Tribute to a Man

Saturday August 28, 2010 – I am looking up a name on Google.

Results show three book entries “Who’s Who in Lebanon, volume: 12”, “Who’s who in Lebanon: Volume 13”, as well as “Le Genie Libanais” (meaning “The Lebanese Genius” in French). Among the search results, figure references in the local web portal Naharnet, renowned French Journal Le Figaro, and LATimes.

He’s currently the president of the Syndicate of Security and Safety Professionals in Lebanon, and he happens to be my father; his name is Sami Zod.

Born in Tripoli, Lebanon on September 17th, 1948, he completed his high school education at the Christian school “College des frères” in Tripoli. He was never far from the Lebanese military, as his brother was a military Aviator, who, at age 24, fell as a Lieutenant martyr in the honor field. Sami was 13 years old at this time, and this only reinforced his patriotic feel. He grew up to follow his brother’s footsteps. He graduated from the military school and joined the Internal Security Forces, and was later selected to join the Judiciary Police.

In 1974, he was selected and followed intense courses at the FBI National Academy, at Quantico, State of Virginia, USA, where he gained a wide knowledge in security equipment.

He served in the Internal Security Forces for 14 years, marked with bravery and patriotic commitment. Among his accomplishments was securing the headquarters of the Internal Security Forces where were safeguarded historically and nationally valuable documents and archives.

He, then, quit at age 33, becoming the first and youngest to ever resign from the Lebanese Police. The truth of the matter: the idealist, that he is, could no longer tolerate the atrocities of the war, the security compromises that were taking place nor the personal political interests that he was witnessing.

With the support of his wife, Leila Hawi Zod, a graduate from the first class (in 1972) of business students from USJ (one of the most renowned private universities in Lebanon), he initiates a business venture. It was 1977; Zod Security sees the light of day, the first company of its kind in Lebanon, covering all the protection needs.

Focused on advising, selling and installing security equipment, Zod Security was initially located in Beirut’s Sami Solh Street. The couple lived in Antelias at the time, a home, which for a while, served as an emergency office during the Lebanese war’s heavy clashes.

For several years, Sami headed to London to attend the “International Fair of Security Systems” and got acquainted with international security firms. After having established itself as a market leader, Zod Security gained exclusive representation for more than 30 international security brands which it introduced to the Lebanese market.

Its suppliers were always bedazzled at the Lebanese people’s resilience and capacity to go on, despite the wars, and permanent clashes headlines in world news. An employee noted the account of a Swedish supplier who insisted on visiting the premises, unaware of the threats he was facing. He figured, if the Lebanese could do it, so could he. At his arrival he was baffled by the proximity of the risk to the operations; and left with utter admiration of the Lebanese people.

In order to continuously serve the market, Sami had to resort to the sea at times, using different types of boats, not necessarily set for travel purposes, heading to Cyprus airport, the sole link to the rest of the world in times of troubles.

With a strong faith in Lebanon, Sami and Leila Zod invested their future, with a firm entrepreneurship spirit and a relentless belief in God. Despite the permanent threats, Zod grew to open offices in Hamra and Tripoli, and its activity spread to cover all of the Lebanese territory. The couple refused numerous opportunities to abandon their country and live abroad. They were convinced that in foreign lands, “a man is only an added number”; nowhere else would they ever find this human fraternity that exists in Lebanon.

Today, from the heart of Lebanon, Zod Security operates with more than 50 employees, 850 square meters of warehouse, big offices with a breath-taking sea-view and a newly renovated showroom located in Dbayeh. Zod Security is ISO 9001:2008 certified and adheres to strict standards of quality. It holds a position of authority and expertise, with more than 30 years of experience and an inexorable list of references, in providing security from counter-terrorism, surveillance equipment and CCTV, alarms, army and police equipment, public safety, fire fighting, access control, locks, safes, gates, lightning protection and more. In addition, it has a sister company Zod International, an offshore, serving the entire Middle East, North African region and other developing countries.