NEW BOSS AT GREY
Leo Burnett’s Kamil Kuran takes over as regional group CEO.
Grey Group has announced the appointment of Kamil Kuran as group chief executive officer, Grey MENA. In his new role, he will report to Nirvik Singh, chairman and CEO, Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.
His is the third CEO announcement within WPP agencies in the region in a week, following the news that Sasan Saeidi will be the new Gulf CEO of J. Walter Thompson, and that Patou Nuytemans is to succeed Edmond Moutran at the helm of Memac Ogilvy.
In March, Nadim Khoury took over as CEO of Grey Advertising, MENA, replacing Eric Hanna. Khoury remains in his role; Kuran will be CEO at a group level, an increasingly important role following Grey’s purchase of Hug Digital in August and ahead of any other purchases the group may make.
“We are currently pushing forward in the MENA region with great momentum, and I am delighted to extend a very warm welcome to Kamil. A leader with incredible business acumen and a reputation for excellence, I have no doubt that he will play a significant role in facilitating the growth and presence of Grey in this region”, said Nirvik Singh, chairman and CEO, Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.
After completing his double masters in the US, Kuran joined Price Waterhouse USA as an IT management consultant in 1994.
In 1998, he made the move to advertising by joining Leo Burnett MENA as regional planning director. This was followed by his promotion to managing director in 2004, where he oversaw the Leo Burnett and MS&L operations in Lebanon. In 2006, Kuran was promoted to regional managing director, Levant, where his geographical role was expanded to incorporate Lebanon, Iraq, Syria & Jordan. In 2013, he was given the role of group regional MD for the Levant region at Publicis, MENA. Besides his responsibilities for Leo Burnett and MS&L, his purview included Optimedia and Publicis operations for the Levant countries.