Dubai: The world’s largest professional network LinkedIn, which has opened a regional headquarters in Dubai, will help companies identify and hire top talent in the most effective way possible, a top official told Gulf News.
“Dubai Internet City (DIC) is a strategic base for companies targeting regional emerging markets. For our businesses operations, DIC provides us with the right mix of infrastructure availability, access to high quality talent and clients, and connectivity to major locations in the region and across the world,” Farhan Syed, Director of Global Sales Strategy at LinkedIn, said.
LinkedIn’s Dubai office will service the needs of member and clients across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
“Ali Matar, Head of Hiring Solutions, LinkedIn Mena, is our first employee in the region and he will initially lead a team of around half a dozen. He will be supported by Pierre Berlin, who will oversee the expansion as part of his role as Director, Hiring Solutions in LinkedIn EMEA. We will continue to evaluate hiring requirements in line with our business objectives,” he said.
Having a local office affirms “our commitment to the Mena market.” The next couple of years “will be very exciting for LinkedIn here in the UAE, as well as globally. We are confident in the region’s potential,” Syed said.
LinkedIn has more than 175 million members worldwide..
“We’re growing at around two new members a second and currently have more than 54 million in the EMEA region. We have close to 5 million members in the Middle East and North Africa. Of these more than 1 million are in the UAE.”
“Like all our offices, what’s important is the quality and investment in our talent. We will do what is required to train and equip our teams with the right skills so that they can engage with our members and customers effectively,” he said.
Recent Arab Social Media Report showed that the Mena region has witnessed exponential growth in social media usage, with usage trends shifting from primarily fulfilling social needs back in 2010 to political and societal usage in 2011.
Given our growth across the region, “we believe the time is right for us to establish a local presence so that we may better serve and support our growing membership base and establish our commercial operations,” he said.
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LinkedIn MENA – Fast Facts
The top three industries by LinkedIn membership
• Oil & energy
• Construction
• Information technology and services
The top three regions in Mena by LinkedIn membership:
• Pakistan
• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia
The three companies in Mena with the most employees on LinkedIn:
• Saudi Aramco
• Emirates
• Etisalat
