Kamal Toumeh

Head of HR | HR Director | Aligning People Strategy with Business Growth | GCC & International | Org Design · Performance Architecture — I don't think of HR as a support function. I think of it as the operating system for how a business performs — the structures, incentives, and decisions that either accelerate execution or quietly slow it down. Over 20+ years across aviation, luxury retail, FMCG retail, and engineering — in the GCC and internationally — I've built and led People functions responsible for workforce portfolios exceeding $183M and headcounts up to 3,000. My work sits at the intersection of organizational design, performance architecture, and talent strategy. What I focus on: Organizational Design & Restructuring — redesigning structures, spans of control, and reporting lines to match where the business is going. I've led restructures affecting 90+ roles across a $300M business portfolio. Performance & Reward Architecture — building pay-for-performance frameworks that create real differentiation. At UAS, I redesigned the enterprise performance model and optimized incentive allocation by 50%. Talent Strategy & Succession Planning — building internal leadership pipelines instead of defaulting to external hiring. I promoted 4 leaders into director-level roles, removing $700K in annual external hiring dependency. Employee Relations & Governance — running HR governance and employee relations across multi-country operations, balancing compliance discipline with commercial pragmatism. Workforce Planning & Cost Strategy — using manpower planning and role prioritization to deliver sustainable savings ($300K+ annually at UAS) without compromising capability. I hold a CIPD Level 5 in People Management, a Certified HR Analytics credential (AIHR), and I'm a Co-Active Certified Coach — a certification that shapes how I lead as much as any HR framework does. Transformation is behavioral before it's structural: the org chart changes fast, the way people actually operate changes slower, and that gap is where most restructuring efforts fail. I currently lead People & Culture at UAS International Trip Support, partnering with executive leadership on workforce strategy across a global aviation operation spanning the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. Outside my core role, I founded and host HR من الآخر, an Arabic-language podcast supporting HR professionals — with particular focus on Arab talent navigating international business environments.