Varsha Phulwani joins Pandora ME

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Luxury lifestyle and jewellery company Pandora ME, has welcomed Varsha Phulwani to the role of PR and Social Media Executive. A former Editorial Assistant at Cosmopolitan ME, part of ITP Publishing, Varsha most recently worked as a Social Media Executive at events company Lumin, where she worked with brands such as Tiffany and Co, Make Up Forever and Blue Marlin Ibiza.

In her new role with Pandora ME, Varsha will focus on coordinating and implementing the social media strategy for the company in order to achieve high brand standards across several digital platforms. She will also support the PR department in the implementation of the annual PR strategy by assisting with events coordination, editorial and photo shoot production, coverage analysis and reporting.

“I am so excited to be a part of the Pandora ME team,” says Varsha. “Even though the brand has been globally recognised for decades, it was introduced in the UAE only five years ago and has since grown from strength to strength. I look forward to contributing to Pandora’s glorious journey.”

Buz PR promotes Tahira Mehmood

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Tahira Mehmood has been promoted to the role of Senior PR Executive at Buz PR, part of Buz MMC. Tahira has worked for Buz PR for two years, most recently as PR Executive where she worked on a mix of corporate and lifestyle brands. As Senior PR Executive, she will be taking on more accounts as well as additional responsibilities, on top of supporting her existing clientele and the Buz PR team.

“At Buz I have worked with skilled account managers and supportive department heads which gave me the opportunity to hone my PR skills,” says Tahira. “I am excited to engage more with my hard working team and I look forward to the challenges that this new role will bring.”

CIPR and MEPRA to partner

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The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), a professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK, and the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), have signed an agreement that will see Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status as well as an expanded, accredited training regimen, available to MEPRA members.

Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status is a senior professional status awarded to senior public relations professionals who can demonstrate an outstanding level of professional practice and knowledge, along with a commitment to continuous learning.

“I am delighted that through this new strategic partnership with MEPRA, public relations professionals in the Middle East will have access to the highest level of professional accreditation available,” says Sarah Pinch, President, CIPR. “I look forward to further collaboration with MEPRA, and other international partners, to work together to achieve CIPR’s stated mission of professionalising public relations, on a global scale.”

Alex Malouf, Vice-Chair, MEPRA, adds “The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has been a pioneering organisation in terms of training and development, and we support their promotion of the Chartered Practitioner status, a standard that underlines the abilities and experiences of a professional in the Public Relations industry.”

Initiative appoints Global Creative Director

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Global communications network Initiative, part of IPG Mediabrands, has appointed Nick Childs to the role of Global Chief Creative Officer. Reporting to Global CEO, Jim Elms, Nick will be responsible for overseeing creative story-building and trans-media content development for Initiative, which has offices in 73 markets and clients including Unilever, SAB Miller and BMW.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nick to the team,” says Jim Elms, CEO, Initiative. “At Initiative, we are not afraid of doing things differently. Nick’s exceptional talent and unique ability to craft stories that set brands apart will provide a huge boost to the agency, and will ensure we continue to succeed in taking clients into bold new territories.”

Nick adds “I’m beyond excited to be joining the agency at this stage of their journey and point in my career. In the past decade, we’ve seen a rise in integrated strategically-driven creative ideas that stretch across all media and Initiative has the opportunity to add to that growth. It’s also a change to have fun and help a great, global team work with exceptional clients.”

Dumindrini Ratnayake joins MVM

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Dumindrini Ratnayake has joined cinema advertising company Motivate Val Morgan as a PR and Marketing Executive. Dumindrini previously worked for Attune Consulting, an IT solutions provider for the fashion and lifestyle industry, as a Corporate Communications Executive where she worked on branding as well as concept and content development for global marketing campaigns. As a PR and Marketing Executive with Motivate Val Morgan, Dumindrini will be covering market research and marketing strategy for the company, as well as generating and managing content, social media management, data analysis and event management.

“Given my background in media communications and journalism, as well as my love for the movies, I knew instinctively that Motivate Val Morgan was the company for me,” says Dumindrini. “I consider myself privileged to land my first gig in the UAE with a company so well established in the Gulf. I am excited for this new venture and look forward to beginning my new role.”

 

 

Socialize welcomes new Senior Account Manager

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Digital communications agency Socialize has welcomed Leah Duquemin to the role of Senior Account Manager. Leah joins the agency from London, where she has over seven years of digital marketing experience. As Senior Account Manager, she will be leading the social media strategy for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Reed Exhibitions.

“I’m so excited to have made the move to Dubai and joined the team at Socialize,” says Leah. “I’m looking forward to working alongside like-minded people who have a passion for digital and are experts in their fields. I can’t wait to deliver some really great work for some fantastic clients.”

The MediaVantage to host Indian Media Seminar

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The MediaVantage is set to host the 2015 Indian Media Seminar, in an effort to share its intelligence on Indian media with local marketing professionals. The seminar will take place on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at the Media One Hotel in Dubai and will run, free of charge, from 2pm until 6pm. It will bring together guest speakers from Indian media companies to share their knowledge on the country’s current media scene through a series of talks.

Speakers for the event include: Sudha Natarajan, Business Development Head, Hundustan Times Media; Manas Mohan, CEO and Publisher, ACK Media; Arghya Chakravarty, CEO, Times Out of Home; and Vishal Srivastava, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Network 18.

ShortList welcomes Michaela Williams

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Michaela Williams has joined ShortList UAE as Beauty and Food Editor. Having previously worked within APP Gulf as Lifestyle Director of Stylist magazine, Michaela will continue to produce regular beauty pages and features for Stylist, but in a freelance capacity. In her new role, Michaela will work across lifestyle, beauty and grooming pages – aimed at both men and women – for the UAE edition of ShortList, which differs from its UK counterpart by targeting a mixed gender audience.

 

Emilie Goldstein Mikulla promoted at WH&F

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Emilie Goldstein Mikulla has been promoted from Lifestyle Editor to Deputy Editor of Women’s Health & Fitness Middle East, part of Mastermind Publishing Group. Emilie – who has worked on the title on a freelance basis since 2010 – will be responsible for the lifestyle pages of the magazine as well as working closely with the Editor to conceptualise new ideas for content and to produce the title. In addition to her role as Deputy Editor of the health and fitness title, Emilie is also an established pilates and E-RYT instructor, teaching Yoga Tune Up – a mobility training that combines Yoga, physical therapy principles and other strengthening modalities.

“I have been part of the Women’s Health & Fitness team for five years,” says Emilie. “They are like family to me; I am thrilled to be able to contribute to the title in this new capacity.”