Latest / Career Catalyst / Episode 10: Ghalib Kassam Data Center Tech to CIO of LA Times

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Episode 10: Ghalib Kassam Data Center Tech to CIO of LA Times · Career Catalyst

• Rory: everybody. I'm Gloria Vine. Welcome to the Career Catalyst Podcast. with me today is a good friend, sometimes mentor and the CIO of LA Times. Ghaleeb Kassam, how are you, Ghaleeb? Thank you for joining us today. Ghalib Kassam: Well, good to see you very. Rory: Thank you. I appreciate you making time for this. I know you're very busy man. So you you were you were someone I've I had circled to to do a career. discussion podcast. One because you've helped me along my career at times when I needed it. This nice swift kick in an unmentionable when needed, Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Rory: but you've also offered guidance and then I think you have an incredible story to tell on how you became the CIO of LA Times in your career path. So I think I think something that I've seen from you is everyone thinks careers kinda go in a linear forty-five degree angle and I think you can kind of speak to how that's different and I appreciate that about you. So so tell me, you know, if you want to give your official title, you know, where you started and then kind of tell us just from the beginning, you know, what is your title now and and then we can kind of go back to the beginning about where you started out of college and and how you got your career there. Ghalib Kassam: Sure, yeah, so as my name is Gala Kassam. I'm the EVP and CIO for Los Angeles Times. Rory: You're also involved in Asaka as well, correct? Ghalib Kassam: I am. I'm involved in a number of boards. Isaka LA is one of Innovate at UCLA is another one. We were both on that. SIM, HMG, there's there's no shortage of them, but yeah, those are very helpful. Rory: I think yeah, you are a very competent and capable person and I think you get pulled into a lot of different boards, but I think maybe if you can talk about the power of networking and how you give back has also kind of been a a a career catapult for you as well, I think it would be Ghalib Kassam: Sure. Rory: worthwhile. But so I yeah, I w I would start by saying I I met you when I was still at Robert Half. I was kind of I was having a dinner with you, I believe, and and you kinda if you remember this and Ghalib Kassam: I do. Rory: I think I was trying to hunt down a job order from you and I realized you you just you kinda sat down and you said to me, if you're serious about your career, you need to start volunteering more and you need to join some groups that will benefit you longer term. You need to think bigger. You don't get that from a lot of client dinners or client meetings. And I would say thank you to that because that was very wise words and I think I needed that at the time. And I think I've I've taken that to the nth degree. I feel like I am joining everything that Ghalib Kassam: Thank you. No, I think it's great. Rory: I can that makes sense and I've found myself working with you a lot and that's one of the reasons that we have you on. So tell me where you got started before LA Times, where you went to school, what was your first how did you get into Ghalib Kassam: First. Rory: technology? You know, did intentionally fall into technology or was it somewhere else? What was your first job? Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, no, this is it's gonna be interesting at best because I I spent a little bit time thinking about this and I actually had a similar talk years ago. And I remember talking about it then and I thought, boy, this sounds really silly, but you know, just from a from a sense of background, I'm father of two, father in law to two, I'm a grandfather to one. I'm hoping that number grows quick. Rory: Mm-hmm. Ghalib Kassam: but I've lived in Southern California for most of my adult life, and then worked in IT most of my career as well. you know, roles and titles have changed over time, obviously, as you know. But how I got into IT is actually pure luck, not really the best thing for the audience. And the selection process was really happenstance. That's probably the best way I can put it. I initially went to school in London. Came to the States for undergrad and grad. and while going through college, I was working in a data center. It just happened to be a job. It's not one I necessarily picked. But back then, you know, you're slinging magnetic tapes on drives and you know, running jobs all night and it was a you know second shift type of thing and school in the morning and that type of you know background and did that for eight hours. And then you know you get to a point in the college process, you know, you gotta pick a major. I didn't have one Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: lined up, so my you know College not the recruiter, but Rory: Career services counselor. Ghalib Kassam: Career Services Counselor. She was, she said, look, you know, you keep coming back with, I'm working on it. Here's the course catalog. It's Friday. You should come back with an answer on Monday. Figure it out. You have to pick, you know, next year's classes and so on and so forth. You just can't kick canity further. So I popped the book open. Alphabetical. Data processing was what IT used to be called back in the day. Dentistry. Not a big fan of dentists, stuck a little bookmark in that thing and called it a day. So that honestly is the way I picked IT. I fell onto it, I found it to be fun, I got very lucky. but you know that's really the the upshot of how this all sort of came together. Rory: So you mentioned second shift, so it sounds like you were in college undecided, work nine to five is the first shift, so you were working five to midnight at a data center. Wow. And Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Pretty much. Rory: that that was just a a job probably that not a lot of people wanted at the time and that's why it was available. Ghalib Kassam: I think it was two things. And not a lot of people wanted it and I think a lot not a lot of people understood it. I it was kinda in the classes and taking the courses and so it's somewhat applicable. But yeah, nobody wants to work. Second shift. Nobody wants to work. Let's go. Rory: No. No. That's funny. That's very similar. I would just share that I was working three jobs in college, to to keep money coming in. None of them were a career path. I think it was a bartender, I was a valet parker, and I was also working at the financial aid office. and I got a Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Rory: call from my my Counselor who said, You need to pick a major, in the next three hours and you need to walk over here and declare it. And I said my friend gave me a beer and said, Just walk over with the beer and you'll have your answer when you get there. And that's so it was. Ghalib Kassam: Yours is so much of a better answer. Rory: I don't I don't know. I ended up with an art history minor and a political science major, none of which are in technology. So I can't say it worked out correctly, but Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, there's people that take a variety of different career paths and then change mid li you know, mid career as it were, so midlife. And you know, they find something better. Yeah. Rory: Yeah, that's well said. So you tell me so after you declared, well and then did you stay the data center much longer? Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. no, I just finished you know, finished college, moved into a different school, and then just you know kept plugging away at IT was kind of the only thing I knew. My family background, and if you look at mentors, and you tend to pick an industry of people around you, people that have influenced you as you grow up and so on and so forth, whether it's your parents or your aunts and uncles, neighbors, whomever, that really are doing a certain type of a role that you've are fixated on. And you kind of think of I want to emulate that. Rory: So Ghalib Kassam: I think this is the path I want to go. To your earlier comment, Rory, you said something about networking and you know how you kind of, you know. How important that is. I learned very late in life that that's critical. It is actually probably one of the most important things. And mentoring wasn't a thing back in the day. Networking wasn't a thing back in the day. Alumni networking wasn't a thing in the back of the day. And so I think. Being exposed to some of those things and interacting with your peer group like yourself, mean, you know, it really helps when you're able to exchange and talk about some of the things that are working, some of the things that are not working, people you trust. and then you hear about some of the fundamentals around Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: what's going on in industry, yours, others, adjacent industries, where you can actually learn more about it. I think the key behind some of these, journeys people get on, whether it's technology or anything else for that matter, it's critically important to know what it is you're really, really good at and what it is you can actually excel at. And if you're not good at it and you don't enjoy it, you're not gonna be the very best. Right? So you pick the wrong one. Motivation's not there, professionalism's gonna be pokey at best. But if you truly enjoy what you do, you're gonna be thrilled to get up in the morning and can't wait to get to work. You'll be the last guy out. But when you're not passionate about it and it's the difference between a job and a career. A job is running the clock, putting food on the table. A career is something much more 'cause you have aspirations to be better and grow into that role. I think. Rory: No, and I think if I could Saying that you're in technology or IT, I've sent seeing how you operate with your peers, I think some of the superpowers you have is one, I'm glad I never had negotiated against you. You seem like a terrific negotiator. And secondly, you're very good at identifying what people's strengths are and what they should be doing, which is why I think you're in the leadership role. I've seen you a few times tap me for stuff, like you're doing this. You're gonna be good at it. And you're absolutely right. I think one of our events recently you had me on the the committee and I was like, what would I have to bring to this? And you're like, you're gonna be great. And you were right. And I see that among your peers as well. You're very good with don't do that, do this. so I think it's no you were probably gonna be a leader no matter what. It seems like the vehicle that you chose was kind of technology. Ghalib Kassam: I I honestly I think well first of all thank you for that. I think it's it's important now for me to really give back. Right. This is why I I involve myself in these, you know, various committees and boards and stuff. I'm on a high Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: school board. I've been on this high school board for I wanna say fourteen years now. I got volunteered into this thing. It's a it's a charter high school. Fourteen years. My kids have never even been to that school. But I'm doing it because I really think it's the right thing to do. It's a really a good way to give back to the community. Granted, my kids didn't go to that school. We never lived in that geography or anything of that nature. But to the extent that I'm adding value, I think it's great. It's costing me nothing. So why why not? And I think being able to share with people Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: and and my opinions and thoughts about what I think they'd be really good at or if somebody's asking me for an opinion or a recommendation, mentoring, whatever. Happy to do it because I think why not? I mean it's always good to see others get ahead. Rory: Yeah, that's the gravitational pull I think you have is people do come and ask for direction or or a mentorship. So that's that's no small feat. So you know the the the public that listens to this are are people entering the technology workforce or the emerging workforce right now, right out of college. So, you know, as you mentioned, kind of fell backwards into this or accidentally fell into it luckily. you know, a great question I always ask is, you know, w what would you tell a twenty one year old version of yourself or twenty year old version of yourself right now? would you pick, what kind of major would you be looking at? What would you be investing your time in? I think th are those are kind of questions that these people would like answered that are listening to our audience. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, I think I think the thing I might do differently is be a little bit more structured. I was really all over the place, spending more time goofing off than really focused. I think trying to get better networked, better they find a mentor. But multiple mentors, right? I fell into technology for two reasons. One, because I got lucky in the the course catalog, but then more importantly, I was actually doing a job specifically in a data center. So it was kind of akin to learning more about it and just naturally became proficient at a few things and learned the jargon and spoke the language as it were. But you know, had I fell into finance or investment banking or some of these other industries where I have peers that are cardiologists and friends of mine that are, you know. Top of their class and whatever. I think some of those things are interesting. But had I known somebody in those industries and being able to speak to them or go to their, you know, places of work and just watch and observe, I think is incredibly helpful. And then picking the school, when you apply for schools, I think a lot, I mean many of the people that are listening to this is past school, but Selecting the school that you're gonna go to matters when you have a strong alumni. Because they're the ones that are gonna open doors for you. Gone the days of Rory: Right. Ghalib Kassam: trying to find a job. You remember back in the day, if you wanted a job, it was, I mean, they call them job boards for a reason. There was literally a cork board on a wall, and that's where the person would pin the job. Somebody from the outside would never even have the opportunity to look at that board because it's typically addressing people in the building, in the company, and then it became electronic. It used to be on, you know, bulletin boards, and then you know, got out into, you know, the internet. And so on and so forth. But the idea of being able to network and know where some of these opportunities are, and what are the best companies to work for, is matters, it really does. Rory, you and I had spoken about a job in a particular company years ago, I remember, I was considering a role at Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: a law firm, and you said, oof, don't even think about it. And you know what? That is really very helpful because ironically, just last week, that very same law firm reached out again. And I thought for some reason this name seems so familiar. had a couple of calls and I'm like something about this is not right and then it reminded me of you and I remember looking at some of my notes and you said no you're not even doing anything. So you know it's those things that really help and honestly as the younger version of me I wish I had more of those types of people around me to help guide and influence and maybe not waste nearly as much time focusing on things that maybe don't matter. Rory: that personal connection and personal network I think for the audience is more important than ever with all of the AI slop and basically data harvesting or ghost jobs that you're seeing out there in the market Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Rory: right now. H half the time. At least you a phone call, at least that job is real. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Yeah. Rory: even though I feel like it's a it's a tough environment. At least you know that someone called and it it exists. So that is that is I think interview fatigue, applic applying fatigue are real things that the younger generation and and personal network will certainly open it up. I one of the things I try to tell students who have recently graduated is one of the LinkedIn has its strengths and weaknesses, but you can literally put your college into it and then put a technology field or a company that you're targeting and see if there's anyone from your alumni network that's there. And then you can try to reach out to them. And that that at the very least isn't the most easy door to open. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think that's applying to jobs is is it's become too easy because you can automate that. But how you set yourself how do you make yourself a differentiator as the best possible candidate is a function of somebody that ashes making a recommendation, somebody that works there, that speaks for you and says, I know this guy. elevates your resume potentially to the person that's potentially gonna interview you and then you actually have a better shot, I think. somebody called me. Rory: More often than not, it's actually gets sets of eyeballs on it at the very least. Most of those job boards you never see the light of day. So you're absolut absolutely right. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. They get thousands of them. Rory: So you maintain so I kinda wanna circle back because you the way you got into the your your your CIO role is I was was fascinated me. So you you were in technology, but you did go into consulting, correct? you did make a move to the dark side as they say. So when Ghalib Kassam: Yes. I did. Rory: did you decide to make the move from technology as a provider and then go into the kind of the solution side or the consulting side? So what made you decide that? Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, so actually I was on the right Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: side, early days. I was an individual contributor, worked for a company, and just kind of worked my way up the food chain as it were, you know, did some great work. I got promotions, became a manager, and it the job was to become technology proficient and the best technology resource and then you become a manager now you're actually being forced to learn how to be a people person. Not an easy thing. So for those people that want to be a manager, be careful with that because you it does take a certain personality and you've got to be a babysitter Rory: That's why the Peter principle fails in the org in the Orgchart hierarchy. Many times Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Rory: you end up with a bad manager, correct. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, so that so that was the initial history. I did that for a number of years, and then one of the companies I was working for got purchased by a consulting firm. And so they bought this company and I naturally became a consultant. And so it wasn't something I applied for, I got bought. And so I worked for this company and then actually transitioned out of the financial services sector, which is the company that they bought, and moved within to the Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: consulting practice, the management consulting practice. And which was kind of hard to do initially, but back then I again made a relationship with somebody that said, you're the right guy for us, we should get you into this practice. I joined them, become a consultant full-time. And it was really I was based out of Boston, covered the United States. And so Monday to Thursday, you're on a plane out to wherever. And To your point, being on the dark side, I had to then pivot Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: from being an individual contributor to now looking at things not only from an IT perspective but from a business perspective. Because on a consulting side of the house, you've got to deliver value. That's one thing to come up with a solution, but it's gotta work. You know what the problem is, they've told you what the problem is, you've got to come up with a solution, and it's gotta be purposeful, it's gotta be equitable, it's gotta make some sense, and an ROI. role if you can't get those three things you're done out you go Rory: Right. Ghalib Kassam: So I did that for a fair bit of time and when I worked my way up the food chain, I ended up as a partner at the consulting firm. And at that level, I was interacting with a fair number of C-level folks. And so a lot of the clients I would speak to would be the Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: CIO, CEO, you know, CEO, whatever. And that's kind of how I landed my first CIO role. Client hired me to take over a spot that they had a vacancy for. Rory: Yeah, I always find that amazing. I remember you telling me that the first time, I was like, Can you repeat that? So your Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Rory: company, your subject matter expert, just moved into management in the IT side. Your company was bought. So this is important. So this networking and relationship building internally at the parent company, Ghalib Kassam: Yes. Rory: this person identified you and said, Hey, this is this is where you should be, because you have all of the people skills and the knowledge. And so that someone actually advocated for you on that side. So that's Ghalib Kassam: That's right. Yeah, almost every single time there's you there's gotta be somebody that's, going to look out for you or at least put in a good word. And then it's on you to excel and be the very best that you can and prove the other person that, recommended you that they didn't make a mistake. Rory: Right. And then you were I and I do think as I as I mentioned jokingly, the dark side. I mean the consulting side, like you just mentioned, understanding the business side of it, the money side of it, ROI delivery, I mean being able to put yourself in the shoes of your client to make sure that they are, you know, 'cause they're ultimately the ones that are accountable for everything. I think that's incredibly valuable. maybe not staying in it for thirty or forty years is is probably not good for the soul, but certainly a a few years and And then so you were working at LA Times, you're sewing solutions into there, there's a vacancy, and then they thought that you're just you are understand the business so much, so well, that you should just come in. So you went from is that right? Ghalib Kassam: Well, yeah, no, I think what it was was the the company that I was working for at the time was Tribune Tribune Company. So Rory: Mm-hmm. Ghalib Kassam: Tribune Company, t it popularly known for Chicago Tribune and a bunch of like ten newspapers, LA Times was one of them. And my client was Tribune Company. And so they had a a a vacancy and that's the company I joined. I initially spent 90 days there. was just a an interim role to kind of help keep the ship afloat and running and so on and so forth. Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: but then at some point the CEO said, Listen, we should have you just stay. Can you just stay and you know just join us full time? Because I was still a consultant temporary. That role. So I joined them, and then job one was to understand the business. I knew technology, and we could do it blindfolded, right? I mean, that's CIO role, it's not a technology role. It is the manager of technology, but ultimately you come in there as a business leader. You should have that cap on. You're the business leader with a technology spin. Rory: Okay. Ghalib Kassam: You're the the one with the technology lever, but you should be focused on how am I driving this business, how am I helping the bottom line, the top line? And technology is just the enabler for some of that stuff. Rory: Right. Ghalib Kassam: So I think that's why I was able to get into Tribune. I didn't know very much about publishing at the time, but it didn't take long. As a consultant, that's what you're, you know, you're getting paid to do is you've got to quickly understand what are the pain points, what are some of the fundamentals behind why the business isn't doing nearly well as compared to a peer group, and then bring the best and brightest back in. Rory: Yeah, that's it's like investing in a a stock. You gotta absorb what the business does, figure out the bottlenecks before you just jump, board or you just buy something, without researching it. But no, I Ghalib Kassam: Exactly. Rory: I think what you just said about the leadership side and understanding that technology is just the lever in which you pull to enable is I where I think any new CIO or CTO comes up short, is they just don't understand Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Yeah. Rory: the the business side, which I know one of your passions, of your embedding networking groups is trying to combine the CFO and the CIO people Ghalib Kassam: That's right. Rory: so they can kind of get on the same page and I think yeah, that would make a lot of people's lives easier and that that makes perfect sense. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah. Yeah. Well those are the relationships you have to have, right? I mean the the C level people they're all your peers. And and again, I don't mean to Belabor this thing, but it applies at every level. I'm just I might be talking about CIOs for the sake of the conversation, but it does apply at every level of the management chain. So wherever you are, is very important that not only are you going to be the very best technologist, but you have to be incredibly mindful and have Rory: Sure. Ghalib Kassam: great acumen on the business. You have to understand the business. That's how you're going to separate yourself from everybody else. You've Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: got the technology piece, but you understand the business. So when you're having those conversations, conversations with the you know the business stakeholder whoever's gonna be the beneficiary of your work you can explain to them here's why this is the very best that you can do and here's what you're gonna do and he's that can make it better. Rory: That's that's great. And I mean just again, why I do this for the audience, you you said we started at a data center, moved all the way up to, you know, a a a chief information officer at a publishing company. You never really saw that coming. But you know, looking back on it, the what I see here that kind of the through line of it is, you know, management relationships, expertise of your craft and working with others to identify where you're the best fit. I mean I I see that. And finding a mentor that can help you with that. It's Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, yeah, very true. Rory: great. that is I mean that's exactly what we want everyone to hear about. Like I said it's it's intentional but not totally t intentional at the same time. I'm sure you're grateful for that person who spotted you after the acquisition and said you should be over here on the consulting side and I'm sure they were an influence and you mentioned some family influences as well. that's great. I mean what what ad so that's that's the advice you would give your 21 year old self though. Learn you know learn your craft, understand your people, and that's timeless no matter what what the technology of the day is, right? Okay. Ghalib Kassam: Absolutely. Rory: so then we have a couple of fun questions to ask you just as we got all the the business out of the way. Ghalib Kassam: Sure. Rory: So what book are you reading? Or what book would you recommend that you've recently read in the last year? Ghalib Kassam: so I'm reading a book a f a good friend of mine recommended a book. It's called Die With Zero. It's a book that while it might sound morbid, it really isn't. It really is talking about financial planning, but the piece that I'm getting the most out of is it strongly recommends how to come up with balance, work-life balance is what I'm getting out of it. And the the theme behind the the book is you should be investing in experiences. So when you're going on vacation, make it the very best vacation, but think about the experiences that you're doing and the experiences that you're getting. Because at the end of the day, if you don't have that work-life balance, the things Rory: Yeah. Ghalib Kassam: that you're going to remember is not the money that you spent, it's the experience that you had. So if you think about the last three vacations you've had, Rory, you're probably thinking, I remember that beach, I remember being on that hammock, I remember, you know, having a good swim with the kids. I mean, that stuff is, you know, critically important. Not going remember how much you spend. Right? So this thing is really around building and developing experiences and cherishing them, which I'm actually enjoying the book. That's really good. A good friend of mine Rory: That's great. Ghalib Kassam: gave me that, and I honestly I he looked at me and he said, You need this book. You should just you should you're working to art. You're working to art. Rory: Going on the list. You are, you are working. You are a busy man. So then any TV shows or anything that you'd recommend that you're currently watching? Ghalib Kassam: Mobland. I like Mobland. that's a fun one. Rory: Okay. What's that on? Ghalib Kassam: It's I think it's on Paramount. I think it's Paramount or Peacock. One of those two. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. they just came up with a new Rory: Okay. I'll check that's got a good cast in it actually. It's like Pierce Brosnan and yeah, okay. Okay. Yeah, we'll check that out. Ghalib Kassam: new season, so it's I find that one f I mean I have some English background so it's particularly fun to listen to and watch. But Diplomats another good one that I've been watching as of late as well. Rory: Alright, I will check that one out. Where can anyone find you? I know you are on the board of Isaka, I know you're on the board at Innovate, you know, currently at LA Times. where's the best place that people can find you? Ghalib Kassam: LinkedIn. I think is probably the the best thing. I try to stay current there. but if anybody needs to reach out, I'm happy to help in any way that I might be able to. Rory: Absolutely. I will make sure to add the directions to your LinkedIn in the in the show notes. Ghalib Kassam: Yeah, first. Rory: Khalid, thank you so much for this. This is an amazing time as always and I look forward to seeing you soon. Ghalib Kassam: Very welcome. Take it. Sounds good. Thanks for it. Appreciate it.