Creative agency Leo Burnett Dubai has announced the appointment of Muhammad Ali as its new Executive Creative Director. In this role, Ali will be responsible for leading and overseeing the creative output and growth across the Leo Burnett Dubai portfolio.
Ali brings with him more than 15 years of experience in the industry, having previously held the position of Executive Creative Director at Keko Dubai and Senior Creative Director at Momentum Worldwide.
“This was a key appointment for us, as the role encompasses some of our biggest accounts,” says Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, Kalpesh Patankar. “He has played a stellar role in creating some of the most successful campaigns in the region. We are sure that at Leo Burnett he will find the exceptional freedom, team spirit, and camaraderie to take the agency’s work to the next level. We are delighted to have him on our team.”
During his career, Ali worked on several campaigns, he took the UAE flag to the edge of space for Al Hilal Bank, created Subway’s Sandwich Nation campaign, turned Kevin Hart into the world’s first-ever Chief Island Officer, and led globally recognised campaigns for Porsche. He has also played a key role in bringing some of the most viral and effective destination campaigns to life for Yas Island.
Nathalie Gevresse, CEO of Publicis Communications UAE, said, “Muhammad has a proven track record of creating exceptional campaigns that resonate with audiences. His deep empathy for human behaviour and his ability to convert that into powerful stories make him one of the best talents the industry has seen so far, and we are thrilled to have him on board.”
Commenting on his new role, Muhammad Ali said, “I’m excited to join the creative forces at Leo Burnett. The team has produced some extraordinary work, and I look forward to building on that success.” He added, “As Kobe Bryant once said, ‘We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not here to do what’s normal.’ Fortunately, Publicis is not here to do what’s normal either.”
Throughout his career, Ali has been the recipient of numerous industry accolades, including the Young Lions, Young Lynx, IAA, Dubai Lynx, MENA Cristal, MEPRA, MENA Digital and MENA Effies. He has also been selected as Grand Jury for New York Festivals, IAA and Young Lions.
