Tech Director at Amazon Payment Services | Follow for posts about Leadership Development and Career Growth | Leadership & Career Mentor | Author Of Leadership in 60 Seconds

I ​am a global technology executive with over 20 years of experience. I am currently Director of Software Engineering at Amazon, leading the Access Management Systems space within Amazon Security.

Over my career, I'm honored to have delivered award-winning transformational initiatives that have created competitive advantage, enabled business growth, and exceeded customer expectations.

Known as a forward-thinking problem-solver ― skilled in both business and technology strategy ― I adapt and plan for evolving market needs, delivering initiatives with speed and agility. I am also deeply passionate about building, developing, managing, and leading high-performance teams. A strong communicator and relationship builder, I partner effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and am a trusted advisor within the company.

Ever since I stepped into my first managerial role, more than a decade ago, I quickly realized the profound impact strong leadership has on individuals, teams, and organizations. From that moment, I made it my mission to empower others in their leadership journeys, guiding them to reach new heights in their careers.

In support of this mission, I have developed a community on LinkedIn of over 89K+ like-minded professionals with whom I actively support, engage, and share daily content on leadership, management, and career. I have been recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice (Blue Badge) and ranked #1 LinkedIn Arab World Creator in Management and Leadership. 

Outside of work, I am passionate about everything automotive, especially F1 racing (Forza Ferrari!). I enjoy sports in general, both playing and watching. I also have a keen interest in collecting fragrances, working out with a focus on strength training, and all things food—from learning about it and exploring new cuisines to preparing dishes and hosting gatherings. 

Languages: English 🇺🇸 Arabic 🇱🇧 French 🇫🇷

Omar Halabieh

Founder of “Change is Possible” Community & Accelerator where corporate professionals build influential brands & portfolio careers I Change Advisor to Leaders I Ex-Citi COO I Follow for modern leadership, career & change

Over the past 25 years, I have built a successful international banking career.
Most recently, I was the Regional COO for Citibank’s $2Bn business across 16 countries in Asia - leading large-scale transformations in digitisation and culture.

But in 2021, I walked away from my high-paying executive role.

Why?

Because I wanted more space.
More time with family.
More alignment between who I am and how I work.

But I didn’t want to start from scratch.
So I asked myself a question:
What if I could build a career around everything I already know - and love?

That’s how my portfolio career began.
And it changed everything.

Now, I help other professionals do the same.

What I’ve built since 2021:
→ A 6-figure portfolio business with 3 income streams
→ Founder of Change is Possible - a business community for professionals redesigning their next chapter
→ 100K+ LinkedIn followers (grew from 17K in under a year)
→ Coached 100+ professionals through successful career transitions
→ Host of a Top 20 global podcast on career change, Change is Possible
→ TEDx speaker, Forbes columnist, and Bloomberg TV guest

Want to build your own portfolio career?
🚀 THE PORTFOLIO CAREER ACCELERATOR (Launching January 2026) 
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1thkmph_EwRxLGfuL9muCsRir1uKDdF2nXYeI7X_1oSA/edit

This is an 8-week program designed to help you:
→ Turn your expertise into income
→ Build a personal brand that opens doors
→ Create your first income stream - even before you leave your job

Only 20 spots. 12 already claimed.

Other ways we can work together:
✔️ Join my business community — Change is Possible https://changeispossible.co.uk/ - doors open for new members on Sept.10, 2025
✔️ Book me to speak — I deliver keynotes on leadership, change, career reinvention, and the future of work - send a DM.
✔️ Hire me as an advisor — I support companies navigating complex transformation - send a DM to meet and explore.
✔️ Book 1:1 coaching — For senior execs ready to design their next chapter - send a DM.
✔️ Book my LinkedIn Growth Bundle — A 2-session intensive where I teach you the exact system I used to grow to 100K+ followers. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bLp7wmK8xhIpfFu8beImvD5JZQHYsbraTBx5Orjx0zs/edit

P.S. Still wondering if change is really possible?
🎧 Tune in to my podcast Change is Possible — where 100+ professionals share how they redesigned their careers and lives. Watch here - https://www.youtube.com/@ChangeIsPossiblePodcast

Ani Filipova

Some people did everything right and still didn’t make it.

I think about them a lot.

They made smart decisions.
Built the right skills.
Were genuinely good at what they did.

And the break never came.

Meanwhile, I know people (myself included) who caught a moment of luck so precise, so accidental, that if you shifted timing by six months, or moved geography by one country, the whole story collapses.

Here are two of mine:

1) A colleague in London mentioned, almost in passing, that there was a COO role available. I applied. I got it. That one conversation shaped the next chapter of my career.

2) Years later, I got invited to an event where entrepreneurs pitched to magazine editors. I saw what people were building. The energy in the room. The possibilities. That night is a direct line to me leaving my job.

Neither moment was “earned”.
Both changed everything.

And I know plenty of successful people have these moments too, but they rarely mention them because it complicates their success story.

We are sooo binary:

- Success is merit: work hard, decide well, win.
- Success is luck: hard work doesn't matter anyway.

The real version sits in the middle.

Decisions create the conditions.
Luck pulls the trigger.

Sometimes luck pulls the trigger for someone who didn’t deserve it.
Sometimes it never shows up for someone who did.

If you are navigating this, here is what I know:

1️⃣  Your decisions still matter a great deal.
They don’t guarantee the outcome.
But they are how you stack the odds in your favour.

2️⃣  Luck is real.
You don’t get to choose when it shows up. Acknowledging it keeps you hungry without making you bitter, and grateful without making you passive.

3️⃣  Make peace with the unfairness.
This is the hardest part.
Sometimes you do everything right and still don’t make it. The only move left is to accept and move on

The truth is: most success stories are part skill, part luck, and a lot of editing.

---
You can’t control luck, but you can control your odds.
That’s what we build inside the Portfolio Career Accelerator. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

or DM me

I used to think I handled feedback well.

Then I watched myself get defensive almost immediately.

I nodded. Said, “Thank you for sharing.”

Then spent the next three days arguing with it in my head.
And thinking, “Who does he think he is?”

Here is what most people get wrong about criticism:

They do not hear, “Here is how to improve.”
They hear, “You are not as good as you thought.”

That is why people:

▶️ Get defensive.
▶️ Justify themselves.
▶️ Go quiet.
▶️ Blame the delivery.

It feels like a threat.

The top 1% leaders do not hear feedback and think, “That is unfair.”

They think, “What is useful here?”

That shift changes everything.

Here is what that looks like:

▶️ Pause.
▶️ Let them finish.
▶️ Write it down.
▶️ Ask for an example.

Then leave the room and decide what is signal and what is noise.

Not all feedback is right.
But almost all feedback reveals something.

If you want to grow fast:

Stop protecting your ego.
Start mining for signal.

Feedback is uncomfortable.
But staying the same is worse.

Follow me, Ani Filipova, for leadership truths most people avoid.
♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to hear this.

How to learn so fast it feels unfair.

Here is why this matters now more than ever:

- The half-life of skills is shrinking.
- What you learned 5 years ago may already be outdated.
- AI is changing industries faster than most people can adapt.

Learning how to learn is no longer a nice-to-have.
It is the skill that makes all other skills possible.

Leaving corporate was one of the biggest learning curve of my life.

- Suddenly, no team.
- No structure.
- No playbook.

If I did not learn fast, I did not earn.

So I devoured information.
And still felt behind.
Because volume is not the same as mastery.

When I interviewed Dr. Justin Sung on my podcast, he explained why.
The best learners do 3 things differently:

1️⃣ They pause.
Your brain needs time to organise what it just received.

2️⃣ They synthesise.
They teach it, apply it, turn it into something useful.
This is where real understanding happens.
And where you discover what you actually do not know yet.

3️⃣ They compare.
They connect new ideas to what they already know.
This anchors new knowledge into your existing mental frameworks.
It makes learning stick.

🎥 Watch the full podcast episode with Dr.Sung here: https://lnkd.in/g32j73jq

♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to learn faster.

I have appeared on Bloomberg from a desk that looks like a crime scene.

Papers everywhere.
Cables tangled.
Notes scribbled on random sheets.
Three pairs of spectacles because I can never find the right ones.

Chaos.

Or so it looks.

Here is the secret: I know exactly where everything is.

That mess is my system.
It works for me.
It has always worked for me.

From this desk I have recorded over 100 podcast interviews.
Run webinars.
Taught in my community and accelerator.
Coached clients.
Appeared on Bloomberg.
Delivered keynotes.

No fancy studio.
Amazing sophisticated office.
Just me, a microphone, and a desk that looks like a crime scene.

We spend so much energy to look "professional."
The clean background.
The perfect setup.
The polished image.

Meanwhile, the real work, the “magic” happens elsewhere.

You do not need a fancy studio to be taken seriously.
You do not need a minimalist setup to be credible.
You do not need to hide your chaos to be professional.

What you need is a system that works for you.
Even if nobody else understands it.

Most people are optimising how they look.
Very few are optimising how they work.

♻️ Repost if your workspace would never make it on camera.
Follow me Ani Filipova for leadership and career stories without the performance layer.
------

📌 Check my free webinars this month:
Future of work: https://lnkd.in/gT5S8Sbs
Portfolio career: https://lnkd.in/gf-ifWqj

Career Strategist I Change advisor for Leaders | I help successful professionals build freedom, income & impact through portfolio careers | Speaker I Ex-Citi COO | Follow for modern leadership, career and change

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Ani Filipova

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