Ten On The Weekend – Anthony Haiden: “Concerned About Incompetence” of Industry Newcomers

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Ten On The Weekend is a weekly feature on IMI, the concept of which is simple: Each weekend, we ask the same ten questions to a different industry figure, letting readers get to know the interviewee on a more personal and informal level than they might in an ordinary business setting.

This weekend’s guest is Anthony Haiden, Founder, CEO, and President of Sharjah-based Montreal Management Consultants.

How do you spend your weekends?
I have a lot of irons in the fire. Meetings here, there, almost everywhere! But I believe a balanced life is essential, so I make sure that I get to dedicate a day or two every week (not necessarily Saturday and Sunday) to spend quality time with my family. My children get only one childhood; my wife and I are committed to making it memorable. I also allot two nights for sports, mostly basketball.

What are your top three business goals this year?
2019 has been fruitful for the company and, with the help of everyone, I envision that 2020 will be nothing but great!

The primary goal is to finish all the projects entrusted by the Government of Dominica to our subsidiary, which includes housing developments, hospitals, sports facilities, and health centers, among others.

Secondly, I will venture into the development of infrastructures like streets, bridges, and other utilities in the Caribbean, funded by the CBI.

And lastly, the diversification of my business/es.

What’s your biggest business concern right now?
The industry is complex and ever-changing. I am concerned about the incompetence of participants that may lead to undermining of the industry. Many do not have the knowledge and the legal background to cope with the challenges and changes in the industry. 

I also find it ironic that some, like Gareth Brookes, complain of “easy access” to the industry by those who have little or no knowledge – the same means by which he entered the market a couple of years ago.  I mean no disrespect to the newcomers, including the mentioned gentleman, but they have not earned the right to sit at the same table as the veterans as they are clearly in above their heads.

Which book is on your nightstand right now?
My interests are history, law, and sports. Currently, I am glued on finishing “Political Economics in Retrospect: Essays in Memory of Adolph Lowe”.

How and when did you first get into the investment migration industry?
MMCE has been in the industry for almost three decades, providing the utmost in consultancy services. My first experience in the market was in 1993 at the Canadian immigration industry. My belief in the need for migration being a part of human DNA pursued me to take the big leap to operate full-time in the UAE in April of 1999.

What was your proudest moment as a service provider?
With the thousands of lives MMCE has transformed, pointing to the proudest moment in the 20 years of being in the business is an arduous task. But I’d say that I am proud to be part of Dominica’s road to recovery and resilience. 

My heart is likewise filled with joy every time we receive referrals from previous clients. It exemplifies that we have made a significant and memorable impact on a client’s life, so much so that they would like others to experience it as well.

Thank God I am blessed with good partners and efficient employees, MMCE couldn’t have achieved this without them. 

Which investment migration market development has surprised you the most in the last year?
I am surprised by how growth in the citizenship by investment market, in general, has overtaken that of conventional immigration programs [residence by investment].

If you could go 10 years back in time, what business decision would you change?
Nothing. I am beyond grateful for what has happened to MMCE in the past ten years. 

What investment migration industry personality do you most admire?
I admire the pioneers of the industry – in Canada, it would have to be my old friend Sam Bayat, and Mr. Louis Leblanc of National Bank Financial. For citizenship by investment, it would have to be Henley & Partners.

I also have high regard for the heads of governments of Dominica (Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit) and St. Kitts & Nevis for their strong contributions in their nation’s respective CIPs.

If all goes according to plan, what will you be doing five years from now?
The desire to continue to grow and achieve that has kept me going all these years will keep me going also in the next five years or so. I see myself creating and contributing more innovative ideas in the development of CBI economics to transmit the benefits of such to the citizens.

More from the Ten On The Weekend interview series:

• Ten On The Weekend – Jean-Philippe Chetcuti: “Unity in the Industry is Key to Survival”
• Ten On The Weekend – Gareth Brookes: “Diversify Away From CBI-Services Only”
• Ten On The Weekend – Eric Major: “Our Industry Deserves Some of the Bad Press it Gets”
• Ten On The Weekend – Nuri Katz: “I Live My Life in a Constant State of Jet Lag”