<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sherifa Hady, VP at HPE Aruba Networking, shares her journey of breaking barriers, from overcoming gender challenges to leading in the tech industry with confidence and drive.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not every day you meet someone who describes their teenage self as both a top student and<\/em> the life of the party. But then again, Sherifa Hady<\/a> isn\u2019t just anyone. Now the VP of Worldwide Midmarket & SMB Sales at HPE Aruba Networking<\/a>, Sherifa\u2019s story is a masterclass in self-belief, and breaking norms, whether on the football field or in the boardroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the UK to Egypt: A Culture Shock in Cleats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “I was brought up in the UK,” Sherifa begins, painting a picture of her early years. “And then had to move when I was 12 back to Egypt. That was a bit of a culture shock.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, a girl who just wanted to play football and hang out with the boys found herself navigating new social norms, and a new language. “People thought I was trying to be too much of a tomboy,” she recalls. “But I\u2019ve always felt that being different is a strength. I never saw myself as a minority. I saw myself as unique.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hard No<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After earning her engineering degree in Egypt 30 years ago, Sherifa was ready to conquer the world, or so she thought. Instead, the world wasn\u2019t quite ready for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I applied for two jobs with multinational companies in Egypt. I was rejected from both because I was a woman,” she says, matter-of-factly. One was an oil company that wouldn\u2019t consider women on rigs. The other, a telecommunications firm with “unsuitable” hours for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “After five years of engineering, I thought I could do anything. And then to find out I couldn’t take certain jobs because of my gender… that was really hurtful.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n But as Sherifa points out, thankfully, times have changed. “That was many years ago. Today, those obstacles don’t exist anymore.” And perhaps that\u2019s thanks, in part, to women like her, who didn\u2019t take no for an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An Accidental Sales Star<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With her screwdriver dreams on pause, Sherifa pivoted to sales. “I started at a company called ICL, now part of Fujitsu,” she says. One of her first accounts? The biggest department store in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I remember thinking, who am I, a 20-year-old kid, to tell this veteran CEO how to run his business?” But there she was, pitching barcodes to revolutionize inventory management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After five years, Sherifa made her way to Dubai, joining a marketing agency managing HP and Microsoft. “HP didn\u2019t even have an office in the region then. I literally had to go out and buy the dustbin and the fax machine,” she laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And from those humble beginnings? “Twenty-five years later, here I am.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Setbacks That Make Sense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sherifa is the first to admit her career hasn\u2019t been a straight climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You can imagine, over 25 years, I haven\u2019t always gotten the job I wanted,” she says. “I applied for a very senior role once. Everyone said I\u2019d get it. And then… I didn\u2019t.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disappointed, she tried to make sense of it. But a month later, her mother needed two surgeries. “That\u2019s when it clicked. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to be there for her if I\u2019d taken that job. Sometimes, when something doesn\u2019t happen, there\u2019s a good reason.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Power of Being Your Own Driver<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sherifa\u2019s philosophy is clear: own your journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You\u2019ve got to believe in yourself. Know what you’re good at, and be humble about it. Know your weaknesses, too, and work on them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n But above all? “Drive your own career. No one\u2019s going to show up and ask, \u2018What would you like next?\u2019 You have to steer the wheel. Make sure the people who can help you know where you’re going.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She smiles, thinking back to advice she recently shared with a colleague. “I loved hearing how she\u2019s taking charge of her path. That’s what it’s all about.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Extending More Than Careers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the numbers, targets, and quarterly goals, Sherifa finds pride in moments that transcend business. She reflects on a milestone in South Africa, where she championed extending the company\u2019s retirement age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it was from 60 to 62 or 63. That wasn\u2019t easy. The whole company in South Africa was based on retirement at 60. We analyzed other IT companies, worked with HR, built the business case, and we made it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The payoff? In the form of one memorable phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lady called me before her last day. She had just turned 62. And she said, \u2018Sherifa, thank you for giving me two more working years of my life.\u2019 That\u2019s one of my proudest moments. Yes, our numbers matter. But it\u2019s what we do for people that really counts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Next Chapter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, Sherifa leads HPE Aruba Networking\u2019s worldwide midmarket and SMB business, managing customers and the Instant On product portfolio. It\u2019s a big job, but after years of navigating hurdles, it’s exactly where she belongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you\u2019re wondering what\u2019s next? Rest assured, she\u2019s driving toward it already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sherifa Hady, VP at HPE Aruba Networking, shares her journey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":92307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957],"tags":[5255],"contributor":[9732],"class_list":["post-92306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-women-in-tech","tag-hpe-aruba","contributor-news-desk"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sherifa-08.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"M","author_link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/author\/muhsin_tech\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92306"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=92306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}