H ere is Campaign Middle East’ s inaugural 40 over 40 list, an annual initiative starting 2026. This new annual initiative bears a simple purpose: to recognise leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more, often silently and steadily without applause.
This is not a ranking. It is not a hierarchy. It is not a definitive roll call of every accomplished leader in the region. It is the first edition of an annual platform created to spotlight senior industry figures aged 40 and older, representing different disciplines and different leadership styles, but who are all builders of brands and businesses.
These leaders have become caretakers of client trust and custodians of culture. Their influence is seen most evidently in closed rooms and felt most tangibly in the careers of the people they have mentored.
The 40 over 40 list celebrates the people who have moved the needle – not for a season or for a single campaign cycle, but for several years.
They have helped shape agencies, advise brands, grow teams, win new business, protect existing relationships and raise industry standards. They have carried institutional memory while adapting to new rules. They have proven that leadership is not only about visibility; it is also about responsibility.
These are leaders who have shown that the market is not only shaped only by moments of disruption, but also through the right advise at the right time from people who show up – constantly and consistently – and keep the candle burning long after the spotlight fades.
Campaign Middle East recognises and honours each of these leaders who’ve made it to the 40 Over 40 2026 list.