Maya Zabaneh has got an issue with Emily in Paris, the smash-hit rom-com about an American marketing executive adjusting to life in the City of Light. “Emily lives in an apartment, which would be really expensive here,” says Zabaneh, who’s based in the French capital, where she works as a global supply chain digital leader for GE Vernova. “I’ve got a classic studio,” she adds, gesturing at a cozy space that quadruples up as bedroom, living room, kitchen, and home office.

The Jordanian-born Zabaneh plans to own a piano one day but doesn’t have the space in her current quarters. Piano practice is not just Zabaneh’s favorite pastime, but a full-brain workout. She explains how she sight-reads a tricky piece: “I break it down step by step, right hand, then left hand, and then merge the two.” It’s a method she transposes to her day job. “I take a step back, talk to the different stakeholders, and then coordinate interests to try and get the best outcome for everyone,” she says.

You’ve probably guessed that Zabaneh is no casual ivory tinkler, but a classically trained maestro. She’s also a polyglot extraordinaire, an ace ballet dancer and a highly trained tae kwon do artist (four languages, Grade 8, and third-dan black belt, since you asked). All of which has molded her into who she is today: an insatiably curious, prodigiously talented young engineer who wants an environment in which to grow, learn, and eventually lead. And she’s found it at GE Vernova.

Earlier this year, Zabaneh completed the prestigious Digital Technology Leadership Program (DTLP), a kind of in-house MBA course that gave her a taste of four different businesses in two years. She relished the challenge. “It was tough at times, but I love that,” she says. “If I’m not finding something difficult, then I figure I’m just bored and not developing.” She’s only nine months into her current role, but it’s an attitude that should help her chart her path at GE Vernova. “I’m 24, so I’m still trying to shape and understand what I want to become,” Zabaneh says. Still, she’s determined to pay her talents and opportunities forward.

“Being a leader means an ability to get the best out of people,” she says. “That’s how I plan to add value wherever I am.”

All-Around Talent

Zabaneh grew up in a loving family in Jordan’s capital, Amman. She went to the city’s Lycée Français International, where she excelled. When it came time to choose a stream for her baccalaureate, the French equivalent of the high school diploma, she faced a dilemma: indulge her artistic side by pursuing a literature-focused “bac,” or do a science-focused stream and continue satisfying her curiosity in mathematics and physics.

Both her mother and aunt are accomplished computer scientists. (Her aunt was among the first cohort to graduate from the first computer science program at a university in Jordan, which she also helped spearhead, and her mom went on to study in that same program.) “I was pretty lucky to be surrounded by them growing up,” she says. Having such strong female role models, and a zest for adventure, crystallized Zabaneh’s decision. She went for the science-based bac.

And she regrets rien. In 2016, at 17, Zabaneh moved to Paris to study electric and electronic engineering at the Pierre and Marie Curie University, which is now part of the city’s prestigious Sorbonne University. There was no Emily in Paris–style culture clash, not least because Zabaneh already spoke flawless French. She followed up with a master’s degree in the management of innovation in 2021.

A New Chapter

Zabaneh threw herself into student life. But as she entered her fifth year in college, she felt a growing impatience to enter the workplace. “I wanted to open a new chapter of my life,” she says.

She didn’t have to wait long. In early 2021 she won a digital internship at GE Vernova’s cybersecurity unit in Paris. While relaying the good news to her family, it dawned on her that she was following in her mother’s footsteps. “She’d always said that I was going to end up working in computer science like her,” says Zabaneh. “She was right.”

The internship helped her secure a spot in the DTLP. A crash course in four businesses followed: Onshore Wind, Offshore Wind, Hydropower, and Electrification Systems. Each unit posed different challenges, but they all had one thing in common: digital transformation. Zabaneh found herself optimizing software platforms for materials managers at the offshore wind unit, aligning them with the goals of customers taking delivery of giant turbines from GE Vernova’s factories in Saint-Nazaire, France, and Jieyang, China. A year later, she was overseeing manufacturing execution programs for factories in France and India that produce gas-insulated substations, the crucial nodes on grids that step up voltages for long-distance transmission lines or step them down for household consumption.

Zabaneh soaked up everything like a sponge. “I tried to learn as much as I could from each rotation, by talking to people and trying to understand all the processes involved,” she says. Her talent and energy didn’t go unnoticed. Ultimately, she landed a position on her final rotation. Since then the support has been unwavering. “My manager trusts me, gives me the space to grow, and provides plenty of motivation in my role,” she says.

About that role: Zabaneh is working to improve the company’s internal digital channels, allowing factory floor and business-side teams to collaborate smoothly with field-based technicians and engineers. “I’m a bridge between the two,” she explains. Right now, she’s leading a drive toward a paperless shop floor, an initiative that aims to replace cumbersome workshop manuals with easy-to-use touch screens. “It makes everything far more efficient, and much leaner,” she says. “There’s a long road ahead, but we’re now on our way.”

Main Stage

This past February, Zabaneh was winding down for the weekend when her phone rang. A member of GE Vernova’s communications team was on the line, asking if she could attend the company’s spin-off event at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in early April. Oh, and would she mind standing on stage alongside GE Vernova’s legendary “fuel guy,” Jeff Goldmeer? Incredulity ensued. “I asked, ‘You mean like the actual New York Stock Exchange?’ And they were like, ‘Yup,’” says Zabaneh.

A couple of weeks later, she was on a plane to New York. The day passed in a blissful blur. “I had a front-row seat to history,” she says. Before ringing the opening bell, the GE Vernova team was given a private tour of the stock exchange. (A replica of the NYSE bell — which you can see at the end of the recording here — now sits proudly on a shelf in her studio.)

Despite her achievements, Zabaneh is constitutionally unable to rest on her laurels. She’s become an active member of GE Vernova’s Women’s Network, mingling with colleagues at events and beefing up the organization’s presence on social media. Although she believes that the engineering industry is becoming more inclusive, she sees plenty of room for improvement. Zabaneh was often the only woman in the room at university lectures, and she still doesn’t run into many women on-site when she travels in the field. “It’s changing, but slowly,” she says.

So, to pick up the tempo, she arrives early in the office to grab a strong cup of coffee before work begins, and then attacks the day, ticking off her to-do list in a notebook she carries everywhere. She jots down “pearls of wisdom” and has memorized several motivational techniques that are a good fit for the inspirational managerial style she hopes to enact. 

Beyond her leadership ambitions, Zabaneh hopes to live closer to her family one day. “GE Vernova has offices all over the Middle East, such as Cairo, Dubai, Riyadh, but we’re not set up in Jordan,” she observes. If that day ever comes, she’ll be prepared to inspire a new generation through her leadership skills and no small amount of wisdom.

But first she needs to get that piano.