Publicis Groupe announced that Thamer Farsi is being promoted to CEO in Saudi Arabia, effective immediately.

Thamer will head all the Groupe’s operations in Saudi Arabia and work with senior management to help clients win in a data-led, digital-first world through creative strategy, analytics and insights.

Thamer joined Publicis in 2008 and became Regional Managing Director of Publicis Communications KSA in 2018. He will now lead a multicultural team of more than a 100 talents based in Riyadh and Jeddah spanning marketing, creative, media and PR professionals. A key aim of the appointment is to continue to drive superior performance and operationalize the Groupe’s strategic plan as the Kingdom moves towards realizing its Vision 2030 ambitions.

Raja Trad, Executive Chairman at Publicis Groupe MEA said: “Saudi Arabia is a key strategic market for the Groupe and it is exciting to be led by talented Saudis both at CEO and creative level. This is testament to our people-first approach and is instrumental in fueling collaborative relationships with client teams. We are confident that Thamer will position the Groupe’s strategy in what is now undoubtedly a platform world through building experiences and not just campaigns. We will support our clients in creating a real identity, dynamic disruptive creativity and build direct relationships at scale with consumers utilizing creativity and smart media options.”

With 16 years of experience in the areas of marketing communication, communication strategy and client management within different industries, Thamer has supported the agency in developing online/offline campaigns to build brand image of various organizations in multiple sectors including government ministries and authorities, banks, FMCGs, electronics, QSRs and real estate development. He has played a pivotal role in transforming the agency by encouraging and shaping communication plans where digital and social media became integral to the solutions offered by the company.

Commenting on his promotion, Thamer said: "Publicis Groupe has a deeply-rooted commitment to fulfilling the Kingdom’s vision of establishing an empowered Saudi workforce. From the onset, developing our cadre of professionals to work on key Saudi and multinational clients has been an overarching priority. As we continue to transform our business in this platform world to capture more of large and expanding opportunities in Saudi Arabia, our aim is to architect, build and orchestrate end-to-end solutions and operate as one to deliver superior results-driven work.”

Publicis Groupe has reinvented itself by moving from a Holding Company to a platform that is able to deliver on the Power of One vision: a transformative approach driven by a common purpose, a powerful spirit, shared behaviors and a relentless focus on clients.