NorthStar Insights has appointed Mohammed AlMaskati (pictured left) as Partner and Seth Gagahina (pictured right) as Director, based in Riyadh and Dubai, respectively. These hires aim to strengthen the firm's presence in the Kingdom and the wider GCC, and expand the agency’s creative communications capability for integrated mandates across the growing GCC markets.
Mohammed was most recently Managing Director at Hanover Communications in Riyadh, where he scaled the firm's Saudi operations. Prior to this, he previously held senior regional roles at BCW, including Vice President, Regional Operations. His career spans strategic communications, corporate affairs, and reputation and stakeholder strategy across the Kingdom and the GCC.
Seth brings creative leadership and visual storytelling background to the role. She continues as the director of Carrot Brand, complementing NorthStar's growing creative communications offering. Seth has worked on several MENA and APAC mandates, including Groupon, Checkout.com, Dusit Thani, New Balance and Air Asia.
Commenting on the appointments, Arth Malani, Founder and CEO of NorthStar Insights, said, "Saudi Arabia's ambitions are now global and the bar for how the Kingdom's organisations communicate has moved sharply higher. That demands senior counsel in the room with the relationships, the judgement and the creative range to match. Mohammed is one of the most respected communications leaders in the GCC and his joining as Partner makes a clear statement about where we are building. With Seth bringing deep creative leadership alongside him, we are strengthening our Dubai office to deliver integrated mandates to the standard of an in-house team."
Mohammed added, "Saudi Arabia's story is being written at a pace and scale few markets have seen, and getting that story right takes counsel that understands both the institutions shaping this moment and the audiences judging it. I've spent my career building that kind of trust across the Kingdom and the region, and NorthStar's model - pairing senior judgement with real creative capability - is exactly the platform this market needs. I'm looking forward to building that here."
Seth said, "In today's volatile global landscape, navigating risk requires absolute clarity in communication. Working with Team NorthStar allows me to bridge the gap between complex stakeholder engagement and powerful, high-stakes visual storytelling. I am incredibly excited to work alongside Arth, Sadeq, and the exceptional team to elevate how clients protect their reputations and command market confidence across global financial markets."