There is no magic formula for success. If you are on the right track, you can never go wrong and don't let any upheavals deter you either, Bahrain-based businessman Jamil Wafa told members of the British Business Forum at a dinner in Kuwait.

Wafa, who is founder and executive chairman of Unitag Group, spoke about the aviation industry in the region, his life experiences and business ventures that began with working with the BOAC (British Airways) in Kuwait.

Born to Palestinian parents, Wafa was among the 1.2 million Palestinians who were forced to leave their home country when he was 17.

After arriving in Kuwait via Beirut to be with his brother who worked at the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Wafa was fortunate to meet a Palestinian lawyer called John Asfoor who set him up with the best career move of his life.

'I arrived in Kuwait in 1949,' he said. 'I was 18 years old and I lived in a place that belonged to BOAC called SQ6 with other crew members and senior officials near Al Sabah Hospital. John Asfoor gave me my first job and I started as a telephone operator at Al Ghanim Group, then as a typist/junior clerk at Yousef Al Ghanim Travel Agency.'

The agency was the only travel agency in Kuwait except for Abdullah Al Mulla Al Salah who represented Middle East Airlines.

In 1960, the office expanded and Wafa established the first Arab travel agency in England in Baker Street, London.

'My life in Kuwait was very hard,' he said. 'I was stateless for a long time but I worked for Yousef Al Ghanim and BOAC for 28 years and no other employer.

'Due to this discipline and attitude I was promoted to be the first Arab district sales manager to handle the BOAC office in Lebanon,' he said.

BOAC promoted Wafa to the position of marketing development manager of the Gulf area based in Bahrain.

He established the Unitag Group of Companies which caters for the travel industry and, in 1982, turned his attention to the insurance industry with the National Insurance Company.

Through Unitag, Wafa established many organisations useful to the service industry and Bahrain in general. Throughout his career, he has been recognised with many awards including the National Order of Merit from France in 1977.

'I credit my discipline and attitude to BOAC,' he added. 'I am now 78 years old and I still work every day in Bahrain. I employ 950 people, it is a big company but I am a man who has his hands on, always communicating with my staff.'-TradeArabia News Service