Al-Ansari says he is not daunted by the challenges. “My college experience in America taught me to deal with different cultures and societies,” he says. “I learned how to deal with all kinds of people without being scared about the outcome.”

 
One of Al-Ansari’s previous jobs was with the Qatari Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture as a coordinator for construction projects. He rose rapidly through the bureaucracy and soon found himself as project manager for the new Doha International Airport, Doha Port, and the West Bay Lagoon, a development involving extensive land reclamation and maritime engineering.
 
It was there that his work caught the eye of the ruling family. Not long afterward, Al-Ansari was appointed by Sheik Hamad to be a technical adviser in the office of the then-first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. When Qatari Diar began operations, in November 2005, Al-Ansari was named its C.E.O. It was a propitious time to head such a company.

With soaring oil prices, Qatar—which produces nearly 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day—decided to channel more and more of its funds into infrastructure, real estate, and foreign investment. The result is Qatari Diar, which is fully owned by the government’s Qatar Investment Authority. It was founded to support Qatar’s rapidly expanding economy and to provide structure and quality control for the country’s real estate development priorities.
 
The country’s annual growth rate is estimated at close to 8 percent, and Al-Ansari’s sector—real estate—is a major contributor.
 
Starting with fewer than 100 employees, Qatari Diar has quickly expanded to 300 at present. Al-Ansari says that he always seeks to put Qataris in top management positions, although his right-hand man is Lebanese-born John Ward, also a product of the American educational system.
 
“I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time,” Al-Ansari says. “My skills were my tools. And the fact that Sheik Hamad was always accessible proved to be a great asset. We wondered why things weren’t moving faster in our country. We looked at neighboring Dubai and said, ‘So why not such development here in Doha?’ But we also understood that nation building wasn’t just about real estate and construction. We needed to emphasize education, the participation of women in the economy, and the promotion of culture and history.”

One of Al-Ansari’s projects was the restoration of some of Doha’s oldest neighborhoods. He has also supported the creation and expansion of an Islamic museum.
 
“There’s a new Arab society being created in Qatar,” Al-Ansari says. “There’s a degree of social and economic egalitarianism here that you won’t find in too many places in our region. The royal family sets an example by its own involvement and participation in day-to-day nation building. This is hands-on leadership, not leadership by remote control. That explains our rapid growth.”