blog 2020 4 min read
Meet Raed Al Tikriti
What makes disguise different? The simple answer, the community and the people behind the brand. The disguise team is made up of talented individuals that each bring something truly unique to the business and we want to showcase the people that make us who we are.
We sat down with newly promoted Raed Al Tikriti, who joined the business in August 2019 as Head Of Product and quickly progressed to Chief Product Officer by December 2019.
As Chief Product Officer, Raed has a meticulous eye for the market, exploring new trends and understanding the customers needs to best shape the product roadmap for disguise. Having been here for less than a year, Raed talks to us about his whirlwind time at disguise, his experience in broadcast TV and what he likes most about the industry.
Tell us more about your background and your experience to date…
I have been working in the media industry for 20 years specifically in the broadcast TV space, with my most recent role prior to joining disguise being at television production and broadcasting equipment company, Grass Valley. Throughout my career I have been fortunate enough to work on both sides of the Atlantic, including Canada, Dubai and the UK.
I originally joined a startup company that specialised in TV graphics which then later was acquired by Grass Valley. It was through the development of this company and customer base that I really found a love of tapping into the needs of both the industry and clients and understanding how to take their pain points and deliver a solution as quickly as possible.
As Chief Product Officer, what do you typically work on?
As Chief Product Officer, my main responsibility is listening to our clients and being ahead of the curve when it comes to advancements in our industry. I love that my job allows me to meet so many talented people in different market verticals and fully get to grips with their needs and how we can help them achieve their creative vision by providing them with solutions and technologies they can trust.
What is the most valuable piece of career advice have you received?
Through my experience and previous jobs I have taken on two pieces of valuable advice that I believe are essential in delivering success; 1: “Say what you plan to do and then do what you said” and 2: “Learn to disagree and commit".
What do you like most about working at disguise and in this industry?
From the moment I joined the disguise team I have been very impressed with the culture. The environment is fast paced, the people are passionate and ambitious and I love that each individual is striving towards making the business more successful than the day before.
It was a big change for me to go from developing solutions for one market vertical, to a fast-growing business that is successfully reaching and delivering flexible solutions for several. The business is advancing quickly and I think our community deserves a lot of the credit for that.
Tell us about what you do outside of work...
Normally, travel is a big interest for my family and me. However, we have embarked on a big home renovation project which has consumed lots of my time and I have learned more about construction than I ever thought possible!
Finally, what are you most looking forward to in 2020...
It’s only February and we have already had a lot of success with r17 and ISE but this year as a whole I am excited about reaching my 10 year anniversary...sorry I meant 1 year! I would definitely say the upcoming events, we’ve got some amazing projects in the pipeline and big advancements planned for our products. Without revealing too much, we have set ambitious goals for 2020 and I have every faith that we are not only going to meet but exceed them.
