The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
At the age of 24, Mariam Khaled Dabboussi is carving out a career at Google that many twice her age would be proud of.
As the company’s youngest team member in the Middle East and North Africa, her rise from Tripoli in Lebanon to become a central component of Google Assistant for Arabic speakers was meteoric.
Since joining the Dubai office of one of the world's largest tech companies, Ms Dabboussi helped to bring Google Assistant's services in Arabic to life via laptops, mobile phones, smart watches and home speakers.
With more than 285 million internet users across the Arab world, the Mena region is a huge growth area.
When I first came into Google I think people were confused as I looked so young
“When I first joined Google one of my first projects was to launch assistant in Arabic,” said Ms Dabboussi, who joined the company in July 2018.
“On the surface, it looks pretty simple – a virtual assistant that responds to questions you ask it – but there was a mountain of research that went in behind the scenes.
“We had to understand user commands that were decoded from whatever language that was spoken.”
Ms Dabboussi said the challenges her team faced included working with several languages and dialects to ensure Google’s response was accurate enough for Arabic users.
Because of the nuances between regional dialects, the process was long but ultimately a success.
“We had to ensure Google Assistant understood all the commands it received, which was hugely complex,” she said.
“For example: Saudi Arabia has six different dialects and the word 'hello' can be said more than 170 different ways depending on where you are in the region.”
Ms Dabboussi’s career in technology was forged at the American University of Beirut where she thanks the strong mentorship she received from her peers for shaping her career path.
Strong and supporting parents also played a vital role in keeping her grounded and on course for her dream job.
Google's most searched-for people in 2020 – in pictures
“My father in particular strongly believed in the power of education, specifically in women,” she said.
“He thinks we can change the narrative in whatever path we set out on. Dad was my driving force."
At 19, Ms Dabboussi directed a team of 30 students to develop 16 solar-powered lamp posts and 10 solar kits in El Mejdel in northern Lebanon, bringing light to an area plagued by outages.
A move to Dubai in May 2017 for a role with the Boston Consulting Group offered new experience in building financial models for a new corporate subsidiary.
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In July 2018, an opportunity with Google arose with a position as a product marketing intern that proved too strong a calling to ignore.
Three years later, Ms Dabboussi now leads Google's consumer research strategy across the region.
As part of her role, she is in charge of Google's efforts to make the Google Assistant helpful and useful for users in Arabic, and to understand user habits and interactions with Google products in 22 Middle East and North African countries in Arabic.
A highlight of her career so far was organising a Guinness World Record-setting iftar livestream that attracted more than 3.5 million playbacks in 24 hours.
"When I first came to Google, people were confused, not really in a negative way, just that I looked so young," Ms Dabboussi said.
“The company sets you up to deal with this by showing who you are and what you can do.
“Everyone has a story to tell, regardless of their age or experience.
"I believe we have something to learn from everyone we meet, and that is how I go about my life.”
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (stand-in captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan and Lasith Embuldeniya.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
