Campaign’s PR Faces to Watch 2026 – Manal Abbasi, Account Executive, Houbara Communications

Campaign’s PR Faces to Watch 2026 – Manal Abbasi, Account Executive, Houbara Communications

Age: 25

Country: United Arab Emirates

Nominated by Vicky El-Kassir, Managing Director:

Manal is a dedicated, hard‑working account executive with a genuine passion for communications. She lives and breathes our agency values, bringing an agile mindset to fast‑moving briefs, inventive thinking to problem solving, and a committed approach to every task. Manal is building strong media relationships and is developing into a trusted advisor who helps deliver measurable impact for clients. Ambitious and tenacious, she approaches her work with focus, energy and accountability. She collaborates seamlessly across teams, seeks feedback and consistently delivers beyond expectations. Manal has exceptional potential and drive for future leadership, and its a pleasure to have her on the team.

Career highlights

Over the past three years in public relations, I have gained hands-on experience across government, cultural, lifestyle, finance, and education sectors. Early in my career, I supported major initiatives like the Sharjah Light Festival Xposure Festival and Sharjah International Book Fair, contributing to event coordination and media engagement.

At Houbara Communications, I work on clients including Trendyol, INSEAD, and ASB Capital, driving strategic media outreach, securing top-tier coverage, and supporting on-ground activations. A career highlight has been supporting Trendyol’s Ramadan campaign from concept to completion, delivering a creative, results-driven campaign while fostering strong media and client relationships.

Guiding principles

I approach every campaign as a story waiting to be told, each challenge is an opportunity to craft a narrative that resonates. Creativity, collaboration, and measurable impact guide my work as I transform ideas into compelling communications, while also embracing the brief with curiosity and a sense of fun. I thrive on building meaningful media and client relationships, ensuring every project unfolds as a dynamic, engaging, and memorable journey from start to finish.

Side hustle

For the past seven years, I’ve been building my portfolio as a content creator, which sparked my passion for storytelling and communications. This experience laid the foundation for my PR career, helping me grow professionally while discovering the creativity, strategy, and impact that drive my love for public relations and storytelling.

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