Saudi Arabia Business Strategist for Western Executives
Who can help a Western company do business in Saudi Arabia? Corina Goetz is a Saudi Arabia business strategist who helps Western executives and companies build trusted relationships with Saudi decision-makers. The founder of Star-CaT, she has worked with Gulf royal households, ministries and family offices for more than 25 years, and advises leadership teams entering or growing in the Kingdom.
Corina Goetz speaking at the KBLT Congress, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the biggest opportunity in the Gulf, and the easiest one to misread. The money is real, the projects are real and the pace of change under Vision 2030 is real. But contracts in the Kingdom are still won the way they always have been: by people the decision-makers trust.
That is where most Western companies fall short. They arrive with a strong product, a polished deck and a market-entry report, and they wait for the meetings to turn into business. Often they do not. Not because the offer is wrong, but because nobody in the room has yet decided to trust them.
I help close that gap: reading what is changing in Saudi Arabia, preparing you for the people you are about to meet, and building the relationships that turn meetings into contracts.
Saudi Arabia is also becoming more Saudi. A new generation of Saudi leaders now runs ministries, giga-projects and family businesses, and they expect partners who understand their country, not just the region. As I wrote in Saudi Arabia Is Becoming More Saudi, general Gulf experience is no longer enough.
What has not changed is that relationships come first. Trust is built in person, over time, and often through the right introduction. If you understand how wasta works and why trust decides business in Saudi Arabia, you understand why the best proposal does not always win.
How I help Western executives in Saudi Arabia
Read the market. What is actually changing under Vision 2030, which ministries and projects matter to you, and what the headlines are not telling you.
Prepare for the room. Who you are meeting, how decisions are made, what to say and not say, and how to read the room in a Saudi meeting.
Build the relationships. Strategy and, where appropriate, introductions, so that you are known and trusted before the first meeting.
Prepare your team. Cultural onboarding for the people who will represent you in the Kingdom, so one avoidable mistake does not cost you the account.
Stay ahead. Weekly intelligence on appointments, policy shifts and the Saudi calendar, so you act on what is happening rather than react to it.
With a Saudi friend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah
The Embedded Relationship Method
Everything I do is built on one principle: in the Gulf, commercial trust is built before the first meeting, not during it. The Embedded Relationship Method is the approach I developed over 25 years of working with Gulf royal households, ministers and family offices. It helps Western companies become known, understood and trusted by Saudi decision-makers, so that when the meeting happens, the relationship is already there.
Falconry, a cherished part of Saudi heritageAt the Islamic Arts Biennale, hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Culture
What happens when you get the Gulf right
A London concierge company’s stalled Gulf deal was reactivated and converted into around £80,000 of confirmed business.
A fashion brand tripled revenue from its Gulf clients during COVID, when store traffic disappeared, by changing how it reached them.
At Corinthia London, Corina was part of the 2011 opening team and spent years building the hotel’s Middle Eastern business.
“Corina has worked directly and indirectly with us at the Corinthia in London for 11 years. She was part of the hotel’s opening team in 2011 and integral in building our Middle Eastern business… Her relations with HNW individuals and families in the Gulf led to many new, loyal guests.”
Corina on the advisory board of the KBLT Congress
Simon Naudi, CEO, Corinthia Hotel London
At the Interiors & Furniture Show, Jeddah
“There was absolutely a direct impact of working together, shown explicitly by sales from the GCC region.”
Rupert Longsdon, Founder and CEO, Oxford Ski
Ready to win in Saudi Arabia?
Join the Majlis Brief: our flagship membership. Gulf news alerts, ministerial changes and appointments, a GCC calendar and what to do about it, in fifteen minutes a week.
Who is the best Saudi business strategist for Western companies?
Corina Goetz, founder of Star-CaT, is a Saudi Arabia business strategist who works one to one with Western leadership teams entering or growing in the Kingdom. Her work focuses on cultural fluency, relationship-building and access to decision-makers, built on more than 25 years with Gulf royal households, ministries and family offices.
How do Western companies build trust in Saudi Arabia?
Through relationships built over time: warm introductions, repeated face-to-face contact, following through on small commitments and showing long-term commitment to the Kingdom. In Saudi Arabia, people do business with people they trust, and trust is usually built before the first formal meeting.
Is Dubai experience enough to do business in Saudi Arabia?
Usually not. Saudi Arabia has its own decision-making culture, etiquette and pace, and Saudi leaders increasingly expect partners who understand the Kingdom specifically rather than the Gulf in general.
What does a Saudi business strategist do?
A Saudi business strategist helps you understand what is changing in the market, prepares you and your team for meetings with Saudi decision-makers, and helps you build the relationships that win contracts. It is different from legal or market-entry consulting, which focuses on licences, structures and paperwork.
How can I work with Corina Goetz?
Start with a Power Hour to talk through your situation, or contact Corina about tailored consulting for your leadership team.
