Profile highlights
Key points of success
• Worked closely with Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism C-suite leadership on building long term strategies and master plans.
• Established and led a diversified digital unit of 50 digital experts, driving the Ministry's triple digit growth on hotel guests (150%) and double-digit growth in international brand awareness and consideration (16% and 19% respectively).
• Managed the Ministry’s largest partnerships with tech platforms (Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tencent, TripAdvisor, etc), key IPs (F1, UFC, NBA, Warner Bros, Disney, etc), leading institutes (eg Louvre, Guggenheim, Berklee) and publishers (eg CNN, BBC, NatGeo, CondeNast, etc). This included establishing and cementing the business relationship, ensuring mutual partnership goals were achieved and establishing management procedures for ongoing delivery and continuous success.
• Managed a $100m USD budget per year across 13 markets on a portfolio of 25 websites, 70 social media accounts and 150 campaigns per annum.
• Was the most internationally awarded individual in the history of the Ministry of Tourism.
About
A little bit about myself
Innovative, solution-oriented, award winning Digital Leader equipped with over 16 years of experience, specialized in growing digital businesses at a significant rate.
Collaborative yet decisive leadership style with extensive experience in managing, mentoring and developing high performing teams that deliver results.
Responsible for managing the business’s digital growth and strategic direction by implementing data driven strategies with a focus on awareness, acquisition, conversion, retention and continuous optimization.
In a professional realm, George:
- is a solutions-oriented leader, adept at leading teams with diverse disciplines;
- inspires creativity and outcome-oriented thinking by providing insights;
- helps connect the dots and make sense of different data sources;
- advises on connecting brand vision and direction to business goals;
- takes lead in creative ideation and brand storytelling;
- guides channel-planning and media allocation;
- provokes thinking to inculcate a culture of innovation;
- possesses a knack for media agnostic thinking;
- helps guide and nurture talent, as a manager and as a leader.
Areas of focus
What i am best at
95%
Starting-up digital units / hubs
80%
Digital Transformation
90%
Digital Strategy
85%
Digital Business Leadership
90%
Organic Digital Growth
95%
Passion for Innovation
Experience
Yes, I've been around
SEP 2018 – Present
Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi
VP of Digital
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Lead integrated teams to help Abu Dhabi build digital platforms and marketing programs that bring transformational and innovative ideas to life. Worked closely with C-suite leadership on building long term master plans and strategies. Managed and led a team of 50 highly-experienced digital experts across different functions (strategy, media planners, social media, content creators, data analytics/insights, project managers) to drive growth for the organization.
SEP 2014 - SEP 2018
Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi
Head of Digital
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Defined experience strategies for digital touch points, mapping service blueprints, engaging with stakeholders, analyzing consumer research, and working closely with delivery leads, program managers, and designers to execute digital solutions that effectively engage consumers with Abu Dhabi and its offerings, driving growth.
OCT 2011 - SEP 2014
Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi
Senior Digital Manager
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Managed and successfully delivered: digital communication strategies, branded content development, marketing programs, corporate websites, large-scale transactional websites, intranets, CRM solutions, campaigns, apps and games. Specialties include digital strategy, digital transformation, integrated marketing communications, user experience and design.
SEP 2017 - PRESENT
Webby Awards
Judge
Judge on the Annual Webby Awards, member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Science (IADAS)
2007 - NOV 2011
FREELANCER
Digital Consultant
Athens, GR
Provide digital consultancy services to SMEs across different verticals (Hospitality, E-commerce, etc)
2008 - OCT 2011
Sunsoft Ltd
Marketing Manager
Athens, GR
Marketing Manager of SUNSOFT Ltd. a software House that delivers digital products (PMS, online booking system, websites) for the Hospitality Industry such as Lodging (Hotels, 1500 clients) and Food Services (Cafe, Bar , Restaurants, 5000 clients). Market Leader in IT Support of the Greek Hospitality market (2008 prize)
JAN 2006 - OCT 2008
Digital Business Networks
Marketing Manager
Athens, GR
Marketing Manager of Digital Business Networks which manages the franchise concepts of Click2Buy & ExpertIN as well as the subsidiary company, RDC-Informatics, that focuses on website development for top-tier clientele.
NOV 2004 - JAN 2006
Infodomi
Marketing Executive
Athens, GR
Marketing Executive of the INFODOMI group: IT Provider INFODOMI, ExpertIN network of IT learning centers and click2buy network of IT stores (both concepts develop through franchising)
Education
Lazy has never been in my vocabulary
2007 - 2008
University of Hertfordshire
MBA
UK
Executive MBA with specialization in Marketing
1998 - 2003
Athens University of Economics and Business
Bachelor
Athens, GR
Department of Economics
Achievements/Awards
Happy times
Growth
Drove Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Tourism growth across 13 markets
- 150% increase in hotel guests
- 16% increase in brand awareness
- 19% increase in brand consideration
Digital Hub
Established and led a diversified digital unit, from zero to 50 employees, that drove the organization’s digital transformation rapidly, raising the Ministry's digital maturity levels from nascent to a reference point for the industry.
Partnerships
Built long-term partnerships with
- Digital platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, Sojern, Adara etc creating bespoke data ecosystems, getting special access to Alpha/Beta tools & tech for real time insights that assist the business take data-driven decisions and automate operations to achieve the necessary growth.
- Global IPs (Formula 1, UFC, NBA, Warner Bros, Disney etc), Institutes (Louvre, Guggenheim, Berklee etc), and Publishers (CNN, BBC, NatGeo etc) delivering global first digital experiences to consumers and all management procedures to ensure continuous success.
Awards
38 Global Awards for various digital products/campaigns (Webby awards, Web Marketing Association, World Government Summit, Stevie Awards, Communicator Awards, etc)
References
Who can put a good word for me :)
Case Studies
For a better view of my work
NOV 2019
Matching engaging ads with the right audiences for high performance gains
The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT) piloted a dynamic display campaign with +5,400 creatives in the UK and Germany across different audience segments. The campaign leveraged geo location and a weather API for the dynamic elements and drove a massive increase in engagement with the ad as well as longer stays in Abu Dhabi.
- 5,400 dynamic creatives in UK/DE
- 300%-400% better CTR (click through rate)
- 34% longer stays
- 35% more bookings
APR 2018
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism drives more qualified audience through Smart Bidding
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism automated its bid strategies by using machine learning to optimize for conversions or conversion value in each and every auction and identify users with stronger intent at scale.
- Compared to other paid media channels:
- 2X longer website visits
- 39% more onsite user engagement
- Compared to previous paid search campaigns:
- 31% more onsite user engagement
- 90% longer website visits
- 23% more page visits
- 51% reduction in cost per engaged user
SEP 2015
Visit Abu Dhabi uses impactful ad formats to stimulate interest and consideration for the destination, allowing users to create tailored itineraries of activities in Abu Dhabi for different types of travelers as well as various trip durations.
- Google’s internal award for Best Travel Ad (2014)
- Web Marketing Association’s Best Rich Media Campaign Online for Travel (2015)
- 11% higher engagement rate against the industry benchmark on Masthead and 17% higher engagement rate on Lightbox ads
NOV 2019
Interactive Film in China
Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi turned Piccadilly Circus’s screen into an augmented-reality escape, bringing the Emirate’s most famous sights into the heart of London – at a time when Londoners needed a getaway the most.
- 1st interactive film ever done on WeChat
- Celebrity activation (Xiao Zhan)
- 360 campaign (Digital media, Offline Media, PR, Influencers and OTAs)
- 500% increase in destination queries on Weibo
- 7% increase on hotel guests from China
JAN 2020
Augmented Reality Activation in Piccadilly Square
Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi turned Piccadilly Circus’s screen into an augmented-reality escape, bringin the emirate’s most famous sights into the heart of London – at a time when Londoners needed a getaway the most.
- Innovative technology (AR) at scale
- Guinness World Record “Largest Augmented Reality (AR) screen”
- 4% Destination awareness uplift
- 6% shift on misconceptions
- Global PR exposure
NOV 2019
Social Media Excellence
- Excellence in usage of Social Media
- 150% increase of followers
- 52% reduction on avg response time
- 60% time saved scheduling and planning content
- 54% increase in website sessions via social referral
- Data driven social analysis for better audience understanding
NOV 2019
How to stay close to the travel community in uncertain times and even experience growth
- 86% lower CPM & CPE
- AI social media content scheduling for optimal organic exposure
- Identify most engaging target personas and their interests to shape the right content
FEB 2020
Data Partnership with Sojern
- Travel audiences in company’s ad-tech infrastructure
- 1st Travel DSP in MENA
- Better campaign performance (135% lower CTR)
- Better conversion rates (52% lower CPA, 77% lower CPI)
- 10% decrease in website bounce rate
SEP 2020
DCT Abu Dhabi gains access to 460 million Tripadvisor users for campaigns
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is among the early adopters of Tripadvisor’s newly-launched first-party data platform delivering audience targeting, insights, and performance reporting. The tourism board has leveraged the data-intelligence solution dubbed Tripadvisor Navigator for its latest campaign, set to launch year-end.
AUG 2020
Partnership with TradeDesk
- Run programmatic advertising in China across Baidu, Tencent, Youku fully managed from Abu Dhabi
- 3rd party tracking for media verification
- Connecting all media for efficiency and user experience seamlessness
- Full media transparency and efficiency in China
AUG 2020
Connected TV (CTV) campaign in US
First tourism board in the Middle East to use ADARA’s CTV offering to target high-intent travelers to the region and track the economic impact of an offline medium.
- 620,000 unique households reached
- 97% view rate
- USD2.75 million hotel revenue
- 200% incremental uplift in YOY hotel bookings
- 270% incremental uplift in search interest & engagement
AUG 2020
Data Partnership with Adara
Track and measure the economic impact of DCT’s (Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi) paid, owned and earned marketing investments via a private data co-op that utilises the measurement & analytics platform, ADARA Impact, mapping out traveller behaviour of inbound and outbound tourists to the region.
- Transparent measurement of marketing’s economic impact
- Optimise campaigns towards business KPIs (ADRs, Length of Stay, etc)
- Deep and actionable insights across the audience visitation journey
Content Hubs
Go through some special content
