What do a hospital kitchen in Liverpool, England, a 24/7 IT operations business and a clothing startup in London all have in common? They’re all a part of Faridon Qarizadah’s story. As our Information Technology Manager, Faridon juggles his fair share of tasks. But how did this IT technician end up across the pond at [me]?
“My passion for technology started when I was 10 years old. My dad used to take me to his office and just let me play around with the computers,” Faridon shared. It’s no secret that Faridon has had a passion for technology for a long time. Tagging along with his dad to play with computers and troubleshoot issues may not be the most common interest for a kid, but this early curiosity in technology was the beginning of a beautiful love for IT.
Originally from Afghanistan, Faridon moved to London at 18 and studied software engineering in college. He went on to complete a master’s degree in network security. “A few of my friends worked at high-end restaurants, so I used to love eating out at different restaurants. We’d even see different celebrities. So food became one of my passions.” He even spent three months working at a hospital kitchen in Liverpool.
Faridon’s IT career began at a clothing startup in London, England, where he worked as an IT technician. “By the time I left that company, we had over 150 stores nationally and internationally. I used to travel a lot to the US from the UK to open up stores. I’ve mostly been to the East Coast: Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Boston, New York and DC. It was fast-paced and sometimes chaotic, but it taught me a lot about adaptability and problem-solving. As the company grew, I also started seeing the importance of infrastructure, structure and processes in IT operations as well.” From that super-impressive start, he continued to move up in IT management.
His other jobs before [me] include managing a large 24/7 IT operations at a media company, where he oversaw technical teams, help desk and database admins. “After managing the large 24/7 IT operations for years, I wanted to return to a more hands-on environment where I could focus on improving processes, building strong IT operations and helping teams grow in a meaningful way.” This is where [me] came in.
“One of the things that drew me to MarginEdge was the opportunity to help build and scale, because my background was always with startup companies. I've always enjoyed startup environments because you can make a direct impact and help shape how things evolve. MarginEdge felt like the perfect place to bring together my experience in startups and enterprise operations,” he noted.
Now five years in, “Every day for me is a great memory. It’s a great place to work; the people, the culture - there’s a strong sense of collaboration here. Everyone is genuinely focused on helping each other. There’s always an opportunity to improve, solve a new challenge or help make someone’s day easier through technology. That kind of thing keeps the work exciting for me.”
On a day-to-day basis, he can be found helping [me] employees with their software and hardware issues and handling all of the unexpected emergencies that can come with technology.
And when asked about his favorite [me] memory: “All Hands. Every year meeting people face to face who I usually only chat with through Slack, emails and Jira tickets is such a different experience than anywhere else that I've worked, and it’s great to put a name to a face for those I haven’t met in person.”
When asked about what he would want MarginEdge to look like in the next five years, he shared, “With the pace we are going, with the new features coming in and with a lot of great things happening, I think MarginEdge is going to scale really big. As a company grows, the need for more streamlined operations in terms of technology becomes a requirement, and my role would ideally evolve even more just to ensure that we stay on top of emerging technology and the latest security policies and procedures.”
Outside of [me], Faridon loves spending time with his three boys and friends and family, going to dinner and hiking with his loved ones. Outside of being great with tech, Faridon’s always a friendly face to see in the office, and we’re so grateful to have him here at [me]!