Youssef Khattar, CEO of Coldwell Banker Saudi Arabia: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a top executive, entrepreneur, or investor starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Youssef Khattar (LinkedIn), the CEO of Coldwell Banker in Saudi Arabia. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

My Name is Youssef Khattar. I began my career in 2003 in training and professional education, before transitioning to real estate in 2006 with Borouge Real Estate in Abu Dhabi. I gained diverse project experience during the UAE boom and adapted to the 2008 downturn. Subsequently, I worked in Riyadh with a number of real estate development firms, specializing in marketing and sales. I then joined Samama Holding, where we established Samama Real Estate Development, building a portfolio exceeding SAR 2 bn in Saudi Arabia and globally.

In 2022, I moved to establish the Coldwell Banker office in Saudi Arabia from scratch. The vision was to build a premier real estate consultancy and brokerage service in a market that, at the time, lacked clear regulations. We became one of the top consultants in the market within three years.

My experience as a developer has been invaluable in my role as a consultant, as it has enabled me to understand the challenges from both sides, which allows me to provide more practical and effective advice to clients. We work with big developers like Emaar and with government bodies like the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, the Masar Destination in Makkah, and the National Housing Company.

My management philosophy focuses on flexibility and knowledge transfer. First, I ensure the team has the flexibility to deliver results, whether they are working from home, the office, a coffee shop, or a client’s site. Second, I need to make sure the knowledge we have is being transferred to the team. I want my team to feel that they are not just here to deliver a service and get a salary; they are here to build their own value. We make it a point to have a “lesson learned” session after every project to understand what we can improve.

My time in the early morning is my own. Since my family lives in Dubai, my weeks in Riyadh are very busy. The workday doesn’t end at a set time, and I often have informal business meetings in the evenings. The real estate and consulting business in Riyadh is very active at night. The only time I can guarantee for myself is the early morning, before anyone else starts their day. That’s my time to relax, exercise, and have my coffee.

I wake up for Fajr prayer between 4:30-5am, and I prefer to be in the office early at 7:30am. I use the quiet hours at the office for deep work — reading reports, reviewing emails, and writing. Meetings are typically scheduled between 10am-4pm. I keep one day a week, either Sunday or Thursday, free from external meetings to focus on internal team workshops, planning, and strategy.

I also travel a lot. I usually have one day a week when I travel within Saudi Arabia, to places like Jeddah, Madinah, or Khobar. I am often a guest speaker at international events in places like Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Moscow, and we schedule these visits and engagements quarterly.

On the weekends, I travel to Dubai to be with my family. I schedule my vacations by aligning them with my children’s school holidays throughout the year. I take four or five shorter breaks instead of one long one, and this allows me to disconnect and spend quality time with them several times a year.

The best movie I’ve watched is The Pursuit of Happyness. It’s a film I like to rewatch because it teaches you about perseverance and the importance of not giving up, no matter how difficult your circumstances are. It’s also based on a true story, which is what makes it so powerful.

A book that changed my mindset is Secrets of the [M’naire] Mind by T. Harv Eker. I read it around 2008, and it’s not about how to get rich. It’s about understanding that your mindset is programmed by your upbringing, your family, and the society you grew up in. These ideas can create mental blocks that prevent you from growing. The book helps you recognize and reprogram certain limiting beliefs to allow for personal and professional growth. It’s not about a formula for making money, but about changing the way you think.

The best advice I can give is to develop your research skills. In today’s world, we have an overload of information. Everyone has access to it, so there is no excuse for not learning. We need to develop our skills not just to learn, but to find the right information and know how to use it.

Another piece of advice is to draw your future by learning from those who have come before you. You are not starting from ground zero, as there are people who have already walked the path. I advise anyone starting a new career to find people who are 20 years ahead in the field. Look up CEOs and senior leaders on LinkedIn and study their career history. What courses did they take? Which companies did they work for? How did they progress? You will find common patterns that can serve as a roadmap for your own development.

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