Tom Urquhart

“I was never actually ‘at’ GB, but I was certainly ‘around’ it during my time at Motivate in the early 2000’s. I started at What’s On and thereafter worked on several other lifestyle titles and supplements, so while I was never on the GB desk, we were all on the same floor of the old Garhoud HQ and we all socialised together, usually at The Village, after work. So I might not have been ‘Businessy’ enough back then, the irony, but I made several life long friendships with the crew during that time.”

“Leaders of business and industry are certainly more comfortable talking to the media these days in light of the exponential growth in the influence that businesses from the region have on global economies and the interest generated by that. When I started out at Motivate there were very few local or regional brands that were known globally, that has changed fundamentally. As such the Gulf, and business in the Gulf, is now central to larger conversations.