Damien Duhamel is one of the standout strategic minds shaping high-growth markets from the Middle East to the Far East. As Managing Partner Middle East & Asia at Eurogroup Consulting, he helps global and regional leaders navigate disruption, enter complex markets, and deliver sustainable growth in some of the world’s most competitive geographies.
With nearly three decades of hands-on experience in Asia and the Middle East, Damien has built, scaled, and led consulting platforms that have advised Fortune 500 companies, regional champions, and ambitious scale-ups on their most critical decisions. His career is a rare blend of entrepreneurial execution, C‑suite advisory, and deep, on-the-ground regional knowledge.
From Entrepreneur to Global Partner: A Career Built in the Field
Damien’s story is not just that of a consultant; it is the story of a builder. Long before he led Eurogroup Consulting’s Middle East & Asia practice, he was on the ground in emerging markets, creating the very capabilities that global clients needed.
He launched his first firm, Artemis Asia, in Ho Chi Minh City in the mid‑1990s, when Vietnam was still a highly opaque and under‑researched market. There, he built a boutique market intelligence consultancy from scratch, helping foreign investors understand the reality behind the headlines—market size, customers, regulations, and risks—across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. He turned that start‑up into a respected 12‑person advisory shop with regular Fortune 500 clients and foreign trade commissions before exiting in 1999.
He then joined Synovate Business Consulting (later part of Dentsu Aegis Network) and took over a struggling Asia-Pacific business unit. In just four years, he transformed it from 28 people and USD 2 million in revenue to more than 110 consultants and nearly USD 10 million in revenue. He opened or turned around 10 offices and oversaw 12 consulting hubs from Singapore to Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai, and beyond. That period cemented his reputation as a turnaround leader who could both design strategy and execute it across cultures and markets.
Building Solidiance – A Category-Defining Asia Strategy Firm
In 2006, Damien co‑founded Solidiance, a strategy advisory firm dedicated entirely to Asia. Starting with a four‑person team and two offices, he and his partners scaled the firm to 150 professionals, 10 equity partners, and 13 offices across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, and Vietnam.
Solidiance’s mission was sharp and ambitious: help CEOs make their toughest calls—from reshaping business models to navigating M&A or entering high‑potential but complex markets. The firm focused on B2B sectors such as industrials, automotive, energy, healthcare, technology, infrastructure, and the public sector, combining field research with board‑level strategic thinking.
Even during the 2009 global subprime crisis, when many companies were retrenching, Damien doubled down on Asia’s long‑term potential by opening new offices in India and Thailand in the same year. That boldness paid off, earning the firm a reputation as a partner that understood risk but was not afraid of growth.
By 2018, Solidiance had become a recognized Asia specialist. It was fully acquired by YCP, a Japanese PE‑backed group with consulting ambitions, rebranded as YCP Solidiance in 2019, and later listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2021. After more than 15 years “in the driving seat,” as he puts it, Damien exited in 2022—having built one of Asia’s notable home‑grown strategy firms from the ground up.
Leading Eurogroup Consulting in the Middle East & Asia
Today, as Managing Partner Middle East & Asia at Eurogroup Consulting, Damien applies this entrepreneurial and strategic experience at even greater scale. He co‑leads a regional practice that supports clients on growth, transformation, and digital journeys across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Singapore, and wider Asia.
His remit spans:
- Setting the strategic vision and growth agenda for the regional consulting business
- Building and deepening relationships with key C‑suite clients and partners
- Driving business development and identifying disruptive growth opportunities
- Ensuring delivery excellence on complex advisory and implementation programs
- Owning the P&L for the practice, with responsibility for profitability, forecasting, and investment
- Recruiting, mentoring, and retaining top consulting talent across markets
- Representing the firm as a thought leader on innovation, digital, and Asia–Middle East connectivity
Damien is known internally for being “hands‑on.” Eurogroup’s positioning—“your boots on the ground”—mirrors the way he has always worked: in the market, with clients, close to consumers and competitors, translating data into decisions and recommendations into action.e to consumers and competitors, translating data into decisions and recommendations into action.
Specialist in Disruption, Digital, and Market Entry
Across his career, Damien has advised clients on:
- Disruptive innovation and new business models
- B2B digital and data‑driven go‑to‑market strategies
- Market entry and scale‑up strategies in complex Asian and Middle Eastern markets
- Competitive intelligence and scenario planning
- M&A screening and commercial due diligence
- Large transformation and PMO setups across multi‑country organizations
His sector experience is broad yet deep: industrials, automotive, energy and renewables, healthcare, technology, infrastructure, and public sector. This cross‑industry view allows him to help leaders import ideas from one sector into another—exactly what is needed when building new growth engines in disrupted markets.
Global Perspective, Local Fluency
Damien’s edge comes partly from his mobility. He has lived and worked in more than 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East, as well as in Australia, Europe, and Africa. He speaks English, French, Vietnamese, and some Japanese, which has helped him build trust in boardrooms from Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore, and Riyadh.
That multicultural experience is complemented by a strong academic foundation:
- MBA in Corporate Strategy and Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Master of Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University, with a focus on carbon and water markets, green design, and urban development
This combination—finance, strategy, and sustainability—means he approaches growth not just as a revenue problem, but as a long‑term competitiveness issue grounded in ESG, regulation, and the future of cities and infrastructure.
Thought Leadership and Mentoring the Next Generation
Beyond client work, Damien writes and speaks frequently on:
- Urbanization and the future of Asian cities
- Disruptive innovation and digitalization
- Sustainability, green buildings, and environmental markets
- The evolving “Silk Road” between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
He has published on topics like the future of green buildings in Vietnam and practical rules to embed innovation at the core of organizations. His style is pragmatic and straight‑talking—focused on what actually works inside complex organizations.
Damien also gives back through mentoring. As a long‑time mentor with Youth Business Singapore (part of Heartware Network), he promotes entrepreneurship among young people, helping them refine ideas, build business models, and develop the mindset needed to build something enduring in fast‑changing markets.ideas, build business models, and develop the mindset needed to build something enduring in fast‑changing markets.
A Distinctive Leadership Philosophy
Across Artemis Asia, Synovate, Solidiance, and now Eurogroup Consulting, a clear leadership pattern emerges:
- Build and empower teams rather than centralize power
- Stay close to the market and the client, not just to dashboards and slide decks
- Take calculated risks when others are retreating—especially in emerging markets
- Treat digital and sustainability not as buzzwords, but as structural shifts that must be embedded into strategy, operations, and culture
Damien’s colleagues describe him as ambitious yet grounded, analytical yet entrepreneurial—a leader comfortable in both the boardroom and the field.
Celebrating Damien Duhamel in The Global CEO Network
The CEO Network honors Damien Duhamel as one of the top leaders shaping growth and transformation across Asia and the Middle East. From founding and scaling high‑impact advisory firms to steering a global consulting practice, he has consistently enabled organizations to make better decisions, enter new markets with confidence, and turn disruption into opportunity.
In an era where growth is uncertain, technology reshapes every industry, and sustainability is non‑negotiable, leaders like Damien provide what the market needs most: clarity, courage, and execution.
His journey continues to inspire entrepreneurs, consultants, and CEOs who believe that real impact happens where strategy, culture, and action meet—on the ground, with clients, in the markets that matter most.