As the founder and managing director of L Formation, Tarek Saadi leads a company that supports clients in their expansion efforts across KSA and GCC markets, providing both practical advice and direct representation. Mr. Saadi formerly served as head of the GCC and represented Ericsson’s Middle East region for diversity and inclusion. In this role, he was one of a team of 10 members of staff overseeing DEI efforts across a workforce of over 100 employees.
An alumnus of North Carolina State University, Tarek Saadi has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in electrical engineering. He also attended McGill University, where he completed a chartered accountancy program. Mr. Saadi’s professional topics of interest include sales and business development, organizational strategy, digital transformation, AI applications, leadership, and team building.
A key element of Tarek Saadi’s consultancy work lies in the strategic learning process. Mr. Saadi strongly believes that by embracing diversity and inclusion, companies create more productive teams capable of working smarter. The benefits of diverse leadership are well reported, boosting creativity, increasing retention, improving collaboration, enhancing performance, and ultimately increasing profitability. Mr. Saadi points out that by embracing different perspectives, with each team member learning from the others, diverse teams are capable of developing more innovative and effective solutions.
In his business consultancy work, Tarek Saadi draws on the theories put forward by David Eagleman in his influential book The Brain, as well as those put forward by Brian David Burrell and Dr. Allan H. Hopper in Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole and Thomas Erikson in Surrounded by Idiots. The latter book proposes that personality types fall into four broad categories, providing advice on tailoring communications depending on which character types leaders are working with.
Recognized as a transformative leader, Tarek Saadi’s current focus is on expanding his consultancy portfolio in oil and gas and telecommunications, as well as exploring innovative investment opportunities in AI. Recognized as a valued mentor, Mr. Saadi helps young professionals to navigate their careers and entrepreneurs to build and scale thriving businesses. One of his latest accomplishments involved brokering a significant investment deal that aligns with sustainable energy goals. Recognizing the importance of giving back, Tarek Saadi recently volunteered to a local entrepreneurship program, providing advice and the benefit of his significant expertise and experience, helping start-ups with strategy planning and scaling.
Tarek Saadi cites his biggest and most important professional leap as transitioning from corporate employment to independent consultancy and entrepreneurship. Looking back, he appreciates that this is a move he should have made earlier, recognizing the need to take calculated risks and trust the process of learning through challenges. Mr. Saadi recognizes the day he signed his first independent consulting contract as a pivotal moment in his life, marking the start of the most important chapter in his career to date.
Prioritizing progress over perfection, Mr. Saadi’s overarching ambition is to help professionals and companies unlock their potential, with the ultimate goal of paving the way for a more sustainable and equitable world. In terms of megatrends, he is excited by the integration of AI across industries as well as modern technological innovations paving the way for a greener, more sustainable future, particularly solar and wind power. He cites the shift towards sustainability and digitization in global industries as one of the greatest influences on his professional life to date.
To relax, Tarek Saadi enjoys a diverse range of hobbies, including skiing, swimming, reading, and travelling. He has been fortunate enough to visit many countries over the years, including the United States, Canada, France, Sweden, Norway, Spain, and Italy, as well as many more countries across Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.