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<\/p>\nWhen telecommunications company stc\u2019s Chief Human Resources Officer suggested Sarah Al-Khamees might belong in Human Resources, she was stunned. After earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in Accounting with a minor in Finance from Kuwait University, she began her career as an accountant before joining stc as an Investor Relations Junior Analyst, where she coordinated financial disclosures, annual reports, and communications with stakeholders. Everything about her education and professional experience pointed in the same direction. Human Resources simply was not part of the plan. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my whole career in finance,\u201d she remembers telling him. In hindsight, she describes what happened next as \u201cthe biggest turning point\u201d of her career. \u201cI think many people find that transition surprising, and maybe even a little interesting,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/p>\n
There is a backstory to making that decision, however, and it began months earlier, through a Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS)-supported Innovation Challenge. In 2024, Al-Khamees was one of only five stc employees nominated to participate in the Innovation Challenge at IE University in Madrid. The three-month program brought together professionals from different industries\u2014including telecommunications, banking, and oil and gas\u2014to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. Each month included several days of activities before participants traveled to Madrid for the program\u2019s final module.<\/p><\/p>\n
Before attending, she says she was always confident in the quality of her work. She trusted the work she produced. What she found much harder was speaking up. She tended to stay quiet until she felt completely prepared and she was more comfortable listening than voicing her own ideas, particularly when senior leaders were in the room. After returning from Madrid, that changed. \u201cI found myself participating much more actively in discussions at work,\u201d she says. \u201cPreviously, I would have listened more than I spoke. Now, I contribute my own ideas and perspectives.\u201d She noticed the difference most clearly when speaking with senior executives. \u201cIn corporate environments, there are always hierarchies,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re young, you sometimes hesitate to speak directly with senior executives.\u201d After the program, she found herself speaking confidently even in the presence of the company\u2019s CEO. \u201cMy confidence had grown tremendously.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n
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Asked what made the biggest difference, she points not only to the classroom, but also to the experience of taking her first independent journey outside Kuwait. Before Madrid, she had never traveled abroad alone. \u201cI had always traveled with my family,\u201d she says. Traveling independently, meeting people from different companies, and adapting to a completely different environment all helped strengthen her self-belief. Just as importantly, working alongside professionals from different industries changed the way she approached problems. \u201cYou realize that everyone approaches problems differently,\u201d she says. \u201cThere isn\u2019t just one correct answer.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n
The program also reshaped the way she thought about innovation. Before attending, innovation largely meant technology. Today, she sees it differently. \u201cThe real question is whether you\u2019re solving a genuine problem,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes the solution is technological. Sometimes it isn\u2019t.\u201d During the program, participants repeatedly returned to one principle: understand the problem before trying to design the solution. That lesson continues to shape her work today.<\/p><\/p>\n
Not long after returning to Kuwait, another unexpected opportunity emerged. As she began speaking more confidently with senior leaders across the company, one conversation with the Chief Human Resources Officer took her career in an entirely new direction. He asked her what she enjoyed most about her work. Eventually, he said, \u201cI actually think you\u2019d fit HR.\u201d At first, she was stunned. But he suggested she should spend time shadowing different HR departments before making up her mind. She visited several teams, observed how they worked, and spoke with managers across the function. It was then that she realized how broad Human Resources actually is. \u201cIt isn\u2019t mostly recruitment,\u201d she says. \u201cIt includes leadership development, organizational development, learning, succession planning, and many other areas.\u201d Little by little, she realized talent development suited her personality far more than finance. \u201cI enjoy helping people grow,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s what gives me energy.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n
She describes that period with a metaphor that still makes her smile. \u201cI felt like a bee moving from flower to flower.\u201d Moving between departments, speaking with different people, and learning something new everywhere she went never felt confusing. Every conversation offered another perspective until she eventually found the place where she felt she belonged.<\/p><\/p>\n
Today, she still draws on many of those lessons. Innovation, she believes, also applies to the way organizations help people learn. \u201cEvery employee learns differently,\u201d she says. \u201cNot everyone enjoys traditional classroom training. Some people prefer workshops. others learn through coaching. and others need practical experience. The goal isn\u2019t simply to organize training sessions. The goal is to create real development.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n
AI has become one of the tools she uses in that work. She leverages AI to brainstorm ideas, organize information, and structure her thinking, but she does not believe it can replace the essence of Human Resources. \u201cHuman Resources is fundamentally about people,\u201d she says. Communication, empathy, listening, and building trust, she believes, are the skills that will continue to matter.<\/p><\/p>\n
Looking back, Al-Khamees says the achievement that makes her proudest is not a promotion. It is having the courage to change careers. \u201cI think many people stay in careers that don\u2019t really fit them because they\u2019re afraid of change,\u201d she says. \u201cFor me, making that transition required courage.\u201d Today, she knows she made the right decision. \u201cHelping people grow gives me much more satisfaction than working only with numbers.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n
Her advice to young Kuwaitis considering a KFAS program reflects her own experience: don\u2019t wait until you think you\u2019re ready. \u201cThese programs are built to unlock your full potential.\u201d she says. \u201cThey expose you to different ways of thinking. They introduce you to people from different backgrounds. And they challenge you to step out of your comfort zone.\u201d When asked what she ultimately brought home from Madrid, her answer came immediately. \u201cTo speak up. To share my ideas. To believe that my perspective has value.\u201d The confidence she found there would shape far more than her career. <\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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