Pure automotive since day one
Placements across the GCC
Years' combined experience
Offices: Dubai and Saudi Arabia
Our story
Lauren Bartmanis moved to Dubai in 2012 after more than a decade in UK recruitment. She found that recruiters in the region did not understand automotive, and too few of them put the client first. She founded GMS in 2014 to fix both.
We began in retail, recruiting for dealer groups and distributors, and retail is still where most of our network is. We have placed more than 750 people into automotive retail, from technicians to CEOs and managing directors.
Manufacturing followed in 2021, as Saudi Arabia's automotive industry took off. Twelve years on, automotive is still all we do: more than 1,000 placements in every GCC country, for dealer groups, OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers, rental companies and government-backed entities.
Saudi Arabia is our largest market. There we were the exclusive recruitment partner for a global electric vehicle manufacturer's greenfield plant from day one, placing more than 250 people from construction through to retail launch.
Our team brings 75+ years of combined experience, and our staff turnover is close to zero. The people who start your search will finish it.
Our mission
We are focused on getting every hire right, for the client and for the candidate. Our business runs on long-term relationships, and our reputation is everything to us.
We do what we say we will, every time.
We tell clients and candidates the truth, including when a role cannot be filled locally or a salary will not attract the right person.
Every candidate hears back from us, and every client's employer brand is treated as our own.
Why choose GMS
Recognised as Automotive Executive Search Firm of the Year 2025 for the MENA region.
The region's longest-standing specialist. We know the roles, the companies and the candidates, because we have never recruited anywhere else.
Based in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, with placements in every GCC country.
Lauren leads every client account personally, from the first brief to the check-in after your hire starts.
75+ years of combined experience, and a team that stays. The people who start your search will finish it.
2025
Automotive Executive Search Firm of the Year - MENACorporate Vision Automotive Awards
2023
Best Automotive Talent FirmBusiness Concept Magazine
Leadership
Founder and Managing Director
Lauren has 25 years of recruitment experience. She trained in the UK with the country's largest independent recruitment agency, and at 22 became the youngest Branch Manager in the company. She moved to Dubai in 2012 and founded GMS in 2014.
She is the single point of contact on every client account, from the kick-off meeting to the check-in after the hire starts, and has personally run the firm's largest programmes in the region, including a full greenfield plant launch.
Around 45,000 people follow her on LinkedIn, where she writes about automotive hiring, nationalisation and the GCC talent market.