Ramzi Ben Hamadou: 'CVA brings the best of two worlds'

Fresh from his promotion to partner, ConsultancyME spoke with Ramzi Ben Hamadou on how Corporate Value Associates (CVA) offers the best of two worlds – “we work on strategic consulting projects around the world, while offering our people the unique culture of a boutique.”

“Becoming a partner is a significant milestone in my career,” Ramzi kicks off on his promotion, which was formally effectuated in September last year. “I'm both honoured and excited to step into this new role. I joined Corporate Value Associates to work on challenging projects and to constantly be out of my comfort zone.”

Ramzi initially joined the firm in its Paris headquaters in 2017 – coming on board as a senior consultant. In 2019, he transferred to the Dubai office.

While Corporate Value Associates may not be a household name in the broader consulting landscape, it enjoys an established presence in the strategy segment. The firm has delivered thousands of strategic engagements since its inception in 1987, with its footprint today comprising offices in 18 countries spanning Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and the Americas.

Since arriving, Ramzi has been challenged on the biggest of stages, working on high-impact projects across a range of sectors. He specialises in projects around corporate strategy, business development, market strategy, ESG strategy, and M&A, with a focus on the mining, commodities and industrial space.

At the same time, Ramzi is enjoying the firm’s “close-knit culture and incredible team”, as well as a personal feel which helps foster a faithful client-base – “90% of our clients choose to re-engage us at a later point in time”.

Middle East

Recognising the potential in the Middle East, Ramzi – who grew up in Tunisia and studied in Europe – crossed to Dubai to help the firm build out its presence in the region. Over the past five years, he has seen first-hand how the region’s economic transformation is opening up unprecedented opportunities for clients – and hence the firm.

“It’s been very exciting,” Ramzi notes. “We’ve had business in the region for over a decade and opening an office in Dubai – we now have another one in Riyadh – was a natural move for us. Our growth has been strong, even if we’ve had a few bumps such as Covid-19 hitting us just one year into the journey. But we have been able to grow our team by 40% annually to build a full-fledged office covering all of the firm’s key areas of focus.”

Moving to the Middle East has paid dividends for Ramzi’s personal development too. “To me, the quality of life here is unbeatable, and business opportunities are limitless. There is a powerful drive for growth and development in the region, and the types of projects we are delivering are at a much wider scale with a much higher impact versus those we would typically see in Europe, which makes the day-to-day job much more challenging and exciting.”

2024 and beyond

Looking ahead, Ramzi is determined not to rest on his laurels, and to help Corporate Value Associates keep pushing ahead. In particular, he notes that what is keeping him motivated is the firm’s corporate culture, “the bright minds I have the chance to work with every day”, and the “very supportive and highly flexible management at all levels”.

That motivation will be key in an uncertain 2024. While an anticipated recession never quite hit in the last year, Ramzi warns that commodity prices have still cooled off dramatically from their 2022 peak, and this has led to clients globally move towards a more “conservative” approach, focusing on optimising their asset footprint, maximizing their productivity and controlling their cost base.

This will mean that new projects may well take a back-seat in the coming period – but Corporate Value Associates is determined to push clients not to treat essential long-term changes as something they can indefinitely postpone.

“ESG is expected to remain on top of our clients’ agenda for the foreseeable future, not only as a license to operate but also as a fantastic opportunity to diversify their offering and capture more value from the green transition,” he concludes.