WPP’s global media management investment operation, Group M, is setting up its MENA operation in Dubai and has named Filip Jabbour as CEO to lead the regional office. Jabbour has held several positions in the MENA region since 2005, including being CEO of Starcom MENA. More recently, he served as executive vice president and managing director at Spark in the US, and global business development director at Starcom MediaVest Group. Jabbour’s tenure at Group M starts in June and he will report to Dominic Grainger, CEO, GroupM Europe, Middle East & North Africa.

It might come as a surprise to the industry that this role wasn’t filled by the many skilled and senior level executives in the region itself, but Grainger assures us that several candidates were considered and the decision to appoint Jabbour involved all the key stakeholders including the regional ones. “Filip was the ideal candidate. He was looking to come back to the region anyway and he’s got all the right skills and the right personality to do the role,” says Grainger.

Not only is Jabbour’s appointment creating a buzz in the industry, it’s also the timing of Group M’s launch, which comes at a crucial stage for WPP – just weeks after Joseph Ghossoub’s resignation from his position as chairman and CEO of Menacom. Dismissing any ideas that Group M’s launch could be a move to give WPP more control over its agencies in the region or indirectly fill the space left by Joe Ghossoub, Grangier says that the two events are not related at all and the timing is purely coincidental. Moreover, the launch of Group M in the MENA region is something that was in the pipeline for a long time but the plan was set in motion following WPP’s deal with Ogilvy last year, which led to its majority acquisition in Mindshare.

Group M consists of four agencies in the region: MEC, Mindshare, Mediacom and BPG Maxus. Considering that MEC is still part of Menacom – and now Group M – as well, we wondered if Group M’s entry could create some confusion in terms of the organization structure. “We haven’t gone into some of the details but I don’t see the two as incompatible,” admits Grainger. He explains that MEC is still a media agency and therefore it can participate in cross-group collaborations related to media buying, media research and digital services – areas in which MEC doesn’t work with Menacom at the moment. He remains confident that the new structure won’t cause any chaos as Group M is aligned with the management and key shareholders and is also used to setting up this new structure in other markets. WPP has a minority share in BPG Maxus, which will continue to follow the reporting structure through its usual shareholder route. The other agencies will continue to report to their regional management teams but will work collaboratively with Jabbour to create cross-group initiatives. As Grainger puts it: “In a way, Filip will be accountable to them [Group M agencies].”

The launch of Group M in the MENA region – finally – is reflective of the region’s growing importance as a revenue maker. The objective of this new group is to not only to cater to client demands by being one step ahead of them, but also to bring its international value to the region and expand its regional offerings. Grangier’s vision is to broaden the group’s service offerings and build the group into one that is “future-facing and digital-focused through the use of technology and a broad data management strategy.” And while we still can’t stop mulling over the too-strategic-to-not-be-true timing of this launch, Grainger exclaims: “I would’ve loved for it to happen a few years ago.”