About
Strategic by training.Hands-on by habit.
I'm a marketing leader based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I've spent eighteen years making brands easier to choose and funnels easier to finish, in B2G, B2B and B2C, across the UAE, the Middle East and global markets.
six rings, one road · tap one
hi, I'm Shaker
I started in education, running the full marketing mix for a university's business, IT and law schools. Then government, where I moved a smart free zone from print to digital. Then a multinational insurer, where I learned how global brands plan and how a purchase funnel turns a complex product into three simple steps.
Six years at Premier Inn taught me performance marketing at scale: winning bookings back from the travel agencies, cutting acquisition costs and building a CRM that remembered every guest. Real estate followed, from building a new agency's brand to launches that moved billions.
Today I lead marketing at ADRES, the technology partner behind DARI, Quanta, Aqari and AccessRP, where my team works alongside specialist AI agents. The tools keep changing. The job doesn't: understand people, make a clear promise, prove it with numbers.
Career at a glance
- Real estate and PropTechMarketing Director to Head of Marketing
- Speaking and coachingSpeaker, trainer and consultant
- Premier Inn HotelsHead of Performance Marketing and E-Commerce
- AXA InsuranceDigital marketing
- Dubai Silicon Oasis AuthorityMarketing
- University of DubaiMarketing
How I work
Five habitsthat keep the work honest.
The same five habits have run through every role, from a university marketing office to an AI-first PropTech company.
every plan starts as dots
Start from the number
Every plan names the metric it will move before it names a channel.
Brand and performance are one budget
Brand makes the click cheaper. Performance proves the brand is working. I plan them together.
Test, then scale
Heatmaps, A/B tests and small bets before big spends. Opinions are welcome; data decides.
Automate the routine, protect the judgement
AI agents and CRM journeys take the busywork. People keep the decisions and the relationships.
Teach the team
A team that understands why will outperform one that only knows what. I hire well and explain everything.
Taught and mentored by Shaker
Ahmed was my professor at the University of Dubai, I took E-commerce courses and I certainly enjoyed his eloquence and creativity in teaching, I hope to have you as a mentor and a leader again.
Narimene RouabahShaker's student at the University of DubaiMr. Ahmed delivered the lectures with great professional expertise. It was very valuable and result oriented. Thanks for your mentorship :)
Vineeth VypanaMentored by ShakerLeading people
The people side
I've hired, trained and led multidisciplinary teams across brand, media buying, social, creative, video, web, SEO, SEM and content.
- Diversity, inclusion and equality
- Clear communication
- Feedback and development
- Performance management
- Recognition and rewards
- Work-life balance
- Enabling and empowering
- Mentorship
- Empathy
Skills and expertise
Marketing
Brand marketing · Product marketing and launch · Marketing communications and PR · Go-to-market strategy · 360 digital marketing and social · Omnichannel marketing · Lead generation · E-commerce · Media buying and planning · SEM, SEO, AEO and GEO · ATL, BTL and TTL · Events management
Data and technology
AI transformation and agentic marketing · Data science and analytics · CRM and automation · Conversion rate optimisation · UI and UX design · Landing page design · SQL and data manipulation · MCP and API integrations · HTML and CSS
Leadership and commercial
Team leadership · P&L management · ROI analysis · Revenue and distribution · Agile and project management · Design thinking · Public speaking · Partnerships management
Tools I use
Search, programmatic and media
- Google Ads
- Google Analytics
- Search Console
- SA360, GA360, DV360
- SEMrush
- Similarweb
- The Trade Desk
- Criteo
Social
- Meta Business Suite
- TikTok Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Snapchat Ads
- Hootsuite
- Buffer
- Sprinklr
Data and analytics
- Looker Studio
- Power BI
- Tableau
- Adobe Analytics
- Google Tag Manager
- Advanced Excel
CRM and automation
- Salesforce
- Zoho
- HubSpot
- Bitrix24
- Microsoft Dynamics
- SAP
- Veeva
- SendGrid
- Zapier
AI, LLMs and agents
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
- Microsoft Copilot
- Perplexity
- Midjourney
- Adobe Firefly
- Runway
- ElevenLabs
- HeyGen
- Custom GPTs
- Claude Code
- n8n
- Make
- MCP connectors
Design and web
- Figma
- Adobe XD
- Photoshop
- Canva
- CapCut
- WordPress
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Magento
Education
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)University of Wollongong, Australia
- Bachelor of Computer Science and Business AdministrationAdvanced Academy
Courses and certificates: AI, agentic marketing, Prudent marketing and communications masterclass, SEO, UX, CX, Google Analytics and Google Ads.
off the clock: coffee and a good playlist
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