From Mashghara to Michigan, then to UAE .. The success journey of businessman Basil Al-Hajjar

from Lebanon to Michigan, then to the UAE . he spent his career with a surplus of professionalism, intelligence and creativity, and took advantage of every opportunity he had to set an example for every Lebanese young man who knew success with his own efforts and outstanding abilities. from automotive engineering to educational management, to the world of production and cinema. he has fought in many areas where he has starred and proved his ability, and has represented international festivals to be one of the first to transport foreign productions to the arab world. in his spare time, his greatest happiness and freedom is to practice his hobby and apply his first specialty, automotive engineering, where basil hajjar, a distinguished Lebanese businessman, spends hours between his old-fashioned cars trying to repair and renovate them. how did he go about his family, study and practical life and how did he get to where he is today? the “economy” website reveals these details.

bassel hanna hajjar was born in the lebanese bekaa town of mashgara. his mother, julie karam, has four brothers: michel, atef, adel and bassam, and two sisters, gladys and agnes.

his father hanna owned tanning skins, as well as apple orchards, and they were the family’s money exporters. his brothers currently run two of lebanon’s most famous cheese and dairy factories.

hajjar finished primary education in the western bekaa town of mashgara, then returned and finished his secondary education in zahle.

in 1969, he traveled to michigan, usa, to complete his undergraduate studies, where he majored in automotive engineering and then moved to business administration. after that, he received his master’s degree in educational management.

he then moved to canada to earn a doctorate in educational management, but for special reasons prevented it from being completed on time. he received a call from his friend from boston telling him that he needed his help because he was his “only family” in the country of alienation. then, in 1977, they decided to return to lebanon, which was then quiet two years after the end of the civil war.

in lebanon, hajjar received an offer to be pepsico’s sales manager, and after completing training in the philippines, he was appointed to the position where he remained for six years.

in 2002-2003, hajjar was introduced to the management of the cannes festivals, which asked him to represent them in the arab world and help her promote the festival there, given his abilities and relations with the stations operating there. since taking up the task, the number of participants in the festival from the arab world has increased from about 70 to about 350.

hajjar has been a defender of Arab production, particularly Lebanese, in the face of the Turkish wave that has swept the soap opera market in recent times. he called for the importance of preserving arab heritage, production and creativity by reducing the spread of these series and encouraging syrian or Lebanese production.

the lebanese businessman, whose career has been a long history of success, likes to spend his free time between his old cars to fix and renew. he also loves winemaking, and in his home town he owns a vineyard where grapes are grown for this purpose.

hajjar also raises five horses as he loves breeding and riding horses. one of his hobbies in the gulf is to play golf.

hajjar considers that the basic steps to becoming a successful businessman and his career with excellence and success is to insist and know how to seize the opportunities that cross our way in life, in addition to being in the right place and at the right time without any hesitatio