Mazen Nabulsi

Key Responsibilities:
• Manage and direct operations of both Diamond Meat Processing and Siniora Gulf General Trading in the UAE, formulating and implementing strategies to achieve overall corporate goals and objectives.
• Lead the formulation and execution of annual business plans and budgets to deliver objectives of production, sales, revenue, profits, market share and sustainable growth.
• Develop and implement the annual marketing calendar with a range of above the line (ATL) and below the line (BTL) activities to create, build and sustain strong brand image, product awareness and drive product take-off from shelves.
• Monitor performance of the company’s products across multiple channels like modem retail, traditional retail and HORECA, measure variances from planned outcomes and implement effective corrective measures.
• Coordinate all manufacturing operations including procurement of inputs, production planning and production, quality control, food safety and HSE assuring achievement of operational objectives.
• Organize regular market research and analysis to map consumer behavior and track competition to identify new product opportunities and to evaluate and mitigate risks.
• Deal with all aspects of product management including development, testing and launch of new products, enhancement of existing products and optimization of the product portfolio.
• Coordinate all staff related matters including recruitment, training, development of personnel, motivation, coaching and performance management to achieve continual improvements in efficiency and productivity.

Highlights:
• Standardized product list pricing for each business channel, reducing the number of lists from 50 to 3 and improved efficiency of sales and finance departments.
• Increased selling prices by 5% to 10% based on category and bills of materials (BOM) delivering 2% improvement in net earnings of the company.
• Completely upgraded and revamped the packaging of Al Masa range including brand designs, boosting brand identity and reinforcing brand image in the market.
• Led the successful commissioning of new machinery including cutter, mixer and tumbler for mortadella production and revamped the entire mortadella range by enhancing the recipes.
• Supported hiring of several key personnel including marketing executive, sales executive, production planner and safety officer.
• Contributed to the expansion in the hotels, restaurants and catering (HORECA) segment by acquiring 12 new clients including 5-star hotels, quick service restaurants (QSR) and fine dining restaurants.
• Developed and finalized product recipes after trial production and masked sampling and introduced several new products like premium turkey roast recipes targeting European customers through major hypermarkets.
• Developed skin pack and identified 25+ new SKUs including mortadella, prime cuts and sausages for introduction across channels including impulse channels, leveraging doubting of shelf life of skin pack products as a strong unique selling proposition (USP).

Key Responsibilities:
• Managed overall company operations including production, sales and marketing, finance, human resources and general administration exercising authority as delegated by the Board of Directors as per the company’s MOA.
• Contributed to the formulation of business plans and budgets and conducted monthly performance reviews for identification and correction of variances.
• Participated in product development including identification of products to be launched, recipe development, brand creation and design of visuals, primary and secondary packaging.
• Established, implemented and updated the company’s policies and procedures enabling efficient and smooth day-to-day operations.
• Participated in creation of comprehensive marketing and commercial plans to drive sales across multiple sale channels in various markets.
• Dealt with all regular managerial and administrative tasks including signing of all documents like purchase orders, checks and TTs adhering to approved limits and authority.
• Managed negotiation and signing of all contractors including labor contracts, supply contracts and rental contracts including leasing of factory, labor accommodation and offices in Dubai Investment Park.
• Represented and acted on behalf of the company for liaising with judicial, administrative, labor, municipal, political and police authorities for obtaining licenses and certificates including health certificates, environmental certificates and Dubai Municipality approvals.
• Dealt with all legal matters related to protection of the company’s intellectual property including registration, notarization, renewal, medication and/or cancellation of trademarks, service marks, trade names, distinctive symbols/logos and technology.

Highlights:
• Started the business with a capital of around AED 100 million, successfully developed quality brands and penetrated markets in 80+ countries across the globe in less than 2 years.
• Established the company’s presence in the snacking industry by launching over 120 SKUs which earned consumer preference and created demand for the brand.
• Recruited 130+ employees including top marketing and sales directors from leading firms as well as operations and production staff.
• Earned the Dubai Chamber of Commerce Exporter Award in 2016

Key Responsibilities:
• Coordinated with the company’s bottlers in Syria and prepared joint business plans aligned to the overall business objectives of the organization.
• Formulated and executed marketing plans - covering an optimum mix of ATL and BTL promotions - as well as commercial plans - to motivate bottlers, distributors and retailers - and deliver predefined goals and targets.
• Defined key performance indicators (KPI), established KPI metrics and conducted regular reviews with the bottlers to identify and correct negative variances.
• Contributed to the development of capabilities related to commercial leadership by providing required technical and training support to the bottlers.
• Tracked markets to identify, evaluate, validate and prioritize key business opportunities and implemented appropriate action plans.
• Formulated business and marketing strategies and ensured efficient implementation to achieve volume, revenue, market share and growth objectives.
• Administered the company’s marketing budget, allocating and monitoring utilization to control expenses including direct marketing expenses (DME) with approved limits.
• Developed and implemented strategies for expansion of the product portfolio and led execution of the innovation and productivity agendas.
• Managed the marketing team, conducted periodic performance evaluation and provided mentoring, guidance and motivation to improve performance and productivity.

PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS
• Marketing Manager, Salsabil Company for Bottling & Canning and Fiorella Pasta, Damascus, Syria, 1998 - 2009
• General Manager/Partner, Afaaq for Transport & Tourism and Royal for Travel & Tourism, Damascus, Syria, 1992 - 1998