Episode 37 - Fady Ramzy

In the dynamic world of social media, digital communication, and online marketing, few possess the expertise and adaptability of Fady Ramzy. With an impressive career spanning more than 25 years, Fady has been a constant force of innovation and transformation.

Fady's journey began in the tech realm, where he laid the foundation for his illustrious career. As the digital landscape evolved, so did he, seamlessly reinventing himself time and again to stay ahead of the curve. 

Fady's passion for business and communication knows no bounds. He's not just a consultant; he's the go-to advisor for some of the world's biggest companies and brands, helping them amplify their online reputations. Beyond consultancy, Fady dons the hat of professional trainer and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the American University in Cairo. His commitment to education extends to volunteering, where he has been a stalwart contributor to the Project Management Institute (PMI) for several years. Fady's mission extends to the individual level. He's all about empowering the personal brands of coaches and C-level executives on the dynamic platform that is LinkedIn.

 It's not every day you come across a solopreneur with such a diverse and impactful journey. Fady's story is a testament to the power of adaptability, expertise, and unwavering passion. 

Transcript

Adrian Cropley: 0:10

Hello, and welcome to another episode of A View from the Top. I'm Adrian Cropley. A View from the Top is a regular podcast from the Center for Strategic Communication Excellence, where I interview some of the world's leading communication professionals as we explore their career journey. Today, I'm chatting with Cairo based solopreneur and media figure, Fady Ramzy. with over 25 years of experience in social media, digital communication, online marketing and communication, as well as personal branding. it's no wonder Fady consults and advises some of the world's biggest companies. He's truly turned his passion into business, helping organizations grow their business and reputation online. He's also a professional trainer and adjunct faculty at The American University in Cairo and a keen volunteer being involved, certainly with the Project Management Institute for a number of years. I think digital marketing must have been running in his veins, and there's no doubt he is one of our foremost digital pioneers. kicking off his career in the digital space at the beginning of this century. Sorry, I don't mean to make it sound really old, but I feel it's a reflection on the change wave that Fady has been riding for many years in this particular space. Welcome Fady it's great to be talking to you.

Fady Ramzy: 1:36

Thank you so much. And thanks for the deep fabulous intro adrian, thank you so much.

Adrian Cropley: 1:41

I tell you what, I was very excited when I knew I was going to be talking to you today. we've known each other for many years on and off, and obviously connected online and been involved with the IABC and talked at many conferences and so on. So it's actually great to be talking to you on this podcast and thank you for joining me on a View from the Top. I'm gonna kick it off with a question. I love the sound of adjunct professor at the AUC. How is it that teaching has become a passion for you, and it's not just teaching that you do many things in your life, don't you?

Fady Ramzy: 2:15

Yeah, I totally agree that teaching is a passion and yeah, I would confirm what you just said, when you cross this number of years in experience, which is in my current stage, almost 27 years working on the online field between online marketing and online communications, I just discovered that this wealth of knowledge, I would say I was blessed to work in several countries in several companies in several cultures. So this knowledge is really worth sharing. That's why currently I'm very focused on teaching at the American University in Cairo, several courses around online communications, social media and digital journalism at the same time. Doing lots of training and consultancy around those topics, sharing this information, this wealth of information and knowledge and technical, let's say, hands on experience. It's really worth sharing. And that's the real passion that I'm enjoying right now.

Adrian Cropley: 3:07

What I love is that balance in life that you've created for yourself where you can do that teaching, you can still do that consulting, and it's almost the world that you look towards as, when you're younger, you don't see this, but as you, you get older and you start going I've got all of this experience. How do I put that into play and create a life that's passionate for me? That's certainly something that you've done, but can you believe 27 years ago, what was the state of the internet and the digital space back then? I remember when I worked at Ericsson and I'm going. We have to deal with this new tool called the internet. We weren't even thinking in terms of digital back then, right?

Fady Ramzy: 3:46

Yeah, I didn't want to sound too old, but unfortunately, that's the truth. But let me tell you, the journey started online communications back then in that era was just like only online websites, with the evolution of the internet, it was just websites. And they used to be like a website developer using all the Spaghetti code and writing strange things. We used to code websites using notepad at some point of time, that's like the historic dinosaur era of web development. And at that time it was just, this is the only tool for online communications. And then it evolved later on by, let's say, the next generation of the Web 2. 0 and all the interactivity with social media and then Web 3. 0 with all the AI and then sky's the limit every single day right now. But I started back then writing spaghetti code on Notepad developing websites. This is how the journey started.

Adrian Cropley: 4:42

I do remember, I often think of you when I think about people like Shel Holtz and in the States and the people were having these early conversations about web. Then of course, that's evolved into digital social media. And you've, you've just seen wave after wave. And isn't it lovely? We're seeing things like AI today, which we might talk a little bit before we end off this podcast today. But do take me back What was it that you wanted to do when you started your career?

Fady Ramzy: 5:11

Thanks for the deep question because yes, it was a turning point at some time in my life. So the journey was just like a. Developer and then I moved from company to other. But one of the major milestones is that one of the top software companies in Egypt that I joined in 2006 I was one of the few project managers in that company, and the day I entered that company, they gave me the largest project ever that they got, which is developing the Egypt Air portal, Egypt Air website.

Adrian Cropley: 5:40

wow.

Fady Ramzy: 5:41

that time, it was just like a national project. It was for the first time. It's not only a portal or website, but developing the e ticket or integrating the e ticket system for our national airline carrier. So it was just like a mega project for me with all the challenges that I'm still new at the company. I have no team. I have nothing. And they just threw at me the largest project. But we delivered phase zero, which was the online booking engine, which was like. The main criteria for Egypt Air to join Star Alliance. So I felt super proud, you know, that feeling that my contribution led to that. That was a changing point. I got promoted to start a small sales office for that company in Italy. And this is where my actual real journey started. What I would like to tell everyone listening to this podcast is this is the transition that's happened to me from. Technology geek or someone who loves and uses technology. And really, I'm crazy about technology. What I learned in Italy and since then, is that how to use technology as a tool for better communication and business.

Adrian Cropley: 6:49

I was going to wonder where this jump was going to go from having that technical background into this. So I'm really excited to hear this story,

Fady Ramzy: 6:58

Yeah, exactly. That's the turning point. Back in Italy, I think it was around 2008 and 2009, where I was just exposed to the professional, let's say, business usage of technology, social media. Back then in Egypt, we were just crazy about Facebook, it was just evolving. But back then, in Italy, I just discovered something called LinkedIn, and I started building a small network from my peers. And then... Once upon a time, I just saw a post from one of the people that I just met that he's looking for a manager for his new company or the branch for his new company back in Cairo. So I just replied his position. We had some calls and then we had a meeting and he decided to get me on board as a shareholder in the new company in Egypt, not just a manager. This is really since then, 2009 till today. I'm using technology as a way of better communication and better adding more value to our clients. So it's a way to enhance the business to enhance the value to solve customers problem rather than just being a technology kick or just obsessed by technology. And this is really. The transition where you see business as sorry, you see technology as a business enabler, not just technology itself is the gleamer.

Adrian Cropley: 8:17

Fady. You was part of that. Obviously you're part of your own company and or sharing that company for over 10 years

Fady Ramzy: 8:25

It's, a long journey between 2009 and 2019. So I learned, and by the way, it was like three small companies between Cairo Rome and the third one in Salzburg. So every single day I was learning online communications, online marketing, social media. I was learning from our international team, but then At some point, like 2014 or 15, something like that, I got invited to talk at some event, and then the second event, and the third, and then doing a training. So I discovered. That sharing knowledge is something that's really valuable to me and to my audience. So I started pivoting a little bit, you know, doing, focusing more on training, focusing more on consultancy. And here came the American University in Cairo. So currently I'm adjunk faculty teaching several things, which I started the journey with the American University in 2015. Then the big milestone was 2019. Just before COVID, I unplugged myself from the corporate world. And I just enjoy currently since 2019 till now, just being a solopreneur, managing my business by myself.

Adrian Cropley: 9:33

I think that's wonderful. I think what an amazing evolution that you take, but I think you've taken an evolution during what I would call a number of. Revolutions, because if we think about the changes in technology, I think that finding your groove going from technology into communication and seeing how important that was for the business. But then you rode the waves of social media and and that evolution. And of course now AI, and we'll talk about that in, in a little while. But what are some of the lessons you learned along the way? And I think I've already picked up one thing about moving from the technology geek into communication. You saw the value of communication for business and that you got some outcomes. What were maybe some of those other lessons you learned in your early career? Starting up that organization and consulting to the, the big end of town. What were some of the lessons you learned along the way?

Fady Ramzy: 10:30

The main lesson that has several lessons under that is I would say confidently that communication is everything. Internal communication. When you have a solid system, For internal communications and you communicate well to your team, especially big organization, you get everyone focused and aligned. The opposite is extremely true. If we have miscommunication between different layers of management. So everyone is just focused on the small, tiny task that he's doing. While no one sees the bigger picture. So this is internal communication. External slash corporate communication is everything because marketing. is communication. Branding is communication. Even my personal passion right now is personal branding where I help professionals and top executives build their personal brand, especially online. Again, it's about their communications. It's about their messaging. How do they communicate and what do they say about themselves, about their work, about their knowledge to the outer space. So communications is everything. And the more. The more we master different communication skills, the more we can add value to others and grow our business. This is, let's say, point number one. Point number two, communications always, in my humble opinion, starts by writing. Because if you master writing, you master thinking. And then, any other form of communication can be easier. Because communication, in my humble opinion, again, It's a mindset. And when you write for communication, you transform, you get this mindset shift, you get deeper. Into what you are communicating and who are you communicating to and what's the message exactly that you want to communicate. So the mother of all skills for communication, I would say, is writing. And then the third point is that I learned is communication, again, is a business growth tool as well. And here comes all the communication happening on digital marketing in different social media platforms. So again, if you combine those three points, we conclude that communication is everything. I'm confident about that.

Adrian Cropley: 12:38

Absolutely. And I have to say that resonates so very well with me because we see a landscape where there's a lot of pushing for the tools and it's the tools that are supposed to make life easier or the tools that communicate better. But what you've really encapsulated well, and I know a lot of people will be excited is that you master writing, you master Thinking and I'm going to quote you on that one. And this is, we're going to send that quote out because I think that resonates so true that you can't look at the tools in isolation to the outcome that you want to get, right?

Fady Ramzy: 13:13

Exactly. I can't agree more. And since I teach at the university, I'm always I'm crazy about abbreviations. So one of the things that I keep repeating in my consultancy and my classes is what we call the five C's. So five C's stands for consistent communications and content equal more connections and conversions. Again, consistent communications and content equals more connections and more conversions. And this is really the beauty of digital communications. The more you have a solid, clear message that you are communicating frequently using high quality content, you build a better network in terms of quantity and quality. This from a business perspective also leads to positioning, thought leadership, and apparently conversion. So the five C's equation always works in different perspectives.

Adrian Cropley: 14:04

I love that. And that's a really good tip for people to remember. And it is to me, that's the. Evolution of communication itself is really looking at that connection, because if you get that, connection, that consistency and then leads on to those conversions, it's absolutely critical in terms of building, and I can see now why you work a lot in the brand space, because that rings so true in that space, too. Why? Why then we now do it. Really focusing on personal branding, and this is a term it has been around for a while, but I believe it's probably the one of the most important things in today's world more than it was, say, that 20 odd years ago. We didn't worry too much about personal brand, but we worry about it now more. Why is that?

Fady Ramzy: 14:57

I totally agree with you. Now we worry, we focus, we take care of that much more than any previous time for several reasons. One from communication and also from business point of view, humans relate to humans. So if we are doing whatever type of value or business, it always starts from who is behind the business. Who is the. Expert here. We all fell years and years ago, fell in love with Microsoft because of the Bill Gates story starting in his garage or the Steve jobs, super inspiring for the Apple story Zuckerberg starting in the college again, whatever mega brands it started from a personal brand. So I think it makes total sense. And why now? Because with all these online tools, AI, social networks, LinkedIn, it's very easy to build a solid business using a personal brand. And if it's not about business, it's also about adding value. So building a solid personal brand is an unmatched asset that many people, many professionals, they underestimate its power. They just miss an untapped opportunity for several. For several things. And that's why I'm trying to preach personal branding, to help people capitalize on this unmatched opportunity that they just drop without realizing.

Adrian Cropley: 16:16

Now, can I ask you a question without notice at all? So sorry to put you on the spot, but it's just resonated in my head that communication professionals themselves aren't always the best at branding self. We seem to be a very humble crowd and we want to chug along in the background and support our businesses. How important is it or why is it important for communication professionals to build their brand?

Fady Ramzy: 16:43

That's an excellent, deep question. I would say like three main things. One is I would say positioning, communication professionals and coaches, you need to show up. You need to be there to be present to. Let's say the outer space, not only my internal circle of. Clients, family, friends, we have social media, we have something like LinkedIn. So number one is being present and building our own positioning. Again it's positioning. It's an ecosystem of communication. You can start your own blog or you can start a podcast like this one, which is very interesting. You can have solid presence over social media, LinkedIn, et cetera. But positioning is number one. Accordingly. Adding value is number two, and adding value is sharing the knowledge freely through newsletters, through podcasts, through LinkedIn, through whatever, but when we share this wealth of knowledge, we add value to others, and accordingly, which is the third point we get some business opportunities, and this is my humble approach of doing business is sharing all the knowledge for free, And it pays back. So I think in terms of communication professionals, it's very important to capitalize on this mega opportunity of adding value to others, especially others that we might not know and capitalize on that opportunity of adding value to them by growing our network and opening up more business opportunities in that field.

Adrian Cropley: 18:10

I tell you what that makes that makes me smile when I hear that because you're talking about things that I'm very passionate about as well in terms of that, giving the value out to people and you get it back in spades in so many other ways. But sharing is really about how we're creating that connection to our. Profession as a whole, globally, and helping build others within our community of communication professionals. You're a true networker. I love it, Fady before we end our podcast today, I want to explore a topic that is on everybody's lips today. And again, it's one of those ones on notice, and I really appreciate your openness and on the spotness today. We're seeing the advent of aI. I mean, it's here now. I remember we talked about this in a couple of reports through the center in 2018 and 2019. And we developed the AI playbook, which people can get off of our website. But it's really interesting because we started talking about what communication professionals should be doing. There was a very low number of communication professionals saying that they had any knowledge in AI, which is understandable. Three, years ago, or it's only three years ago now since we did the report. But late last year, the beginning of this year, AI was well and truly on everybody's lips with the advent of chat GPT and those things. Is this now the new frontier for you, Fady? How are you how are you getting into this space now?

Fady Ramzy: 19:44

I think that's the topic of this era of today, especially I would say the turning point is November 2022 when OpenAI launched ChatGPT that's a turning point for AI. And that's aligned with what I just mentioned, the tools. That we have as communicators or especially online communicators, tools are enormous now. So I is a massive tool that can help us automate everything related to content creation and distribution while we focus on. Let's see the mental work, the value, the real messaging, because I wouldn't or cannot replace me. And that's a huge challenge and debate going on. Will AI replace humans, especially in jobs like online marketing, communications, et cetera. I always Say that we as communicators, we are the brain, we have the thoughts, we have the value, we have the experience, and we use different AI tools. To create the content to spread the messaging to share along different platforms. So AI is a very strong tool that can help us, even move further, faster, quicker and easier.

Adrian Cropley: 20:55

I tell you what, if it's anything that's going to help me do the writing rather than actually have to do that myself then great. As long as, I can add my flavor to it and my thoughts and my emotions but anything that helps us be more efficient I think is a great thing. Yes, there's a lot of terrified people at the moment, but it's I think there was a lot of terrified people when we introduced social media from memory.

Fady Ramzy: 21:18

It's like any technological mega advancement. And again, back in old days, introducing the mobile phone, and then there's a smartphone you can log into the internet from your phone. Oh, wow. That's crazy. Is that good or bad? We had that question and then it was fine. We live with then came social networks, then different technology. So it's like a mega technology advancement like the ones we witnessed previously. But, the smart people who will embrace that and capitalize on that and use it for the best of adding value to others and adding value to their work and their business.

Adrian Cropley: 21:53

I tell you what I'll bet. I'll bet you there was those conversations well before our time about having telephones on desks in offices, I have no doubt.

Fady Ramzy: 22:02

we have new set of tools. So smart people on that and move forward faster and easier.

Adrian Cropley: 22:09

well, I tell you what, I could not agree more. and finally, thank you so much for joining Today and sharing your background knowledge. I know I've I've already said to you that we're going to do another session together. We're going to do a bit of a podcast and do a deep dive on technology, I can't wait to do that and to catch up. So thank you again for your time today.

Fady Ramzy: 22:28

Same here, or let me say more here. I'm super eager and curious to do that. Another one, and always happy to cooperate Adrian. And thank you so much for your kind invitation today.

Adrian Cropley: 22:38

You are such a very kind and giving person. I really appreciate it, Fady. Thank you to everyone for joining us today on A View From The Top. And I look forward to connecting again next time on A View From The Top. Take care, everyone.