Mouna Essa-egh is the Vice President of the Datacenter & Networks Business at Schneider Electric. Her current responsibilities include driving Schneider Electric’s portfolio and growth strategies for the data centre space, as well as fostering strategic relationships and enhancing customer satisfaction across Middle East and Africa (MEA). Prior to this role, Mouna was the Vice President for the IT division, overseeing Francophone Africa. She was tasked with transforming Schneider Electric into an efficient, collaborative end-user-focused organisation working hand-in-hand with its entire channel ecosystem to serve customers better.
Based in Dubai, Mouna brings with her over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. She has held various roles in Business Unit and Profit & Loss Management as well as sales across diverse sectors such as banking and finance and telecommunications in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in MEA as well as Northern and Central Europe. In 2018, she expanded her horizons by joining Schneider Electric, where she was given the opportunity to lead a team of professionals in catering to the data centre industry. Mouna holds a Degree in Electrical Engineering as well as a Master of Business Administration from ESCP Business School. In her free time, Mouna enjoys singing and painting, and she is also a certified tourist guide.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with Digital First Magazine, Mouna shared her professional trajectory, insights on diversity and inclusion, her favorite quote, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Mouna. Can you share your professional journey and what sparked your passion for your field?
I have been in IT business for two decades now, first in HP then HPE as servers head for Africa, then middle east and Africa, and finally as servers head for North Europe (Benelux, Alps, and Nordics countries).
I am heavily involved, and believing we can all have an impact, with the environment, so 5 years ago joining Schneider Electric made sense, looking at their market leader position in datacenters in our region, but also their engagement in terms of sustainability. It is only fair that this year, Schneider Electric has been selected as the #1 most sustainable company by Time Magazine.
What are the most rewarding parts of your job, and why?
Clearly, developing talent is for me perhaps, the most rewarding part of my role. In Schneider Electric, we invest heavily in recruiting and nurturing talent, and coaching and supporting our young people. Collaborating with our diverse and talented team is rewarding.
Also, digitalization, AI, and datacenter being at the core of every strategy today, I have the chance to witness and support many projects. Contributing to meaningful projects that make a positive impact is very motivating.
But also, because of the diversity of applications behind every project, clearly the possibility to continuously learn and grow is definitively a big motivation.
How do you see AI evolving in the next 3-5 years, and what emerging trends or technologies are you most excited about?
It’s said to be an old Danish proverb that the scientist Nils Bohr referenced when he said that predictions are difficult, especially about the future!
AI is developing at such a rapid pace and being democratized with cost and accessibility both being reduced all the time, meaning that new and innovative applications are emerging all the time. Nvidia recently delivered its Backwell chips, which are a major step forward, but AMD has also brought new technology to the market, and Intel’s Gaudi 3 is expected soon too.
What we can confidently say is that within the next 3-5 years, we will, on a daily basis, be interacting with more and more AI as easily as we do with people today, for the likes of personal assistants, tutors, career counsellors, therapists, accountants, and even lawyers.
What that means for the industry is more demand for core AI workloads, as well as for reduced model deployments at the edge. That means implications for DC design, from racks and physical infrastructure to power distribution and cooling. Liquid cooling will be more commonplace as densities increase. However, the relentless drive for efficiency and reduced consumption, as seen with the recent Nvidia chipsets, means that sustainability will remain a key but achievable concern, even as we meet demand.
For me, I think that AI will become more important in decision support in enterprise, as the deluge of data becomes even greater.
With everything being instrumented, and the advent of quantum sensing enabling even more accurate, precise and voluminous data gathering, AI as an aggregator, filter, and distiller will allow executives and heads of business to make sense of vast, complex data, turning it into the intelligence that we need today faster for better decision making.
Also, at the edge, AI will be able to make decisions on data gathered in the likes of retail, that is only fleetingly valuable. When a shopper stands in front of a smart mirror, there may only be a window of seconds for a tailored offer before a buying decision is made, based on inventory available at that store at that second.
These are exciting times with a lot of opportunity.
What skills and expertise do you believe are essential for data professionals to develop in the next 2-3 years, and how are you investing in talent development within your organization?
The sheer pace of development generally, and propelled by the digital transformation wave, has meant that it’s never been more important to develop a life-long learning habit. This is particularly important for top level people, be they technical, financial, business, or strategy.
To do one’s job properly means constantly learning and honing or acquiring new skills in areas such as AI as it applies to your job. However, sustainability is also a constant thread that should be woven through everything to constantly monitor, optimize and improve. For data professionals, there has never been a better selection of tools and technologies to gather, process, and analyze data.
That said, with the move to the Internet of Things (IoT) enabling Smart Buildings and Cities, and software and applications that are used for much more than traditional business functions, that support the growth of the digital economy, this journey has not been mirrored in the growth of talent to service the needs of these various applications. Previously, most of the IT professionals managing these software verticals were very specialized in their individual fields, such as in finance software. But as with all specializations, knowledge, skills, and experience can quickly become outdated fostering a need for further upskilling for people in those roles.
Our company takes very seriously the opportunity to help every individual develop professionally and excel in their role or aspire to new ones. Schneider Electric University, as well as our sustainability consulting business, offer a wide range of courses and qualifications to allow people to get to grips with what’s needed in today’s and tomorrow’s environment. We also work with schools and development programs to enable people to cross-skill and up-skill to come into the industry at early career stage, or as mature professionals.
What impact do you believe increased diversity and inclusion would have on innovation, creativity, and progress in your industry?
Diversity and inclusion strategies have had a measurably positive impact in our industry. McKinsey has been tracking this for almost 10 years now, with recent findings making what it describes as the most compelling business case yet. Diverse teams have been shown to be more innovative, agile, and resilient, dealing with change and uncertainty better than more homogenous counterparts. Consequently, in 2015 top quartile companies for diversity had a 15% greater likelihood of financial outperformance versus their bottom-quartile peers. In the latest findings, that jumps to 39%.
There is no question of the benefits of diversity, and in the technology industry with its furious pace of development, this is perhaps even more applicable.
By having people of diverse ages, educational backgrounds, life experiences, and cultural influences, working together in a respectful and inclusive environment, creativity is encouraged, and innovation follows.
However, this can bring challenges in accommodating people with diverse needs and expectations.
Educational supports, mentoring, and everything else, must be flexible and dynamic enough to make sure that needs are identified, acknowledged, and met to ensure not just wellbeing but for people to thrive — but the benefits of doing so are undeniable.
At Schneider Electric we have firm commitments on diversity, and we are working hard to achieve them. Of our more than 130,000 employees, we have 5 generations from 182 nationalities in 108 countries! Of that, there is a more than third (34%) representation of women, with 41% in executive committee, 45% in board of directors, 42% in all new hires, 27% in frontline managers, and 28% in senior leadership, as of 2022. It is something we take very seriously and view it as providing opportunities for all.
What leadership qualities and skills do you believe are essential for driving growth and transformation, and how do you embody those qualities in your own leadership style?
Leaders in today’s organizations must be curious, enthusiastic, flexible, and willing to learn. They must be empathetic and inspirational to be able to listen to their people and inspire them to perform to their best.
True leaders tend to put their people to the fore, to facilitate them in achieving their best, under a shared vision of the organization’s mission. A leader must inspire with a vision, but they must take their people with them to achieve it.
I have always enjoyed the latitude to encourage people to develop themselves. There is little more rewarding than recognizing people’s abilities and them helping them to pursue a path to fulfil their potential. Having spent the past 20 years in the IT industry, starting my professional journey as a Business Unit Manager for a large tech company in 2002, I have enjoyed diverse Sales Manager roles in different sectors, from banking and financial applications to telcos and public sector, across Africa, the Middle East, South, North, and Western Europe, and my vision is to support managers by providing world-class solutions for sustainability and efficiency. That means being able to combine all my experience and insights into a strategy to enable them to succeed. Through developing teams around me that understand and share that vision and approach, we are succeeding.
Growth is about understanding what others are trying to achieve as much as your own ambitions. By helping them achieve their ambitions, you make opportunities for growth. That’s where empathy, understanding and vision come together to identify opportunities and turn them into results.
What is your favorite quote?
Picking a favourite quote is hard, as they all pertain to different aspects of what we do.
In terms of everyday experience, I’ve always liked the practicality of Eleanor Roosevelt, who said: “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously.”
In terms of doing the right things, the educator Stephen Covey was right when he said: “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
But for leadership, the guru Ken Blanchard, put it best with: ““In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.”
And that has been realised for a long time. An early American president, John Quincy Adams, said: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
I like that one. It helps me understand what I have to do to lead.
What message or advice would you give to young women or girls who are interested in pursuing a career in tech?
There has never been a better time to pursue a career in technology!There are so many opportunities for technical and non-technical career paths that your imagination is the only limit. Whether you are coming from education as a newly minted engineer or may be coming with transferable skills from another industry, there are opportunities from top to bottom to get involved in a fulfilling, fast moving and rewarding sector.
There is massive scope for women in technology and engineering to move into or between disciplines within this industry and forge a strong path for themselves.
With mentoring and coaching programs, as well as inspirational stories from other people who have succeeded, there is nothing to stop anyone who wants to join the industry from finding opportunity.
Schneider Electric is very encouraging of people from every background to approach and explore possibilities. It has long been maintained that an organization will not become diverse by sourcing talent where it has always done so. That’s why we work with schools and other programs to introduce people to the industry and its opportunities that might otherwise not have had the exposure, from STEM promotion to scholarships.