Female Disruptors: Benita Saade On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
My top 3 pieces of advice revolve around ‘focus’ and where it should be: aligning operations, managing organizational change effectively, and implementing strategies. These areas are crucial because our business objectives won’t succeed if we neglect them.
Benita Saade is an entrepreneur, financial advisor and alumna of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Benita Saade was born with ostéogenèse imperfect, but she has not let this hold her back in pursuing her entrepreneurial ambitions.
Since graduating in 2020 with an Executive MBA from OSB, Benita has been working on creating an innovative, insurance-focused tech start-up, which is launching at the start of 2024. An experienced finance manager with 17 years’ experience in the banking and insurance industry, Benita combined her knowledge of finance with the skills developed from her EMBA to start this InsurTech business.
We spoke to Benita about how her EMBA has helped her in launching the start-up so far, and why her start-up will be a game-changer in the insurance industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your backstory? What led you to study an Executive MBA and then to pursue this particular career path?
Before my EMBA, I had a master degree in banking and finance from Bordeaux IV University Montesquieu in France and for 12 years I worked in several financial roles across two countries. To avoid getting bored with my work, I decided to explore new and challenging business and innovation activities. That’s why I chose to pursue my EMBA at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB).
The EMBA programme at OSB has transformed my mindset, sparking creativity and positivity, which I have used to further my entrepreneurial goals. This shift in thinking has greatly benefited my start-up in the InsurTech industry, where I’ve leveraged insights from the program to implement creative strategies and innovative technologies.
Can you tell us what it is about the work you’re doing in your start-up that’s disruptive?
In short, the start-up links healthy lifestyle data with life insurance companies. It is a health transformer tool that rewards health activities and provides clear insights to both applicants and companies.
Currently, there’s no one else in the business world doing this. Applicants, agents and corporations aren’t yet working together in this area.
Who have been some of your mentors at AUB? Can you share a story about how they made an impact in your life?
I have more than one mentor, but one I remember well is Bijan Azad. He continues to support and advise me in various aspects of my start-up. We’ve also shared some personal experiences, like leaving our home countries, which was a touching and life-changing journey for both of us.
Today, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disruption is considered a good thing when it offers positive value and helps solve problems sustainably. It has negative impacts when it’s driven solely by short-term profit without any consideration to the impact of the change. Today, it is too easy to profit from low-quality products or services, but our world needs far more. We need to re-evaluate our basic values and adopt special measures for data leaks and privacy issues, which is a significant focus in my start-up.
My business is unique in that it focuses on improving people’s lives through health transformation tools and applications, rather than purely commercial insurance operations. It delivers a social mission and impact.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey, particularly while studying your Executive MBA?
My top 3 pieces of advice revolve around ‘focus’ and where it should be: aligning operations, managing organizational change effectively, and implementing strategies. These areas are crucial because our business objectives won’t succeed if we neglect them.
Looking to the future, how are you going to shake things up next?
I’ll stick to my passion for my new start-up, and that should be sufficient to drive me towards my goals. I’ll also need to be patient because the next steps won’t be easy, whether in Canada or the UAE. Time will show the results!
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
There’s often an unconscious bias against female leaders, which results in them not getting equal opportunities. Male counterparts may subconsciously doubt women’s abilities to make a real impact in leadership roles. It might take a while to reduce this bias.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Yes, it’s “The Rich Dad Poor Dad” book by Robert Kiyosaki. The money ideas and concepts in the book were different from what I learned in my home country. I appreciate the approach of teaching kids new ways of thinking about money, where they learn not just to work for money but also to make money work for them.
Can you please give us your favourite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favourite quote is: “It takes a player to shoot a shot but it takes a team to win a game”. I hardly can remember any successful step in my life without being part of a team, from my first job at the bank in Syria up until today where I am being surrounded by an amazing team in the startup! I just adore the contribution of the founding team and the way we collaborate together as team players!
