Muhammad Ali, Executive Creative Director, LEO UAE, has been recognised on Campaign Middle East’s 40 Over 40, which honours leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more.
This is not a ranking. It is the first edition of an annual platform created to spotlight senior industry figures aged 40 and older. They represent different disciplines and different leadership styles but are all builders of brands and businesses. These have been recommended as caretakers of client trust and custodians of culture. The 40 over 40 list celebrates the people who have moved the needle – not for a season or for a single campaign cycle, but for several years.
Muhammad Ali (Mali for short) is on a quest to pop up first when you Google his name – he’s about 72,346,787 hits away. His creative philosophy is simple: Real, great work works real great.
Ali’s 18 years have seen him make Kevin Hart the world’s first Chief Island Officer, launch multiple summer hits for Yas Island, create a time-travelling rally for Porsche, send the UAE flag to space for Hilal Bank, turn Lebanon’s bullet-ridden walls into musical notes for 7-Up, give traumatised toys a series that broke YouTube records for Yas Theme Parks, and create Carlsberg’s most successful ad ever.
TOP ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Being ranked #1 ECD MEA, a Top 30 Global ECD at One Show and a Top 25 Global ECD at D&AD have been honours. But one of the sweetest moments in 2025 was going up on stage to receive a Grand Clio for NBA and shouting out the one and only Kobe Bryant in a room full of the world’s best sports agencies and brands.
CLIENT RECOMMENDATION
Badr Bourji
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Yas Island Abu Dhabi
Mali is, by far, one of the sharpest minds and creative thinkers I’ve encountered. He has this incredible ability to operate across worlds that rarely coexist. He’ll obsess over the smallest detail one minute and completely reshape the thinking the next. He has a strong instinct for ideas and insights, no patience for average work, and a habit of pushing ideas far beyond where others stop. He’s a natural challenger: he challenges briefs, clients, and conventional thinking. Pair that with his presence and storytelling, and you’ll see why people gravitate towards him in a pitch, on stage, or around a table. He creates work that wins attention, wins awards, and wins people.