Her Story
About Ariba
My career journey began with a bachelor's in computer engineering, where I initially aimed to become a software engineer but quickly discovered my passion for working with data and databases. This led me to pursue my master's in business data analytics at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where I was an international student coming from Pakistan - the first one from my family to go abroad and study. During my master's program, I worked on campus part-time as a student assistant at the VP of Education and Administration office, analyzing data on professor performance and course evaluations. After completing my master's, I spent 7 years at Green Book (which was acquired by Material Plus), where I rose to Associate Director of Marketing and Data Science. In this role, I led customer analytics practices, focusing on customer loyalty, quantitative advanced data analytics, and customer journey analytics. I worked extensively with clickstream analytics - log data from web and app devices - to help brands understand how people use their digital products and improve online experiences. My work with Google resulted in insights published in Think with Google articles that have informed industry decisions. Currently, I volunteer as a lead researcher at Elite Research Group LLC, where I manage a team of analysts and junior researchers, helping students across U.S. and global universities construct research papers for journals. My research focuses on how AI is changing consumer behavior, particularly as consumers shift from traditional search engines to using LLMs and AI agents to discover brands and products. I'm also actively involved in the industry as a judge for UC Berkeley's Big Ideas competition, NASA's Tech competition, and hackathons at UC Riverside. Additionally, I serve as a peer reviewer for the American Journal of AI and the Academy of Management. I'm currently pursuing my doctorate in business intelligence and advanced analytics at Westcliff University, with my dissertation focusing on how AI is transforming consumer behavior. Before all of this, I was a professional cricketer for about five and a half years, representing Karachi Women's team and the Higher Education Commission team in Pakistan while completing my bachelor's degree.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ariba
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think the motivation that I get from my family and my friends has been the biggest factor in my success. They probably see me doing greater things than I would imagine for myself, so that's always been a motivation for me. Even before starting the doctorate program, I had self-doubts, but my friend motivated me a lot. Having that kind of support system has been so important - they believe in me and push me forward even when I'm uncertain about myself.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think there's always been some doubts in the upcoming generation as to whether coding skills are still relevant and important, because AI can do that now. I actually think it's definitely important, because even in the future, if AI is writing all the code or writing most of the code, humans would still be needed - humans would still be in the loop of things to review that and make decisions. So I actually think it's even more important to know those skills, and not just in terms of executing on tasks, but you also have to be a decision maker on your day-to-day tasks. Previously, for entry-level roles, we used to rely on our managers and our mentors to review things for us and help guide us throughout our day-to-day work. But I think that even for entry-level roles and mid-level roles, it's more important to be that person who can make decisions on the go. And yeah, still use AI, but use it responsibly.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Currently the biggest challenge is definitely how AI is causing this disruption across industries, which has made companies fast-forward their digital transformation. Companies are now investing time and effort towards things they weren't before, like adding AI agents to their digital platforms, tracking those consumer behaviors and finding patterns through those platforms. There's also the challenge of measuring the ROI on AI - there's been a lot of investment recently across industries related to AI, but there's not a lot of ROI or performance measurement for that, so I'm interested in how that shapes the future. In terms of opportunities, the field is definitely changing a lot. There's a lot of opportunity in CRO-related roles, because now companies have to update their app and web platforms to have those AI agents, like sales agents and customer service agents online. And that brings in data analysts with those particular skills who can tap into those platforms, not only just understand that behavior, but then also build AI agents. Similarly, in the research industry, there's a lot of work being done on syndicated data - that's all AI-generated data, because now it's more of AI shaping consumer decisions. The space is changing from traditional SEO to generative engine optimization, which I'm really looking forward to.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, I'm a big believer of family values - I stay connected with my family. I'm also big on healthcare and fitness, especially after COVID, because I've seen my elders struggle through that period, so I want to work for a cause that focuses on that. In terms of my professional career, I think data privacy and security are very important in the world that we live in right now. I'm also a big believer in AI ethics, because every now and then, there are new data breaches happening, and AI being trained on consumer data without getting their consent. So yeah, I'm a big believer on privacy in general.
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