Deloitte welcomes Hadeel Biyari as its first Saudi Indirect Tax partner
Yesterday, Deloitte announced its largest ever partner intake in the Middle East, following a year of strong growth. Among the new cohort of leaders is Hadeel Biyari, who becomes the first ever Saudi national to join the partnership of the Indirect Tax practice.
Hadeel Biyari is among nine newly-promoted female partners in the region, accounting for a quarter of Deloitte’s latest three dozen partner crop.
Mutasem Dajani, the CEO of Deloitte in the Middle East, said that the record figure reflects the growing demand for the firm’s “world-class services” throughout the region, particularly in relation to the Middle East’s giga projects and its broader ongoing socioeconomic transformation.
While the firm took to social network LinkedIn to congratulate all new partners and thank them for their “excellence” in serving clients and Deloitters internally, special attention was given to Hadeel Biyari, thanks to her pioneering role in helping the firm move towards the long-term goal of Saudi national and gender parity at the top.
Biyari has been with the Big Four firm in its Indirect Tax practice since 2020, having joined from rival EY. Before that, she spent a decade at oil giant Aramco, where she led numerous projects ranging from refining accounting policies to implementing a sophisticated product system. Most notably, she pioneered the development of a successful VAT implementation project, significantly raising tax awareness within the organization.
During her tenure at Deloitte, Riyadh-based Biyari has provided counsel on VAT matters that benefited both local and multinational clients, earning her a well-deserved reputation as a trusted advisor in the field. She specialises in Value Added Tax (VAT), Real Estate Transactions Tax (RETT), and customs and excise duties, among others. In her previous jobs, she also specialised in indirect tax and finance matters.
Commenting on her career milestone, Biyari said, "It’s been an incredibly rewarding journey for me at Deloitte, leading our offering of Indirect Tax Controversy and Litigation in Saudi Arabia. This is a constantly evolving ecosystem that requires a great level of understanding of the Saudi legislation as well as a high degree of familiarity with the challenges facing businesses operating in the market, which amplifies the need for local expertise.”
Hadeel Biyari holds a bachelor’s degree from Northumbria University (UK), and several professional accreditations including ACCA membership, a SOCPA zakat and VAT licenses, and an ATT GCC VAT compliance diploma.