About Taghrid Oraibi, Head of Communications, Deliveroo Middle East

Taghrid Oraibi is a seasoned communications professional with 15+ years of agency and in-house experience.  As the Head of Communications at Deliveroo in the Middle East, Taghrid currently leads all consumer and corporate comms for the business in UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and India. Her overarching role is geared towards executing strategies and campaigns that support Deliveroo’s mission to become the definitive on-demand food delivery company. 

Since venturing into the world of PR and communications, Oraibi has garnered a wealth of experience while representing an extensive list of multi-billion dollar firms. She began her career at ASDA’A BCW, before completing four years as an Account Manager at Ketchum Raad Middle East.

Oraibi then joined the BPG Group (WPP agency), where, as Business Director she worked closely with regional and global affiliates to deliver inclusive communication campaigns for a period of eight years. At BPG, she initiated and managed four annual industry research reports about Influencer Marketing to provide expert-level insight into the effects of social media personalities on industry and consumers.

During her agency roles, she worked with organizations such as Airbus, PepsiCo, Mars, Philip Morris, L’Oreal, Hotels.com, Careem, Emaar, and Al Shaya, to name a few.    

Right before her role at Deliveroo UAE, Taghrid led communications for Stellantis, overseeing the  external and internal communications for the group and its automotive brands including Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Abarth, Peugeot, Opel, Citroen and Mopar across the GCC, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. During this time, she also took on the role of adjunct lecturer at Middlesex University – Dubai.  

Since joining Deliveroo in 2022, Oraibi has spearheaded award-winning campaigns in the UAE and led all communications for the company’s launch in Qatar. She also rolled out Full Life (Deliveroo’s global ESG initiative to tackle food insecurity) for the first time in the region, and continues to work closely with organizations like the Emirates Red Crescent, UAE Food Bank and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) to grow the initiative.

Taghrid holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication from the American University of Sharjah. She’s of Egyptian origin and was born and raised in Dubai, UAE. 

About her thoughts for the industry 

The PR and Communications industry is forever-evolving in tandem with the constant advancements in technology. We must be quick, intuitive, and efficient while keeping an eye on topics and tools that can alter perspective and behaviour. AI, hybrid work, authentic communication, and social responsibility are quickly proving to be more permanent pillars of our industry…with good reason. 

Hybrid Work

The hybrid work model has been successful, and it highlighted the importance of work-life balance and establishing boundaries. Personally, my experience of working with Deliveroo under their hybrid model has significantly improved my life as a working mother. 

Authentic Communication  

It is important for us to focus on building trust through authentic communication and partnerships. We have to take risks, explore new ideas, and most importantly collaborate to tell a unique story.  At Deliveroo, we are empowered to think outside the box while being ‘customer obsessed’ and ‘hyper-local’. We form our strategies based on insights, rituals, and trends from the local market, city, and specific neighbourhoods. And we are always up for a good collaboration to create a compelling story, whether it be with a specific restaurant partner, a growing local artist, a seasonal event, or the right credible CSR partner. 

On Doing Good 

CSR not only allows a brand to contribute to the communities it operates in but also provides a sense of purpose for individuals involved. Personally, working on a CSR campaign gives me a feeling of accomplishment and pride. I hope more companies will adopt CSR initiatives that are aligned with their brand and resonate with their audience. At Deliveroo, as a food company, we have launched “Full Life” in the Middle East to address food insecurity by leveraging our platform to raise funds for communities in need and donating excess food from our delivery-only grocery stores, HOP to food banks. 

On Efficiency and Evolution

In a very fast-paced environment, it becomes crucial to prioritise efficiency. Simple actions like replacing lengthy presentations with concise one-pagers, shortening meeting times and having pre-reads and collaborative documents, can be very effective and productive. It’s my hope that the industry as a whole can move away from unnecessary traditional methods of doing business and focus on what truly matters. In addition, use ChatGPT to your advantage if you haven’t already done so. I use this personally and it is a useful resource that communications professionals should utilize without hesitation to improve efficiency. In the past, monitoring, listening, and social media tools were all new innovations. But we embraced them, and they expanded our industry’s capabilities, enabling us to diversify our services. As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect it to play an even greater role in the future of our industry.