Flyby, an adtech and last-mile digital infrastructure company, has appointed former Tomaso Rodriguez as non-executive chairman of the board as it prepares for a Series A raise and expansion across Europe and the Middle East.
Rodriguez served as chief executive of Talabat for six years, during which he grew the business more than ninefold and led its initial public offering on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2024. The listing raised $2 billion and valued the company at $10.1 billion. He stepped down in November 2025 following a planned leadership transition.
Under his leadership, Talabat served more than 6.5 million active customers across eight markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
Flyby said the appointment signals its transition from early traction to scale. The company began with targeted pilots in Munich, Abu Dhabi and Dubai and has developed a digital out-of-home network embedded into last-mile logistics.
Clients include L’Oréal, Red Bull, Tabasco, Motorola and Western Union, while partners include Publicis, Yango and WPP. The company also works with aggregators such as noon, Talabat, Careem and Deliveroo.
Flyby said it has a path to reach 10,000 boxes by 2027, based on existing partnerships and a proprietary technology stack combining IoT-enabled hardware, rider-level data and real-time digital engagement. The network also supports urban beautification and smart city programmes.
“Two years in, the platform is live, revenue-generating, and ready for scale. Tomaso took Talabat from a regional platform to a $10 billion public company. His experience will be key as we enter our next phase, marking the start of our Series A and our expansion into multiple new markets,” said Cheyenne Kamran, co-founder and chief executive of Flyby.
Rodriguez said Flyby has turned delivery fleets into a live, high-tech media channel, allowing advertisers to deliver real-time messages, adding it represents a new technological development in the sector.
