Panel Discussion

#1 Most Awarded Female Executive Creative Director in the world The Drum 2023 Official Rankings Marie-Claire’s creative career spans a multitude of renowned brands such as Mars, J&J, PepsiCo, Essity, Annahar Newspaper and more. MC’s work has garnered prestigious international and regional accolades, including Grands Prix at Cannes Lions and the only D&AD Yellow Pencil for MENA in 2022. Beyond her professional success, Marie-Claire’s commitment to positivity led her to study Pranic Healing and Kinesiology. She uses the tenants of what she learned in her work and to spread a positive healthy collaborative culture wherever she goes.

Having had a life-long fascination with the beauty of the Arabic language -thanks to her Journalist father-, Noor had some shy attempts to mimic the literature she was exposed to, and long story short, she was a published little writer at the early age of 8, marking the beginning of a life-long love affair with storytelling, which turned into a career, 1st at Leo Burnett Riyadh, and currently at Wunderman Thompson where she’s been telling stories for a little over 6 years.

With over 20 years of experience in marketing, creativity, media, digital solutions, and product innovation, I am the founder of Bassmat and currently serve as its Chief Creative Officer. An intuitive writer and poet, I deeply believe in the transformative power of creative content marketing. I proudly stand as one of the pioneering Saudi youths in the digital media industry, having been among the first Arabs to establish a personal website in 2000. Throughout my career, I’ve spearheaded numerous major marketing campaigns for esteemed entities such as the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia, Dubai Shopping Festival, the Louvre Museum, Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Culture, Saudia Airline, and the Arab Trade Road Show

Saadi Alkouatli has 22+ years of experience as a creative lead at Leo Burnett, TBWA, McCann, W+T, VICE and now ECD of Webedia KSA. Saadi’s work has been recognised globally, winning numerous awards at prestigious shows like Cannes, Clios, Lynx, and NY Festivals.

Mohammed is an Executive Creative Director from Saudi Arabia, who ranks among the top five most awarded ECDs in the MEA region and top 100 internationally by the World Creative Rankings 2023 – The Drum. During his 10 years at Leo Burnett in Saudi Arabia, he received coveted accolades and shortlists from the world’s most prestigious award shows for the first time for his office and some of them for Saudi Arabia, including Cannes Lions, The One Show, Art Director’s Club, EPICA, CLIO, Dubai Lynx, Loeries, AdFest, New York Festivals, Gerety, Effie’s, Caples, and many others. Aside to receiving awards, Mohamed has served as a judge in several award shows, to name a few Cannes Lions, ADC Global, New York Festivals, Dubai lynx and CICLOPE.

Dennis de Rond, visionary founder of Skyne, is one of the most prolific individuals in strategic branding and design. With his offices in KSA, UAE and the Netherlands, he’s worked with global giants across diverse industries, from FMCG leaders to financial firms and entire destinations. His portfolio includes iconic names like Rainbow Milk, Nike, Coca-Cola, Masafi Water, Unilever, and many more. Over his illustrious 25+ year career, Dennis has lectured at Master Design Universities in the Netherlands and been a partner for renowned branding firms such as FutureBrand New York and Designbridge London. His work has earned him the prestigious Red Dot and Transform Awards. When not being a creative director, he is training for the ClipperRace to sail from Zhuhai to Seattle across the North Pacific Ocean.