Talabat, the Middle East and North Africa's leading on-demand delivery platform, has appointed Toon Gyssels as Chief Executive Officer, effective November 21, 2025, succeeding Tomaso Rodriguez who is stepping down after six years in the role. The appointment represents a return for Gyssels, who previously spent four years at the company in senior operational roles.
Pieter-Jan Vandepitte, Chairperson of talabat's Board of Directors, said the appointment signals confidence in Gyssels' ability to lead the company through its next phase. "Tomaso has done a great job during six impactful years as CEO and I am delighted that he is remaining on the Board to help shape talabat's strategy going forward," Vandepitte said. "With Toon's outstanding entrepreneurial experience and proven track record in the platform delivery technology sector, we are confident that he will drive talabat's next chapter of innovation and growth in the region." Rodriguez, who led talabat through rapid expansion and a record-breaking initial public offering on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2024, will transition to a non-executive board role focused on strategy and stakeholder engagement, working closely with Gyssels during the transition.
Gyssels brings three decades of technology and operations experience across the food delivery, cloud kitchen and consulting sectors. He holds a Master in Industrial Management from KU Leuven and an Executive Master in Finance from Solvay Business School. Before his previous tenure at talabat, he began his career in project management, then moved to McKinsey & Company, where he worked as Associate Principal. He subsequently co-founded Foodora in Australia, leading the company through its acquisition by Delivery Hero. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Kitopi, the cloud kitchen platform, and as Chief Executive Officer of its On Demand business unit, where he built the company into a regional food and beverage operator. In his earlier stint at talabat, Gyssels held the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer, during which he accelerated the company's growth across the Middle East and North Africa, transformed its logistics operations, and launched new verticals including Q-commerce and cloud kitchens.
Talabat, founded in Kuwait in 2004, operates in eight markets including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, serving more than 6.5 million active customers. The company operates as a subsidiary of Delivery Hero, the German multinational delivery platform that acquired it in 2016. Talabat has evolved beyond food delivery to offer groceries, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other products through its core platform and Talabat Mart, its quick-commerce service offering 30-minute grocery delivery. The company listed on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2024 in one of the region's largest initial public offerings.
The appointment represents a strategic decision to reinstall internal operational leadership at the helm. Gyssels' familiarity with talabat's structure, combined with his recent hands-on experience scaling cloud kitchen operations at Kitopi, positions the company to accelerate its innovation agenda during a critical phase following its public market debut. The move suggests talabat's board is prioritising deep operational expertise and continuity at this stage of growth, rather than bringing in external leadership. Gyssels' stated focus on "accelerating innovation and ensuring we are well positioned to capture the opportunities ahead" indicates the company intends to press forward with platform expansion and new service lines across the region.
