Simon Kachar is Executive Director of Communications and the official spokesperson at the American University of Beirut. He is an experienced communications strategist professional whose previous experience was in the Office of Public Relations and Media at the Lebanese American University where he served for four years. Before that, he worked in strategic communications consultancy in the private sector with Dubai-based Eurocom Worldwide Network operating in the GCC for almost ten years, and later headed the communications and public relations department of Grey Worldwide Group in the MENA region in Beirut.
He has 18 years of work experience acquired in the private sector as well as in academic administration and policy research. He was a columnist in the leading Lebanese newspaper, Annahar, writing and commenting on public policy development and public reform. He also worked for the public sector as a consultant advising on the Expanded Administrative Decentralization project proposal and all what was done as preparatory work such as workshops, round-tables, policy papers and policy briefs, etc…
Additionally, Simon has published analytical articles on public administration reform and the Lebanese economy in different media outlets. He has also contributed scholarly and practically on governmental policy development, strategy design and operational excellence in his capacity as an expert in public governance efficiency and public administration reform. He is a previous member of the Lebanese Red Cross First Aid teams and former member of the Scout du Liban – Group St. Joseph. Currently, he serves on the administrative committee of the Fouad Chehab Foundation as an elected member, and was the head of the Studies and Research and External Affairs Committee in the foundation.
Simon is a lecturer in political science in the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration at AUB, a fellow of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, and he is the winner of the USJ Michel Eddé Prize for the best PhD dissertation on good public governance – second place.
Simon has a BA and MA in Public Administration, and a PhD in Political Science.