Dow Chemical India, Middle East & Africa (IMEA) has expanded its Public Affairs division by appointing Mira Meghdessian as its Middle East media and community relations manager.

Meghdessian joins Dow from a specialized public relations agency, Development Counselors International (DCI), in New York.

At DCI, Meghdessian worked with clients such as the Governor of Louisiana and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise to raise awareness of industry sectors such as energy, healthcare and biotechnology.

Her previous experience includes formulating key communications strategy and implementation within both leading agencies and multinational organizations such as Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and The World Bank in Washington, DC.

In her current capacity at Dow, Meghdessian will develop and implement focused media and community relations programs for the region while providing public affairs counsel and support to regional leaders in external affairs. Her primary role would be to build Dow’s reputation within its communities and position Dow in the region through targeted external media and communications activities, said a statement.

Meghdessian holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA) in New York. She is originally from Lebanon and is a citizen of the US.

Dow has eight current and proposed Middle East joint ventures in the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, and Libya as well as in Saudi Arabia, where Dow and Saudi Aramco are in the negotiation phase for the formation of a joint venture to build, own and operate a world-scale chemicals and plastics production complex in the Eastern Province. –TradeArabia News Service