About The Speaker
Mai Salama
Founding Partner of Creative Industry Summit.Mai Salama is a master of Marcom, with a career spanning over two decades. She's always had a fascination with the power of communication, starting with her childhood obsession of taperecording TV commercials and watching them over and over again. As she grew older, she became deeply committed to understanding the patterns and layers of campaigns and advertising — eventually — believed in the power of communication to both build and bash. Now, Mai has become widely recognized as one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the creative industry, particularly in the MENA region. At the beginning of her career, she held top positions at some of the biggest names in advertising during their startup phase. These included Lowe, Grey, and Bates. She also played a crucial role in building the growth and success of Synergy, which is one of the Egyptian creative industry’s current giants. Subsequently, Mai joined Animation Advertising, where she was tasked with setting up, training, and running their client servicing department. Throughout her advertising journey, she worked with clients both locally, in MENA, and globally. This all culminated in her managing the advertising and digital companies of Breakthrough, a prominent startup group, in 2010. But soon enough, Mai launched her own entrepreneurial journey. In 2014, Mai and her partner, Naemat Khalil, started sailing their own ship, The Worx, an independent and innovative events consultancy seeking unchartered territories in the industry. During the same year, they launched the Creative Industry Summit, the first and biggest platform devoted to enabling, empowering, and connecting the diverse creative economies of Egypt and the MENA region. In just seven years, Mai played a key role in changing the face of the events and creative industries in Egypt, establishing a number of game-changing platforms and bringing international events to Egypt for the first time. And was instrumental in The Worx’s biggest triumphs and most notable achievements. This includes co-launching the NU Digital Awards, which strives to celebrate those excelling in everything digital within Egypt and MENA’s creative economy. Additionally, The Worx won Egypt’s license for Cannes Lions, the Global Festival of Creativity, becoming its first and only representative and office in Egypt in 2018. In 2020, The Worx even brought the Women Economic Forum to Egypt. With the entity being the largest gathering of women entrepreneurs and leaders worldwide, the event was attended by top governmental officials, business leaders, and a diverse line-up of highly accomplished women. Meanwhile, the Creative Industry Summit flourished into the Egyptian creative economy’s gateway for countless opportunities where the unprecedented is the norm. Following its rapid growth in Egypt, it expanded to Saudi Arabia with an event that exceeded all expectations in 2022. As the co-founder and CEO of The Worx, Mai is responsible for driving the company's strategic vision and overseeing its operations. Additionally, she is also a key driving force behind the Creative Industry Summit’s inspiring rise. Over and above these exceptional milestones, Mai has consistently and substantially contributed to showcasing Egyptian talents around the globe via The Worx, namely in the Middle East and Europe. Such as hosting a concert for Egypt’s iconic artist, Amr Diab, in London’s Wembley Stadium in 2018. Now, Mai is a leader with a proven track record of success in client management and management. Her strategic mindset and splendid communication portfolio make her a valuable asset in planning and executing the most challenging Marcom campaigns. On top of that, she is a branding, brand identity, and digital Marcom expert. In recognition of her achievements, she was the first Arab woman to win the “Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Marketing” at the Women in Marketing Awards in 2022. She also won the “Exceptional Woman of Excellence” at the Women Economic Forum in the Netherlands of 2021. Furthermore, she was appointed as the Vice President of Egypt at the India Business Council of the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.