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Diane El Hachem is a name synonymous with marketing innovation and strategic leadership. With a nearly two-decade career, Diane has left an indelible mark on multiple industries, including IT, Retail, Media, Telecom, Food & Beverage (F&B), and Entertainment. Her journey, characterized by a blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and a commitment to local relevance, serves as an inspiring blueprint for marketing professionals worldwide. In this insightful interview, Diane walks us through her remarkable journey.
Diane’s traverse began in the IT industry, where she honed her skills and developed a deep understanding of the intersection between technology and marketing. As we started our conversation, Diane briefed us about her background and diverse experience in the industry,
“I am the Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer at RELATED, a multi-award winning Martech company offering loyalty and reward solutions for brands across industries in the MEA region. I come from a marketing background and I have worked in the tech industry for more than 20 years. Before RELATED, I was heading the channel marketing in EMEA for Seagate Technology where I had the chance to lead on the channel marketing strategy and plan execution with leading brands such as Amazon and Best Buy. I am part of CX Women and WiiN Global – Women in Incentives Network associations, a space for top female leaders in the global Incentive and Loyalty industry, as well as Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC), the UAE’s leading platform for the personal & professional development of business women. I was recently named as top five influential leaders in Tech & Telecoms in 2023 by the Africa Tech Festival and participated in several mentorship programs, supporting women to strive in their careers.”
This diversity has equipped her with a unique perspective on market dynamics and consumer behaviour, allowing her to craft campaigns that resonate on both a local and global scale. We asked Diane to share more about her journey as a co-founder of RELATED and how her previous experience in channel marketing helped shape the company’s direction, especially in the context of The Middle East market, “From day one, I saw the potential of growing Related into a multimillion dollars company competing with global players and bringing to the MEA market breakthrough innovation and best in class solutions. My experience made me see an opportunity in building the partnership ecosystem in line with our company objective to increase our footprints in the region and offer a wide range of rewards across different industries to create memorable experiences for customers.” Diane excitedly answered
Diane had built strong alliances with over 500 partners across various industries. She shared some insights on how she approaches partnership building and key factors for successful collaborations,
“I started by identifying anchor partners offering lifestyle products and services with high demand from consumers in the region. The key criteria of selection revolved around brand equity, reach, and technology readiness. Our win-win value proposition, execution, and impact on partners’ footfall/traffic and sales have helped strengthen our credibility in the market and expand our network in a record time. With this, we have onboarded leading groups and brands such as Alshaya, Landmark, Talabat, Careem, etc., with a high retention rate of 95%+ which shows our commitment to building long-term partnerships and alliances.” She explained.
Diane emphasized the importance of experiential rewards in loyalty programs. She elaborated on this concept and explained to us with examples of how Related has helped brands create these ‘moments of magic’ for their customers,
“Our mission at RELATED is to create moments of happiness and this is not possible with mainstream and one-size-fits-all rewards. We are a data-driven company and we leverage our data analytics and AI tools to know and predict consumers needs and preferences. This has helped us create unique offers and rewards customized and personalized to each individual. It was a major turning point for the clients that we serve to move from transactional to an emotional connection with their customers and create moments of magic.” She replied.
Beyond her professional achievements, Diane is a dedicated advocate for women in business. Diane implemented some specific initiatives or strategies at Related to support and empower women in the workplace. We asked her about the impact, she said,
“One thing I love about our company’s culture is that we don’t follow traditional management style. In today’s workforce, we talk about diversity which is not only limited to gender but also to race, ethnicity, etc. We have created an environment that empowers people based on their talent and skills and rewards them based on performance, contribution, impact delivered, and loyalty. I have overseen many initiatives over the last 8 years and it made me proud of how organically we were able to establish a spirit of inclusion, acceptance, and equality. My advice to women in our company is that the only way to overcome stereotypes and socially imposed barriers is not to wait to be entitled but to empower themselves with knowledge, skills, and confidence to speak up, be proactive, and push for opportunities that align with their strengths.” Her involvement with Women in CX further underscores her commitment to supporting and empowering women in customer experience roles.
