Who is Clark?

After graduating from The George Washington University at the end of 2006, I moved to the Bahrain to start my career, excited for the opportunity to gain relevant insights and experience in the GCC.

I started working for KPMG in 2008, as I felt working in the Big 4 consulting would help me get a lot of experience quickly on how business worked in the Middle East. 4 years later, and a number of projects and some management experience under my belt, I felt it was time for a new, bigger challenge.

I moved to PwC in 2012, and started working right away on high-profile projects the practice had won. Over the next 4 years, I worked on strategy, operational efficiencies, program management offices, not to mention countless proposals and pitches. I honed my skill for understanding our client's challenges, and designing solutions that delivered results.

In 2016, I decided that I wanted to branch out from the corporate approach of consulting and provided my services as a consulting / delivery SME. I have worked closely with Aspiro Management Consultants, a boutique firm based in the UAE that leverages the experience of practitioners to provide that depth of understanding that many GCC consulting practices lack. I have been working closely with their team for the past 5 years to deliver some keystone projects for banking in the United Arab Emirates

Qualifications

BBA in Finance, The George Washington University, USA
CFA Level I
Certified PRINCE2 Practitioner Project Manage

Profile

I am a Dubai-based consultant with over 13 years of financial services, transformation and delivery experience in the Middle East.

I have worked with central, commercial and retail banks across the region on strategy development, organizational governance development, operational efficiencies, transformation initiatives, and program management offices. I have worked on major rebranding exercises, and project managed high-level digital transformation. Through it all, I have helped my clients deliver projects on time, on budget and on scope.

Recently, I helped deliver the first two strategic sourcing projects in the UAE in accordance with the CBUAE’s draft regulations, and was one of two senior members of a transformation PMO for a global housing management company.

Experience

Aspiro Management Consultants - UAE

Running PMO governance and issue management processes to support the delivery of a large change program at a leading UAE bank, which includes the migration of business processes and selected technology services to a leading India-based BPO
Ensuring the Bank and the Server Provide both adhere to all Central Bank requirements

PwC - Bahrain / UAE

Project managed a $12 million rebranding effort for a mid-sized retail bank in the GCC
Oversaw activities from 12 workstreams, controlled the budget, and managed reporting and stakeholder engagement in the project
Oversaw the business case development and approval for systems, mobile, and internet applications update. Lead Project Management Office role for tracking a $50M branch expansion at a mid-tier Saudi Retail Bank
Partnered with 10+ internal stakeholders as well as client Executive Committee to track progress and delivery. Supported PMO activities for digital banking initiatives related to online banking, smart ATMs, and mobile banking.
Supported IT PMO managing over 40 projects related to a UAE Bank’s IT function transformation, touching on the software stack of the bank
Worked with IT PMs to track project progress, highlight risks and issues and developed weekly and monthly management reports. Managed $300K project to develop banking processes for key Islamic products

KPMG - Bahrain

Analysed and recommended measures to minimize costs for 3 subsidiaries of a Qatari real estate development conglomerate, resulting in an average cost reduction of 10% for each subsidiary
Assisted in the development of the To-Be processes for the procurement and claims review departments of a large Qatari insurance organization by addressing risks and gaps in the As-Is process
Researched and analysed real estate development companies and mortgage finance in the GCC and assisted in the creation of a financial model for a new mortgage finance company
Researched and assisted in the development of a profit pool analysis for a local bank in Bahrain and helped the team identify potential areas of growth