COMMERCIALS NEWS

Raja Trad honoured at Dubai Lynx

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:02

The Dubai International Advertising Festival has announced that Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett Group MENA and member of the Leo Burnett Wordwide Global Leadership Council (GLC), will receive the prestigious Dubai Lynx Advertising Person 2012 Award.

Presented by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity together with their regional partner, Motivate Publishing, the Dubai International Advertising Festival is the leading awards for creative excellence in advertising and communications in the Middle East and North Africa.

“With great passion and commitment, not only has Raja Trad achieved great success for the Leo Burnett Group in the Middle East and North Africa, but he has raised the profile and made an exceptional contribution to the development of the region’s advertising and communications industry," says Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Dubai International Advertising Festival. "We are delighted to hounour Raja with this well deserved accolade."

Says Raja Trad: ,"It is an honour to receive this recognition, especially from such a professional, credible body, which works hard with us to elevate the industry standards of advertising and communications in the region. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lynx Committee for presenting to me the title Dubai Lynx Advertising Person 2012.

"I owe my success to my team of Burnetters who, together with me, believe in a shared vision and a culture of seamless collaboration. Our common beliefs and passionate commitment to advertising, coupled with high integrity, has got us to where we are today."

Raja 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.

Over the years, Raja Trad has dedicated his time to growing the network and developing its talents. Between 1991 and 2011 the number of professionals swelled from 120 to 600, while the network as a whole expanded from three offices to ten.

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.

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