About me
Head of Strategic Planning in Milano, London and Dubayy on local, regional and global business. Architect of Participation, Dots Connector, Next Best Instigator as off-the-record job titles.
Global Nomad, I sprang from Italian creative boutiques as Creative Strategist before being appointed Leo Burnett Senior Planner in charge of integrated platforms, including global projects for Fortune100 businesses such as Fiat Automobiles Group. At 28 I became the youngest ever Head of Unit in Advertising in Italy, leading Saatchi&Saatchi Planning and Xploring. In 2008, spurred on by demanding Clients, I've eventually founded a piratesque creative workshop in London, living and working on 1938 lightship vessel moored opposite the Millennium Dome. There I crafted beyond-the-line ideas for icons like Nike, Diesel and Jaguar as Brand Editor in Chief. During the Arab Spring, I flew to Dubai to explore that Region as GREY MENA Head of Planning. In November 2013, I moved back to London where I became proud father of Romeo George. Today I help local and global companies to benefit from the Social Enterprise era.
Amongst my best interpretation of the last 10 years, I've been a yacht-owner for Ferretti, a bewhiskered stylist for Diesel, a petrolhead for Maserati and Abarth, a riotous teenager for MTV, a semi-deaf old chap for Amplifon, a rabid migraine for Panadol, a rabid fan for Juventus FC, a rugged trucker for Iveco, a pebble for Nike, an Up in the Air's George Clooney impersonator for Alitalia, an expat daddy for Western Union, your icky girlfriend for Tampax (those days), a fussy kid for Horlicks (every morning), THAT flickering lock for Pantene, Giorgio for Armani, a surprise-egg for Kinder, another kind of surprise for Pampers, a wine ring on your wife's favorite tablecloth for Dash, some unmotivated haste for TNT, a "subject to approval" for Deutsche Bank, a bug in your computer before an Executive Committee for SAP, the mighty Mother Earth for New Holland-CNH.
Projects
- Maggi Diaries Season 2Sourcing, scripting and shooting for the most adventurous branded content platform in Arabia, including nine months of production in five countries (UAE, India, Turkey, KSA and Italy), covering all the hub and hygiene content creation for MAGGI Arabia’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels.
Work history
SVP & CIO
Leading the trailblazing momentum of the Social Enterprise model in the Middle East-Africa region and supporting our Clients and new prospects with products able to catalyse this business and cultural acceleration. Member of the FilmMaster MEA Steering Committee.
Developing industry-first Branded Content and push the envelope of the Cannes Lions Festival's most awarded Production company.
MENA Group Strategic Planning Director
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Fondly in charge of managing Brand Strategy and Research for all the Clients and New Business under the roof of Grey, Grey Digital, Cohn & Wolfe and the new start-up Healthy People throughout the ever changing MENA(P) Region. This role, conceived for me, reported directly to the MENA COO and CEO. I was also a Member of GREY MATTER EMEA, our Regional Planning Task-Force.
Together with the MENA Management, I contributed to drive the electrifying cultural and business transformation of what was considered the fastest-growing Agency in the fastest-growing Region. 100% of the top 6 business I'm delighted to work on these days weren't in fact here when I landed at GREY's. On top of that, I was instrumental in winning 3 European Clients on 4 pitches called by European Companies: Danone, Royal Unibrew and Ferrero. On the 4th, Volkswagen, we achieved a final short-list.
Major Regional Clients: GlaxoSmithKline (Panadol, Cold&Flu, Breathe Right, Horlicks), Danone (Bebelac, Aptamil, Bledina), P&G (Pantene, Kolestone, Duracell), HSBC (CMB), Dubai Properties Group, NFPC (Lacnor, Milko, Oasis), Royal Unibrew (FAXE, new product development), NADEC, Ferrero (Kinder range, Ferrero Rocher and Raffaello). Other major Regional tenders won in two years: Nadec in KSA, Qatar Rail and Qatara in Qatar.
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Skills
- Fashion
- Advertising
- Film
- Marketing PR
- Branding
- Creative Agency
- Digital Agency
- Presenting
- Brand Management
- Internet Marketing
- Strategic Planning
- Client Management
- Consumer Behavior
- Creative Thinking
- Branded Content
Education
Mass Media and Semiotics
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Communication Sciences and Semiotics