Jad El Rabahi, Managing Director, IMPACT BBDO DubaiJad El Rabahi, Managing Director, IMPACT BBDO Dubai, has been recognised on Campaign Middle East’s 40 Over 40, which honours leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more.
This is not a ranking. It is the first edition of an annual platform created to spotlight senior industry figures aged 40 and older. They represent different disciplines and different leadership styles but are all builders of brands and businesses.
These have been recommended as caretakers of client trust and custodians of culture. The 40 over 40 list celebrates the people who have moved the needle – not for a season or for a single campaign cycle, but for several years.
Jad El Rabahi has been part of the BBDO network since 2009, holding senior roles across Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE before becoming managing director of Impact BBDO Dubai in 2023.
Over a career spanning more than 15 years, he has built teams across strategy, creative, account management, technology and social, overseeing portfolios across investment, technology, FMCG, retail and government.
El Rabahi believes big ideas build brands and that culture drives growth. He champions creativity as a force for change and has consistently reframed the client relationship as a true partnership rather than a service transaction.
During his tenure, Impact BBDO has continued to set the regional benchmark for creative excellence, being named MENA Network of the Year at Cannes Lions 2025 and Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx 2025. El Rabahi holds a BSc in Marketing from the Lebanese American University and is based in the UAE.
TOP ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS
As managing director for Impact BBDO Dubai, El Rabahi has driven growth across the units he leads over the past year, expanding existing client relationships and consolidating new business while keeping creative quality central.
He rebuilt how those units run day-to-day, restructuring teams, tightening delivery and turning transactional briefs into genuine strategic partnerships. When regional instability threatened operations, he kept the agency running seamlessly, protecting clients, teams and revenue.
CLIENT RECOMMENDATION
Khaled AlShehhi
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, UAE Government Media Office
When we created Bring Your Impossible together, what mattered most was not the brief or the deliverable, but the trust we built in the pursuit of something ambitious.
We launched it globally, and at every step, Jad was the leader I turned to, the one who held the vision, marshalled his teams, and made certain the partnership delivered.
He listens, challenges and brings clarity, honest and real discipline to complexity, protecting the work and the relationship in equal measure.
