Richard Turtle

Regional Vice President, Middle East | SaaS Data & AI Growth Leader | Built Multi Million $XXX ARR Business | GTM, Partnerships | Revenue Martech, Data, AI Commerce | Talent Developer | UKI & Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

About

Regional Vice President and Enterprise/Commercial leader with a track record of building and scaling high-growth SaaS, AI, Data and Cloud businesses across the UKI, Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Mediterranean and CEE regions. Experienced in building markets from the ground up, including establishing and growing Salesforce’s presence in MENA from sub-$1M with no ecosystem to a multi-million-dollar business and leading regions through $1M → multi-tens-of-millions ARR growth with sustained double- and triple-digit expansion. My experience spans enterprise and commercial sales, regional go-to-market strategy, partnerships and ecosystem development, with deep exposure to MarTech, Data Platforms, Commerce Cloud and Cloud Infrastructure. I have closed some of the most complex enterprise transactions in the region while building repeatable GTM engines and strong partner ecosystems across SIs, hyperscalers and GSIs to accelerate market penetration. Known for hiring, mentoring and promoting top sales talent, I build high-performance, values-driven teams and am often a destination leader for ambitious sellers who want to develop and progress. I operate a structured business and selling framework that consistently delivers predictable outcomes, typically forecasting within ~5% accuracy through disciplined pipeline management, data-driven decision making and clear business prioritisation. I bring strong financial acumen, operational leadership and executive engagement experience with CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and CMOs, enabling balanced growth across enterprise and commercial segments, products and portfolios while actively managing short, medium and long-term revenue risk. Committed to continuous development, I invest in executive education at Cambridge and Smurfit Business School and am currently undertaking a nine-month Chief Revenue Officer programme at Cambridge to further deepen leadership, commercial strategy and operational excellence. Based in Dubai, with extensive experience operating across the broader Middle East and building regional teams across UAE, KSA and emerging markets.

Experience

  • Salesforce (13 yrs)
    • Regional Vice President | Middle East
      Aug 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 11 mos

      Market-opening RVP with 10+ years of experience across Global Markets ( UKI, Europe, Africa and Middle East markets, supported by a deep regional network. Dedicated to developing high-performing, values-driven teams through empathy, coaching, humility, and clear standards that help people excel.

    • Regional Sales Director | Middle East , Africa, Med, Turkey
      Feb 2021 - Aug 2023 · 2 yrs 7 mos

      Cloud sales leader supporting Marketing & Commerce Cloud growth across MENA. I focus on thoughtful GTM execution, team development, and sustained customer impact. Achievements include double-digit Marketing & Commerce Cloud growth (FY23), triple-digit Commerce Cloud expansion, and 130% YoY Marketing Cloud growth (FY22), along with Peak Performers and MVP recognition.

    • Snr Enterprise Sales Lead | Retail | Middle East
      Feb 2018 - Feb 2021 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      Enterprise Sales Lead Retail Middle East Responsible for building the retail vertical in the Middle East ***% Growth, Exceeded fin plan each year , Significant market share growth across the entire portfolio Developed Retail Go To Market for the region Presidents Club Awards Y1 115%, Y2 243%, Y3 212%

  • Executive Member at Pavilion
    Oct 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 9 mos

  • Senior Consultant - IT Strategy & Transformation at Accenture
    Sep 2011 - Aug 2013 · 2 yrs

  • Sales Manager at Dell EMC
    Jan 2010 - Aug 2011 · 1 yr 8 mos

  • Sales Manager at TiS - Total Import Solutions
    Jul 2007 - Jan 2010 · 2 yrs 7 mos

    High growth startup