Managing Director

LHH Middle East is partnering with a well-established logistics organization to appoint its next Managing Director for Dubai, UAE.

The Managing Director will lead and oversee the country business in full alignment with the broader corporate strategy. The role is accountable for driving market growth with an entrepreneurial mindset, delivering on short- and long-term financial and operational objectives, building a high-performance culture, and ensuring strict compliance with all local and international regulations.

Key Responsibilities

Overall Strategy

• Establish the local vision, strategy, and business plan aligned with global direction and approve local policies and procedures that support the overall corporate agenda.
• Embed the organization’s mission, vision, and values into day-to-day leadership, fostering a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

Compliance Management

• Oversee the internal control framework and ensure effective compliance structures across all country operations.
• Maintain the highest standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory adherence.

Quality Management and Performance Improvement

• Deliver on the local business plan through strong operational execution, ensuring high-quality service delivery that meets diverse customer requirements.
• Assess and report on overall business performance, including contributions to global and regional key accounts, across areas such as customer and market development, P&L control, service quality, operational efficiency, resource management, and legal compliance.
• Define practical action plans to drive growth, close performance gaps, and enhance operational excellence.
• Ensure a safe working environment in full compliance with local regulations and internal guidelines, including incident reporting, root-cause analysis, and implementation of corrective measures.

Representation

• Serve as the senior representative of the organization in the country, acting as the primary liaison to customers, partners, the financial community, and key external stakeholders.

People Management

• Drive employee engagement through effective talent management and organizational development practices.
• Develop and mentor individuals by providing the right learning opportunities and strategic assignments within and beyond the organization.
• Coach and guide teams to achieve both organizational and personal goals, fostering a culture of motivation, capability building, and accountability.

Corporate Governance

• Uphold the highest standards of governance and ensure that employee conduct aligns with global and local regulatory requirements.

Requirements

• Extensive knowledge of the logistics sector, including freight forwarding, contract logistics, land transportation, and related domains.
• Demonstrated success in a senior operational or leadership position within an international logistics environment.
• Experience working in multinational or complex matrix organizations with exposure across multiple transportation sectors.
• Strong understanding of supply chain management, sales and business development, financial management, process optimization, freight forwarding, quality initiatives, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Proven ability to collaborate, lead cross-functional teams, adapt to change, and exercise initiative in dynamic environments.
• Strong organizational and change-management capabilities.
• Strength in both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
• Strong customer orientation with outstanding communication and negotiation skills.
• Fluency in English required; additional languages are an advantage.
• Proven track record in managing multicultural teams with diverse functions and responsibilities.

About LHH

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, LHH is a global Executive Search and talent solutions partner with more than 25 years of experience. Operating across 60 countries with over 12,000 professionals. We combine global scale with deep local expertise to help organizations build leadership capability and navigate the evolving talent landscape.