BrazilComatch taps Publicis veteran Maher Abouzeid in Middle East
Comatch, an international marketplace that brings together organisations and independent consultants, has appointed Maher Abouzeid as the network’s top representative in the region.
Launched in 2014 by two former McKinsey consultants, Comatch is a network of more than 15,000 independent consultants and industry experts based across 100+ countries.
The firm, which is part of European freelancer community Malt, enables client organisations (and consulting firms) to tap into its talent pool to fill their project needs with vetted talent – the majority of affiliated experts has a background at leading consultancies including the MBB and the Big Four.
Shortly after landing its second investment round, Comatch in 2016 first entered the Middle East market, and has since established itself as one of the leading marketplaces in the region. Today, Comatch serves large corporations such as Siemens, Taqa and Transco, and six of the top management consulting firms in the Middle East.
A strong revival of the region’s consulting industry has seen Comatch record “a 45% increase in project requests from our clients in the last months” according to Clément Eymard, Managing Director of Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe at Comatch, with Maher Abouzeid now brought on board to help oversee this heightened demand – and help achieve further growth.
“We’re seeing great demand for highly qualified resources, as countries in the region work towards the realisation of their Vision 2030 strategies,” said Eymard. “We are thrilled to have Maher join us, he is a well-connected partner who knows the trade in the Middle East like the back of his hand.”
Abouzeid has been active in the world of professional services – with a focus on the marketing and digital segments – since the early 80’s. After climbing the ranks at BBDO, in 1991 he was appointed as the General Manager of Publicis in Dubai. Over his three decades in the top seat, he built out the firm into one of the leading players in the UAE’s agency landscape.
Now at Comatch, Dubai-based Abouzeid has been tasked with expanding the number of client organisation (with a focus on the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain markets), and lifting the firm’s talent pool to over 1,000 consultants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (currently around 700).
“At a time of major disruption, clients are increasingly seeking flexible top-tier expertise that meets their unique needs. This is where Comatch excels in. For that reason, I am all the more excited to take on this role and make a contribution to Comatch’s success, matching consultants and experts from all fields to fill companies’ needs.”
