BrazilAlixPartners adds consumer expert Karl Nader as Managing Director in Dubai
AlixPartners has appointed consumer retail expert and ex-Strategy& partner Karl Nader as a Managing Director in Dubai – rounding out a trio of recent high-profile recruitments.
Global consulting firm AlixPartners has continued its concerted push in the Middle East with the appointment of respected regional retail and consumer expert Karl Nader to its Managing Director ranks in Dubai – the third senior inclusion in a matter of weeks, and the second poached from regional stalwarts Strategy&. Nader had been with PwC’s strategy arm and its predecessor Booz & Company since 2005.
The announcement follows the firm’s launch of an office in Saudi Arabia, with Nader’s fellow former Strategy& partner Gabriel Chahine brought on board as the firm’s regional market leader, and the appointment of international financial services expert and former French government aide Pierre Mariani as a Managing Director to be based out of Dubai. Like Nader, Chahine had been with Strategy& and its predecessors for more than a dozen years, most recently as Senior Vice President and head of Consumer & Retail.
A specialist in consumer goods and retailing and distribution, with broad experience in category management, promotions and pricing, organisational design, business restructuring, and corporate, retail and distribution strategy, Nader has amassed nearly two decades worth of experience in the consumer & retail sector, with a three year stint at Accenture’s retail practice in the UK prior to joining Strategy& – having since developed a deep understanding of the MENA consumer market.
Previously operating out of Strategy&’s Beirut branch, Nader holds dual Lebanese and Greek citizenship, and speaks fluently in Arabic, English, French and Greek. He initially kicked off his career as a business analyst at a boutique consulting firm in the UK, after obtaining a first-class Master’s degree in operational research from the University of Lancaster and an earlier BA in mathematics, operational research, statistics, and economics from the University of Warwick.
“We welcome Karl to AlixPartners and are delighted that he joins as part of our continued investment in the Gulf region,” AlixPartners Global CEO Simon Freakley said of the firm’s latest recruitment coup. “His in-depth knowledge of the market and deep expertise across consumer-facing industries will be of great benefit to both international and local clients operating in this key sector.”
While the firm’s expansion drive in the Middle East is notable, AlixPartners has been bolstering its senior leadership ranks across the globe over the course of the year, with ex-Strategy& vice president Mark Flamme’s recruitment as a Managing Director in the US among the firm’s more recent appointments. The aggressive market push is in line with the firm’s ambitious growth agenda which it laid out for the 2016 – 2020 period following its buy-out from private equity group CVC Capital Partners by company founder Jay Alix and a trio of investors.
