Bio

Arief Zulkifli is a Senior Consultant at Crestview Strategy, with over six years of experience across the EMEA and APAC regions, advising governments, financial institutions and corporates on strategic communications and reputation management. He specialises in executive positioning, working as a ghostwriter and speechwriter to senior leaders, and brings particular strength in media relations, event delivery and the project management of complex mandates. 

He began his career at Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, working within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation National Secretariat, where he served as master of ceremonies for APEC 2020’s high-level multilateral briefings, hosting proceedings in the presence of ministers and ambassadors from the forum’s 21 member economies. He went on to IP Excellera, where he worked on the strategic planning and delivery of a national financial infrastructure programme for a central bank in the GCC, and was seconded to a China-Saudi joint venture backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, working directly with its chief executive on positioning and the company’s regional presence. He also managed reporting for listed companies across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including the production of annual reports and drafting materials for quarterly earnings cycles. His remit extended to crisis communications as well, guiding one of the Kingdom’s national champions through a period of regional geopolitical activity. 

Arief’s executive work spans speeches, op-eds and thought-leadership for chairmen and chief executives, alongside interview preparation and media profile-building. He has secured broadcast interviews with CNN, placed executives in Forbes, and supported senior leaders through media interviews at COP28 in Dubai.  

Arief holds a Master’s degree in Political Economics from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Chatham University in Pennsylvania, which he attended on a full-tuition scholarship. He completed a one-year exchange at the American University of Sharjah and holds a certification in Finance and Management from Harvard Business School Online.