New regional director to lead CIPD growth in Middle East and North Africa

The CIPD is announcing changes to our Middle East and North Africa leadership team, as we continue to build on a decade of supporting the people profession in the region.  

Stuart Dunlop, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, will retire in November. Stuart brought extensive international experience to the role. Before joining the CIPD, he worked for 12 years for the ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), where he was Regional Director for the Middle East and South Asia region. Before that, he spent 18 years at Reuters (latterly Thomson Reuters) in commercial and leadership positions across London, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. 

During his three years with the CIPD, Stuart has played a pivotal role in strengthening our decade-long impact across the region, building a comprehensive partner network and guiding the regional team through a period of significant growth.

Supporting workplace innovation across the Middle East and North Africa

George Hanna, currently head of business development for the Middle East and North Africa, will take over from Stuart as regional director. George brings extensive knowledge of the region and a proven track record of supporting organisations to drive growth and innovation through developing their people's skills. 

Building on a decade of championing better work and working lives in MENA  

This leadership transition comes as we continue building on ten years of supporting HR and people professionals across the Middle East and North Africa. In July, we launched a series of free expert-led webinars to celebrate this milestone and showcase the impact of professional people practices in the region. 
 
We’re proud to support a growing community of over 8,000 members across the Middle East, partnering with organisations to strengthen people practices and build the capabilities needed for a changing world of work. 

To making learning more accessible across the region, we’ve introduced the CIPD Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Arabic – enabling more people to take their first steps into the profession in a way that reflects the region’s needs.  

Our expanding network of partners reflects a shared ambition to raise professional standards while ensuring local relevance. Through regular engagement – via events, roundtables and thought leadership – we’re helping to shape the future of work across the region. We continue to recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements through the CIPD Middle East People Awards, now in its sixth year. 

With a regional team of 15, including a newly appointed colleague responsible for our growing engagement in Saudi Arabia, we remain focused on supporting people professionals and employers as they navigate change and drive lasting impact through people. 

Driving organisational success through professional HR standards

Our commitment to the MENA region reflects the growing recognition that professional people practices are essential for organisational success. In a region experiencing rapid economic transformation, people professionals need the capability, confidence and credibility to drive meaningful change in their organisations. 

George's appointment reinforces our commitment to championing professionalism across the Middle East and North Africa. As organisations increasingly recognise that people make or break a business, they need genuine experts in people, work and change to help them succeed. 

As we look ahead, we remain focused on inspiring and supporting people professionals to make their greatest impact for people and business, while upholding the professional standards that ensure sustainable success.