Four leaders reflect on joining Arthur D. Little's partnership

Global strategy firm Arthur D. Little has in recent months continued its growth trajectory in the Middle East – including in its partner ranks. The spotlight on four of the latest partner additions.

One year on from Thomas Kuruvilla’s latest interview with ConsultancyME, Arthur D. Little’s Middle East managing partner can safely say that he has ticked the boxes of its growth agenda. The ambition for 2023 was to grow the firm’s headcount by a quarter to 250 consultants, and partner base to 30-plus. Ahead of the year’s end, both targets have already been met.

Among the more recent partners appointed are Yacin Mahieddine, Feroz Sanaulla, Satya Easwaran, and Nick Nahas. “Each partner brings his own unique skills and experience, but all are united in their passion for their work and in their belief in the future of Arthur D. Little,” said Kuruvilla.

A 25-year veteran of management consulting, Yacin Mahieddine is a financial services specialist. He knows the industry inside-out and was drawn to Arthur D. Little for its people-centric approach, reputation, and the wealth of opportunities ahead.

“Arthur D. Little’s agility, significant focus on people, and its drive to always be one step ahead in terms of innovation will continue to support the accelerated growth of the firm,” he said.

“My decision to join Arthur D. Little was driven by a number of features, but first among them were the culture, the collaborative mindset, and what people both inside and outside of Arthur D. Little said about the firm,” noted the Riyadh-based partner.

Having worked in the UK, France, Singapore, and the United States, among others for Deloitte and PwC, Mahieddine also relished the opportunity to return to warmer climes and to seize the unparalleled opportunities that exist in the Middle East. “There are very few places in the world today with so much transformation and investment underway. Being part of the journey at this point in time is a wonderful and exciting opportunity.”

For Feroz Sanaulla, a former Roland Berger partner now serving as Technology & Innovation practice lead at Arthur D. Little, the pull factors were broadly the same, with people and potential topping the list.

“The partners have been super friendly and inviting and there is great opportunity for growth; I can see many possibilities to increase client impact,” Sanaulla said. The firm’s focus on entrepreneurship is important too: “I am given the freedom to build a significant functional topic of technology and innovation.”

An entrepreneur himself, Sanaulla has founded two fintech companies and a boutique advisory firm (Vecta Strategy). His career has also included a 14-year stretch at Intel, during which he assumed several roles including the managing director position at the Middle East and Africa division of Intel Capital.

Like Sanaulla, Satya Easwaran studied in the US and started his career stateside with a digital tech company. “Armed with an electronics engineering degree in 1995, I was ready to take on the world. The US was opening up to new talent coinciding with Y2K and the Internet boom,” recalled the partner.

Since then, Easwaran has gained almost 30 years of consulting experience in the US and India, including serving as partner at KPMG and Accenture. From his base in Mumbai, Easwaran now leads Arthur D. Little’s Strategy & Operations practice.

“India is in a digital era that is disrupting several sectors like automotive, financial services, and manufacturing. This requires a global mindset and expertise to address the transformational needs – both of which exist at Arthur D. Little. For the digital technology expert, the firm has the potential to become the trusted advisor for companies that have leveraged new age digital tech to innovate across all aspects of their organization,” Easwaran stated.

Dubai-based Nick Nahas is equally enthusiastic about the firm’s potential. “Arthur D. Little will continue its successful growth journey, proving its brand of consulting, which brings a convergence of strategy and innovation together with its global open consulting network, creating the best value for clients.”

Nahas joined Arthur D. Little in 2021, having previously served Booz Allen Hamilton for over a dozen years. Today, he leads the Tourism & Hospitality practice and works with public sector clients, large funds, and real estate development companies across the Middle East.

Like his fellow partners, Nahas studied and worked in the United States before joining Arthur D. Little. “I started my career in the Boston area, interning as a system engineer for defense radar systems at Raytheon while completing my ungraduated degree in a combined major of math, economics and computer science,” he explained. “I then spent thirteen years at another consultancy.”

Founded in 1886 by Arthur Dehon Little, and formally incorporated in 1909, Arthur D. Little is widely recognised as the world’s oldest management consulting firm. The firm also has a reputation as one of the region’s leading consultancies.