Abdelilah Nejjari: Driving Digital Growth Across the Gulf and Levant

Abdelilah Nejjari, Managing Director – Gulf & Levant at Cisco, is a seasoned technology executive with more than three decades of experience spanning general management, sales leadership, business development, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, and data-center solutions.

Based in Dubai, Nejjari has built a distinguished career across the Middle East and Africa, combining strategic leadership, solution selling, and strong customer and partner relationships to drive business growth.

Leading Cisco’s Gulf & Levant Business

Since August 2022, Nejjari has served as Managing Director – Gulf & Levant at Cisco, where he leads business operations and growth across a strategically important regional market.

His leadership is grounded in extensive experience managing complex technology businesses, developing go-to-market strategies, and building relationships with corporate decision-makers, partners, and customers.

Before assuming his current role, he served as Chief Operations Officer & Channel Director – Middle East and Africa, overseeing operational and channel strategies across a broad and diverse geography.

A Long Journey at Cisco

Nejjari joined Cisco in 2007 and has held a succession of leadership positions over nearly two decades.

His Cisco career includes serving as General Manager for North, West & Central Africa, where he led regional business development, as well as Regional Sales Manager and Territory Sales Manager roles.

Through these positions, he developed extensive expertise in partner-led growth, commercial strategy, sales management, and large-scale IT solutions, helping organizations across Africa and the Middle East adopt advanced technology infrastructures.

Building Technology Businesses

Before Cisco, Nejjari co-founded Profilium IT Services, an IT services company focused on infrastructure services, technical support, and training. As co-founder, he developed sales strategies, acquired new clients, managed customer relationships, and oversaw complete technology project lifecycles.

Earlier, as Senior Director of Product Management at Disway, he led product management teams and contributed to the successful introduction of major technology brands including Cisco, CA, IBM Storage, and HP Management Products. His efforts helped achieve consistent double-digit annual growth and strengthened Disway’s reputation as a value-added technology distributor.

His early career included engineering and technical leadership roles at Infocom, Dynamic Computer Industries, and Megatel, establishing the technical foundation that would later support his executive career.

Combining Technical Expertise With Executive Leadership

Nejjari’s career stands out for the combination of engineering knowledge and commercial leadership. His expertise covers networking, telecom, cybersecurity, collaboration, data centers, infrastructure, and enterprise technology solutions.

This technical foundation enables him to translate complex technology into practical business solutions while building high-performing teams and sustainable customer relationships.

Fluent in Arabic, English, and French, he also brings significant cross-cultural and geographical experience across Africa and the Middle East.

A Vision for Regional Technology Growth

With decades of experience leading technology businesses across diverse markets, Abdelilah Nejjari continues to contribute to the region’s digital transformation.

His journey from network engineering to senior regional leadership reflects a career built on innovation, customer value, strategic execution, and continuous business growth.

Arab CEOs Recognition

Arab CEOs recognizes Abdelilah Nejjari for his distinguished contribution to the Middle East and Africa’s technology ecosystem. Through his leadership at Cisco and decades of experience in networking, digital infrastructure, sales, and business transformation, he continues to help organizations and markets unlock the value of technology and accelerate sustainable growth.