Appointments
Regional creative communications network Memac Ogilvy has named as its new regional managing director for Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iraq. The promotion of the eight-year Ogilvy man comes as the agency sharpens its focus on the region’s growth markets and continues to drive its ‘Next Chapter’ evolution forward.
In his new role, Abboud will unite and guide the network’s Jeddah, Riyadh, Beirut and Baghdad offices. The move demonstrates Ogilvy’s ongoing success in creating a bold new industry model for the integrated creative network. The end goal from this evolution is to deliver modern marketing services more effectively and efficiently across the entire network.
Supporting this mission will be the deputy MD of KSA and the GM of Lebanon, who will both report directly to Abboud. Together, they will draw from their depth and breadth of experience to reinforce Ogilvy’s position as the region’s premier communications consultancy, ensuring the network delivers on its unquenchable ambition to ‘Make brands matter’.
SAMER ABBOUD
Brand agency MBLM has announced the transfer of
to its Dubai office from the United States. Alhabsy has
ALHABSY LYUTHA
joined MBLM’s Dubai office as executive director and is responsible for both business development and overseeing the firm’s roster of clients.
“We are very pleased to welcome Lyutha into our Dubai office, and we look forward to the expertise and knowledge she will bring from her time in New York”, said William Shintani, managing partner in MBLM Dubai. “We have no doubt that Lyutha will deliver fantastic services to our clients across the GCC”. Alhabsy is an Omani national with more than a decade of professional branding experience spanning industries and geographies. Since joining MBLM in 2012, she has led the accounts team in New York. B4U Network is pleased to announce that
chief commercial officer – India, will now take on the additional role of business head, MENA (Middle East and North Africa). He will now handle the profit centre and sales of Aflam and Plus channels (MENA region) along with sales for India.
CHINAPPA, MOSES FRANCIS
Streaming service Deezer has announced that is joining the company on April 1 as CEO for the MENA and Turkey region. He will be responsible for growing Deezer’s B2B and advertising business in the region, working closely with the company’s global product, marketing and content teams to bring the company’s local strategy to life.
Mounir joins Deezer from Turner, an international broadcast media company, where he spent more than eight years successfully growing the business in MENA, Turkey, Greece
TAREK MOUNIR
and Cyprus. Following a successful launch in the MENA region in October 2018, Deezer will open an office in Dubai in Q1 2019 to serve as a hub for its work in the region. The company is in the process of recruiting a number of local employees in various marketing, communication and business development roles and already has team members in place to manage industry relations and local editorial content. Trampoline and entertainment park company Bounce Middle East has appointed as head of marketing for the region. With more than 10 years of experience in the region, Kfouri has worked in an array of industries; from FMCG, luxury branding and real estate to, more recently, entertainment. In her previous role as marketing director of La Perle, she was responsible for the launch of Dubai’s and the region’s first resident show in 2017.
DINA KFOURI
Following a recent streak of hires, Lightblue has appointed
to the role of creative director. With more than a decade spent in the UAE, Rodbard spearheaded the experiential marketing initiatives of some of the world’s most recognisable brands
RODBARD JASON
(Louvre Abu Dhabi, Porsche, Aldar Properties and Expo 2020). Hypermedia is pleased to announce the appointment of
as managing director. He will be managing the sales operation while bringing along his extensive experience and know-how over 18 years in sales and development. In 2004, Rustom joined Al Khaleejiah Advertising and Publishing in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, then moved to Dubai to join Kassab Media. In 2014 he assumed the role of chief commercial officer.
RUSTOM GHADA EL-KARI GERARD
has been announced as managing director of RedPeg Middle East. A native of Lebanon, El-Khari has a Bachelor of Arts in communication arts from the Lebanese American University in Beirut, a degree in graphic design and an exceptional career spanning 25 years, which has taken her from agency life to luxury brands and once again back to the agency world. Her previous roles were primarily focused on luxury goods, where she held senior positions at Tiffany & Co., Porsche and Promoseven Weber Shandwick across the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, CIS, Russia and the Indian sub-continent.