GCC advertising veteran and Memac Ogilvy founder Edmond Moutran dies

Edmond Moutran, the founder and chairman of advertising agency Memac Ogilvy, has passed away aged 77.

One of the most prominent marketing figures in the region, Moutrain was among the first Lebanese advertising professional to work and set up shop in the GCC region, according to an obituary posted by Memac Ogilvy.

He joined the Bahrain-based firm Intermarkets in 1973 and later established the group’s first regional office.

Moutran founded his own agency – Middle East Marketing and Communications (Memac) in 1984, which entered into an affiliation with global agency Ogilvy & Mather two years later. In 1998, Memac officially partnered with the WPP agency, which acquired a minority equity ownership stake in the business. It was then renamed Memac Ogilvy.

Moutran led the agency to expand across the region in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait and also enter new territories such as Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Qatar and Jordan. In 2013, Moutran led the sale of a majority share of the company to Ogilvy.

He also launched the media agency, Mindshare, in partnership with JWT MENA in 2000 and 10 years later, he launched Ogilvy Action, now known as Geometry.

In 2017, Moutran stepped down as CEO of Memac Ogilvy, but maintained his position as its chairman.

Named the Dubai Lynx Person of the Year in 2014, Moutran was recognised for advancing the reputation and profile of the communications industry across the MENA region.

He was also awarded Lebanon’s National Order of the Cedar medal in 2014.