As Regional Director for Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Mazen Dohaji’s responsibilities include business development, sales and customer support, as well as management of the security vendor’s Dubai office. The global security vendor recently inked deals with high-profile companies within the region, including multimillion dollar businesses operating within aviation, banking, oil-and-gas, media, and government market segments.
“We are working with various governments within the region to secure their digital ecosystems as they move towards a smarter environment. Today we are competing with giants like IBM, HP, so when you win accounts over them, it is quite exciting,” explains Dohaji. He mentions that the most satisfying part of his job is getting a win. “Each demo and each proof of concept is also hugely satisfying because of how impressed customers tend to be with the technology, the team and I are presenting,” he continues.
On the flip side, the most challenging part of his job role, is the general lack of awareness regarding cyber security. “Some organisations do not understand why they need comprehensive cybersecurity and some do not realise the type of cybersecurity their organisation needs. Some organisations are just looking to tick a compliance box rather than make their organisation truly secure.
Previously when Dohaji started university, even back then it was evident that IT would soon dominate every aspect of life and technology would become indispensable. “This promise of growth, this vision of the future, is what first interested me in pursuing a career in technology.”
Dohaji believes the hot technology talking point is cyber security. “Due to the massive increase of cybercrimes globally, and in our region specifically, organisations will shift their focus to developing cybersecurity and augmenting their detection and response strategies.”
About his workstyle, Dohaji explains that he is a macro-manager and quite averse to micro-management, which he believes can act as a deterrent to productivity. He is a lot more concerned with the bigger picture and strategies for the future, rather than stressing about things the team can manage capably.
Dohajii does not find his work life stressful. “I genuinely like what I do, I love and enjoy my job, and have a lot of passion for the field I am in. So, it is easy for me to handle the stress and demands of the job, and turn it into motivation. Knowing that dedication will earn me rewards is what keeps me going and visualising positive results helps keep stress at bay,” is how he explains his balance in life.
Cybersecurity is one of Dohaji’s principal interests. He mentions he is passionate about it and interested in advances being made in the field and the emerging solutions. Off work, Dohaji is a pilot and flies a single-engine Cessna plane. Whenever he finds free time, he heads over to the aviation club to clock a few hours of flying time.
His keen interest in cybersecurity helps Mazen Dohaji to convert demands and challenges into motivation to achieve results.