Nader Haffer to lead UAE expansion plans of Primus Partners

28 September 2024 Consultancy-me.com

Over a year after departing KPMG, the firm’s former regional Chairman and CEO Nader Haffar is back in the consulting business having been appointed as Director of Primus Partners.

With over 25 years of experience at Big Four firms in the Middle East, Nader Haffar is one of the more well-known leaders in the region’s professional services industry. After a few years at PwC, he joined Deloitte where he grew the ranks to partner in its Strategy & Operations practice and leader of its consulting business in Kuwait.

In 2012, he crossed to KPMG to become head of its Management Consulting business in the Lower Gulf, overseeing its team in the UAE and Oman. During the six years in the role, he led the division through strong growth, culminating into his appointment as Chairman and CEO of KPMG in the Lower Gulf.

Later on, he was also promoted to Chairman of KPMG across the Middle East, South Asia and Caspin region – in the role he led a team of over 11,000 staff.

Following a period of internal turmoil at KPMG, Haffar resigned from the Big Four (passing on the torch to Emilio Pera) and took a break from consulting, going on to launch a private equity business with fellow ex-KPMG’er Talal Cheikh Elard named Valyoo.

Fast forward around 18 months, and Haffar has made comeback to the scene, appointed as Director at Primus Partners, one of India’s leading management consultancy firms that has just entered the Middle East. Primus Partners has around 200 consultants across six offices in India, and is now seeking to emulate its success in its home market in the UAE.

The ambitions

In an interview with an Indian platform, Haffar elaborated on his ambitions and go-to-market approach: “Our vision in the UAE is to become a leading provider of management consulting and digital services, delivering innovative and effective solutions that genuinely benefit our clients with a tailored approach to meet the specific needs of this market, honing in on what works best here.”

“While Primus Partners in the UAE is well aligned with our operations in India, but as a startup here, we will need to maintain a sharper focus. We will build our capabilities with a laser-sharp focus on key sectors, including the public sector, banking, real estate, healthcare, financial services, and education.”

“It is important to underline that the UAE is a public sector-driven economy, with the government being the largest investor. There’s been a tremendous amount of investment in technological transformation, and with strength of Primus Partners in the public sector of India, we get to leverage resources across the entire firm and bring them here.”

Haffar went on to address the key role of building trust for achieving success in the consulting world. “I will also focus on building strong relationships of trust with key partners. At the end of the day, people choose trust over services. Many consulting firms hire the smartest people, have great thought leadership, and offer excellent services, but what truly matters is the relationship of trust.”

Founded in 2019, Primus Partners provides a range of advisory services in areas such as policy development, investments, program and project delivery, operational excellence, and industrialization to clients in the public and private sectors. The firm also has a digital transformation line of business.

Nilaya Varma, Co-founder and CEO of Primus Partners, said that the company is excited to have expanded into the UAE, in particular at a time when trade ties between India and the UAE are accelerating.

“As the UAE increasingly asserts its role as a major player in the global economy, we see tremendous potential to drive innovative solutions and thought leadership within this market. This expansion enhances our ability to deliver tailored, high-value services to clients and positions us to capitalise on emerging opportunities across segments,” Varma said.

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