CEO of Al Masaood Automobiles
Family Business & Future Mobility Vehicle Expert

With over 40 years of experience in the automotive sector, Irfan Tansel embarked on his career as a teenage apprentice in a car workshop. Today, he heads one of the most prominent automotive companies in the UAE and holds esteemed titles like ‘Forbes Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East’ for four consecutive years, ‘Visionary of the Year’ from Entrepreneur Middle East magazine and 'CEO of the Year' by CEO Magazine. He has also been listed in the '100 Inspiring Leaders in the Middle East' and “Top CEOs in the Region” by Arabian Business magazine.

In his role as CEO of Al Masaood Automobiles, Irfan has steered the company to numerous milestones and accolades. Under his leadership, the company not only clinched the esteemed Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award 2023 but also continued its tradition of excellence with multiple editions of the Nissan Global Dealer Award, Global Nissan Aftersales Award, the INFINITI Global Award, Renault Global P.A.R.I.S. Award and many more.

2024 marked a significant triumph in Irfan's tenure, as it became a record-breaking year for Al Masaood Automobiles across multiple facets, including unprecedented achievements in sales and aftersales. It was also the year the company made a global debut at the 5th Annual Customer Centricity World Series, and secured two distinguished regional awards: the Customer-Centric Culture Award and the Customer Insight & Feedback (VOC) Award.

Under his guidance, Al Masaood Automobiles made history in 2019 by launching the region’s first Nissan e-commerce car-buying website, along with a virtual, live, and interactive sales platform, one of many firsts launched. In 2024, the company achieved record-breaking sales figures, aftersales performance, and customer experience metrics, surpassing all previous records.

Irfan's vision for Al Masaood Automobiles is grounded in forward-thinking, innovation-driven, and customer-centric principles, which he uses to carefully craft tailored strategies designed to keep Al Masaood Automobiles at the forefront of a competitive market, prepared for any challenges that may arise. His leadership style is deeply rooted in a belief in the power of effective, inclusive management with transparency and trust leading to empowerment, recognizing that the true driving force behind Al Masaood Automobiles' success is its dedicated team.

As a revered voice in the automotive world, his insights on business disruption, leadership, and the future of the automotive industry are frequently featured in notable publications such as Forbes Middle East, Bloomberg, CNBC, CEO Middle East, Al Bawaba, The National, Gulf News, Entrepreneur, Economy ME, and many others. He also shares his expertise internationally, delivering motivational keynotes on topics ranging from preparing businesses for disruption to leadership, autonomous vehicles, the future of mobility, electrification and future dealerships. Irfan is keen to groom his leadership team to become the next superstars in the industry.

FORBES: ‘TOP 100 CEO in the Middle east’

Irfan Tansel was named one of the ‘Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East’ by Forbes Middle East for four consecutive years. Irfan has over 40 years of experience spanning three continents. Al Masaood Automobiles is the main distributor for Nissan, INFINITI and Renault in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region. Under Tansel’s leadership, Al Masaood won the Best Global Dealer by Nissan several times, and achieved multiple global recognitions by INFINITI and Renault. In 2024, Nissan’s Global President & CEO, Makoto Uchida, official recognized the Al Masaood Automobiles Nissan Service Centre in Abu Dhabi as Nissan’s largest service center in the world. Al Masaood Automobiles was the first Nissan Dealership in the region to launch an e-commerce car-buying website with Nissan. In the 2023 and 2024, the company sold the highest number of cars since its inception, with a total market share of more than 40% in Abu Dhabi.

ARABIAN bUSINESS: ‘GREATEST CEOs of 2024’

In his role as CEO of Al Masaood Automobiles, Tansel has steered the company to numerous milestones and accolades. Under his leadership, the company not only clinched the esteemed Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award 2023 but also continued its tradition of excellence with multiple editions of the Nissan Global Dealer Award, Global Nissan Aftersales Award, the INFINITI Global Award, Renault Global P.A.R.I.S. Award and many more. Tansel’s vision for Al Masaood Automobiles is grounded in forward-thinking, innovation-driven, and customer-centric principles, which he uses to carefully craft tailored strategies designed to keep the company at the forefront of a competitive market, prepared for any challenges that may arise.