BOARDING CALL ✈

Welcome aboard, and welcome to the Departure Brief

If you’re reading this in the cab to the airport, in the lounge, or halfway through boarding EK819, you’re exactly where we imagined you’d be.

Departure Brief was built for consultants in the Middle East who want to start their week a little sharper, without digging through the noise of the countless news sources out there. Every Monday, we’ll bring you a fast, focused update on what actually matters for you, plus a few tools and insights that will make you look good in front of your client, manager, director, partner… or whoever’s reviewing your slides. And if you’ve had enough of airplanes, we’ve got you covered with the latest exit opportunities.

Highlights this week:

PIF buys EA, Qatar acquires land in Sahel, Abu Dhabi invests in ChatGPT lots of jobs as always, and a very kind reminder to share Departure Brief

Enjoy your read!

SECTOR SCAN 🔭

Your weekly rundown of the most relevant business news in the region - for the sectors that matter to you

Public Sector & Government

• PIF’s Dan Co. launched Solan, a new agritourism hospitality brand that will franchise farm stays, lodges, and istarahas across the Kingdom - staycation in a Saudi farm anyone? (full story)

• The IMF praised the UAE’s strong growth outlook after a visit this week, projecting 5% GDP growth in both 2025 and 2026, supported by tech, infrastructure, and diversification investments. But it also cautioned against emerging risks in real estate and crypto (full story)

• Qatar acquired 20.2 sq km of land on Egypt’s northwestern coast for a $4bn integrated tourism project to be developed by Qatari Diar. The site is very close to ADQ’s $35bn Ras El Hekma project - Gulf countries are really fighting for that Sahel beachfront (full story)

Energy & Resources

• A new report from Dhaman showed that the Arab world attracted $351bn in foreign renewable investments across 360 projects between 2003 and 2024. The UAE, Egypt, and Morocco led activity, while Saudi’ ACWA Power topped all developers by project count - that’s quite a lot honestly even if we’re counting 21 years (full story)

• Iraq awarded a contract to US-based Excelerate Energy to install a floating LNG import terminal off Basra, aiming to secure fuel for its power plants as Iranian gas supplies decline (full story)

Technology, Media & Telecommunication

• PIF is leading a $55bn takeover of Electronic Arts, alongside Affinity Partners and Silver Lake, making it the largest leveraged buyout in history - now we’re becoming very serious about gaming (full story)

• Abu Dhabi’s MGX joined other investors in a $6.6bn secondary sale of OpenAI shares, valuing the company at $500bn, more than triple its valuation a year ago - $500bn in valuation and Chat GPT still can’t write this newsletter for me… (full story)

Financial Services

• Saudi is planning its biggest equity market opening since 2025, with a draft proposal to let all foreign investors buy Tadawul-listed shares directly, removing the current Qualified Foreign Investor framework - this news actually triggered the biggest one-day gain of the Saudi market in five years (full story)

Transport & Logistics

• Saudi shipping giant Bahri partnered with International Martime Industries (IMI) for a large-scale shipbuilding order - these ships will be built in IMI’s Ras Al-Khair shipyard and will be the Kingdom’s first commercial vessel project (full story)

• Oman Air laid off 1,100 employees as part of a large cost-reduction and fleet-slimming plan. The carrier sold all 10 of its A330s and two 787s, shifting focus to partnerships with regional giants like Emirates and QA to drive inbound tourism (full story)

Consumer Products & Retail

• Doordash completed its acquisition of Deliveroo UAE - they promised nothing will change for us customers; let’s see… (full story)

THE EXIT ROW 💼

Your bosses might not like this section, but that’s alright. Every week, we’ll provide you with a list of curated job openings for any of you that are tired of the travel routine and looking to have a life again after 7 PM - includes opportunities for all levels

FREELANCING

There is a bunch of freelancing opportunities I’ve been made aware of. If you’re interested, please register your profile on Ultra (“join Ultra”) - a top EMEA freelancing platform that connects you with an extensive portfolio of clients in the region for freelance consulting projects. You can also book a call with Valentin Reyx, co-founder, to learn more.

UAE

1. Mastercard | Manager, Chief of Staff, Core Payments, EEMEA | Dubai (Apply here)

2. BBVA | Head of Strategy & Operations MENA | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

3. Department of Culture & Tourism | Transformation Management Section Head | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

4. Cander | Strategy Manager | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

5. Al Futtaim Automotive | Transformation Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

6. Dubai Holding | Senior Manager - Strategy & Execution (B2C) | Dubai (Apply here)

7. Dubai Holding | Senior Manager - Strategy & Execution (B2B) | Dubai (Apply here)

8. Dubai Holding | Assistant Manager - Commercial & Strategy - Dubai Holding Land Estate | Dubai (Apply here)

9. Miral Destinations | Senior Vice President Strategy | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

10. Talabat | Manager Pricing Strategy | Dubai (Apply here)

11. Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) | Strategy & Performance Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

12. Network International | VP - Strategy & Transformation | Dubai (Apply here)

13. Animoca Brands | Senior Associate, Strategy Ops / BD & Partnerships / Investments | Dubai (Apply here)

14. Nabat | Strategy & Programs Lead | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

15. GJ Global | Chief of Staff | Dubai (Apply here)

16. Revolut | Strategy & Operations Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

17. Jacobs | Associate Director - Business Strategy & Finance | Dubai (Apply here)

18. Fever | Partner Project Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

19. RSA Global | Strategy & Growth Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

20. Emirates Global Aluminum | Associate Manager - Strategy & Corporate Development | Dubai (Apply here)

21. Property Finder | Manager, Strategy & Business Operations | Dubai (Apply here)

22. InvestSky | Growth & Strategy Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

23. NymCard | Corporate Development Analyst/Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

24. Freedom Finance MENAT | Strategy & Reporting Manager | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

KSA

• Webook | Chief of Staff | Riyadh (Apply here)

• SAN International Group | Head of Strategy | Jeddah (Apply here)

• Huxley | Senior Strategy Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Takamol | Consulting Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Masdr | Sr. Strategy & Planning | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Supertech Innovation Labs | Strategy Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Careem | Commercial & Strategy Leaders | Riyadh (Apply here)

CABIN DEEP DIVE 🔎

Every week, we give a focused look on a topic, news, trend that is shaping the region; no fluff, just the insights you need.

Sorry guys, no cabin deep dive this week - had too much work honestly and couldn’t think of a topic, and I’m late for a dinner right now.

But hey, now that you’re here, I just wanted to remind to share Departure Brief with colleagues, friends, to-be consultants, ex-consultants, ex-boyfriends, ex-wives, doctors, pets, or whoever can find it helpful! 🙂 

Have a wonderful week!

And that’s a wrap…

Thank you for being on board the Departure Brief this week.

Let us know how we did!

Have a safe flight, an amazing week, and see you next Monday!