Saudi Arabia

As part of US2U Consulting's international development initiatives, Rachel Blackburn was pleased to support the University of East Anglia with their work with the Saudi Arabian Petroleum company Aramco. Rachel's brief was to work with over 50 talented individuals to develop team working and leadership behaviours.

Alex Cole, International Programmes manager for UEA said "The session was a great success, with participants commenting on the excellent delivery and the enhancement of their skills and knowledge in team working throughout the day, and we will be pleased to work together with US2U on similar projects."

Rachel Blackburn's latest trip to Saudi Arabia has been another success, with plenty of positive meetings.

Staying in Jeddah, within sight of the world's tallest flagpole and water fountain, King Fahd's Fountain (pictured), Rachel promoted our two key services - The Empowering Women Programme and our Executive Coaching.

There were plenty of opportunities to network as Rachel developed lots of new contacts, and even watched England's World Cup semi-final at the British Consulate!

Rachel will be returning to Saudi Arabia in the near future to continue developing new and existing business and said of her latest trip, "It was exciting to be working back in Saudi Arabia and making lots of progress in our contribution to the Crown Prince's vision of the future for Saudi Arabia and its people".

Rachel Blackburn was pleased to be a keynote speaker at the Aramco Summer Conference 2015 at the University of East Anglia.

Her keynote speech focused on Making the Most of Networking for a Successful and Fulfilling Career, and was delivered to delegates from Aramco, Saudi Arabia, amongst others.

She was joined by Michael Rooney, Fundraising Manager for BREAK charity, who explained the importance of the GoGoDragons project in Norwich as part of the fundraising for his charity, which supports vulnerable children, young people and families across East Anglia.

Rachel Blackburn will be delivering a talk at Jeddah Chamber, Saudi Arabia, on Writing a Business Plan and The Empowering Women Programme on Monday 1 October. See more details here.

The talk forms part of US2U Consulting's drive to attract Saudi female entrepreneurs to register for our UK-based Empowering Women Programme, in line with Vision 2030, which begins on Monday 10 December. Find out more about this exciting initiative!

Rachel Blackburn spoke at Jeddah Chamber on the evening of Monday 1 October to promote US2U Consulting's Empowering Women Programme.

The evening marked an engaging, informative session for Saudi women who are planning to start a business or looking to scale up their existing business. A number of these women are planning to attend the UK-based Empowering Women Programme, which runs between 10-21 December 2018.

Please register your interest to attend this programme by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Monday 15 October. See full details of the programme here.

Watch the short film of Rachel explaining the programme below:

Supported by the UK Department of International Trade, we are pleased to announce that US2U Consulting is exploring opportunities to deliver Executive Coaching services in Saudi Arabia to support their Vision 2030.

"Saudi Arabia has ambitious change plans and US2U Consulting's services appear well-placed to support these changes" said Rachel Blackburn, who joins the Saudi British Joint Business Council for their Biannual Meeting in Jeddah on 28 November 2017.

Full details of the Executive Coaching Services can be found below:

US2U Consulting - Executive Coaching for Saudi Arabia

Rachel Blackburn was pleased to attend this meeting on 7 March 2018 at the Mayfair Hotel in London on the historic occasion of the Saudi Crown Prince visiting the UK.

This is the first Saudi British Joint Business Council meeting that Rachel has attended since US2U Consulting formally joined the Council last month. It falls in advance of her second trip to Jeddah to develop Executive Coaching business to support the Crown Prince's Vision 2030.

The meeting was attended by Dr Majed Al Qasabi, Minister of Commerce and Investment, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, Minister of Economy and Planning, and Ibrahim Al Omar, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.

Rachel Blackburn has recently returned from her second visit to Jeddah to develop specific business projects to support the Saudi Crown Prince's Vision 2030.

Specialising in Executive Coaching which complements the knowledge transfer and Saudisation elements of the strategy, Rachel met with several companies from the pharmaceutical, education, finance, food and real estate sectors as well as the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is developing specific project proposals, supported by the UK Department of International Trade.

Rachel and Kerwin Blackburn of US2U Consulting visited the University of Oxford on Saturday 20 May to attend the Oxford-GCC Business Conference 2017, which covered a range of topics concerning the development of the Gulf region. The conference was held at St. Anthony's College and was hosted by OxGAPS, the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce and Said Business School.

Welcoming delegates from across the world, the conference focused on three key areas of the Gulf economy; the private sector, the creative economy and the evolving role of women in the region.

The conference also featured an exclusive list of interesting keynote speakers from prominent public and private sector organisations both in the UK and the Gulf, with an objective of the conference to promote and foster a greater UK-Gulf trading relationship.

Among the speakers on the subject of the arts and the creative economy in the Gulf was Princess Alia Al-Senussi, Chair of Tate Young Patrons and a descendant of Libyan royalty, pictured with Rachel Blackburn.

There was also an unique presentation on the specific characteristics and challenges of growing family-oriented businesses; a topic that is particularly prominent in Saudi Arabia - 75% of businesses have a family dynamic - and of course relevant to US2U Consulting too!

As Rachel Blackburn makes her third business trip to Saudi Arabia we are pleased to announce that we are members of two key organisations - the Saudi British Joint Business Council and the Saudi British Society. This is part of our international strategy to support the Saudi Vision 2030.

Specifically we have two key services we are offering - our Executive Coaching Services and our Empowering Women Programme. Please see below for more information on each, or get in touch with Rachel at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out how US2U Consulting's services can benefit you.

US2U Consulting Executive Coaching Services

Vision 2030: Empowering Women Programme 2018

US2U Consulting is pleased to announce the launch of the 2018 UK-based Empowering Women Programme.

A joint initiative with the Jeddah Chamber, the programme targets profitability growth through business transformation and women empowerment, and is designed to be a dynamic learning opportunity for Saudi female entrepreneurs. It will include practical workshops and work experience to develop skills.

The programme will be commencing on the 10 December and concludes on the 21 December.

For full details please see below:

US2U Consulting - Empowering Women Programme 2018

To book your place on the programme please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Rachel Blackburn on +44 (0) 1603 716852.

Hear Rachel talk about our Empowering Women Programme below!