Speaker Bios

Akanksha Goel, Founder, Socialize

Akanksha Goel is a marketing insider and founder of Socialize, a social media agency and training house.

Before moving to Dubai, she served as the chief editor of the leading global consumer technology publication STUFF, in Singapore. Having been a part of the TAJ Hotels marketing team, Akanksha has also consulted on multiple special projects at the TATA Group , including conducting a nation-wide study about women in senior management and analyzing the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’.

Akanksha has conducted numerous seminars and trainings on social media and marketing in Middle east and Asia. She helped organize South East Asia's first podcamp and was co-creator of the Digital Media Across Asia wiki. Akanksha is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer for the Sherazade group, which represents OneEmpower’s Loyalty Marketing Solutions in the Middle East, Africa and India.

www.socialize.ae
follow @AkanshaGoel on twitter

Eiléen Lee, Marketing Director for Luciola*

Originally from New York, Eiléen has had a diverse international career gaining experience in different industries with her greatest strengths in entrepreneurial and start-up companies from technology training to online retail.

Eiléen joined Luciola* in 2009 to create the overall brand and build the group which offers Brand and Business Strategy consulting solely for the telecom sector. All strategy is based on local consumer insights similar to how FMCG branding changed 60 years ago where brand strategy was built upon a product’s features and has now evolved to engaging the consumer on an emotional level.

Anna Gibbons, Business Director, neo@Ogilvy

Anna is the newly appointed business director at neo@Ogilvy, OgilvyOne Dubai's new digital media arm. neo@Ogilvy is not a new phenomenon, Anna joined neo in London shortly after it's global launch in 2005. Over her time in London she saw the office grow from 15 to 55 as demand for increased digital media intelligence grew. Globally neo now employ over 500 people and are a well established part of the Ogilvy portfolio.

Anna's passion of digital started in New Zealand where she began working in offline media. With a hunger for numbers, analysis and accountability she quickly moved into the digital space where the fast paced, creative environment had her hooked. Anna has worked across major local and global brands both in New Zealand and the UK - most recently managing and developing digital media investment for American Express.

Anna moved to the Middle East in July and is now well entrenched in the OgilvyOne offices. Watch this space.

Natalie Carney

Natalie Carney has worked in radio for 15 years as an audio engineer, journalist and presenter. Having started at the age of 16, her experience with different radio formats has taken her around the world. Starting with the top news/talk station in Canada, Natalie moved to the UAE where she helped set up the Arabian Radio Network. From there her career took her to England, where she produced station imaging for 33 station across the UK with one of the country’s the top network, GWR. Not having felt she had finished with the Arab world she was quick to accept a job to help launch Egypt’s first privately owned English and Arabic language radio station in Cairo.

This also gave her the experience in working in another language where she defined the great difference in how successful radio is delivered in both the Middle East and North America.

From Cairo she also helped set up Khartoum’s Mango FM.

Natalie is also a global voice over talent having worked with many reputable client such as Pepsi, M&M and Virgin Radio International.

Currently, she works as a presenter for Virgin radio Dubai and also is partners to a Radio consultancy company called Evolve Radio.com

Abha Malpani

Abha leads the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller digital practice, which focuses on strategising and implementing multi-media public relations campaigns on new media platforms including online social networks, user-generated content sites, and websites. She focuses on consumer engagement tactics and search engine optimization, among other activities in the digital space.

Abha has worked with ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller and its sister companies for five years, most recently with Polaris Public Relations, where she worked with blue-chip global and regional companies including the Ford Motor Company, Benetton, and the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group.

A world citizen, Abha has lived in England, Australia and Spain, in addition to the UAE and India. In Spain she worked as a freelance web-marketing strategist and professional blogger while earning her certification in Spanish.

Personal blog: www.abhamalpani.com
Twitter: twitter.com/abhamalpani

Alexander McNabb

Alexander McNabb is the group account director of Spot On Public Relations, the Middle East affiliate of leading European communications group Pleon. A vocal commentator on media, marketing and communications issues in the Middle East he is an active blogger as well as a regular columnist for Campaign Middle East and is a contributor to a number of marketing and business publications and websites, including Arabianbusiness.com, Media Week and Communicate.

He has also made a number of appearances as a speaker, panellist and moderator at regional conferences, as well as guesting on Dubai Eye Radio's Business Breakfast and other broadcast media.

Read his blog

Tanya Dernaika

Tanya Dernaika is Director of Strategic Planning at Memac Ogilvy, Dubai. Her successful career spans 15 years of key planning brand experience and new bsiness development with Memac Ogilvy.

Starting out in account management at Memac Ogilvy London (1992 – 1997) Tanya went on to head the Strategic Planning Department for Memac Ogilvy, MENA (1997 – 2005).

Her role spans acting as training leader for Memac Ogilvy Strategic Thinking & 360 Branding Programs, driving market & consumer insights as well as brand planning for advertising, PR, CRM and activation departments.

During the course of her career, Tanya has helped regional and global brands such as NZMP, Nestle, Amex, Unilever, GSK, Burgan Bank, Gulf Air, Al Rajhi, Al Marai, Powerhorse, MBC and Motorola.

Julia Foster

In complete rebellion to having studied Public Administration at university, Julia’s first job took her on to the streets…….selling advertising for a local newspaper! Constantly astounded by advertisers willingness to part with their cash for the ad space, but not give two hoots about their message, she decided to join the ad agency fraternity.

Despite dabbling with a client-side role for a couple of years, the agency world has been her home now for quite some time…having worked for the TBWA network in the UK, Canada and now Dubai.

As Director of Business Development at TBWA\RAAD, Julia is a self-confessed new business junkie. The thrill of creating industrial-strength ideas for clients is what gets her pulse racing. And if pitching is her bungee jump…then winning is her sky dive!