Monitor Deloitte

On Sunday March 15^th, a group of eleven graduate students from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies’ Middle East Studies program visited the Monitor Deloitte offices in Dubai. They were hosted by Whitney Chamberlain, a Director in the Monitor Deloitte Abu Dhabi offices. Ms. Chamberlain presented on Monitor Deloitte’s work in the region including an overview of their areas of specialization, the types of clients they service, and a walkthrough of the recruiting process. Following the presentation, the student delegation had the opportunity to ask a panel of five Deloitte consultants specific questions about their work, the life of a consultant, and living in the UAE.

Strategy is Monitor Deloitte’s primary are of focus, and regional governments and the public sector constitute the majority of the clients serviced out of the UAE offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. They offer services in economic and social strategy, corporate and business unit strategy, customer and marketing strategy, digital strategy, pricing and demand analytics, and innovation. Client work ranges from consulting for large-scale infrastructure projects, oil and natural companies, the health care sector, and the transportation authority. Engagements range in time from shorter, targeted projects of 3-6 weeks to longer, more comprehensive commitments of 6 months or more. Many short-term projects roll over into longer engagements building on a portfolio of work.

The firm has been operating in the region as Monitor Deloitte since Monitor Group’s acquisition by Deloitte in 2013, but has ties to the region that extend back before the acquisition. They have established relationships with public and private sector actors for whom their value offering is a deep bench of practitioners across the region with expertise in private sector work, technology and media communications, financial services, energy and resources, consumer business, life sciences and health care, manufacturing, and real estate.

Monitor Deloitte recruits from SAIS for their Middle East practice as well as for their strategy and operations practice worldwide. The recruitment cycle begins for full-time hires in the early fall and concludes by early December. For summer associate positions recruitment begins in mid-fall and concludes in mid-January. For more information on Deloitte recruiting and opportunities in the Middle East offices contact Career Services.

~Sierra Bayles, second year Middle East Studies concentrator, SAIS

Dubai 100

It is hard to connect Roland Daher to any one organization. A computer engineer turned businessman, Roland's story is not so different from that of many American start-up gurus, with one important distinction: Roland is a pioneer because he is bringing the hope of start-up communities to the Middle East. Roland was a crucial part of the beginning of the Dubai-based start-up effort Wamda, now a globally recognizable brand. He has since moved on to his current position, working with Falcon Private Bank on a pre-accelerator program to develop and marketize new technologies in healthcare called Dubai 100. The access to his distinct experience on the start-up community in Dubai was immensely valuable for all of us, and would go on to inform many of our later meetings with the government and other private sector groups interesting in expanding the role of start-ups in Dubai.

For Roland, Dubai is positioned at a unique nexus between global capital, multinational corporate interests, and small and medium enterprises from emerging markets in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. The safety, security, and rule of law Dubai provides makes it a natural point of interest for any multinational investor, and makes accessing capital for start-ups far easier in Dubai than in most other cities in the Indian Ocean, like Beirut or Mumbai. The presence of multinational industries also allows for rapid scaling-up of these smaller industries in the innovation economy through partnerships with and annexation into larger global organizations. Roland explained that Dubai's strength is in connecting those interested parties, and offering that rapid scaling. No other regional hub has the same amount of global interest, and no tech hub in America or Europe has access to as much raw talent and innovative interest as Dubai, the aspirational space of most of the Indian Ocean. Today, new incubator and accelerator programs are becoming much more frequent, and within less than a decade, have already moved forward tremendously in the UAE, and in the Middle East.

Roland praised Dubai and the UAE more broadly, for this vision which stems from the city's and the country's leadership and commitment to a genuine culture of capitalism. A copy of “My Vision” the book written by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, sat on the table in the room where Roland met with us, echoing his veneration for the city's leader. Even on those matters where he saw room for improvement, Roland maintained his respect for the city's leadership, in the careful balancing act that all nations undertake and which Sheikh “Mo” has carried out superbly. Roland's office overlooks the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and a major symbol for Dubai. He told us how the massive tower is more than just a building; it is a testament to the city's commitment to pulling possibility from the impossible, and about finding ways to look past critics and challenges to make things happen. Roland's description of the spirit of Dubai describes the spirit of entrepreneurship, and his passion for it is both apparent and inspiring.

~Kevin Hack, 1st year Middle East Studies concentrator, SAIS

Vahid Fotuhi and Access Power

We had the first meeting of our trip with Access Power in Dubai, where we had the opportunity to meet with Vahid Fotuhi, board director of Access Power and a SAIS alum. Mr. Fotuhi has a background in oil and gas, having held senior positions with BP in Europe and North Africa. He went on to head BP Solar’s MENA division. He is also the President of the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA). Prior to BP, he held leadership roles with Energy Intelligence and WEF. Access Power believes that providing access to electricity for households and small and medium sized businesses is key to alleviating poverty and reducing wealth inequality. Their projects aim to deliver affordable power to villages and rural communities where this impact is greatest. The projects Access Power takes on provide jobs and training to individuals and local firms, while increasing foreign direct investment and tax revenue for the host government of the project. Mr. Fotuhi told us that Access Power used to be more of an advisory firm and later transitioned to ownership and operations. Mr. Votuhi spoke to us on a more personal level and told us that, had it not been for a fellow SAISer, he would not have been able to get his first project off the ground in Africa. He was able to leverage his SAIS connection in Africa to network in the community in which he wanted to start his project. He was eventually successful in that project and it led to more connections in the region. He told us about the different types of deals Access Power does with its clients and the different payout methods. He emphasized Dubai as the global hub for emerging markets and the ease of his work due to Dubai’s strategic geographical location between the East and the West. Our trip to Access Power was rewarding in two regards: first, we were able to learn more about Dubai as the hub for much of the work done in emerging markets and second, we got to hear about all this coming from a successful and inspiring SAIS alum!

~Lena Abdin, second year Middle East Studies concentrator, SAIS

Introduction to UAE Study Trip

SAIS Middle East Studies 

UAE Study Trip: March 13-20

When our group initially reached out to the Embassy of the UAE in Washington, DC about sponsorship for this trip, we expressed that our goal was to better “understand the people, culture, religion and economy of the region” with an emphasis on the vital understanding a student can only gain through face-to-face experiences and on-the-ground exposure. We in the Middle East Studies department are very appreciative of the financial support from the UAE embassy, which provided us with exactly that exposure, and will ensure that the class of students graduating from our program in May of 2016 will be able to walk away with a deep nuanced understanding of the UAE.

Delegation with His Excellency, Minister of Energy Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei