General Manager Middle East
neon
Total years of experience :28 years, 7 Months
neon - a global entertainment company specializing in world class, epic walk-in experiences. Bringing together jaw-dropping curated entertainment that moves hearts and minds and builds lasting memories, for the entire family.
Assist in the overall expansion of our world-class branded Intellectual Properties (IP) and educationally driven- mesmerizing animatronics installations, in the MENA region.
Responsible for setting up and managing a new office in Qatar Free Zones to be the regional hub for the manufacturing, assembly, and operations for the MENA region.
Ploughing the GCC market to identify partners, promoters and agents for market penetration in the MENA region.
Developing relations with local tourism agencies to promote tourism in the MENA region.
A $6 billion global technology, defence and engineering group listed in Singapore, specialising in smart solutions.
Championed IoT based smart mobility/security/environment solutions, by acting as a liaison between Business Units in Singapore and clients in the MENA region for new business development initiatives involving investments, technology & partnerships.
Identified and recommended new business opportunities for smart solutions.
Built, managed and nurtured relationships with existing and new clients.
Sought out new business ideas in IoT, cybersecurity, AI & robotics and developed them by initiating business conversations with BUs for sales growth in MENA.
Executed business development approaches for solutions to potential customers in both government and private sectors, resulting in a sales pipeline of over $300M.
Ploughed the Saudi market by bringing fresh leads from Saudi Aramco to RCRC.
Managed regular sales progress reports for top management reporting.
A $300 billion integrated, global petroleum and chemicals enterprise owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
As Business Development Specialist in the New Business Development department, I was part of the core team, that assisted Aramco’s localization initiatives, by developing the strategy and providing a platform for foreign companies to invest in Aramco projects.
Managed the development & marketing of major infrastructure projects in KSA; King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) - A US$6.4bn 50 km2 energy city in Abqaiq and King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries & Services - An integrated platform for maritime industries in Ras AlKhair.
Developed energy sector value chain mapping, supply-demand assessments and screening of manufacturing opportunities for foreign investors to Aramco projects.
Conducted market research on localization potential of energy sector equipment & services, implementation planning and tenant acquisition strategy for SPARK.
Devised a go-to-market strategy for localization opportunities for investors.
Account managed potential investors from screening to deal closure.
Conceived a one-stop-shop to provide a single-window service to potential tenants.
Developed specific value propositions for potential investors, individual business cases for key anchor tenants and customized deals and incentives for local SMEs.
Engaged a dozen international trade agencies in the kingdom to promote Saudi Aramco industrial projects to overseas companies from their respective countries.
Erstwhile called as International Enterprise Singapore - a statutory body under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, helping Singapore companies internationalize and attracting major trading companies to be based in Singapore.
Held diplomatic position as First Secretary Commercial in Doha & Riyadh.
Started greenfield development of the Singapore government’s overseas centres in Doha & Riyadh, thereby increasing market reach for Singapore companies in the Middle East.
Led trade missions for Singapore companies to Qatar, UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman including the first eGovernment delegation to UAE (2004) to penetrate the GCC market, generating a pipeline of S$63 million.
Opened Singapore government’s first office in Qatar (2005) and first investment promotion office in Riyadh (2009) - from registering, leasing, hiring, HR & Finance.
Coached Singapore companies to secure projects in Qatar worth S$3.5 billion.
Played a part in increasing bilateral trade between Singapore and Saudi by over 40 per cent in 2011, by conducting trade missions, seminars and matchmaking.
Mobilized to ‘Crimsonlogic’ - a subsidiary of IE Singapore to assist in the internationalization efforts for their eGovernment solutions in Saudi Arabia.
Developed executive training programs in Jeddah & Riyadh, for Singapore companies, giving them a unique insight into the local business culture.
Supported the G-2-G negotiations of the Singapore-GCC FTA (2005/06).
Nurtured the High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC) between Qatar and Singapore.
Complied a book ‘Venture India, a collection of success stories of ‘Successful Singapore Companies in India’, to generate confidence in the Indian marketplace.
Spearheaded the formation of the ‘Red Dottor Qatar’ (RDQ), an informal club of Singaporeans in Qatar that helped greenhorn Singaporeans anchor roots in Doha
LycosAsia a US$50 Million joint venture between Lycos and Singtel rolled out pan-Asian portals across Southeast Asia and India. Experienced the boom and the bust of the Dot Com era;
As Regional Manager (New Market Development) developed markets in India, Philippines and Indonesia, through local market intelligence to drive product and portal strategy and identifying local business partners and negotiating contracts to build JV alliances.
Posted to Mumbai as Country Director (Lycos India) in Oct 2000 to Set-up Lycos India sales and marketing operations in Mumbai and a regional development center for applications and content in Bangalore.
Hired and mentored a team of passionate young staff to run these two offices in India.
Developed business plans, to meet targets through direct sales and strategic alliances.
Progressed company brand equity in enterprise market space through media relations and co-brand partnerships for the hitherto emerging Internet market -- India.
Amongst the top three PC companies in Asia, Acer focuses on computers, related peripherals and Internet solutions. Joined as Technical Marketing Executive and later as Senior Content Developer at its regional HQ in Singapore;
Developed a marketing strategy for increasing web traffic, while monitoring online traffic patterns and analyzing user experience by using WebTrends.
Designed information architecture for coolhot.com - Multiplayer Gaming community, 1to80.com - Asia’s first online knowledge portal and YellowRiverArt.com - eGreeting cards.
Promoted Acer Altos range servers by conducting roadshows in emerging markets like India, Philippines and Indonesia.
Published technical articles in corporate journals and developed on¬line help guides for a server Operating System called Acer EasyBUILD, using authoring tools like ForeHelp.
A system integrator (part of the HCL group) that focused mainly on imaging and workflow and storage solutions. As Marketing Communications Executive;
Enhanced corporate and product image, by developing sales collateral and conducting exhibitions and seminars.
Developed media relations; contributing product and brand-focused Press Releases.
I was embedded with the sales team to provide technical pre-sales support, for effective closure of deals.