Roland Berger has strengthened its partner team with Sheila Nazareth, who has been flown in as a partner to lead and build out the firm’s Aviation practice in the Middle East.
With the high-profile hire, Roland Berger expands its aviation consulting capabilities, as the strategy consulting specialist seeks to build a stronger presence in the segment in the region.
“Sheila’s primary objective will be to expand our influence across diverse aviation segments in the Middle East, a region ripe with opportunities for growth, especially with the increased focus of the region on tourism,” said Hani Tohme, Managing Partner at Roland Berger.
Roland Berger’s investment in its aviation capabilities comes at a time when the industry is facing all kinds of notable challenges – often linked to the aftermath of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis but also to growing competition, and changing customer expectations.
At the same time, the Middle East’s aviation sector has the brightest outlook of all, according to a recent report. In 2022, the pace of recovery in the Middle East aviation market was faster than any other region, and going forward, the sector is expected to take off over the next 10 years with the region’s share of the global fleet set to expand.
According to Boeing latest market outlook, the region’s growth will see the size of the aircraft fleet more than double over the next 20 years. “The Middle East is a diverse region that has emerged as a central connection point for international flights, and a popular destination for business and leisure air travellers. The region is well-positioned for projected growth,” as highlighted in Boeing’s report (notably, rival Airbus released a relatively similar forecast).
Against this backdrop, airlines, airports, aviation authorities and other players in the aviation sector are turning to external expertise for excellence in their transformation endeavours. “Sheila’s arrival at Roland Berger comes at an opportune moment, we look forward to leverage her expertise in addressing challenges and opportunities,” said Tobias Schoenberg, Partner and Head of Transportation, Travel, Logistics at Roland Berger in the Middle East.
Nazareth joins the firm from KPMG, where she built and led the company’s Aviation Advisory practice. Before that, she spent 28 years at Emirates, latterly in the role of Vice President for Operations Research & Effectiveness.
During her career, she has gained extensive experience in strategic planning, operational efficiency, revenue enhancement, digital transformation initiatives, organisational development, and project management. Her sectoral track spans various segments of the industry, including airlines, airports, ground handling, maintenance, repair & optimisation, catering, regulators, air navigation services, and suppliers.
Commenting on her new role, she said: “My goal is to position Roland Berger’s aviation practice as the foremost destination for premium advisory services in the aviation industry.”
Sourced from Consultancy.me