“The important regional role Bahrain plays in terms of financial services, together with the challenges it faced earlier this year, have highlighted the need to ensure accurate and up to date business intelligence is made available to international investors,” Michelle Solomon, who has been appointed as Oxford Business Group’s new regional director for the Gulf, said.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain is also focusing on its National Dialogue in a bid to move forward from the period of unrest earlier this year I look forward to working closely with the Bahrain team as they begin exploring these and other significant developments for our 2012 report and meeting the decision-makers who are shaping the Kingdom’s economic future,” she added.
OBG, the global publishing, research and consultancy firm, announcing the appointment said that the move marks a promotion for Solomon who previously held the post of Country Director with OBG.
Since joining the Group in 2005, she has overseen the production of some of its most significant publications across the region, including The Report: Bahrain 2006, OBG’s landmark guide on the Kingdom’s economic activity and investment opportunities.
In her new role, Solomon will spearhead the teams producing OBG’s country reports across the region. The publications have become established as market leaders on the developments taking place in GCC economies, gaining a reputation as key tools of reference for the global business community.
Since joining OBG in 2005, Solomon has been instrumental in helping the company expand its operations across the Gulf. During her first year with the Group, she was a key member of the team that produced OBG’s first publication on Abu Dhabi’s economy before taking over operations in Bahrain.
While in Bahrain, Solomon secured contributions for interviews with some of the Kingdom’s most prominent figures, including the Crown Prince of Bahrain Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and the Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa.
In 2006, Solomon moved to Saudi Arabia to lead OBG’s launch publication on the Kingdom which was widely regarded as breaking new ground for the in-depth coverage and comprehensive data it provided on the country’s economy. Solomon returned to Abu Dhabi in 2008, where she remained to oversee production of OBG’s economic guides on the Emirate which have been published annually over the past three years.
Solomon said she was delighted that her new role brought with it the opportunity to reacquaint herself on the ground with the progress Bahrain was making in expanding its economy.
Elizabeth Boissevain, OBG’s Director of Field Operations, said that Solomon’s time in Bahrain and across the Gulf had given her an in-depth understanding of the workings of the GCC economies which, together with her valuable networking skills, would equip her well for her new challenge.
“Michelle has led the way on a number of our country reports at a time when the economic landscape is transforming across the region,” she said. “I am confident that her hands-on experience in the Gulf and beyond will help Michelle and our Bahrain team captures the steps the Kingdom is taking to reaffirm its position as a choice destination in the region for investors.”
OBG’s reports are firmly established in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia as market leaders on foreign direct investment into each country. The forthcoming reports, which Solomon and the OBG teams will be preparing over the coming months, are set to offer up-to-date analysis across the economy.