Building better tools for companies and better experiences for users
By: Peter Sirota
For Hossam Bahlool, our new GM of Navigation at Mapbox, location is the through-line connecting every element of his career. From his work at Blackberry, Telenav, and even his own mobile startup, Hossam gravitates towards roles where he can put technology to work in serving users and building connected experiences.
As Hossam gets started, his focus is on improving the developer experience for automotive manufacturers and logistics companies and advancing the navigation experience for personal and commercial drivers. He wants to get the right tools in the hands of companies, to let them deliver the experience their customers are expecting. That could be anything — from helping on-demand drivers find their next ride, to guiding electric vehicles on the most efficient route, to creating a cohesive connected car experience on mobile and in-dash.
He knows that whatever his team touches, the ability for developers to take any part of the Mapbox stack and plug it into their product will make the difference, saying:
“I look across these different industries — whether it’s automotive, logistics, or fitness applications — Mapbox has not only the data but also the services on top of that to help a developer realize their vision for whatever they want to build.”
Hossam is an experienced leader who knows how to connect the tech and automotive worlds. His time at Telenav showed him how important it is to bridge the innovation of Silicon Valley with the discipline and rigor of Detroit or Germany. As GM of Navigation, he plans to lead the team in creating reference applications, SDKs, and APIs that companies need to build an amazing location experience for their users.
The quotes below are just a snapshot of his interests and visions.
Building for automotive
While only a week into his career here, the opportunities for Mapbox are obvious to Hossam.
“We need to focus on bringing our driver and developer expertise to automotive, to enable others to build what end users ultimately want. I want us to bring the building blocks that will allow automotive OEMs and logistic companies to realize their vision for driving, navigation, and connected car experiences with our tools.”
He understands that being flexible and working alongside our customers and the experiences they’re building is key.
“Building a map is not easy: it takes a certain DNA, a certain skill set, a certain mindset. That’s what’s great about Mapbox. We have that map data, we have those skills, and it is transferrable to all these other areas to build out services. We’re not married to our way of doing things.
At Mapbox, we don’t think monolithically. We have the aspiration to deliver the entire stack to our customers, but our approach is not so closed off that we’re an all or nothing deal. We want to offer the value customer’s need, understand how they do business, and do our best to align with how that industry can use our tools.”
Unlocking the power of the Mapbox platform
APIs and SDKs are a toolbox that anyone can use to build what they have in mind. But, writing that first line of code can be intimidating:
“It can be hard to conceptualize an experience when you’re just looking at a set of APIs. For example, if I see a search API, I know I can do search. But, what does a true, awesome search experience look like?”
Hossam wants to make it faster and easier to get up and running on the Mapbox platform using technical examples and end-user insights.
“It’s about being an accelerator for other companies. If we can make it even easier for users to build with Mapbox, we’ve done our job.”
Where we’re going
Whenever we welcome a new leader to the Mapbox team, we ask how they will know if their work was impactful in a few years.
“In 5 years, I want to look back and see that we’re at a point where Mapbox is a household name in the world of connected car experiences. If we’re at a show, people should say we need to go to the Mapbox booth first. They know we’re innovative, it’s a great product, and great people. We become the thought leaders in this space. As soon as someone thinks of a connected car application they want to build — Mapbox is top of mind regardless of what they’re building. We’re thought of not only because we create and innovate, but also because we deliver. They know we’re an accelerator for them and what they want to build.”
Welcome to the team, Hossam! We’re excited to see where you take us.
Accelerating location everywhere: Hossam Bahlool joins Mapbox was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.