Ruba Hachim

Cohort 10, MCDM, Microsoft

Where in the world is this workspace located?
I live in Dubai, UAE. This workspace is in our guest bedroom in a duplex located in the hustling and bustling Dubai Marina area, which has been home for seven years.

What do you create in this workspace?
My workspace is a dynamic environment where vision, strategy, and operational excellence converge. As the leader of the Modern Work solution area for Customer Success in Microsoft CEMA (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa—109 countries in all!), my primary focus is driving adoption of our Productivity and Collaboration tools as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. I help develop and implement strategies and initiatives that raise awareness around our products and encourage healthy, resilient usage. I love being in the CSU (Customer Success Unit) because our performance is measured in terms of the happiness of our customers. With the recent launch of the M365 Copilot, our team has become even more relevant in enabling our customers’ AI transformation across CEMA.

Apart from business-related content, I spend quite a bit of my time building a culture of empowerment, trust, and support where everyone in our community can thrive. A culture we are all proud of as I genuinely believe that a mutually supportive and inclusive environment is essential in strengthening our community bonds and teamwork.

Who do you create this work for?
There are two distinct communities that my work serves: first, the Microsoft Community, which includes my team of Cloud Solution Architects and their managers, as well as the entire Microsoft extended stakeholders within Customer Success or outside of Customer Success who we orchestrate and collaborate closely with to serve our Enterprise customers in CEMA, in partnership with our partners’ ecosystem. Secondly, in my spare time I work on spreading awareness and circulating vetted news to my personal network and followers on social media to shed light on atrocities and human rights crimes.

What is the story of one object in this photo that is meaningful for you personally and why?

The new, free Syria national flag.

The Free Syria Flag (adorned with three red stars as opposed to the old flag with 2 green stars) holds profound significance in my life since the noble Syrian Revolution broke out in March 2011. Simply put, it symbolizes the resilience and struggle for freedom and justice by Syrian people and also a beacon of hope amidst the Assad atrocities and turmoil that plagued my homeland.

Since 2011, I have kept this flag close by wearing a free Syria flag bracelet daily. Its presence in my workspace is only appropriate because this is where I spend the bulk of my time so it serves as a constant reminder of my roots and the sacrifices made by millions of Syrians. It also reminds me of how fortunate I have been to escape the regime’s brutality and my responsibility myself to give back to our country and contribute to a brighter future in Syria, where peace, prosperity and diversity can finally prevail.

What is the story of one object in this photo that is meaningful for you professionally and why?

The Microsoft 10-year service anniversary crystal

When I joined Microsoft in June 2008, I didn’t realize that I would be embarking on a journey that would shape my professional and personal life. Since then, Microsoft has become an integral part of my identity, and I proudly display my 10-year service anniversary (Soon to be replaced with the 15 FTE years’ Crystal) on my desk at home as a testament to this incredible journey.

Microsoft has provided me with an unparalleled platform for continuous learning and professional growth. With every role, be it in Redmond, Doha or Dubai, the learning enriched and deepened my understanding of the tech sector and opened new doors for greater impact and career growth. The biggest growth for me was shifting gears from marketing and operations roles to more technical roles. While the transition has been both challenging and rewarding, I consider the culmination in my current position in the era of AI to be my biggest privilege.

At Microsoft I also met and interacted daily with some of the best people from across the globe. The collaborative and diverse environment has fostered a culture of professionalism and tolerance, and made me shed old assumptions and gain new perspectives and insights. In this region, most of us are expats away from our extended families and homelands, and therefore, our colleagues become a second family. The bonds and friendships we form here go beyond professional relationships, providing a support system and a sense of community.

What is one of the best pieces of career advice you’ve ever gotten?
Lillian Bernard, President of Microsoft Africa, gave me one of the best pieces of career advice: she told me to consider my career at Microsoft as a sandbox: a safe place to play and try new challenges. This metaphor of a sandbox has deeply shaped my approach to career growth and development because in a sandbox, there are no rigid boundaries or hierarchy. Instead, it is a space where creativity, experimentation, and exploration are encouraged.