Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Taiyab Ghafoor BSc(Hons), MBA, DiC Born, raised & educated in London and now in GCC, Taiyab is an agile, people-centric senior retail executive with 25+ years of experience of retail/services, operations as well as strategic project experience. He is adept at implementing complex organisational change. Put simply, his product and passion, is 'people' . Taiyab has a proven track record of managing large complex operations, driving sales through several sales verticals, working comfortably in international/multi-cultural environments and proactively driving success through people. He focuses on developing talent and building motivated and inspired, high performing teams. His 1st role in the region was as head of retail operations at Qatar Duty Free (QDF) and he opened $16 billion Hamad International Airport (HIA) Doha on 27th May 2014 with a span of control of >1,500 across 53 nationalities. He then moved to Dubai, initially leading Axiom Telecom's Retail UAE stores but then being promoted internally to a wider group role. In his last role with Axiom he lead the entire Organised Retail division (Axiom Retail, Franchise and E-Commerce) as well as Retail Distribution across UAE & KSA with a blend of C-level macro strategy, commercial planning/execution and operational delivery, leading a large, diverse team across multiple sales channels. Since 2020 he has had stints at Geekay, leading gaming retailer in region, with retail stores in 6 markets, UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait & Oman - reporting directly to the owners of the business. He was also at Starlink-Ooredoo as VP Consumer Tech - he led multiple sales channels including Retail, Ecommerce, distribution, B2B, Services and Repairs. With two degrees including an MBA, he is also writing his first book on customer focused strategies and how businesses put the customer ‘at the heart’. He has now pivoted to the world of Start-ups - now COO of an exciting new E-commerce player based in Dubai, UAE
Reporting to Group CEO, as COO, I manage the fabulous team at marahkids.com - a start-up, Dubai-born E-commerce platform focusing on Toys & Learning - looking to disrupt the market with an unashamed obsession for customer experience.
Advisor to CEO - on people strategy, operations, commercial and building teams.
Consulting services - connecting people and helping brands enter GCC and emerging markets Collating and sharing the 'best' of stories throughout Middle East, Africa & Asia. Unleashing the 'power of people'. Check us out at: www.inspiremea.com plus amazing content on YouTube https://youtube.com/@inspiremea?si=979DpuV8lQNr_crv
Advisor to CEO and Board on a voluntary consultant basis – around business model, strategy and other operational elements. Consulted on recent project to implement COVID-19 protocols for the safety of 250 teachers / administration teams and 4,500 students. Advised on organisational change, building internal brand and sharing best practice from leading businesses.
Starlink is a subsidiary of Ooredoo Group and a leading player in the market since 2006. Reporting to the CEO, as VP Consumer Tech, I sit on the management board while leading our Retail, E-Commerce, Services, B2B and Distribution sales verticals. We have presence in 31 Retail stores across Qatar as well as three E-commerce platforms and a vast distribution network that is ready to take technology to the hands of our consumers.
Geekay is the number one Gaming and Entertainment Retailer in GCC. Reporting to the owners (CEO & COO) , I lead the retail stores across our 6 operating markets - UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, with a team of 2 x Retail Ops Leads, Country Managers, Area Managers, Store Managers and Retail Sales Advisors as well as our Visual Merchandise function