L Formation founder and managing director Tarek Saadi is a transformative leader who draws on his extensive experience of the corporate world and entrepreneurship to help professionals excel and businesses thrive and grow. Born in Jordan in the Untied Arab Emirates, Mr. Saadi is today based in Dubai, where his current focus is expanding his consulting portfolio with a particular focus on the telecom and oil and gas industries, as well as exploring innovative investment opportunities in artificial intelligence.
Renowned as a valued mentor, Tarek Saadi helps young professionals to navigate their careers and businesses to succeed and scale. His latest accomplishment involved closing a sizeable investment deal aligning with sustainable energy goals.
Recognizing the need to give back to his local community, Mr. Saadi serves as a volunteer to a local entrepreneurship program, providing founders with advice on strategic planning and helping them to grow and scale their enterprises. He cites making the transition from corporate employment to entrepreneurship as a pivotal moment in his life, reflecting on launching his own independent consulting business as an exciting opportunity to help people and businesses unlock their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable world. Tarek Saadi points to the shift towards digitization and sustainability in global industries as having the greatest influence on his career to date. He says the best career advice he has ever received is that success is all about adding value, not just for you but for others.
With a keen interest in sustainability and green energy, Tarek Saadi reflects on renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power as some of the most exciting modern innovations to date. In a recent interview with Principal Post, he was asked what change he would like to see most in the world. Mr. Saadi called for greater cross-industry collaboration to address climate change and adopt sustainable practices.
A key component of Mr. Saadi’s consultancy work involves team building. His ethos in this regard is partly informed by David Eagleman, the venerated neuroscientist whose book The Brain explores human perceptions of identity and reality, analyzing decision-making processes and exploring the importance of social connections. Tarek Saadi is also influenced by the work of author Thomas Eriksson, whose book Surrounded by Idiots puts forth the notion of four distinct personality types, suggesting that if business leaders learn to tailor their messaging to specific personality types they can communicate more effectively, thereby building cohesion.
Mr. Saadi highlights the need for entrepreneurs to take calculated risks and trust the learning process, pointing out that fear of failure can often equate to missed opportunities and that every mistake or challenge is an opportunity for growth. From an investor’s perspective, he also highlights the need to start early, underscoring the significant benefits of compounding interest.
In business, building strong and authentic relationships is instrumental to success. Tarek Saadi recognizes that in both business consultancy and investing, credibility and trust are all important. He therefore places an emphasis on maintaining clear communication and delivering value to stakeholders, cultivating a vast global network of contacts capable of driving referrals and opportunities.
Outside of his professional world, Mr. Saadi enjoys a diverse array of activities and interests, including swimming, skiing, reading, and home improvement. He has been fortunate enough to travel the world for business and pleasure, having visited Canada, the United States, and countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Tarek Saadi cites regular exercise as being instrumental to keeping him energized and focused, recognizing that it is about more than physical health; it is about mental clarity, too. Mr. Saadi points out that a short workout or walk can go a surprisingly long way towards providing a creative spark or solving a complex problem he has been wrestling with.