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Zama believes that people should not care about privacy. Not because it doesn't matter, but because it shouldn't be an issue. From data breaches and surveillance of cloud applications to blockchain smart contracts where everything is public, doing things privately online is becoming increasingly complicated. The only way to solve this is to make everything encrypted end-to-end, regardless of where the application runs. And the only way this can happen is if homomorphic encryption becomes mainstream. Zama is a remote-friendly company with headquarters in the center of Paris.
Jeremy Bradley is the COO at Zama, and he oversees day-to-day operations. His position is at the crossroads between strategy, processes, and internal consulting. Most of the company's non-technical functions, including HR, finance, marketing, comms, and legal, fall into his remit. Jeremy's educational and professional background is multidisciplinary. Apart from working across the non-profit, education, and corporate sectors, Jeremy is the author of two novels (2019 Wishing Shelf Book Award Finalist and 2021 Wishing Shelf Book Award Winner). In 2020, he was named Writer of the Year by the IAOTP.
Jeremy states, "Innovation, strategy, creativity. These are the things that drive me. Apart from my current role at Zama, I have worked with several organizations across six continents to shape decision-making, drive communications and partnerships, and oversee operations and projects. I am an expert in organizational culture, internal strategic comms, and company structure."
As a Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jeremy is an innovator. He uses his operational expertise to enhance company efficiency and team effectiveness, continuously devising ways to reinvent business operations in line with evolving market trends. Jeremy leads in adopting cutting-edge technologies, streamlining processes, controlling expenses, and propelling the professional development of the team members. He strives to cultivate an innovation-centric environment, encouraging his team to think outside the box and tackle intricate problems. It fosters continuous improvement and value generation, fortifying the business's position in the competitive deep tech landscape.
Understanding evolving market demands, keeping an eye on employability trends, and constantly thinking about organizational culture are all part and parcel of Jeremy's job. He looks for fresh, data-driven approaches to reimagine the operations. By rolling out new technologies and professional development initiatives that benefit the internal work environment — everything from a streamlined employee cost platform, to OKRs, to public speaking workshops — Zama not only becomes more efficient as a company but remains competitive and adaptable. Jeremy's role in fostering innovation also means creating solutions to complex problems, which ultimately sets new standards and influences trends. This commitment to innovation positions people as leaders, not just meeting but shaping the future of the potential marketplace.
Jeremy says, "I work in a fairly new field. With any up-and-coming technology, there's an inherent risk that the company won't find its market or that a stronger, better competitor will suddenly pop up. So on the operations side of the company, I work diligently to ensure all our administrative policies and procedures are air-tight and well-executed. Ultimately, this impacts the wider industry because the company is better equipped to be a disruptor."
As a COO, the innovation Jeremy instigates profoundly affects Zama's internal workforce. By fostering a culture of innovation, team members are motivated to think creatively and take calculated risks, enhancing their problem-solving skills and adaptability. Implementing innovative technologies streamlines the company's operations and simplifies tasks, reducing stress and improving job satisfaction. This constant striving for improvement also offers opportunities for staff to learn, grow, and upskill, thereby boosting their career progression.
Furthermore, seeing their ideas come to fruition builds a sense of accomplishment and ownership, fostering a more engaged, productive, and committed team. Innovation, hence, becomes a tool for workforce empowerment and development. Jeremy said, "I am always thinking about how to make innovation a reality at all company levels."
Resistance to change is a common hurdle as people often prefer familiar routines to new, untested methods. Managing this resistance and effectively communicating the benefits of change is crucial to successfully implementing innovative ideas.
Innovation often involves taking risks, which can sometimes lead to failure. Jeremy has found that organizations must be prepared to learn from these failures and see them as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks.
Maintaining a constant flow of innovative ideas can be demanding. It requires continual learning and exploration, which may strain resources. Keeping an eye on the budget is thus super important, and one way Jeremy has mastered this is by ensuring the company has real- time access to budget figures and costs.
Additionally, innovation may lead to disruption in the current workflows and could make specific skills or roles obsolete. Thus, ensuring employee re-skilling and managing the transition becomes critical. This COO has done much work identifying new employability trends.
Finally, measuring the impact of innovation can take time and effort. It's essential to have appropriate metrics in place to evaluate the success and learn from the process. Jeremy has found that empowering people at all levels of the organization to track their objectives and measure them against a benchmark is an excellent tool for motivation and reporting.
Jeremy works with external organizations and developer communities to propel innovation within the company. Partnering with industry leaders and other startups also provides Zama with fresh perspectives and new ideas, allowing the company to stay on the cutting edge and avoid stagnation. Through these lines of communication, Zama can learn from others' successes and failures, adapting best practices to the company's context.
Collaborating with research and academic institutions also brings the latest theoretical insights and research findings to the operations, fostering innovation backed by scientific rigor. Zama emphasizes' academic and developer relations to help promote this collaboration.
Jeremy opines that "as a COO, my strength lies in my unique blend of operational expertise, strategic foresight, and commitment to innovation. I cultivate an agile environment, encouraging creative problem-solving while fostering operational efficiency. My dedication to seeking fresh ideas and keenly observing industry trends ensures that we stay ahead of the curve, even when most of my attention is turned inward to developing and strengthening our team and back-office functions."
Quote: Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) solutions, such as the one developed at Zama, will revolutionize the future by enabling secure computation on encrypted data. This breakthrough ensures data privacy, even during analysis or cloud processing, significantly enhancing cybersecurity and advancing fields reliant on confidential data, like healthcare and finance.
Management: Jeremy Bradley, COO, Zama Website: https://www.zama.ai/
