About Tarek Saadi
Tarek Saadi is the founder and managing director of L Formation, a company that helps its clients expand their operations into the KSA and GCC markets through both advice services and direct representation. Mr. Saadi was formerly the head of GCC and represented the Ericsson Middle East region for diversity and inclusion. Here, he was one of 10 members of staff representing the whole of the company’s 100 plus employees.

GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Middle East conference
In 2015, Mr. Saadi was a speaker at the GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Middle East conference. The event saw leaders in the mobile industry gather to share thought leadership and plan a roadmap in one of the world’s most exciting mobile regions. The line-up of speakers comprised influential individuals from across the Middle East’s rapidly expanding mobile ecosystem. The conference was held in Dubai and topics including digital identity, digital commerce, digital security, and the Internet of Things were discussed, with a focus on demonstrating how the mobile industry was (and is) transforming the region’s emerging and developed markets.

Consultancy Work
A key element of Mr. Saadi’s consultancy work is the strategic learning process, and he strongly believes that embracing diversity and inclusion leads to more productive teams that work smarter. There are many benefits to a diverse leadership team, such as enhanced performance, boosted creativity, increased retention, a growth in profits, and better collaboration. In terms of the latter, this is largely due to how a diverse team embraces different perspectives, with each member learning from the others, resulting in more innovative and effective solutions.
Books that tie into the consulting area he is most interested in include The Brain by neuroscientist David Eagleman, Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole by Dr. Allan H. Ropper and Brian David Burrell, and Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson. The latter book proposes that there are four broad personality types and provides advice on how to tailor our communications based on which of these types we are interacting with.
Education
A graduate of North Carolina State University and McGill University, Mr. Saadi holds a B.Sc. and a master’s degree in electrical engineering and went on to complete a chartered accounting program. His professional topics of interest include organizational strategy, AI applications, sales and business development, digital transformation, leadership, and building teams.

Hobbies
When he’s not working, Mr. Saadi enjoys bodybuilding, swimming, and skiing. He also loves to travel and has done so extensively, vising countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; he particularly enjoys Italian, French, and Japanese cuisine.