About

About us

Our story

We met while working with technology teams, one of us leading them and the other coaching their leaders. We kept seeing the same thing: talented people promoted because they were excellent at their work, then left to work out leadership on their own.

Over the years we realized this isn't a technology problem. It happens to teachers, clinicians, engineers, researchers and managers in every field. We all start out being good at something. Leadership asks us to become good at something else.

Geek to Lead is where we share what we have learned, and what we are still learning, through books, stories, reflections and conversations.

“Think differently. Lead better.”

Yousif & Sandy

Dr. Yousif Asfour

Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer, American University of Beirut

Yousif is a technology executive with more than 30 years of experience, including more than 20 years as a CIO and CTO in the United States and the Middle East. He has built teams that led transformation in technology companies, government and higher education.

He is currently Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer at the American University of Beirut. He was previously the founding CIO at NYU Abu Dhabi, served as President of the CIO Lebanon Association, and helped establish TechCARE, Lebanon's national research and education network.

Yousif holds a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and a Ph.D. in cognitive and neural systems from Boston University.

Amazon author page

Sandy Molloy

Leadership coach and author

Sandy began her career teaching communication and cultural studies at universities and colleges in Australia, Greece, the United States and the United Kingdom.

She then spent three decades with a global IT company, working with clients across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As Director of People, Culture and Communications and Head of Leadership Development, she designed and embedded lasting cultural change.

Sandy trained in organizational development at the MIT Learning Lab and with the NeuroLeadership Institute, and is a Master of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She studied leadership while living with communities in Kenya and Tanzania, and today works as a neuroscience coach with leaders and teams.

Yousif and Sandy write and speak in a personal capacity. Geek to Lead is their own independent platform; it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American University of Beirut or any other employer, and the views here are their own.