Hello! I’m Fadhel Mandani

About

My Background

My name is Fadhel Ismaeel Mandani. I grew up with my younger brother, the eldest of all my cousins. I never really learned what it meant to just be a kid taking all responsibilities of taking care of all my siblings.

Accustomed to being the primarily child as I was always matured for my age. Even my own friends often annoyed me during my adolescent years. I had a lot of people who invested in me, and I excelled at most of my many and varied hobbies. I did well in school, often knowing how to solve complex math equations before the concept had even been introduced to our class. Looking back, I’m sure I was quite a smug, although I didn’t realize it at the time. Unfortunately, self-awareness wasn’t something I learned until recent years.

In high school, I got exhausted by the heavy pressure kept upon me by my father and his high expectations. I gradually stopped my extra-curricular activities, including sports and other lessons, and chose to study and work instead. I graduated at one of the top of my class and then chose a public university and later on moved to a private college.

In college, I started slow and failed at the beginning. Perhaps I was so confident & took the classes for granted. In the first year itself, I managed to turn this around ending the year with 2.0 out of 4.0. I excelled in electronic engineering, physics and mathematics. Then I started focusing on computer engineering. At the beginning, I was not so sure to continue and wanted to change to computer science. Then I started to discover what itreally means, smart phones, computers and what caught my interest the most is what makes an airplane operate is what I started to focus on. I ended up designing and building a robotic system out of printer’s stepper motor that can automatically perform certain tasks augmented with transformers and sensors and that was my graduation project. I have completed my Computer engineering B.Sc. degree requirements on 2008 with 3.2 out 4.0 GPA.

While studying, I decided to do some part time job, focusing on normal day to day IT functions, installing printers, software’s, fixing computers…etc. It helped me a lot to understand the fieldrather than depending on theories only. My first full time job was in Batelco where they have accepted me as a fresh graduate engineer, despite being a fresher; I was already experienced in managing Microsoft infrastructure. The management in Batelco gave me certain critical tasks to manage including setting up Exchange and DR site. Then in the same year, I decided to move on and work with the only HP partner in the kingdom of Bahrain, ZIME. I started managing all server-based installations for their wide customers including the largest bank in Bahrain and the kingdom Airline. In Jan 2009, I joint Gulf Air as an IT Engineer, handled multiple areas including end users, IBM AIX, HPUX, Solaris Sparc, Linux Red Hat, Storage “SAN HP EVA/ EMC CX” and Enterprise Backup solution “TSM IBM”. After two years of successful projects executions, the management decided to promote me as a Project manager looking after all IT Infrastructure projects where the first one was the private Cloud of Gulf Air. At the same time, I was updating myself with all technical certifications from the big vendors, so I am always updated. I started doing my PMP which was one of the most difficult training programs that ended up with a certification.

Upon multiple successful projects, I was asked to look after the entire Technical services department. At the same time, I started my master’s degree program in Ahlia University in corporation with Brunel University in London. I have showcased in my thesis the transformation of Legacy based applications that airlines run to move to the cloud and make them IP based. It was a theory back on 2012 when I graduated holding master’s degree in computer science with 3.5 out 4.0 GPA however I have demonstrated its effectiveness afterword.

Back on 2017, after many successful projects in Gulf Air, I wanted to explore more and interact with more challenges. I had multiple airlines and airports in the region to move for. I have decided to relocate to the United Arab Emirates and join Air Arabia based in Sharjah on May 2017 after 9 years with Gulf Air. The main reason for choosing Air Arabia, is the leadership adoption for innovation which is very unique to find in the region and specially with legacy airlines which attracted me the most between the other offers.

Since then, I started many projects, all of them are unique and one of the first globally or regionally, BYOD inflight entertainment, PSS on a public cloud...etc. Currently I am looking after IT department in Air Arabia Group as well as Sharjah Aviation services. Also, I am looking after the Operations department of Accelaero, the leading aviation software provider in the Middle East which is part of Air Arabia Group.

I’m a father of four boys, Ali, Yousif, Adam and Yahya. I do what i do for one reason only, to raise the expectations and see those three boys in the future pushing the innovation forward in a world that is very small, virtually in one zone. With the fast-growing technologies, the world as we know it today won’t exist & I do believe that the next generation will be facing the most difficult challenges across the human history. Hence, preparing them is the most challenging project I am currently working on.

With God blessing, support of my wife, family & friends, I will for sure achieve the challenge & meet the objective.