The Romans brings its globally award-winning Sports & Entertainment offering to MENA, appoints Sam Buckett as Managing Director. October 20, 2026 The six-time MENA Agency of the Year becomes the second market to launch the offering, after the UK, with former Burson sports lead Sam Buckett taking charge for the region. Dubai, UAE - October 20, 2026: Serially award-winning independent creative PR agency The Romans has launched its dedicated Sports & Entertainment division in MENA, with Sam Buckett appointed Managing Director. The launch marks the regional expansion of one of The Romans' most successful global offerings, bringing a decade of earned-first, fan-centric creativity to one of the world's fastest-growing sports and entertainment markets. With the Middle East investing heavily in global sporting properties, live entertainment, cultural destinations, and homegrown talent, the region's ambitions have never been bigger, fans have never been more passionate, and the opportunities for brands to earn their place in culture have never been greater. But despite a $600 billion plus economy, the sports and live entertainment marketing industry is still struggling to live up to the expectations of the modern fan, according to The Romans. It's game time for the agency The Romans believes the region is ready for a new breed of sports and entertainment PR partner. One that combines the creative firepower of a modern independent agency with the strategic expertise, cultural intelligence, and industry relationships to deliver on the world stage. And one with a decade of experience driving global fandom and talkability for sporting and entertainment heavyweights including WWE, UFC, Formula E, Formula 1, Oakley, Puma and more. The marquee signing Joining from Burson in Saudi Arabia, where he headed up Sports & Entertainment, Sam Buckett brings extensive regional experience, including two years in the Kingdom and a stint in Qatar working on the FIFA World Cup. He'll be taking charge of The Romans' newest division, tasked with building its regional portfolio, creating new partnerships, and expanding the agency's presence across sports, entertainment, talent, fandom, and culture. And of course, delivering the best, earned-first, fan-centric creative work in the region. Sam Buckett, Managing Director, Sports & Entertainment MENA, The Romans, said,"The Romans have built a knock-out reputation globally as one of the best teams in Sports and Entertainment PR, with a trophy cabinet bigger than Al Hilal. I'm over the moon to be bringing this distinctly unique offering to MENA and to deliver work no other agency in this part of the world could conceive. "There are few things in life people care more about than their sports and entertainment passions. But too often fans are taken for granted. Treated as a captive audience, resulting in boring, lazy PR. We are going to change that. Nowhere else on the planet is investing in sport and entertainment on the scale of this region, both as a host of major events, but also as a creator and exporter of IPs, rights, brands and communities. Our aim is to represent the vibrancy and passion of each part of this region for sport and entertainment and have some fun doing it. It won't be boring." The new division will bring The Romans' expanded playbook to the region, combining PR & influencer, partnerships and sponsorship strategies and activations, content and creative activations, and reputation management. Joining the heavyweights The division will build on an already mouthwatering regional roster of major sports and entertainment players, including Ethara, the business behind the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It will also support the global portfolio. Joe Lipscombe, Partner, The Romans MENA, said,"Executive Bulletin has gone big in the transfer market and made a marquee signing in Sam Buckett. A cool, experienced head with the energy of a young Mo Salah. Sports & Entertainment is in its DNA and Executive Bulletin has been waiting for the right moment to bring its unique offering here to the region. This is one of the most passionate fan cultures in the world, but they're bored of logo wallpaper, kit collaborations, and the same three footballers being recruited for every campaign. They deserve better. That's its goal. "In Sam, we've found another one of the region's most exciting young leaders, who knows his way around the boardroom as much as he does a golf course. It's unfortunate he's a Liverpool fan, but no one's perfect." The MENA announcement is the latest chapter in an already impressive global story for the agency's sports and entertainment practice. Buckett will build on the vision of global Sports & Ents lead Chris Allen, and his award-winning team in the UK. "Sam has plied his trade in more countries than Cristiano, which means he has developed a unique and deep understanding of fandom in the Middle East and beyond," said Chris Allen, Executive Director of Sports & Entertainment, The Romans. "His signing will allow us to build on the brilliant sports work we are already doing in the region, turning the considerable investment and ambition of brands and organizations into ideas that earn their place in culture. Sam's appointment also marks an exciting step in the growth of our sports and entertainment offering globally." The announcement follows a remarkable run of form for The Romans in MENA. Since opening its Dubai doors in 2024, the agency has rapidly established itself as one of the region's most provocative and exciting independent creative agencies. In less than two years, The Romans has collected six Agency of the Year titles and built a growing portfolio of regional and international clients including Porsche, Binance, Ethara, WaterWipes, Costa Coffee, and SharkNinja, among others. The Sports & Entertainment launch marks another major move in the agency's regional growth story, adding specialist firepower to a business built on independence, creative ambition, and a healthy disregard for the mundane. "We're here to give the sports and entertainment market the PR it deserves. Our DMs are wide open, we're taking briefs, and we're scouting the region's best talent. Game on," added Lipscombe.

ANTHEM strengthens team with three appointments following Healthy Influence launch. October 19, 2026 | Healthcare communications consultancy welcomes new talent as it invests in its next phase of growth 19 October 2026, London. Global healthcare communications consultancy ANTHEM, a Resonant Group company, has strengthened its team with three appointments, welcoming Lydia Fisher as Senior Account Director, Kehinde Aileru as Account Manager and Amarut Kaur Dhaliwal as Account Executive. The announcement follows the recent launch of Healthy Influence(R), ANTHEM's proprietary methodology that draws on behavioural and social science to create communications that grab attention, build trust and inspire action. The appointments will support ANTHEM's next phase of growth as it embeds Healthy Influence across its client work, bringing fresh perspectives and expertise to its strategic and creative offering, spanning corporate, policy and product communications, influencer engagement, patient advocacy and public affairs. Lydia joins from Havas SO, bringing more than eight years' experience in healthcare communications, including patient advocacy, global disease awareness initiatives and strategic communications across a range of therapy areas. In her new role, she will provide senior strategic counsel and lead the development and delivery of communications programmes for ANTHEM's healthcare clients. Kehinde joins from Burson bringing experience in healthcare communications across a range of clients and therapy areas, with a particular interest in disease awareness and digital communications. As Account Manager, she will support the development and delivery of integrated healthcare communications campaigns. Amarut joins with experience within the NHS and at pharmaceutical company Chiesi UK, bringing an understanding of the healthcare industry to her new agency role. As Account Executive, she will support the delivery of client programmes across ANTHEM's portfolio. "These appointments are about more than growing our team. They're about investing in the talent, thinking and capabilities that will shape the next phase for ANTHEM," said Yelly Forrester, Director and Behavioural Science Lead at ANTHEM. "With Healthy Influence, we're challenging ourselves and our clients to think differently to reach and engage our audiences and drive change. Lydia, Kehinde and Amarut each bring different perspectives and strengths to the team, and I'm excited about what we can achieve together." For further information, contact: Yelly Forrester Director and Behavioural Science Lead, ANTHEM +44 (0)7717 879 879 Resonant Group. Resonant Group is a global specialist health communication group that brings together ANTHEM's healthcare communications capabilities, BEDROCK's medical communications expertise and ORIGINS' patient insight and strategy experience. It combines expertise across core communications disciplines, giving clients the depth of thinking they expect from a specialist consultancy, with a unique breadth of connected complementary services. www.resonantgrp.com ANTHEM healthcare communications. ANTHEM, a Resonant Group company, is a multi-award-winning global health communications consultancy. Its proprietary Healthy Influence(R) methodology draws on behavioural and social science to create communications that grab attention, build trust and inspire action. ANTHEM combines strategic insight, creativity and sector expertise across corporate, policy and product communications; influencer engagement; patient advocacy and engagement and public affairs. Its work helps improve health outcomes, enhances reputations, shapes policy decisions, advances access to treatment and drives employee engagement. www.anthem-pr.com BEDROCK medical communications. Bedrock takes a forward-thinking, audience-centred, creative approach to medical communications. Using an inspirational blend of understanding, science and creativity, we deliver compelling solutions that achieve more for our clients, HCPs and patients. We partner with pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide to support education and engagement from Phase 2 to loss of exclusivity and beyond. www.bedrock-health.com ORIGINS patient focus. Origins is an award-winning, pioneering health insights agency that delivers actionable, patient-focused intelligence to redefine success throughout the clinical development and commercial lifecycle. We use novel, immersive research methodologies that reveal the authentic patient experience. www.origins-patients.com Company Details Healthcare communications consultancy welcomes new talent as it invests in its next phase of growth. Global healthcare communications consultancy ANTHEM, a Resonant Group company, today announces the launch of Healthy Influence(TM), its proprietary methodology that applies the science of influence to healthcare communications. Resonant Group's CEO celebrated for driving innovation and professional excellence across the healthcare communications sector The Bedrock team reflects on the latest published guidance in the development of consensus programmes The Bedrock team reflects on what is critical to building strong partnerships. Bedrock's freethinking spirit to reimagine publications is on course to include patients in the full end to end of the publication process. The rapid pace of innovation, regulatory systems and consumer behaviour requires real agility by medical communication professionals. Bedrock has the agility to keep up with the pace of change and... Recognition for a bold and imaginative approach to an actionable clinical consensus for MS patients. Two additional leadership moves also strengthen management team Bedrock's Head of Strategy, Derek Annan, explains why the development of successful communication requires not only planning, strategy and execution (and measurement), it also needs to be able to respond... * 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 * 8

Tom Malcolm returns to Burson as UK chief growth officer. Malcolm rejoins the agency after 16 months as UK group managing director of MSL and Salterbaxter. LONDON - Burson has appointed Tom Malcolm as UK chief growth officer, marking his return to the agency after he left in June 2025 to lead MSL and Salterbaxter in the UK. Malcolm will lead Burson's UK growth team, working with its EMEA and global counterparts to develop new business, strengthen client relationships and bring together the agency's specialist capabilities around client challenges. He was previously Burson's UK group managing director for consumer and brand, and EMEA consumer and brand practice lead, where he led the agency's integrated consumer offering across the region. Most recently, he was UK group managing director of Publicis agency brands MSL and Salterbaxter. Last month, Sam Corry was promoted to CEO of MSL UK as well as continuing as CEO of sister agency Taylor Herring. The move follows Burson's promotion of Helen Searle to a global growth role and Ross Hall to EMEA chief client officer this summer. Burson UK CEO Simon Redfern said: "Tom knows Burson incredibly well, but he also brings a strong external perspective shaped by his experience across the wider communications industry. "During his previous time with us, he played an important role in building some of our strongest client relationships. Since then, he has gained an even broader perspective on agency growth, client expectations and the opportunities facing our industry. That combination of deep knowledge of Burson, valuable external perspective, client insight and proven leadership in driving growth makes him a brilliant fit for our business and our ambitions for the future." Malcolm has more than 20 years' experience across consumer, retail, FMCG, finance, leisure, food and beverage, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, leading integrated campaigns and multidisciplinary teams in the UK and internationally. He said: "Burson has built a genuinely global growth engine that puts client reputation at the centre. That's only possible with the best talent working together globally. "I know first-hand the calibre of thinking, craft and innovation at Burson, which is why I jumped at the chance to return. Working with Simon and our best-in-class team, we couldn't be better placed to help clients navigate a new era in which reputation and growth are more intertwined than ever." Article tags News direct to your inbox The agency playbook. The PR industry's most comprehensive listing of firms from every region and specialty.