World PR Day shines a spotlight on the storytellers behind the brands and public figures we know. Among them, Rowaidah Bibers is the women shaping a huge sector of that.
Her agency, The PROs, has become a trusted partner for global giants like Amazon, Schneider Electric, and AstraZeneca, as well as regional leaders including talabat and Majid Al Futtaim.
Rowaidah founded The PROs with a mission to make PR more personal and authentic. In just a short time, her agency has soared, partnering with over 40 clients and some of the region’s most iconic brands.
What truly distinguishes Rowaidah is her unwavering belief in the power of people. As she says, her vision was to build a consultancy that challenges convention by combining strategic insight with creative thinking. Her journey proves that when you champion people and nurture talent, you do more than build a business; you create a legacy.
Businesses celebrate growth through numbers, revenue, expansion, market share, or awards. Yet the qualities that define enduring leadership are often the ones that never appear on a balance sheet. They’re reflected in the confidence a leader inspires, the decisions they shape during uncertainty, and the people who become stronger because they crossed their path.
For more than two decades, Rowaidah Bibers, Founder and CEO of The PROs, has helped organizations navigate moments that define reputations and leaders communicate with clarity when it matters most. Throughout that journey, she has advised multinational corporations, regional businesses, and Egypt’s most recognized brands, building a reputation as one of the country’s most respected communications advisors.
Yet, ask Bibers what has defined her own career, and the conversation quickly moves beyond business.
She speaks about curiosity before success. About judgement before visibility. About responsibility before recognition. For her, communications has never been about finding the right words. It’s about understanding people well enough to know which conversations truly matter.
Perhaps that’s because she has never defined success by what has been achieved, but by what has been built along the way, strong relationships, enduring trust, and people who leave every experience more confident than when they began. For Bibers, recognition is never the goal; it’s simply the outcome of leading with purpose.
In this conversation, Bibers reflects on the moments that shaped her career, the philosophy that has guided more than twenty years in business, and why the most meaningful legacy any leader can leave is measured not by the company they build, but by the people they help become leaders themselves.
Q1 | Your journey into public relations wasn’t planned. How did it all begin?
Some of the most influential journeys are not the ones that begin with a clear destination; they are the ones that introduce us to unexpected opportunities and reveal possibilities that ultimately shape who we become.
My path into public relations was not one I had planned from the beginning; it was shaped by an unexpected opportunity that revealed a passion I had yet to discover. Early in my career, while working at a multinational company, I was introduced to communications through the broader lens of business. What initially seemed like a new area to explore soon became a defining turning point, as I recognized the strategic role communications plays in influencing decisions, strengthening reputations, and connecting organizations with the people who matter most.
Throughout my journey, I have come to understand that the true power of communications extends far beyond the messages we deliver. It is about aligning an organization’s purpose with stakeholder expectations, creating clarity in complex situations, and building relationships founded on credibility and mutual understanding.
What continues to inspire me about this field is its constant evolution and its connection to people. Every challenge brings a different perspective, every leader carries a unique vision, and every situation requires a balance between strategic thinking and human insight. This has reinforced a principle that has guided my career: meaningful influence begins with understanding.
Ultimately, the greatest value of communications is not only in the stories we shape, but in the trust, we build, the confidence we inspire, and the lasting connections we create.
Q2 | When did you realize that public relations was more than a profession—it was a purpose?
Some professions shape our careers; others shape who we become. For me, public relations evolved from a profession into a purpose. It became the platform through which I could influence perceptions, connect organizations with their stakeholders, and contribute to decisions that create meaningful value.
As my career progressed, I realized that the role of PR extends far beyond media relations or delivering messages. It is a strategic function that helps organizations navigate change, strengthen their reputation, and seize opportunities with clarity and direction. Every experience challenged me to think beyond communication itself and reinforced the importance of sound judgment, adaptability, and long-term thinking.
That perspective ultimately inspired me to establish The PROs. My vision was to build a consultancy that challenges convention by combining strategic insight with creative thinking to help organizations lead conversations, strengthen credibility, and create lasting impact. Today, The PROs is proud to be one of the region’s fastest-growing PR consultancies, partnering with organizations across diverse industries to deliver integrated communications strategies tailored to their ambitions and evolving business needs.
After more than two decades in the industry, one lesson continues to guide me: the real measure of success is not the visibility we generate, but the value we create, the relationships we cultivate, and the progress we help organizations achieve.
Q3 | As the CEO of one of Egypt’s leading communications consultancies, what is the biggest challenge you face every day?
People often assume that the greatest challenge in my role is managing growth, navigating an ever-changing communications landscape, or responding to increasingly complex client expectations. Those are certainly part of the job, but they aren’t what keeps me thinking every day.
The greatest responsibility and the one I value most is leading people.
Leadership isn’t about having all the answers or making every decision. It’s about creating an environment where people feel trusted, challenged, and empowered to grow. Every individual brings different ambitions, different strengths, and different ways of thinking. Understanding what motivates each person, knowing when to guide, when to challenge, and when simply to listen, is one of the most demanding aspects of leadership and one of the most rewarding.
The same principle applies to our clients and stakeholders. Before we can advise, we have to understand. Before we can shape outcomes, we have to listen. That’s true in communications, and it’s equally true in leadership. The ability to see situations from different perspectives has shaped every important decision I’ve made throughout my career.
Technology will continue to evolve, and the communications industry will continue to transform. But leadership will always remain deeply human. People rarely remember every decision you make. They remember whether you believed in them, challenged them to become better, and helped them achieve more than they thought possible. If I can do that, then I know I’ve created value that extends far beyond business results.
Q4: Looking back on more than two decades in communications, what are the moments that make you feel most proud?
Success can be measured in achievements, but legacy is measured in the lives you impact along the way. I am deeply grateful for every milestone The PROs has achieved, and watching the agency grow from an idea into one of Egypt’s leading communications consultancies has been incredibly rewarding. However, when I look back, those accomplishments are not the moments that stay with me the most.
What I remember most are the people.
Some of the most meaningful moments in my career have been the quiet ones; a conversation with a young professional who is uncertain about their path, a former team member sharing news of a promotion, or someone telling me that a piece of advice I offered years ago helped shape an important decision in their life. These are the moments that remind me of the profound responsibility that comes with leadership.
I have always believed that the true measure of a leader is not how many people work for them, but how many people grow because of them. Businesses evolve, strategies change, and success takes different forms over time, but investing in people creates an impact that extends far beyond any project or achievement. Watching someone discover confidence they never knew they had or recognize potential they had yet to see is one of the greatest privileges of my journey.
If, years from now, people remember me not only for the organization I helped build, but for the confidence I inspired, the opportunities I created, and the belief I placed in them before they believed in themselves, then I will consider that my greatest achievement. To me, that is the true essence of leadership and the legacy I hope to leave behind.
Q5: After more than twenty years in the industry, what is the most valuable lesson your journey has taught you—something no one told you when you started?
Early in our careers, it’s easy to believe that success is about keeping pace with everyone around us. We compare our progress, our achievements, and our timelines, forgetting that every meaningful journey unfolds differently.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that comparison is one of the biggest obstacles to genuine growth. The only person I’ve ever wanted to be better than is the person I was yesterday. That mindset has allowed me to keep learning, remain open to change, and approach every new challenge with humility, regardless of how much experience I’ve gained.
I’ve also learned that careers aren’t defined by a single breakthrough or one extraordinary achievement. They’re built quietly, through the choices we make every day, the standards we hold ourselves to, and the way we treat people when no one is watching. Character is shaped in those everyday moments, and over time, so is reputation.
If there’s one message I’d leave with the next generation, it’s this: don’t build your career around recognition build it around excellence. Recognition may open a door, but excellence is what allows you to keep walking through it. Stay curious, remain humble, never stop learning, and always strive to become a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. When you commit to that journey, success is no longer something you chase; it becomes the natural outcome of who you choose to become.
