Dynamic and results-driven professional with a strong background in business development, sales, and stakeholder management. Proficient in Microsoft Office, including advanced Excel, as well as Microsoft Dynamics, Bloomberg, Zawya, and Salesforce. Demonstrates expertise in client relationship management, consultative selling, and sales forecasting.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
10
10
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Business Development Manager
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
London
08.2024 - 06.2025
Led on delivery of UK market plan, specifically relationships with employers
Built and managed client relationships with employers in UK
Represented the institute at industry events and conferences
Identified and engaged with potential future employers of actuaries, including those operating in wider fields
Understood members’ needs and seek to enhance member value by linking to opportunities that may emerge in our engagements with various stakeholders, including but not limited to career, speaking, mentoring opportunities.
Drove acquisition strategy to develop recognition and demand for IFoA’s qualification, leading to a sustainable pipeline of new members in the region
Supported Head of UK, Europe, and Employers in business development work
Organised business development events and engage with employers and students
Delivered presentations at conferences, at company offices and graduate events
Led engagement and relationships of stakeholder accounts and developed IFoA’s presence as a global actuarial body
Developed relationships with senior decision makers (e.g. academics, Chief Actuaries, senior actuaries, members, HR, DEI and learning stakeholders) to build brand and profession
Worked with teams across IFoA to monitor activity within UK and gather information to inform wider activity and future initiatives in UK
Guest on the LCP ‘Insure Uncut’ podcast where I discussed the IFoA: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/insurance-uncut/id1580547985?i=1000677798320
Management and sales support for our HoloLens 2 Distributor and Reseller Channel across UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Nordics, UAE and Saudi Arabia
Primary interface between the Microsoft HoloLens 2 enterprise sales team and the distributor and breadth reseller channel across Europe & Middle East in support of customer deals
Weekly engagement with regional distributors: Ingram Micro, TD Synnex, MPH Group, Redington (UAE) and Tarsus (South Africa) as well as partners such as Insight, Computacenter, Bechtle, SCC, Econocom and Synergiz and Datacentrix
Drove an effective partner management plan including regular partner review calls, status updates, clear actions, and issue resolution
Planned and coordinated regional training workshops to enable partners and partner sales and market teams to sell HoloLens 2
Ran quarterly business reviews with partners to drive accountability and report on success metrics
Used MEDDICC enterprise sales methodology heavily encouraged
Targeted on $10,000,000 in device sales per fiscal year across EMEA
Supported Monthly Demand Planning: The sales team provide a monthly sales forecast for our production team to ensure accurate demand planning
Partner Recruitment and Onboarding: In close partnership with our distributor partners, identify, recruit, and own the end-to-end processes required to onboard high-quality new partners (ISV & SI) to sell Mixed Reality (HoloLens 2 based) solutions to our customers across EMEA
Orchestrated successful marketing campaigns to increase brand visibility.
Negotiated high-value contracts to secure long-term business stability.
Business Development Manager
Global Data
London
04.2022 - 08.2022
Sold marketing solutions into the defence sector for Global Data’s B2B procurement site: Army Technology
Business Development Manager
London Financial Studies
London
07.2021 - 11.2021
Sale of high-level capital markets executive education courses to Middle East and Nordic regions.
Prospected and identified new business opportunities
Followed up with internally generated marketing leads and proactively generate additional leads
Provided consultative advice on the development of client-specific educational programmes
Target of £100,000 new business a quarter (achieved sales of £45,000 while in role)
Business Development Manager
British Chambers of Commerce
London
07.2019 - 03.2020
Met with sponsors and partners to build relationships and identifying areas to pitch new business and close deals – (Sponsorship sales of £50,000)
Developed new revenue stream through sale of proprietary data to data vendors (£90,000)
Evaluated and brought to market new business development opportunities
Worked with Chambers of Commerce across the UK, to link BCC commercial activities with the Chambers as required
COVID19 Redundancy
Internal Sales Manager
BPP Holdings
London
03.2017 - 03.2019
Responsible for sales of professional development training solutions for financial services, finance & tax and learning & development firms throughout London
Managed and grew book of accounts through networking, hunting and farming strategies
Synergistically worked with internal teams to develop initiatives to leverage compelling regulatory events to facilitate business
Pitching, presenting and responding to RFPs whilst working to target
First year target of £300k revenue - £340K achieved
Second year target of £330K revenue - £310K while in role
Internal Sales Account Manager
Excitech
London
09.2015 - 07.2016
Responsible for sales of IT, consultancy, training, support and facilities management solutions along full project cycle within engineering, architecture and manufacturing industries
Manage existing accounts whilst also developing new business
Achieved target of £5,000 new business per month
Regional Business Development Manager
ICAEW
Dubai
02.2012 - 03.2014
Managed the development of the ICAEW brand and qualifications across the GCC region
Managed relationships with audit firms and companies in industry to facilitate uptake of ICAEW qualifications (+20% a year)
Up sold alternative ICAEW qualifications to the value of +£400,000 per annum
Worked with the marketing team to develop and implement regional marketing initiatives
Successfully integrated ICAEW into the learning and development programmes of such companies as du, Etihad Airways and Etisalat
Managed relationships with, and sought out new partners in learning to facilitate uptake of ICAEW qualifications
Authorised firms in the region so that work experience could be documented by students undertaking the ACA
Managed sales pipeline across all products and ensured that all relevant updates were entered frequently in the CRM system
Established strategies to develop business across the region and organise initiatives in line with budget
Frequently met with C-Level executives in some of the largest companies across the GCC region, across such sectors as finance & banking, sovereign wealth funds, aviation and telecoms
Frequently met with partners in the ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms, as well as top tier firms such as Grant Thornton, BDO, Baker Tilly
Assisted in the organisation of thought leadership initiatives and networking events for the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty, ICAEW Economic Insight Quarterly Report, ICAEW CFO Club, ICAEW/DFSA Business Breakfast, ICAEW Annual Middle East Excellence in Finance & Accounting Awards
Networked extensively at ICAEW events
Engaged with stakeholders to sell sponsorship for Annual Awards equivalent to £150,000 per annum.
Prepared and delivered sponsorship bids and pitches for ICAEW events
Travelled extensively across the GCC region and undertook business in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Freelance Contributor
www.cashy.me
05.2011 - 02.2012
Freelance contributor of articles on financial matters
Business Development Manager
Zawya
Dubai
11.2010 - 04.2011
Identified & developed new business for ‘Zawya Investor’ product in Kuwaiti, Omani and international markets
Established new relationships with regional market players and leveraged to develop business pipeline
Routinely presented pitches and provided training sessions to clients
Responded to inbound leads as well as actively sought out new business through personal initiative
Achieved set target of generating a minimum of $20,000 of new business a month
Account managed book of clients and worked to represent their interests, respond to their queries and communicate their feedback internally
Travelled extensively to meet with clients and attend conferences
Pricing Data Analyst
Bloomberg L.P.
London/Dubai
03.2008 - 08.2010
Project managed new pricing content from third party providers contributing fixed income, FX and research emerging market data to the Bloomberg system
Established & developed relationships with local contributors and set about obtaining new content from them with a view to increasing pricing liquidity on the Bloomberg system
Problem solved issues with contributor content and was first port of call for trouble shooting pricing issues in the region
Worked with market data teams in investment banks, brokerage houses and central banks to assist them in contributing their data to the Bloomberg system
Assisted traders in the creation of pricing sheets in Microsoft Excel using Bloomberg API to generate real time pricing
Identified opportunities in regional markets and organised visits to develop new business
Managed Middle Eastern accounts for contributions from London until being brought over to Dubai in 2009 where I continued to develop the product through active engagement with stakeholders
Trainee Financial Consultant
St James’s Place
Mayfair, London
09.2005 - 02.2008
Undertook training to be a financial advisor
Education
B.A. - Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies
University of Leeds
01.2002 - 01.2005
9 GCSEs, 3 A-Levels - undefined
St George’s Academy
Sleaford, Lincolnshire
01.1990 - 01.1997
Skills
Experienced and proficient user of Microsoft Office (advanced excel), Microsoft Dynamics, Bloomberg, Zawya and Salesforce
Business development/Sales/Pitching/Data Modelling & Analysis/Stakeholder Management/Project Management
Client relationship management
Stakeholder engagement
Business development strategy
Presentation delivery
Sales forecasting
Partner management
Consultative selling
Networking skills
Event coordination
Lead generation
Salesforce
Prospecting
CRM software expertise
Business planning
Consultative and relationship selling
Relationship development
New business acquisition
Career Highlights
£400,000+ annual qualification sales while expanding ICAEW’s footprint across the GCC, securing relationships with major industry players including du, Etihad Airways, and Etisalat.
Managed $10 million HoloLens 2 sales target ownership at Microsoft, leading channel strategy across EMEA and onboarding top-tier partners.
Key speaker at LCP’s Insurance Uncut podcast, representing the IFoA to a broad professional audience.
Sponsorship sales of £150,000 per annum for the ICAEW Annual Middle East Awards, enhancing brand exposure through large-scale regional events.
Consistent overachievement of sales targets across multiple roles in B2B and financial services environments, including Bloomberg, BPP Holdings, and Global Data.
Extensive international business development experience, with professional engagements spanning UK, Europe, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.
Strong stakeholder management with senior leaders, from Big Four partners to C-suite executives and public sector representatives.
Junior Research Fellow at Faculty of Physiotherapy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchJunior Research Fellow at Faculty of Physiotherapy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research