In December 2023, INMA and Google News Initiative (GNI) awarded their fourth annual Elevate Scholarship to 50 news media professionals from 31 countries. This series features these impressive media professionals who are shaping our industry.

As product lead for the article detail page, Ares Ibrahim has been instrumental in shaping the future of digital platforms at Germany’s Ippen Digital. And it’s a long way from where her career began.

“During and after my studies, I worked as an engineer in the automotive industry,” she said, explaining that after a while, she decided to pivot her career toward software development.

“As a product manager for a legal tech cloud platform, I gained valuable insights into managing both a product and a product team,” she said, adding that it taught her how to use various tools to streamline processes.

Now, in the news media world, she focuses on managing the front-end of the platform, and she said it is a good fit: “It offers the opportunity to further specialise and enhance my skills, particularly in the context of select projects.”

Because of the dynamic nature of the market, Ares said she and her team are constantly developing and tweaking the platform and strategising ways to encourage user registration through enhanced product features.

“When planning our Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and shaping our roadmap, I constantly contemplate what is needed to cultivate user loyalty,” Ares said. “Balancing the introduction of advertising on our site to maximise revenue without disrupting the user experience is another pivotal consideration.”

Additionally, Ares maintains close collaboration with the editorial team and works on joint projects such as developing video content: “I'm consistently attuned to the needs and insights of our colleagues in the newsroom, seeking ways to seamlessly integrate their perspectives into our product. Our ongoing evaluation of user behaviour, which I leverage for development and planning, plays a crucial role in this.”

As an Elevate Scholarship recipient, Ares said she is eager to dig deeper into the business processes of the news media industry.

“Since my primary role revolves around product development with a strong emphasis on creating features that provide added value to end-users and the overall product, the business aspects tend to be somewhat neglected in my field,” she said. “I am eager to further enhance my understanding [of the business]. This will enable me to seamlessly integrate business considerations into my daily work.”

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