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Siwar Bandar brings nearly two decades of communications and advisory experience across culture, arts, heritage, investment, economic development, corporate reputation, community engagement and advocacy. As a Director in APCO’s Saudi office, she leads the Culture, Arts and Creative Industries sector across the Middle East and North Africa, advising government entities, cultural institutions and businesses on strategic communications, reputation, institutional positioning, stakeholder engagement and audience development.
Stories are my passion. Whether it’s reading a graphic novel with my daughters, listening to women communities in AlUla laughing and chatting as they braid palm fronds and make baskets, or watching eager volunteers guide visitors through the historic pathways of old Damascus. There is incredible depth, diversity and beauty in this region, and I am proud to help tell its story.
Siwar has led and advised on major assignments spanning Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation, investment agenda and private sector. She serves as a senior advisor to the Museums Commission, supporting its institutional development, public profile and growing portfolio of museums. Her work has included counsel for the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, including its strategic narrative and positioning, alongside communications for the launch and positioning of the Black Gold Museum.
Her broader government advisory experience includes supporting the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) on communications around major international investment engagements. These have included the French Investment Forum during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia, high-level investment roundtables with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and MISA’s participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Siwar has also provided strategic communications counsel to the Saudi Fund for Development, supporting institutional positioning, communications around international development financing and milestone planning around the organization’s 50th anniversary. Her private-sector experience includes directing media advisory and executive positioning for PepsiCo in Saudi Arabia, including communications surrounding the relocation of its regional headquarters to Riyadh, senior leadership engagement and multi-market campaigns across Saudi Arabia and the wider region. She has also supported work around Fortune’s Global Forum in Riyadh, adding to her experience working around prominent international business and convening platforms.
Prior to joining APCO, Siwar was communications director for Turquoise Mountain Saudi Arabia, where she designed, delivered and advised on crafts and cultural development programs with the Ministry of Culture, Royal Commission for AlUla, Royal Institute for Traditional Arts and Heritage Commission, alongside private, public and government partners. She helped showcase Saudi cultural heritage through international platforms including the G20 and led the narrative delivery of the Crafts Village Exhibition at the first Saudi International Crafts Week in 2023.
Siwar is passionate about chronicling community stories and preserving oral histories. She co-authored and oversaw the publication of Crafts of Saudi Arabia, documenting the largest permanent exhibition of local artisanal artwork in the country. She has appeared in Indagare Travel speaking about tourism, entrepreneurship and craft and has been featured as a speaker and moderator on creative industries and bringing artists and artisans to market.
She previously held communications roles with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. She holds an MA in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles.