Former Ashland resident honored with OSU Pace Setters award
Lessons and practices learned as a young man have come full circle for former Ashland resident Laith Khalaf as his career affords him the chance to create opportunities for others he did not have.
A managing director at the Medsker Khalaf Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Khalaf was awarded the Executive Pace Setters Award by The Ohio State University for his contributions to the business community and his ability to reflect the leadership and drive of the Fisher College of Business.
The award is given to a “pace setter,” one of 80,000 living alumni who exemplifies the standards and passion of the Fisher community.
“It’s almost improbable thinking I would accept this award (remembering) where I came from,” Khalaf said.
Khalaf and his brother Saif were born to an American mother, May Sholes, and Jordanian father, Mohamed Khalaf, and briefly lived in Kuwait. After a car bomb exploded outside Laith Khalaf’s school, Mohamed Khalaf decided to move his wife and sons to Jordan, where he worked for the Ministry of Defence.
Ultimately, Laith, his younger brother and his mother were evacuated from Jordan during the onset of the first Gulf War, but Mohamed remained.
“The scene at the airport was just absolutely chaotic, because families were being torn apart just like mine was,” Laith Khalaf said. Mohamed even gave his son a picture of himself with a message on the back asking Laith not to forget him.
When he was 13 years old, Laith Khalaf and his family moved to Ashland to live with his grandparents, Omar and Laila Solomon, who owned the Cleveland Street Market at the time and provided Khalaf with his first brush with business operations.
“I learned a lot from him because he treated the customers like they were royalty and everybody knew my grandfather, Omar,” Laith Khalaf said. “Whenever he’d walk around, his reputation of being an honest, lovable person was something I admired about him.”
In the evening, Laith and Saif were only allowed to watch television if it was broadcast news to help their English skills.
“It was me and my brother ... watching the news, and that’s when I got intrigued by the financial world,” he said. “What fascinated me was how all kinds of things that happened across the world were distilled in that (New York) stock market.”
Khalaf attended OSU and graduated in 1998, earning his degree in three years with a double major in business and marketing and in transportation and logistics. Afterward, he worked overseas for Central Bank Consulting Group with third-world governments in the Mediterranean.
“When I came back to the States and wanted to work with individuals, I went to Ohio State and looked for the job postings,” Khalaf said. In fact, Khalaf called Morgan Stanley — an investment banking company — daily until they hired him. He now lives in Dublin, Ohio.
But Khalaf still wanted to work with individuals and give back, especially to aspiring business students who were looking for their foot in the door. Inspired by his family’s own financial struggles, Khalaf became involved with the Career Closet at OSU, a biannual event that offers free professional attire for students in need.
And just like his grandfather, Khalaf wanted to make sure the student customers were treated like family, putting motivational notes in the clothing pockets.
“I know how it feels not having the clothes to showcase my talent,” Khalaf said. “I want to be able to help put together the outfit, or help (students) with their resume and help them as customers.”
Though he has no children of his own, Khalaf views his students as part of his family and continues to mentor them, even those who have graduated and started their careers.
“I am extremely vested ... in helping mentor the next generation,” he said. “Personally, I feel like that’s my way of contributing to a better world ... If I’m kind of able to change the trajectory by an inch now, it’s going to be a mile later.”
And Khalaf’s life lessons keep coming back to him as he continues to pursue his dreams and pass them on to future business generations.
Coincidentally, his acceptance speech occurred on his grandfather’s birthday and the next day he flew back to Jordan to celebrate with his father.
He also credits his team at Wells Fargo Advisors and his partner Jim Medsker for his success.
“We’ve gone through so many ups and downs together, not just in business but in terms of personal life,” Khalaf said. “I’m very passionate ... and he’s very methodical, and so getting his perspective has always been very valuable to me.”