Business & Money | Monday 22 June, 2015 3:18 am |

Ketchum Raad Middle East, a full-service communications firm in the Middle East and North Africa, has appointed Ashraf Shakah managing director, based in Dubai. Shakah joins Ketchum from BPG | Cohn & Wolfe, where he served as a business director. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

“Ashraf's considerable experience in the region aligns very well with our client needs and our plans for continued growth,” said Jon Higgins, senior partner and CEO, International, for Ketchum.

Shakah brings more than 18 years of local-market experience and is recognized for his knowledge of the region’s business, social, cultural and geopolitical dynamics. Over the course of his career, Shakah has worked with companies across a range of industries, including Accenture, Visa, Orange and LG.

“Ashraf brings heavyweight experience and the well-rounded perspective of someone who has worked client-side, agency-side and in-house. We were impressed with both the strength of his leadership skills and the subtlety of his new business thinking,” said Reda Raad, group CEO at TBWA​RAAD.

Of his new role, Shakah said, “It is exciting to join Ketchum Raad Middle East, the agency at the forefront of the communications industry in a region that is going through rapid change, as is helping governments, businesses and people in the Middle East realize their aspirations for more positive perceptions. I’m already impressed by the team’s determination to seize these opportunities, and I’m looking forward to helping them accelerate that journey.”

Ketchum Raad Middle East was established in 2010 as a joint venture between Ketchum, a leading global communications firm, and TBWARAAD, a leading advertising agency network in the Middle East and North Africa region. Ketchum Raad Middle East is a full-service communication agency that delivers integrated PR and marketing offerings in 13 cities across 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including offices in the U.A.E., Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and affiliates in Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.