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SELECT LANGUAGE:
Lionbridge’s Robin Ayoub, Vice President of Sales and General Manger for Canada, recently went on the Knack 4 Business podcast. Read our blog post for a summary of what he shared about his astonishing journey from war-torn Beirut to his high-powered role in Lionbridge. You’ll also learn how Robin’s challenges led him to the Language Services Industry, and we’ll delve into his thoughts on generative AI language services.
Robin’s Beginnings in War-Torn Beirut
Robin’s childhood and adolescence were shaped by the Lebanese Civil War. In the podcast, he discusses how it was necessary for him to grow up quickly and become exceptionally adaptable.
“One of the things that got embedded into my personality, my business, DNA, was that since I was a kid I had to grow up fast. There was not time for living the 'chasing the butterfly' kind of a young age. You had to learn to stand up on both feet, and find a way to survive, or find a way to make a living, for the rest of my siblings.”
This adaptability was crucial. It helped save Robin and his family’s lives.
“I remember once when I was a when I was a young teenager. The bombing campaign continued on our area where we lived in In Beirut. My dad gave me a task. He said, I want you to build a bunker in the backyard of the house. I had no clue what to do, but I built a bunker under the backyard of the house.”
Robin’s versatility and drive served him well in his career — especially at Lionbridge. He prioritizes staying flexible as a leader and keeping abreast of the ever-changing market for AI translation services and AI content creation services.
Developing an Entrepreneurial Spirit
Robin also shared how his background spurred him to develop a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Among other jobs, he learned (as a child) how to make sweaters on a special knitting machine to bring in more family income.
“I went to school. I came back from school. I knit the sweaters, my mom sewed the sweaters together. On the weekend, I had to put them in a bag and go knock on doors selling them. The motivation was, do not come back home with any sweater unsold.”
This is the same spirit he brings to his work serving Lionbridge customers and guiding the Canadian teams below him.
“My favorite quote is ‘never give up.’ Go over, go under, go around, go through, if you have to, but never give up if you believe in something, and you want to accomplish that something.”
Career Achievements in the Language Industry
The podcast covers Robin’s entry into the language services industry and his interest in languages themselves.
“When I got to Canada, I didn't speak English. I spoke French and I spoke Arabic. My French was acceptable, and I could communicate with it, but it was a lot easier for me to learn another language. I needed the language of the work that I'd be doing, or where I'd be employed.”
After meeting a language services company owner on a plane, Robin quickly became a key player in a small language services company. This company was eventually integrated into Lionbridge, where he is the Canadian Vice President of Sales and General Manager.
Additionally, Robin has been elected President of the Canadian Language Industry Association.
Robin’s Thoughts on Generative AI Language Providers
Robin discussed how language service providers must embrace AI translation services and AI content services. He talked about two areas in particular that are booming: human-in-the-loop AI translation and remote interpreting. Robin stressed the importance of balancing human roles in AI solutions. Sometimes a human reviewer is crucial to achieving content goals. Sometimes it’s more important to reduce human intervention to prioritize scale and turnaround time.
“The challenge right now is, how much human do I inject in the process? It doesn't matter if it's language, or a journalist or writing a book, or whatever. How much human do I inject to get the message across to the audience I'm trying to target?”
The second area of interest is AI-enabled interpretation services. While AI localization and AI translation are critical to customers, interpretation is currently in demand. In a post-pandemic business world, people are still choosing to connect remotely.
“A big thing going on within our industry right now is interpretation. Before Covid, everybody was relaxed, doing business face to face. Covid has forced the industry to go remote. It forced our services to diversify, to offer more remote services. One of the things that really saw an increase during and post-Covid is interpretation. Now you have over-the-phone interpretation, remote simultaneous interpretation, etc. We had it before, but now it's accelerated its development, and it's in a propagation, if you will.”
Listen to the Full Episode
Want to listen to the full episode and hear more? You can find Robin’s Knack 4 Business episode here.
Want to learn more about Lionbridge’s AI-powered language and content services? Read our blog.
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