Former Grey and RAPP creative chief Ali Shabaz joins Leo Burnett Indonesia

Former chief creative officer of RAPP Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) and Grey Group MENA region, Ali Shabaz (pictured) will be joining Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett Indonesia.He will take on the role of chief creative officer for Leo Burnett, and will oversee the creative product for the entire Publicis Groupe Indonesia. Brian Capel, CEO of Publicis Groupe Indonesia confirmed the news to Marketing and said in a statement, “Ali Shabaz is a renowned creative chief globally and we are excited to have someone as experienced as Shabaz on board to ramp up creativity not just in Leo Burnett, but to the entire Publicis Groupe Indonesia. We are confident that he will be able to take our creativity to the next level.”Capel added that with Shabaz’s global exposure and keen eye for detail, not only will clients benefit from his knowledge, the creativity in the Indonesian ad scene will also be elevated.Shabaz said to Marketing that he is very excited to team up with Brian Capel on this journey. "The Publicis Groupe is an exciting network and Indonesia is a vibrant and exciting market for creativity. I'm hoping to bring my experience to the brands and also learn from its vast culture," he added.He first left Grey in March this year and joined Omnicom-owned RAPP in Dubai in the role of chief creative officer. Meanwhile with Grey Group, Shabaz spent over nine years covering both the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. In his capacity with the WPP-owned creative agency, he oversaw offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. His extensive career spans over 20 years across three markets, India, Middle East and Singapore. Shabaz has worked on various big brands that include Visa, HSBC, Sunsilk, KFC, FedEx, ICI Paints, Qatar Airways, Pizza Hut, SilkAir and Glaxo Smith Kline.Prior to his role, Shabaz was associate creative director of JWT Singapore in 2005 and was promoted to creative director within a year. In 2008, he rose to the position of executive creative director. Shabaz has also worked at BBDO Singapore for a period of five years.Read also: Creative Catch-Up: Grey Group’s Ali Shabaz