MUSA AL-SALEM
Senior Leader, Product & IT Operations
Montreal,QC
Summary
Strategic leader with 20+ years of experience shaping product roadmaps and directing day-to-day IT operations and service delivery. Expertise in leveraging ITIL and ISO 20000 principles to ensure core system stability while rapidly and safely delivering new features. Proven ability to implement and maintain SOC 2 controls, manage vendor relationships and oversight, and build motivated, high-performing teams focused on continuous improvement.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Director, IT Operations & Customer Support
Jesta I.S.
Montreal, Quebec
06.2022 - Current
- Defined and executed the IT service strategy, ensuring alignment with overarching business goals and operational needs.
- Managed ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change, Request, Knowledge) to enhance system stability and service resilience.
- Applied ITIL and ISO 20000 best practices to streamline operational workflows, improve documentation, and increase service quality.
- Maintained robust SOC 2 controls and successfully guided the company through external compliance audits.
- Mentored managers and analysts, fostering a high-performance culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Senior Product Manager, Internal Systems
Lightspeed HQ
Montreal, Quebec
04.2019 - 05.2022
- Led product strategy and planning for critical internal systems including Salesforce, Snowflake, and company-wide analytics tools.
- Unified data flows and established integration standards following multiple company acquisitions, ensuring data integrity.
- Launched a self-service Business Intelligence portal, significantly reducing ad-hoc reporting workload for technical teams.
Associate Director, Store Systems & Omnichannel
Jesta I.S.
Montreal, Quebec
01.2018 - 04.2020
- Owned and managed the strategic roadmap for enterprise store systems and omnichannel applications.
- Guided Agile development teams through the full lifecycle of feature delivery and complex software releases.
- Standardized support and QA hand-off procedures, resulting in smoother and more reliable application launches.
Product Manager (POS & MPOS)
Jesta I.S.
Montreal, Quebec
03.2014 - 12.2017
- Managed on-premise and mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) products from conceptualization through launch and iteration.
- Prioritized product backlogs and coordinated design, development, and testing efforts across multiple teams.
- (Concurrent leadership duties: Quality Assurance Manager, Jul 2016 – Jul 2017; Front-Line Support Manager, Jul 2014 – Mar 2017.)
Business Systems Analyst (POS)
Tim Hortons Inc.
Oakville, Ontario
07.2012 - 03.2014
- Partnered with operations teams and external vendors to successfully implement contactless payment solutions and streamline new store POS rollouts.
Systems Analyst (POS)
Jesta I.S.
Montreal, Quebec
07.2010 - 07.2012
- Designed and developed promotion and workflow automation tools that simplified marketing campaign setup for retail clients.
Functional Analyst
ALDO Group
Montreal, Quebec
03.2008 - 07.2010
- Translated business requirements into detailed functional specifications for POS system enhancements and integrations.
POS Technical Support Analyst
ALDO Group
Montreal, Quebec
05.2007 - 03.2008
- Provided advanced technical support for POS hardware and software, ensuring store operational uptime and issue resolution.
Education
Certificate in Business Analysis -
McGill University
Montreal, QC 01.2011 - 05.2011
Skills
- IT operations management
- ITIL v4 & ISO 20000 Implementation
- Incident/Problem/Change/Request Management
- SOC 2 Compliance & Audits
- Continuous Service Improvement (CSI)
- Product Management
- Agile/Scrum (CSPO)
- Roadmapping
- Backlog Prioritization
- Process optimization leadership
- Effective vendor management skills
- Team Leadership & Mentorship
- Strategic planning
- Vendor Contracts & Outsourcing Oversight
- Cross-functional Collaboration
- Platforms & Technologies
- Salesforce (CRM)
- BigQuery
- Power BI
- Oracle SQL
Education Certifications
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Alliance
- ITIL v4 Foundation, AXELOS
- Certificate in Business Analysis, McGill University
- MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft
Core Skills
Product Strategy, Planning & Release Management, Agile/Scrum (CSPO), Roadmapping, Backlog Prioritization, User-Centric Design, ITIL v4 & ISO 20000 Implementation, Service Catalogue Management, Incident/Problem/Change/Request Management, SOC 2 Compliance & Audits, Risk Management, Continuous Service Improvement (CSI), Team Leadership & Mentorship, Vendor Contracts & Outsourcing Oversight, Stakeholder Engagement, Cross-functional Collaboration, Salesforce (CRM), Azure, Snowflake, Power BI, Oracle SQL
Timeline
Director, IT Operations & Customer Support
Jesta I.S.
06.2022 - Current
Senior Product Manager, Internal Systems
Lightspeed HQ
04.2019 - 05.2022
Associate Director, Store Systems & Omnichannel
Jesta I.S.
01.2018 - 04.2020
Product Manager (POS & MPOS)
Jesta I.S.
03.2014 - 12.2017
Business Systems Analyst (POS)
Tim Hortons Inc.
07.2012 - 03.2014
Certificate in Business Analysis -
McGill University
01.2011 - 05.2011
Systems Analyst (POS)
Jesta I.S.
07.2010 - 07.2012
Functional Analyst
ALDO Group
03.2008 - 07.2010
POS Technical Support Analyst
ALDO Group
05.2007 - 03.2008
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