Marie-Claire Maalouf appointed chief creative officer for Edelman UAE and KSA

Marie-Claire Maalouf has been appointed chief creative officer for Edelman United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The announcement was reported in Campaign Middle East, as well as other media.

Edelman Middle East operates three offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh, and has a network of affiliates across the region.

The media report that Maalouf will help build creative capabilities across the region and will also be working across EMEA as part of the wider creative team.

The EMEA creative team consists of content strategists, creatives, and producers who work across all teams and practices within the business.
The team develops communications strategies for clients that place earned creative at the core to draw audiences in.

Omar Qirem, CEO at Edelman Middle East, says: “Maalouf is a first-class operator who has led some of the most recent standout creative work in the region.

“She shares the same ambition we have about creating creative campaigns that have real impact. This hire is the first of a wider strategic play and we will be adding further creative capabilities to the team over the coming months.”

Last year, Maalouf helped win more than 85 awards, including the only D&AD Yellow Pencil won by MENA this year, one of the two Cannes Lions Grand Prix won and the only Grand Lia in Health for MENA.

Stefan Ronge, chief creative officer at Edelman EMEA, says: “We are helping brands earn trust and business growth through actions. And I can think of no better creative leader than Maalouf to bring this mission to life with us in the Middle East.”

Her appointment is one of several that the firm has made recently to grow its creative community. Recent senior creative hires include France, Spain, Germany and the UK, with Emma De La Fosse joining as chief creative officer of Edelman UK.