Haile Gebrselassie: How the Athletics Great Became a Business Mogul

Ethiopian long- and middle-distance icon Haile Gebrselassie is regarded as one of the greatest runners, having dominated the world athletics in the early 2000s.

A mere mention of his enviable 27 world records in 5000m and 10,000m races helps illustrate the level of success he enjoyed in a career spanning two and a half decades.

Several years after hanging his running boots, Haile is again the talk of town, having swiftly replicated his athletic success in the corporate world, as he is now one of the most successful businessmen in his country.

We got to sit down with the legend in Addis Ababa during the recently concluded The Great Ethiopian Run, and he tells us about his lifestyle adjustment after retirement.

"Life is okay; I’m doing well. Life without running is impossible. Since I stopped competing, I do my own job at the office. No more running discipline; now its business discipline. But I still exercise; I do my daily morning job before I come to the office.

The legendary 5000m and 10,000m runner takes us down memory lane of his fierce battles with Kenyan runners, and he says this gets the best out of athletes from the two nations.

“When it comes to competition between Kenyans and Ethiopians, can you see Kenyans? stronger without Ethiopians? Can you see Ethiopians stronger without Kenyans?

“We need each other. Thank you to Kenyans; today I am who I am. Of course, when I was competing, I used to dread Kenyans, and I raced against many Kenyans, and my strength always came from Kenyans,” he enthuses.

Haile recalls when Kenyan athlete Josephat Machuka punched him at the finishing line after being passed in the closing meters of their 10,000-meter final in Barcelona during the World Junior Championships, despite having led every lap of the race.

"Aaah, I remember Machuka. Punching competition; I have to admit what happened there. Machuka was leading the race from the beginning until lap 24 and a half; I had to sprint from him in the last 100m.

“That was not fair. He was very offended; that is expected, especially when you’re a junior. That time I was angry, and after 31 years, when I became more conscious, I get it. But of course, before, I was offended by why he did that.”

Despite his legendary status here, Haile has maintained a humble demeanor, as our interview is frequently interrupted by his aides needing his signature on a few documents.

He's built a conglomerate of businesses ranging from hotels and resorts to the sale of Haile coffee and Honey as well as working with Hyundai as the main distributor in Ethiopia.

He tells us how different the business world is as compared to athletics

“The transition as an athlete and as a businessman—there are similarities and differences.

“You see when in athletics you’re dealing with a few people; working with the coach and manager, and maybe when you jump to the race you get a pacemaker thing like that.

“When you switch to business, you have to deal with sometimes over a thousand people; I’ve built a company with over 4000 employees.

“In business, there are many people and many problems. But there are similarities; in both business and athletics, you need to be number one.

“I want to be successful in business, especially coming from athletics, where you’re used to being number one, but it’s not easy.”

Haile explains some of the things he has had to learn in order to be asuccessful entrepreneur.

“There is a saying in business that says that the more problems you solve, the more business you make, and the more money.

“In business, it’s a lot of challenge. When you finish dealing with people, you have to deal with money.

“Life itself taught me a lot; I learn from experience and not from school. I didn’t go to university or college; I finished high school and then ran.

“Running taught me a lot, travelling around the world and meeting different people is a wonderful opportunity.”

It's his prowess on track and road that inspired him to start one of Africa's biggest road races, the Great Ethiopian run and one that he hopes will continue to churn the next generation of runners.

“For now, I focus on the kids and when I see them, it reminds me of when I was ten or eleven.

“I had a dream to become an Olympic champion since I was seven and when you see these young ones, they have the same dream like I had and they need help; not help as such but opportunity; bring them in this kind of competition to see what competition means.”

He had special praise for Kenya's recent exploits in hosting international athletics events, especially the World Junior championship and the Kip Keino classic meet adding that he was willing to work together with the organizers to put together major races in the region.

“I Remember when Kenya hosted the World Junior Championship? It was fantastic.

“‘Now there is the Kip Keino Classic; it was a wonderful and perfect organization.

“We can learn a lot from that, and at the same time, we can collaborate. For instance, when they travel from Europe and America, they can also come here for a few days and the cost is not so much; that’s one of my plans.

“I’m so proud of Kenya for organizing a race like the Kip Keino classic; it’s a wonderful race, and I could watch it live.”

 Haile had some advice for active athletes on how best to prepare for life in retirement.

“Most athletes have no plans before they win a race but after you win the race, money comes and if you don’t know what to do with it, the money is running faster than you, and you have to think about that.

“Most of our athletes in both Kenya and Ethiopia come from poor backgrounds and as soon as we get money, we start to distribute to lift our siblings; I don’t say don’t do that.

“Running is a contract; you can’t be a top athlete forever; you will stop someday.

“Maybe if you’re good enough, like Kipchoge (Eliud) and others, you can run for twenty years, but you will stop someday.

“Before I got into full-time business; I saved money that I used to get started.”

With Kenya battling doping cases; Haile feels menace puts the achievements and respect athletes in the region have gained over the years at risk.

“This issue comes up a lot here in Ethiopia and Kenya and my advice to runners who are doing those things; let them think about the future.

“They shouldn’t lie to themselves; you can lie to a thousand people but you can’t lie to yourself. We have to fight doping together and, at the same time, fight this unfair competition.”

Haile is one of the many shining examples of how athletes can transform their athletics’ prowess into successful business ventures.

Just before we left his office, he ensured we sampled his Haile Coffee, which I must confess is just as sumptuous.