Hamad bin Ahmad Algosaibi
“A Shining Page in the History of the Kingdom”
The family of Hamad Algosaibi is a prestigious family that has a place among the most famous business families in the Kingdom with a history of significant achievements and projects that benefited the Kingdom and its citizens. The family name is well known to all whether in their home region the Eastern Province or the Kingdom in general.
The family remembers fondly its forbearer Sheikh Hamad bin Ahmad Algosaibi, may he rest in peace, whose hands wrote a shining page in the history of business families in the Kingdom after he established the principles of free trade and lived by the old proverb that “you reap what you sow”, and what he sowed was success upon success.
Originally born in Huraimilaa in the Najd, Sheikh Hamad Algosaibi came from humble beginnings. He had neither an inheritance nor any support that would help him open any closed doors. What he did have though was an abundance of faith in God and in his own hard work that he used, very wisely, to establish himself. He started out similar to many of his peers who, at the time, had no other source of income except the sea in which they dove for pearls. Sheikh Hamad was close to his friends, sharing their hopes and dreams and sailing on his own boat from the port of Jubail to search for pearls that he can sell to wholesale traders. Along with the sea, Sheikh Hamad utilized his large farm. He planted several crops that made for a good source of income on harvest season.
Sheikh Hamad saw that selling pearls and crops was not enough to help him achieve his aspirations and he realized that he must work harder and settle for what he has accomplished. He knew that an opportunity existed for him to prove himself and etch his family name in the honorary list of prestigious families in the Kingdom. He thought long and hard and decided to head east to the newly established Aramco Saudi, and that is where the story began. In 1940, Sheikh Hamad announced the establishment of a private company in the Eastern province under the name of “Hamad Algosaibi Co.”. His main focus was the production of silver coins that the Company would offer as salary to its Saudi employees who refused to receive their salaries in US dollars. Sheikh Hamad was adamant about providing the required quantities of the silver coins at the right time to the management of the Company who came to trust him and admired his request to his employees to make sure that these coins are always available to “Aramco” whether they sourced them from the local markets or frown neighboring Arab countries.
The people of the Eastern Province all remember the Sheikh’s initiative in the establishment and management of the province’s chamber of commerce more than half a century ago to stay ahead of the economic boom and the dawn of the oil excavation era that the region was witnessing. This happened after he met with the ruler of the Eastern Province at the time, Prince Saud bin Jalawi, leading to the establishment of the Chamber to be the third in the Kingdom after the Chambers of Jeddah and Makka. At the beginning, when the Chamber was unable to pay the salaries of its employees, Sheikh Hamad supported its needs and also wrote to Prince Saud bin Jalawi requesting his permission to delegate Chamber member Abdullah Al Saleh Abal Kheil to Jeddah to observe the system applied at the Chamber of Commerce there and utilize that in the “new” Eastern Province Chamber. The Prince agreed and the Chamber of the Eastern province grew. The Sheikh was also a member of the Indemnities Fund and in the Khobar Municipality.
The Sheikh’s activities were not limited to the above. He instinctively knew what the future would hold for oil in the region and realized the Aramco, that newly established company excavating oil in the Kingdom, would have a prosperous future. Therefore, he strengthened his ties with this company and provided it with all its needs to the extent that he leased a building for its operations and established several companies that cater food to its employees. Soon after, his intuition proved to be true as the company announced its discovery of commercial quantities of oil in the Kingdom. Sheikh Hamad announced at the same time that he was expanding his business activities to support the company and established a warehouse especially for Aramco. He also was the first to provide oil pipes and equipment to the Company to complete its projects.
It was not very long until Hamad Algosaibi Co. won a bid to supply tires and boats to the company. He also established a fuel station in agreement with the company before venturing into the field of automobile spare part sales and marketing in the mid-fifties of the last century. He also became a distributor for Ford to supply Ford cars and spare parts to Aramco and well as an agent for Esso Lubricants and Atlas Tiers.
Sheikh Hamad then crowned his achievements with the opening of the first “Pepsi Cola” bottling factory in the Eastern Province to supply this drink to foreigners working in “Aramco” before this drink became very popular in Saudi.
Over the years, Sheikh Hamad invested the revenue from his projects to establish several enterprises that he insisted would benefit both his country and compatriots. He expanded the activities of Hamad Algosaibi Co. further by establishing a partnership with his three children Ahmad, Abdulaziz and Suleiman, which resulted in the establishment of “Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Bros.” that later grew to become one of the most important private companies in the Kingdom and a unique and special brand.
Sheikh Hamad Algosaibi left a legacy of accomplishments to his children, who carried on his legacy with honor and dedication, never forgetting the precious lessons they learned from him to work hard and have faith in God.
