Northbourne Advisory Launches In Qatar, Offering Strategic Counsel For Complex Times

Doha, Qatar: Northbourne Advisory has officially launched in Qatar, offering strategic advice to leaders navigating high-pressure environments and reputational risk. Founded by long-standing regional advisor Justin Kerr-Stevens and endorsed by Media City Qatar, the firm is already active across the Gulf, Australia, and Europe.

Northbourne positions itself as a discreet, high-trust partner for senior leaders and organisations with reputations to protect and opportunities to shape. Its focus is on situations where expectations are high and outcomes matter most.

“Our approach is built around clarity, challenge, and action, ensuring clients receive judgment shaped by real experience,” said founder and CEO Justin Kerr-Stevens.

“We're not interested in being everything to everyone. Our focus is tight for a reason. We support clients when timing matters, when trust matters, and when decisions cannot be left to chance,” he added.

At its core, Northbourne delivers strategy, crisis management, reputation advisory, geopolitical insight, stakeholder engagement, and capability building. The firm also works behind the scenes to help organisations assess their internal communications infrastructure and build long-term capability. This includes reviewing in-house structures, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and equipping senior teams to perform under pressure. Through training, simulations, and strategic planning, the aim is to make communications sharper, faster, and more effective when it counts.

“We don't parachute in with assumptions. We listen, we challenge, and we work side by side with our clients. The goal is not just to fix problems, but to leave teams stronger and better prepared for what's next,” Kerr-Stevens commented.

Kerr-Stevens brings nearly 30 years of experience across government, corporate, and institutional communications. He previously served as CEO and Managing Director of BLJ Worldwide in Doha, where he advised government entities and worked across a wide range of strategic and reputational mandates. Prior to that, he was Partner and Middle East General Manager at Portland Communications, where he helped lead the firm's international advisory work across the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe.

His earlier career includes over a decade in senior roles with both the Australian and British Governments. In the UK, he worked inside the Cabinet Office and across major departments including Health, Education, Innovation, and Environment. His work focused on strategic communications, public engagement, and crisis response at national scale.

“We are here to help people cut through noise, stay steady under pressure, and get the work done,” Kerr-Stevens said.

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