2026 Creator Marketing Forum (Part of IAB Global Creator Week)

Ian is currently the Executive Director of the IAB MENA, having worked with other industry leaders to establish it in MENA. He has had the privilege of working in multiple roles across multiple markets over his 20+years. This included leading global clients for Agencies in London, as CEO for an Agency in South Africa and recently as Head of Agency Partnerships for Facebook in the MENA region.

Abed is the founder and CEO of Sociata, previously known as Vinelab. Abed has been advocating for the creator economy since 2014, before it was even a thing. His company Sociata is the first agency and technology company that focused entirely on the potential of creators as a primary marketing powerhouse for brands in the GCC. Today, his company works with advertisers and platforms on large scale creator campaigns powered by their proprietary technology and provides education to thousands of creators in order to help them become entrepreneurs in the future of work.

Aliona Shcherba is a business owner, author, and influencer whose work spans entrepreneurship, publishing, and digital content. She brings together business, creativity, and an established online presence to connect with audiences across different platforms.

Heidi is a Senior Creative Strategist for Creator Marketing at Snap Inc., leading go-to-market strategy for creator-led solutions across MENA. She partners with Product, Sales, and Talent Partnerships to build scalable programs that strengthen brand–creator collaboration and drive platform performance.

Tanaz Dizadji is the Founder & CEO of Brand Ripplr, a leading influencer marketing agency in the Middle East, connecting brands with over 20,000 creators across MENA. A recognised leader in the creator economy, Tanaz has spent the past decade helping global and regional companies navigate influencer marketing and social-first brand building. Brand Ripplr works with 150+ brands, including Visa, Arla, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Beiersdorf and Dubai Economy & Tourism. Tanaz has been featured on the cover of Forbes Middle East, named among the UAE’s 50 Most Influential People, and awarded Business Leader of the Year.

With seven years of experience in the podcast industry, I’m a Client Partnerships Director at Next Audio, where I lead the planning and execution of podcast host-read, sponsorship and branded content campaigns. I work with a diverse range of global and regional brands, including NordVPN, Capital.com, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Dubai Tourism, overseeing campaigns across host-read advertising, branded episodes, podcast productions and creative integrations. Prior to joining Next Audio, I spent five years at Audioboom, one of the UK’s leading podcast networks, building experience across podcast partnerships, advertising and commercial strategy. Passionate about the continued growth of podcasting as an effective and engaging advertising channel, I’m particularly interested in how brands can use podcasts to build authentic connections with audiences.

James is a growth focused sales and marketing leader with over 25 years’ global experience in driving brand and revenue growth for global brands and startups. Currently the Chief Product Officer for UM MENAT based in Dubai he brings extensive digital, media, AI and CRM experience to the agency’s portfolio of local and global clients. James has strong SaaS startup and GTM experience at both commercial and advisory levels.

Nadeem Ibrahim is Head of Strategic Growth at Platformance, where he leads growth and transformation across the agency's brand and telco partnerships. He brings 18 years of experience across companies like Meta, DAZN, Vodafone and stc. Outside the day job, he is the founder and host of Brew Bytes, a podcast built over the last 18 months for people actually building with AI rather than just talking about it. It has grown to 12,000 subscribers and more than half a million cumulative views.

Patricia is Global Head of Programmatic at Capital.com, where she leads programmatic and brand deal strategy across MENA, Europe, APAC, and LATAM. With 13+ years spanning ad-tech, agency, and now client-side, she's built a rounded view of how programmatic works from every seat at the table. her career started in UK and now MENA where she's built deep expertise in DSP strategy, launching channels from the ground up and bringing an instinct for unlocking overlooked inventory to one of the industry's fastest-moving markets. Patricia is known for bringing structure and curiosity, and for helping teams turn complex, multi-market challenges into practical, scalable strategy.

Agnieszka "Aga" Kiełczykowska is VP MENA at indaHash, where she leads regional strategy and client partnerships for global brands. With 10 years in influencer marketing, she began her career leading global campaign delivery for brands across Europe, APAC, and MENA while working in Warsaw. After relocating to the GCC, she now oversees regional strategy on the ground. Her work spans brands including The Coca-Cola Company, PUIG, VISA, Uber, LG, Sony Pictures, and Saudi Tourism Authority, alongside agency partnerships with WPP, Publicis, and Dentsu

Brisceys Beired is a senior marketing and media leader with over 20 years’ experience across both media and creative agencies, helping brands navigate an increasingly complex communications landscape. Currently Business Unit Director at Havas Middle East, she leads integrated media strategy and planning across multiple markets, working with brands to connect media investment, consumer behaviour, creativity, data and business outcomes. Her career has spanned the Middle East, Europe, Australia and the US, with experience across brands including Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company, Etihad Airways, Sky, Sony, Cartier and Mercedes-Benz. Having worked across both the media and creative sides of the industry, Brisceys brings a broad perspective on how brands, agencies, platforms and creators can work together more effectively as technology and consumer expectations continue to reshape marketing.

Social Media & Communications professional with 15+ years of experience spanning digital strategy, content, and brand storytelling. Rama brings a deep understanding of the evolving social and creator landscape, with a strong perspective on how brands can build trust through authentic partnerships, credible storytelling, and meaningful connections between creators, brands, and their audiences.

Wade Eagar is Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer of FAST. For the nearly three decades, he has led marketing departments across multinational brands including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Meta, and Danone . His focus is marketing as a discipline, connecting strategy, brand, creativity and performance to commercial outcomes in the P&L.

Social, digital, and influencer marketing professional with 11 years of industry experience. Currently leading Omnicom Media’s influencer business unit Creo across the MENA region.

Hani Hatoum is the Digital Lead for Media Audience Measurement at Ipsos MENA, with over seven years of experience across media, digital strategy and audience insights. Having spent much of his career on the agency side before joining Ipsos, he brings a practical understanding of how brands, platforms and agencies use data to make media decisions. His current work focuses on digital and creator measurement, advertising intelligence, and developing new approaches to better understand media investment and performance across the MENA region.

Manoshi Bhattacharjee is a Product Go-to-Market Lead at Amazon Ads, spearheading the launch of new advertising products and strategic initiatives across emerging markets in EMEA and SEA. She previously spent 4 years scaling Amazon' Hardlines & Softlines Ads business in MENA from the ground up. With 16+ years in AdTech - spanning Amazon, InMobi, Google, and Ogilvy - she brings deep expertise in product commercialization, revenue growth and building teams that ship.