Syed Bukhari is a strategic communications leader with more than 15 years of experience operating inside the UAE and GCC media ecosystem. His background spans government, higher education, media, and corporate sectors, giving him rare, end-to-end insight into how newsrooms operate, how government communication protocols function, and
how institutional narratives are shaped within one of the world’s most protocol-sensitive environments.

He currently serves as Head of Visibility at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), where he oversees the university’s strategic communications, media relations, and executive positioning. His work includes crafting and
managing communications for senior UAE royals and national leaders as they engage with mainstream and new media, high-profile partners, and regional stakeholders.

Previously, Syed spent five years with the Federal Government of the UAE as Head of International Communications & Protocol for the country’s largest higher-education system (16 campuses, 23,000 students, 2,400 employees). In this role, he served as the primary liaison between HCT and global partners, including international media, the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, leading corporations, and foreign embassies, while coordinating directly with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and national regulators on protocol and institutional representation.

Before his federal-government tenure, Syed worked across the UAE’s communications landscape in agency, media, and institutional roles, including the like of the National Media Council and the Media Zone Authority, where he
supported strategic communications for ministries, government entities, and Fortune 500 companies operating in the region.

Syed maintains a highly established network of senior journalists, editors, influencers, and publishers across the Gulf. His grounding in international affairs and diplomacy informs his approach to communications, not as messaging, but as strategic positioning within complex, multi-layered stakeholder environments. He understands the mechanics of influence: how institutions compete for visibility, how protocol governs access, and how narrative architecture builds long-term credibility.

He selectively advises organizations and leaders requiring communications counsel rooted in practical Gulf experience, institutional sensitivity, and strategic clarity.