MUMBAI: In order to drive growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), GroupM has appointed Filip Jabbour as CEO for the region.

Based in Dubai, Jabbour will begin his new role from June and report to GroupM Europe, Middle East & North Africa CEO Dominic Grainger.

In his new post, Jabbour will be responsible for developing GroupM’s strategy and accelerating the growth of its media agencies Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, and BPG Maxus across the region.

Jabbour will launch operations to leverage GroupM’s scale and accelerate development of media agency offerings with focus on developments in digital, technology, and data management, as well as partnerships with media, entertainment and sports rights owners to create additional value and drive advantages for clients.

Jabbour joins GroupM from the US-based Spark where he was executive vice president and managing director. He was also previously with Starcom MediaVest Group as global business development director, where he spearheaded strategy with clients and drove new business internationally. He held leadership roles at Starcom since 2005, including being MENA CEO where he drove successful business across the region.

“MENA is a diverse and dynamic region, with fantastic growth opportunities for our clients. Filip’s track record with blue chip clients, developing communications offers for the future and building relationships make him well suited to further develop and lead our regional operations. His experience, along with his strategic thinking and interest in developing an innovative future-facing business, make him an ideal cultural fit for GroupM and just the right leader to collaborate closely with our agencies to drive additional benefits and growth for our clients in the region,” said Grainger.

Jabbour added, “The opportunity to join the world’s leading media investment management group to lead development in the exciting and fast-growing MENA market is thrilling. GroupM agencies operating in MENA are distinguished by their winning track records, and I am keen to help accelerate their pace by harnessing the absolute best digital, technology, data and content solutions available. I’m looking forward to integrating learning from work in the US and across global markets, with specific experiences developed by being part of the MENA region that has shaped my career for 18 years.”