New Digital Age is launching its first event in Dubai with a virtual roundtable on 28 April, marking the latest step in our growing editorial focus on the MENA region.
The discussion will bring together senior leaders from across media, marketing, advertising adtech and publishing to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
As investment, innovation and digital transformation accelerate across the Middle East and North Africa, the region is becoming an increasingly important focus for global and local businesses alike. From rising ad spend and expanding digital audiences to ecommerce growth and the rapid adoption of new technologies, MENA offers significant potential for brands, agencies, platforms and publishers.
At the same time, the market presents its own complexities. Navigating multiple territories, languages and consumer cultures requires local expertise, while measurement, talent, data strategy and evolving regulation remain key areas of debate for the industry.
The New Digital Age roundtable will examine how businesses can unlock growth in the region, where the strongest commercial opportunities lie, and what needs to happen next to support a sustainable and innovative ecosystem.
Confirmed attendees include Ian Manning, CEO of IAB MENA; James Dutton, Chief Product Officer at UM WW,; Terry Kane, Managing Director at The Trade Desk; Angeline Lodhia Shalabi, Co-Founder of Semantic Pulse; Sherry Mansour, MD MENA, Seedtag; Richard Fitzgerald, CEO of Augustus Media; Nick Walsh, Co-Founder and regional partner, The Alliance of Media Independents and OMD/PHD.
The conversation will look at how marketers are balancing global strategy with local relevance, and how media owners and technology partners are responding to changing consumer behaviour across the region. Areas likely to be explored include connected TV, retail media, programmatic maturity, creator-led marketing, brand safety, and the role of AI in improving campaign effectiveness.
Talent development is also expected to be high on the agenda. As the market expands, businesses across MENA are competing for experienced specialists while also investing in the next generation of leaders. Building skills, encouraging diversity and creating long-term career pathways will be central themes for many participants.
“For New Digital Age, the event reflects a wider commitment to covering the people, businesses and trends driving growth beyond traditional Western markets. The publication has increased its attention on MENA in recent months, recognising the region’s growing influence on the future of media and marketing.
Justin Pearse, Editor-in-Chief, New Digital Age, said; “The MENA region is becoming a key hub for the media and marketing industry and NDA plans to increase both our editorial coverage and events to dig further into the trends, technologies and, as always for NDA, the people behind this growth.”
The virtual roundtable takes place on 28 April and represents the first of a number of planned initiatives as New Digital Age expands its presence and coverage across the region.
