This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
On November 1, 2019, Business Daily reported that Zarak Khan, the executive chairman of DT Dobie, would be stepping down in March 2020 after nearly four decades of service.
Mr. Khan, a firm spiritual believer and go-getter, has been instrumental in growing the car dealer's presence in Kenya's automobile industry. He has developed a style of jovial banters with staff but gets quite firm with senior managers during planning and strategy meetings.
Under his leadership, DT Dobie has become a respected brand in the corporate scene, with managers striving to meet their goals to avoid tough questions from the boss. He attributes the company's success to remaining focused on customer demands and preferences.
Mr. Khan has a soft side, dedicating time for important family meetings and vacations. He has set a target of being with each of his kids for five to 10 minutes every day, with three weeks of holiday with the family.
His life at DT Dobie has been an interesting one—rising from a cleaner-cum-tea boy, then mechanic to the C-Suite. Although his extended family had interest in motor-vehicle repairs, all was not smooth for Mr. Khan who was born and brought up in a poor neighbourhood in the coastal town of Mombasa.
After sitting his A-levels examination in 1978, he got Sh7,500 from his mother— a housewife— bought a small car, sold it at a small profit then bought a plane ticket to the United Kingdom (UK) where he studied automobile engineering at the College of the North West London. He came back and got a job at DT Dobie.
Mr. Khan attributes DT Dobie's success to remaining focused on customer demands and preferences. He has steered the company's growth and takeovers and believes he has transformed it into a household name in Kenya.
However, his tenure has not been without challenges. In 2012, Mr. Khan grappled with the fallout from the takeover of DT Dobie's parent company, CFAO Group, by Japanese conglomerate Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC). The deal spooked carmakers whose brands were sold by DT Dobie and who saw TTC as a competitor.
