GEC NEWS WIREIn the industry, there are a few unique roles and one of them is – A Channel Chief. In this story, we would be talking about the day to day life of a channel chief, his roles and responsibilities as well as his plans for the company and partners.
Ashraf Yehia is managing director of Eaton Middle East since February 2019 where he manages over 300 employees across the region.
6.30am – It’s probably no surprise that the first thing I do is spend some time going through my emails. Working with colleagues from across the world I do not want to miss anything important, but it is also an ideal opportunity to map out my day ahead.
8am – My daily commute from home to office in Jebel Ali is 30 minutes. Today is a busy day in the HQ as we have colleagues from across the region visiting to conduct a series of meetings as well as training sessions for internal staff There is no substitute for knowledge.
9am – I work according to my calendar and I solely rely on that to stay on track and schedule. An early morning meeting with the European guests as we meet to plan a series of strategies for our channel partners. We want to provide the best-in-class service possible, give them all the components they need to sell Eaton products. Our partners are integral to our business and we equip them as best as we can. Closing the skills gap is another avenue we explore we our partners and educating them. Eaton has accompanied partners for several decades to help them develop the right skills so that they are adequately prepared for the challenging market.
11am – After a thriving early morning meeting, I finally sit at my desk to go through my emails and have a cup of coffee. Eaton has had several leadership changes over the past few weeks, so we are all getting aligned on certain aspects of the business.
I have huge ambitions for Eaton in the region and growing the business on a yearly business. We have a fantastic portfolio of products and solutions and I firmly believe we can have a huge impact in the Middle East. This is also an exciting time for the region with some fantastic global events on our doorstep, such as Expo 2020 and being part of these iconic projects and serving the needs is a fantastic moment.
1pm – Lunch hour. It is a time for me to grab a cup of coffee, walk around the factory and contemplate things both personally and professionally. An ideal time to clear my mind, catch up with colleagues from across the office and discuss matters that do not generally relate to the business.
2pm – I have a meeting with the Marcomms team to make sure we are staying in the loop and progressing well as far as brand awareness is concerned. We have a lot of work going on with channel partners such as trainings, seminars and PR so it is a ideal opportunity to catch up with the team on the progress.
3pm – It is time to catch-up with the leadership team on all aspects of the business. We are blessed to have a diverse workforce in the Dubai office and each one gives us different perspectives, knowledge on how to be successful in the industry. That is the beauty of working for Eaton. We plan, organize, highlight any challenges that have risen over the past week, and how we are going to conquer the week ahead.
4pm – It is time to get onto a series of conference calls with colleagues from Europe. It is also an ideal opportunity to grab my laptop and get some quiet ad thinking time.
6pm – I head towards Abu Dhabi tonight as we are hosting key consultants and partners during a seminar. It is imperative that we continue to educate people from the industry on Eaton solutions & products and how we can cater for the industry in the UAE and across the region. It is one of our commitments to our partners to share knowledge and close the skill gaps that may exist.
11pm – It has been a long, successful day with hundreds of people happy after a fantastic seminar.
