Sobha Group, a leading real estate construction company, has appointed Safeer Basheer Mohammed as the Chief Operating Officer for the Global Capability Centre – Middle East, with immediate effect.  

Safeer shared the news on LinkedIn: “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Chief Operating Officer – Global Capability Centre at Sobha Group – Middle East!”  

In his new role, Safeer brings over 26 years of HR leadership experience across the real estate, retail, consulting, and manufacturing sectors in the Middle East and India. He currently also serves as the CHRO – Director of Transformation & Head of HR for Sobha Constructions Middle East since 2022. In addition to his current responsibilities, Safeer will now oversee the group’s GCC operations, providing leadership insights, driving financial performance and innovation, developing processes and systems, and fostering a strong people-centric culture. 

Safeer is a strong advocate of empowering people and the way they work through a human-centered approach. Before joining Sobha, he served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for iD Fresh Food across India and the Middle East. He was seconded to iD from Watermelon Global, his co-founded consulting firm that provides HR advisory and executive search services, to lead the group’s HR and compliance operations in the region.  

In his previous roles, he worked with Stanley Black & Decker as the Director of Organisation & Talent Development for emerging markets, leading talent and business transformation strategies across the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Turkey, and India. He also worked with GE as the Head of HR, KPMG in HR Advisory and Executive Search & Selection in Qatar, Abuissa (Blue Salon) as the Assistant HR Manager, and Adecco as an Associate Consultant.  

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On the academic front, he holds a Master’s in Laws – Labour and Industrial Relations from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, a Post-Graduate Diploma in HR from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, and a BBA from the University of Kerala. He also holds key certifications in recruitment, talent search, employee engagement, and workforce development.