Academy Leaders
Will Awdry - Copywriting Academy
Will worked in advertising for over thirty years, as a writer, creative director and – briefly – acting managing director at agencies such as Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Ogilvy & Mather and Doyle Dane Bernbach. He and his teams have been recognised and awarded at D&AD, Cannes, the One Show and others. He led Unilever’s Dove (Real Beauty) and Knorr globally. He also worked in design at Big Fish and wrote a book for the property company behind Wembley Park. He has led British Design & Art Direction’s Writing Courses (and his own) since 2000, coaching more than 3,000 people.
Warren Knight - Innovation Academy
Warren Knight has dedicated over 15 years to helping leaders understand how technology drives business success: how it allows them to build a more efficient and sustainable organisation and digital footprint, ensuring a brand fit for the future.
Warren’s global experience includes building several multi-million $ businesses, and today, as a world-leading thought leader, speaker, author and coach, his focus is on driving digital leadership. Helping future-focussed digital champions to embed digital transformation in the heart of their organisation, and to identify and adopt new ways to innovate every day – empowering employees and creating new ways for digital-only customers to engage and buy.
He helps digital champions to embed digital transformation in the heart of their organisation, and to identify and adopt new ways to innovate everyday – empowering employees and creating new ways for digital-only customers to engage and connect online.
His vision is to, by 2035, help 1,000,000 leaders globally build a workplace based on culture, community, and technology for generation Alpha.
Jessica Avedikian - Social Communications Academy
Jessica is a goal-driven digital storyteller and brand magician obsessed with content, social media & music. She is the founder of “Social Astronauts” – a boutique partner for all digital, social media, storytelling, content, and metaverse marketing needs. With over 10 years of experience in Marketing, Social Media, PR, Live Stage Performance & Entrepreneurship, as well as certifications from META and Harvard X, she has supported agencies and companies like P&G, Emirates NBD, and Emaar. She is also an approved trainer at Astrolabs & a few other institutes in the UAE plus elected as a mentor in the UN Women Start-up Mentorship program. https://www.instagram.com/social.astronauts/ https://www.instagram.com/jessiqa.socialastro/ When not at the office, you’ll find her creating music with her band or rocking the stage somewhere! https://www.instagram.com/jessiqa.astrogirl/
Lamiaa Ameen - Branding & Design Academy
Lamiaa Ameen the Brand and Communication Manager at Andalusia Health, I was born in a small village, This village is not very well known, but I always take pride in that I was born and raised there as I believe it has shaped a big part of who I am because of the spirit of its people and the place itself.
I’m an Applied Arts graduate (2011), and I also studied Advertising at Helwan University’s Applied Arts department as part of my pre-master. Have been an Associate Creative Director at Tarek Nour Communication, and my longest & most favorite digital journey was at Kijamii 2015 – 2021, also worked as a freelancer Illustrator at Washington Post.
While joining some galleries in different countries “Berlin, Russia, Dubai, Cairo”, showing my artworks. Branding and advertising is my home, while film making & art are my beach house.
Rami Abbas - PR Academy
A dynamic communications professional with over a decade of experience, Rami Abbas is the Director of Strategy and Development at TRACCS, and seamlessly leads strategy and business development efforts in both UAE and Saudi Arabia. In his current role, Rami works directly with the senior leadership team, to keep pushing the boundaries of performance excellence with regard to clients, people and business development. Leading a team of communications professionals in Dubai and Riyadh, he has extensive knowledge of the latest trends and developments in the industry and has led strategic communications programs for a number of public and private sector organizations.
He has diverse, multi-sector experience and has advised and worked with key organizations including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Central Bank (SAMA), global giants such as Toyota, Mastercard and Four Seasons, and other key local and regional players like Sipchem and Olayan Financing Company. With a keen interest and passion for training and mentoring young professionals in the business, Rami has been actively involved in specialized executive and group training sessions for many executives in the region, helping them better understand and navigate the ever-evolving communications landscape. Rami graduated from the Lebanese American University in Beirut with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing.
Samer Allouzi - PR Academy
Samer Allouzi has over two decades of diverse communications experience, thirteen of which have been with TRACCS. Having spent 5 years with TRACCS Jordan, Samer moved to TRACCS Jeddah in 2015, and has spent the last eight years delivering strategic communications programs and results-driven campaigns to a diverse range of public and private sector clients. In his current role as Senior Communications Director, he oversees the planning and delivery of integrated communications strategies for some of the key organizations in the Kingdom. His wealth of knowledge and experience in managing perceptions and reputations of clients and business leaders, have fueled his passion and expertise in delivering several highly effective and impactful crisis communications programs and solutions. A strong and dynamic leader, Samer has an unwavering commitment to the communications industry and training and mentoring the next generation of communications professionals. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Al-Ahliyya Amman University.
Yaz Ghon - Planning Academy
I have been a creative director in advertising for more than 2 decades, and did the rounds in many multinationals, publicis, fp7, ogilvy and geometry global., i worked on a very wide spectrum of industries and causes. What I bring to the workshop are a few of the techniques I have been using with my creative teams to come up with “IDEAS”, or crack a brief.
