About Marwa Kaabour, Group Head of Marketing and Communication for Al Masaood Group

Marwa Kaabour is a CMO-level executive and an international best-selling author with 25+ years’ experience in establishing and leading strategic marketing communications for global and regional brands in the Middle East. Among her achievements is establishing marketing and communication functions from scratch for companies and government entities.  In addition to her strategic ‘from scratch’ capabilities, developing core functions for large and portfolio businesses, leading cross-functional teams, and creating harmony and efficiencies in both marketing and comms — as well as contributing to organizational transformation.

Marwa is a diverse expert with specializations such as business transformation and digitization, strategic marketing, sustainability, branding, public relations, brand management, corporate communications and executive profiling. Her core expertise lies in elevating strategic management, creation and launch of B2C, B2G and B2B brands, media relations, corporate communication, change management, and growth marketing. 

Marwa started her career with award-winning international agencies like Leo Burnett and Impact BBDO. She then moved to the client side, bringing agency-level expertise into solo-firm marketing and communication. Her experience spans multiple industries, including energy, manufacturing, automotive, airlines, banking, FMCGs, F&B, construction and retail businesses. This versatile background has led her to contribute to a broad spectrum of global and regional brands such as Nissan, Infiniti, Renault, Volvo Penta, MTU, Nestle, Emirates Airline, Pizza Hut and entities that fall under the Government of Abu Dhabi such Al Hilal Bank.

Marwa was named Campaign’s Middle East 2021 Marketing Game Changer and was selected as one of LinkedIn’s Most Engaged Marketers in 2014. She was also selected to be the UAE’s ‘Highly Commended Female Marketing Leader’ by Women in Marketing Institution in London in 2018. Marwa was named “Best CMO in UAE” by the Digital Stallions Community and winner of Al Masaood’s ‘Best Leader Award’ and ‘ Best Support Department Award’. Marwa frequently lectures on the topic of Marketing, CSR and Communication at Abu Dhabi Universities. She is part of the Advisory Committee for the Abu Dhabi School of Management. She is consistently recognized for exemplary management performance in leading marketing campaigns, driving innovative strategy, and establishing procedures to increase enterprise-wide efficiency.

Marwa, an advocate of women empowerment, health and financial literacy, Marwa often blogs about the topics of CSR and brand’s higher purpose. She is a member of the Marketing Society, UAE Chapter, frequently publishes articles. She holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and Bachelor of Marketing and Management (with honors) from the same university. She is a Certified Sustainability Marketer, with an accreditation from the Center for Sustainability Excellence and a Certified Digital Marketer from the Institute of Digital Marketing in Ireland. Marwa is a frequent lecturer at Abu Dhabi University on the topics of communications and CSR.

Currently Marwa is the Group Head of Marketing and Communication for Al Masaood Group, Abu Dhabi’s largest family-owned business conglomerate. She was selected as the Best Leader in the Group in 2019 and 2020. For media enquiries, contact her at marwa@marwakaabour.com.

About her thoughts for the industry

Women have taken major strides in breaking that glass ceiling. In my job today, I am fortunate enough to work in a company that not only supports women, but also justly offers them equal opportunities across the board. I also work with a host of professional women who represent major global brands in industries that… lets say were not perceived to be ‘woman-friendly’. From automotive, trucks and heavy machinery, and marine, all the way to the pure industrial sector. These industries have carried a legacy of being harsh workplaces for women but have since then excelled in creating inclusive environments. Today, I see day in day out, women in high profile positions in these very industries, leading brands not just on the local, but on the regional and sometimes global stage as well. 

When it comes to my specific field – Marcomms – it is immensely satisfying to see how women have excelled in this field, and in other notable fields as well, like STEM and Space. Befittingly, the theme for International Women’s Day this year is Embrace Equity which calls to the fore the importance of gender equity rather than equality. To explain the difference, ‘equity’ is when we take equality one step further and truly acknowledge and appreciate the value every gender brings to the table.