Case Study
Abdulla Fouad Group (AFG)
Services provided: Operating Model, Purpose Engineering, Corporate and Business Strategy, Corporate Governance, Institutional Diagnosis and Industry Analysis, PMO Setup and Execution Support, Restructuring and Organizational Development, Change Enablement.
Reinforcing legacy and unlocking new growth at AFG
The Challenge
As Abdulla Fouad Group (AFG) navigated a rapidly evolving business environment in Saudi Arabia, the Group faced the dual opportunity and challenge of protecting its legacy as a leading family-owned conglomerate while positioning itself to capture new growth opportunities emerging under Vision 2030. Increased competition, evolving market dynamics, and rising expectations around governance and performance created the need for a clearer corporate direction, stronger alignment across the organization, and sharper focus by each line of business on its core activities. Supporting the next phase of growth required sharper strategic focus, disciplined governance, and a more value-driven role for the Corporate Head Office.
The Transformation
AFG engaged CDS to define a unifying corporate purpose and strategy and to strengthen governance and organizational effectiveness across the Group.
The transformation focused on:
Internal and industry diagnostics: Comprehensive internal assessments and industry analyses to identify internal improvement opportunities and understand the strategic outlook of each line of business.
Corporate purpose and strategy: Definition of a clear corporate purpose, vision, mission, values, and objectives, and a Group-level corporate strategy aligned with the Kingdom’s evolving economic landscape.
Strategy alignment across lines of business: Cascading the corporate strategy to the level of individual lines of business to ensure coherence, focus on core areas of competence, and optimal allocation of resources.
Value creation through strategic repositioning: Identification of opportunities to unlock additional value from existing Group capabilities, including the strategic repositioning of the logistics function from an internal cost center into a profit-generating business serving external clients.
Corporate governance design: Design of well-defined governance mechanisms to strengthen decision-making dynamics among family owners, the Board of Directors, and senior executives.
Building the Foundations
To ensure the new strategy and governance model could be executed and sustained, CDS supported AFG in establishing the organizational and management mechanisms required for implementation.
This included:
Corporate Head Office role definition: Clarification of the role, scope, and value-adding mandate of the Corporate Head Office to enable more effective interaction with the various lines of business.
Organizational model alignment: Alignment of organizational structures and management systems with the Group’s strategic priorities.
Execution planning: Development of a structured execution plan and strategy management mechanisms to track progress, manage initiatives, and reinforce accountability.
The Outcome
The engagement aligned AFG around a shared corporate purpose and strategy, strengthening focus across its diverse businesses and enabling more disciplined resource allocation. Governance and Board effectiveness were enhanced, supporting clearer decision-making and oversight. Critically, the strategic repositioning of the logistics function transformed it from a cost center into a profit-generating business that now serves external clients, unlocking a new revenue stream and demonstrating how Group capabilities can be leveraged for value creation. Together, these changes reinforced AFG’s competitive standing and positioned the Group for sustainable growth in the years ahead.