Ogilvy announced that David Fox will assume the role of the Chief Executive Officer for Memac Ogilvy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, effective March 1, 2021. Based in Dubai, Fox will lead the creative and strategic regional agency powerhouse that counts 11 agencies in 9 countries.

The move to a new regional position follows six and a half years for Fox as CEO of Ogilvy Australia, having previously spent ten years in global client roles with Ogilvy in London.

Fox’s predecessor and long-serving senior Ogilvy executive Patou Nuytemans, has been promoted to the position of Global Chief Growth Officer, Growth & Innovation for the global creative network.

EMEA CEO, Ogilvy, Paul O’Donnell said: “I'm delighted our dedication to thoughtful, long-term succession planning has positioned us to appoint such a strong and capable leader as David to lead MENA for Ogilvy. David will be an excellent CEO in the region, building on his track record of achieving outstanding business results; his strong oversight of the development of Ogilvy Australia’s digitally-led creative strategy; plus his strong values-led leadership.”

O’Donnell continued: “I thank Patou for her exceptional leadership in MENA. In the last three and a half years, she has led Memac Ogilvy from strength to strength – financially, operationally and reputationally, transforming the regional network to an integrated, efficient, modern marketing agency with an unparalleled new business track record, high client satisfaction and a true talent and people-first culture at heart. In her long career at Ogilvy across five countries and three continents, Patou’s innovative ideas have helped to drive sustained growth and transformation. Combining strategic leadership with operational excellence, I look forward to the impact she will make on our global growth and innovation agenda.”

Fox has a proven record of growing client business and believes strong cultures create strong companies. His leadership is focused on realizing significant advancements in digital innovation and superior client value.

He said: “I am eager to embark a new chapter in my Ogilvy career in a region that is filled with opportunity. We have amazing talent and unmatched capabilities that set us to continue our position as the long-term growth partner for our clients.”

Fox continued: “There is no better moment to lead such remarkable network in a diverse region that, thanks to its young enthusiastic population and ambitious nations undergoing rapid social, cultural and economic transformation, is set to include some of the leading economies of the next decade”. 

Commenting on her term with Memac Ogilvy, Patou Nuytemans said: “It’s been such a privilege to be part of a region in the world where ambition and the ability to convert that ambition is bigger than anywhere else. I am so proud of the uncountable digital-age ideas in the shape of platforms, campaigns, programs, content, experiences… we developed that built brands, delivered business value and results. These ideas came to fruition thanks to the incredible energy of Memac Ogilvy’s hugely talented people and the trust of our amazing clients, who’ve continued to support us throughout a challenging 2020. But what is most important is that I know that we are now set up to continue to do so, at speed and at scale, and to be the partner of choice for MENA’s formidable brands."

Nuytemans, continued: “I must thank my Memac Ogilvy colleagues and our clients for a fantastic journey and for their deep and warm friendships. And I am delighted that in my global role, I will get the chance to continue to work with many of them to deliver on the growth ambitions in the region.”

Patou will continue to be based in the MENA region, before a planned move later in the year. Before her move to Dubai, Patou combined her role of EMEA Chief Digital Officer with that of CEO Ogilvy & Social.Lab Brussels, managing the network roll-out as well as the Brussels Center of Excellence of this leading-edge social media performance capability that was acquired under her leadership and became the fastest growing offer of Ogilvy globally. As Chief Digital Officer, a role she had for over 15 years, she developed and implemented the strategy that transformed Ogilvy into a digital-age agency group and led numerous digital transformation projects for some of the world’s leading brands.