Gazanfarulla Khan, also known as Ace Pilot or Khan, is a Lead Digital Creative Officer at Qatar Duty Free. Khan specializes in digital media tools, strategy and techniques. He currently manages all social media channels at Qatar Duty Free and helps the digital team in maintaining and updating the duty free website. With a previous working experience in an agency handling sports, banking and telecom clients, Khan has gained a good command over the local market in Qatar. Khan is also an aviation expert, this is why he is known as @acepilotkhan across all online channels.
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM My morning usually begins at 6:00am. After a morning news run down through what’s happening in the digital world, and a quick view of the love received on Instagram I am all freshen up and ready to begin the day. My day only gets better with a breakfast made with lots of love by my mom. Sipping coffee and listening to my favorite tunes is how I spend 7-8 am while I drive to work. I do not text and drive, but there can be amazing snapchat moments that have to be taken sometimes. 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM After swiping into the building and greeting colleagues, I reach my desk. It always feels good to be back to a neat table to begin work. After making a flask of Arabic tea and coffee, which will be on my desk for anyone to have, I dive into my emails and work on social media channels getting back to customers who had queries overnight. Working in a fast-paced retail environment means there is usually a great amount of queries from passengers at any point in time. At this time on a weekend, I am usually busy with #BreakfastWithKhan, where I catch up with awesome people in Doha over social media channels. 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM By this time I am planning on what the day will have for me and plan ahead on projects under preparation. After catching up on all work emails, I look up some inspirations for the day. Inspiration in my field could simply be a good blog or a surprising new video, or even a breakthrough in aviation and maybe some memes. Working in the digital/social field there is always something to learn and learning is the quality of every successful professional. Beginning of every week we are either in a team meeting getting updates on what’s coming up or taking a tour of the airport making sure that everything looks perfect. 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM 1:00pm is lunch time but not when it’s a busy day. This gives me time to catch up with our category managers who usually update me on which brands we have in the airport, what’s new etc. The best part of my job is interacting with brands, learning how they do things and how I can adapt it to my work. 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM This is most probably the busiest part of the day. I am either attending meetings, working with designers on new artworks or getting creative myself with something interesting for the online community. Being a lead creative officer involves a lot of responsibilities to create new themes and projects to engage the online community. With an understanding and cooperating team at work this job becomes easier as everyone are on the same page. 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Its 5:00pm. Yay. Time to go home or maybe not. It’s never actually the case that we are looking at the clock to head home. After I wrap up work, depending on the day of the week, I am out with friends catching on what’s happening in our lives and the social scene in Qatar. I am either trying out a new menu at one of Doha’s finest restaurants, networking at a social event, or even volunteering for an event. Doha being such a small place, you always run into people you know. 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM This could either mean early bed time or a night out with friends or family.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? When everyone is at the airport only when they travel, I get to be there more frequently than a frequent traveler himself. Other rewarding parts are working with big brands, sharing knowledge, and delivering projects to the public. What is the most challenging part of your job? Being in retail it’s always challenging to stick to cultural norms and understandings, and yet come out with something social and fun and engaging for the community. Do you read? When? I do dedicate a few hours a day to read something quick online. Weekends is when I can sit down with a book and some coffee for real reading time. Do you have a mentor? I take in Silicon Valley marketing executive Guy Kawasaki as an idol/mentor. There is a lot to learn from him! What advice do you give young professionals who want to enter your field? Experience is what you would gain over x amount of years. There is always a learning curve in this field and I am still learning new things every day. Sharing knowledge and learning is the best tool to move ahead in this field. Make connections, grow friends, and you’ll be OK.
