Ghassan Kassabji

Ghassan Kassabji is an accomplished senior executive with more than 30 years of success in business development, marketing, advertising and brand building, leveraging extensive international experience across the USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Ghassan has proven his ability to lead culturally diverse, high-performing teams while executing complex multi-platform marketing and business development strategies. Ghassan is also a digital marketing keynote speaker, recently invited to Dubai’s GITEX Global Marketing Mania.

Prior to joining IMPACT BBDO, Ghassan led the transformation of Saudi-owned Extend-The Ad Network, into a full-service digital creative and media buying agency providing integrated marketing communication solutions.

Before Extend, Ghassan spent 15 years with TBWA\RAAD in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He was Chief Development Officer responsible for the agency’s growth. He also led the digital transformation for Nissan across Africa, the Middle East and India as TBWA’s Nissan United Managing Director.

During the first 12 years with TBWA, he served as Managing Director for the regional office in Dubai and head of the Saudi operations after working as Managing Partner for the agency’s affiliate in Beirut. Ghassan contributed to his company achieving top awards at Cannes Lions in 2018 and 2012.

From 2013-2017, Ghassan left the advertising world to take on the position of CEO at Rise General Trading, a national holding company in the UAE. Prior to 2000, Ghassan held various positions in marketing, advertising and business development for companies in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the USA.

Ghassan has a Post-Graduate Diploma program in MIT Design Thinking and Marketing certificates from The Wharton School of Business Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania and from Columbia University. Ghassan has a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.