Maher Ali

Strategy & Operations Consultant @Freelance

🧑‍💼 C-level ExecutivePoliticsResearcherConsumer IndustryHumanities🧮 EducationSocial Sciences💰 Investor & VCStrategy and Product growthStrategic managementOperations🔥 Startup Founder🏦 FinanceMedia & TelecommunicationsLiteratureMedTechB2CMediaPodcastStorytellingFoodTechBahrain✔️ ITProducer👍 Sales & BizDev🐦 Design🧨 Consulting🎥 EntertainmentJournalistEditorCopywriterCOOPresentation DesignerMarketing Analytics ManagerBI AnalystBusiness Development ManagerPartnerships ManagerBusiness AnalystAdvisor

Mission-driven strategy and operations aficionado with 10+ years of experience helping transform small businesses into sustainable and profitable operations. I’ve helped launch and scale products and organisations that have reached millions. My ongoing mission is to always learn from and work with those trying to make others’ lives—or the world—a better place.

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Work Background

FreelanceStrategy Operations Consultant

May. 2018London | Bahrain · RemoteCurrent: × Strategic Consultant @ a seed-stage healthcare startup in Birmingham, UK. Currently working alongside the founders and board to raise a new round of investment for a refreshed product launch. Previous: × Project Manager for a USD 1.2MM joint venture between a family office and a decades-old venue to repurpose it into an arts/culture hub as part of a longer-term vision to elevate the creative industry and support the redevelopment of Souq al Manama: -Created a business plan with financial/operating models to match the partners’ vision for a self-sustaining, non-profit space with multiple revenue streams, including an F&B outlet, a design store, a 3D printing studio, a coworking space and educational and research facilities -Managed allocation of budget and implementation for construction, hiring, programming, and branding/marketing × Built financial/operating models and MVP and conducted pre-launch market research for VITAL, a sustainable shopping platform that went on to win 2nd place in a global startup competition

Toronto Breakfast ClubCo-Founder

Jul. 2013 - Jan. 2014Toronto, Canada AreaDespite being the most important meal of the day, 40% of Canadians and over 50% of Americans skip breakfast on a regular basis. At the time, healthy to-go breakfast options were limited and sit-down restaurants were not garnering enough traffic for weekday breakfasts. The aim of The Toronto Breakfast Club was to bridge this gap in the market. Seeing this and being breakfast fans ourselves, my partner and I co-founded Toronto’s first on-demand meal delivery service aimed at providing healthy and sustainably sourced breakfasts to offices in the downtown area. We partnered with a dinner-only downtown restaurant to utilise wholesale pricing, talent, and existing kitchen space during non-business hours.

Kerning Cultures NetworkChief of Staff

Aug. 2022 - Aug. 2023Dubai, United Arab Emirates · RemoteI began my time at Kerning Cultures as acting CEO while the founder and CEO went on maternity leave. Upon her return, we worked together to expand the network's commercial partnerships through the development of sales and marketing teams. I also worked with our managing producers and editors to vet stories and shape the network's wider content strategy. Kerning Cultures Network is an independent podcast company, raising the bar for audio storytelling and journalism in the Middle East and North Africa. We produce chart-topping podcasts in Arabic and English. Our shows have won a Webby Honoree in Diversity and Inclusion, been recognized as Apple Podcasts’ Show of the Year, Deezer’s Best of the Year, and Bello Collective’s Best 100 of 2020 (and 2019). We’ve also had the honour of collaborating with Radiolab, This American Life, Gimlet Media, 99% Invisible, NPR, Expo 2020 Dubai, the Royal Commission of Al Ula, and Anghami. We’re backed by 500 Startups, Podfund, and IFG.vc.

The Fhitting RoomHead Of Operations

Apr. 2016 - Apr. 2018Greater New York City Area× Conducted analyses and market research to identify new unit locations; managed budgets, contracts and execution for two $1.8 MM projects across multiple teams, turning around profitable locations within 1 year each of opening × Researched and modelled potential new revenue streams; worked with key stakeholders to build and launch selected projects, including an on-demand workout platform that allowed FR to continue operating during city-wide lockdowns at the onset of COVID × Analyzed attendance and spending habits of clients utilizing data sets from FR’s user management platform to maximize strategic investments in growth by: -Developing growth marketing plans to reach prospective clients in a campaign that increased online following by 28% in six months -Segmenting and retargeting existing clients based on purchase history, creating tailored offers to successfully increase retention rates among price-sensitive buyers × Built and owned all financial models for CFO and investor decks, including cash flow forecasts, projected new unit rollout costs and deliverable timelines in preparation for fundraising × Provided ad-hoc analyses of company performance for investors and senior management

The Fhitting RoomOperations and Accounting Manager

Jan. 2015 - Apr. 2016Greater New York City Area× Consolidated vendor sourcing and streamlined/automated internal operational processes to bring overall monthly operating costs down by ~20% without compromising client experience × Reconciled all monthly expenses and revenues, providing regular P&L updates to CEO and CFO × Coordinated payroll processing with HR department and worked with external accountants to prepare yearly tax/audit paperwork and ensure compliance with all relevant financial regulations × Pinpointed operational inefficiencies and pain points in customer journey, implementing better workflows as needed

TACOMBI NYC LLCBusiness Development Consultant

Jan. 2014 - Apr. 2014Greater New York City Area× Assisted in budgeting, planning and execution of Tacombi’s first pop-up restaurant and scaling up of its offsite catering, transforming it from an informal team into a streamlined, independent and profitable arm of the business × Devised and executed a successful marketing and PR launch plan for the opening of Tacombi’s flagship restaurant, Café El Presidente, and subsequently developed a ‘new opening’ playbook with the head of Business Development × Researched and created a business plan for Tacombi’s retail line of foods from sourcing to distribution

Global Business ReportsSenior Project Director

Jun. 2012 - Jul. 2013Istanbul, TurkeyGlobal Business Reports is a business intelligence agency providing detailed analysis to leading publications with a focus on energy-related investments in emerging markets. × Set up field offices and directed multiple stakeholders in logistics, budgeting, research and production of industry-specific investment reports across power, mining, and oil & gas sectors × Identified new projects in Asia, Southern Africa and the Americas based on analysis of global economic and industry-wide trends, developing two of the company’s most profitable projects in 2012 and 2013 × Evaluated investment climates, including examination of taxation and legal frameworks, political and financial risks, ease of doing business and strength of support sectors in 10 countries across 5 continents × Conducted primary research via interviews, data analysis and networking with 400+ C-suite executives at leading global companies (BP, Rio Tinto, Vale, etc) and top-level government officials in English, Spanish and Portuguese

Global Business ReportsBusiness Intelligence Analyst

Jan. 2012 - Jun. 2012Istanbul, Turkey× Assisted in the setup of field offices for North America and Latin America teams × Identified, researched, contacted and interviewed relevant leading players in each market and industry × Contributed to in-depth analysis of market trends, regulations and developments, providing extra research and editorial content for GBR’s partner publications