Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 2026 — Jillian Geddes has stepped into the role of Executive Director Human Resources at KEO International Consultants, marking a significant milestone in her 18-year journey with the globally recognized AEP/PMCM firm.
In her new capacity, Jillian will oversee the full HR function across 11 countries, leading a team of more than 60 HR professionals while partnering closely with executive leadership to drive talent strategy, organisational design, workforce governance, and a high-performance culture across the enterprise.
Prior to this appointment, Jillian Geddes served as Senior Director Human Resources (Middle East & Europe) at KEO, guiding HR operations, talent acquisition, government relations, and engagement strategy across Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Sri Lanka. Under her leadership, the organisation earned multiple regional and international recognitions for mental health, wellbeing, financial literacy, and workplace excellence — including wins at the mentl Awards, Employee Happiness Awards, and Emirates Labour Market Awards, as well as Inspiring Workplaces and Great Place to Work certifications.
Earlier, as Human Resources Director (Middle East & Europe), she continued strengthening cross-border HR strategy, embedding employee engagement frameworks, and advising C-suite leaders across diverse markets. Before transitioning into enterprise HR leadership, she spent over five years as Head of Talent Acquisition, where she built and led a high-performing multi-country recruitment function, earning repeated recognition at the LinkedIn Talent Awards for excellence in talent acquisition and employer branding across the MENA region.
Her earlier experience includes roles as Human Resources Business Consultant supporting executive search globally, Recruitment Manager – Global at KEO, and senior HR leadership positions with Department of Defence, where she led a large personnel administration centre serving more than 9,000 employees across multiple Australian states and territories. She also contributed to major international projects including the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee through her engagement with David Atkins Enterprises.
About KEO International Consultants
Founded more than six decades ago, KEO International Consultants is a highly integrated and agile creative AEP/PMCM firm with over 2,600 multi-national professionals across two continents. Recognized consistently by ENR among the Top 225 International Design Firms and Top 20 International PM/CM Firms, KEO has also been ranked as the #1 Firm in the Middle East Region for three consecutive years. The firm delivers architecture, engineering, project management, and construction management solutions that shape sustainable communities and iconic skylines worldwide.
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