Meeting Title: Brainforge Interview with Alyque Babwani Date: 2025-08-19 Meeting participants: Alyque Babwani, Amber Lin
WEBVTT
1 00:02:39.410 ⇒ 00:02:40.840 Amber Lin: Hi there!
2 00:02:40.840 ⇒ 00:02:42.710 Alyque Babwani: Maggie, good morning, how are you?
3 00:02:43.010 ⇒ 00:02:44.850 Amber Lin: Good morning! Where are you based?
4 00:02:45.440 ⇒ 00:02:46.440 Alyque Babwani: You’re mute.
5 00:02:46.970 ⇒ 00:02:47.580 Amber Lin: Huh?
6 00:02:47.990 ⇒ 00:02:49.080 Alyque Babwani: You’re mute.
7 00:02:49.500 ⇒ 00:02:50.790 Amber Lin: Oh, where’s that?
8 00:02:53.240 ⇒ 00:02:55.000 Alyque Babwani: Can you hear me now?
9 00:02:55.420 ⇒ 00:02:57.070 Amber Lin: I can hear you. Can you hear me?
10 00:02:57.420 ⇒ 00:02:58.110 Alyque Babwani: I can.
11 00:02:58.740 ⇒ 00:02:59.480 Amber Lin: Oh.
12 00:03:07.250 ⇒ 00:03:08.119 Alyque Babwani: How are you?
13 00:03:08.510 ⇒ 00:03:09.899 Amber Lin: I’m good.
14 00:03:12.270 ⇒ 00:03:13.050 Alyque Babwani: Funny.
15 00:03:21.240 ⇒ 00:03:22.790 Alyque Babwani: I can hear you, SEL.
16 00:03:23.520 ⇒ 00:03:28.630 Amber Lin: Okay, that’s great. Oh, I was… I was asking, where are you calling in from?
17 00:03:29.190 ⇒ 00:03:32.609 Alyque Babwani: Oh, sorry, I did not hear that question. I’m from Atlanta, Georgia.
18 00:03:33.580 ⇒ 00:03:35.019 Amber Lin: What’s that?
19 00:03:35.020 ⇒ 00:03:36.320 Alyque Babwani: Atlanta, Georgia.
20 00:03:36.320 ⇒ 00:03:44.240 Amber Lin: Oh, I see. Oh, wow, so it’s not as early right now. I’m in… I’m based in California, so right now it’s…
21 00:03:44.390 ⇒ 00:03:45.030 Amber Lin: Nice.
22 00:03:46.960 ⇒ 00:03:48.519 Amber Lin: my hair, I’ll be like, oh.
23 00:03:49.130 ⇒ 00:03:50.750 Alyque Babwani: Happy there.
24 00:03:51.370 ⇒ 00:04:05.430 Amber Lin: Yeah. So, this is just a quick interview for us to get to know you, and for you to have the chance to ask us any questions. I watched the loom that you sent in, and I think that’s why our team decided to want to talk to you,
25 00:04:06.170 ⇒ 00:04:09.890 Amber Lin: Not in person, but, in live action.
26 00:04:09.890 ⇒ 00:04:26.749 Amber Lin: We do think we have an impressive resume, and we have a few questions that we want to ask you, and I think to start off, I can quickly introduce myself. My name is Amber. I’ve joined Brainforge for about 5 months now, and started off as a project manager, and right now I’m helping them build up
27 00:04:26.750 ⇒ 00:04:32.000 Amber Lin: PMO and different processes, and help look for people to help take on the PMO.
28 00:04:33.050 ⇒ 00:04:34.250 Alyque Babwani: Okay, wonderful.
29 00:04:34.590 ⇒ 00:04:39.039 Amber Lin: I remember your intro from the video, so… Okay.
30 00:04:39.040 ⇒ 00:04:39.500 Alyque Babwani: Okay.
31 00:04:39.500 ⇒ 00:04:46.750 Amber Lin: If there’s any… anything else you want to add, feel free, and then once that’s done, we can hop into the questions and get started.
32 00:04:47.420 ⇒ 00:04:51.010 Alyque Babwani: Sure. I mean, I’m happy to kind of give you a
33 00:04:51.680 ⇒ 00:04:59.239 Alyque Babwani: A quick rundown into my past role, then, you know, how it really kind of brings it all together in terms of, this particular role.
34 00:04:59.280 ⇒ 00:05:13.350 Alyque Babwani: So, Amber, first and foremost, thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I’ve been in project and program management for over 12 years now, and I’ve had, you know, a large-scale experience driving,
35 00:05:13.690 ⇒ 00:05:23.989 Alyque Babwani: initiatives across SaaS, healthcare, startups, and technology. My career really began, in project management early on when I started streamlining some of the IT projects.
36 00:05:23.990 ⇒ 00:05:36.629 Alyque Babwani: And then from there on, I quickly found my passion in orchestrating the bigger picture. So, leading cross-functional teams, improving processes, and, you know, really aligning technology with business strategy to,
37 00:05:36.630 ⇒ 00:05:38.369 Alyque Babwani: Deliver measurable outcomes.
38 00:05:38.650 ⇒ 00:05:49.430 Alyque Babwani: At DataOcean, you know, when my first true project management experience began, I managed task implementations and client services, where I learned the importance of really aligning technical solutions to evolving clients.
39 00:05:49.600 ⇒ 00:06:06.239 Alyque Babwani: Over there, I was able to improve our project delivery time by 10%, obtain more visibility for our leadership and stakeholders, and also increase our client satisfaction scores by standardizing our processes, driving agile delivery, and really strengthening stakeholder communication.
40 00:06:06.260 ⇒ 00:06:10.269 Alyque Babwani: found that data, which has really set the stage for more strategic roles.
41 00:06:10.900 ⇒ 00:06:13.229 Alyque Babwani: From there on, I moved out to rent.
42 00:06:13.470 ⇒ 00:06:19.090 Alyque Babwani: And I stepped into a rank, into a more strategic, enterprise-level project leadership role.
43 00:06:19.200 ⇒ 00:06:25.960 Alyque Babwani: Managing our Salesforce CPQ integration, our go-to-market strategy, and our post-acquisition operations.
44 00:06:26.070 ⇒ 00:06:33.029 Alyque Babwani: One key initiative that, you know, I’m personally really proud of is designing a client onboarding process and also introducing a PMO.
45 00:06:33.190 ⇒ 00:06:39.839 Alyque Babwani: NPMO frameworks from startup, where I was able to help, leadership redirect their focus from.
46 00:06:39.880 ⇒ 00:06:41.720 Amber Lin: operational,
47 00:06:41.720 ⇒ 00:06:44.069 Alyque Babwani: Firefighting to really strategic growth.
48 00:06:44.340 ⇒ 00:06:47.580 Alyque Babwani: There on, I moved on to entity data,
49 00:06:47.890 ⇒ 00:07:04.030 Alyque Babwani: And I scaled my impact further at NTData while, you know, I had a limited time in NTData. I helped build and manage the Azure release train with 75-plus team members, and also helped them, you know, with CRM modernization projects that increased their efficiency by 25%.
50 00:07:04.180 ⇒ 00:07:12.630 Alyque Babwani: These experiences really sharpened my ability to, balance structure and agility in aligning business objectives with technical delivery.
51 00:07:12.760 ⇒ 00:07:21.010 Alyque Babwani: And then, at present, I lead, you know, high-stakes TXP-regulated SaaS platform and programs for our biopharma and healthcare clients.
52 00:07:21.110 ⇒ 00:07:35.040 Alyque Babwani: I oversee all the integration work, implementation risk, and compliance strategies to reduce operational risk for our clients, and also build in our KPI-driven reporting, you know, mentoring our teams, and also introducing some of our AI initiatives.
53 00:07:35.240 ⇒ 00:07:53.390 Alyque Babwani: to give our clients a competitive edge. So, looking at this particular role, Amber, like, I see a direct match. My career reflects some of the same priorities that, you know, the job description… the job description shares in terms of on-time delivery, budget adherence, risk management, client satisfaction.
54 00:07:53.630 ⇒ 00:08:11.329 Alyque Babwani: And then beyond delivery, I’ve also consistently freed up executive leadership time by establishing governance, driving transparency, and also building scalable systems. So, you know, this opportunity really excites me, as, you know, for the Brainforged mission to transform data into actionable insights.
55 00:08:11.620 ⇒ 00:08:20.729 Alyque Babwani: In an AI-focused environment, and I drive at that intersection of structure and innovation. So I’m really looking forward to see where this conversation goes, and, you know, where this path goes forward.
56 00:08:21.260 ⇒ 00:08:27.079 Amber Lin: Okay, I see. That’s great to hear, and I’m looking at your past experiences right now.
57 00:08:27.090 ⇒ 00:08:28.210 Alyque Babwani: And….
58 00:08:28.330 ⇒ 00:08:29.360 Amber Lin: I…
59 00:08:30.440 ⇒ 00:08:40.019 Amber Lin: I think the current abortys group is relatively a startup, right? Or is it… is it a smaller size?
60 00:08:40.020 ⇒ 00:08:43.130 Alyque Babwani: I would… yeah, I would definitely say it was… it’s…
61 00:08:43.480 ⇒ 00:08:56.410 Alyque Babwani: it’s not as, new as, Brain Forge, but yeah, we are under 50 people, in terms of size, so you can definitely say that, you know, it is a startup, definitely on the leaner size, especially
62 00:08:56.550 ⇒ 00:08:59.909 Alyque Babwani: Especially compared to some of my previous enterprise.
63 00:09:00.070 ⇒ 00:09:01.640 Alyque Babwani: experiences, but….
64 00:09:01.640 ⇒ 00:09:05.009 Amber Lin: In addition to our… even data auctions thereabouts.
65 00:09:05.510 ⇒ 00:09:07.989 Alyque Babwani: 20 people when I first joined.
66 00:09:07.990 ⇒ 00:09:08.839 Amber Lin: … Oh.
67 00:09:08.840 ⇒ 00:09:17.569 Alyque Babwani: some of my previous roles, like Mozuz and Nomi, we were also very small, and, you know, we were able to help, kind of, grow from there. So, you know, …
68 00:09:17.720 ⇒ 00:09:25.210 Alyque Babwani: I honestly appreciate a startup environment. It kind of gives me a lot more to focus on, as well as, you know, there’s a lot of things that I can do to accomplish.
69 00:09:25.670 ⇒ 00:09:29.909 Amber Lin: I see, awesome. Let me note that down, …
70 00:09:36.850 ⇒ 00:09:48.670 Amber Lin: Yeah, because we are a startup that’s relatively small, and also a consultancy, so we were looking for someone that has that line of experience, and I looked at your past two roles, and they’re both
71 00:09:48.670 ⇒ 00:09:59.169 Amber Lin: consultancies. I know they’re IT consultancies. What would you say is the, main tasks or main projects that you guys take on?
72 00:10:00.260 ⇒ 00:10:06.749 Alyque Babwani: So, … At Arvisors Group, we have a very standardized, approach in terms of testing.
73 00:10:07.950 ⇒ 00:10:24.210 Alyque Babwani: the projects that we take on, we are mainly focused on biopharma and healthcare industry sectors, or healthcare technology. So it is a boutique technology consulting firm where we really manage our content governance and content management systems for our biopharma and healthcare clients.
74 00:10:24.570 ⇒ 00:10:25.470 Amber Lin: Absolutely.
75 00:10:25.470 ⇒ 00:10:36.330 Alyque Babwani: when it comes to entity data, there was definitely a lot of different variations in terms of the projects that we managed, because we not only… we took clients at all levels, right? So I was able to manage
76 00:10:37.220 ⇒ 00:10:47.479 Alyque Babwani: a large-scale telecommunications client, and as well as a large-scale apparel client. So we did a lot of, you know, modernization efforts for them, data reporting analytics.
77 00:10:47.700 ⇒ 00:11:01.900 Alyque Babwani: data modeling, architecture, implementations, you know, dashboard and solutions. So there were some of, you know, there was a lot of variety in terms of, you know, the science and the projects we took at NT Data, but again, you’re right, both of the experiences have been
78 00:11:02.470 ⇒ 00:11:09.920 Alyque Babwani: In consulting, client-facing, and really, you know, the main task is partnering with our clients, understanding their business goals, and then aligning our
79 00:11:10.070 ⇒ 00:11:11.899 Alyque Babwani: Delivery to hit those other jackets.
80 00:11:12.360 ⇒ 00:11:29.839 Amber Lin: I see, that’s great. I want… I have another question on what are the usual team size, what are the usual project durations, and I would say how… how many projects, say, is under your portfolio most of the time?
81 00:11:30.490 ⇒ 00:11:31.160 Alyque Babwani: Okay.
82 00:11:31.260 ⇒ 00:11:36.590 Alyque Babwani: At any given time, I have… I have managed about
83 00:11:37.580 ⇒ 00:11:56.070 Alyque Babwani: 8 to 12 projects, you know, ranging from small to large. In terms of, you know, the size of the teams, it ranges anywhere from 3 to 8 for a smaller project to over 20 people for a large-scale initiative, like, especially when I worked on
84 00:11:58.040 ⇒ 00:12:14.789 Alyque Babwani: at NTData, when I moved them from the legacy platform over to, a CRM modernization effort, I was working with almost every stakeholder within the company, and you know, with the company being a large-scale, you know, company, like, there were so many stakeholders that were involved, so yeah, it can go from
85 00:12:15.050 ⇒ 00:12:20.719 Alyque Babwani: you know, 3 to 8 for a small to mid-sized for, you know, over 20. And then in terms of,
86 00:12:22.610 ⇒ 00:12:32.469 Alyque Babwani: the timeline of the project. I have, managed projects that have stretched anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks to, you know, 6 to 12 months.
87 00:12:32.790 ⇒ 00:12:42.950 Alyque Babwani: Especially at our buses right now, you know, we… we work with the biopharma and healthcare science, as I mentioned, but a lot of these projects are long-term, because it takes a lot of….
88 00:12:43.060 ⇒ 00:12:58.099 Amber Lin: data calculation, data analytics, a lot of content governance that really goes in the background that really doesn’t turn around very quickly. So, you know, the projects go a little bit longer, and also depending on how many different types of documents that they are wanting to transform into our platform.
89 00:12:58.100 ⇒ 00:13:04.460 Alyque Babwani: So, I would, yeah, like I said, 6 to 12, peaks to, you know, about a year as well.
90 00:13:04.890 ⇒ 00:13:15.019 Amber Lin: I see. So, you were hired to manage your portfolio, is that correct? Did I describe what they hired you for correctly?
91 00:13:15.460 ⇒ 00:13:23.339 Alyque Babwani: That is correct. I was hired as a Senior Program Manager and a Scrum Master to really kick off some of the larger initiatives. I’m managing
92 00:13:23.820 ⇒ 00:13:28.739 Alyque Babwani: 4 different portfolios right now, like, four different large-scale clients, and they have multiple projects that are.
93 00:13:29.060 ⇒ 00:13:49.699 Amber Lin: within each one of them. At the same time, I’m also working on the sideline, you know, being a startup company, kind of defining some of our governance structures, our frameworks, our processes, our policies, our templates, you know, to really build that, you know, project management organization within the company, so that, you know, a lot of things get more… a little bit more streamlined.
94 00:13:50.170 ⇒ 00:13:54.619 Alyque Babwani: And, you know, are not… you know, just avoiding all the silos that we currently have right now.
95 00:13:54.620 ⇒ 00:14:08.100 Amber Lin: Okay, awesome. What would you describe as your guys’ typical process? Because I know you were helping them set up the structure as well, and we recently did that for our organization, so I just want to hear what the process is.
96 00:14:09.290 ⇒ 00:14:11.760 Alyque Babwani: In terms of starting a new project?
97 00:14:11.960 ⇒ 00:14:23.300 Amber Lin: Yeah, mostly, like, the project life cycles, how you interface with other departments, do you take in projects from sales, how is it from the project incubation to project closing?
98 00:14:24.090 ⇒ 00:14:27.429 Alyque Babwani: Okay, okay, fair. So, …
99 00:14:27.530 ⇒ 00:14:45.220 Alyque Babwani: at Arbusters as well as at NTG Data, you know, the question, the start was definitely post-sales. That’s where I got involved in terms of, you know, my, interaction really started off post-sales. And, you know, at Arborist’s, I think I was actually involved in some of the pre-sales activity as well.
100 00:14:45.220 ⇒ 00:14:50.750 Alyque Babwani: To ensure that, you know, like, we are aligning based on our objectives, as well as, you know, what we can deliver.
101 00:14:51.040 ⇒ 00:14:53.790 Alyque Babwani: At the same time,
102 00:14:54.440 ⇒ 00:15:05.160 Alyque Babwani: from there on, I would really start off with, you know, getting a deep dive into, you know, really understanding what the project looks like, you know, what are some of the scope requirements, you know, what is it really that, you know, we…
103 00:15:05.230 ⇒ 00:15:24.280 Alyque Babwani: have signed off in terms of, you know, what we need to accomplish. I would then work with executive teams to really build out a team, you know, put out a budget. Some of the older projects, I’ve also… where things have not started from sales, you know, would start off with a project charter, and then, you know, from there on, getting leadership approval and buy-in.
104 00:15:24.710 ⇒ 00:15:32.870 Alyque Babwani: to really, you know, get the project going. But in some of these recent examples, you know, where the leadership buy-in, the budget’s already there.
105 00:15:33.340 ⇒ 00:15:38.729 Alyque Babwani: I would, you know, kind of go from, setting expectations with the teams, and once the teams,
106 00:15:39.110 ⇒ 00:15:43.800 Alyque Babwani: And the resources have been aligned and dedicated to the project from there on, you know, we’ll…
107 00:15:43.850 ⇒ 00:16:00.609 Alyque Babwani: We’ll start our, you know, expectations calls, you know, kind of setting everyone on the same goals and objectives. From there on, I usually use, a project management platform to really align all the objectives, goals, deliverables, timelines, milestones, so that, you know, everybody’s on the same page.
108 00:16:01.080 ⇒ 00:16:19.309 Alyque Babwani: From a communication standpoint, I will have my weekly stand-ups or daily stand-ups with the teams that are, you know, involved, so that everybody knows what they are doing, and, you know, in terms of, you know, where, you know, the gaps are, if there’s any risk impediments or anything as well, I can be ahead of those situations, early on.
109 00:16:19.440 ⇒ 00:16:30.389 Alyque Babwani: So, from there on, from a communication standpoint, you know, I do deliver communications at all levels, not just, you know, my teams, but also.
110 00:16:32.270 ⇒ 00:16:37.460 Alyque Babwani: You know, the executive stakeholders, as well as the larger team, so that, you know, they understand where
111 00:16:37.610 ⇒ 00:16:41.590 Alyque Babwani: The communications are going, and you know where the progress of the project is.
112 00:16:41.760 ⇒ 00:16:52.070 Amber Lin: So, you know, touching back on my approach, right, the initial kickoff and alignment with stakeholders, I make it a priority to really create a transparency and consistency throughout the lifecycle.
113 00:16:52.300 ⇒ 00:17:00.720 Alyque Babwani: And I’m really big on tailored communication, right? So for executive sponsors that deliver high-level, you know, progress updates and IOI metrics, while for the technical teams.
114 00:17:00.850 ⇒ 00:17:05.699 Alyque Babwani: I’ll dig into weekly and, you know, even daily standards, surfacing some of the blockers and next steps.
115 00:17:06.040 ⇒ 00:17:14.299 Alyque Babwani: The risk side would proactively scan for any challenges, you know, resource constraints, shifting client priorities, so on and so forth.
116 00:17:14.400 ⇒ 00:17:29.600 Alyque Babwani: And as… and when the project pass, you know, I always run a structured post-mortem, so what went well, what we can improve, how we can apply our lessons to future projects, you know, gathering both client feedback, as well as team feedback, and sometimes even a quick survey, too.
117 00:17:29.810 ⇒ 00:17:32.989 Alyque Babwani: Ensure that, you know, we continually are raising the bar.
118 00:17:33.860 ⇒ 00:17:46.630 Amber Lin: Okay, sounds like… are you guys mostly waterfall, or do you do hybrid? Because it sounds like, especially for these bigger projects, it takes a lot of planning up front. What does it look like?
119 00:17:46.800 ⇒ 00:18:03.879 Alyque Babwani: Yeah, so I’m comfortable with both waterfall hybrid as well as agile methodologies. Right now, at Arvisors Group particularly, we are more agile because so many things are constantly changing, and, you know, the teams are coming back with feedback, so we’re not a traditional waterfall method, but.
120 00:18:04.970 ⇒ 00:18:09.689 Amber Lin: in time, you know, when I was working with Data Oceans and Mizzouz, we were very waterfall.
121 00:18:09.920 ⇒ 00:18:12.159 Alyque Babwani: Based approach where
122 00:18:12.510 ⇒ 00:18:16.120 Alyque Babwani: You know, we would have the scope and everything defined, and then from there on, we’ll
123 00:18:16.300 ⇒ 00:18:27.940 Alyque Babwani: We’ll kind of build the entire system, from there on. But right now, we are mostly hybrid or agile, so that, you know, we can be nimble and, you know, fix things as we are going.
124 00:18:27.940 ⇒ 00:18:45.809 Amber Lin: Okay, yeah, I hear you. I think it makes the most sense for a consultancy. I think for the last question I have, still focusing on your most recent experience, I wanted to ask you, what was the biggest… I think you talked about accomplishment. I think just a pitfall specific to…
125 00:18:45.940 ⇒ 00:18:48.389 Amber Lin: That position, what would that be?
126 00:18:51.560 ⇒ 00:18:54.599 Alyque Babwani: Our biggest pitfall, …
127 00:18:57.100 ⇒ 00:19:02.920 Alyque Babwani: I have to reflect a little bit on this one. I… I mean, Amber, really from, like, …
128 00:19:03.700 ⇒ 00:19:19.509 Alyque Babwani: from things that have, you know, not worked out in the past, like, I really found that, you know, with rapidly changing requirements, you know, it’s… it’s really hard to, you know, be so stubborn in terms of, you know,
129 00:19:19.890 ⇒ 00:19:21.180 Alyque Babwani: the approach.
130 00:19:21.550 ⇒ 00:19:28.009 Alyque Babwani: on how we do it, which is why, like, I’ve always consulted my teams, as well as my clients, to be a little bit more nimble.
131 00:19:28.290 ⇒ 00:19:44.819 Alyque Babwani: Around, you know, the overall journey of the entire project, while we want to ensure that, you know, the requirements remain the same, you know, I find that breaking things into shorter sprints, adjusting, you know, quickly on feedback, changing data on evolving businesses has really helped, you know, drive
132 00:19:45.680 ⇒ 00:20:01.960 Alyque Babwani: projects a little bit more smooth, and that flexibility from clients, especially as priorities shift and new insights come in, has been very helpful. So, you know, that, I would say, definitely has been, you know, something that I’ve more, relied on in terms of having that open dialogue with the client, so that
133 00:20:01.960 ⇒ 00:20:06.739 Alyque Babwani: That pitfall really becomes into an opportunity for me to work with the clients to…
134 00:20:06.940 ⇒ 00:20:09.620 Alyque Babwani: Ensure that we’re working on those same priorities.
135 00:20:11.310 ⇒ 00:20:24.530 Amber Lin: I see. Why are you looking to leave the current company? Because it seems like it matches what you want to do, and, it’s remote, and I was just wondering why you want to change your direction.
136 00:20:25.330 ⇒ 00:20:32.509 Alyque Babwani: Yeah. I’m… I know as I look at my future trajectory of, you know, where I want to be, you know.
137 00:20:32.790 ⇒ 00:20:51.929 Alyque Babwani: While Arbosys is great, and over the past couple years, I’ve really, you know, realized that I’m most motivated that I can drive change quickly and see measurable results, especially, you know, in a faster environment. My curl has been fantastic for building out strong processes, and you’re really leading the cross-functionality, but lately, I’ve found myself carving
138 00:20:52.170 ⇒ 00:20:59.890 Alyque Babwani: You know, for more high agency work, you know, strategic visibility, and, you know, really a chance to partner even closer with our clients on.
139 00:20:59.940 ⇒ 00:21:14.639 Alyque Babwani: some of the cutting-edge solutions, right? So that’s where I came across, you know, Brain Forge, and I honestly felt like it’s a perfect fit, where I’m really drawn to your vision of turning data into, you know, real business outcomes, not just for analysis or, you know, sake, but…
140 00:21:14.850 ⇒ 00:21:23.220 Alyque Babwani: the model, and the delivery that you have, you know, really resonates with me. So that’s why I thought, like, you know, this would be a good match for me to kind of see where….
141 00:21:23.850 ⇒ 00:21:32.439 Amber Lin: When they see that they hire you for Senior Program Manager, I would really imagine that they listen to your feedback, because at that position, you are the one
142 00:21:32.630 ⇒ 00:21:48.679 Amber Lin: directing how their projects are delivered, and as a consultancy, they rely… they rely on, essentially, the delivery manager. How come you feel like your voice wasn’t heard, or like you… or that you didn’t have contributions to…
143 00:21:48.800 ⇒ 00:21:52.379 Amber Lin: the strategy, like, what do you mean when you say that?
144 00:21:52.710 ⇒ 00:22:02.149 Alyque Babwani: Yeah, so I… while, you’re right, I am being heard, and I think my, my, my feedback is also, you know, valued at the company.
145 00:22:02.200 ⇒ 00:22:13.830 Alyque Babwani: But when I’m talking about a more strategic visibility or influence, I’m really referring to being involved early on and, you know, deeper in the process, helping shape not only how we deliver products, but really actually taking on
146 00:22:14.090 ⇒ 00:22:33.419 Alyque Babwani: how these projects connect to the bigger business outcomes. We work with a lot of, you know, big pharma giants at this point, and, you know, they have a set precedent in terms of, you know, how they work and how they manage their projects and programs. So there’s definitely a lot of, you know, hesitancy I’ve seen from the client end, and, you know, while we build a lot of
147 00:22:33.420 ⇒ 00:22:34.670 Alyque Babwani: for them.
148 00:22:34.760 ⇒ 00:22:40.039 Alyque Babwani: You know, I’ve definitely seen that, you know, it’s some sort of a hiccall, you know, for me.
149 00:22:40.070 ⇒ 00:22:57.480 Alyque Babwani: So, you know, at Brain Forge, you know, it being a startup, as well as something that, you know, I would have the opportunity to do, you know, start something from the ground up, would, you know, have, not just, you know, focus on project delivery, but also, you know, shaping how we work with our clients and align our solutions to their evolving business.
150 00:22:57.480 ⇒ 00:23:04.180 Amber Lin: I see. I understand that point, but I was thinking that wouldn’t that be…
151 00:23:04.730 ⇒ 00:23:14.320 Amber Lin: say, the job of a solutions architect, or someone, who came from an engineering background? I’m not sure if I interpreted it correctly.
152 00:23:15.100 ⇒ 00:23:16.100 Alyque Babwani: So the…
153 00:23:16.600 ⇒ 00:23:34.310 Alyque Babwani: the how is definitely done by our architects, but, you know, like, you know, the pathway in terms of how you’re going to actually get that point is, you know, something that I work with the client directly on. Again, you know, it being a smaller organization, of course, we’re not the traditional consulting firm where
154 00:23:34.350 ⇒ 00:23:48.209 Alyque Babwani: you know, everything, everybody has a defined role and set processes, you know, we’re definitely blending our, you know, roles into different, needs, you know, over at, even at Art versus, right? I’m not just focused on my role as a CMA program manager.
155 00:23:48.210 ⇒ 00:23:52.469 Amber Lin: But I’m also doing a lot of, you know, QA, validation, you know, helping out as….
156 00:23:52.470 ⇒ 00:23:55.410 Alyque Babwani: as and when I can, right? So there’s definitely a lot of that back.
157 00:23:55.410 ⇒ 00:23:57.360 Amber Lin: Kind of goes into that question.
158 00:23:57.730 ⇒ 00:24:06.060 Alyque Babwani: Correct, right? So, yeah, we’re definitely multitasking, and as a project manager in these quantity scenarios, I’m responsible for connecting those solutions back to the business.
159 00:24:06.060 ⇒ 00:24:08.719 Amber Lin: Oh, I see, okay. …
160 00:24:08.960 ⇒ 00:24:15.249 Amber Lin: Then, on that note, my question was, our industries don’t really overlap, because we’re a.
161 00:24:15.250 ⇒ 00:24:15.910 Alyque Babwani: 8.
162 00:24:16.180 ⇒ 00:24:25.090 Amber Lin: data and AI company, and it’s very different from a, say, SaaS platform, or IT project, or biopharmas. How would…
163 00:24:25.200 ⇒ 00:24:37.740 Amber Lin: How would you be able to be involved in, say, QA or, setting the roadmap on how things get done after the solutions architect planned that out?
164 00:24:37.900 ⇒ 00:24:46.489 Amber Lin: Because I… I totally believe that since you’ve been in your industry for so long, you can do it at your current company.
165 00:24:46.780 ⇒ 00:24:52.099 Amber Lin: I’m just thinking how you would be able to fulfill that role if you were to switch industries.
166 00:24:52.960 ⇒ 00:25:04.830 Alyque Babwani: Yeah. So, I had no experience in biopharma or healthcare technology prior to me joining, our business group. What, you know, the experience I’ve had in
167 00:25:05.050 ⇒ 00:25:08.989 Alyque Babwani: Project and program management really help you deliver real
168 00:25:10.080 ⇒ 00:25:21.799 Alyque Babwani: So, you know, again, while I may not have, you know, again, I do believe that I do have experience in terms of data and analytics, because at DataOcean, that’s exactly what we did, is working with a large
169 00:25:21.900 ⇒ 00:25:37.390 Alyque Babwani: clients with large data sets, you know, and transforming that data into actionable results into our platform, our CRM platform at DataOcean. So, I believe that my experience, you know, knowledges that are listed, but also from, you know, the last 12 years that I’ve really had.
170 00:25:37.470 ⇒ 00:25:49.590 Alyque Babwani: had, you know, garnered me to really take on positions, you know, in any industry, and, you know, bring on those experiences as well as the skill sets that I have to really build something that, you know, can make a larger impact.
171 00:25:50.270 ⇒ 00:25:59.260 Amber Lin: So yes, while, you know, right now I don’t work, you know, in a data, database company, right? You know, we definitely work with a lot of data, you know, when it comes.
172 00:25:59.260 ⇒ 00:26:01.310 Alyque Babwani: to even… healthcare.
173 00:26:01.580 ⇒ 00:26:08.719 Amber Lin: And I believe that transitioning from, you know, one industry to another, you know, my skill sets and my experience can only help me.
174 00:26:08.920 ⇒ 00:26:10.470 Alyque Babwani: Achieve greater results.
175 00:26:10.530 ⇒ 00:26:12.100 Amber Lin: At any time. I see.
176 00:26:13.190 ⇒ 00:26:27.779 Amber Lin: What is… I think my last question here, because I was very interested in when you said you want to have more strategic, visibility and impact, what is an example of that that you want to implement?
177 00:26:29.400 ⇒ 00:26:34.529 Alyque Babwani: Help, you know, I believe one of the things that you already mentioned, right, but…
178 00:26:34.640 ⇒ 00:26:42.740 Alyque Babwani: having the opportunity to, you know, build a PMO from ground up, or, you know, set the structure for PMO, or, you know, really define
179 00:26:42.910 ⇒ 00:27:01.069 Alyque Babwani: how projects have to be managed, you know, what project management tool we’re going to use, or what templates, you know, we’re going to, you know, put forward. Those are some of the strategic type of, you know, roles, as well as, you know, tasks that I would love to take a deeper dive into, and, you know, really, something that would help, kind of.
180 00:27:01.190 ⇒ 00:27:13.039 Alyque Babwani: you know, sustain the business in the long run. Of course, we’ll all have our day-to-day tasks where we’ll be working with our clients and, you know, managing and executing projects, but beyond that, you know, I really want to align, you know.
181 00:27:13.170 ⇒ 00:27:15.389 Alyque Babwani: More strategic in terms of, you know, like.
182 00:27:16.280 ⇒ 00:27:26.320 Alyque Babwani: how we can make ourselves better, right? I want to bridge the gap by creating more visibility, ensuring that every leading stakeholder understands, you know, what knowledge is being delivered, but the value of the logic behind our project.
183 00:27:27.590 ⇒ 00:27:41.679 Amber Lin: So, for a consultancy, and because it’s very different from a product company, and I spoke to a few candidates from different backgrounds, and since your background is in, these consulting companies, what do you think is the most
184 00:27:42.040 ⇒ 00:27:49.870 Amber Lin: important, thing on consultancies, for consultancies and how we deliver work.
185 00:27:50.280 ⇒ 00:27:51.050 Alyque Babwani: Yeah.
186 00:27:51.190 ⇒ 00:28:04.010 Alyque Babwani: I think… I think it… something that really applies to both of them is absolutely being flexible, right? So, even within a consultancy environment or, you know, a regular environment, you know, having the ability to
187 00:28:04.140 ⇒ 00:28:21.649 Alyque Babwani: be nimble, be, you know, flexible, and onboard rapidly, you know, would definitely be something that kind of applies to both, right? Even when, as a consultant, you’re able to bring in, you know, gendered value quickly. Clients expect tangible results in weeks, you know, not months, and you know, like, that…
188 00:28:21.910 ⇒ 00:28:31.199 Alyque Babwani: outcome-focused mindset, you know, at the same time, being able to, you know, shift and be agile is essential for consultancies competing against larger
189 00:28:31.420 ⇒ 00:28:34.379 Alyque Babwani: you know, forums, and you know, as, you know.
190 00:28:35.020 ⇒ 00:28:52.730 Alyque Babwani: And second is, you know, would be a little bit more hyperactive, right? Every client has their own processes, data maturity, internal politics, processes, you know? So those things often act as a blocker, but I’ve had to customize project cadences, communication formats, and even the tools we use
191 00:28:52.810 ⇒ 00:29:01.770 Alyque Babwani: You know, I switch between Asana and Jira, Slack, or Teams, you know, depending on, you know, the client preferences. So, you know, we just can’t follow the playbook, but we build a playbook as well.
192 00:29:02.350 ⇒ 00:29:16.349 Amber Lin: Hmm, I see. Okay. Awesome. Sorry, I went a little bit over time, I was very curious about your insights on the strategic side. I want to make sure that I answer your questions as well, so feel free to ask away. I have around, like, 5-10 minutes.
193 00:29:16.910 ⇒ 00:29:17.610 Alyque Babwani: Sure.
194 00:29:18.090 ⇒ 00:29:20.010 Alyque Babwani: So, I know you started off,
195 00:29:20.350 ⇒ 00:29:22.470 Amber Lin: as a project manager, I know you’re in a dual capacity.
196 00:29:22.470 ⇒ 00:29:27.860 Alyque Babwani: Right now, I’m also serving as a chief of Staff, right? So what skills or mindset, you know, helped you make
197 00:29:28.160 ⇒ 00:29:35.819 Alyque Babwani: that transition successfully, or, you know, what are some of the influences, you know, that are there as you operate as the Chief of staff today?
198 00:29:36.910 ⇒ 00:29:41.330 Amber Lin: So I think, since we are such a small company, there’s a lot of
199 00:29:41.510 ⇒ 00:29:54.209 Amber Lin: processes that’s lacking. I think what enabled me is to think beyond projects and think about business impact, because I was a strategic consultant for quite a while.
200 00:29:54.210 ⇒ 00:29:56.710 Alyque Babwani: And… it’s different working….
201 00:29:56.780 ⇒ 00:30:03.279 Amber Lin: 4… From outside the company, to look at their strategic direction, to inside the company.
202 00:30:03.490 ⇒ 00:30:15.009 Amber Lin: But having that experience does help me, and having the same, because I worked at EUI before, and I know the service standards, and delivery quality standards, and how they…
203 00:30:15.180 ⇒ 00:30:24.319 Amber Lin: run their usual projects, I can take that to our current consultancy, because we’re providing services, and…
204 00:30:24.740 ⇒ 00:30:31.459 Amber Lin: a big part of what we need to do is not only the quality of work, but the quality of service, and I think…
205 00:30:31.560 ⇒ 00:30:46.100 Amber Lin: that’s something that I took away from being a consultant, and then now being inside a company. I still think I fall… I keep falling into that role of, oh, I think this is a process that can be designed, this is a, …
206 00:30:46.570 ⇒ 00:30:55.350 Amber Lin: something that we need to improve on, and right now, because I’m looking at the PMO, a big part of it is
207 00:30:56.220 ⇒ 00:31:05.249 Amber Lin: How do we have… Quality of service, along with quality of work inside our different processes.
208 00:31:05.450 ⇒ 00:31:12.010 Amber Lin: That’s something that is very important to me, and I think very important to clients. And…
209 00:31:12.500 ⇒ 00:31:23.580 Amber Lin: Another part is collaborating with other department heads, so head engineering and operations, so that they can build up their processes as well.
210 00:31:24.730 ⇒ 00:31:32.330 Alyque Babwani: Okay, okay, that’s wonderful. Amber, do you want to share a little bit about, you know, maybe, you know, the client that, you know, the company manages, some of the
211 00:31:32.770 ⇒ 00:31:38.129 Alyque Babwani: sizes, project lines, you know, what are some of the tools and technology that the company uses.
212 00:31:38.330 ⇒ 00:31:39.939 Alyque Babwani: to primary contact.
213 00:31:40.540 ⇒ 00:31:45.710 Amber Lin: Yeah, so… Right now, I think we have around…
214 00:31:45.840 ⇒ 00:32:03.699 Amber Lin: say, 10 clients-ish, hovering about that range. It has grown rapidly since I joined 5 months ago. So when I joined, I think we had around 5 clients, every month, and now it has grown. The portfolio has grown, and hence why we need more people to help.
215 00:32:03.970 ⇒ 00:32:16.460 Amber Lin: And the scope of projects varies. They have… we usually have a life cycle. We have some projects coming in. They’re usually about 2 weeks to a month, and they’re a proof of concept.
216 00:32:16.460 ⇒ 00:32:25.009 Amber Lin: Pretty quick test, and then after that, if the clients are happy with our work, they usually extend to a 3-6 month contract, and then we go from there.
217 00:32:25.500 ⇒ 00:32:29.190 Amber Lin: And on the team size, we usually have, say.
218 00:32:29.310 ⇒ 00:32:40.179 Amber Lin: 2 to 4 engineers on each project, and then there is a project manager, and then the project lead, who is mostly the account manager to oversee the project.
219 00:32:40.700 ⇒ 00:32:42.389 Amber Lin: I would say…
220 00:32:43.960 ⇒ 00:32:52.090 Amber Lin: Oh, and you asked about the industries that we’re in. So, we’re a horizontally placed company, probably same… similar positioning on how
221 00:32:52.200 ⇒ 00:33:03.289 Amber Lin: your current company is, is we do data, and the data helps us inform AI solutions as well, but since we’re horizontal, we can do it for
222 00:33:03.290 ⇒ 00:33:12.959 Amber Lin: any vertical, so we can do it for different industries. I currently, under my management, there’s a home improvement client, there’s a…
223 00:33:13.140 ⇒ 00:33:20.700 Amber Lin: held… pulse… pharmaceuticals, company, and then…
224 00:33:20.880 ⇒ 00:33:28.279 Amber Lin: There’s a food products company, so the client types vary a lot, but their needs are very similar.
225 00:33:29.760 ⇒ 00:33:34.969 Alyque Babwani: Okay, I think it’s very similar to, data ocean that I manage, right?
226 00:33:35.080 ⇒ 00:33:39.569 Alyque Babwani: Our platform was the same, but then we were, in terms of the companies that we were working on, they were….
227 00:33:40.230 ⇒ 00:33:45.419 Alyque Babwani: definitely very different, so we worked on industries from banking, to credit unions to finance to…
228 00:33:45.780 ⇒ 00:33:51.620 Alyque Babwani: health insurance, utilities, you know? So I think that, that definitely relates in terms of
229 00:33:52.110 ⇒ 00:33:54.080 Alyque Babwani: You guys up, right now.
230 00:33:54.720 ⇒ 00:34:01.559 Alyque Babwani: Amber, I know we are over time, but I just want to be very respectful of that, but is there anything that you have that I can help address or answer that
231 00:34:01.990 ⇒ 00:34:03.629 Alyque Babwani: Or shed some more light on.
232 00:34:04.420 ⇒ 00:34:07.239 Amber Lin: I’ve asked you many, many questions, I think.
233 00:34:07.260 ⇒ 00:34:13.560 Amber Lin: If we… I’m… what I’m gonna do now is gonna relay this interview to Utam, who’s our CEO.
234 00:34:13.570 ⇒ 00:34:29.679 Amber Lin: He’s gonna make the call on if we should progress to the next steps, and if we do, I would probably invite someone else, to conduct an interview, so that, we can avoid any biases in the hiring process, and…
235 00:34:30.199 ⇒ 00:34:31.850 Amber Lin: I think…
236 00:34:32.330 ⇒ 00:34:39.730 Amber Lin: We should get back to you within a week or two, so you can expect the next interview around that range.
237 00:34:40.209 ⇒ 00:34:41.369 Alyque Babwani: Okay, that’s accurate.
238 00:34:41.909 ⇒ 00:34:42.499 Amber Lin: Yeah.
239 00:34:42.669 ⇒ 00:34:43.709 Amber Lin: Thank you so much.
240 00:34:44.040 ⇒ 00:34:45.809 Alyque Babwani: I think, Amber, I think we can….
241 00:34:45.810 ⇒ 00:34:47.700 Amber Lin: Have a good one. Bye!