Here is the second group of the Middle East’s top media talent aged 30 or under:
Elie Milan 29 Omar Madi 29, Associate director, performance media, and director, digital performance Starcom
Milan hadn’t set foot in a media agency before joining Starcom in 2012, coming from the distant universe of supply chain consultancy. Yet, somehow he seemed like the natural choice to lead the agency’s newly established social performance unit. Today, the unit is a Starcom success story with a dozen chic geeks providing best-in-class service to over 80 brands across the Middle East and North Africa and the world. Meanwhile, Milan is preparing to take on new challenges in native advertising and addressable media.
Madi’s passion for digital performance marketing was ignited when he joined a leading Middle East dot-com in 2007, where he was responsible for generating leads and sales across different digital channels. He then moved on to join Starcom and established the search and performance unit back in 2010. Rising through the ranks, Madi is one of Starcom’s homegrown talents and currently leads the performance team overlooking paid search, SEO and eCommerce.
Roxanne Gahol 25 Ahmed Aly 27, Senior planning executive and regional manager of media planning OMD
Gahol is a savvy hybrid fluent across online and offline, a high level strategic thinker, and a dedicated innovator that always aims to disrupt traditional communication approaches. No wonder OMD cherishes her.
The lead on one of Henkel’s fastest growing brands – Persil Abaya Shampoo – she creates compelling brand stories that contribute to the brand’s success. And that’s nowhere near the last of it either. She also won an OMD award for ‘advancing data and analytics’ and became one of the agency’s rising stars for championing innovation in data, digital and all components of planning. “She is passionate, dedicated and a hard worker that doesn’t settle for the status quo,” says Farah Moumneh, senior director at OMD UAE. “Her achievements go beyond just media planning excellence and into the area of communication consultancy by always aiming to provide as much data-driven insight and tailored strategic solutions as possible.”
Gahol’s colleague Aly may say his heart is Egyptian and his soul is French, but he has contributed to the winning of over 25 awards for PepsiCo and last year was part of the team that landed the agency’s ‘advancing creativity’ award for its enhanced performance on the PepsiCo account in terms of innovation. “Ahmed does not say no to any challenge, he always find a way around things, and always comes back with unexpected solutions,” says Maher Ghazal, business unit director at OMD. “He takes ownership of the projects he works on – he is not part of the process, he leads the process.”
Alexandra de Smet 27 Ali Berjawi 28,Digital media supervisor and associate director Initiative UAE
Initiative’s de Smet lives a double life. One as a digital supervisor leading digital media activities across the region for one of Initiative’s key accounts. The other as a dancer. While her passion for media is reflected in her desire to go beyond traditional boundaries, resulting in excellent campaigns over the past year, her passion for dance is reflected in salsa.
She co-owns one of the leading dance schools in the United Arab Emirates and has travelled the world to perform at some of the most prestigious salsa events out there. Whether she’s dancing on stage or giving a media presentation, she owns the floor, telling a story beyond orchestrated choreography and straight from the soul. “Alex’s passion and dedication are second to none, and this can be felt by both her team and her clients,” says Saad Nahas, associate media director at Initiative.
Berjawi, on the other hand, joined the Initiative team after graduating from AUB eight years ago and has since become one of the key team leaders at the agency, servicing a wide portfolio of global and regional clients. He was the youngest professional to be awarded the certification of creative leadership via a one-year study programme conducted by MCN for top executives in the network, and is the only team member who chased an MBA degree while remaining full-time in his job.
Zaher Hatoum 29, Digital manager Mindshare Saudi Arabia
Hatoum joined Mindshare in September 2013 as a senior executive in the digital department. Within three years he had become a senior manager, leading on the agency’s main accounts, and has made something of a name for himself in Saudi Arabia.
His work includes the Al Nahda first municipality women’s election campaign, which resulted in one million video views in five days and exceeded participation projections by 12 per cent; a campaign for the Gracie Barra martial arts school in Saudi Arabia, which overshot subscription targets by 650 per cent; and an online auction mechanism where the price of an item was lowered with every customer tweet and bypassed auction restrictions in the kingdom.
“Zaher’s adaptive thinking and approach that he always applies when dealing with challenges ahead is a testament to his hard work and dedication,” says Tony Bourached, regional head of digital at Mindshare MENA. “A true representation of what Mindshare’s employees’ spirit is all about.”
Ala’ Hijazi 27 Hameed Yousuf 27, Digital manager and senior digital manager BPG | Maxus
“Hameed is everywhere and into everything,” says Satish Mayya, chief executive at BPG | Maxus. “He symbolises the digital era well and also gets recognition in whatever he does. Curiosity and adventure inspire him and he will truly do well in the ever-changing dynamic media landscape.”
Yousuf is a BPG phenomenon and a digital obsessive. Not only did he represent the agency’s Dubai office at Maxus Endeavour 2014, a global Maxus programme, but was the winner of the BPG X Factor challenge and will be representing the agency at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity in June. Not bad for a man who is still only 27 years old.
Hijazi, meanwhile is a Saudi national who last year handled the digital business for BPG | Maxus’s biggest luxury brand – Omega and Swatch Group. “Ala’ is a Saudi national, and despite all odds she has emerged as a curious learner,” says Mayya of Hijazi. “An avid social media consumer herself, she enjoys breaking set boundaries in her work. As a digital specialist, not acknowledging boundaries is an attitude that will take her places.”