Our Managing Director, Michael Gallucci, was a guest panellist at a recent Urbano speaker breakfast exploring how small and medium-sized businesses develop opportunities abroad. The event was hosted at the Clerkenwell showroom of workplace designers SAGAL.
Michael shared MPGQS's three decades of international experience as Chartered Quantity Surveyors, mediators and quantum expert witnesses — work that has taken the firm across the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. He reflected on how the business first established itself in the Middle East in the late 1990s, growing through projects in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Qatar and Oman, almost entirely on the strength of personal relationships and a willingness to be on the ground when it mattered.
Alongside panellists from the film & TV, workplace design, accountancy and technology sectors, a clear common thread emerged: success overseas is built on trust, presence and relationships rather than process alone. As Michael noted, clients in the region want to meet you, speak to you and know you'll deliver — and once you've earned that trust, the work follows.
Our thanks to Urbano for convening the discussion, and to Christian and Natalie at SAGAL for their hospitality.
