The iconic Museum of the Future was host to Deloitte’s top leaders this weekend, with over 300 partners from across the Middle East making their way to Dubai to discuss the firm’s stellar 2022 – and plans for the future.
Since its early beginnings in the region nearly 100 years ago, Deloitte has grown into one of the Middle East’s powerhouse companies for accounting, risk, tax, and consulting services, with more than 5,000 staff in 14 countries.
The privately-held company is led and owned by a group of 300+ equity partners, and as part of their annual strategic cycle, they came together for their first physical Middle East-wide annual partners meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic. The scene was one of pride, and ambition.
While Deloitte does not disclose revenue numbers for its Middle East arm, the wing is part of the EMEA division, which in its latest fiscal year booked double-digit revenue growth and noted the Middle East for its “strong performance”. This performance came on the back of record-breaking revenue haul in previous years for the Middle East business.
To meet growing demand for its services, Deloitte hired over 2,000 new staff in the region over the past 12 months. “We proud to be driving forward some of the region’s giga-projects and supporting national economic visions across the public and private sectors,” said Mutasem Dajani, the CEO of Deloitte Middle East (since the summer of 2020).
Also looking ahead during the partner meeting, Dajani said the firm will “continue to bring the best of the Deloitte global network to the forefront of the ongoing socioeconomic transformation in the Middle East.”
During keynotes, discussion panels and workshops, some of the firm’s top leaders took the stage to outline how they aim to realise this ambition, including outlining further investments in digital capabilities, talent, and new offerings.
One central theme during the meeting was Deloitte’s firm belief in an integral model. With 2023 expected to see EY split into two firms – an accountancy group (EY) and a consultancy group (its name yet to be decided) – Deloitte’s partners discussed the strengths of its multi-disciplinary model, which seeks to provide clients a full range of end-to-end services, enabling them to better navigate challenges and seize opportunities.
Asked why Deloitte picked the Museum of the Future as the meeting’s backdrop, Dajani said: “The is the perfect setting for our leaders to come together to exchange insights and perspectives on this fast growing market.”
Partners and the Pope
In what has been described as Deloitte’s “most impressive and moving” partner meeting ever, in November last year a 500-strong delegation of the firm held their worldwide partner meeting in Rome and Vatican City, where they were received by Pope Francis. Demonstrating Deloitte’s influence on the global business stage, it was the first ever instance of a private company being given a private audience by the Pope.
Sourced from Consultancy.me