Lara Makhoul | Strategic Communications Leader, Abu Dhabi

Profile نبذة

I run the communications function in the Arab Monetary Fund's Executive Office, covering three institutions: the Fund itself, Buna, the Arab region's cross-border payment system, and the Arab Trade Financing Program. My team handles press releases, official statements, media interviews, campaigns, and internal engagement, and I lead the rebrand bringing all three institutions under one identity and tone in Arabic, English, and French.

I came to this work through writing. A literature degree and journalism training in Montréal led to 3 years as a corporate writer at SABIS, then 7 years inside TD Bank across payments, merchant solutions, and credit, while I ran AdaptiveCopy, my own writing and communications practice. The banking years matter: when I write about settlement systems or regulatory change, I have sat on the operational side of that work.

I am preparing for larger leadership mandates, currently working through the University of Michigan's Leading People and Teams specialization.

What I bring ما أقدمه

Institutional voice

Press releases, official statements, and media interviews for a multilateral financial institution, written to be quoted accurately in three languages.

AMF Executive Office →

Brand across institutions

One identity system and one tone for three related institutions, applied to every channel in Arabic, English, and French.

The rebrand →

Media and campaigns

Media relationships with regional and international outlets, and campaign programs tied to real institutional moments. Coverage at Buna grew about 30 percent.

Buna →

Crisis communication

I worked on the crisis plans and was the named point of contact when things got difficult. The plan you want is the one written before it was needed.

Buna →

Executive and internal communication

Newsletters, briefings, and training programs that people actually read, built inside one of North America's largest banks.

TD Bank →

High-protocol events

Conferences, MoU signings, and advisory meetings delivered end to end, 20 percent under budget. I also worked on the sponsorship framework for partner participation.

Institutional events →

Selected work أعمال مختارة

3 → 1

Arab Monetary Fund
Executive Office

2024 – present

The brief. Three related institutions, three visual identities, and messaging that had drifted apart across platforms and languages.

What I did. I lead the rebrand across the AMF, Buna, and the Arab Trade Financing Program: one identity system and one tone, applied to Arabic, English, and French content. Alongside it, I manage high-level press releases, official statements, and media interviews with regional and international counterparts.

Result. A single institutional voice across three organizations, in three languages.

2×

Buna
Cross-border payments

2022 – 2024

The brief. A cross-border payment system that central bankers respected but few others had heard of.

What I did. I built the marketing plan and ran it: a content program on LinkedIn, media relationships with regional and international outlets, and campaigns tied to conferences, MoU signings, and advisory group meetings. I also worked on the crisis communication plans and served as the point of contact when things got difficult.

Result. LinkedIn followers doubled. Media coverage of events and campaigns grew about 30 percent.

−20%

Institutional events

2022 – present

The brief. High-protocol events: conferences, MoU signings, advisory group meetings, and trainings, with senior officials in the room and no margin for error.

What I did. I plan and deliver these end to end, from agenda and speakers to media presence, negotiating directly with vendors and coordinating cross-functional teams against tight deadlines. I also worked on the sponsorship framework that structures partner participation in these events.

Result. 20 percent saved on a substantial events budget through negotiation and vendor partnerships, with no drop in delivery standard.

7 yrs

TD Bank Group
Canada

2015 – 2022

The brief. Internal communication inside one of North America's largest banks, where department news usually dies in inboxes.

What I did. While holding operational roles in payments, merchant solutions, and credit, I launched and ran the Merchant Solutions newsletter, served on the team that set up the bank's ideation group, built a training program for a 15-person team, and acted as transition officer for new hires.

Result. The newsletter became the department's standing channel, and the training program measurably improved the team's skills and pace of work.

+35%

SABIS Educational Services

2012 – 2015

The brief. A global education network whose websites, newsletter, and social channels needed one consistent voice across dozens of schools.

What I did. I wrote and edited news items, press releases, and the quarterly corporate newsletter, managed social media, and worked with the development team on the CMS.

Result. A content plan that grew website visits 25 percent and parent inquiries 35 percent.

Career المسيرة

2024 – Senior Communications Officer · Team Lead, Executive Office Arab Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi
2022 – 2024 Communications Specialist Buna (ARPCSO), Arab Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi
2015 – 2022 Founder · Communications Consultant AdaptiveCopy, remote: corporate copywriting, editing, and internal communications for contract clients
2015 – 2022 Direct Investing · Merchant Solutions · Credit Underwriting TD Bank Group, Canada
2012 – 2015 Corporate Writer · Communications Specialist SABIS Educational Services

Selected credentials مؤهلات مختارة

BA, major in English, minor in Communication and Informatics Université de Montréal · 2012
Fundamentals of Journalism Concordia University · 2011

Recent continuing education

Leading People and Teams · University of Michigan, in progress
AI & No-Code Development cohort · Maven, 2024
Decentralized Finance specialization · Duke University, 2024

Tools الأدوات

Uses confidently

Microsoft 365 (Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
SharePoint
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Creative Suite
Canva
Meltwater
Hootsuite
Google Alerts
Jira
Zoho
ChatGPT
Claude
ElevenLabs

Also familiar with

Google Workspace
Google Analytics (GA4)
Figma
Airtable
Softr
Zapier
Gemini

Working with AI الذكاء الاصطناعي

I use AI every day, under rules that don't move:

The first draft is mine

I write it, then use AI to find what I missed: a weak transition, a claim I have not supported, a term I used two ways.
Nothing confidential enters external tools

No exceptions.
AI works in the background

Media monitoring, coverage summaries, and terminology consistency across three languages.
Facts get checked outside the model

Numbers, names, dates, and quotes are verified against the source document before anything publishes.