Thamma Al Masar opens for business in Saudi Arabia with backing of Yonder Consulting
Saudi Arabia’s consulting landscape has welcomed a new brand: Thamma Al Masar. The strategy and business consultancy is powered by Yonder Consulting, an international consulting group.
The new firm focuses on growth strategy, branding, insights and experience design, supporting both public and private sector organizations across areas including giga-projects, destinations, government ministries and authorities, corporate transformation, culture and creativity, luxury hospitality, sports, and entertainment.
“Thamma Al Masar will partner with leadership teams across the Kingdom and the wider Gulf to define growth strategies, build distinctive brands, and design meaningful customer and citizen experiences aligned with Vision 2030,” said Ross McAuley, Managing Director of Thamma Al Masar.
“Vision 2030 is creating significant commercial opportunity, and raising expectations for what great looks like,” he added. “Thamma Al Masar exists to help brands, destinations and governments leaders turn ambition into results: clearer choices, distinctive positioning, and experiences people genuinely choose.”
McAuley has joined Thamma Al Masar with more than two decades of senior leadership experience under his belt. Most recently, he served at Qiddiya in Riyadh, where he led commercial strategy and supported destination positioning on the global stage while embedding visitor experience and commercial frameworks across a broad stakeholder landscape.
Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of SSDAlliance, Scotland’s destination management and marketing organization, and held executive leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer at GEMS Education and Vice President of Brand, Digital, and Loyalty at Jumeirah Group, where he led global brand strategy, digital transformation, guest experience programs and loyalty.
Powered by an international group
Thamma Al Masar is powered by Yonder Consulting, one of the UK’s leading management consultancies. The firm also has an office in New York and delivers projects in Asia.
“Thamma Al Masar is a business designed around Saudi and GCC client needs, powered by Yonder’s global expertise and standards,” said Michael Simmonds, CEO of Yonder Consulting.
Asked why the firm opted for a distinct brand in the Saudi market, Simmonds said it aligns with its belief in building a locally rooted business. “Designed for the pace and culture of the region, Thamma Al-Masar combines deep local market understanding with global expertise across insight, strategy, brand and experience design.”
The consulting firm will build its team around Saudi talent, with the goal of becoming increasingly locally led over time.
“Being powered by Yonder Consulting means we can draw on Yonder Consulting’s global capabilities, proprietary tools and methods, and international experience across insight, strategy, brand, and experience design, thus enabling rigorous, insight-led strategy and the ability to carry that strategy through to execution,” said McAuley.
