The Lighthouse Conversations with Hashem Montasser

Hashem and the ever-stylish Samir Aghera delve into the dynamic world of luxury retail, discussing Hashem’s aesthetic vision for The Lighthouse and Samir’s keen eye for detail at Montroi. Listen in as they share insightful anecdotes ranging from Samir’s first pop-up and that unforgettable moment when a customer was this close to swiping the card!

Hashem is joined this week by accomplished fashion designer Faiza Bouguessa. The two consider the trials and tribulations of founding a successful business, and the importance of finding an authentic design aesthetic for one’s brand. Influenced by vintage elegance, Faiza discusses how ‘Bouguessa’ is a display of her own unique, minimalist style, and why she aims to create timeless pieces that resonate with her true self-expression.

This week on The Lighthouse Conversations, Hashem is joined by the talented fashion designer and Creative Director of ‘Bouguessa’, Faiza Bouguessa.

Tune in this Thursday to hear about her topsy-turvy journey from willing her eponymous fashion brand into existence to Queen B wearing her designs.

Hashem catches up with Avni Doshi, author of ‘Burnt Sugar’, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize. In her book, Avni explores the themes of identity, culture and motherhood. The heartfelt discussion captures the poignant moments of personal growth that permeate her narrative, now seen through the lens of maternal experience, where vulnerability and understanding intertwine. Their conversion navigates Avni’s love of astrology, her artistic doubts, and the prospect of her book hitting the big screen.

00:00 Coming up

02:21 Character development

07:56 Anticipating success

08:53 The role of the mother in India

11:26 From child to caretaker

15:42 Moving to India

18:40 Harper’s Bazaar India comes knocking

20:55 Homesick but not sure where home is

22:18 Girl in White Cotton

24:35 First publication by Harper Collins India

25:35 Second publication by Penguin’s Hamish Hamilton in the UK

26:29 ‘Girl in White Cotton’ becomes ‘Burnt Sugar’

28:46 Booker’s Prize Shortlist

30:08 The brutality of motherhood

32:50 Real politics plays out in the family

34:38 The pressure of success

38:02 Avni’s writing process

44:48 Writing peer groups

46:54 Responding to critique

49:55 UAE’s literary scene

In our upcoming episode, award-winning novelist Avni Doshi opens up about her literary journey. From the process of crafting her debut novel Burnt Sugar, to grappling with the aftermath of critical acclaim, she shares insights into her creative process and the cultural depth that defines her work. Avni and Hashem’s conversion navigates Avni’s love of astrology before moving on to her artistic doubts and the prospect of her book hitting the big screen. 

Coming to your podcast player August 8!

Chef, hotelier and author Fadi Kattan shares a special recipe to help Hashem reuse his leftover Molokhia. Listen to the full episode with Fadi in your podcast apps right before this one, or on our website: https://thelighthouse.ae/podcast/fadi-kattan/

Hashem catches up with chef, hotelier, and author, Fadi Kattan in Bethlehem. Chef Fadi talks about his newly published cookbook, Bethlehem, which is essentially a celebration of Palestinian Food. It is a beautiful homage to Palestine’s food culture conveyed via Fadi’s memories. Snippets of oral history are prominently featured including his grandmother’s recipes, his twists on traditional Palestinian dishes and the concept of ‘loqma’, breaking a dish down to its essence of a single bite. He also highlights the local farmers who inspired him to bring his culinary vision to life.

This week, we’re flipping the script. Art consultant Caroline Louca gets behind the host’s mic to chat with Hashem the art collector! As a long-time friend of Hashem’s, an art advisor, and former Managing Director of Christie’s Dubai, Caroline digs deep into Hashem’s passion for art. They talk about Hashem’s art enthusiast and academic mother, who exposed him to the world of art, how memories of Egypt’s bygone era continue to influence his collection, and why the introduction to seminal GCC artists such as Hassan Sharif was so pivotal to him.

Hashem and Caroline also discuss the evolution of The Lighthouse into a vibrant community hub that fosters connections between art-curious individuals and artists. And here’s a sneak peek: Hashem comes from art royalty, the father of modern Egyptian painting, Mahmoud Said, being his great granduncle.

• Hashem Montasser tells Youssef el Deeb about his journey from Wall Street to building The Lighthouse

Hashem catches up with the renowned art collector and CEO of Vivium Holding, his newly established family office.

Elie, a self-made man who grew up during Beirut's civil war has had a fascinating career journey, pivoting to advertising early in his career and then building & leading Omnicom Media Group MENA for 18 years. In 2017, he established Vivium Holding, a family office focused on all things Elie, a portfolio that includes real estate, tech and hospitality. 

This wide-ranging conversation covers the evolution of advertising in the region, the current state of the Dubai art and design scene as well as his patronage and interest in art. Elie is also a "Shark" on the Dubai edition of the hit reality series Shark Tank and shares key advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

As someone with a keen eye for detail, Elie also picks up on Hashem's unwavering commitment to wearing black!

Hashem catches up with Hamad Al Awar, the founder of the home-grown burger brand, High Joint, a police officer and a creative artist. Having met at a shawarma place in a very interesting coincidence, Hashem decided to bring their conversation to The Lighthouse Podcast room and explore the man with multiple hats. Hamad walks us through how he is able to balance between all of his roles while being a father of four.