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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.”

Linktia welcomes Director, Business Development

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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

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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.”

Hello! Middle East welcomes Group Picture Editor

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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

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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.”