Mhd. Sobhi Akbik is from a prominent Damascene family that has produced famous judges, thought-leaders, merchants, poets, doctors, and actors.

His father, the late Mhd. Hisham Akbik, was a lawyer, entrepreneur, and avid reader who spent his fortune on libraries; buying and reading books. He taught Sobhi to adore knowledge and critical thinking, respect moderate scholars, embrace integrity and discipline, and to be an independent person who takes life’s responsibilities seriously. Sobhi was also greatly influenced by the wisdom and acumen of his uncle Professor Farouk Akbik, who is considered one of the top translators of his time.

During his youth, Sobhi was interested in personal training and development. He was an avid learner. He studied the traditional Arabic Language and English Language and Literature. He volunteered at non-profit organizations with the aim of spreading knowledge among fellow members of society. His father arranged for him to be taught the double entry accounting methods by a senior accounting trainer in the ancient Syrian markets. He helped importers with commercial correspondence, marketing and sales.

After completing his BA in English Literature and Languages, he moved alone to Dubai aged 21, where he began his career as a Sales Executive selling IT products, then as an admin manager at a direct sales agency selling insurance products. After that, he moved to Dubai Islamic Bank to supervise its Training and Development Center and handle recruitment.

In 1998, Sobhi joined the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), where he handled International recruitment, then worked with senior international researchers and experts. ECSSR helped him learn management tools and techniques of non-profit organizations, critical thinking, scientific research, writing methods, and organization of international conferences. Then, his management moved him to The Presidential Scholarship Coordination Office where he dealt with the world’s top universities.

In 2003, he moved to Dubai where a Holding Company selected him to work with its senior management. He handled several projects, including establishing new start-up companies, development of integrated business systems backed by detailed policy and procedures manuals, development and implementation of human resources, selection and recruitment of high-level managers, and restructuring projects.

Soon he was appointed deputy General Manager of a large debt collection company. He managed to transform it from loss to profit, developed its human cadres, and increased its productivity through continuous training, development, guidance and motivation, making it one of the most successful companies in the GCC.

After completing his MBA, he returned to his home country to care for his sick mother, accompanied by his large library of printed and audio books, and spent most of his time studying and researching management best practices and adapting them to fit the local environments of the Arab world. Eventually, he developed over 30 training programs and trained thousands of students, employees, managers, and business owners. He was selected by UNDP to train deans and professors at local universities, and taught MBA students Business Strategic Analysis at the Higher Institute of Business Administration (HIBA).

In 2012 he returned to his former workplace in Dubai, where he worked as an Organization Development Manager. He managed the development of several startups, and developed policies and procedures manuals for a number of subsidiaries. He was selected from leading training centers to train senior government officials.

Recently, he joined the Academy of Sales Excellence in Dubai, founded by US Professor Ramez Henry Helou, as Director of Learning and Development.

In 2009, he published his first book The Copywriting Secrets: How Organizations Communicate with Their Public.
In 2014, he published his second book Human Capital Management: How to Turn Your Employees into a Beehive.

He is currently preparing to release his new book about Smart Sales Force Management.

Regarding Social Responsibility, Sobhi is dedicated to fighting poverty in MENA. He believes that poverty has its roots in the mindset so we must educate the poor and encourage them to think outside the box. The lack of training, technical support, networks and markets are preventing talented poor people from thriving. He has established a group on Facebook to gather and collect innovative ideas for fighting poverty, hosting online webinars with role-models.

Recently he became a certified trainer at Emirates Association for Management Consultants and Trainers.