostic tool
BL: Are you satisfied with the present regional regulations?
Bahous: Having Regulation is positive as it helps protect the interest of all stakeholders. However for a regional Group like ours, with operations having branches in more than one territory, it would make our lives much easier if regulations within the GCC were unified.
