Hatem Zaki

• Export Consulting & Advisory
• Supply Logistics & Freight Negotiation
• Demand Planning & Export Forecasting

Mandate: Founded and run an independent consultancy connecting international buyers with vetted Egyptian
food, produce, and ingredient suppliers — held concurrently with the executive roles below.

Mandate: Manage the full export department — sales, operations, customer service, and documentation.
Key
• Restructured export pricing and process flow. This protected margin and improved the order-to-cash cycle
during a period of FX and freight-cost volatility.
• Opened new distributor accounts across the GCC, Africa, and North America.
• Expanded the companys international footprint into markets it had not previously served.

Mandate: Own the export division end to end — strategy, sales, operations, and P&L — for a leading
Egyptian food manufacturer.
Key Achievements:
• Built the go-to-market plan for retail, wholesale, and distributor channels across the Middle East, Africa,
Europe, and North America.
• Established distributor and key-account relationships with a long-term, brand-building focus rather
than one-off deals.
• Set up export operations and trade-compliance procedures across multiple Incoterms and shipping
modes.
• Penetrated the UK, U.S., and KSA markets with a newly designed, company-exclusive jam product line.
• Led a 7-person export team, including 3 regional export sales managers, and delivered USD 15 million
in export sales.

Mandate: Lead the export department for a manufacturer of bituminous waterproofing and insulation products.
This extended a food-sector export career into industrial B2B.

Mandate: Drive export growth for an Olayan Group confectionery brand, and open new international retail
channels the company had not reached before.

Mandate: Open new regional markets for a beverage manufacturer across the GCC, Levant, and Africa.

Mandate: Set up the export department from scratch — hiring, systems, and processes — and take the company
into export markets for the first time.

• Grew export sales from USD 1.5M in 1999 to USD 3.5M in 2002 — about 133% over three years.
• Expanded the client base from 3 to 20 stable accounts, plus 40+ recurring temporary buyers.
• Sourced international substitutes when local raw materials were constrained, keeping supply uninterrupted.
• Helped the company achieve ISO 9001 certification and rebuilt supplier confidence after a period of weak
management.

Mandate: Modernize export operations that were still running on manual, paper-based processes.
Key
• Started in an assisting sales role, supporting order processing and customer follow-up, before moving into
export operations.
• Computerized the export workflow, cutting documentary cycle times and reducing errors.
• Negotiated freight and sea-freight rates down to among the most competitive in Egypt at the time.
• Built new management reports that gave leadership real visibility into export performance.
• Upgraded filing and correspondence systems and trained junior staff on standardized procedures.

Mandate: Handle export procedures and documentation for defense and industrial shipments.