Bruno Aziza — Learning to the Top

The Person:

Bruno Aziza pursued his passion across countries and companies, learning continuously in order to rise to the top of his field. After graduating from a French University, Bruno began his career at Decathlon (the largest sporting goods company in the world). After developing a passion for computer science, he resolved to learn English in order to pursue his goals in America. After years in England working jobs across many fields, he moved to the United States, involving himself in companies ranging from startups to multinational firms, before reaching his current position as Group Vice President of AI and Data Analytics Cloud at Oracle in the Bay Area.

The Cycle for Success -

Success is a simple cycle of two steps. Learn something and then master it. Although this is much more difficult in execution, always being on the lookout for more things to learn is necessary in staying at the top of a given field. Even when something has been mastered, that merely opens up the door to further, more elevated learning.

1. Learn — The process of learning is highly situational. In school, where learning is mostly theoretical information, it is crucial to pursue practical experiences. Get as much real experience you can across a variety of fields to complement what you are being taught. In contrast, entering the workforce and throughout an entire career it becomes important to continuously find opportunities to learn new concepts. With the level of innovation that the world is going through right now there is always more to learn, and keeping a balance of practical experience and theoretical knowledge is key to success.
2. Master/Specialize — Newly learned skills realize their maximum potential when they are truly mastered. In order to fully understand and employ concepts, skills, and techniques, it is necessary to practice and perfect them. This works with the concept of specialization because the overarching goal is to find something you are passionate about and become an expert, allowing promotion to the top of any chosen field. Finally, mastering skills and concepts always lead to more unknowns, which restarts the cycle of learning.

Ideally, this cycle is infinite. There is always more to learn and master, and by not moving forward you are moving backwards. Bruno believes that often these steps can take two to three times longer than you expect, but to maximize your success it is necessary to always stay in the cycle of learning and mastering new skills.

Tools of the Trade -

Social Media — Social media is a relatively new tool, and its power in the professional world should not be underestimated. Use LinkedIn aggressively, do not be afraid to reach out to people who work in your field or apply to jobs that sound interesting. This is especially useful for those intimidated by meetings or face to face networking, because it gives a platform to showcase skills and achievements, whether that be posting videos or simply professional advancements.

What to Show in Interviews

Drive — In an interview, who you are is the most important thing. There are necessary qualifications and technical skills, but this is what sets you apart. Show that you have drive, that you believe in yourself and your ability to solve any problem. This cannot be taught and is difficult to fake, so let the drive and passion for the job you choose come through.

Opportunities in the Field -

There are a plethora of opportunities at Oracle and elsewhere for this field. The industry is transitioning to combine AI, cloud, and data analytics, which present new problems constantly that have yet to be solved and require new knowledge and perspectives in the workplace.