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It’s difficult to integrate
new technologies in
such scenarios. Hence,
change is not going to
come overnight. It will be a
gradual process. And once
business in the Middle East
gradually realises the value
of a modern IT infrastructure,
I am sure they will start
investing in cutting-
edge technologies.
platforms can easily predict customer
buying trends, enabling businesses to be
better prepared. These platforms can self-
correct addresses over some time and also
learn customer delivery preferences, predict
delay in orders and intimate customers
in real-time thereby boosting customer
engagement and loyalty.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
It has to be sports. I feel following sports
help trigger a sense of rejuvenation in me
that automatically brings my stress levels
down. But I do feel that to a certain extent
a bit of stress can be helpful. It helps you
to perform better, think faster and be a bit
more pragmatic about life in general.
If you could go back and change one
career decision what would it be?
Every career decision I made has given me
valuable life lessons. This will always help me
make better decisions in the future.
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
your industry?
With regards to potential, Blockchain
and predictive analytics are some of the
major technologies that will see significant
amounts of investments in the coming years.
What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
We started with fewer than 10 employees
in our team. Now we have crossed 200.
Therefore, regarding managing growth and
people, ensuring scale and nurturing talent,
a lot has changed. And in the technology
space what’s ‘fantastic’ today might
become ‘average’ a few years down the line.
So, with regards to change in the coming
12 months, I am constantly thinking about
how to find new ways to innovate faster and,
simultaneously, build an A-class team.
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain a
C-level position in your industry?
I have always put my trust in believing
that talent wins games but teamwork
can win championships. It is paramount
for the leader to induce entrepreneurial
characteristics in his or her employees.
Encouragement is the answer to a lot of
questions and when it comes to our work,
I believe in keeping customers at the core
of what we do. We believe in making
“
WHEN IT COMES
TO OUR WORK,
I BELIEVE
IN KEEPING
CUSTOMERS AT
THE CORE OF
WHAT WE DO.
entrepreneurs and not just employees. It’s
not just the skill set that matters but also
thought process and attitude.
A good leader should inspire his/her team
for doing something extraordinary. I believe
that the best leaders are passionate about
developing the emerging leaders around
them, they constantly work to improve
their emotional intelligence and know
that a strong team culture is a foundation
for accomplishing the mission. They are
in a perpetual state of preparation and
embrace the inevitable changes their
businesses will face.
It is important to have faith in their beliefs, if
as a leader you don’t have solid faith in your
ideas, you can’t expect others to believe in
you. Along with having great communication
skills, one needs to listen to others, setting
examples and should put his or her best foot
forward in not giving up easily.
At this level, one needs to be a strategic
planner, forward-thinking and formulate
techniques for his team to be able to achieve
their and an organisation’s goals. n
What are the region-specific
challenges when implementing new
technologies in the Middle East?
A major challenge with regards to
technology adoption in the Middle East
is legacy infrastructure. In many cases,
we have seen that there is not enough
interoperability between IT architectures.
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