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 Abdullatif Al Sayegh, chief executive of Arab Media Group, has resigned, according to a report on Arabianbusiness.com.
The news, which was entirely expected, following AMG’s recent tribulations, came yesterday when Al Sayegh ended months of speculation over his future by confirming that he had stepped down.
“I am gone. This was on my own terms, with everyone’s approval, with everyone being happy,” he told AB.com.
““I have been here since 2001, and I believe now I have completed nine years it is time to (move on). It is not about making more money, it is about...I have done quite enough, and I saw my role was not as effective as it used to be,” Al Sayegh added.
He went on to say: “I am a person who just wants to keep going and building and doing more, and right now everything is established.”
Without straying into sarcasm, that last statement of Al Sayegh’s is more than a little disingenuous – it might me more accurate to say “decimated” than “established”, what with AMG having been stripped
of its newspaper business and elements of its TV and radio portfolio last year.
This left the Dubai Holding-owned group with its profitable clutch of radio stations, under the Arabian Radio Network brand, as well as the loss-making MTV Arabia and Nickleodeon franchises.
After the second round of reorganisations, which saw AMG properties summarily moved to Dubai Media Inc, the rumours started up: Al Sayegh was quitting, Al Sayegh had already quit, Al Sayegh had been fired, Al Sayegh was staying put no matter what.
Senior AMG insiders kept quiet, fuelling speculation that something was up – and here it is.
AMG’s executive director, Mohammed Al Mulla, will move into the CEO role; as for Al Sayegh, he says his future lies with consultancy.
“I believe I could be a great help to the entire region rather than just focusing on my own company,” he said.
Arabianbusiness.com has a lot more from Al Sayegh, including a separate Q&A piece, but it’s mostly putting a shiny gloss on the situation – or, in the time-honoured practice of executives everywhere, not answering the question.
“Why are you leaving?” asks AB.com.
“Everything comes to a time where you close one chapter and you open a new chapter,” says Al Sayegh.
Absolutely.
We’ll wait to see what, if any, changes the new AMG chief has in store – and of course, what Abdullatif Al Sayegh gets up to next.
UPDATE
According to The National's new media and marketing blog, run by the ever-worthwhile Keach Hagey, Viacom is running AMG's MTV and Nickleodeon franchises on a day-to-day basis, and has been since late last year.
Viacom execs are apparently working inside AMG, supervising the station's operational staff.
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