People profile: Mamdouh Ahmed

Mamdouh Ahmed is a Digital Architect, who is a member of the Technical Architects Squad in the 7-Eleven Technology Tribe.

He joined 7-Eleven in 2018 as part of the customer digital transformation team having previously been a Digital Architect for Vodafone in the UK.

His key focus in on creating the runway that enables the business to implement innovation quickly, securely and efficiently.

“I spend most of my time shaping the architecture runway to ensure that our system is flexible, provides great return on investment, and at the same time, enables business plans and ambitions,” Mr Ahmed said.

“Getting the runway right means we can support the delivery of 7-Eleven’s ambition to have a billion customer moments by 2030 through optimised technology investments across the business.”

Mr Ahmed also oversees the design and architecture builds to keep everything aligned with the enterprise IT strategy as well as customer needs.

“We need the builds and products in our tech stack to enable the business ambition, be customer focused and consistent with the technology strategy for the future,” he said.

“For the initial stages of the customer digital transformation we had to spend time resetting the applications and technology before the new digital stack could provide tangible outcomes for customers and the business.

“The sky’s the limit in what we want to deliver as part of our digital transformation, and that vision is supported by the business more broadly."

He says that 7-Eleven’s progress in the digital space is moving fast.

“7-Eleven is making huge leaps forward in the digital transformation. This is being enabled by partnerships with tech leaders such as Microsoft and Adobe,” Mr Ahmed said.

“We have built a state-of-the-art customer end-to-end eCommerce and loyalty capability in a business where no idea is off the table.

“That support from the business has allowed us to establish a foundation that is world class.

“It is being leveraged to deliver not only the business needs of today like loyalty, fuel price lock, and mobile payments but also what the customer may want from us over the next decade.

“The new foundations we have built can support agile innovation at a rapid pace in a way that is stable and reliable with world-class security.”

While the culture of the team, the chance to enhance his expertise, and of course the 7-Eleven coffee, are all plusses in his role, Mr Ahmed says that being part of projects of this scale and importance is inspiring.

“An ambition of one billion customer moments in a decade is a huge challenge however the way the strategy is being set and the new agile organisational design are setting the business up for success,” he said.

“As a technology professional, being able to work in an environment where the business supports and understands technology requirements, and the fact that sometimes you have to get the foundations right before you start to reap the benefits of investments, is really empowering.

“Having everyone across the business aligned to what needs to be done from a customer perspective and that includes what the tech stack needs to be equipped to enable now, and in the future.

“Strong support for that at all levels is the only way a big goal like 7-Eleven’s is achievable.

“I am part of projects that are helping shape the future of the convenience experience, and I get to develop my expertise in our technology stack with the support of our partners, which is really exciting,” he said.