Brand Communications Group, the leading Africa-focused communications firm, has hired Zarina Banu to head up its corporate communications & PR division and drive business expansion in the thriving sector.

At Brand Communications, Zarina will be bringing her extensive international media and communications leadership experience to manage and build business in the rapidly expanding pan-African private sector. During her career, Zarina has led teams in the UK, Qatar and Malaysia for some of the biggest names in international news, including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. She was a member of the Al Jazeera English global launch team in 2006. She led large breaking news teams that helped the channel win the Royal Television Society News Channel of the Year for its coverage of the 2011 Arab Spring.

Zarina joins the London office of Brand Communications from Ogilvy PR in Hong Kong, where she was senior communications counsel, focusing on major international clients working in the Asia Pacific region. At Ogilvy, Zarina managed some of the PR division’s most high profile names, including Forbes 500 companies. She was part of the East Asia team that won The Holmes’ Report Asia-Pacific Consultancy of the year 2015. Before working at Ogilvy, Zarina was regional editor at the World Bank Group, where she delivered multi-platform messaging and content for the group’s leadership.

Zarina reports directly to managing director and founder of Brand Communications Group, Terhas Berhe. Berhe says, “Zarina is a critical hire at a time of substantial expansion for Brand Communications,”

 “Her passion for growing emerging markets, leadership skills and senior international media experience will help drive Brand Communications forward. Advancing Africa’s sustainable business development is what motivates us all at Brand Communications. Zarina’s background and energy give us a crucial edge in the marketplace.”

Zarina says, “I am excited to be joining Brand Communications at a time when Africa is at the forefront of game-changing business developments,”

 “In a post-Brexit world, a lot of communications firms are now trying to expand into the continent. Brand Communications already has a very firm and established foothold there, which we are building on. Clients across Africa come to us because they know they will get a deeply committed and fully integrated communications service that delivers and grows their business goals. My experience with the world’s most influential organisations gives me an understanding of how to tell compelling stories using multi-channel formats, and identifying and maintaining audience. With her Pan-African and international experience and inspiring business vision, I am extremely proud to have had Terhas choose me for this role.”

Zarina is already working with a range of African clients, including the continent’s leading Pan-African bank Ecobank and clients from financial, energy, infrastructure and telecoms sectors.