Everywhere in the world, the people, the cultures, the geographies, and the landscapes are the same-same but different. While the waves of industrialization, globalization, modernization, and digitalization have somehow lessened the differences, the steepest of the divides are posing an increasing threat to global unity. In such a scenario, especially when it comes to the field of international and intercontinental trade and investment, such conflicts can become the deal-breakers. To overcome them, global corporations urgently need dynamic CEOs like Will Abdo, who can drive business growth in global trades and investments.
Being also the Founder of Webtrade Marketing Pty Ltd, Will, for over 23 years, has been delivering specialty marketing and business intelligence services to clients seeking business, trade, and investment opportunities. With a graduate diploma in computer science focusing on business intelligence, he has extensive experience in business, trade, and finance analysis, insights, and reporting.
A Career in Bridging Two Continents
Will has worked across functional departments, regions, and various stakeholders, delivering information modelling, project management, and board advisory roles, predominantly within the Australian corporate sector. He has also been an advisor to the Australian Federal Government on e-marketing and e-commerce strategies for Middle East trade markets. He has exceptional communication and presentation skills and a broad knowledge of various BI and systems platforms. He is passionate about enhancing Australian-Arabic relations and has received the Ambassador for Peace Award in recognition of his leadership and peacebuilding work across both community and business platforms.
Will built his career around connecting Australia and the Middle East — two regions with very different business landscapes. Reflecting on the same, he says that his middle childhood in Australia gave him experiences where wide differences and misunderstandings between the Middle Eastern and Australian cultures were frequent occurrences. “I wanted to dedicate time and effort to promote a greater understanding and trust between the two.” Initially, working with the local community as an accountant/tax agent to meet their business and tax obligations. This experience provided Will with a solid foundation in business operations, compliance, and professional ethics. It also exposed him to the challenges many within the local Middle Eastern community faced in navigating Australia’s commercial systems.
Breaking Barriers
With a background in business intelligence and early exposure to building websites, an opportunity presented itself when an Australian Federal Government inquiry into “Australia’s Relations with the Middle East” was presented to the public. It is here that Will was drawn into presenting his submission on the use of modern online technology and linguistics to step into the world of international trade to e-market the benefits of the two cultures and regions, whilst bridging the cultural and geographical gap and promoting online trade and investment opportunities. This marked the beginning of his company, Webtrade Marketing, in the year 2000.
Personal experiences in witnessing prolonged stereotyping, regional instabilities and wars, socio-economic marginalization, and the absence of moderation all contributed to Will’s vision to promote trade and trusting business relations through cross-cultural conversations, linguistic and business intelligence, utilizing modern technologies for greater impact.
Human-centered Business Success
Webtrade Marketing reflects a very human-centered approach to business development. Because Will believes that business and trade developments that are built on mutual cultural understanding and acknowledgment, respect, moderation, trust, and due diligence should lead to sustainable business prosperity and peace in general.
A great deal of that philosophy comes from his entrepreneurial journey, which is based on clarity, honesty, ethics, acknowledgment, and mutual respect of cultural differences, and his mission is to promote these values in a more sophisticated business and trade setting.
When embarking on a journey in international business relations, you quickly learn and realize how big, competitive, and challenging the environment is, he adds. There are so many factors impacting the trade environments both locally and internationally, which differ by country, governments, industry, cultures, linguistics, business leaders, trade agreements, geopolitics, competitions, etc.
To understand these dynamics, you build and strengthen so many entrepreneurial skills in the process, including leadership, innovation, creativity, big picture analytics, communications, linguistics, presentation, networking, resilience, diplomacy, problem solving, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, etc. “Achieving my role as the CEO/Entrepreneur came from recognizing and harnessing these skills in my operational and communication engagements with my clients and stakeholders,” explains Will.
Two to Tango
He further states that being surrounded by an ever-growing digitization of business and social communications, as well as an explosion in e-commerce activity worldwide, gave him the confidence that Webtrade was on the right trajectory. What is critical here is that it takes two to tango in the digital trade world. Hence, it’s paramount that the two regions in question have the same supporting e-commerce infrastructure and mindset to make digital trade work.
Webtrade Marketing is also very involved in conventional trade and investment development, both locally in Australia and internationally in the Middle East. “We made it clear from the outset that our digital online strategies were purely supplementary given the preferred way of personal over transactional relations when dealing with the Middle East,” he shares.
The Priceless Value of Ever-lasting Relationships
Will often emphasize relationships over transactions. Sharing an instance where his personal connection or intuition played a key role in shaping a successful client outcome, Will recalls: “Doing business and trade in the Middle East requires much more relationship emphasis over transactions, and I’ve always viewed e-marketing and e-commerce as a supplementary solution rather than a replacement to conventional trade relations and loyalties.”
Many of his personal connections and intuitions play a key role in shaping successful clients and deal outcomes, which are based on extensive experience working with different clients and business challenges over the years. His Australian clients are often advised by him that personal and business relations in the Middle East are very important and take some patience and due diligence to cultivate and establish, with emphasis on rapport and trust. “On occasions, I’ve seen deals put on hold indefinitely because of formalities over relations and lack of rapport, and that’s where I had to step in and organize several meetings to clarify intentions, values, and long-term goals of both parties.”
The Balancing Act
Growing a cross-border advisory firm requires both cultural intelligence and resilience. It is where personal values guiding one through challenges and uncertainties along the way come into play. In Will’s words, some regions and cultures are much more sensitive to work with than others, and keeping up to date with the cultural and geopolitical tensions can be very challenging, especially given the geographical and cultural distance between the two regions. “It’s always a balancing act trying to win the trust of both parties, especially during geopolitical tensions and business and trade compliance misunderstandings.”
Personal development, self-care, and staying connected to his clients, networks, and associates within the industry gave Will the support and attention when he needed it most, even during the most difficult times.
Another aspect is staying personally adaptable and grounded amid change, all the while constantly bridging different markets and mindsets. It is where Will’s strategic acumen comes into play. He studies the personal as well as the professional profile of a potential client and then adjusts his communications with them accordingly. Also, Will stays adaptable by continuously learning—listening to clients, monitoring global trends, and engaging with professionals from different sectors and cultures. “This helps me anticipate shifts rather than react to them.”
Also, importantly, setting firm, trusting, and professional boundaries regarding the signing of deals/contracts, communications protocols, and confidentiality agreements. It is important to keep focus on core values of building bridges whilst being flexible and consistent to ever-changing trade market dynamics, he insists.
Now, when it comes to the most rewarding aspect of helping Australian and Middle Eastern businesses discover common ground — beyond just commercial success, Will’s take is simple: “Getting them to know each other and building strong lasting relationships based on mutual acknowledgments, respect, trust, and cultural understanding.”
For Will in the global trade investment arena, entrepreneurship is all about balancing vision with practicality — keeping creativity alive while ensuring disciplined planning and execution. He sustains his entrepreneurial spirit by anchoring every decision and action to purpose and its long-term impact in meeting his overall vision and mission goals.
Will’s entrepreneurial spirit is also very closely connected to his deep sense of purpose, mission, and identity, always driving him to keep moving forward to address ongoing challenges in the industry, self-development, and finding creative solutions regardless of the operational difficulties. “Staying close to clients, associates, and the market also keeps me connected to emerging opportunities and shifting needs, ensuring my strategies remain relevant and forward-looking.”
Ultimately, keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive is about mindset: remaining curious, adaptable, and purpose-driven while leading with both imagination and discipline. This balance ensures the company grows sustainably without losing the energy, courage, and creativity that sparked its beginning, he emphasizes.
If You’re There for Your Client―The Client Will Be There for You
In his vast experience of helping companies build their presence overseas, one lesson about leadership Will learned while watching his clients evolve, is this: “Your clients will always respect you for providing the right business development advice and support from the outset. It’s important to maintain that respect and trust by consistently being there, standing strong to support and nurture the client where needed, whilst they evolve and grow.”
Every founder has a “why” that drives them. When asked what continues to motivate him — personally and professionally — in leading Webtrade today, Will pauses a little. As the founder of Webtrade, he says he has grown with his company as if it were his true partner, challenging him to learn, grow, evolve, and manifest in many ways to better assist his clients in the space of trade and investments and make a positive impact in building a trusting and well-informed trade environment. “Personally and professionally, I am continually motivated by building strong, trusting trade relations between Australia and the Middle-East in the face of ever-growing global trade competitions and geopolitical tensions.”
When asked in a profession where trust is at the heart of everything, how does he cultivate it, not only with clients, but within his own team across borders, Will replies honestly, “Let’s face it, trust is built upon consistent clarity and performance in meeting clients’ expectations and delivering positive results in an ethical, sustainable way. Providing the right business intelligence to make informed, comfortable decisions is paramount in trust building, both for my clients and my team across borders. Having a strong connection to community and relevant organizations within that space greatly helps with this endeavor.”
As global markets evolve, Will personally keeps learning, staying curious, and refining his perspective as a leader by remaining closely connected to the industry through his membership, contributions and networks to various international chambers of commerce in Melbourne whilst also attending to various international trade events such as the World Chamber Congress, international industry shows, trade seminars and webinars, research and studies, trade missions, overseas conferences, summits and forums both in-person and online.
The Guiding Compass
Finally, Will’s advice—that defined his own career—for the aspiring entrepreneurs aiming to build global impact is this: “Aim to build a global impact with a sense of purpose, vision, and mission from the outset and stay fit for the long haul.”
That advice continues to be his driving force and compass even after 25 years in the industry and making a global impact in international trade and investments.
In the end, entrepreneurship is not simply about building a business—it is about building bridges. “Through collaboration, cultural awareness, and ethical engagement, we can create sustainable prosperity that transcends borders and leaves a positive legacy for generations to come,” he concludes.
