Zuhair Khayyat, Chief Technology Officer at Lucidya: 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 Chief Technology Officer of Lucidya Zuhair Khayyat (LinkedIn). Below are edited excerpts from our conversation:

I’m Zuhair Khayyat, and I serve as the Chief Technology Officer of Lucidya. My journey began with a strong academic background in computer science, focusing on Big Data, cloud computing, and large-scale data systems. My research has been published in international conferences such as EuroSys, VLDB, and SIGMOD, where I explored how to make data-intensive systems faster and more scalable.

Since joining Lucidya in 2017, I’ve helped grow the company from an early-stage concept to a multi-mn USD SaaS platform, now employing a team of over 80 professionals. Along the way, I’ve been deeply involved in everything — from product strategy to engineering leadership. My longer-term goal is to guide Lucidya to become the first AI unicorn in MENA to go public.

We are currently focusing heavily on agentic AI technologies. The goal is to move Lucidya beyond just delivering insights and transform it into a system that can be integrated directly into our clients’ workflows, allowing businesses to automate repetitive tasks, reduce manual effort, and achieve efficiency at scale.

I stay on top of market changes by keeping one eye on global technology trends and another on the regional market. This involves engaging with our customers, working closely with our sales, marketing, and customer success teams, and debating best practices with fellow leaders. I also encourage my teams to bring forward new ideas so that we remain proactive, rather than reactive.

I like to start my mornings with a quick three-minute podcast or TED Talk — unrelated to technology — to clear my mind before diving to work. Then I clean up my inbox, reprioritize my to-do list, check Slack messages, and review our systems’ health. My day is then split between operations and long-term thinking — about 70% on operational work (meetings, syncs, problem-solving, and one-on-one check-ins with leads and managers) and the remaining 30% on research and strategy.

My approach to work-life balance has shifted over time. I used to be fully immersed in growth and treated everything like a race. In my 30s, I began structuring my work into sprints followed by short breaks to recharge. Now, in my 40s, I see work-life balance as a daily discipline, with clear boundaries between my work and family life.

Part of that discipline is knowing when to slow down. Sometimes that’s as simple as taking a quick shower in the middle of the day, while other times it’s going on a spontaneous trip, catching a movie, or unwinding with a video game.

I also find rest in hobbies that keep my mind engaged, like online chess or listening to podcasts on economics. These moments of pause not only reset my energy but often spark new ideas that I can bring back to my work.

Curiosity is the constant that has shaped my journey. I am always asking why and what if, which drives me to challenge assumptions on how we design products, build teams, and shape strategy. I also view failures as lessons for improvement and rarely accept that something is impossible.

The best advice I have received is to never stop learning. The moment you stop learning is the moment your mind begins to die.

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