Bilal El hanouni

Leading Rootlink Advisors as an embedded hiring partner to founders and executive leadership teams across Europe and the Middle East, with end-to-end ownership of C-suite and VP-level hiring.

Partnering with stakeholders on senior talent strategy, role scoping, hiring plans, market mapping, interview process design, candidate assessment, offer negotiation, and post-hire integration support.

Specializing in tangible service providers (hospitality, travel, lifestyle) and digital-first service providers (fintech, traveltech), supporting high-growth organizations through critical leadership hiring.

Managing and mentoring a team of three (one Associate and two Advisors), ensuring strong delivery standards, pipeline rigour, and high-quality stakeholder management.

Drove rapid commercial traction by securing 11 leadership hiring mandates within the first
8 months, including engagements with a stealth-mode Neobank, a luxury traveltech startup, and a luxury concierge business.

Delivered key senior placements, including CTO, CFO, Head of People, Head of Engineering, and multiple mid-level hires, with additional searches ongoing.

Built Rootlink’s operating model end-to-end, including brand development, internal hiring, outsourcing non-core functions, implementing the firm’s data infrastructure, and developing an interactive client portal to improve transparency and stakeholder experience.

Served as a key member of the Social Impact Practice and Consumer Markets, Hospitality & Entertainment Practice, delivering C-suite, Board, and Director-level appointments across KSA, UAE, and the wider GCC.

Owned primary stakeholder relationships with founders, CEOs, Boards, and CHROs, acting as a trusted advisor on leadership hiring priorities, role design, and selection decisions.

Led succession planning and leadership advisory engagements, supporting clients in evaluating internal vs external options and building long-term leadership pipelines.

Conducted talent mapping and market intelligence across the GCC, advising clients on competitor benchmarks, target talent pools, and candidate availability for critical roles.

Advised on compensation and offer strategy, including salary benchmarking, package positioning, and managing expectations across candidates and client stakeholders.

Managed end-to-end executive search delivery, from role specification and search strategy through market outreach, assessment/interviews, shortlist presentation, offer negotiation, and onboarding support.

Led execution teams, mentoring and allocating responsibilities across Associates and Executive Assistants to ensure quality, pace, and timely delivery across multiple concurrent searches.

Earned consistent promotions approximately every two years based on strong performance, client trust, and sustained delivery.