Two senior members of staff at Starcom MediaVest Group are to leave the agency.
Both Rayan Karaky and Rami Saad are to step down from their positions as chief digital officer and digital managing director of SMG MENA respectively.
Karaky is to join Google MENA in a senior leadership capacity, while Saad is heading to the Choueiri Group.
John Antoniades, CEO of SMG MENA, said: “Rayan first joined SMG more than a decade ago and has played a pivotal role in ensuring the company’s market leader-ship status. After launching Starcom IP – the digital arm of SMG – almost eight years ago, he founded the VivaKi Nerve Center MENA hub in 2009. In addition, Rayan successfully launched new media products such as Audience On Demand, the Pool and the Search hub.
“Since 2010, Rami has led SMG clients’ digital media strategies across the Middle East, building cross-functional digital abilities and adopting a holistic approach to capability and operation integration. We are immensely grateful to both Rayan and Rami for their valuable contribution over the years. On behalf of the entire SMG team, we wish them all the best as they begin their next chapter.”