The Gulf Chapter of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) has elected a new board of directors for 2008-2009.

Announcing the results, chairperson of the Nominations Committee Dr Thuraya Al Arrayed congratulated members on the smooth flow of the election process and announced the names of the new board members as follows:

IPRA GC president: Faisal Al Zahrani from Saudi Aramco Public Relations Department; Executive vice-president: Sultan Al Bazie, CEO of Attariq Communications; vice-president Qatar: Jassim Fakhroo, managing director, media and marketing department, Hamad Medical City; Vice-president Kuwait: Etedal Al-Ayyar, managing director, Way Communications; Vice-president UAE: Mohammed Kirat, head, department of Public Relations, College of Communication, University of Sharjah; Vice-president Bahrain,  Fahad Ibrahim Al Shehabi, PR Officer in the Bahrain Parliament and president of the Bahrain PR Organisation;  Vice-president Oman: Hassan Al Saleh, managing partner, TRACCS Oman; Vice-president Saudi Arabia, Western Region,  Sarah Al Ayed, managing partner, TRACCS Saudi Arabia and Network vice-president; Vice-president entral Region:Humoud Al-Ghobaini, senior manager, corporate communications, Mobily Riyadh; Vice-president, certification and education, Sunil John, managing director, Asdaa;  Vice-president, Membership: Manal Al Hazza, PR representative, Saudi Aramco Public Relations.

The positions of vice-president, Media & PR, and treasurer are yet to be appointed.

Newly elected VP for the Western Region in Saudi Arabia, Sarah Al Ayed, is the co-founder of Trans-Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS) and a shareholder and corporate officer of the headquarters in Saudi Arabia. 

She is one of the leading Gulf Arab female public relations practitioners and is considered one of Saudi Arabia's leading businesswomen.  Al Ayed leads TRACCS Saudi Arabia, the leading public relations practice in the Kingdom, and oversees some of the company's most important regional and multi-national accounts. 

Reviewing progress made over the past two years, Dr Thuraya said that the association has witnessed a number of conferences and specialised symposiums highlighting the vision and philosophy of IPRA and public relations practitioners in the region and wished the new board members every success in continuing the excellent work of their predecessors.
 
'First and foremost I would like to thank all members for their support and also express the Association's deep gratitude to the previous board members for their great efforts in enhancing the image of the IPRA Gulf Chapter,' said newly elected IPRA GC president Faisal Al Zahrani.

Established in 2003, the Gulf Chapter is one of the 70 global chapters of the International Public Relations Association which was founded in London in 1955. 

The objectives of the association are to develop and enhance the PR skills and experience of its members and to build strong professional relations between IPRA members throughout the world. - TradeArabia News Service