Jury

“Mommy. Executive Creative Director. Next Creative Leader. Award Winner. Kinesiology Coach. Mentor. Speaker”. Marie-Claire holds many titles, but the one she believes truly defines her is ‘A Student of Life’. Two weeks after graduating with honours from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, Marie-Claire, being top of her class, was approached by BBDO for an Art Director position. Her drive and contribution to growing the business and the teams made her a key player in the agency. She currently holds the title of Executive Creative Director. As ECD, MC, as called by her colleagues, leads a wide portfolio of around 12 international and local clients such as ADCB, Van Cleef, Hayatna, Samsung, IFFCO, AnNahar, Sadia, Essity and Nakheel. She contributed substantially in bringing home to the MENA region the most coveted awards of the industry. In 2022, she helped win more than 85 awards, amongst which the only D&AD Yellow Pencil won by MENA this year, and one of the two Cannes Lions Grand Prix won by the MENA region. Being an advocate for female empowerment, Marie-Claire won the ‘Next Creative Leader’ global award in Chicago by the 3% Conference in 2019, celebrating and identifying MC as a leader who is making her mark with both delivering great work and advocating for diversity. She was also invited to be a Jury and a mentor for the same conference in 2020. Some of her award-winning work has positioned her as an advocate for women: The “Mutilated words” campaign, with 28-Too-Many, that educates parents on the dangers of female genital mutilation in Egypt allowing them to protect their newborn girls from that practice. “Naharouki”, with AnNahar Newspaper, recognizing women who Led the Lebanese revolution. “Close the gap”, a campaign inspiring behavioural change for Lebanese women and educating them about the labour law that prohibits discrimination in the workplace. The “Violence Cover” that raised awareness around the domestic violence helpline in Lebanon, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown. And most recently, Tena’s “Despair No More”, a campaign aiming to erase from the Arabic Language the expression “Age of Despair” which is a direct translation of “Menopause” in Arabic, replacing it in the No1 Arabic online dictionary with the “Age of Renewal”. The movement generated a huge buzz and got endorsed by the UN. Today she continues advocating for diversity and inclusion through campaigns, mentorships and conferences. MC was a mentor at D&AD, The Cannes Young Lions, Spikes Asia, The Media Academy Singapore and Rise-Circle (for women leaders by Intercontinental Hotel).