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MCN MEDIABRANDS appoints new CEO 

MCN MEDIABRANDS has appointed Shadi Kandil to the role of Chief Executive Officer across the MENAT region. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, Shadi initially worked with Omnicom Media Group where he moved to the role of CEO OMD MENA. In his new role, Shadi will increase the MCN MEDIABRAND’s offering and contribute greater value to client businesses.

“I’m honoured and thrilled to lead MCN MEDIABRANDS across MENAT and to work with our talented and passionate team to advance our clients’ missions,” says Shadi. “We live in exciting times and this gives us greater incentive to effect change and build for the future.

UM MENAT appoints new Head of Client Partnerships 

UM MENAT has appointed Tom Hardstaff to the role of Head of Client Partnerships, UM MENAT. With a wealth of experience in communications, Tom most recently worked with UM MENAT as Head of Strategy where he was the key driver of UM’s “Better Science, Better Art, Better Outcome” philosophy and planning approach as well as being responsible for clients such as Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola, L’Oréal and Ooredoo. In his new role, Tom will increase his focus on evolving partnerships, lead on operational and strategic initiatives, develop business plans and continue to lead on strategy.

“Tom’s aptitude and experience have been invaluable to the agency’s success,” says Joe Nicolas, Regional Managing Director, UM MENAT. “As we embark on an exciting journey of transformation, his innovative thinking and pragmatic approach will be instrumental to drive our vision to lead change in the new normal.”

UM MENA promotes Rasha Rteil 

UM MENA has promoted Rasha Rteil to the role of Head of Product, MENAT. With a wealth of experience in digital media, Rasha most recently worked with UM MENA as Regional Innovation Director. In her new role, Rasha will lead on the agency’s ambitious agenda to continuously transform its product and partnerships while also steering the agency’s product solutions by providing input on the industry developments.

“Rasha’s regional leadership on innovation and her contribution to many parts of our business has been instrumental to our success,” says Joe Nicolas, Regional MD, UM MENAT. “We now look forward to seeing this being successfully extended in her new role where she will work closely with all function leads to further strengthen our position as market leader in this region.”

FP7/MENA wins big at Global Effie Awards 

Full-service advertising agency, FP7/MENA has received the Global Effie Award for the Most Awarded Agency Network in a Single Regional Competition. The awards took place on May 31, 2018 in New York City. The agency secured the award for FP7/DXB’s ranking as #2 Most Effective Agency Office Globally and FP7/CAI – FP7’s Cairo office– ranked #8 Most Effective Agency Globally.

“I’m completely honored and humbled at the same time – doing work that makes a meaningful difference for the brands that we represent is our job,” says Tarek Miknas, CEO, FP7/MENA. “Creativity that is not self-serving, nor made for award shows, but rather works to benefit both brand and consumer, is what makes us proud. That’s our True North. The fact that our Effie-winning work also wins at creative shows, goes to show that the complementary forces of effectiveness and creative brilliance, in our line of work, are two  sides of the same coin.”

Momentum/CAI appoints new Managing Director

Momentum, part of Middle East Communications Network (MCN) has promoted Lina Fateen to the role of Managing Director of its Cairo office, Momentum/CAI. Lina joined MCN in 2002 as a part of FP7/CAI and most recently held the role of Deputy Managing Director at Momentum, where she worked on relaunching the agency as a full independent brand experience agency. In her new role, she will report to MCN Egypt’s CEO, Sahar El Zoghby and lead her team to produce award winning work to drive clients’ business award-winning building a brand reputation and setting standards of excellence for future openings of Momentum across the MCN network.

“My career at MCN has been a fantastic journey of valuable insights and experiences enabling me to build and foster a successful organisation with the right people here at Momentum/CAI,” says Lina. “And now with the continued opportunity to lead this company, I am excited to unravel the next steps in developing strong synergies with our clients for further award winning success.”

Amr El Kalaawy gets promoted at FP7/CAI

Full-service advertising agency, FP7/MENA has promoted Amr El Kalaawy to the role of Managing Director of its Cairo office, FP7/CAI. With over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry in Egypt, Amr joined FP7/CAI in 2007 and most recently held the role of General Manager, where he aided in growing the digital offering and developing a creative vision for the agency. In his new role, he will report to FP7/CAI’s CEO, Sahar El Zoghby and work towards enabling valuable collaborations with sister agencies leading to a richer, integrated product offering for current and future clients.

“I look forward to expanding FP7/CAI’s business and leveraging our relationship with our sister agencies within MCN Holding as we look to help clients exploit the changes we are seeing in today’s dynamic & digital market,” says Amr.

Jad Chababi promoted at J3

J3, part of UM MENA has promoted Jad Chababi to the role of General Manager of Africa, Middle East and Turkey (AMET). Having joined J3 in 2014, Jad most recently held the role of Regional Business Director, where he worked on the strategic and tactical development of the Johnson & Johnson brand across the region. In his new role, he will lead the rollout of the J3 partnership in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey to drive business across the region and help the creation of a solid organisational structure in all markets. He will also focus on upgrading the product offering across the region to ensure performance consistency while maintaining a strong position across the region.

“Jad Chababi has played a pivotal role in our partnership with Johnson & Johnson in the MENA region and we look forward to seeing this being successfully extended in newer markets,” says Joe Nicolas, Regional Managing Director, UM MENAT. “Due to his impeccable business acumen and senior marketing expertise, Jad has successfully provided significant value creation opportunities for Johnson & Johnson, positioning them as a market leader and enhancing our competitive position as an agency in this region.”

Assaad Kassis takes on new role at UM MENA

UM MENA has appointed Assaad Kassis to the role of General Manager of its Saudi Arabia office. Having joined UM MENA’s Dubai office in 2010, Assaad most recently held the role of Regional Business Director, where he managed brands such as L’Oreal, Hershey’s and The Coca-Cola Company. In his new role, he will focus on growing the local business of UM MENA by augmenting the implementation of their product services for existing client business and simultaneously focusing on new acquisition. He will also work on ensuring UM’s regional client teams have heightened on-ground presence and are consistently plugged in with the local Saudi Arabian market.

“I can’t think of a better candidate than Assaad to lead our Saudi Arabia office at a time where our focus will be to continue strengthening our product line for local partners and expand our operations,” says Joe Nicolas, Regional Managing Director, UM MENA. “This is also an extremely exciting change for our Saudi Arabia office as Assaad has proven to be highly pragmatic and an organisational visionary and he will definitely be taking that with him in his new role.”