CNN Business Arabic appoints Maher Chmaytelli as editor-in-chief

Veteran journalist with 25 years of experience joins from Thomson Reuters

Mr Chmaytelli’s appointment is part of IMI’s strategy to attract experienced journalists ahead of the launch of CNN Business Arabic. Photo: International Media Investments

CNN Business Arabic has appointed veteran journalist Maher Chmaytelli as its editor-in-chief.

Mr Chmaytelli, who has more than 25 years of experience in journalism, joins CNN Business Arabic from Thomson Reuters, where he was the head of the Middle East and North Africa breaking news hub.

CNN Business Arabic, a new partnership between International Media Investments (IMI) and CNN International Commercial, is set to launch at the end of 2022.

Mr Chmaytelli’s appointment is part of IMI’s strategy to hire experienced journalists in preparation for the launch of the platform. The company aims to position the new venture as the most comprehensive source of business, finance and economic news in Arabic across the region and beyond.

Before joining Thomson Reuters as Iraq Bureau Chief in 2015, Mr Chmaytelli worked with Bloomberg from 2009-2014 and helped the media group set up a regional hub in Dubai.

“We have a clear goal for our latest platform, CNN Business Arabic: we aim to make it the best specialised business news platform in the Mena region and for Arabic speakers around the world,” IMI chief executive Nart Bouran, said on Sunday.

“With that goal in mind, we have set out to leverage the latest media best practices and attract high-calibre journalists from the region to join us.”

Mr Chmaytelli said there are “a lot of tasks before us”, most important of those the launch of the platform before the end of this year.

“In the run-up to that, we will build a strong editorial team, made up of experienced journalists capable of writing and presenting top-class business news that lives up to the aspirations of our Arabic-speaking audiences around the world,” he said.