Shadi Kandil, the CEO of OMD MENA, is to leave the agency in September.
Kandil, who has been with the agency for nine years, is to relocate to Canada with his family, although at present it is not known what his next position will be.
His current responsibilities will be redistributed amongst the OMD management team, with full details to be announced internally during the coming weeks. It is not known whether the CEO MENA position will be continued or scrapped.
Talking of his move, Kandil said: “I’m talking to Omnicom, we’re exploring various possibilities for me over there, but obviously I won’t be able to pin it down until I get to Canada and meet with the team. It’s a very sad moment for me. I’ve been at OMD for nine years, loved it, grown in it, and the whole team is more like family than anything else. And as an expatriate, nothing beats Dubai as a country to live in. But sometimes we have to do what we have to do.”
Kandil first worked at Integral in 2004 before joining OMD in 2007 as general manager of the Dubai office. He was promoted to managing director of the UAE operation in 2010 prior to being named MENA CEO last year. OMD is part of the Omnicom Media Group, which also includes PHD.
