Emigrating from the Middle East in 1995 with his wife and young son, civil engineer Sam settled in Howick, a suburb his family has come to love so much, they feel it’s almost their birthplace.

Sam came to New Zealand with ambition and determination to succeed, but with little money, broken English and no experience of western culture things were tough to begin with. 40 days after arriving in New Zealand he had bought a van and tools and was subcontracting to Sky TV. In the days before health and safety awareness, climbing multiple, dangerous roofs every day was a risky job, the workflow fluctuated vastly and the industry was plagued with bullying. To feed his young family Sam had no option but to bite the bullet and push forward.

By continually improving his sales techniques Sam was able to grow his business but it was hit hard by the global financial meltdown in 2008. Realising he was a better technician than a business person back then, Sam reached out for some external coaching advice. This helped set his business in the right direction and with education, he succeeded in building a much better business platform. Securing a national contract with Freeview in 2010 Sam went on to sell that business in 2015. Separate to this, in 2012 Sam secured national contracts for ultra-fast broadband enabling him to build a second, nationwide business which he sold in 2020. Building an investment portfolio of residential and commercial properties Sam is now in a position where he can work for the love of it.

In his spare time Sam enjoys mountain biking, skiing, trail running, traveling, and occasionally fishing and free diving. An avid reader he is also writing his own business book catering to the small business market.

Sam’s decision to join The Alternative Board was based firstly on their collaborative spirit and secondly on their proven systems and processes. Sam’s looking forward to utilising his business experience in working with business owners in the Auckland East area.