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

️ BACKBONE – The Entrepreneur Podcast | Episode
#006


In 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 / Timestamps


00:00 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 BACKBONE


BACKBONE 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 three weeks (Friday).
Produced by Dominik Göttler Consulting GmbH.





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#BusinessPodcast