The Interactive Advertising Bureau MENA (IAB MENA), the trade association exclusively dedicated to the development and promotion of the digital marketing and advertising sector in the region, announced a succession in its board leadership.

Rayan Karaky, the current IAB MENA Chair and Google’s representative on the board, has resigned his chairmanship due to a new corporate engagement that sees him leave his role at Google. The board appointed Michel Malkoun, representing Choueiri Group, as the new Chair of Board and elected Mohamad Itani, representing Amazon Ads, as the new Vice-Chair until the end of the current board term in the first quarter of 2024.

Malkoun said in a statement, “After building a fantastic base for a truly collective and positive environment for our industry’s advancement, I am delighted to state that we have so much planned for the year ahead and plans that we hope to set into motion. Our transitional focus from the GCC to the wide MENA region not only implies a larger territorial coverage but also takes into account the IAB MENA’s ongoing efforts to incorporate a growing spectrum of new digital channels, including digital OOH and CTV, amongst others. The MENA tag in our name represents our fullest attention on the wider region, greater audiences, and more countries that will benefit from the IAB MENA’s commitment to greater inclusivity, and greater engagement across platforms. This is our vision going forward, and the remit which I have been entrusted to lead.”

Outgoing Chair Karaky said, “Firstly, I want to thank the board members for the trust they gave me for the past three years to Chair the IAB MENA. Perhaps one of our biggest achievements is establishing a board that is unified around a clear mission & vision, that is unanimously working for the good of the industry. We’ve also grown our membership base to more than 50 member companies; we came together to finally establish a market sizing practice, structure committees, and task forces focused on the industry’s key challenges and hot topics and to our latest news of moving the IAB GCC to cover all of MENA. I believe we have laid a strong foundation and I am really excited about the journey ahead for the IAB MENA under the leadership of Michel, Mohamad, and the IAB MENA team.”

Itani said, “As our region and industry continue to witness change and opportunity growth, this year the IAB MENA will deepen its focus to nurture the digital economy in MENA with digital advertising thought-leadership content and activity. I look forward to working with the leadership team and our board to raise the bar and ensure our members and industry professionals continue to benefit from our presence and growth in the region.”