DUBAI—APCO Worldwide has promoted Elizabeth Sen to deputy managing director for the Arab region and added several senior team members including veteran government communication expert Nicholas Labuschagne, senior director for strategy, and Bassem Zein, director for business strategy in the Arab region and market development in Saudi Arabia.

To strengthen the firm’s government communication and public affairs groups, Hicham El Amrani and Ghalia Alul joined APCO as directors, and Imad Lahad has joined APCO as a director to help lead digital communication services in the region. 

The new hires follow the move in 2013 of APCO’s global vice chairman Larry Snoddon to Dubai.

Sen, deputy managing director for the Arab region, leads a team of more than 90 professionals spanning 20 nationalities for APCO’s offices in the Arab region, focusing on corporate advisory and market entry, corporate positioning and reputation management, media relations, crisis communication and corporate responsibility.

Labuschagne rejoins after having previously served at APCO as a senior advisor and has more than 25 years of experience in strategic communication and geopolitical issues management previously serving at as a strategic communications counsel to the Government of Dubai media office and its strategic affairs committee.

Zein previously worked the Aspire Zones Foundation in Qatar Accenture, Haya Water, Rasmala Investments and at Red Bull. El Amrani previously worked with the UK Foreign Ministry and assisted in the communications of the VISA IPO in the GCC region. Alul has served as communications director and deputy chief of staff for Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan and director of communications for the Jordanian Government.