Unearthing Connections: From Paleontology to Tech Leadership with Adile Abbadi-Macintosh
- Ihor Saveliev
- May 2, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: May 28
Have you ever wondered what paleontology and technology have in common? Meet Adile Abbadi-MacIntosh, a remarkable individual whose journey from digging up fossils to optimizing processes and driving organizational success is nothing short of extraordinary.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
Adile's path to tech leadership was anything but conventional. With a background in paleontology, he initially embarked on a career centered around unearthing the mysteries of prehistoric life. However, fate had other plans, leading him down a path that would ultimately intersect with the dynamic world of technology and business.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / ALBERTOSAURUS TOOTH
But what exactly do paleontology and technology have in common? At their core, both disciplines require a meticulous approach to data analysis, a keen eye for detail, and a knack for uncovering patterns and insights hidden beneath the surface.
Drawing upon the analytical skills honed in his paleontological pursuits, Adile seamlessly transitioned into the realm of technology, leveraging his innate curiosity and problem-solving abilities to navigate this new terrain with finesse.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / ALBERTOSAURUS TOOTH
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH
For Adile, the transition from studying ancient fossils to optimizing processes and driving organizational success was a natural evolution of his skill set. His ability to extract valuable insights from complex datasets, coupled with his penchant for continuous learning and innovation, positioned him as a formidable force in the tech landscape.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
Today, Adile's journey serves as a testament to the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate fields. His unique perspective, shaped by his experiences in both paleontology and technology, has enabled him to approach challenges with creativity, resilience, and a deep appreciation for the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
As a guest on our platform, Adile Abbadi-MacIntosh shares his captivating story, offering insights into how his diverse background has enriched his approach to technology and business. Join us as we delve into the fascinating parallels between paleontology and tech, and uncover the hidden connections that fuel Adile's journey of exploration and discovery.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
HASEL Magazine: Welcome, Adile! it's a pleasure to have you here. Can you share a bit about your journey from studying paleontology to becoming a leader in technology and business? What inspired this transition?
Adile Abbadi-Macintosh: That is kind of an interesting story, to be honest. Software development and technology was always more of a hobby for me. It's something I just did for fun all through high school and into University. I built tech for businesses and companies on the side and used that money to fund my post-secondary education. In fact when I worked for the Royal Tyrrell Museum during my paleo days - I built their first website including an e-commerce shop.
Dinosaurs, fossils, and the like was my passion and something I really wanted to pursue. I had this dream of becoming a Canadian-Moroccan Indiana Jones - uncovering the stories of the prehistoric past. I had things lined up for graduate school where I was going to study Moroccan Dinosaurs - and part of that prep had me visiting Morocco with my then girlfriend (now wife) to build relationships and establish a plan for a future field trip. When I returned from that self-funded trip - a grant I was relying on to pay for grad school fell through - and as such I had to put grad school on pause as I had no means to pay for it.
I found myself in a situation where I needed a job - and at that time - the dot-com boom was in full effect. I quickly landed a developer role at Critical Mass - and shortly after I was hired - I was promoted to Senior developer due to my prior experience building websites. It was fun and the dot-com boom was the Wild West of innovation. I got to experiment, play, and build some really cool %@#$. Plus I was making pretty good money and quickly realized that a job in tech was going to afford me and my future family a lifestyle that the dinosaur game would never be able to support. The rest is all history.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
HASEL Magazine: How have the skills and experiences you gained in paleontology influenced your approach to technology and business?
Adile Abbadi-Macintosh: Paleontology is all about digging for the truth (no pun intended!). Studying fossils and ancient organisms involves looking at the smallest of details and experimenting with ideas and concepts that sometimes can be very broad and theoretical. It also involves telling a story - and trying to take the complex data analysis and turn it into something that people can understand, relate with, and apply.
Building technology, platforms, and websites for companies involves a lot of the same type of thinking. As a tech leader and innovator - my goal is to help companies use technology to solve complex business problems by looking at the details, experimenting with ideas and concepts, and seeking the truth behind operational problems. The goal is the tech I help implement - helps increase operational efficiency through innovation while delivering value to both the internal and external customers of the clients I service.
Beyond that - the storytelling aspect of paleontology has helped me a lot as well. Tech can be confusing and hard to grasp at times - so being able to take complex technical jargon, data, and concepts and turn them into a meaningful narrative for individuals to understand has been an extremely important aspect of my technical career.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
HASEL Magazine: You've held various senior-level roles in technology, including Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director of Technology. What have been the key challenges and highlights of these positions?
Adile Abbadi-Macintosh: All of my senior roles have been with companies at the forefront of innovation and change. When I was the CTO of Minit Drugs, an online pharmacy - we were pushing the idea of a digital health record when people were telling us that would never happen - and look where we are today. The same happened when I was in charge of research for a data aggregation company - the iPhone didn’t exist back then - but we were building apps for the Blackberry as we knew that having access to critical systems and data would be extremely powerful and change the world. My career is full of examples like this.
As such - the challenge I had was trying to push innovation in an environment where people didn’t want to see change or didn’t think it was possible. At times - people would even put roadblocks up - even when those roadblocks were not necessary. The lesson I learned there was to push through and keep innovating - even when people stand in your way. You may not always achieve great success - but at least you know you were part of that journey of change.
As for highlights - aside from the great projects I worked on - I got to work with some amazing people over my career - people who have inspired, encouraged and supported me in my career both personally and professionally. Without them - I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
HASEL Magazine: As someone deeply involved in optimizing processes and driving organizational success, what strategies do you find most effective in fostering innovation and growth within a company?
Adile Abbadi-Macintosh: The first strategy I would say that has been effective is understanding the past. This stems from my paleontology days (in order to understand the future - you must first look at the past) - but also connects with my love of business analysis. In order to solve problems - you need to understand what you are doing today as an organization. You can’t grow if you don’t have a baseline to refer to or base change against. You can’t build requirements - if you don’t understand the problems you are trying to solve. Taking the time to understand, document, and analyze your complex business processes and the problems within those processes sets the foundation for innovation and growth within a company.
The second strategy is once you understand your baseline - don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes, Experiment, test and innovate. Look at the details carefully - sometimes the small things matter. Not everything you do will be successful - but every once in a while - something magical happens - and you discover something new and exciting. It’s funny - listening to me say this - again makes me think of my paleontological days - digging up fossils and looking through microscopes trying to discover and understand the intricacies of the past!
Talent ADILE ABBADI-MACINTOSH / Photography by IHOR SAVELIEV / Grooming ANASTASIIA SAVELIEVA
HASEL Magazine: Can you tell us about some of the most impactful projects you’ve worked on in your career, particularly those involving the fusion of technology and business?
Adile Abbadi-Macintosh: I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing clients and companies on some really fun and interesting projects over my 25-year career. They were all unique in their own special way and some were really challenging to say the least. But I would say two stand out amongst them all - the digital pharmacy/health platform I built for Minit Drugs and the tournament management system for Spruce Meadows.
At Minit Drugs - I built a full-fledged web-based app that not only managed all online e-commerce activities but was also an internal pharmacy fulfillment platform that did drug interaction reviews, managed pharmacy activities, and supported a digital health record for our patients. It was a great project because a lot of what we were doing had never been done before in an online setting. There was a lot of innovation and experimentation that actually resulted in us getting numerous SRED credits for the platform we built. It also increased our efficiency as an organization and allowed us to provide excellent customer service to our customers. The platform allowed us the ability to process thousands of orders per day over my time at Minit Drugs.
The second project I worked on was a lot of fun for a number of reasons. First I had to build a platform for a business I knew very little about. I had to learn everything there was about running a horse jumping tournament - from the way horses, riders, and owners were managed and supported during an event to the unique rules associated with running internationally recognized and regulated competitions. The result was a platform that managed all aspects of running a horse jumping competition. This included rider/horse registration, accounting, the physical running of the competition itself, dealing with results and payouts to integrations with international third-parties and governing bodies. The system itself not only helped improve internal operations but also allowed Spruce Meadows the ability to provide new services to its customers it wasn’t able to do in the past.
I’m quite proud of all the projects I’ve delivered in my career - but these two for sure stand out amongst the crowd.
Adile seems like a unique and special person.