RIYADH: Bassel Kakish, CEO at Publicis Groupe Middle East and Turkiye, wants to bring creativity back to the Kingdom’s youthful capital.
“We are in a talent-first business,” Kakish told Arab News. “We are at a lucky period as far as the Kingdom is concerned because it’s all about the talent — the young talent.”
Armed with a bold creative strategy, data-driven insights, a keen focus on business impact and over two decades of experience, Kakish stepped into the CEO role in April 2021 and today leads a team of over 3,000 professionals across the creative sphere.
In an interview with the newspaper, he said Riyadh makes strategic sense as a portal for their next exciting extensions.
“Riyadh is a place that is transforming, a place that believes in and is investing in the local talents, with a private sector and public sector that (are) working towards a singular vision, which is driving the transformation.”
When asked to define “youth,” he did not confine it to a specific age bracket.
“Any person who has a free spirit that thinks that the sky is the limit — those can fit in our youth and the Young Academy.”
As a “cool dad,” with a 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old twins, Kakish is adamant that the youth, like his own children, keep him young.
“I have learned (from my kids) to be curious because of the way they look at things without the preconceived conditions,” he says.
Participants will have access to workshops, networking sessions and a 24-hour-long hackathon competition.(SPA)
While age is but a number to Kakish, his team is dedicated to providing opportunities for young people.
Now in its fourth year, Young Lynx Academy, which is based in Dubai, has been plucking out the brightest and most innovative creatives to take part in an immersive, hands-on program of workshops and real-world briefs.
Recently, it has carved out a path in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
“Today, the academy is a cornerstone of educating the new talents about the importance of the industry, giving the young talents the opportunity,” he said.
The Young Lynx Academy’s Riyadh edition, which is now in its second year, aims to gather 20 of the brightest and most innovative minds, 30 years old and younger, for two days of immersive programming in the Kingdom’s capital.
Participants will have access to workshops, networking sessions and a 24-hour-long hackathon competition.
The Riyadh edition will take place Sept. 14-15, and the deadline for applications is open until Aug. 13.
A separate initiative targets creative women in the Kingdom who are seeking mentorship and advancement opportunities.
Maheerah is a Riyadh-based accelerator for mid-career women living and working within the Kingdom’s creative and communications industries, in partnership with Athar, the Saudi Festival of Creativity.
Now in its fourth year, Maheerah has grown into a year-round network offering hybrid workshops, both online and in-person. It has mentored more than 300 women thus far.
This in-person, three-day leadership accelerator program aims to offer meaningful sessions and networking opportunities with global and regional leaders.
The deadline for Maheerah, the women’s empowerment program, is Sept. 24, and it will take place between Nov. 23–25.
Aside from Young Lynx Academy and Maheerah, Publicis Groupe Middle East is going beyond recognizing emerging talent to developing leaders who will shape the future of the industry.
“We want to empower the talent with the agentic solutions,” Kakish said.
“We have a fundamental role in terms of how can we bring the young talents into the equation and into more of the journey so that they can amplify their experience and enable themselves to use technology plus solutions to create better, to perform better and to be better equipped for the future of marketing.”
While artificial intelligence is a hotly debated topic these days, Kakish said he sees it slightly differently.
“I don’t want to be philosophical, but in the term ‘artificial intelligence,’ I don’t see it as ‘artificial,’” he said.
“It is ‘advanced intelligence’ because when you say something is ‘artificial,’ it is something that is fake. This is advanced intelligence — this is what the human brain is not capable of doing at that scale or that speed.
“It is still AI,” he said.
He noted how local agencies have been stepping up their game and are driving the business and the creative economy in the Kingdom.
As a result, Saudi Arabia has become a more mature market, which combines and prioritizes the global and the local — or, as he likes to call it, “glocal.”
Kakish thinks now is the right time to put the spotlight on the Kingdom’s capital.
“Riyadh is and was always a key market for us. It’s a place where we’re seeing transformation at scale,” he says.
He sees the city as the go-to spot for the present and future.
“We are as good as our talent. Creativity remains the reason for our existence. Saudi Arabia is a country that is investing in the best technology and AI, that will enable creativity. It is a significant contributor to the GDP and Vision 2030.
“Riyadh is where it’s at. Riyadh is where you see there is a significant drive for progression and (a) way forward and people who are talking the talk — and walking the walk,” Kakish concluded.
