Al Peaford
Alan Peaford started his career as an actor, and entered the world of journalism through local newspapers and radio in the UK before working for national daily newspapers. In 1978 he was named the Foreign Correspondent of the Year for a series of Middle East articles published in the Sunday Times. He edited newspapers in the UK and Middle East including the Arab Times in Kuwait and the Gulf Daily News in Bahrain before taking an in-house communications management role with oil company BP where he won the UK’s safety writer of the year award. In 1988 he was appointed managing director at the Charles Barker plc, public relations and advertising agency and two years later headed a buyout of the company’s publishing division creating Trident Communications - which became the UK’s largest corporate publishing and communications agency with offices throughout the UK, Munich, New York, Dubai and Singapore. In 1992 he was awarded a European Diploma of Honour for services to workplace communications and in 1995 was elected President of FEIEA, the European industrial editors association and is immediate past president of the UK’s Institute of Internal Communications. In 2002 he became a ‘special advisor’ to the British Government working alongside a communications team at 10 Downing Street. In 2004 he sold Trident and followed his passion for writing, editing and travel and specialised in aviation. He has subsequently won an Aviation Journalist of the Year award on five occasions in the past ten years, and has written an ‘industry bible’ on business aircraft. He remains chairman of Aerocomm Ltd, a London-based business communications consultancy and continues to edit daily newspapers and online show newsletters for the aviation, transport and construction sectors. He has been editor of Airline Business and Flight International’s daily newspapers at major events such as the Paris Air Show and IATA AGM. He also continues to write speeches and has produced work for the heads of state of the UK and Dubai and for industry leaders in the Middle East, the US and the UK. In 2009, in conjunction with the Times Group of London, he combined his love of the Middle East with his passion for aviation and launched Arabian Aerospace, a B2B magazine for the rapidly expanding industry in the MENA region and is an active Editor-in-chief. In 2013 he led the launch of African Aerospace. In his spare time he is life president of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation (CdLS) a charity assisting the families and professionals supporting people with this rare mental and physical disorder. From 2003-2007 he was president of the World Federation of CdLS support groups and is an active member of Rotary International. In his spare time he is life president of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation (CdLS) a charity assisting the families and professionals supporting people with this rare mental and physical disorder. From 2003-2007 he was president of the World Federation of CdLS support groups and is an active member of Rotary International.