Al Arabiya hosts Lord Bell

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Al Arabiya English hosted communications veteran Lord Timothy Bell, Chairman of public relations firm Bell Pottinger, as part of a panel discussion on the PR industry last Thursday, March 10. The event was moderated by Faisal J. Abbas, Editor-in-Chief, Al Arabiya English and attended by government representatives, public relations industry professionals and senior journalists, as part of an ongoing series – Al Arabiya News Global Discussions, an initiative created by Al Arabiya News during its relaunch in order to bolster understanding, encourage dialogue and find ways to bridge the communication gap between the MENA region and the rest of the world. Lord Bell offered his opinions on a number of topics, including Britain’s membership in the EU, the ‘war of words’ against ISIS as well as the rise of social media and how this has brought more opportunities to reach more specific audiences.

“The essence of public relations is to use third party endorsement to inform and persuade…none of that has changed,” says Lord Bell, referring to social and digital media and the PR process. “It’s the same skill and the art of it is to have an idea that you communicate with the same power to capture the imagination of the people you’re talking to, which makes them change the way they think and the way they behave.”

 

 

 

Fatema Al Khateeb promoted at Brunswick

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The Brunswick Group has promoted Fatema Al Khateeb to the role of Account Director, Corporate Communications. Formerly a Corporate Communications Executive for the company, Fatema has over four years of experience with both corporate and international communications agencies, as well as a Masters degree in Strategic Communications from Zayed University. In her new role, she will work to build, promote and protect brand reputations through creative storytelling as well as integrated campaigns and stakeholder engagements.

Dubai Lynx 2016 Winners Announced

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The Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity held its awards ceremony last night, attended by over 1,800 guests, at the Madinat Jumeirah to celebrate winners of the 10th annual awards. 2016 winners included J. Walter Thompson Dubai, UAE who won the Grand Prix for Good for its ‘I Can Teach You Too’ campaign for Dubai Cares; Leo Burnett Beirut, Lebanon who won the Promo and Activation Grand Prix for its ‘Merry Balconies’ campaign for Proctor and Gamble and Impact BBDO, Dubai who won Agency of the Year.

“There is an ever-increasing demonstration of globally-recognisable excellence at Dubai Lynx,” says Terry Savage, Chairman, Lions Festivals. “But what’s also apparent is the surge of a distinctly, proudly regional tone. We celebrate what sets MENA apart as well as what allows it to compete on the world stage.”

FRHI welcomes Vice President of Sales and Marketing

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FRHI Hotels and Resorts has appointed Bastien Blanc to the role of Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the Middle East, Africa and India. Previously, Bastien worked as Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Development, Russia and CIS for Interstate Hotels and he brings over 25 years of operational, sales, marketing and food and beverage experience to his new role. He will now be responsible for the sales and marketing operations for 19 hotels in the region and will oversee the development and implementation of strategies, plans and budgets for new and transitional Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel properties in the region.

“Given this exciting chapter in FRHI’s history, Bastien joins us at an opportune time as we continue to grow within the luxury market and double our regional footprint over the next five years,” says Sami Nasser, Senior Vice President of Operations, FRHI Hotels and Resorts. “Bastien will also be positioned to help drive our company’s strategic vision forward, reinforce our brand presence and to lead our sales and marketing teams to performance success.”

Dubai Lynx honours MBC Group Chairman

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The Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity has honoured MBC Group Chairman, Sheikh Waleed Al-Ibrahim with its Advertising Person of the Year award, to recognise his achievements in advancing the reputation and profile of the communications industry in the MENA region. Sheikh Waleed has been responsible for launching a series of successful TV channels which communicate to different audiences in the MENA region such as MBC1, MBC2, MBC MAX, Wanasah and MBC Drama. He has also recently been instrumental in rolling out HD channels that cover the worlds of movies, sports and entertainment as well as being one of the first Arab businessmen to launch a news channel – Al Arabiya, which has extended into a global network of correspondents and reporters with nearly 30 offices and Bureau Chiefs around the world. He was presented with the Advertising Person of the Year trophy during the Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony last night, which was attended by 1,800 people from the MENA region’s creative communications industry.

“Over the course of 25 years, Sheikh Waleed Al-Ibrahim has been responsible for multiple, significant contributions to the development of the media and entertainment industry in the MENA region and we are delighted that we could celebrate this during the 10th edition of Dubai Lynx,” says Terry Savage, Chairman, Dubai Lynx.

Weber Shandwick recognised as top employer

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Weber Shandwick has been recognised as the 7th Greatest Place to Work in the UAE 2016 rankings, during a ceremony that took place at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai. The ranking is part of a list of the nation’s best employers based on the confidential feedback of employees and an audit of management practices and this is the third year in a row the Weber Shandwick has been recognised. Great Place to Work is a global research, training and consultancy firm that identifies the best workplaces in over 50 countries worldwide.

“Our industry is centered on people and we are fortunate to retain some of the market’s most talented and creative individuals,” says Ziad Hasbani, CEO, Weber Shandwick MENA. “We greatly value our team and appreciate the efforts they have invested in delivering top quality work for our clients, but also in growing our agency.”

Maha Zaatari, Managing Director, Great Place to Work UAE, adds “Congratulations to all 20 companies that made it onto our 2016 list. The expansion of the list is testament to the value UAE companies place on human capital development. There is no doubt that this year’s competition was the toughest since we introduced the annual benchmarking program six years ago. The top 20 list makers truly understand how investing in their workplace culture leads to stronger business and people performance within their organisations.”

GN Publishing welcomes Kerri Bennett

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GN Publishing has welcomed Kerri Bennett to the role of Art Editor. Having previously worked in London for companies such as EMAP and Northern and Shell, Kerri has been in the UAE for 6 years where she has worked at ITP Publishing, NPI Media and, most recently, Motivate Publishing as Art Editor across various publications. In her new role, Kerri will be working on GN Publishing’s Contract Publishing division, as well as launching new fashion titles CitizenK Arabia and CitizenK Homme Arabia.

“It’s great to be part of a growing, successful company that invests in people,” says Kerri. “I’m excited for the future and the new projects I’ll be working on within the Contract Publishing division.”

 

CitizenK appoints Editor-in-Chief

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GN Publishing has welcomed Esther Quek to the role of Editor-in-Chief for new, luxury fashion titles CitizenK Arabia and CitizenK Homme. With over ten years of media experience across the UAE, Asia and Australia, Esther will be leaving her role as Group Fashion Director at APP Gulf – where she has worked on The Rake, Revolution, Conde Nast Traveller, Stylist Arabia and the Hello! Group – to join GN Publishing. In her new role, she will be overseeing both print publications which are due to be launched later this month.

“It is my utmost honour to work with the visionary founder, Kappauf, together with his Paris team to launch CitizenK Arabia,” says Esther. “This exciting international brand will take our region’s talents to greater heights as together we create the most cutting-edge fashion and lifestyle publication in the Middle East.”

Kappauf, Founder, Editorial Director and Creative Director, CitizenK, adds “Esther’s reputation for cutting edge fashion and her role in the region’s style evolution, is one that we are happy to see on the future pages of CitizenK Arabia.”

JPd appoints new PR Director

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JPd has welcomed Anastasiya Golovatenko to the role of Account Director. Anastasiya joins the Dubai-based branding and creative design agency to streamline the firm’s communications, as well as support clients in providing effective communication and digital solutions as part of integrated services. She brings over nine years of PR experience to her new role, having most recently worked as an Account Manager at Spread Communications and has a Master’s degree in Communications and Analytics from the Institute of International Relations in Ukraine.

“It’s an important phase for the agency to be able to provide our clients a solution that can take their brand to new heights of awareness,” says James Pass, Managing Director and Creative Principle, JPd. “The addition of Anastasiya will strengthen our team and we are delighted to welcome her on board. She brings with her vast PR experience, which will be a valuable addition to the branding services we offer and help us interact with our key audience better.”

Anastasiya adds “JPd is a passionate, friendly and energetic team of professionals. It’s very exciting to join an agency that helps people transform their dreams into successful businesses.”