Business Unit Director, Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)

About the Role

The Business Unit Director for the Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA) is responsible for driving sustainable growth, market expansion, and commercial excellence within the company's MedTech Surgery’s indirect and emerging markets throughout the region. Reporting directly to the General Manager, MEA, this role entails leading the commercial strategy and execution across a diverse portfolio of distributor-led markets, ensuring achievement of sales, profitability, market share, and strategic business objectives. This position collaborates closely with various teams including Marketing, Professional Education, Strategic Capabilities, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Finance, and regional leadership to accelerate access to innovation and reinforce the company's MedTech’s position as the partner of choice in the region.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Leadership & Business Performance

• Deliver sales, market share, profitability, and cash flow objectives across the Rest of MEA region.
• Develop and execute annual and long-term strategic business plans aligned with regional and global priorities.
• Drive accelerated growth through focused portfolio deployment, market development initiatives, and expansion into high-potential segments.
• Lead forecasting, demand planning, and business performance reviews to ensure consistent execution and accountability.

Distributor & Channel Management

• Build and execute a best-in-class distributor management strategy across the region.
• Establish robust governance frameworks, performance scorecards, and business review processes with distributor partners.
• Drive capability building within distributor organizations to enhance commercial execution, market access, and customer engagement.
• Identify opportunities for channel optimization, market restructuring, and future direct-market expansion when strategically appropriate.

Strategic Market Development

• Identify and prioritize growth opportunities across key Middle East and African markets.
• Devise market entry, expansion, and competitive defense strategies to accelerate penetration of strategic Surgery platforms.
• Collaborate with governments, healthcare systems, hospital groups, procurement organizations, and key opinion leaders to strengthen market presence and access.
• Lead commercial assessments and recommendations for new business models, partnerships, and strategic investments.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing regional commercial organization.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Build organizational capabilities that support sustainable growth and succession planning.
• Act as a role model for the company's Credo values and leadership behaviors.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Marketing, Professional Education, Strategic Capabilities, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Finance, and Customer Service teams to deliver integrated business plans.
• Ensure successful launches of new products and innovations across the region.
• Drive alignment between regional priorities and local market execution.
• Lead resolution of complex business challenges through effective cross-functional collaboration.

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Establish and maintain executive-level relationships with key customers, healthcare leaders, government stakeholders, and strategic partners.
• Represent the company's MedTech Surgery at industry forums, conferences, and strategic customer engagements.
• Act as the senior commercial sponsor for priority accounts and regional partnerships.

Compliance & Governance

• Ensure full compliance with the company's policies, healthcare compliance requirements, and applicable local regulations.
• Maintain the highest standards of business integrity, ethics, and risk management.
• Ensure robust distributor compliance and governance processes are implemented consistently across the region.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Life Sciences, Healthcare, or related field.
• Significant commercial leadership experience within the medical device, healthcare, pharmaceutical, or related industry.
• Demonstrated success leading complex multi-country businesses across emerging markets.
• Strong distributor management and channel leadership experience.
• Proven track record of delivering sustainable growth and market expansion.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong financial, strategic planning, and business acumen.

Preferred

• MBA or advanced business degree.
• Experience across both Middle East and African healthcare markets.
• Experience working within a highly matrixed multinational organization.
• Experience supporting market transformation, direct market establishment, or business model evolution initiatives.

Key Success Measures

• Achievement of sales, market share, profitability, and cash flow targets.
• Distributor performance and capability development.
• Successful execution of strategic growth initiatives.
• Expansion of access to innovation across priority markets.
• Employee engagement, talent development, and succession readiness.
• Customer satisfaction and strategic partnership growth.
• Compliance, governance, and operational excellence metrics.

Required Skills:

• Account Management
• Client Management
• Commercial Awareness
• Commercial Laws
• Commercial Management
• Corporate Management
• Critical Thinking
• Customer Effort Score
• Customer Retentions
• Developing Others
• Inclusive Leadership
• Leadership
• Market Savvy
• Negotiation
• Operational Excellence
• Pricing Strategies
• Professional Ethics
• Profitability Analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement

Preferred Skills:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to thrive in a highly dynamic environment.