Upon graduation at the age of 18, Corm travelled to New York City where he rented a small office on Wall Street to conduct an import/export business. Soon after, Charles Corm obtained a meeting with business tycoon Henry Ford, the richest man in the world at the time.[1][12] Subsequent to the meeting, Corm secured the Ford Motor Company dealership for the entire Greater Middle East region at a time when Ford Motor Company was the only car maker in the world.[1] At its height, Corm's business empire, all folded into "Charles Corm and Co.", was the first and largest multinational in the Middle East, employing thousands of men and women from Turkey to Iran.[3] His enterprises became the livelihood of thousands of families and contributed to developing the infrastructure and networks of roads, railways and bridges in countries that had not yet even come into being.[6]