Afif F. - Managing Director – Technology Advisory

Go to Website

Düsseldorf, Germany

Experience

Jan 2020 - Present

5 years 11 months

Managing Director – Technology Advisory

Hildens Consulting

Founder of a consulting practice focused on digital transformation and emerging tech.
Built a proprietary framework for evaluating technology startups based on multi-dimensional criteria.
Provide services to clients on matters related to integrating emerging technologies into their business.
Articulate digital transformation strategies and support in the execution activities.
Advise clients on investment opportunities in technology startups using a proprietary startup evaluation framework.
Advise various funds on investment opportunities in the Blockchain and Crypto space.
Speaker on topics related to blockchain, crypto, and digital transformation.

Oct 2019 - Jan 2023

3 years 4 months

Director – Digital Trust

PwC

Managed multiple engagements and competing priorities in a team environment.
Managed financial aspects of engagements by organizing staffing, tracking budget, and communicating progress/issues to project stakeholders.
Lead pursuits by taking part in client interactions, identifying solutions, and developing proposals and presentations.
Contributed to the development of Digital Transformation Governance Framework.
Contributed to the development of a COVID-19 crisis management capabilities self-assessment test.
Provide coaching to senior consultants.
Managed the delivery of automating the internal audit process for a large Telecom operator in Saudi Arabia.
Managed COVID-19 crisis management team for a large bank in Saudi Arabia.
Managed the delivery of business continuity management project for a large bank in Saudi Arabia.
Managed the delivery of a National Audit Framework development & implementation for the Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia.

Feb 2018 - Sep 2019

1 year 8 months

Senior Manager – System Solutions

Bupa Arabia

Led Finance-IT alignment to execute finance systems agenda.
Led the Oracle ERP implementation initiative from solution evaluation to selection.
Led the Finance Transformation to automate processes, streamline data & reporting.
Participated as a key stakeholder in the digital transformation company-wide initiative; this included Robotics Process Automation (RPA).
Led the implementation of Advent (portfolio management system).
Led the implementation of the Collection system.
Led the development of IT Capex & Opex framework, in addition to benchmarking IT budgets.
Led the automation of various finance processes through RPA and custom development.
Provided guidance on the development and implementation of IT Governance practices using CobiT 5 framework.

Oct 2015 - Jan 2018

2 years 4 months

Senior Manager – Advisory

EY

Managed multiple engagements and competing priorities in a team environment.
Managed financial aspects of engagements by organizing staffing, tracking budget and communicating progress/issues to project stakeholders.
Led pursuits by taking part in client interactions, identifying solutions and developing proposals and presentations.
Selected as an IT Audit reviewer to assess EY regional (EMEIA) IT Audit practices in compliance with EY global methodologies.
Provided counseling to senior consultants in Telecom, Financial Services, and other sectors.
Managed the delivery of Digital Transformation Roadmap development for a ministry in Saudi Arabia.
Managed the process automation solution design to implement anti-corruption controls for a ministry in Saudi Arabia.
Managed a portfolio of 30+ IT Audits.

Sep 2014 - Sep 2015

1 year 1 month

Associate Manager – Strategic Planning

BHC

Established the Knowledge Management repository structure including SBG entity database, financial database & SBG business sectors knowledge database.
Actively participated in strategic development solution implementations (e.g. SharePoint, Strategic Planning web application).
Defined governance procedures of knowledge tools including SharePoint, and conducted periodic compliance checks.
Participated as a facilitator in strategy workshops to train SBG entities to develop strategic plans.

Jan 2011 - Sep 2014

3 years 9 months

Assistant Manager – Advisory

EY

Worked in Advisory Services - IT Risk Management, IT Transformation and Information Systems Audit.
Appointed Application Risk & Controls service offering Champion in MENA based on EY Security Program Management (ISO 27001 & COBIT).
Actively participated in project pursuits by taking part in client interaction, identifying solutions and developing proposals and presentations.
Experienced in IT & IS policies & procedures, business continuity management, IT audits, infrastructure & network architecture security assessment, ERP technical knowledge, infrastructure technical knowledge, IT operations.
Conducted information system gap analysis.
Conducted diagnostic review of IT department and project management function.
Automated internal memorandums.
Automated fixed assets lifecycle.

Sep 2006 - Jan 2011

4 years 5 months

Lebanon

Web Consultant

Freelance

Developed social media strategies for NGOs and local businesses in Lebanon. This involved current state assessment, preparing policies and procedures, providing social media awareness and training.
Actively involved as speaker in topics related to Web 2.0 and social media for various NGOs (e.g. UNIDO, Rotary, INJAZ, etc.).
Designed and developed websites (W3C compliant), web applications, e-Services using PHP, MySQL, JQuery, CSS, and Open Source frameworks.
Developed and customized content management systems, CRMs, incident management systems, and other web applications.

Jun 2002 - Aug 2002

3 months

Winchester, United Kingdom

Work experience in the Storage Architecture Department

IBM Hursley Laboratories

Work experience in the Storage Architecture Department.

Summary

I am an experienced technology strategist with 15 years of combined experience in Technology Advisory, Digital Transformation, and Management Consulting.

I provide businesses with strategic guidance on technology and digital innovation focusing mainly on Government & Public Services and Financial Services sectors.

I am a co-founder of multiple start-ups in the Gulf region and am an advisor to various investment funds on opportunities in the Tech, Blockchain, and Crypto space.

I have led successful projects in digital transformation, with initiatives ranging from strategy articulation, process automation, complex systems implementation and customization, ERP BRD development and implementation, complex reporting and analytics, systems integration, and Robotics Process Automation (RPA).