Not everyone is born lucky. I understand I am a very very lucky individual to be born in a family that taught me all the values needed to be a good human being. I’ve had supportive parents, siblings and friends who have always had my back. I have had the privilege to get higher education, to pursue my dreams, to perform in my career, to marry the person I love, to be alive with a sound mind and healthy body. All these I do not take for granted, not for once. I am lucky to be alive, to laugh, to enjoy, to breathe in the fresh morning air… and for all these I am eternally thankful to the almighty.

That being said, I also believe your luck is what you make of it. Sure, you can be dealt a bad hand in life, but only you can turn your fortune around… with your resilience, with your patience. It is only at your worst times your mettle is tested; your true colors show. And it is only at times of distress that you grow as a person. I believe it is only you who should be in control, and only you who should be blamed for anything that goes south. Because the circumstances of your birth weren’t on your control, but you surely can control how you live. So that when you are at your deathbed, taking in those last breaths, you can look back and say you have lived happy and did the best you could, and you have no regrets at all!  

I am Hamed Ismail, 28 years old, living in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I believe I am accountable and responsible for everything that I get or don’t get in my life. I strive to be the best version of myself every single day, better than before. This is what has motivated me to try to do better and be better in everything I do.

I belong from a humble middle-class family; with my father – a now retired businessman, and my mother – an ideal housewife. I was the youngest of three, my brother being the eldest and my sister being the middle child.

Since childhood I’ve been an introvert… living in my own world of imagination. Painting, sketching and poetry were my childhood hobbies. A writer by heart, an artist by nature. I was also an avid computer gamer, losing myself in the virtual world every now and then. As I grew so did my passion for gaming. Along the lines I picked up the hobby of collecting action figures. Now that I spend most of my time working to build a name for myself in the corporate world, I don’t get the time to do all those things that I did before. But still, every now and then I lose myself in my hobbies.

My brother – a graduate from BUET – IPE is the Head of Manufacturing at the top international sewing thread and supplies company named Coats Group. My sister – an MBBS doctor from Dhaka Medical College and FCPS degree holder is currently working as a Child Specialist in one of the most renowned hospitals of the country. Compared to my siblings I haven’t been quite the accomplished professional yet, but I’m trying my best!

I studied Psychology at my undergraduate years, from the top university of my country – The University of Dhaka. Although initially I aspired to become a Counseling Psychologist, later my focus shifted to marketing when I started working as a Call Center Agent during my university 2^nd year, doing telemarketing calls to USA, UK and Canada. I wanted to be a self-made man from the start, I wanted to start my career early… to get ahead than people of my same age. So, my career started in the BPO industry and that ignited a spark in me… With my natural knack for marketing, I knew I was made to be a marketer. So, while studying I worked tirelessly on the call center industry to hone my skills of sales and marketing. I have been the top sales person at DhakaCalls – a renowned call center of the nation and I was promoted as the supervisor for my contributions.

But I knew I had more to accomplish, so I left the BPO industry and started focusing on freelancing. For two straight years I learned all that I could through free resources online and worked from home, doing freelancing jobs for foreign clients, affiliate marketing and Youtube marketing. I learned web development using WordPress, graphics design, video/audio editing, blogging, content marketing, SEO to name a few. These were some of the best times of my life because while working with foreign clients I acquired skills that have helped me so much in my later years. In the meantime, I completed my undergraduate studies with a CGPA of 3.38. Now it was time to start my corporate career and thanks to my experience, I landed a job at Best Electronics as the Digital Marketing Executive on February 2016. While my peers were only starting out in their careers, I already got a head start with close to 4 years’ experience in the professional field.

In this first job of mine I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much. I always gave my 110% and that didn’t go in vain… Within just 5 months my work attracted the attention of the Managing Director of Esquire Electronics and I was offered the position of Senior Executive there. Although it broke my heart to leave Best Electronics, I did it to take on the challenge because Esquire Electronics did not have any Digital Marketing department then.

Since joining at Esquire Electronics in July 2016, I took it upon myself to take the company to new heights. With close to zero online presence and negligible marketing activities in the past, Esquire has since come so far. Now, Esquire has one of the most visible online presence among all the consumer electronics companies in Bangladesh. Esquire is one of the highest rated and highest selling consumer electronics company in the ecommerce sector of Bangladesh. It started with just me and now we are a team of 5, with me leading from the forefront. Looking after digital strategy, company website, online sales, social media accounts, digital advertising, SEO, call center, promotional designs are just a few of the domains I am directly involved in and supervising. I am not just looking after the digital side, but also making my impact through creative ideas for offline sales campaigns, ATL, BTL activities and strategic partnerships.

I have successfully achieved each and every target I have been given by my management and for my contribution I have been promoted to Assistant Manager on January 2018, just 1.5 years after joining. Now that I look back on everything I’ve achieved so far, I feel great pride. The management has been very kind to have given me wonderful opportunities to work, to grow and to prove my worth. And I am incredibly grateful for all the opportunities that I have had working here. 

My goal is to make Esquire the top electronics company of the nation… a brand that everyone recognizes, trusts and admires. I am working tirelessly towards that goal while simultaneously expanding my own capabilities, challenging my limits and growing myself as a Digital Marketer without any limits.

On July 2019 I was blessed to marry my lover for over 10 years. She has been a constant support to me at all my good times and bad. With her presence beside me, I feel I can do anything, be anything. She is also working in the field of Digital Marketing with a special focus on graphics design and motion graphics, and together I believe we can achieve greatness.

I have had a fulfilling life till now… and I know it gets only better over time. Even if it doesn’t, I’m happy to have come so far. I am happy to leave whatever small impact I can on the universe. I always strive to be the hardest worker in the room because I believe my work to be an integral part of my life… my work is my legacy. And I want to leave a legacy that will be talked about for years to come. I know I can… because I have to.