Ali Ali

Egyptian-born Ali Ali originally studied Computer Engineering at the American University in Cairo. Deciding he preferred storyboards to motherboards, he ditched programming to study Art Direction at the Miami Ad School. That paid off—Ali moved on to build an impressive global career as both art director and creative director for the likes of Leagas Delaney, JWT, Leo Burnett, and DDB Berlin.

His debut film, “Never Say No to Panda,” took home a Cannes Gold Lion and—per The Guardian—became one of the most-watched viral campaigns ever; never underestimate people’s appetite for watching pandas perform casual acts of vandalism…

Awards have followed nonstop, most recently including a D&AD Yellow Pencil for Best Director, Cannes Gold and One Show honors for his Diesel spot, as well as a place in The Gunn Report’s top-ten most awarded film directors—alongside Taika Waititi.