Arab News has been honored at this year’s MENAA Awards for its transformation over the last three months and creating “momentum and buzz” in the media industry.

Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas was presented with the prestigious Best Business Leaders Award at an event held last week at the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

The MENAA Awards ceremony included a show-reel illustrating the rapid changes and achievements Arab News has made over the past three months, since the newspaper announced it was restoring its original tagline and positioning as “The Middle East’s Leading English Language Daily.”

One highlight of the newspaper’s coverage over the last few months was its exclusive poll on Arab public opinion toward the candidates in the recent US election. Results of the poll, which was carried out in conjunction with YouGov, attracted global attention and were carried in prominent news outlets such as CNN and The Observer newspaper.

The fourth edition of the MENAA Awards comprised two categories, the Best Business Leader Award and Customer Delight Award. A number of top executives from across the Middle East who were presented with trophies and certificates of achievement at the award ceremony, to mark their strong leadership of organizations in what is a turbulent business environment.

Allan Pease, the well-known Australian body language expert, presented the honors at the event, and paid tribute to the changes made at Arab News.

“In less than three months on the job, (Abbas) managed create enough momentum and buzz around the changes he has brought to his organization that his organization is literately now generating headlines worldwide,” Pease said.

In a statement, Dr. Sepehr Tarverdian, chief executive of the MENAA Organization, praised Arab News for being a “pioneer” and “a leading media outlet.”

“As the CEO of MENAA Awards Organization, it was a real pleasure, and honor to select the editor-in-chief of Arab News as the recipient of the Best Business Leaders Award in 2016 in the region,” he added.

For his part, Abbas thanked the award organizers.

“On behalf of Arab News, we wish to thank the judges and the organizers of the fourth annual MENAA Awards on this recognition of the efforts of our newspaper as it prepares for a more global, more digital approach.”

“This recognition is dedicated to our Arab News team worldwide; however, the biggest prize we will always continue to aspire for daily is our readers’ continued trust,” said Abbas.

The Middle East, North Africa & Asia Award (MENAA) Organization says it aims to promote and improve the industries by acknowledging good corporate culture and leadership skills.