Sunil John, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, has been presented with the Chairman’s Award at the Middle East PR Awards 2016.

Sunil was recognized with the award during a glittering ceremony organized by the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), which was held at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on Wednesday evening.

The Chairman’s Award, one of the top prizes at the industry’s biggest event, is given to an individual for their overall contribution to the PR profession in the Middle East and was handed over by Brian Lott, Chairman of MEPRA.

In a speech during the ceremony, Sunil dedicated his award to the roster of senior PR professionals who have helped build the sector in the region, as well as expressing his confidence in the industry’s future.

“The PR industry today provides a huge opportunity for young people, particularly young Arabs – and it’s fantastic to see how it is attracting some of the top talents in the market place,” Sunil said. “Just by looking around this evening, I am convinced that the future of our profession is in exceptionally capable hands.”

Sunil has been at the heart of the region’s public relations industry for more than two decades, and founded ASDA’A in 2000. In 2001, along with four peers in the industry, Sunil also helped found MEPRA, the region’s first and foremost representative body for public relations and communications professionals and students.

Since 2008, Sunil has been the driver behind the annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, a unique thought leadership initiative, and one of the most widely cited pieces of public opinion research on the region by media throughout the world.

Sunil was also the first PR professional from the Middle East to receive the Outstanding Individual Achievement SABRE Award (EMEA), from the Holmes Report in 2014.

The Chairman’s Award capped another exceptional evening for ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. The eighth annual Arab Youth Survey helped the Agency to get the MEPRA Gold award in the Corporate Reputation category. This follows a year in which the Survey conducted 3,500 interviews with young Arab nationals in 16 countries, concluding with expert analysis that made real global impact. In the Media Relations category, the Agency also won a silver award for its work on the Arab Youth Survey, which made front-page headlines in top-tier newspapers around the world.

In addition, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller won a Silver Award in the Live Event, Lunch or Stunt Award for its work on the GEMS Education’s Global Education and Skills Forum.

In the Financial Communications category, the Agency collected a silver award for a first-of-its-kind Islamic Banking Index created especially for Emirates Islamic Bank, which was showcased at the second Global Islamic Economic Summit in Dubai in October 2015.

Now in its eighth year, the Middle East PR Awards recognizes agencies, corporates, teams and individuals who have shown exceptional return on investment, creativity and strategic impact.

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