sameh sawires

Strategic, achievement-focused Sales and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience driving growth and profitability for leading brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Toyota, Chevrolet, and Mitsubishi. Proven success in leading high-impact sales initiatives, managing multi-million-dollar budgets, and executing product launches across diverse markets. Skilled in cultivating and maintaining strong client relationships, maximizing product potential, and optimizing sales processes to enhance operational efficiency and drive revenue growth. Expertise in change management, with a strong emphasis on cost-saving strategies and continuous bottom-line improvement.

Professional Experience

AlMulla Automotive Group                                                                                                                               Kuwait, Kuwait City

GM Sales and Marketing                                                                                                                                          2022 – Present

Mitsubishi Motors and Acura Brands 

• Oversaw operations for the Mitsubishi and Acura brands in Kuwait, achieving an average monthly sales volume of 850 units across Retail, Corporate, SME, and Used Cars divisions. Led a team of seven direct reports and 70+ associates, driving performance across all segments.
• Achieved notable recognition as a team, winning the "Sales and Marketing Excellence Award" and "Best Distributor of the Year" for the Middle East and Africa for Mitsubishi two years in a row.
• Spearheaded initiatives to optimize and expand the brand lineup, collaborating closely with board members to set clear strategies, make impactful decisions, and execute sales, marketing, and customer engagement programs tailored to the local market.
• Developed market-focused marketing strategies, identifying and capitalizing on opportunities based on consumer insights and market trends. Championed system and process improvements aligned with the company's brand repositioning strategy by analyzing data to keep brand positioning finely tuned.
• Led recruitment, training, scheduling, and coaching of sales and marketing teams to achieve ambitious objectives, fostering a motivated and skilled team.
• Maintained strong relationships with key corporate clients, proactively identifying and responding to market opportunities to grow our client base and revenue streams.
• Drove an 85% year-to-date increase in Mitsubishi retail sales through targeted marketing communications and impactful product activations, achieving significant gains across all customer engagement metrics, including a 96% increase in showroom walk-ins, 146% boost in Google My Business activity, 155% rise in call inquiries, and a remarkable 300% increase in digital leads.
• Revamped the customer journey for both brands, resulting in a 7.5-point increase in NPS compared to the previous year. Improved overall profitability for Fleet and SME businesses by 10% and enhanced lifecycle management by optimizing accessory programs and designing product discounts and special editions. Additionally, redesigned incentive structures to promote a culture of transparency and performance, significantly enhancing the customer experience.
• Collaborated with finance companies and banks to design effective value-for-money campaigns, successfully liquidating high-inventory models and boosting targeted model sales for greater profitability.
• Maintained optimal inventory levels for high-demand models, ensuring a steady three-month stock supply to meet P&L targets and securing a stable 5.5% market share.

SCOTIABANK                                                                                                                                                              Toronto, Canada

Business Banking Advisor                                                                                                                                              2018 – 2021

• Utilize strong relationship-building skills to consult business owners (with revenues up to $15M) on tailored financial strategies, including lending, investment, risk management, business development, and marketing initiatives.
• Drive sales growth and portfolio expansion by achieving retention and referral goals, consistently strengthening and increasing the assigned client base.
• Oversee and manage a credit portfolio with a focus on risk management, conducting thorough credit assessments, authorizing, reviewing, and, when necessary, declining client requests. Ensure all processes align with AML practices by preparing documentation and maintaining compliance standards.

Al-Futtaim Motors

Toyota UAE                                                                                                                                                                    Dubai, UAE
Al-Futtaim Motors is among the world’s Top 20 automotive distributors with $3B turnover. 

National Sales Operations Manager                                                                                                                 2016 to 2018

• Oversaw Retail and SME operations across the UAE, managing a team of eight direct reports within a 15-member department and leading the development and execution of a $120M budget. Strategically designed and implemented short- and long-term sales strategies focused on retail network expansion, target setting, product incentives, sales incentive plans, training programs, conversion rate improvements, and customer satisfaction (NPS).
• Recruited to drive key strategic initiatives, including leading a McKinsey & Company 6-month project to assess evolving customer behavior trends and optimize retail networks. Successfully led over 50 product launches from concept to market delivery.
• Budget Planning: Conducted annual and quarterly reviews of volume and gross margin, aligning headcount with market demands and regional potential to optimize resource allocation and ROI.
• Customer Lifecycle Management: Re-engineered the customer journey roadmap, enhancing touchpoints through the Customer Engagement Center. Developed robust interaction plans for prospective, existing, and previous customers, increasing customer retention by 10% and boosting the sales conversion rate by 25%.
• Business Process Re-engineering: Reduced visit-to-delivery turnaround time from 10 days to 24-48 hours by optimizing the customer journey, refining discount structures, reorganizing dealership workflows, digitizing back-office processes, and introducing performance-based sales incentives.
• Marketing Campaigns ROI: Implemented an "Early Bird" reporting and evaluation approach for newly launched promotional campaigns and incentive programs, supporting divisional management with timely insights for weekly and monthly sales forecasting.
• Enhanced sales operations and lead conversion by introducing comprehensive measurement programs for web, telephone, and walk-in leads across branches, improving associate performance and customer engagement.
• Recognized with the “Best Practice in the Middle East & Africa” award by TMC in 2017 for the “Small Group Activity” initiative across the Toyota network. This program improved KPIs in customer retention, trade-in rates, accessory sales, marketing campaign conversion, and Toyota care sales.

Head of Product Marketing                                                                                                                           2012 to 2016

Toyota UAE

• Maintained #1 market share (38-40%) by creating and executing a comprehensive five-year strategic plan, managing a $5B product portfolio spanning 20+ vehicle models.
• Led a high-performing team of six, driving key initiatives and overseeing the development of multiple volume scenarios, analyzing market share, profitability, and growth opportunities.
• Conducted in-depth market research (both qualitative and quantitative) and developed business cases to inform strategy and enhance product positioning.
• Managed yearly and quarterly volume forecasting, ensuring alignment with market conditions and organizational goals, while delivering high-impact promotional campaigns that consistently achieved top-tier performance.
• Oversaw product positioning and pricing for the entire Toyota vehicle range, optimizing offerings to meet market demands and maximize profitability.

Master of Business Administration (GPA 3.7), Maastricht School of Management, Maastricht, Netherlands,