Riad is a Learning and Development Specialist, with over 16 years experience in Human Resources & Talent Development. He is a Lebanese national, fluent in three languages – English, French, and Arabic, and has been resident in the UAE since 2004.
He has spent his career doing what he loves most, which is building the overall competence of individuals and teams. Some of his proudest moments have involved coaching and mentoring team leaders across 80+ nationalities, and travelling to Hungary, Thailand, and the United Kingdom to facilitate Branding and Customer Service programmes.
His key areas of training expertise include: Leadership & Management, Sales & Marketing, Team Development, Planning & Organizing, Customer Service, Negotiation, Coaching & Mentoring, Project Management, Data Analysis, and Customer Relationship Management.
Riad joined Emirates Airline in 2006 as a Customer Service and Sales Consultant. During this period, he obtained an Associate Degree in Business from the American College Of Dubai. This experience, and continuous learning, combined with his passion to impart knowledge and develop people, led to him being appointed, in 2008, as Training Officer in the Contact Centre Training Department.
In this role, he supported the learning and development needs of 800+ Emirates employees who were delivering Customer Service through voice and non-voice channels (emails, social media, web chat, etc.). Some of the many courses he facilitated included Onboarding, Sales & Marketing, Brand & Cultural Awareness, Conflict Resolution, and Service Excellence.
In 2011, he was promoted to the position of Learning and Development Specialist, joining Emirates Aviation College. This role gave him the opportunity to partner with various departmental leaders to create, and implement, learning solutions aimed at increasing employee performance and customer satisfaction across the Emirates global network.
Key aspects of the role involved: conducting Training Needs Analysis (TNA), Design & Development, Implementation and On-Job Evaluation. He was responsible for designing original course materials, including course plans, activities, workbooks, questionnaires, and learning evaluation processes.
Riad is a certified Kirkpatrick Practitioner and has successfully completed the Kirkpatrick Four Levels® Evaluation Certificate Programme. Prior to this, he successfully completed an ILM Course ‘Professional Development for Trainers’ programme through City and Guilds, and ‘Instructional Techniques’ certified by IATA (International Air Transport Association).
Riad has a very cosmopolitan outlook, and really enjoys interacting with different cultures.
He strongly believes that the benefits of developing people are highly rewarding, and can be measured and assessed. His philosophy is that people’s capabilities can be developed and enhanced, through simplifying processes, and making it easy and fun for people to learn, evolve, and improve. His proudest moments are when facilitating learning solutions that show tangible improvements in employee and business performance.
Riad joined Spearhead as a Senior Management Associate in 2020. His key areas of expertise include:
Management & Leadership
- Leading High Performance Teams For Stronger Business Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Supervisory Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Coaching For Optimum Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
Business Skills
- Strategic Thinking & Planning
- Creative Problem Solving & Decision-Making (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- The Fundamentals Of Project Management (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Planning & Organizing Skills
HR / Human Capital Management & Training
- Competency-Based Interviewing Skills – For Recruitment & Selection
- Train The Trainer – Group Training Techniques (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
Customer Service
- Excellence In Customer Service
- Etiquette For Excellent Telephone Skills
- Customer Care & Telephone Skills
Sales & Marketing
- Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Negotiate Like A Professional!
- Advanced Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Be A Master Negotiator!
- Public Speaking / Advanced Presentation Skills
Personal Development
- Presentation Skills – Making A Powerful Impact On Any Audience (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Self & Time Management
- Stress & Anger Management In The Workplace
- Developing Effective Interpersonal & Communication Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Assertiveness Skills & Dealing With Difficult Situations
- Understanding Emotional Intelligence (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
