Position: CEO, Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey

Nationality: Lebanese

Location: UAE

Bassel Kakish was appointed CEO of Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey in April 2021, managing more than 3,600 professionals across various markets and disciplines spanning technology, marketing, creative, media and PR.

Kakish started his career in assurance and advisory services. He joined Publicis in 2002, holding a number of roles as part of its regional management team.

Before being appointed as CEO, he worked as the firm’s CFO, chief integration officer, and co-managing director of digital consulting company Publicis Sapient in the Middle East.

Under his leadership, Publicis Groupe has integrated operations across creative, media and Sapient. He combined various group functions, building a modular approach for clients’ business problems in a seamless manner.

As CEO, Kakish is focused on strengthening and expanding the group’s offerings to help clients succeed through disruptive creative strategy, analytics and insights.