This panel brings together founders, CMOs and ecosystem builders to show-in one fast-moving conversation-how a powerful local story can become both a market advantage at home and a passport abroad.
We will unpack three questions:
1. What does it take to turn cultural heritage into a brand asset that resonates locally?
2. Which “vehicles” let heritage brands scale regionally and globally?
3. If you’re a brand-new company with no centuries-old back-story, how do you create an authentic narrative that still travels?
Expect concrete cases from Qatar’s luxury, tech and food sectors, hard-won lessons on leadership that shifts from managing to vision-setting, and a candid debate on when not to expand.
Location: HEC Paris, Doha Campus, 1st floor. Msheireb Downtown
Date: 20.05.25 (Tuesday)
Time: 6:30 PM (Doha time)
Agenda:
- 6 PM - Doors are open
- 6:30 PM - Topic Overview by Professor
- 7 PM - Panel Discussion
- 7:45 PM - Q&A
- 8 PM - Networking
|
Gachoucha Kretz holds a PhD from HEC Paris. Upon earning a master’s degree in finance and spending several years as a finance consultant and executive at Arthur Andersen and LVMH, she decided to pursue her career in marketing research and teaching. She earned an MSc. in Communication at CELSA (the French communication “grande école” at La Sorbonne) and an MA in Marketing and Strategy at Université Paris Dauphine before attending the HEC Paris PhD program. She completed her doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Jean-Noël Kapferer and Kristine De Valck. Gachoucha Kretz specializes in brand management with a focus on the following areas: digital branding, fashion and luxury brand management and social media marketing and branding. Her latest publications deal with fashion and luxury blogging and its impact on brand management. She is also co-authoring a textbook on luxury brand management to be published by SAGE London. She teaches a wide range of HEC students from Summer School and MSc. to post graduate programs such as MBAs and executive MBAs and transversal audiences such as the Luxury Certificate program. She is a member of the Association for Consumer Research, of the Association Française du Marketing and of the Consumer. |
 |
Panelists:
|
Maha R. Al-Ansari, Head of Strategic Marketing at Qatar Foundation Maha has been part of the QF ecosystem from a very early stage, graduating from both Qatar Academy and Northwestern University in Qatar. Her career took her back to the QF eco-system in 2020, where she now serves as the Head of Strategic Marketing, and has worked on numerous local and international campaigns. Outside of work, Maha is a passionate sports enthusiast and dedicated athlete, with a strong focus on encouraging more women to get involved in sports through her women-only fitness studio, "Knockout Boxing.”
|
 |
|
Hamad Al-Hajri, Founder & CEO of Snoonu Mr. Hamad Al Hajri is the founder of Snoonu, Qatar’s fastest-growing super app, valued at $350M with 50,000+ daily orders. He raised $17.5M in Series A & B, and is preparing a $50M Series C round. An HEC Paris EMBA alumnus, he co-founded the award-winning “Mshwar” project. Former Director at Qatar’s Ministry of Finance, he shaped key economic reforms. He also led €5.5B projects at Barzan Holdings and held senior roles at TASWEEQ and Qatar Petroleum. His journey reflects entrepreneurial resilience, innovation, and leadership.
|
 |
Upon registration, attendees will receive an email containing details of the event.
Contact Us
Please feel free to contact us for any further information:
Email: qatar-events@hec.fr | Phone: +974 4141 3200 | Web: qatar.exed.hec.edu
Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn