Built to scale: Michel Najjar

When Michel Najjar stepped into the CEO role at DASCO Group of Companies in early 2022, the organization was navigating the aftershocks of COVID-19. On the surface, it looked like a challenging time to take the helm. But Najjar saw something else. He saw a business with strong operational credibility, loyal clients and a capable team whose strengths simply hadn’t been fully leveraged.

"What first attracted me to DASCO was the clear opportunity to unlock value from an under-leveraged reputation and largely unexploited brand equity," he tells The CEO Magazine.

"The business had already earned strong credibility with customers and partners, and it was supported by a healthy internal culture and a capable delivery team. Yet, in my view, those strengths had not been consistently translated into market positioning, scalable growth or the broader recognition the company deserved."

The opportunity, as he saw it, was not to change what DASCO fundamentally was, but to align how the business operated, communicated and scaled with the quality it already delivered.

"I saw a gap between what DASCO was operationally – disciplined, reliable and high-performing – and how that story was being told externally," he says. "And I believe closing that gap would materially improve outcomes."

A solid foundation

From day one, Najjar’s goal was to sharpen strategic focus while building systems that would allow the company to grow without compromising culture or delivery standards.

"Reputation should not be a passive asset. It should be converted into sustainable shareholder value through deliberate strategy, operational excellence and strong client outcomes," he says.

Equally vital was board support.

"Importantly, there was alignment at board and director level around the need for change and the ambition for the next phase of growth – that support mattered," he stresses.

"It meant I was given the mandate and autonomy to execute, to make decisions decisively and to focus the organization on a clear set of priorities.

"When you have that alignment at the top, you can move faster, communicate with greater clarity and build momentum across the business.

"That was the foundation for how I approached the role from day one: Respect what the company had built but be uncompromising about what it could become – and then lead the work required to get there."

Building resilience

Soon after his arrival, the business faced a significant stress test. The company had just lost a major contract, exposing the very vulnerabilities that many construction businesses quietly carry but rarely address until they are forced to.

But for Najjar, the lesson wasn’t solely about market conditions.

"That period was a very direct reminder that even strong operators can be exposed when the fundamentals of risk are not actively managed, particularly concentration risk," he explains.

Rather than reacting defensively, the leadership team used the moment to rethink how risk was managed across the business.

"It sharpened my leadership approach in two ways. First, it reinforced the need to be clear-eyed about vulnerabilities early," Najjar reveals.

"And second, it made it obvious that resilience is not something you ‘hope’ to have – it’s something you design into the business through disciplined strategy and performance."

Najjar says governance also had to evolve.

"We clarified our risk appetite – where we were prepared to take calculated risks to grow and where we would not compromise – and then put practical mechanisms around that: clearer decision rights, tighter oversight of pipeline and delivery and a more structured reporting cadence so that risks were visible early and managed proactively – not after the fact."

Navigating uncertainty

Making it through challenging moments, Najjar believes, demands clarity and discipline.

"I come back to a simple anchor: Our purpose and values are the ‘true north’ that keeps decisions consistent when information is incomplete," he says.

"But values alone aren’t enough. You need discipline around how decisions get made. So, I pair that compass with a clear risk lens: What is the downside, what is reversible, what is irreversible and what sits outside our risk appetite?"

Practically, that means becoming explicit about decision rights and accountability, according to Najjar. It also means tightening the cadence of reporting and making sure risks are identified early rather than discovered late.

"When conditions are moving quickly, I prefer shorter decision cycles with clear stage gates: Act decisively on what we know, set the next trigger point and reassess as new data arrives," he explains. "This creates momentum without drifting into unmanaged risk."

Finally, he says, communication also proved critical.

"Teams can handle bad news. What they struggle with is ambiguity and silence," he insists.

"If you communicate clearly, explain the trade-offs and stay consistent in the standards you apply, you maintain trust. And trust is what keeps an organization aligned, focused and capable of executing at a high level when the external environment is changing fast."

For Najjar, governance is what allows speed.

"The lesson, ultimately, was that the right response to uncertainty is not hesitation – it’s better governance," he points out.

"When you strengthen the governance spine of the organization, you can move faster with confidence, allocate resources more deliberately and build a business that is not dependent on any single contract, client or moment in the market."

People as a strategic advantage

Perhaps the most revealing leadership decision during the company’s difficult period was the fact that DASCO chose to retain its staff despite a reduced workload.

"The decision to retain staff wasn’t sentimental," Najjar states. "It was a disciplined view of what drives performance in our business."

Construction capability lives in people. Removing that capability, Najjar knew, might reduce costs temporarily, but in the long run, it could damage performance.

"If you strip capability out in a downturn, you may reduce cost in the short-term, but you create a much larger operational risk later: loss of experience, weaker team cohesion, reduced delivery discipline and a slower, more expensive recovery when conditions improve," he explains.

"From a risk perspective, we treated workforce capability as a core asset and a key part of our control environment. We assessed the trade-offs against our risk appetite and workload visibility, and we put stronger governance around the period: clearer priorities, tighter oversight and a more structured reporting cadence so leadership could respond early to emerging issues rather than react late."

The experience reinforced a key lesson.

"Pressure tests whether you lead for the long term or manage for the quarter," Najjar says.

"Real leadership is making decisions that protect the organization’s future capacity to execute – and doing it with clarity, transparency and consistency so people stay aligned, focused and accountable even in uncertainty."

Beyond contract building

DASCO has long been known as a strong contract builder. But recent years have seen the business expand its ambitions, taking equity positions and developing its own projects with greater scale and intent.

"We now have a stronger platform, a more visible pipeline and the operating maturity to pursue ownership opportunities with greater confidence and discipline," Najjar says.

"This evolution hasn’t been about ‘moving away’ from contract building – it has been about building on it."

Execution capability, he argues, provides the right foundation for careful expansion.

"In a market where skilled and trustworthy builders are in short supply, our track record, delivery discipline and culture of accountability create a genuine competitive advantage," he explains.

"That execution capability gives us the right to consider selective development and investment opportunities, but always within a clear risk appetite and capital discipline."

The shift toward development and investment is governed carefully. Decisions move through structured stage gates, with clear accountability and transparency to avoid conflicts or unmanaged risk.

"All projects – third-party contracts and our own developments – are governed and managed at arm’s length to ensure transparency and alignment," he explains.

"That governance spine is what allows us to partner credibly with institutional investors and take on larger, more complex initiatives without compromising performance."

Looking ahead, diversification remains deliberate. "A key opportunity is continuing to grow our fund management capability and diversify revenue in a way that complements our core delivery strengths," he says.

"We’re also focused on expanding our partnership model and selectively entering new markets where our operating discipline and culture translate strongly."

Growth, however, remains controlled.

"Growth has to sit within a clear risk appetite. We want to scale with control – not simply scale for its own sake. That means strong due diligence, clear stage gates and accountability from the outset," Najjar notes, explaining that technology will also play a role, particularly AI-driven productivity improvements.

"I’m genuinely excited about how AI can lift productivity and free our teams to focus on high-value work. We’ll approach adoption in a governed way – with the right data controls and practical use cases – so innovation strengthens performance rather than introducing unmanaged risk."

Driving performance

Najjar’s international background has shaped how DASCO engages clients and structures operations.

"My international experience reinforced the value of bringing a more structured, corporate approach to how we run projects and manage client relationships without losing the agility and practical judgment needed on-site," he says.

"At DASCO, that has helped us engage more confidently with sophisticated clients and institutional investors because expectations at that level extend beyond delivery – they include governance, transparency and consistency."

At the center of execution, however, sits culture.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," he says. "Strategy matters, but culture is what determines whether a strategy is executed consistently – especially across multiple projects, teams and changing market conditions.

"At DASCO, we treat culture as a practical operating system, not a set of posters on a wall."

That means expectations are made clear across safety, quality and delivery and reinforced through leadership behavior and aligned accountability so standards remain consistent across projects and teams.

"When values are genuinely embedded, people escalate issues early, collaborate to solve problems and take ownership of outcomes," he says. "That creates transparency and reduces risk."

Reflecting on the transformation so far, Najjar highlights both people and systems. "We’ve built a stronger team and a strong system around that team," he acknowledges.

"We have invested deliberately in capability, lifted expectations and created clearer accountability so people can do their best work with confidence."

At the same time, he’s proud to say that governance has also strengthened. Better visibility through reporting, clearer decision rights and more disciplined risk management now allow faster decisions while protecting trust with clients and partners.

"Performance is now repeatable and scalable, not dependent on a few individuals," he says.

Ultimately, he believes, success lies in combining values and systems.

"It’s the combination I’m proud of: a values-led culture that takes ownership, supported by governance and systems that enable consistent delivery. That foundation is what positions DASCO for the next phase of growth with confidence," Najjar confirms.

And if there is one leadership message he hopes others take from his journey, it’s this: "Successful CEOs don’t just lead, they energize," he says. "They are both CEO and Chief Energy Officer."

At DASCO, that energy now powers a business built not just to deliver projects but to scale with discipline into the future.