No one can be successful in any chosen field without taking risks. While not always guaranteeing success, these risks most certainly lead to an exciting journey.
The road is challenging, there are ups and downs, and life will really test you as an individual before you achieve success. And this seems to be true for Tevfik Arif. He has been able to survive challenges in life and business and continue pursuing his goals and achieving success.
Who is Tevfik Arif?
Who is Tevfik Arif, the man behind a successful global business? Tevfik Arif was born in 1953 in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to his Turkish parents. He has three brothers and he is the second born of four boys. The path that Arif took was, undoubtedly, influenced by his family and his upbringing.
Having such great love for business and economics, Tevfik Arif pursued a degree in international relations at the Moscow Institute of Trade and Economics. And upon graduation, Arif took a job working for the government of the Soviet Union.
This man chose to work within the Ministry of Commerce and Trade for 17 years. During his time with the ministry, Arif held various positions including as chief economist. He was also promoted to deputy head of the Hotel Management Department within the Soviet ministry.
Arif's work within the government ministry controlling the hospitality industry before the fall of the Soviet Union would later influence him to build and develop luxury hotel properties around the world.
Tevfik Arif gets his start in the business world
During the privatization of industry during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Tevfik Arif chose to leave the government sector to pursue certain opportunities in private industry. His first ventures in the business world dealt primarily with the mineral and natural resources sector.
Tevfik Arif and his business partner brother acquired ownership in a chromium plant in Kazakhstan - the last country to achieve independence from the Soviet Union. Owning this chromium plan helped him established himself as an up-and-coming businessman in the region.
This was a time of dramatic growth in the metal and raw material sector after years of neglect under the Soviet Union rulemaking left them inefficient and lacking innovative technology. The competitive nature of the private sector led to an increase in the production capabilities of many of the metal production plants across the region.
Finding early success, Arif decided to expand his interests in the natural resources industry and founded the Specialty Chemicals Trading Company that focused on both the import and export of metals and other raw materials.
With aspirations beyond the heavy metals industry, Arif began pursuing his personal passion in real estate and property development. Some of his early projects were in Turkey, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. As a real estate developer, Arif was behind the building of a luxury resort hotel called the Labada Hotel located in Antalya, Turkey.
Tevfik Arif expands his interests in real estate
His successful ventures in the world of business left Arif with a desire to build and achieve much more. His ambition inspired him to expand his real estate portfolio to the USA. Arif founded the Bayrock Group in 2001 in New York and this enabled him to invest in property within the United States of America. Renovating Loehmann's Seaport Plaza in the seaside community of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn was one of Bayrock Group's first successful projects.
With aspirations to achieve even more, Arif set his sights on more prestigious and more competitive real estate markets in the city. Arif decided to move the offices of Bayrock Group to Trump Tower in an effort to develop inroads into Midtown Manhattan's prestigious real estate district.
Arif aimed to be an extravagant property developer in the competitive market of Manhattan. After establishing the office of Bayrock Group in the Trump tower, he soon met real estate tycoon Donald Trump. They developed a working relationship. Arif entered into an agreement with the Trump Organization to license the Trump name in the development of a luxury hotel-condo complex called Trump SoHo. Through his work in property development, Arif earned the respect of other entrepreneurs in the business world.
Tevfik Arif's business today
Through his business, Arif has established himself as a successful entrepreneur and leader in business. After his projects in the United States were affected by the economic downturn in 2008, Arif decided to shift the focus of his business and real estate investment back to Europe and Central Asia.
Today, Tevfik Arif is partially retired from his businesses. However, he remains an important business advisor, offering a wealth of experiences, knowledge and industry connections for the continued expansion and success of his organization.
In addition, Arif has donated to charitable interests with a focus on organizations that promote community development. One great example is the Chabad of Port Washington. Indeed, though he has officially retired from his post, Arif continues to be an important figure in the industry.
The fast-paced world of business is constantly changing and becoming increasingly challenging especially with the latest innovations and best practices. Facing the challenging industry with passion, determination and skills is an asset to an individual who wants to be successful.
Tevfik Arif ventured into the arduous business world, ready, equipped with both skills, experience and determination. Big success never comes in an instant, you need to work hard and persevere to build success over time. Arif was guided by ambition and a desire to succeed in the most difficult industries in the world.
Surely, Tevfik Arif is an inspiration and an icon of greatness for current and future generations of entrepreneurs and businessmen.
