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Dr Mohamad Al-Hakim
Chief Operating Officer

  • Mohamad is our Lead Consultant for North America, bringing over a decade of experience across corporate, consulting, and academia. He specialises in strategic thinking courtesy of his philosophy background, ethics, diversity, leadership, and organizational practices.

  • As a seasoned consultant, Mohamad has been instrumental in guiding a diverse range of enterprises, from multi-industry for-profit businesses to international development not-for-profits and has been sought after for his expertise in ethics, management, and organizational best practices have been invaluable.

    He has done collaborative work with world-renowned institutions and notable organisations including the International Hate Studies Network (Canada), Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Football Australia, and Education 4 Peace (Geneva).

    As an academic, Mohamad has made significant contributions through teaching positions in Canada and the United States and has held prestigious fellowships at the York Centre for Practical Ethics (Toronto, Canada) and the Nathanson Centre for Transnational Law and Human Rights (Osgoode Hall Law School).

  • Mohamad holds a Ph.D. from York University (Toronto, Canada), with a focus on ethics, strategic and critical thinking, diversity, leadership, organizational management, and conflict resolution. He also holds a Master of Arts (McMaster University) and an Honours Degree in Psychology and Philosophy.

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Dr Chris Booth
Senior Consultant

  • Chris is a Senior Consultant and brings 30 years of experience from corporate and academia and specialises in strategy formation, strategic change as well as leadership team development.

  • As a practicing consultant, Chris has assisted businesses from ASX-listed companies to non-profits which include Texas Utilities, Wilmott Forests, The Chapman Group Cairns QLD, Uniting Church Health services, and Cabrini Health.

    He has worked most prominently with the board and senior operations groups of such businesses in the areas of strategy formation, strategy implementation, leadership and team development, and change management initiatives. Furthermore, Chris has worked with many consulting partners where he has undertaken organisational ethics audits for large private organisations in the Australian Health sector.

    He has also provided an assessment on the timing and valuation of health business sales for maximum shareholder return. Moreover, Chris has served on the ethics committee of Alfred Health and has been treasurer of the Victorian branch of the Higher Education and a member of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australia.

    Academically, Chris was a course coordinator in the then Graduate School of Business at RMIT University delivering learning into the RMIT MBA program. He has also produced over 30 peer-reviewed academic journal publications on the practices and processes of strategy making and strategic change, leadership development, and ethical impacts on organisational performance.

  • Chris’ qualifications include a Grad. Dip. Tertiary Teaching, BBus, MBA, and Ph.D. in Education in Leadership Practice (RMIT University).

Dr Ashkan Khalili
Chief Editor

  • Ashkan is our Head of Research and brings with him over 15 years of experience from corporate, consulting and academia, specialising in the domains of organisational behaviour management, leadership, and innovation management.

  • As for research approaches, Ashkan has conducted qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in order to contribute to both developing knowledge in the fields of study and addressing managerial implications.

    As a practising consultant, Ashkan has assisted governments and dozens of enterprises from multiple industries, ranging from for-profit businesses to non-profit organisations. His area of speciality was to assist boards and senior operations groups in the areas of organisational behaviour management, leadership for change, organisational development, and human resource management.

    Ashkan’s research interests concern leadership and followership in organisation. He has participated in several granted research projects domestically and internationally and published several scholarly articles, in high-impact factor journals.

    Academically, Ashkan has taught Organisational Behaviour Management, Leadership for Change, Managing People, and Human Resource Management, in addition to supervising numerous candidates at multiple institutions.

    As a postdoctoral research fellow, Ashkan investigated a research project to discover suitable leadership traits for nurturing and enhancing employee creative-solving capability in knowledge-based SMEs.

  • Ashkan’s qualifications include a BACC, MBA, and Ph.D. in Organisational Behaviour Management in Leadership and Innovation from the School of Management, RMIT University, Australia.

Dr. S. George Marano
Founder/Principal Consultant

  • George is the Founder and Principal Consultant, bringing over 25 years of professional experience, specialising in strategic management, international business, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

  • George has developed a unique outlook towards strategy courtesy of his business experience and academic background with a depth and breadth of knowledge spanning corporate, government, not-for-profit, industry bodies, start-ups, academia, and in addition to his own entrepreneurial endeavours.

    Furthermore, this experience was gained from working in multiple industries both domestically and internationally, creating unique, well-developed skill sets that are both internal and external to the firm.

    He has since converted this unique body of knowledge to his consultancy practice.

    Additionally, George is a researcher and frequent contributor on business, politics, and economics for the South China Morning Post. As such, George has been called upon to contribute as a subject matter expert by journalists, legal firms on class actions, and public commentators.

    Academically, George has taught Strategic Management, International Human Resource Management, in addition to supervising research candidates at numerous institutions.

  • George’s qualifications include a Grad. Dip Asian Law (The University of Melbourne), MBA, MCom, and Ph.D. in Strategic Management & International Business (RMIT University).

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Professor Siva Muthaly
Senior Consultant

  • Siva is a Senior Consultant and brings with him over 30 years of experience in corporate, consulting and academia, specialising in all facets of domestic and international marketing.

  • As a practicing consultant, Siva has carried out several high-impact marketing consulting projects across many industries and organisations. Some collaborations have been the Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific (Customer Satisfaction), TFG Australia (Customer loyalty and Satisfaction) Department of Primary Industries (Australia) (Australian food industry in ASEAN), Pittsburg State University (International student recruitment in ASEAN), Pilkington Australia, CPA Australia (Environmental Sustainability), Australia-Malaysia Business Council – Victoria (Australia’s food Marketing potential), and Orica Chemicals (Environment Conservation).

    As an academic, Siva is a Professor of Marketing past and present and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Western Sydney University. Previous institutions have included La Trobe University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Newcastle, and Monash University.

    As of December 2021, Siva has produced over 130 published journal and conference papers, and his research encompasses the areas of social media marketing, digital marketing, international entry mode strategies, and their ramifications for developing economies of the ASEAN region. Cross-cultural research and international business; international student educational needs across various countries in the ASEAN, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the USA.

  • Siva’s qualifications are a Ph.D. from Monash University, an MBA from Pittsburg State University, and BSc. with High Honors from the University of Tennessee.

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Professor Zu'bi Al-Zu'bi FHEA
Senior Consultant

  • As a Senior Consultant, Zu’bi brings over 20 years of consulting, corporate and academic experience with specialisation in higher education leadership, advancement and alumni portfolios, strategic management, and operations and supply chain management.

  • Zu’bi has advised governments, universities, not-for-profits, non-government organisations, and multinational corporations in the Middle East on their development and growth plans.

    Zu’bi assisted the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization regarding their operations in Iraq and provided training for their staff working between Jordan and Iraq. He advised the governments of Qatar, UAE, Oman, and Kuwait in the areas of infrastructure development, marketing strategies, nation-building, and development of strategic directions. Additionally, Zu’bi has worked with KPMG, Ernst & Young, and PWC as a subject matter expert in corporate strategy, market research studies, branding, competitive analysis, supply chain management, logistics, and project management in the Middle East.

    Furthermore, Zu’bi worked as a director of development and special advisor to the Vice Chancellor of Sydney University in the Middle East advancement and development, where he started strategic partnerships with prestigious counterparts throughout the Middle East. Moreover, Zu’bi was the founding CEO of Al-Quds Academy for Scientific Research in Jordan and Palestine as well as the Chief Scientist for the Jordan Strategy Forum. Zu’bi is also a media contributor with appearances and contributions to such outlets as BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera, Sky News, CNN, New York Times, Fortune Arabic News, and Forbes Middle East.

    Zu’bi has had a distinguished academic career as a Professor of Operations Management, carrying out research in the UK, Australia, and the Middle East. He has held various senior leadership positions including Dean and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Zu’bi has published three books and over 40 peer-reviewed journal academic journal publications and conference papers in the topics of operations management, innovation, supply chain, economic development, commercial law, and political economy.

  • Zu’bi holds a Ph.D. from Durham University and a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.