Cheil UK is powering the latest stage if its growth with a succession strategy that sees managing director Matt Pye take on a wider remit.

The move, which follows Chris Harris’s decision of to step down as president and COO of Cheil Europe, will see Pye lead a top-tier team that includes Logan Wilmont as executive creative director, Daniele Fiandaca as head of innovation, Peter Martin as director of shopper, Simon Hathaway as European president, shopper marketing and retail operations, and Tony Evans as head of planning.

Harris said: ‘It’s an awesome senior line-up brought together through an 18-month investment in the best talent in the industry to offer clients outstanding levels of creativity, planning and strategy, coupled with impeccable delivery to move their businesses forward.  This has been a deliberate strategy – I knew when I joined that this would be my last role in advertising and my intent was to build a team that could carry on without me.

‘Over the past two years, this agency has almost doubled in size, and made enormous progress in its capabilities. Growth has been driven by stellar campaigns such as the Olympics work for Samsung as well as the NX/We are David Bailey campaign, to name just two of the highlights of last year. So I’m not leaving for negative reasons – and I’m not leaving to go to another agency. After 33 years in advertising, I’m leaving the sector to do something completely new to me and I don’t yet know what that will be. What I do know is that I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and very excited for the future potential. It’s testament to Matt’s brilliant contribution that he’ll be taking it on.’

Pye added: ‘Chris leaves the agency in great shape – the team we’ve created is already proving potent, as witnessed by our growth. My focus will be to maintain this momentum in 2013 by continuing to grow our relationship with Samsung balanced with an ambitious new business strategy. Pitch activity is picking up, and we’re already lining up against the big names in advertising.  Needless to say, our commitment to delivering quality for our clients through great talent is ongoing – we’ll be announcing key new appointments over the next few weeks.’

Harris will remain with Cheil in a consultancy role until June.

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards®, now in its 56th year, announced four additional appointments to the 2013 Executive Jury. This elite group of worldwide chief creative officers and executive creative directors will convene in New York City April 27th through May 1st to select the World’s Best Advertising® across all mediums from the shortlist selected by the online Grand Jury.

Recent Executive Jury appointments include:

·Warren Brown, Creative Founder, BMF Sydney, Australia

·Chris Garbutt, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Paris

·Guido Heffels,  Chief Creative Officer, Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH

·Diane Ruggie, Creative Director & Partner, Velocebella, USA

“The 2013 Executive Jury is an incredibly impressive group of international CCO’s and executive creative directors, this ‘dream team’ will make certain that any agency earning an award in this year’s competition will truly merit the title of The World’s Best Advertising®,” said Michael O’Rourke, President International Awards Group/New York Festivals.

Award-winning entries will be announced at the New York Show™ awards presentation on Thursday, May 2rd, 2013. The New York Show, a two-day series of creative events, will take place at the landmark New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts building, located at 455 Fifth Avenue, at 40th Street in New York City. Festivities will be held on Wednesday and Thursday May 1st and 2nd, and includes the Executive Jury Press Conference, keynote speakers, creative panel discussions, networking events, and exhibits of the Shortlisted work. Thursday evening features the 2013 New York Show awards ceremony and after-party to honor the winners in true New York style.

TBWARAAD announced its formal affiliation with one of Tunisia's leading communication agencies, Point Carré. Now operating under the name TBWAPOINTCARRE, Point Carré marks the 15th agency to join the TBWA MENA Network.

The alliance will build on existing collaboration between the two agencies in the MENA region.

TBWARAAD recognizes North Africa as a key market for growth, with strong existing agencies in both Morocco and Algeria.

"Our affiliation with Point Carré is a celebration for TBWARAAD as it marks the completion of our North African market presence," said TBWARAAD Chairman & CEO, Ramzi Raad.

"Working with Point Carré will strengthen our dynamic service offerings to clients in this very active market and allow TBWARAAD to tap into, and help evolve the wealth of young professional talent in Tunisia. TBWA is proud to be a part of such a passionate and creative market, which is making its mark on the regional and even the international stage," he added.

Founded in 1996 by Mrs. Rym Gaddas Milad, Point Carré is a 27 strong team, which offers clients the full spectrum of advertising services; including Strategic Planning, Creative and Studio, Media, Traffic, BTL and Event Management.

Rym, founder and CEO of the Tunisian agency said, "This is an exciting time for the agency and the team. Joining the TBWA network is an important step in the development of our talent and creativity. TBWA's global reach and experience will provide an excellent platform from which we can showcase the spirit of communication in Tunisia and contribute to TBWARAAD's market-leading position in the MENA region."

YahLive, the High Definition television satellite broadcast platform and 'Home of HD' for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, announced that it has expanded its distribution network of YahLive certified satellite television dealers and dish installation technicians to nearly 500, making its exclusively HD TV channels available to more MENA households.

An estimated 300 technicians were certified recently in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam alone, as part of its GCC YahLive HD Academy Roadshow, which provides proprietary technical training in HD TV and dish installation.

Broadcasting from the powerful Yahsat satellite Y1A at 52.5° East, Abu Dhabi-based YahLive aims to create an extensive MENA HD installation network to support the region's growing HD broadcast demand.

Following the successful completion of the three KSA events and one in Kuwait city and Dubai, YahLive plans to complete a total of 24 HD Academy events in 2013 with the goal of growing its dish installer network to an estimated 2,000 installer by the end of the year.

Mohamed Youssif, YahLive's Chief Executive Officer commented: "While the UAE's broadcast market and infrastructure has been more conducive to HD conversion, the KSA market is also quickly catching up and is similarly witnessing the dynamic growth of the broadcast sector, specifically in HD. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and Information has recognized this growth and demand for HD broadcasts and is undertaking various initiatives to support the migration to HD. Our partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Information began last year with six Saudi TV channels being broadcast in High Definition (HD), exclusively on YahLive's satellite platform. We launched the YahLive HD Academy in response to the HD revolution taking place across the region and to make the YahLive HD experience as accessible to as many TV viewers as possible and to support the future demand from consumers and broadcasters alike through an extensive network of partners, dealers and installers."

YahLive leads the MENA region with the most number of HD channels on its platform. Currently, it has an exclusively HD bouquet of nearly 50 quality channels, including those from MBC, Saudi TV, GEM Group, Dubai Media Incorporated, Abu Dhabi TV, Cartoon Network Arabic, Russia Today, and Russia Al Youm.

Frost & Sullivan continued its Journey to Visionary Innovation at its Flagship event, GIL 2013: Middle East, The Global Community of Growth, Innovation and Leadership at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, U.AE. The powerful Summit focused on ‘Discovering the Next BIG Thing: Leveraging Mega Trend Opportunities to Grow and Innovate Today, Tomorrow and Beyond’ and witnessed participation from 100+ ‘C’ Level senior delegates across various industry verticals with Frost & Sullivan Thought Leaders guiding them through engaging and thought provoking sessions and solution/tool-based interactive workshops. 

Frost & Sullivan recognised “Best-in-Class” organisations across the ICT, Industrial Automation, Healthcare, and Transportation and Logistics space based on detailed best practices research conducted by Frost & Sullivan across these segments in the year 2012. 

The 2013 Visionaries, Innovators and Leaders Recognised at GIL 2013: Middle East: 

The day began with a Keynote presentation by Mr. Aroop Zutshi, Global President and Managing Partner, Frost & Sullivan, who set the stage by sharing his insights on ‘The Journey to Visionary Innovation’. This was followed by a workshop that used Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Excellence Matrix tool to help companies measure their future growth potential. In his keynote speech, he highlighted the significance of leveraging innovation to survive in the future business environment. How to create a foundation for Innovation, how can Corporate Enlightenment stifle success, what do companies need to do today, were some of the key questions he addressed through his session. 

Recommending future business strategies to companies, Aroop said, “Organisations need to look at continuous innovation to achieve long term sustainable growth. We at Frost & Sullivan believe that focus on industry convergence will uncover new and emerging areas of revenues”. 

Frost & Sullivan Partner and Director, Dorman Followwill’s Mega Trends presentation provided insight on the mega forces that are transformative and are driving convergence. The presentation emphasised the significance of these Mega Trends in Strategy Development and Implementation. The highlight of the presentation was Middle East specific Mega Trends such as Transcontinental Power Generation, Water Energy Nexus and Food Security. 

The Event also witnessed a Growth Success Story: ‘Creating New Possibilities, How Logistics Service Providers can add Value to their Manufacturers’ by Joseph F. Lee, Managing Director, Middle East, APL Logistics.

Andrew Baul-Lewis, Director, MENA, Information and Communication Technologies practice, Frost & Sullivan, supported the vision and need for an environment of Innovation shared by Aroop, by sharing the Top 50 Technologies and Innovations that will reshape our world in the future. His thought provoking presentation “TechVision 2020” gave an insight into how top emerging and innovative technologies will impact Industries, Strategies and Business Decisions in the Middle East. 

The highlights of the evening were the two workshops that focused on Strategy Development and Implementation. Amongst the various growth processes that companies could consider, Frost & Sullivan chose Geographic Expansion as one of the key processes, and assisted companies with various tools that could help them chart out their roadmap. Co-facilitated by, Mark Simoncelli, Global Director, Growth Implementation Solutions, Frost & Sullivan and Samita Khawar Head of Growth Implementation Solutions, Frost & Sullivan, MENA, the workshops were very well received by participating delegates. 

According to Y.S. Shashidhar, Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Frost & Sullivan, “It is important for companies in the Middle East to understand the global forces that are driving change, especially in today’s competitive environment, where we are living in an ’Uncertain yet Interconnected World‘.” They also need to understand the risks involved, if they do not gear themselves for this change today. Through our workshops, it is our effort to get companies to think beyond, take into account technologies and innovation that we will witness in the next decade and thereafter develop an implementable growth strategy. ” 

Frost & Sullivan's GIL Community is the only global network of its kind providing CEOs and their management teams all of the essential tools, strategies, and best practices to accomplish their long term growth objectives. To date, the GIL Global Community supports over 5,000 senior executives across 42-industry sectors across the globe on their quest to accelerate growth, inspire new ideas, and become visionary innovators and leaders.

For GIL 2013: Middle East, APL Logistics is the Strategic Regional Partner. Gulf Business is the Official Business Magazine; TechChannelME.com is the Online Partner. Computer News Middle East, Gulf Industry, Power & Water Middle East, and SME Advisor Middle East are supporting GIL 2013: Middle East as Media Partners.

Source: Frost & Sullivan-(Business Wire India)

The Dubai International Festival of Creativity, MENA’s principal awards for creative communications and the industry’s premier annual platform for learning, inspiration and networking, will in just two weeks, bring together an outstanding and world-class line-up of international and regional speakers to address MENA’s creative community.

Delegates will enjoy an exceptional and engaging programme of topical seminars and motivating master-classes covering subjects such as the Mobile revolution, marketing to multicultural populations, women and the Internet, consumer behaviour and creative change.

Included in this year’s exceptional speaker line-up of top industry leaders, social media experts and high-profile personalities are:

Ali Mostafa, the Gulf’s first film director of international standing 

Brothers Peyman and Mohammed Parham Al Awadhi, Co-Founders of gourmet shawarma brand Wild Peeta, UAE

Daina Middleton, Global CEO, Performics

Daniel Andrade, Creative Lead, Creative Services EMEA, Google

Danny Searle, Vice Chairman, BBDO Asia and Chairman, BBDO Singapore

Erik Vervroegen, International Creative Director, Publicis Worldwide

Ian Haworth, Global Chief Creative Officer, UK Chairman, RAPP 

Jose Miguel Sokoloff, President, Lowe Global Creative Council and Co-Chairman, CCO, Lowe SSP3 Colombia

Julian Boulding, Founder and President, thenetworkone, UK

Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Senior Creative at Fred & Farid Paris 

Mark D’Arcy, Director of Global Creative Solutions, Facebook

Mike Wiese, Director of Branded Entertainment, JWT New York 

Morihiro Harano, Creative Director and Founder, Mori Inc., Japan

Ross McAuley, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Jumeirah Group

Sonal Dabral, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group India 

Sylvia Vitale Rotta, Chief Executive Officer, Team Creatif Group, France 

Wissam Shawkat, Calligrapher and Designer, UAE

Dedicated screening areas and exhibitions of the work presented at this year’s Dubai Lynx awards will showcase the best creative advertising and communications in the region across all disciplines providing additional insight and inspiration for attendees.

“This year we have an exceptional group of global and local speakers who will share their experiences, expertise and discuss current industry issues vital for the continuous development of the business. With MENA’s art directors, creatives, copywriters, media agency executives, account managers, agency heads, producers, publishers, broadcasters, directors, marketers and CEO’s facing challenges both on a global and regional level, Dubai Lynx is the place to learn, debate and be inspired in a unique environment,” says Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals.

Further information on the festival programme as well as how to register to attend can be found at www.dubailynx.com. The Dubai International Festival of Creativity takes place 10-12 March and will culminate with the Dubai Lynx Awards on 13 March.

GfK has integrated EMO Scan, its award-winning biometric measure of emotional response, into its market-validated ad testing system. Available globally, EMO Scan gains consumers’ permission to use their own webcams, to track their facial movement in real time as they view advertising.

“Our system is unique because it reads peoples’ authentic emotional response to advertising using an exposure environment that is not forced” says Nathalie Mandavit, Global Director of GfK Communication Efficiency. “A low involvement viewing experience is absolutely essential, to capture people’s spontaneous reactions to the advertising creative, unaffected by influences from an artificial environment. This means that we can deliver outstanding sensitivity in our measure of emotional response – which, when fully integrated with a person’s claimed emotions towards an ad, significantly boosts our clients’ success in optimizing their advertising creative.”

GfK is currently expanding the EMO Scan platform, adding new measures for recognizing human emotions and covering additional research applications.

EMO Scan won the 2012 Innovation Prize from the BVM, a German association for market and social research. It is the commercial outcome of an ongoing scientific and technical collaboration between GfK Verein, GfK SE, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) and CISA – the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences at the University of Geneva, headed by Professor Klaus R. Scherer, Professor of Psychology.

Incorporating information and communications technology (ICT) and its tools in various economic sectors is happening on a global scale, namely in developed countries that now recognize the important role technology plays in the progress of these sectors and the effect it has on increasing productivity and efficiency.

Abed Shamlawi, CEO of Int@j, emphasizes the exigency of introducing technology to economic sectors, including the health, education, industry & manufacturing, commerce, transportation & aviation, and energy sectors, and which is necessitated by the development of ICT on one hand, and the development of other economic sectors productivity that will make the economies of countries prosper on the other hand.

Shamlawi said that this orientation is inevitable and should be implemented through the cooperation of the ICT sector and other economic sectors, and that governments should support such efforts by enacting advantageous legislation and laws.

He also highlighted the importance of ICT in developing the economy and economic sectors due to proven results of increased efficiency, achievement, transparency and production. Shamlawi referred to examples that have utilized technology in health, education and financials sectors.

He indicated that the inclusion of solutions, services, and tools of communication and information technology in the education sector, for example, would facilitate the development of the educational and administrative processes in educational institutions; in a manner that would make teachers’ jobs easier. It would also develop students’ skills and consequently develop this sector that would lead to the emergence of a new generation that relies on and seeks knowledge. The same is applicable to other sectors with a difference in the applications and services entailed.

He also confirmed that this inclination will result in tributary industries, products and services, which will create new job openings and will facilitate serving the economy in general.

This issue will be the focus of discussion and interaction amongst participants in the communications and information technology in the 2013 MENA Forum, in its sixth edition; which will be held at King Hussein Convention Center in Dead Sea under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II, during the period March 6-7, organized by int@j in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

A group of the Forum’s sessions will focus on the effect of the communications and information technology sector on many other sectors, such as those related to education, health, energy, commerce, government and transportation & aviation; whereby a discussion will take place about the destinations and developments of communications and information technologies in the fields of health, energy, education and the governmental sectors, as well as the commercial and financial sectors.

The Forum has made great and important successes in its previous meetings when it was held under the name of ‘Jordan’s Forum for Communications and Information Technologies’ for the years, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. This provided a successful base for a more comprehensive forum under the name, “MENA ICT Forum” for the year 2010.

The Forum of 2013 will cover new levels that are of importance for the region through an agenda, rich in content; discussing a number of important, pivotal issues related to the atmosphere of regional investment. In addition to supporting legislative codes, communication and information technologies infrastructure, pioneering, investments in new companies, and coverage of educational bodies and the development of human resources.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the second Government Communication Forum (GCF) 2013, in the presence of His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey; Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; Amre Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League; and Andrew Young, former US Ambassador to the United Nations.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi also delivered a keynote speech at the event that drew the participation of over 2,500 delegates. During the opening ceremony, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech. He said: “We live in a world where communication technology has shrunk the planet into a global village, and yet the world is more divided than ever before. Evidently, technology is only the means, not the end solution to the global challenges we face today. We should remember that at the heart of every effective communication are words that are sincere and truthful which originate from the heart of its speakers and reach the hearts of its listeners. When matched by strategic and courageous action, such speech can be a great force that checks instances of injustice and violence, the like of which we see in Syria, Palestine, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Emphasizing the importance of improving the methods of communication between governments and their people especially in light of the major changes taking place in the world in general and the Arab region in particular, Erdoğan said: “Communications must encourage the government and the people to get closer, to understand each other and work together.” Talking about his experience as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan said: “The future needs to be built on three pillars: Peace and security, equitable and just development, and the rule of law that upholds human rights.”

Annan also talked about the role of effective communication in overcoming obstacles and developing effective solutions to many problems and dilemmas in the world today. He said: “Effective communication leads to cooperation and trust, which is key to successfully tackling global challenges. Rarely have we seen times when the level of trust between the governments and citizens has been so low. And this is ironical, living as we are in a world that is so wired through myriad forms of devices and technology, where the desire for information is insatiable, we are still not communicating effectively.

“A serious set of threats and challenges, such as social unrest, terrorism and climate change are outpacing us, which in turn has fuelled discontent and anger among the populace. Citizens would like to see their leaders take a long term view on things, to be included in the decision making process.”

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, delivered the opening speech, welcoming guests and participants. He said: “Sharjah took on itself the task of building a meaningful platform to promote dialogue between governments and peoples, share best practices in government communications, and benefit from the experiences of others in this field, and ultimately enhance the effectiveness of communication between its various government departments. We do this as part of our objective to identify mechanisms for crafting a unified message.”

He added: “As I look around me, I can see that we come from different nationalities, cultures, ​​and religions, speaking different languages. We have all come together for only one reason - to talk about our experiences, share and communicate our insights, and learn from each other. We need open-mindedness, effective communication, positive discussion, and most importantly optimism.

“There is no doubt that meeting the expectations of the people is a difficult mission and cannot be achieved overnight. Moreover, we do not possess magical wands that we can overcome obstacles, as well as alter concepts and cultures of dialogue. However, given the change taking place around the world, we have a strong will to promote best practices in government communication.”

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and the guests of honour, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kofi Annan also attended the ‘Live Interview’ session featuring Amre Moussa and Andrew Young.

Drawing upon the recent revolution that swept Egypt, Amre Moussa indicated that the pace of change in the Arab world may not be uniform, but is nevertheless unstoppable. He said: “A lack of adequate, effective communication between the government and the people in the Arab world is just one of the many reasons behind the revolutionary changes in the region. Gone are the days when governments were able to monopolize communications channels.

“We have witnessed a watershed moment in the Arab world, and while the momentum for change may be slow, it will never stop. Countries in the region may progress at different speeds, but orientation is the same: the abolishment of dictatorship and despotism. Hence, leaders must wake up and respond to the significance of communication in the 21st century, while we remain aware to sensitivities of culture and heritage.”

Andrew Young said: “While society is keen to see reform, it must also be remembered that rarely can solutions emerge immediately. It is important to maintain reasonable expectations and understand that nothing worthwhile can be achieved by violence. Rather, we need to hear clear voices of reason that point the way through transformation. One important aspect is to build the economy, since unemployment is the heart of many social ills. And for employment to occur, we need to foster a business environment and entrepreneurship, which can only take root when conditions are stable.”

The two-day forum features thirteen sessions including four panel discussions, two case studies and two live-interview sessions along with one influential speech and four workshops. GCF’s sessions centre around the need for switching the current principles of government communication from "talking to people" to "talking with people", and the need for more flexibility in light of the civil movement witnessed in the world at large and the Arab world in particular.

Sharjah Media Centre launched the inaugural Government Communication Forum in 2012 to deliberate on issues that have never been tackled before. A first-of-its-kind event, the forum articulates the centre’s efforts to develop government communication mechanisms for the benefit of government institutions in the UAE and the wider region.