By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » Diplomatically-speaking, the Turkish Ambassador to Bahrain has earned a niche for himself in the art circles of Bahrain. Artistically-speaking, Engin Turker represents the best of Turkey in the Pearl of the Gulf. For him, art and diplomacy come naturally and his canvas unlimited.

His love for art was as if in-born but he made diplomacy his career when maths failed him.

By Paul Cleaver  »  A schoolboy athlete, a pioneer in Abu Dhabi when there was nothing there but sand, and now a prominent business leader, Khalid M Kanoo is one of the most refreshing personalities you could ever come across.

Khalid Kanoo, who is the group managing director of the Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group of Companies and chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is anything but your typical businessman.

By Archie D'Cruz » Many people might consider that being born into a rich and famous business family is formula enough for success.

Khalid Al Zayani was born to just such a family, one which built a business empire that was the envy of the Gulf. Yet when there was a falling out between father and uncles, it led to anger, acrimony and eventual disintegration of the business.

By Roy Kietzman » Few youngsters start off with so many hard knocks in life before successfully climbing a career ladder as Mustafa Al Sayed did.

He was just five when fire broke out in a neighbouring barasti in Hoora and completely destroyed their family's thatched hut too, leaving Mustafa, his parents and four brothers and sisters homeless. Months later his father died, and Mustafa admits that, moving to different abodes in Manama as a child made him feel like he was leading an Oliver Twist life when in later years he read the Charles Dickens novel.

By Kirstin Stocker » At the age of seven, he braved storms and the threat of pirates as he 'crewed' on vessels buying pearls throughout the Gulf. By 11, he was managing the family finances while his father was away on months-long trading trips. And at 15, he was already taking the first definitive steps to fulfilling his passion - designing jewellery that, simply put, were works of art.

Today, Mohammed Al Mannai, whose creations are often used as Gifts of State by the government and Ruling Family, presides over the Al Mannai Group, one of Bahrain's most respected conglomerates.

By Kirstin Stocker » A carefree childhood in a loving family, which viewed integrity as foremost among a list of values, has stood Osman Morad in good stead during his successful career in banking.

Born in London in 1951, where his father was serving as Pakistan's air attaché, Morad's family moved back to Pakistan when he was four years old. Back in his parents' home country, Osman and his elder brother and sister enjoyed a carefree childhood in a small air force town.

By Reem Antoon » Whoever said dreams don't come true?

Saleh Al Kowary still remembers imagining himself in the chief executive officer's chair at BritishBank which he had just joined. Nothing quite wrong with that. Except that Al Kowary had been employed as a typist. And that he was just 14 at the time.

By Archie D'Cruz » When Eva Young gave birth to little Johnny in Savannah, Georgia, on February 6, 1940, the odds were stacked against the boy.

He was born into a family living in abject poverty. He was black in an America where equal rights were still a dream. And, when he was 11months old, Eva Young passed away at the young age of 27.

That someone could battle such odds and go on to become a three-time Ambassador for his country is as much a tribute to Johnny Young's determination as it is to the American system.

By Archie D'Cruz » Ambition, it is said, is the driving force behind every human endeavour but success is reserved for those who try with determination, diligence and devotion.

And they don't come any more determined than Jamil Amin Wafa, chairman and chief executive of the Unitag Group.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » Success follows those who dare. And if luck smiles...the sky is the limit.

From a small-town boy to an international banker, Iqbal Mamdani's story is of calculated risks and an unending desire to go further.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » Ataba, Ataba. Step-by-step. That is how Haji Hassan describes his progress from a seven-year-old boy pulling his vegetable-laden donkey through the shallow waters separating Manama and Sitra to his position today as one of Bahrain's leading businessmen.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » As a child, Farouk Almoayyed had a fascination for cars. Hardly an uncommon passion for a young lad, you might say.

But while other children pictured themselves behind the wheel, Farouk's head was planted under the hood, so to speak. He was intrigued by the processes that made the car run and dreamt of one day becoming an auto mechanic.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » "This candidate has no background in the hotel industry or HRD, but has great potential. It will be good to hire him". That was how the then general manager of the Regency Inter-Continental described Ebrahim Khalifa Al Dossary, who had applied for the post of assistant manager at the human resource department in 1983.

By Archie D'Cruz » The start of the teenage years are when most children have just grown out of toys. It was the age when Mohammad Dadabhai discovered them. Not to play with though. For at the tender age of 14, he was running his own little toy shop on Shaikh Abdulla Road in Manama.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat  »  It was a brazen act that helped Gulf Hotel's top executive Mohammed Buzizi break into the industry.

By Valerie Franchi  »  When I was first introduced to Karlheinz Aumann, the general manager of Bahrain Sheraton Hotel, he was hosting a luncheon for the hotel's taxi drivers. It's an annual event now, ever since he started the tradition back in 1983.

By Paul Cleaver » Even as a youngster, it was apparent that Abdul Rahman Morshed was a born leader. He was always captain of the team when he played soccer with his friends on the hot dusty fields near his home in Muharraq. Off the field, he was leader of the pack. At university, he was elected head of the Bahraini Students Union, and later in life, many other honours would follow including being named Rotary Club president.

By Archie D'Cruz » As a young boy, Abdulnabi Al Sho'ala could be seen at the football field like any other child. But while the other children were out playing, young Abdulnabi was waiting for them to take a break so he could sell them the peanuts he had roasted after school.

By YM Sreekrishna Bhat » Seven friends, seven thousand dollars and one man's dream and planning... that's how advertising giant Fortune Promoseven (FP7) was born in 1968.

Today, FP7 is the Arab world's largest advertising agency, spread across 14 countries with a staff of more than 680 professionals and a clientele which any agency in the world would be proud of. And the $7,000 has grown into a $125 million advertising empire! If FP7 is where it is today, it owes a lot to the passion and commitment of Lebanese-born Bahrain resident Akram Miknas.

By Kirstin Stocker » It comes as a surprise when the man behind some of Bahrain's finest architectural landmarks proclaims there is no such thing as the perfect building design.

Ahmed Abubaker Janahi, architect and designer of many prestigious projects including the GOSI Shopping Mall, A'Ali Complex, Taib Bank Tower, Control Tower, various important government projects and now the Bahrain Financial Tower, insists that while perfection is certainly something to strive for, it's impossible to attain.

By Reem Antoon » As a youngster, Faisal Jawad always dreamed of becoming either a doctor or a pilot. He was a bright student, and after finishing his Secondary School Certificate, he applied for a course in medicine.

He was accepted. But on the day he received his acceptance letter, young Faisal changed his mind.

By Paul Cleaver » If you love what you do for a living, you will never work a day in your life. Famous words those, and going by that adage, top Arab advertising personality Khamis Al Muqla has had the pleasure of never having to work.