Maya Tayara, previously serving as Head of Client Engagement and Growth of dentsu MENA, has been pivotal in driving the agency’s mission to strengthen client partnerships and scale businesses to new heights. With over 15 years of experience, Maya has demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic vision. Under Maya's guardianship, iProspect MENA is poised to continue its trajectory of excellence in fusing brand and performance to accelerate growth.

Fiona Black, who previously held the role of Integrated Client Growth Lead of Carat, has been instrumental in the agency’s remarkable growth over recent years, positioning Carat as a top five player in the market. With over two decades of experience working in the industry, with 10 in region, Black’s previous experience includes key leadership positions across holding group agencies both in the UAE and the United Kingdom. In her new role, she will continue to work towards outcomes that build modern brands, increase brand power and deliver societal impact.

Black and Tayara’s apointments also strengthens the groups dedication to DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).

Why did you choose this career path?

Having completed my bachelor’s degree in marketing, I always fancied working in the media field. Being able to plan marketing campaigns for global brands and assisting in the execution of these campaigns is something that I had my heart set on since my high school days.

How did you land this job?

Dentsu is a reflection of my personality and ambitions. I didn’t second-guess my decision when my current director, Diala Hamad, reached out to me on LinkedIn to apply to this position. During the interview process, I saw glances at the culture at Dentsu, and I knew that this was the right move for my career.

How do you compare your work life vs what you imagined it would be?

I can’t imagine my life without my current role [in it]. The tasks and the workload became part of my routine, which I enjoy. As the media industry is evolving, I learn something new every day, and this is exciting and challenging for me.

What do you wish you had been told before you started working?

“You’re busy doubting yourself while others are intimidated by your full potential.” I wish I had been told this piece of advice before joining the work life, to boost my confidence back then as I used to always fear failure and doubt my abilities.

What is the best thing someone could tell you about your work?

Any positive feedback lifts me up and motivates me at work, from the approval of the strategies and media plans by the clients to the appreciative feedback provided by my director that boosts my motivation, my personal development, and my productivity.

What is the worst thing someone could tell you about your work? Negative feedback should be presented in a constructive manner to focus on the results that need improvement; it should be balanced with positive feedback to show that it’s focused on the future and not based on past mistakes. Therefore, I always appreciate negative comments as they help me improve myself.

What’s the most valuable lesson you have learned at work so far?

One of the most valuable lessons I learned so far is that no matter how challenging the situation is, a combination of hard work and good communication is key to overcoming any obstacle and submitting an outstanding deliverable.

Who’s your role model?

Without any doubt, my dad is my greatest influence. He has always shown me that success comes from hard work. He inspires me and teaches me to always believe in myself, and he has always supported me in the decisions I make.

If not this, what would you be doing?

If it was not for this role, I would probably see myself as part of the marketing department of one of the luxury and high-end fashion brands. The world of luxury and fashion is an incredibly competitive place; with trends rotating and fading in and out, the industry is ever-changing and stimulating.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

In 10 years, I see myself as part of the Dentsu management hierarchy, where I am contributing to creating more success stories for this lovely organization.

The 30 Under 30 ranking was first published in Communicate's Q1 2023 print issue.

As the global agency of record, iProspect will be responsible for managing all end-to-end media planning and buying, integrated across brand and performance. iProspect will operate as a media partner across all 42 markets where Kering has a media presence, and will gradually take charge over Q1 2022. Kering Group's portfolio of luxury brands includes Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga.

The announcement follows a unique four-month agency review based on innovation principles and a fast-tracked process. Kering sought agility and nimbleness within the response to a brief to select its future partner. The review kicked off in July, with incumbent Zenith defending the business.

In reference to the pitch and subsequent selection, Kering appreciated “the iProspect team’s digital and data-driven strategic vision and capabilities, its drive for innovation and creativity, along with its constant agile mindset. The Group looks forward to working with iProspect within the fully integrated Dentsu network as its unique partner, empowering the combination of a global vision and strong local expertise,” said a statement.

iProspect Global Brand President Amanda Morrissey said, “Enhancing our strong partnership with Kering is an amazing win for iProspect, one which propels our existing relationship onto a global stage. As the end-to-end agency, with the full scope of brand & performance media, our passionate team looks forward to working with one of the most innovative, digital-first, and data-driven luxury brands in the world.”

The win builds on a year where Dentsu re-launched iProspect as a new, future-focused, end-to-end global media agency.

The new iProspect media agency will draw from the broader Dentsu capability set, allowing clients the flexibility to seamlessly build bespoke and specialised teams with resources from across the network. Clients will gain access to expansive new audience insights, integrated and more effective strategies, market-leading planning and activation, and unparalleled business performance. Carat and Dentsu X clients will continue to access industry-leading digital performance services through Dentsu Media Scaled Services. 

The new iProspect entity will be led by Global President Amanda Morrissey, bringing together more than 8,000 media and performance specialists across 93 key global markets.

“iProspect is designed for clients at the intersection of brand and performance. We believe brand drives performance, and performance drives brand. We no longer exist in an ecosystem where these elements can be planned and bought separately. We must look at business and brand goals through a combined lens, bringing accelerated growth for our clients,” said Amanda Morrissey, Global President, iProspect. “By focusing on how consumers behave in their digital world and applying that to real-world scenarios via a highly connected and creative use of all channels, we position our clients to combine the learnings from the short and long term to drive more effective business growth today and tomorrow.”

Peter Huijboom, Dentsu International Global CEO Media & Global Clients, said, “At Dentsu, our goal is to help our clients to make meaningful progress and thrive in a world of change. Because we know people better than anyone else, we deliver human-centric solutions designed to drive growth for our clients and good in society. By bringing iProspect and Vizeum together we are creating a global digital-first, end-to-end media proposition. This will give our clients a scaled choice that sits alongside Carat’s brand-first approach and Dentsu X’s experience-driven approach while also allowing greater access to our Creative and CXM service lines.”

“We believe focusing our business capabilities around the consumer is the greatest advantage we can give our clients,” Huijboom added.

The new agency will be launched through a phased market plan over a three-month period with a target completion date of March 31, 2021. This integration is a proof-point of Dentsu International’s strategy to simplify how it operates to deliver even greater agility and flexibility for clients through a more focused portfolio of six leadership brands.

The agency will launch and execute a new performance-driven approach for the brand, targeting local, GCC and international markets.

Ravini Perera, senior vice-president of sales, marketing and PR at Atlantis, The Palm, says in a statement: “We have ambitious targets to continue to grow room revenue, occupancy and market share for Atlantis and a key part of achieving our goals is to have a robust digital performance strategy. We were attracted to iProspect’s data and insight driven approach, as well as their global reach paired with local expertise – we look forward to working together to deliver on our targets.”

Iyad Tibi, regional general manager at iProspect adds: “We are extremely proud to have been awarded the account and fully charged to grow our partnership with Atlantis. As a leader and pioneer in the region and world’s hospitality space, we are excited to be implementing new technologies and innovative solutions to go beyond results and drive business performance for the resort.”