Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, who will head MMS’ executive management team, has more than 15 years of experience in the regional advertising and communications market Nadim Samara, the former CEO of Dubai-based Omnicom Media Group (OMG) MENA, will take on the role of chief operating officer at MMS DUBAI: Media company MBC Group has appointed Ahmed Al-Sahhaf as chief executive officer of its new in-house commercial and advertising sales unit MBC Media Solutions (MMS). Nadim Samara, the former CEO of Dubai-based Omnicom Media Group (OMG) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), will take on the role of chief operating officer at MMS, which was launched in partnership with Engineer Holding Group (EHG). MBC Group, one of the largest media firms in the MENA region, also announced the board of directors for MMS. Al-Sahhaf, who will head MMS’ executive management team, has more than 15 years of experience in the regional advertising and communications market and until recently was general manager of STC’s consumer marketing communication, while Samara has in-depth understanding of the region’s advertising market. Commercial advertising specialist Waleed El-Essawy has been appointed as managing director of MMS’ operations in Egypt where he previously worked for the CBC TV network. The MMS board will comprise of five members: Mohammed Al-Khereiji, CEO of Al Arabia, owned by EHG; Mohammed Alghaith, head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at Al Arabia; Marc Antoine d’Halluin, CEO of MBC Group; Olivier Sage, chief revenue officer at MBC Group; and Abdullah Jamjoom, adviser to MBC Group’s chairman. Al-Khereiji will chair the MMS board and d’Halluin will take on the role as chairman of its executive committee. MBC Group chairman, Waleed Al-Ibrahim, said: “We have assembled a strong leadership team and put in place a comprehensive governance framework to take our new venture MMS forward. “Under the chairmanship of Mohammed Al-Khereiji and executive leadership of Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, this comprises executives with proven expertise in the regional advertising market, coupled with in-depth knowledge of the global media industry. “We remain committed to offering client partners integrated solutions across television, digital, and OTT platforms. We look forward to launching MMS early next year.” The new commercial and advertising sales unit has been set up to allow MBC to work more closely with clients, which include many of the world’s largest consumer brands, its marketing and advertising companies, and media buying agencies.