Anup Oommen, Editor, Campaign Middle East.Campaign Middle East’s July 2026 edition is its inaugural 40 over 40 edition – an annual initiative meant to spotlight senior industry leaders aged 40 and older, who have already dedicated 15 years or more of their lives to building the region’s brand, marketing, advertising, creative, media, digital, communications and experiential landscape.
We recognise unsung heroes who have stayed the course. They have seen markets rise, reset and reinvent themselves. They have helped clients navigate changing consumer behaviour, platform and channel shifts, economic pressure, advancing technologies and digital transformation. They have challenged briefs, delivered client outcomes, established long-lasting relationships and met the demand for disruptive and differentiated work.
While this edition recognises stellar, market-moving leadership and excellent long-term contributions to the industry, it also responds to a greater call for recognition, transparency and inclusivity in the brand and marketing industry. It offers the opportunity for a larger number of brand builders, guardians of client trust, culture carriers and quiet operators of well-oiled marketing machines to be praised out in the open.
But what makes this initiative different? Leaders have spoken, and we have listened. In a largely pay-to-play regional media landscape, Campaign Middle East has chosen a different route.
From 2026 onwards, The MENA Power List – to be revealed in the October magazine – and the newly announced 40 over 40 annual list will be editorially led rather than commercially driven.
The MENA Power List – true to its name – will bring together the most powerful C-suite leaders at huge holding companies, influential network groups, and standalone independent agencies who have more than 20 years of experience in the industry and have been recommended by a panel of their peers and competitors.
Meanwhile, the 40 over 40 initiative opens the door for client-recommended agency leaders who have shaped the industry consistently for more than a decade and a half.
These lists are not rankings; all the names have been arranged alphabetically by last name. They are not meant to be definitive either, making room for different leaders to be featured in these pages when the list returns next year.
This first edition is a starting point. It will grow. It will evolve. For now, we ask you to recognise these leaders. Look beyond the titles. Look at the lessons learned through pressure, patience and practice. Congratulate them and wish them well.
And when you’re done poring through the 40 over 40 list, have a look at our coverage of destination marketing, as well as our annual Audio Guide 2026. Happy reading!
