ABOUT - TWO DECADES IN THE REGION
About Mindfield Resources
Built and led by 30 years of regional search
Mindfield was founded in Dubai in 2004. Twenty-two years of executive search across the Middle East and Africa. 6,000+ placements across 32 markets. 86% of the people we place are still in role.
OUR STORY
How it all began.
From one sector to many sectors.
We started in 2004 in Dubai with consumer goods, a sector where speed, precision, and deep market knowledge are not optional. The conviction we opened with has not changed: the right leader changes everything.
Twenty-one years on, Mindfield places leaders and teams across the Middle East and Africa, thirty-two markets to date. We have worked through start-up windows, expansion cycles, recession, regional conflict, an oil price collapse, and a global pandemic. We were in the room before, during, and after each of them.
Today we cover consumer goods, retail, automotive, real estate, engineering, financial services, private equity, and venture capital. Our work spans contingency search, executive search, talent mapping, and a Leadership and Advisory practice that includes fractional executives, board advisory, and HR solutions.
Six thousand placements behind us. Three hundred at C-suite and one level below. An 86% stick rate that we measure ourselves on, not because anyone asks us to
Ownership through partnership is how we work. The same lens runs every mandate, whether it is a first General Manager in a new market or a CEO succession. The first conversation is always free and direct. If we are not the right fit, we say so.
OUR VISION
Making a difference by offering customised solutions and measurable impact for our clients and candidates alike.
OUR MISSION
- Resourcing client organisations with future-fit talent
- Driving rigour in selection and assessment, leadership behaviours, culture fit, and values
- Coaching and advisory across a leader’s career journey
- Consulting on organisation design, productivity, change management, and culture shaping
- Measuring success through client-focused KPIs, not our own
FOUNDING PARTNERS
Leadership, Founding Partners
Anjali Samuel
Founding Partner
Anjali co-founded Mindfield in 2004 and leads its executive search and Leadership and Advisory practice across the Middle East and Africa. Thirty years of senior search behind her, six thousand placements,
Samuel Varghese
Founding Partner
Samuel co-founded Mindfield with Anjali in 2004. He leads executive search across finance, IT, engineering, quality, supply chain, and project staffing. Eighteen years of regional search experience.
Anurag Kumar
Managing Director
Anurag joined Mindfield as Managing Director after a career spent at the top of the people function inside category leaders, most recently as CHRO of PepsiCo MEA. Twenty-six years of international corporate experience.
OUR JOURNEY
How we grew.
Twenty-one years of reading the region and moving with it.
AUG 2004
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Founded in Dubai
Anjali and Samuel open Mindfield. Consumer goods first. One conviction: the right leader changes everything.
2006
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Nokia calls
Nokia led the global market with 36% share, shipping 347M devices. They trusted a young Mindfield to find regional leaders. A defining moment.
2008
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Markets crash. We don’t.
Oil from $147 to $32. Arla scaled Lurpak. BP invested in people. The firms that hired through the crisis led after it.
2009 · 5 YEARS
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Five years in.
Five years of placements across consumer goods, retail, and a region finding its modern shape.
2010s
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The region transforms
Real estate, engineering, finance, PE. Saudi opens. Africa emerges. We grow to 32+ markets.
2014 · 10 YEARS
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Ten years. Networks deepening.
A decade of mandates, relationships, quiet placements across sectors and borders.
2019 · 15 YEARS
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Fifteen years. Still in the room.
Still placing the leaders shaping the region’s most ambitious businesses.
2020
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Pandemic. Still here.
When the world paused, we kept placing. When the market unfroze, we were already in the room.
2024 · 20 YEARS
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Twenty years. Built to last.
Two decades, thousands of placements, one standard.
TODAY · 2026
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21 years. 6,000+ leaders placed.
32 markets. 300+ C-suite. 110,000+ followers. The conviction has not changed.
Talk to us about a mandate.
We have been in rooms where strategy, succession, and sanity all hang on the right leader. If you are about to make one of those calls, start here. First conversation is free, direct, and confidential. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.