IBEM is a global strategy execution consultancy with over 20 years of experience partnering with ambitious changemakers to shape the future.

Working as one team with clients, we deliver tailored expertise and leverage our network of innovators to achieve faster, more impactful, and lasting results.

Why We Exist

Even the best strategies fail without disciplined execution.

We’re a different kind of strategy firm – we don’t just define strategy – we make it executable.

We help top management of major multinational corporations, leading national companies and family offices develop and deliver winning strategies that achieve major transformations that are aligned with their long-term vision.

Others navigate. We act.

What We Believe

Amid rapid disruption, shifts in markets, burgeoning technological change and geopolitical realities, the ability of organisations to design and deliver strategies that foster innovation, human creativity, and enable growth will be the true differentiator.

IBEM sits at the intersection of strategy, leadership, technology and talent.

The expertise of our people drives the excellence of IBEM and ultimately the success of our clients.

Our Team

Global Expertise + Regional Pedigree + Insider Experience

We are a team of world-class leaders with deep, real-world experience who truly partner with CEOs, boards, and investors to translate strategy into high-impact results. IBEM bridge the gap between vision and reality by fusing global intelligence with heavy-weight executive experience across strategy, leadership, technology, and talent.

H.E. LAILA RAHHAL AL ATFANI

Executive Chair

GEOFF
HUDSON-SEALE

Chief Executive Officer

DOUGLAS
LINES

Chief Operating Officer

DAVID
FROST

Chief Strategy Officer

MURIELLE
YATES

Chief People
Development Officer

H.E. Laila Rahhal is a global business leader and advocate for youth and women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and peace.

She is President and Founder of the Women’s Business Circle, the “I Am Africa” platform, and Business Gate, as well as Vice Chair of the Global Chamber of Business Leaders.

Her work bridges humanitarian initiatives, economic development, and inspirational leadership across Europe, Africa, and Asia, making her a recognised voice for transformative impact and global change.

Geoff Hudson-Searle is an international C-suite executive, board director, and business advisor with over 30 years of experience leading global growth, corporate governance, and digital transformation.

Specialised in large-scale M&A and operational scaling for private and listed companies, he has delivered strategic programmes for the British Government, BT, Barclays, Citibank, and Kaspersky Laboratory.

A Fellow of the Institute of Directors and co-founder of the Neustar International Security Council, Geoff serves on the Global Cyber Academy advisory council and as Lead Judge for the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards. He is a TEDx speaker, a Top 250 Harvard Business School thought leader, and the author of seven books, including The Trust Paradigm.

Douglas Lines is a senior business leader and executive with 25+ years of global experience across the USA, UK, and South Africa.

A Chartered Accountant (ICAEW, SAICA) and co-author on innovation, he has led major businesses, launched new products, and executed complex M&A for clients including Shell, Total, Anglo American, and Coronation Asset Managers.

With experience spanning mining, oil & gas, financial services, education, and infrastructure, Douglas drives growth and value innovation, combining strategic insight with operational excellence to build collaborative cultures that deliver measurable results across organisations and geographies.

David Frost is a global executive and transformation leader with 20+ years’ experience driving growth and capability across multinational and high-growth organisations including Boeing, Thomson Reuters, Majid Al Futtaim, CEB, SHL, Curve and Tripledot.

A proven architect of enterprise transformation, he aligns strategy, talent, and culture to deliver high performance at scale.

His expertise in leadership, executive coaching, and organisational design enables rapid capability building, high-performance culture, and measurable enterprise value, having led transformations affecting tens of thousands of employees and millions of customers worldwide.

Murielle Yates is a distinguished, award-winning Leadership Catalyst and Certified Executive Coach with over 30 years of experience as a senior leader for global corporations across the US, Europe, APAC, and the MEA regions.

She specialises in architecting customised transformation journeys that equip C-suite executives and high-potential leaders with the agility, resilience, and psychological safety required to navigate complex transitions.

Renowned for her innovative approach, Murielle integrates a sophisticated suite of psychometric and behavioural frameworks—including Hogan, Insights Discovery, HBDI, Lencioni, and Emotional Intelligence—to unlock peak leadership potential.

STEVEN PAUL

Chief Transformation Officer

HISHAM ALVI

Transformation Principal

MARK HERBERT

Transformation Principal

RHONE E. LEE

Transformation Principal

CHRIS STOBART

Venture Partner

Steven Paul is a Chartered Director and executive transformation leader with 25 years of global experience partnering with CEOs, boards, and executive teams across 30+ countries to deliver enterprise transformation, strategy execution, operating model change, and AI governance.

As Chief Transformation Officer at IBEM Group, he combines large-scale transformation expertise with board-level oversight to ensure AI and business transformation programmes are practical, governed, and value-driven.

Hisham Alvi is a senior technology advisor and digital transformation leader with 14+ years of experience delivering complex, high-value programs across Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC.

An Imperial College MBA candidate and Google Cloud-certified professional, he has led multi-million-dollar programs and advised C-suite and board-level stakeholders at clients including Saudi Telecom, National Housing Company, and STC subsidiary Center3, spanning enterprise architecture, AI strategy, digital transformation, and technology governance.

With deep expertise across government, telecom, banking, and real estate, Hisham combines strategic vision with hands-on delivery leadership, translating emerging technology into measurable business outcomes and building the governance frameworks that sustain them.

Mark F. Herbert has over 30 years of combined corporate management and consulting experience in industries ranging from high technology and financial services to healthcare and ecotourism.

Mark is a Strategic Partner of IBEM and Principal for New Paradigms LLC a management consultancy specialising in helping organisations effectively and successfully embrace change and engage workforces. He possesses a BS in Management from Arizona State University and attended graduate school at the University of Oregon’s Institute for Industrial Relations.

He is a sought-after speaker and presenter at US conferences focussed on leadership, culture change, and organisational effectiveness.

Rhone E. Lee brings over 35 years of experience in Human Resources as a HR leader across start-up and enterprise organisations in the technology and retail sectors.

Formerly Vice President, Human Resources – Americas at Datalogic, he is now a Strategic Partner at IBEM and Principal of New Paradigms LLC, specialising in organisational change and workforce engagement.

A pioneer in HR innovation, Rhone has led transformative initiatives across performance, talent management, succession planning, compensation design, organisational restructuring.

Among his notable achievements are the implementation of a socio-economic work model and the creation of business-academia-communities benefiting wider communities.

Chris Stobart is a finance and capital advisory professional, Joint Venture Partner of IBEM, and Co-founder/Principal of CSBD-UK.

Following a background in corporate finance with American Express and service as a Royal Air Force officer (2017–2022), he specialises in structured finance, debt, working capital, and capital raising.

Chris works closely with institutional partners, family offices, private equity, and high-net-worth individuals to secure strategic funding for growth and expansion across property, infrastructure, technology, and AI sectors.

SCOTT HUNTER

Strategic Partner & Principal

EBTISSAM SABRI

Strategic Partner

Scott Hunter is a trusted professional, spending much of his career exploring how trust is built, lost and strengthened in real working environments. His early leadership experience was in the UK Prison Service, including work connected to hostage negotiation, shaping how he see trust today. It taught his that trust cannot be assumed, especially in untrusting environments. It has to be built through behaviour, consistency, communication and the way people respond when things matter.

Scott is a Joint Venture Partner of IBEM and Principal for The Trust Leader

Since then, he has spent more than 14 years working internationally as a leadership facilitator, coach and consultant, including extensive work with leaders and organisations across the Middle East. Today, his work helps growing businesses strengthen trust as they scale, both inside the organisation and with the clients they serve. Through coaching, training, facilitation and The Trust Leader platform, he supports leaders and teams make trust visible, measurable and practical, then turn it into clearer expectations, stronger follow-through, better conversations and repeatable habits that fit into everyday work.

Ebtissam Sabri is a Strategic Partner of IBEM and the Principal and founder of Nordic Arabia, a consultancy that helps international companies expand into the Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia. She specialises in market entry, cross-border relationship management, and connecting global clients with government entities, family businesses, and private sector leaders to structure high-impact collaborations.

Her professional background bridges both the public and private sectors. Ebtissam began her career in the Swedish government, gaining deep expertise in administration, policy, and international relations, before joining Deloitte to provide business strategy and advisory services to a diverse portfolio of international clients. She holds a degree in Business Administration, combining academic insight with years of hands-on, cross-border execution.

Fluent in Arabic, English, and Swedish, Ebtissam effectively bridges Nordic and Middle Eastern business cultures to help clients navigate complex markets and secure trusted partnerships. Known for her pragmatic, high-impact approach, she has successfully facilitated numerous investments, corporate expansions, and strategic collaborations across the GCC.

We Work With

IBEM partners with boards, investors, and enterprise leaders to ensure complex strategies actually execute.