MBC GROUP, a media company in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region announced today the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors of MBC Media Solutions (‘MMS’), the new in-house commercial and advertising sales unit, launched in partnership with Engineer Holding Group (‘EHG’).
The MMS executive management team will be led by Ahmed Al Sahhaf, who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Al Sahhaf joins with more than 15 years of expertise in the regional advertising and communications market where he was – until recently – the General Manager of STC’s Consumer Marketing Communication.
Nadim Samara also joins MMS as Chief Operating Officer, having previously been CEO of Dubai-based Omnicom Media Group (‘OMG’) MENA, he brings an in-depth understanding of the region’s advertising market.
On his part, Waleed El-Essawy becomes the Managing Director of the MMS operations in Egypt; he joins with a vast commercial advertising experience, including at CBC TV network in Egypt.
The MMS Board comprises five members: Mohammed Al Khereiji, CEO of AlArabia, owned by EHG; Mohammad Alghaith, Head of Strategy and M&A, AlArabia; Marc Antoine d’Halluin, Chief Executive Officer, MBC GROUP; Olivier Sage, Chief Revenue Officer, MBC Group; and Abdullah Jamjoom, Adviser to the Chairman, MBC GROUP. Mohammed Al Khereiji becomes the Chairman of the MMS Board and Marc Antoine d’Halluin, Chairman of the Board’s Executive Committee.
Commenting on the recent appointments, Waleed Al Ibrahim, Chairman, MBC GROUP said: “We have assembled a strong leadership team and put in place a comprehensive governance framework to take our new venture MMS forward. Under the Chairmanship of Mohammed Alkhereiji and Executive leadership of Ahmed Al Sahhaf, this comprises executives with proven expertise in the regional advertising market, coupled with in-depth knowledge of the global media industry.”
Al Ibrahim concluded: “We remain committed to offering client-partners integrated solutions across television, digital and OTT platforms. We look forward to launching MMS early next year.”
It’s worth noting that MBC Media Solutions begins its operations in November 2020 in order to best service MBC GROUP’s clients, from the beginning of 2021.
This new commercial and ad sales unit allows MBC to work more closely with clients, which include many of the world’s largest consumer brands, their marketing and advertising companies, and their media buying agencies.