IE University and Strategic Gears Strengthen Partnership to Expand Career Opportunities in the Middle East and Europe
The strategic collaboration opens new pathways for IE University students through recruitment, mentoring and networking across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
This week, a Strategic Gears delegation visited IE Tower, IE University campus in Madrid, for a series of activities designed to connect students with industry experts and explore career opportunities in the region. The delegation included Nasser Alqahtani, Managing Director and Pablo Delgado, Associate Partner and Head of Europe, an IE University alumni and professor. During the visit, the firm met with IE University leadership and participated in the panel discussion ‘IE Alumni in the Middle East: Strategic Gears and COX’, hosted at IE Alumni House.
Moderated by Zayne Imam, Head of Talent & Careers at IE University, the session brought together Alqahtani, Gonzalo Rodríguez Marín, Associate Director at the Center of Innovation in Riyadh, Robert Waters, Senior Manager of Global Markets, MEA, and Antonio Renom, Managing Director of COX Middle East. The discussion explored the transformation of the Middle East's business landscape, the growing demand for international talent, and career opportunities in the region.
"What makes this partnership different is simple: Pablo and Naseer are both IE alumni. They didn't just choose us as partners. They came back. And that's a different kind of commitment," said Drieselmann.
Over the past few months, Strategic Gears hired several IE University graduates and expanded its engagement with students through the Young Corporate Program (YCP), launched in June 2026 by IE Talent & Careers, which gives Bachelor students access to mentoring, job shadowing, and professional experience in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.
"IE Business School sets out to "shape the people who will go on and shape the world," while at Strategic Gears our mission is to help those same people "chart the uncharted frontiers." If you read the two missions side by side, the fit is unmistakable, and together we complete a single human journey toward a better future." said Alqahtani.
Strategic Gears is recognized as the first Saudi consulting firm to take on work for governments and organizations beyond the Kingdom, and among the first to expand abroad. The firm established itself in London and, most recently, in Madrid, to grow across Europe.