SOLA Group Introduction & Service OfferingMENA 2011

SOLA Group OverviewEstablished The SOLA Group was established in May 2005 and has quickly established itself as a strong

business partner to a number of prestigious clients globally.

Locations SOLA Group’s head office is based in Central London.SOLA’s UAE office was opened in 2007 and is based in Dubai.The most recent SOLA office to be opened was Düsseldorf, Germany opening in 2011.

Ownership SOLA are privately owned and owner managed. All of our clients have access to the Main Board of Directors.

Values SOLA Group is underpinned by two main focuses; relationships and delivery. Our ultimate objective is to build and sustain effective relationships with our clients by delivering outstanding value. We do not subscribe to winning business at any cost. SOLA does not and will not take on work that it cannot deliver on.

Relationship with our clients

SOLA is entirely vendor neutral ensuring our clients interests are upheld at all times. Our exposure to, and relationships with numerous organisations means that we are always at the forefront of industry best practices.

SOLA ContactsBenjamin Baker , Business Development Director - MENA

Background & Expertise

Ben brings with him over 15 years Business experience including IT Sales and Management. His focus is to expand SOLA’s GCC presence and develop our already strong reputation in the GCC.

Ben’s main strengths lie in building effective teams, his strong business acumen, customer-focus, listening, absolute integrity & trust. His long-term objectives are to strengthen and strategically build the company to benefit and serve SOLA’s clients with outstanding candidates & service provision.

Contact DetailsDirect: Tel +971 (4) 3255 668 Email: ben.baker@solagroup.com

Dubai Office - SOLA Consulting, Office 202, 2nd Floor, Code Business Tower, Al Barsha, Dubai

London Office - SOLA Technology, 33 Regent Street, London, SW1Y 4NB, UK

SOLA ContactsTarek Rizkallah, Regional Head of Delivery - MENA

Background & Expertise

Tarek takes full responsibility for SOLA’s delivery function in the MENA region. He has over 10 yrs experience within the recruitment industry and an extensive knowledge of the GCC. A fluent Arabic speaker and someone with international experience working in the US, Saudi and the UAE with blue-chip companies such as Microsoft, Tarek is the perfect candidate to lead our ‘in-region’ team.He manages a team of local delivery consultants split into 3 main teams focussing on; IT, Sales & Marketing and Finance & HR and is available to meet with customers upon request for further detailed job qualification discussions. Tarek’s main strengths are his attention to detail, his strong work ethic and his ability to understand a clients needs and convert this to the ideal candidate.

Contact DetailsMobile: +971 (0)554 715 345Direct: +971 (4)325 5668

Email: tarek.rizkallah@solagroup.com

London Office - SOLA Technology, 33 Regent Street, London, SW1Y 4NB, UK

Dubai Office - SOLA Consulting, Office 202, 2nd Floor, Code Business Tower, Al Barsha, Dubai

SOLA Group StructureSOLA Group consists of three principal business units, each with a separate focus, that together offer a complete service for all of your business consulting requirements.

SOLA Technology (85%)

SOLA Technology provides high calibre contingent workers and associates across EMEA.

SOLA Search (10%)

Executive Search and selection.

Placing senior business critical hires, not openly on the job market.

SOLA Consulting (5%)

SOLA Consulting delivers fixed price, fixed deliverable projects.

SOLA Customer ProfileSOLA currently have a growing number of employees and consultants working on assignments throughout EMEA and have now been trading in the Middle East for nearly 4 years.

UK

Ireland

Finland

Netherlands

Germany

France

Portugal

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

UAE

Tanzania

Nigeria

Ivory Coast

Ghana

Malaysia

SOLA’s Global Coverage

Sudan

Sri Lanka

Gibraltar

Morocco

Tunisia

Turkey

Egypt

SOLA Compliancy Partner Thiqah Technology LLC

SOLA is a partner of Thiqah Technology LLC, a compliancy and HR company based within the UAE which assists many companies within the GCC with all their ‘in-country’ compliancy issues from PRO services to company logistics.

Thiqah are specialists in the definition and implementation of fully working compliant solutions to protect a) the Client and b) the Personnel. Thiqah have a vast knowledge and support system over EMEA with an emphasis on compliancy in all aspects of clients requirements and are aware of all stringent legalities, labour laws and restrictions that must be adhered to in these areas.

The locations where SOLA & Thiqah are most prominent and where our clients find our service most useful are in the UAE & KSA.

SOLA works closely with Thiqah Technology for their compliant solutions in order to operate efficiently across the GCC enabling us to offer the following deliverables;

• An unlimited number of full Residence Visas for the UAE within 14 days of contracts being agreed.

• An unlimited number of on-shore Saudi Arabian (KSA) Iqama’s within 14 days of contracts being agreed.

DifferentiatorsThe Academy The Academy is an intensive training programme, designed to create strong technologists by “fast-tracking” intelligent,

consultative and skilled junior candidates sourced by SOLA Technology. Training is bespoke and designed with the ideal candidate blueprint in mind. The Academy completely alleviates the pressure associated with resourcing experienced staff. It creates a generation of employees who are specifically skilled and trained, committed, loyal and engaged with the company culture and mission. The Academy is executed on the client site, managed by a highly skilled Academy Manager.

The Associate Catalogue

SOLA evaluates specific technology/skill requirements that are used by clients on a repeatable basis and creates a virtual team of pre qualified and pre-screened candidates across a designated time period. Each catalogue is tailored to support an individual organization. This provides total transparency on the availability of candidates so clients are able to resource-plan with absolute confidence. We are currently running storage and security cleared catalogues.

Delivery Team Made up of technically savvy consultants; their main purpose is to speak to the candidate community, sourcing the best fitting candidates faster than any of our competitors. By having a dedicated team to source and filter candidates we are able to build and maintain relationships with candidates and hold current skills and availability information. The delivery team place emphasis on proactively gaining candidate referrals; subsequently they can tap in to any market, regardless of niche or geography, quickly. SOLA work with a significant number of candidates exclusively.

Operations and Finance

SOLA has been ISO certified for 3 years and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. Our Operations team work to strict internal SLA’s. SOLA have pioneered a Contractor Charter which includes the following commitments; initial contact within 3 hours of placement, a contractor care pack, details surrounding issue resolution, timely extension management etc. Our Finance department is staffed by Accountants NOT by Recruitment Consultants. SOLA have a strong credit line and a confidential invoice discounting facility with RBS, providing a consistent cash flow so we are always able to pay our contractors in line with expectations. We have two payment cycles each month to provide flexibility to our clients and contractors. We have very strong interdepartmental communication and cooperation. We have experience of migrating contractors and appreciate the sensitivity surrounding such an exercise.

Sample of Current Customers

SOLA’s focus within MENA regionSOLA consistently provide extensive guidance and leadership to numerous clients across the full spectrum of sectors in the MENA region. Ranging from senior project leadership, project turnaround/rescue and day-to-day management, through to project assurance and governance focused roles, we continue to deliver unrivalled levels of service to global enterprise customers.Typically SOLA has focussed on Mid-Senior level hires from Directors through to Project Managers utilising our expansive network of highly experienced professionals.

Typical roles recruited by SOLA Sectors SOLA recruits for• Director & C-level appointments• Programme/Project Director• Programme Manager• Senior Project Manager• Project Support Officer/Project Assurance• PMO Manager• Business Development Manager• Regional/Country Sales Manager• Technical Support Manager

• Financial Services• Telecommunications• Public Sector• Construction & Dredging• Education• Data Storage & Virtualisation• Systems Integrators / Software Houses• Digital Media / Communications Agencies• Consulting companies

Case Study for UAESOLA has been trading with Mubadala Development Company (MDC) since January 2009.

All activity has been within the MIS (now ETS) function.

The initial brief involved the compliant delivery with full residency Visa’s, work permits and local contracts a number of individuals to support MIS/ETS with numerous projects and business as usual (BAU) activity.

Our delivery has expanded into various areas within ETS and our service includes the following:

SOLA’s practice areas include:

•Full residency Visa provided within 7 days of work order•Work permits issued / Local contract issued•Payroll locally and compliantly•Bank account set up for consultants•Assistance providing local mobile telephone•Preferential rate for accommodation in Abu Dhabi & Dubai•Assistance with car hire •Full briefing on working in UAE•Regular contact with consultants•Swift payment of invoices to consultants (within 7 days)•Regular feedback to client / consultant

•Head of Department•IT Development •Application Support•Architects•IS Security•Programme & Project

Management•Storage & Virtualisation•Voice & Data•Infrastructure•Testing