Held on 23 July at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dr Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director, TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster, awarded the diplomas to the graduating students.

Addressing the graduates, Dr Ayoub Kazim said: “These are exciting times for the media industry particularly in the streams of your choice. The sector requires a significant number of qualified talent in the UAE and the region.With 1,800 companies operating under the TECOM Media Cluster that includes Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and International Media Production Zone, opportunities abound practically at your doorstep.

“We hope the TECOM Education Cluster’s support inhosting education providers such as EMDI Institute of Media & Communication is an important step towards meeting the needs of the media industry.”

Nowshir Engineer, Founder and Executive Director of EMDI Institute, said: “EMDI is globally reputed for promoting academic excellence, leadership and positive career transition.The outgoing graduates of this institute owe it to themselves, and all those who have helped them on the way, to try to do their best in the choices they make. The ultimate measure of the worth of any educational institution is not the calibre of its faculty or students or the size of its class, but the worthiness of the contribution of its graduates to the society.”

At the ceremony, the EMDI staff and students were joined by Alan Gordon, Chairman, EMDI Institute, and Jean Oosthuizen, Honorary Dean, EMDI Institute and Director of Citron Communications.

EMDI has witnessed the graduation of over 1,000 students over the past seven years. With a student-strength of 38 in the first batch, the institute has grown to include two to three batches a year and currently has 180 students in its roster for 2011.

Launched in 2003 as the dedicated community for human resource management professionals, Dubai Knowledge Village continues to contribute to the development of the region’s talent pool. With more than 450 Human Resources Management (HRM) related firms, the zone has evolved as a successful foundation for training and learning for the entire MENA region.

- Ends -

About Dubai Knowledge Village Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) is the world’s only Free Zone area dedicated to Human Resource Management and learning excellence. Established in 2003 as part of TECOM Investments, DKV aims to develop the region’s talent pool and establish the UAE as a knowledge-based economy.

DKV is a unique hub that offers the best selection of Human Resource Management, Consultancy, Training and Personal Development programmes on a picturesque 1km long campus in the heart of Dubai.

With over 450 business partners, including Gallup, Towers Watson, Hays, Hewitt and Innovative HR Solutions, DKV aims to establish itself as both a trusted business partner and a centre of excellence for professional development.

For further information on TECOM Education Cluster, please call:

Zeba Ahmad
APCO Worldwide (JiWin Public Relations)
Tel: +9714 361 3590 (direct)
+9714 361 3333 (switchboard)
Fax: +9714 388 8001
E-mail: [email protected]

Tara Basrur
APCO Worldwide (JiWin Public Relations)
Tel: +9714 361 3596 (direct)
+9714 361 3333 (switchboard)
Fax: +9714 388 8001
E-mail: [email protected]

Over the last year Nahel.com has tripled their catalogue to 30,000 products and has launched new departments such as Books, Home Appliances, Luggage and Bags. Nahel.com has also become the official retailer of international brands such as Apple, Sony and Blackberry. The online shopping website has been able to reduce prices to remain competitive both offline and online offering the lowest prices for items across its departments.

“We have been happy with the growth we experienced over the past year, but Nahel.com remains a small company with solid plans for growth.” said Saeid Hejazi Nahel.com’s Managing Director.

“Keeping the customer in mind we have constantly evolved to offer more products at lower prices and better service. We will continue to come up with innovative ways to keep our customers returning and attracting new customers in the region to the online shopping experience,” Hejazi added.

Although the online retailer, promises 1-2 days for delivery, 12% of orders are delivered on the same day, and nearly two-thirds of its orders the next day, Nahel.com also provides round the clock customer service in the form of a 24 hour bilingual call center. In addition to an unmatched 60-day return policy storewide with free return shipping and extended warranties on electronics. These services are what make Nahel.com the leading online store.

“Our main focus over the next year will be to work closer with our partners to offer lower prices, better service and more products. We are constantly looking for official distributors and suppliers that share the same customer-oriented beliefs,” Hejazi concluded.

During the celebrations fortnight, the online store is offering free shipping across the UAE, as well as significant discounts and give away prizes.

From 15th – 30th July, Nahel.com will be holding daily deals including discounts of up to 40% on selected perfumes, watches and electronic goods.

Notes and media contacts
Nahel – is the Arabic word for bee
Nahel.com is the largest and fastest growing eCommerce store in the Middle East based in Dubai, UAE and was established in 2009 by Saeid Hejazi, Managing Director.

Nahel.com comprises of a dynamic team of professionals who have a vision and a plan in place with clear milestones. We work hard every day to source a diverse range of cool, desirable products for customers, offering them at competitive prices with a personalized service.

Nahel.com delivers all over the UAE within 1-2 days for only AED 10 per order or across the Arab world in 3-4 days starting at AED 24, thanks to its solid logistics partner, Aramex.

We offer our customers flexible payment methods such as cash-on-delivery, PayPal or credit card.
At Nahel.com, our “no-shelf space” philosophy aims to provide our customers with the biggest selection of products at competitive prices. We are continuously working at evolving and growing our product lines to cater to our customer’s diverse needs and wants. As of today, we carry over 30,000 products covering 6 departments and 1,500 categories.

Media Contacts:
Nahel.com
Shamim Kassibawi
PR Consultant
050 – 382 1258

The portal has already proven widely successful in a number of regional online markets, with Dubizzle.com currently welcoming over 1.5 million unique visitors a month and more than 70 million page views from across the MENA region.

As local consumers become more active in using the internet to buy, sell and find things, Dubizzle.com KSA has witnessed remarkable growth in both monthly traffic and content listings. The website currently welcomes over 3,000,000 monthly page views and more than 30,000 unique visitors from within the Kingdom on a daily basis. Dubizzle.com has built and maintained its reputation by being completely free to end users who never have to pay to sell items or to respond to listings.

Catering to people across some the Kingdom’s major cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar, Dubizzle.com hosts an extensive classifieds section with local properties for rent and sale, job opportunities, and automotive listings – all accessible in English, Arabic and French. Reports show that along with Dubizzle.com exponential traffic growth in the Kingdom, more than 20,000 listings have been uploaded from individual users and leading real estate, automotive and recruitment companies in the past four months.

Broadening its offerings across devices and digital platforms, Dubizzle.com has announced the launch of a mobile version of its website, giving consumers in the Kingdom easier accessibility to the company’s services while on the move. A beta version is currently available in English, with the company planning to develop mobile platforms in Arabic and French later this year. Smartphone apps for Apple, Android and Blackberry platform devices are also said to be in development.

“We believe that utilizing the power of the web can make it easier and more efficient for people to do business within their own community, creating value for both buyers and sellers,” says J.C. Butler, who along with business partner Sim Whatley co-founded Dubizzle.com after moving to the region in 2005.

“The Middle East’s online market place is a bustling forum where consumers are eager to stay connected when and where it suits them best. We are very proud of Dubizzle.com’s rapid growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—a country where we see huge potential for people who are interested in doing business online,” J.C. Butler concluded.

Notes and media contacts
About Dubizzle.com Dubizzle is a leading free classifieds and community website for users in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its launch in 2005, Dubizzle has become the number one portal for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. Dubizzle is headquartered in the UAE, and is available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubizzle is accessed by over 1.5 million unique visitors with more than 70 million page views on a monthly basis.

Media contacts:

Hassan Al Shouli
Dubizzle.com
Tel: +9714-4279779

Daniel Mercado
Memac Ogilvy & Mather
Tel: +9714-3050320

The program is aimed at providing knowledge, infrastructure and tools to help develop MENA’s future leaders. For the first-ever MENA Google Student Ambassador Program, more than 866 students applied, from which Google has selected 73 ambassador from 33 universities across the region.

The ambassadors were selected based on a number of criteria including their familiarity with technology, their commitment to making a significant impact on their respective campuses, and their desire to highlight the innovations that allow Google to bring economic, social and cultural benefits to society.

The student ambassadors will be given a week-long training, during which they will explore everything Google and be provided with exclusive insight into Google’s strategies for future programs and services. Specifically, the training will cover Google products, developers’ tools, an overview on university programs, sales tools and marketing overview as well as sessions on Google itself.

Google notified the chosen ambassadors, 30% of which are female, in early June. Upon receiving the news of their acceptance into the program, students from across the region expressed their excitement about being selected for this unique opportunity.

“This is a stepping stone to my dream, which is to work at Google one day,” said Ayman from Egypt. “Thank you for choosing me as a Google Student Ambassador,” said Mazen from Lebanon.

“You cannot imagine my excitement or how I looked jumping around the room once I got the email. I was ecstatic!” he added.

To offer students the best possible training and understanding into the world of Google, Googlers from MENA and Europe will provide training to all the ambassadors. Mohammad Gawdat, Google Managing Director Emerging Markets, and Ari Kesisoglu, Google Managing Director MENA, will elaborate on what it means to be an Ambassador. They will also share Google’s business strategy as well as its upcoming expansion plans. Travelling from Zurich, Ahmed Hamzawi, Head of Engineering for Google MENA, and Abdel Karim Mardini, Head of Product for Google MENA, will provide student ambassadors with in-depth knowledge about a variety of Google services, specifically those related to academia.

“Providing access to knowledge, improving communication, and developing innovative tools to foster freedom of expression are the core components of every Google initiative,” said Wael Fakharany, Country Manager for Google North Africa and Egypt. “The Google Student Ambassador Program is another innovative way we’re actively engaging youth from across the region to help them make the most of technology – academically, socially and culturally,” said Noha Salem, Head of University Outreach for Google across MENA.

She added “We recognize the amazing potential of university students; the Google Student Ambassadors Program will help foster their enthusiasm and energy for the benefit of university campuses across the Middle East and North Africa.”

The week long training will provide student ambassadors with the understanding and skills to enhance their experience at university. The Student ambassadors will work closely with Google teams to organize events and help raise awareness among MENA students about the opportunities and value of Google and the Internet.

Following the week long training, Google Ambassadors will return to their universities, where they will work closely with Google teams to organise events and help raise awareness among Egyptian students about the opportunities and value of Google and the Internet. They will spread the word on campus about competitions, boot camps, scholarships and other opportunities; attend Google events as a Google representative; test products and features; be a source of knowledge for their university about Google products, as well as spread Google goodwill to fellow students.

As the innovators of the tomorrow, students are highly valued by Google. As a strong supporter of innovation, Google sees the potential of the Student Ambassador Program as something that will develop universities in the region as well as the technological ecosystem as a whole. In 2010, Google was the fastest growing company in the world with respect to research and development (R&D) expenditure, spending more than $140,000 per employee on R&D annually.

Notes and media contacts
For more Media Enquiries, please contact:
Mona Seif: 010 569 6832
Trans – Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS)
28 Wadi El Nile Street / Floor 1, Suite 2 / Mohandiseen, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +20.23.304.6860 / +20.23.304.6870
Fax: +20.23.303.1219

The Aubuchon Press Freedom Award honors people whose actions embody the struggle to advance press freedom and open government. Each year, the Club selects one domestic and one international figure to receive the award.

“Among the things both this year’s winners have in common is an outstanding determination to be where the news of the day is happening, often amid perilous conflict,” said Mark Hamrick, an AP broadcast journalist who is president of the National Press Club. “Reflecting their willingness to rush toward danger, they were wrongly targeted as they sought to transmit truth to the rest of the world.”

For 2011, the domestic winner is Logan, the CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent and also a correspondent for “60 Minutes.” Logan, in Egypt earlier this year to cover the uprising against Hosni Mubarak, was viciously attacked in an unspeakably horrific sexual assault in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the night of Feb. 11. Two months later, Logan had the courage to speak about her attack in a riveting 60 Minutes interview. She did so in the hope, she said, of breaking the “code of silence” that too often surrounds such attacks.

It worked. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported in June that Logan’s interview had prompted dozens of other victims to speak out about attacks that occurred in similar mobs or as reprisals for reporting or while being held in captivity.

The international winner is al Jazeera’s Parvaz, also a reporter who had to face terrifying conditions merely to do her job. And her story also unfolded amid the Mideast turmoil that was arguably the year’s signature news event.

She was detained on April 29 upon arriving in Syria and placed in a jail where she heard the sounds of savage beatings, before being sent to Iran. All told, she spent 19 days in detention and out of touch with her family and colleagues.

“Their examples serve as reminders how difficult it is to report in the midst of rapidly unfolding, dangerous events,” Hamrick said. ” We celebrate the bravery and tenacity of both Lara Logan and Dorothy Parvaz. “The Club will honor Logan, Parvaz and other journalists at its annual journalism awards dinner on Aug. 10.

Daily deal web site Cobone.com has raised an undisclosed amount of second-round funding from Jabbar Internet Group. Jabbar, who are backed by Tiger Global, now take complete ownership of the company by buying out the minority shareholder, Group Buying Global (GBG), which is run by Klaus Hommels, a European Angel Investor.

Cobone.com is the largest deal-of-the-day site in the region in terms of cities live, coupons sold, amounts saved and revenue. Since it was launched in August, 2010, Cobone.com has grown its registered user base from 1,000 to 600,000, to whom more than 240,000 coupons were sold and $13 million in savings. Cobone.com already has 75 employees operational in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Cobone.com has a 10-digit run rate and huge growth rates in a market with over 350 million inhabitants, 70 per cent of who are under the age of 30.

“We are very excited about the prospects and future of Cobone.com, and we are investing heavily in it,” said Samih Toukan, CEO of The Jabbar Group. “In the face of harsh competition and a demanding market, Cobone.com has proven itself to be the definitive daily deals web site in the Middle East, and we aim to grow this business into one of the largest online businesses in the region.”

Cobone.com CEO and founder Paul Kenny

Cobone.com CEO and founder Paul Kenny also praised the website’s success and the Jabbar Group’s vision for the company’s future. “In just nine months, we have become the leading name in the e-commerce industry in the Middle East,” he said. “We are extremely excited to be able to work alongside Jabbar, and this investment will help scale operations, grow our teams in each country and also bring more innovation to the MENA region.”

These investments by Jabbar demonstrate the growing interest of well-recognised, international firms in companies that have a high growth potential in the Middle East and North Africa.

– End –

About Cobone.com Launched in August 2010, Cobone.com is one of the fastest growing web sites in the region, currently with over 600,000 members and over $13 million dollars in savings. Cobone.com gives its customers the chance to experience their city’s best offers on spas, restaurants and outdoor experiences with discounts from 50 per cent to 90 per cent. A new deal is featured everyday and customers are encouraged to invite their friends and family to take part in the deal, earning extra credit in the process. Shopping on Cobone.com is safe and easy, and offers members all forms of payment options including credit cards, cash on delivery, Paypal, CashU, and OneCard.

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Joe Akkawi, Managing Partner, Tel: +971 4 2980808
Email: [email protected]

Ms. Miya Billones, Account Executive, Tel: +971 4 2980808
Email: [email protected]

There has been a surge in the number of debates that have talked about how and why Amy Winehouse a, 27 year old British singer- songwriter known for powerful vocals and her contemporary songs such as “rehab’” was found dead in her apartment in north London.
Five-time Grammy winner Amy Winehouse was a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own. Her rich, soulful and unique voice reflected her honest song writing and earned her a devoted fan following, critical acclaim, and the genuine respect and admiration of her musical peers.

But, Winehouse has been plagued with drug and alcohol abuse problems throughout her career and had several times been unable to perform at live shows due this and had pulled out of a comeback tour last month after a disastrous performance at the first show where she was jeered off stage for being too drunk to perform.

Her fans have not only mourned on various social networking sites but also created forums and pages to remember her. With thousands of fans already registered on RIP Amy Winehouse page on Facebook; the sentiment continues to remain both neutral and positive towards the news about the death of Winehouse.

Social Media Conversations – What People Are Saying?

Neutral:
• “Singer Amy Winehouse found dead at her apartment in London, UK Press Association reports, She was 27.”
• “Amy Winehouse found dead in London flat”
• “How did she die?”
• “Nobody knows yet they suspect it’s drugs or drinking”
• Russel Brand has written an eloquent and insightful blog post about Amy Winehouse’s death. Go here to read it: http://t.co/VeAk6DG

Positive:
• “The late Amy Winehouse never got full credit for her songwriting ability & her hands on approach to her beautiful music. RIP Amy Winehouse”
• “The best singer in the world…R.I.P…….”
• “I am really sad for Amy, she never stood a chance with the media hacking on her all the time, pointing out her tats and anything negative they could dig up, she was an entertainer not a show piece, I think she did her best under pressure and she deserves a clap.”
• “RIP Amy We miss you! FaceBook Memorial Fanpage http://t.co/umynkym”
• “I know that I’m a day late but RIP Amy Winehouse. It’s sad that her talents were overshadowed by her troubles.”
• “For you I was a flame Love is a losing game Five story fire as you came Love is a losing game One I wish I never played Oh what a mess we made And now the final frame Love is a losing game Self professed… profound Till the chips were down …know you’re a gambling man Love is a losing hand ….” In Memory of Amy Winehouse”
• “Amy Winehouse’s 2007 album, “Back to Black,” is currently # 1 on both Amazon.com and iTunes.”
• “I’m so sad to hear the horrible news of Amy Winehouse’s death. I’m so happy I knew you Amy…Rest Well. Gone Too Soon…we’ll miss you!!”
• “Drugs took her gift, her soul, her light, long before they took her life. RIP Amy”
• “I have to say that as tragic as this is you can’t want someone to succeed unless that individual wants to, and she was on a downward spiral, and she resisted all help. So what can you do? She’s going to go down in history as tragic icon, a bit like Janis Joplin.”

Negative:
• “ Elton John will perform at Amy Winehouse’s funeral with a beautiful rendition of Candle Under The Spoon.
• Amy Whinehouse just another example of the wages of sin is death, it’s sad the enemy had her bound & look at the end result! Sin has two ways destruction or death. I hope people learned from this.”
• “Fans of the dead singer Amy Winehouse left an array of cigarettes and alcohol near her home in north London”
• “Congratulations to Amy Winehouse on 24 hours of sobriety.” #toosoon
• “Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jimmi Hendrix, Ian Curtis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin all died at 27. Bieber turns 27 in 2021. Just be patient.”
• “Hey Everyone so the world’s most famous bee hive wearing whiskey drinking crack smoking and heroine shooting soul singer Amy Winehouse has unfortunately passed away. Obviously we should all take a moment of silence for the 27 y/o followed by going to the bar doing shots and shouting that this one is for Blake. Seriously though it’s what she would want.”
• A terribly tragic day in the music world yesterday…..I lost my iPod (and you thought I was going to say Amy Winehouse died)
• So, Amy Winehouse is dead. To be honest, we all saw it coming. But Rupert Murdoch knew about it two months ago.
• “Apparently, Amy Winehouse is not dead. When the police tried drawing the line around her she jumped up and attempted to snort the chalk!”
 
The Social Media Analysis Report
SocialEyez conducted a quantitative and qualitative research to analyse the conversations about Amy Winehouse in UAE.
BUZZ VOLUME
A daily average of the direct social media mentions about Amy Winehouse’s death:
• 23rd July 2011: 975 comments / posts
• 24th July 2011: 745 comments / posts
• 25th July 2011: 512 comments / posts

SENTIMENT ANALYSIS
• NEUTRAL: 79 % of the total conversations about Amy Winehouse in the UAE were about sharing articles and news about her death.
• POSITIVE: 13 % of the total conversations displayed sympathy and admiration towards the artist.
• NEGATIVE: 8 % of the total buzz about Winehouse’s death in UAE included negative remarks and sarcastic comments.
SHARE OF VOICE
• Microblogs: 80% of the total buzz volume on social media networks in the UAE was on microblogs like: Twitter, Google Buzz etc.
• Message Board Forums: 10% of total social media buzz in the UAE was on message board forums like: maktoob.com or forums.fatakat.com.
• Social networks: 5% of the total buzz volume on social media networks in the UAE like: Facebook.
• Media type – Others: 5% of the total social media conversations about Amy Winehouse in the UAE were found on websites that hold news articles like: gulfnews.com or albawaba.com

TOP LANGUAGES
English: 67% of social media conversations about Amy Winehouse in UAE were in English language.
Arabic: 33% of social media conversations about Amy Winehouse in UAE were in Arabic language.

SCOPE NOTE:
This Buzz Report monitors trends and themes that recently buzzed on various social media platforms. The search was conducted on all social media platforms in Arabic & English. The focus of the research was on UAE and the conversations and social media trends reflect the sentiment from the residents of the UAE. Write to us at [email protected].

Report compiled by the SocialEyez Content Development Team

Sunil John, Chief Executive Officer of Asda’a Burson-Marsteller, a WPP company and part of the MENACOM (Middle East and North Africa Communications) Group, has been elected as one of the two members representing the West Asia region in IPRA’s new global governing body.

Sunil John, Chief Executive Officer of Asda'a Burson-Marsteller.

Along with Zehra Gungor, founder and managing director of STAGE Communications in Turkey, John will represent the PR industry of the region, highlighting the opportunities and challenges faced by the sector to a global audience.

John said: “The public relations industry in the Middle East and wider West Asia is witnessing unprecedented shifts led by the epochal socio-political changes sweeping the region. The prominence given to West Asia by IPRA underlines the global attention for public relations services in the region. The election to the governing body of IPRA serves as an opportunity to highlight the true dynamics of the region’s PR industry and share industry best practices with international professionals.”

The new IPRA governing body, will be led by Richard Linning of UK as President for 2011; Johanna McDowell of South Africa as President-elect for 2012; Elizabeth Ananto of Indonesia (President 2010) and Nigel Chism of UK (Treasurer).

The other members of the board are Mike Okereke (Nigeria), Loula Zaklama (Egypt) – Africa region; Ajit Pathak (India) – Asia & Oceania; Alexandre Cordeiro (Portugal), Bart de Vries (Netherlands), Christophe Ginisty (France) and Philip Sheppard (Belgium) – Europe; Jim McQueeny – North America; and Amybel Sanchez de Walther (Peru) – South America.

The first formal meeting of the new governing body will be held on October 22 in Istanbul, Turkey, in conjunction with the IPRA Golden World Awards gala.

Notes and media contacts
About IPRA International Public Relations Association (IPRA) is an Association of Public Relations Executives all over the world. It aims at being the world’s most relevant, resourceful and influential professional association for senior international public relations executives.

Formed in 1955, the Association aims at providing intellectual leadership in the practice of public relations globally, promote the highest standards in the practice of public relations, provide a channel for the exchange of professional experience between practitioners engaged in public relations and as well as provide opportunities for both new practitioners and students to engage in education and dialogue that will help their professional advancement.

The IPRA Council’s responsibilities include nominating and electing Executives of the Association to manage its affairs worldwide and also providing guidance and advice to the Board, in particular on matters of sponsorship and marketing, IPRA events and conferences, campaigns, education and research, the Association’s flagship award programme – Golden World Awards – and participating in the appointment of Members Emeritus.

For more information, please contact:
Iman Ahmed
Asda’a Burson-Marsteller
Tel: (+971 4) 334 4550

Primacoustic is a manufacturer of acoustic materials of all types. With over 30 years experience in studio and live sound, and 15 years in acoustics, they have amassed a tremendous resource in the form of knowledge.

Designed for nearfield monitors, the Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizer is a speaker mounting device that at once eliminates disruptive resonant coupling from the loudspeaker to the stand, while providing a stable base that reduces the recoil caused by the forward energy of the loudspeaker motion. The stabilizers have received worldwide approval from engineers like Al Schmitt, Daniel Lanois, Roger Nichols, Dave Bottrill, Bruce Swedien, Eddie Kramer and many more.

“We initially tried the flat version but as their stands are quite high the downfire versions provided great results,” commented Simon Short, Acoustics Specialist at Melody House.

He added, “We have sold quite a number of recoil stabilizers in the past few months as the difference is really audible. The best part is that they work on pretty much any studio monitor and straight out of the box.”

Notes and media contacts
About Melody House: Based in Dubai, Melody House is a dealer of major MI brands that include Pearl drum kits, Electro-Harmonix pedals, Lakland basses and much more. The company also focuses on the professional market with the distribution of DPA microphones and HK Audio speaker systems.

For further media information please contact:

Dino Drimakis
Melody House
P.O. Box 36154, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 (4) 3234912
Fax: +971 (4) 3234913

Commercial Director Jason Leavy has achieved a significant promotion to the position of Managing Director. In his new role, Leavy will take on greater responsibility for the operations of the company at a time where it is experiencing significant growth and investing heavily in key areas, most notably digital.

“We are hugely excited with this step as it underlines our company growth and the ongoing development of our senior management team,” explained Managing Partner Camilla d’Abo. “We believe that Jason is the ideal person for the job and has demonstrated so many of the attributes that represent us as a company – creativity, communications expertise, passion and drive – he will also make an excellent leader and role model for our business.”

Founders Lucy and Camilla d’Abo will continue to retain their positions as Managing Partners and will be focused on client and business strategy together with key market developments such as potential geographical expansion.

Leavy said: “I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to spearhead the operations of the company at such an exciting time in its development. We’re experiencing significant growth at the moment in our award-winning PR and event management divisions, while our investments in digital are already paying dividends and this will remain a key focus for us moving forwards.

“Most notably, the ability to offer genuinely integrated communication solutions is something that is really resonating with clients. They recognise having a single agency that fully understands their objectives and that is subsequently able to leverage a variety of different channels to deliver on these is a really powerful proposition that can ensure both consistency of message and a fantastic ROI.”

MEPRA’s PR Agency of the Year 2010 has seen double-digit growth in revenue year on year in 2011. It has also invested in almost 30% increase in headcount to meet the demand for its integrated communications offering over the last 12 months.

Other recent recruits to the company include a mix of talent from the UK and Middle East:
• Alex Hutley heads up the digital division in the newly created role of Senior Digital Strategist as the agency moves to strengthen its integrated communications offering. Previous experience in the UK & UAE includes Tonic Communications and international integrated communications agency GyroHSR, where his brand portfolio consisted of a range of clients including Jumeirah, Nokia Siemens Networks, AMEX, Dubai Holding, Emaar, Sony, Oracle and Hugo Boss.

• Joining as PR Consumer Account Director is Hannah Roche, who has moved to Dubai from Freud Communications in London, one of the world’s leading PR companies, where she spent two years as Account Director on clients including Birds Eye, Tropicana, Visa, and Virgin Megastores, as well as Bono’s charity, Red.

• Adding regional expertise to the Corporate PR team are Abdallah Touqan and Randa Kamal. Hailing from a mixed Jordanian and Saudi origin, Abdallah has five years’ regional PR experience across auto, corporate and IT brands. Meanwhile Swedish and Palestinian national Randa joins having spent several years specializing on automotive PR, handling clients including McLaren and Bentley.

• Lisa Flanagan joins DABO & CO from Cancer Research UK to spearhead its award winning Visa team as well as bring with her extensive experience of public health awareness campaigns and B2B expertise.

From top Hannah Roche, Lisa Flanagan, Alex Hutley and Abdallah Touqan

Founding partner Lucy d’Abo said: “Our new hires are indicative of our approach, in that we are committed to building a team of great talents who are defined by their creativity and belief in unparalleled levels of client servicing.”

- ends -

For further information please contact;
Jason Leavy, Managing Director – DABO & CO
Website: www.DABOANDCO.com
Tel: 00 971 4 3444901

About DABO & CO DABO & CO is an award-winning integrated communications agency built on the three key disciplines of public relations, event management and digital engagement.

The team provides strategic PR and digital consultancy combined with exceptional event management solutions for brands ranging from bespoke consumer products through to corporate multi-national companies. A focus on creativity, aligned with strong market insight and excellent relationships, add up to a winning formula that ensures clients receive strong return on investment.
The business serves a cross section of over 40 brands specialising in corporate, automotive, banking and finance, hospitality and lifestyle. Specialist sector knowledge and a network of in-country partners guarantees in-depth, measurable communication campaigns throughout the MENA region.

For more information please contact 00 971 4 3444901
www.DABOANDCO.com