The Group's president, Mr Mukesh Oza, was conferred upon the first Lloyd's List award for Shipping Agent of the Year for the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, at the Godolphin Ballroom of the Emirates Tower hotel in Dubai. The award was received from the hands of DP World chief executive, Mr Jamal Majid bin Thaniah,

This award, won by the Samara group, was the culmination of years of honest and single-minded devotion to a chosen profession. After beating back impressive opposition from the other two finalists, Kanoo Shipping Agencies and Bhacker Haji Abdullatif Fazul, the award is the final declaration of their being the leaders in the sphere of activity. It is also a reflection of the an emphatic servicing and customer focused approach, that has been embedded over the last 15 years. In the words of Mr Ibrahim Sharaf, the group chief, 'The man heading the show has to be a salesman, a service-oriented person.' I have always seen Mr Oza put the customer first."

Samsara's management style is also unique and impressive. The group deals with several principals and has multiple representation but there is no conflict of interest. Each agency is kept separate and handled separately. Only the finance and accounts operations are centralized.

About the man behind the success and his future plans........

After winning the accolade, the diminutive 51-year-old Samsara chief, Mr Mukesh Oza, responded to the congratulations of all and sundry with typical humility and understatement. Acknowledging his closeness to the Sharafs, he says " Efficiency and sincerity play a huge part in any relationship, also the track record of constantly growing the business. Sharaf's agency businesses in India and in some other parts of the world are run professionally and not like a family-owned business. I may not have been born in the Sharaf family, but, otherwise, there is no difference." His highly professional business acumen, is reflected in the statement "Over the years, I have understood that we must run a business in line with our core competencies, in a manageable manner and with the utmost transparency. We need to have authentic information and knowledge to carry out our activities."

About his long term goals, he says:

"I am a shipping agent and will always remain a shipping agent. I will get involved in any infrastructure projects that are related to shipping agency work. My ultimate ambition is to have a Samsara office within a radius of 200 km anywhere in India so that we provide not just a shipping agency but door-to-door delivery of cargo and total logistics service to the customer."

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