Nadim EL CHEIK
İstanbul,Turkey
Summary
Experienced professional with strong background in strategic leadership and operational management. Proven track record in driving business growth, improving processes, and leading diverse teams to achieve organisational goals. Skilled in stakeholder engagement, financial planning, and project execution.
Overview
4
4
Languages
1
1
Certification
35
35
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Line Director for Cocoa & Chocolate - Executive Committee Member
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META)
06.2023 - 01.2025
- Develops chocolate strategy for Meta by targeting high-demand countries and margins.
- Manages EBIT and EBITDA and P&L to meet ROIC expectations.
- Safeguarded cocoa powder market share at Meta while driving growth in cocoa butter and liquor.
- Motivated and guided teams to achieve cocoa and chocolate budget targets.
- Utilised cross-selling strategies across product lines to enhance sales and profitability.
- Manages phased capex projects to keep delivery on track.
Director of Business Development & MEFSCO Board Member - Executive Committee Member - Foods Ingredients & Bio-industrials Platform
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META)
07.2018 - 06.2023
- Grew sales by over 50% in West Africa, contributing an additional £50 million in revenue.
- Drove organic and inorganic growth in food markets across Meta region, enhancing market share and customer engagement.
- Managed sales development and territory responsibilities for sub-Saharan Africa, establishing foundational strategies in year 1.
Sales and Marketing Director & MEFSCO Board Member - Executive Committee Member – Foods Ingredients Platform
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & North Africa
08.2014 - 07.2018
- Coordinated initiatives that doubled revenue streams through organic and inorganic routes, significantly increasing profitability.
- Executed commercial strategies leveraging sales asset investment across sustainable channels to drive growth.
- Expanded asset footprint and led sales marketing across 19-country region through 3 hubs, enhancing market presence.
Commercial Director – Executive Committee Member - Foods Ingredients Platform
Cargill Foods Turkey
03.2010 - 08.2014
- Developed business strategies to enhance Cargill's asset footprint in the food sector through innovative projects, customer solutions, and potential M&A opportunities in Turkey and MENA, addressing unmet customer needs and positioning the company for future challenges.
- Managed the sales and marketing activities of our locally produced sweeteners and starches (glucose, fructose and native starch) to the Turkish food industry (beverage, confectionery, bakery, dairy) being at the same time the key account manager for the Coca-Cola company (Coca Cola icecap) and The Pepsi Bottling Group. The turnover in this segment is $150 million with a profit after tax number exceeding benchmark units of the same size by 2 folds with a 43% market share.
- Coordinated sales and marketing activities for Cargill’s imported food products, successfully growing market share within competitive segments.
- Customer base in this segment is very diversified and includes multinational FMCG (food) companies represented in Turkey as well as major local confectionery and bakery products producers. The revenue in this activity which is a B to B one grew from a base of $16 million to $70 million in the last 4 years.
- Reporting team consisted of 30 people with 5 department heads where sales and marketing 2, purchasing and supply chain, customer services technical sales and business development.
- Managed the raw material purchases and price risk of corn being the raw material for our factory located in Orhangazi as well as sales of by-products to the feed industry (gluten-corn gluten feed pellets – screenings – germ) as a result of milling corn. Savings of the raw material side grew from $ 2 million per year to $ 6 million currently.
- Handled export markets for sweeteners with main focus on MENA, Ukraine and former Yugoslav countries (Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia). Captured activity generated revenue of $ 25 million and a contribution margin of $ 3 million.
- Was an active member in the senior leadership Team consisting of six senior managers such team being a high-level governing body for Cargill Foods Turkey.
- Launched a product line in the non-food industrial sector, overseeing production and sales for applications in corrugated board, carpet, foam for bedding, and textiles.
- Was the ‘customer profitability project’ champion which consisted of boosting profitability by managing teams using the six-sigma condensed version for project delivery (root cause analysis –fish bone technique).
General Manager & Head of The Board of Directors - Grain and Oilseeds Supply Chain Europe
Cargill srl Padova - Italy
08.2005 - 03.2010
- Planned and executed a river transport acquisition and managed $25 million equipment builds.
- Coordinated joint venture setup between Cargill and an Italian entity in Venice.
- Launched risk-management product for Italian customers in 2006, addressing market needs and expanding service offerings.
- Integrated team of 88 post-acquisition, enhancing operational alignment and stability.
- Consolidated Milan and Padova offices into one structure for customer alignment.
- Integrated 35 sailors to strengthen team cohesion after river transport acquisition.
- Managed ERP migration from legacy systems into Cargill software and extensions.
General Manager – Grain and Oilseeds Supply Chain Eastern Europe
Cargill Foods Turkey
06.2002 - 08.2005
- Planned and developed sales and market penetration strategies for growth.
- Advocated for exceeding sales targets through innovative, hard-to-replicate solutions, driving revenue growth.
- Contributed to strategic management team, providing insights to guide board on future direction.
- Coached team of 28 across 3 locations, enhancing skills of 12 sales staff.
- Prioritised employee engagement and improved engagement scores through career development.
- Participated in pan-European peer group for cost benchmarking and best practices.
Merchandising Manager – Grains and Oilseeds
Cargill Foods Turkey
02.2001 - 07.2002
- Led and coached 12-merchant team in executing budgeting and trading processes.
- Managed gross investment and account receivable allocations to optimise trading desk operations.
- Developed medium-term trading strategy aligned with business plans and budgets.
Non-grain feed ingredients desk manager -East Europe Grains and Oilseeds
Cargill Foods Turkey
01.1998 - 02.2001
- Managed hedge book and futures trading for Turkish soybean meal.
- Achieved average annual sales volume increase of 10% through execution.
- Ranked desks as top margin makers within same location.
- Supervised desks that produced highest margins compared with peers.
- Engaged with customers through regular communication to identify needs and apply value-based selling.
- Built budgets aligned with business plans and sales growth targets.
- Refined supply and demand analysis with crop forecasts for distribution.
- Created crop forecast to inform strategic positioning and decision-making.
- Applied technical analysis insights to support futures trading decisions.
- Provided continuous guidance and feedback to enhance team member skills and performance.
Senior merchant–Commodity Merchandising Division
Cargill Food Turkey
01.1996 - 01.1998
- Led trading activities across product lines in merchandising division, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
- Developed relationships with vendors to guarantee timely delivery of high-quality goods.
- Fostered a positive working environment, motivating staff to achieve sales targets.
- Trained new staff on product knowledge, customer service techniques, and sales strategies.
Area sales manager
Penta Dış Ticaret AŞ –Istanbul
01.1991 - 12.1995
- Directed commercial operations for a large agency business in Turkey, increasing SABIC's market share from 7% to 28%.
- Achieved and surpassed sales targets consistently, contributing significantly to the company's growth and profitability.
- Developed and executed strategic sales plans to penetrate new markets, achieving significant revenue growth.
- Focused on foreign and cross-country trade of liquid chemicals, plastics, and fertilisers, driving peak company returns through barter trade with Commonwealth of Independent States.
Brand Manager
Düzey Tüketim Malları Paz. AŞ (Koç Holding)
01.1990 - 12.1990
- Developed and implemented comprehensive brand strategy, enhancing company image and market presence.
- Managed brand strategy for TAT canned products and KNORR soups, driving market visibility and customer engagement.
- Analysed market trends and customer insights, shaping product development and positioning strategies to align with consumer preferences.
- Coordinated product launches, promotional activities, pricing strategies, stock levels, and collaboration between production and marketing teams to optimise launch effectiveness.
- Led cross-functional teams to execute successful product launches, meeting project timelines and budget constraints.
Education
Bachelor of Sciences - Food, Technology and Nutrition
The American University of Beirut
Lebanon01-1988
High school - Lebanese Baccalaureate holder
French Lycee Abdel Kader
Beirut01-1984
Skills
- Business development
- Strategic sales leadership
- Growth strategies
- Market positioning
- Market analysis
- Customer innovation
- Financial management
- Operational excellence
- Performance optimization
- Risk assessment
- Project management
- Strategic planning
- Change management
- Employee management
- Project management
- Team empowerment
- Strategic consulting
Languages
Arabic, Turkish
First Language
Italian
Advanced
C1
French
Proficient
C2
English
Proficient
C2
Certification
INSEAD Catalyst program, 2020-01-01, 2020-10-31, personal leadership, disruption and strategic agility, networks, innovation, culture – strategy & influence
Accomplishments
- 2010, Business excellence awards: An internal award given to business units who excel in leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement and analysis, workforce and process focus and results.
- 2012, Business excellence awards: An internal award given to business units who excel in leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement and analysis, workforce and process focus and results.
- 1998, Team Broken Silo Award: An internal ward award given to three teams in 1998 and the first time Turkey won such in recognition of teamwork effectiveness, increased sales, significant cost savings and greater customer satisfaction.
Timeline
Product Line Director for Cocoa & Chocolate - Executive Committee Member
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META)
06.2023 - 01.2025
Director of Business Development & MEFSCO Board Member - Executive Committee Member - Foods Ingredients & Bio-industrials Platform
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META)
07.2018 - 06.2023
Sales and Marketing Director & MEFSCO Board Member - Executive Committee Member – Foods Ingredients Platform
Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey & North Africa
08.2014 - 07.2018
Commercial Director – Executive Committee Member - Foods Ingredients Platform
Cargill Foods Turkey
03.2010 - 08.2014
General Manager & Head of The Board of Directors - Grain and Oilseeds Supply Chain Europe
Cargill srl Padova - Italy
08.2005 - 03.2010
General Manager – Grain and Oilseeds Supply Chain Eastern Europe
Cargill Foods Turkey
06.2002 - 08.2005
Merchandising Manager – Grains and Oilseeds
Cargill Foods Turkey
02.2001 - 07.2002
Non-grain feed ingredients desk manager -East Europe Grains and Oilseeds
Cargill Foods Turkey
01.1998 - 02.2001
Senior merchant–Commodity Merchandising Division
Cargill Food Turkey
01.1996 - 01.1998
Area sales manager
Penta Dış Ticaret AŞ –Istanbul
01.1991 - 12.1995
Brand Manager
Düzey Tüketim Malları Paz. AŞ (Koç Holding)
01.1990 - 12.1990
Bachelor of Sciences - Food, Technology and Nutrition
The American University of Beirut
High school - Lebanese Baccalaureate holder
French Lycee Abdel Kader