Mario Soufia & Nadine Essinawi, GroupM MENA

GroupM, the leading media group globally, had been struggling to regain its leading position in the MENA region since 2016.

The arrival of Amer El Hajj as GroupM CEO ushered in the ‘next era of media’. We needed change. A critical area was New Business. GroupM agencies were working in siloes, often competing against eachother. To swiftly shake things up, Amer appointed Mario Soufia as the new Regional MD to form the ‘New’ New Business Department for GroupM. Mario, who launched and led Digitas at Publicis, brought a wealth of experience across growth and products. Coming in, the success rate new business was low and immediate changes were needed. Mario’s first move was to elevate Nadine Es-Sinawi from her role in Wavemaker, to the Head of Growth at GroupM. This is our story; a small team of two, who rallied 650 people behind them, ready to take on the role of growth for one of the most recognized media brands globally. The result? We dominated. We immediately converted L’Oreal and du, secured Amazon, and retained PIF to name a few. GroupM is back.