Running a successful regional communications and integrated marketing agency for over 15 years, Sawsan Ghanem deals with challenges that come her way head on and does her best to approach them with a logical mind and find a solution fast...It’s all in the mind after all, a mind which ArabAd picks for this month to learn what fuels the life of the Joint Managing Director and Co-founder of Active DMC Dubai.
What gets you up in the morning?
The gift of life and another day with my family.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It’s not a job rather a professional path I’ve chosen to pursue that makes me feel challenged and complete.
Who do you ultimately want to become?
I’m happy and content with the ‘me’ I am today and every day.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Don’t really have one but when I can afford my own chef, then he/she would be my greatest extravagance.
What’s your motto in life?
Do what makes you happy!
What keeps you in the game?
Being open to change and staying ahead of the curve.
What would be your worst nightmare?
Any harm comes to my family.
What inspires you most?
People who go through difficult times in their lives and face them with dignity and come out stronger. Never look back.
What music have you been listening to lately?
It’s very much a mood thing for me, I listen to a wide range of music from Queen, Duran Duran to Maroon 5, Adele and Ed Sheeran.
What is the gadget you cannot live without?
My iPhone.
What can we find on your phone?
A very busy calendar, hundreds of photos capturing memorable moments in time, too many apps (business, social, and games for my kids), and way too many notes, as I am an avid note taker, keeping a record of things I want to refer to later.
What quality do you most look up to in a friend?
Loyalty and a sense of humour.
Who would you like to sit next to on a seven-hour flight?
Michelle Obama.
If you could live for one day the life of another person, who would it be?
J. K Rowling.
If you could have dinner with someone, living or dead, who would it be; and what question would you ask him/her?
Harry Selfridge – how were you so far ahead for your time (democratizing fashion and taking retail to another level).
If you were to change profession, what would you choose to do?
Psychiatrist.
What do you consider to be the greatest headline of all time?
The first successful IVF birth.
What business tip would you give the newbies?
Stay focused and give your best.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
My family & close friends.
Where can we find you on a Friday night?
At home with the kids or running around somewhere with the kids…its very much a family day.
If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
Resurrection – bring my dad back.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Everything I couldn’t do before I won the lottery.
What is the one word you catch yourself saying too often?
Let’s see.
What would you like to be doing five years from now?
Taking on another challenge – retraining for another vocation.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Lake Como.
What’s the last book you read or movie you saw?
Bohemian Rhapsody – absolutely out of this world.
What is the one thing you wish you have designed?
The pen.
I AM
- I am… proud
- I like… to stay fit
- I want… a beautiful house in the countryside
- I have… a great life
- I wish… I had more hours in the day
- I hate… dishonesty
- I fear… failure
- I Google… everything
- I wonder… when they will find the cure for cancer
- I regret… not wising up to people earlier
- I love… my family
- I need… the support of the people I care about
- If I ruled the world… I would introduce fashion police
- I dream… that we are kinder to one another
My Favourite…
- Dream Destination - Tuscany
- Restaurant – Zuma
- Hotel – Al Qasr
- Meal – black cod
- Quote – “Creativity is intelligence having fun” – Albert Einstein
- Book – Out of Place by Edward Said
- Movie – Bridget Jones Diary
- Flower - Orchid
- Animal – Labrador
- Poet – Khalil Jibran
- Music/band – Queen & Maroon 5
- Painter – Frida Kahlo
- Heroes – Those who tirelessly dedicated their lives every day to find cures for cancer, heart disease, MS and more.
