Middle East FMCG executive Sami Darouni joins Strategy&

Strategy& has added former regional Mars president Sami Darouni as a Senior Executive Advisor in its Middle East consumer markets practice.

Long time food & beverage executive Sami Darouni has joined Strategy& as a Senior Executive Advisor in the consultancy’s Middle East consumer markets practice – which covers segments such as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer electronics, luxury goods, cosmetics beverages and packaged food. Darouni has amassed nearly three decades of experience in the local FMCG industry.

Following an MBA in marketing and strategy at INSEAD (to complement an earlier MSc. in Engineering at New York’s Columbia University), Darouni from 1992 spent seven years at PepsiCo in various marketing leadership roles in the UAE, Lebanon and Kuwait, including terms as Pepsi’s Brand Director for Middle East & North Africa and as Marketing Director for the East Mediterranean & North Africa.

From there, Darouni joined Kraft for three and a half years as its East Mediterranean Business Unit manager based out of Beirut, before joining another American food giant Mars – where he would spend twelve and a half years and ultimately rise to Regional President for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, while also sitting on the Executive Board of Mars Inc.’s chocolate division.
“We are delighted to have Sami part of the Strategy& family,” said Strategy& Middle East Partner and Managing Director George Sarraf. “His experience in multinational consumer-oriented corporations will bring a unique perspective to our clients’ challenges and having him on board reaffirms our continuous drive towards recruiting outstanding professionals."

With expertise in areas such as strategic planning, general management, business turnarounds, market entries, marketing, and brand building, Darouni will join current consumer & retail practice leader Per-Ola Karlsson, with Darouni's recruitment following the departure of former Strategy& partner and consumer retail expert Karl Nader to AlixPartners toward the end of last year.

“The consumer and retail industries in the Middle East and Africa are evolving rapidly,” outlines the firm on its consumer and retail practice webpage. “Regulatory liberalisation, changes in the competitive environment, and evolving consumer lifestyles and channel structures are creating opportunities as well as challenges for consumer companies, distributors and retailers.”