In this fast-changing digital era, visionary leadership calls not just for technical skills but for purposefulness, emotional intelligence, and a high sense of sustainability. As economies across the world are experiencing wide-ranging digital shifts, the imperative for leaders capable of linking technology with human values grows more vital by the day. Particularly in areas that are rapidly developing socio-economically, the digital revolution is not just a promise of innovation but also an enabler of inclusive progress.
An example of this kind of change leader is Mouna Essa-Egh, Vice President of IT Division for MEA at Schneider Electric. With more than 20 years of global experience in the IT industry and a leadership approach focused on sustainability, compassion, and empowerment, Mouna is transforming the way organizations in MEA use technology both for business value and for societal progress.
Early Career: Laying the Foundations of Technical Competence and World Experience
Mouna Essa-Egh started her professional career in Hewlett-Packard (HP), one of the giants of the international technology sector. Initial exposure to the frequently turbulent environments of the Middle East and Africa gave Mouna profound understanding of developing markets’ technological requirements and socio-economic conditions. At HP and subsequently Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), she developed her skills across various functional areas before leading the server business in Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Europe.
Her experience in mature European markets—Nordics, Benelux, and Alps—provided a deep understanding of enterprise-level IT deployments, advanced data center ecosystems, and client-driven innovations. These positions also challenged her leadership in environments with high-performance expectations, cultural diversity, and regulatory complexity. Her exposure to the global environment enabled her to develop a balanced outlook—merging mature economies’ strategic requirements with emerging economies’ transformational capabilities.
Her early years of learning imparted to her the value of paying attention to local context, calibrating strategy to market maturity, and crafting robust relationships underpinned by trust and performance. It was this mix of hard-won wisdom and leadership that put people first, which would ultimately guide her path towards Schneider Electric.
Joining Schneider Electric: Aligning Passion with Purpose
Mouna’s joining Schneider Electric was motivated by more than professional advancement; it was an ethical choice. Schneider Electric’s strong commitment to environmental responsibility, energy efficiency, and sustainability aligned with her own values.
The company’s status as a global sustainability leader and its technology leadership in energy management made Schneider Electric an optimum platform for Mouna Essa-Egh to direct her know-how into impact. At Schneider Electric, she discovered the elusive convergence of frontier innovation, customer-focused execution, and environmental sustainability. Her work enabled her not only to be part of business transformation but also to enable customers in MEA to transition toward digital, energy-efficient, and low-carbon operations.
Through a fusion of strategy and activism, she has now become a key driver of Schneider Electric’s purpose in the region: driving digital transformation that is not only smart—but also green and inclusive.
Defining Leadership: People, Purpose, and Vision
Mouna’s leadership philosophy is based on people empowerment, vision, and authenticity. Instead of being limited to hierarchical models, she thinks leadership is a product of influence, integrity, and common goals. Her style is based on leading by example—being curious, open to feedback, and fostering an environment where everyone feels like they belong and can grow.
The painting she bought with her first manager’s paycheck—still hanging in her living room—is a constant reminder that leadership is not so much about power as it is about purpose.
She emphasizes the value of lifelong learning and enabling others to excel. Through promoting psychological safety among teams and open conversation, Mouna Essa-Egh guarantees innovation percolates from every level—not merely the executive level.
The Digital Imperative: Challenges and Opportunities in Transformation
The hype over digital transformation is not new, but the digital investment and real-world returns gap remains broad.
The sudden rise of AI is one such case. Companies are led to adopt AI tools without explicitly knowing their application areas, infrastructure requirements for data, or longer-term objectives. This tends to result in splintered deployment and unfulfilled expectations.
At Schneider Electric, Mouna’s team starts each digital interaction with a simple yet profound question: What does digitalization mean to you—your business model, your people, and your customers? With that clarity, digital tools become enablers rather than distractions.
From Insight to Action: Realizing the Value of Digitalization
Mouna Essa-Egh stresses that digitalization, when properly implemented, is not simply about modernizing IT infrastructures—it’s about creating real-time visibility, driving operational efficiencies, and unlocking new business models. The aim is to monetize data into insight and insight into action.
With digital twins, predictive maintenance, and smart automation, Schneider Electric assists customers in minimizing downtime, maximizing energy efficiency, and maximizing responsiveness to market changes. These are not hypothetical advantages; they are measurable results supported by technology and enabled people.
She is convinced that when business leaders begin to see IT as a value creator—instead of a cost center—they unlock doors to competitive agility and long-term resilience.
MEA’s Moment: AI, FinTech, and Sustainable Infrastructure
MEA is undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by investment in digital infrastructure, renewable energy, and policy change. From Saudi Arabia’s NEOM to Egypt’s Digital Transformation Strategy and the emerging AI industry in South Africa, the MEA region is likely to bypass conventional stages of development.
Mouna Essa-Egh believes this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Technologies such as blockchain, digital wallets, and AI-based healthcare systems are changing lives. McKinsey estimates that AI alone has the potential to free up over $300 billion of economic value per year in the region by 2030.
But it’s not about GDP alone. It’s about creating smart cities that are inclusive, green energy grids, and connected communities.
Bridging the Skills Gap: A Human-Centric Transformation
One of Mouna’s most impassioned focuses is the need to invest in people. As automation expands, human capability must evolve alongside it.
She is an active promoter of programs that bridge the gender gap, offer mentorship, and foster STEM education throughout underrepresented groups. Within Schneider Electric, she has assisted in pioneering efforts that get students involved as early as secondary school, introduce them to energy and technology careers, and provide scholarship and apprenticeship opportunities to connect learning with hands-on training.
Within her own teams, she has attained gender equality and frequently finds herself in meetings where women outnumber men—a scarce and hard-won achievement in tech leadership.
Security, Trust, and Responsible Innovation
As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, so do the threats. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, Mouna Essa-Egh asserts that digital trust needs to be infused into each layer of infrastructure.
Drawing on the proverb “trust but verify,” she emphasizes the need for active cybersecurity strategies—network segmentation, encrypted communication, and new paradigms such as Zero Knowledge Proofs. Schneider Electric collaborates with governments, financial systems, and healthcare systems to make their digital infrastructures future-proof, secure, and resilient.
In addition, Mouna Essa-Egh promotes ethical innovation—new technologies introduced with privacy, inclusivity, and long-term consideration.
At the Brink of the Future: AI, Quantum, and the Next Frontier
Mouna Essa-Egh is not only planning for today—she’s thinking ahead to tomorrow. The emergence of generative AI, edge computing, and quantum computing will revolutionize the technology landscape yet again.
To her, these technologies will decentralize intelligence so that real-time decision-making is done at the edge—closer to the users, sensors, and sources of data. This might change the way we handle energy, health, mobility, and education, especially in remote or underserved areas.
She recounts the story of her daughter unwittingly chatting with an AI chatbot for hours—testimony to how smoothly technology is integrating into human existence. But with that capability comes a responsibility, she cautions, calling on leaders to make sure these technologies enable humanity, not exploit it.
Culture as Strategy: Practicing What You Preach
For Mouna Essa-Egh, culture isn’t a buzzword—it’s a strategic asset. She fosters an environment where it’s safe to fail, safe to challenge ideas, and essential to grow. In doing so, she cultivates innovation, engagement, and resilience.
Leadership, in her eyes, is a journey. Her leadership vision reflects a faith in adaptive intelligence—the premise that the people who can learn and adapt most quickly will define the future.
Redefining Success: Beyond KPIs
Whereas conventional KPIs are still relevant, Mouna Essa-Egh invites firms to broaden their notions of success. She advocates a more integrated strategy that strikes a balance between profitability and social good, efficiency and ethics, and expansion and purpose.
Continuous Learning: The Ultimate Competitive Edge
In a world of constant change, the only sustainable advantage is the ability to learn. Mouna sees lifelong learning not just as a professional asset—but as a necessity.
Whether executive education, technical certifications, or ad hoc mentoring, she encourages an organizational culture in which curiosity is encouraged. Through Schneider Electric University and regular sustainability training, she ensures career development for employees.
A Leader for Today—and Tomorrow
Mouna Essa-Egh is not just a corporate executive but a pioneer of responsible innovation, inclusive leadership, and sustainable transformation. Her path from global IT strategist to MEA sustainability advocate documents a vision that is both intensely personal yet of universal concern.
In a world at a moment of complicated need—from climate change to technological divide—heroes like Mouna provide not only answers, but optimism. Her story is one of conjunction—between vision and values, ambition and compassion, innovation and effect.
She is redefining leadership for the 21st century by creating a digital future in which technology exists for the betterment of humanity—and not the reverse.
