...it was productive as we were able to agree on a way forward for the project, which entails construction of 400 Km of motorway with over 50 km of tunnels while maintaining the current traffic flows.

Later in the day, I led a re-group conference call with our Langan team members based in Athens and New York to finalize our language in our quarterly report based on the meetings from Monday and Tuesday.

7PM to 10PM. Caught up on a backlog of emails. Reviewed draft proposals for two projects in Abu Dhabi. Spent time Skyping with my wife and three daughters back home.

Thursday

Our final meeting concerning the Motorway project took place early in the morning. All went well.

Spent mid-morning making various follow up calls for a large project in Doha where Langan is teaming with London and Dubai-based architectural teams.

1:30PM. Had a meeting with the CEO of a Greek foundation construction company. We discussed ways in which our companies could team and talked about a bid project that Langan is assisting them with in Romania. We were able to come to terms in an hour and I next headed to the airport to catch a flight to Dubai.

10PM. Arrived in Dubai and went directly to my hotel to have dinner with the local manager of the Greek contractor I had met Tuesday night in Athens. We discussed ways to share business intelligence on Middle East projects. After dinner, I went back to the hotel room to catch up on emails.

2:30AM. Sleep!

Friday (Day Off in UAE)

8:30AM to 11:30AM. Despite it being a day off, I met with Khaldoun Fahoum, Langan’s Regional Middle East Manager. We re-capped the status of our operations, worked on our budget/staffing for the remainder of 2009 and for 2010.

12:00 to 3PM. Langan’s leadership is committed to sustainability in every way. Toward that end, the shareholders of the firm are taking the LEED AP exam. My test is approaching fast, so I took about three hours today to study.

3PM-4PM. Held a conference call regarding the Doha project with the London-based architect team.

4PM-5PM. Held conference calls with Langan staff back in NYC office.

6PM. Conference call with the CEO of a NYC-based construction management firm regarding the Doha project and various other prospects in the Middle East and elsewhere.

8:30PM. Dinner with the Middle East manager of a New York-based architect to discuss teaming opportunities in Abu Dhabi and the region

Saturday (Day off in UAE)

9am to 11:30 am. Took part in a meeting with a project manager from a large New York-based construction management company. This meeting was set up by the COO of the company after the previous day’s conference call for two reasons: to discuss various opportunities in Abu Dhabi and to inquire about an introduction to a Dubai-based architect for the Doha project. I will have to follow up with the Dubai-based architect on Monday and also on Thursday for another project in Abu Dhabi. Such meetings are critical as they allow Langan’s name to spread further in UAE design/development circles.

11:30AM to 12:00PM. Packed and checked out.

12:30 PM. Met with the principal of a New York-based architectural firm that also has offices in the UAE. Their New York office has been newly formed, so we discussed teaming opportunities and arranged to meet again both in New York and in the UAE.

2:30PM. On my way to Abu Dhabi, I made several calls to finalize our involvement on the team of a large US Project Management firm for the program management RFP for the Abu Dhabi metro.

4:30pm. Checked into the hotel in Abu Dhabi.

6:30PM to 8:00PM. Studied for LEED AP exam.

8:00PM. Received an answer from the managing principal of one of the New York architects that I had emailed earlier in the day. He is coming to Abu Dhabi Sunday night and we agreed to have an early breakfast on Monday morning.

8:30PM to 11:30PM. Had dinner with representatives of a large New York-based architectural firm that has moved recently to Abu Dhabi. We discussed the status of projects...