Our Team

Laura Martin

Laura is a location marketing and FDI attraction consultant with 15 years of experience delivering successful projects and campaigns for government and private sector clients across the globe through her company Grow FDI headquartered in the Netherlands.

Laura currently consults with Enso Arabia delivering international events focussing on investment attraction, FDI, economic development, startups and tech for an array of government entities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Laura leads strategic elements of the teams managing the Saudi participation at international events including MIPIM, Expo Real and transport logistics delivering the Saudi Talks stage, road shows and high-level lead generation and management for stakeholders including, The Ministry of Investment, Diriyah, Roshn, King Salman Park, New Murabba, NEOM, NEOM Trojena, NEOM The Line and NIDLP. At MIPIM each participating entity had a dedicated meeting programme targeting customised company and investor profiles with each programme well exceeding the targeted meeting count

  • Laura recently worked with ROI Research on Investment as Director of Training and Events delivering lead generation campaigns and events services for Economic Development Organisations across the world and at highly regarded international events and exhibitions including Paris Air Show, Websummit, Collision, BIO, Hannover Messe and K Show. While with ROI Laura also delivered training for economic development associations including IEDC and MAEDC.

    For a decade Laura led Conway Data’s Events and Training Division.  Laura produced valuable and highly rated courses and content and trained thousands of investment professionals from over 50 countries on how to attract and retain investment and target strategic company priorities and sectors for lead generation. Laura delivered training in partnership with several international associations and organisations including WAIPA, the EU and the Africa Development Bank.

    Laura also managed Conway’s full portfolio of international investment-focused events including their flagship event, The World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment which she delivered in locations such as Sydney, Australia, Sharjah, UAE, Philadelphia, USA and Edinburgh, Scotland. The event partnered with an array of strategic organisations in the investment attraction and economic development space including WAIPA, World Free Zone’s Organisation and IAMC.

    Laura graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with a Bachelor of Laws specializing in EU and International Trade laws as part of the degree.

Brendan Doherty

Brendan is a seasoned professional in the field of investment promotion, with over five years of dedicated experience in fostering and facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities. His career has been marked by a strong focus on event management and international relationship-building, particularly within the global investment community.

In his role, Brendan’s experience includes high-profile events, most notably the prestigious World Forum for FDI held in Edinburgh in 2022. His experience of such large-scale events includes overseeing aspects of attendee management, ensuring that participants from around the world have a seamless and productive experience

  • Beyond event engagement, Brendan has cultivated a broad network of relationships with investment promotion agencies (IPAs) across the globe. His ability to connect with and understand the needs of diverse stakeholders has made him a trusted partner in promoting cross-border investment opportunities. Brendan has worked with IPAs across Europe, The Middle East, Asia and Oceania. This work has taken shape through lead generation, online events and advertising campaigns primarily through industry-leading publication, Site Selection magazine where Brendan acts as Regional Director of Sales for Europe for Conway Data Inc.

    Brendan studied at the National University of Galway Ireland where he read Economics and Geography. He was also awarded postgraduate qualifications in Economic Science and Educational Leadership.

Jebal Contin Kennedy

Jebal Contin Kennedy is a Foreign Direct Investment attraction and economic development consultant with several years of experience delivering growth marketing and investment attraction programs for private and public sector clients. Jebal has built on experience in geopolitical risk analysis and strategic consulting to inform expertise in economic development, business to government relations, foreign direct investment, and growth marketing.

Jebal currently consults for GrowFDI, focusing on investment attraction, real estate and industrial events, primarily for GCC-based clients. Some among the key GCC-based clients Jebal has managed programs for include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund entities New Murabba, Diriyah, NEOM, Sports Boulevard Foundation, ROSHN, King Abdullah Financial District, and the Saudi National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) and the United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC), among others.

  • Jebal was formerly a Senior Economic Development Manager at ROI Research on Investment, where he worked extensively with EEA and Americas-based clients including Saxony Trade & Invest, Invest Piemonte, Invest in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, YES! Milano, the Italian Trade Agency, Enterprise Scotland, Niagara Economic Development, Empire State Development, Invest Puerto Rico and Enterprise Florida, among several others.

    Jebal was also the Benelux region In-Market Representative for the Mississippi Development Authority.

    Across these and other key roles Jebal has successfully connected leading clients with trillions in investment capital and corporate expansion projects through virtual lead generation, commercial and investment attraction roadshows and trade show programs.

    Some among the leading trade shows Jebal has managed programs for include MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, Expo Real, MAPIC, Cityscape Global, Smart Cities World Congress, Web Summit, Transport & Logistic Munich and Shanghai, the World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment, Select USA Washington DC and EU roadshow, CES Las Vegas, ICSC Las Vegas, SIAL Paris, Hannover Messe, Fakuma, K-Show, Paris Air Show, Farnborough International Airshow, METSTRADE and Breakbulk, among others.

    Jebal formerly consulted for leading global economic development and humanitarian entities and sub-entities connected to the UN, EU and USAID.

    Jebal has a bachelors in Political Science with a focus on international trade and investment policy, from the University of Toronto, and a Masters in International Development with a focus on MENA-region public-private trade and investment programs from the University of Amsterdam. He is fluent in English, Italian and Arabic and maintains a functional knowledge of Spanish.

Roger Birt

Roger Birt is an experienced economic development consultant with a proven track record in driving foreign direct investment (FDI) and facilitating growth for businesses and regions across the globe. With over six years of experience across leading FDI consultancies, Roger has developed a strong focus on lead generation, investor engagement, and high-impact event delivery.

Roger’s career has seen him work with major global investment promotion agencies and economic development stakeholders, delivering strategic outreach campaigns, managing investor pipelines, and supporting international events in key sectors such as transport, logistics, real estate, digital infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. His event portfolio includes global trade and investment platforms such as MIPIM, SelectUSA, Web Summit, BIO, Mobile World Congress, Hannover Messe, and the World Forum for FDI.

  • Roger has worked extensively across the Middle East, supporting major investment promotion initiatives and landmark projects under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. He has delivered international engagement for organisations including NEOM, New Murabba, Diriyah, King Salman Park, Roshn, and NIDLP, contributing to global campaigns and strategic meeting programmes at events such as MIPIM, Expo Real, Cityscape, and Transport & Logistics China. He also supported the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre ahead of their participation at MIPIM 2025, helping position them on the global stage through targeted investor engagement and tailored meeting delivery.

    Prior to joining Grow FDI, Roger held roles at international FDI consultancies including Wavteq, HMC Global, and ROI Research on Investment, and also worked in business development for early-stage tech companies. His global client relationships span Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia, and he brings a collaborative and outcomes-driven approach to each project he supports.

    Roger holds a degree in Business Management from The Open University.

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