Name: Tarek Miknas Designation: CEO, FP7 McCANN MENAT Years in the industry: 29 years Years in the Middle East region: 23 years
Tarek Miknas, half Lebanese and half Turkish, is a nationalised Bahraini born into advertising. His parents founded FP7 in Beirut in 1968, and he grew up immersed in the industry. After moving to Los Angeles for his communications degree where he led a student agency to second place in the American Advertising Federation National Competition before starting his career at McCann Erickson in New York as an Art Director in 1997.
Six years later, in 2003, he moved to FP7 Dubai as an Account Manager for the entire Coca-Cola portfolio across the region. In 2006, he launched LOWE Middle East and North Africa, quickly growing the team and winning nine Dubai Lynx Awards in their first year of operation and expanding across 4 markets in his tenure.
In 2010, Tarek became CEO of FP7McCann for the MENAT region. Under his leadership, the agency was named Most Effective Agency and Network of the Year at the MENA Effies for eight consecutive years and earned the title of Most Effective Agency of the Year globally four times. Today, FP7McCann ranks among the top three agencies in its markets and was the #2 best-performing agency at Cannes Lions in 2024 and 2025 and was named MENA Network of the Year at Cannes 2026.
Best book you’ve read in the past 12 months Non-fiction: Atomic Habits by James Clear and The AI-Driven Leader by Geoff Woods. Fiction: On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
One thing the industry needs to improve as a priority Trust and collaboration.
One point of focus for 2026 within the organisation Better, faster and more efficient.
One quality you believe is essential to leadership Empathy.
Words of advice to young leaders Outwork and outcare – and then you’ll outperform, which is the only way to advance.
One ad that you enjoyed in the past 12 months “Expensive Sh*t” by McCann NY/New Zealand for Huggies. Hilariously simple product demonstration.
One thing that you’ve learnt in the past 12 months If you’re in a hurry, slow down.