About the Organizers
About APCO Institute
Established in 2022 and headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the APCO Institute offers training and development programs to enhance the skills and competencies of professional communicators. The Institute provides customized training to government and private sector clients, featuring expert-led sessions in media interviewing, public speaking, case-based theory, and hands-on interactions. Many of its senior trainers are former journalists with extensive experience in media engagement.
About SRMG Academy
The Saudi Research and Media Group Academy (SRMG Academy) is the training arm of the Saudi Research and Media Group, the largest integrated media group in the Middle East. Established in 2022, the Academy aims to discover media talents, enhance journalistic skills, and provide professional training for media and communication professionals.
About Columbia University’s Strategic Communication Program
Columbia University's M.S. in Strategic Communication program empowers current and aspiring leaders to shape the future through strategic communication. It is designed to respond to the urgent need for global perspectives, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making at all levels of organization. The interdisciplinary curriculum emphasizes audience-centered strategy and digital competency. Distinguished scholar-practitioner faculty bring real-world experience into the classroom and provide a learning experience that is immediately relevant in the workplace.
Program Organizers & Hosts
Dean Emerita of the Faculty of Professional Studies
Director, Strategic Communication Masters of Science Program
Alaa joined SRMG from Bloomberg News, where he spent 13 years in Cairo, Dubai and London. He was managing editor of European economics during the height of the Covid pandemic. Before that, he worked in key positions in the Middle East and North Africa, starting as a reporter covering politics and economics, before becoming Team Leader and finally managing editor for the entire region. Also worked as a correspondent for Reuters in London, Beirut and Cairo, as well as the Associated Press. He started his career as a sports journalist in 1998.
Dr. Nabeel Al-Khatib is the General Manager of Asharq News, overseeing its strategic direction and operations. Prior to this role, he served as General Manager of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath channels, and earlier as Executive Editor at Al Arabiya, demonstrating his extensive leadership in Arabic-language news broadcasting. Dr. Al-Khatib's career also includes academic contributions as a professor of journalism at Birzeit University in the West Bank, where he co-founded and directed the Birzeit University Media Institute. His multifaceted experience underscores his significant influence on media practices and education in the region.
Riad Hamade is the Director of Asharq Business with Bloomberg, where he leads one of the region’s most influential Arabic-language business news platforms. Prior to joining Asharq, he spent 20 years at Bloomberg, where he held multiple senior roles including European Economics Editor in Frankfurt and later led Bloomberg’s Middle East and Africa coverage from Dubai.
Mamoon Sbeih boasts a 25-year career as a strategic communications expert, guiding prominent government entities, corporations and multinationals across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mamoon is president of Middle East & North Africa and a member of APCO’s global Executive Committee since 2017. Mamoon is recognized as a luminary in media training, and is an advisory board member at Columbia University School of Professional Studies in New York and Page.
Liam Clarke brings to his work 25 years of experience advising corporations, government entities, trade groups, foundations and NGOs around the world. He specializes in strategic communications, issue management and crisis, stakeholder engagement, public affairs, ESG, training and capacity building, and strategic consulting. As a senior director and head of global business development at APCO, Liam leads a team that helps design and build solutions for APCO’s clients that draw on the firm’s global expertise, experience and market access.