APCO has appointed veteran journalist and former CNN emerging markets editor and energy correspondent John Defterios as chairman for its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as the global advisory and advocacy firm looks to expand its client advisory business across the region.
Defterios, who has more than three decades of experience spanning business, government, energy, trade and geopolitics, joined APCO as a senior adviser in 2021. He will now focus on strengthening the firm’s new business efforts and advising clients and teams on major regional developments.
The appointment comes as MENA assumes a growing role in global finance, trade, energy and artificial intelligence, while geopolitical shifts and new investment corridors reshape the region’s economic landscape.
“Clients around the world increasingly see MENA as a region of growing economic, political and strategic importance, and they are looking for insights and strategic help to engage it effectively, while clients within the region are looking to forge their optimal place on the world stage,” APCO President and Chief Operating Officer Evan Kraus said. “As a fully integrated global and cross-disciplinary firm, APCO is in a prime position to help clients navigate this increasingly complex and consequential geo-commercial environment. John’s appointment as chairman supercharges that capability, given his unmatched experience with these global dynamics and the relationships needed to help clients achieve their ambitions within them.”
Defterios said his new role would cover both MENA-focused clients and APCO’s wider global portfolio, given the region’s increasing international significance.
“I have watched APCO’s expansion across the Middle East and other high-growth markets with great interest and respect since I first joined the firm as a senior advisor in 2021,” said Defterios. “My focus is on MENA clients, but it’s equally important to APCO’s global portfolio: the region is a fast-growing global financial, trade, energy and artificial intelligence hub. I look forward to helping APCO’s clients everywhere make sense of a region being reshaped by the energy transition, new investment corridors and geopolitical realignment—and to working even more closely with such a talented global team at APCO.”
Defterios spent a decade based in CNN’s Abu Dhabi bureau, where he served as an emerging markets editor, energy correspondent and anchor. His career has included extensive coverage of business, energy, trade and geopolitical developments across MENA and other high-growth markets.
He will also continue to serve as global lead for APCO’s Storybook Studio, the firm’s in-house content studio. In that role, he works with APCO’s network of journalists to develop live coverage from major international forums and summits, as well as branded content series and documentaries for clients across television, digital and social platforms.
Samer El Hachem, president of APCO in MENA, said Defterios would join the regional team this month with a mandate centred on business development and senior client advisory.
“John will be joining our MENA team this month, and his mandate is clear and immediate,” said El Hachem. “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. Having someone with his standing and relationships in this capacity is a real asset for our clients as they plan for the year ahead.”
APCO has operated in MENA for more than two decades, with teams in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Doha, Dubai, Manama and Riyadh. The firm advises governments, multinational corporations, sovereign entities and family-owned businesses on strategic communications, public affairs, crisis management and sustainability across sectors including energy, finance, technology, healthcare, infrastructure and tourism.
Defterios’s appointment marks another step in APCO’s expansion of its advisory capabilities in a region that is becoming increasingly central to global business and geopolitical decision-making.
