The world is changing. While long overdue, women are increasingly taking leadership roles in cutting-edge technology companies. With the courage to pursue her passions, the background to redefine global entrepreneurship and the ability to manage AI’s disruption, CIO Look brings to you the journey of avid entrepreneur, Nazanine Matin, the Head of Finance at UIB Holdings Pte. Ltd.

1. Nazanine Matin: Encouraging Women Entrepreneurs to Take
Charge
The world is changing. While long overdue, women are increasingly taking
leadership roles in cutting-edge technology companies. With the courage to
pursue her passions, the background to redefine global entrepreneurship
and the ability to manage AI’s disruption, CIO Look brings to you the journey of
avid entrepreneur, Nazanine Matin, the Head of Finance at UIB Holdings Pte.
Ltd.
Give a brief overview of your background and your role in the company.
I earned my degree in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley’s School of
Engineering. I now have over 18 years of experience (and a few medical
device patents) and have had roles in R&D, IT, Operations, Audit, Finance, and
Cybersecurity in different industries.
I first stepped outside of the corporate world by working for and helping to set
up startups owned by Demantra/Oracle, Mubadala, and GE. Most of
my career, nine years, was spent with General Electric and I am a graduate of
GE’s Corporate Audit Staff leadership program.
Today, I am the founder and curator of TEDxMonteCarlo and the Head of
Finance of Singapore-based UIB Holdings Pte. Ltd. Both of these roles allow me

2. to pursue my passion for inspiring people by sparking conversations on the
topics that are changing our world.
How do you diversify your tech solutions that appeal to your target
audience?
We facilitate and simplify human to machine and machine to human
conversations via text and voice in any language using over 20+ commonly
used messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger,
SMS, WeChat, etc. We have intelligent IoT messaging solutions for smart
homes, smart enterprises, and smart cities. The heart of each solution,
regardless of the customer, is answering the question of “What is it that you
are trying to achieve?” We then use our technologies’ capabilities to
create solutions that achieve our customers’ specific business objectives.
We engineered UIB’s UnificationEngine®
intelligent IoT messaging-powered
SmartContact®
so it can be used, via a cloud-to cloud connection, with
any combination of products, platforms, and languages. We’ve learned
that even customers in the same industry (i.e., hospitality,
household appliances, wireless service providers, etc.) can have very different
visions, strategies, and brand promises, so one size does not fit all.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every tech individual should
possess.
Let me start with UIB’s own values of respect, resiliency, accountability, open
communications, smart thrift, and global productivity. It can be hard to find
technical people who can bring together both the technical and business sides
of the solutions they create. When we find those people, we hold on to
them tight!
I look for three things when assessing tech businesses/people: 1) Can the
person design for growth? 2) Are they adaptable? And 3) Are they visionary?
When you’re designing for users, even if you’re a B2B platform like our
intelligent IoT messaging, it’s critical to understand the end user’s journey. You
need to be able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and design products
that add real value to their lives. That is what creates a winning product worth
investing in.
Products also need to be bulletproof as you only have one chance to win over
your customer. I understand all too well the time and money constraints of
software development and don’t want to blow it by cutting corners on testing.
I get surprised by how few people think it’s important to understand

3. the customer and their needs. It’s as if they get so busy developing that they
forget who they’re designing for, putting their own “wants” ahead of the
customer’s. Good design meets the customer’s basic requirements, but great
design transforms the customer’s experience, journey, and creates value.
What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons that shaped your
journey?
I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had the chance to work for different types of
companies and leaders. I try to treat every experience, both good and bad, as
an opportunity to learn more about myself and my own leadership style. I
advise my mentees to seek out the experience of working for a startup
(or consulting firm) at an early stage in their careers. They’re
always demanding, fast-paced roles, but you learn so much in such a
short period of time.
I am convinced you learn the most when you’re solving the toughest problems,
starting with not giving up and not changing your core values as you fight to
reach your goals. It’s critical to make the effort to build your network by
seeking out different experts, mentors, champions, and role models. Knowing
who to go to (and what to ask for) in your network helps you to achieve
anything. And don’t forget to listen more than you talk!
What were some of the primal challenges and roadblocks that you faced
during the initial phase of your journey?
As a woman engineer and financier working in the MENA region, I have had to
fight to be heard. It can get exhausting, especially when you have the title,
the position, and the years but there is always someone who brings their ego
into the room and feels compelled to challenge you. Handle it with grace. Keep
your values/ethics, remain humble, and continue moving in the direction you
have set for yourself.
What my first two bosses taught me has stuck with me my entire career. First,
complain only if you can offer up a solution. And second, the difference
between a dream job and a mediocre job is the manager, not the work. People
really do matter. When you’re enabling the success of others, keep them
happy, inspired, and motivated. People often fear that they can be
replaced, but I argue that you should prepare your team to replace you. The
more they can do your job, the less you need to worry.

4. With ascending in the number of pivotal and groundbreaking technological
advancements the role of technologists is continually evolving. How
according to you, has this role changed over the years?
It used to be that a technologist could stay within their “bubble” of engineering
or development and be successful. Now, it’s imperative for engineers to
understand the financial, marketing, and even legal aspects of their business.
Just one example? There isn’t a developer today working on AI that isn’t having
very detailed discussions about gender and other biases in their AI.
Where do you see yourself in the near future and what are your future goals?
Our business has tremendous growth potential and after many years of hard
work, we are seeing it pay off. Our pilots have been very successful and
customers are negotiating commercial contracts. We are in the midst of an
equity fundraise to allow us to further grow the business and get more sales
people and project managers on the ground in order to meet
customer demands and sales requests. Our future goals include the use of
strategic partners and local presence in the MENA and Asia Pacific regions in
order to grow faster and bigger, and more focus on European customers
to help them to define and execute their AI/IoT strategies. We aim to be more
involved in smart industry and smart city projects as well and envision millions
of users chatting with UnificationEngine-powered, intelligent bots.
What is your advice for the emerging tech enthusiasts?
The tech world needs women! I encourage all women to consider AI, IoT,
and/or cybersecurity. Don’t shy away from thinking that you are not qualified
enough. If you enjoy the field, stick with it, even if it’s a hard journey at first.
These are incredible growth areas and women are needed to help create the
next generation of solutions. Here’s why. AI becomes smarter the more we use
it. It’s programmed to think as we do. So what happens if only men are
designing AI? Only men testing AI? How will it be able to think like a world
made up of men and women? It is crucial to have all types of
diversity, cultures, users, and developers involved in AI and it is an exciting
space filled with both short and long-term opportunities.
Sooner than we think, everything will be connected to the cloud, so the
solutions being developed right now are shaping the future and making
history. Through this interview, we hope to have inspired the emerging
entrepreneurs.
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