ABG Chairman & EVP Unilever MENA Farewell letter

A group and industry embracing change
Sanjiv Kakkar reflects on his successful tenure as ABG Chairman and the group’s key achievements in the last five years 

Dear ABG Members,

After a wonderful 37-year career with Unilever, I have decided to retire as of April 30th, 2022. Eight of these years have been spent in the UAE managing the exciting Unilever MENA business, and the last six years additionally as Chairman ABG.  

It seems just a short while ago that we were holding the ABG’s relaunch event, in the shadow of Burj Khalifa, back in 2016 with 18 companies as members. Our membership base has today expanded to over  60 companies who collectively contribute to managing over 70% of the region’s ad spend.  

At the time of our launch, the industry was beginning to see the signs of major change with the growth of online and mobile advertising, but this was still a world in which TV, radio and print retained sizeable market shares, and digital advertising was yet to take off. 

Looking back, you would say the single biggest change has been the transformation of digital, filtering into, and revolutionising, every aspect of our lives and businesses – and I’m sure the changes in the next five will be equally profound. 

Consumers now hold so much power in the palm of their hands, whether that’s making purchases online, or driving social media agendas. The supplier-agency-consumer communication dynamics have turned on their head, and it’s been a remarkable transition – one which the advertising industry is still adjusting to. 

On top of all that, the changes we’ve all had to navigate in the last two years, during the global pandemic, have been extraordinary. Our living rooms became ‘living Zooms’ as we worked from home and remote working became commonplace. COVID has ripped up the old corporate manual, and now with the war in  Ukraine, the world has been plunged into more uncertainty. 

In fact, if you had to pick a recurring theme during my tenure as ABG Chairman – it would be ‘dealing with change’. But with every challenge, I genuinely believe our resolve strengthens. 

As a group, and industry, we can hold our heads up high. It would be impossible to list every achievement but here is a quick summary of the key areas where the ABG has made a difference. 

The work we have done with the Influencer Marketing Transparency Charter makes me especially proud, as it symbolises what we stand for as a group – advocating best practice within dynamic ‘real world’ parameters, explaining to influencers the importance of transparency and trust, need for acceptable labelling, and processes for getting an NMC license. 

Our partnerships with key global external bodies such as the WFA, ICAS and IAB continue to flourish. 

With the IAB GCC and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), we launched new standards to fight criminal activity and promote brand safety in digital advertising in the GCC. 

With the WFA and UN Women via the Unstereotype Alliance, we are working to drive change, unstereotyping gender and promoting DEI in the workplace.

I was honoured, at my last official engagement, to speak at the recent UN Women led SDG5 Global Summit at EXPO Dubai. At Unilever, and across the industry, we have made great strides in gender equality but there is still work to be done, particularly in employing women at the very top leadership positions, and at board level. Another small, but significant, success saw Emirates (Airline) change BusinessMEN Class into  Business Class – the correct name in Arabic (الأعمال درجة.( 

Research remains a constant focus, whether that’s work with the UAE Media Measurement, Consumer  Pulse or supporting the Coalition for Better Ads. 

With so many initiatives ongoing, I feel now is the time to step aside and let the new Chairperson add fresh impetus, taking the ABG to even greater heights! 

Before I sign off, I must give a few key ‘thank yous’.  

I would like to thank all our board members, who have given up so much of their time and energy to promote the ABG and to drive our many initiatives. A very special thanks also goes to Charlotte Fernandes, ABG Group Secretary who has been the ‘beating heart’ of the group, keeping us on-track and connected as a Board.  

I know that I leave the group in safe hands. Elda Choucair, current Vice-Chair ABG and CEO Omnicom  Media Group (OMG) will take over my responsibilities till the next round of elections for the ABG Board that are due in September 2022, and I am sure under her leadership, and the board’s support, the ABG will continue to grow and prosper. 

I wish you all continued success, in what remains one of the most enjoyable and important industries to work in.