Memac Ogilvy has wrapped the fourth edition of its Red Academy in Beirut, graduating 32 students from the American University of Beirut's Suliman S. Olayan School of Business. The programme, which has run annually since its launch, continued this year despite the broader difficulties facing Lebanon – a fact the agency says reflects a deliberate long-term commitment to talent development in the market.
Mariella Abdo, Managing Director at Memac Ogilvy Lebanon and Iraq, said the Academy's continuation under current conditions was intentional. "We believe true talent will always find a way to shine, no matter the circumstances," she said. "The fourth edition reflects our spirit of resilience and underlines that genuine creativity recognises no boundaries."
The curriculum this year focused on a question increasingly central to the communications industry: how to meaningfully integrate AI into creative and strategic workflows while preserving the human judgement that underpins effective communications.
Sessions were led by senior Memac Ogilvy figures including Bhaskar Bateja, Head of Strategy at Memac Ogilvy UAE; Christian Safi, Creative Director for Lebanon and Saudi Arabia; and Strategy Director Adella Lakkis. Topics included cultural insight in data-driven thinking and practical AI integration in creative processes.
Top-performing students were offered internships across Memac Ogilvy's departments, a direct industry entry point that the agency positions as central to the programme's purpose.
Dr. Yusuf Sidani, Dean of OSB at AUB, said the partnership had demonstrated consistent value. "We value this partnership with Memac Ogilvy, which brings together creative vision and practical application, and prepares future leaders for the communications sector," he said.
Lebanon's economic and political difficulties over the past several years have significantly affected the country's professional landscape, making sustained corporate investment in local talent development less common than it once was. As AI tools become more embedded in communications workflows across the MENA region, additional srain has been added as questions about how to train the next generation of practitioners arise. However,
he programme's curriculum highlights how strategic thinking, cultural fluency and creative judgement continue to be key skills worth developing, precisely because they are the ones AI cannot replicate.