As the Founder of NorthStar, Arth Malani sets the strategic direction for the firm, leveraging his deep expertise in emerging markets and political risk. Having advised on $325mn worth of deals, Arth has become a trusted partner for Fortune 500s and UK private equity firms seeking to mitigate risk and sharpen their communications. His main areas of expertise include political, policy and regulatory due diligence as well as financial communications. While he takes a rigorous approach to market analysis, he balances his professional life with a love for ABBA and an unsung enthusiasm for a karaoke night.
Sadeq Alfardan is a Partner at NorthStar Insights, where he spearheads the firm's strategic communications offering. With over 18 years of experience spanning top-tier agency and in-house roles, Sadeq brings deep expertise in strategic communications, public affairs, and stakeholder engagement across the GCC and beyond. His career spans leadership positions at Ogilvy, Grayling, Hill+Knowlton, and PwC, complemented by a distinguished stint with the EU Delegation to the State of Qatar giving him a rare combination of corporate, government, and multilateral communications experience. A recognised voice on EU-Gulf relations, Sadeq has advised governments, diplomatic missions, international organisations, and major corporates across the region.
Ahmed serves as the Senior Advisor to NorthStar Insights, bringing over 26 years of leadership experience in investment management and capital markets across the UAE and MENA region to the firm's institutional and family office clients. Prior to joining NorthStar, Ahmed was Head of Investment & Wealth Management at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), where he oversaw a 40% AUM growth to over AED 16 billion. in previous stints at EFG-Hermes and Citibank he was instrumental in structuring and launching numerous investment solutions, alongside managing Lipper award-winning mutual funds. He currently advises RootBridge Capital AG on GCC market entry and capital acquisition.
Jonny Mulligan is a capital markets communications and investor relations specialist with over two decades of experience advising on transactions exceeding USD 25 billion in aggregate value across energy, infrastructure, and financial services. Over the course of his career, he has held senior roles at Brunswick Group, Edelman, and Mubadala Investment Company, where he served as Director of Corporate Investor Relations for the USD 200 billion sovereign wealth fund — managing its annual USD 4.5 billion bond programme and designing its first ESG-aligned reporting framework. His transaction experience includes serving as a strategic communications adviser on the Saudi Aramco IPO, the largest in history at USD 25.6 billion, the USD 29 billion FGB-NBAD bank merger, and as sole adviser on the USD 4.8 billion Cepsa global IPO. Earlier in his career, Jonny spent a decade advising the UK government and FTSE 100 boards including Unilever, GSK, Sony and BT on policy communications and regulatory affairs.
Mark Jackson is a strategic communications specialist with over 30 years of experience advising global organisations on reputation, crisis communications, and brand positioning across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe. Over the course of his career, he has held senior roles at Hill & Knowlton, Memac Ogilvy, Racepoint Global, and BCW Global (now Burson), working with brands including Google, IBM, Huawei, Microsoft, American Express, and Coca-Cola. At Memac Ogilvy in Bahrain, he directed communications across a 16-market MENA portfolio and led global media engagement for the launch of the New Suez Canal. He subsequently served as Managing Director of Racepoint Global's Greater China operations, before joining BCW Global (now Burson) as Regional Managing Director overseeing eight of the firm's largest client relationships across APAC. At NorthStar, Mark advises clients on the evolving GCC-Asia trade corridor supporting complex briefs.
Alex Malouf is a communications and reputation specialist with over 25 years of experience leading some of Saudi Arabia's most prominent corporate narratives. He served as Senior Director of Public Relations and Media at ROSHN, the Kingdom's national real estate developer, and as founding Executive Director of Corporate Communications at Ceer, Saudi Arabia's first electric vehicle brand, where he designed the company's communications strategy from the ground up and delivered one of the region's most high-profile brand launches. Prior to that, he led corporate communications for MEA at Schneider Electric, spent over seven years at Procter & Gamble covering the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa, and earlier headed Weber Shandwick's KSA operations. Recognised by the Holmes Report as the first communications innovator in the MEA region, Alex is also a Board Director of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and brings rare depth across corporate affairs, crisis communications, and brand building in the Kingdom.
Jonathan Shillington is a senior strategic communications and corporate affairs leader with over 20 years' experience advising boards, CEOs, governments, and multinational organisations operating in complex, high-risk environments. Most recently, Jonathan served as Senior Managing Director and Country Head of Qatar at Teneo, where he held full P&L accountability and regional leadership responsibilities, advising clients through moments of intense international scrutiny. Prior to Teneo, he was Managing Director for the Middle East at Grayling, overseeing operations across Dubai, Muscat, and Doha, and led the embedded communications team for Qatar Foundation — one of the region's most high-profile institutional mandates. His earlier career in London saw him lead Grayling's UK Corporate & Financial practice and hold senior roles in global corporate and investor relations consultancy. Jonathan's expertise spans reputation management, crisis and issues leadership, stakeholder engagement, corporate affairs, executive communications, and media training.
Shalini Singh is a highly seasoned communications, public affairs, and sustainability professional with over 27 years of in-house leadership experience across renewables, power, cement, telecom, IT, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. She began her career at Arvind Mills in 1996, where she set up the corporate communications function. subsequently progressed through a series of senior roles at Kale Consultants, Bharti Airtel, and Accenture, before taking on CXO-level mandates at Tata Power, Holcim India, and the RPG Group. Across these positions, she built deep expertise in brand positioning, reputation management, crisis and financial communications, ESG, and stakeholder engagement, working with some of India's most respected business houses from Tata and Holcim to Adani, RPG, Accenture, and Bharti.
Nesrine Halima is an advisor with deep expertise at the intersection of government advisory, policy foresight, and institutional transformation. With a career spanning senior roles across the UAE public sector, global professional services, and high-profile international initiatives, she brings rare credibility across both the public and private spheres. Nesrine has held advisory and leadership positions with the UAE Prime Minister's Office, PwC EMEA, and Expo 2020 Dubai — one of the most complex multi-stakeholder environments in the region's recent history. She was also the founding director of the World Government Summit. At NorthStar, her work has consistently focused on translating institutional strategy into actionable policy outcomes, building the cross-sector partnerships that define how governments and organisations navigate change.
Christoph is a seasoned Government and Public Affairs advisor, entrepreneur, and investor with over two decades of experience at the intersection of business, policy, and capital markets in Europe. Based in Brussels, he brings a rare combination of deep EU institutional knowledge and hands-on market experience across the Technology, Aerospace, Defence, Travel, Tourism, Lifestyle, and Real Estate sectors. His work spans some of the most critical policy challenges shaping Europe's economic and geopolitical future, from digital transformation and sustainable mobility to trade and investment flows. Christoph has cultivated an extensive network across European institutions, national governments, and the private sector, built over a career spanning senior roles in public affairs consultancy, co-founding ventures, and advising international organisations.
Wesley I. Romain is a Senior Account Executive - East Asia at NorthStar Insights, focusing on geopolitical and investment risks, trade, technology, and supply chain resilience. He holds a BA in Southeast Asian Studies and International Relations from INALCO and an MA in International Affairs from King’s College London. Wesley bodes extensive experience in diplomacy, having served as Executive Assistant to the Ambassador of an ASEAN country. A native French speaker fluent in English, he also has working knowledge of Mandarin and Filipino. Outside work, he continues to refine his language skills to support his expertise in China’s evolving role in ASEAN.
Soojin Jang is a Senior Analyst within the East Asia Team at NorthStar. Her work focuses on the evolving role of South Korea, China and Japan in the world especially with regards to the emerging technologies sector. She has recently completed her MA in Korean–Chinese conference interpreting at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and hold a second MA from King’s College London. Prior to joining NorthStar, Soojin worked for Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London on evolving role of cyberwarfare in geopolitics.
