Digital Marketing Leadership Content & Communications Strategy Digital Products
Mohamed
Gharkan
I start with meaning. The work doesn't end at publication.
An editor's judgement, a marketer's perspective, and the curiosity to build things from the ground up.
- Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Experience 14+ years in the UAE
- Working languages Arabic and English
About
My career began with translation. It taught me to look beyond the words on a page and take meaning seriously. Public relations and the newsroom later added a sense of timing, audience and judgement. Over time, those experiences led me into institutional communications and digital marketing.
Across more than 14 years in the UAE, I have never seen these fields as separate worlds. The question that runs through my work is simple: what are we trying to say, why does it matter, and how do we make it useful to the people we want to reach?
At the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), I work as a Senior Content Producer and have been assigned to lead the work of the Digital Marketing Unit since September 2025. Together with a three-person team, I help plan and deliver campaigns, develop bilingual content and shape communications around forums, initiatives and digital knowledge products.
Alongside my institutional work, I founded ATHAR Digital Media and launched arabicbook.ai through the company. Building a product, rather than just communicating one, was a different kind of challenge. I helped shape the platform's concept, features, user experience and editorial voice, and saw it through to launch.
I'm completing an MBA in Media Leadership, learning French, and constantly testing how AI can improve the way we work. The tools change quickly; the questions I care about remain much the same. Is the idea clear? Is the work accurate? Have we made something worth people's attention?
Lessons I carry into every project
- Translation taught me to read for meaning, not just linguistic correctness.
- Newsrooms taught me that speed is never an excuse to compromise accuracy.
- Leadership means making room for others to do their best work and share the credit.
- Technology interests me when it solves a real problem, not when it becomes the point of the exercise.
Experience
I haven't moved away from writing so much as expanded my understanding of what makes communication work: editorial accuracy, strategy, execution across teams and channels, and the ability to judge what happens after publication.
Areas of expertise
- Content strategy & corporate communications
- Digital marketing team leadership & workflows
- Digital campaigns & social media strategy
- Executive messaging & institutional content
- Forums, events & live editorial coverage
- Arabic–English editing & quality assurance
- Legal and media translation & localisation
- AI-enabled content operations & digital products
How I work
Purpose and audience → core messages → editorial and campaign plan → copy and scripts → production coordination and review → publishing and live coverage → measurement and learning.
Professional experience
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Jan 2023 — Present
Senior Content Producer; assigned to lead the Digital Marketing Unit since September 2025
Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR)
At ECSSR, I help translate research and institutional priorities into communication people can understand and use. Alongside a three-person digital marketing team, I plan campaigns, shape messages and bilingual copy, develop scripts, coordinate with media-production colleagues and internal teams, and review materials through publication and event coverage. I have been assigned to lead the unit's work since September 2025; my official job title remains Senior Content Producer.
Progression at ECSSR since 2020: Editor → Content Specialist → Content Producer → Senior Content Producer
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2022 — Present
Founder
ATHAR Digital Media — athar.digital
I founded a venture spanning content, branding, digital marketing and media production. Through ATHAR, I also develop independent digital products, including arabicbook.ai, an AI-assisted Arabic writing platform.
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Feb 2020 – Dec 2022
Content Producer; Editor & Content Specialist
Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR)
Produced and edited institutional and specialist content for publications and digital platforms, connecting research-led material with broader audiences. (Editor & Content Specialist: Feb 2020 – Feb 2022; Content Producer: Mar – Dec 2022.)
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2018 – 2020
Editor & Social Content Specialist
Abu Dhabi Media
Wrote, edited and translated news, reports and articles for digital platforms in a newsroom where accuracy and timing mattered equally. I was also a core member of the digital media team covering television programmes, including Al Zaman Al Jamil and Amir Al Shoara during 2018–2019, as part of a wider team effort.
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2017 – 2018
Editor & Translator
TRACCS — Media & Public Relations
Developed and edited Arabic communications for organisations and senior leaders, including press releases, opinion articles and other audience-specific content.
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2015 – 2017
Translator & Creative Writer
Communication Legal Translation
Worked across translation, editing and Arabic–English copy, with a focus on precision and the right voice for each context.
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2012 – 2015
Translator
Turjman Group
My early professional grounding in terminology, nuance and the details that can change the meaning of a text.
Education
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In progress — final module
MBA Media Leadership
University of Cumbria, UK
Delivered in partnership with Robert Kennedy College.
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2007 – 2011
BA, English Language & Literature
University of Aleppo
Professional credentials
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2017
UAE-Certified Legal Sworn Translator
Ministry of Justice, United Arab Emirates
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2014
Certified Professional Translator
Arab Professional Translators Society (APTS), Zurich, Switzerland
Selected Work
This work spans major forums, institutional initiatives, digital campaigns, a product I built, and earlier media projects. Some deserve a longer story; for others, the image and title are enough for now. Most were delivered with teams whose work I value as much as my own contribution.
arabicbook.ai — Arabic Writing Platform
Digital Products
Founded through ATHAR Digital Media
I built arabicbook.ai around a simple idea: AI should support Arabic writers, not replace their voices. I helped develop the product concept, features, user experience and editorial identity, from the earliest plan through launch.
Visit arabicbook.aiECSSR Mobile App Launch
Digital Products · Digital Campaigns
In my role at ECSSR
A knowledge app needs more than a launch announcement. I worked with the ECSSR team on launch messaging and introductory content that helped explain the app's value to its intended audience.
Al Zaman Al Jamil
Television Programmes
During my time at Abu Dhabi Media
Amir Al Shoara (Prince of Poets)
2018–2019
Television Programmes
During my time at Abu Dhabi Media
The Founder's Memorial
Corporate Communications
During my time at TRACCS
Dubai Frame
Corporate Communications
During my time at TRACCS
Projects I've worked on
Milestones
Moments from the events and conferences I have been to over the years.
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Arab Media Summit 2025 -
With Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghathami Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2025 -
Global Media Congress 2024 -
Mufakiru Al Emarat Forum 2024 · First edition -
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024 -
Dubai Translation Conference 2016
Get in Touch
If something in my work connects with what you're building, I'd be glad to talk. I welcome professional opportunities and conversations, speaking invitations, editorial collaborations and partnerships with a clear purpose. Commercial projects and production services are handled through ATHAR Digital Media.
- Professional collaboration opportunities
- Speaking & panel invitations
- Editorial collaboration & content projects
- Partnerships & projects through ATHAR Digital Media
- Location Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates