Anghami Snatches Mary Ghobrial, Ex-Amazon Director Marketplace Expansion & Ex-CCO of SOUQ.com To Be New Chief Operating and Strategy Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Anghami has appointed Mary Ghobrial as the new Chief Operating and Strategy Officer, leveraging her extensive experience from Amazon and SOUQ.com. Ghobrial's expertise is expected to aid Anghami's growth as it prepares for a NASDAQ listing in Q4 2021. The company aims to enhance its operations and product offerings in the MENA region, where it has over 57 million songs and more than 70 million users. This strategic hire coincides with the planned business combination with VMAC, following the submission of their Draft Registration Statement to the SEC.

Positive

• Appointment of Mary Ghobrial as Chief Operating and Strategy Officer, bringing significant industry experience.
• Expected NASDAQ listing in Q4 2021, enhancing visibility and credibility in the market.
• Ghobrial's leadership anticipated to drive innovation and scalability in Anghami's operations.

Negative

• None.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anghami (“Anghami” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Mary Ghobrial, Ex-Amazon Director Marketplace Expansion & Ex-CCO of SOUQ.com, to be the Company’s new Chief Operating and Strategy Officer. Ghobrial has over twenty-five years’ experience in building brands from source to leading positions. Throughout her career, Ghobrial has developed many new products within various sectors including fast-moving consumer goods, entertainment and online shopping. 

“As Anghami prepares for listing on NASDAQ in the fourth quarter of 2021, we are happy to raise the bar with a hire like Ghobrial who will help us to scale and will bring many of the Amazon leadership skills. What is unique about her is that she also has the experience of a startup like SOUQ.com while being an extremely creative tech leader”, says Elie Habib, CTO and Co-Founder of Anghami.

With Amazon, Ghobrial was leading the fastest-growing initiative enabling Global Selling Partners to sell across the MENA region, contributing to millions of new selections to the customers in MENA. She also led the 3P business for Saudi Arabia, the largest marketplace in MENA. During her time with SOUQ.com as Chief Commercial Officer, Ghobrial initiated and built the regional retail across categories, all tier one vendors, advertising sales, peak events and brand marketing. She was instrumental in creating many of the events SOUQ.com became synonymous with in the region, including White Friday and Singles Day.
In 2017, Amazon acquired SOUQ.com in a landmark acquisition. At the time, SOUQ.com was present in three countries, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Egypt. 

Prior to Amazon, Ghobrial led Business Development for Prodea systems with leading telcos in MENA, Turkey, Asia and Africa. Her principal role was negotiating with all major studios in Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world for the digital on demand rights for all new movies and original programming. She also helped build the Showtime brand equity across the region, leading the company’s advertising strategy and new product development. Ghobrial started her career with Procter and Gamble, launching global brands in Egypt from new product development, consumer insights, concept tests, pricing, packaging and brand building, to leading market shares.  

“I am so happy to be back to the entertainment world, but more importantly to be part of building this amazing Arabic strong brand and scaling it further,” commented Ghobrial.

Mary holds a Master's degree in Strategy and International Business from The Business School, City University U.K. and an Online Marketing degree from London Business School.

Earlier on August, 3 2021, Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. (NASDAQ:VMAC) and Anghami announced the submission of a confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form F-4 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to their proposed business combination. The business combination is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of VMAC’s stockholders, and is expected to be consummated in the fourth quarter of 2021. Upon the closing of the business combination, the Company will operate under the Anghami name and is expected to be listed on NASDAQ trading under the new symbol “ANGH”. For more information about the transaction, please visit https://vmac.media/.

About Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc.
VMAC is a blank check company, also commonly referred to as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities in the Global Media and Entertainment sector. To learn more about Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc., please visit https://vmac.media.

About Anghami
Anghami is the leading digital music entertainment technology platform in the Middle East and North Africa, with the largest catalog comprising more than 57 million songs available for more than 70 million users. When it launched in 2012, Anghami was the first music-streaming platform in MENA. In digitizing the region’s music, it has become the best-known and best-loved brand in music streaming in MENA. Today, Anghami features licensed content from leading Arabic labels, independent artists and distributors. Anghami also features music from the major International labels such as Universal, Sony, Warner and is continuously licensing new content. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, it has offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh and operates in 16 countries across MENA. It is the only service available in English, Arabic and French, and remains close to its customer base, not only thanks to its pan-regional presence but also via the 56 million user data points it generates every day. To learn more about Anghami, please visit www.anghami.com.

Contacts:

VMAC:
F. Jacob Cherian, CEO
+1 212- 859-3525
fjc@vmac.media

ICR:
Ashley DeSimone / Brett Milotte, ICR
Ashley.desimone@icrinc.com / Brett.milotte@icrinc.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31bf0bcc-2f18-45da-887c-a1ff765c750f

FAQ

What is Anghami's recent appointment announcement regarding Mary Ghobrial?

Anghami appointed Mary Ghobrial as the Chief Operating and Strategy Officer to enhance growth as the company prepares for its NASDAQ listing.

When is Anghami expected to list on NASDAQ?

Anghami is expected to list on NASDAQ in the fourth quarter of 2021.

What company is merging with VMAC?

Anghami is merging with Vistas Media Acquisition Company (VMAC), following the submission of their Draft Registration Statement to the SEC.

What is the significance of Mary Ghobrial's hire for Anghami?

Mary Ghobrial’s hire is significant as she brings extensive experience from Amazon and SOUQ.com, which is expected to help Anghami scale its operations.