Sumit Malik

Sumit Malik is Director of R&D at Al Hatab, where he leads the group’s innovation and R&D agenda across its 100+ market-defining food products and state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Saudi Arabia.
With more than three decades of international experience across the UK and GCC, Sumit specialises in connecting culinary expertise, consumer insight and large-scale food manufacturing. His experience spans bakery, ready meals, fresh food, juices and value-added proteins, with a strong focus on translating innovation into commercially successful products and scalable manufacturing solutions.
A trained chef from the Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development, Sumit holds an MBA in Strategy and is True Lean certified through Toyota and the University of Kentucky. His career includes senior leadership roles with Noon, Kerry, Pilgrim’s (JBS) and Al Hatab, as well as developing award-winning retail ranges for M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
A regular GCC panelist and moderator, Sumit speaks widely on food innovation, manufacturing transformation, sustainability and the commercial future of food, bringing together culinary, operational and commercial perspectives to address the challenges shaping the food industry.