Ryan Purvis

Packt

Packt Tech Advisory Board Member

Finxone

No Code//FullStack//Embedded Finance - For Everyone!

Finxone allows your idea to turn into a licensed, regulated fintech solution. Faster than you can put your 
pitch deck together or get a PO approved. Using a revolutionary drag-and-drop interface with application templates for browser and mobile apps and a partner ecosystem of regulated and licensed providers, the FinxOne ecosystem allows anyone from any walk of life to be a tech entrepreneur. It transforms access to the technology creation ecosystem.

Co-Founder - Product

Valuu AI

Founder

Digital Workspace Works

We help clients overcome the friction that stops their users from achieving the transformational business benefits enabled through the use of Technology.

Lakeside Software

Head Of Solutions

HiLo Maritime Risk Management

I was the Chief Information Officer for HiLo Maritime Risk Management (HiLo). HiLo is a not for profit organisation founded from within the Shipping industry focused on improving the HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment) implementation across the board.

In this role, I am responsible for the end to end HiLo product development, security and technology. An important focus in this role is to ensure a strong alignment of both product and technology to the business strategy and customer need. 

To learn more about HiLo (see videos) and my role, connect with me via this profile.

Chief Information Technology Officer

TECH MANCHESTER

Mentor

Singula Decisions

Paywizard has 20+ years of TV/Media subscriber management experience. I am advising on how to transform this expertise and their investment in technology into an industry leading AI based product. This has including assisting with the strategy to deliver the product and selection of the technologies to use.

Information Technology Expert

In this role I managed the implementation of tools for Security Operations and End User Management. These tools are centred around detection and mitigation in the Security Monitoring, Anti-virus and Anti-malware vectors.  The focus of my role is to understand the various risk to the organisation and implement solutions that aid in securing UBS, including:

-Requirements gathering
-Tool selection
-Roadmap development
-Project & programme management
-Implementation of Splunk ES, Mcafee, Fire eye AX & HX
-Executive stakeholder management & consulting
-Infrastructure reviews 
-Audit preparation & response 
-Software Development 
-Data analytics and storage
-DevOps / DevSecOps implementation

To learn more about UBS and my role, connect with me via this profile.

Director

Upland Software

In this role,  I worked with customers primarily in financial services, insurance, health, and manufacturing sectors within an EMEA remit.  I provided pre-sales consulting, working with customers to understand their requirements and derive value by mapping their needs to appropriate technology based solutions. This included: 

-Extensive stakeholder consulting
-Requirements gathering
-Systems and business analysis
-Business case development
-Logical and physical data model design
-Product demonstrations
-Implementation support
-Architectural advice.

Senior Solutions Consultant

As a Co-Founder and Product Leader at Finxone and Valuu AI, I help entrepreneurs and businesses turn their ideas into licensed, regulated fintech solutions. With over 8 years of experience in the technology industry, I am passionate about enabling digital transformation and creating value through technology-based products. I have a BSc in Mathematics with an endorsement in Computer Science and Informatics. I am a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), a SysTrack Certified Professional, and a Splunk Certified Power User.

My core competencies include product development, fintech, end-user experience, customer relationship management, problem-solving, and databases. I have also developed speaking, podcasting, leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. I enjoy working with senior stakeholders and helping them solve their most complex problems using technology as a business-enhancing tool. I believe in listening to and understanding business needs, planning and implementing technology solutions, building and supporting teams, and delivering value and outcomes.

Bnsights

General Manager

The American University in Cairo

Adjunct Professor

Fast Forward

Principal Consultant

Coral Technology

When I joined Coral it had sufficient funding, but not the means to take the business to the next level. There was already a running product that was unstable, marred with issues, and a development operations that seemed erratic, inefficient, and non-aligned with the objectives of the business. I was offered to take over Coral to resolve these challenges, and manage all operational aspects in Egypt: technical, managerial, financial and legal.

Our first challenge was to put current operations in order. We hired several missing roles within the company and defined the running teams along with their proper allocations. We took into account that there is already a product running and paying customers that are using it. After several process reforms within the operations, we managed to fix numerous issues, reduce customer complaints, reduce downtime and stabilize that business line.

One of the key decisions we needed to make is whether we will evolve the current product, or will we invest in a new one. After a lot of research and discussion, we decided to invest in a new product, and we embarked on the new product design. We already knew our target segment and what the expectations from the new platform will be, so we focused on UX design, technical design, security and testing automation. After months of relentless hard work, we managed to launch the new Coral:  stable, scalable, rich and secure. It eventually came to replace the old platform. With the new Coral platform customers were happier, new customer segments could be onboarded and the path is clear for the company to fulfill its great potential.

I am proud that during my tenure the company was converted into a self-running, self-sustainable well-oiled machine. All teams were highly productive, motivated and fulfilled. We also ensured full compliance of all financial and legal aspects of the company.

Chief Operations Officer

eFile - A Metrofile Group Company

Metrofile was planning to extend its continental dominance of physical archives management to the digital sphere. To that end it wanted to establish a software company that would build its Content Services Platform, and thus conquer the digital archiving space. I was asked to establish and run that company.

We did not start from scratch. There was already a team of engineers, and we had other products and projects running. We also needed to keep  cash flow coming while building the new product. Several planning exercises were conducted with Metrofile, investment requirements were defined and we were ready to go!

I managed current projects with customers and managed to close them successfully. We also managed to expand some of them by selling new scope, and we managed to successfully deliver those as well. At the same time, recruitment was ongoing and we managed to hire the whole team in a matter of months. Once the team was onboard, the journey towards building Contellect (the intended CSP) was started.

We worked on two parallel fronts. On one front, we conducted a thorough marketing exercise to define product specs, sales prices, delivery channels and target segments. We also made a thorough plan to make the product sellable over the cloud, along with the associated ecosystems and business arrangements that need to be made.

At the same time, we conducted an architectural design exercise in which we decided on the technologies, architecture, design patters, means of delivery and many others. Our team was not familiar with the chosen technologies, so we invested in their training, after which development activities commenced immediately.

We managed to successfully launch Contellect, and sell it to a number of customers as well. As we landed customers and got market feedback we improved on the product, fixed newly discovered issues and kept the product running. Contellect continues to grow and thrive in its intended target segment today

General Manager - Software

Shams Chemicals

Shams had tremendous potential, but that potential seemed far-fetched. The company sold great products, but revenues were minuscule, products were unavailable and the company operated at constant losses. I was asked by the board (customers from the Improvision days) to take over and attempt a turnaround. Oh and what a turnaround it was! I consider Shams to be the biggest professional success of my career!

For starters, pricing was problematic. Products were grossly under-priced. We fixed the pricing and announced a price list that all sales reps were expected to honor.

There was no clear compensation scheme for the sales reps, so we devised a commission system  where profitable products were assigned higher commissions, and rewards depended on collections.

The company was always cash-dry, which made cash unavailable to buy products, pay salaries and cover other expenses. We established an annual sales planning cycle which we follow up on monthly. The plan included quantities of SKUs across the whole year, and importing was planned accordingly. Payment terms were renegotiated with suppliers and customers alike.

Our policies worked like magic! Revenues more than tripled, and the company was finally operating at a great profit! All supply-chain issues were resolved, and customers ceased complaining of lack of product availability. Average sales per salesman was multiplied 10-fold and the company was finally liquid.

Our success enabled us to grow our business, as we embarked on increasing our product portfolio, invest in a packaging facility and balance our customer portfolio to focus on the profitable ones, and relinquish unprofitable ones.

The company continues to be one of the leading brands in agro-chemicals in Egypt today. The once seemingly far-fetched potential had become a reality and continues to evolve and flourish.

Managing Director

Onspec Tawakol Engineering & Contracting

Onspec, a very successful and reputable engineering services company in the oil & gas sector, needed to expand its regional presence and diversify its revenue sources. I was honored to be recommended for this job. For me it had the excitement of starting a new business, since it literally was aiming to build a customer base out of thin-air. I had a great manager (Ahmad Hamdan) and was part of a great team.

I embarked on my mission, which started with a lot of traveling around the region to learn and understand the nature of demand and to accordingly define our sales strategy. I made many trips to Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. After months of exploration we decided to recruit local partners to be our representatives in these markets, while we focus primarily on the UAE market. I leveraged our contacts and connections to establish those partnerships, made frequent trips to follow up on their activities all while digging for opportunities at the same time.

The strategy was working! The net result was we had presence in all of these countries, and our sales pipeline grew from zero to over 7 million US dollars (qualified and confirmed opportunities) in a span of one year. We also closed a few small deals and it appeared like that the ball was rolling.

Onspec is where I put all my sales and marketing skills to work. I was very pleased with what we had accomplished and the traveling (although exhausting) was refreshing to see all those countries and meet and connect with many people across the region. It was also in Onspec where I learned the most about the oil industry from a technical as well as a market perspective.

Business Development Manager - Middle East

ImproVision Consulting

Improvision was my first go at starting and running a business. We offered business process management consulting services, as well as software solutions and consulting. I was lucky to have a great board and partner. Together we formulated our original business plan, raised money and opened shop. We struggled at first to win business, but finally we caught a break and landed our first contract. Business was really good and we kept winning new projects and successfully delivered them. Sure, we had some failures (who doesn't) but overall we had a good run for a while. We landed several projects in Business Process Mapping and Re-Engineering, as well as implementations management and tender management for enterprise software solutions. The enterprise software solutions included mainly Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP,) Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Downstream Supply Chain Management. Our customers came from telecom, oil & gas, manufacturing, retail and others.

At Improvision I learned to separate my perception of demand with real demand. The market is king, and we have to be objective, rational, open-eyed and open-minded to read the market right. The survival and growth of any business depends on it.

I also learned what it meant to be a leader. I learned what it meant to have a team under your responsibility, and what it meant for that team to look up to you and count on you to do the best for them. How to invest, mentor and develop your team so they can evolve, and your business can thrive. I have come to really see that people are the most important asset of any company (or country.)

I am lucky and thankful for the Improvision experience, which taught me the fundamentals of leadership and management. It was a deeply educating and humbling experience to which I owe a great deal of the kind of professional I am today.

Director - Consulting, Technology & Support

My love for technology led me to earn a Computer Science degree in 2000. After a couple of years of writing code I realized I was in the wrong place. I wanted to go places, meet people and gain more exposure. I was not going to achieve that in front of a computer screen all day.

I found my way when I joined Raya and LINKdotNET. I discovered my passion for business and earned an MBA in 2009, followed by training in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. With my newly acquired skills, I founded Improvision, a management consulting firm.

At Improvision we landed and delivered multiple projects in software and process management for big brands in Egypt and beyond. It was in Improvison where I learned most how to start, run and grow businesses from scratch.

I then joined Onspec Tawakol (oil & gas) where I established a sales network across 5 countries in the Middle East. By recruiting partners and managing sales activities, I was established a foothold in the region, built a huge pipeline from nothing, and closed some deals in the process.

I was then offered to lead Shams Chemicals, an agricultural chemicals company. Despite having no knowledge or experience in chemicals, I embarked on that exciting journey! It was gratifying to see the fruits of my leadership turn around the company from losing to one of the biggest (and most profitable) in its field today!

After Shams I returned to the software industry launching two software products. I built the team, established the operational framework and led the operations that resulted in the successful launch of Contellect (for eFile) and Coral for (Coral Technology). It was a privilege to build and launch software products from scratch!

I have a philosophical and political side of me! After the Egyptian Revolution, I co-founded a party that won three seats in parliament. I was also responsible for devising the political and economic program for my party. My interest in policy-making encouraged me to earn a diploma in Public Policy in 2018. I remain highly interested in public policy, economic management, and government.

I am a big-picture, long-term minded professional. I believe effective leadership entails achieving outcomes through others, and a high degree of self-awareness, humility, empathy, and the ability to dream. I try to be all that and continue to learn and grow to this day.

I am lucky to have had a great career, with wonderful managers, supportive partners and exceptional teams. If you would like to connect and discuss business, management and leadership, you can reach me at okandeel@aucegypt.edu .

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The Battle

Ryan Purvis

Omar Kandeel

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