About the Author
SEC Newgate Global Team
Dubai/Riyadh/Milan, 3 November 2026: SEC Newgate, the global insight, communications and advocacy group, has appointed John Hobday as the new CEO of SEC Newgate Middle East, with operations in Dubai and Riyadh. John steps in following the decision of former CEO and founding partner Elena Gramatica to move to the US for family reasons.
John Hobday brings more than 25 years’ experience in financial communications and corporate affairs advising global corporations, Middle East institutions, investors and key regional players across all GCC markets.
John joins after seven years as partner in FGS Global’s Dubai office, where he was charged with the development of its regional business with a specific focus on its capital markets practice.
Hobday began his career in London and moved to Dubai in 2003 to establish Citigate Middle East — the first specialist financial and corporate communications business to set up in the GCC.
Citigate Middle East was acquired by Financial Dynamics in 2006, which was itself acquired by FTI Consulting later that year. John continued to spearhead the Middle East operations of FTI as Senior Managing Director until his departure in 2017.
SEC Newgate Middle East counts among its clients several large multinationals and local institutions and is a specialist in the luxury, art and culture sectors. Hobday’s focus will be on growth and developing this specialism into new sectors.
A stronger integration with the Group’s international offering is also a priority in order to expand the combination of financial comms, corporate diplomacy, crisis management and institutional relations advice in Middle East markets as well as adding support in the Gulf for international investments projects. Despite increased uncertainty and conflict in the Middle East region, it remains strategically important to the SEC Newgate Group.
Fiorenzo Tagliabue, SEC Newgate CEO, said: “Middle East is one of our key strategic priorities as we see increasing demand for strategic advice, especially in our core specialism area of corporate affairs. John has a perfect profile combining long-erm working experience with international brands, full understanding of the Middle East context and an extensive network of relations with key stakeholders and influencers. With John leading our incredible teams in UAE and KSA we can offer the right answers to tackle the many demanding challenges we see in reputation management, investment promotion and business positioning we see arising in these markets. Last and not least I wish to thank Elena Gramatica for her strong leadership and contribution when we decided to start together this business back in 2021.”
John Hobday said: “SEC Newgate is a significant and growing player in Corporate Affairs and Strategic Communications globally and it is a privilege to join the business as its’ Middle East CEO. I am thrilled to be joining a brilliant local team who has already built a stellar reputation in the Gulf for strategic insight, sound counsel and excellent execution.”
Sebastian Hejnowski, Head of Eastern EMEA, added: “Our commitment to the Middle East is long-term and ambitious. We want to continue investing in our people, capabilities and presence across the region, while making the Middle East – that has been a high growth area for the Group so far – an increasingly important part of SEC Newgate’s global offering. I am very much looking forward to working with John and our teams in Dubai and Riyadh as we enter the next phase of our growth.”
SEC Newgate Group wishes Elena all the best in her new chapter and wishes to thank her for 5 years’ leadership that produced significant results.