Description

I am a transformation executive and a builder and operator of businesses at scale. Head of the Consumer practice for India, Middle East, and Africa at Oliver Wyman, and previously held dual roles as Chief Corporate Development Officer of Majid Al Futtaim (one of MENA’s largest retail, real estate and lifestyle conglomerates) and the Managing Director of its digital and innovation arm.

I bring over 20 years of experience in turnaround and growth strategy, digital and data/ AI transformation, investment and portfolio management, corporate governance and operating model design, incubation and startup ecosystem, and P&L ownership in retail, food, media, entertainment, tech, telco, real estate (commercial, residential, hospitality), and consumer industries across the Middle East, S.E. Asia, Europe, and Africa.

My former experience includes Booz Allen Hamilton, OSN, Booz & Company, Nokia Siemens, and Gemalto. I hold a multidisciplinary engineering degree from Telecom Paris Tech, an MBA from INSEAD, and I am a certified director from the IOD. Beyond my academic and professional pursuits, I served on the boards of leading startups, several World Economic Forum platforms and communities, and I am on the Advisory Council of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. I also published several thought-leadership pieces in prominent publications and with leading academic institutions and I am a speaker at major regional and global summits.

Industry field of expertise

Languages

English
Native or bilingual
Arabic
Native or bilingual
French
Fluent

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

Dubai City (up to 50km)

Oliver Wyman
Senior Partner and Head of Retail & Consumer for India
CONSULTING AND AUDITS
January 2024 - Today (2 years and 5 months)
Dubai City, United Arab Emirates
• Established the practice from the ground up; attracted high-caliber team, developed localized thought leadership and service offerings, built strong regional presence through active media engagement, and secured five new accounts in first 18 months.
• Bringing transformative advisory and ecosystem building capabilities to conglomerates, family groups, and SWFs focused on retail, consumer goods, entertainment, real estate, education, and consumer sectors (inc. telco, media, fintech, mobility).
Majid Al Futtaim Xsight Future Solutions
Managing Director (P&L Ownership)
DIGITAL AND IT
January 2021 - January 2023 (2 years)
Dubai - United Arab Emirates
• Enabled more than USD ~500m in annual top-line growth for the group by incubating a set of shared capabilities and carving them out into a standalone business, with 650+ people in 20+ markets (hubs in UAE, Jordan, India, and USA).
• Focused on bringing cutting-edge verticals (AI & data/ media, digital labs, fintech, super-app/ loyalty, and startup launchpad) into an integrated proposition to deliver transformation and accelerated growth for internal and external partners.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding
Chief Corporate Development Officer and Member of the ExCo
PRIVATE EQUITY
July 2016 - December 2023 (7 years and 5 months)
Dubai - United Arab Emirates
• Led the group growth and portfolio strategy, business development, innovation and digital, and CVC and investment agenda.
• Contributed to the omnichannel transformation of the group, anchored in growing adjacencies, expanding into new geographies (e.g. plan for a USD 4bn mega-project in Saudi, expanding retail into Africa and Asia), driving operational excellence, embedding data and analytics, developing a unified customer platform, and advancing the talent agenda.
• Completed >8 investments in core and adjacent sectors (deployed USD ~750m) and 20+ group-wide strategic partnerships and oversaw incubation of >7 new verticals through an "asset-light" approach (e.g., shared services, eCommerce
◦ USD ~1bn, F&B - USD ~500m, content production, B2B/ value-retail, health & beauty, co-working, retail ad-tech).
• Oversaw key group functions that were carved out post setup/ stabilization including marketing/ customer, corporate communications, M&A, and tech/ shared services.