Here is Campaign Middle East’s inaugural 40 over 40 list, an annual initiative starting 2026. This new annual initiative bears a simple purpose: to recognise leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more, often silently and steadily without applause.
This is not a ranking. It is not a hierarchy. It is not a definitive roll call of every accomplished leader in the region. It is the first edition of an annual platform created to spotlight senior industry figures aged 40 and older, representing different disciplines and different leadership styles, but who are all builders of brands and businesses.
These leaders have become caretakers of client trust and custodians of culture. Their influence is seen most evidently in closed rooms and felt most tangibly in the careers of the people they have mentored.
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.
They have helped shape agencies, advise brands, grow teams, win new business, protect existing relationships and raise industry standards. They have carried institutional memory while adapting to new rules. They have proven that leadership is not only about visibility; it is also about responsibility.
These are leaders who have shown that the market is not only shaped only by moments of disruption, but also through the right advise at the right time from people who show up – constantly and consistently – and keep the candle burning long after the spotlight fades.
Campaign Middle East recognises and honours each of these leaders who’ve made it to the 40 Over 40 2026 list.
Saad Abu Touq, Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy
Saleh Agha, Managing Director, OMD UAE
Tariq Al Sharabi, Executive Advisor, Cicero & Bernay
Hessa Al Sudairy, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Communications KSA
Ibrahim Al-Mutawa, Cofounder & Managing Partner, Jummar PR
Muhammad Ali, Executive Creative Director, Leo UAE
Tarek Ali Ahmad, Managing Director, FP7 McCANN UAE
Bandar Altuwairqi, Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer, Habbar
Souheil Arabi, CEO, BPG Kuwait
Antonio Boulos, President MENA, Frontline BPN
Naveen Chacko Mathews, General Manager, Havas Media Group
David Do Rosario, SVP Digital, Havas Media Middle East
Karen Doumet, Regional Managing Director, PHD MENA
Jad El Rabahi, Managing Director, Impact BBDO Dubai
Layal El Sayed, Business Director, C2 Comms
Tarek Esper, Managing Director/ Head of Agency, SOCIALEYEZ
Marc Ghosn, President, Client Solutions MENA & Head of WPP Amazon Opendoor MENAT, Wavemaker
Majdi Ghraizi, Co-Founder & General Manager, Bold Influence
Loma Jaber, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Hewar Group
Razmik Kalaidjian, Regional Managing Director, Boopin
Lea Koyess, General Manager, UM Dubai
Joe Lahham, Managing Director, TBWA\RAAD
Alex Lopes, Media Director, Interesting Times
Kinloch Magowan, Managing Partner, Assembly
Nadine Matar, Head of Strategy & Insights, Publicis Middle East
Moustapha Mikaty, Managing Director, FP7McCANN Doha
Ramy Mouganie, Client Leadership Director, Fusion5
Reham Mufleh, Managing Director, Horizon FCB
Carlos Nadal, Managing Director, Havas Creative UAE, Havas Creative UAE
Piero Poli, Chief Executive Officer, Viola Communications
Santadip Roy, Regional Managing Director, Magna Global MENA
Mathilda Saad, Acting Deputy MD, MENA Private Sector, APCO
Abdallah Safieddine, Senior VP, UAE & Lower Gulf, Mindshare
Aasim Shaik, Managing Director, LPS
Natalie Shardan, Managing Partner, Serviceplan Middle East
Uli Stanke, Managing Director, MCH Global
Rishi Talwalker, Head of Communications – Corporate/Consumer & Strategy, HAVAS Red Middle East
