Walid Kanaan has been named chief creative officer of TBWA\Raad.
Previously chief creative officer at Impact BBDO across the Levant and Saudi Arabia, Kanaan will lead TBWA\Raad’s creative teams throughout the region and will be based principally in Beirut and Dubai.
The appointment forms part of the agency’s wider transformation and represents a bid by TBWA\Raad to inject new life into its creative output.
“Walid is just the creative force we need to ramp up our firepower for clients throughout the MENA region,” said Reda Raad, CEO of TBWA\Raad Middle East. “This key appointment fulfils our future leadership vision and management structure, having recently put in place new managing directors at our Ketchum, Integer and Saudi Arabian operations.
“Walid’s creative energies and unparalleled experience serving local and multinational clients across the region and beyond will bring us an immediate competitive advantage. We are thrilled Walid has taken on the challenge.”
Kanaan has over 22 years of advertising experience in the Middle East and North Africa and has worked with blue chip clients in all key markets across the region.
“The MENA region is more volatile than ever in terms of business opportunities and new market directions and dynamics,” said Kanaan. “The environment is easily one of the most competitive in the world, which makes joining TBWA\Raad at this time in its impressive history a truly strategic career move.
“Empowering and inspiring the next generation of creative excellence in MENA is one of the prerogatives of today’s agency leadership. Identifying, nurturing and retaining the very best creative resources will be one of my first priorities.”
Ramzi Raad TBWA\Raad’s group chairman, added: “We are delighted to see our pledge to be the agency that changes the rules of communication in our markets, getting completed following the noticeable development that we’ve brought into the areas of strategic planning, dynamic integration and transparency. Walid will certainly help our group take its partnership with our clients to where we’ve always wanted it to be.”
