Naveen Chacko Mathews, Managing Director, HAVAS Media Middle EastNaveen Chacko Mathews, Managing Director, HAVAS Media Middle East, 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.
Naveen Chacko Mathews is a globally accomplished media and strategic marketing executive with more than two decades of experience driving business transformation, integrated communications, and marketing effectiveness across regional and international markets.
With a rare blend of agency and client-side leadership experience, he brings a truly 360-degree perspective to modern marketing – combining strategic vision, commercial acumen, operational depth and specialist expertise across media, creative, PR, data
and digital ecosystems.
As the general manager at Havas Media Group, based in Dubai, Mathews leads regional growth, strategic transformation and integrated marketing solutions for some of the world’s most influential brands.
TOP ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Mathews led a 14 per cent growth in overall regional business performance over the past 12 months, driven through a combination of strategic new business acquisition, expanded service integration and strengthened partnerships across existing clients, while consistently maintaining client satisfaction scores above the 8+ benchmark.
One of his achievements has been the role he played in successfully re-securing Emirates for Havas, helping re-establish one of the industry’s most significant strategic partnerships.
CLIENT RECOMMENDATION
Namitha Utham
Head of Media, Emirates Group
In an industry often shaped by hype, Naveen brings a level of critical thinking that is both rare and much needed in our line of work. He has a strong ability to distinguish meaningful trends from passing fads, and genuine substance from surface-level noise.
As a leader, he takes an inherently people-first approach, creating the conditions for those around him to thrive. This matters because there is nothing more valuable than working with people who are passionate, knowledgeable and genuinely happy.
