My Morning Routine: Noran Elatawi, executive vice president at Infomineo

Noran Elatawi, executive vice president at Infomineo: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Infomineo ’s Executive Vice President Noran Elatawi (LinkedIn). Edited excerpts from our conversation:

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

My name is Noran Elatawi, and I like to introduce myself through my relationships — I’m a sister, a daughter, a friend, and a colleague. Without this support system, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything I wanted.

I’ve been living in Dubai for the past five years, and I’m currently an executive vice president at Infomineo. My career journey so far has been very diverse. When I first graduated from university, I began working in IT despite having studied finance. I then became a project manager at EMC Corp.

As the years went by, I wanted to pivot to something more related to finance, so that I could actually put my degree to use. I started work at the investment management firm, Delta Inspire, and right after that, I joined Infomineo. I started off as an associate research analyst, and during that time, I got assigned an on-site project in Dubai, where I got to meet the team and one of the managing partners, Martin Tronquit.

Six months down the road, I found out that they’d opened up a business development position in Dubai; I got a call, interviewed for the role, and passed. Fast forward to 2025, the company restructured and was split into three business units, and I ended up leading one of them, where we support our consulting clients. We’re 30 people in the business unit, spread across Dubai, Barcelona, Casablanca, and Cairo.

My main responsibility? Make sure that my entire team has all the support they need. I’m also in charge of the P&L of the business unit. I meet lots of clients, and I’m responsible for growing the business unit in terms of client base.

Infomineo came to be when two ex-BCG and McKinsey consultants — Martin Tronquit and Hamza Laraichi — identified a gap in the market when it came to the type of data and insights available in the region. When it came to the Middle East, there were lots of limitations, and what you could find was outdated. Research is our core, but as the years went by, we began introducing other services such as graphic design, business translation, and data analytics — a one-stop shop.

AI has led us to rethink our process to reach the most efficient balance by bringing together the humans involved — their expertise and research experience — and AI. With AI, you can find what you are looking for easily, but at Infomineo, we not only answer the “what?”, we answer the “so what?” Finding data is easier than before, but how can you build a story around it? That’s what we do.

Every morning, I do one of two things — I play some jazz music or listen to some motivational talks. Sometimes I meditate, but I prefer to do that more in the evenings. After I’ve had my coffee, I usually try to picture my day and set one goal for myself. It could be as simple as just helping one of my team members on a particular project.

I’m blessed with incredible colleagues, and despite having a hybrid model, we’re all hyped to go to the office. My day starts off with me checking my calendar — which has been very packed since I got promoted — writing down my to-do list and notes in the old-fashioned pen and paper way, and attending back-to-back meetings. Lunch with the entire office soon follows, not dictated by a particular hour but rather by who’s feeling hungry.

One thing that remains a constant in my day is connecting with the team. No matter what, even if I’m sitting in back-to-back meetings all day, I always make the time to speak with my team members and connect with them. I'll check in on their feelings, their progress, and whether they need support.

It’s a challenge to stay organized. Having a sense of ownership and urgency drives me to be focused. Yes, you can have a to-do list, but without this kind of drive, you won’t get things done. One thing that I do is call a friend or a colleague, and we’d tell each other what we need to get done on that day. In that way, as we’re saying it out loud, we’re committing to it, which is, in a way, motivational.

I’ll be quite honest, I’m not great at work-life balance. I enjoy my work and the sense of accomplishment I get out of it. I don’t think work-life balance is about the number of hours you put in. I understand that sticking to a 9-5 works for some people, but for me, I’m more flexible. I can take a break in between, go to my pilates class, come back, and continue working.

To me, work-life balance is incorporating everything that matters into your day, like working out, connecting with friends and family, or even going out for a walk. Martin would always say, “it’s up to you to decide how to manage your time.” It took me a while to learn how to do so, but I’m in a much better place now.

I’ve been really focusing on sports lately, but aside from that, connecting with my family is how I relax after work. My mom and sister are in Cairo, my brother is in Germany, and I’m over here in Dubai. When we’re on the phone, I listen more than I speak, and I get to hear about all the things I’m missing out on, what my niece is up to, what the cat did, and the like.

One book I’d like to recommend is Ikigai. It’s about the secret behind living a happy and long life, and it tells the story of a group of individuals in areas like Okinawa in Japan who live well above 100 years while retaining perfect health. I found the book really inspiring. Although it communicates rather common advice like moving every day, this and others still serve as great reminders, and you start to incorporate them into your life.

What’s next for me professionally is growing my business unit further. I want to bring my unit from 30 to 100 people. It’s a great feeling when you start hiring more people, feeling that you can learn something from them, and vice versa. On a personal level, I want to remain disciplined in terms of sports, and I want to travel more. Dubai is very connected to the entire world, and it’s so easy to travel to places.

One piece of advice that has stuck with me is “know what is in your control, and what isn’t.” A lot of times, you’ll find yourself in situations where you’re trying to control the outcome, and that’s impossible. Always remind yourself of what is in your capacity, and what isn’t. This shifts the mindset from panic to realistic action. Over the years, this is something I’ve heard time and again from both Martin — who is both my manager and coach — and my brother.