Habib Koya, seated, in conversation

ENTREPRENEUR · STRATEGIST · BRAND BUILDER

HABIB KOYA

30+ YEARS OF BUILDING BUSINESSES, BRANDS & PEOPLE.

43
Countries
18+
Nationalities
30+
Years
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From a small town in Karnataka
to global boardrooms.

A young Habib Koya, in his early years in Karnataka
Karnataka, before the boardrooms.

His mother ran the household like a founder runs a company — keeping cattle, cooking in large batches to support their family and local factory workers, turning a home into a hub of quiet entrepreneurial energy.

From the age of seven, Habib helped her — sticking posters, watching her manage work with grace, absorbing the grit and resourcefulness of someone building something out of very little. His love of food, people, and hustle was born in those smoke-filled kitchens, long before he had a name for any of it.

In the early 1990s, his curiosity moved beyond home. Fascinated by his brother's engineering work on the Konkan Railway tunnel through the Western Ghats, he joined Universal Engineering Company as a trainee — the first step in a career that would eventually cross 43 countries.

02 — Journey

30+ years.
One continuous journey.

  1. 2021

    HK Consultancy

    A boutique business and brand consultancy, built to turn three decades of global operating experience into structured support for retail, F&B, and lifestyle brands across the Middle East and India.

  2. 2016

    Relax Business Solutions

    Years of informal mentoring — coffee, conversation, advice for founders — became his first venture of his own.

  3. 2009

    Costa Coffee → Hussein Morad Bebehani Group

    Joined Costa Coffee as General Manager, then became Commercial Director of the entire Hussein Morad Bebehani Group — bringing Costa Coffee, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bvlgari into Kuwait, the Van Cleef & Arpels rights secured through a personal pitch to the brand's President in Paris.

    • International Leadership Award, Costa Coffee (2010)
    • 55% consistent sales increase, Costa Coffee Kuwait (2010)
    • Hosted the Kuwait Coffee Ambassador Event
    • Opened 17 Costa Coffee stores across Kuwait
  4. United States → Middle East

    Auntie Anne's

    Trained in the U.S. on the brand's own operating model, then built its Middle East presence from the ground up — including expansion into Kuwait's Avenue Mall and the brand's first outlet in Basra, Iraq.

    “If you join me, I'll bring a brand from America for you to build.”

    Seven successful stores opened across Kuwait and Iraq.

  5. 2005

    Starbucks Coffee, Kuwait

    Joined as District Manager. A regular customer, impressed by his dedication, made an offer that would change the course of his career.

    • Starbucks Bravo Award for exceeding budgeted sales targets
  6. 1995

    Domino's Pizza, Saudi Arabia

    Started as a delivery boy, rose to Deputy District Manager and then Senior Operations Manager. Helped bring the Malaysian brand Marrybrown to India along the way.

    • Fastest Pizza Maker, Domino's Pizza KSA (1998)
    • Best Manager of the Month — May 1998 & February 1999
    • 5 International Sales Achievement Awards from Domino's USA
    • Best Deputy District Manager, South India (May 2003)
  7. Early 1990s

    Universal Engineering Company

    Joined as a trainee, drawn in by his brother's engineering work on the Konkan Railway tunnel through the Western Ghats — years of on-ground learning that would later make him the company's Executive Director.

03 — Expertise

Global experience.

43
Countries
18+
Nationalities
30+
Years

Three decades of operating experience spanning 43 countries and teams built from 18+ nationalities — a working knowledge of global markets, culture, and business psychology.

Brands are built.
But great brands are brought to life.

Brand and business leadership experience across food, beverage, and luxury retail.

  • Domino'sDelivery boy → Senior Operations Manager
  • MarrybrownHelped bring the brand to India
  • StarbucksDistrict Manager, Kuwait
  • Auntie Anne'sBuilt the Middle East presence, 7 stores
  • Costa CoffeeGeneral Manager → brought to Kuwait
  • Van Cleef & ArpelsSecured exclusive rights for Kuwait
  • BvlgariHelped introduce to the Kuwait market
Habib Koya speaking at the Asian Arab Awards, 2019

The business was never just the business.

Koya's favorite pastime was sipping coffee with close friends and helping them grow their businesses. Many of those casual sessions quietly turned into multi-million-dollar successes — the advice itself had nowhere formal to live, until it did.

Over thirty years and 43 countries, the constant was never the category — food, coffee, or luxury retail — it was people: teams built from 18+ nationalities, and a reputation built on human-centered leadership rather than brilliance alone.

The next chapter
Learning→ Leading→ Building→ Mentoring
04 — HK Consultancy

Experience, reimagined for the next generation of business.

Founded in 2021, HK Consultancy is a boutique business and brand consultancy — three decades of global operating experience turned into personalized, strategic support for modern entrepreneurs and companies.

Operating across the Middle East and India.

Explore HK Consultancy →
05 — Mentorship

A motivational speaker and career mentor, Habib now devotes time to training young minds — teaching them how to turn passion into profession, and dreams into sustainable careers.

Every empire has an origin.
His started at home.

What began with his mother's entrepreneurial spirit — cooking in large batches, running a household like a business, turning very little into something — became his own legacy: thirty years, 43 countries, and a consultancy built to pass it on.

Let's build what's next.

Habib Koya

Book an introductory call
Phone / WhatsApp
+971 58 581 5229
+91 78295 00009
Instagram
@habibkoya
@habibhasi