Born in Jordan, UAE, transformative leader Tarek Saadi is today based in Dubai. The founder and managing director of L Formation, Mr. Saadi leads an organization that provides game-changing consultancy services to help businesses expand their operations in the GCC and KSA.
Fluent in Arabic, English and French, Tarek Saadi is an alumnus of McGill University and North Carolina State University, having graduated in 1990 with a master’s degree in electrical engineering and subsequently completed a post-graduate chartered accounting program.
Tarek Saadi’s current focus is providing consultancy services to entrepreneurs and organizations and exploring innovative investment opportunities in AI, oil and gas, and telecommunications. He is recognized as a valued mentor, providing professional support to help young executives navigate their careers. His latest accomplishment involved closing a significant investment deal aligning with sustainable energy goals.
Committed to giving back to society, Mr. Saadi supports entrepreneurs and start-ups, helping them with strategic planning and scaling, having volunteered to a local entrepreneurship program. He cites his biggest leap as making the transition from the corporate world to independent consultancy work. Looking back, he admits he really should have pursued his entrepreneurial aspirations sooner, recognizing that taking calculated risks and pursuing passions boldly often presents the biggest growth opportunities.
One of Mr. Saadi’s key interests lies in the ever-increasing integration of technology, innovation, and sustainability, creating opportunities for investments and consultancy work that drives positive change in the world. Recognizing the need for professionals to dedicate themselves to continuous learning and take calculated risks, he admits that fear of failure often delays opportunities. Nevertheless, as Mr. Saadi points out, every misstep presents valuable learning opportunities. From the investor’s perspective, Mr. Saadi highlights the benefit of compounding interest, underscoring the importance of getting started sooner rather than later.
Tarek Saadi continually reviews his career aspirations along with his personal and financial goals to help him stay aligned and focused on what truly matters. Recognizing the importance of trust and credibility in both consulting and investments, he strives to deliver value and maintain clear communication, enabling him to cultivate and maintain valuable professional networks. Prioritizing progress over perfection, Tarek Saadi recognizes the need to continuously press forward, appreciating that even amidst the greatest difficulties lie golden opportunities. His ultimate goal is to help people and businesses realize their true potential, contributing to a more sustainable and equitable world.
A key element of Tarek Saadi’s work involves helping businesses to nurture talent by creating cohesive teams capable of driving the organization towards success. Mr. Saadi’s approach to team building is informed by the neuroscientist David Eagleman, who explores individual perceptions of reality and identity in his book The Brain, which analyzes decision-making processes and underscores the importance of social connections. Tarek Saadi is also a proponent of the author Thomas Erikson, who explores the four key personality types in his book Surrounded by Idiots, emphasizing that adapting communications to each personality type makes messaging and information sharing more effective.
A fierce advocate for DEI, Tarek Saadi recognizes that diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords, culminating in teams that benefit from a wider skillset, enabling them to work smarter and be more productive. Mr. Saadi highlights the numerous benefits conferred by diversity in leadership teams, including increased retention, boosted creativity, better collaboration, and improved profit margins.
Tarek Saadi was a speaker at the GSMA Mobile 360 Series Middle East conference in 2015, addressing an audience of esteemed mobile industry leaders gathered to share thought leadership and create a roadmap for one of the world’s most exciting mobile regions. Joined by an eminent lineup of speakers, including influential individuals from the rapidly expanding MENA mobile ecosystem, Mr. Saadi explored topics such as digital commerce, digital security, digital identity, and the Internet of Things at the event, which was staged in Dubai.