By Tommy Switzgable
“It has captivated me for a long time how contributing to the evolution of the future of work changes people’s lives positively,” says Alp Uguray, CSS’16. “I have always enjoyed exploring technology, whether building an app, learning a new programming language, or designing a product. This led me to launching my website and diving into the field of automation and artificial intelligence.”
It’s no secret that Uguray has had a plethora of professional accomplishments since graduating from Northeastern in December of 2016. After graduation, he moved to San Francisco to work for a robo-advisor application, making an impact on the industry by digitizing mundane tasks so workers can focus on important responsibilities. As a result, he earned a position as a consultant for Symphony Ventures, a budding firm that focused on intelligent process automation. The company was eventually purchased by Sitel Group, the world’s largest Contact Center automation firm. This prompted Uguray to work with a number of AI startups and pave the way to his current role as a consultant for Ashling Partners, the largest intelligent automation boutique consultancy in North America.
Since then, Uguray has made a personal pivot to share his extensive knowledge of the field with the world. From headlining speaking engagements and conferences across the globe to launching his own podcast in May of 2022, Uguray looks to educate the public on the benefits of this blossoming industry. His goal, he says, is to “cover the stories of the founders, entrepreneurs, technologists, creators, and the community who participate in [automation] to educate and transfer expert knowledge to everyone for them to be successful.”
Before his success, however, he credits Northeastern and the co-op program with providing him the tools to help build his future. Uguray is candid about his first co-op experience at a government institution, stating that he “learned more about what [he] hated.” Despite this, it introduced him to the “mundane” tasks that he would go on to revolutionize through his work in his second co-op, where he “got exposure to what [he loves] more…technology and the adoption of automation and AI at a large scale…working at a startup and on innovative technologies to change how people do their work.”
Uguray also places an emphasis on building a network, not only nationally, but globally as well. Using Northeastern’s strong alumni network, he learned to lay the framework of connections immediately. “Early in my career, I learned that building and being part of a community allows one to expand their network with like-minded people, and knowledge, and create potential unknown opportunities in life that one can only figure out their causality when looking back.”
Learn more about Uguray through his podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can reach out to Uguray via LinkedIn.
“The success comes from the execution and resilience.”
Alp uguray, css’16