January 9, 2025 • 12 mins
Discover how Dina Amin, the powerhouse behind Google Cloud's marketing in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, navigates the dynamic world of tech leadership. As she shares her decade-long journey with Google, Dina opens up about the nuanced challenges women face in leadership roles, particularly in a rapidly evolving region. She offers a candid look at how overcoming unconscious biases and building strong networks can pave the way for future female leaders. Plus, her personal insights on tackling imposter syndrome, backed by initiatives like the "I Am Remarkable" program, provide invaluable advice for aspiring leaders.
Switching topics, the vibrant tech scene of the Middle East takes center stage as we learn about Google Cloud's expanding presence, highlighted at events like Jitex. Dina gives us a firsthand account of the innovation and energy driving the region's tech transformation. Whether you're curious about the latest trends or seeking inspiration from a trailblazer, this episode is packed with insights that highlight the intersection of technology, marketing, and leadership, promising an engaging experience for tech enthusiasts and aspiring leaders alike.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up with Google Cloud?
That dream has now gotten evencloser with AI.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
A lot of people would actually love to be part of
Google team.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
It is revolutionizing the way that we do business and
the way that we do marketing.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Women nowadays should listen to people like you Women
sometimes face unconscious bias.
We've all been there.
Sometimes to get connected,you've got to unplug and try
again.
This is where we connect youwith the brightest minds in the
(00:33):
MENA region.
This is Unplugged withiSolution.
Dina Amin, welcome on Unplugged.
Thank you, nice to be here.
It's a pleasure for us havingyou here.
Tell me a bit, what do you do?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
My name is Dina Amin and I lead marketing for Google
Cloud across the Middle East,turkey and Africa region.
I've been with Google for 10years now, and six of them in
this role.
It's a job that I love.
It combines my background incomputer science along with my
love for storytelling, for data,for analytics, customer focus,
(01:07):
amongst many other things.
I joined Google straight aftermy MBA and Google hires in many
ways, and it's been anexperience that I've really
enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
That's good to hear.
A lot of people would actuallylove to be part of Google team.
I think so.
I know you do great work.
I know we're today at Jitex.
I think this is the second yearin Jitex for Google Cloud,
correct?
That's right.
I think you're expanding a lotin the region from a positioning
point of view and awarenesspoint of view.
So, Dina, you're the drivingforce behind Google Cloud's
(01:40):
marketing efforts.
Tell me a bit like you're awoman in the leadership role in
the GCC region.
How is it for you?
What are the challenges you'refacing?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So it's a great question.
Thanks for asking it, kevin.
It's definitely an excitingtime to be in tech and in
marketing, particularly in theMiddle East, where things are
evolving so rapidly In terms ofunique challenges.
I think women sometimes faceunconscious bias and social
expectations in terms of theroles that they are expected to
fill, and that can make itharder to rise to leadership
(02:13):
positions.
Women might have to work harderto prove themselves on
occasions and overcome thesestereotypes.
Also, building a strong networkof mentors and sponsors is
critical to get to leadershipposition, and sometimes that can
also be more challenging forwomen.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, so it's like we're doing a SWOT analysis for
women in the region.
So do you think like theopportunities that women should
be taking advantage of arebuilding a proper network that
is currently available in theregion?
So that's one of the mainpoints what advice do you
actually give to young womenthat are aspiring to leadership
positions?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah.
So if I was to advise womencoming up in the leadership
space, or if I was to look to myyounger self and want to give
some advice, I would say youknow?
Firstly, believe in yourself,believe in your capabilities,
have the confidence that youdeserve the place that you're at
.
Imposter syndrome is a veryreal thing and at Google Cloud
(03:11):
we run a program called I AmRemarkable, which actually looks
at imposter syndrome and looksat helping women communicate
their achievements.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I just saw you posting something.
I Am Remarkable.
And Oman, that's right yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So I traveled to Oman earlier this week for Omani
Women's Day and collaboratedwith Oman Tel to deliver an I Am
Remarkable workshop for them,and it was really inspiring.
It was great to see womenleaning in to this training.
We talked about championing ourachievements and championing
each other's achievements, andagain about the imposter
(03:44):
syndrome.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Thank you.
Thank you for this lovelyadvice.
I think women nowadays shouldlisten to people like you,
because you've been in theirspots and I think you'll
continue to lead the way forwardin this scope.
I'm going to switch gears a bit.
We all know that tech movesquite fast.
Events and communities arewhere the real action is
(04:07):
happening.
So tell me, what's up withGoogle Cloud?
Are you doing any epic events?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Absolutely so.
Google Cloud is a core part ofthe vibrant tech scene here in
the Middle East and it is trulyvibrant.
It's buzzing with energy, withinnovation, and to give you a
taste of some of the things thatwe've been up to so, firstly,
epic events.
We've been hosting andparticipating in some incredible
events across the region, manyof which iSolutions has been
(04:34):
involved in.
So think summits, hackathons,workshops, you name it.
Earlier this year, we had ourDoha Summit, which was a huge
success.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That's the first year anniversary of the cloud region
launch correct.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
That's right, yeah, and then later next month, on
the 12th of November, we'll havethe Saudi Summit and we're
focused on skilling and learningacross the region.
We offer online and in-persontraining options.
That's a big part of what we do.
We manage dedicated centers ofexcellence in Qatar, in Saudi,
we've got a national skillingprogram in Kuwait and we offer
(05:11):
in-person learning activities inTurkey, south Africa, the UAE
and many other places.
So we do that.
We continue to bring thoughtleaders together, developers,
businesses to explore the latestin AI, in data analytics and
cloud technology.
On top of that, we're teamingwith local heroes.
(05:33):
So we believe in the power ofcollaboration and we've been
forging fantastic partnershipswith global and regional
strategic integrators such asiSolutions.
We're working to bring the bestof Google Cloud solutions to
more businesses through thosepartnerships.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, I think you're paving the way.
I think you're paving the way.
That's what people can see inthe region now.
So, in the same scope, you'reheading the marketing.
You're a CMO.
The names vary, the descriptionvaries, but the job remains the
same.
You're leading the marketingefforts for Google Cloud in the
region.
(06:09):
So now, with Gen AI, how do youthink it's reshaping things?
And, on a personal level, areyou actually utilizing GenAI?
It's a game changer.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
It is revolutionizing the way that we do business and
the way that we do marketing.
On a personal level, I useGenAI on a day-to-day basis.
So I'll use our tool, gemini,to help proofread or create
content for social media, forslides, for emails.
I'll use Notebook LLM, which isanother one of our tools, to
(06:43):
ingest large amounts of data,like a presentation or a piece
of content, to summarize it forme or, you know, ask queries
into that piece of data.
So it's really improving theeffectiveness and the efficiency
of marketing.
Aside from that, I think AI isgenerally disrupting and
(07:03):
revolutionizing the whole way wedo marketing.
The traditional marketingplaybook was once predictable
and linear.
We would craft content and itwould be for a specific audience
.
We would distribute it acrossthe relevant channels, measure
its impact often using imperfectand delayed metrics and then we
(07:27):
would learn from that andrefine our approach.
So it was the long held dreamof delivering the right ad to
the right person in the rightplace at the right time.
The right ad to the rightperson in the right place at the
right time.
And that dream has now gotteneven closer with AI and it's
essentially kind of we're likein a real-time optimization
process.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, you could have custom experiences for each and
every one, and in real time,exactly.
Yeah, that's something tocapitalize on.
I think everyone should be ableto reach this technology and
utilize it as much as they can.
So what potential do you think,other than technical aspects of
it and customization, what doesit unlock on a creativity
(08:09):
aspect?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
being used to create new content, to actually create
the ads, the messages that goout to the users, to ingest
information about the audience,to understand the audience
better and to use that in thecreative process.
So it's helping us create evenmore personalized advertising
and doing it at a much more, amuch faster, faster pace and
(08:39):
using data which has been out ofreach in the past.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
We just finished a session on data data to dollars
and we discussed a bit howactually data can help you turn
your ROI upside down, and so Itotally agree with you.
Since we're at Jitexx now, Ithink it's buzzing.
There's a lot of people aroundus.
There's people watching usthrough, uh, through the glass
(09:06):
so, uh, why is jytex important?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Well, it's our second year exhibiting at Jitex and
we're delighted to be here.
Events like Jitex are animportant part of our marketing
strategy across the region.
They offer us the platform toconnect with our customers.
They offer us the opportunityto forge partnerships as well
and showcase the real worldimpact of our solutions
(09:36):
solutions.
We have many customers who arehere collaborating with us to
showcase the impact that GoogleCloud has had on their business,
and we have our partners here,such as iSolutions, exhibiting
and showcasing what Google Cloudsolutions can do for their
customers.
So it's a great opportunity tostrengthen existing
relationships and build new ones, all while demonstrating our
commitment to innovation.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
That that's great to hear.
Um, I'm going to ask yousomething.
It's a bit outside of thetechnical aspect and the
business aspect of it, but, uh,I've done my research, I've I've
got to know that we have, wehave mutual hobbies.
So, uh, I know you love totravel.
What are the top five cities orcountries you've been?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
to Great question.
Thanks for asking.
I do love to travel, and Itravel a lot, both for personal
and for business, and so I'vebeen fortunate to see a lot of
different cities and differentplaces.
From where do I love the most?
I mean from a personalperspective.
I have very fond memories ofAmsterdam yeah, it's a nice
(10:39):
place it's a nice place.
I went there recently.
I've been there many times andrecently got engaged in
Amsterdam, so it's gonnacongratulations, thank you so
much, so it's it's gonna be aspecial place for me for, yeah,
forever the then.
From a business perspective,you, we're expanding our region,
we're expanding our footprint,our cloud footprint, across the
(11:00):
region and we're opening in many, many markets.
We were just in Kuwait, whichwas a great place to visit and
spend time.
We had a cloud day thathappened there.
For instance, cape Town andJohannesburg are two cities that
I've really enjoyed travelingto, and we recently launched a
data center in South Africa, acloud region, and they've become
(11:22):
two cities that we now travelto quite a bit and I get to
experience the amazing cultureand enjoy being there.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So it's a good thing.
Yeah, you can mix betweenpersonal and business travels,
which eases on the pressure youyou already have.
That's right, so that's good.
I think you also play paddle I,yes, yes, that's right.
Yeah, it's a new hobby.
Yeah, it's a new hobby, so I doplay paddle as well and I'm
(11:50):
hoping we can.
We can have a challenge betweengoogle cloud and I solution and
if I solution wins, we're tohave you on another full episode
.
That's a deal.
That's a deal.
Let's shake hands on that.
Okay, dina, thanks a lot forbeing with us.
It was an amazing discussion.
Thank you so much.
Please follow us on LinkedInand subscribe on YouTube and
(12:12):
wait for the next one.
What's up with Google Cloud?
That dream has now gotten evencloser with AI.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
A lot of people would actually love to be part of
Google team.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
It is revolutionizing the way that we do business and
the way that we do marketing.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Women nowadays should listen to people like you Women
sometimes face unconscious bias.
We've all been there.
Sometimes to get connected,you've got to unplug and try
again.
This is where we connect youwith the brightest minds in the
(00:33):
MENA region.
This is Unplugged withiSolution.
Dina Amin, welcome on Unplugged.
Thank you, nice to be here.
It's a pleasure for us havingyou here.
Tell me a bit, what do you do?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
My name is Dina Amin and I lead marketing for Google
Cloud across the Middle East,turkey and Africa region.
I've been with Google for 10years now, and six of them in
this role.
It's a job that I love.
It combines my background incomputer science along with my
love for storytelling, for data,for analytics, customer focus,
(01:07):
amongst many other things.
I joined Google straight aftermy MBA and Google hires in many
ways, and it's been anexperience that I've really
enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
That's good to hear.
A lot of people would actuallylove to be part of Google team.
I think so.
I know you do great work.
I know we're today at Jitex.
I think this is the second yearin Jitex for Google Cloud,
correct?
That's right.
I think you're expanding a lotin the region from a positioning
point of view and awarenesspoint of view.
So, Dina, you're the drivingforce behind Google Cloud's
(01:40):
marketing efforts.
Tell me a bit like you're awoman in the leadership role in
the GCC region.
How is it for you?
What are the challenges you'refacing?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So it's a great question.
Thanks for asking it, kevin.
It's definitely an excitingtime to be in tech and in
marketing, particularly in theMiddle East, where things are
evolving so rapidly In terms ofunique challenges.
I think women sometimes faceunconscious bias and social
expectations in terms of theroles that they are expected to
fill, and that can make itharder to rise to leadership
(02:13):
positions.
Women might have to work harderto prove themselves on
occasions and overcome thesestereotypes.
Also, building a strong networkof mentors and sponsors is
critical to get to leadershipposition, and sometimes that can
also be more challenging forwomen.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, so it's like we're doing a SWOT analysis for
women in the region.
So do you think like theopportunities that women should
be taking advantage of arebuilding a proper network that
is currently available in theregion?
So that's one of the mainpoints what advice do you
actually give to young womenthat are aspiring to leadership
positions?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah.
So if I was to advise womencoming up in the leadership
space, or if I was to look to myyounger self and want to give
some advice, I would say youknow?
Firstly, believe in yourself,believe in your capabilities,
have the confidence that youdeserve the place that you're at
.
Imposter syndrome is a veryreal thing and at Google Cloud
(03:11):
we run a program called I AmRemarkable, which actually looks
at imposter syndrome and looksat helping women communicate
their achievements.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I just saw you posting something.
I Am Remarkable.
And Oman, that's right yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So I traveled to Oman earlier this week for Omani
Women's Day and collaboratedwith Oman Tel to deliver an I Am
Remarkable workshop for them,and it was really inspiring.
It was great to see womenleaning in to this training.
We talked about championing ourachievements and championing
each other's achievements, andagain about the imposter
(03:44):
syndrome.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Thank you.
Thank you for this lovelyadvice.
I think women nowadays shouldlisten to people like you,
because you've been in theirspots and I think you'll
continue to lead the way forwardin this scope.
I'm going to switch gears a bit.
We all know that tech movesquite fast.
Events and communities arewhere the real action is
(04:07):
happening.
So tell me, what's up withGoogle Cloud?
Are you doing any epic events?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Absolutely so.
Google Cloud is a core part ofthe vibrant tech scene here in
the Middle East and it is trulyvibrant.
It's buzzing with energy, withinnovation, and to give you a
taste of some of the things thatwe've been up to so, firstly,
epic events.
We've been hosting andparticipating in some incredible
events across the region, manyof which iSolutions has been
(04:34):
involved in.
So think summits, hackathons,workshops, you name it.
Earlier this year, we had ourDoha Summit, which was a huge
success.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That's the first year anniversary of the cloud region
launch correct.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
That's right, yeah, and then later next month, on
the 12th of November, we'll havethe Saudi Summit and we're
focused on skilling and learningacross the region.
We offer online and in-persontraining options.
That's a big part of what we do.
We manage dedicated centers ofexcellence in Qatar, in Saudi,
we've got a national skillingprogram in Kuwait and we offer
(05:11):
in-person learning activities inTurkey, south Africa, the UAE
and many other places.
So we do that.
We continue to bring thoughtleaders together, developers,
businesses to explore the latestin AI, in data analytics and
cloud technology.
On top of that, we're teamingwith local heroes.
(05:33):
So we believe in the power ofcollaboration and we've been
forging fantastic partnershipswith global and regional
strategic integrators such asiSolutions.
We're working to bring the bestof Google Cloud solutions to
more businesses through thosepartnerships.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, I think you're paving the way.
I think you're paving the way.
That's what people can see inthe region now.
So, in the same scope, you'reheading the marketing.
You're a CMO.
The names vary, the descriptionvaries, but the job remains the
same.
You're leading the marketingefforts for Google Cloud in the
region.
(06:09):
So now, with Gen AI, how do youthink it's reshaping things?
And, on a personal level, areyou actually utilizing GenAI?
It's a game changer.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
It is revolutionizing the way that we do business and
the way that we do marketing.
On a personal level, I useGenAI on a day-to-day basis.
So I'll use our tool, gemini,to help proofread or create
content for social media, forslides, for emails.
I'll use Notebook LLM, which isanother one of our tools, to
(06:43):
ingest large amounts of data,like a presentation or a piece
of content, to summarize it forme or, you know, ask queries
into that piece of data.
So it's really improving theeffectiveness and the efficiency
of marketing.
Aside from that, I think AI isgenerally disrupting and
(07:03):
revolutionizing the whole way wedo marketing.
The traditional marketingplaybook was once predictable
and linear.
We would craft content and itwould be for a specific audience
.
We would distribute it acrossthe relevant channels, measure
its impact often using imperfectand delayed metrics and then we
(07:27):
would learn from that andrefine our approach.
So it was the long held dreamof delivering the right ad to
the right person in the rightplace at the right time.
The right ad to the rightperson in the right place at the
right time.
And that dream has now gotteneven closer with AI and it's
essentially kind of we're likein a real-time optimization
process.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, you could have custom experiences for each and
every one, and in real time,exactly.
Yeah, that's something tocapitalize on.
I think everyone should be ableto reach this technology and
utilize it as much as they can.
So what potential do you think,other than technical aspects of
it and customization, what doesit unlock on a creativity
(08:09):
aspect?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
being used to create new content, to actually create
the ads, the messages that goout to the users, to ingest
information about the audience,to understand the audience
better and to use that in thecreative process.
So it's helping us create evenmore personalized advertising
and doing it at a much more, amuch faster, faster pace and
(08:39):
using data which has been out ofreach in the past.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
We just finished a session on data data to dollars
and we discussed a bit howactually data can help you turn
your ROI upside down, and so Itotally agree with you.
Since we're at Jitexx now, Ithink it's buzzing.
There's a lot of people aroundus.
There's people watching usthrough, uh, through the glass
(09:06):
so, uh, why is jytex important?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Well, it's our second year exhibiting at Jitex and
we're delighted to be here.
Events like Jitex are animportant part of our marketing
strategy across the region.
They offer us the platform toconnect with our customers.
They offer us the opportunityto forge partnerships as well
and showcase the real worldimpact of our solutions
(09:36):
solutions.
We have many customers who arehere collaborating with us to
showcase the impact that GoogleCloud has had on their business,
and we have our partners here,such as iSolutions, exhibiting
and showcasing what Google Cloudsolutions can do for their
customers.
So it's a great opportunity tostrengthen existing
relationships and build new ones, all while demonstrating our
commitment to innovation.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
That that's great to hear.
Um, I'm going to ask yousomething.
It's a bit outside of thetechnical aspect and the
business aspect of it, but, uh,I've done my research, I've I've
got to know that we have, wehave mutual hobbies.
So, uh, I know you love totravel.
What are the top five cities orcountries you've been?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
to Great question.
Thanks for asking.
I do love to travel, and Itravel a lot, both for personal
and for business, and so I'vebeen fortunate to see a lot of
different cities and differentplaces.
From where do I love the most?
I mean from a personalperspective.
I have very fond memories ofAmsterdam yeah, it's a nice
(10:39):
place it's a nice place.
I went there recently.
I've been there many times andrecently got engaged in
Amsterdam, so it's gonnacongratulations, thank you so
much, so it's it's gonna be aspecial place for me for, yeah,
forever the then.
From a business perspective,you, we're expanding our region,
we're expanding our footprint,our cloud footprint, across the
(11:00):
region and we're opening in many, many markets.
We were just in Kuwait, whichwas a great place to visit and
spend time.
We had a cloud day thathappened there.
For instance, cape Town andJohannesburg are two cities that
I've really enjoyed travelingto, and we recently launched a
data center in South Africa, acloud region, and they've become
(11:22):
two cities that we now travelto quite a bit and I get to
experience the amazing cultureand enjoy being there.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So it's a good thing.
Yeah, you can mix betweenpersonal and business travels,
which eases on the pressure youyou already have.
That's right, so that's good.
I think you also play paddle I,yes, yes, that's right.
Yeah, it's a new hobby.
Yeah, it's a new hobby, so I doplay paddle as well and I'm
(11:50):
hoping we can.
We can have a challenge betweengoogle cloud and I solution and
if I solution wins, we're tohave you on another full episode
.
That's a deal.
That's a deal.
Let's shake hands on that.
Okay, dina, thanks a lot forbeing with us.
It was an amazing discussion.
Thank you so much.
Please follow us on LinkedInand subscribe on YouTube and
(12:12):
wait for the next one.
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