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Building Teams, Not Just Brands: Pauline Ibrahim on Leadership in Hospitality
In this episode, Ashish Tulsian talks to CEO Pauline Ibrahim about her journey from finance in Lebanon to leading F&B brands in Dubai. She unpacks real restaurant P&L benchmarks, why pure cloud kitchens struggle, hard truths about opening a restaurant in Dubai, and what it really takes to lead people in hospitality.
Pauline Ibrahim
CEO, Global Catering Services
Pauline Ibrahim is a senior F&B executive with 18 years of experience in corporate finance and planning, specialising in brand due diligence, market entry, M&A, and franchising. As former CFO of Blackspoon, she led its acquisition by Jadwa Investment. Now driving strategic and financial growth at Global Catering Services, she focuses on profitability, expansion, and building inclusive, high-accountability teams across leading regional restaurant brands.
In this episode, Ashish Tulsian sits down with CEO Pauline Ibrahim to explore her remarkable journey from a finance analyst in Lebanon to leading some of the most respected F&B brands in the Middle East. Pauline shares how moving to Dubai ignited her passion for the restaurant industry, why Azadea became her “F&B school,” and how jumping into the startup world with iKcon became her real-life PhD in growth, risk, and resilience, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She breaks down what a healthy restaurant P&L truly looks like, why cloud kitchens struggle with sustainable profitability, and the real economics behind food cost, rent, labor, and delivery commissions.
From cautionary advice for anyone planning to open a restaurant in Dubai to her views on authenticity and women in leadership, this conversation is packed with hard truths every operator should hear.