For shining through adversity and directing large-scale construction projects

Projects Director at Glassline Industries | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Walid Yahfoufi, projects director at Glassline Industries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is confident leading complex international projects with large diverse teams, but when Covid reached pandemic proportions and forced most projects and teams to transition entirely to remote work, Walid was in the midst of leading one of his most ambitious projects yet: the design of a new office for Stanbic IBTC’s bank headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.

Glassline Industries, which specializes in innovative building skins and facade solutions, was the lead on the Stanbic project, and Walid was Project Director. Moving every stakeholder to Microsoft Teams, he skillfully guided the project to completion by managing stakeholders in Abu Dhabi, India, Nigeria, Lebanon, and South Africa.

Earlier this year, Walid learned that Stanbic’s new building was honored with the prestigious 2024 SAPOA Property Development Award for Innovative Excellence in the International Development category.

The award shouldn’t have come as a surprise: it was hardly a career first for Walid. Nisrine Ghalayini, Glassline planning manager and the person who nominated Walid for a 2024 Project Management Institute Future 50 award, says that her colleague is “a highly accomplished project director with a distinguished career in managing large-scale construction projects.” Ghalayini cites the Hamad International Airport in Qatar as one of Walid's “most notable achievements.”

Under his leadership, “which involved overseeing the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of the airport’s façade,” the airport garnered global acclaim, named the World’s Best Airport three times and Best Airport in the Middle East for 10 years. What is even more noteworthy, she says, is that Walid’s “exceptional ability to lead diverse teams and complex projects and his strategic acumen and meticulous management” were what allowed the project to be completed in 10 months, a dramatic milestone compared to the typical two-year period required for projects of this scale.

Walid’s academic background – he earned a Master’s in mechanical engineering from Lebanese International University and an Executive MBA in leadership management from York St. John University – certainly prepared him for a successful career that spans countries and continents. He also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP)^® certification, which has prepared him to, as Ghalayini observes, demonstrate a remarkable ability to “navigate complex, high-pressure situations across diverse environments and cultural contexts.” For his part, Yahfoufi’s approach is direct and focused. “The way to get started is quit talking and begin doing,” he says.