A week in the life of.. Tareq Husseini, regional sales director for Middle East and Africa, Western Digital Corporation

Sunday

After dropping the kids off at school I head to the nearby Circuit Factory gym for an hour’s intensive training – a total workout with friends and colleagues. At work I catch up with the UAE and GCC sales and marketing teams to review our weekly plans and assess progress. As the US and Europe headquarters are off, Sunday afternoon brings calm reflection on plans, execution and field feedback. I spend the rest of the day with my Middle East leads to tally the backlog, inventories, pricing and sell-through requirements for the week. In the evening, the team and I head to play badminton before I go home for dinner with the family.

Monday

I start the day with a 45-minute spin cycling session at Flywheel – it’s a great workout to set the tone for the busy day, which starts with conference calls with Europe. The flash/HDD storage business is fast moving – very similar to FMCG with the added twist of supply and demand dynamics – and a quick overview of the flash exchanges in Asia calibrates my pricing and inventory requests for the week. By late afternoon, the business feedback from the Turkey and Africa teams is completed and the retail/distribution numbers and analytics are collected for the week. In the evening, I make calls to the US and get in sync with our weekly update and review.

Tuesday

Today is all about sprinting. I start at Barry’s Boot Camp for an intense legs and sprints workout, and after the rush I head for the office to support the team in their own weekly sales sprint. I use the day to lock in retail promotions with Carrefour, Sharaf DG, Emax, Lulu and other regional partners and ensure our demand generation activities are in place and active across the region. Lunch at the office is always the highlight of the day. In the afternoon I catch up with my peers on their progress across the globe and in the evening I catch up with industry literature, news and blogs.

Wednesday

Wednesday is partners day, so I make a point to visit our retail partners at their mall locations. Being in the field energises me and helps me focus on what matters – footfall, trends and competition. I try to visit as many shop fronts as possible, staying in touch and listening to feedback from our sales executives, promoters and customers. I get home by 5pm to catch up with the family over dinner, when we plan our weekend activities. Wednesday is also TV series night, so my wife and I binge watch a few episodes of our favourite show.

Thursday

I work from home today, and step away from the Middle East to connect with the Africa team. One of our fastest growing regions, Africa offers great opportunities today and in the future. I spend the morning on South Africa and the afternoon on Nigeria and French speaking countries. I’m blessed with a passionate team that keeps me engaged throughout the day, and disconnect by 6pm to socialise with friends in the evening.

Friday

I’ve recently signed up for Privilee leisure membership, which allows us to visit some of the best beaches and swimming pools across the UAE at a very competitive rate. Today we plan to laze-out at our favourite resort, The Westin before heading to see the new show – La Perle – in the evening. The reviews are great and the kids are excited.

Saturday

The day starts early at 6.30am, as my 11 year old girl and I head to Kite Beach for an hour of stand-up paddle boarding, splashing and fun. It’s a great way to be in the water and enjoy the beach. Later, I have another dose of circuit training followed by lunch with friends, and end the weekend with a trip to Spinneys to stock up for the week.