Month: September 2017

Categories
Spotlight

Faheen Allibhoy

IPN Spotlight: Faheen Allibhoy (Principal Investment Officer at International Finance Corporation)

Faheen Allibhoy is IFC’s Regional Representative for Sénégal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania based in Dakar. She is responsible for coordinating IFC’s investment and advisory operations in these countries and managing the operations of the IFC Dakar Office, which is the hub for West and Central Africa. Before this position, she worked directly with the CEO of IFC’s Asset Management Company with respect to strategic efforts and the financing for development agenda. Prior, she was the sector team lead for IFC’s investments in the renewable energy supply chain, having worked on important transactions with large solar and wind companies such as SunPower, Gamesa and Goldwind. In her 15-year tenure at IFC, she has worked with the Manufacturing and Infrastructure departments. Prior to IFC, Ms. Allibhoy worked at Merrill Lynch in New York in the Investment Banking Division. Ms. Allibhoy holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is on the Executive Committee of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board and a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

What skills have helped you in your career?
• Finance
• Business
• People management

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
To be more of a risk-taker and to have veered off the “linear path” from time to time. To take the time to build skills (e.g. business level fluency in a language).

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
Management and leadership skills, language skills

What is next for you in your career?
A leadership role in a global organization.

What advice would you offer to others?
Be ambitious, stay ambitious.

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• MBA applications
• International finance
• General management

Please provide the link to your LinkedIn profile:
Faheen Allibhoy

If you would like to nominate someone to be a part of the spotlight, click Here.

Categories
Spotlight

Shamshuddin Lalani

IPN Spotlight: Shamshuddin Lalani (Senior Account Executive, NSX at VMware)

Shamshuddin has over 10+ years of experience in technology sales while working for VMware, Riverbed and Cisco Systems. He started his career in engineering sales and transitioned to account management and strategy. Shamshuddin works with some of the largest global companies, ranging from defense contractors for the US Government to large financial institutions on Wall Street. He has degrees in Economics, Electrical Engineering and an MBA.

What skills have helped you in your career?
Having a technical background has set me apart from most sales executives. Having an Engineering degree in combination with an Economics/MBA has given me both breadth and depth to excel in my career. It brings instant credibility when speaking with leaders in any organization. Listening is another critical skill that speaks volume. Let the customer speak; understand their business issues, drivers and challenges – so you can position your products and solutions accordingly. Most sales executives do not understand how critical this skill is.

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
Networking is the KEY! Building relationships and rapport early in your career goes a long way. Establish trust, work hard and create a “marketing plan” for yourself. Find a mentor, outside of your reporting chain who can help and guide you in your development plan.

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
I read a lot about new technologies within my direct and adjacent fields. I attend industry seminars and networking events to build relationships. I highly recommend getting a subscription to, The Harvard Business Review, which has some great case studies and the Economist that provides a global perceptive on current events. Staying current is extremely important.

What is next for you in your career?
Continue down the path of technology sales with a focus on running a $100M sales region.

What advice would you offer to others?
Take risks! It is OKAY to fail, use it as a learning experience. You are not going to get it right 100% of the time and things are not always going to end up the way you want. If you do not take risks, you may never know your true potential. Believe in yourself.
In addition, your personal brand and credibility is very important. It is hard to build but easy to lose. If you say you are going to do something make sure you do it.

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Leadership development
• Career development
• Mentorship
• Job placement

Please provide the link to your LinkedIn profile:
Shamshuddin Lalani

If you would like to nominate someone to be a part of the spotlight, click Here.

Categories
Event

IPN Networking Session : Torrance, CA on Friday, October 13th 2017

College Expedition West and IPN West present “Living Library”

As part of College Expedition 2017, IPN West will co-host “Living Library”, a networking session at Torrance Jamatkhana after Jamati ceremonies on Friday, October 13th. “Living Library” will host professionals from diverse career paths, including business, engineering, law, medicine, the arts and more. The goal of the event is to provide high-school students a glimpse into the professionals’ lives and the paths they took to success.

We’re looking for more volunteers to participate as speakers in the networking session. If you are able to share your career path with us, please apply Here!

Categories
Event

IPN Career Panel : Dallas, TX on Saturday, September 23rd 2017 – Tips on Preparing for C-suite and Leadership Roles

Would you like to expedite your career?

IPN Presents, “Fast-Track Your Career Path: Tips from an Executive Coach on Preparing for C-suite and Leadership Roles”. This interactive event, featuring Zahir Ladhani, Vice President, Aga Khan Council for USA, will be hosted in Dallas, TX on September 23rd 2017 from 12:00pm-3:00pm.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in professional development. Register today by clicking Here!

Categories
Event

IPN Career Panel : Webinar on Tuesday, September 19th 2017 – How To Find Your Next Ideal Job

Webinar Topic: How To Find Your Ideal Next Job

Are you looking for a job? Are you about to quit your job? Did you get laid off? Are you not happy in your current job?
If you answered yes to any one of these questions, you may find this webinar informative and useful. In this session you will learn the framework for building a lifelong network as well as the best practices and tools to find your next job.

Presenter: Akbar Jaffer, is an Executive Coach and a Branding Expert. He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of ZorroSign, Inc.

Don’t miss out on the 50 minute session on Tuesday, September 19th 2017 at 7 pm PST.
To register online click Here!