Communicate

Print

E-mail

RSS Feeds

Add Comment

Mazen Hayek
MBC Group director of marketing, PR and commercial
You either loved Antoine Choueiri or hated him; he never left you indifferent. He earned all kinds of mixed emotions, yet truly deserved one reputation: as a workaholic top-achiever who believed in the principle of “never say die.”
He was often the engine behind business and political discussions: sharp, witty, street-smart, a lover of figures, a tough negotiator, a risk-taker, and an optimist and with a unique sense of humor.
He also came across as a modest and emotional man, someone who stuck by his friends and allies at all times, yet who fiercely fought his opponents until they surrendered.
He rarely under-delivered, even when it came to a verbal, non-written agreement. Choueiri had the same kind of appreciation for advertisers and agencies, coupled with his obsession with enlarging the ad market in the MENA region while striving to help advertisers and agencies meet their business objectives and reach their desired bottom lines.
The media-representative, outsourced ad sales business model in the region would not have survived the global trend of advertisers conducting business straight with the media had it not been for Choueiri’s clout, added value and proven indispensability in the market.
The gradual split between brand agencies and media buying units in the late ’90s would probably not have made business sense without Choueiri’s sustained support and backing.
Choueiri gave charities and needy individuals the kind of moral and financial support that only a self-made man from modest origins would know how to give, in dignity and silence.

Georges Chehwan
CEO of Group Plus
I have the utmost respect for Antoine Choueiri, someone I’ve worked with closely for seven years. He gave a lot to advertising in the Middle East. He helped to increase the volume of the market by making sure that ad spend would grow. However, even though he has passed away I don’t think anything will change for now; the structure he established has sound foundations and his son is a good person. Of course, some people will try to approach the media, but we won’t be witnessing any radical change in the near future on top of the global changes that are already happening.

Pierre el Daher
Chairman of LBC Group
The regional advertising industry wouldn’t be what it is today without Antoine. Before him, advertising in the Middle East was mere child’s play. He’s the one who had the will to devise and implement a whole system that – up until now – does very well and will keep doing well even though he has passed away. We’ll keep working with the Choueiri Group without a doubt, just like before.
However, reducing Antoine to what he achieved in his business would be unfair. He was a man with a vision, who had such courage that I sometimes marveled at the risks he took. At times, I would try and talk him out of it, but he would go ahead, no matter what other people said.

George Jabbour
President of the IAA Lebanese chapter and CEO, Near East, of Fortune Promoseven
Each and every one of us perceived the death of Antoine Choueiri as a major loss and we are all very sad. Whether you liked him or not, whether you were with him or against him, you can only agree that he was an outstanding figure of the advertising world in the region, and that over the past 35 years he left his mark on everything that was related to advertising.
Ever since I got into this business 25 years ago, Antoine was there, so it’s not easy to all of a sudden imagine the industry without him. Time will tell. The only thing I know for sure is that it won’t be the same. He was a man with a vision, who was generous, who had the will to fight until the very end, who was smart and strong on so many levels in personality, business, sports, and politics. There are many ways to approach such a personality beyond business.

Farid Chehab
Chairman and chief creative officer of Leo Burnett CEEMEA
With Antoine Choueiri’s passing, a monument of the industry has disappeared. He was with us from the start, when we were just young beginners.
I believe that Antoine has gone at a time when the major media, as we used to know it, is also disappearing. What Antoine represented is an era that’s almost over. Those media buying companies that Antoine established will soon be a thing of the past. We’re moving towards a new world, and Antoine would have been quite sad to see this new world grow and be different from what he created. Those figures that were emblematic of a certain way of advertising will be gone forever: the Leo Burnetts, the Ogilvys, and, in the Middle East, the men such as Antoine.

Mustapha Assad
Chairman and CEO of Publicis Graphics
The world has lost a great man, but Antoine Choueiri has left his mark. He was a leader, a fighter, an innovator, a husband, a father, a colleague. To me, he was a dear friend, a brother. I consider his family to be my family.
I could tell you how Antoine was known as the “Godfather” of media in the Middle East. I could also tell you that he was highly intelligent, possessed an endless generosity, and was very pragmatic. I could tell you that he developed and maintained excellent personable working relationships with his agencies and clients. And that he was a fighter, with business acumen and outstanding salesmanship, who never stopped until his mission was achieved. I could also tell you that he founded the Choueiri Group, a very successful, well-structured organization. And he treated each friend and business partner with great care and attentiveness. This is how the world will remember Antoine Choueiri.
He liked to excel at everything he did, and he usually succeeded, with the exception of predicting football results. Over the years we had ongoing football bets for a small sum paid to the winner after each match played. I was unlucky a couple of times, and handed over cash when my teams lost. Antoine, on the other hand, would write me a check every time he lost – and he lost many times. I couldn’t bring myself to cash the checks, as I knew these were occasions to be cherished. So, instead, I framed every check and hung it on my wall. I never let him live it down, especially when he would visit and I would proudly show him more than 25 framed checks hanging on my wall.
From the years our families spent living together in Paris, escaping the Lebanese war, to all the memories and laughter we shared, I will never forget Antoine. He left us too soon, but he left us while he was at the top of his game. Antoine Choueiri made his mark on the world, and he will always be remembered.

Fadi Salameh
President and CEO of Middle East Communications Network
Antoine Choueiri, for the 30 years that I knew him, was a friend, a guide, and a mentor. He will remain the shining icon of our media and advertising industry – not just because he was one of the founding fathers in the region, but because he helped shape its destiny.
Antoine was a change agent. He believed in expanding horizons, creating opportunities, and working on making the impossible possible. He had the courage to work with opponents from yesterday and turn them into friends for tomorrow.
For me personally he was much more than just an industry pioneer; he was a beacon of Lebanese entrepreneurship, and he always held the cedar and Lebanon very close to his heart. His commitment to the Cedar Nation is legendary.

Raja Trad
CEO of Leo Burnett, MENA
In the 30 or so years that I knew him, I learned that any relationship with Antoine Choueiri involved more than just agency-media interaction. In dealing with Antoine, I was dealing with someone in whom the professional and the human being were inseparable. His big heart, his warm personal approach to building business relationships, and his commitment to do all he could to improve the industry made Antoine a friend, a colleague and a great business partner.
Antoine was a man of his word. He was honest, giving, and driven to better the industry. Antoine contributed immensely to the communications industry at large. He was always concerned about what could be done to improve the standards of the industry and worked tirelessly to achieve these improvements over the years.

Eddie Moutran
Chairman of MEMAC Ogilvy
Antoine Choieiri was an impressive man by any account and most knew him as a pillar and pioneer of our industry. Antoine was not just a brilliant businessman, however; he was also an extraordinary family man, an integral part of his community and he was my dear friend. His loss is a tragedy and he will be deeply, deeply missed.

Marwan Kai
Head of MIS Gulf
I have had the privilege of knowing Antoine for as long as I can remember. Before he became the great media mogul and pioneer the industry knew, Antoine was family. Antoine and my late father [Elie Kai, another industry pioneer] were friends and brothers well before they were partners. Antoine, Rose, Lena and Pierre were always around when I was younger, and my most vivid memory was the cursing that he and Elie engaged in over their endless backgammon and biriba sessions. From a professional perspective, Antoine was as influential in my career as my father was.
His impact and influence on the industry are there for everyone to see; when we talk about the media and advertising industry, some might argue that Antoine was not one of the pioneers, as there was a generation before him. But few would disagree that he’s had the biggest single impact and influence on this industry. He was instrumental in shaping how the media evolved in this part of the world. He was a great champion of growing this industry and of developing and rewarding human talent.
But all the industry and professional attributes are nothing compared to the human side of Antoine Choueiri; the man was the most compassionate, humble, caring person one could meet. He cared about people, people he knew well and people he hardly knew. I cannot ever recall anybody approaching Antoine for a cause and being turned away; he used everything in his means to help and do good.

Ramzi Raad
Chairman and CEO of TBWA/Raad
March 9, 2010 is surely a turning point in Middle East media history, as it will always be remembered as the day when its knight in shining armor exited the battlefield for the last time.
From the days of the pan-Arab magazines’ dominance, to the development of the pre-recorded video cassette as a lead advertising medium, to the spread of satellite TV, Antoine Choueiri charted new courses for advertisers, advertising agencies, media owners, publishers, planners and buyers across the Arab world.
His reconciling spirit and generosity touched the majority of players in the communications industry in this part of the world; his loss will continue to echo for years to come.

Louis Hakim
CEO of Philips Middle East and Arab Business Group chairman.
The death of Antoine Choueiri is a big loss to all of us and to the industry as a whole. He was a friend to everybody and a man of great vision, who led the industry to where it is today. Antoine was one of a kind and will certainly be missed.

Mark Butterfield
Head of media at Unilever NAME.
Choueiri’s death marks the passing of an industry icon that dragged Middle East media on to the world stage and shaped how media transactions are carried out today. He was a man who saw the bigger picture – not just for his clients but for all clients. His death marks a sad and regrettable loss of a business partner and friend.

Alex Saber
Executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Publicis Groupe Media
Antoine was a visionary who laid the foundation stones of the Arab media landscape – after all, he created what we have today. Antoine is an institution, a glowing torch for the industry, and leaves a legacy in very safe hands.

Lance de Masi
President of the IAA UAE chapter, and president of The American University in Dubai
Does anyone believe for a second that the passing of Antoine Choueiri lessens his impact on the communications industry? The business model he invented helped shape an industry, fueling its prosperity in good times and survival in times bad. His efforts caused the pie to grow and provided advertisers and consumers with media options that would never have been sustainable without his commercial imagination and support. Many a communications agency owes its size to Antoine Choueiri.
I remember him as innovative, pragmatic, fair, and generous in his dealings. As an industry and personally as people and professionals we owe him a debt of gratitude.

Joseph Ghossoub
Chairman and CEO of the Menacom Group
Antoine Choueiri was a trailblazer; we, like boy scouts, follow the path he cleared for us.
For many of us, the hesitant entrants to the business of media in the ’70s, Choueiri was our inspiration, model and hero. He rolled out before us the Middle East mediascape and flagged where the opportunities lay.
His life and achievements were a lesson for us in not only shaping the media industry perspective but also in understanding and assimilating the demanding work ethos.
Choueiri was a keen basketball enthusiast. He almost singlehandedly built an active interest for the game in Lebanon. I was not surprised by his passion for the game; basketball has that sort of dynamism. It has all the elements of an elaborate boardroom drama. You tackle challenges, you dexterously make your way, and you dunk the ball to clinch a point. Isn’t that what every business is all about?
He was influential. After all, his business represented some of the world’s leading names in the industry – from Lebanon’s LBC Sat to the MBC Group, Al Jazeera Network, Al Hayat daily and Dubai Media Incorporated. But in building this business empire, he was also creating room for others to grow and prosper. That, I believe, is his legacy.

Jamale Rassi
Former partner in Choueiri Group, now general manager of media rep Adline in Lebanon.
I have lost a big brother, a friend, a mentor. He was the star I followed over 16 years. He was passionate, intense; his drive was success not glory, he used power to achieve more.
He was a builder not just of his media empire but of a big family, his own and all the people moving around him, be it in his companies, in the media business, in sports. He hated losers but was nevertheless tolerant with fragile people.
The media world has lost a star and the people around him have lost the solid backup he always provided to everyone. Anyone in his close circle will feel as an orphan. We learnt a lot from him; he was a school of success and his life could have been transcribed as a new version of The Art of War. How strategic his thinking was, and what a clear vision he had of things, businesses and people.
He lived intensely and passionately every second of his life, fulfilling his ambitions and enjoying his hobbies. After all, he achieved so much and so many things.

Due to space constraints, we have shortened many of the tributes above. Many contributors remembered Antoine Choueiri at much more length. To see these contributions in their entirety, go to communicate.ae.

Print

E-mail

RSS Feeds

Add Comment