Former Managing Director of FP7, Sasan Saeidi, has been appointed as CEO of J. Walter Thompson’s Gulf operations, leading the Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar teams.
Saeidi took over the role on 5 September, succeeding Michiel Hofstee, who has been working on network projects, leading on group pitches and WPP ‘horizontality’ initiatives and business models designed around specific client needs.
Sasan Saeidi joins J. Walter Thompson from FP7, where he held the post of managing director, McCann Group in the UAE since 2011. During his tenure, Saeidi transformed the agency, leading to recognised financial, business and award success. Saeidi’s career spans 18 years across strategy, account management, business development and executive offices.
He has led teams in North America and the MENA region on a wide range of assignments, both global and regional, for international and local brands across numerous sectors. Saeidi is the International Advertising Association’s (IAA’s) global vice-president for content strategy, and regional vice-president for the IAA in the Middle East and Africa.
About the company
J. Walter Thompson incorporated by James Walter Thompson, in 1896 and formerly an advertising agency, is currently a marketing communications company.
It is owned by WPP plc since 1987.The company has been pioneering brands since 1864, and is known for its longstanding relationships with clients, among them Unilever/Lever Brothers (109+ years); Mondelēz International/Kraft Foods (89+ years); Kimberly-Clark (84+ years); Nestlé (81+ years); Kellogg’s (80+ years); and Ford Motor (67+ years). Other notable clients include Avon, Treasury Wine Estates, Edgewell/Schick, Tudor, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Newell, Air Canada and the United States Marine Corps.
J. Walter Thompson (JWT), of the WPP Group, is the world’s best-known marketing communications brand. Headquartered in New York, J. Walter Thompson is a global network with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries employing over 12,000 marketing professionals.
