Sometimes you meet someone who you just know could pull almost anything off, and make it look effortless. The kind of person who looks at a problem, or a need, and figures out the right team of people to get the job done. The kind of person who gets up at 4:00 am and advises others not to waste your mornings because they’re usually the quietest and most productive part of the day.
I recently had the opportunity to interview just such a person. Michael Payano is Chairman and CEO at Al Thuraya Holdings. With over three decades of experience, starting in military and security and evolving into energy, consulting, and everything else worth engaging in, he oversees a global conglomerate consisting of seventeen subsidiary companies. With a solid foundation built during his thirty-one year experience in the US military, where he rose to the rank of full Colonel, he transitioned into the private sector, founding Al Thuraya Consultancy in 2009 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Under his leadership, Al Thuraya Consultancy swiftly became a leading provider of risk management and security services, paving the way for the expansion of Al Thuraya Holdings into the globally sought after provider it is today. These days, Mr. Payano describes Al Thuraya Holdings as the figurehead for seventeen different companies that he has driven from inception to impact.
After leaving the military, Michael returned to the United States and started a consulting company. He worked with law enforcement agencies, provided tactical and SWAT training, and trained military organizations throughout the Caribbean.
Although he enjoyed that work, he always wanted to return to the Middle East. An opportunity came along in the United Arab Emirates, and he took it. This decision changed the direction of his career.
The first company he started was Al Thuraya Consultancy, and it’s still operating today. He never planned to build other companies and expanding businesses operating across different industries. It happened because their clients kept asking them to solve different problems.
One client needed security consulting. Another needed logistics. Another investigations. Others needed executive protection, travel risk management, intelligence support or strategic advice.
Michael Payano supplies solutions.
Sometimes that solution is security. Sometimes it’s understanding social risk, investigations, logistics, technology, executive protection, automation, travel risk management or strategic advisory services. The service changes because the problem changes.
Instead of trying to force everything into one company, Michael built specialist companies that could work together while remaining experts in their own field. He explained that that’s really how Al Thuraya Holdings evolved. It wasn’t built from a business plan. It evolved because their clients trusted them to solve problems, and each new challenge pushed them to build another capability.
Michael didn’t build Al Thuraya Holdings around industries. He built it around solving problems.
Throughout his military career and later in business, he kept seeing the same issue. Clients weren’t looking for another security company or another consultant. They were looking for someone who could understand the problem, bring together the right people and solve it.
The Human Factor
Everything comes back to people.
Whether it’s a government, a corporation, an investor or an individual, every decision is made by a human being. Every fraud case, every security incident, every compliance failure, every crisis and every successful negotiation starts with human behavior.
That is really what Al Thuraya Holdings is about. They help organizations understand complexity, reduce ambiguity where possible and make better decisions. Sometimes that means putting boots on the ground. Sometimes it means providing technology. Sometimes it means advising a CEO or a government minister.
Michael believes that success isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to deal with failing, getting up, and ambiguity. To adapt and keep moving forward.
Throughout his military career and later in business, he learned that no plan survives first contact exactly as you imagined it. The organizations and the leaders who succeed are the ones who adapt the fastest without losing sight of who they are and what they stand for.
Michael explained that Al Thuraya Holdings wasn’t built because he wanted to create a large company. It was built because clients trusted them with difficult problems, and every time they solved one, the clients came back with another. The business grew because they continued to solve problems, not because growth itself was the objective.
For younger leaders and entrepreneurs, Michael’s recommendation is to build your reputation before you build your company. Your reputation will open more doors than your marketing ever will. Verify before you trust, keep your word, treat people with respect and never stop learning. There will always be someone smarter than you or with more resources than you, but integrity and consistency are things you control every day.
Finally, never lose sight of why you started. Titles, revenue, and success come and go. What matters is whether you’ve made a positive difference in the lives of the people you’ve served, the people you’ve led and the communities you’ve worked in. At the end of the day, that’s the legacy Mr. Payano hopes to leave behind.
From security to logistics, helping people navigate a country they’re unfamiliar with, understanding local customs, avoiding unnecessary issues and making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, to ease of movement, Al Thuraya Holdings has their clients covered.
When everything works well, nobody notices. That’s usually the sign they have done their job properly.
If you would like to learn more about Michael Payano and Al Thuraya Holdings, please visit www.michaelpayano.com and www.althurayaholdings.com.
