Meet Karim Daoud

Biography

Karim Daoud is a Senior Executive with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of telecommunication, media, technology and education. Born and raised in Lebanon, educated in France and working in the Middle East since 1998, Karim is currently serving as Managing Director for Pearson’s Middle East Hub covering the Gulf, Levant and Turkey.
Pearson is the world’s largest learning company present in more than 70 countries, with a mission to help people make progress in their lives through learning. Karim is responsible for Pearson’s business in the Middle East, overseeing a team involved in the design, development, marketing and sales of education solutions to schools, universities and governments. Karim’s mandate is to help introduce new print and digital products that enable better teaching and learning at scale.
Prior to joining Pearson in November 2013, Karim was CEO of Intigral, a Dubai-based digital joint venture between Saudi Telecom, Astro and SRMG. Intigral’s mission is to provide world-class digital content to Saudi Telecom subscribers across television, mobile and web.
Prior to that, Karim acted as Commercial and Development Director for twofour54 when it was just being set up in 2008, responsible for bringing onboard media and content partners into the newly created zone.
Before coming to the UAE in 2008, Karim was Head of Strategy and Business Development at LBC, a Pan-Arab Beirut-based broadcaster that can be credited for bringing innovative programming into the Middle East such as Star Academy. One of his most salient accomplishments was in Iraq where he led a team of TV professionals to re-build the State TV network “Al Iraqiya” following the war in 2003.
Earlier in his career, Karim was a Management Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, assisting several private and public sector clients in solving their most pressing challenges around strategy, organisational transformation, or new business development. Karim earned an MBA from INSEAD in 1998 and has a dual Master’s degree in Science from Telecom Paris (1995) and the Ecole Polytechnique (1998). He is based in Dubai where he has been living for 8 years with his wife and three children. He is only 3 hours away from the Lebanese Mountains where he often escapes to practise his favourite sports: cross-country skiing and mountain biking.