Raja Trad is Dubai Lynx Advertising Person for 2012

Raja Trad is Dubai Lynx Advertising Person for 2012

The Dubai International Advertising Festival (Dubai Lynx) has awarded Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett Group MENA and member of the Leo Burnett Wordwide Global Leadership Council (GLC) as the Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the year.

January 22, 2012 11:02 by Reuters

The Dubai Lynx Advertising Person Award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to advancing the reputation and profile of the communications industry in the MENA region. The recipient of the award is selected by the organisers of the MENA-wide event.

Leo Burnett Group of Companies, MENA is an integrated communications network (Brand Agency, Cross Channel Brand Building Experts, Digital and New Media Activation and Public Relations) headquartered in Dubai with offices in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Qatar, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Casablanca. Through solid and expansive partnerships with its multinational clients and through the strong growth of its regional and local accounts, Leo Burnett MENA has become one of the regions leading agencies.

Trad began his career in advertising in 1978 as an account executive with Young & Rubicam on the Procter & Gamble account in Beirut and Athens. In 1981, he joined H&C Leo Burnett Beirut as an account director, and in 1984 he was named regional account director on the Philip Morris account. He moved to Bahrain in 1987 as sub-regional managing director for the Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait operations. In 1991, Raja Trad became the CEO of Leo Burnett Middle East. North Africa was added to his geographic scope in 2000. A year later, in 2001, his responsibilities as CEO of Leo Burnett MENA were expanded to cover all non-media operating units in the region.

Raja Trad was the recipient of the Lebanese Order of the Cedar (Knight) from the Lebanese President of Republic in 2004; he served as a trustee to the American University of Beirut (AUB) for three years, and as a board member of Dubai Media Incorporated.

Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Raja Trad received his Bachelor of Arts in political studies and public administration from the American University of Beirut in 1977. He is married to Suzane Sawan, and has two daughters, Nadine and Nathalie.

Raja Trad will be honoured and presented with the Dubai Lynx Advertising Person 2012 trophy during the awards ceremony and dinner to be held on Wednesday 7 March at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena in Dubai, venue of the festival.

Previous recipients of this honour are Joseph Ghossoub, President and CEO of MENACOM (formally The Holding Group); Tanvir Kanji, Head of Inca Tanvir; Ramzi Raad, Chairman & CEO of TBWA\RAAD Middle East; and the 2011 recipient was His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline & Group.