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IMI appoints Maher Chmaytelli as Editor-in-Chief of its new platform “CNN Business Arabic”

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CNN Business Arabic has announced the appointment of renowned journalist Maher Chmaytelli as its editor-in-chief, coming from the Thomson Reuters news agency where he served as the Head of the Middle East and North Africa Breaking News Hub.

CNN Business Arabic is a new partnership between International Media Investments (IMI) and CNN International Commercial, set to launch at the end of 2022.

Maher’s appointment is part of IMI’s strategy to attract high caliber and experienced journalists in preparation for the launch of the platform, with the aim of positioning it as the most comprehensive source of business, finance and economic news in Arabic, across the region and internationally.

Maher has more than 25 years of journalism experience, with a solid track record of managing newsrooms and leading multi-media teams.

Key regional positions he has held include Syria Bureau Chief at Agence France-Presse (AFP) from 2000-02, Gulf and Levant Bureau Chief for Bloomberg from 2009-14 where he also helped setting up a regional hub for the media group in Dubai, and Bloomberg’s OPEC correspondent in 2013. Maher joined Reuters as Iraq Bureau Chief in 2015 and led its coverage of the war on ISIS.

IMI Chief Executive Officer, Nart Bouran, said: “We have a clear goal for our latest platform, CNN Business Arabic: we aim to make it the best specialized business news platform in the MENA region and for Arabic-speakers around the world. With that goal in mind, we have set out to leverage the latest media best practices and attract high caliber journalists from the region to join us.

I wish the new editor-in-chief the best of luck and I look forward to watching CNN Business Arabic grow under his leadership.”

Maher commented on his appointment by saying: “I am proud to be part of the CNN Business Arabic team and to work with the CNN brand and global network. We have a lot of tasks ahead of us, most important the launch of the platform before the end of the year. In the run-up to that, we will build a strong editorial team, made up of experienced journalists capable of writing and presenting top-class business news that lives up to the aspirations of our Arabic-speaking audiences around the world. We will also aim to offer insightful business news explainers, analysis and data-led content that are relevant for investors, start-ups and market players.”