Interviewer: Nourhan Badr El-Din
“People who have ideas but lack resources like time and money usually stick to their jobs or education in order to “make a living”. I believe it’s our responsibility as entrepreneurs, teachers and innovators to build and inspire the community by giving focused talks, interviews and conferences on the subject matter so that others can gain opportunities and shared experiences that can help them achieve their biggest dreams.”
Marc Banoub
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE
Marc is the Founder of Lyra, the leading builder of AI, Data engineers & scientists. He’s a social entrepreneur with 5+ years of experience in consulting & transformation management including 30+ projects in Analytics, AI & Data Science. He led teams, solutions & product engagements making savings & generating thousands if not millions of dollars to his partners. He’s also the founder of Cairo AI, the leading AI community in Cairo. He has participated in the first MIT Deep Technology Bootcamp.
THE INTERVIEW
1-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Marc, can you tell us about the impact, experience, and challenges of participation in the MIT Deep Technology Bootcamp?
It was a very challenging & powerful life changing experience. I had the chance to be selected amongst 45 people from all over the world to study the topic of deep technology, like internet of things (IoT), AI, and Blockchain. We were first exposed to lab simulations where we learnt the fundamentals and were taught by the best professors at MIT specialised in these topics. At the end of this bootcamp we were implementing products and pitching them to investors with what we had learnt to build a company.
Lyra was initially based on consulting and solutions, only then we pivoted to focus on AI talent after I came back from Boston.
2-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: How have you managed the risk of leading an infrastructure project portfolio after your graduation? has this impacted your vision and mission in life and how?
Solar Energy was trending in the Egyptian Market at that time, so I worked in the field for a year. I then worked on infrastructure projects in the New Cairo Capital.
I wanted to work on more hands-on projects based on data; as a Transformational Analyst I was able then to use analytics to get business insights and value so I started my journey into technology where I was inspired by Data Science, AI and business transformation.
I had also dealt with many startups in the industry and I started taking courses online on machine learning. I experienced how startups are performing faster where technology is driving more value so I moved to full-on entrepreneurship.
3-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Based on your various experiences, how AI, Data & Analytics shapes the transformation in market needs and supply especially after the covid-19 crisis? Also, how can this affect managers and HRs in leading the manpower?
More than half of jobs in various industries went through a freeze in hiring, so I quickly realised that people in talent acquisition and Human Resources (HR) started to have less job requirements; some even were irrelevant so they were on hold or they got laid off. Most of those who continued were able to harness their focus to enable teams to adjust to working remotely.
HR systems, post covid-19, within companies need disruption as the rate of technology adoption is generally low. We offer opportunities for technical recruiters’ acquisition of talents to streamline & facilitate their work, with special focus on remote hiring for AI engineers, data scientists & software engineers.
The world has now seen maybe the biggest experiment in remote hiring of employees and remote work. This is very positive leap in global talent sourcing and I expect post covid-19 the world will see more advancement in remote hiring and remote work.
4-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Can you tell us the story and the goals of your startup “Lyra”?
I studied my third year of college in California; there I visited Silicon Valley during which I was inspired by the community, entrepreneurship and level of innovation. I decided to return soon to innovate in value by launching ventures that would impact the whole world.
By the beginning of 2019, I had to take the decision about applying for jobs or to work in AI and Data Science. I didn’t find anything suitable or appealing, so I decided to create Lyra. We started quickly ramping up AI and Data Science consulting driven by our focus on talent enablement via our many programs including the AI & Data Science Bootcamps; AI Launchpad and others.
During my return from MIT I was inspired to help companies from all over the world where we provided them with vetted AI and Data Science talent.
5-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: As a social entrepreneur, data scientist, and AI transformation strategist, what is your advice in order to start new projects and initiatives?
Follow your heart. Take risks which lead to your passion and nothing else should stand in your way.
Many people don’t know what they want to do, they don’t invest enough time in figuring out what is their big dream and what they are mostly passionate about.
People who have ideas but lack resources like time and money usually stick to their jobs or education in order to “make a living”.
I believe it’s our responsibility as entrepreneurs, teachers and innovators to build & inspire the community by giving focused talks, interviews and conferences on the subject matter so that others can gain opportunities and shared experiences that can help them achieve their biggest dreams. As Bill Gates said, “Leaders will be those who empower others.” This is what we stand for in Lyra.
Thank You