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

I help organizations in finding solutions to current Culture, Processes, and Technology issues through Digital Transformation by transforming the business to become more Agile and centered on the Customer (data-informed)

CDO, CIO & Digital Transformation Director focused on helping organizations navigate the digital age. I partner with leaders to develop and execute strategies that resolve critical business issues related to culture, processes, and technology, ensuring a human-centric approach to innovation and growth.

Dynamic and results-driven Executive with 25+ years of experience leading strategic change in global organizations and SMBs. Proven expertise in consulting, designing, and implementing business-transformative initiatives that drive cultural, process, and technological change. Skilled in optimizing business processes through innovative technology solutions. Strong track record of building high-performance teams and ensuring organizational effectiveness. Experienced in business units, IT, operations, and professional services/consulting areas. Adept at delivering results, driving efficiency, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies. Excels in strategic planning and execution, collaborating with stakeholders across the organization to drive Digital Transformation. Effective communicator and relationship builder, fostering collaboration and innovation. Demonstrated ability to establish data and information strategies, governance, and policy development to create business value. A human-centric leader committed to driving organizational effectiveness and success in the digital age.

You can reach me at https://dtstrategist.com

Manuel Barragan

Leadership Habits That Sabotage Digital Transformation Success

Usually, CEOs demand a "data-informed culture". Yet, in every meeting, they ignored the reports and made decisions based on their guts. Teams notice that, and data initiatives die within a month.

Culture is not a poster on the wall. It is the shadow of the leader.

Your organization’s "social DNA" determines if new technology survives. Leaders often blame employees for resisting change. They claim the workforce is stubborn. But resistance usually hides a simple truth: people are afraid.

They fear they lack the right skills. They worry that a wrong click will cost them their job. You must replace that fear with psychological safety. If employees fear punishment for a mistake, they will hide problems. They will stick to the "safe" old ways. Agility requires risk. You must prove that failure is part of the learning process.

You must also destroy the silos. When departments hoard information, the organization fractures. Digital tools connect processes, but leadership must connect people.

If you want your team to embrace AI or cloud platforms, you must go first. Open the dashboard. Log in to the system. Show them the value.

Think of culture as the soil. Technology is the seed. If the soil is toxic, nothing grows. You are the gardener.

Is your leadership style feeding your transformation or starving it? Let Digital Transformation Strategist talk about aligning your executive mindset with your digital goals.

Formula 1 Ferrari’s 2025 Stumble: Lessons on Flexibility and User Adoption

Watching both Ferrari cars get disqualified at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix was painful. The SF-25 was fast only in theory; it had a "narrow operating window" and couldn't handle bumps or wind changes. This is the classic corporate trap: prioritizing theoretical peak performance over real-world usability. Your business cannot afford a season where your teams can't use the expensive "perfect" platform you bought.

In the article, you will learn how to:
💠 Avoid the three major mistakes Ferrari made that mirror corporate failures: prioritizing theoretical peak performance over usability, ignoring the "user experience" of top talent, and falling into the destructive "rip and replace" trap.
💠 Build For the Bumps: use Agile methodologies and Low Code development to create robust platforms that handle real-world chaos, instead of fragile systems that break when a user presses the wrong button.
💠 Listen to Your Drivers: create psychological safety so your frontline staff can report the "understeer" in your operations without fear, and invest in UX design for internal tools so adoption happens naturally.
💠 Iterate, Don't Hibernate: reject the "Big Bang" release mindset. Use real-time data analytics to find small wins and make course corrections today, preventing talent loss while you transform.

Ferrari treated 2025 as a throwaway year, but in business, you can't pause your customers or your revenue. Digital Transformation is about giving your people tools that work on a rainy Tuesday when the server is slow and the data is messy. Real speed comes from confidence.

Is your organization waiting for a "2026" miracle while struggling today? Let Digital Transformation Strategist review your digital roadmap. We can build systems that handle the bumps and empower your team right now.

View newsletter: Digital Transformation Stories

I watched the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix with my head in my hands. Ferrari, a team synonymous with speed, saw both cars disqualified. The reason was pain

Open article: Formula 1 Ferrari’s 2025 Stumble: Lessons on Flexibility and User Adoption by Manuel Barragan • 4 min read

Formula 1 Ferrari’s 2025 Stumble: Lessons on Flexibility and User Adoption

Organizational Culture: The Silent Killer of Digital Transformation Strategy

Digital Transformation Strategist highlights why the human side of change is so hard. My experience shows that Digital Transformation fails when we ignore employee trust. Leaders must build a culture where teams feel safe to use new tools.

Culture drives transformation more than tech. Without psychological safety, collaboration, and data-informed decision-making, even the best systems fail to deliver real business value.

We must also change how we decide. Move away from gut instincts. Build a data-informed culture where facts override opinions. Break the walls between IT and operations. Collaboration is not just a meeting; it is a workflow.

Stop buying tools to fix people's problems. Fix the culture, and the tools will do the rest.

Is your culture blocking your technology? DM me to evaluate your digital readiness today.

View company: Digital Transformation Strategist

Organizational Culture: The Silent Killer of Digital Transformation Strategy

We see the same tragedy play out in boardrooms constantly. A company spends millions on new cloud platforms and AI tools. Six months later, the systems work, but the business creates zero new value.

The technology worked. The transformation failed.

Most executives treat organizational culture as "soft stuff." In reality, it is the hardest part of the equation. Failure rates for digital initiatives sit between 70% and 95%. They do not fail because the software is buggy. They fail because people resist change.

You cannot paste a digital layer over an analog mindset.

Success demands a human-centric approach. This starts with Employee Experience (EX). If your team feels suffocated by hierarchy or fears making mistakes, they will not innovate. Psychological safety is a business asset. When your staff hides problems to avoid punishment, agility dies.

Happy employees build great Customer Experiences (CX). Frustrated employees create frustrated customers. The link is undeniable.

We must also change how we decide. Move away from gut instincts. Build a data-informed culture where facts override opinions. Break the walls between IT and operations. Collaboration is not just a meeting; it is a workflow.

Stop buying tools to fix people's problems. Fix the culture, and the tools will do the rest.

Is your culture blocking your technology? Let Manuel Barragan evaluate your digital readiness today.

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Manuel Barragan's LinkedIn Performance

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