Nour Suliman has been working with DHL for 44 years and took over as CEO of the DHL Express MENA operations 12 years ago. In his current capacity as CEO, he oversees DHL’s operations across 19 markets and leads a team of 5,700 employees.
He joined the company in 1978 as a young courier and has since held multiple positions across divisions and countries while climbing the corporate ladder. He was previously the Country Manager for DHL Express Saudi Arabia where, under his leadership, the office consistently achieved stellar performance.
He also managed the business in Bahrain for eight years and prior to that held various managerial roles across multiple DHL Express countries and functions including Customer Service and Commercial, in both UAE and Cairo.
Nour is a member of the British Institute of Management and American Business Association in Egypt. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing tennis and football.
He has been steering DHL’s regional investment and expansion strategy with clear targets to strengthen the region’s connectivity to the global marketplace. The company has committed millions of dollars over the years to enhance its facilities, capacities and logistical capabilities and maintain its leadership position as an express and logistics powerhouse in the region, on the back of a superior customer service.
DHL’s expansion efforts have been very successful ensuring an average 10-12% year-on-year growth in revenues, making MENA one of the best regions for DHL Express’s business.
One of Suliman’s more recent achievements was navigating DHL during the COVID-19 crisis where he had to make swift and drastic adjustments to the company’s entire network and operations in ways that would normally have taken years of planning and evaluation; to manage the sudden spike in volumes, the reduced manpower, shipment backlog, grounding of flights and sudden loss in commercial belly space.
Talent development has also been a focal point for the CEO and has been reflected in DHL consecutively winning Top Employer across multiple MENA countries as well as being named Best Place to Work in the Middle East by leading global workplace culture authority Great Place to Work.
This has been one of Nour’s proudest achievements and reiterates his commitment to placing people first by maintaining a harmonious work culture that is powered by mutual trust, highly motivated people and a spirit of innovation and comradeship.
In 2021, DHL Express MENA witnessed strong performance attributed to its Time Definite International (TDI) shipments, eCommerce and network enhancements.
Much of the focus this past year was on strengthening the company’s eCommerce capabilities through investments in its air network and facilities to accommodate growth and the space needed for more shipment inflow. DHL added seven new Boeing 767-300F freighters to its regional aviation fleet, expanded its intra-regional and intercontinental routes, direct connections and flights such as the newly launched overnight flight from Bahrain to Istanbul; increased rotations into KSA which makes up a major part of its business; and expanded its lanes into Asia.
The company also took steps to enhance its last mile delivery solutions by opening third party Pick-up and Drop-off (PUDO) locations in the GCC, to provide more convenience and control over pick-up and drop-off of their eCommerce parcels.
Sustainability has also been a priority focus as DHL moves towards becoming a net-zero logistics company by 2050, and the company rolled out solar power projects across its regional facilities, with the first solar photovoltaic (PV) installation completed in DHL’s Amman facility, to reduce energy consumption by 100%.
In terms of infrastructure, DHL expanded its footprint in Qatar with the opening of a new Service Point in Doha, followed by a new Service Centre in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, and most important it kicked off construction of its new stand alone, logistics hub, at the Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA).
DHL is pushing ahead with its regional growth strategy and has committed investments of over 150 million Euros between 2022 and 2023 on enhancing its MENA ground operations. The main objective remains the same – to expand reach, capacities and capabilities across key markets to enhance transit times, customer service, and support the logistical demands of its MENA clients and surging eCommerce business.
The company will also be increasing its regional fleet to 12 aircraft, with newer, bigger, more environmentally performing 767-300s, adding to its intra-middle east flight rotations and increasing its capacity to over 80%.
Renovations are planned for DHL’s Bahrain Hub with significant upgrades to its aviation hangars, while DHL will soon be inaugurating new state-of-the-art logistics facilities in Qatar, Algeria, and Oman, and launching new service centres in Kuwait and Riyadh.
New flight destinations to Asia, Far East and Europe will also be launched out of Bahrain to anchor direct and transit movement while additional rotations will be introduced to high demand MENA and African countries, to capitalise on the increased demand.
There are a number of ‘Green Projects’ in the pipeline; from investments in more fuel-efficient aircraft and more sustainable bio-fuel, to installing solar panels across all new facilities, and expanding DHL’s electric vehicle fleet with new electric vehicles coming into the region in UAE, Kuwait and KSA markets initially, among others.