Gerety Talks: UAE Creative Leaders
Just like the award show, the Gerety Talks series puts some of the marketing and creative industries true changemakers in the spotlight and at the centre of the conversation for a refreshing take on what leadership looks like.
In this new Gerety Talk, three creative leaders from the UAE discuss the challenges and evolutions in the advertising industry, particularly in the areas of talent acquisition and retention, technology, and user’s needs. They agree in the complexity of acquiring and retaining good talent today, with creatives seeking more flexibility. They also note that clients demand faster turnaround times, making it essential to find new ways to balance speed with collaboration and quality. The speakers emphasise the importance of embracing new technologies and creating opportunities to learn and experiment with them, while prioritising people and community. They also stress the significance of collaboration, adaptability, and understanding local contexts to create successful campaigns for global brands in the UAE.
The panel includes:
Dida Atassi, managing director, creative lead for design and digital products, Accenture Song
Natalie Shardan, managing partner, Serviceplan Group Middle East
Lucy Harvey, chief growth officer, Middle East, Turkey, India & Africa, Hill & Knowlton
With a special thanks to event partners The Industry Club, Adobe, Communicate, Roastbrief, Media Avataar and AdsofBrands
Dida is a design director at Accenture Interactive Middle East. An accomplished digital professional, she has spent nearly 20 years developing compelling world-class experiences for global and local brands across telecommunication, banking, retail, lifestyle and government sectors. Dida’s skills include user experience design, interface design, service design, and digital strategy using tools such as prototyping, user research, design thinking workshops, and service design methodology. She has a particular interest in studying local cultures and norms and how they impact design.
Dida was born and raised in Washington, DC and has enjoyed living in Dubai for the past nine years with her husband and two sons. She has a BA in Communication from Syracuse University and an MA in Communications with a concentration in Digital Communication from Johns Hopkins University.
With two decades in the communications industry, Lucy is focused on expanding the impact of H+K's award-winning Studio and Innovation + Creative hub in the Middle East, Türkiye, India, and Africa region. Lucy supports major clients, strategy, training and operations across the region, with a particular focus on driving the creativity and innovation agenda
She has worked with some of the world's biggest brands, trained senior leaders and developed campaigns across disciplines, from award-winning consumer launches, to video content for government, to internal campaigns. Her personal passions include using new digital and tech innovations in communications, seeing creative ideas come to life with the beauty and simplicity of works of art, and championing the development of young industry talent.
Natalie was born and raised in Jordan, she did her BA degree in Fine Arts but soon she realised that she prefers being a suit. Natalie started her advertising career as an account executive with Impact BBDO Dubai in 2005, handling multinational clients like Emirates Airline and PepsiCo in addition to working on new business. After four years in Dubai, Natalie decided to follow her passion for fashion. She moved to Florence/Italy in 2009 to do her MA in Fashion Merchandising and Management. Soon after Florence, Natalie went back to Advertising. She worked with Y&R Jordan, JWT Dubai and before joining Serviceplan Natalie was a business director at MullenLowe MENA leading Pizza Hut, City Centre, MAF, Bloomingdale’s and Unilever. When she’s not running around in the office in between meetings, she’s either preparing for her dinner parties, booking a cross fit class or planning her next trip.
