Draft:Ramzi Raad

Ramzi Raad, Born 5 December 1943, in Ain Zhalta; a village in the Chouf District, Lebanon.

Education
He completed his Elementary & Secondary education at the English School for Boys - Beirut. His university education at the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in February 1968.

Work
For more than 50 years Ramzi Raad has been at the forefront of the advertising industry in the Middle East and North Africa. A regional pioneer spent the following 12 years helping to transform Intermarkets Advertising Agency into the first regional network, by establishing branches in Kuwait and Bahrain first, then in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen. When the civil war erupted in Lebanon, Ramzi moved to Dubai in October 1975.

Ramzi established TBWA\RAAD in 2000 and went on to make it one of the most recognized communication groups in the region. Today, the TBWA\RAAD Group that Ramzi chairs, includes a network of full-service advertising agencies, PR consultancies, relationship marketing companies operating around the Middle East and North Africa.

Ramzi is also a board member of Omnicom Media Group MENA (OMD + PHD) as TBWA\RAAD is an equity partner of this group.

Work Awards
In 2018, TBWA\RAAD Middle East was awarded the titles Advertising & Network of the Year by “Dubai Lynx”.

The American Business magazine “Contagious” recognized TBWA\RAAD as one of the 10 Bravest Advertising Agencies on the planet in 2018 and 2019.

Also, and for 4 years in a row (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022) TBWA\RAAD was named by “FAST COMPANY” the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

Last, but in no way least, TBWA\RAAD was named in 2022, Agency Network of the Year by “AdAge”, Most Awarded Agency in MENA by “The Drum” and the Global Agency of Year by “ADWEEK”.

Industry Initiative
During his presidency the region’s first advertising awards program was launched in 1990 and the IAA World Executive Committee members flew into Dubai to hold their first ever meeting out of their New York Headquarters. The chapter led large delegations to the IAA World Congresses in Chicago (1986), Sydney (1988) and Hamburg (1990); to Advista Arabia in Cairo (1989 and 1992); and to the Asian Advertising Congress in Lahore (1989).

Ramzi helped establish (and became a board member of) the GCC Advertising Association, the Middle East Research Forum (MERF), and the Joint Industry Committee for Middle East Research (JICME). He has lectured on Arab Advertising in London, Zurich, Sydney, Lahore, Cairo, Bahrain, New Delhi, and Mexico.

Other Responsibilities
He served as the Middle East consultant for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (1988 to 2000). He also helped establish the Government of Dubai’s Press Club and served as its Consultant between 1999 and 2000.

Recognition & Awards

 * In 1988, Ramzi was voted president of the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).
 * Ramzi held the post of IAA’s World Vice President and Middle East Regional Director from 1990 to 1992.
 * Since 2009, Ramzi has been on Arabian Business’ list of the “World’s Most Powerful Arabs” and was named “Advertising Man of the Year” in 2010 by the Dubai Lynx. In March 2016, Ramzi was awarded the TBWA Founder Award by Jean-Marie Dru, TBWA’s Chairman, and Troy Ruhanen, The Global Network’s CEO, in recognition of his passionate development of the TBWA brand in MENA since 1986.
 * Ramzi carries the Lebanese Order of Merit in recognition of his efforts in spreading the advertising business out of its historical Lebanese base to the Middle East & North Africa.

Books

 * A DECADE OF DISRUPTION, published by Motivate Publishing - Dubai 2010
 * THE STORY OF MIDDLE EAST ADVERTISING, published by Raidy Printing Group SAL, Beirut 2022

Links

 * Website: https://thestoryofmiddleeastadvertising.com/
 * Linkedin
 * Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RamziRaad