In an era when every business continuously adapts to find equilibrium between commercial prudence and human ethos, a genuine leader is more required than ever before. In the rapidly mobile business of cooling and import solutions — a business that actually cools down cities and places businesses on a running basis — authentic leadership transcends transactions. It needs vision, tenacity, and most importantly, absolute faith in human beings. Few have done it better than Ashgan N Hizam. She is the Commercial Manager of Jawas Company for Cooling and Import’s Commercial Manager of the Year award. It’s not a story about commercial success; it’s the story of a Yemeni woman who has turned cultural barriers into bridges and has transformed challenges drivers into concrete achievements.
A Cultural Heritage Reshaped by Resilience
Born and bred in Sana’a, Yemen, Ashgan’s life cannot be separated from the vibrant but complicated history and culture of her homeland. Yemen, blessed with a millenarian civilization, has a storied past of powerful and influential women — ancient queens and modern pioneers like theirs — but its modern cultural ethos is light-years removed from that truth.
“In Yemen,” Ashgan continues, “women are like diamonds — cannot be replaced, to be guarded, to be kept locked in the house. Our concept is that a woman is to remain behind the doors of her home, guarded by her husband, her father, her brothers. She is to take care of the children, the family, the core of the house.”
But beneath the surface of Yemen’s history lies another truth: that for almost a thousand years, Yemeni women were never far from having a chance to leave their mark. Even when the opinion of society attempted to silence them, thousands of women became teachers, business owners, ministers, and agents of transformation. Ashgan’s life is a testament to that unbreakable spirit.
Carving Out Her Own Path
Ashgan’s aspirations were put to the test from the start. She entered the corporate world at only eighteen years with an open heart to absorb and an open ear to listen. She realized from the very start that women’s equations with men in the workplace would have to be strategic and clever — both of which she would come to excel at.
Years went by as she sat in silence, absorbing every nuance of the work, the politics, and the things that go into making the decisions. When she did finally gain her voice — when she first felt she dared to disagree with a concept, speak on her own terms — she discovered, painfully, that being different would be fighting against resistance. “My first boss began to ostracize me the instant I dared to speak up,” she remembers. “It was a war of silence, as if he was afraid of the chance my brain would turn on him.” It was agonizing and maddening. Instead of withdrawing, Ashgan made a promise to herself that she would trust herself more than she ever had before.
Rooted in Mentorship and Family Connections
No man is an island. Ashgan’s mentorship was the foundation upon which she established. She thanks her father, Dr. Naji Hizam, as her earliest and greatest mentor — the one who instilled in her that self-confidence is what sparks change. “I was fortunate to have had wise counsel my whole life,” she recalls. “In following my father’s path, I was blessed to be mentored by Mr. Fouad Jawas of Jawas Company and Mr. Akil Shihab, Nestlé CEO for Yemen,” she shares. Ashgan adds, “My experience changed my mindset and enhanced my leadership skills”.
These mentors did not just school her in business, but also the art of graciously managing resistance, seeing opportunity in the most oppressive circumstances, and leading people through minds, hearts, and hands combined.
Redefining Leadership: One Team, One Heart, One Mind
Ashgan’s style is straightforward but far-reaching: people should believe in one another. In Jawas Company for Cooling and Import, her style never has been about projecting power as power. Instead, she makes it a point to have real relationships with her employees.
“I trust my staff whether they’re men or women,” she says firmly. “They know we are one hand, one heart, one mind. That is why we are successful on all projects that we undertake.” Such synergy does not develop overnight; it is cultivated day by day. She encourages discussion, holds people accountable, and honors the opinion of everyone. Leadership to Ashgan is not an isolated mountaintop, but a shared journey — and success is a victory for all.
Turning Barriers Into Bridges for Women
Ashgan’s impact extends far beyond her official role. She has become a role model for dozens of Yemeni women who are also aspiring to establish their own careers. “Women approach me and say, ‘How did you do it? How did you become what you are in a country where people don’t necessarily believe that we should be running businesses?”
Her response is always deeper than skin. She has committed herself to offering useful resources to other women. She offers self-leadership, HR theory, and career-building training. No matter whether she mentors young women through education, career advancement, or the subtle art of self-advocacy, her message is indomitable: trust yourself. “No one’s going to treat you like you can treat yourself,” she insists. “Your self-confidence is your best legacy.”
The Gender and Growth Dynamics
Having spent more than two decades among men, Ashgan has developed a sensitive grasp of the pressures governing cross-gender working relationships. “Our brains are completely different,” she states bluntly. “I listened for years, learning to read not words, but body language. I learned to sense a decision before it was even taken. That perception was my power — and occasionally the source of conflict.”
But instead of fear, Ashgan feels complementarity. She is sure that women’s and men’s perspectives can turn gaps into blind alleys. By combining both, she assures, any team can have issues more deeply resolved, serve society more abundantly, and create more enduring organizations.
Leading Jawas Company Towards Strategic, Sustainable Growth
As the Commercial Manager of Jawas Company for Cooling and Import, Ashgan is bringing her philosophy to a broader arena. Amidst an industry where general technological continuity, market variations, and increasing pressure to save energy prevail, her skill at establishing long-lasting relationships is a treasure trove.
She has differentiated and established better webs of suppliers, in a manner where the company is impenetrable even in case of supply-chain breakdown. Her approach is not low-cost but long-term association. “Strong partnerships allow us to deliver no matter what,” she says.
The company has expanded its customer base under her leadership by creating customized solutions that address the varied requirements of customers — small to big business. Everything begins with hearing a lot and understanding what success for the client would be and delivering that value with integrity.
A Champion for Sustainability
For Ashgan, expansion need not be at the expense of the planet. She has led Jawas Company products toward cost-efficient, environmentally friendly technology. “Sustainability and profit must go hand in hand,” she believes. This in practice entails harvesting energy-saving products, supporting the use of natural refrigerants, and saving clients’ resources.
Her dedication to sustainability is not hyperbole about what is happening around the globe — it’s just a part of her vision for a world where nature, community, and business can thrive together.
Leadership, in Ashgan’s opinion, does not have to be in the limelight. It is empowering others. She spends too much of her own time mentoring young professionals, challenging them to think and stretch beyond task and job focus. She shows them how to be strategic thinkers, ethical doers, and lifelong learners.
Her counsel to women, and other successful working professionals, and other people is straightforward but immensely valuable: “Learning, learning, and learning — you have to learn anything you can learn. Knowledge is the foundation that no one can take from you.”
A Vision Based on Trust and Transformation
Marching towards a future of endless possibilities, Ashgan wishes Jawas Company to become the standard for the region it regards to innovation and sustainability. She sees new markets, smart technology, and a society that remains faithful to its pillars — trust, integrity, and the ability to transform.
But beyond corporate ambitions, her legacy will forever be the lives transformed: the women now dreaming larger, the teams succeeding with her, and the communities benefited by solutions built as much on commercial achievement as social awareness.
A Story Still Being Written
Ashgan’s life is an example of what can be done when resilience, purpose, and compassion are combined. When we’re measuring success as profit margins or market share, she has the courage to redefine our measurement for us by saying that the highest measurement of leadership is the trust that you build, the walls you break, and the people that you touch along the way.
It is an inspiration to Yemeni women today, and to anyone who understands that business at its best can change lives. And as the cooling world keeps growing and developing, one thing is certain: with Ashgan leading the way, not only will the future be cooler but also brighter, greener, and more for everyone.
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