Four Communications expands Gulf senior management team

The three directors - Kate Bermon, Margaret Flanagan and John Rynehart - join the company's Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices.

The expansion follows a series of major new account wins in 2008, including Abu Dhabi Finance, Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Azizi Investments, Bahrain Logistics Zone, Cirque de Soleil and Omran, the Omani tourism development company. These additions consolidate an A-list client base that also includes Etihad Airways, IATA, Leisurecorp, MEED, Nakheel, and Rolls Royce.

Four Communications' offices in the UAE are run by two of the company's four founding partners - Einir Williams in Dubai and Ray Eglington in Abu Dhabi who have switched from the Group's HQ in London to the UAE.

Ray Eglington, said:

"Despite the global financial situation, we have been encouraged by the positive signals from the markets here in the Gulf, and have therefore continued with our investment and expansion plans. These three new directors bring impressive consultancy skills to our team in both PR and marketing, and will add new dimensions to what we offer our clients in the region. In the kind of turbulent times we have been seeing, there is always a rush to quality by consumers and that makes it critical for companies to invest in the quality of their brands. We're certainly seeing demand for such investment from the major players here in the region."

The new directors bring a range of experience to the company. Kate Bermon is a real estate marketing specialist, having held a number of senior in-house and agency roles, including marketing director of international property marketing company, PURE International.

Margaret Flanagan, who re-joins the team after an in-house secondment with client Nakheel, will lead communications strategies for existing and new clients and also expand the company's arts capacity. John Rynehart, formerly with Fortune Promo Seven in Dubai, will spearhead Four's Sports and Sponsorship offering in the region, on the back of a bumper year for the company's sports division in the UK.

Four Communications has been based in the Gulf since 2005 and now has a team of 30 delivering the full spectrum of marketing and communications services.

The company's Abu Dhabi office opened in 2007. In late 2008, the Dubai office moved to new, larger premises in Business Central Towers, Media City.