Uzair Alaidroos (FEMBA ’23)
Manufacturing Engineering Manager, Northrop Grumman
Who is Uzair Alaidroos?
Uzair “Uzi” Alaidroos, an aerospace manager and engineer and a father, describes who he is by what he has faced over the last two years:
“Twenty-twenty was the year I left a long-time employer for a new one, took on a leadership position with numerous direct reports and significantly more responsibility, began my MBA at UCLA Anderson, and got diagnosed with and defeated thyroid cancer at age 30.”
While it all felt overwhelming, his daughter has kept him grounded. “Before then, it was all about me, what I want to do. But when Lana was born, I got a different perspective on everything. Why am I really here? What’s my reason to work at Northrop? What’s my view on the world?”
Why is he a Wooden Fellow?
“Unlike 90% of the degree-holding disciplines in the aerospace industry,” says Uzi, “manufacturing engineers could not be afforded the luxury of working remotely. I found myself leading a group that was fearful and dejected as a result of our ‘essential-worker’ status. One month into my tenure, a co-worker succumbed to COVID-19.”
That’s when Uzi fully embraced grit and its five characteristics — courage, resilience, endurance, excellence and conscientiousness — as the only way to help his team become confident and productive. He spearheaded empowerment and process improvement initiatives that improved morale. He took this on while also going through two surgeries for his thyroid cancer and attending a top business school — and still earned a 4.0 GPA that quarter.
What inspires him?
Uzi wakes up eager to learn something every day. Getting past the steep phase of a learning curve makes him want to learn “the next big thing,” which is what led him to business school.
His cancer diagnosis was a serious setback to his own well-being, though he looks at it this way: “I never thought about making each day the most productive, most enjoyable until that point. I need to live every day like it’s the best day of my life.
“Leadership is applicable to the entire person, not just in the business setting. Leadership doesn’t end when I walk out the door here today. As a father, it’s my job to be the best possible role model.”