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 This really is the season of the leaving do, it seems. Impact BBDO bigwig Pierre Azzam is leaving the group after 26 years to “seek a new path”, according to a statement from the agency.
“Leaving a Group in which I have invested more than half of my life is never easy, with all the emotions and history. I shall take a long-overdue break while exploring new opportunities for the second stage of my professional life,” said Azzam in a statement.
According to the statement, Azzam made his start in the agency’s management in Egypt in the early 1990s, before moving to the UAE and expanding Impact BBDO’s lower-Gulf operations. Azzam currently works as chief operating officer for the Lower Gulf at the Impact BBDO Group.
Agency head Alain Khoury said in the statement: “We are genuinely sad to see Pierre leave the company, but I have to respect his decision. Pierre has been exemplary in contributing to our growth and development. I shall miss him both as a professional associate and as a friend.”
Azzam’s move follows news broken last week by Campaign, suggesting that Omnicom-owned BBDO Worldwide is now the majority owner of the regional Impact BBDO operation, after Khouri handed over a portion of his holdings to BBDO Worldwide – the agency itself declined to comment.
Of course, after 26 years served, one probably doesn’t need a specific reason to move, so we’d be loath to speculate on any deeper reasons behind Azzam’s departure.
Recently-promoted
Impact BBDO president Dani Richa will work with the soon-to-be-ex-COO and the rest of the management team to ensure the usual smooth transfer.
Azzam also joins a growing list of agency types moving on since the new year, including Saatchi’s Elias Ashkar, and most recently, large chunks of Fortune Promoseven (again as reported by Campaign), including newly-appointed ECD Peter Russell, Dubai CEO Azmi Yafi (the man charged with looking into last year’s Lynx shenanigans), and other “mid-level” people.
Maybe a game of Agency Musical Chairs could be institutionalised? It could be fun.
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