Dubai LYNX honours Tanvir Kanji head of Inca Tanvir Advertising with advertising person of the year award

The Advertising Person of the Year Award honours someone who by their efforts, energy and dedication, has lifted the presence and profile of the region within the international advertising, marketing and communications community be it at a national or regional level.

"Tanvir Kanji's vision and understanding of the business as well as his passion and devotion has helped elevate advertising, media and communications to a higher level throughout MENA. It is with great pleasure that Dubai Lynx pays tribute to his achievements,"

comments Philip Thomas, Festival CEO.

"This honour is indeed a humbling experience. As one of the founding members of the advertising fraternity in this country, I pledge to renew my commitment to this industry which I love and continue to serve it with all the experience I have gained and the knowledge I have acquired over the decades," says Tanvir Kanji.

A native of Mumbai, Tanvir Kanji has worked in India and New York before relocating to the UAE in 1976 where he started up Inca Tanvir, a consortium of advertising, public relations, media and internet companies devising programmes that integrate its clients' global marketing communications objectives and strategies. Headquartered in Dubai and Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), the company has been successfully operating in the Gulf region for over 30 years, with a stable of local, regional and international accounts.

Included in the Inca Tanvir group is the subsidiary company Media Seen which represents several prestigious international media for the Gulf and Middle East region, and the dedicated portal for non-resident Indians, www.nri-worldwide.com which has won several international awards in the community service category and has become the voice of the 25m strong Indian migrants.

A prominent personality within the UAE advertising and marketing communication industries, Tanvir Kanji was a founding member of the United Arab Emirates Chapter of the International Advertising Association in 1979 and has served as both Vice President and President.

During his 27 years of serving on the board in various capacities, he was closely involved in the ambitious plan to establish a dedicated purpose designed IAA office in Dubai Media City, the only facility of its kind in the IAA worldwide network; he launched the Chapter's website and the UAE Chapter emerged as the most active and the largest Chapter in the world, twice receiving the Golden Tulip Award for Excellence.

Tanvir Kanji's many contributions to the advertising industry include being a member of the organising committee of the 40th IAA World Congress held in Dubai in 2006; he was Chair of the IAA Awards Committee that same year; represents the UAE in the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) and was awarded the 'Medal of Merit' in 2006 by the IAA for meritorious service to the advertising industry. Tanvir was a founding member of both the prestigious Dubai World Trade Club and the Indian Business and Professional Councils of both Dubai and Sharjah.

Tanvir Kanji will be honoured during the Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony to be held on the 17th of March in the Sheikh Maktoum Hall of the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, U.A.E.

Joseph Ghossoub, President and CEO of The Holding Group (THG), was the first recipient of this honour in 2008.