Faisal Abdallah
Jeddah,lebanon
Summary
Visionary marketer with over 22 years of experience in top marketing and sales roles, specializing in business planning, budgeting, and brand strategy management. Proven track record of driving financial gains and business success through strategic leadership and team development across diverse sectors. Expertise in optimizing finance and human resources to enhance profitability while delivering quality service. Committed to fostering growth for world-renowned brands in the Middle East, particularly in hospitality, FMCG, automotive, and media industries.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Area Director of Marketing
Accor HC
Jeddah
01.2024 - Current
- Assisted in defining strategic direction for branding, PR, and communications within hospitality portfolio.
- Supported marketing initiatives for 14 operational properties and 6 upcoming developments contributing to SAR 3 billion in annual revenue.
- Collaborated on customer-centric marketing strategies to enhance brand visibility and guest interaction.
- Contributed to increasing B2C revenue by 12% year-on-year through focused campaigns and improved customer outreach.
- Participated in international roadshows, representing the brand at global exhibitions and partner events across continents.
- Aided in elevating thought leadership through executive involvement in industry discussions and media engagements.
- Worked with cross-functional teams to align marketing objectives with brand strategy, while promoting consistency across customer interactions.
- Managed multiple projects simultaneously, prioritising tasks to achieve objectives within tight deadlines.
- Led project teams through all phases of development, from initial concept to final completion, ensuring timely delivery.
- Increased company profits by identifying easy money-making deals.
- Collaborated with team members to achieve target results.
Group Director of Communications & Business Development
Accor
Makkah
04.2010 - 12.2023
- Lead 1.5B SAR complex with an A&P budget of 340M SAR with the scale of managing both marketing and PR teams.
- Instrumental in positioning Makkah Clock Royal Tower-A Fairmont Hotel, Raffles Makkah Palace, Swissôtel Makkah & Swissotel Al Maqam Makkah as iconic landmarks for selective travelers in one of the most competitive hospitality climates in the world.
- Assisted in opening hotels in the AL ULA project from 2019, 2020 & 21 by leading planning, budgeting, and hiring for marketing functions.
- Assisted the Regional team in the flow of all required marketing and communications plans with the Royal commission marketing team.
- Head of marketing setting the strategic marketing plan and launching all campaigns and events to stream the proper awareness for the new projects.
- Lead the B2B revenue generation workstream.
- Championed marketing activities and authored offline, online & digital strategies to successfully position each property & in-house product as a leader in its respective markets to record impressive growth.
- Entrusted to establish a long-term strategy and author annual marketing plans (digital, Offline & PR) for existing and new markets across the Middle East, North Africa, India, South Africa, and the Far East.
- Successfully played a remarkable role in streaming innovative initiatives to drive additional revenue to the bottom line.
- Acquired a wide network of global media partners to exceed desired coverage values, and share of voice.
- Strengthened hotel relationships and BD with the governmental segment.
- Managed holy destination project covering 11 different properties and achieved in 6 months the highest hospitality YouTube channel in the world to leverage the new identity.
- Assisting Corporate office in kicking off new projects across different destinations, communicating with media, celebrities, merchandising deals luxury brands in addition to several projects by reporting to GEA, AL ULA RCU.
- Establishing an effective marketing division responsible for all communications activities and strategies for the Group.
- Developing and implementing communications vision metrics as it relates to Group's mission.
- Articulation of the Group’s desired image and excellent reputation in the market, creating high awareness, which aided in generating additional sales and revenue.
- Successfully managed 360 marketing campaigns across Saudi Arabia, GCC, North Africa, and Asia to increase room sales.
- Enforcing compliance with hotels brand guidelines and global marketing vision, including collaborating on cross-property promotions and projects.
- Managing with the PR department to blueprint public relations strategies, ensuring consistent and engaging coverage for each hotel, and creatively pitching media.
- Administering third-party agencies, including advertising, marketing, printing, and other suppliers.
- Launched hotel websites and social media platforms. Enhancing the percentage of page sessions and production conversion on our brand.com pages and boosting the number of fans/followers and engagement through a diversified strategy for a mix of content that captures the interest of our TA.
Account Manager
IMPACT BBDO
Jeddah
01.2007 - 04.2010
- Lead 1.3M USD account with direct impact on their strategy and implementation and upselling and scouting new opportunities for the accounts.
- Effectively managed multiple regional and local key accounts to retain and expand revenue.
- Championed design and production of several major campaigns for Pepsi Co.
- Blueprinted advertising strategies and handled all aspects of briefs for several major international clients including ART and Audi.
- Assisting PepsiCo team conducting several events in Egypt.
- Proffered strategic and tactical leadership and oversight to efficaciously manage key accounts/ Defined and communicated a long-term vision and strategy to achieve desired outcomes for major international clients.
- Successfully managed marketing campaign for varied product categories including packaging, corporate identity, point-of-sales materials, newsletter, websites, exhibitions and displays.
- Managed a variety of projects to include product promotion and client rollout/impact, worked with interdisciplinary teams to achieve timelines and deliverables.
- Fostered business relations with contacts at the highest level of decision-making authority within client organizations.
- Leveraged knowledge of competitors in market and other third-party vendors to overcome any potential barriers and expand existing business relationships.
Consultant (Sales, Customer Service & Leadership)
Alliance Human Performance Development
07.2004 - 12.2006
Assistant Sales Manager
Ali Riza Co.
Jeddah
01.2003 - 07.2004
Education
Bachelor Degree - Management
American University of Science & Technology
03-2003
Skills
- Communication Excellence
- Marketing - Offline
- Marketing - Online
- Marketing - Digital Strategies
- Strategic Planning
- Brand Development
- Key Account Management
- Market Insights & Trends
- Outreach Strategies
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Financial Acumen
- Budgeting
- MS Office Applications
- Leadership
- Staffing
- Training
- Knowledge Transfer
- Communication
- Interpersonal Skills
- Analytical Skills
- Critical Thinking
- Conflict Resolution
- Group Dynamics
- Synergy
- Strategic planning
- Business development
- Team building
- Project management
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Digital marketing strategy
- Brand positioning
- Revenue growth
- Public relations management
- Market analysis
- Customer engagement
- Content strategy
- Media relations
- Event management
- Leadership excellence
- Team building and training
- Customer Service
- Employee management
- Business planning
- Performance driving
- Strategies and goals
- Staff development
- Data-driven decision-making
- Budget control
- Organisational structuring
- Budget planning and forecasting
- Visionary thinking
- Operations management
- Consulting
- Brand management
- Change leadership
- Research and Development
- Strategic visioning
- Board level communication
- Strategic consultancy
- Annual budgeting
- Business strategy formulation
- Change implementation
- Data analytics and interpretation
- Business development savvy
- Performance metrics tracking
- Quality control standards understanding
- Data collection and analysis
- Business intelligence tools usage
- Crisis management expertise
- Digital transformation knowledge
- Resource allocation efficiency
Languages
English
Arabic
Custom Section
- Recognized for delivering trusted, integrated marketing and communication insights and recommendations that accelerate company performance and fuel growth.
- Commanded high-end projects from initial creative brief to finished artwork.
- Personifying brand essence, slogan, mix, communication, and unique positioning enables it to become a truly global brand.
- Hands-on experience in top-notch agencies and with national and international corporations.
- Certified trainer for sales and customer service development.
- Media Planner, PR Consultant, Event Management Expert.
Personal Information
Number of Children: 3
Hobbies and Interests
- Scuba Diving
- Football
- Travelling
Interests
- Hobbies : Football, Diving, Social reading
Timeline
Area Director of Marketing
Accor HC
01.2024 - Current
Group Director of Communications & Business Development
Accor
04.2010 - 12.2023
Account Manager
IMPACT BBDO
01.2007 - 04.2010
Consultant (Sales, Customer Service & Leadership)
Alliance Human Performance Development
07.2004 - 12.2006
Assistant Sales Manager
Ali Riza Co.
01.2003 - 07.2004
Bachelor Degree - Management
American University of Science & Technology