Dr. Tarek Oliveira Shayya served with the United Nations agencies for 14 years prior to joining the UAE Government as Director of International Affairs Department at Vice President’s Office for Political Affairs between 2008 and 2017.
In January 2016, Dr. Tarek was appointed as a Board Director of Expo 2020 Dubai, the first global mega event to be hosted in the Middle East. In 2017, he was given executive duties as Chief International Participants Officer, leading a team that secured the participation of 192 countries and managing the relationships with governments across the globe. In 2019, his role expanded to include responsibility for Expo 2020’s International Business Engagement , Protocol departments, and Communication and Marketing. Dr. Tarek directly supervised Expo’s work on reputation management and crisis Comms. In 2020 Dr. Tarek was appointed as Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors with executive duties that included leading the departments of Political Affairs, Domestic Government Affairs, and the Transition/Legacy department that’s responsible for the development plans for Expo City, Dubai’s new innovation and business hub.
Building on his 18 years experience and regional expertise in the UAE and the Middle East, as well as extensive international network of public and corporate relations, Dr. Tarek established in 2022 Gratiya Advisory, a boutique consultancy firm that focuses on four practices: Strategic Communications, Risk Management with focus on worker welfare, Public Affairs and Business Advisory.
Dr Tarek has 28 years of experience in various international affairs fields . He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations – Foreign Policy – from Northwestern University in the United States.