Dubai: Staff at the UAE-based printing equipment company Giffin Graphics are mourning the death of the firm’s founder, Ramzi Kteily, who passed away on Sunday morning. He was 76. Kteily, who had been suffering from medical complications, leaves behind his wife, Basima Saad Hamra, and son, Nicolas Ramzi Kteily.
Oon hearing the news, many of the staff broke down in tears, according to Najib Awad, Giffin’s deputy general manager — sales. Most of the firm’s employees had served their entire careers in the company. “He was a man with a big heart, and lots of knowledge,” said Awad, who has worked in Giffin for 14 years.
“I remember, in the job interview, it took me five seconds to decide that I want to work with this man,” he recalled.
Kteily set up Giffin Graphics in 1978 in Abu Dhabi. The firm grew to be one of the largest printing and graphic arts industry suppliers in the UAE, and sold “Gulf News” most of its printing equipment over decades.
The firm, which started with five employees and currently has 300, also operates in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Kteily will be succeeded in his role by his longtime business partner and right-hand man, Mohammad Al Dhaheri.
A full-page notice by Giffin Graphics in Sunday’s “Gulf News” read: “Our heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to his family, colleagues and friends.”
“May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
The funeral will be held in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday at the capital’s Sayedat Al Niyah Church. The family will receive condolences at the same church on Thursday and Friday.
