As Head of International at TrailRunner International, Seth Hand oversees the firm’s operations outside of the United States. Based in Dubai, he manages TrailRunner International’s offices across the Middle East, as well as in London and Shanghai. With more than two decades of experience, including 18 years in the Gulf, Seth provides strategic counsel, corporate communications, and financial communications support to leading companies, investors, and government stakeholders, helping them navigate complex reputational and transactional environments. In 2024 and 2025, he was named to PRWeek’s Middle East Power Book, recognizing the most influential communications professionals in the region.

Seth has advised on a wide range of high-profile mandates across the Middle East, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, delivering projects in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Singapore. His experience includes sovereign investment, national branding, major infrastructure, and large-scale economic development initiatives.

Before joining TrailRunner International, Seth served as Managing Director at Edelman Middle East, where he led the regional corporate reputation practice and supported flagship projects including the launch of NEOM’s The Line and communications around the Public Investment Fund’s acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club.

Previously, as Regional Managing Director at Finsbury (now FGS Global), Seth worked closely with the Ministry of Finance to support communications around the annual budget, was part of the team that launched Waad Al Shamal, Saudi Arabia’s northern industrial city, and led crisis communications for the opening of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, working with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Earlier in his career at Grayling, Seth supported the launch of Angola’s sovereign wealth fund and was a key member of the team that launched the award-winning ‘Make It Kenya’ campaign to drive international tourism and foreign investment into Kenya.

A proud native of Scotland, Seth holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in corporate communication from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Outside of work, he enjoys playing guitar, weight training, and traveling. He has a French Bulldog called Zico.