Fusion5 Hires Performance Specialist as Strategic Planning Focus Deepens

UAE-based independent media agency Fusion5 has appointed Alice Piselli as Planning Manager with a dedicated focus on performance. The move signals the agency's continued investment in building out its team and deepening what it can offer clients across the region.

Piselli brings five years of specialist experience in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and paid social. She has worked across leading performance agencies and in a project advisory capacity, managing clients across European and Middle Eastern markets. Her sector experience spans travel, hospitality, and food and beverage.

Performance Expertise Meets Strategic Planning

The appointment is deliberate in its scope. Piselli's background is rooted in channels where ad spend is directly tied to measurable outcomes: bookings, transactions, and demonstrable return. Moving her into a planning role means that performance thinking is now embedded earlier in the strategic process, not just at execution.

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Her data-driven, analytically rigorous approach aligns with what Fusion5 has publicly positioned as its core operating philosophy. The agency has built its reputation on treating performance not as a separate discipline but as the foundation of everything it does.

Johnny Khazzoum, Managing Partner at Fusion5, framed the hire in straightforward terms: "We continue to believe that investing in the right people is what allows an agency to stay consistent and keep delivering. We have full confidence that Alice will bring a depth of performance expertise that genuinely strengthens what we can offer our clients."

Talent Investment as a Statement of Confidence

There is a broader signal worth reading into an appointment like this. In a market where client budgets are under pressure and agencies face constant pressure to demonstrate value, hiring is one of the most visible ways a business shows where it is placing its bets.

Fusion5 is not pulling back. It is adding headcount with specialist credentials at a time when many agencies are being cautious. That reflects confidence in its direction and in the stability of its client base.

Piselli's own words point to what drew her to the agency: "Joining Fusion5 means being part of an agency where investing in people, talent, and growth remains at the core. I'm excited to bring my performance background into a planning role that allows for a broader strategic perspective and the chance to make a meaningful impact across clients and the business."

The framing is notable. She is not just joining an agency. She is joining an environment where the philosophy around talent matches her own trajectory.

Building on Recent Momentum

The appointment comes during what the agency describes as a period of sustained momentum. Fusion5 recently earned both Performance Marketing Agency of the Year and back-to-back Independent Media Agency of the Year at the Campaign Middle East Awards. Those recognitions put it in direct competition with larger network agencies and came out on top.

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That is the context in which Piselli is joining. The awards are not just trophies. They reflect how the agency has been competing and what it has been rewarded for by industry peers.

For the wider industry, the pattern here is increasingly familiar. As holding company networks navigate restructuring globally, performance specialists are moving into the market. Independent agencies that can offer genuine scope for impact, without layers of bureaucracy, are well positioned to attract that talent.

Fusion5's hire of Piselli fits that dynamic. Her sector focus in travel, hospitality, and F&B brings immediately applicable expertise to a client mix where performance marketing is not a nice-to-have but a business requirement. Linking ad spend to actual revenue outcomes is the baseline expectation in those industries.

The agency says it will continue growing its client portfolio across local and regional markets. If the Piselli appointment is a signal of how it intends to do that, the strategy is clear: invest in people with deep specialist credentials, integrate them into strategic functions, and build from there.