SBI promotes Karim Lahlou to CEO for the Middle East & Africa
SBI, an international data and business intelligence consulting group, has appointed Karim Lahlou as CEO for the Middle East & Africa region. He is based in Dubai.
Since joining SBI in early 2025, Lahlou has led the firm’s Middle East business with a focus on growth, client delivery and operational excellence. Over the past few months, he has also taken on the coordination of regional operations across the Middle East and Africa, working to strengthen SBI’s operating model and foster closer collaboration across teams.
In his new role, Lahlou will oversee SBI’s strategic direction in the region, overseeing client delivery, operations and talent management across its offices in Dubai, Riyadh and Casablanca. He succeeds Imad El Ayoubi, a former CGI’er who spent nine years with the company and has taken on a new role outside the company.
Lahlou brings a background in consulting, engineering and industry to the top regional role. Before joining SBI, he spent three years at Deloitte, where he was a senior member of its Government & Infrastructure team, advising public and private sector clients on infrastructure and finance projects. Previously, he served at AECOM and Via Rail in Canada, where he managed capital projects, business transformation initiatives, and large-scale infrastructure programs.
“With a solid background in consulting, project delivery and leadership – including previous experience at Deloitte, AECOM and VIA Rail – Karim brings a collaborative approach and a deep understanding of our business, our clients and our teams,” stated SBI in an announcement. “We are confident that his leadership will further strengthen SBI’s presence and support our continued development across the Middle East and Africa.”
Headquartered in Paris, SBI has a team of over 300 experts across Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The consulting firm helps its clients with consulting and service offerings structured around data, artificial intelligence and financial performance management (EPM), working from strategy through to implementation.
