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Sami Qahar
60% Marketing + 40% Sales = 100% Business
Professional Background
Sami Qahar is a seasoned executive with over 16 years of international experience in managing businesses with revenues of up to $250 million. He has excelled in roles where he held full P&L responsibility, showcasing his aptitude for effectively turning around loss-making businesses. With a proven track record of developing award-winning marketing campaigns, he has significantly impacted the FMCG landscape in the MEA region by successfully launching 12 brands. Sami's extensive experience covers a spectrum of marketing initiatives, including the development of over 40 TV copies and branded content. He is a digitally savvy professional who has led large teams, often exporting talent on international assignments, demonstrating his capability in leadership and team development.
Education and Achievements
Sami holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Strathclyde, which complements his academic foundation in marketing earned through an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration. His educational background provides a solid framework for understanding consumer behavior and team dynamics, which are integral to effective business management.
In his diverse career, Sami has garnered industry expertise across various sectors including Dairy, Laundry & Home Care, Water, Non-Carbonated Beverages, and Commodities such as Rice, Ghee, and Edible Oil. His extensive knowledge not only informs his strategic decision-making but also enhances his ability to drive marketing strategies tailored to each sector's unique demands.
Notable Achievements
Throughout his career, Sami has successfully led independent consultancy projects that highlight his diverse skillset and strategic thinking. These projects included:
- Post-Merger Integration of Distribution Setups for Al-Batha Group in Saudi Arabia (2017).
- Consumer Price Increase Process for Clorox USA in UAE (2018).
- Go-To-Market Models for Beauty Care Business in Saudi Arabia, collaborating with McKinsey & Company (2019).
- Management Profile Check and Investment Advisory for Eastern Tobacco Company in Egypt (2019).
Sami's experiences span various roles in reputable organizations, including his most recent position as an Executive Producer in a freelance capacity, where he has applied his creative skills in media and film production. He has previously served as the Commercial Director at Haleeb Foods Limited, as well as Sales Director and Marketing Manager at Henkel. His foundational roles as Brand Manager at Nestlé and Kraft Foods, coupled with his early career position as an Account Manager at Ogilvy & Mather, demonstrate a rich background in both brand management and advertising.
Leadership Style and Expertise
Sami's leadership style is characterized by his commitment to coaching and developing high-performing teams. He employs participative leadership techniques that foster teamwork, enabling every member to contribute to the organizational goals actively. His extensive background in conflict management empowers him to nurture team dynamics, encouraging collaboration and innovative problem-solving.
In financial management, Sami has demonstrated expertise in P&L management, CNWC management, EBIT improvement, and cost reduction strategies. His strategic long-term planning capabilities and organizational restructuring experience have been pivotal in steering businesses toward consolidated success.
As a marketing manager, he has developed sound brand portfolio strategies, engaged in new product development, and spearheaded innovation processes. The depth of his work in advertising and media further exemplifies his credentials, especially in TV copy development and corporate communications. His hands-on experience in digital and social media management highlights his capability to adapt to modern marketing channels effectively.
Efficiency and Sales Management
Sami has also excelled in managing efficiency and sales operations. He is adept at SKU rationalization, developing pricing strategies, and enhancing BI systems. His strategic oversight of the Sales organization has encompassed distributor and sales operations while formulating effective go-to-market strategies and managing diverse sales channels. His proficiency in trade marketing includes first moment of truth planning and execution as well as shopper and category management, positioning him as an invaluable asset in sales growth initiatives.
Industry Expertise and Impact
With his exceptional breadth of industry expertise, Sami has not only driven success in various product categories but has also illustrated his capability in managing complexities across different businesses. His work history reflects a remarkable blend of commercial acumen, creative marketing insight, and robust leadership skills. With a commitment to results and a forward-thinking approach, Sami Qahar continues to impact organizations positively and is open to independent and freelance business consultancy projects where he can leverage his knowledge and skills in new markets and challenges.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
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