Cynthia Karam | Senior Director of Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Middle East
The Coca-Cola Company

Cynthia has more than 20 years of experience in public, government affairs and communications in the Gulf region, holding senior roles with Mondelez, Mars and most recently Coca-Cola EME. Based out of the Coca-Cola Middle East office in Dubai, Cynthia has been working on developing effective strategies focused on maximizing impact in the GCC and ME region on environmental, social, governance, and trade. Throughout her career, she has also led advocacy, internal, external, and brand communications initiatives that have delivered positive business outcomes and contributed to the engagement of the organizations and the teams she served. A result-driven senior public affairs and communications leader, Cynthia has established strong relations with key food & beverage stakeholders and safeguards Coca-Cola’s reputation and license to operate in a highly regulated industry. Between 2016 and 2021, Cynthia worked as the corporate and government affairs manager for the GCC and Pakistan at Mondelez and was responsible for Mondelez’s internal and external communications initiatives in the region as well as its government affairs strategy with some of its iconic brands such as Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Tang Powedered Beverage, and Kraft cheese. Prior to spending time at Mondelez, she spent five years with MARS GCC and held various roles in the Australian Embassy in Beirut and the Australian Consulate in Dubai. Cynthia holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and a Masters in International Business from the Notre Dame University and the KEDGE Business School in France; and a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy. She has also held board member roles at the Multinational Companies Business Group, the Circular Packaging association in the UAE and currently serves on the IWD sustainability committee.