“A True Man of the World”

Zaid AlChalabi, COO of Far Out Solutions is truly a “Man of the World” and an inspirational leader. Zaid was born in 1982 in London, England the son of a university professor of Psychiatry. His family is from Mosul, Iraq. In 1985, his father decided to visit the family in Iraq with his young son! Unfortunately, under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and in the midst of the war with neighboring Iran, Zaid’s father’s passport was revoked, and his family was not permitted to return to London. His father was forced to apply his expertise in Iraq. Clearly this was a dangerous and uncertain time!

Zaid attended school in Iraq and became intrigued with technology at a relatively young age. At the time there was little computing available to the citizen’s and certainly the internet was not permitted into the country by the Hussein regime. Being the resourceful young man that he was, he acquired a desktop computer that was not functioning. There were also no options for computer repair for him to take advantage of. So, in 1998, at the age of 16 he started his own computer repair business primarily by purchasing available used computers and swapping parts until the computer started operating properly. In 2000, Zaid enrolled in college to pursue an undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering which he successfully achieved in 2006.

In 2003, after the demise of Saddam Hussein, technology was again permitted in Iraq including the Internet and Cell Phone Service. The American Army built the initial internet infrastructure primarily to support the various military bases. Unfortunately, at the relatively same period of time various terror groups began to invade Iraq, especially the major cites of Baghdad and Mosul. Being from a highly educated family, Zaid was forced into hiding as they were targets of the terrorists. They remained in hiding for approximately six months until they were able to flee to Kurdistan, a country north of Iraq to safety and a more normal life. While in Kurdistan, Zaid was able to apply his self-taught computer repair skills along with his formal education to date to earn a position as a technician with Asia Cell. His diligence, desire to learn and incredible work ethic paid off as he was able to grow his level of knowledge and responsibilities over approximately the next nine years, eventually achieving the position of Director with some 500 direct reports.

However, Zaid’s goal was to eventually leave the middle east and return to London. As a natural born citizen, he carried both an English as well as an Iraqi Passport. To support his goal, he again took the initiative to achieve various technical certifications required in the UK and also offered them to his technical staff at Asia Cell.

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Zaid’s chance finally came to head back to London. However, prior to leaving he married the love of his life and proceeded to leave for London. His wife stayed behind in Iraq to continue her undergraduate studies. After three years commuting back and forth to London, Dubai and Turkey, Zaid decided to return to Iraq to spend time with his wife and he was immediately accepted back to his director’s position at Asia Cell in the 2009 – 2010 timeframe.

While back with his wife she earned a scholarship to complete her master’s degree in the United Kingdom at Portsmouth! As if this news wasn’t exciting enough for Zaid and his family, they were also expecting their first child, a little girl. Unfortunately, since she was born in Iraq, she had an Iraqi passport and was not granted a Visa to travel to the United Kingdom. As a result, the scholarship offer was rescinded.

Although, understandably disappointed, Zaid and his family remained positive and focused on their goal to achieve a better life outside of the middle east. That opportunity finally arrived when his wife earned a scholarship opportunity at the University of Southern Florida (UCF) for her master’s degree. They were all able to travel as exchange visitors with the agreement that they had to return to Iraq after three years, once her degree was completed. The scholarship also included a monthly stipend to cover their living expenses. So, on December 29, 2011, Zaid and his family arrived in Orlando, FL.

As motivated and driven as Zaid is, he couldn’t simply stay at home and had to get a job. By this time his resume was quite extensive, and he began his job search. In June of 2012, Zaid met Ben Farout, the Founder and CEO of Far Out Solutions. At that time, it was a struggling technology startup. Ben had big plans and needed some additional technical talent and Zaid was perfect for the job! On October 2, 2012, Far Out Solutions was formed with Ben, Zaid and an Admin as the original staff.

As you may have expected, the first year was a struggle but their first major break was an opportunity they found in 2013 with Pinnacle Living (Cushman Wakefield) to help migrate technology as they took over the management of new multi-family residential properties in Orlando, FL and Dallas, TX. The projects were a huge success and Far Out Solutions growth, fueled in Commercial Real Estate began! However, Zaid’s wife was completing her master’s degree and in 2014 it was time for them to return to Iraq. Fortunately, she was able to earn a scholarship for a PhD and a position as a Teaching Assistant which extended their stay in the United States at the time for 5 additional years.

With that issue behind them, Ben and Zaid had their complete attention focused on growing Far Out Solutions and in 2015 they signed contracts with Watercrest Senior Living. In 2016 the company enjoyed a 300% growth in revenue and the Cushman Wakefield relationship continued to grow dramatically across their national footprint of hundreds of properties.

Today, primarily due to Zaid’s focus, work ethic and dedication, Far Out Solutions revenue has grown into a multi-million-dollar, global enterprise encompassing 4 – 6 separate LLC’s. In addition to Cushman Wakefield (Pinnacle Living), Watercrest Senior Living, Lantower Residential and Wendover Housing Partners, Industrious Office is also a major client along with many other commercial real estate property managers, owners and developers. Far Out Solutions also enjoys partnerships with many technology companies such as ADT Commercial, Datto, Ingram Micro, SmartRent, Xerox, ADI and Eagle Eye Networks. Zaid’s family has also grown with the addition of his son.

In the process, Zaid and Far Out Solutions earned many accoles, accreditations and certifications, some of which are listed below:

• Zaid earned accreditation in - CIPS - Canada’s Association of I.T. Professionals

• Zaid was interviewed by Orlando’s WFTV Channel 9 for a featured broadcast story

• Far Out Solutions was selected as the “Best Small Business in Orlando” (201, 2018 & 2019)

• Far Out Solutions achieved the exclusive Enterprise Partner Status with Datto

• Far Out Solutions is ranked A+ by the Better Business Bureau

• Far Out Solutions attained “Silver Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions” accreditation from Microsoft

• Far Out Solutions is a Proud Member of The IT Nation

• Far Out Solutions earns Membership with the MSP Alliance, an International Association of Cloud and Managed Service Providers

• Far Out Solutions offers numerous information programs to its clients on critical topics such as Cyber Security

In addition, Far Out Solutions invests in various Sponsorships of events in partnership with its clients such as:

• BH Management

• Lantower Residential

• Cushman Wakefield (Pinnacle Living)

• Watercrest Senior Living

• Wendover Housing Partners

• US Indoor Sports

• Etc.

With Zaid at the helm, we are confident that the best is yet to come for Far Out Solutions. IE