In the middle of our interview, Mohamud Salat’s boss, Abdinasir Ali Hassan, the chairman of Hass Petroleum, walks in. Their relationship is unconventional—not unlike the Big Jefe and the point-to-prove upstart, but more like a patriarch and scion, the supreme leader and its ultimate successor. “He is very aggressive and stubborn. That is what I was looking for when I hired him —aggressiveness,” says Abdinassir.
Salat, 39, attributes his career progression to the time-tested gems of hard work, determination, and ambition —sweat and bone, blood and pain. There is no shortcut to the top, he says; one has to take the stairs. “Instead of giving it 100 percent, give it 200 percent.”
He was born, raised, and schooled in Garissa. Became a SONU (Student Organization of Nairobi University) leader, and with that, “I was always looking for solutions to problems”.
He got an opportunity with KPMG, accelerating his career exposure. In his auditing career, “I learned a lot about policy and had so much data which prepared me for my new role which is when Hass Petroleum came looking for a Head of Internal Audit. I rose to become the CFO before my feet grew too large and I asked for the CEO shoes.”
"Instead of giving it 100 percent, give it 200 percent."
Now Salat is in charge of 10 African countries and 1,700 employees—this striver who has spent his life dogged by the question: Am I good enough?
With a Master’s in Economic Policy Analysis from the University of Nairobi, he offers a piece of advice that has been the lighthouse of his career. “Always keep your word — to your employers, employees, and stakeholders.”
Are we what we say, or what we do—are we our actions or our aspirations? To Salat, our words matter; they reveal what we hope to do and who we want to be. And in that, he is resolute in sticking to his position, caring little for what others think of it. It works too—since he came in as CEO, everything doubled at Hass.
“We have grown to new markets like Malawi and others. The shareholders’ bottom line has doubled. But I am especially proud of my management mantra—giving an opportunity to those within, at least 90 percent of the chances here are internally filled. I am proud of all the people who have grown under my leadership. And they have built me to where I am. Quid pro quo. A symbiotic relationship of give and take.”
It would be entirely reasonable for him to wind down his career, perhaps with a well-paid sinecure in any of the African countries Hass Petroleum has tentacles in, but Salat has swathes of energy in his reservoir. He is still hungry.
But where does one go when they have risen to the proverbial corporate mountain peak? “When you are up there, the next step is a fall. He says be good to the people on your way up the ladder because you will meet them on your way down. That’s just the way it is.
“Chairman Abdinassir has built an empire that he doesn’t need but others depend on. He can say he has made a difference in the lives of other people, in my life. How can I too build an empire where I can impact other people? Beyond this, I don’t see employment. Or perhaps I can join the public service to serve my country.”
But he is self-effacing, playing down his chances, calling himself just an “average guy” and would rather leave it to the brilliant experts and policymakers and ministers. A CEO sleight of hand to throw us off the scent—but he is the exception that proves the rule. In his case, the wolf on the hill is still as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill.
-Eddy Ashioya