Memac Ogilvy’s Chairman and CEO, Edmond Moutran is the driving force behind an ever expanding group of companies that dominates the marketing landscape throughout the Middle East and Africa. Eddie, as he is fondly called by one and all, runs what could easily qualify being called an ‘empire’ of marketing companies with many firsts to his credit.
After World War I, his parents had migrated from Turkey to Lebanon, where he was born and educated and although he is now in the coveted position to choose where he would like to nest, it is Beirut that he still calls home.
A chance meeting with some American missionaries opened the doors for Edmond to go to America, to study accounting. In the mid-1960s, when the concept of marketing was just beginning to flourish, young Eddie discovered his passion for the subject and so switched from accounting to marketing. After graduating in 1972, he chose to return to Lebanon where he started working for Intermarkets, thus becoming the first advertising man to move to the Arabian Gulf, the first non-Gulf President advertising man, the first expatriate in the industry.
Back then, marketing was still a relatively unheard of concept. Forty years ago he moved to Bahrain to establish Intermarkets, where he worked for 11 years before breaking away and with only $13,000 in his pocket, he started his own company — Memac.
Not long after, Memac Ogilvy opened offices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai and London. Today the company has 15 offices in 13 countries in the Arab world and besides marketing, is also in the business of research and on the verge of starting a healthcare company as well as getting into sports marketing.
Memac Ogilvy was the most awarded agency in the Arab World at the 2012 Cannes Lions, and winner of two Gold Awards at the Dubai Lynx.
Within Memac Ogilvy there are 550 people working in 10 companies, and within the entire group there are over 1,500 people.
You stuck around thick and thin with the very first company you joined. And yet after 11 years of devotion and success, you broke away to start your own company. What brought about that move?
I was very well-paid and well looked after but I felt the organisation was not looking forward. I had several discussions with my chairman at the time about where the agency was heading and I totally disagreed with the direction he was taking it. And time proved me right, six years later the agency was sold.
From humble, middle class beginnings to your present high flying lifestyle....have you always been a person who followed his instinct?
I believe in looking at the future beyond the obvious and perhaps this is where I’ve had an edge over others.
Memac was founded in Bahrain with four people, one client and an extremely humble capital. Did you
have any apprehensions in making that move? And why Bahrain?
The company I was working with decided to open in Bahrain and I ended up being sent there. You start at the place you know, it wasn’t really rocket science. Bahrain was like a second
home to me, still is and always will be.
With your recent launch in Qatar, Memac Ogilvy now has 15 offices, 550 professionals and a turnover equal to about 466 times its first year. It was the most awarded agency in the Arab World at the 2012 Cannes Lions as well as winner of two Gold Awards at the Dubai Lynx. When you were branching out on your own, did you in your wildest dreams, ever think that you would go this far?
Yes. I know exactly where I have always wanted to be. As far as I’m concerned its mission accomplished.
So what is it like being in your shoes, where you can look back and say ‘mission accomplished’? Is there anything else you look forward to achieve?
Motivation is an amazing thing. Part of my job is to motivate people, help people become excited about what they do and that motivates me. Money never motivated me, ever. Money, to me, is numbers ... very important numbers but still, just numbers. I don’t work for the money, I work for the pleasure. Someone once said, “If you love what you do, you will never have to work a day in your life” and that’s how it works with me. I love the business I’m in and as I go to work in the morning, I find myself singing. I don’t think I will ever retire. What obsesses me now, is quality. It never has been quantity. I never wanted Memac to be the biggest in the industry, ever. I’ve always wanted Memac to be the best and we’re getting there, regionally and internationally.
You’ve been called Middle East’s ‘man of firsts’. Were you consciously working towards such an image or did it just happen?
It just happened. You see things, and if you’ve got the guts to do it, you do it. Sometimes we were second, sometimes we were third, but most of what we have done, we were the first. I’ve always said, if you’re going to go down, go down big, so, try everything!
The secret to your success...
Very simple ... hard work! The harder I worked, the luckier I got. I believe there is no such thing as luck. You make your own luck. The people who think about things but don’t get up in the morning to do them, are dreamers. Yes I dream, and I’ve always said, dreams come true only when you have them while you’re awake. I’ve always dreamt about doing what I am doing.
There are a couple of more things I still want to do. It has nothing to do with opening offices or expanding. I aspire to inspire in people the obsession that I have, that we work for our clients, we work for our brands. My people don’t work for me! I may decide whether they work or they don’t but actually when they are working, they don’t work me, they work for the clients. And I always say to them, if you look after my clients, I will look after you. If we put our own profit ahead of the client’s, we lose even before we start. And if I can instil that in the hearts and minds of our people, then I feel I have succeeded.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years from now?
In five years’ time I would like to see myself as a Chairman only, not Chairman and CEO....to be a pain for everyone; comment about the work... just to say if this is good ... this is not good...do it again ... I’m ashamed of you ... I’m not proud of you, that sort of stuff.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family, my beautiful wife and wonderful children. And I look forward to enjoying my hobbies — driving old cars, fishing and of course, singing as often as I can.
Your favourite song...
My Way by Frank Sinatra.
The song’s lyrics mentions regrets, do you have any?
Professionally...none! Personally....a few! You can’t go through life without them, you’ve got to have them for you to appreciate what you do right.
When you look back in life, is there anything, good or bad, that stands out stands out for you?
I believe everything that happens, happens for a reason ... everything. There are opportunities in life, you either grab them or you don’t. I think everyone is capable of
achieving whatever they aspire for. I believe very firmly that one man makes a difference. Look at Gandhi, Anwar Sadat, Martin Luther King...these were great people who did what they
believed in and the world misses having more of them
around.
So I feel that people who know what they want, can go out and do it. There will be problems, obstacles and barriers, but you do what you’ve got to do.
If you had a second chance at living your life, what would you do differently?
Nothing!
You are one lucky man
then!
I am. There’s nothing I am not pleased with. Sure I get angry, sometimes I raise my voice, but I am very content with what I’ve done, with all I have, with what I’ve achieved. I’m not the jealous type. There are hundreds of thousands of people that have done far bigger things than I have ever done, I’m happy with what I’ve done, I’m proud of what I’ve done.
