IPN Spotlight: Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan (Chief Technology Officer, RSA)
Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan is the Chief Technology Officer for RSA. In this role, Zulfikar is responsible for leading the development of the company’s technology strategy and will focus on bringing to market the innovations that help protect RSA customers from the growing number of advanced threats. Prior to joining RSA, Ramzan served as CTO of Elastica (acquired by BlueCoat), where he leveraged machine learning technologies and natural language processing to enable customers to more securely access and use cloud services. Before Elastica, Ramzan respectively served as Chief Scientist of both Sourcefire, (acquired by Cisco), and malware analytics company Immunet (acquired by Sourcefire). He previously served as the Technical Director of Symantec’s security technology and response division, where he was the architect for the company’s reputation-based malware detection technology. Ramzan earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
What skills have helped you in your career?
Public speaking, being able to interact with customers, media training, learning to articulate technical concepts to a broader audience, and deep subject matter exposure in relevant domains such as cybersecurity and machine learning.
What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
Luck plays a more tremendous role than we can sometimes ever realize. That said, according to Louis Pasteur, “Luck favors the prepared mind”. The other influential idea I wish I had known about earlier is the work on Growth versus Fixed Mindsets by Carol Dweck (and also the related work on the importance of Grit by Angela Duckworth).
What is next for you in your career?
I have my current dream job that offers me a phenomenal opportunity for personal growth. I would like to continue to expand my knowledge base and scope of influence within my current role. I have also just been in my current role for about a year, so it is hard to think beyond it at this point.
What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
Reading a ton, talking with people (e.g., at relevant conferences and other venues), and leveraging online educational resources help tremendously. I think it’s important to have a healthy mix. For example, reading and online courses might help you strengthen a particular skill, while talking with others in the field might help you better determine what particular skills or concepts are important in your industry. Forums like Twitter and LinkedIn are a great source of reading material if you follow relevant people in your industry and beyond. I strive to learn constantly. For example, if I hear someone mention a particular technical term or concept with which I’m not familiar, I will make a note of the term and spend time learning about it later (in much the same way that your grade school teacher might have told you to underline the words you didn’t know in a reading passage and look those words up subsequently).
What advice would you offer to others?
Value and cultivate relationships. Be someone who is perceived to be a “Giver” versus a “Taker”. No person is an island unto themselves and team work is incredibly important. To the extent that you are perceived as someone who is a team player and who always strives to bring his or her A game towards the goal of making the team successful, wonderful opportunities will gravitate towards you. Always look to grow personally. If you feel that your current job or role is stalling your growth, consider finding an alternative (even within the same company) or find ways to expand your current role. That said, be selective with regard to what you do. Many opportunities might present themselves to you, but you should learn to prioritize those that offer leverage and growth, since time is a very precious commodity. That said, earlier in your career, you may not always be able to cherry pick among the opportunities that come your way, so be willing to take baby steps in the right direction.
Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Career mentoring
• Interacting with media
• Applying to graduate school