Apolian Spotlight: Amina Mrad

For the very first post on Apolian Spotlight, we are getting to know our EMS manager, Amina Mrad.

With her extensive process mining experience, Amina is responsible for our international accounts. And wherever you find Amina, you will always find Molly her trusty poodle (who happens to be our Chief Happiness Officer) right by her side.

Find out below why Amina left her job at one of the big four in Germany to become an Apolian with us.

Tell me, how did you get into process mining?

My professional journey started 4 years ago at a large multinational industrial and consumer goods company in Düsseldorf, Germany. I started as an intern in the Finance department and very quickly took over a Process Mining project. The main goal was to strategically position Process Mining as a valuable, sustainable technology in the organization.

Subsequently, I dedicated 6 more months of research in order to write my master thesis at Henkel about the combination of Process Mining and RPA. Being a hot topic at the time, a lot of stakeholders found comfort in helping me design my solution. The use case was to investigate the implementation of bots which was done based on process documentation and process interview previous years. My work had a huge impact on deciding on where exactly to implement bots in the future and made a few stakeholders revise their previous decisions and perhaps adjust these a little bit.

From there, I got my first job at Deloitte where I started in the Process Mining department as a consultant. Very quickly, I specialized in multiple Process Mining tools and gained experience in working with different industries and analyzing various processes. I was also responsible for the internal global enablement of Process Mining focusing on scalability. That’s where I built a good basis for building, cleaning and transforming data in SQL and making complex data models. I also learned goal-oriented dashboarding and at last, how to analyze the front-end data showcased in order to generate value.

After 2 years at Deloitte, I moved to my next challenge and that’s where I am right now.

What was it about process mining that intrigued you?

I always loved data and the aspect of being able to analyze data and do great things with it. But I also worked at a couple of big companies and feel that I am very business oriented. When I discovered Process Mining and the power it has to combine data with business insights, I thought it was more powerful than any automated solution on the market.

 What spurred you on to make the jump from process mining consultant at a big corporate in Germany to becoming Apolix’s EMS manager and Team Lead?

That’s a question I had to answer multiple times this year. Somehow everyone is interested in that answer. Well, to start with I love Process Mining and Apolix snuck in my LinkedIn DM but also left an impression that I just had to follow up on. After meeting the co-founders I knew that if I was to believe in someone, it was them. So I took the risk to leave my comfortable life at a big corporate in Germany to move to Rotterdam and start a new adventure. And I can say I am very happy to be part of. It has been nothing but great.

This was Amina’s first day at Apolix with our co-founders Alexander Stromberg and Joost Hermans.

What do you enjoy about working at Apolix?

THE PEOPLE. We have amazing people on board, from a skill and personality perspective. I love seeing their passion and their ideas every day. But I also really enjoy my responsibilities and freedom. It is an open environment to bring in ideas and implement them. Being able to contribute but also getting the appreciation for it is something that cannot be under-estimated in terms of importance.

What is your favourite memory of Apolix?

It’s hard to think of 1 favourite memory because I have a lot of them. Let me just mention one that came to my mind first and that is our workcation trip to Morocco. In September 2022, we decided to take a trip together as friends but also as colleagues to go somewhere warm to work and celebrate our 3 year Apolix anniversary.

It is my favourite memory because I was sitting there with my team with open laptop, multiple meetings at the same time, looking at the close collaboration and deep friendship we had. Without forgetting about the look at the pool and the amazing weather with it.

We are a company that is able to have fun together and still perform tremendously good.

What is something you are looking forward to in the future?

Apolix growing bigger and being a part of something great. The idea is there, the team is great and the customers love us. I see nothing that can stop us from excelling.

Want to connect with Amina? Find her on LinkedIn

Has Amina’s story inspired you to make a bold step and want to join our team?

We are always looking for the next superstar to join us!

See our vacancies here