Leo Burnett Worldwide CEO Tom Bernardin holds annual plan meeting in Lebanon

The meeting, presided over by Tom Bernardin, CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide, brought together Farid Chehab, Chairman MENA and Chief Creative Officer CEEMEA (Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa), Raja Trad, CEO MENA region, with members of the MENA and the European region management teams.

During his two day visit, Mr. Bernardin insisted upon the importance of holding such a meeting in Beirut, which has proven time and again to be a city for the ages and a city that breaks through the clutter by defying all challenges to create world-class advertising. But most importantly, he wanted to demonstrate through his visit his and Leo Burnett Worldwide's personal commitment to the Beirut agency and its staff.

Taking the floor at a gathering attended by all Leo Burnett and MS&L Beirut staff, Tom Bernardin said: "I am truly amazed by the outstanding creative results delivered by the Beirut office throughout the past two years. Despite the difficult and dangerous working conditions, the Beirut affiliate for Leo Burnett was committed to constantly delivering exceptional advertising, and with its creative results it kept standards as high as ever with inspirational ideas that were on a truly international level."

Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett MENA region was quoted as saying: "We are sincerely thankful to Tom Bernardin for choosing to hold the annual plan meeting in Beirut. This yearly gathering could have been done anywhere in the region, but despite the risk of having it in Lebanon, Tom insisted on holding it in Beirut as a sign of faith in our country and in the agency's staff."

Founded in Chicago in 1935 with eight employees and three clients, today Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc. operates a global network of over 200 operating units across 83 markets, including 97 full-service advertising agencies and a variety of specialty marketing services including direct, database and interactive marketing, sales promotion and brand consulting. Leo Burnett's mission is to be "the best in the world, bar none, at turning brand buyers into brand believers," and does so utilizing its proprietary Brand Belief System.™ Leo Burnett currently handles many of the world's most valuable brands including McDonald's, Walt Disney, Marlboro, Kellogg's, Tampax and Nintendo.