Facebook appoints a management consultant as its new Managing Director for MENA

Facebook has announced appointment of Ramez T. Shehadi as its new Managing Director for Middle East North Africa. The position was vacant since August when Jonathan Labin, company’s previous MD for MENA stepped down. The new MD will lead Facebook’s commercial growth and impact, and expand its portfolio of apps, services and business across the region.

He comes from a management consultancy background and was previously Managing Director of Booz Allen Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Booz Allen for Middle East & North Africa.

Ari Kesisoglu, Vice President of Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Facebook, commenting on the occasion, said, “The ever-evolving MENA region continues to be a key market for Facebook, with over 181 million people using the platform every month. Driven by a mobile-first strategy, Facebook’s family of apps and services help people to explore new ways of digital storytelling and support brands to reach the right audiences.”

Ramez’s depth of global experience in industry and technology strategy will help us further drive impact amongst individuals, communities and institutions in the region; while maintaining a focus on our mission to bring people together and build community. We remain only 1% finished in our journey and look forward to seeing Ramez lead our MENA team into the next chapter of Facebook’s story in the region and beyond,” said

Ramez, as the statement, points out, has extensive experience in establishing, scaling and running regional and global businesses and cross-industry portfolios for global consulting firms. Before his previous role, he also served as Lead Partner of the MENA Digital Business and Technology practice of Booz & Company and Global co-lead of Booz Digital.

Commenting on his appointment, Ramez said, “Digital transformation is well underway across the region, driven by demand for secure, fast and personalized online experiences throughout social communities and public and private sectors. I am excited to join the Facebook team at such a time and look forward to helping shape and drive the strategy in MENA, ensuring that the market remains prioritized and a source of information globally.”

Per his LinkedIn, Ramez is an engineer by education with a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University and Masters in Industrial Engineering from University of Toronto.