Building a company group under my grandfather's name

BHD stands for Bin Haider Darwish. It is my grandfather's name. BHD Group was founded in 1894 and carries that name. I have led it as founder and CEO since 2019, and I keep that name on purpose. A family name is a promise: people will judge the family by what the company does.

One shop first

BHD Group started with one business: BHD Printing & Designing in Muscat. Printing is not glamorous. It is deadlines, paper stock, machines that break and customers who need their order tomorrow. It taught me the basics of running a business faster than any course.

From one company to fourteen

Today BHD Group holds 14 companies in printing, technology, software platforms and sovereign AI. Many of them grew out of a problem we had ourselves. We needed digital business cards for clients, so we built Cardify. We needed a better way to talk to customers on WhatsApp, so we built Dardasha. We needed an ERP that fit how an Omani business works, so we built one. It now runs as Paper & Pen for other companies.

The rule was simple: solve our own problem first, then see if others have the same problem.

A day job and a family business

I also work full time as Head of Strategic Planning at ITHCA Group. People ask how both are possible. The answer is a strong team, clear rules for who decides what, and a lot of automation. I do not run fourteen companies by hand.

What the next generation can take from this

In November 2025 the Family Business Council Gulf gave me its Next Generation Award. I was the first Omani to win it. The award is for launching a new venture. Here is what I would tell other next-generation members of Gulf families:

Start something of your own. Inheriting a role and building a company are different skills. Both matter.
Use the family name with care. It opens doors. It also raises the cost of every mistake.
Start small and boring. A print shop taught me cash flow, suppliers and customers. Those lessons carry into every company after it.
Build what you use. Your own business is the best test customer you will ever have.
Write the governance down early. Who owns what, who decides, and how disagreements are settled. It is much easier before there is money on the table.

Why it matters for the Gulf

The future of Gulf family businesses depends on the next generation choosing to build, not only to inherit. I hope more young Omanis in family businesses start their own ventures, under the family name or their own.