B Beauty Arabia launches in the UAE

B Beauty Arabia, an online platform dedicated to all things beauty in the Middle East, has officially launched. Having most recently held the position of Beauty Editor for Savoir Flair, Founder Basma Faramawy aims to establish B Beauty Arabia as the comprehensive guide for beauty lovers in the region.

Bringing her extensive bilingual editorial expertise to the new venture, the blog-style platform will be dedicated to everything from makeup and skincare, to hair, nails, wellbeing, salons and spas. The English language website will offer expert advice, product reviews and informed recommendations, as well as up to the minute news from the world of beauty.

“I’m so excited to be launching B Beauty Arabia,” says Basma. “It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time and I’m thrilled that I’ll be able to share my passion with beauty lovers everywhere on a more personal level.”

UM MENA appoints new Head of Innovation

As part of UM MENA’s move to configure its integrated planning and strategy, Rasha Rteil has been appointed as Regional Innovation Director. Previously with Mindshare MENA, Rasha was heading digital media for Lebanon and was responsible for leading innovation strategies across the region.

Based in Dubai, Rasha will now be instrumental in developing innovative, integrated and digitally led consumer engagement solutions on international, regional and local clients. Her key focus will be innovation with a plug and play approach, driving tech partnerships to add value and increase the reach of brands across all audiences, sparking memorable moments with consumers.

“With UM MENA at the forefront of embracing innovation and technology as a stand-alone function and talent, I look forward to undergoing an exciting and alluring journey alongside the strategy and product team,” says Rasha. “Our aim is to make our brands robust enough to evolve with our audience’s ever-changing adoption of technology through identifying fragmented content consumption, avant-garde immersive channels and by harnessing the power of multiscreen experiences. UM MENA brings a showcase of fun and enthusing brands, and with that we will thrive to create encounters with lasting impressions that drive our client’s brands in a measurable way digitally, in the physical world, or even both.”

Linktia welcomes Director, Business Development

Philippe Vignal has been appointed as the new Director, Business Development for the Linktia group. An experienced professional with over 25 years in advertising, media production and technology, Philippe is a founding partner of Serena Digital, originally based in Spain. He most recently was in charge of international business development for Serena Digital, with a focus on managing global client accounts in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, as well the new operation of Serena Middle East. In joining Linktia, Philippe will oversee all business development for the group.

“I feel very fortunate to be working with such a multidisciplinary group of talented and caring humans,” says Philippe. “I look forward to being part of the group’s growth.”

Louise Quick joins Motivate

Louise Quick has joined Motivate as Features Writer. Bringing a range of editorial experience to her new role, Louise has previously worked as Assistant Editor for two trade titles in Dubai, as well as placements at Women’s Health UK and YOU magazine in London. As Features Writer, Louise will focus on the consumer lifestyle division working across titles including What’s On Dubai, Open Skies and Dubai Voyager.

“Motivate is such a well-known and respected company and to be working on these fantastic magazines is really exciting for me,” says Louise. “I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and developing my career with the company.”

Facebook introduces Ads Manager App

In an effort to make it easier for the two million businesses using Facebook advertising, the social network has launched an ads manager app for iOS devices.

According to the official announcement on Facebook for Business, by using the app marketers can:

  • Track ad performance
  • Edit existing ads
  • Edit ad budgets and schedules
  • Receive push notifications
  • Create ads

Allowing users to manage advertising campaigns on the go, the app is currently available for US users in the iOS store, with plans to make it globally accessible in the next few weeks and an Android version to launch later in 2015.

Hello! Middle East welcomes Group Picture Editor

Emma Verlander has been appointed as Group Picture Editor of Hello! Middle East. Previously with the title as Picture Editor for almost two years from 2006 – 2008, Emma has since been a part of the ITP Publishing Group team, where she has held the position of Group Picture Editor. With Hello! Middle East recently acquired by Arab Publishing Partners, Emma will now oversee picture content for the three newly formed Hello! publications – Hello! Middle East, Hello! Arabia and Hello! Bollywood.

Injeel Moti joins Saffron Media Works

Injeel Moti has been appointed as Senior PR Executive at Dubai-based Saffron Media Works. With two years of public relations experience in the UAE market, Injeel has worked across a range of brands from various sectors including fashion, lifestyle, entertainment, as well as health & fitness. Most recently, Injeel held the position of Senior PR Executive at BUZ Consulting.

“I am excited to be joining Saffron Media Works’ PR department,” says Injeel. “Coming from an agency background and stepping into a dynamic in-house environment will indeed be a great learning experience. Saffron Media Works has worked with some great brands in the past and I look forward to contributing to the organisation and taking it to new heights.”

Hadeel Al Sayegh to step down at The National

Hadeel Al Sayegh is to step down from her role as Senior Correspondent, Political Economy at The National. Having been with the Abu Dhabi-based daily since 2010, Hadeel has written extensively across the region’s political economy, covering investigative and enterprise topics for the newspaper; she has also appeared on several international TV networks offering a Middle Eastern perspective on the European debt crisis, as well as regular appearances on the BBC to discuss developments in Iraq and Syria. Hadeel has also had her own segment reading business headlines on ‘Inside The National’, a TV show on Abu Dhabi El Emarat, in addition to reading headlines on Abu Dhabi’s Classic FM.

She will now move on to take up the position of Gulf Senior Company News Correspondent on Reuters’ Gulf Finance team, where she will be breaking headline grabbing news on the region’s publicly-listed companies and mergers & acquisitions activity around business assets of regional, local and federal governments.

“After five years covering the Dubai financial crisis, its aftermath and its subsequent boom at Abu Dhabi’s newspaper of record The National, I am excited to start my new journey at Reuters,” says Hadeel. “I look forward to taking my experience and expertise to the next level by expanding my scope of coverage to the Arabian Gulf region.”