Globetrotter adapting to a change of pace in Qatar

There’s not one part of a mobile phone that John Maguire doesn’t know about. In the past 30 odd years, he’s gone from teaching metal work to secondary school students in Dublin, to selling diamond-encrusted Blackberry handsets to Qataris in Doha.

The 52-year-old left the classroom in 1989, drawn by the adventure of Australia. There he met his wife Pauline and ended up staying Down Under for more than a decade. “It was a case of your place or mine when we were deciding our future together,” laughs Maguire.

In 1998 the couple moved from Sydney to London and it was there that Maguire's dizzying decade of jet-setting really took off. "I moved to Singapore as part of the reconstruction of Telstra. We spent two years there, before moving to Hong Kong with another company, then back to Singapore and then in 2008 we moved to Thailand.

"We loved Bangkok. It's not for everyone, but we thought it was great. People think it's a big, intimidating city, but it's full of small communities and it's easy to get to know people."

But when the company Maguire was working for ran out of money, the couple were forced back on the road. This time, they chose New Zealand, while figuring out their next move. Then an option they hadn’t considered before presented it.

"I got a call about moving to Qatar in the Middle East because Vodafone needed someone quickly. So we moved to Doha on the March 27th, 2009 and I became the head of wholesale services."

So how does life in the sandy desert compare to the sprawling, bustling cities of south-east Asia?

“When I landed here, it was the first time I had ever been in the Middle East. The first year was hard, as there is a completely different pace of life compared to Asia, Australia or even Ireland. It’s better to be accepting of it, rather than fight it.

“The business model is also very different. We have a Western rational that’s all about getting things done as quickly as possible with the most efficient amount of money. Arabs are more concerned with preserving relationships and their reputation.”

That idea of limitless cash, is summed up in the name of Vodafone's main competitor in Qatar. "It called Oredoo, which translates to 'I want'. Money is no object here. If you offer a Qatari the choice between a mobile phone that costs $1,000 and another that costs $2,000, they'd pick the more expensive one just because of perception."

Good advice
Maguire has advice for anyone trying to start a business in Qatar. "You need a local partner, and it takes time to find someone with the same goals and interests as you. Work on relationships before you get here.

"The Irish Qatar Business Council is a good place to start. It's full of people who have the battle scars to give you advice. You'll also need to spend as much time on the ground as you can, and get lots of face time with people.

“Arabs like to drink a lot of tea before they make a decision. I know one friend of mine from Norway, who wanted to do business with a Qatari so he went to his office every day for weeks asking for a meeting. He would sit in the waiting room for the entire day. The Qatari would walk by him in the morning and say hello, but that was it. Then one day, after three weeks, he said to my friend, ‘OK come in and have a chat with me’. Now I’m not suggesting people do that to start a business, but you get the idea of how persistent you have to be.”

And as a kingdom, Qatar also has other more pressing issues. “It’s definitely not perfect when it comes to human rights. Migrant workers from places like India, Nepal and the Philippines can be treated quite badly and paid very little to work on dangerous building sites in the extreme heat. Meanwhile, we have customers who buy diamond-encrusted covers for their Blackberries, just because they can.”

After more than 25 years working in the telecommunications industry Maguire says he has no plans to change direction. “It’s a nice industry. It’s clean, it helps people, it doesn’t hurt anyone and no-one ever protests at mobile phone companies.”

And Maguire also has no plans to return to Ireland. “I go home every two years. It’s great to see everyone and in my eyes very little has changed. You can still go to the pub and see the same faces. But as happy as I am to go home, I’m happy to leave again.”