Ziad Anis
Country Manager
Ziad Anis has been leading the company as Country General Manager since 2019, taking up the role in Saudi Arabia after handling various roles within Henkel across the GCC and Middle East region. Keeping the business moving towards growth in a challenging Construction market environment is no mean achievement, so we sat down with him for an interview to get answers to several questions about his education, career, and the future goals of the company.
Give us a brief detail about your educational and professional background.
I was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I went to India to study Engineering, graduating from PDA College of Engineering in Gulbarga, Karnataka with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I joined Henkel soon after, starting in the Maintenance and Manufacturing Adhesives division handling sales in the Central Region in Saudi Arabia. I eventually became responsible for the sales and distribution network across the country for that division, before moving to Dubai to take up that responsibility for the GCC Region, expanding into 11 neighboring countries. I also worked across India, Middle East and Africa on maintenance solutions for Oil & Gas before moving back to Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago to lead the Henkel Construction Adhesives business.
What were the challenges that you faced during the initial stage of your career?
At the time I started at Henkel, we were a small team tasked with establishing the foundation of the business, generating demand from the end-users and ensuring supply from our distributors. So sometimes during the day, we would need to take up different roles like solve a customer’s technical complaint or sort out a logistics related issue. This helped me to understand the different facets of the business much faster. Of course, as the business developed, we were able to get more people on board and take the growth to the next level. There have been many learning opportunities along the away, and I have been quite fortunate to work with capable teams and benefit from the advice of mentors over the years, which has influenced my leadership style tremendously.
What are the strategies that you follow for the development and growth of the company?
Our purpose is "Creating sustainable value” not only for our customers and consumers, but also our people and the wider society and communities we operate in. Our corporate culture and our purpose, vision, mission, and values unite our diverse workforce and provide a clear framework and guidance. Henkel is committed to leadership in Sustainability, this helps us to maintain a clear guidance in everything we do as leaders and employees of a company to protect our planet.
We also foster the principle “We Act as Entrepreneurs” within our organization. This entrepreneurial approach toward all elements of our daily work, aiming not just to comply with existing standards but also to shape new ones, helping us lead the way not only here in Saudi Arabia but across different markets across the globe. With the entrepreneurial spirit embedded in the DNA of the
At the time I started at Henkel, we were a small team tasked with establishing the foundation of the business, generating demand from the end-users and ensuring supply from our distributors. So sometimes during the day, we would need to take up different roles like solve a customer’s technical complaint or sort out a logistics related issue. This helped me to understand the different facets of the business much faster. Of course, as the business developed, we were able to get more people on board and take the growth to the next level. There have been many learning opportunities along the away, and I have been quite fortunate to work with capable teams and benefit from the advice of mentors over the years, which has influenced my leadership style tremendously.
Of course, as the business developed, we were able to get more people on board and take the growth to the next level
What are the strategies that you follow for the development and growth of the company?
Our purpose is "Creating sustainable value” not only for our customers and consumers, but also our people and the wider society and communities we operate in. Our corporate culture and our purpose, vision, mission, and values unite our diverse workforce and provide a clear framework and guidance. Henkel is committed to leadership in Sustainability, this helps us to maintain a clear guidance in everything we do as leaders and employees of a company to protect our planet.
We also foster the principle “We Act as Entrepreneurs” within our organization. This entrepreneurial approach toward all elements of our daily work, aiming not just to comply with existing standards but also to shape new ones, helping us lead the way not only here in Saudi Arabia but across different markets across the globe. With the entrepreneurial spirit embedded in the DNA of the
company from its early years, the agility to shift based on market requirements and trends is comparatively easy for a company the size of Henkel, and this was recently put into action during the pandemic. We were able to navigate the challenges very well as a team and keep our business on track.
What do you think are the most important things needed for the success of the company?
I think the most important thing is clarity of vision. This has to be at every level in the organization, and frequently communicated by the leadership. Especially in situations where drastic change is needed, when the people are clear on the goal it brings everyone together and ready for the challenges and changes that may be required. Also, very important to enabling success in the organization are fostering entrepreneurship, improved collaboration, innovation-driven ideas, and active involvement of everyone to shape the company culture. The “Leadership Commitments” at Henkel support us in all these aspects.
What is the Future roadmap of the company?
Henkel has a proud tradition as a family business with the purpose to create sustainable value. Guided by our values, we pursue our long-term vision for our company. Together with our solid financial basis, this forms the foundation on which we build our successful future. Since the founding of Henkel in 1876, the Henkel family has shown its continued commitment to the company, enabling us to operate with a long-term perspective.
While the after-effects of the pandemic related slump still linger, I believe that the Saudi construction market has started making big strides towards recovery, encouraged recently by the announcement of many projects related to the Kingdom’s transformational VISION 2030. Henkel Polybit Industries Ltd. Saudi Arabia will continue to engage with our customers to remain their preferred construction chemicals supplier for their projects. This gives us great momentum as we further expand beyond our established markets in the GCC Region, with India being one of the countries where we have big plans for in the near future!
What do you think are the most important things needed for the success of the company?
I think the most important thing is clarity of vision. This has to be at every level in the organization, and frequently communicated by the leadership. Especially in situations where drastic change is needed, when the people are clear on the goal it brings everyone together and ready for the challenges and changes that may be required. Also, very important to enabling success in the organization are fostering entrepreneurship, improved collaboration, innovation-driven ideas, and active involvement of everyone to shape the company culture. The “Leadership Commitments” at Henkel support us in all these aspects.
What is the Future roadmap of the company?
Henkel has a proud tradition as a family business with the purpose to create sustainable value. Guided by our values, we pursue our long-term vision for our company. Together with our solid financial basis, this forms the foundation on which we build our successful future. Since the founding of Henkel in 1876, the Henkel family has shown its continued commitment to the company, enabling us to operate with a long-term perspective.
While the after-effects of the pandemic related slump still linger, I believe that the Saudi construction market has started making big strides towards recovery, encouraged recently by the announcement of many projects related to the Kingdom’s transformational VISION 2030. Henkel Polybit Industries Ltd. Saudi Arabia will continue to engage with our customers to remain their preferred construction chemicals supplier for their projects. This gives us great momentum as we further expand beyond our established markets in the GCC Region, with India being one of the countries where we have big plans for in the near future!