INDUSTRY VIEW
CHANNEL PARTNERS POISED TO DISRUPT REGIONAL MARKET WITH AI AND MANAGED SERVICES
FADIA AYAD, SENIOR DIRECTOR – UAE & GULF, F5
Fadia Ayad, Senior Director – UAE & Gulf, F5, oversees enterprise sales, channel partnerships and customer acquisition in the Gulf region, focusing on driving growth and adapting to the rapidly evolving tech landscape. She tells us how channel partners are poised to disrupt the regional market by adopting managed service provider models and staying ahead of technological trends such as AI and multicloud.
Describe your current job role and a summary of the business model of your organisation?
As a senior director, I lead sales and operations for F5 in the Gulf region where I am responsible for driving revenue growth through enterprise sales, channel partnerships and customer acquisition.
The role requires a blend of strategic thinking, technical understanding, and hands-on leadership to scale sales operations in a highly competitive market and fast-paced technology environment.
F5 is the global leader in delivering and securing every app and API, and it develops solutions to achieve this in a fast-changing world where customers are having to adapt to unprecedented change. F5 reaches customers directly and through an extensive network of close, trusted partners and system integrators.
What are your strengths and abilities that you bring to the above role?
The key strengths I have developed during my career and which I bring to this role include strategic thinking and planning, clear communication skills, adaptability alignment, motivation and change leadership. This enables me to drive sustainable growth that aligns with the company’ s vision.
These skills are very important, especially when leading large teams. Some of our projects can be complex for various reasons and may undergo a significant change in direction. It is important to be able to communicate changes effectively and be able to pivot and lead the team in a new direction.
In terms of leadership, I have learned by constantly taking feedback from my leaders and mentors and by adopting best leadership practices.
I also embrace self-reflection to assess how I am doing as an individual, and I encourage reflection at the organisational level so we can continually improve.
I am also focused on growing the capabilities of the team and their knowledge. It’ s vital to keep learning, keep questioning and upskilling.
I believe that success comes naturally from a person’ s passion for their job and believing that what they do makes a meaningful impact.
Describe the expectations of the end-customers that you address. What are their pain points today?
Customer expectations from technology companies have evolved significantly, especially as businesses become more digital and data driven. Customers want to see a clear return on investment and impact on business goals. They also want the best technology stack with minimum complexity. In the security field, customers rightly expect high standards for data and application security, privacy and regulatory compliance.
Our world is full of amazing digital experiences, but keeping them available, secure and high performing is no small task. Technology leaders must manage hybrid, multicloud infrastructures, a sprawl of distributed and diverse applications, and increasingly sophisticated AppSec threats. We call this complexity the Ball of Fire, and in today’ s dynamic and AI-driven landscape, these challenges are only intensifying.
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