Dubai, United Arab Emirates
In 2021 I was selected in the top 2.5% of applicants to join the prestigious Bord Bia Fellowship, earning a full scholarship to complete an MSc in International Marketing Practice from University College Dublin. This unique opportunity allowed me to work directly with a portfolio of Irish food and beverage clients, taking their products to market in the GCC region, and deepening my expertise in international trade, market expansion, and client management. I bring over 8 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, spanning markets in MENA, Asia, USA, and Ireland. I have a proven track record of delivering successful business development strategies, driving growth, and managing key accounts in both domestic retail and travel retail channels. My expertise includes business planning, sales forecasting, key account management, and marketing execution, backed by a strong foundation in Microsoft programs and business analysis.
-From January 2026, regional remit expanded to include broader Asian markets alongside MENA and India. -Sales Strategy & Account Growth: Lead growth and management of major travel retail and domestic accounts across MENA, including Dubai Duty Free, Lagardere Middle East, Qatar Duty Free, Bahrain Duty Free, and Mumbai Duty Free alongside domestic retail customers. Drive sales through strategic engagement and long-term relationship building. -Business Development: Build and execute yearly sales plans for each customer, incorporating sales objectives (sell-in/sell-out), key battle grounds, new product launches, and activation programs. Present tailored plans to key customers. -Forecasting & Inventory Management: Monitor customer orders, depletions, and stock levels to ensure accurate forecasting and achievement of sales targets. Work closely with supply chain teams to maintain seamless operations. -Retail Strategy & Execution: Secure premium activation spaces, conduct regular market visits, and gather insights from retail staff to optimise Butlers Chocolates' presence in stores. -Team Leadership: Oversee and manage a team of dedicated Brand Ambassadors to drive in-store execution, customer engagement, and product visibility. -Budget & Financial Management: Manage A&P budgets, ensuring strategic spend allocation, and follow up on accounts receivable/payable. -Securing listings of new products with retailers, applying skills in relationship building and negotiation.
-Based in the UAE market May 2021 to Oct. 2022 with a portfolio of clients in the dairy, prepared consumer foods, seafood sectors. -Managed national sales accounts of Bahrain and Jordan for a leading Irish dairy brand. Built relationships with distribution partners, managed A&P spend and surpassed annual sales budget figures for both markets. -Sourced new distribution partners, analysed potential new market entry routes and coordinated the successful launch of new product lines. -Proactively prospected for new business opportunities for clients by optimising distribution and securing new listings. -Represented clients at trade shows and key meetings with distributors and retail buyers, gathered consumer insights and generated new business leads. -Worked alongside clients, distributors and retailers on developing route-to-market strategies while gaining an understanding for opportunities within the Middle East Region for premium, high-quality Irish food brands. -Gained a deeper understanding of the Middle East grocery market, the various complexities involved within each Middle East country and the challenges faced by companies targeting the region. -While working independently for my clients in an overseas market, I gained invaluable experience in prioritisation, workload management, strategic decision making and project ownership, and further developed my ability to adapt to new cultural environments.
-Surpassing company sales targets for Key grocery accounts through implementation of strategic sales plans -Responsible for submitting in store promotional plans -Building and maintaining strong, long lasting customer relationships -Capture and analyse data to build forecasts, budgets and marketing plans -Carrying out sales reports, weekly sales forecasts and promo sales analysis -Demand forecasting to ensure an adequate supply of products to meet customer demand -Securing listings of new products
- Assisted in driving and exceeding sales volume set for the North East market by strategically timing in store sales promotions and securing the listing of new product SQU's. - Responsible for the management of sales accounts that contributed total volume of 250,000 lbs in 2018. - Conducted weekly and monthly sales performance reports. - Analysed market behavior and competitive trends by conducting store visits and communicating with consumers and dairy buyers. - Assisted my Regional Sales Manager to ensure that all promotion activity was executed effectively at store level. - Managed account relationships with independent retailers, distributors and broker categories: service of existing accounts, established new accounts by calling on existing and potential retailers/customers. - Prepared and delivered sales proposals/presentations to retailers, distributors and brokers.