Eng. Irene Vidal, CEO, Facility Management & Maintenance Company, LLC
Life is a rollercoaster ride that often takes us through several crests and troughs. At least to remain afloat, if not anchored, we must learn the art of wading through the rough tides. We gain wisdom in challenges; we are here to appreciate life not to criticize it. The woman who has proved these true with her life-changing visions is Eng. Irene Vidal, the very acclaimed business personality from Qatar. The tale of her rise teaches us how to perceive difficulties in life and catapult them into making us better not bitter. Her unwavering faith in herself, indomitable spirit to change adversity into opportunity, and compassion to work with diligence have been instrumental in making her one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs.
For Eng. Irene Vidal, success was never a hot pancake, baked and served to be savoured. She had to climb this long and gruelling ladder of life with a commitment to carving a niche in the stream of facility management. Switching a career always involves high risks. But for Irene, trying out something new has always been fascinating. In the long span of her professional career, she had the privilege to work in different countries like Peru, France, Spain, UAE, Finland and Qatar, which gave her the opportunity to meet new people and learn new things. This further broadened her outlook on life and made her immensely knowledgeable and inculcated in her the attributes of resilience, courage, and fortitude for starting up something from the scratch. She dared sacrifice the comforts of life to reach her goal. “When there is a struggle, there is always a learning, if we fail, we need to stand up and push ourselves to keep moving on and look ahead”, muses Irene, one of the most influential entrepreneur from Qatar.
Key attributes of leadership:
Everything perishes without good leadership. A leader does not merely create followers; rather she builds more leaders for future. She is the one who identifies talents and manoeuvres them in a positive direction. Eng. Irene Vidal not only has a good grasp of knowledge of corporate culture and values, but also she makes sure to instil those values in her employees and workers so that they may work together as an integrated unit.
Effective communication is the lifeblood of any corporate house. Keeping this in view, Irene has set up a strong communication network, where all her staff may engage in direct interactions with each other. She conducts regular meetings to keep an eye on employees’ performance and ambiguities so that no area of discomfort goes unaddressed. Being an astute entrepreneur, Irene believes in the growth of her employees, which would show up in the profit chart of her organization. She considers even the stakeholders’ opinions and aligns them with her vision to meet the target. Facilities Management & Maintenance Company L.L.C maintains a strong and reliable support system that is extremely helpful in leveraging business ideas and knowledge to the workers.
Strengths and expertise:
As the kingpin of her concern, Eng. Irene Vidal keeps the ball rolling for new goals and new opportunities. She creates boundaries and transcends them to set a new record. She inspires her workers to work through a new set of challenges, embrace diversity, and brainstorm ideas that may transpire into something new and ingenious as Facilities Management & Maintenance Company L.L.C.
It is imperative as well as a very crucial task for a dynamic entrepreneur to put the right person in the right position, so that it may yield maximum output. Having spent an extensive period of more than 20 years in the field, and 8 years as CEO of FMM, Irene has mastered the art of bootstrapping her employees , resources, and results in the best possible way. For Irene, a tenacious leader must be capable of being flexible and accepting others’ ideas that might help to have different perspectives and find alternative solutions. She reaffirms that personal traits like trustworthiness, accountability, empathy and work ethics contribute significantly to making a good leader who might consequently bring forth an efficient workforce.
The driving culture:
Appreciating good work, recognizing the efforts of the employees, and motivating them to adapt to changes are the pillars of an organization. As a believer of promoting diversity, Irene brings together 21 countries, with their different notions, culture, and customs on a single platform, bound by a common goal. The CEO of FMM asserts that mutual respect and responsibility are the major propelling factors behind the steady success of her organization. As a successful business professional, Irene focuses on growing with the team, taking care of the workforce, and involving them in the decision-making process. In a nutshell, make them feel listened and valued.
The feeling of oneness rings in her voice when she proudly claims, “Our valued employees are engaged as they feel responsible for bringing betterment and growth, and they enjoy individual and collective achievements. They see their colleagues as family, and there is a good atmosphere of fellowship supporting each other.” She further adds delightedly, “feeling part of the company that care for you, and where you are recognized and esteemed for your work, it’s what creates this emotion of being in a safe place, where you can focus to deliver the best version of yourself and in where you want to be a part of.”
The ever-blooming future and message to the budding entrepreneur:
Behind the façade of overwhelming success, there are always the unostentatious virtues of hard work, integrity, patience, and perseverance that suggest the leader. For Irene, change is constant and instead of fearing consequences, one must strive to bring out the best version even in the worst situation. “Don’t be afraid of change but promote it. The greatest opportunities appear when we are willing to leave our area of comfort, and when there is uncertainty, analyse situations from different angles, this will mitigate risks and will help to work efficiently for the best decision”, she concludes.
Thus, at FMM, Irene is all set to create precedents for her successors and build a legacy for the upcoming generations to thrive within an organization that believes in applying Excellency while fostering the people’s culture.
