Hani Tohme and Santiago Castillo lead Roland Berger in Middle East

01 March 2023 Consultancy-me.com

Roland Berger has transitioned its top leadership role in the Middle East, with Rene Seyger passing on the baton to senior partner duo Hani Tohme and Santiago Castillo.

The leadership change sees Hani Tohme and Santiago Castillo together lead a team of 20 partners and nearly 300 employees across five offices in the region: Dubai, Doha, Beirut, Manama and Riyadh.

Active in the region for over two decades, Roland Berger is one of the world’s leading strategic consultancies, and one of only two top ten strategy consulting players of European origin. The firm was founded in Germany in 1967, and today operates with 50+ offices in 30+ countries.

Hani Tohme and Santiago Castillo lead Roland Berger in Middle East

“Stepping into the role of Managing Partner is an exciting new journey filled with challenges and opportunities. Hani and I are excited to put our experience and expertise to work in order to help Roland Berger continue to achieve tremendous success and development by supporting our clients and the region,” said Tohme and Castillo on their new challenge.

Both have been with Roland Berger in the Middle East for almost ten years, driving their respective practices – Tohme specialises in sustainability (focus on sectors such as waste management and water utilities) while Castillo leads the automotive and mobility offerings (with a secondary focus on the technology and telecom sectors).

“I have worked closely with Hani and Santi for many years and I believe they are the perfect match to co-lead the company and take it to the next level,” said Seyger, who looks back at a spectacular time in the top seat. Under his leadership, Roland Berger more than quadrupled in size, from around 65 employees when he arrived five years ago from the firm’s Dutch practice to its current size.

In the process, Seyger also helped Roland Berger augment its profile in the region to mirror its global standing.

Seyger remains with the consulting firm, and will transition to the role of Chairman for the Middle East, tasked with overseeing the company’s strategic direction.

“Rene has been an exceptional Managing Partner, who consistently ensured our tremendous growth and close relationships with our clients, as well as within the company itself. We are grateful to his guidance over the years and look forward to continuing to work closely with him,” said Tohme and Castillo.

The transition to a co-CEO governance is quite uncommon among tier-1 strategy consultancies, with some notable exceptions. Growth-focused consultancy Simon-Kucher (which has a small presence in the Middle East) has been led globally by a duo since 2019, while AlixPartners in 2021 installed co-CEOs for Asia.

Roland Berger’s appointment comes within months of rivals McKinsey & Company (Hasan Muzaffar) and Boston Consulting Group (Pablo Martinez) also appointing new leaders for their Middle East division. Peers Bain & Company, Oliver Wyman and Strategy& are led by Tom De Waele, and longtimers Pedro Oliveira and George Sarraf, respectively.

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