For Omar, Advertising on Uber is a chance to build a startup within a large company
22 February / GlobalOmar Badoui is a professional at driving his growth. He joined Uber as our General Manager of Uber Eats in Ecuador and Bolivia, and 5 years and 5 roles later, he’s now our Head of Uber Advertising in Mexico. In his current role, Omar explores the evolution of our Uber advertising business, reimagining how brands connect with consumers across LATAM.
What is Ad Sales at Uber?
“Uber’s vision on advertising is to offer the most marketplace-centric platform to connect Uber users (eaters, riders, and earners) with advertisers. Our platform brings together consumer behavior on Uber with closed-loop attribution across our Mobility and Delivery channels for performance and brand campaigns. This enables advertisers to engage with our consumers throughout the entire marketing funnel – from awareness to purchase to loyalty and advocacy.”
Ad Sales is a relatively new team in LATAM at Uber. Can you give us some history of the team and where you are going in the future?
“Ad Sales at Uber in LATAM launched a year ago and it has been a wild and rewarding journey! We started with just a couple of people in the Mexico City office, which was our first step in building and scaling what will hopefully become a billion-dollar business. We’ve been launching new products nonstop, bringing new team members on board, integrating the CPG teams, and creating an awesome advertising platform across Mobility and Delivery that helps brands in Mexico make meaningful connections with our consumers.”
What does a day in the life of someone on the Advertising Sales team look like?
“No two days are the same, and that, for me, is one of the most exciting aspects of the role. You can shape the role day after day. However, the common element is always engaging and connecting with others. From talking with customers to learn about their needs and how our products can help them achieve their objectives, to collaborating with teams across Uber to ensure we execute flawlessly and deliver a high-quality service and strong campaign performance, to connecting with our global counterparts to share best practices. Collaboration is a constant value. Another key activity is executing on a pipeline, tracking performance, analyzing new opportunities and challenges, and finding solutions. Trust me, you’re never going to get bored at Uber!”
How have you driven your own growth in your career journey at Uber? Any reflections?
“Uber is an amazing place to learn and grow and I’ve gained more knowledge and experience in the last 5 years than I might get at another company in 20! Every day you work on challenging, global problems, collaborating with highly talented and intelligent colleagues who help you grow and bring your best.
At Uber, you are given the opportunity to own your personal career development. This freedom provides access to a broad range of learning and growth opportunities to take advantage of. There are opportunities to change teams, move geographies, work on projects beyond your scope, take a part-time gig with another team, mentor or gain colleague mentorship, online learning courses, and so much more!
My two cents:
- Don’t be afraid of taking on new challenges and opportunities. The unknown can bring you massive learning opportunities to drive your growth.
- Embrace and be comfortable with change, we are a company that moves at a super-fast pace in a highly dynamic industry. Go Get It!
- We know that Great Minds Don’t Think Alike. Lead with an open mind. To truly learn and grow, you must challenge your own beliefs. With a highly diverse and talented group, it is crazy how much you can learn from each other and improve the quality and output of your team.
- 1+1=3! Our results are not about individual performance, but how you connect across people and teams to make Uber great. We are pushing the boundaries as One Uber and want to reach massive heights that can only be achieved through local and global collaboration.”
What do you enjoy most about being a people manager at Uber?
“I could write a whole book about this topic! First of all, the people that I work with. I manage and mentor a group of talented professionals from whom I also learn every day. I enjoy having deep and meaningful conversations on building a better business and hearing from various perspectives from people of all different backgrounds. This trust and collaboration help to make our product better. Second, my team is able to work on projects that have a true, positive impact on the business and the communities we serve in real-time. This provides constant drive and inspiration. Last but not least, I can give my team a lot of autonomy to shape their work and success. I get to partner with each of them to provide the capacity to build, break, iterate, rebuild, and scale the businesses they manage. All aspects of this role, from successes to failures, provide learning and growth opportunities and make the entire team better.”
What advice would you give to someone looking to join your team?
“Be hungry, but be humble. Always bring your best self to work. Collaborate across teams and regions and be prepared to roll up your sleeves. This is a unique opportunity to join a startup within a more established business, to shape an industry and how we think about advertising, and enable brands to engage with consumers through highly innovative and engaging ad formats.”
What Uber value resonates most with you and why?
“For me, definitely “Go get it”. We’re building a new business from scratch while striving to remain flawless in our execution. We are building the plane as we fly it with a strong drive for results and raising the bar, despite any challenges that come along. Along with this, however, is ensuring we keep recharged and energized for the challenges ahead. Balance is key.”
Posted by Uber
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