Tameem Bahri is a CRM expert with over 19 years of experience in business transformation, innovation, digital services design, process design, and digitalization. He is a passionate businessman with a high interest in and deep knowledge of technology. Currently, he is the Global Engineering Director – CRM at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
With a demonstrated professional history in the IT industry, Tameem is an experienced Chief Architect and Chief Technology Officer who has worked in different roles. Learn more about him through the interview below.
Starting The Career Journey
We started by asking, “How did you begin your career journey? Do you have some advice for beginners?”
“I find every career journey interesting. Sometimes it’s hard to summarise a few statements. I started mine as a developer. I worked for several software houses in my early career and built some applications that I am very proud of. Some are still being used today! I moved up through the ranks to the software architect level.
With time, I came to know better my passion which is creating value and lasting impact on people’s lives through technology. I found that CRM (Customer relationship management) is closer to my heart and what I want to achieve, so I spent nearly a decade in the CRM consultancy across several verticals and countries. Eventually, I decided to stick with a single ambitious program and build a solid and dynamic team to see it realized.” said Tameem.
He further continues, “I advise beginners to keep an open eye and mind during their early career and avoid being boxed into a particular comfort zone. Being able to work across multiple initiatives, roles, and responsibilities is an opportunity that I would strongly recommend they make the most of, as it won’t come across their roads that often as they grow up in their careers. Furthermore, they should keep up to date with the market development and be ready, willing, and even expecting that they might need to make a significant turn in their careers at least three or four times in their careers. My switch to consultancy is an example of such a turn.”
Teamwork And Good Leadership
How do you plan to motivate your team to go the extra mile? We further asked.
“I think this should not be taken as a one-off activity. It is a habit, a culture that can be introduced and adopted by the team. Some might be quicker to embrace it than others, and some might not even be willing to adopt it, preferring a more predictable lifestyle. These different personalities and attitudes should all be respected as they form part of our individuality and differences, which is good and healthy for the enterprise.
However, it is up to the good leader to identify the individuals hungry for success and develop them further into professionals who are only truly self-satisfied when they go the extra mile. This becomes second nature for these individuals, who would form a core that moves and motivates the entire team.” Tameem replied.
Going Through Technological Transitions
We were also curious about how Tameem is adapting to technological transitions. So, we asked, “How do you think technology is leading to changes in businesses? Do you feel it’s helping companies grow?”
“Technology is now at the heart of the value proposition of companies. It is a clear lever to move the company into its digital transformation. The more future-embracing companies see digital transformation as an ongoing, continuous status rather than a time-bound activity. This is aligned with today’s quick market and technology development. Technology is also becoming a carrier and enabler for business development and resilience.
Many enterprises have recognized that the customer experience is a product. Technology is a crucial enabler for that as most customer experience journeys have a digital side; some are fully digital or digital-first.
More customer-focused companies can build long-lasting relationships with their customers as they are more aware of what they need, want, prefer, and when. And we all realize the importance of long-lasting business relationships or what is sometimes referred to as brand loyalty to the business.”
Innovation As A Key Enabler For Distinction
When we asked Tameem Bahri if he uses innovative ideas to be unique, with that, he continued:
“Innovation has, and will always be, a key enabler for distinction. Innovative ideas drove humanity to this stage and set apart civilizations throughout history. This is still valid today, as we can see multibillion digital-only companies driven by a single core innovative idea.
Innovation can take many different shapes and forms.
Recently there has been an unhealthy trend to box innovation into AI (Artificial intelligence) initiatives alone. And while AI forms a great field for innovation and unique value realization, it is definitely not the only one.
The stroke of genius can take multiple shapes and forms. It can be a new application feature, a different UI layout, intelligent automation that brings more transparency to the end user, or even a more performant algorithm to achieve a certain task. These are just examples from the technology world.
There are endless examples of potential innovations around us.
Innovation should never be thought of as an activity done by an exclusive group but more of a culture encouraged and made available for everyone in the enterprise.” he continued.
Lastly, we asked, “Would you like to say anything else to our readers?”
Tameem concludes, “It has been a pleasure to be hosted by the Emirates Times. Thanks for the opportunity. Finally, I would like to encourage all business and technology leaders to keep dreaming big and always aim to please and wow their customers rather than just serve them. Once the mindset is in place, the rest will be straightforward.”
Connect with Tameem Bahri on LinkedIn.
