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Catherine Thomas joins Dubai Design District

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 joins Virgin Megastore ME

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.”

Georgina Enzer joins FinanceME

Georgina Enzer has joined CPI Financial as Editor of FinanceME. Georgina was previously Editor of Oil & Gas Middle East magazine, in charge of the editorial content for the publication and arabianoilandgas.com website, as well as overseeing the publication’s Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook accounts. In her new role, Georgina will drive all of the editorial content for the magazine which focuses on the SME finance sector in the Middle East, and will be the force behind an editorial redesign.

“I am thoroughly enjoying working with CPI Financial,” says Georgina. “I can’t wait to help drive FinanceME forward in the region.”

Christina Sang joins Insignia PR

Christina Sang has joined the Insignia PR team as Account Manager. Christina was previously with Esquire Financing Inc. in the Phillipines, where she set up the marketing team and managed business development initiatives.  Subsequently, she was appointed as Project Manager of the Office of the Chairman, and handled the Chairman’s private equity development projects. Prior to this, Christina worked for Emaar Hospitality Group with Armani Hotels and Resorts in Dubai, dealing with events in luxury, VIP and corporate segments, as well as spearheading the launch of At.mosphere for which she handled the communications and events.

“Christina is a true third culture kid of today,” says Gabriela Asquith, Director, Insignia PR. “Her versatile background and multi-lingual capacity keep Christina in the know and adaptable to emerging international trends.”

Aquarius Magazine launches redesign

Aquarius Magazine has undergone a full redesign and rebrand unveiled for this month’s June issue. In circulation since 2002, this is the first restructure of the women’s lifestyle magazine, and includes a new look, new logo and new attitude.

“While the title has always been very close to our hearts and a vital part of our portfolio, we wanted to offer readers a new and fresh look to compliment our new editorial attitude,” says Katie Heskett, Associate Publisher, Gulf News Magazines. “We have changed our focus to address all elements of a woman’s life – from careers and parenting to fashion and beauty, food and home. With so much more content on offer and various platforms that we are able to deliver it on – including our website, app, social media and monthly events – we wanted to have a fresher look that fitted a new era for the title.”

Louisa Wilkins, Editor of Aquarius Magazine adds, “Aquarius is such a well-loved and respected magazine with our readers. Our commitment to them remains our top priority, and this redesign and editorial direction will offer them even more great content and opportunities to engage with us. It’s amazing to see how the magazine has developed this year – we’ve done a lot of work and research with our readers to get this final results and the feedback from them has already been fantastic.”

Gulf News Publishing Director James Hewes further adds, “The magazine is one of the most important titles at Gulf News Magazines, and to see this exciting new direction is just one part of our ongoing development plans for our women’s lifestyle group.”

CNN International launches Future Finance

CNN International has announced the launch of Future Finance, a new weekly segment showcasing future trends related to the global financial system that will feature in two of the network’s highest profile business shows – Quest Means Business and World Business TodayFuture Finance will complement CNN’s business coverage by examining everything from a future without cash to high-speed trading that employs the power of laser beams.

Each month Nina Dos Santos will host a Future Finance 15-minute special programme highlighting the best in CNN’s series of short feature films, and offers global insight into what’s on the horizon at consumer and industry level. With stories from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas; Future Finance will be an opportunity to gain perspective on possible future trends related to all areas of global business innovation. The weekly reports began airing on June 3 2014, with CNN’s first instalment of its 15 minute programme launching June 25, at 10.45 BST / 11.45 CET.

A dedicated microsite www.CNN.com/FutureFinance will feature Future Finance reports and supplementary content such as digital explainers, info-graphics and analysis. The material will also appear and be promoted across other CNN business and news web pages.