Lee Pillay

Founded in Abu Dhabi, Al Liwan Group connects regional capital with global opportunity, serving as a trusted partner to families, institutions, and investors worldwide. We work across sectors and geographies to advise, structure, and support ventures that contribute to the Middle East’s economic transformation and long-term prosperity. Guided by partnership, stewardship, and sustainable growth, Al Liwan fosters collaboration between visionary leaders and global markets.

Initiated and growing the SABCO membership program and events in Abu Dhabi. Facilitating business delegation engagements Abu Dhabi public and private sectors.

As Partner at The Strategists, I played a key role in growing the firm’s portfolio of brands and deepening relationships with global partners. My work focused on curating high-impact immersive programs and executive education experiences in collaboration with leading institutions such as the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). I supported delegations across diverse industries, including construction and transport in the UAE, financial services technology in Ireland, and the food and beverage sector in Malaysia. Through these initiatives, I helped deliver meaningful learning journeys that bridged strategy, innovation, and leadership development, while advancing The Strategists’ mission of shaping future-ready organizations

In this role, I supported Dr. Oudi Abouchacra in the global rollout of the Celix 4Cs of Networking certification program, a framework designed to elevate professional relationships through Competence, Credibility, Clarity, and Connectivity. I was directly involved in shaping and executing partner strategies, developing scalable partner models, and engaging with key partners worldwide to drive adoption. Beyond partnerships, I provided strategic advisory across marketing, legal, financial, and operational domains to ensure the program’s sustainability and global growth. This role allowed me to combine high-level strategic thinking with hands-on execution, contributing to the expansion of a transformative networking framework that is redefining how professionals build trust and create value in business ecosystems.

Successfully expanded the business by opening a new branch in Abu Dhabi, significantly enhancing the company's regional presence and market share. Conducted full stakeholder engagement, including suppliers, partners, recruitment, training, and development, to ensure smooth operations and growth in the new location. Created brand awareness and developed business opportunities through multiple channels, including digital marketing, hosting and attending industry events, and growing the partner network. Led the company's diversification into the technology sector, onboarding new partners and building a solid sales pipeline for future growth.

Spearheaded comprehensive market research initiatives to inform product development, optimize pricing, and devise effective go-to-market strategies, ensuring competitive positioning and market alignment. Enhancing brand and product value by establishing and managing strategic partnerships with TomTom and Teltonika. Directed a broad range of marketing activities, emphasizing digital marketing and content strategy, to elevate brand presence and engage target audiences effectively. Designed and produced various product, marketing and sales collateral for both internal stakeholders and external channels, supporting brand consistency and sales enablement. Led the recruitment, training, and development of the sales team, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to engage with the market. Actively engaged in business development efforts, including representing the company at industry events and conferences as a speaker, showcasing thought leadership and expanding professional networks.

Established a new partnership model to improve lead generation, enhancing the company's client acquisition strategy. Launched a monthly technology business breakfast series as demand-generation and networking program. Conducted comprehensive market research and client identification, uncovering new business opportunities and expanding market reach. Leveraged insights from market trends to formulate robust strategies for sustainable business growth. Collaborated with cross-functional teams to promote consistent brand and product messaging. Creating and submitting business proposals and tender responses to secure new projects.

HuTech Marketing is a marketing agency based in Abu Dhabi. As a consultative agency, we engage with our clients to understand their needs to create bespoke marketing solutions geared to achieving their desired outcomes. During this period, some of the key highlights are: • Provided consulting services for technology companies entering new markets. • Consulted to Volonte Business Management for business growth and subsequently appointed as Partner. • Appointed as Advisory Board Member at Met City, a Royex Technologies venture, for marketing advisory. • Conducted business networking and appointed as Chairman of One Connect for a term.

Taking my successes from Product Management within the organisation, I am now helping MiX Telematics, a global provider of SaaS solutions for Fleet, to increase market share within existing verticals served as well as penetrate new vertical markets. As part of the role, I am exploring further growth opportunities with existing integrated partners and new partners.

Appointed as a Product Manager for a Global SaaS provider to drive new and existing products through the various stages of its life cycle. With a market reach of 120 countries, products need to meet a global demand and be scalable which entailed a depth of knowledge gained from engagements with regional offices. My product portfolio entailed Camera and ADAS solutions, Data Integration Solutions, GIS and Geo-spatial solutions, Data Monetization, Privacy and Data Protection solutions. I also held the roles Employment Equity (EE) and GDPR committee member.

The Badger group was an early adopter of Insurance Telematics in respect of creating greater consumer value as well as from a pricing and claim management perspective. As the Head of Insurance Telematics I was the ambassador and drove organisational culture change in respect of purpose marketing. Consumer rewards programmes were further improved with new marketing campaigns created to further ignite sales. I worked closely with actuarial and claims teams from a data perspective and rolled out new programmes to significantly improve claims turnaround times through Insurance Telematics. Further customer value was created through First Notification of Loss (FNOL) services in which emergency services can be dispatched when the vehicles were in an accident. I also held the roles of Employment Equity (EE) and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) committee member.

Promoted and appointed as Executive for the company where I helped create new structures and frameworks within the Strategic Projects environment as well as managed a team of Project Managers. The group of companies entailed short and long-term insurance underwriting, Insurance Broker services, Fintech solutions, micro financing which held operations or strategic partnerships in South Africa, Australia, Israel and Namibia. As a group, we released the first online DIY insurance solution in the South African market. I was also a committee member for Employment Equity (EE) and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF).

Following my achievements within the Broker arm of the group, I was promoted and transferred to the Insurer arm of the business where I was responsible for growing the Underwriting division as well as the newly established Broker Portfolio division. I utilised similar leadership methodologies from my last role to produce a high performing and engaged team. There were major improvements in both quality standards and sales which was achieved and directly translated into a reduced loss ratio (KPI for an Insurer). Through relationship management, I also grew the Broker Portfolio division by improving lead generation and closing ratios. I also held the role of an Employment Equity (EE) committee member.

As a team leader for the internal operations division (African Independent Brokers), I helped the organisation to develop high performing teams from a service and sales perspective. The key results achieved were engaged employees as well as numerous performance records broken. From an innovation standpoint, I implemented an industry first sales pitch which dramatically increased outbound sales and was adopted by many others in the industry thereafter. I also held the role of a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Officer.