Nadim Sadek

Nadim Sadek (born October 1962) is a UK-based, Irish-Egyptian marketing-entrepreneur. He was born to an Egyptian father (Fernando Habib Sadek 1928-2005) who worked as an epidemiologist with the World Health Organisation and Irish mother (Marie Celine Meehan from Limerick city, born 1927) who worked as a nurse then teacher. Sadek was educated and lived around the world in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Barbados, Antigua and Ireland. He attended St. Columba’s College in Dublin from 1975–1980, before reading Mental & Moral Science for one year, then 4 years of Pure Psychology, at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1980-1985, from where he graduated with a BA Moderatorship.

Career

A career in market research began in 1985 at Lansdowne Market Research in Dublin, before he moved to London with his friend, Brian Pullman, remarking at the time that they were “like generations of other Irish emigrants, catching the boat to the mainland” to seek their fortune. Sadek became a Director of Burns Research Partners, renamed Burns Sadek Research two years later, a boutique qualitative research firm. After 7 years there, Mr Sadek founded Sadek Wynberg Research in Kensington in 1993, with Rebecca Wynberg. SWR conducted research for the development of brands and communications for many of the world's blue-chip companies, including Unilever, Bacardi Global Brands, Kimberly-Clark, Vodafone and Sony Ericsson. The firm grew to be the largest of its kind in the UK by 2000 and the world by 2003, whereupon it was sold to WPP, becoming Sadek Wynberg Millward Brown ^[1]

Mr Sadek became Global Leader of Millward Brown’s Qualitative Network for the next three years bringing together many of the acquisitions made by the group into a coherent network offering common standards across a wide geography, before taking up the role of Worldwide Commercial & Strategy Director at Research International, a company operating in 52 countries. In this position, his responsibility was to make the organisation more efficient, and renew its intellectual capital base with innovation and renovation of existing and new services.^[2]

Talking of ‘practising what I preach’ he then 'became a client' and created the Inish Turk Beg brand, based on the values of the eponymous island, Inish Turk Beg, off the coast of Ireland which he had purchased in 2003.^[3] The island was a 63-acre sheep grazing piece of land when acquired, and 10 years later, Sadek had installed an all-weather access system on the island (and an associated mainland farm he bought to have a 'foul-weather base' and Connemara Pony Stud), a sewage system, roads, 5 homes, a Boatyard, fuel storage facilities, and numerous agricultural buildings. Fields were reconfigured with drainage and new planting. 10,000 trees were planted to reassert the traditionally wooded nature of the island. In addition, the island was connected by under-ocean electricity and water supplies, but investments were made in extensive solar-panel power and the burying of all utilities. The Inish Turk Beg brand spoke of ‘living life at a tilt’ and encompassed a luxury rental destination, a Connemara Pony Stud, a smoked fish line distributed throughout Ireland and the UK, Art Residencies and Exhibitions, a number-one listed music album ‘The Brilliant Irish Flute’, and ‘Maiden Voyage’ a single-malt Irish Whiskey, which has gone on to win industry awards. In 2013, a further whiskey bottling was made 'Chief Islander's Choice' to celebrate Celtic Whiskey Shop's 10 Anniversary. The brand also won a 'Mobius' for best new brand, selected from almost 5,000 entries from 36 countries, in 2010.

Mr Sadek is Chairman of Tryangle, a training and facilitation social-enterprise, whose purpose is to improve the lives of its clients by enabling them to have better job prospects, lifecoping skills and opportunities for constructive socialisation through sport. He is also Executive Producer at Boss Bikes Club, a review channel focused on the world of motorcycling. Mr Sadek also co-manages 'Shaefri', awarded Best New Singer-Songwriter (2012) at the Irish Entertainment Awards.

His principal activity is as CEO at brand management consultancy, TransgressiveX, based in London, which specialises in developing business value through brands, particularly employing a contemporary iteration of Social Exchange Theory.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

TX was appointed globally on Unilever's business in 2015.^[9] Further successes with clients such as KCF ^[10] and the launch of an innovative quantitative research framework for brands ^[11] resulted in TransgressiveX being nominated as one of 2016's top disruptive marketing brands.^[12] Mr Sadek also writes occasional features, such as on the topic of 'Brexit'.^[13]

In The Media

Mr Sadek's increasing breadth of activity led to him featuring on the launch series of The Secret Millionaire in Ireland, screened by RTÉ (October 2011),^[14] and Channel 4, followed up by a ‘Look-back’ episode screened by RTÉ (October 2012), ^[15][16] which saw him return to the groups he had benefacted – The Cork Academy of Music (socially-inclusive music education),^[17][18] Cois Tine (welcome and pastoral care for refugees and asylum seekers),^[19] Rebel Wheelers (competitive sports for disabled children),^[20] and Cork Penny Dinners (nourishment without judgment). Mr Sadek also featured on RTÉ’s long-running Late Late Show (September, 2011).

Further involvement in the music industry came as Manager of Shaefri, who launched her debut EP ‘Venture’ in December 2011 and went on to be awarded ‘Best New Singer-Songwriter, 2012’ by the Irish Entertainment Awards, and tipped as ‘number one new act to follow’ in Hot Press’s ‘Hot for 2012’ listing.^[21]

The company that owned Inish Turk Beg went into receivership in 2012 and the island was put up for sale.^[22] Mr Sadek retains all the assets of the island, including the Intellectual Property Rights to the Inish Turk Beg brand. The whiskey business continues to be active. In a statement to the Irish Independent on 11 February 2013, Mr Sadek said: "Having travelled the world, I am certain that Inish Turk Beg is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It inspires, intoxicates, enlivens. Those who come after me benefit from a decade of loving investment, building and imagining. They will not be able to repeat that, for the place is now transformed, but they can love it as I have done. I wish them well. The island and the sea have taught me many things, among which is that some journeys are orbital and you never know when you might end up back where you started again."

In November, 2013 Mr Sadek presented a TEDx Talk in Teddington, London, featuring his views on how interactions in life can be understood through an analysis of what he calls 'eXchange', powered by the notions of seduction and persuasion.

On RTE Radio 1's 'The Business Programme', during September 2014, presenter Richard Curran interviewed Mr Sadek about his career, stretching from Lansdowne Market Research in Dublin, and in London to Burns Research Partners, Sadek Wynberg Research, Millward Brown, Research International, WPP, Inish Turk Beg and TransgressiveX. During the interview, it was clear that global banking strategy, including a turn away from Euro-demoninated assets in 'delinquent markets' such as Ireland, had caused the interruption of the Inish Turk Beg brand. Meanwhile, 'necessity is the mother of invention' was proven by the creation and commercial success of TransgressiveX, which was now operating globally.

Family Life

Mr Sadek has an older brother (Anis, b.1955 - Managing Partner of Deloitte in Dubai) and sister (Elizabeth, b.1951 - teacher in Angers, France), married Sandra O’Malley (b. 1959) in 1989 and they have four children, Searsha (b. 1991), Shaefri (b. 1993), Sean (b. 1997) and Oisin (b. 2004). They live in London.

References