Strategic communications consultancy New Narrative has deepened its international footprint with the appointment of Rashmi Jolly as Principal, Middle East. Based in Dubai, Jolly will lead client engagements across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, reinforcing the firm’s commitment to high-growth, capital-inflow markets. Her hire follows the consultancy’s expansion into London in 2023 and signals a broader push toward global integration of its editorial, insights, and customer-centricity services.
Jolly brings over 20 years of multidisciplinary experience spanning sales trading, payments innovation, media, and AI-driven strategy consulting. Her addition is expected to catalyze New Narrative’s ambitions in helping corporates, financial institutions, and governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region reframe their communications strategies around data, authenticity, and brand positioning.
How does Rashmi Jolly’s appointment reflect New Narrative’s intent to embed deeply within the UAE’s strategic ecosystem?
Jolly’s appointment is more than a personnel change—it represents a strategic calibration of New Narrative’s positioning within one of the world’s most dynamic business ecosystems. The United Arab Emirates has become a magnet for regional headquarters, sovereign investment initiatives, and cross-border capital flow management. Dubai in particular has matured into a hub for fintech, AI, energy transition, and investment advisory sectors—all of which require advanced communications strategies rooted in both policy and commercial awareness.
By situating a senior principal in Dubai, New Narrative aligns its delivery model with the increasing sophistication of regional clients. In her statement, Jolly said companies in the UAE must now “elevate their thought leadership, excel at customer-centricity and create magnetic brands to stand out.” She emphasized the growing importance of marrying strategic insight with editorial clarity in a region where reputational advantage is becoming as important as capital advantage.
With the DIFC, ADGM, and Saudi Vision 2030 in full swing, analysts suggest that brand trust, stakeholder engagement, and thematic thought leadership are fast becoming currency in their own right—particularly for financial firms, family offices, and corporates looking to attract FDI or institutional backing.
What expertise does Jolly bring, and why is it aligned with the region’s communications transformation?
Jolly’s career spans multiple geographies and verticals. She began in sales trading at Goldman Sachs in New York, later joining Mastercard to spearhead payments innovation projects. Her shift to content-led strategy was marked by leadership roles at the Economist Intelligence Unit and The Wall Street Journal, before joining Bain & Company where she worked on AI-driven customer experience strategies and digital transformation initiatives.
Her portfolio includes global PR award-winning campaigns, policy engagement influencing European legislation, and public-private partnership programs across the financial services and government sectors. For the Middle East, where public–private narratives are at the center of development agendas, this mix of commercial acumen and regulatory storytelling is especially relevant.
Analysts note that her editorial grounding gives New Narrative a rare edge—bridging the world of business strategy with the persuasive power of journalistic clarity. With Dubai becoming a hub not just for capital but for idea exchange—via forums, sovereign summits, and institutional roundtables—Jolly’s toolkit seems built for this moment.
How does New Narrative differentiate itself from traditional PR firms in the strategic communications landscape?
New Narrative positions itself as a next-generation strategic communications consultancy—not a conventional PR firm. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company operates at the intersection of editorial strategy, investor relations, and thought leadership development. Its growing global footprint includes Singapore, London, New York, and now Dubai.
Where typical agencies focus on media placements and brand visibility, New Narrative drives measurable outcomes around capital raising, customer acquisition, and stakeholder trust. Its offerings span marketing and brand strategy, ESG communications, policy alignment, investor relations, digital customer experience, and bespoke research-driven content.
The consultancy’s campaigns have covered themes such as sustainability, responsible AI, data ethics, and cross-border investment strategy—topics that are increasingly influencing how both institutional capital and regulators evaluate businesses.
In an environment where communications strategies must be both defensible and differentiating, New Narrative’s fusion of editorial depth and analytics is resonating with clients seeking more than just PR exposure.
Why is the Middle East seen as a strategic priority for global communications firms like New Narrative?
The Middle East, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has become a critical node in the global business map—not only as a source of capital but also as a producer of globally influential narratives. With sovereign wealth funds such as ADIA, PIF, and Mubadala expanding their global portfolios, and regional unicorns like Tabby, Careem, and Kitopi gaining traction, there is a parallel rise in demand for communication strategies that can support IPOs, global expansion, and stakeholder credibility.
At the same time, climate action, artificial intelligence, fintech regulation, and regional diplomacy are converging to create new storytelling imperatives for companies headquartered or operating in the region. Communications firms are being asked to articulate not just what a company does—but why it matters in a shifting global order.
Jolly’s placement in Dubai reflects this evolution. She will be tasked with building out New Narrative’s relationships with banks, fintechs, family offices, consultancies, and regulatory-adjacent entities—all of which now seek premium storytelling to complement policy, financial, or customer objectives.
What can institutional clients in the Middle East expect from this regional expansion?
With a senior principal now on the ground in Dubai, institutional clients can expect tighter execution timelines, deeper editorial understanding, and local context-driven strategies. This includes multi-country thought leadership, ESG campaign development tailored to regional frameworks, investment storytelling for sovereign audiences, and AI-focused branding as new technologies take hold.
New Narrative’s team is expected to collaborate closely with Jolly on region-wide projects, including investor communications for alternative assets, policy whitepapers for regulatory clarity, and sustainability reporting aligned with both GRI and emerging GCC-specific standards.
In a region where “communications” increasingly means stakeholder influence, regulatory trust, and competitive perception, New Narrative appears poised to deliver layered strategies that go well beyond boilerplate press releases or reactive media pitches.
Can New Narrative’s Dubai launch set the stage for deeper MEA and Asia-Africa corridor engagement?
For industry watchers, this expansion raises the possibility of New Narrative serving as a bridge between Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. With Hong Kong and Singapore serving as Asia gateways, and Dubai now joining London and New York in the firm’s operational network, the groundwork is being laid for cross-regional advisory capability.
The African continent, too, is emerging as a strategic focus for both Middle Eastern investors and global consultancies. With pan-African capital strategies gaining momentum and communications needs around development finance and digital infrastructure rising, New Narrative could soon play a facilitative role in South-South storytelling across emerging corridors.
Ultimately, Rashmi Jolly’s appointment signals New Narrative’s bet that strategic communications is no longer a support function—it is a front-line capability for modern enterprises. And in the Middle East, that capability just got a lot more local, and a lot more global.
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