Team - SEC Newgate Middle East

Elena Gramatica
Founder and CEO, SEC Newgate Middle East

Elena Gramatica, Founder and CEO, SEC Newgate Middle East

With over 27 years’ experience in communications across the Middle East and Europe, Elena is regarded as a leading figure in the industry. Recognised by PR Week’s Global Power Book as one of the most influential communications strategists in the Middle East, Elena is also a Strategy Board Member of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA).

In Dubai in 2013, Elena launched the Middle East branch of the Italian agency, Twister Communications, and over the following eight years guided its growth to become one of the leading boutique agencies in the region.

As a result of this success, in 2021, international communications firm, SEC Newgate S.p.A acquired a stake in Twister Communications Middle East and the agency was renamed SEC Newgate Middle East. With Elena holding the remaining shares she continued in her leadership role at the head office in Dubai and recently, opening a regional office in Riyadh.

Prior to establishing her own agency in Dubai, Elena was the Communications Director for the Luxury and Consumer sector at MS&L (Leo Burnett Group), leading the activity for the agency’s largest client, Procter and Gamble.

Before relocating to the Middle East from Italy 15 year ago, Elena spent 10 years as Media Relations Manager at the Italian publishing house – Il Sole 24 ORE Group – handling the communications for the firm’s IPO.

Elena holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Literatures from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy and a professional degree in Journalism.

Sabrina Larese
Head of Office Riyadh

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Sabrina Larese Head of Office Riyadh

Sabrina has over 25 years of experience in communications and relocated from Italy to Saudi Arabia almost three years ago. Previously, she worked at Edelman, handling multinational clients in both Italy and KSA. She developed educational, promotional and corporate programmes for clients such as Unilever, Samsung, LinkedIn, HP, PayPal, the Ministry of Culture, Islamic Arts Biennale, Oman Aviation Group, Turkish Airlines, Riyadh Air, and Abu Dhabi Airports.

Her expertise spans the full spectrum of PR, from consumer practices to corporate positioning, tourism, and issue management, with a strong background in corporate, brand and international communications.

Helen Croft
Head of the Consumer and Lifestyle Division

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Helen Croft, Head of the Consumer and Lifestyle Division

Helen started her career in the UK working for a number of elite agencies, achieving outstanding results for clients ranging from Selfridges to River Island and Peacocks.

After 10 years of riding the London underground, she moved to Dubai in 2009 to join Havas.

She has led the fashion and luxury team at SEC Newgate for the past 4 years, managing prestigious fashion, fragrance and luxury jewellery clients across the region.

Emma Barber
Senior Communications Director

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Emma Barber, Senior Communications Director

Emma has over 19 years of communications experience delivering powerful PR campaigns to international and regional clients in the Middle East and UK across government, corporate, consumer, aviation, tourism and retail. Since relocating to Dubai 15 years ago, Emma has worked with the British and Italian Embassies, Art Dubai, Henkel, British Airways, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Pepsi, Nivea and Evian.

With her many years of experience, Emma overseas the agency’s corporate accounts, providing strategy and guidance, working with the team to identify opportunities and ensure PR activity is managed effectively and successfully. Prior to moving to the UAE, Emma worked for a boutique agency in the UK servicing consumer and charity sector clients. She holds a BA in English Literature and the CIPR Advanced Certificate in Public Relations..

Daniela Gorini
Senior Communications Director

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Daniela Gorini, Senior Communications Director

Daniela leads key accounts within the Corporate Practice at SEC Newgate Middle East and with 15 years of experience in the UAE, Daniela has a deep understanding of the local culture and the regional media landscape. She began her career at Burson-Marsteller Milan before relocating to Dubai in 2010, and throughout her career has successfully spearheaded PR campaigns for some of Dubai’s major cultural events, including Art Dubai and Dubai Design Week. She has managed projects for several Italian Governmental Institutions in the UAE and KSA and coordinated international projects in collaboration with SEC Newgate agencies worldwide. Daniela holds a BA in Political Sciences and a Degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communication.

Katja Novakovic
Communications Director

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Katja Novakovic, Senior Communications Manager

A long-term resident of the Middle East, Katja has spent nearly two decades in the region, eight of those leading high-impact communications campaigns across sectors including culture, policy, sports and finance.

She has held senior roles at Weber Shandwick, Portland Communications and BLJ Worldwide, managing work for a diverse range of clients such as Qatar Foundation, Vodafone, Mastercard, Education Above All (EAA), Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Museums, Media City Qatar, the Doha Film Institute, and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). Katja also contributed to landmark initiatives including the FIFA World Cup 2022™, supporting the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.

She holds a BSc in International Relations from Georgetown University and an MA in Human Rights from University College London.

Ihab Yousef
Senior Communications Manager

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Ihab Yousef, Communications Manager

Ihab, a native of Palestine, embarked on a transformative journey in 2017 when he relocated to Dubai to pursue his professional aspirations. Building an impressive PR and communications track record over the past seven years, Ihab has demonstrated his expertise across the corporate, technology, automotive, healthcare, hospitality and lifestyle sectors. Having featured in Campaign Middle East’s PR Faces to Watch 2022, Ihab has worked with a diverse portfolio of leading regional and international brands including MAF Group, Acer Middle East, Fitbit, Bose, Amazon Devices, Deloitte, Bosch, Riyadh Airports, Stellantis, Mandarin Oriental, Siemens Healthineers and the Saudi Ministry of Industry & Mineral Resources. Fluent in both Arabic and English, Ihab is a graduate of Birzeit University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.