Abdulla Majed Al Ghurair
Chairman, BPG Group
Avishesha Bhojani
Group CEO, BPG Group
Ketaki Banga
Executive Vice President, BPG Dubai
Satish Mayya
Advisor, BPG Group
Souheil Arabi
President, BPG Kuwait
Ashish Gupta
Vice President, BPG Dubai
Arif Ladhabhoy
Senior Vice President, BPG Dubai
Suneesh Menon
Director Projects, BPG Group
Viju Varghese
Senior Vice President, BPG Kuwait
Ashlina Rachel Davidson
Business Director, BPG Kuwait
Omar Othman
Associate Vice President, BPG Dubai
Aaron Arthur
Senior Vice President – Creative, BPG Kuwait
Louise Kotze
Creative Group Head, BPG Dubai
Justin Du Plessis
Creative Group Head, BPG Dubai
Fiona Quinn
CEO, BPG Orange
Driven by her passion for all things digital and visual, Fiona has brought her boundless energy and Irish enthusiasm to her new role as CEO of BPG Orange. Having lived most of her life in Kuwait she has over 20 years-experience working both in-house and until recently managing the fully integrated BPG Kuwait business. She did run away from Kuwait for a few years to study business in London but soon returned home. Fiona’s deep-rooted Gulf know-how and sensibilities give her a unique perspective on the challenges client face – be they local, regional or international. A self-confessed foodie, Fiona is waiting with bated breath to see if the Michelin Guide does finally come to the UAE!
Ashlina Rachel Davidson
Business Director, BPG Kuwait
Ashlina both dreams and wakes up thinking of the best ways to narrate a story and influence perception. It’s that passion that has helped transform the way BPG Kuwait tells client stories over the past five years. Tapping into what shapes opinion and decision making has meant she has become the “go-to” agency person for digital, influencer and social insight at the agency. With a background that includes experience in brand strategy; crisis communications and investor relations, Ashlina is also geared to manage the broadest range of client issues and challenges from automotive to retail, fashion, dining and travel among many others. A journalism and PR graduate from Australia, she worked in Malaysia before moving to Kuwait. And when she does want to switch off her digital antennae, Ashlina indulges in baking and supporting animal rights. Abdulla Majed Al Ghurair
Chairman, BPG Group
Abdulla has been at the helm of BPG Group since his late father handed over the reins to him in 1985. A third generation member of a prominent business family, Abdulla brings an acute understanding of local culture and business acumen to the Group. Other companies he owns cover a broad spectrum of industries such as education, construction, manufacturing ceramic tiles and building materials, leasing, services, trading and food. He also serves on the boards of Majid Al Futtaim Properties and is the Chairman of Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation, Abdulla& Hamad Al Ghurair Investment LLC and Innoventures Educational Investments LLC.
Aaron Arthur
Senior Vice President – Creative, BPG Kuwait
Everyone loves a great story – and Aaron is no different. For over 15 years at BPG Kuwait, he has loved helping clients tell their story through increasingly imaginative and digital ways. As a copywriter, Aaron knows how to capture incredible ideas and transform them into both words and images, leading an innovative creative team that has developed award-winning work for world-class global and locally-based brands. He loves nothing better than a great book – but has tried his hand at everything from rifle shooting to scuba diving and yoga in the past – much to the amusement of his wife and three children. Louise Kotze
Creative Group Head, BPG Dubai
The BPG Orange creative mindset has recently extended to creating its own brand “J-Lo.” Louise, a creative design specialist, brings the “Lo” to the team and over 12 years-experience in her native South Africa and in the UAE. Confident and outgoing, Louise tackles creative challenges head on and is eager to embrace the new, the innovative and always with digital at its heart. She has worked on some of the world’s biggest global and regional brands and made her home at BPG in the last year. Her personal creativity extends also to being an origami artist and hidden talent as a baker and innovator when it comes to wedding cake creations.
Toby Hoare
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JWT Europe
Toby is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JWT Europe, CEO of Team HSBC within WPP, and a board member of BPG Group. In his role at JWT, Toby oversees all the marketing services provided to HSBC by JWT and other WPP agencies across nearly 80 countries. Prior to this, Toby worked with Cordiant (before it was acquired by WPP in 2003) as Group Chairman of Bates for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. Here Toby was responsible for re-engineering the agency both internally and externally. Before Cordiant, Toby made a name for himself during a 14-year spell at Young & Rubicam, of which he spent seven years as CEO. Toby has served on the BPG Group board since 2000 and on the Innoventures Education board since 2004.
Souheil Arabi
President, BPG Kuwait
When you have spent 10 years as a creative director, you are hard-wired towards ideas and innovation. It is that philosophy that Souheil extends today when running BPG Kuwait’s highly successful and fully integrated communications business. Having spent the bulk of his career since 2001 with BPG Kuwait – he knows every aspect of the business – today he advises clients and leads a growing team of nearly 50 highly motivated and passionate individuals. And Souheil brings a Gallic flavour to his approach having graduated from a leading graphic design and art school in Paris. A love of football runs through his veins, and his creativity and imagination also finds an outlet in the kitchen, where his passion for cuisine comes to life Justin Du Plessis
Creative Group Head, BPG Dubai
Fellow South African Justin du Plessis makes up the “J” in the BPG Orange “J-Lo” brand. A copywriter by profession he has spent over 15 years in international agencies delivering engaging and innovative content for global brands across the full breadth of industry – from airlines to automotive; fashion to FMCG and much more. The ultimate team player by instinct, Justin loves to share experience, knowledge and know-how with colleagues as much as with clients. His harmonious approach to work is fine-tuned by playing both piano and saxophone while nurturing a secret career as an online cartoonist.
Laurence Mellman
Chief Operating Officer, International Specialist Communications, The United Network and Red Cell Network
Board Member since 2013 Laurence has two separate roles at WPP. One element is the responsibility for management and oversight of WPP’s portfolio of International Specialist Communications businesses. Companies within this group are involved in disciplines such as advertising, sports marketing, advertising production, TV post-production, direct marketing and financial PR in a number of diverse geographies. Laurence has undertaken a number of roles at WPP. At the parent company level he has previously had responsibility for managing the Group’s mergers and acquisitions activity in Europe, Africa and Asia and he has also had the role of Director of Special Projects where he undertook a number of roles directly for the Group CEO. Laurence has a Degree in Commerce and Accounting from The University of Birmingham. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in London and subsequently joined WPP in 1996. Ketaki Banga
Executive Vice President, BPG Dubai
Arif Ladhabhoy
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BPG DUBAI
Avi Bhojani
Group CEO, BPG Group
Avi's 35+ year career spans Marketing Services, Media, Education, Private Equity, Real Estate Direct Investments and Government sectors. At the helm of the BPG Group since 1991, Avi consolidates the Group's interests across advertising, public relations, design, activation, media asset management and digital verticals, in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Avi has also assisted in the conceptualization and execution of a number of strategic Dubai initiatives (Dubai Quality Award, Dubai Shopping Festival etc.) and has served the Government of Dubai while assisting with the development of Knowledge Economy hubs in Dubai (Internet, Media and Ideas).
An Alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Avi is also the Managing Director of Innoventures Education the operators of Dubai International Academy and various Raffles Schools & nurseries etc.; General Partner of Montana Capital Ltd, the holding company of Ramusake and Copper Dog in Dubai, AMEA Ventures Ltd, Partner Director of HTMi Switzerland Dubai LLC, and Chairman of International Management Ventures FZ LLC. He is also on the Board of Governors of The International Institute of Tolerance by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the VP/ PM of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Avi is widely recognized as one of the most influential expats in the GCC, and has been honoured by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his contribution to the evolution of Dubai Shopping Festival. Avi has also been recognized by leading media such as Forbes Middle East and Arabian Business, both as an Entrepreneur of the Year as well as a Chief Executive of a Media company.
Tej Desai
Strategy Director, BPG Group
Tej may have been in the business for over 20 years – but he is as modern and contemporary as any millennial. He works to the mantra that to have impact for the modern consumer – any media campaign has to have “Engagement and Experience” at its core. He is also one of the most passionate advocates at BPG MAX in convincing clients not to be risk-averse and make their campaigns as innovative and interactive as they can possibly be – making sure the consumer is as fully engaged as they can be. Tej has worked for major multinational firms as well as media agencies and today is a confirmed disciple of new-age media. Viju Varghese
Senior Vice President, BPG Kuwait
With over two decades of experience – and 10 years at BPG - Viju has a deep understanding of what makes clients tick and how to convince them to follow increasingly innovative and digital paths. His approach to any creative solution starts from his mantra "discover the key insight that affects consumer behaviour ". As you would expect, he has “people skills” embedded into his DNA – managing client relationships across the full spectrum of businesses for BPG Kuwait and motivating and training the agency team. His imagination and natural affinity for people extends to life at home. When he is not star gazing with his children, his latest mission is teaching them to train sugar gliders to jump through hoops.
Nitin Puri
Chief Operating Officer, BPG Group
Nitin is the Chief Operating Officer of BPG Group with the additional responsibility of overseeing the public relations practice, BPG Cohn & Wolfe and the digital arm of BPG Group – BPG Possible. A 27-year advertising journey has seen him work in five cities across four countries; India, UAE, Indonesia and Oman. He started his career with the FCB agency in India and then worked with Interface (now Publicis) and Lintas before coming to Dubai in 1993. Nitin moved to Jakarta a decade later and headed Bates Indonesia for four years, followed by a short stint in Muscat. He succumbed to the lure of BPG and Dubai once again in 2008.
Kevin Jones
Strategy Director, BPG Orange
As likely to say Bonjour as Good Morning, Kevin Jones is our go-to strategy guy. American, but with powerful Parisian roots, it’s his job to ensure we deliver extraordinary ideas, concepts and innovation solutions to our clients founded on insights, knowledge and reason. Previously with Havas Worldwide, he brings nearly 20 years-experience to the role of which 13 years are in the Middle East. And when he’s not plotting high impact strategy, Kevin is a writer on contemporary art and a fluent reader of Arabic. Suneesh Menon
Director Projects, BPG Group
When they talk about the best business deals being done on the golf course – they might well have been talking about Suneesh. But in over two decades with the BPG Group he knows that great creative and experiential work doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it needs great client relationships. He has played a role in most of the iconic BPG Group initiatives over the past 25 years and remains one of the agency’s best and most connected senior assets in Dubai and has also worked in Saudi Arabia. With his golf handicap a closely guarded secret, Suneesh is an avid traveler but has also committed time to volunteering for animal welfare projects in Africa. Satish Mayya
Advisor, BPG Group
If you scratched Satish, you are likely to find BPG embedded in his DNA. For nearly 25 years he has brought his clarity of thinking and ability to cut through the clutter of complexity and develop simple but effective ideas. There is little anyone can teach him about the regional media market but a commitment to innovation and early adoption of digital strategies has helped him to grow BPG MAX into a regional leader in the media asset business. He has built a multinational team that has the know-how, enthusiasm, and passion to keep the company’s hugely diverse client base ahead of the media curve. And away from the office, Satish really knows his Bach from his BBC and his Chopin from CNN as he combines a love of classical music and a healthy addiction to rolling 24 hour TV news.
Amit Raj
General Manager, BPG Maxus
If you find a stranger peering into your shopping trolley over the weekend – chances are it will be Amit who lives and breathes finding out about just what the consumer is buying and what influences his or her choice. In a 15-year media career he applies that curious mind every day in helping BPG MAX to implement cutting edge brand-focused solutions with measurable impact. His career, that includes working in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has also included a number of award winning campaigns for broad spectrum of clients. If you bump into Amit socially, don’t be surprised to be amazed at his encyclopaedic knowledge of world politics and the latest non-fiction. Omar Othman
Associate Vice President, BPG Dubai
Hard-wired to say “Why” when a client says he must appear in a certain medium – Omar loves taking on complex client challenges and surprising them with refreshing and innovative integrated media solutions. Jordanian Omar has spent over 8 years working in the Middle East for a number of major international media businesses including BPG MAX. A cultural chameleon, Omar loves to travel and infuses his love of new cultural experiences into the work environment to help create strategies that are always built on deep insights. Ashish Gupta
Vice President, BPG DUBAI
Ashish is the go-to guy for the latest and smartest ways to make digital and online marketing come to life and convince customers to engage with the brand.
His digital know-how is underpinned by a broad ranging track record across the full media agency spectrum that spans over 11 years in the Middle East region. As happy with an airline or automotive brand; fashion or food – Ashish has advised global, regional and local clients on their online marketing solutions.
Elie Fathallah
Head of Buying, BPG Max
As the BPG MAX head of media buying, Elie can pretty much tell you the price of a full page advert, digital banner, and TV or radio spot to the nearest dollar anywhere in the Middle East. His deep-rooted regional know-how also comes from having worked in both Lebanon and Iraq prior to joining the BPG Group.
Bringing over 11 years-experience to the role he has the skills-set and people skills to ensure his clients benefit from the best market prices and maximum impact.
But when he is not persuading leading media houses to deliver the best deals, you will find Elie is increasingly an expert in astro and quantum physics in addition to a love of relaxing with video gaming.