From Baghdad to Toronto
A Journey of Values
by Yahya Abbas

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In our increasingly globalized, interconnected, and therefore volatile world, how can we expect to find success in business? Faced with the precarity of our current economic situation, what can we fall back on in our pursuit of a meaningful and rewarding business career? From Baghdad to Toronto goes a long way to answering these omnipresent yet increasingly urgent questions, detailing businessman and first time author Yahya Abbas’s experience in the world of business and manufacturing. Here, he recounts growing up with the legacy of his family’s centuries-old, multigenerational textile business and his personal rise to operating one of the largest, most prominent manufacturers of beverage products in the North American market. Far from a nitty-gritty instructional text, Abbas uses his captivating personal story to put forward a broad philosophy for his reader, consistently arguing for principle and integrity in business dealings as the foundation of any successful career. Against the increasingly rampant philosophy that a ruthless, cutthroat attitude will serve you best, Abbas’s story testifies to the fact that no matter the industry, honesty, good ethics, and mutual respect pave the road to success. Business is always personal, and the greatest rewards will follow from being true to your values.

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YAHYA ABBAS is both the inheritor of his family’s seven-hundred-year-old textile manufacturing legacy, as well as a business success story in his own right. After leaving their multigenerational textile business in Iraq, Abbas’s family entered food and beverage manufacturing in the early 1980s with the establishment of a small, independent juice company in the Greater Toronto Area. The juice company would go on to be operated by three generations of his family, eventually passing into his hands and growing into one of the largest food and beverage manufacturers in North America, supplying clients like Loblaws, Coca-Cola, and Walmart. Prior to this, Abbas owned and operated a highly successful rattan furniture and gift basket business, growing it into an industry leader before selling it in order to pursue opportunities in the juice and snack industry. Abbas takes pride in his success, but is prouder of the principles that led him there, including the generosity and humility he roots in his Iraqi upbringing. Ultimately, he sees his purpose as passing these principles onto others, teaching the value of remaining true to one’s morals in everything, personal or professional. Abbas lives in Toronto with his wife and family. You can find out more about him and his business at yayafoods.com/our-story.

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Contributors

Author

Yahya Abbas

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