Appointments

Isobar MENA has announced that Karim Khalifa is stepping down as CEO of Isobar MENA, where he had been for the past three years after holding the same role at Digital Republic.

has been appointed to the role of managing director MENA, managing the Egypt and GCC operations based out of Dubai.

Ghorayeb has more than 17 years’ experience in the industry across leadership roles, most recently as head of product at Initiative MENA. His expertise lies in digital integration, strategy and content and he will be responsible for developing Isobar’s capabilities and product offering, with a focus on regional expansion to grow the agency.

GHORAYEB ZIAD

Khalifa joined Isobar after the acquisition of Digital Republic by Dentsu Aegis Network in May 2016. He will formally step down as CEO on 30 April, having remained on the board in an advisory capacity during the transition period.

CHABABI JAD

UM MENAT has announced

in a new role as general manager, UAE. His appointment comes as UM MENAT continues to strengthen the capabilities in its flagship operation and lead on key new initiatives such as integrating programmatic and performance talent into its teams.

Chababi joined MCN as regional business director for J3 MENA in 2014. At J3, he helped consolidate the Johnson & Johnson media business by winning the digital and social verticals of the brand, and expanded the remit of the Dubai team to include new markets in Africa and Turkey.

RASHA RTEIL

will be taking on the newly created role of regional director, people development at MCN Mediabrands. The role will focus on identifying future career pathways and the set of skills that align with it. Working with internal and external thoughtleaders, the role will help devise an organisationwide development plan to equip the teams for future success.

Rteil has been with the group for four years, starting as head of innovation at UM MENA, then becoming head of product. PR agency Instinctif Partners has expanded its MENA business, headquartered in Dubai.

KHALED FANSA

has joined the team as consultant. A native Arabic speaker with more than six years’ consultancy experience, he will support the team’s Arabic content and media relations strategies, Arabisation of international material and original copywriting.

has been hired as administration executive, joining from JP Morgan. She brings her HR experience in the fields of recruitment, compensation and benefits; and onboarding and offboarding of staff. She has also worked in marketing, supporting event promotions and product activations.

TONI FRANCISCO