Vishal Pandey

Director

Relevant experience
Vishal is a Dubai based Market Entry & Insights advisor who has lived and worked in the UK, India and across the Middle East. Previously with Deloitte Consulting’s Dubai offices, he was part of a team responsible for strategy and operations assignments across the Middle East and North Africa region. Vishal has been involved in over 500 research + market entry engagements mostly across MENA and South Asia region in his career spanning 18 years across a diverse set of industries.

He is a leading MENA focused Market Entry & Go-To-Market Strategy Specialist. He has been numerously interviewed on the subject. He contributes frequently to several regional and global publications in the areas of growth & market insights, tourism, policy, retail and real estate. He is also often invited to be a speaker at key Middle East and South Asian foreign investment, innovation, growth strategy and retail industry conferences. He is currently on the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts.

Vishal holds a MSc in Real Estate and Regeneration from the University of Glasgow, a UNWTO Themis degree in Tourism and International Cooperation for Development from The George Washington University and a Degree in Hotel Management.

Vishal is the Founder and Director of Data On-A-Plate (DOAP), a leading Marketing Intelligence platform for the highly competitive restaurant industry. Outside of work Vishal is involved in a number of charity initiatives in his home state of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas. His blogs can be seen at www.vishalpandey.net.

C. Derrick

Director – Africa

Relevant experience
Derrick is a consultant based in Zimbabwe who has extensive experience across Sub-Saharan African markets. With over 6 years experience in market intelligence and growth consulting, he has done numerous projects in key sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa involving Environmental and Building Technologies, Infrastructure Development and Automotive and Transportation Sectors.

Previously with a global research consultancy, he has built a strong reputation within the industry and is a recognized thought leader. Furthermore he has published numerous articles in the South African and International press, featuring as an expert analyst on several news programs (on local and international television networks) and has received numerous invitations to participate and speak at key industry events and conferences.

Tamer S. Ali

Field Director

Relevant experience
A Saudi Arabia research veteran; Delivered over 1,000 field research projects in Saudi Arabia. Tamer works at various capacity levels such as National field head of western region for leading research organization in Saudi for 20 yrs. His main responsibilities are ensuring recruiting, staffing, executing and project management for all projects. He has a very detailed knowledge of Saudi culture and provincial areas field management. Currently associated with Glasgow Research & Consulting in handling the field operations for various research initiatives. Tamer has the ability of managing team of regional managers & field managers with excellent organizing skills, ensuring entire field work conducted are at acceptable quality & on agreed time frame and within budget.

Nimisha Kapil

Project Manager

Relevant experience
Nimisha has over 13 years of experience in marketing intelligence and growth consulting covering a diverse set of industries across Middle East and Indian sub-continent.
As a seasoned Project Manager, she has handled consumer research and b2b research projects across multiple domains. Nimisha holds a BA in International Hospitality Management from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK and an MBA from Middlesex University, UK.

Ken James

Subject Matter Expert: Automotive & Mobility

Relevant experience
Experienced Director in international business who has worked for JLR, BMW, Ford and Volvo. Ken was also a VP for a Distribution company covering Latin America and Director for a Global branding and marketing experiential company. He has experience across Gulf, Levant, Asia and Africa markets. Established overseas offices for multiple companies and built Dealer and Distributor networks in the Gulf, Levant, Asia and Africa markets.
Ken is an expert in international strategic planning, brand building and development, dealer/ retail and distributor development, dealer selection and launch, dealer operating standards, sales & marketing planning and management including product launches.

Tariq Khan

Project Manager – Automotive & Mobility

Relevant experience
Tariq has more than 10 years of experience in Business Research and Strategy Consulting, he has led over 100 research and consulting projects. Tariq is particularly expert in: Market opportunity assessment and Market entry strategies, Competitive benchmarking, end-user analysis, new product strategy and business planning.
Tariq has a strong understanding of Automotive Industry OEMs, Component Suppliers and aftermarket. He also has proven expertise in Client Engagement and Management of several Fortune 500 companies.
Extensive expertise in Global Teams Management across India, Middle East and Africa through consulting engagements covering multiple industries  including Automotive, Logistics, Industrial, Construction, Retail and Consumer Durables

Munish Mohendroo

Subject Matter Expert

Relevant experience
Munish is an Alberta, Canada based leading expert in valuation matters who spent 20 plus years in professional practice with the Big 4 firms (Deloitte, EY & KPMG) across Canada, Middle East and Africa. He has worked across a wide range of sectors, including Oil & Gas, Mining, Aviation, Education, Healthcare and Construction.
Munish has leveraged his cross industry experience of working closely with entrepreneurs, private businesses, and large corporations in more than 35 countries, providing valuable business insights and practical solutions. He provided advice to clients relating to transactions, business planning, reorganizations, taxation, financial reporting, tangible asset and corporate valuations.

Sari Alabdulrazzak

Subject Matter Expert

Relevant experience
Sari is a Dubai Based Strategy and Finance advisor with over 18 years of experience. Sari has worked on projects across the world and has been an expert witness for a major ICCA case. His core expertise is in market research, business plans, feasibility studies, financial modeling, and corporate strategy. In his recent years, Sari ventured into the RetailTech and EdTech startup world. Previously, he worked with Deloitte Consulting in the Middle East, he was part of the strategy and operations team with a focus on industrial, construction projects and lead the healthcare and Life-sciences team in Deloitte.
Sari holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a B.Sc in Bioengineering from the University of Toledo, Ohio, USA and a Certificate in Strategic Management from The George Washington University.

Samir Jha

Subject Matter Expert

Relevant experience
Samir has over 20 years of work experience spread across Middle East (11+ years) India (5+ years) & North Africa (5 years) in both client side (8+ years) and consultancy & research agency roles (12+ years).

He has worked with the major market research powerhouses like Nielsen, KANTAR and IPSOS as well as clients like Al-Futtaim Group and CEMEX. Over these years he has covered Automotive, BFSI, Government, Retail (both traditional and online), Telecom, Real Estate, Fashion, Furniture, Building Materials, HORECA, FMCG and B2B as sectors.

While he has championed the domains of Stakeholder Management, Ad & Brand, Innovation, Market Mapping, Market Sizing, Market Feasibility, Market Entry and Segmentation within market research, he firmly believes that the key to client satisfaction and hence successful business partnerships are still the basic softer principles of listening, understanding and accommodating the client’s business requirements. He focuses on developing and fulfilling shared vision through delivering sustainable results in the most efficient & effective manner by challenging the status quo & fostering innovation in positively charged team camaraderie.

Samir is a Civil Engineer from BITS India & MBA in Marketing from IISWBM, University of Calcutta, India. His pursuit of excellence has resulted in conducting several BPI projects and presentencing papers at prestigious conferences like ESOMAR and MRSI.

Edward Smith  

Relevant experience
With over 20 years of experience in the consulting and marketing industry, Edward has spearheaded and delivered several consulting projects across the Middle East and Asia. He has worked with Deloitte’s US and India operations as a Director, is a LEED accredited professional and also a leader in sustainability.

A Management Master Class graduate from Harvard, Edward has been a key note speaker at IFMA conventions; is a member of CoreNet, the American Business Council, and the British Business Council and is also a BOMA FMA. He has also worked as an instructor as a part of a facilities PhD program and is currently giving classes in Enterprise Sustainability and Value Engineering as well as keynote speeches at Index.

Siddarth Razdan

Relevant experience
Siddarth Razdan is a first attempt qualified Chartered Accountant and did his mandatory professional training with a Big 4 firm and a SKP a leading home-grown firm in India today where he gained valuable experience in corporate tax.

Post qualification he joined a Big 4 firm in their corporate tax advisory department and handled several leading Mncs as clients including Citibank ADCB etc. The formation of Sebi in 1992 led him to the lure of capital markets and he joined a boutique investment bank in 1993 where he successfully handled 4 IPos.

He set up his own audit and an advisory firm with a couple of friends and handled over 25 fund raising assignments from 1994 to 2001 aggregating over $ 100 million. The firm offered comprehensive corporate advisory services including both Debt and Equity. Client serviced included Nagarjuna Construction Haldia Petrochem Satyam Computers Shriram Group Chennai Multiarc India Ltd to name a few.

In 2002 he moved to middle East as Cfo for Euro Rscg part of Havas a Fortune 500 company and 5th largest advertising and public relations group. In Mid 2004 he joined Karvy a leading financial services group as their Head for GCC till mid-2010.

Post his Karvy stint he has been involved in fund raising and advisory assignments including restructuring in many geographies in UK USA India and Middle East. He joined hands with Mr K . K Rathi in early 2015 to set up Firstbridge Capital. He presently looks after fund raising for Firstbridge Capital as well as all strategic initiatives

Elena Vishnevskaya

Relevant experience
Ms. Elena Vishnevskaya is the owner of AEG Consulting in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Born in Ukraine, graduated in 2004 from the Donetsk State University of Economy and Trade holds Bachelor Degree in Marketing and Economy, evaluated and recognised by University of Toronto.

Ms. Elena was actively involved in business development processes in CIS countries Market for Aflex Software, multivendor software company, where key vendors were Acronis and Parallels – leading technologies in back-up and virtualization systems.

Along with Aflex Software, in 2007 she established her own consulting and service providing company (solopreneur) in IT and Communications industry in Ukraine, Donetsk.

Since 2010 Ms. Elena permanently lives in Canada, where she operates a family owned company AEG Consulting, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

Major activities: Business consulting regarding international markets expansion for Canadian and international companies, businesses, investors. Immigration to Canada for Corporate clients and Individuals, available programs.
AEG Consulting and Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority signed agreement, where DAFZA is providing support in consulting services for Canadian businesses through AEG Consulting regarding MENA market opportunities (2016-2018).

As well, Elena receives support from Consulates and other government organizations in Toronto and abroad, and established connections in MENA region for Canadian companies.

With MENA and UAE chosen as a key market, AEG Consulting also have connections in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Niger as we consider Africa a very perspective market.

Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa market and market acknowledge: Humanitarian projects, Mining industry research, Agriculture projects, Infrastructure construction projects.

Ms. Elena attends major trade shows, events in the following industries: mining, manufacturing and technology, food and beverage, retail, international economic forums, Canada- Arab Business Council events and other related activities in Canada and Internationally.

Current researches:
– North American Franchise brands and SMB in different countries. (valuable brands, family owned business model, local food market, royalty paid business model).
– EXPO 2020 Dubai. Opportunities, benefits and problems.
– Go-To- Market strategies, different industries.