Please could you describe your career journey so far
After graduating in 2012, I joined Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) in Saudi Arabia. I was enrolled in a management trainee program for 18 months and then promoted to Product Development Manager, where I was responsible for developing exterior and interior parts. I later moved into Demand & Supply Planning at ALJ, where I spent a further 3 years.
In 2018, I joined Four Principles (FP) on the ICT program (an internal company transfer program between ALJ and FP, which I was nominated and then selected for), for 2 years. This gave me exposure to different industries and companies, in both government and private sectors. I also participated in one of the biggest projects in FP history, which was with Saudi Customs, where we achieved many success stories together.
I returned to ALJ in 2021 as a General Manager, under a new division called Best in Town. This department is responsible for handling the experience of Toyota customers and aims to be the ‘best in town’, in terms of Sales and Aftversales services. In addition to this, I’m responsible for managing several special assignments under the newly established Corporate Human Resources division.
How did your FP experience benefit your career? Are there any key lessons learned or professional advice that you still carry with you?
On my return to ALJ in 2021, my perception was very different after my time at FP. I realized that previously, I had been doing many things in a lower-quality way. So, one of the most important things I learnt at FP is to deliver high quality work, first time around, in the right way.
Also, since I was previously working solely in operations and production, I didn’t have any interaction with customers and clients. FP gave me the opportunity to learn how to engage with clients, and to manage expectations and relationships with the clients/stakeholders in a professional way.
Last but not least, when you go to work in different industries and sectors, at first you might think, ‘how am I going to do this?’ but FP taught me that the process is always the same, regardless of the industry or the product. Everything is possible even if it’s within a different industry or working with different products – you just have to sit down and analyze the situation first.
What are you most proud of so far in your career?
You know it’s not only because of this conversation but truly, my career was moved up significantly in the last 2-3 years since my time with FP. When I returned to ALJ, they felt and saw the added value of what I had learnt at FP and this is what led to me being promoted quickly which I am extremely proud of, and also led the Vice President of ALJ Motors to personally select and assign me onto the additional project work within Corporate HR. My time at FP has helped me to achieve the goals that I had set years ago, in a much shorter time frame. Genuinely, during the 2 years with FP, I learnt a lot and I felt the value of being in such a dynamic environment.
What/who keeps you inspired and motivated?
I think learning new things and keeping updated with changes in the market and the surrounding industries is what inspires me. For example, I’m now handling what is essentially the PMO role in Corporate HR, so I have to keep updated with the PMO frameworks and scheduling, as well as the HR side (which I didn’t know anything about before I started this role!). Learning and keeping updated with the latest technology and information is the key to keep me motivated.
On top of this, of course my family are a big inspiration for me and I am very motivated to improve my career, to get to a senior management level in the future.