MediaCom MENA has appointed Clare Thornton as its new Regional Bid Media Manager to head up its search and bid media product. Clare joins MediaCom MENA from MEC London, where she played a pivotal role as a lead on accounts such as Johnson & Johnson and Lloyds Banking Group and was responsible for several award-winning projects including the Lloyds Torchview campaign.
“It’s a very exciting time to be joining MediaCom MENA,” says Clare. “The digital side of the agency is growing at an incredible pace and I’m looking forward to being part of the successful future of the agency.”
Dan Chapman, Regional Head of Digital adds: “It took a while for us to find Clare, acquiring the right talent and charisma in the office is sometimes very hard and with Clare we have struck gold. Clare has joined us to head up our search and bid media product and comes with a wealth of experience ranging from the banking sector through to FMCGs across multiple markets in Europe, providing a full spectrum of knowledge and insight across the search landscape and how to implement across multiple markets”
Somayya Jabarti has been promoted to Editor-In-Chief of the Saudi Gazette, becoming the first female journalist to be appointed Editor-In-Chief of a national newspaper in Saudi Arabia. Somayya previously held the position of Deputy Editor-In-Chief of the newspaper, and takes over the position after more than thirteen years in the industry.
“While there already are Saudi women who are Editor-In-Chiefs of magazines, such as Halah Al-Nassir of Rotana Magazine and Enas Hashani of Jeddah Destination, this is a first time appointment of a Saudi woman as Editor-In-Chief of a daily Saudi newspaper,” says Somayya. “It is important that my appointment not be treated as singular or exceptional but as a starting point for the advancement of all fellow Saudi women in the media industry in the Kingdom.”
After a number of project assignments, Elle Timms has joined the Buro 24/7 Middle East team as Senior Contributing Editor on a permanent and exclusive basis. Elle, who previously worked as Editor of Hello! Middle East before turning freelance after the birth of her daughter, will be covering all sections of the luxury lifestyle news portal – specialising in fashion and culture. The title is a digital collaboration between Salama Alabbar and Miroslava Duma and is led by Editor-in-Chief, Holly Williams.
“Buro 24/7 is a refreshing, exciting editorial project in the region with a young and dynamic team,” says Elle. “I’m very happy to be joining them.”
DPQ Communications is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Thurston as Head of Content. Simon has worked with some of the world’s top brands across a variety of industries, including banking, automotive, F&B, healthcare and technology. With experience gained in the UK, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, he was most recently the Creative Copywriter at Dubai World Trade Centre.
“The chance to join DPQ’s talented team and add to their culture of creative, dynamic and strategic communications was just too good to turn down,” says Simon. “We already have a number of new clients on board this year, and I am really excited about what the future holds.”
Gehan Sidky has been appointed as the new Area Public Relations Manager for Fairmont. Gehan previously held the position of Public Relations Manager at Raffles Dubai, where she spent two and a half years in charge of all PR for the property. Gehan will oversee all PR activity for Fairmont properties in the UAE including Fairmont Dubai, Fairmont The Palm and Fairmont Bab Al Bahr.
“After more than two wonderful years with Raffles Dubai, I’m thrilled to continue to be part of the Fairmont Raffles Hotels International family and work on Fairmont’s exciting projects and future developments across the UAE,” says Gehan.
Mark Setchfield, the former Art Director of Best, Love it!, Bliss and Maxim, has joined Friday as Art Editor. The award-winning designer has also worked on the British versions of Elle, Marie Claire and Grazia and most recently launched Trinity Mirror’s new website for The People newspaper.
“We are thrilled to have Mark on board,” says Gulf News Magazine’s publishing director James Hewes. “With his wealth of experience across multiple platforms we will be able to take the Friday brand to the next level.”
Mark worked with Friday Editor Karen Pasquali Jones on the launch of Love it!, the award-winning women’s weekly for News International. She adds, “It’s an exciting time for Friday and Mark’s addition to an already talented team means we can go forward with some dynamic plans for 2014.”
Mark, who left Trinity Mirror in London to join Friday, continues, “This is a fantastic opportunity and I can’t wait to help Friday thrive and grow. It’s a unique challenge but one that I’m more than ready for.”
Friday is distributed weekly with Gulf News, which has a total audited circulation of 105,792 copies (BPA Audit, June 2013, Friday edition). Friday has a total readership of 360,000.
Georgina Wilson-Powell has announced she will step down at CPI Media Group at the end of next week. Having worked at CPI Media Group as Group Editor since November 2011, launching Hospitality Business Middle East in 2012 and Lonely Planet Traveller Middle East in 2013, Georgina is giving up her newly appointed position as Group Managing Editor to travel before returning to the UK.
“It’s been a wonderful couple of years working with CPI Media Group launching some really dynamic and different titles to the market,” says Georgina. “I’m very proud of all I’ve achieved with the company but after six years in Dubai it’s time to slowly make my way back to the UK.”
Georgina will be available for freelance work on print and digital titles, with a focus on travel and lifestyle.
Previously Publisher at ITP Consumer Publishing for the Ahlan! Group of magazines and websites, Katie Heskett has joined Gulf News Magazines as Associate Publisher for the Women’s Lifestyle and Homes & Interiors brands.
Currently focusing on Aquarius and InsideOut magazines and websites, Katie is also working on new launches in 2014.
“After eight great years at ITP, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to take on a really exciting new challenge with a great team at Gulf News Magazines. The plans we have for Aquarius and Inside Out both in print and online – as well as the developments taking place overall at Gulf News Magazines – are inspirational and I’m looking forward to being a part of a market-leading publishing organisation.”
James Hewes, Publishing Director for Gulf News Magazines, said: “I am delighted to welcome Katie to the Gulf News Magazines team. I’m incredibly excited by her appointment and I know that she’ll be using her wealth of publishing expertise to take Aquarius and InsideOut to the next level. Katie’s appointment is just the first of a number of exciting developments planned for the next few months as we start a new phase in the development of Gulf News Magazines.”