Ms. Astbury has spent many years as a senior communications executive and strategist in the UK and the Middle East.  Heat
her was a member of the executive management team that established the regional airline flydubai and saw the airline through its launch and very successful first three years of operations.  Heather's strategic communication experience was gained through a variety of in-house and agency roles for major public and private organizations in the UK and Dubai. Returning to the UK in the summer of 2013, Heather was Director of Public Relations for Sheikh Mohammed Bin Issa Al Jaber and delivered strategic communication plans for the launch of a media training institute in Yemen and a project to combat the use of prejudicial language in schools developed by UNESCO.  Heather began her career in journalism, as both a reporter for a national UK daily newspaper and then editor for a regional weekly.  Heather holds  an MA with Honors in Modern History from the University of St. Andrews, an NCTJ certificate in journalism from Napier University and a CIPR diploma in PR from Queen Margaret University.