On January 30th, LebNet NY launched the year with an insightful panel discussion featuring accomplished Lebanese professionals across startups, scale-ups, and big tech. Hosted at LAU NY, the event provided students, early-career, and seasoned professionals with a unique opportunity to learn from industry leaders, gain actionable career advice, and expand their networks.

Key Takeaways

Embracing Exploration: Career paths are rarely linear—panelists encouraged exploring different roles, industries, and locations.
The ‘Aha’ Moment: Finding the right path takes curiosity and experimentation; each speaker shared when things "clicked" for them.
The Power of Mentorship & Networking: Leveraging mentorship and the Lebanese professional network was key to many panelists' success.
Essential Skills for Success: Beyond technical expertise, communication, adaptability, and strategic thinking are crucial, especially with AI reshaping the industry.
Advice to Their Younger Selves: Panelists urged attendees to seize opportunities, embrace challenges, and stay proactive.

Meet the Panelists

Ralph Maarawi (Product Manager, Constrafor) – Scaling in startups, product management, and customer success.
Moe Zein (Senior Software Engineer, Datadog) – Breaking into big tech, global talent sourcing, and career growth.
Laian Hammoud (Senior Account Executive, Google) – Business-tech intersection, digital transformation, and tech sales.
Ahmad Wahidi (Senior DevOps Engineer, Murex) – DevOps career growth, international work experience, and leadership.
Samer Sabri (Software Engineer, Google) – Career transitions across consulting, academia, startups, and big tech.

Wrap-Up & Acknowledgments

The event concluded with a dynamic networking session, where students, early-career, and seasoned professionals engaged with panelists and fellow attendees, leaving inspired to navigate their careers with confidence.

A huge thank you to our panelists for their time and insights, our moderator Rene Sultan for his brilliant facilitation, and all attendees for making this a meaningful conversation. Special thanks to the LebNet NY Leadership team, Rene Sultan, and Osman Ghandour for leading the event, and to Marwan Madi, Malek Daouk, Ibrahim Ibrahim, Amali Nasereddine, and Yasmina Noueihed for their invaluable support.

A special thank you to LAU NY and Barbar Akle, Executive Director of LAU New York, for generously hosting us.

Stay tuned for more LebNet NY events—if you missed this one, we hope to see you at the next!