The Long Game: How Thierry Sabbagh built a career, and a brand, to last

Thierry Sabbagh didn't set out to spend 25 years in the UAE. He arrived, worked hard, and at some point stopped being an observer and became part of the place itself.

"There is not a single dramatic moment when this happened", he says. "But there was definitely a day when I started to realize that in this country I'm no longer an observer, I'm actually part of the rhythm."

That sense of belonging shapes how Sabbagh, Divisional Vice President and President, Middle East, KSA, India and CIS, Nissan and INFINITI, thinks about leadership and brand-building. He sat down with Reda Raad, Group CEO of TBWA\RAAD, on ‘Built to Last’, TBWA\RAAD’s new leadership podcast, filmed at the AWR Automotive showroom in Dubai. What followed felt less like an interview than a conversation between two people who've spent decades thinking about what it takes to build something in this region that endures.

One principle has guided him throughout: "gamba", regular dealership visits, conversations with frontline sales teams, staying close to what customers actually experience. "The best market insights, the best feedback you get, is really when you do these visits, when you speak to customers, when you speak to the frontliners. It gives you a true analysis of what is happening."

Few products carry the cultural weight the Nissan Patrol carries in the Gulf. "Patrol has become more than a car", Sabbagh says. "It's an icon. It's a culture. People have learned to drive in this car. People have been trusting this car, whether for family gatherings, for off-road adventure, for on-the-road driving."

When Nissan launched the latest Patrol globally, the venue choice was obvious to Sabbagh: Abu Dhabi, "a token of respect for the love of Patrol from the region." It reflects something he's quietly advocated for years: the Middle East isn't peripheral to Nissan's story. It's central to it.

When the region faced one of its most significant recent tests, many organizations consolidated and slowed down. Sabbagh moved the other way. His first priority was his people.

"In times of crisis, it's important that you have strong and clear communication, making sure that people understand that we are all here together to go through this crisis. We have learned from previous crises that the first priority you have to look at is your own people."

Speed mattered too. "Being quick and decisive is important. We have learned that waiting would not help." Support from Nissan's Japan headquarters reinforced rather than restricted his team: "The support we received from global was something we can be very humbled and proud of. It was very quick, limitless, and open to all suggestions."

The region's post-pandemic recovery outpaced most projections. Sabbagh credits no single decision. "Resilience is not only for the specific moment. It is a process. It is a journey."

The dealer network's depth, customer loyalty, after-sales quality, resale value, none of it was built in response to crisis. It was already there. "If we continue to stay committed, if we continue to stay very much focused on what has to be delivered, I'm very confident and optimistic about the future." The organizations that last are rarely the ones that reacted best in the moment, they're the ones that did enough right in the quiet years beforehand.

Asked what he's learned about customers that no research could reveal, Sabbagh points to authenticity. Not as a brand value, but a lived expectation. "A brand to be authentic, to be transparent, to build trust, and to be open about what it is offering." In a region where car-buying is deeply personal, the gap between what a brand promises and delivers is felt immediately. "This is what customers look for. This is the true DNA of Nissan."

For all the complexity of running a regional operation across dozens of markets, the advice Sabbagh returns to most is the simplest. "I've always treated every job I'm in as if I'm the CEO of that job. I put all the commitment, I put all the passion. I always try to inject an entrepreneurship mindset into the corporate world."

"I don't always think about what is the next step. I want to make sure we excel in the current job. And then you will be able to grow throughout your career."

It's a philosophy that has carried him through 25 years in one of the region's most demanding markets, through a pandemic, through disruption, and through the daily work of running a brand that means different things to different people. It's paid off.

Thierry Sabbagh is the Divisional Vice President and President, Middle East, KSA, India and CIS, Nissan and INFINITI. He was speaking on Built to Last, a leadership podcast by TBWA\RAAD CEO Reda Raad.