Reaffirming its commitment to creating value and delivering impact through culture in the MENA region, Flint Culture expands its regional team.

30 April 2024 – Flint Culture, an international culture-led communications and strategy consultancy firm, announces the appointment of six senior hires to its MENA senior leadership team. This comes as the firm scales its operations and expands its core service offering to better support clients in the region.

“As the region accelerates economic diversification, it is undergoing a profound social and cultural reinvention. Against this rapidly changing backdrop, grasping cultural nuances to deliver timely, culturally informed strategies has never been more important”, says Wol Balston, co-founder and Director of Flint Culture. 

To bridge this gap and better support organisations across sectors, Flint Culture is expanding its core offering with the introduction of new services such as ESG consultancy, strategy advisory and capacity-building. 

Bringing more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, capacity building and executive profile, Ghalia Alul has been appointed as a Senior Advisor, leading on complex projects and capacity-building. Prior to joining Flint Culture, Alul worked with high-profile institutions, including European Union development programmes in the region, the Jordanian Government, the Office of Queen Rania of Jordan, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation. 

Joining from IHG Group, Parisa Chum has been appointed as the Head of ESG practice to lead on this new vertical. In this role, she will work with government and private entities, innovators and financiers to understand and mitigate their environmental and social impact, accelerate innovation and build integrated and equitable communities that can sustain the future.

With a background in executive education, communications and advocacy, Charlotte Chedeville joins the firm as the Head of Academy – a newly established division that leverages the power of arts and culture to deliver transformative learning experiences across culture, communications, sustainability and leadership.

Maintaining its boutique approach to servicing clients, Flint Culture has appointed three senior leaders to oversee in-region projects and manage growth. 

Previously a London-based Associate Director, Elizabeth Flanigan has been appointed as the Regional Lead for Saudi Arabia. Now based in Riyadh, she will oversee the firm’s strategic initiatives and operations across the Kingdom – leveraging her two decades of leadership experience and in-depth knowledge of the arts sector.

Based in Doha, Gada Ali joined Flint Culture as the Director of Business Management, with a mandate to direct the firm’s expansion plans and consolidate processes to support growth. She brings a decade of experience in communications work and project management for high-profile clients including Qatar Tourism, Hamad International Airport, and Qatar National Library amongst others. 

To support growth and enhance delivery capacity, Nina Paul has been appointed Director of Change, Projects & People. A strategy and change specialist with over a decade of experience in the UK and the GCC, she most recently worked the Bahrain Economic Development Board and government institutions in the UAE and KSA.

In addition to the senior leadership team appointments, Flint Culture has increased mid and junior level campaign management resources in response to growing market demand. Liz Sen – Managing Director for the MENA region, concludes: “We believe in the power of the collective – and work to leverage every individual’s unique set of strengths, experiences and perspectives. With such a diverse team, we are uniquely positioned to address our clients’ diverse needs, and able to pull together the most relevant teams for each project.”