Interactive media platform Exscape among firms leading the transformation of Dubai into a global gaming and digital experience hub
Exscape, a leading-edge interactive media platform that merges play-to-win gaming, social interaction, and the metaverse into a unified experience, proudly announces the appointment of Faisal Zaidi as its new President, effective July 15, 2024.
Exscape, a pioneering UAE-based interactive media platform, was founded when a team of veteran digital industry entrepreneurs and professionals realised the increasingly fragmented nature of the digital experience for users caught between multiple apps and platforms. In 2021, they launched Exscape, an all-in-one platform that would seamlessly integrate an extensive array of games, a vibrant metaverse, and social connectivity features, enabling users to explore, play, and interact in ways never before possible.
Zaidi brings to Exscape over 17 years of extensive experience in B2B and B2C communication, branding, and operations, spanning multiple countries and diverse industries. Throughout his distinguished career, Zaidi has been instrumental in landmark projects such as the Burj Khalifa, New Hamad International Airport, and Dubai Metro. He also played a pivotal role in creating and publishing the Mo’asher house price index partnership, the official Sales and Rental Real estate Index for Dubai, this index was solely responsible for increasing Dubai’s ranking by four points in JLL’s Global Transparency index in 2022.
Further from his roles at TROX, Cavendish Maxwell, and Property Finder, Zaidi is also one of the founders of the Crypto Oasis Ecosystem, the largest Web3 ecosystem in the world. He is currently also the Chapter Chair of the Crypto Valley Association for the Middle East. His leadership extends to the development of the arte community, the Crypto Oasis Games Guild, and the cutting-edge Web3 and AI in ESG initiative known as The Green Block that recently announced a $50m Web3 Venture Studio with the Hashgraph Association.
His background in Consumer Psychology and Branding has led him to develop a corporate philosophy of building authority and consumer loyalty, which proved instrumental in the success of organizations and brands he has worked with in the past. Zaidi’s achievements have been recognised by several industry honours, most recently that of CMO of the Year at the prestigious Gulf Business Awards for the year 2022-23.
In his new role at Exscape, Zaidi will oversee the day-to-day operations and lead the global launch of the platform. Speaking on his new role, Zaidi said, “I am thrilled to join Exscape at such an exciting time in its journey. The platform’s unique blend of gaming, social interaction, and the metaverse, offers unparalleled opportunities for growth and engagement. My focus will be to build authority in the sectors we are focusing on and bring a level of consistency to the platform where Exscape becomes synonymous with interactive entertainment globally. I look forward to working with the talented team at Exscape to bring this revolutionary experience to users worldwide.”
Commenting on the new addition to the Exscape Leadership team, Dietrich Kanz, Partner at Exscape said, “Faisal’s vast experience and proven track record in driving major projects, partnerships and ecosystems make him the ideal leader to take Exscape to new heights. We are confident that under our combined leadership, Exscape will continue to innovate and set new benchmarks in the industry.”
The timing of Zaidi’s appointment is fortuitous for Exscape, since 2024 marks a significant milestone for the company as it launches in select emerging markets across Africa and India in the coming weeks. The crowning achievement of three years of dedicated development, this strategic move has at its core the goal of providing unparalleled entertainment experiences to an underserved market of up to 2 billion unbanked people worldwide, more than half of whom are smartphone users. Leveraging Direct Carrier Billing (the ability for users to pay subscriptions through your mobile phone account) in partnership with national telecommunications companies, Exscape will ensure that users can readily use and enjoy the platform even without access to traditional banking services.