McCann strengthens global creative leadership

McCann Worldgroup has announced it has hired Rob Reilly as Global Creative Chairman, and promoted Linus Karlsson to Creative Chairman of Commonwealth, the McCann Worldgroup agency dedicated to the global Chevrolet account. Also, Andreas Dahlqvist has been named Chief Creative Officer of Commonwealth and President of the McCann Creative Leadership Council. Karlsson and Dahlqvist respectively had been Chief Creative Officer and Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Global Brands, McCann Erickson.

In addition to his Commonwealth responsibilities, Karlsson will also be forming a new venture to be unveiled in the spring of 2014.

Reilly joins McCann Worldgroup from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, where he served as Partner/Worldwide Chief Creative Officer. In his new role, Reilly will be responsible for creative oversight of the McCann brand globally as well as developing multiplatform approaches by leveraging McCann Worldgroup’s broad capabilities and communications resources to help clients meet their creative challenges with precision and impact.

As President of the McCann Creative Leadership Council, Dahlqvist, in conjunction with Reilly, will be responsible for inspiring creative excellence throughout the network.

Es’hailSat to launch operations on Es’hail 1

Qatar-based satellite company Es’hailSat has announced commercial operations on its new satellite, Es’hail 1, will commence on December 30, 2013. The start of broadcast operations catering to the general public follows the commencement of Es’hail 1’s commercial service of the Al Jazeera Media Network channels in October.

Es’hailSat confirmed its sponsorship of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2014, which will coincide with live coverage on the Es’hail 1 satellite. The tournament, hosted by the Qatar Tennis Federation, will take place from December 30, 2013 through to January 4, 2014, and will be broadcast in high-definition across the Middle East and North Africa.

The satellite, launched in August from Kourou in French Guiana, will offer extended broadcast capacity of high-definition channels in the region. A second satellite, Es’hail 2, is due to launch in 2016.

F1 media rights for MENA handed to MP & Silva

Leading Media rights agency MP & Silva have acquired the exclusive media rights to all Formula 1 Grand Prix races, qualifying and practice sessions in the MENA region for a period of six years beginning with the 2014 Championship, until 2019.

“We are extremely honoured with this long-term relationship with Formula 1 as sales representatives for the FIA Formula one World Championship,” says Andrea Radrizzani, Founding Partner, MP & Silva. “This partnership is a recognition of our leadership in the sports media rights market and we look forward to supporting Formula One Management in furthering popularity in general, and guarantee improved audiences of F1 races in MENA.”

The deal includes more than 100 hours of programming every year for the territories of MENA, Romania and Poland, taking over from Abu Dhabi Media, who held the rights for the season that ended in 2013.

Forbes ME to celebrate Global Meets Local study

Forbes Middle East is to hold a grand celebration party tomorrow evening to recognise the significant impact made by the MENA region’s leading executives, which is revealed in its “Global Meets Local” study of the talent leading the MENA operations of some of the most renowned global corporations. The study includes the top 100 CEOs, directors and executive management driving the regional success of global corporations with established bases in the Middle East and North Africa.

“This study honours the region’s impressive talent pool heading up the MENA operations of global corporate powerhouses,” says Forbes Middle East’s Editor-in-Chief, Khuloud Al Omian. “These individuals and the companies that they are driving into the future are playing a vital role, not only in ensuring the success of their corporations, but that of their national and regional economies too.”

With the prestigious FORBES Global 2000 — a ranking of the biggest, most powerful, and most valuable publicly listed companies in the world — as a basis for research, the findings of Forbes Middle East’s innovative study highlight the significance of the MENA region and its top executives on the global corporate stage. The study culminates in a ranking of the top 100 MENA-based business leaders and executives at the helm of their companies. Complementing the ranking is a stellar lineup of 20 well-established professionals who, although yet to complete 12 months in their roles, boast impressive track records in their respective industries.

Al Jazeera America goes live

Qatar-based TV news channel, Al-Jazeera has made its debut in America today. In a move that is sure to cause very divided opinion, Al Jazeera America aims to shake up broadcast journalism market in the states, AFP has reported. Al-Jazeera America will reach more than 40 million households and vastly expands the footprint of the Doha-based media group, despite questions about how it will be received by American viewers.