Khalid Mohamed Kanoo was born in Bahrain in 1942. He studied in Bahrain, Britain and the USA and after graduating in 1969 returned home to join the family business of Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo. He started his career in Bahrain and then worked as an Assistant Branch Manger in Abu Dhabi. Over two decades he assumed wider responsibilites in the Group in posts in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia until he became Group Manager Director. He is now a partner and Group Director. He also chairs or is on the board of several other companies in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He was recently appointed as Chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce.

He was a keen interest in the family business, and is ideally placed to understand and relate to both the older and younger generations of the family. The intricacies of family business have become a special subject on which he has written and lectured extensively. Khalid Kanoo is also the Founder Chairman of the Young Presidents' Organization Saudi-Bahrain Chapter. He lives in Bahrain with his wife and three children.

The Book

The author recounts the history of the Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo family business, charting in fascinating details its growth from trading in basic commodities to being now one of the leading international companies in Arabia.

This very readable family business history is also the story of the Gulf region: it shows the astonishing transformation of traditional, poor communities into states rich in oil wealth and human resources. The House of Kanoo is shown reacting to and influencing the dramatic political and economic tapestry of events over a hundred years.

The period covers two world wars, the decline of the pearling industry, the discovery of oil and its impact on the economy. Events that are a background to this remarkable story.

As Dr. Ghazi Algosaibi, poet, author, Minister and Saudi Ambassador writes in his foreword:

"This book will be of great value to many categories of readers. For historians there is a mass of information. For non-Arabs wishing to do business with Arabs, it is almost a manual. For the general reader, it is a fascinating look at a society in transformation. For the management consultants, there is a heady brew of the latest business theory mixed with very ancient traditions".