Hamid Davari Joins FreeWheel as Commercial Director, MENA to Lead Strategic Regional Expansion

The industry veteran joins from OSN, to bring FreeWheel’s best-in-class buy-side and sell-side advertising technology to local broadcasters, streaming platforms, and agencies.

DUBAI, UAE, 6th October 2026 — FreeWheel, a Comcast company, today announced the appointment of Hamid Davari as Commercial Director, MENA. In the new role, Hamid will spearhead FreeWheel’s strategic expansion across the region, as broadcasters and streaming platforms can now maximise the full value of FreeWheel’s end-to-end tech stack, while driving demand by giving agencies access to rich data, advanced planning tools, and local marketplace products.

Hamid brings over 20 years of experience in TV and streaming, spanning advertising, partnerships, and business development. He joins FreeWheel from OSN, the leading PayTV and streaming platform in MENA, where he served as Senior Director – Head of Advertising. During his time at OSN, Hamid was the first in the region to drive and launch an Advanced TV (addressable) product. A recognised and awarded leader in CTV advertising and strategy, Hamid is also an active contributor to regional industry innovation through his work on the IAB MENA CTV Taskforce and industry whitepapers.

A core focus of Hamid’s role at FreeWheel will be supporting regional media companies in upgrading their tech stacks to solve complex buy- and sell-side challenges in premium video environments. For international campaigns, regional agencies will now have direct access to Comcast-owned media as well as 80% of broadcasters and streaming platforms that utilise FreeWheel across North America and Europe.

“FreeWheel was built from the ground up specifically for premium video, and I am excited to lead our expansion across the MENA region,” said Hamid Davari, Commercial Director, MENA at FreeWheel. “CTV and premium video are becoming top priorities for regional brands. As a global leader in premium video, FreeWheel is best positioned to support the industry here in this evolving space, delivering planning, targeting, execution, and reporting capabilities never before available in this region.”

“Hamid’s appointment marks a key milestone in FreeWheel’s expansion, as we accelerate our growth in MENA,” said Gerald Sauvageon, Senior Director, Growth and Emerging Markets, FreeWheel. “With proven experience in the region’s TV and streaming landscape, Hamid will be invaluable as we deliver FreeWheel’s world-class technology and value to our local partners, helping them to unlock the full potential of premium video.”

The MENA advertising landscape is rapidly evolving, and CTV is increasingly a priority. Historically, the region has seen an underutilisation of linear TV advertising alongside higher-than-average spending on social and performance channels; CTV now offers a critical bridge. FreeWheel’s expansion aims to solve key challenges for local premium video publishers and agencies regarding scalability, targeting, and unified reporting.

About FreeWheel
FreeWheel empowers all segments of the streaming advertising ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.