A new award recognising 'bold marketing leadership overseas' has been awarded to a Scot who runs some of the grandest hotels in the Middle East.
Guy Crawford, chief executive of the Jumeriah Group, is the first recipient of the Ogilvy Award – named after arguably Scotland's most famous advertising person, David Ogilvy – which has been established by the Scottish division of the Marketing Society, in association with the Scottish Government.
Say the organisers, the award “aims to recognise a Scot who has shown bold marketing leadership overseas, enhancing Scotland’s international reputation as a great source of talent and innovation”.
Prior to joining Jumeriah in Dubai, Crawford was managing director of MacDonald Hotels, overseeing the portfolio of hotels for the group in the UK and its strategic alliance with Grandes Etapes luxury hotels in France. He also previously held various senior management positions with the Forte and Le Meridien Hotel Group in the UK, South America, Europe, Morocco, the Bahamas and Belgium.
Says Graeme Atha, director of Marketing Society Scotland: “The new Ogilvy Award is about recognising shining examples of influential Scots who have made a big impact with their global leadership. It’s therefore great to be presenting this inaugural accolade to Guy Crawford, who, with his impressive track record, has been leading the field in the hotel industry for over 30 years both at home and overseas, undoubtedly putting Scotland on the map as a thriving pool of talent and innovation.”
Atha was one of the judges, along with Roger Williams, head of marketing and digital at the Scottish Government; Frank O’Donnell, assistant editor (group head of news) at The Scotsman; Juliet Simpson, managing director of Stripe Communications; and Stewart Laing, marketing director, SDI.
The Ogilvy Award will be presented each year at the Marketing Society Scotland's annual St Andrew’s Day dinner.
