Al Jazeera executive appointed to NU-Q’s joint advisory board

A digital media expert and executive behind the launch of AJ+, Yaser Bishr, has been appointed to Northwestern University in Qatar’s (NU-Q) joint advisory board. Bishr, executive director of digital media at Al Jazeera Media Network, leads the digital media strategy, innovation, and incubation, as well as Al Jazeera’s global expansion strategies. Previously, he served as chief strategist and business development director at Lockheed Martin, Washington DC. “Bishr’s extensive experience within digital divisions will add great value to the board, especially as we look for innovative ways to address the rapidly evolving digital media landscape,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO. “His appointment comes at a crucial time for NU-Q, as we recently moved into our new building – the most technologically advanced media school in the world – and will benefit from his knowledge and expertise in utilising this equipment to the benefit of our students.”Prior to assuming his current position, Bishr served as executive director for corporate strategy and development at Al Jazeera, steering several projects, including the conception and launch of AJ+ in 2014. AJ+ is now ranked one of the top news sources on Facebook, and has had a reach of more than five billion views across its media platforms.NU-Q’s advisory board is co-chaired by HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, and Daniel I Linzer, provost of Northwestern University. Most recently, prominent US journalist and Medill School of Journalism alumna Geneva Overholser was also appointed to the board.Bishr holds an MBA from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business where he was honoured with the Duke University Scholar Merits Award. He also holds a Bachelor of Science with honours in civil engineering, an MS and PhD in computer science from the University of Twente and Waginengen University in the Netherlands.