Osman Abdelmoneim, managing director of Auto Mobility: 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 Osman Abdelmoneim (LinkedIn), managing director of Auto Mobility.

My name is Osman Abdelmoneim and I am the managing director of Auto Mobility, the official importer and manufacturer for the Geely brand in Egypt. I’ve spent my entire career within the automotive industry, gaining experience in various roles and countries — starting with an internship at BMW in the UK. After 22 years with BMW, I spent three years with Contactcars.com, before returning to Egypt. Now I represent the Geely brands, with a focus on local distribution and manufacturing.

Auto Mobility is a startup, so my responsibilities and focus have been changing over the past eight months. Initially, my time was spent on building the core team and looking for a suitable facility to match our ambitious plans, while working with Geely on our manufacturing and long-term strategic partnership. Now we are post-launch, so my role has moved to look at our operational processes and ensuring that we are in line with our strategic goals, which is key as the Egyptian market is constantly changing and evolving.

Looking ahead: As we get closer to launching our locally-assembled vehicles, more of my time is being allocated towards that project. Ultimately, my aim is to foster a mindset of sustainable growth and innovation by developing everyone in the Auto Mobility team. In the second half of the year, we will also look to expand Auto Mobility’s footprint in Egypt and launch our CKD (completely knocked down) models.

Egypt was a natural location for Auto Mobility and Geely: Egypt obviously presents a massive chance for the automotive industry — given the size of the population and because the government has been actively promoting local manufacturing initiatives through incentives and support programs, encouraging automakers to set up production facilities within the country. We hit the jackpot with Geely, as Chinese brands are one of the key elements of any automotive portfolio going forward, and Geely is one of the best brands producing high-quality vehicles.

Driving towards a robust local industry: Local manufacturing is increasingly becoming the most important trend in Egypt and you can see that the leaders in the market all have local assembly and production operations. It’s vital that as the automotive industry continues to evolve, there’s an emphasis on local capabilities that can meet the demand of domestic consumers, reduce focus on imports, and boost the potential for exporting vehicles in the future.

I wake up between 4 and 4:30am — I’m an early riser and an early sleeper. The day starts with exercise on the treadmill, catching up on the news and what happened overnight. By that time, EnterpriseAM is out and I read it with my coffee after making breakfast and sandwiches for my kids’ lunch. Enterprise was actually my very first subscription when I returned to Egypt — it gives me the best summary of the events of the day before and what I need to know for the day ahead.

On my way to work, I drop off my kids at school and then spend the hour-long drive to the office on the phone. The work day starts with a meeting with Auto Mobility’s CFO during which we discuss any pressing matters. After this, it’s more meetings with the team to handle daily challenges. Throughout the day, I like to go down to the showroom and service center to see customers interact with our sales team. The one thing I really enjoy is watching a customer take delivery of a new car.

Afternoons are usually filled with meetings with external partners as well as banks and lawyers. The Egyptian market presents a number of challenges that require continuous adaptation and flexibility, so we dedicate considerable time to discussions to find solutions

Staying focused and organized: Everyday before leaving work, I always plan the next day in my calendar. It certainly isn’t easy staying focused due to the ever changing nature of the auto market, but the unpredictability keeps us on our toes. Making sure that we have a plan and are constantly going back to it ensures that we always keep our focus.

Being involved in a startup means accepting that the work-life balance will not be ideal.On the one hand it’s very exciting, but on the other hand it doesn’t allow you to predict your out-of-office hours as easily. Auto Mobility has been very fortunate that the entire team is so committed to achieving our goals, which stretches the definition of a work-life balance. But, we’re trying to make sure that we create a healthy environment and that everybody is enjoying their time at work.

There’s still down time: When I switch off, I try to spend time with my teenagers, watch sports, and cook — it just completely puts me in a different zone. I enjoy baking pretty much anything, but bread and granola are probably the two most frequent things that I make. I mostly cook Asian and Italian cuisine.

I really enjoy reading autobiographies, both from a personal and business perspective. The last one I read was Shoe Dog by Nike founder Phil Knight. When I need reminding of what is really important in life, I turn to Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie — it brings you to earth again and grounds you.

The best piece of advice I’ve heard is from Allen Watts,who said “take ownership of your life. Focus on what you can control and genuinely follow your passions.”

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