Communications consultancy Leidar launches in Dubai, George Kotsolios leads office

Building on its strong European presence stretching across key financial centres, Swiss communications consultancy Leidar has now gained a foothold in the Middle Eastern market with the establishment of an office in Dubai. The new outfit will be led by George Kotsolios, who has 25 years of professional experience under his belt. 

Founded in 2010 in Geneva, Leidar was conceptualised as a consulting firm, built to support leadership strategies in the communications domain. The firm recognises the dynamic nature of the contemporary global market, and strives to stay on top of market fluctuations and assist with effective communications strategies.

Leidar’s differentiating factor is its versatility, endowed with a team from a range of lingual backgrounds that allows it to examine market trends from a comprehensive global perspective. The consultancy assists a mix of industries with communications, including the agriculture, energy, environment, financial services, and sports sectors among a long list of others.

So far, the firm has a strong European presence, with offices in the key financial markets of Geneva, London, and Brussels. In Geneva, the firm has worked with academic institutions, as well as the sea of UN institutions that are active in the city, which has enabled the forging of strong relationships, including with the World Economic Forum.

Launch in Dubai

Leidar’s London presence offers access to a large financial sector, as well as leading media institutions, while the office in Brussels has been successful in advocacy efforts for the EU network. Now, the firm has ventured outside of the European market with the launch of an office in Dubai. The new office is tasked with capitalising on the thriving consulting market in the Middle East, not only in Dubai but in neighbouring Abu Dhabi as well.

George Kotsolios will head the Dubai operations, leveraging over two decades of experience in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, 13 of which have been spent in the UAE, indicating a strong regional expertise as well. Kotsolios has a BTEC in Journalism and Business Studies from the London College of Communications.

He began his professional career as a Journalist for the Mirror Group of Newspapers in London, after a year of which he moved across Athens, Dubai and Cyprus while working for Action Global Communications in various capacities. Kotsolios then worked as a Managing Director at Golin MENA for 5 years, interspersed with a brief stint as a Senior Manager for Corporate Communications at the Mubadala Development Company.

Since 2012, he has been the Public Relations & Social Media Leader for Al-Futtaim in Dubai, where he led a 14-member team that controlled PR and social media for a network of 18 brands. He will now take over as Managing Director at Leidar’s Dubai Office, leveraging his communications experience.

Commenting on the firm’s new Dubai presence, Kotsolios said, “Leidar brings to the region its unique offering around Leadership Navigation that effectively combines insights and data-driven engagement strategies with proven branding and communications practices. Our well-tested methodology helps clients identify issues and trends based on digital data and social media sentiment analysis. We help clients respond to surgically targeted audiences with messages that take into consideration individuals’ behavioural traits to trigger defined outcomes and activate target audiences.” 

The firm will be competing with a number of communications consultancies active in the region, including Edelman, which established itself in Abu Dhabi in 2008, and recently revamped its senior leadership.