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An Ismaili Muslim, Mohamed was born in Tanzania and lived in its largest city, Dar es Salaam, until he was a teenager. His grandparents had immigrated to East Africa from India in the early 1900s. He says his father’s efforts to build a hardware business from the ground up instilled a work ethic in him from an early age, while his mother taught him to be caring and inclusive.
At age 12 or 13, Mohamed’s parents shipped him off to London to get a Western education. They wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer. Instead, he received an education in life. He remembers being picked up by a 20-year-old cousin who took him out for a night on the town. “It probably wasn’t a great idea in hindsight, but I remember getting to bed at five in the morning that first night because he was out partying. And then the next morning he woke up and drove me to school, a couple of hours away.”
Essentially, he lived on his own in England but Mohamed says he never felt lonely because he was surrounded by his favourite sports – soccer, cricket and tennis. The latter-mentioned he still plays.
A few years later he followed his family to Vancouver, studied commerce at the University of British Columbia, then worked at an accounting firm and earned his CA. He fell into telecommunications by happenstance. A friend of his had a job interview at BC Tel but had accepted another offer. Mohamed went in his place. The rest is history.
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via TheStar.com | Business | The man who now rules Mr. Rogers’ neighbourhood.
Ismailimail 
