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A collective of eight C-suite executives with more than 250 years of combined hands-on experience in more than 120 markets has come together to create TOUGHLOVE Advisors, "a straight-talking advisory firm with a difference", as they like to introduce themselves.
Specialising in improving business performance for underserved companies in the region, TOUGHLOVE Advisors provide access to an untapped collective of multinational trained practitioners who are experts in business, operations, marketing and digital to identify and deliver solutions.
After identifying a real need in the market for an advisory firm that provides expert support in an uncomplicated, direct and effective way, TOUGHLOVE Advisors will bring a different approach to consulting by offering practical, tailor-made solutions that will help businesses achieve sustained success.
TOUGHLOVE Advisor’s real-life knowledge and understanding is expected to benefit regional companies, SMEs, family businesses, start-ups, and companies facing organizational and operational challenges with insightful, proven, and uncomplicated approach to improving business performance.
Khaled M. Ismail, CEO, TOUGHLOVE Advisors, said: “There is no other advisory firm with this amount of collaborative hands-on experience in the market. At TOUGH LOVE, we tell our clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, so we can effectively help them and their business. We have witnessed first-hand, the dire need to engage with real-life practitioners who are about developing practical, tailor-made solutions based on their own experiences, as opposed to sharing theoretical best practices. We want businesses to know that there is a different way to get help, and that is the TOUGHLOVE way.”
Having stepped away from their corporate careers to join as partners who share the same vision and values, the team of industry leaders behind TOUGHLOVE Advisors include:
- Khaled M. Ismail – Chairman of The Marketing Society – UAE, and former Vice President Communications – EMEA – Tetra Pak
- Kamal Dimachkie – Former COO Publicis Communications and Executive Regional Managing Director Leo Burnett, UAE and Lower Gulf
- Mohamed Al Tajer, FCIM – Chairman of the CMO Council – ME and former Head of Marketing at the National Bank of Kuwait and Citibank
- Mohammed Ismael Hameedaldin – Chairman of The Marketing Society – Dubai, and former Senior Vice President Marketing – CEMEA – Visa
- Namrata Balwani – Marketing and Customer Experience Consultant, former Head of Digital Marketing and Analytics at the Landmark Group, and former Senior Vice President at OgilvyOne
- Nurcin Erdogan Loffler – Brand and Culture Consultant – Former Head of Strategy and Innovation at DAN, and former Global Brand Manager Red Bull
- Tim Burnell – Former VP Brand and Marketing Etihad Airways, SVP Corporate Communications FAB, VP Brand, Marketing and Communications Emirates Airlines
- Eddie Maalouf – Former Managing Director of Nokia MEA and CEO of JWT Experience
The squad have a wealth of unrivalled experience from more than 80 leading multi-national companies and their expertise originates in a vast range of business sectors such as telecoms, banking, aviation and manufacturing and includes major names such as Emirates, Etihad, FAB, P&G, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Landmark Group, L’Oréal, Visa, Leo Burnet, Publicis Communications, bp, Tetra Pak Nokia and HSBC.
Kamal Dimachkie, COO, TOUGHLOVE Advisors said: “We believe in the value and impact that first-hand, on-the-job experience can bring to businesses who need help. We are passionate about passing on what we have learnt to underserved businesses in the region to enable them to overcome their challenges and pursue growth. At TOUGHLOVE, we strongly believe that we can share our wisdom in a caring, practical and candid way to give businesses the confidence and courage to achieve greater success. That is tough love.”
