In November 2025, I won the Next Generation Award of the Family Business Council Gulf (FBCG). I am the first Omani to win it. I received the award at the FBCG Annual Summit in Muscat. The FBCG awards site listed me for BHD Printing and Designing, Oman.
This essay explains what the award is for and what it meant to me.
The award
The Family Business Council Gulf gives the award. As its name says, the council works with family businesses in the Gulf. The Next Generation Award, as its name says, is for the next generation of those businesses.
The award recognized me for launching entrepreneurial ventures in the GCC with proven scalability, innovation and impact. The FBCG awards site lists the 2025 winners by category. Under Next Generation, it lists "Ali Adnan Haider Darwish Al-Zaabi, BHD Printing and Designing, Oman". An archived copy of that page is on the Wayback Machine.
Why BHD Printing and Designing
BHD Group is a family-owned Omani group. It carries the name of my grandfather, Haider Darwish, and its founding year is 1894. I have led it as founder and CEO since 2019.
The group started with BHD Printing and Designing. Today it has 14 companies in printing, technology, SaaS platforms and sovereign AI. The award listed the company where the group began.
A print shop is a practical place to learn business. Each order has a customer and a deadline. Mistakes show up on paper, and the customer sees them. That discipline shaped how I built the newer companies.
A summit at home
The FBCG held its Annual Summit in Muscat. For me, that made the award more personal. I received it in my own city.
It also carried a message about Oman. Omani family businesses are part of the Gulf story. Their next generation can build new ventures with regional reach. I was glad to show that from Muscat.
What the award meant
The award meant two things to me. The first was recognition for the people behind the work. A family business is never one person. The team at BHD Printing and Designing runs the work each day. The award belongs to them as much as to me.
The second was a check on a choice. I chose to grow the family business from print into software and AI. The award judged ventures for scalability, innovation and impact. That told me the direction made sense to people outside the family.
The award also brings a duty. The first Omani winner should not be the last. I hope more young Omanis from family businesses enter for this award in the coming years.
Two careers at once
I also lead strategic planning at ITHCA Group. I do this next to my role at BHD Group.
Each job helps the other. At ITHCA Group, I think about strategy across a portfolio of more than 20 companies. At BHD Group, I see what it takes to make one order leave the shop on time. The award came from the second job. The first job helps me plan the next steps for the group.
Looking forward
An award marks one moment. The work that earned it continues each day. BHD Printing and Designing still prints for its customers. The newer companies still grow.
I keep the award as a reminder of where the group began. It began with one family name and one print business.
Related: Awards and Building a company group under my grandfather's name.