Ohannes Tomassian’s Leadership Journey Inspires Modern Business Growth

Over the course of a career spanning Lebanon and the UAE, Ohannes Tomassian has built his experience at the point where commercial strategy meets execution.

From sales and luxury design to manufacturing, construction-related industries and investment management, the sectors have changed, but the underlying focus has remained consistent: understanding businesses from the inside, identifying opportunities for growth and building the operational structure needed to deliver it.

Now based in Dubai, Tomassian has held senior leadership responsibilities across organizations operating in some of the Middle East’s most competitive industries. His progression from commercial roles to broader operational and investment leadership has given him a perspective shaped not only by strategy, but by the realities of running and growing businesses.

Commercial Foundations

Tomassian began his career in Lebanon, where his early experience was rooted in sales, negotiation and relationship management.

Those years provided a foundation that would remain important throughout his career. In relationship-driven markets, commercial success is rarely about the product alone. It depends on understanding clients, building trust and knowing how to turn opportunities into long-term business relationships.

As his career moved to the UAE, the scale changed considerably.

Dubai offered a faster-moving and increasingly competitive environment, with larger developments, international companies and more complex client requirements. Tomassian’s responsibilities grew with the market, gradually taking him beyond traditional commercial roles and into wider operational and strategic leadership.

A Different Perspective Through Luxury Design

His time with Bisazza Gulf, part of the international luxury design group known for glass mosaic and high-end architectural surfaces, introduced another dimension to his experience.

Luxury operates by a different set of commercial rules. Price and volume are only part of the equation. Brand positioning, design credibility, service and the overall client experience play an equally important role.

Working in this environment meant engaging with architects, designers, developers and high-end clients, while understanding how an international brand needed to be positioned within the Gulf market.

During this period, Tomassian was also involved in establishing a luxury division and developing its commercial presence.

The experience reinforced an approach that would carry into later roles: understand the market and the customer first, then build the team and structure capable of supporting growth.

RAK Ceramics: From Commercial Leadership to Business Transformation

A significant chapter in Tomassian’s career came at RAK Ceramics, where he held senior leadership responsibilities across sales and the tiles and sanitaryware business.

The role placed him within a major manufacturing environment and at the intersection of several industries central to the UAE’s development: manufacturing, construction, real estate and retail.

It also broadened his responsibilities beyond the commercial function.

Large-scale manufacturing requires sales to work closely with production, procurement, supply chain, logistics, quality and project delivery. Commercial growth can only be sustained when the organization behind it has the capacity and discipline to deliver.

That exposure gave Tomassian a deeper understanding of the operating mechanics behind business performance.

During this period, he was involved in commercial relationships and projects connected with prominent developers and major developments across the UAE. RAK Ceramics products were supplied to developments including Azizi Riviera in Mohammed Bin Rashid City, while his professional experience also included work associated with Aldar, Arada, DAMAC Hills, Dubai Hills Estate, Town Square and the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi.

More important than any individual project, however, was the evolution of his responsibilities.

His work increasingly involved aligning teams, strengthening commercial performance, developing markets and ensuring that operational capabilities could keep pace with growth.

It marked an important transition from commercial leadership to broader business management and transformation.

Understanding the Business Behind the Numbers

Manufacturing became an important part of Tomassian’s executive experience.

Working close to production and operations provided an understanding of what sits behind financial and commercial results: capacity, procurement, cost, quality, inventory, supply reliability, customer requirements and the ability of teams to execute consistently.

That experience continues to influence the way he looks at businesses today.

Financial statements can show what has happened, but understanding why it happened often requires looking deeper into the organization — at its people, processes, customers and operating structure.

This perspective became increasingly relevant as his career moved from managing individual businesses toward investment leadership.

Continuing to Learn

Alongside his professional responsibilities, Tomassian continued his executive development.

His professional background includes executive education at Harvard Business School, alongside further development in strategy and leadership management.

For an executive working across different industries and increasingly complex organizations, continued learning provides an opportunity to challenge established thinking and bring new perspectives into the businesses he manages.

It also reflects a broader characteristic of his career: adaptability.

The markets in which Tomassian has worked have changed considerably over the years, as have the expectations placed on senior executives. Navigating that change requires knowing when established approaches remain effective and when a business needs to think differently.

Recognition Along the Way

In 2020, Tomassian received recognition from the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Program.

The recognition came at a stage in his career when his responsibilities had already expanded beyond traditional sales leadership, encompassing operations, major client relationships, teams and the demands of large-scale projects.

By then, his experience reflected an increasingly broad understanding of how commercial ambition and operational capability have to work together.

From Operating Businesses to Investment Leadership

In 2023, Tomassian moved into investment leadership as Chief Operating Officer of MTA Investment LLC.

The transition represented a natural extension of his operating experience.

Rather than concentrating on a single product, business unit or industry, the role required a broader perspective across different businesses and operating environments.

His mandate has centered on operational efficiency, expansion, performance improvement and creating measurable value across the portfolio.

Years spent inside operating companies have proved particularly relevant in this environment.

Investment decisions may begin with strategy and capital, but their success ultimately depends on execution. Expansion has to translate into customers and revenue. Investment has to translate into capability. Strategy has to become a series of decisions and actions throughout an organization.

Having worked on the operating side gives Tomassian a practical perspective when assessing those decisions.

He understands not only what a business wants to achieve, but what needs to happen inside the organization to make it possible.

An Operator’s Approach to Leadership

If there is one thread connecting the different stages of Tomassian’s career, it is execution.

His experience has reinforced the view that businesses rarely transform because of one decision or one individual. Sustainable performance comes from capable teams, clear responsibilities, accountability and systems that allow good execution to be repeated.

As organizations grow, the role of leadership changes.

A senior executive cannot personally drive every outcome. The challenge is to create an organization capable of delivering those outcomes consistently.

For Tomassian, that means remaining close enough to the business to understand what is actually happening while maintaining the perspective required to make larger strategic decisions.

It is a balance between strategy and operations developed through years spent working across both.

Building the Next Chapter

Today, Tomassian’s career brings together experience across several industries that have played a significant role in the development of the Middle East: manufacturing, construction, real estate, luxury design and investment.

From his early commercial years in Lebanon to senior leadership in Dubai, each stage has added another dimension to his experience.

Sales developed commercial discipline. Luxury brought an understanding of brand positioning and customer experience. Manufacturing introduced operational complexity and scale. Major projects deepened his exposure to developers and the construction ecosystem. Investment management broadened that perspective across businesses and capital.

Taken together, those experiences have shaped an executive who approaches growth from an operator’s point of view.

For Tomassian, the next chapter is less about adding another title and more about taking on businesses where transformation, growth and execution matter.

After a career spent moving between industries, markets and increasingly complex organizations, his approach remains grounded in a straightforward principle: understand the business, identify what needs to change and build the organization capable of delivering it.

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