Philippe Berthelot Shares His Vision for Grey Dubai
"My goal was to build a people-first agency. It’s key to creating an environment where people can grow and become their best version,” says Grey Dubai’s managing director Philippe Berthelot. With his experience spanning across the Marcel Agency in Paris, DDB London, and San Francisco, he joined Grey’s Dubai office in May of 2021 and has had a mission to ‘rebirth’ the agency ever since.
From a more flexible, hybrid model of working to championing transparency and encouraging a collaborative nature, Philippe says, “Our clients get more creative excellence and value when our employees are happy and fearless.” This approach has culminated in a hybrid working system, a focus on fearless creativity and opportunities to work abroad and be closer to family as part of a borderless motto.
Operationally, Grey works as an integrated marketing solution agency and a partner for commercial business growth. With this in mind, it has created a structure unlike others. Phillippe says, "It’s a unique financial model where the agency only starts making money when their client starts making money. This energy fosters the great force of creativity needed in business so we can help our clients with new products, solutions, and innovative go-to-market strategies.”
Speaking with LBB’s Nisna Mahtani, he explains how he’s been an adman since he was 18, and the approach which has led to a unique client-agency relationship.
LBB> You've worked across Marcel Agency in Paris and DDB in London and San Francisco. What's the most valuable lesson you learnt from your international experience?
Philippe> What's common across all these award-winning giants is the drive for excellence, the unconditional passion for ideas that begs a reaction, and a beautiful city!
LBB> What attracted you to Grey as an agency, particularly the Dubai branch?
Philippe> What attracted me to Grey is its global creative hunger and reputation. I like its unique structure. It's a creative boutique network. A group of creative studios across the world working together. At Grey, borderless actually means something.
The Dubai challenge was exciting. The agency needed a rebirth, and I loved the opportunity to create a new agency. That entrepreneurial challenge is what I needed at that time in my career, and I was given all the support to lead and create something new.
LBB> For those who might not know, what is the market in the UAE like? What are some of the unique characteristics and current trends?
Philippe> It's very different from places I worked in Europe or USA. It's a hub culture. We seldom communicate for the UAE market only but for multiple countries in the region. The diversity of the audience is unique in the world. I'm always amazed whenever I'm in a meeting; I rarely see more than two people of the same nationality.
The energy in this country is such that the impossible is made possible daily. Once they set their mind to something, nothing stops them. That's why we see progress happening at the speed of light.
LBB> What kind of leader are you and what were you keen to bring to this role in particular?
Philippe> I'm an adman in the most authentic meaning possible. I had my first internship in a small ad agency when I was 18, and I was hooked and wanted to learn everything about ads. I worked on both sides of the brief as a copywriter and an account man. As a young account guy in San Francisco, I would spend my day dealing with project management and my night thinking of ideas and shooting ads for startups until the CCO called me to his office and hired me as a copywriter. I love this job, and that makes me a passionate leader.
I'm also a certified Kinesiologist. When not reviewing ideas or negotiating fees, I am helping people live their lives to their full potential. Kinesiology is all about movement and energy, and I constantly diffuse positive energy to everyone. My motto in life is ‘to grow to help others grow’. I continuously learn new things and study to be able to help others be the best version of themselves. I am a true people leader.
These values are embedded in the culture of the agency.
LBB> Your aim is to champion a 'people-first agency', can you share a little bit about what that means and how you're creating that environment?
Philippe> Unlike other companies that have been established for a long time, we didn't have to transform into a people-first agency. We were born people-first. It's a mindset, a belief that drives every decision we make and not a few isolated events or parties to bring people together.
When I joined Grey, my goal was to create an environment where people can grow and become their best version. I have seen the adverse effects of employees going to the office as a small portion of themselves, shrunk by internal politics, frustrations or fear of failing. Ultimately, companies lose their value by not allowing their employees to grow. I encourage the team to show up as they are every day, be themselves fully and be all in.
It starts with the people we hire. We hire people with positive energy and empathy. Creating a culture where people look after each other intuitively is critical.
Flexibility is indispensable. We tried different methods to see what worked best. Now, we operate in an effective hybrid model where we spend two days of the week together, from eating breakfast to brainstorming sessions. Another two days working from home to allow ease of delivery, and when we return to the office on the last day of the week, we have agency gatherings where we share the latest updates on people, products, and profit. Or we have a goals meeting where we review progress made on the objectives set at the beginning of the year. In addition, we also offer a borderless office approach where we allow employees to work from anywhere in the world for a period of time to be closer to their families living abroad.
Transparency, as a value, is at the core that drives everything we do as an agency. We share everything work-related with the whole team, from the agency’s financial situation to people engagement and client satisfaction. The same energy is applied to our clients. They are often surprised with how we negotiate; we show everything, even more than they ask.
Building a relationship based on trust makes everyone more accountable. It drives that energy to achieve greatness and delivers results.
LBB> What's to come from Grey Dubai in the next year?
Philippe> Grey Dubai is a startup designed for startups. Our focus will be to work with founders of startups with ideas that can make the world a better place.
