ABOUT US
Manju Ramanan : Founder and CEO
An eminent media personality with over 2 decades in the media industry in India and the UAE, Manju Ramanan has founded and nurtured several film and lifestyle magazines in India and the UAE. She started her career with The Times of India and moved to Femina covering several stories on local history, art and culture and stories on women. She has covered Femina Miss India as well as met and interviewed several iconic women in India before her Dubai sojourn
In Dubai since 2008, she ideated and wrote 5 coffee table books on Ras al Khaimah and was Editor to magazines such as RAK Today, Ajman Today and the Deputy Editor of the UAE Digest, under Sterling Publications.
As Editor of Filmfare Middle East and then Group Editor at Saffron Media, she handled Filmfare ME and Femina ME till 2017. She has ideated and executed high profile Bollywood events and interviewed actors across Hindi, Tamizh, Malayalam, Pakistani and Arab cinema extensively. This includes the FilmfareME5 that hosted Shahrukh Khan and Kajol at Fort Island at the Dubai Film Festival. She relaunched Filmfare ME under the Starz Media Group in 2018 and was its Editor in Chief and Head of Content. The tryst continued till 2022 and she then started on her own.
She is a crusader of the Beyond October Cancer Campaign that works with breast cancer warriors. She founded Women in Cinema in the UAE – a forum dedicated to the role of women in the cinema industry. She is an author, editor, podcaster, Ted X Speaker and consultant to film/literature festivals and book fairs and to the Woman’s Run besides other events.
Ashish Kohli : Founding Partner
A passionate designer, combining his expertise on the realms of architecture and the science of Vastu to create contemporary and holistic spaces.
Ashish Kohli founded AKD in 2014, and has successfully branched projects globally, in parts of India, East Africa, China, and in Dubai. His focus is on designing esteemed residential, commercial and industrial projects, and anchors on crafting spacious villas and penthouses with exceptional finishes.
Being a certified Vastu Shastra consultant, Ashish Kohli marries this profound science with his sense of space and design. Combining his Engineering and Architectural skills to create functionally and artistically elevated areas that promote equilibrium and positive energy.
Renowned for his space planning and modern design aesthetic, Ashish Kohli oversees all projects at AKD to be completed at the highest level of quality and end user satisfaction. He has redefined luxury through a lens of cultural and spiritual sensitivity, and continues to push AKD’s ethos to maintain the delicate balance between tradition and innovation.
Philosophy
Our Mission
Our Vision
About Align MENA
Align MENA is a boutique events, PR and Media company that is well entrenched in the areas such as