BACKBONE #006 – Leadership from Egypt: Culture, AI & Building Fortec | Haitham Mohsen

🎙️ BACKBONE – The Entrepreneur Podcast | Episode #006In this episode of BACKBONE, I’m joined by Haitham Mohsen, Managing Director at Fortec Egypt, to talk about leadership, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to build a new market operation from the ground up.We discuss Haitham’s career pivots—from a major telecom operator, to the public sector, and then into the startup-like challenge of building Fortec’s presence in Egypt. Along the way, we dive into leadership through accountability, cross-cultural collaboration, and why AI + data-driven decision-making will shape the next decade of leadership.Recorded in Egypt, this episode is a deep conversation about mindset, execution, and building sustainable organizations across cultures.💡 Chapters / Timestamps00:00 Intro & welcome (Backbone in English) 00:25 Haitham’s background: engineering, MBA & career journey 01:30 From telecom to public sector to Fortec: the “pivot mindset” 02:45 Early motivation: building tech that solves real problems 04:10 Leadership lesson from a hierarchical organization: stop micromanaging 05:05 Accountability + autonomy: why people perform better when they own decisions 05:58 How to handle criticism: openness, experience, and filtering signal vs noise 06:24 Criticism ≠ wrong: leveraging different perspectives (tech vs sales vs marketing) 07:01 Diversity as a leadership advantage: turning differences into outcomes 07:55 The hardest career decisions: leaving “safe” roles for uncertainty 09:06 Calculated risk: fear, reward, and momentum once you start 11:07 Leadership skills: cultural understanding + strategic thinking with facts & numbers 12:45 Why the MBA mattered: entrepreneurship mindset + structured diversity 14:30 Advice for young leaders: tech literacy + analytics + using AI as a tool 16:59 AI won’t replace you—people who use AI will outperform those who don’t 21:27 Working across cultures: Germany vs Egypt (planning vs adaptability) 22:47 Misunderstandings: direct feedback vs “softening the blow” 23:30 What Germans do best: documentation, rigor, long-term product thinking 24:50 What Egyptians do best: agility, frugality, relationship-building 28:17 Why Egypt is becoming a tech hub: talent pool, cost, geography 31:04 Government incentives & ecosystem effects (spinoffs, mindset shift) 34:10 What must improve: import/export friction + currency stability 36:20 Why Fortec chose Egypt: talent, MENA gateway, geopolitics & stable tariffs 38:35 Biggest opportunities for entrepreneurs: infrastructure + fintech 40:39 What success means: legacy + building a company that runs without you 42:25 Family & perspective shift: becoming a father 45:19 Leadership in the next 10 years: proactive decisions, data & AI 45:55 Outro🔗 Links & Recommendations🌐 Dominik Göttler Consulting GmbH: https://dominikgoettler.de/ 🤝 Guest: Haitham Mohsen (Fortec Egypt) https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmohsen/ 🌐 Fortec AG – Fortec Group: https://www.fortecag.de/ Recorded in Egypt at Fortec Egypt: https://www.fortec.eg/ Interview by Dominik Göttler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominik-goettler/💬 About BACKBONEBACKBONE is the podcast about leadership, change, and entrepreneurial strength. Dominik Göttler talks with entrepreneurs, executives, and makers from industry about decisions, values, turning points, and business models. It’s about leadership, responsibility, and what truly keeps companies strong—their backbone. 👉 New episodes every four weeks (Friday). 🎧 Produced by Dominik Göttler Consulting GmbH.https://backbone-podcast.de/https://www.youtube.com/@backbone-podcasthttps://www.linkedin.com/company/backbone-der-unternehmer-podcast/#BackbonePodcast #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Fortec #Egypt #CrossCulturalLeadership #StartupMindset #AIinBusiness #Management #Strategy #Diversity #CareerGrowth #MiddleEast #MENA #BusinessPodcast