Saudis feature high on Communicate’s Top 30 Media Leaders of 2021 list

A list produced by a Dubai-based industry magazine has generated headlines among media and communications professionals as it prominently featured Saudi CEOs and executives for the first time.

In its latest issue, Communicate Magazine — a Mediaquest publication — released its Top 30 Leaders of 2021 list featuring three Saudis with two ranking in the Top 5.

Mohamed Al-Khereiji, CEO of Engineer Holding Group (EHG), the parent company of media organizations such as Al Arabia and Saudi Media Company came in at No. 1, while Jomana Al-Rashed, CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) —the first Saudi Arabian woman in this role — was No. 5 on the list.

Both, Al-Khereiji and Al-Rashed, reportedly made significant contributions to the Kingdom’s evolving landscape, and their efforts reflect the transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia.

For example, Al-Khereiji’s name has made the rounds in regional and international media following Saudi Media Company’s submission of a £2.7 billion ($3.39 billion) offer to buy Chelsea Football Club, albeit unsuccessful.

And Al-Rashed has taken huge strides since her appointment in 2020 including the launch of SRMG’s new branding and digital transformation strategy; the launch of the first Arabic-language manga magazine and the acquisition of a majority stake in the leading Arabic podcast platform Thmanyah.

Waleed Hussein, CEO of outdoor media company Saudi Signs Media, comes in at No. 24. His company has signed major contracts such as a $152 million deal with the Riyadh municipality in 2020 for billboards across 76 prime locations in the heart of city.

“It’s not surprising to see young, driven Saudi leaders rising to the top of the list, illustrating the deep changes sweeping across the Kingdom,” Nathalie Bontems, Communicate’s Editor-at-Large told Arab News.

The list is a refreshed look at Communicate’s Power List, which was last published ten years ago. Since then, the face of power — and the region — has changed drastically. “The Top 30 Leaders 2021 ranking looks at the individuals in the region who, in their executive roles and beyond, proved most influential in driving our industry forward over the last year,” Bontems said.

“Most, if not all, have embraced digital transformation, innovation, and the novel leadership styles that today’s disruptive environment demands,” she added.

Communicate is part of Mediaquest, a Dubai-based regional publishing and events company that publishes and distributes magazines such as Haya, Marie Claire Arabia, Buro 24/7. It’s also the organizer of prestigious events such as Top CEO, Arab Luxury World, and the Effie Awards MENA.

The magazine was launched in 2005, in association with US-based Ad Age which provides it with syndicated content, as a monthly print magazine. Today, the publication’s daily online edition and theme-based quarterly editions are an essential resource for organizations aiming to build efficient, creative, and future-proof strategies.

The list brings together leaders from the region’s media, advertising, and ad tech ecosystem featuring advertising agency or network heads like MCN’s Ghassan Harfouche and TBWARAAD’s Reda Raad as well as media stalwarts such as GroupM’s Ravi Rao and Dentsu’s Tarek Daouk.

The advertising industry has grown rapidly in the last 10 years as digital and social media gained increased prominence within the advertising ecosystem and advertisers’ marketing budgets. This growth is evident in the list, which features TJ Lightwala from Accenture Interactive, Google’s Lino Cattaruzzi, TikTok’s Shant Oknayan, and Meta’s Fares Akkad.

Bontems said: “We approached the selection and ranking mechanism through multiple layers of filtering, identifying more than 100 candidates in relevant organizations; researching publicly-available information about them for 2021; cross-checking these data points with the nominees themselves; obtaining additional information through third parties, and so on.”

The publication excluded financial data points such as advertising revenues that are not verifiable and would not allow for a consistent evaluation of different types of companies.

“This was a long, arduous, and complex process but it eventually allowed us to establish a list that, we hope, reflects the reality of the market,” Bontems added.