Brunswick Group, a leading corporate communications partnership, has announced two senior appointments in the Gulf region - Rupert Young as senior partner for the Gulf and Jeehan Dahman Balfaqaih as the head of the company office in Dubai, UAE.

Young, who joined Brunswick in London, UK, in 1997, moved to Dubai over 10 years ago to spearhead the firm’s growth in the region. Today Brunswick is a market-leading corporate relations advisory firm helping organisations across the GCC and wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) address critical communications challenges.

The group's GCC team comprises 60 consultants and support staff, based in its offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Young leads Brunswick’s business in the Gulf, based out of Dubai. He is a specialist in advising firms on corporate positioning, media relations, listed-company reporting, investor relations, financial transactions and the management of major issues, it said.

He started his professional life in the British Army, training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, after which he went on to serve a Short Service Commission. Young has a BA Honors from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

Rob Pinker, chief operating officer and head - India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA), Brunswick Group, said: “The Gulf is becoming an increasingly important hub for the firm.”

“Young will focus on connecting and integrating our company’s global network, ensuring we continue to offer regional clients the very highest standards of corporate communications advice, including cross-broader reach and the latest thinking and best practice,” he said.

Core to this will be the continued integration of our specialist offers including; Brunswick Insight, which supports data driven communications strategies, our cybersecurity and privacy practice, and MerchantCantos, our wholly owned creative content solutions business, it added.

On Balfaqaih, Pinker said with this appointment, she has become the first Arab to lead a Brunswick office and also the first woman at the UAE office, said a statement.

She joined Brunswick Gulf in 2007, soon after it was launched, and has since played a pivotal role in helping to grow the business in the region.

She has more than 16 years of experience in corporate positioning, creative campaigns, issue management and communications advisory in the Gulf. As the first recruit in the UAE for Brunswick, Balfaqaih was instrumental in building the firm’s presence and offer in the GCC.

During her time with Brunswick, Balfaqaih has advised the senior management and boards of local government and semi-government entities and private and public regional and international companies on their communications with multiple stakeholder groups.

Balfaqaih earlier worked at Rasmala, a regional investment bank, where she was head of corporate communications. A published Arabic poet, she leads Brunswick’s Arabic capabilities.

Pinker said: “Balfaqaih has emerged as a natural leader in our Dubai Office. We are all looking forward to working with her in her new role.”

A Bachelor of Science degree holder from McGill University, Canada, she was named as one of Arabian Business 100 under 40 Most Influential Young Arabs in 2016.– TradeArabia News Service