“You always win when you live life on your own terms,” asserts Dr. Tareq Ammar, a General Manager for Amman Paradise Hotel in Amman – Jordan, Business Development Consultant. Also, a Country Manager in the private sector, he reflects on his upbringing. While he indicates that each part of his life came with some degree of difficulty and opportunity, it was these experiences that led to his brand of leadership, which he describes as adaptable, inclusive, and very much outcome-focused.
At the early stages of his career, Dr. Ammar jumped into the high-pressure crucible of consulting, where every hour required developing structured thinking and undertaking evidence-based analysis. This enabled him to dissolve complexity and communicate simply and directly, but he soon thirsted for the arena of the operational battlefield. He traded external advice for the driver’s seat, jumping into a management role that demanded direct P&L accountability and immediate results.
His defining test was a struggling business unit: market share was hemorrhaging, morale was low, and operational inefficiencies were a daily drag. Ammar realized the problem was not a technical failure, but a cultural collapse. He executed a swift, decisive reset, eschewing new tools for radical transparency. He established open communication lines—anonymous feedback and mandatory face-to-face forums—forcing every voice to be heard. He then fused this inclusivity with measurable KPIs, balancing strict accountability with recognition.
The result was explosive. Performance didn’t just stabilize; it rebounded with resilient engagement. This furnace of experience forged Dr. Ammar’s definitive style: a flexible, inclusive, and results-driven model that proved numbers mattered, but only people—led with both structure and empathy could truly deliver them.
The Personal Conviction
Dr. Ammar’s commitment to a PhD in sustainable hospitality was a conviction born from contradiction. Beneath the welcoming facades of the service industry, he witnessed operational sabotage: rampant waste, over-consumption, and fragile labor practices. This dissonance—the clash between an industry built on care and its environmental impact—fueled his academic dive. He began carrying a critical question: Could hospitality become not just more sustainable, but truly meaningful? He wasn’t researching theory; he was hunting for the operational key to transforming this system, driven by the belief that the potential for change was as vast as the challenge itself.
The Strategic Systems Architect
The PhD was not a theoretical detour; it was a weapon that taught Ammar to think in complex systems. He learned to view every business opportunity through its full ripple effect—across supply chains, environment, and community—not in isolation. When faced with resistance and cost concerns, his research armed him: he framed sustainability not as a moral plea, but as a strategic and economic imperative. This systems perspective became core to his business development, demanding accountability and measurable metrics. He insisted on tracking not just profit, but carbon emissions and employee well-being, cementing his leadership as consistent, value-driven, and anchored by the belief that high performance and high purpose are mutually reinforcing forces.
The Art of Contextual Warfare
Dr. Ammar viewed every new region not as a territory to be colonized, but as a complex fortress demanding contextual intelligence. His guiding principle was simple: successful strategies are never ‘copy and paste.’ The greatest tension he managed was the war between global uniformity and local necessity—standardization versus localization.
He executed his plan by drawing an iron line around the non-negotiables: integrity, transparency, and the core value that People Come First. Everything else became a flexible framework, designed to bend to local will. When tasked with integrating new technology and sustainability standards across vastly diverse countries, he didn’t impose a single blueprint. Instead, the team segmented the markets, allowing the “People Come First” value to take on different forms: expanding critical maternity benefits in one locale, while providing essential, free staff transportation in another.
This adaptive warfare required more than just data; it demanded humility and the cultivation of homegrown leaders who understood the subtle, vital nuances no expat ever could. Ammar’s final wisdom, forged in this process, was his unwavering mantra: consistency in values, flexibility in methods. This dynamic adaptation was the engine of resilient, multinational growth.
The New Standard of Global Leadership
Dr. Ammar saw the future of hospitality as inseparable from its ethics. The global traveler was no longer content with mere luxury; they demanded authenticity and transparency, making sustainability the new, non-negotiable standard of the industry. He recognized that this profound shift required a corresponding evolution in executive leadership. Thriving in global business development demanded far more than just financial acumen. Leaders now needed to be custodians of value, spanning economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
They had to be masters of strategic integration, systems thinkers who could harmonize short-term targets with long-term commitments. For Dr. Ammar, the new executive mandate was to articulate a compelling vision that inspired a shared sense of purpose, coupled with the courage to invest in practical, measurable actions like smart energy systems and community engagement. He believed the future belonged to leaders who viewed sustainability not as an obstacle, but as the very pathway to resilience, proving that ethical grounding and forward-thinking vision are the ultimate drivers of meaningful growth.
The Dual Mandate: Culture and Cost
Dr. Ammar’s leadership was most vividly demonstrated in the turnaround of a mid-sized hospitality company operating in a region facing turbulent economic and social shifts. Before moving a single operational lever, he committed to a deep, humbling immersion. He bypassed boardrooms to spend time with frontline staff, local suppliers, and community leaders, seeking not data, but cultural insight—understanding that customers valued personalized tradition, and employees craved transparent, respectful communication.
Armed with this nuanced truth, he defined a radical vision that balanced local culture with aggressive innovation. The transformative initiative centered on a dual mandate: restructuring operations to integrate technology with sustainability standards. This was no rigid blueprint; it was a flexible framework. He streamlined procurement and introduced smart energy systems to reduce costs and waste, while simultaneously creating cross-functional teams with local managers to foster ownership and minimize resistance. The execution was a delicate dance of assertive leadership and cultural sensitivity. This initiative not only drove immediate financial performance but also embedded sustainability as a core, lasting value, transforming a struggling company into a resilient market leader.
The Architecture of Lasting Partnerships
In Dr. Ammar’s global view, sustainable growth is impossible in isolation; it depends entirely on the strength of strategic partnerships. He approaches collaboration not as a transaction, but as the meticulous construction of shared value, starting always with an aligned vision and unshakeable values. He views regulatory and economic differences—which often appear as obstacles—as catalysts for innovation, forcing partners to design bespoke, highly creative solutions.
Crucially, his method is intensely human: he invests heavily in building personal relationships, prioritizing face-to-face dialogue to understand motivations and foster empathy. To sustain these collaborations across vast distances and market changes, he insists on flexibility in structure, allowing partners to pivot strategies without fracturing trust. Leveraging technology for data transparency—tracking performance and sustainability metrics in real time—ensures accountability. Dr. Ammar’s approach teaches that successful partnerships are resilient because they are built on a foundation of mutual benefit, deep respect, and continuous communication, transforming external challenges into collective opportunities for growth.
The Compass of Shared Value
Dr. Ammar’s leadership journey was anchored by a singular, constant truth: leadership is fundamentally about relationships—inspiring trust and fostering collaboration for shared success. He viewed every partnership, internal or external, as a long-term investment built on mutual commitment and shared value. This belief was the solid foundation that guided him through ambiguity and conflicting pressures, fostering loyalty and engagement.
His core compass consisted of unshakeable values: Integrity and transparency as the bedrock of credibility; a people-centered approach that empowered individuals; a constant growth mindset embracing adaptability; and a deep sense of accountability and ethical stewardship. For him, leadership was always a journey of service, trust-building, and the relentless pursuit of impact, defined not by the title but by the philosophy that underpinned every choice.
Cultivating the Purpose-Driven Leader
Mentorship, for Dr. Ammar, was a critical mechanism for strengthening the future of the industry. His approach extended beyond technical guidance; it focused on inspiring confidence, cultivating curiosity, and nurturing a purpose-driven mindset. This was especially vital for emerging professionals in sustainable industries. He recalls guiding a young professional to build her resilience and strategic thinking, enabling her to design and execute innovative, eco-friendly initiatives with measurable impact. His core advice for aspiring leaders in this complex space was simple: embrace continuous learning, seek diverse experiences, and above all, lead by example with unwavering integrity.
Innovation as Ethical Bridge
Dr. Ammar recognized that for organizations committed to long-term goals, innovation was no longer an option—it was a necessity. He saw innovation as the bridge between ambitious sustainability goals and practical, impactful solutions. He fostered this not just through technology but by establishing a culture of empowerment and experimentation. He recalls championing a complex technology integration project that reduced costs, lowered emissions, and boosted customer satisfaction simultaneously. This success reinforced his view that innovation thrives when diverse teams feel trusted, and foundational values like integrity and sustainability guide every single step, ensuring that the pursuit of new solutions remains rigorously aligned with the organization’s ethical purpose.
The Crucial Pivot: Integrity Over Revenue
Reconciling the demand for immediate returns with the patience required for long-term sustainability was the most defining tightrope walk of Dr. Ammar’s career. He rejected the notion that performance and sustainability were opposing forces; instead, he saw them as interconnected and mutually reinforcing. His most important guiding principle in this conflict was integrity. He consistently mentored young leaders to understand that leadership, particularly under pressure, meant never compromising on core values, even when it hurt the bottom line.
He vividly recalled a pivotal moment when a forecast showed massive short-term profits from a proposed business expansion. Yet, the initiative posed a clear threat of long-term environmental degradation in a vulnerable community. Despite intense stakeholder pressure, Dr. Ammar made the costly decision to walk away. The choice sacrificed immediate revenue, but it protected the brand’s credibility, reinforced its ethical stance with regulators, and proved to the internal teams that their values were not negotiable. He knew that the organizations that truly thrive are those that embed sustainability as a strategy, not a cost, building resilience and trust that far outweigh any quarterly number.
A Multi-Dimensional Legacy of Resilience
Dr. Ammar’s ultimate ambition was not to leave behind a monument of personal achievement, but an enduring legacy of responsible systems and leaders. He viewed legacy as having a multi-dimensional impact that continues long after his personal involvement ends.
His first aspiration was to provide irrefutable proof that business profitability and sustainability are not antagonists, but partners in growth. To achieve this, he focused intensely on mentorship, ensuring he left behind well-formed leaders who cared about more than profit, thereby multiplying his positive influence. More profoundly, he sought to shift the baseline of corporate expectation. He wanted organizations, regulators, and customers to demand that social and environmental impact be measurable, accountable, and core to performance—not merely an optional PR exercise. This would ensure that even companies he never touched would feel the ripple of higher, more ethical standards. Ultimately, Dr. Ammar aspires to leave behind resilient organizations—institutions built with stable values and flexible strategies designed to adapt through economic crises and environmental shocks—proving that the highest form of leadership is building what can outlast the pressures of short-term thinking.
