United Arab Emirates
Simon Robertson is an experienced Senior International FMCG Business leader having spent 22 years with Rothmans International & British American Tobacco in the International scene. He is also a proven entrepreneur with his business start up in the wine industry, partners included Les Grands Chais de France, Singlz International Limited and One Glass Wine Limited of France. Simon's initial tobacco Industry life spanned 22 years with management positions in a variety of functions including brand and trade marketing in more than 15 countries including the UK, France, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Sweden & Spain. The last 2 corporate positions in Syria & Sweden had a seat on the Management Boards of BAT Operating Companies. After leaving BAT in 2008, the FMCG skills acquired in the tobacco industry were put to good use in the wine industry in Simon's start up business, Inova. Inova (Spain) launched Singlz, www.singlzconcept.com and One Glass Wine www.oneglasswine.com in 2012 and has penetrated 20 markets worldwide. Inova had quality distribution partners across the world to sharing in the success & growth of the single serve wine category, publicity included a feature on CNBC's Power Lunch http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000235800, USA's "Shark Tank" and the Dragon's Den franchise across Europe. Following the sale of the wine business in 2017, Simon joined Al Fakher shisha tobacco company & now holds the position of Regional Director for the Africa/Middle East region.
Responsible to the No 1 region by volume and value, ME/Africa is the engine room of the shisha molasses business for cultural reasons with four of the top 5 markets globally by volume. Within this complex region were markets such as KSA (export), Egypt (Local manufacture), Iran (Source of manufacture change) & developing markets such as sub-Saharan Africa. The full range of management competency required including direct sales, supply chain, regulation (SFDA) & tax authorities.
Capital Finance International – CFI.co – is a London-based print journal that provides insights on global trends as economies converge. CFI.co detects and analyses the topics that shape the global debate and affect the world’s markets. The journal tracks the economic, political, and business dynamics that drive markets and helps identify the regions, sectors, and companies poised for success. In addition to work from its in-house team of writers, CFI.co regularly features contributions from organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organisation (WTO). CFI.co combines the views of leading multilateral and transnational entities with the work of renowned thought leaders and development experts. The journal’s controlled circulation includes direct distribution to global business leaders and senior executives within some of the world’s largest corporations with a combined annual turnover and assets under management in excess of $33 trillion.
ISI is the No1 single serve packaging company in the world with exclusive rights to the patents and technology that is QuartVin Glass, www.quartvinglass.com and Singlz, www.singlzconcept.com. Both concepts are filled at the filling centre in Bordeaux in the state of the art filling centre owned and managed by Les Grands Chais de France, www.gcfplanet.com. According to Forbes, single serve is the fastest growing category in wine. QuartVin and Singlz are the No 1 & 2 formats in the single serve category. Get in touch to be part of the next big thing in the drinks category.