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As a seasoned HR professional with over 19 years of experience, Iyad Bader stands out as a beacon of leadership and innovation in HR operations. Currently serving as the Vice President at the International Project Developers Group (IPD Group), Iyad excels in aligning HR functions and providing strategic expertise to business unit leaders. He is also positioned as the Vice President of Gulf Power International and Group Human Resources and Public Relations Director.
Throughout his career, Iyad has demonstrated exceptional skills in building and transforming HR functions, embedding sustainability practices, and leading organizational development initiatives. His expertise spans leadership development, organizational design, sustainability, effectiveness, and human capital management.
Iyad’s overall journey is marked by continuous growth, adaptability, and purpose-driven leadership, impacting the industry positively.
Early Beginnings and Education
Iyad’s HR leadership journey began at Al Olayan Group, where he achieved notable success in Saudization and talent acquisition. He further showcased his expertise at Emirates NBD, contributing to the launch of the first E-banking platform in the Middle East.
In academics, Iyad holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management from the American University of Sharjah. This strong foundation has supported his corporate leadership and consulting endeavors, including his role as the owner of Bright Horizon Management Consultancy Firm, where he drives impact in HR, sustainability, and organizational strategy.
The Evolution of a Visionary Leader in HR
Iyad’s career path is a testament to his passion for empowering organizations through talent. From the beginning, he recognized that businesses are built on people, not just projects or profits. This insight drew him to human resources, where he could influence the heartbeat of organizations: their talent. Over time, his role evolved from tactical HR delivery to strategic, business-first leadership, driving innovation, transformation, and sustainable growth. Through industrial shifts, economic cycles, and technological revolutions, Iyad has continuously adapted his leadership style to meet the future and position HR as a catalyst for success.
The Key Inspiration: A Shared Vision for Excellence
Iyad was drawn to the International Project Developers Group by its bold vision and its commitment to excellence in the construction, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Recognizing IPD Group’s unique blend of innovation and execution, he saw a rare opportunity to develop a human capital strategy that would drive industry transformation. His decision to join IPD Group was purpose-driven, aimed at elevating people to a strategic priority alongside profitability and performance.
The Transformative Moment: Shaping HR Leadership
A defining moment in Iyad’s professional journey came during a major organizational turnaround early in his career. Tasked with leading cultural change in a company facing operational and financial challenges, he realized that technical solutions alone were insufficient — people’s belief, alignment, and empowerment were crucial. It taught him that HR leadership must be proactive, emotionally intelligent, and deeply connected to both the boardroom and the front lines. Since then, Iyad has built every HR strategy around the conviction that culture is paramount and empowerment drives transformation.
Strategic HR Alignment: Driving Business Success
Iyad aligns HR strategies with business objectives by deeply embedding HR within the operational and strategic fabric of the organization. In high-stakes industries like construction and infrastructure, where speed and precision are non-negotiable, he ensures workforce planning starts at the project bid stage, talent development is mapped directly to the project delivery timelines, and leadership succession is tied to future pipeline opportunities. Under his approach, HR is a core business partner, risk mitigator, and performance accelerator—not just a support function.
Building Lasting Organizational Capability
Iyad believes building organizational capability requires a holistic focus on leadership development, technical excellence, cultural resilience, and future readiness. To ensure sustainability, he embeds capability-building into the company’s core by structuring leadership pipelines, fostering continuous learning ecosystems, and establishing performance management frameworks that reward innovation. This approach is further reinforced by a culture of accountability and ownership at every level, driving long-term success and adaptability.
Strategic HR Practices to Assure Sustainable Growth
Iyad emphasizes that organizational sustainability in large, project-driven environments relies on three critical HR practices. Firstly, workforce agility is crucial, requiring a flexible, multi-skilled workforce that can seamlessly diversify to diverse projects and markets. Secondly, purpose-driven engagement is essential, where employees’ day-to-day roles are deeply connected to the organization’s mission and societal impact. Lastly, strategic talent pipelines are vital, built through continuous learning and proactive career development to ensure internal talent evolves faster than market demands.
Effective Cross-Functional Collaboration in Complex Projects
Iyad has developed the best practices for collaborating with cross-functional teams, particularly in technically complex and time-sensitive projects. He emphasizes the importance of trust, transparency, and shared ownership. To achieve this, Iyad sets clear shared goals from the outset, ensures communication across all levels, and celebrates collective success. In high-pressure environments, he believes leadership should foster an environment where information is shared openly, silos are broken, and every stakeholder feels invested in the project’s journey and the outcome.
Leading Cultural Change through Leadership
Iyad approaches change management as a cultural journey rather than a singular event. He begins by creating a compelling story that communicates the “why” behind the change, ensuring authenticity and clarity. Through inclusive leadership, he empowers teams to co-create the journey, fostering a sense of ownership. Combining targeted training, visible leadership sponsorship, and embedded feedback loops ensures that change is not just implemented but becomes an integral part of the organization’s DNA.
The Long-term Vision: Reimagining HR
Iyad envisions a future where HR plays a transformative role in engineering and development companies, evolving into an innovation catalyst and strategic architect of competitive advantage. In this vision, HR transcends traditional administrative roles, instead building ecosystems that foster organic innovation, drive strategy through talent, and empower individuals to reach their full potential. Ultimately, Iyad believes that engineering excellence and human capital will become inseparable, driving organizations toward unprecedented success.
Remarkable Achievements and Impact
Iyad has successfully established HR departments across four industries, recruiting and developing over 2,000 employees. He achieved notable cost savings of over 10 million SAR through strategic HR process automation. Additionally, Iyad has led sustainability reporting initiatives, securing GRI and SDG certifications for organizations. His expertise in HR transformation has driven significant change in major educational, financial, and industrial institutions, earning him multiple honors for leadership, innovation, and commitment.
Iyad’s Distinctive Leadership: Driving Innovation and Excellence
Iyad Bader’s leadership philosophy is rooted in strategic foresight, people empowerment, and operational excellence. He believes in building organizations that are future-ready, innovation-driven, and aligned with purpose. Through his multi-sector experience and visionary leadership approach, Iyad continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of project development, energy infrastructure, and corporate governance in the Middle East.
Measuring Success: A Multidimensional Approach
Iyad measures the success of his HR and PR strategies through a multidimensional framework that can capture business impact, project delivery, and brand reputation. The key metrics include productivity gains, reduced turnover, accelerated project delivery timelines, as well as talent retention, leadership development, and internal promotion rates. Additionally, he tracks employer branding indices, candidate experience feedback, and market perception audits to gauge brand reputation. For Iyad, the ultimate measure of success is when HR is no longer seen just as a support function but as a value creator and business multiplier that drives growth and excellence.
The Future of HR: A Five-Year Vision
Over the next five years, Iyad aims to scale his impact globally, driving the organization through innovation, resilience, and human-centered leadership. He plans to mentor the next generation of HR leaders, develop pioneering HR strategies such as sustainable construction and smart infrastructure, and position the Middle East as a hub for megaprojects and mega talent development. Through these efforts, Iyad aspires to create a lasting legacy in the HR and organizational development landscape.
Words of Wisdom: Empowering Emerging HR Leaders
Iyad offers valuable advice to emerging HR leaders in technical, project-intensive industries. He suggests that to make a real impact, they should be brave, strategic, and human-centric in their approach. By deeply understanding the business and speaking the language of operations and finance, HR leaders can build credibility through tangible impact. Most importantly, Iyad reminds them that behind every project, metric, and innovation are human beings with untapped potential waiting to be unleashed.
