Karim El Aridi
Consultant
Karim is a Consultant at CAA Portas, with expertise in strategy and implementation planning across the full athlete pathway from grassroots talent identification and development to elite high-performance systems, as well as major sports events across the Middle East. Previously, he worked as a planning engineer at PepsiCo Lebanon and studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at the American University of Beirut.
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Karim El Aridi is a Consultant at CAA Portas, primarily serving clients across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In the UAE, he has supported the establishment of the Ministry of Sports, designing its strategy and key initiatives, and has worked on multiple projects including a national sports participation survey, the planning of the first national multi-sport university competition, and the development and implementation of a federation transformation program. He also has extensive experience across the UAE’s athlete pathway, from grassroots talent identification and development to elite high-performance systems.
In Saudi Arabia, Karim has led the implementation of a digital transformation initiative for over 180 sports clubs and contributed to strategic and delivery planning for major events such as Formula E, FIBA 3x3, and the Diriyah Tennis Cup, including concept design and post-event impact assessments.
Before joining CAA Portas, Karim worked for three years as a planner engineer at PepsiCo Lebanon, gaining experience in operational planning and engineering processes. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the American University of Beirut, where he served as a student representative. He combines a love of practicing wakesurfing and padel with a deep passion for football and tennis.