The managing director of OMD UAE and Lower Gulf Nadim Samara has been promoted to the newly created role of CEO of OMD UAE as part of a raft of changes at senior level.
Samara has been with OMD for more than 15 years, he has risen from media planning executive in Saudi Arabia, taking positions in the UAE, Germany, the USA before returning to Dubai as general manager in 2012.
Under his leadership, OMD has picked up a number of big regional accounts including Nissan, flydubai and Abu Dhabi Commerical Bank.
Wissam Najjar, until now the managing director of OMD Levant, is relocating from Beirut to Dubai to take the newly created role of regional managing director for the Lower Gulf, Levant and Emerging Markets.
He will assume the additional responsibilities of the network’s operations in Kuwait and Qatar, as well as its expansion into new markets in MENA. Najjar is also a veteran of the OMD network, with roles in several markets in both investments and general management.
Both Samara and Najjar continue to report to Elie Khouri CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA, the holding of OMD.
Rachid El Khazen, until now director-Investments of OMD Lebanon, is being promoted to the position of general manager, taking over from and reporting to Najjar. El Kazen steps into his new role as OMD enjoys a strong position in the local market.
His task will be to continue increasing the sophistication of the portfolio of services and performance of the agency on its accounts.
“The OMD network is bursting with talent so it is hugely gratifying to see Nadim’s, Wissam’s and Rachid’s accomplishments being rewarded with promotions and new assignments,” said Elie Khouri, CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA. “While our market and industry are in the midst of a transformation, we see this as an opportunity to grow further. We have always focused on innovating and being future-ready. This is yet another expression of this aspect of our personality.”
These new promotions are effective from September 1.
