The fourth edition of The Great Marketing & Business Minds UAE 2026 will be held on January 29, 2026, in Dubai, bringing together senior marketing leaders, CMOs, and business strategists from across the GCC to discuss the future of performance-driven and impact-led marketing.
Organised by Digital Stallions Forum UAE, the annual event reflects the shifting priorities within the UAE’s marketing ecosystem, as brands increasingly move away from visibility-led campaigns towards measurable growth, data integration, and accountability. This year’s edition will focus on how marketing leaders are aligning creativity with ROI, storytelling with analytics, and technology with strategic insight.
The 2026 edition will feature a jury panel comprising senior marketing professionals from multiple sectors. Jury members include Sanaya Zubairy of Zurich International Life Insurance (Middle East), Jon Barber, Vice President – Marketing & Communications at TECOM Group, Suad Merchant, Chief Marketing Officer at GEMS Education, Aaryan Kapur, Group Head – Digital Marketing at Aster DM Healthcare & Medcare Group, Samir Talkhani, Senior Vice President at Mashreq Bank, Balaaji Vaidyanathan, Director & Head – Marketing, CEEMEA at Franklin Templeton, and Zeeshan Haider, Head of Marketing & Communications at Al Wathba National Insurance, among others.
According to industry studies referenced by the organisers, more than 90 per cent of marketing leaders in the UAE now prioritise measurable impact and ROI over traditional visibility metrics, underlining the region’s growing emphasis on data-led and performance-oriented marketing strategies.
Speaking about the upcoming edition, Paurush Sonkar, Founder of Digital Stallions Forum UAE, said:“The 2026 edition celebrates how far the UAE marketing ecosystem has evolved, uniting leading marketers and digital strategists from over 30+ brands to showcase impactful, data-driven work that drives business growth, sets new industry benchmarks, and amplifies the region’s role as a hub for strategic marketing excellence and innovation.”
Founded in 2020, Digital Stallions Forum UAE serves as a networking platform for CMOs, marketing heads, and digital leaders across sectors. Since 2021, it has hosted The Great Marketing & Business Minds UAE to recognise marketing excellence and facilitate peer learning through panel discussions and industry networking.
The third edition, held in February 2025, saw participation from brands including Mashreq Bank, Zurich Life Insurance, Aster DM Healthcare, Al Wathba Insurance, Century Financial, and others. The fourth edition will take place at Pullman Downtown Dubai and is expected to see expanded participation from senior marketing leaders across the UAE.
