Karim Chouman is a seasoned leader in the field of entrepreneurship and business development with more than 17 years of regional experience. Having worked with leading multinational companies such as Nestle and P&G, he has an extensive understanding of the industry and the skills required to thrive within it. Currently serving as the MENA CEO for Sweetheart Kitchen, a multi-brand private label virtual kitchen serving 7000 meals per day and present in 3 countries, Karim has scaled the business to a $+35M run-rate, 25 kitchens, +350 employees and 26 brands, all launched in just 3 years.
Alongside his role at Sweetheart Kitchen, Karim also co-founded a cloud services and software development firm called Zero&One, which was funded by PWC and became the first AWS premier partner born out of this region. This demonstrates Karim's ability to identify opportunities and bring them to fruition, showing his prowess as an entrepreneur.
Prior to this, Karim was the General Manager of Nestle, leading an organization with a turnover of +$220M and +250 employees across all the different Commercial functions. In this role, he handled the regional key accounts negotiations for the group as well as launched growth initiatives such as joint business planning, shopper marketing projects, category growth/management projects as well as built the e-commerce business unit in Nestle.
Karim's technical skills include P&L management, building legal entities, customer & distributor management, trade marketing, negotiation, budgeting, strategy formulation and market planning. He is known for being progressive-minded and in tune with new developments in his field, demonstrating his ability to adapt and innovate. He is a highly motivated, result-focused, and versatile individual with excellent communication and influencing skills, and is recognized for promoting collaboration, autonomy, continuous improvement, diversity & inclusion in the workplace.
Karim's education includes a BSc in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the American University of Beirut (AUB), as well as completing the London Business School (LBS) Leadership program and various leadership & executive development trainings at Nestle and P&G. These qualifications, combined with his years of experience, have allowed Karim to lead and influence at scale, making him a sought-after mentor for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Karim Chouman's achievements in the field of entrepreneurship and business development are impressive, and his ability to identify opportunities and scale businesses is unparalleled. He is a mentor who is able to inspire, motivate, and empower others to achieve their goals, and his impact on the industry is felt far and wide.
