Discover Amira Dkhil Turlais, Expert in Digital Transformation and AI
This week, Bridge introduces you to Amira Dkhil Turlais, a specialist in digital transformation and artificial intelligence who accompanies startups and large groups with audacity and agility. Amira Dkhil is a woman who never settles for the status quo. Curious, ambitious, and always on the move, she has built her career around adaptation and innovation. It all started at the Engineering School of Monastir, then in Paris, where she completed her final internship at Alstom, a specialist in embedded systems for trains and metros. Quickly, she realized that this field was in decline: "Everything was going to China, the local market was shrinking... I understood that it was going to disappear." Rather than holding on, she pivoted towards computer science and data modeling, following a master's degree at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.
Early Experience and Career
Her first area of experience was the Smart Grid, intelligent energy. As a developer, business analyst, and project manager, she learned to manage complex communication between meters and energy systems. Each step refined her skills in data, digital transformation, and team management. At Capgemini, she took charge of large projects for EDF, La Poste, or Technip Énergie. Migration to the cloud, data structuring, adoption of agility... Amira imposed herself as a driver of transformation, capable of guiding teams of up to 130 people and making them more efficient. "Technology is a means: there was the cloud, then data, and now artificial intelligence. Understanding this evolution and accompanying teams is essential," she explains.
Challenges and Leadership
Her career has not been without challenges. As a woman, mother, and leader... At the beginning, convincing her employers that a woman and mother could occupy a strategic position required patience and determination. "I had to work harder than others to show that I deserved the next step," she confides. For Amira, organization, planning, and family support are indispensable allies to reconcile professional commitment and personal life.
Current Role and Projects
Today, at Microsoft, she accompanies large groups in integrating AI, as well as in transforming their teams and products. In parallel, Amira is an advisor for several startups, where she puts her experience to use to accelerate their development;
- NartaQ, which makes capital accessible to startups around the world, particularly in Tunisia, by evaluating their maturity and coaching them to attract investors and markets.
- Clario, a Franco-Tunisian medical platform, collects and analyzes health data to anticipate epilepsy crises and provides exploitable insights to professionals. Currently, the startup is testing its technology on a small scale with a Proof of Concept (POC) in partnership with Sanofi in South Africa, to verify the effectiveness of its platform in preventing health crises before deploying it on a larger scale.
- Thunders.ai, which integrates AI into innovative products to make them more performant and adapted to the market.
Additionally, as part of the GenAI Studio at Microsoft, she accompanies 15 startups for six months to structure their AI-integrated products and prepare them for the go-to-market. For her, the true strength of a startup does not lie in AI itself, but in the quality of the data collected and its strategic exploitation. Too often, young companies disperse themselves trying to please everyone, when limited capacity requires concentration and discipline.
Personal and Professional Development
To manage all her roles and remain performant, Amira relies on three pillars: continuous training, networking, and personal development. Every Sunday evening, she plans her week, organizes her busy schedule, and does not hesitate to ask for help. On this, she advises young professionals to get involved in associations and reach out to others to develop their network and personality. According to her, these interactions are essential to access opportunities and refine their strategic vision.
Ambition and Future
Her ambition remains intact. Whether in a startup or at Microsoft, she aims for leadership positions where she can transform teams, structure products, and make innovation concrete and scalable. But beyond her career, her motivation is much more personal: "Show my children that everything is possible and offer them a secure and innovative future". And in 5 years? Amira Dkhil Turlais keeps her gaze turned towards the future. Pursuing strategic transformation at Microsoft or investing fully in an ambitious startup. Whatever the path, her focus remains unchanged: "demonstrate to her children that everything is possible and shape a future that is both secure and innovative".
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