As part of its continued expansion, integrated risk and communications advisory firm NorthStar Insights has made two senior appointments across Riyadh and Dubai. Mohammed AlMaskati joins as Partner in Riyadh, and Seth Gagahina as Director in Dubai.
AlMaskati joins from Hanover Communications, where he was Managing Director in Riyadh and oversaw the firm's Saudi operations. He previously held senior regional positions at BCW, including Vice President, Regional Operations, across a career in strategic communications, corporate affairs, and stakeholder strategy in the Kingdom and the wider Gulf.
Gagahina joins with a background in creative leadership and visual storytelling, and continues as director of boutique global creative firm, The Carrot Brand, alongside her new role. Her previous client work includes Groupon, Checkout.com, Dusit Thani, New Balance, and AirAsia – with experience across both MENA and APAC markets.
PIF's 2026–2030 strategy
The appointments follow the Public Investment Fund's 2026–2030 strategic view, which NorthStar says has shifted how Saudi organisations are expected to communicate with international stakeholders and capital markets.
Arth Malani, founder and CEO at NorthStar Insights, said the hires reflect a need for senior counsel capable of managing both stakeholder engagement and creative delivery at a standard comparable to in-house teams. "Saudi Arabia's ambitions are now global and the bar for how the Kingdom's organisations communicate has moved sharply higher," he said. "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."
AlMaskati said his focus would be on building trust between Saudi institutions and the audiences assessing them, describing NorthStar's pairing of senior judgement with creative capability as suited to the current market.
Gagahina said the role would allow her to connect stakeholder communications with visual storytelling for clients operating in higher-risk environments.
The appointments follow NorthStar's recent expansion into Mumbai, part of a broader push to build out senior leadership across the firm's GCC, India and global markets practice.