Business leader delivers inspiring lecture at AUS

Sharjah, March 18, 2012—Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and Founder of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Overseas Corporation (TAGOCorp), delivered an inspiring lecture entitled ‘TAG: A Life Journey Blessed by Suffering,’ at American University of Sharjah (AUS) today, March 15.

“It is my privilege to introduce Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh who will share his remarkable experiences with us,” said Dr. Peter Heath, Chancellor of AUS. “Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh has given new meaning to the word ‘flexibility’ for carving out a viable niche in providing what is needed in managerial consulting for an ever changing-market”. 

In his lecture, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh talked about his humble beginnings as a Palestinian refugee, living in southern Lebanon and striving to achieve greatness.

“In this life, there are many struggles and people face a lot of problems. To me having a problem or failure is not a problem in itself, it becomes a problem when you give up and get out of the race,” said Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh.

He encouraged his audience, to look at the blessings that come through the sufferings they have to endure. “As a 10-year-old child in Lebanon, I used to walk four hours every day to and from school. One of the reasons I feel so well today at 75 years of age is because of that. Walking those four-hour walks made me better, healthier and stronger and that is a blessing.”

The lecture was part of the AUS Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series, held in collaboration with the AUS academic units and the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs. It was attended by large audience that comprised students, alumni, faculty members, as well as senior university officials.

In his comments in the visitors’ book, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh thanked the chancellor and the students for their warm hospitality and praised the University for its Achievements. “This excellence could not have been achieved without the vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,” he said. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh added that he had learned a lot from the leadership of the Sharjah Ruler.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh has earned some of the highest awards for distinguished service, such as the Presidential Shield bestowed by the Republic of Lebanon, the Decoration of the Republic of Tunisia, the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur of France, the Coat of Arms of the Kuwaiti Association of Accountants and Auditors, the International Lifetime Achievement Award of Dubai, to mention just several honors. These and other awards were garnered from different countries for very different sorts of activities.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh is also a natural educator; his corporate divisions have published guides, books and research articles on how to deal with the situations they have successfully mastered.  He is currently President of the Board of Directors of Arab States Research and Education Network and was the past Chairman of the Afro-Asian Knowledge Society Council- Egypt.

Based in Amman, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh founded TAGOCorp in 1972, an international professional services group, employing over 2,000 professionals and operates out of its 71 offices in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, India, Cyprus, Russia and China.  It has representative offices in Europe and North America and non-exclusive strategic alliance agreements with various networks and individual firms thus enabling it to choose a firm best suited to its clients’ needs in virtually every country in the world.

The lecture was also attended by Dr. Thomas Hochstettler, AUS Provost; Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs; Dr. Olin Cleve McDaniel Vice chancellor for Finance and Administration; and other senior officials.