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FP7 McCann and MullenLowe MENA to merge as McCann MENA under Mounir Harfouche.

FP7 McCann MENA and MullenLowe MENA will combine as McCann MENA under Mounir Harfouche; Tarek Miknas will help with the transition, then step down from his current role.

By Brief & Butter · Sep 21, 2026

FP7 McCann and MullenLowe MENA to merge as McCann MENA under Mounir Harfouche

FP7 McCann MENA and MullenLowe MENA are combining into one agency, McCann MENA. The agencies announced the move on 21 September 2026 and said it follows Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) and MCN. Mounir Harfouche, who has led MullenLowe MENA, will be chief executive of the combined agency. Tarek Miknas, FP7 McCann's chief executive, is actively involved in the transition and will then step down from his current role to pursue personal and family projects.

What the agencies announced

McCann MENA will sit within McCann's global network and report to MCN, whose group CEO is Ghassan Harfouche. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG on 26 November 2025. According to the agencies, the new agency brings the creative teams, talent and regional know-how of both businesses under one roof and opens up Omnicom's wider capabilities across the Middle East and North Africa to clients. They add that McCann operates in more than 100 countries.

The agencies present the merger to clients as more creative range without losing the relationships and institutional knowledge built up over the years. Clients will keep their core teams and existing relationships while the two businesses are brought together, they say, and staff will get the chance to work on more clients and across the McCann and Omnicom networks.

Several questions remain open. The announcement gives no date for when the combined agency starts operating or for when Miknas steps down. Nor does it say whether the FP7 and MullenLowe names will stay on local offices.

Who leads, and who steps down

Mounir Harfouche said the agency would draw strength from "remarkable creative cultures" and promised a careful approach to the consolidation, built around the changing needs of brands across the region. Ghassan Harfouche described the two businesses as "highly complementary" and said the combination adds scale while keeping continuity in leadership.

Miknas said FP7 McCann had been built over decades by its people and its long client partnerships. The time was right to "pass the baton", he said, adding that he trusts Mounir Harfouche's leadership. The agencies credit his leadership for FP7 McCann being named MENA Network of the Year at Cannes Lions 2026 and for its agency and network of the year titles at the MENA Effie Awards. According to Communicate's report in June, FP7 McCann was the region's most-awarded network at that festival by both Lions and points, turning 28 shortlists into 10 Lions for work for Arla Foods, L'Oréal Paris, Parkin and Spoor. In an interview Communicate published on the day of the announcement, Miknas said FP7's top 20 clients had been with the agency for an average of 15.75 years.

What it means for marketers

For brands on either agency's roster, the promise is continuity: the same core teams through the transition. With no timetable published, ask your agency now who will lead your business once the integration is done and whether your core team stays intact. If the legal entity you contract with changes, contracts and purchase orders may need updating. Brands that compete with a client of the other agency should ask how the combined roster will be managed.

For marketers in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf who run creative reviews, two Omnicom agency brands are becoming one, so the list of network agencies to invite gets shorter. If your work depends on a specialist team at either agency, check where that team will sit after the integration.

Sources

Source: Zawya

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