Gehan Sidky joins Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi

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Gehan Sidky has joined Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi as Director of Communications. Most recently with Fairmont UAE, Gehan oversaw all PR activity for the Fairmont properties in the UAE including Fairmont Dubai, Fairmont The Palm and Fairmont Bab Al Bahr. As Director of Communications for Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, Gehan will be responsible for the marketing and public relations department, driving strategic initiatives to promote the property through all forms of media and communications.

“I’m thrilled to discover the capital of the UAE and work with a high end Thai hospitality culture which is all new to me,” says Gehan. “I look forward to working on Dusit’s exciting projects and future developments from a communications standpoint.”

Sonia Khosla joins Hello! Middle East

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Sonia Khosla has joined the Hello! Middle East team as Sales Manager. Sonia boasts solid sales experience gained from working across media titles in the UK and UAE, and has moved across to APP’s newly acquired title from ITP’s Cosmopolitan Middle East, where she also held the position of Sales Manager. In this role, Sonia was responsible for generating new business and handling existing accounts, as well as developing the publication’s portfolio of offerings. Sonia will now apply her sales expertise to the Hello! Middle East brand, which is due to re-launch on April 2, 2015.

Aishah Yousef promoted at En’Route Media Inc

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Aishah Yousef has been appointed as the CEO of En’Route Media Inc. Having been with the Fujeirah-based media company as General Manager of Ad Fusion Media and Editor-in-Chief of En’Route Middle East magazine for a number of years, Aishah has managed the editorial board and worked hand-in-hand with the publishers and advertising executives, in addition to providing creative content for the travel title and executing the daily tasks of the business.

Bringing over 17 years of experience across publications, travel and the hospitality industry to her new role, Aishah will now oversee En’Route Media Inc’s growing team, its new publications and its expansion across the Middle East.

Swiss Media Group welcomes Senior Editor

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Swiss Media Group has appointed Hayley Skirka as Senior Editor. Having worked across a number of titles in the region, Hayley previously held the role of Editor for Oasis Living Magazine in Al Ain, Contributing Writer at the International Diplomat Magazine Dubai, Editor of The Source UAE and Assistant Editor, Time Out GCC Guides and Supplements. In her most recent position, Hayley was Acting Editor at Time Out GCC Guides and Supplements, overseeing the division at ITP Publishing. As Senior Editor, Hayley will be focusing on Swiss Media Group’s growing portfolio of luxury consumer magazines.

“I’m really honoured to be working at Swiss Media – it’s a great team and the company has a fantastic portfolio of high-end titles,” says Hayley. “Although I only knew our late Editor-in-Chief Lucy for a few weeks, she was a truly inspiring woman and I’m determined, along with everyone at Swiss Media, to carry on her editorial legacy.”

myconcierge.com set to go live in the UAE

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From March 9, 2015, residents and visitors to the UAE will enjoy a new lifestyle service available online from www.myconcierge.com, created as a hub for the destination’s best experiences – spanning activities, shopping, restaurants and places to stay. The company behind the concept – npimedia (NPI) – will introduce the platform to its clients on March 9, 10 and 11 at Reel Cinemas, Dubai Marina Mall.

Launching with over 50 premium brand partners and offering more than 100 high-end lifestyle experiences to its users, www.myconcierge.com goes to market with the support of its exclusive launch advertising partner, Cartier.

“www.myconcierge.com, is populated by fantastic media that includes video, a wealth of partner content that the user can book, a responsive site that works across screens and devices, a dynamic CMS that can be accessed by partners, a rewards programme and an aggressive marketing campaign to bring in users,” says Rob Nicholas, Managing Director, NPI. “www.myconcierge.com, is like a department store that can change its shop window according to who is walking by – displaying products and services ideally suited to either the resident or the visitor.”

Ex-Chief Concierge of Atlantis, The Palm Dubai, Ankur Bagga is tasked with curating experiences that will meet the five-star expectations, and is supported by a team of relationship managers responsible for signing up new partners to the site.

“Although www.myconcierge.com, is a new service, the concierge concept is not. When I saw what NPI was doing to bring the concierge to life on a digital platform I was blown away – and to be honest, so are most clients when we reveal the concept to them,” adds Ankur.

Residents and visitors can sign up to myconcierge.com, from March 9, 2015.

Mary Keenan joins Swiss Media Group

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Mary Keenan has joined the Swiss Media Group as Junior Editor. With editorial experience across a number of publishing houses in the UAE, Mary has held the position of Editorial intern at Motivate Publishing – where she contributed content in addition to researching events, news and people – before moving on to her most recent position as Fashion Intern for Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. In this role, Mary worked across both Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Harper’s Bazaar Bride.

In her new position, Mary joins the editorial team to work across Swiss Media Group’s portfolio of niche market titles including EQUESTRIO, SWR and Prestige magazine.

“It is a real privilege to be joining the fantastic team at Swiss Media Group,” says Mary. “I have been made to feel extremely welcome and I am very excited to take up the Junior Editor role and move forward with the group’s three luxury titles.”

 

B Beauty Arabia launches in the UAE

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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

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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.”