DUBAI: Global advisory firm APCO has appointed former CNN editor and anchor John Defterios as chairman for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as the company looks to expand its advisory business across the region.

Defterios, who joined APCO as a senior adviser in 2021, will focus on supporting the firm’s new business efforts and advising its regional teams and clients, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Before joining APCO, he served as CNN’s emerging markets editor, energy correspondent and anchor, including a decade based in the network’s Abu Dhabi bureau.

He brings more than three decades of experience covering business, energy, trade and geopolitics.

Samer El Hachem, APCO’s president for the MENA region, said Defterios would join the regional team this month with a focus on expanding the company’s business and providing senior advisory support.

“His mandate is clear and immediate,” El Hachem said. “He will focus on two priorities: supporting our new business efforts, drawing on his deep network across the region, and serving as a senior advisor to our team and clients on an as-needed basis.”

Defterios said his new role would focus primarily on MENA, which he described as a major hub for finance, trade, energy and AI.

He said the region was being reshaped by the energy transition, new investment corridors and geopolitical realignment, creating new challenges for companies seeking to operate across regional and international markets.

Evan Kraus, APCO’s president and CEO, said the appointment came as the firm saw growing demand from international clients seeking to engage with the Middle East, as well as regional clients looking to expand their global presence.

Defterios will also continue to serve as global lead for APCO’s Storybook Studio, its in-house content operation, according to the statement.

APCO has operated in MENA for more than two decades and has teams in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Doha, Dubai, Manama and Riyadh. The firm advises government and private-sector clients in areas including strategic communications, public affairs and crisis management.