Moe Haidar has always been driven by a desire to build things. From freelancing as a teenager to developing mobile applications during the smartphone boom, the seeds of a technology career were planted early.

Today, as Head of Agentic AI and Engineering at Nexthink, Moe leads the company's most ambitious project to date: an autonomous AI agent called Spark, designed to disrupt IT service management.

His role combines deep technical architecture, product innovation and executive strategy, and encompasses establishing the AI foundations that will help Nexthink become an AI-native company.

A passion for products

Moe studied electrical and computer engineering at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon, where the curriculum focused on software, hardware and embedded systems.

“From my early days before university, I always loved to create products,” he reflects. 

“With the mobile era, I started to create mobile applications – and when I was 14 or 15, I was fascinated with robots, like all young people.”

That passion for building quickly drew him toward software and startups. Before joining Nexthink, he co-founded an AI startup focused on NLP and text-to-video technology, which was subsequently acquired.

Joining Nexthink – and never looking back

Moe joined Nexthink a decade ago, fresh from his startup exit. At the time, he was looking to be part of a scale-up where he could learn what it takes to build a multi-billion dollar company.

“A friend of mine told me this was a great company with a lot of potential,” he explains. “I met a couple of people there and, within a week, decided to join.”

Moe has since established a new department focused on developing AI at scale, building products set to be used by more than 20 million people.

"There are three things that really matter to me: the challenge, the impact and the people," he says. "At Nexthink, every day brings a new challenge – whether it's a technology problem, an organisational question or launching a new product.

Moe adds that working alongside visionary leaders, including the CEO, CTO and Chief Product Officer, makes the environment particularly compelling.

Keeping up with AI

The biggest professional challenge Moe currently faces is the breakneck speed of AI development. He describes last year as “hectic” –  a constant process of filtering signals from noise as new tools and technologies emerged daily.

"Every day there's something new and you have to assess very quickly what is good and what isn't," he explains. 

Beyond that, talent acquisition is another problem keeping him up at night: “The talent pool is very small. Every company is fighting for the same people.”

Moe is, nevertheless, well placed to overcome the challenges thrown in his direction. He points to his ability to wear different hats, from engineer to executive, and translate vision across all levels of an organisation.

But it is a piece of advice from a mentor that has perhaps shaped him most. 

"He told me, ‘you don't need to be the first person to talk,’” Moe recalls. “I'm a problem solver. When someone gives me a problem, I want to solve it immediately. But as a leader, it's important to pause and enable others to think and contribute first.”