Arthur D. Little recruits trio of high-profile partners in Dubai

Management consultancy Arthur D. Little has recruited three new partners to its Dubai office: Philippe De Backer, Adham Sleiman and Dhiraj Joshi.

Global management consultancy Arthur D. Little has deepened its regional and global expertise in the financial services, energy, and healthcare domains with the recruitment of experienced advisors Philippe De Backer, Adham Sleiman and Dhiraj Joshi – with the trio to be based out of Dubai. The new partners bring close to a century worth of industry and consulting experience to the world’s oldest consultancy, with a background at a number of the world’s leading firms.

Philippe De Backer

Headlining the appointments, veteran consultant Philippe De Backer has been brought on board to lead Arthur. D. Little’s global financial services practice. De Backer crosses after a period as the global financial services head for Korn Ferry Hay Group, before which he spent 25 years at Bain & Company – including a five year stint based out of the Middle East as the MBB firm’s global financial practice co-leader to 2015, relocating to the region to build its local offering.

Previous to moving to Dubai, De Backer performed a similar role for Bain in Europe, spearheading the creation and development of the firm’s European Financial Service Practice, along with playing a leading hand in launching its offices in Amsterdam and Brussels. Earlier in his career, he served as the worldwide managing partner of European consultancy Carre, Orban & Partners prior to its pick up by Korn Ferry, and as the CEO of Seimens-acquired ADB Group.

Adham Sleiman

With over a decade and a half of regional consulting experience under his belt, Adham Sleiman joins ADL as a partner in the firm’s Energy & Utilities practice (ENUT). A doctorate-holder in communications and signal processing from Imperial College London (complementing a master’s in electrical and electronic engineering), Sleiman provides thought leadership and expertise on topics such as smart grids, innovation in energy and blockchain in renewables.

Sleiman crosses from a vice president role with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he has spent the past five years, with the five years before that spent at Booz & Company prior to its purchase by PwC and rebranding to Strategy&. A member of its digital business and technology practice, he had earlier spent a year and a half between Booz Allen and Booz & Co, originally joining after two years as a consultant in the Data Centre Technology & Operations practice of Accenture.

Dhiraj Joshi

The third of ADL’s new high-profile recruits, Dhiraj Joshi, joins the firm after close to a decade in the healthcare practice of PwC, where as a partner he helped to develop and lead its regional healthcare deals and strategy business with a focus on the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical device segments. An MBA graduate from the Indian School of Business, Joshi prior to PwC spent five years as an associate director with KPMG in Dubai.

“Our new senior appointments in Dubai enable us to widen and deepen the strategic consultancy we are providing to our clients across multiple sectors,” said Arthur D. Little’s Middle East managing partner Thomas Kuruvilla, himself a more than two-decade veteran with the firm. “We have strengthened our team in response to client demand and we are delighted to welcome such high-profile senior leaders who are fully aligned with ADL’s values and strategy.”