Nathalie Gevresse, CEO, Publicis Communications UAE.Title: CEO, Publicis Communications UAE
Years in the role: 3 years
Years in the industry: 29 years
Years in the middle east region: 14 years
Power Essay: The beauty, the monster and the beat
Some music lyrics hit deeper than sound – some of them unforgettable, sudden, and sharp, reshaping a new perspective. Turning simple lines or words into a catalyst for deeper questions.
“Look. If you had one shot. Or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted …, ” Lose Yourself, Eminem.
AI today feels exactly like that. An open field at dawn: vast, uncharted, full of promises, relentless, unapologetic and risky. For marketing and creative agencies, it is a guerrilla field: fast, disruptive and unpredictable. It breaks barriers, accelerates ideas and rewrites the rules of speed and scale.
“I wanna be your slave, I wanna be your master. I wanna make your heartbeat run like a rollercoaster … ’Cause you can be a beauty, and I can be a monster,” I Wanna Be Your Slave, Måneskin.
True. AI is power, a monster adding fuel, testing faster, spotting trends before they break, scaling personalisation like oxygen and unlocking endless possibilities. A symbiotic partner in human creativity where we shape what is next with vision, judgment, empathy, imagination and emotion. And that’s hybrid intelligence. So, will the monster eat the beauty?
“Things aren’t the way they were before, you wouldn’t even recognise me anymore,” In the End, Linkin Park.
Countless apocalyptic articles, VIP quotes, or posts have declared the end of jobs destined to be eliminated by AI, along with our creative industry. It feels like a very old refrain. Today, even a CEO can be replaced. So what. The debate in the creative industry should be less about replacing jobs and more about redefining them at every level, in every department.
Will the current model of creative agency change? Absolutely, and it already has. Do we need to be scared? No. On the contrary, the real job, the essence of creativity has not changed. It is still about understanding people, their fears, their dreams, their contradictions and their emotions. It is still about partnering with brands. It is just the beginning of the next level.
And the narrative has clearly shifted. Once it was about adoption, now it is about selection: AI evolves faster than we breathe, and the exponential choice of tools becomes the challenge. Interesting
times ahead.
“In the Funhouse, I can’t never tell what’s real …,” Funhouse, Mothica.
Here’s the reality: without ethics, it is chaos. Ownership, authenticity and responsibility cannot be afterthoughts; they must be the compass. In a world intoxicated by speed and virality, the ones who will thrive are those who balance experimentation with accountability. AI is not the enemy of creativity; it is its amplifier, provided we respect the boundaries that protect trust, culture, brands, clients and people.
Highlight of the last year
The best achievement has been surrounding myself with exceptional talents and amazing teams, including recent joiners who are truly excellent. Seeing our talents thrive and grow after a few years together is the most rewarding aspect, far beyond KPIs, transformations, wins, or awards.
Rapid fire
What the industry needs to talk more about:
Responsibility, ownership and ethics.
What the industry needs to talk less about:
Ego stroking.
If you could change one thing in the blink of an eye, you would …
Remove silos.
What’s one thing about you that would surprise your team?
My eclectic music taste.
What mobile application can you not live without?
YouTube.
What word / phrase do people remember you for using the most?
“Everything happens for a reason.”
What’s one local / regional tradition that you love the most?
Hospitality.
If you could choose any two people, currently alive, in the world to share a meal with you, who would it be
My first-ever boss and my current boss.
What’s your top word of advice for Gen Z and Gen Alpha?
Be curious and have ethics.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Porridge with maple syrup.
What’s your favourite ad from the past 12 months?
Visa’s ‘Cash Walla Visa’.
