Omar Kassem
Al Riyadh,KSA
Summary
Growth & P&L Leader with 10+ years of experience scaling marketplaces and consumer businesses across Egypt and KSA. Proven track record in driving GMV growth, turning businesses profitable, and leading multi-city expansions in high-growth startups
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Head of marketplace
Madar Logistics Platform -ELM Company
Riyadh, KSA
2025.02 - 2025.12
- Leading LAAS marketplace strategy under Obeikan Investment Group, owning end-to-end P&L and growth roadmap.
- Leading strategic acquisition and integration project between ELM & Obeikan, covering commercial, operational, and governance alignment.
- Doubling the margin within one year with + 20% year over year GMV growth
Head of commercial
Homzmart
Cairo, Egypt
2024.05 - 2025.02
- Owning the commercial PnL.
- Growing overall GMV by almost 50% YOY.
- Turning business into profitability in Q4 2024 (positive EBITDA).
- Improving order fulfillment by almost 25 % year over year (73% to + 90%).
Country general manager
nomu group
Cairo, Egypt
2022.09 - 2024.05
- Owning the overall business P&L.
- Led the business to grow 10 X within a year on a positive cash flow (zero cash burn).
- Improving EBITDA from -45% to -7% in 2023.
- Leading the whole country team in Egypt.
Egypt retail assistant general manager
Swvl
Cairo, Egypt
2021.08 - 2022.09
- Improving B2C EBITDA from -20% to breakeven in 2022.
- Owning Alexandria overall P&L.
- Growing the retail business in Alex by 5X within less than a year.
- Leading directly (Supply growth – Planning – Operations and business development) teams.
Cluster head (Commercial & Expansions)
Talabat
Cairo, Egypt
2020.02 - 2021.08
- Expanding Talabat across 24 cities around Egypt.
- Acquiring and managing + 3000 restaurants around Egypt.
- Leading Talabat expansions from scratch till contributing to 10% out of the overall country GMV in 2021.
- Leading the sales, account management and operations’ teams across 8 cities around Egypt (+60 employees).
Senior Supply growth lead – Early stage markets
Careem
Cairo, Egypt
2018.07 - 2020.02
- Owning supply growth acquisition budget for the whole country except Cairo.
- Optimizing the cost of acquisition by 50% in 2019.
- Leading supply growth team in 7 cities around Egypt (+ 10 employees).
Market launcher
Careem
Cairo, Egypt
2017.03 - 2017.10
- Launching Careem in 6 cities around Egypt (Delta & Canal).
- Leading the city teams from scratch till hitting + 1000 rides monthly.
- Launching and leading Careem Taxi & Careem bikes projects.
Education
Master of business administration - Strategic management
AAST
Cairo 2019.06 - 2021.07
Bachelor of petroleum engineering - Petroleum department
Faculty of Petroleum Engineering - Suez University
Egypt 2011.09 - 2016.06
Skills
- P&L Ownership & EBITDA Optimization
- Marketplace & Platform Scaling
- Go-To-Market Strategy
- Supply Chain & Logistics Operations
- Expansion & Market Entry
- Pricing, Unit Economics & Cost Optimization
- Team Leadership (60 teams)
- Commercial strategy
- E-commerce optimization
- Financial forecasting
- Pricing strategy
Languages & additional skills
Arabic language: Native.
English language: Fluent.
Timeline
Head of marketplace
Madar Logistics Platform -ELM Company
2025.02 - 2025.12
Head of commercial
Homzmart
2024.05 - 2025.02
Country general manager
nomu group
2022.09 - 2024.05
Egypt retail assistant general manager
Swvl
2021.08 - 2022.09
Cluster head (Commercial & Expansions)
Talabat
2020.02 - 2021.08
Master of business administration - Strategic management
AAST
2019.06 - 2021.07
Senior Supply growth lead – Early stage markets
Careem
2018.07 - 2020.02
Market launcher
Careem
2017.03 - 2017.10
Bachelor of petroleum engineering - Petroleum department
Faculty of Petroleum Engineering - Suez University
2011.09 - 2016.06