Miss Ohood Abdulghaffar

Marketing director and business development expert with 15 years’ experience. Expert on project management, building and implementing company strategy across multinationals. In 2021, secured investments totaling £7.7 million from UK investors and HNW clients for Bahrain. Extensive ad agency experience working on branding, ATL and BTL campaigns, across TV, Print, OOH, POS and VFX post-production, driving account growth from £20K to £80K-£120K per month. A true leader, nurturing and building cohesive and high-performing teams, described as ‘best manager’ in 360 reviews. Extensive experience in process set up and operational skills such pitching, issuing RFPs, building workflows, improving efficiency, setting rate cards, and ensuring profitability of accounts. Currently completing Executive MBA at Imperial College London; available for an immediate start.

Imperial College London: Executive MBA	Feb 2020 – Oct 2023
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS): MSc Development Studies	Sep 2005 – May 2008
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): BSc International Relations	Sep 2002 – Jul 2005
Cheltenham College, UK: A-Levels	Sep 2000 – Jul 2002

All the educational achievements listed above were funded in full by the Bahraini Crown Prince's International Scholarship Program - a highly selective fully-funded academic scholarship covering tuition and all associated living costs.

Bahrain Economic Development Board: Regional Director, UK & Ireland

Apr 2017 – Jan 2022

London-based: International investment promotion agency

• Drove foreign direct investment target acquisition in key growth sectors promoting Bahrain as an investment destination for the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Nordics, and Israel, with a focus on Smart Cities, EduTech, Digital Health, Education, Hospitality, Leisure, and Retail, based out of the Embassy in Knightsbridge.
• Key strategic lead and relationship building with the UK Department of Trade, UK Export Finance, the HM Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and regional trade and commerce promotion bodies to assist UK businesses seeking to export or expand to the Gulf region.
• Independently secured investments totaling £7.7 million from the UK: £2.3 million in healthcare, £1.3 million special education needs, £1.1 million in training for aesthetic clinics, and £3 million in education in 2021, despite COVID.

Bahrain Economic Development Board: Marketing Lead

Sep 2015 – Apr 2017

Bahrain-based: International investment promotion agency

• Reporting to Marketing Director; led department of 6-8 marketing professionals in delivering global branding and marketing campaigns for ‘brand Bahrain’ covering tourism and investment promotion, including global TV campaigns aired on CNN and direct B2B events set up and promotion on social media and OOH in key investment locations in China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, London, and Germany, as well as set up for WEF events in Davos and hosting exclusive F1 and international airshow investor events in Bahrain.
• Responsible for annual procurement and tender processes with international creative agency M&C Saatchi, including setting budgets of £5 million annually and media agency Zenith, based in London.
• Responsible for coordinating with internal Comms department and their PR agency Bell Pottinger.
• Set growth and training targets for department including annual talent reviews and led on presenting quarterly briefings to Board of Directors, including the Crown Prince and senior ministerial staff.

Industry Branding, Bahrain: Client Director, MENA

Apr 2015 – Sep 2015

Bahrain-based: branding and M&A strategic consultancy

• Headhunted by leading London-based branding consultancy as head of client servicing finance and corporate clients across the Gulf and MENA.

Gulf Marcom, a Dentsu agency, Bahrain: Senior Account Lead

Nov 2014 – Feb 2015

Bahrain-based: Leading international creative agency, a part of the Dentsu network

• Headhunted from London as client servicing lead on newly acquired Bahraini client Tamkeen, a government agency tasked with promoting international business growth, export and employment.

Prime Focus, now part of Double Negative, London: Client Services Director

May 2011 – Oct 2014

Soho-based: International post-production, advertising and visual effects house

• Headhunted to establish new advertising post production division; formulated and implemented processes and procedures to establish and scale up the department, including drawing up rate cards and ensuring profitability of accounts.
• Lead on delivery of the global commercials for brands and agencies across Europe such as Grey, Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi.
• Responsible for global TV campaigns for Procter & Gamble and Elizabeth Arden brands, in close coordination with creative agencies across Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific, managing a team of translators, visual effects operators, artworkers and sound engineers and leading successful pitches to potential clients in London, Paris and Geneva for multinationals like Procter & Gamble.

Hogarth Worldwide, a WPP agency, London: Senior Account Manager

Aug 2009 – Apr 2011

London-based: Leading international WPP agency: joined as a start-up of 30, which scaled to 300+ within less than 2 years

• Lead for delivery of global Unilever campaigns across Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East for Sunsilk – Unilever’s billion-dollar brand, driving growth of international above the line and below the line campaigns covering print, outdoor, POS and TV, driving account growth from £20K per month to £80K-£120K per month.
• Lead contact for Unilever, WPP and media agencies’ global, regional and local offices, securing creative approvals, negotiating budgets and ensuring delivery of global campaigns across hubs in London, India, Singapore and Buenos Aires.
• Sole Arabic-speaking cultural and linguistic expert, advising and consulting on Ford, Corinthia Hotels and Starwood Hotels.

Ralph Appelbaum Associates & Newangle, London & Bahrain: Project Manager

Jun 2007 – Aug 2009

London-based: international museum design agency & creative digital agency

• Led project management of content development, visual effects approval and graphics design for museums, based within London offices and the client in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in Bahrain and managing external contractors in Copenhagen and London.
• Issued tender documents for digital signage, content creation and graphics agencies.

Harte Resource Solutions, London: Business Development Manager tech headhunting

Aug 2006 – Feb 2007

Cross Cultural Solutions, Tanzania: Summer Volunteer

Sep 2004

Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain: International Affairs Intern

Jul 2002 – Aug 2002

Bahrain Telecommunications Company, Bahrain: HR & Internal Communications Intern

Jul 2001 – Aug 2001

CRM systems: Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce; Project and Team Management Systems: Farmers Wife, Xytech, Slack, MS Teams, Zoom; Adobe: Illustrator, InDesign; Presentation systems: Prezi, PPT and Keynote; MS Office: Word, Excel, Outlook; Full UK Driver’s License

St Martin’s Church, Ruislip Mums and Tots group volunteer; active member in local Resident’s Association and Conservative association; Recently took up CrossFit and running; training up for first half marathon in October 2023

Dual national: Bahraini-British

English (native), Arabic (native)