KHAN AND LAFARGE

Upon graduating in 2003, Khan had his eyes on the big four accounting firms before his recruiter presented him with the opportunity to apply for a position at Lafarge’s North American division.

Admitting to being grossly underprepared, Khan quickly realised the need to organise himself and, after an interview with several managers over more than two hours, accepted a job offer still under the premise that it would lead to the holy grail of the accountancy giants. However, this soon changed, with Africa generating particular interest.

After moving to Nigeria in 2013, Khan soon learned the nuances of managing multi-layered teams, a key learning being to give his managers space to run their own teams and build up their own leadership skills. In 2015, he took his first Managing Director/CEO position, heading up Lafarge operations in Mauritius which, at the time, was turning over $70 million and had 270 employees on the books.

“While we turned that Mauritius business around in two years, I made mistakes that I needed to learn from. I thought I needed to be liked and popular to be able to influence such a large population quickly, and I found myself getting too close to my executive committee, sometimes blurring the lines of professionalism and friendship,” Khan says. “The CEO position is often a lonely one, and difficult decisions need to be made in the interest of all employees and the group – it is important to keep that professional integrity at all times. The success of Mauritius is ultimately what gave me the opportunity to be in Zambia, where I continue to learn every day.”