2024 Star Women in Grocery Award Winner Fairouz Ghiati (Q&A)
Fairouz Ghiati
Senior Solutions Architect
Lactalis Canada
How did you get into this field?
It started when I was in a business analysis role. I had to define how the different software products and internal solutions should interact and process the data to deliver the best solution for the given problem. This transition to the IT solution architect field builds on my previous experiences in engineering, business analysis, project management and consulting. I augmented my knowledge with data science and cloud platform technologies training. It’s a fascinating domain and I’m very excited to be part of this field.
What do you consider the biggest career challenge?
Being a newcomer to Canada! At age 34, I had to reestablish my career. Big roadblocks included: No Canadian experience, beginning to learn English as my fourth language, not having my Moroccan engineering degree recognized and running a low-income household with two young kids under three years old! During this critical period, what helped me was my mother’s advice when I was a teenager: “You can’t jump to the 10th floor, but you can take the stairs.” I set some realistic goals, such as learning one word a day, accepting entry position jobs and continuously shaping my career by remaining a lifelong learner.
What is your biggest achievement?
Throughout my career, I’ve led so many ambitious projects and initiatives. Honestly, it’s hard to pick one. Each is a journey and a unique and enriching experience. But it’s always an honour to celebrate the success and achievement with the team after a great delivery. Currently, I’m helping deliver digital transformation initiatives that enable Lactalis to support our customers efficiently and effectively in our daily interactions, further contributing to our goal of being the easiest CPG company to deal with.
When it comes to technological transformation, what guides you?
I always start with clarity. It’s important to clearly define the problem to solve, then document and communicate the solution to implement and, lastly, describe the expected outcomes and accountability. Another foundation is agility. The world is dealing with an unprecedented velocity of change both at the technological and data level. Agility is required to respond effectively and efficiently to this change in a timely manner. Lastly, what is a solution without users? Putting users at the heart of the solution is imperative.
What are you most passionate about outside of work?
Learning the stories of ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary things—their lived experiences, successes and failures. I find reading, listening to and watching biographies very inspirational and full of life lessons.
What most excites you about the future of the sector?
The advances in cloud technologies, analytics and AI [artificial intelligence] offer huge opportunities to all industries including grocery. In a fast-moving market, these opportunities offer a competitive edge to enhance operational productivity, business agility and customer satisfaction. I’m very proud to be working for one of the largest CPGs in the world and to be part of the digital transformation team. The future is already here!
Click here for the full list of 2024 Star Women in Grocery award winners.