Meet Nisreen Shocair, Group Chief Transformation Officer for Middle East, Africa and LATAM at Beyond ONE, whose passion for fashion and keen interest in the ever-evolving landscape of cultural trends have propelled her towards remarkable achievements. With a remarkable career spanning esteemed organizations such as Viacom, Sony Music, Bertelsmann AG, and Hearst Entertainment, Nisreen has consistently gravitated towards industries where fashion and entertainment intersect.
Nisreen’s remarkable journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and industry professionals alike. Her unwavering dedication to the worlds of fashion and entertainment, coupled with her visionary leadership and commitment to responsible consumption, make her a true visionary in the business realm. As she continues to make waves and leave an indelible mark on the industry, Nisreen exemplifies the spirit of innovation and creative evolution that defines the modern business landscape.
Trailblazing at the Intersection of Tech and Entertainment
In the early 2000s, Nisreen embarked on a journey that merged technology and entertainment, marking the beginning of her successful career. Having lived and worked across different continents, she gained a global perspective that she now utilizes to establish businesses focused on immersive experiences, drawing from her love for culture, history, and art. Recently, her focus has shifted towards fostering community and enabling collaborative creation, amplification, and monetization across borders. She firmly believes that retailers have a crucial role to play in supporting the well-being of our planet.
Nisreen’s accomplishments in the retail and entertainment industries are highly notable. She has held prestigious leadership positions, including CEO of a pioneering live streaming network in the MENA region and President of Virgin Megastore for the Middle East & North Africa. Throughout her career, Nisreen has worked with renowned organizations such as Viacom, Sony Music, Bertelsmann AG, and Hearst Entertainment.
Actively involved in the retail industry, Nisreen co-chairs the Retail Leaders Circle, a think tank dedicated to advancing the Middle East retail sector. Her expertise and insights make her a sought-after speaker at esteemed events like the World Retail Congress, Retail Leader’s Circle, Retail Week, and the Financial Times.
Nisreen’s achievements have earned her significant recognition. She has been named Female CEO of the Year by CEO Middle East and Businesswoman of the Year by Women in Leadership. Additionally, she consistently appears on influential lists, including the Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women and Forbes Middle East’s top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women.
Nisreen’s unwavering focus on thoughtful consumption and her dedication to supporting the environment have made her a driving force in shaping and inspiring the retail and entertainment industries in the Middle East and beyond.
Nisreen has an inherent attraction to industries characterized by ongoing transformation, where disruption is both embraced and initiated with composure. She finds great interest in businesses that operate as multiplayer experiences in a world that often promotes a solitary, single-player mindset.
One of her notable ventures, Beyond ONE, exemplifies this philosophy. It transcends the boundaries of a single brand, market, industry, or conventional approach. Instead, it centers around a grand idea, a unified focus on our planet, and the strength of a collaborative team. Leveraging technology as a powerful enabler, it amplifies the delivery of the right product to the right audience at the right moment, ensuring maximum impact.
Redefining Excellence through Digital Aggregation and Global Collaboration
Beyond One is a digital service aggregator, focused on multi-player mode vs single-player mode. It aims to surpass the expectations of its members by continually seeking excellence across all industries. The team meticulously evaluates various sectors to identify the best-in-class entities within each. For instance, Apple represents unparalleled technological innovation, while Netflix sets the standard for exceptional user interfaces. Amazon stands out as a customer-centric leader, and so forth. By incorporating these exceptional elements, the companies under Beyond One’s operation strive to become world-class entities across all dimensions.
A primary objective of Beyond One is to establish enduring partnerships and foster a sense of community with every client. Regardless of geographic location, the goal is to treat each client as a long-term collaborator and a valued member of the communities being cultivated on a global scale.
Cultivating Innovation and Empowerment
In her current role, Nisreen is actively involved in driving BeyondONE to become the pioneering digital service aggregator that harnesses the true power of communities. The platform aims to empower its members to create, amplify, and ultimately monetize their participation in BeyondONE.
A key factor in attracting talented individuals to a workplace or brand is the company’s ability to inspire employees to realize their full potential. This involves providing them with the autonomy to express and share their ideas, contributing to the betterment of the world, and creating an environment they are proud to consider their second home. Cultivating a culture rooted in innovation and creation attracts those who aspire to be trailblazers, eager to build what has never been built before. In order to fulfill this vision, effective management is crucial in driving profitable growth.
Vision for Empowering Underprivileged Communities
Nisreen firmly believes that the recent remarkable success stories have taught us a valuable lesson: the next prodigious talent can emerge from anywhere. She has a deep appreciation for platforms that have democratized content and provided access to the ever-expanding world of user-generated content. However, when she contemplates what it takes to nurture the next generation of business leaders, coders, exceptional musicians, or football stars in underprivileged environments, she recognizes the importance of three key elements: technology, culture, and sports.
Nisreen envisions a world where even refugee camps have access to coding schools, music conservatories, and football fields. By providing easy access to these essential resources, the potential to transform a generation in despair into one filled with hope becomes a reality. The combination of technology, cultural enrichment, and sports opens doors to opportunities, unleashing the latent potential and talents of individuals who may otherwise be overlooked.
Nisreen believes that by bridging the gap and providing these essential resources, societies can create a more inclusive and empowered future. It is through nurturing these fundamental aspects that individuals can unlock their potential and contribute to the betterment of society, the entertainment industry, and the lives of people around them.
Pioneering Risk-Taker Guided by Intuition and Validation
Nisreen has been a trailblazer, often venturing into uncharted territory that inherently involves risks, particularly when the barriers to entry are high. She has a track record of pioneering initiatives, such as recognizing the potential of streaming as the future of music, transforming a traditional CD store into a vibrant lifestyle concept, evolving a digital fashion business into a customer-centric enterprise, and her latest venture, Art of Rare & Vintage, in a market driven by constant pursuit of novelty.
When asked about the role of gut instinct in her decision-making process, Nisreen acknowledges its significance but emphasizes the importance of validation. As a data scientist, she firmly believes in the power of validating ideas and concepts while actively creating them. This approach has played a pivotal role in her aforementioned successes. By combining her intuition with a data-driven approach, Nisreen ensures that her ventures have a strong foundation and resonate with the evolving needs and preferences of her target audience.
Fostering Innovation, Sustainability, and Impact
Nisreen’s vision for Beyond ONE is to establish it as the benchmark within the industry, setting the standard for innovation and organic growth. Alongside striving for success and growth in both top-line and bottom-line figures, Beyond ONE aims to actively contribute to the safety of its customers and the betterment of the planet. Nisreen and her team are committed to creating value rather than eroding it, ensuring that the company’s actions align with its mission and principles. The ultimate goal is to achieve sustainable success while making a positive impact on both the business and the world.
Empowering Young Women Leaders
Nisreen advises young emerging women leaders to prioritize mentorship for constant development, emphasizing that mentors can be peers as well as higher-ups. She encourages a mindset of continuous learning and growth, highlighting the importance of staying the course despite the challenges faced in middle-management. Nisreen also emphasizes the significance of sponsoring and supporting other women, as it fosters trust and a supportive community. Networking is essential, as it allows individuals to showcase their skills and leverage social connections. Additionally, she advises knowing when to stay and when to leave, ensuring that career decisions are made on one’s own terms. Lastly, Nisreen emphasizes the importance of paying it forward and back, recognizing the universal language of kindness.
Written by Steve Sanchez.
