An operator’s perspective.
Fred connects strategy with the people, technology and operating decisions needed to deliver it. His work spans startups, investors, established businesses and public-sector ecosystems across Europe, the GCC and MENA.
The 20+ years and 10+ industries describe his professional career, not the age of Barry Advisory. The firm brings that experience into board and CEO advisory, fractional executive roles, project leadership and dedicated delivery teams.
Regional leadership & advisory
- Hub71 — Hub71+AI vertical lead. Fred leads the Hub71+AI vertical as part of Hub71’s Growth and Strategy team and oversees end-to-end accelerator delivery in Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala-backed ecosystem. He is organizing Hub71+AI’s first hackathon with OpenAI, the first OpenAI hackathon with startups in the region.
- Abdullah Al-Othaim Markets — CEO advisor. E-commerce’s share of total revenue rose from 0.1% at Fred’s arrival to over 12% at his departure. E-commerce revenue grew 85× over 18 months, with the final result reported after his engagement. His CEO-advisory scope covered retail and online strategy, assortment, fulfilment and an in-house team for mobile app improvements. Explore the turnaround.
- Merit Incentives — Chief Product & Growth Officer. Product and growth leadership at Merit Incentives in Saudi Arabia; previously advisor to the CEO.
- Keeta / Meituan — Market expansion advisor · past. Developed the KSA marketing calendar strategy and built the UAE go-to-market strategy, which was successfully executed.
European experience & venture building
Venture builder
Venture across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and India.
5 years at Amazon
EU B2B marketplace launches and Morocco site leadership.
AI research
Xerox Labs, European Research Center.
Corporate experience
Earlier international professional experience.
Advisory and accelerator references
Advisor to Loyal VC in venture capital, and Growth Navigator with NBT / Next Big Thing for GCC acceleration.
Building teams that can deliver
Talent scouting, leadership assessment and building product, growth and engineering teams are part of Fred’s operating expertise. His Al-Othaim mandate included setting up an in-house team for mobile app improvements.