Ahmed Alawi Abdullah Al Dhahab: Bolstering Food Security with Visionary Leadership and Precision

By: Ahmed Alawi Abdullah Al Dhahab, CEO, Salalah Mills

The food manufacturing industry serves a fundamental economic purpose for Oman by manufacturing essential products that secure national food reserves amid rising consumer needs. The sector contributes approximately 3.5 percent to Oman's GDP and employs over 20,000 workers, underscoring its importance in the country's economic framework. The sector has shown a compound annual growth rate of 7.2 percent over the past 5 years, because of rapid urbanization together with expanding population numbers and export opportunities directed at GCC and African markets. The milling industry confronts crucial challenges because wheat consumption depends heavily on imported supplies, thus exposing it to global market disturbances. Rising wheat prices together with the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical conflict and Indian export restrictions have intensified supply chain volatility. Leaders across the sector need to find methods of managing current emergencies while developing sustainable plans for long-term growth.

The CEO of Salalah Mills, Ahmed Alawi Abdullah Al Dhahab, demonstrates prominence in addressing this complex business challenge through innovative strategic approaches. Throughout his career in the milling industry, he has developed resilience to complement his ability to adapt. Ahmed has used his decade-long experience in financial governance at Oman's Ministry of Finance to prepare for seeking more diverse challenges in his career. Since joining Salalah Mills in 1999, he has led the organization from its small beginnings toward becoming a dominant regional force. Under his leadership for 20 years, Salalah Mills achieved exponential growth by increasing its daily wheat consumption from 300 metric tons to 1,500 metric tons, marking a 500 percent growth. The company expanded its storage capacity from a starting point of 17,000 tons to exceed 200,000 tons, which has strengthened its ability to overcome market fluctuations.

Strategic Expansion and Export Excellence Through Ahmed's leadership, Salalah Mills has captured around 40 percent market share in the Oman flour industry and has become a dominant exporter to Yemen, Somalia, and Africa. The company exploits its strategic position to operate as one of the leading exporters of flour and macaroni products. Through regional market analysis, it became a central pillar of GCC food security because Ahmed understood how to capitalize on local needs.

In 2017, under the leadership of Ahmed, Salalah Mills expanded into the PP bags manufacturing sector, producing high-quality packaging solutions from state-ofthe-art plants for both the food and cement industries. This forward integration move ensures captive consumption for its milling operations while also catering to external domestic and export market demand.

In 2021, Salalah Mills entered the animal feed industry, manufacturing poultry and ruminant feed for large cattle. This initiative strategically utilizes bran, a key by-product of flour milling, ensuring waste minimization and resource optimization.

In 2024, Salalah Mills embarked on a new expansion initiative by establishing an ultra-modern accredited laboratory designed to test both food and non-food materials, including raw materials and finished goods. This laboratory was developed to address the critical quality assurance needs of industries operating not only in Salalah but entire Oman, ensuring compliance with regional and international standards while enhancing food safety and product integrity.

“These expansions have reinforced Salalah Mills’ position as a fully integrated food and agricultural enterprise, increasing its operational efficiency and revenue streams. Through capacity expansion initiatives, we have met increased market demand without elevating prices. Through efficient logistics and supplier partnership development, Salalah Mills has solidified its position as a dependable partner in the international food supply chain ensuring food security while driving sustainable business growth”, says Ahmed.

Through efficient logistics and supplier partnership development, Salalah Mills has solidified its position as a dependable partner in the international food supply chain ensuring food security while driving sustainable business growth

Innovation-Driven Leadership Ahmed has led Salalah Mills toward technological innovations that enable operational improvement and cost reduction. The company's frozen bakery sector entry represents a strategic vision through its $50 million investment project. The project signals Salalah Mills' dedication to both innovation and self-reliance, while it targets to replace major portions of GCC frozen bakery products imports and diversifying Salalah Mill’s portfolio.

Under Ahmed's leadership, his team members learn to take measured risks while fostering creative ideas. Through his leadership style, he has developed an organizational structure that grants his team members the power to contribute directly to company expansion and operational efficiency. By making the workplace inclusive, the organization simultaneously ensures employee satisfaction and continuous performance enhancement.

Steering Market Volatility with Precision Any milling business faces major hurdles because of the unpredictable behavior of the wheat market. Salalah Mills faces market challenges with ease because Ahmed uses his market analysis skills along with risk management expertise. By strengthening relationships with suppliers in Australia, Canada, and the Black Sea region, Salalah Mills has maintained stable procurement costs despite market volatility. Through substantial investments in storage infrastructure, Salalah Mills now possesses sizable reserves that protect it from market price shifts and any supply chain disruptions. The company's financial stability has received additional support due to Ahmed's proven expertise in acquiring products at the best pricing conditions.

Commitment to Sustainability Among his leadership qualities, Ahmed demonstrates a special dedication to sustainability efforts. The manufacturing sector now requires enhanced attention to environmental, social, and governance factors. Hence, he ensures that Salalah Mills operates according to international and domestic sustainability benchmarks. The company has launched multiple sustainability programs that combine energy efficiency improvements alongside waste recycling programs and binding compliance with Oman's sustainability reporting standards.

The leadership of Ahmed has established a sustainable vision across the organization which integrates profitable performance with environmentally responsible practices.

Fostering Local Economic Development As a leader, Ahmed has achieved corporate success and made significant contributions to Oman's economic development. Salalah Mills has teamed up with a wide range of local businesses to supply both their services and products after identifying the vital role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play in the market. Through this partnership, the businesses have achieved both expansion and Oman's economic sector transformation.

As a part of its community initiatives, Salalah Mills allocates part of its net income to support social welfare projects. Through his dedication to corporate social responsibility, Ahmed has steered economic support toward hospitals, schools, and women's organizations to generate substantial benefits for the entire local community. His business philosophy demonstrates that organizational achievement depends on maintaining optimal stakeholder welfare.

Expertise in Crisis Management The crisis management capabilities of Ahmed prove his extensive business experience when combined with his strategic vision. Throughout various crises such as geopolitical issues and market price volatility, Ahmed maintains a level-headed and strategic response. Through his development of reliable backup strategies and his active relationship maintenance with stakeholders, Salalah Mills quickly responds to unexpected situations.

The company's strategy to maintain adequate storage space plus secure supply chains has delivered essential benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic by fulfilling regional customer needs. Through his leadership, Ahmed has defended his business operations and strengthened his organization's status as a dependable supplier to its partners.

Driving Workforce Development Organizational success depends fundamentally on human capital, which Ahmed highlights as the primary priority of his leadership. Salalah Mills has allocated substantial funding for employee training and advancement, which prepares workers to adapt to manufacturing industry requirements. Through leadership development programs and technical workshops, Ahmed has made his workforce both competitive and equipped to meet future challenges.

Ahmed firmly believes in women's empowerment and workforce diversity, and thus, many key positions in Salalah Mills are occupied by women. Through his inclusive policies, Ahmed has created a multicultural workplace that allows space for diverse opinions which transform into valuable decisions. The enhanced innovation capabilities combined with increased employee engagement have created a motivated workforce.

A Visionary Approach to Leadership Ahmed stands apart as a manufacturing business leader because of his ability to envision what will happen in the future. Success is achieved when dedicated teams collaborate in their actions to reach shared objectives. Ahmed has achieved organizational alignment by explaining his company's mission and objectives to create shared objectives between employees, stakeholders, and partners.

His approach to team-centered transparency shapes a work culture of mutual trust because every member carries feelings of worth and a purposeful drive to contribute. Through his inclusive style, Ahmed drives innovation while establishing a sense of ownership alongside employee accountability.

Overall, Ahmed demonstrates a model approach to manufacturing challenges in his region by helping others master both complex situations and emerging business opportunities. His success story demonstrates that great leadership combined with strategic thinking, emotional strength, and collective work enables a transformation of challenging issues into growth opportunities.