Raid Gamal Eldin, founder and CEO of Ultra Ibex: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Raid Gamal Eldin (LinkedIn), CEO of Ultra Ibex and a veteran of multinational FMCG players and the domestic manufacturing industry.

My name is Raid Gamal Eldin, business builder and founder of Ultra Ibex, a trail running and outdoor adventure events organizer based in Cairo. Born out of Wadi Ibex, Egypt’s first and only trail running team, it’s managed by leading ultra and trail running athletes who have international experience. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife, Rania El Farnawani, for 24 years now and we have three wonderful kids, Hamza, Haya, and Tara.

Part of our mission is to promote the Egyptian trails and natural protectorates. On Friday 15 September, we're organizing a clean-up event in Wadi Degla. We’re inviting everyone to come and volunteer from 9 -11am and help us clean the Wadi. Last year, we used the event proceeds to install five trash collection units. This year, we are targeting 10 more units, to reduce littering in the protectorate. Anyone interested in joining can register on our website.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cairo University in 1994 and I got my MBA from Maastricht School of Management in 2008. My early career in sales management was with Mövenpick Ice Cream. I then worked at Philip Morris, Mondelēz International, and the Coca-Cola Company, before my final corporate stop at Double A International, a global copy paper company, as Egypt general manager. I was there for 12 years until the company exited Egypt earlier this year and I decided to focus on my passion with Ultra Ibex.

My main responsibilities as a founder and CEO include handling the marketing, business development, and finances of the company. I also help with operations during the races and challenges.

It all started in 2019 with a small group of passionate runners including myself who went running regularly in Wadi Degla Protectorate. Soon enough, I created the Wadi Ibex trail running team. We trained every week in the Wadi and started organizing races when the pandemic hit in 2020. The trail running community developed faster than we expected and grew to include dozens of runners from various age groups and different athletic backgrounds. My passion for trail running kept growing and I dedicated more time and effort to promote the sport and the country’s natural protectorates, eventually establishing Ultra Ibex.

The most interesting trend in my industry is the development of the sport globally and at a very fast pace. This attracted the sports equipment and events organization companies to the sport and they started offering trail running gear, apparel, and shoes.

I’m an early riser. I wake up around 5:30 am, pray, and go for a workout. Then I go home to take a shower before having my breakfast and morning coffee, usually while reading EnterpriseAM. I also love reading the weekend issue in detail.

My day usually starts at 9am after I'm done with my breakfast. I’ll start checking emails, answering phone calls, updating my calendar and to-do list and taking meetings.

My workday is never the same. It’s sometimes from home, sometimes from the office, sometimes from the car hopping between New Cairo and Sheikh Zayed on the same day. I wrap up around 6pm to get back home and spend time with my family.

I am a very organized person so the one constant in my day is journaling. I have a notebook for everything and constantly update my to-do list and calendar. I always use color codes to prioritize my lists. Also, I try to stay focused by not answering all the calls I receive. I pick which to answer based on the importance and the urgency of the call.

My dream is to organize a local 250 km multi-stage ultra trail race, similar to the legendary Marathons des Sables that I completed last year. They’re unsupported three to five-day races in the desert or mountains, where participants run an average of 50 km per day for several consecutive days, carrying all their food, supplies and equipment for the whole duration of the race. One of my personal goals over the next two years is to participate in the UTMB world championship, which is the top trail race in Chamonix, France.

I used to be more of a workaholic. I realized that I wasn’t giving my family and myself enough care and time. So I started maintaining a work-life balance, dedicating more time to my family and to my physical wellness and fitness. That's one of the reasons why I became an amateur athlete.

I recommend two podcasts: Revisionist History and Cautionary Tales.I’m also a fan of Malcom Gladwell’s book Talking to Strangers.

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