Sapience Communications, an award-winning London-headquartered corporate communications and digital marketing agency, announced the opening of its new office in Dubai Media City.
According to Industry sources, it is located in the heart of some of the world’s fastest-growing markets, the latest office will support Sapience to trigger its expansion in the Gulf and the wider Middle East as well as service its growing list of clients in India.
Industry sources further added that this strategic initiative is a huge step in Sapience’s growth strategy to diversify its operations geographically and capitalize on the relevant financial, Middle East, and Indian market experience of some of its key senior directors.
Head of the Dubai office based in the city is Irina Bond, whose previous careers included periods at Barclays Capital and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where she dealt with institutions in the broader MENA region. As well as financial services, she also has significant expertise in marketing and communications, as well as in the health sector, having established a successful healthcare consultancy business.
To further help boost the firm’s presence in the Gulf, Sapience Communication’s co-founder and CEO Richard Morgan Evans regularly flies out to the region. During his previous journalist career, he visited the Gulf and Saudi Arabia many times, interviewing senior banking and business figures from state entities, such as ADIA (Abh Dhabi Investment Authority), ADNOC, SAMA (Saudi Central Bank) and leaders at Saudi Aramco, SABIC, the Olayan Group, Kanoo Group, and Xenel Industries. His work was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Economist.
Board advisor, Iain Allison, also based in Dubai, is a London Business School alumnus, and a former broadcast media marketing executive who ran the Indian operations of a leading international investment bank before co-founding a successful payments business that became Xoom which was acquired by Paypal, where Iain was head of international business development for the remittance business.
Leading the firm’s clients in India, which includes DLF, the largest publicly listed real estate company in the country, is Shubhi Grover, who has over a decade in PR and brand management, numerous industry awards, and a master’s in public communications from the London School of Economics. Her previous roles include leading communications for major players such as Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, and Marico India.
She is supported by Sanjana Chawla, the digital marketing lead at Sapience, who has a diverse portfolio of clients spanning India, the Middle East, and the UK and specializes in managing influencer marketing campaigns, driving lead generation initiatives, and helping brands with their digital marketing strategies.
Sapience’s current high-profile clients in the region include the Zayed Sustainability Prize, a global award for excellence in sustainability, founded in honor of the UAE’s Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was known for his commitment to conservation and protection, Qatar Insurance Group, one of the largest, listed insurance groups in the MENA region and SISCO Holding, Saudi Arabia’s first publicly listed infrastructure investment holding company and a key enabler of the Kingdom’s infrastructure and logistics strategy.
Richard Morgan Evans, Co-founder and CEO of Sapience Communications, commented: “We are delighted to announce the opening of our Dubai office. The Gulf region and the wider Middle East markets are among the fastest growing globally and we are pleased to make this extra commitment to our clients in the region as well as hope to serve a new roster of clients as we expand our activities. I am also happy to be able to capitalize on my long association with the Middle East and the network of strong relationships I have established. India too is increasingly a country where we are building up a presence and our Dubai office allows us to better help our clients from India achieve their growth goals.”
Irina Bond, Senior Consultant Middle East and India at Sapience Communications commented: “I am excited to help Sapience pursue its growth ambitions and use my business and marketing experience to assist its clients in the region with their expansion plans. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the meetings I have had with a variety of businesses from a broad range of sectors in recent months and I look forward to further strengthening our bonds with them and forging new partnerships and relationships among companies in the UAE, India, and beyond.”
