TITLE: CEO, VML MENA
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 22 years
YEARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST REGION: 25 years
OTHER ROLES: IAA UAE Chapter President; WPP Executive Sponsor – Key Clients, MENA
POWER ESSAY: FROM HOLLYWOOD TO ADLAND – DATA, AI AND TALENT
Hollywood for many years now has been playing the “future predictor” or the psychic predicting many of technology’s evolutions and trends that we see today. Some might say the Simpsons did a better job, but that is a point of view.
For those who can remember movies from the 80s, 90s and 2000s, they all predicted innovative and groundbreaking technology and evolution that seemed so farfetched back then, which have now become our daily realities. When we look back at movies like Firefox, Minority Report, Total Recall, The Hunger Games, and many more, we realise that this was just a glimpse of the shape of things to come.
Most of these movies revolved around data and the power of collecting data to know more about people’s behaviour and how to enhance their lives or even control it.
While our industry today is far from the intent of those movies, we are increasingly seeing our reliance on data across all of our ecosystem in order to have a deeper understanding of the consumer, their needs, their engagement and ultimately their purchase cycle and how we can help a brand provide the ultimate customer experience by better understanding their clients and build loyalty and long-lasting relationships.
As agencies, we are all being evaluated today by our data capabilities and how it can amplify our creative ideas. Data is the new gold, and what used to take ages to collect, collate and analyse, also requiring major investments in hardware and software has become at everyone’s reach today.
We are all racing to invest in tools that can help us be at the forefront of this data first era we live in, but at the centre of all this is the investment in our talent, as they are the ones who will analyse, understand patterns and behaviours, and provide the best advice and recommendation to our partners and clients.
Data is also what AI needs to operate: the more you feed in the more it can generate tasks and improve on them. While many worry that AI might replace humans, and maybe in certain tasks it will, but let’s not forget that while AI can excel at specific tasks and can adapt and solve problems across many sectors, the human being still has the human intelligence that encompasses emotional understanding, creativity, empathy, complex social interactions that AI cannot replicate for now, at least in our industry.
Our industry is about the people, the interactions, the (human) storytelling, and the personal engagement that is still the main added value of our everyday encounters.
Many trends and innovative technologies emerged in the last few years, and many of those disappeared.
AI is here to stay and evolve and that’s for sure, but it will take a long time to replace humans in many parts of our business.
As much as we are all investing in systems and tools to improve our data and AI offerings, we should not forget that the biggest asset we have is our talent and this will remain so for the near future. Let’s keep our focus on them.
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Despite ongoing work challenges, everyday has a little bright moment that makes me feel proud of the team I work with, the added value we bring to our clients, and the recognition we receive.
RAPID FIRE
Focus for the next 12 months?
People and clients.
Buzzword we need to kill?
Growth.
Marketing needs to prioritise?
Clear objectives.
Top lesson learnt in 2024?
Nothing is constant.
Biggest blessing in your life?
Wife and children.
Value/principle that matters the most?
Fairness and Integrity.
Next travel destination?
Can’t disclose.
What is your pet peeve?
Big ego.
Who do you look up to?
My father.
Favourite restaurant in the Middle East?
Home food.
What are you reading?
Atlas Shrugged.
Favourite hobby?
Hiking/walking.
Top tip?
Stay healthy.
