Lucy Torchia has joined the team at ITP Publishing as the new Editor of Sound & Stage Middle East. Prior to joining, Lucy was Editor for Read magazine at WhiteFox Media, where she managed a small team of editorial and design staff. Lucy takes over from Tom Norton who remains at ITP working on the consumer floor at Esquire.
Lina Rassam has joined the TCApr team as Account Manager. Lina previously worked across lifestyle brands as Account Manager for Soul Communications in Dubai, and in her new position she will represent five-star luxury hotels based in Monaco, Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius, with a primary focus on Arabic media.
“After managing clients in the UAE for two years, I’m excited to deal with clients based abroad,” says Lina. “I’m thrilled to join the team at TCApr as they’ve all been very welcoming, and the energy in the office is great.”
Jade Sprowson has been promoted to Style Director of the Emirates Woman Group. Formerly Style Editor for the Group, Jade will now head up the fashion and beauty team for Harvey Nichols Dubai magazine and the Emirates Woman Group, which includes Emirates Woman mini, Emirates Bride and emirateswoman.com.
“I am delighted to become Style Director of the Emirates Woman Group,” says Jade. “It’s been an amazing 18 months working with a great team on all of our fantastic titles, and I can’t wait to begin this new and exciting chapter.”
Stacie Overton Johnson has been appointed as Food Writer for The National. Stacie brings with her 9 years of freelance experience, having worked previously as a freelance television producer in the USA before relocating to Abu Dhabi in 2013, and prior to this as a full-time producer for 6 years. In her new position, Stacie will contribute several food articles a week about a variety of food-related topics in the UAE, from restaurant openings and major food competitions, to up and coming chefs in the UAE and food reviews.
“I’m having a great time working with the Arts & Life team at The National,” says Stacie. “They’ve all been very welcoming and the energy in the office is great. After freelancing for so long, I’ve found myself excited to get back into a proper office. I prefer newspaper writing to television writing, as it’s far more fulfilling. It’s easier to write a story you’re happy with – you don’t have the time constraints that comes with writing a television news story, and I can’t wait to throw myself into the UAE’s culinary world.”
Felix Weller has joined General Motors as the Director of Sales and Marketing – Cadillac. The former Sales Director for Audi Middle East has taken on this newly created role as part of General Motors’ strategy to focus on Cadillac as a premium brand. Felix will lead Cadillac’s marketing and sales strategy for the Middle East region, in order to further the brand’s growth and position as a key contender in the luxury automotive market.
“I am excited to lead the team and to help put our Cadillac on the map,” says Felix. “Cadillac has a very bright future in this region, and I am glad to be a part of it.”
Alexandria Gouveia has been promoted to Editor of online platform, emirateswoman.com. Formerly Deputy Editor of Emirates Woman Group, Alexandria has had over 10 years experience in print and digital media, and has previously worked online for Blackbook, DazedDigital and NewWoman. She will now be in charge of upscaling the powerful digital platform, which continues to complement the Middle East’s longest running women’s magazine.
“I’m very excited about this new opportunity,” says Alexandria. “I look forward to making emirateswoman.com as prestigious and well-respected as the magazine.”
Former Sub-Editor at Gulf News Magazines, Peter Iantorno has joined EDGAR as Features Editor. In his previous position, Peter worked across six titles including alpha., WatchTime and Wheels, and in his new role, he will be working alongside the Online Editor and Editor-in-Chief on the publication’s newly launched website, EDGARdaily.com.
“I’m absolutely delighted to have joined the EDGAR team, and I’m thrilled to be working on such an exciting project as EDGARdaily.com,” says Peter. “The website has massive potential to succeed, and that’s one of the reasons why I was so keen to come aboard.”
Martin Fullard has joined the Gulf News team as Guides Writer. Having started out as a freelance motoring journalist, Martin previously worked for Auto Middle East, Motoraty and Auto Trader in the UAE. In his new role, Martin will research and provide copy for the Gulf News online service relating to ‘everything UAE’, from upcoming events and features, to step-by-step guides and directories.
“I am really excited to be working at Gulf News,” says Martin. “If you had told me a year ago that I would be working for an internationally renowned service then I would have laughed you out of the room; it’s a dream come true!”
Catherine Thomas has joined Dubai Design District (d3) as Executive Director of Marketing and Communications. Catherine brings with her over 20 years of experience, most recently as Head of Marketing with Land Securities, a property company and Real Estate Investment Trust in the UK. Prior to this, Catherine was Commercial Director for British fashion designer Maria Grachvogel, and before that as Marketing Director for British fashion house the Jaeger Group. In her new role with d3, Catherine will be responsible for developing overall marketing strategy, as well as managing all aspects of PR, Communications and managing international and local events.
“I am delighted to have joined Dubai Design District’s dynamic and expanding team,” says Catherine. “d3 is set to play a significant part in shaping Dubai as a creative hub for our local and regional design, fashion, art and luxury scene, and I am excited to be part of such an incredible project.”
Sophie Wood has been appointed as the new Senior PR and Events Specialist for Virgin Megastore Middle East. Sophie was previously with the Corporate Communications team at Havas PR Middle East, and has handled international brands such as Häagen-Dazs, Chic Outlet Shopping® by Value Retail and Peugeot. In her new role, Sophie will be looking after Virgin Megastore’s PR, social media and in-store events for the region.
“I’m thrilled to have joined the Virgin Megastore team, and am looking forward to getting settled into my new role,” says Sophie. “Virgin Megastore is such a fun brand to work on and I’m excited for all the opportunities ahead for 2014 and beyond.”