N2Growth Opens Offices in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, Names Regional President
February 26, 2019 – N2Growth, a Philadelphia, PA-based management consulting and executive search firm, has expanded with the addition of new offices in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) with the appointment of Imran Yousuf as its regional president.
“With two thirds of the world’s oil supply, highest mobile technology adoptions, and world’s most youthful and entrepreneurial population, the Middle East is at the center of fast-growing trade flows gaining strategic importance in world affairs,” said Mike Myatt, chairman of N2Growth. “The timing could not be more perfect for a seasoned executive like Imran to join us.”
In the wake of lower oil prices, the oil rich region was quick to respond by undertaking major restructural and policy change initiatives, said the search firm. This led to long awaited socioeconomic changes, including opening the economy to foreign ownership and investment, ease of doing business, economic diversification, SMEs support packages, cutting government expenditure and cautiously enabling women empowerment.
“With all these sweeping changes and highly youth population, 60 percent of population below the age of 30, executive talent in the region is highly international with 69 percent of business leaders being non-local,” said Jaco Erasmus, N2Growth’s EMEAA CEO. “N2Growth has won trust among 70 percent of fortune 500, 138 out of these having their dedicated regional HQ in the Middle East. We believe it’s the right time for N2Growth to enter this market, both to be able to serve our clients across the globe and to share our expertise with the region.”
As the region embraces technology with initiatives like smart city, full government support on blockchain and the world’s largest solar power projects, the region is still finding it challenging to secure top talent for some leadership roles. “Imran, born and raised in the region, shares the values and ambitions of N2Growth,” said Mr. Myatt.
Mr. Yousuf has more than 15 years of experience in leadership advisory services. He has executed numerous C-level assignments for more than a decade. He is passionate about people and business growth, said N2Growth, and has worked in both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies in various leadership roles. During his career, Mr. Yousuf gained experience with organizations such as AI Harithy Group of Companies, Edward W Kelley & Partners, and One World Co.
“I am really happy to represent N2Growth in the region,” said Mr. Yousuf. “The Middle East can benefit a lot from N2Growth’s international experience and expertise in leadership advisory. At the same time, we are very well aware that imported best practices alone without fully appreciating and integrating local culture has never worked for Middle East.”
“With a new generation taking over family conglomerates in the region, I am helping family businesses transform into world class organizations,” he said. “Driving this change is very close to my heart.”
Growing Leadership Consultancy
N2Growth is a global leadership consultancy with practice areas in executive search, culture shaping, leadership development, strategy, organizational design, risk, digital transformation and executive coaching. The firm has more than 40 locations across the Americas, Europe, MENA and APAC.
Recently, N2Growth appointed Thomas Brattle Gannett as global practice chairman of board and CEO services. Mr. Gannett is a results-oriented executive and board candidate with more than 20 years experience in strategic, operational and fiscal leadership, said the firm. He has cumulatively served almost five decades on corporate and non-profit boards of directors and boards of advisors. On these boards, he has been chairman, vice chairman, secretary and interim treasurer. Previously, Mr. Gannett was president and CEO of BCR Management, a Colorado Springs, CO-based consulting firm, for seven years.
Last year, N2Growth also acquired an interest in Q5 Division, an Indiana-based predictive data and analytics firm. Q5, which was founded five years ago, has established a global reputation for unlocking hidden value and providing new consumer/market insights through intelligent data modeling and predictive analytics. “What I like most about Q5 is their culture and approach to doing business,” said Mr. Myatt. “Put one part Wall Street, two parts software development firm, three parts Los Alamos National Laboratory and four parts Tony Stark’s garage in a blender and you have the culture at Q5.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
