This is part of a monthly series in which we get to know Sifties.
Chantal Boctor is our Contracts and Procurement Manager and has been with Sift for eight months. If she could eat just one food for the rest of her life it would be flatbread, both sweet and savory. But if she could only eat one cuisine for the rest of her life, “it would 10,000% be Mediterranean.”
If a movie was made of your life, what genre would it be and who would play you?
The genre would be dramedy with a happy ending, like Remember the Titans, and would center around struggle and rising to the occasion. Though she’s not an actress, it would have to be Amal Clooney in the role. Why? Because she’s Middle Eastern, she’s a lawyer, and a powerhouse.
Do you speak another language?
I speak four languages: French, Arabic, English, and Spanish, and that’s in the order in which they were taught to me. I grew up in Cairo, where French and Arabic are spoken; my grandparents spoke French and put my parents in French schools, and then my parents put me and my siblings in international schools.
My parents also know Spanish, so I knew a little conversationally, but I double majored in Political Science and Spanish in college.
If you could pick only 5 words to describe your life, what would they be?
- Education: Both professional and personal
- Experience
- Deliberate: With positive connotations, as in, having a deliberate approach to your day where you put into practice respect, understanding, hard work, and kindness
- Humility: Tied to kindness; a demonstration of self-awareness, but not meekness
- Joy: I like this word more than happiness because happiness has been diluted, commercialized, and over-monetized, while joy feels more profound
How did you get interested in your current role?
I was initially drawn to Sift because of the company’s vision and potential to break into the tech world, and the people. My experience as a BDR was irreplaceable; I had the opportunity to sit at the first line of offense for prospects and I picked up on legal and compliance issues on that team, which led me to my current role. Today I lead contracts and procurement for Sales and Marketing on the Biz Ops team and I love it!
What draws you to certain films and why do you love movies so much?
My favorite movies are Goodwill Hunting and Remember the Titans – I watch them every couple of months and can recite the entire scripts of both. The screenwriting is so well done and the actors did a great job of communicating their emotions.
I just realized that “movie” has the word “move” in it. That’s what draws me to movies. I like to be moved and to feel positive and negative emotions; I think it’s powerful when those feelings can be triggered by what you see on screen, especially when you’re feeling lost and need hope and guidance. That’s why I like dramedies more than rom-coms or comedies.
