Mother London Names Omar El-Gammal and Miné Cakmak Joint Heads of Strategy
Mother London has appointed Omar El-Gammal and Miné Cakmak as its joint heads of strategy. They will be responsible for leading the agency's strategic output.
Omar is a long-standing strategy leader in the Mother business, having led strategy on the Uber account in the UK and other markets. He is promoted from his current role of Head of Cultural Insight where he has helped transform Mother’s work. He has been with Mother since May 2021, joining from JWT, where he led HSBC’s global strategy. Prior to JWT London he held roles at Leo Burnett, BBDO and JWT in Dubai. Omar is proudly Egyptian and now feels at home in London, while having lived and worked across Europe, USA, and the Middle East.
New to the team is Miné who has most recently been head of strategy consulting at 72andSunny in Los Angeles, an agency she previously worked at as a strategy director before she moved into upstream strategic work at FNDR. Miné started her career at Morgan Stanley as a finance analyst; she transitioned into advertising with TBWA\Chiat\Dayin New York, followed by a role at Johannes Leonardo. Originally from Turkey, Miné graduated from Columbia University before embarking on her career in the USA.
In their new roles, they will report to Chris Gallery, Mother’s global chief strategy officer, and Katie Elliott, the Mother London’s managing director. The heads of strategy roles will include the strategy disciplines within Mother. Omar will continue in his role as strategy lead across Uber, whilst Mine will be taking the lead on key client relationships and new business.
Chris Gallery, CSO at Mother said, "The challenges facing our clients are getting more complex: economically, culturally, technologically. Omar and Miné have the range to help them navigate all of it, and the ambition to make sure we are the best and most inspirational strategic partners possible for our clients."
Miné said, “I've long been a fan of Mother's ambitious creativity and its culture that genuinely cares about people. I'm thrilled to bring my mix of experiences to this brilliant team and partner with Omar to take the strategic work in bold new directions.”
Three of her most significant career highlights:
- Building and leading 72andSunny Strategy Studio, the agency’s brand consultancy arm, partnering with clients including HBO Max, Mattel and L’Oréal to solve upstream brand and business challenges
- Repositioning adidas Originals from heritage sportswear into a streetwear category leader through a multi-year strategic overhaul
- Tinder’s award winning Swipe Night, which reimagined the app as an interactive entertainment platform
Omar said, “Mother’s fiercely independent spirit, sense of creative mischief, and relentless optimism felt like home from day one. I’m excited to partner with Miné to continue building a brilliant strategic team.”
Three of his most significant career highlights:
- Taking Uber Eats from a #3 challenger brand to the #1 food delivery brand in the UK, whilst growing the Uber business across multiple markets and categories
- HSBC’s award winning “We are not an island” campaign that repositioned the global bank during Brexit Britain
- Winner of the IPA President’s Prize for Outstanding Body of Work
The Mother strategy department in London is 25 strong. Former heads of strategy, Neasa McGuinness and Matt Tanter are executive strategy directors.
