SEC Newgate names John Hobday CEO of its Middle East business.
SEC Newgate, the global communications and advocacy group, has appointed John Hobday as CEO of SEC Newgate Middle East, Campaign Middle East reported on 4 November. The business operates from Dubai and Riyadh.
Hobday succeeds founding partner Elena Gramatica, who is moving to the US for family reasons. He joins after seven years as a partner in FGS Global's Dubai office, where he built its regional business with a focus on capital markets work. Earlier, he set up Citigate Middle East in 2003, described in the report as the first specialist financial and corporate communications firm in the GCC, and later led FTI Consulting's regional operations until 2017.
SEC Newgate says it started the Middle East business in 2021 and counts several multinationals and local institutions among its clients, with a specialism in luxury, art and culture. Hobday's brief is to grow that specialism into new sectors and to tie the office more closely to the group's international offer, which covers financial communications, corporate diplomacy, crisis management and institutional relations. The group also plans to add support in the Gulf for international investment projects.
The announcement acknowledges the uncertainty and conflict affecting the region but says the Middle East remains strategically important and that the group intends to keep investing in people and capabilities there. SEC Newgate does not give headcount, revenue or client names, and this is a single-source story built on the company's own announcement.
For Gulf brands and public bodies shopping for corporate-affairs and reputation advice, the move shows a global group choosing to add senior regional leadership in Dubai and Riyadh rather than pull back.
Why it matters
A global communications group is adding senior leadership across Dubai and Riyadh despite regional conflict, a signal for brands choosing corporate-affairs and reputation partners.
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