Tough Love Advisors on new beginnings, brand building, marketing and more

Learn more about the science of wellbeing and how to apply it in life and at the workplace

We discuss corporate wellness, individual wellness and business opportunities in the space.

Tara Rogers-Ellis, co-founded Mojo along with Louise Mezzina. Over the course of a decade, the duo have built Mojo into a successful PR and Communications agency, with top clients like Johnson & Johnson, the European Union, RAKBank, Montblanc and more. Tara grew up in South Africa during apartheid and an opportunity to move to the UAE meant that she could have a fresh start, it was at that point when she discovered her natural inclination towards PR and her love for building teams. During the episode, Tara shares useful tips for companies looking to fully leverage public relations, and what to avoid.

I’m excited to have Mishaal Al Gergawi on the show this week, one of the UAE’s top thinkers and intellectuals. Mishaal’s journey is quite fascinating as he started his career in finance yet quickly became renowned for his writing, a passion that fueled the launch of The Delma Institute, a think tank that he ran between 2012 and 2018. His work was centered around providing analysis and insights on West Asia and North Africa to governments and corporates. At that point, his curiosity to learn about the world peaked and he decided to undertake his first deep dive and learn about the world’s modern history, a gigantic task that took him 3 years to complete. He wrote a summary about his learnings on [medium](https://medium.com/thingsilearn/history-1453-2001-a1bbc16f455e)]. He is currently on his second deep dive and tackling both the world of sci-fi and crypto currencies. Mishaal wants to be an eternal student, the most well rounded person he can possibly be. His curiosity about the world and his wish to make an impact led him to launch [AXIS](http://axis.xyz), a startup with an audacious goal to build the world’s best graph for companies to understand the MACRO forces impacting their business and help them make informed decisions.I’d love to hear what you’re reading—you can tag me on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/louloukhazen) and leave me a review in Apple Podcasts and IMDb. For sponsorship opportunities, collaborations or guest recommendations, you can [email me](mailto:loulou.khazen@gmail.com) for details.

Ali Matar, LinkedIn's Head of EMEA Emerging Markets, Middle East & Africa talks about the disruption that COVID has had on the MENA region and how people are coping with the new work dynamics, job losses and the need to re-think their careers, particularly women. We build on Ali’s experience as the first employee tasked to build the LinkedIn presence in MENA and how a misconception he had ended up being one of his biggest career learning opportunity. A great discussion if you’re currently managing people and looking for practical tips on building a thriving workplace.