Marketing leaders across the Middle East gathered at the Sofitel Dubai The Palm for ABG’s second CMO Forum, a closed-door session bringing together 27 senior leaders across around 10 industries. Shaped by findings from the ABG CMO Pulse Survey, the four roundtables worked through a central question facing the region’s marketing leadership: how to keep delivering growth while proving marketing’s value and staying human, as AI, boardroom pressure and constant uncertainty reshape the role.
The forum also marked two significant milestones for the association: the launch of ABG’s Retail Media Steering Committee and a three-year strategic memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Media Council.
Key discussion themes included:
- AI and the future of decision-making, and keeping human judgment, emotion and cultural read-in the loop
- Building brand resilience and protecting long-term brand investment against short-term performance pressure
- Proving marketing’s impact to the board, and reframing marketing from cost centre to investment
- Measuring what matters, and shifting the conversation with CFOs beyond short-term ROI
- The evolving CMO role, with greater responsibility for aligning growth, brand and long-term value creation across the organization
Across the four roundtables, one direction emerged clearly: growth remains the priority, but the discipline required to deliver it is changing, balancing speed with judgment, and short-term performance with long-term brand strength. The forum’s conclusions centred on three commitments: keep it human, protect the long game, and prove the value.
ABG also confirmed that the next CMO Forum will be held in Riyadh, extending the forum series into a new market.
- Marketing Leadership, [add second category to match your taxonomy – e.g. CMO Leadership or Retail Media if relevant]
- Advertising Industry, AI in marketing, board reporting, brand equity, brand resilience, business transformation, CMO leadership, marketing leadership, marketing measurement, organizational alignment
