I
t seems only fitting that Jassim Haji is a cultured man. The Gulf Air Director of IT has spent eight years working for the airline in two spells, and has a PHD in improving working relationships across nationalities. Born in Bahrain in 1962, Haji has enjoyed a steady rise to the pinnacle of Gulf Air’s IT operations, in which the United Kingdom has played a key role in his journey. As a youngster, Haji had a passion for electronics, and used to help local businessmen to repair a variety of devices, “I used to love playing around with telephone cabling, diodes, things like that,” he says. “I would fix things like TV sets, and troubleshoot circuit boards. At school we had no opportunity to learn skills like that, so I occupied myself learning them in my free time.” Haji insists that IT was not what initially stoked his interest in technology, “When I was growing up, telecoms was a bigger industry than IT in Bahrain,” he says. “Multiplexors and modems were f lourishing. Given that Bahrain was the financial hub for the Middle East, there was an increasing demand for better communication within the banking industry within the country. I was fascinated by the intricacy and importance of networking, and my interest grew from there.” Bahrain’s lack of specialist universities forced Haji to leave the country in 1980 for Cable and Wireless’ college in Cornwall, United Kingdom, where he would simultaneously work for C&W whilst studying for a degree in Telecommunications. He graduated in 1986, and returned to Bahrain to launch his career with Gulf Air as a Network Engineer. He relished the prospect of working for an airline, where he had the opportunity to travel as well as studying the logistical side of a complex business, “Being able to travel with a job is fantastic, it allows you to see different parts of the world and experience different cultures,” he says. “Furthermore, once you can understand the different facets of the airline business—passenger services, the logistics of an airport, cargo—you can understand pretty
“Too many people are focused on their own glory while they are in charge, but the most important thing a leader can give—rather than instant success—is a positive legacy of team building that will last for years; continuity is key.”
much any business. Other companies can be purely technical, but not an airline, it gives you a greater understanding of a business as a whole.” After a fruitful five years with Gulf Air, Haji moved to Kuwait to head Gulfnet’s network operations team, where he recalls a need for vast innovation of infrastructure. After one year he took on the same role at Sprint International, whose head office was based in London. He would go on to enjoy three years in the English capital, and still has a soft spot for the city’s West End, “I loved London; my time there sharpened my cultural awareness, and I developed a love for darts,” he says. “I even beat [darts legend] Jocky Wilson in a match while I was there.” He returned to Bahrain in 1995, again as Manager of Network Operations, this time for SITA. He spent three years at the IT and telecoms firm before joining Sabre as Data Centre and Network Operations Manager. Three years on, in 2001, he became an Executive Director at service provider EDS. “My time at EDS was a great learning experience,” Haji says. “Working there gave me the chance to interact with a different type of customer to what I’d been used to, and that was fantastic.” In the midst of his seven year stint at EDS, Haji undertook a Master’s degree in Information Technology Management at the University of Sunderland, United Kingdom, which he completed in 2004. Haji rejoined Gulf Air in 2008 as Head of IT Infrastructure, and having quickly made an impact upon his return, was rewarded with a promotion to the Director of IT role in 2011. In spite of the satisfaction he has gained from the job, he is acutely aware of the pressure that comes with the territory, “When you are the CIO, you do stand alone to a certain extent; if something goes wrong, you have nowhere else to go,” he says. “We are deeply involved in KPIs, and the strategies of the business. You have to develop your own technology strategy that is aligned with that of the business, and, crucially, you must be able to convey that in business terms to the executive management.” In 2010, Haji completed a PHD in ‘Cultural lessons learned by American Companies in International Countries’ at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle. He would visit his course supervisor in the northern English city four times a year, using all his holiday time in the process. He used EDS as a case study of how US working culture was failing in Bahrain, and he is a firm believer that the culture of an organisation stems from that of the nation in which it resides. “I believe that by gaining an improved understanding of other cultures, we gain a better understanding of each other, which makes us more adaptable and cultivates a more prosperous working culture,” he says. “Take religion for example. Generally speaking, in the West, religion is a part of life. However in Arabic countries, life is a part of religion. The way we behave, the hospitality we offer and certain restrictions
www.cnmeonline.com
may 2014
Computer News Middle East
33