BrazilFormer strategy consultant Sabine El-Najjar leads Kitopi in Saudi
Sabine El-Najjar, a former strategy consultant at McKinsey and Strategy&, has been named the new Saudi Arabia managing director of Kitopi.
Founded in 2018, Kitopi is a so-called managed services kitchen with operations and over 1,000 employees in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. “Once a restaurant decides to work with us, we take care of all the operations – from the sourcing of ingredients and cooking with care to packaging and safe delivery,” explained Kitopi’s CEO Mohamad Ballout.
“We enable restaurants to open delivery only locations by providing the necessary infrastructure and software with minimal capital expenditures and time as well as taking care of the entire customer experience.”
An American University of Beirut and London Business School graduate (MBA), Sabine El-Najjar joined Kitopi at the start of this year, following spending over six years in strategy consulting. After starting her career at Booz & Company (which later became Strategy&), she crossed to McKinsey & Company in the summer of 2016 spending over four years with the firm, most recently as an Engagement Manager.
In her new role, El-Najjar has been tasked with leading Kitopi’s growth in the Kingdom. In particular, she will focus on expanding the company’s reach to all corners of the country, and growing the number of restaurants working with the smart kitchen. She leads a team of 400 employees based in Riyadh and Jeddah, and a footprint of 20 kitchens.
Across the Middle East, Kitopi currently partners with over 200 brands and operates 60+ kitchens with that number planned to double in the coming years. In July this year, the company landed a series C funding, an investment which catapulted the Dubai-headquartered company to unicorn status.
Commenting on her new challenge, El Najjar said, “I’m very excited for this next chapter! Can’t wait to do great work with an exceptional team.”
