Farah Ali is passionate about championing causes close to her heart.

Throughout her career, Farah has worn many hats, from Co-Founder & CTO at FreightWeb to Vice President of Engineering at Electronic Arts. Today, she's the VP of Technology and Growth Strategy at Electronic Arts, as well as an investor and advisor in a number of startups. 

Farah is also a Co-Founder of the non-profit Pakistani Women in Computing (PWiC), an organization that empowers women and their allies in STEM fields, and the Founder & President One Good Act, an organization focused on empowering those living below the poverty line. 

In March of 2021, Farah was one of the five amazing AboveBoard members we highlighted who are accomplishing huge and wonderful things in their industries. Below, we've excerpted her learnings—and advice—on good leadership.

The most critical skill a good leader can have is listening. 
“Listen thoughtfully to the people around you, filter out the necessary information, and use it to drive decisions and take key actions. Then, most importantly, empower your people and get out of their way.

Anyone who fails to do this will have challenges leading a team or company of any size. People need autonomy in their daily work but they also want a guide to show them the bigger picture and connect the dots from their work to the singular vision of the company. This is the type of leader I strive to be.”