Making the Next Headlines

Media City Qatar has been ranked in the top 20 Best Workplaces in Media, Advertising and Marketing™ in the Middle East by Great Place to Work®, which recognizes companies that are building the best workplace cultures in the world.

The recognition is part of Great Place to Work®’s annual Best Workplaces ranking, published each year to highlight organizations building strong workplace cultures. It is based on the largest collection of employee experiences from the Best Workplaces survey in the region, assessing trust, leadership, innovation, and overall workplace experience, as well as how organizations foster environments where employees can thrive.

Only organizations that have first achieved Great Place to Work® certification are eligible for consideration, and the annual ranking features only the top 20 companies selected from hundreds of eligible organizations.

Hamad Omar A. Al-Mannai, CEO of Media City Qatar, said the recognition is a result of continued investment in the organization’s culture over time. “As we have grown, we have stayed focused on creating an environment where our people and partners can do their best work,” he said. “It is reflected in how teams collaborate, how partnerships take shape, and how ideas are given space to develop.”

Al-Mannai added that this culture is reflected in the organization’s core values and in how they are lived out day to day. “Our values of Excellence, Partnership, and Innovation are visible in how we work every day; in the decisions we make, the way we collaborate across teams, and how we support the continued development of Qatar’s media ecosystem,” he said.

This is Media City Qatar’s second workplace recognition, following last year’s certification as a Great Place to Work®. It comes at a time of continued organizational growth and the expansion of the wider media ecosystem it supports. “Today, our staff is growing, and we support a community of more than 500 local and international licensed companies operating across four priority areas: Gaming & Interactive, Screen, Broadcast & Music, Tech, Digital & Social, and Agencies & Support Services,” Al-Mannai noted.

That growth has been matched by continued investment in how people experience the workplace. In fall 2025, Media City Qatar moved into its 23,000-square-meter headquarters in Msheireb Downtown Doha, a four-interconnected, LEED-certified building designed to support collaboration, flexibility, and shared ways of working.

“Moving to Msheireb has been an important step for us,” he added. “It brings teams closer together and supports a more collaborative way of working.”

Licensed companies will begin moving into the new location in phases starting this spring. As teams settle into the space, day-to-day interactions between businesses, creators, and partners will become more frequent and more integrated, supported by advanced studios, production facilities, and modern workplace environments designed to enable collaboration, experimentation, and exchange across the community.

Meanwhile, Media City Qatar has also continued to broaden its regional and international partnerships, creating new opportunities for knowledge exchange, investment, and industry collaboration. “These partnerships are an important part of how the ecosystem evolves,” said Al-Mannai.

This includes its growing collaboration with CNN, through which it recently welcomed a senior CNN delegation led by CNN Worldwide Chairman & CEO Sir Mark Thompson, and announced that Doha will host the first regional edition of CNN’s Global Perspectives series in Q4 2026.

“We see this recognition as part of a continuing journey,” said he. “What is ahead is what excites us most, building on this momentum and continuing to grow alongside our people and partners to shape what is next.”