TEDxBeirut - Ali M. Jaber - The Global Classroom November 9, 2011

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Ali M. Jaber
Dean of the Mohamad Bin Rashed School for Communication at the American University in Dubai and General Director of the MBC TV Group.
Ph.D. The Predicament of Pan Arab Television, King's College, University of Cambridge, UK, in progress
M.S. Communications, Syracuse University, USA
B.A. Business Administration, American University in Beirut, Lebanon

Born in Lebanon in 1961, Mr. Jaber completed his Bachelors in Business Administration at the American University of Beirut in 1984 before going on to earn his Master's degree in Communications at Syracuse University in the US in 1986.

Upon returning to Beirut, Ali joined the Fine Arts faculty of Beirut University College. There he helped set up their Broadcasting Department and for eight years taught a range of courses in television production.

Concurrently, Ali worked as a Journalist covering the war in Lebanon and Iraq between the years 1987 to 1999; he was the correspondent of New York Time and The Times of London between 1989 and 1994, and Chief Correspondent for Lebanon and Syria for the German Press Agency (GPA) from 1987 to 1999.

In 1992 he was approached by then Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and was asked to set up, from the ground up, a privately owned pan-Arab television station. Ali founded and managed what later became Future TV till 2003. While with Future, he also started and managed a youth-oriented sister channel, Zen TV, which he ran for five years.

In 2004, he was approached by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, and brought in as a consultant to head Dubai Media Incorporated's (DMI), effort to revamp and re-launch its four national pan-Arab satellite channels.
In 2006, after 2 years in which Ali successfully managed to restructure the channels' on-air branding and their content as well as re-organize the company's out of date management structure, Ali was appointed DMI's Managing Editor.

Working closely with now UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, DMI's Board Members and the Chairman of Dubai's governmental organizations, his responsibilities are wide-ranging and have grown to include the development of the media sector in the UAE.

In July 2011, Ali Jaber was appointed as General Director of MBC Group TV, a position he is still currently holding.
Ali Jaber serves on the Board of Directors' of a non-governmental organization: Young Arab Leaders (YAL).

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