Leading with passion

There were several factors that drew Qasim Kalla, Director of Sales for the Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division’s Middle East and Africa region, to Hexagon in 2020. In addition to Hexagon’s diversified portfolio of solutions and technologies and the ability to expand his scope from Africa to include the Middle East, joining Hexagon allowed Qasim to return to his initial passion — urban planning and geographic information systems.

Improving the performance, efficiency and resilience of vital services with software solutions for smart and safe cities is at the heart of the Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division, and Qasim has seen first-hand the impact that these solutions have on everyday life.

“We’ve set up our HxGN OnCall solutions for 911 across several provinces within Saudi Arabia, and recently closed the first OnCall deal in Africa in Nigeria,” says Kalla. “This will allow people to access emergency services through a coordinated setup using our technology, so that has massive touchpoints with the public.

Kalla plays a critical role in connecting organisations with the right solutions to support their citizens. This means no two days are identical.

“At Hexagon, every day presents an opportunity to learn — the challenges are never the same. The organisation has a good mesh of cultures, ideologies, opinions and technologies,” says Kalla. “And in balancing that with multiple partners and customers across an expansive region like the Middle East and Africa, it becomes a juggling act that is as rewarding as it is challenging.”

A lifelong athlete, Kalla played football (soccer) in a semi-competitive environment for 35 years before making the switch to martial arts. Today, he is passionate about teaching martial arts to kids to empower them against bullying, in addition to teaching self-defence to women. Teaching also allows the father of three to spend extra quality time with his children — outside of his days spent making an impact with Hexagon.

Inspirational advice: Never be afraid to ask questions. It’s better to feel foolish for an instant rather than to stay quiet and feel foolish going forward.

Together – We are Hexagon