Syrian American CEO says Arab heritage is an asset, not a hinderance

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Updated 09 September 2023
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Syrian American CEO says Arab heritage is an asset, not a hinderance

Syrian American CEO says Arab heritage is an asset, not a hinderance
  • Rania Succar, who heads Intuit Mailchimp, plays up importance of Syrian family in her personal journey
  • She said her Arab heritage has been an asset in a world that today recognizes diversity as a component of corporate and business success.

CHICAGO: Rania Succar, who was named CEO of Intuit Mailchimp in 2022, said her Syrian heritage is an inspiration for success, rather than a hinderance.
Diverse opinions, perspectives, experiences and backgrounds fuel progress in today’s business world, Succar said, stressing that her family is a critical foundation of her own career rise.
A co-founder of Jusoor, a non-profit that has helped nearly 15,000 young Syrians pursue university education, Succar said her Arab heritage has been an asset in a world that today recognizes diversity as a component of corporate and business success.
Speaking to “The Ray Hanna Radio Show,” Succar said: “Earlier on in my career, there certainly was a stigma with being associated with Arab American descent, and I certainly held it back. It certainly wasn’t something I promoted. I remember applying for my first job and scrubbing every reference to ‘Arab American’ off of my resume. Which was interesting because a lot of the work I had done in college was being part of that community and organizing things.
“But I chose to say ‘I want people to understand me and recognize my value and the impact I am having’ without any preconceived notions of who I was or what my background was. That was very early in my career. I would say the environment today is quite different. It is celebrated to have strong identity and a diverse identity and background, and (it is) a strength, because we are in the corporate structure, and especially, I would say, it is even stronger in the tech community.”
Succar credits the corporate atmosphere at Intuit, a Fortune 500 corporation where she worked as senior vice president of Intuit QuickBooks Money Platform before heading up Intuit Mailchimp, one of the nation’s leading eNewsletter delivery systems, in August 2022.
Intuit is the global technology platform that helps consumers and small businesses overcome their most important financial challenges, serving more than 100 million customers worldwide with products that also include TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint, and Credit Karma.
Succar said the core principle of the firm was believing that “everyone should have the opportunity to prosper.”
She continued: “Intuit are certainly a champion of this. We are trying to have a very broad workforce that comes in with all forms of representation and diverse backgrounds and we celebrate those things, because it brings in diversity of thought and experience that makes us stronger.
“So, today, it (diversity) is celebrated as opposed to being something that is more negative, so I certainly speak very openly about my background and all of that to help others to speak openly about their background and their identity and to help promote others wanting to join and see themselves in leadership.”
On Sept. 22 Succar will receive the Outstanding Arab American Philanthropist of the Year Award at the Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s Threads of Giving Gala for her work at Jusoor, which was founded in 2011.
Jusoor has directed more than $20 million in support to help Syrian students, offering them education, international scholarships, entrepreneurial programs and career development opportunities.
Succar said her strong family life, and pride in being Arab and Syrian, fueled Jusoor’s success.
“My family is originally from Syria. My parents got married and moved over to the US and I was born in the US, but stayed very connected to Syria and the people in Syria,” she said. “I became very passionate as a result of that connection to help close the opportunity gap and help young people in Syria have hope — the type of hope that we had growing up here in the US.
“And so, several friends and I co-founded an organization back in 2011 called Jusoor, which means ‘bridges’ in Arabic. We are focused on closing that opportunity gap with Syrian youth — basically educating Syrian youth and focusing on a brighter tomorrow — and we have educated more than 10,000 young people through that journey. So, that is another huge part of my life that takes up a lot of focus and a lot of time, but gives me tremendous meaning and purpose.”
Succar said that she had a traditional family life and upbringing, stressing that Arab culture is founded on the pursuit of education.
“My parents immigrated from Syria in the early ‘70s, and my dad is a doctor — and so he certainly had that path — (and) my mom studied computer science. But, we grew up really appreciating the values that both parts of our culture provided. We used to spend every summer in Damascus as many families with Arab American heritage did, spending time back home in the region, and those were absolutely pivotal moments for me growing up,” Succar said.
I saw the beauty of the culture and came to realize it in a big way and it became a big part of my identity — the beauty of the history, the rich history of that part of the world — when we would go to Palmyra and see parts of Damascus as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Or we would experience the love of family. You know, there was never a moment where we would be climbing up the stairs to our unit at the top of the building and doors wouldn’t open up from relatives who would welcome us in for a spontaneous breakfast or lunch. There was never a moment where the family wasn’t overflowing wherever we were, so we got to experience that.”
However, she noted that despite similar early dispositions and drive, the limitations of life the Middle East at the time curbed the ambitions of many, including her own family.
“The most pivotal part of that experience was the relationships I formed with my cousins, and at very young ages, nothing separated us in this world. Everything we had, our dreams were the same. Our energy was the same,” she said.
“By the time we hit our teenage years my cousins, I started to notice, we diverged in quite a big way. I dreamt of going to Harvard and (to) study amazing things, and all the things I would do with my career and the way I would change the world, and their dreams started getting smaller. They started getting married — the girls at very young ages — because there was no other goal in life than to get married. The economy was prohibitive in terms of what they could do,” Succar said.
“And earlier, the boys were going to college, and by the time the second or third son would get to college age they would stop because there was no point. They were all ending up in their dad’s business, splitting the business — the family business — into four so that each son could maintain their household. And that stayed with me, and I became very focused on the power of a strong economy and what it could do for young people.”
Succar graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree, Harvard Business School with a master’s, and then from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her career skyrocketed through experiences at Merrill Lynch, McKinsey and at Google. She spent more than seven years at Intuit Quickbooks, where her team launched several game-changing funding solutions that helped small businesses, while she was also a member of the Society of Arab Students at Harvard and helped co-found the Harvard Arab Alumni Association.
Her father was a co-founder of the Arab American Medical Association, which funded scholarships to promote education not just for the boys but for girls, too. Arab women, Succar said, are playing stronger and more impactful roles in advancing the community at the corporate and business level, as well as in broader society.
Succar made her comments during an interview on Wednesday, Sept. 6 with “The Ray Hanania Radio Show,” which is broadcast every Wednesday on the US Arab Radio Network

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow 


Fire engulfs police facility in Egypt’s Ismailia

Fire engulfs police facility in Egypt’s Ismailia
Updated 12 sec ago
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Fire engulfs police facility in Egypt’s Ismailia

Fire engulfs police facility in Egypt’s Ismailia
  • At least 38 people before firefighters could extinguish the blaze several hours later
  • Ministry of health has increased preparedness of hospitals in Ismailia Governorate

CAIRO: A massive fire broke out on Monday at a police facility in northeastern Egypt, injuring at least 38 people before firefighters could extinguish the blaze several hours later, authorities said.

Officers from the Egyptian Armed Forces and the Suez Canal Authority also took part in fire and rescue operations at the Ismailia Security Directorate headquarters, northeast of Cairo.

Cooling operations for the building are underway, officials said.

The Ministry of Health and Population has increased the preparedness of hospitals in Ismailia Governorate to receive injured people.

Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, a ministry spokesperson, said that 50 fully equipped ambulances were sent to the site.

The spokesperson said all emergency medications and blood groups were available in the governorate’s hospitals.

Abdel Ghaffar said ambulances provided emergency treatment to 12 injured people at the site.

The official said 26 other injured people — 24 cases of suffocation and two cases of burns — were transferred to Ismailia Medical Complex.

Seven injured people were discharged from the medical complex after recovering.

Egypt’s Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik inspected the site of the blaze.

He directed a committee of consultants to determine the cause of the fire and review the structural safety of the building to restore it to working condition as soon as possible.

The minister demanded that all aspects of care be provided to the injured until their complete recovery.

A team from the Ismailia Public Prosecution visited the site to conduct inspections and question witnesses, as well as those injured in hospitals.

An official statement on the fire that broke out in the Ismailia Security Directorate building has yet to be issued.

Ismailia Gov. Sherif Fahmy Bishara visited the injured and said that full medical care should be provided to them.


Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh ebbs as Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control

Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh ebbs as Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control
Updated 02 October 2023
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Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh ebbs as Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control

Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh ebbs as Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control
  • The Armenian government said Monday that 100,514 of the region’s estimated 120,000 residents have crossed into Armenia

The last bus carrying ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh left the region Monday, completing a grueling weeklong exodus of over 100,000 people – more than 80 percent of its residents – after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation.
The bus that entered Armenia carried 15 passengers with serious illnesses and mobility problems, said Gegham Stepanyan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman. He called for information about any other residents who want to leave but have had trouble doing so.
In a 24-hour military campaign that began on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region’s undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate. Separatist authorities then agreed to dissolve their government by the end of this year.
While Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, most of them hastily fled the region, fearing reprisals or losing the freedom to use their language and practice their religion and customs.
The Armenian government said Monday that 100,514 of the region’s estimated 120,000 residents have crossed into Armenia.
Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said some people had died during the exhausting and slow journey over the single mountain road into Armenia that took as long as 40 hours. The exodus followed a nine-month Azerbaijani blockade of the region that left many suffering from malnutrition and lack of medicines.
Sergey Astsetryan, 40, one of the last Nagorno-Karabakh residents to leave the region in his own vehicle Sunday, said some elderly people have decided to stay, adding that others might return if they see it’s safe for ethnic Armenians to live under Azerbaijani rule.
“My father told me that he will return when he has the opportunity,” Astsetryan told reporters at a checkpoint on the Armenian border.
Azerbaijani authorities moved quickly to reaffirm control of the region, arresting several former members of its separatist government and encouraging ethnic Azerbaijani residents who fled the area amid a separatist war three decades ago to start moving back.
On Sunday, Azerbaijan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the region before stepping down at the beginning of September. Azerbaijani police arrested one of Harutyunyan’s former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Armenia.
“We put an end to the conflict,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a speech Monday. “We protected our dignity, we restored justice and international law.”
He added that “our agenda is peace in the Caucasus, peace in the region, cooperation, shared benefits, and today, we demonstrate that.”
After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. After a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had captured earlier.
Armenian authorities have accused Russian peacekeepers, who were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war, of standing idle and failing to stop the Azerbaijani onslaught. The accusations were rejected by Moscow, which argued that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.
The mutual accusations have further strained the relations between Armenia and its longtime ally Russia, which has accused the Armenian government of a pro-Western tilt.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan alleged Thursday that the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to “a direct act of ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.”
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Pashinyan’s accusations, arguing their departure was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”
A United Nations delegation arrived Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the situation. The mission is the organization’s first to the region for three decades, due to the “very complicated and delicate geopolitical situation” there, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Friday.
Local officials dismissed the visit as a formality. Hunan Tadevosyan, spokesperson for Nagorno-Karabakh’s emergency services, said the UN representatives had come too late and the number of civilians left in the regional capital of Stepanakert could be “counted on one hand.”
“We walked around the whole city but found no one. There is no general population left,” he said.


Philippines, US hold joint naval exercise as Manila seeks to boost territorial defense

Philippines, US hold joint naval exercise as Manila seeks to boost territorial defense
Updated 02 October 2023
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Philippines, US hold joint naval exercise as Manila seeks to boost territorial defense

Philippines, US hold joint naval exercise as Manila seeks to boost territorial defense
  • Drills take place as tensions rise between Manila, Beijing over dispute in South China Sea
  • Japan, Canada, UK, Australia, France also sending navy personnel to take part this year

MANILA: Philippine and US navies on Wednesday launched their joint exercise and were joined by seven partner countries, as Manila seeks to boost its naval warfare capabilities and readiness to confront security challenges in the region.

Exercise Sama Sama started off as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training in 1994 between the Philippines and America but changed into its current form in 2017. It seeks to increase interoperability, foster regional cooperation, and tackle non-traditional challenges.

This year, more than 1,800 navy personnel are taking part in the drills from Oct. 2 to 13, including from Japan, Canada, the UK, Australia, and France, while New Zealand and Indonesia are sending observers.

Philippine Navy Chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. noted that Sama Sama equips participating nations to “face an array of threats together,” from territorial defense to countering transnational crimes.

“For us in the Philippine Navy this activity serves as a vital platform for capacity building and empowers us to refine our naval warfare capabilities.

“This exercise enhances our readiness to confront a wide spectrum of security challenges,” Adaci said during his speech at the opening ceremony.

“This year, our interoperability exercises with the US Navy will center on warfighting serials, reinforcing our readiness for joint operations in the face of evolving threats.

“With this show of force and active engagement of our allies and partners, Sama Sama transcends (mere) military exercises. It is a symbol of our enduring partnerships and our shared commitment to security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.

The exercises are taking place as tensions continue to rise between Manila and Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippines and China have repeatedly sparred in the resource-rich South China Sea, as Beijing maintained its claim over the region in its entirety while other nations also have claims.

Vessels of the two countries have faced off several times this year in areas Manila said is part of its exclusive economic zones.

Sama Sama also reflects increased defense engagements between the Philippines and the US since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office last year, after relations ebbed during the previous administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who leaned more toward Beijing.

Through Sama Sama, the Philippines was seeking to build relationships with allies and partner nations to boost its territorial defense capabilities, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said.

“When it comes to territorial defense, we cannot do it alone. So, we have to leverage our alliances and our partnerships with like-minded nations. So that’s what we are doing,” Brawner told Arab News.

“Part of our defensive posture in the West Philippine Sea is doing operations together with our partners. So, the joint sail, joint exercises, these are all part of that overall build-up of our defensive posture in the area.”


Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
Updated 02 October 2023
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Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
  • The secretary of the Nobel Assembly announced the award Monday in Stockholm
  • The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor

STOCKHOLM: Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
The award was given to Katalin Karikó, a professor at Sagan’s University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Drew Weissman, who performed his prizewinning research together with Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” the panel that awarded the prize said.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly, announced the award and said both scientists were “overwhelmed” by news of the prize when he contacted them shortly before the announcement.
The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was won last year by Swedish scientist Svante Paabo for discoveries in human evolution that unlocked secrets of Neanderthal DNA which provided key insights into our immune system, including our vulnerability to severe COVID-19.
The award was the second in the family. Paabo’s father, Sune Bergstrom, won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1982.
Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 9.
The prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.
The prize money was raised by 1 million kronor this year because of the plunging value of the Swedish currency.
The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The prestigious peace prize is handed out in Oslo, according to his wishes, while the other award ceremony is held in Stockholm.


Court rules against Italian PM over Tunisian migrant detention

Court rules against Italian PM over Tunisian migrant detention
Updated 02 October 2023
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Court rules against Italian PM over Tunisian migrant detention

Court rules against Italian PM over Tunisian migrant detention
  • 3 asylum-seekers who applied for international protection must be ‘immediately released’
  • Use of detention a breach of Italian and EU law but Interior Ministry will appeal

London: Italy’s detention of three Tunisian migrants awaiting asylum decisions has been ruled illegal under domestic and EU law by a Sicilian court, The Times reported on Monday.

The ruling is viewed as a rebuke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is seeking to tighten controls on refugee intake. The Interior Ministry said it will appeal the court’s decision.

The three Tunisian asylum-seekers entered Italy on Sept. 20 and applied for international protection but were sent to a detention center in Sicily, in a move that a Catania court has deemed illegal.

A fourth Tunisian who withdrew his asylum request was not included in the court order, which called for the “immediate release” of the trio.

Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party recently launched measures to stem the flow of migrants from the Mediterranean, with 133,171 people reaching Italian shores since the start of the year.

The detention of the three migrants, given their pending asylum applications, was determined to be in breach of Italy’s constitution and EU law.

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, accused the Catania court of political bias. “Serious reform of the justice system is required,” he said on X.

The court’s findings come amid heightened tensions between EU member states over migration, and as the Italian government seeks to boost the number of detention centers nationwide.