A Day in the Life of Revive Superfood’s COO

This week, we’re spending a day in the life of the one and only COO, Alla Ahmad!

Alla graduated with a degree in Kinesiology, the study of health and wellness of the human body. As he graduated and started working, he had a hard time living a healthy lifestyle while being so busy. This is where the passion for fueling one’s body with good food started. Alla made it a goal to one day open a food business to provide his community with a healthy option of good tasting food.

After graduating, he worked a few years in sales and marketing which built an entrepreneurial spirit to learn how companies grow. That spirit is what caught Yousuf and Nour’s interest, and they then asked Alla to join forces and become a part of the Revive Superfoods family. He saw this as an opportunity to help build a business of providing healthy foods too much more than just his community, but the nation as well.

We hope this interview can teach you more about Alla and a view of his role at Revive Superfoods.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RSF’s COO

At what time does your day usually start?

My day typically starts at around 6 am. I think about working out but settle for a cup of coffee instead, twice! Then jump right into my workday.

What does a typical workday look like for you at RSF?

Back-to-back meetings.

Usually, I start the first two hours of my workday by catching up on emails. At about 8am my meetings start.

As we continue to grow as a company, our teams do as well. Most of the days it’s being in touch with every department I work with, having conversations with key partners, our CEO, other executives and departments. I try to limit the number of meetings and carve out time to actually push projects forward. For me, these projects are what tilt the needle forward on company goals. Whether it’s signing new deals or diving into operational and product data to align department goals.

For those who aren’t familiar with this role, what are the main tasks of a COO?

I have the great opportunity to be heavily involved in all aspects of the organization. My day is split into two parts: Day-to-Day and strategy.

Day-to-Day I help lead in a few departments: Procurement, Production, Distribution, Quality, Shipping, and Product. Within each department, we have daily goals, checks, projects, and targets that need to be achieved. These are the meetings to ensure the engine is working in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

On the strategy side, along with the other Officers, we analyze and prepare strategic projects and outline how each department may contribute towards them. These projects include things like enhancing product roadmap, expansion strategies, resource allocation, key partnerships, and so on.

What is it like working with such a big team? How do you motivate your teams to accomplish a specific goal?

It’s absolutely amazing! I think the key to having a motivated team is really to make yourself available to them. Whether it’s to further ideas or brainstorm solutions, our overall goal is to achieve as close to operational excellence as much as we could.

As cliche as this may sound, empowerment. Everyone I work with is brilliant and with a little bit of guidance achieving goals becomes second nature.

If that doesn’t work, I can always just get them more coffee. Ha. Just kidding! But when you and your team enjoy what you do it takes very little to motivate.

What would you say is the most effective way to give and receive feedback?

Open communication. As a matter of fact, over-communicating with a clear objective has been key. I believe the people that I work closely with understand that I am open to all feedback and opinions.

At what time does your day usually end?

End? What’s that? Haha

I try to manage time where I can step away from my phone and laptop for a few hours and over the weekend. Spending time with my family is always a priority, but it is true what they say, when you enjoy what you’re doing you’re never at work.

GET TO KNOW ALLA

Was this your first executive position? If so, what is it like to have such an important role in a company at such a young age?

At this level, it’s definitely a first for me.

It’s a privilege to be in this position at such a young age. I am in a constant state of learning and improving every day. I believe the company culture allows me to succeed as we look to be nimble and execute day in and day out.

I have to say I love the diversity in this role. It allows me to develop expertise in all aspects of the company which is what excites me the most about what I do.

What motivates you in your position at RSF?

Growth and Opportunity! On a personal level, I have grown tremendously in the time I have been here. Every day has been an opportunity to learn from any challenges this position puts me in and gain insight from the great minds I am surrounded by.

Secondly is our customers. We want to continue to provide good affordable food directly to our customers. Working very closely with our product team we want to make sure we are constantly providing tasty and healthier options delivered directly to them. We have really cool and tasty options coming in the new year and can’t wait to get customers feedback on!

Where do you see Revive Superfoods 2 years from now?

I see us being one of the leaders in the frozen ready-to-eat markets that provide tasty and healthy foods directly to our consumers. Building a team around our product and really getting creative to accomplish this. It’s definitely an exciting time to be leading within this company and I can’t wait to show you all what we have coming in the next two years.

I invite you all to head over to our Instagram profile @revivesuperfoods to share your thoughts on our most recent post. What do you want to see in Revive Superfoods 2 years from now?

Best,

Alla Ahmad
COO
Revive Superfoods