Campaign’s Media Faces to Watch 2026 – Karim Mallak, Senior Planning Executive, Hearts & Science
Campaign’s Media Faces to Watch 2026 – Karim Mallak, Senior Planning Executive, Hearts & Science
Age: 24
Country: United Arab Emirates
Nominated by Ibrahim Arulogun, Associate Director – Planning
Karim stands out for his strong strategic thinking and technical depth. He consistently demonstrates the ability to connect media performance with tangible business impact, ensuring campaigns are both efficient and effective. His structured approach to problem-solving, combined with curiosity for innovation and measurement, makes him a valuable asset on complex accounts. Karim takes ownership, collaborates seamlessly across teams, and maintains high standards of accountability. What differentiates him is his commitment to continuous improvement on processes. He is unquestionably one of the emerging talents to watch in 2026.
Career highlights
Karim Mallak has managed regional and international media strategies across major QSR, F&B, Hospitality, Retail, and Lifestyle clients such as KFC SA and Atlantis. He leads multi-market campaigns that deliver large-scale digital and OOH reach while driving measurable ROI and automation-led efficiencies. Recognized as Young Leader of the Year at Hearts & Science, Karim combines data-driven planning with creative media thinking, strong client partnerships, and contributions to new business growth. He builds scalable media solutions that balance performance, brand impact, and long-term client value.
Guiding principles
Stay curious, stay accountable, and keep learning. I believe great media strategies comes from understanding people, not just platforms. I focus on earning client trust, letting data guide decisions, and pushing for ideas that are simple, scalable, and impactful.
Side hustle
I develop AI and automation tools that simplify campaign reporting, pacing, insights, and setups. My goal is to continue creating scalable processes adopted agency-wide, improving efficiency, consistency, and performance while keeping the agency ahead of the competition.
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