Aramex

Fadi Ghandour co-founded Aramex shortly after receiving his BA in political science from George Washington University, with his business partner, Bill Kingson in 1982.[2][3][5][6] Kingson, a friend of Ghandour's father and owner of a small courier company in the New York tri-state area, discussed the business with Fadi Ghandour after he had expressed interest in the business.[2][5] After their discussion, Kingson proposed a partnership to establish a courier business in the Middle East with Ghandour.[2]

The company began operations in Amman, Jordan.[2][3][5] Arab American Express aimed to become the first courier company in the Middle East.[2] At the time there were no international courier companies based in the region because of logistical and bureaucratic challenges caused by civil wars and complex political relationships.[2][3][5] The company's first international delivery was a document for the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance based in Jordan to New York City.[2] Within two years, the company's name was shortened to Aramex.[3]

In 1984, the company's operations were less than $1 million in revenue.[3] That year, Aramex offered Airborne Express 50% ownership of the company for $100,000[3] but Airborne Express declined the offer because it did not have the resources to invest in a small market such as the Middle East.[3] The partnership made Aramex responsible for Airborne's business in the region.[3] Aramex moved its headquarters to Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 1985.[2]

Aramex gained Federal Express as a client in 1987.[2][3] In the first year of the partnership, 30% of Aramex's revenue came from packages originating from the Federal Express network.[2] Airborne Express acquired 9% of Aramex for $2 million.[2] Aramex was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in January 1997.[5][7] The company became the first Arab-based company to trade its shares on an American stock exchange.[2][5] Aramex's valuation was $24 million and the IPO raised $7 million.[2] The company accrued $66 million in revenue.[2]

The company expanded its operations to 120 locations in 33 countries, primarily emerging markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia by 2001.[2] The company's strategy was to enter high-growth markets characterized by high populations and liberalizing economies.[2] During summer 2001, Abraaj Capital, the first private equity firm in the Middle East, proposed Aramex a leveraged buyout offer that would take the company off of the NASDAQ stock exchange.[2][6][7] The deal was accepted and Abraaj Capital acquired the majority of Aramex for $65 million in February 2002.[2] The deal allowed Kingson and Airborne to exit, while Ghandour retained 25% of the company and management control.[2] Abraaj acquired 75% of Aramex and made 6% of its shares available to company employees in the form of stock.[2] Between 2002 and 2003 Aramex's net income rose from $4 million to $10 million.[2]

In 2003, DHL acquired Airborne Express, Aramex's main United States partner. This resulted in Airborne Express exiting the Airborne Alliance. In the same year, Aramex took over the alliance and co-founded the Global Distribution Alliance (GDA), a global alliance of 40 express companies with combined revenues of $7.5 billion. Aramex is chairing the alliance which uses a shipment management system developed by the company.[10][11][12]

Aramex went public on the Dubai Financial Market in February 2005.[2][6][7] The IPO raised $270 million.[2] The company's revenue increased 23% over 2004 and net income increased 56% that year.[2]

As part of its expansion plans, Aramex concluded a series of acquisitions, including Priority Airfreight, InfoFort,[13] Freight Professionals and TwoWay-Vanguard.[14][15][16]

World-renowned writer and columnist Thomas Friedman used Aramex in his book, The World Is Flat, as an example of companies that benefit from what he calls "the flattening of the world."[2][6][9][17] The flattening of the world is the leveling of the economic field and the destruction of "barriers to entry" to collaborate or compete globally.[17][18][19]

The company supported the Ruwwad Al Tanmeya initiative in 2006. The initiative aimed to involve the private sector in spurring community development through youth empowerment and investments in the community through education, civic engagement, and volunteering.[31] Aramex has a twenty percent stake in Ruwwad Al Tanmeya.[32]

Aramex became the first company in the region to release an annual sustainability report in 2006.[6][9] The company joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest global corporate citizenship initiative, in 2007.[9]