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Brunswick Group, a leading corporate communications partnership, is pleased to announce two promotions in its Gulf business. Rupert Young will take on the newly created role of Senior Partner for the Gulf and Jeehan Dahman Balfaqaih will become the Head of the Dubai Office.
Rupert, who joined Brunswick in London in 1997, moved to Dubai over 10 years ago to establish and lead the development of the Firm’s presence in the region. Today Brunswick is a market-leading corporate relations advisory firm helping organisations across the GCC and wider MENA region address critical communications challenges. The Gulf team comprises 60 consultants and support staff, based in its offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Rob Pinker, Brunswick Group’s Chief Operating Officer and Head of IMEA said: “The Gulf is becoming an increasingly important hub for the Firm. Rupert will focus on connecting and integrating Brunswick’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.”
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.
Jeehan joined Brunswick Gulf in 2007, soon after it was launched, and has played a pivotal role in helping to grow the business in the region. Jeehan becomes the first Arab to lead a Brunswick office and the first woman to lead a Brunswick office in the UAE.
"Jeehan has emerged as a natural leader in our Dubai Office. We are all looking forward to working with her in her new role", concluded Pinker.
Brunswick Group’s Gulf offices advise government-owned entities, private and listed companies and multi-nationals looking to increase their profile locally, regionally and globally. They have been active advising on some of the most high profile corporate transactions, capital raisings, crises and campaigns.
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About Brunswick Group LLP
Brunswick Group LLP is a corporate relations and communications consultancy. The Firm provides informed advice at a senior level to businesses and other organizations around the world, helping them to address critical communications challenges that may affect their valuation, reputation or ability to achieve their ambitions. Brunswick is a private partnership with a growing team of over 1000 employees, including more than 140 partners around the world. The firm has grown organically over 25 years and now has 24 wholly owned offices in 13 countries. These comprise Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Berlin, Chicago, Brussels, Dallas, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, New York, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Vienna and Washington D.C.
Biographies
Rupert Young
Senior Partner, Head of Brunswick Gulf
Rupert leads Brunswick’s business in the Arabian Gulf, based out of Dubai. He specializes in advising corporates on corporate positioning, media relations, listed-company reporting, investor relations, financial transactions and the management of major issues.
Rupert has been a communications consultant since 1994. He has been with Brunswick for 20 years, initially in London and then moving to the Gulf to launch the business in 2007.
Rupert has advised on a large number of transactions throughout his career. In recent years, these have included the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi with First Gulf Bank and the IPO, and subsequent sale, of Al Noor Hospitals Group to Mediclinic International.
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. Rupert has a BA Honors from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
Jeehan Dahman Balfaqaih
Partner, Head of Dubai
Jeehan 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, Jeehan was instrumental in building the firm’s presence and offer in the GCC.
During her time with Brunswick, Jeehan 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. She advises clients from a diverse set of sectors across the GCC on positioning, reputation management, media relations and employee engagement.
Jeehan joined Brunswick from Rasmala, a regional investment bank, where she was Head of Corporate Communications. A published Arabic poet, Jeehan leads Brunswick’s Arabic capabilities. She holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University, Montreal and was named as one of Arabian Business 100 under 40 Most Influential Young Arabs in 2016.
© Press Release 2017
