Professional background

Samir started his corporate career in 1979 in Cairo where he worked as Researcher at the Middle East Marketing Research Bureau (MEMRB). Between 1980 and 1985, he was in charge of the credit department at the main branch of National Bank of Abu Dhabi in Cairo. Samir’s career in sales and marketing started in early 1985 when he joined British American Tobacco as Sales Promoter for the Saudi Arabian consumer market. He managed the company’s local key accounts for three years. As a result of his efforts, he was promoted to Sales Supervisor in Bahrain and Qatar in 1988. Within two years, he contributed significantly to the company’s business in attaining 5% market share for a BAT brand in Bahrain. He then moved on in 1990 to become Senior Sales Supervisor at BAT for the Saudi, Bahrain and Qatar markets. In this role, he enlarged the company's market share through the introduction of new marketing initiatives and the streamlining of the distribution channels. BAT nominated Samir in 1994 as Trade Marketing Area Manager (Central Region Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). His main achievement was the successful implementation of innovative marketing strategies. From 1998 to 2009, Samir worked in Egypt for Schweppes Company as key accounts manager. In 2003, he began to deliver training and is now dedicated to training and consultancy with leading companies in the Middle East. He is a Sales & Marketing Instructor at the Post Executive Management Programme of the American University in Cairo and is a certified trainer for International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank Group (WBG).

Education and qualifications

Samir holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration and a Master in Marketing .