» THRIVING ON CHALLENGES

Louise Bou Rached, Key Account Manager Middle East EMEA Key Account Sales, Milestone Systems has thrived on the challenges that her sales roles have presented her with

What made you choose technology as your professional path? How has this journey been so far in terms of achieving professional success and personal happiness?

I started my career in finance & audit and soon came to realize that it wasn’t the right place for me! I wanted more variety, engagement with new people, and exposure to different markets and new challenges, therefore, I expanded my Masters degree in strategy and management and worked my way to the sales path. It has been quite exciting and fulfilling so far, never a dull day goes by without having the thrill of exposure to a new challenge to solve.

Does gender matter in channel sales in terms of expectations and recognitions? What are some of the common attributes as key differences between women and men in such roles?

Personally, I don’t think gender matters in channel sales, it is more to the salesperson‚ qualifications, capabilities, and of course the company’s culture in providing an inclusive workforce. I would like to believe that the key differences are more related to the actual industry limitations or environment rather than gender attributes.

Has hybrid work mode been rewarding or taxing? Describe your experience from last year onwards in adopting to the new normal at work? Especially as face-to-face meetings have been difficult to do, how does that impact your work?

Hybrid work has been rewarding to me! The pandemic and its aftermath made me stop and realize the importance of work-life balance. The increased mobility and agility to how where and when you get to perform your job was key to a much better version of me. Face-toface meetings are crucial in our sales roles since half of the discussion and negotiations are actually based on body language and emotional intelligence, which at the beginning was hard to achieve with remote calls, but later on, we adapted to the new rules of engagements and tried to achieve the most from our online meetings. Luckily based out of Dubai, we had the benefit of quickly getting back on track with our onsite meetings with the right precautions in place.

Describe some of the achievements or milestones you achieved in sales in this role as well as over the career briefly

I work in the security industry, historically, this industry is seen as a male-only domain, probably due to the association with the military and the police, but even these industries now have a stronger female Louise Bou Rached

Key Account Manager Middle East EMEA Key Account Sales, Milestone Systems

representation and I would like to believe that I along with my female colleagues in the industry had a strong influence in changing that trend. I also had the chance to work in different geographical locations, from emerging African markets to well established and developed markets in the Middle East, where I initiated, developed, negotiated, and closed some of the major deals for my company with respective high profiles in the industry from both Government and private sectors and I can tell you it always draws a smile on my face whenever entering a meeting room being the only female in there!

On the road ahead in your professional journey, what are the ambitions that motivate you?

Success and effort recognition translated in career growth to top management is what motivates me the most. The company’s culture is another major driver for me, as I know I can only thrive in an environment where people empowerment is key, and ideally with an open-door policy.