Aquib Ali

with over EUR 28B in revenue, specialising in advanced lens technology and
iconic brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, and LensCrafters.
• Partner with senior leadership teams across commercial, retail, operations, and corporate
functions to align people strategy with business objectives and organisational growth
priorities.
• Lead talent management and succession planning initiatives to strengthen leadership
pipelines and ensure readiness for critical business roles across 7-10 MEA markets.
• Drive employee engagement strategies through surveys, focus groups, and targeted action
plans — achieving a 7-point improvement in engagement scores from 68% to 75%.
• Coach leaders and managers on performance management, employee development, and
leadership effectiveness to foster high-performing teams.
• Manage employee relations across GCC and African markets including terminations,
disciplinaries, grievances, and PIPs, maintaining a zero tribunal and zero regulatory escalation
record over 7+ years across 7-10 jurisdictions.
• Lead regional organisational change initiatives including entity migrations, headcount
transfers, and workforce reductions affecting 100+ employees, ensuring smooth transitions
and culturally sensitive change management.
• Manage end-to-end talent acquisition for business-critical roles using direct sourcing
strategies, reducing average time-to-hire from 60 to 28 days.
• Use HR analytics, SAP HRIS, Workday, and AI-enabled tools to improve reporting quality,
leadership insights, and decision support across the MEA region.
• Support 5+7 budget review cycles in partnership with finance and commercial leadership to
align workforce cost structures with business planning timelines.

• Established and standardised HR frameworks, policies, and processes across countries to
improve operational consistency and compliance.
• Managed the full employee lifecycle including recruitment, onboarding, performance
management, and employee relations across the META region.
• Led Workday HRIS implementation across the META region, standardising HR data
architecture and enabling consistent people analytics.
• Supported talent development and performance-driven initiatives that enhanced employee
productivity and organisational effectiveness.
• Partnered with external payroll vendors to ensure payroll accuracy and compliance across
multiple international markets.
• Supported employee engagement and employee relations initiatives across culturally diverse
teams within the META region.

• Supported end-to-end HR administration including onboarding, employee records, payroll
coordination, and policy compliance.