MCG Talent

Spent this week doing what I’ve always done. Meeting people. Talking, lots of talking, hustling if you want to call it that. Introducing my advisory practice. Reminding people I’ve worked with for years what my role with MCG looks like now. You cannot do any of that just through a screen. You can’t build a relationship on Zoom. You can’t crack a joke on Teams in the same way. You can’t ask someone about their family, their life, what’s keeping them up at night and actually mean it through a tool. I’ll be honest with you. AI has genuinely helped me this week. Research. Market analysis. Bouncing ideas. Competitor intelligence. Things I used to employ people to do. It’s impressive and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But it didn’t sit across from my guest this morning and remember he takes a low fat soy cappuccino. It didn’t ask about his mother in Lebanon and how she’s been through all of this. It didn’t look him in the eye and say I’ve been here before, I’ve seen this, and here’s how it played out. That’s what gray hair gets you. Lived experience. The ability to give genuine reassurance to someone who needs it. Not a summary. Not a framework. A human being who’s been in the room before, in markets like this one, and came out the other side knowing things you can only know by living them. This is what I want to say to every business right now that thinks the answer is purely in the tools. The most game changing thing you can do for your business, in good times and especially in times like these, is bring in someone who’s done it. As a hire. As an adviser. As someone who can hold your hand through muddy waters, help you move faster, and stop you making the mistakes they already made for you. AI will give you ideas. Lived experience will save you from the bad ones. There’s a place for everything, but don’t shortchange yourself by thinking the tool is the strategy. The person is still the strategy. Always has been, and in my honest opinion, always will be.

Live roles across MENA and APAC. If you’re exploring your next move, take a look at the latest openings below: • 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗔𝗘𝗢) 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱  | Dubai, UAE • 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 | Dubai, UAE • 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀  | Hong Kong • 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 / 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 | Hong Kong Apply via the links in the comments. Know someone suitable? Tag them below or share this post.

I’ve now had HR contacts made redundant in three separate processes we’ve been working on. I think that tells you something about the market right now. Businesses are reviewing everything. Hiring, marketing, PR, agency spend, structures, headcount, offshoring, AI, automation. Nothing feels protected at the moment and there’s a real sense that companies are trying to work out what the future actually looks like before committing to major growth again. And honestly, I think some people are still pretending this is just a small wobble in the market. I don’t think it is. There is business happening, and I’m grateful I am still working on some genuinely important mandates, mainly senior, business-critical, game-changing hires. But there is also a huge amount of drift. Projects dragging. Approvals slowing down. Businesses hesitating. Candidates nervous. Companies trying to work out what AI replaces, what gets offshored, what stays local, and what they still genuinely need humans to do. Then you layer on top the geopolitical noise, uncertainty around Trump and global trade direction, interest rates, wars, oil, property concerns, relocation concerns and just general instability in the air. That fuzziness affects everything. People don’t tend to make bold decisions when they feel uncertain. They pause, delay, restructure and reassess. What I do think happens in periods like this is that disruption accelerates. Technology moves faster. Lean businesses survive. Bloated businesses struggle. Businesses that can adapt usually come out stronger on the other side. The Gulf will move through this because it always does, and I’ve been here long enough to see multiple cycles now. But I don’t think there’s any value in pretending this is an easy market right now because, for a lot of businesses, it simply isn’t. You can feel it on the ground. The best advice I can give people is to stay visible, stay commercially sharp, protect cash flow, keep relationships close, keep meeting people and keep adapting. This probably isn’t the moment to be complacent.

Almost 20 years in the Gulf. I’ve seen some unbelievable things in that time. People landing in Dubai thinking they’ve made it after two good months. Recruiters buying watches before invoices were paid. Founders signing office leases off projected revenue that never arrived. People changing jobs every 9 months chasing titles and salaries, slowly destroying their own reputation without even realising it. One of the wildest was a guy years ago who had an unbelievable first year in the region. Huge commissions. Huge lifestyle jump. Rolex, sports car, big apartment, the full performance. Social media made it look like he’d cracked the code to Dubai life. Within 18 months he was gone. Debt, panic, job hopping, reputation damaged. Nobody trusted him anymore because every relationship had been transactional and short term. That story stayed with me because the Gulf can absolutely change your life, but it can also expose people very quickly! A lot of people come here looking for shortcuts. Shortcuts to money mostly. The problem is this region is actually built on long-term trust and consistency. The people I know who’ve lasted 15–25 years here are rarely the loudest people in the room. They’re usually the people who kept showing up during hard markets, maintained relationships properly, adapted when markets shifted and didn’t get drunk at beach clubs regularly or on short-term wins. This market humbles people fast. The last few years and especially the last month or so has reminded people of that. Hiring freezes, businesses disappearing overnight, delayed payments, restructures, panic, uncertainty. A lot of people discovered their business was built on momentum instead of actual stable foundations. I’ve made mistakes myself over the years too. Everyone who survives here long enough has. However one thing I learned early is this, The region rewards resilience the most. And despite all the ups and downs, 18 years later, I still believe it’s one of the greatest places in the world to build a career, business and life, but only if you play the long game properly and don’t kid yourself that it will be easy. Photo - With my new 2008 Ford Edge just after the Atlantis opened. Great car!

It's been quite a week to be posting about jobs and sharing, but I've genuinely appreciated every message. Let me be straight with you about what I'm seeing on the ground. My clients right now fall into three camps: Those cracking on. Hiring, building, moving. Those stalling. Waiting to see how things settle, and honestly, they're the majority. Those heavily impacted. Particularly anyone exposed to tourism and consumer spend, which has taken a real hit. For many in the UAE, the real barometer of confidence has been simple: are the schools open? This week they weren't, and that disruption has been felt by everyone, families, businesses, and anyone who is really trying to get on with it. That's been the kicker on the recovery. Like many of you, I'm hoping next week brings better news and some genuine resolution. In the meantime, here's a summary of what I've been sharing this week. All live, all senior, all niche: 📍 Dubai. Luxury Marketing & Comms Lead (MENA remit, luxury experience essential) 📍 Dubai. Visual/Creative Leader for Experience Business 📍 Dubai. Social Media Head (leading e-commerce platform) 📍 Riyadh. Communications Business Leader 📍 Riyadh. Integrated Advertising Business Leader (deep Saudi experience required) 📍 Riyadh. Integrated Creative/Advertising Leader 📍 Doha. Account Lead, Commerce Consultancy 📍 Doha. Chief Communications Officer 📍 Dubai. Group CMO (Lifestyle) 📍 Dubai. Creative Director, In-house 📍 Dubai. Luxury CMO A reminder of what I do now: I work with a select number of businesses across the Middle East and Asia, helping them grow, build, and find the leaders that make it happen. Since moving on from running a large business and selling much of MCG's international arm, this is what I love doing. It's specific, senior, and I only take on work I genuinely believe in. If anything above is relevant, for you or someone you know, drop me a DM and I will do my best to reply. Stay Positive. 🙏

New roles are now live across MENA and APAC. If you’re exploring your next move, take a look at the latest openings below: • 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝  | Dubai • 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 | Riyadh • 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫  | Hong Kong • 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫 | Singapore Apply via the links in the comments. Know someone suitable? Tag them below or share this post.

The market hasn’t stopped. It’s just more selective. New update: 👉 Roles live across MENA & APAC 👉 Market insights 👉 Salary benchmarks

New roles are now live across MENA and APAC. If you’re exploring your next move, take a look at the latest openings below: • Research and Insights Director  | Dubai • General Manager  | Riyadh • Account Executive  | Singapore • IT Project Manager | Singapore Apply via the links in the comments. Know someone suitable? Tag them below or share this post.

Everyone’s saying hiring has slowed in the Middle East. That’s not what we’re seeing. Hiring hasn’t stopped. It’s become more selective. In our latest MCG Talent report, we break down what’s actually happening across marketing, communications, digital and creative hiring, and why this is more a shift in priorities than a hiring freeze.