DABO & CO sees 30% increase in headcount to meet market demand

As part of its ongoing evolution into one of the leading integrated communications companies in the region, DABO & CO has revealed a series of new appointments and promotions, adding further talent to its growing team as it grows to keep up with demand for its integrated services.

Commercial Director Jason Leavy has achieved a significant promotion to the position of Managing Director. In his new role, Leavy will take on greater responsibility for the operations of the company at a time where it is experiencing substantial growth and investing heavily in key areas, most notably digital.

"We are hugely excited with this step as it underlines our company growth and the ongoing development of our senior management team," explained Managing Partner Camilla d'Abo. "We believe that Jason is the ideal person for the job and has demonstrated so many of the attributes that represent us as a company - creativity, communications expertise, passion and drive - he will also make an excellent leader and role model for our business."

Founders Lucy and Camilla d'Abo will continue to retain their positions as Managing Partners and will be focused on client and business strategy together with key market developments such as potential geographical expansion.

Leavy said, "I'm delighted to be given the opportunity to spearhead the operations of the company at such an exciting time in its development. We're experiencing significant growth at the moment in our award-winning PR and event management divisions, while our investments in digital are already paying dividends and this will remain a key focus for us moving forwards."

"Most notably, the ability to offer genuinely integrated communication solutions is something that is really resonating with clients. They recognise having a single agency that fully understands their objectives and that is subsequently able to leverage a variety of different channels to deliver on these is a really powerful proposition that can ensure both consistency of message and a fantastic ROI," Leavy added.

MEPRA's PR Agency of the Year 2010 has seen double-digit growth in client revenue year on year in 2011. It has also invested in almost 30% increase in headcount to meet the demand for its integrated communications offering over the last 12 months.

Other recent recruits to the company include a mix of talent from the UK and Middle East:

Alex Hutley heads up the digital division in the newly created role of Senior Digital Strategist as the agency moves to strengthen its integrated communications offering. Previous experience in the UK & UAE includes Tonic Communications and international integrated communications agency GyroHSR, where his brand portfolio consisted of a range of clients including Jumeirah, Nokia Siemens Networks, AMEX, Dubai Holding, Emaar, Sony, Oracle and Hugo Boss.

Joining as PR Consumer Account Director is Hannah Roche, who has moved to Dubai from Freud Communications in London, one of the world's leading PR companies, where she spent two years as Account Director on clients including Birds Eye, Tropicana, Visa, and Virgin Megastores, as well as Bono's charity, Red.

Adding regional expertise to the Corporate PR team are Abdallah Touqan and Randa Kamal. Hailing from a mixed Jordanian and Saudi origin, Abdallah has five years' regional PR experience across auto, corporate and IT brands. Meanwhile Swedish and Palestinian national Randa joins having spent several years specializing on automotive PR, handling clients including McLaren and Bentley.

Lisa Flanagan joins DABO & CO from Cancer Research UK to spearhead its award winning Visa team as well as bring with her extensive experience of public health awareness campaigns and B2B expertise. 

Founding partner Lucy d'Abo said, "Our new hires are indicative of our approach, in that we are committed to building a team of great talents who are defined by their creativity and belief in unparalleled levels of client servicing."