Purposeful presents for the holiday season
Executive education Rise of the online MBA
Slow travel on track
The world’s most spectacular train journeys
The ever-growing importance of ESG Empathetic leadership
From nice-to-have to strategic business imperative CEO hiring The changing path to the top job
Attending the press conference recently for the Middle East’s largest technology showcase, GITEX Global 2022, I had something of an epiphany. I had first set foot in Dubai some 20 years earlier, in the height of a construction boom and when the city was rebranding itself as a tourism destination. Two decades later, we were sat in a luxury yacht club built on land that did not previously exist, anchored by an ambitious vision. That room of media and technology leaders is also hearing about a space that does not physically exist – the metaverse.
It became clear to me that, as sure as Dubai’s skyscrapers and iconic manmade islands had pushed the limits of what was physically ‘possible’, the same vision was being applied to Web 3.0.
It’s good to be where it’s at, which is why we have established new offices in Dubai, to bring our readers more content from the region to watch.
SCOTT BIRCH Chief Content Officer BizClik scott.birch@bizclikmedia.com
It’s good to be where it’s at, which is why we have established new offices in Dubai, to bring our readers more content from the region to watch
presentations, Q&A sessions to 1-2-1 networking, the 2-day hybrid show is an essential deep dive into issues impacting the future of each industry today.
Global giants and innovative startups will all find the perfect platform with direct access to an engaged and active audience. You can’t afford to miss this opportunity.
See you on: 1st-2nd November 2022
Sitting comfortably has taken on an entirely new meaning in recent years, as the eco-friendly credentials of office chairs become as crucial as the ergonomics. In fact, office manufacturers are falling over themselves to design chairs that are as sustainable as they are stylish with reclaimed plastic taking centre stage.
Claiming to be the world’s most sustainable office chair, Humanscale’s award-winning Path chair is made up of nearly 22lbs of ocean plastic, mainly reclaimed fishing nets, along with 100% post-consumer recycled polyester with yarn derived from upcycled plastic bottles.
Not to be out-cycled, iconic brand Herman Miller has also turned to ocean trash as part of its commitment to use 50% recycled content in all materials by 2030. Its bestselling Aeron chair collection (pictured), launched in the ‘90s and labelled the ‘dotcom throne’, now features 2.5lbs of reclaimed plastic (plastic bottles, caps, and fishing nets sourced from India and Indonesia) helping to keep 150 tons of plastic from entering the oceans each year. Herman Miller’s Mirra 2 is similarly sustainable, composed of 46% recycled content and 93% recyclability, and made in a greenhouse facility using 100% renewable electric energy.
Sitting more comfortably now?
World’s fastest-growing wealthy cities
Cities in the Middle East and Africa with strong oil and gas industries are the ones with the
in 2022, according to Henley
When global leaders meet in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27 this month, conversations around the failure of the corporate sector across G7 economies to decarbonise will be high on the agenda. Based on current emissions reduction targets set by companies, no G7 country has a corporate sector likely to decarbonise fast enough to meet the 1.5C target, new analysis by CDP and Oliver Wyman reveals.
Laurent Babikian, Global Director Capital Markets at CDP says it is unacceptable for any country, let alone the world’s most advanced, to have industries displaying so little collective ambition and urges “high-impact companies, and their investors and lenders, to immediately set and honour targets with credible transition plans to allow us to meet this goal.”
The European corporate sector outperforms North America and Asia industry-wide, and improved from 2.7C in 2020 to 2.4C in 2022, thanks in part to a rapid 85% rise in companies with science-based targets.
“In the financial markets, lenders and shareholders are actively seeking ESG opportunities, and crucially, presenting companies with the opportunity to reduce their cost of capital”
Taj Lalli Corporate Finance Director, KPMG UK
“An external CEO can provide an organisation with a fresh perspective which can offer an opportunity to get ahead of their competitors, but it is not without risks which need to be thoughtfully considered and managed”
Claire Skinner Head of Europe and Africa Heidrick & Struggles
“Pretty much any business success story has empathy at its core”
Rob Volpe Empathy activist CEO, Ignite 360
COP27 – G7 corporate sector failing to decarbonise fast enough
As the race for talent continues apace, and companies look to gain a competitive edge in an economy ripe for recession, forward-thinking talent specialists are increasingly turning to AI to facilitate more intelligent hiring, ensuring that only the most appropriate candidates make it to the short list, and the process is fast and precise.
According to recently released Goldman Sachs research, the UK has one of the worst rates of social mobility in the developed world. But the business case for diversity in the workplace is overwhelming. We investigate how the UK is accelerating social mobility in 2022 and beyond.
Citi is close to signing a €100m deal to develop a new office site in the heart of Dublin, in a significant boost to the scale of its European headquarters as banks beef up their presence across the EU following Brexit.
India surpassed the UK to become the fifth largest economy, just behind the US, China, Japan, and Germany. The IMF forecasts growth of 7% for India this year.
Consumer adoption of smartphones, laptops, tablets and smart TVs has decelerated in the past year, signalling a shift away from pandemic-induced technology habits, and more conscious spending amid rising costs and consumer confidence at a historic low.
Financial investment giant Goldman Sachs is expected to layoff hundreds of workers. This follows a reported 48% slump in its second quarter profit as its clients face inflation, rising interest rates, Covid-19, and war in Ukraine.
As the world’s first management consulting firm, Arthur D. Little has been linking people, technology, and strategy for 135 years. We highlight the global firm’s achievements – from multiple firsts, to pioneering research, to innovative strategies designed for the world’s leading organisations.
Arthur Dehon Little and Roger B. Griffin started the business in 1886 in Boston; and in 1890, Arthur formed a second partnership with William H. Walker, professor of applied chemistry at MIT.
The firm’s slogan ‘other people’s troubles are our business’, was born in 1907, and two years later, Arthur D. Little (ADL) was incorporated as the world’s first company seeking to apply technology to industrial growth. Achievements include organising the first R&D lab for GM, and completing 165 studies of Canada’s natural resources and their industrial potential.
This period, which saw ADL led by four presidents following Arthur D Little’s death in 1935, was a time of great discovery for ADL – from contributing significantly to the development of fibreglass, to developing the first realtime online, computerised reservation system for American Airlines with IBM. Projects with J&J and GE in 1951 led to the development of modern logistics management, while an ADL paper published in the HBR marked the transformation of a firm’s focus from technical research to management consulting. ADL opened its first European office (Zurich) in 1957.
These two decades were marked by ADL producing many firsts: first management education program to focus exclusively on training GMs from developing countries; first publication on The Decision Tree, pioneering the now widely used concept for modern decision analysis; producing EU’s first White Paper on telecoms deregulation; first computerised inventory control package for IBM. ADL designed the NASDAQ stock exchange, developed mail handling technologies for the US Postal Service, and planned a modern telecoms system in Saudi Arabia, allowing the Kingdom to advance 100 years.
ADL continues to pioneer research, first into the entire future of the solar energy industry and later pioneering fuel cell research within Nuvera, which received 20% of the US Energy department’s total budget for fuel cell research in 2002. As well as helping to transform Mexican cement company Cemex into an international industry leader, ADL improved factory productivity by 100150% for one of the world’s largest telecom equipment producers and worked closely with the Argentine government to restructure and privatise its stateowned oil company YPF, resulting in unprecedented profits.
ADL has developed worldleading strategies – carbon strategy for one of the leading global chemical players, R&D strategy for the world’s leading children’s hospitals, autonomous taxi strategy for a major Middle East city. They were instrumental in setting the European digital agenda, undertook smart city strategy projects for Dubai and Stockholm, and developed a COVID-19 modelling capability for a pharma. The firm opened 20 offices in the last six years, from Singapore, to Istanbul, to Warsaw. In 2011, ADL became a fullfledged partnership, and in 2021, rebranded for its 135th anniversary, with new branding emphasising ‘The Difference’.
Some of the biggest tech businesses are built on ‘failure’.
Like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Demet Suzan Mutlu dropped out of Harvard and started a business that has soared from dining table to decacorn.
The Turkish entrepreneur founded Trendyol in 2009 and over the last 12 years has taken the ecommerce startup to dizzying heights – from a single shopping site to an ecommerce marketplace model valued at US$16.5bn.
Not only is Trendyol now the leading ecommerce platform in Turkey but it lays claims to being the country’s first tech unicorn –and following a US$1.5bn raise last year, became its first decacorn.
Pretty impressive considering it was launched just 10 years prior at a dining table by then 28-year-old Mutlu. Being the CEO of a tech company, being a woman and being young is rare – but Mutlu makes it look effortless.
After studying at New York University, where she graduated with the highest GPA in the economics department, Mutlu spent time working in brand management for companies like Altria, Procter & Gamble and Reckitt Benckier, in Switzerland, Japan, the US and Turkey, before beginning her MBA at Harvard Business School in 2008.
Spotting a gap in the fashion ecommerce market in Turkey, she took a punt, dropping out of Harvard and bootstrapping US$300,000 of her own funds to set up shop – launching a platform aimed at making fashion accessible for everyone.
Dropping out of Harvard to start a business, Demet Suzan Mutlu scaled Trendyol to become Turkey’s leading ecommerce platform and its first decacorn
The punt paid off with Trendyol reaching US$150m within the first 16 months and growing to become Turkey’s leading ecommerce platform – evolving from a marketplace to a ‘superapp’ by combining its marketplace platform with instant food delivery through its own courier network (Trendyol Go), digital wallet (Trendyol Pay), and Turkey’s leading secondhand C2C channel (Dolap). The Trendyol group has seen its valuation skyrocket by over 20 times in the last three years.
This exponential growth is thanks in part to a surge in online buying in Turkey (66% in 2020) during the pandemic – but is largely thanks to Mutlu’s visionary leadership, hard work, and what she calls having “the right ingredients”.
“I’ve built my finance skills, I’ve built my ability to raise funding from VCs, my ability to understand consumers, my ability to manage people, the ability to write a business plan, the ability to understand operations, to build a supply chain.”
It is this combination of factors that helped Trendyol secure the confidence and dollars of multiple big-name investors, from Alibaba (now a major shareholder) to Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to Softbank – a significant achievement when you consider that just 10% of VC funding goes to women-led companies.
It's not just Trendyol’s substantial growth in the regional and global ecommerce space that is attractive to investors, but its ability to do so while leaving a positive impact.
“We founded Trendyol to create a positive impact in the countries we serve,” says Mutlu. “We bring this into action by supporting the digitalisation of our sellers, empowering local manufacturers and advocating women’s participation in the digital economy and production.”
And that impact is tangible. Not only has Trendyol won the trust of more than 30 million customers, making it one of the
We founded Trendyol to create a positive impact in the countries we serve. We bring this into action by supporting the digitalisation of our sellers, empowering local manufacturers and advocating women’s participation in the digital economy and production
Some might see Or Lenchner’s journey to the top job at Bright Data as unconventional. In 2015, after using the company’s product a few times, Lenchner sent an email to the then CEO (and co-founder) of Bright Data sharing product feedback and suggestions. Minutes later, he received a reply inviting him for an in-person meeting.
And the rest, as they say, is history – with Lenchner joining the industry-leading public web data collection platform.
“I didn’t have any aspirations to work for a company, but the meeting went so well, and I was so impressed by the innovative path these two founders took, as well as by the huge potential the data domain carries, that I literally sold all my assets the next day and joined the company as product manager.”
Sounds unconventional, particularly when you consider that Lenchner –who is passionate about developing products – has no academic degree. Lenchner argues however that the way he was recruited, and three years later nominated as CEO, offers a genuine insight into Bright Data’s culture and DNA.
As CEO of industry-leading public web data collection platform Bright Data, Or Lenchner attributes his company success to allowing all employees complete autonomy
“We are always open to new, genuine feedback and input, no matter where it comes from,” declares Lenchner, who continues to maintain this way of working today. “Back then, in 2015, we were just a few dozen people, but today, we are more than 400 people, and we remain as open and as attuned to feedback as we’ve ever been.”
Now the market leader in public web data collection, Bright Data works with more than 15,000 customers, including the largest industry players from almost every sector – from leading US banks to seven out of 10 leading e-commerce giants, to 88 of the leading 100 universities.
“Even the most reluctant industries have now turned to web data to address the most crucial questions their respective business strategies require,” he says. “This is because everything is on the web, you just need to know how to make sense of it.”
Last year, the company surpassed the US$100m mark in revenue and acquired three companies, including most recently top ecommerce digital analytics provider, Market Beyond – to help launch Bright Insights, which aims to be a game changer in the data industry.
Lenchner says that being profit-focused versus growth-focused is what has kept Bright Data successful and relevant. “We always ask ourselves: are we providing the added value that our customers need? Are we solving all their challenges? Does our data address their toughest, most critical questions? Also, are we future-ready enough? And the answer is ‘yes’.”
Here, we catch up with Or Lenchner to discuss leadership, work culture, and how the company is using data for good.
» The data domain, and particularly the web data domain, is exploding. Recently, one of our customers told me that web data has become more than just a strategic add-on; they regard it like utilities – water or energy. Businesses today use data to address the most critical questions. They know they are constantly judged in real time and that they often need to make split-second decisions. Web data provides them with the ability to make that all-important call, which can make the difference between winning and winning more. Smart businesses are utilising the explosion of data for their benefit, turning it into further growth and profits.
» I believe that being a true leader starts with listening to team members, no matter how junior or senior, and providing them with the freedom to create and manage their own roles and tasks. During the pandemic, it was evident that without such personal autonomy, we would have been less successful. This personal responsibility over your own professional path is key to managing a rapidly growing company.
Listening both to customers and employees is critical too. The tech industry, and especially the data space, follows the split-second rule, meaning we are always advancing toward the next big innovation.
If you stop from time to time and listen closely to your market you will learn a lot, and sometimes choose to recalculate your strategy. Yes, it takes courage to change routes, but doing so can often be the best decision.
» From Bright Data’s early days, we knew that to keep moving fast to address every big and small market need for web data, we needed a culture that was customerfocused – and we needed to remove any obstacles that hinder creativity and innovation. And that’s exactly what we did, and still do today.
Our company DNA focuses on allowing every role to have complete autonomy, empowering everyone to experiment, fail fast and innovate bigger, and to focus on the tasks at hand without being bothered by a million internal alignment calls. Transparent communication plays a huge part in this. Each employee is expected to lead their own role with as much independence as possible, suggest improvements, and even go on calls with customers to better understand their challenges. I think this has always been the secret sauce to our success and is the backbone of our constant innovation.
» As a market leader in our domain, we are committed to much more than just doing business – we are committed to really looking at the data domain and utilising
Following the recent acquisition of top ecommerce digital analytics provider Market Beyond, Bright Data has established a new Bright Insights division, giving customers the complete web data cycle. This will allow leading retail brands, marketplaces, and manufacturers to create strategies based on quality-driven data insights and, in turn, optimise and advance their business performance.
its benefits where it matters the most. Launched two years ago, our pro bono program, The Bright Initiative focuses on using data to drive change in the world. Whether providing the tools for essential academic research or supporting valuedriven social causes, like fighting human trafficking or helping teenagers exposed to abuse, just listing these important missions truly reflects on the important societal role this program plays.
Today, we have more than 600 partners from across the world, from the 50-plus organisations that are battling climate change to the 250-plus universities tackling issues like diversity inequity in the financial sector.
» We are growing and expanding our product suite and services. We continue to address our customers' needs with a full data cycle service – we are on our way to doing just that.
The United Arab Emirates is renowned as a place where the improbable often becomes reality. From the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, to iconic man-made islands like Palm Jumeirah, this is a nation where visions are realised.
Two decades ago, one of the UAE’s seven emirates Dubai embarked on a physical transformation that witnessed entire districts emerge from both the sands and sea, creating what is now one of the world’s truly global destinations. Now, it’s time for a digital transformation of even grander proportions, and one that is being masterminded by the entire UAE, with implications for the world.
Evidence of that, if needed, could be found wandering the halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre during the GITEX GLOBAL 2022 event in October, which became the biggest technology gathering in the world. With more than 100,000 attendees, a hall showcasing more than 1,000 startups, and new zones dedicated to coding and the metaverse, the
UAE is making a concerted bid to become the global hub for Web 3.0.
Just a few days earlier, Business Chief was provided exclusive access to the launch of an innovation lab that could provide the key component to all that Web 3.0 promises – cybersecurity.
A joint initiative between the UAE Government, Abu Dhabi Polytechnic and Huawei, the Cyber Pulse Innovation Lab aims to bridge the talent gap that is going wider and deeper in cybersecurity – with some reports estimating that there are as many as 4 million unfilled cyber jobs worldwide.
Just as the UAE has pledged to train or attract 100,000 coders as part of its inspiring Projects Of The 50 programme, so it will train the next generation of Emirati cyber experts to protect the nation and set a new global standard of excellence.
His Excellency H.E Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government, gave the opening address at Abu Dhabi Polytechnic and also spoke exclusively to Business Chief
His Excellency HE Dr Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government, on ambitious plans to build the world’s most secure digital society
Cybersecurity is a team sport, and it cannot be addressed adequately by just one person, one organisation or one country alone
“I would say that the Cyber Pulse Innovation Lab at Abu Dhabi Polytechnic is just the start – my vision is to have cyber security labs to be established in most if not all of the institutes of higher learning in the UAE,” said H.E Al-Kuwaiti.
“The reason is simple – the plan for capacity building in cybersecurity requires aspiring cybersecurity professionals to have solid foundations in appreciating the rigour and need of securing the cyberspace. As such, the lab provides an opportunity to be hands-on.”
Taking cyber theory from the classroom to the lab environment, and working directly with technology suppliers like Huawei means that students will be able to learn about real-time threats and solutions as they appear – best preparing them for corporate roles where they can hit the ground running. And this partnership with Huawei is just the beginning.
“With more vendors coming on board after Huawei has led the way, they will provide a vendor-specific capability that will be useful from applied research and learning perspectives, and that will make the students more relevant to the industry,” said H.E Al-Kuwaiti.
As well as numerous initiatives in play to attract tech innovators and talent to the UAE, the country is committed to providing jobs of the future for Emiratis –and the growing cyber security skills gap is one that can be an opportunity as well as a practical solution.
H.E Al-Kuwaiti admits that the biggest challenge right now is the severe shortage of cybersecurity talent globally. With rapid adoption of digital transformation in the last three years, the talent gap has widened in terms of being able to get the right people with the right expertise in the right place.
There is a global shortage of 2.72 million skilled cybersecurity workers, according to the 2021 Cybersecurity Workforce Study by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, or (ISC)2. Cybersecurity professionals said in the study that the workforce gap remains the numberone barrier to meeting their organisations’ security needs, with 60% reporting that a cybersecurity staffing shortage is placing their organisations at risk.
“The consequences of cybersecurity staff shortages are real and create challenges for organisational success,” adds H.E Al-Kuwaiti. “The right approach to cybersecurity can accelerate organisational transformation by striking a balance between risk and innovation, and that is why in cybersecurity
we always talk about people, process and technology – where people is always the weakest link in the armour.”
While cybersecurity is high on corporate agendas, anecdotal evidence from Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) suggests their warnings often fall on deaf ears, or that funding is woefully inadequate. This may also be one of the reasons why cyber professionals say they are struggling with workloads and stress. Let’s also not forget other headline grabbing events that have highlighted the need for greater sustainability and supply chain resilience. Cyber attacks, by their very nature, are often secretive affairs or impact people in less obvious ways, or gain less social media attention. However, H.E Al Kuwaiti thinks the tide is turning.
“We are seeing that cybersecurity has become a top issue to tackle where the executive management team and the board struggle to understand and reduce the associated risks,” he says. “This is where we are seeing the CISOs get more air-time and respect but it is never enough. Besides working with executive management teams and boards of companies here in the UAE, we also need to galvanise CISOs.
“The UAE Cybersecurity Council fully supports GISEC’s initiative of creating an InfoSec leaders inner-circle, a gathering of an extraordinary league of senior cybersecurity specialists, to create a fellowship with the mission to discuss key challenges to help build cyber resiliency of businesses in the UAE – and from the UAE to the world. Before other people take us seriously, we must first take ourselves seriously and position ourselves correctly.”
The world is facing increasingly difficult and complex challenges with rapid changes across all areas of business globally – from consumer behaviour to workforce culture. Addressing these issues will require the full spectrum of talent available.
Diversity is now not only an equity issue, but one vital to finding solutions, and is a key driver for better business outcomes and good governance. High-performing and diverse boards operate to their fullest potential when they tap into a broad range of people from different ethnicities and races, sexual orientations, age groups, religions, and disability status.
Gender is one of these key diversity markers. Having more senior women as leaders filters down into the whole economy and can help contribute to wider debates on issues such as pay equity, workplace policies and other critical barriers facing women.
Hong Kong lagging world’s largest financial centres – boardroom gender diversity
Despite this importance, lack of board gender diversity continues to be a challenge. In the world’s top largest financial centres, the UK leads with 39.1% (FTSE 100) female board representation, followed by 32% (S&P 500) in the US and 19.7% (SGX 100) in Singapore.
Hong Kong, with just 16.9% female board representation among Hang Seng Index listed companies, has been lagging far behind in closing the board gender diversity gap.
But this glacial pace seems poised to change. Last December, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) announced new regulatory changes to end single gender boards – existing listed companies with single gender boards will have to appoint at least one director of a different gender by the end of 2024, while new IPO applicants with single gender boards will no longer be permitted from July 2022.
The new HKEX listing rules will undeniably improve board gender diversity in the short to medium term as it has created at least 1,300 director seats for women by the end of 2024.
Hong Kong cannot miss the opportunity to make the city a leader on board diversity, argues Fiona Nott, CEO of Hong Kong non-profit The Women’s Foundation
Fiona Nott CEO of The Women’s Foundation, a Hong Kong registered non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong
How Hong Kong can seize the opportunity to improve boardroom diversity
To fully capitalise on this opportunity, companies need to change their current approach to board appointments. Many listed companies in Hong Kong seek to appoint directors from within existing, primarily male-dominated networks, making it challenging for them to find a sufficient number of female board candidates.
Yet Hong Kong is teeming with highly talented women in a wide range of sectors. To tap into this talent pool, boards and companies should broaden their networks, look to support first-time female executive and non-executive directors, look beyond the typical candidate profiles, and consider women outside the city.
They should also consider employing an executive search firm with a track record of delivering a diverse range of suitable candidates and provide a clear brief, including diversity targets. These changes also represent an opportunity for companies to empower their own high-calibre female executives to serve as independent non-executive directors (INEDs) on external boards.
Board-nominating committees can play a more active role in succession planning, setting targets for and identifying diverse candidates, and transparently evaluating the board’s needs and performance to boost the number of female directors.
At The Women’s Foundation, we are urging companies to adopt this multipronged approach and have been long-time advocates for more diverse boards since launching the 30% Club Hong Kong in 2013. One of our main goals is to build the pipeline of women in executive and non-
If Hong Kong really wants the strongest corporate governance, we must aim for 50% women on our corporate boards, in management and in the workforce, so the clear next step is for all companies to set meaningful targets of at least 30% by 2027
In good times and in bad, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) play a vitally important role in the health of your business. M&A can make your organisation more resilient, accelerate transformation, and drive growth. However, there is a new factor in play in these deals that is proving make or break for all stakeholders –environmental, social and governance (ESG).
It’s becoming abundantly clear that climate change will be a defining issue for both governments and businesses for the foreseeable future. The global transition to a low carbon economy is already well underway. Governments are mandating compliance with emissions-reduction targets, and investors are holding organisations accountable for their performance on ESG.
Add to that changing consumer demands (with 90% of Millennials and Gen Zs looking to reduce their impact), not to mention B2B pressures across the value chain, and it’s clear to see that the time to act on ESG is now.
Tackling climate change and making your business not only compliant but also competitive and attractive to both customers and investors is crucial. So how to go about it?
Consultants from Deloitte, KPMG and Roland Berger provide insights on how to handle environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues during M&A activity
When it comes to M&A strategies where ESG is the central driver, there are three main plays, according to Rochel Hoffman, M&A Partner, Deloitte Australia:
• Product plays – investing in businesses whose core product and services drive ESG improvement, such as waste management
• Infrastructure plays – investing in companies that provide the underlying infrastructure for sustainable solutions, such as those in vertical farming
• Technology plays – investing in businesses that are using disruptive technologies to displace the market by creating new product categories, such as those cultivating meat in laboratories
“Following the uncertainty of the last two years, where markets and the world were heavily impacted by COVID-19, we've seen just how important M&A can be in the good times and the bad,” Hoffman tells Business Chief
“Today, market conditions are fluctuating once again, with economic headwinds and geopolitical tensions. During times of uncertainty or 'crisis', M&A is an effective tool for safeguarding for the future. The right deals can help to defend against threats in the market, whilst building the agility and preparedness required to effectively manage future challenges.”
Taj Lalli, Corporate Finance Director at KPMG UK believes M&A is crucial right now to deliver growth. Business owners and managers are dealing with constraints on a daily basis, be that input challenges from a recovering supply chain, people issues due to well publicised recruitment and retention problems, or global energy constraints. All of this puts pressure on delivering organic growth.
“In the financial markets, lenders and shareholders are actively seeking ESG opportunities, and crucially, presenting companies with the opportunity to reduce their cost of capital. Within organisations, corporate values and purpose are also driving change. We’re seeing that as a key battleground in the recruitment and retention of staff”
Taj Lalli
Corporate Finance Director, KPMG UKWill Symons Climate & Sustainability Leader APAC, Deloitte
Lalli says despite recent negative economic news, the equity and debt markets remain supportive and there is plenty of capital to support M&A strategies that deliver on the strategic imperative to achieve net zero, accelerate growth, or provide access to new technology, supply chains and geographies.
“Change is being driven from all sides,” says Lalli. “In the financial markets, lenders and shareholders are actively seeking ESG opportunities, and crucially, presenting companies with the opportunity to reduce their cost of capital.
“Within organisations, corporate values and purpose are also driving change. We’re seeing that as a key battleground in the recruitment and retention of staff.”
M&A can be an accelerator for improving a company’s ESG profile and taking advantage of the current ESG tailwinds, according to Hoffman.
“This can be the case when M&A activity positions the company with access to new capabilities and assets to grow products / services in markets that are positioned to thrive in a low carbon, sustainable economy,” she says.
“Mergers also have the potential to result in opportunities to deliver on operational and financial synergies, which can also lead to carbon footprint (amongst other ESG) synergies for the MergeCo. M&A activity is also increasingly serving as the impetus for the new combined entity or separated entities to redefine (and increase) the level of ambition of their ESG commitments.”
One of the issues with ESG is a clear understanding of what ESG actually means –and this varies depending on the business.
“ESG is a very broad term and how it applies to businesses will depend on the sector they operate in,” adds Lalli. “For example, energy and resource efficiency are likely to be high priorities for manufacturers, but for knowledge-based employers, skills development, diversity and shared prosperity are likely to deliver sustainable benefits.
“Once the ESG priorities are understood, the next stage is to start measuring current performance and identify gaps where M&A can accelerate change. We’re starting to see listed companies lead in this area, and ESG due-diligence is now becoming a routine part of assessing potential acquisition targets.”
“APAC differs from the EU and US in that ESG has not been driven by extensive country regulation. Instead, there is a growing appreciation across APAC that ESG risk can materially impact business value, serve as a source of value creation, and provide access to international markets and competitive green capital within and outside APAC”
Rochel Hoffman, Partner M&A, Deloitte Australia Rochel leads Deloitte Australia’s ESG M&A practice, working with private equity and corporate clients to embed ESG across the deal lifecycle to drive enhanced value and to ensure alignment with investor expectations. Rochel has over 10 years of ESG experience delivering ESG advisory services across a wide range of sectors.
Will Symons, Climate & Sustainability Leader, Deloitte APAC Will leads a group of climate and sustainability practitioners across the region in helping clients solve their complex problems, manage uncertainty and respond to rapid change. He has more than 20 years of international experience, working across all infrastructure classes, leading national-level climate risk assessments, delivering adaptation strategies and advising government agencies on how to align regulatory arrangements to drive more effective climate risk management.
Taj Lalli, Corporate Finance Director, KPMG UK A director within the M&A team, Taj specialises in UK and midmarket transactions and has worked across a range of sectors, advising on acquisitions and disposals, management buy-outs (buy and sell side) and joint ventures. At KPMG, he has worked across the full deal spectrum in the UK, US, Canada and across Europe.
Christof Huth, Partner, Investor Support team, Roland Berger Christof heads the firm’s activities in the DACH and CEE region, working with private equity and corporate clients to solve issues relating to commercial due diligence and value creation. He has led more than 500 buy-side and sell-side commercial due diligences for financial and strategic investors.
Sven Kleindienst, Partner, Restructuring, Performance, Transformation & Transaction team, Roland Berger Sven focused on investor support and assists both private equity and corporate clients in commercial due diligence work, as well as on strategy and value-creation projects. His experience specifically covers the automotive, mechanical engineering and MedTech industries.
In the APAC region, we're seeing a few consistent drivers of M&A. Most notably, CEOs are continuing to pursue intentional growth – that is, setting and executing their own agendas for inorganic growth, rather than being forced into doing deals in response to market conditions. Business transformation, including digital transformation and the energy transition, are also dominant drivers, along with the influence of ESG itself. And private equity continues to have significant levels of dry powder, both globally and within AP, combined with a strong appetite to deploy that capital into the market.
In relation to the energy transition, we’re seeing oil and gas and energy-intensive
Regional variation in ESG expectations and strategies
Geography also plays a hand, with regional variation in ESG expectations and strategies. Europe, for example, had barely begun to recover from the pandemic before the war in Ukraine added extra levels of shock and risk to navigate. From severe disruptions to food supply chains to economic sanctions impacting soaring energy prices, businesses are facing unexpected shocks and see M&A as a potential safety net.
Christof Huth, partner at global consultants Roland Berger, says companies in Europe are looking to strengthen their core business to become less susceptible to these kinds of shocks. “Times like these
industries particularly looking to shift their portfolios and processes towards clean energy growth areas such as carbon capture, hydrogen, renewables, and other clean technologies.
We’ve recently seen a sharp rise in the number of clients across AP and we’re helping them scan the market, transact, access green capital, or set up deep ecosystems to leverage green energy and technologies. Examples include BHPs recent attempt to take over OZ Minerals6 as they look to secure assets for a shift into clean energy and electric vehicles (EVs).
Our 2022 Heads of M&A survey in Australia and New Zealand found that almost 50% of respondents have or are planning to re-evaluate their portfolios to acquire or divest through the lens of ESG.
show how resilient the business model really is and companies may need to reshape themselves – one important tool to become more resilient to crisis is M&A activity.”
Fellow partner at Roland Berger, Sven Kleindienst, says ESG will be just as important as traditional motives, such as geographical or product expansion, digitalisation and cycle resilience, in the next five years. He says the European market is a clear frontrunner in this drive towards ESG.
“ESG is already playing a large role in companies' target selection processes and due diligence and it is expected to further
"In times where it is extremely important for companies to be ESG compliant, green washing has become a problem – also for investors, making it more difficult to distinguish between actual sustainability leaders and those just claiming to be. Against this background, it is imperative to have data ready to back up the ESG claims made during the M&A process”
Christof Huth Partner, Investor Support team, Roland Berger
According to Sven Kleindienst, Partner of the Restructuring, Performance, Transformation & Transaction team at Roland Berger, add-on acquisitions for geographical or product expansion, digitalisation and cycle resilience are seen as the most important factors for M&A. But ESG is expected to become just as important for M&A in the coming five years, as ESG will be one of the
key market drivers next to digitalization, he says.
“The European market is a clear frontrunner with regards to this! Currently, M&A activity in Europe is centered around companies from the segments of technology, pharma & healthcare, and business services & logistics, especially due to the strong growth outlooks as well as their expected resilience to economic or political crisis."
“We see great potential in the ESG-focused transformation of companies from a value perspective – already, certain PE investors are leading the change in this and strongly focusing on implementing ESG initiatives for this reason. Incentives need to be provided based on ESG targets and not only on short-term profits to be able to realise this potential”
Sven Kleindienst Partner, Restructuring, Performance, Transformation & Transaction team, Roland Berger
increase,” says Kleindienst. “Transforming your own company towards being more sustainable is not easily done. Acquiring the knowledge and processes from a company with an advanced ESG and managing system or a more sustainable product service offering can strongly accelerate the transformation compared to developing everything in-house.
“Having a superior sustainable offering and fulfilling further ESG criteria is increasingly valued by the acquiring strategic or financial investors.”
The APAC picture includes a “wide range of attitudes” according to Will Symons, Climate & Sustainability Leader, Deloitte Asia Pacific, who says the ‘E’ in ESG can be a risk exercise to appease global investors and pension funds.
“This is partly rooted in the context that APAC differs from the EU and US in that ESG has not been driven by extensive country regulation,” says Symons. “Instead, there is a growing appreciation across APAC that ESG risk can materially impact business value, serve as a source of value creation and provide access to international markets and competitive green capital within and outside APAC.”
ESG should be embedded into core business Understanding the value creation opportunities that exist in relation to ESG across different sectors is also driving the integration of ESG into M&A decisionmaking. ESG is increasingly being used as a lens to identify new sources of growth and competitive differentiation, with M&A being an accelerator for delivering on such strategic priorities.
There is no doubting the CEO exodus. Chief executive departures hit a 20-year high in the first half of 2022, with 668 chiefs leaving their roles at US firms between January and May 2022. This marks the highest total of CEO departures in this period since 2002, when metric tracking began, and is 24% higher than in the same period last year.
“The CEO exodus continues,” says Andrew Challenger, SVP, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, attributing the shifts to current economic conditions – rising inflation, recession concerns, and re-evaluation of priorities post-pandemic.
Amid current geopolitical and economic changes, the ‘Great Resignation’ phenomenon has impacted CEOs just as much as any other leadership role, Claire Skinner, Head of
Europe and Africa for Heidrick & Struggles tells Business Chief. “Many leaders are seeing this moment of disruption as an opportunity for them to expand their impact and influence to innovate and find new ways to grow for the future,” she says.
“There has been an increase in opportunities around Boards of Directors, and some CEOs who still want to have an impact say they are more interested in taking
a role on a Board. Still others are taking a step back, choosing earlier retirement, extended sabbatical or looking for a role that better aligns to their core values.”
The continued escalation in chief executive turnover, not to mention societal changes and demand for diversity, has prompted many organisations to increase investment in succession planning and widen their horizons in the search for their next leader.
Organisations are widening their horizons in the search for their next CEO –considering external candidates and those from less traditional C-suite pathways
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Skinner says organisations not only recognise that there is now more at stake for society, and for companies and their boards, but that more is uncertain, and new skills and competencies are required.
And so, they are “returning to a more expansive view of CEO succession” and increasingly taking a broad, diverse, and multi-time period approach – considering external candidates and those from less traditional C-suite pathways.
“As companies look for diversity in CEO successors, whether it be gender, ethnicity or other, it is necessary to look at less traditional backgrounds,” says Skinner. “We are seeing significant investment in developing internal leaders and scanning external talent against the backdrop of rapidly evolving geopolitical scenarios and across multiple time horizons.”
Boards have long favoured internal, but are now widening search externally Traditionally, S&P 500 boards have long favoured internal candidates, with internal promotions marking 80% of all CEO transitions in 2021. Korn Ferry data backs this up. In the Fortune 1000, many more boards promote internally than hire externally, though conversely, the private market is almost uniquely external.
Reasons for hiring internally are multiple, not least because an external candidate’s lack of internal social networks can hamper their effectiveness, a recent university study found.
John Kurtz, a Partner in the Leadership Change & Organization practice of Kearney tells Business Chief that it can be hard for external CEO hires to understand deeply the culture of a complex organisation and to read and then motivate the whole organisation. While the facts of a company – its markets, financials, strategic opportunities – can be
“If there has been a major strategic shift in strategy, operating model or geography, this may require different experiences and skill sets than those found within the organisation. An external candidate can provide an organisation with a fresh perspective which can offer an opportunity to get ahead of their competitors, but it is not without risks which need to be thoughtfully considered and managed”
Claire Skinner Head of Europe and Africa, Heidrick & StrugglesJohn Kurtz Partner in the Leadership Change & Organization practice, Kearney
quickly learned by most smart executives, it is the “ability to understand nuances and drive a change process that is the challenge”.
But Kurtz tells Business Chief that increasingly Boards are discovering they and their CEOs have not done a thorough job in truly preparing for succession – with many firms failing to plan for truly diverse candidates and innovative approaches to ESG.
“Gaps in this process have been exacerbated and become clear in COVID times as market and supply chain challenges have laid bare the gaps in many executives’ readiness to take on the really complex environments that many companies are now facing,” he says. “Demand for deep knowledge of operations and supply chain has increased significantly in the last two years, especially in consumer products and manufacturing sectors.”
Tierney Remick, VC and Co-leader of Korn Ferry’s Global Board and CEO Practice also points to lack of readiness of internal candidates and to the new pivot in business as growing reasons why external candidates might be favoured today.
“It is often very difficult for a long-standing executive to assume a different, and strong, change-oriented stance if she or he was a significant part of the prior leadership. It is much easier in a situation that requires major transformation to have those changes made by a new CEO from the outside, often surrounded by a few key other executives who share her or his drive for significant change”
Regardless of the route taken to the top, the best performing chiefs have a true profit and loss mindset, not a functional one, says Tierney Remick, VC and Co-leader of Korn Ferry’s Global Board and CEO Practice. “Our data shows strong commercial leaders, strong operational leaders, and in some cases strong innovation leaders becoming CEOs.”
According to Remick, the highest performing CEOs know how to drive the business today while at the same time envisioning the future. “We call it the ‘perform and transform’ continuum, but it is really about being able to manage the natural polarities of driving for results while continuously anticipating how to meet the future.”
Remick says that the best CEOs, now and in the future, are not necessarily the most highly educated or the most welltrained early on, but they are continuous
learners “who have evolved themselves and understand the distinction between leading versus telling”, and distinguish themselves with certain mindsets and values:
• They have real courage. They speak up on those issues that matter to the ecosystem the lead and represent
• They are very resilient given the ambiguity and uncertainties that are inherent in today's dynamic market
• They are Inclusive and build true followership they don't just demand it
• They have integrity and lead with a real sense of purpose and mission
“THE BEST CEOS ARE CONTINUOUS LEARNERS”
While CEO hiring in the west leans towards internal candidates, in India, external candidates are favoured with roughly 65-70% of hires external and 25-30% internal, according to Sanjay Shetty, Talent Partner at Randstad India, a leading HR services provider in the country.
However, more organisations in India are now investing in their internal career streaming and succession planning, he says.
Sanjay acknowledges there are disadvantages to hiring externally, and especially today. “The gestation period has shortened, and the performance threshold is higher, so external candidates really have to hit the ground running, which can be challenging without the social connections and internal network.”
That said, external hires can bring new ideas, fresh perspectives, and no baggage – something many organisations are looking for in the post-pandemic era.
“The pandemic changed the way we work, from increased digitisation to changes in the supply processes to a workfrom-anywhere model, and organisations are looking for leaders who understand this and can get on board with the new world of work,” says
Among other reasons, Remick cites a major organisational transaction that changes the profile need for a CEO, and demand for very deep turnaround skills.
External hires can bring fresh perspectives, innovative approaches Skinner concurs that an external CEO is preferable if a company has a major strategic shift in strategy, operating model, or geography, requiring different experiences than those found internally.
“If an industry is being disrupted and requires different skills, or if they are entering a different cycle pivoting from growth to consolidation or turnaround,” she says. “Equally, an ethical issue may have been identified at the top, or investors are looking for a shift, and a new leader with external perspective may be required to drive a significant transformation.”
Starbucks is a case in point. The coffee chain giant, which hopes to name a permanent successor to the CEO role later this year, is only considering external talent for the top job – a deliberate strategy to find “a different kind of leader to manage changing worker and consumer behaviour”, Interim CEO Howard Schultz said. “For the future of the company, we need a domain of experience and expertise in a number of disciplines that we don’t have now.”
Kurtz argues that it is much easier in a situation that requires major transformation to have those changes implemented by an external CEO, one surrounded by a few key executives who share her or his drive for significant change. Conversely, it can be very difficult for a long-standing executive to assume a different, and strong, changeoriented stance if she or he was a significant part of the prior leadership.
While nobody would argue the Covid19 pandemic was anything but terrible, we can say some things changed for the better when it comes to work. The necessity to work from home, for example, has delivered more balance and flexibility for employees. While pandemicinduced employee burnout has made mental health support a workplace issue.
Challenges like this are where an empathetic leader can truly thrive. Cheryl Fields Tyler, founder and CEO of California-based Blue Beyond Consulting, a management consulting firm that works with mainly Fortune 500 firms, says the pandemic thrust all of us into situations where we were suddenly in each other’s lives in ways we had never been before.
“One day life was comparatively normal and the next we were going through this profound experience together – overwhelming loss of life, the deaths of George Floyd and others who put the harsh reality of racial injustice front and centre, the grit and suffering of frontline workers who extended themselves on behalf of society, and many others who struggled to balance remote work with childcare, mental health issues, layoffs, and so on.”
The pandemic and calls for corporate accountability for racial inequalities ushered in a new era of empathy, in which business itself must play a central role in prioritising the physical and emotional wellbeing of all stakeholders – from employees to customers to suppliers – as well as the communities in which they operate.
An empathy activist, speaker, business strategist and CEO of Ignite 360, a San Francisco-based consumer insight and strategy firm where he leads a team of insights, strategy and creative professionals elevating human understanding to release untapped potential for the world’s leading brands. He is also the author of Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time.
The founder and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting, a management consulting firm in San Francisco working with Fortune 500 firms, nonprofits, and governments to design and implement large-scale business transformation efforts. She has more than three decades of consulting experience, is a member of the Forbes Business Council, and was honoured as a 2020 For All Leader of the year by the Great Place to Work Institute.
A digital leader and heads up the UK business for Stockholmheadquartered Precis Digital, an award-winning, data-driven digital marketing agency that has been vogted one of the UK’s best places to work in the Best Workplaces Awards. He manages and scales the UK business, and leads privacy, analytics and marketing ethics strategy for the entire Group. He is a former Google consultant.
“Business has a new driver – moral capital,” declares Fields Tyler. “People want businesses and their leaders to take a stand, but they also want them to create the shared context of values, information, capabilities, and connection to help break the cycle of mistrust. And this is where empathetic leadership comes in.”
Empathetic leadership – from a nice-tohave to strategic business imperative Empathetic leadership is nothing new, but it has taken on fresh significance. Long considered a ‘soft skill’ – the antithesis of strength, success, and resilience, all skills
traditionally associated with business –empathetic leadership has been gaining momentum in recent years and is now widely considered the most effective leadership trait in 2022.
“We’ve been heading toward this embrace of empathetic skills for over a decade now with the growing awareness that EQ [emotional quotient] is as important as IQ [intelligence quotient],” explains Rob Volpe, an empathy activist, speaker, business strategist and CEO of Ignite 360, a consumer insight and strategy firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Then the pandemic crashed into our lives, creating a situation where employees needed support from leadership in new ways as they adapted to working from home. “Many leaders were unequipped to provide this enhanced level of support and management,” asserts Volpe, and as a result, “employees weren’t feeling supported, weakening their connection to the company.”
It's one of the causes of the Great Resignation, and why empathetic leadership has become a business imperative rather than a nice-to-have as organisations look to attract and retain talent.
For nearly half (44%) of the Informed Public, being in a workplace with more empathy and human connection is more important to them now than it was prepandemic. And it’s even more important for younger employees (52%) and parents (49%).
What is empathetic leadership, and how does it work in practice?
Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share how someone else feels, to take the point of view of others into consideration so that they feel seen and heard.
“In business, it means seeing your team and colleagues as whole people, understanding their point of view, and using that data point in your decisionmaking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving and other relevant skills,” explains Volpe.
It all starts with “perspective taking”, adds Fields Tyler, and recognising that others’ perspectives are often different and always valuable. “Good business leaders are practiced in empathy because it helps us make better decisions when we can see things from various points of view.”
Cheryl Fields Tyler Founder and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting
“Empathy is a leadership practice, not just a solitary act or a feeling as it is often perceived. It’s grounded in attentive listening and building deep-trust relationships and requires asking really good questions, listening closely to understand people’s point of view, and demonstrating through your behaviour that you value relationships”
That doesn’t mean leaders should accommodate every request or cater to every whim, however. “Hand-in-hand with empathy goes fairness and balance,” says Rhys Cater, digital leader and MD of award-winning digital marketing agency Precis Digital. “As leaders, we need to balance the needs of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people along with the success of the business.”
To successfully embed empathy requires leaders to build a culture that is at once strong, but also flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of working styles and personalities, explains Cater. It also requires leaders to understand the people that they work with, and how people’s individual working styles, personal
circumstances, and unique background and skills might impact their approach to work.
For example, some people may need help in getting their point across if they aren’t the most naturally assertive, while others might have times when they can’t contribute to their full capacity due to health or personal circumstances.
“Employing empathy in decisionmaking and people management enables companies to get the best from people by matching their skills and personal working styles to the best teams and projects. It unlocks a better understanding of collaboration styles, and the underlying motivations that allow people to deliver to their full potential.
“It also means recognising that not every person can operate at 100% all of the time, and that priorities need to be adapted.”
Rob Volpe, empathy activist and CEO of Ignite 360, believes many people are afraid of empathy because they simply don't understand it. One misconception is that there is only one kind of empathy. “The reality is that there are multiple different forms, notably emotional and cognitive empathy, and it is cognitive empathy that we need to practice in the workplace and much of our daily life,” he says.
Another misconception is that a leader will be seen as weak for practicing empathy. “There is an empathy crisis in society,” he states. “Nearly one-third of American adults report being unable to easily see the point of view of others. We see it play out in both our work and personal lives. Fortunately, we are all born with the ability to have empathy, but we have to have the courage to choose to practice it.”
And for those people who are highly sensitive or empaths, which is a real gift, says Rob, the challenge is to modulate their connection and not let the emotion overcome their cognitive decision-making skills. “The best decisions are made with a combination of head and heart.”
Empathy activist, CEO of Ignite 360
“Understanding and practicing the principles of empathetic leadership enables organisations to generate better innovation, improve productivity, foster a sense of belonging, and improve sales effectiveness. Pretty much any business success story has empathy at its core”
The benefits of empathetic leadership are undeniable and far-reaching. “Everyone benefits when an empathetic approach is employed,” Volpe tells Business Chief. “When you take the perspective of someone else, it enables you to understand their needs and incorporate them into all elements of your work.
“Companies make better products or services that meet the needs of their consumers. And with empathetic leadership, employees feel more support and are able to handle work-life balance. They are also more innovative and less likely to leave the organisation. Empathetic
leadership helps get everyone on the boat rowing in the same direction.”
In fact, numerous studies reveal the positive impact of a culture of empathy on employee morale, motivation, loyalty, tenure, and productivity, with Catalyst research finding empathy to be a key driver of employee outcomes like innovation, engagement, and inclusion.
Rob argues that pretty much any business success story has empathy at its core, and believes empathy is fundamental to so many of the skills we need to excel. “Understanding and practicing the principles of empathetic
Meet the entrepreneurs reaching new heights – Nelly Attar, the first Arab woman to summit K2 and Igor Khalatian, the first Armenian to reach the peak of Mount Everest
When Oracle exec and tech entrepreneur Igor Khalatian climbed Everest in 2002, he had a strategy. Rather than approach the seemingly insurmountable 9,849-metre peak as the goal, he broke the climb down into bite-sized goals, setting his sights first on Camp 1, Camp 2, then 3, 4 – and finally the summit.
It was a strategy that worked. Not only did the 44-year-old executive make it to the top, becoming the first Armenian to summit the world’s tallest mountain, but he
has conquered a further four of the world’s seven highest peaks – Kilimanjaro, McKinley, Aconcagua, Elbrus – and reached the peaks of 200 mountains in total.
It’s the same strategy Igor uses in business. While acknowledging that ambition and vision are critical, Igor says the way to succeed as an entrepreneur is by taking one stage at a time – breaking the goal down into smaller tasks. “It makes the progress manageable and when you achieve each small goal, you build momentum that is then hard to slow.”
And the proof is in the proverbial pudding. Not only does the New York-based serial entrepreneur have 200 mountain climbs, a PhD in computer science, and 13 patents under his belt – he has launched multiple innovative tech products and companies, including SCLAB, HelpMeeting, LiveLook, and his latest venture, Iris.
LiveLook was acquired by Oracle in 2014, while Iris – a dating app that utilises AI technology to match users based on the physical preferences they find attractive in
The number of mountains worldwide with peaks higher than 8,000 metres (dubbed the ‘eight-thousanders’) –they are all distributed in the ranges of the Himalayas and Karakoram.
The number of deaths since 1900 on Mount Annapurna I, making it the deadliest mountain above 8,000m. That means nearly one in three ascents didn’t return.
The age of the oldest known person to summit Mount Everest – Japanese national Yuichiro Miuro who spent 224 days on the mountain in 2013.
The summit-to-death rate of K2, the world’s second highest mountain and one of the deadliest, compared to a 3% rate of Mt Everest. Annapurna I, the 10th highest mountain, is the deadliest at 25%.
The number of mountaineers to have conquered Mt Everest as of December 2021 (on average, 700880 climbers attempt the mountain each year).
Nelly Attar scaling new heights
a partner – recently hit the 1 million user milestone, having grown more than 200% in the last four months.
Igor says the skills and mindset needed to start and scale a successful business mirror those needed to climb a mountain.
“When I was at Base Camp, I watched as about two-thirds of some several hundred people left in the first day or two,” Igor recalls. “It was an extremely harsh environment and one they would have to spend two months acclimating to. The same thing goes for entrepreneurship, especially early on. Investors, markets, and competitors can be harsh and unforgiving – perseverance is how you get from there to traction.”
Igor acknowledges the ability to take risks is also what sets entrepreneurs and climbers apart. “I was drawn to mountain climbing by the promise and excitement of taking risks. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge and climbing presented the Nelly Attar
perfect opportunity. Entrepreneurs, who are excited by a challenge, often seek out this kind of thrill in their personal lives.”
Understanding the risks involved and working out how to navigate through or around them eventually gets you to the places where others simply won’t dare to go, he admits.
This is true too for Saudi-raised partLebanese entrepreneur and mountain climber Nelly Attar, whose ability to navigate risk in business and adventure has taken her to the top of the world and garnered her numerous firsts.
The first Arab woman to summit K2 – the world’s second-highest mountain and one of the deadliest, with fewer than 20 women worldwide having made it to the 8,611-metre summit – Nelly has scaled 17 other peaks across the world including Mount Everest.
The former psychologist is also the founder of Move Studio, Saudi Arabia’s first dance studio, which has paved the way for dance in the Kingdom, enabling thousands of women to be more active and lead healthier lifestyles. She was named one of the most influential women in sports by the Muslim Women Network in 2020.
While Nelly had limited business knowledge when she started her own company, and no climbing experience when she attempted the 5,199-metre Mount Kenya aged 17 with her father, she had purpose – something she considers crucial to any endeavour.
Nelly says when she started Move Studio, inspired by her purpose to help women and children in the Kingdom move, the ‘how’ was unclear. “But I took that first step, and then the steps forward started to become clearer. It’s like taking a step in the fog, you only see the way forward with each step you take.”
Having purpose and passion gave Nelly the direction and drive to keep moving
Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, partLebanese entrepreneur and climber Nelly Attar was working in mental health as a psychologist and coach therapist while teaching fitness part-time when in 2017 she founded Move Studio – Saudi Arabia’s first dance studio, and one of the first of its kind across the Middle East.
“I’m passionate about fitness and especially helping other women access sport,” she says. “I have always found opportunities to be involved in sport, from offering runs through the Nike training club, to working with the Saudi government to launch programmes, while also pursuing my own fitness goals – running marathons and climbing mountains.”
Nelly has successfully scaled 17 peaks, including four peaks out of the Seven Summit challenge, Mount Everest and K2 among them, and has completed 2 IronMan 70.3 races, run six marathons/ultramarathons, and completed 100 scuba-dives.
As a fitness professional, she has 10 sports and health programs under her belt, led the first series of dance activations across the Kingdom for Sports National Day, and in 2019 and 2020, was named female fitness influencer of the year in the GCC by Sports
360, and one of the most influential women in sports by the Muslim Network, respectively. Nelly leads other services within her Move Studio business, including designing and delivering fitness and wellness programs both offline and online, for the public and private sector, and organising and leading adventure trips.
Currently studying a mini-MBA, and continuing to conquer mountains (as we speak, she had just successfully scaled the Matterhorn in the Alps), Nelly is looking to relaunch Move in a “way that makes sense in a post-pandemic world” and that aligns with her own goals and is further exploring other sport-related business opportunities in the Kingdom.
Nelly Attar CEO Move Studio and first Arab woman to summit K2
“In business and in climbing, I’ve learned to take risks, but I’ve also learned that it’s okay to not always get to the top, and that deciding to pause, take a step back, or turn around doesn’t have to mean failure”
An Armenian national, but living in New York, serial entrepreneur Igor Khalatian was 23 when he secured his PhD in computer science and kicked off his working life at AT&T Bell Labs. Within a few years, Igor was developing his own tech products and companies, and has since founded four startups (SCLAB, HelpMeeting, LiveLook and Iris) and is the author of 13 US patents. “I’ve always been passionate about research and technology and the goal throughout my career has been to leverage technology to make people’s lives easier,” he says.
After selling LiveLook to Oracle in 2014, Igor became VP of Development at Oracle, and later co-founded his latest startup –Iris, a dating app that uses AttractionDNA technology to match users based on the physical preferences they find attractive in a partner.
“I’m curious about how we as humans are attracted to one another, so I used
my passion in technology to solve the issues people experience while dating, especially online,” he says. “At Iris, our goal is to help everyone find their perfect match faster and create a safer dating environment by eliminating catfishing and other toxic dating behaviours.” Iris only shows users other users they would find physically attractive, cutting down on time wasted endlessly swiping, with the app’s algorithms making it 40X more likely than other apps to find a match.
Igor is passionate about climbing and has summited 200 high peaks, including Mount Everest.
forward, to learn new skills, to take risks, and to leverage the resources and skills she had from her experience as a psychologist to find solutions and navigate obstacles.
“It’s so important for me to have purpose, because when there’s purpose, there is no limit to what you can achieve,” says Nelly. “No obstacle is insurmountable, and you learn how to navigate any uncertainties. You can always find a way when you are living your purpose.”
Climbing has reinforced this even more for Nelly, who has endured all sorts of storms, obstacles, and challenges on her climbs to the top. “Climbing has helped me realise how
Igor Khalatian Entrepreneur, VP of Development at Oracle, and the first Armenian to summit Mount Everest
“I was drawn to mountain climbing by the promise and excitement of taking risks. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge and climbing presented the perfect opportunity. Entrepreneurs, who are excited by a challenge, often seek out this kind of thrill in their personal lives”
creative I can be in finding solutions, how important it is to trust your team, and how risk-taking is critical,” she says.
When the pandemic brought her danceclass business to a halt, Nelly pivoted – delivering free online classes for six months to encourage people to move, while also launching her own paid-for online fitness programme for women, which proved highly successful. And when the gyms began to re-open, Nelly considered re-starting in-person classes, but “with so many restrictions, it made little sense”, and so instead she focused on other areas of her business, including corporate partnerships,
and adventure trips. “In business and in climbing, I’ve learned to take risks, but I’ve also learned that it’s okay to not always get to the top, and that deciding to pause, take a step back, or turn around doesn’t have to mean failure.
“I’m okay with not every climb or business decision working out,” says Nelly, who has learned to use any disappointments to her advantage – to learn from her mistakes, to discover her unique strengths, find out which direction she should move in, and ultimately
When Brenda Darden Wilkerson first started in tech in the 1980s, she was often the only woman on her team, and even more often, the only woman of colour.
“The culture in computer science often revolves so much around men and was – and sometimes still is –difficult to navigate,” she recalls.
Such early experiences, along with innumerable others throughout Brenda’s three-decade-long career in the tech industry propelled her to her current role, as President and CEO of AnitaB.org – a global non-profit focused on recruiting, retaining, and advancing women and non-binary people in technology fields.
As a former computer scientist, tech entrepreneur and educational director of computer science and IT, Brenda knows many of the obstacles that women face first-hand. She also knows from experience what happens when tech teams are representative of society and specifically the global majority.
“From my experience, I learned just how important it is for the tech industry to be supportive of everyone who wants to participate and that drives our work at AnitaB. org – to eliminate obstacles rooted in racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, and more.”
As CEO of AnitaB.org, Brenda Darden Wilkerson’s goal is to increase the presence of women and non-binary people in the tech sector by 50%, then to be put out of business
My goal as CEO is to put us out of business
Brenda’s goal as CEO of AnitaB.org is to increase the presence of women and nonbinary people in the tech sector by 50%, but ultimately her long-term goal is “to put us out of business”, she says, “or at least to evolve to a business that has won the battle around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and evolves to fight another problem for humanity. A world where conversations around culture and gender are proactive towards creating and maintaining inclusive solutions that serve the needs of all people and are the norm.”
“My goal is to put us out of business, or at least to evolve to a business that has won the battle around diversity and evolves to fight another problem for humanity. A world where conversations around culture and gender are proactive towards creating and maintaining inclusive solutions that serve the needs of all people and are the norm”
While Brenda acknowledges that the tech industry has made strides in changing some policies and practices, the fact remains that most technology is still created by cisgender white males.
That must change, both for society and for business, she argues. The lack of gender inclusion in tech is good for neither women nor the world, particularly in areas where women and non-binary people’s basic freedom and dignity are threatened, while the addition of women at all levels of tech has both positive social and economic impact.
“As developers of software and products that heavily impact society in our growing digital world, we cannot effectively address systemic, unjust issues if the creators themselves cannot pinpoint the root of the problems. We push for more women and
non-binary leaders, not because we think one group is better than the other, but because it brings varying views and skills into the process and will accurately reflect the multitude of experiences in the world.”
She says products that don’t consider the needs of over half of the population will be products that are not as effective as they should be and in many cases, will be harmful to those portions of the population.
Not to mention, women in tech is good for business. Brenda says investors miss out on a lot of profit by not hiring or investing in women. Though women tend to get less than half the investments men do, women founders tend to return 78 cents for every dollar invested to men’s 31 cents, according to a BCG 2018 study.
While the social and economic argument for more women in tech is evident and urgent, the facts are depressing, not just in the hard numbers but marked decline.
Brenda Darden Wilkerson’s 30 yearlong career in the tech industry almost never happened. Prior to college, she had wanted to become a doctor, and as an undergraduate at Northwestern University, she majored in pre-med biomedical engineering. As luck would have it, all engineers had to take two programming classes, which is how she learned about programming and computer science. It was a discovery that would change her life leading her to become a computer scientist and a long career.
Following 16 years as a computer scientist, Brenda transitioned into education and since 1992, has been working to democratise computer science. She founded the original Computer Science for All program, building computer science classes into the
curriculum for every student in the Chicago Public Schools’, and served as the inspiration for the Obama administration’s national CS For All initiatives.
Over the last five years, as President and CEO of AnitaB.org, she has continued to be an advocate for access, opportunity, and social justice for underrepresented communities in technology. The Californiaheadquartered non-profit, which was founded in 1997 by American computer scientist Dr Anita Borg, focuses on intersectional gender and pay parity in tech
“We still see and feel the impact of intentional marginalisation of ‘others’, including women, LGBTQIA+ people, people of colour, disabled people, and more people whose identities and backgrounds do not fit into neat boxes”Executive CV: Brenda Darden Wilkerson
While women make up nearly half (47%) of all employed adults in the US, they hold just 25% of computing roles, according to the latest statistics by NCWIT; and of this percentage, just 5% and 3% are Asian and Black, respectively. And since the pandemic, from 2020 to 2021, women in tech-related roles have decreased by 2.1%.
All this despite the growth of STEM jobs having outpaced the growth of overall employment in the US, and the fact more women than ever are earning STEM degrees.
Unconscious bias as a barrier to gender balance Brenda points to unconscious bias as playing a large role in shifting gender balance, and more specifically to affinity bias, especially prevalent in the VC tech investment space.
According to data from Boston Consulting Group, just 3% of investor funding goes to women-led tech startups, something Brenda attributes to affinity bias, as the majority of venture capitalists are men. “Men tend to relate to men and understand and support men’s products,” she says.
“There’s a habit of leaders in tech – who are predominantly men – being trapped in the stereotype that STEM-related roles are men’s roles. Because of that, the talent women bring into this field is overlooked and/or passed over in favour of men, which tends to be the default setting in tech.”
What’s worse is the lack of recognition by many men that the problems exist, with
women four times more likely than men to consider gender bias as an obstacle to promotion.
“The fact there is a discrepancy in the perceptions of bias between men and women signifies the problem,” she says. “Until those who have been traditionally centered understand and accept that their centering is a problem, we will continue to have the problem. Yes, more women leaders will help make progress towards solving the image problem, but those leaders will pay a high price from the pushback that will exist, as long as the men feel the existent imbalance represents what is ‘normal’.”
It is thanks to this resistance and pushback by female leaders that diversity in tech has improved, but there is still much work to be done. AnitaB.org’s 2021 Technical Equity Experience Survey (TechEES) report found that since 2019 and 2020, tech experiences have in fact worsened for all marginalised genders and are increasingly worse when the data is disaggregated by intersectional identities.
“We still see and feel the impact of intentional marginalisation of ‘others’, including women, LGBTQIA+ people, people of colour, disabled, people and more people whose identities and backgrounds do not fit into neat boxes,” says Brenda.
This is leading to a continued rise in attrition rates among women in tech. Despite incremental progress in diversity numbers by big name tech firms like Google, Facebook,
“Apprenticeship programs and fellowships are examples of strategies that bring the additional benefits of decreasing the tokenism effect of bringing an isolated woman into an all-male environment”
An alarm clock that wakes you up to freshly brewed coffee. Literally. The stylish Barisieur brews coffee to the optimum 94C (or tea) and then wakes you up when the beverage is ready. The gadget features stainlesssteel components and glassware that sit on a walnut timber tray, a mini fridge to keep milk cool, and a drawer in which to store a week’s worth of coffee. It comes in sleek white and oak or matte black.
Gift someone new perspectives and big ideas with an annual subscription to Blinkest, the bite-sized educational reading app. Tailored to “curious people who love to learn and busy people who don’t have time to read,” the app condenses thousands of non-fiction books and podcasts into 15-minute audio or text explainers. Subscribers can read or listen to explainers on bestselling titles in 27 categories, from career and personal finance to relationships and health.
Galaxy Z, Samsung’s fourth generation of foldable devices has arrived – and they are every bit as bold, beautiful, and versatile as expected. The Galaxy Z Flip4 comes in a compact clamshell design that is waterresistant, and features an upgraded camera experience, larger battery, expanded customisation, and the ability to shoot hands-free videos. Moonlighting as a tablet, Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the fanciest of foldables yet and comes with a bigger screen but a smaller overall size.
As informational as they are beautiful works of art, Assouline’s Ultimate Collection of one-of-akind coffee table books pay homage to the art of luxury bookmaking –think hand-bound using traditional techniques. The books treat a range of topics from fashion to fine art, motoring to travel, as well as The Impossible Collection – the latter touching on various cultural topics and brands, from Cartier to Picasso, Yachts, to Formula 1. Choose colour, dimensions, and theme. Each comes nestled in linen clamshell cases.
Give the gift of hassle-free, crowdfree travel with an annual private jet membership. The XO RISE membership is designed for firsttime private fliers and casual fliers. Membership includes instant booking for everything from full charters to individual seats, the ability to initiate or join shared charters, discounts on empty legs, waived service fees, as well as access to partner benefits and the services of a dedicated Aviation Advisor for whenever you book a full charter.
Paying tribute to 50 years of Royal Oak, arguably the world’s most famous sports watch, Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet unveils a new version – entirely crafted in blue ceramic. This latest rendering delivers a slender architecture and contemporary aesthetic, and comes equipped with the ultra-thin selfwinding Calibre 5134, which operates its perpetual calendar, week indication, day, date, astronomical moon, month, leap year, hour, and minute functions. Set with a powerful 40-hour power reserve, the movement’s inner workings are displayed via a clear sapphire backcase. It comes with a matching blue ceramic bracelet and folding clasp.
Designed for those who dare to be different, No.88 from Czech & Speake is a quintessentially British scent for men or women enriched with uplifting floral and woody tones – think bergamot, geranium, exotic frangipani, and sandalwood. The scent comes housed in a stunning matte black opal glass bottle that draws inspiration from 19th century apothecaries. The fragrance also comes as a travel set of four small bottles.
While the design of the new Master & Dynamic MH40 headphones stays true to the original vintage aviatorinspired design and signature rich, warm sound, they have been outfitted with Bluetooth 5.0 to deliver the latest in connectivity – boasting a range of 30m and 18 hours of uninterrupted playtime. The noisecancelling headphones are fashioned from leather with mould-to-yourears memory foam for the most comfortable of listening.
The Beosound Theatre is the latest premium all-inone sound system from iconic audio brand Bang & Olufsen. The soundbar, which attaches to the base of the TV, features a sailboat-inspired design that comes in various finishes including different metal shades and wooden grilles. It has 12 speaker drivers to create an immersive soundstage, projects audio in multiple directions, and can connect up to 16 external speakers to create an impressive home theatre effect.
Considered the aristocrat of luxury backgammon boards, Hector Saxe boards are expertly crafted by hand using the finest leathers and rarest woods at the brand’s Parisian atelier. If backgammon isn’t their thing, choose from other games including chess and poker sets, dominoes and Mah-jong featuring various leather effects and woods. Sure to become a family heirloom.
The award-winning Cowboy 4 is a true urban electric bike that combines mobility and connectivity for a fun, easy and slick ride. The Cowboy app, which fits securely into a built-in wireless docking station, helps riders navigate the city like a local, offering the healthiest and fastest routes, tracks live fitness data, and allows riders to join curated group rides across European capital cities. The removable battery has a range of up to 70km.
Sturdy. Check. Spacious. Check. Stylish. Check. One of the lightest carry-ons with the largest packing capacities (47L), the Arlo Skye is engineered with an impact-resistant polycarbonate exterior, stylish ribbed design, and almost silent wheels. It comes with the all-important functions, like a hard-side exterior pocket for a laptop and essentials, and an in-built blazing-fast removable charger. For a more personalised gift, get the giftee’s initials engraved onto it.
PRODUCED BY: JOE PALLISER
Anew bank arrived in the Philippines this year. But don’t expect to see brick-andmortar branches appear on the streets of Manila, because the new brand, GoTyme Bank, has a unique approach for a new kind of consumer.
Instead of opening the doors of physical branches, GoTyme Bank’s launch was marked by the appearance of special digital kiosks that will be deployed throughout the retail ecosystem of the Gokongwei Group. From supermarkets, department stores and even convenience stores, this approach will help Filipinos make the move to mobile banking and financial services offered by the new venture.
A partnership between the Gokongwei Group and Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme – which operates across Asia and South Africa – GoTyme Bank is to be led by Nate Clarke, President and CEO, and one of the founding members of the Tyme Group.
Prior to joining the business in 2012 to start its first operations in South Africa, Clarke worked in senior management consulting roles with high-profile names including Deloitte.
Together, President and CEO Nate Clarke along with co-CEO and Chief Commercial Officer Albert Tinio explain how GoTyme Bank is bringing digital banking to the Philippines
Nate Clarke is a founding member of Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme where he dedicated the last ten years to designing, building, and operating digital banks in emerging markets. Now, Nate is looking to make high quality banking accessible to all Filipinos as President and CEO of GoTyme Bank, a joint venture between the Gokongwei group and Tyme.
Nate’s experience spans general management, product, and strategy to include leading the rollout of Tyme’s digital proposition in Indonesia, growing the MTN Mobile Money in South Africa to a customer base of 4 million, and most recently heading product and strategy for Tyme in the creation of Africa’s fastest growing bank.
Before Tyme, Nate spent six years in Deloitte Consulting US’s Strategy & Operations practice where he fostered a passion for financial inclusion while on a project in Tanzania. Nate holds a BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from James Madison University.
Albert has several years' experience in the fields of fintech, banking, telecommunications, and logistics. He started his career in logistics having worked for American President Lines and Federal Express. He broadened his knowledge and experience by then moving into telecommunications with two major Philippine telco players, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications. While at Globe, Albert earned Globe’s Leadership Award for significant gains made in growing and expanding broadband services nationwide. He transitioned from telco to fintech after being chosen to lead GCash as President and CEO. During this period, Albert became the founding president of the Philippine E-Money Association.
Immediately prior to joining GoTyme, he was SVP, Digital Payments and Agency Banking for Robinsons Bank. Albert has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines and completed the Oxford FinTech Program of the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. He is also a certified coach from the International Coaching Federation.
Clarke says he was compelled to join the fintech industry when he found himself ready for new career and life challenges. “I was at a conference in Washington, DC, where I was based more than 10 years ago, and saw a presentation about a very successful digital wallet in Kenya,” says Clarke. “I heard about this phenomenon in East Africa where digital wallets and digital banking were transforming a country. And I said, ‘This is what I want to do with my life’.”
Before the pandemic, Filipinos had already become used to the convenience of conducting business and social tasks on mobile phones, explains Albert Tinio, co-CEO, and Chief Commercial Officer at GoTyme Bank, who also points out that Filipinos make up the largest percentage of Facebook users in 2022.
“After they became comfortable with mobile phones, they started looking for things that are more practical, more every day and meaningful,” says Tinio. “And from there, they saw more financial services being offered. At the same time, banks and regulators in the Philippines now have a mandate to increase financial inclusion, so those two elements are driving the industry right now.”
When the new GoTyme Bank brand went live in October it immediately appealed to consumers with an awareness of, and appetite for, world-class banking products, according to Clarke. “This will start with payments and savings, but there will be a
move to investments and credit. The second phase that follows is actually more about serving all Filipinos, including those outside the cities.
“The main reason people are going to join the first phase is for the customer service and experience, as this is quite different from what we call the ‘traditional digital banks’,” says Clarke. “GoTyme Bank is a twist on digital banks, through a combination of a human and digital touch.”
Combining Gokongwei Group brand and reputation with Tyme’s trusted technology The Gokongwei Group represents one of the largest and most diversified collections of
ALBERT TINIO CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, GOTYME BANK CORPORATION
“
It's very different recruiting people for something you're building from scratch, compared to recruiting for something that is already running”
Filipino companies. The group is composed of JG Summit Holdings Inc., which has business interests in food manufacturing, air transport, real estate and property development, banking, and petrochemicals; Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.(RRHI), which includes supermarket, department store, and speciality retail brand operations; the Summit Media Group; and other privately held companies.
Working from headquarters in Singapore as well as offices in Hong Kong and Vietnam, Tyme designs, builds, and commercialises digital banks for the mass market, with particular expertise in serving underserved and underbanked populations.
The new GoTyme Bank venture combines the trusted Gokongwei Group brand, along with its reputation and multi-industry operations, with Tyme’s globally proven digital banking technology and hands-on experience to add an exciting new player to the Philippines’ banking community.
GoTyme Bank will leverage the Gokongwei Group’s extensive ecosystem, which is highly integrated into the daily lives of Filipinos – where they already shop, eat and spend family time. This distribution strategy will assist in the democratisation of financial services, addressing the needs of all Filipinos regardless of age, income, or geography.
The kiosks are to be deployed in Robinsons Retails’ network across the country. New customers will have the opportunity to meet with human bank ambassadors who will handle the entire onboarding process there and then.
“Our kiosks are capable of capturing personal data and identification documents, including biometrics, fingerprints, and other data,” explains Clarke. “It can then print and release a debit card there in the store – and this entire process happens in five minutes or less.”
Another example of the GoTyme Bank human touch includes the opportunity for customers to call, chat or email the company 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can also benefit from the new digital bank’s unique rewards programme that turns ‘points into pesos’, which can instantly be credited to an account.
GoTyme Bank will provide secure and easy onboarding through both an app and digital kiosks that are conveniently located throughout the mall and retail footprint of the Gokongwei Group.
“In South Africa, 3 million of our 3.5 million customers joined TymeBank through our digital kiosks deployed in retail environments,” explains Clarke. “We believe the combination of this technology and the Gokongwei Group’s nationwide retail footprint provides GoTyme a clear path to rapid growth.”
As well as utilising the existing partner ecosystems of Gokongwei Group and Tyme, GoTyme Bank is creating its own ecosystem of partners and service providers.
“
We come from a wide range of industries, and I think that what brought us together is a genuine desire to build something – to build and leave a legacy”
NATE CLARKE PRESIDENT AND CEO, GOTYME BANK AND CO-FOUNDER OF TYME GROUP, GOTYME BANK CORPORATION
These include Daon, the Digital Identity Trust company that helps businesses mitigate fraud, reduce friction, ensure regulatory compliance, and deliver a seamless customer experience. Daon enables clients to easily and accurately proof, verify, authenticate and secure customer identities at every trust point across the entire customer lifecycle. With industry-leading biometric authentication technologies at its core, Daon’s technology ensures customer identities are accurately verified, easily asserted and safely recovered.
Also working with GoTyme Bank is GDS Link and WSO2, the former being a global leader in credit data and analytics, combining powerful artificial intelligence technology with credit and fraud risk management software and data. WSO2, meanwhile, provides GoTyme Bank with API management, integration, and customer identity and access management (CIAM) services playing a key role in enabling the bank to deliver its multichannel offering and seamless customer experience across those channels.
“As we grew from a startup, using WSO2 frameworks allowed us to focus more on building new customer experiences and less on integration and digital identity challenges. This is certainly something that could benefit many companies,” says GoTyme Bank CTO Chris Bennett.
WSO2 handles more than 60 trillion transactions and manages over a billion identities each year through its services, provided by over 900 employees worldwide working from offices in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, the UAE, the UK, and the US.
“Both WSO2 and GoTyme Bank want our teams to focus on what they are best at,” says Bennett. “We share this in our cultures. Over time, we’ve moved to use more of WSO2’s managed services so we can each concentrate on our best work for clients.”
People powering the process of financial inclusion in the Philippines
GoTyme Bank will employ 362 bank ambassadors at 226 kiosk locations by year-end. Both Clarke and Tinio say that the eclectic mix of professionals will play a crucial role in bringing new financial services to an increasingly sophisticated customer base in the Philippines.
“We come from a wide range of industries, and I think what brought us together is a genuine desire to build something – to build and leave a legacy,” says Tinio. “We come from banking, and there are also fintech people, there are FMCG people, there are telco people, there are logistics people, and all of these people are freely, organically sharing their experience and contributing to building a new service.”
Clarke agrees with this, emphasising that the new team is having fun working on the
venture – and this has a lot to do with the approach taken to recruit the new team.
“We were quite deliberate regarding recruitment,” says Clarke. “Because it's very different recruiting people for something you're building from scratch compared to recruiting for something that is already running.
“We wanted to build a diverse group, as Abet has said, but on top of that, we wanted to attract people with a few scars and some unfinished business,” explains Clarke with a smile. “We’re looking for people who have had success in our careers, but who have also had some near big misses where we felt
like we didn't quite make it, but know now that we can do it better.”
This approach has led to a shared belief within the new team, emerging from the combination of rock-solid experience and “scar tissue” from previous projects.
“We want people who are used to being in the trenches, doing the hands-on work, but we believe that personal growth and stretching yourself is good for the culture and good for motivation,” says Clarke.
“ The main reason people are going to join the first phase is the customer service, which is quite different from traditional digital banks”
ALBERT TINIO CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, GOTYME BANK CORPORATION
With sustainability at the forefront of people’s minds, slow travel is having its day in the sun.
Spotlighting immersive experiences, more sustainable forms of travel, and a focus on savouring each moment, slow travel invites
travellers to connect both with nature and with local communities – people, culture, food, and music.
It relies on the idea that a trip is meant to educate and have an emotional impact; and is ultimately about the joyful experience
of travelling through, rather than flying over, while connecting with a region and supporting local businesses along the way.
No other mode of transport quite captures the art of slow travel like the train journey does. Harking back to the golden
age of travel, one that was simpler, slower, and arguably more meaningful, rail journeys fuse sustainability, living in the moment, and old-school luxury. Recreate the romance of yesteryear and immerse yourself in nature with these luxury railway journeys.
Credited with being one of the longest train journeys in the world, taking four days (86 hours) to complete and crossing four Canadian provinces and three time zones, this voyage – aboard Canada’s vintage 1955 stainless-steel carriages – delivers jaw-dropping scenery, wow-factor wildlife, and nostalgia in bucketloads. Journey across the Northern Ontario Lakelands, wide-open prairie grasslands, and snowy peaks of the majestic Rockies, with stops en route (if you wish) in Winnipeg, to see the Polar bears; Jasper, for the National Park; and Edmonton, to explore the Rockies. Inside the train, discover vintage styling, class-specific sleeper cars, an observation car with glass ceiling, and free wine tastings and live music in The Canadian’s signature car. Feast on only local produce like Canadian lake trout and maple duck.
Highlights Reaching Mount Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. Travelling in the Panorama dome car – think total outdoor immersion with an unobstructed glass canopy. The train’s ‘artists on board’ initiative delivers musical entertainment along the way.
Step back in time to a simpler, more elegant era on this three-night (31 hours) African exploration. Following an old pioneering trail, the Pride of Africa meanders through a kaleidoscope of landscapes, from the rolling grasslands of Highveld to the vast desert of Great Karoo, traversing the mountain ranges and winelands of the Cape and the stunning Hex River Valley. Edwardian opulence meets African safari aboard the train’s vintage coaches which offer three stunning suite styles, with the Royal Suites delivering private lounge areas and Victorian baths. The wood-panelled dining cars are equally grand – think fine China and crisp white linen –with a dress code that is formal (smoking jackets and cocktail dresses) and a menu dishing the finest local fare, from fine South African wines to seasonal game.
Highlights
Exceptional views from train’s open-air balconies on the observation car. A stop-off at Kimberley, the diamond boomtown, home to the Big Hole and De Beers.
The world’s longest north-south train journey, this legendary 4-day (47 hours) transcontinental trek through the vast outback takes in Australia’s wide-open spaces, from tropical rainforests to the spectacular Red Centre, passing through the outback and via gold mining towns, wine country, and the majestic Flinders Ranges. Enjoy two full-day excursions on stop-offs in Alice Springs, to dine beneath the stars; and in quirky Coober Pedy, the world’s Opal capital where half of the residents live underground. Travelling across Australia for more than 90 years, The Ghan is steeped in history, having transported servicemen for deployment to WW1. Choose from Platinum or Gold service – both come with sleeping cabins and all-inclusive drinks and dining. Feast on South Australian produce, like saltwater barramundi and grilled kangaroo fillet in the retro-Edwardian dining room.
The Lounge with its panoramic windows which offer spectacular views. The multiple offtrain excursions on offer, including a helicopter flight over the ancient red MacDonnell Ranges. Access to journey audio commentary.
“Travelling across Australia for more than 90 years, The Ghan is steeped in history, having transported servicemen for deployment to WW1”
Arguably the world’s most luxurious train, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express transports you back to the golden age of luxury travel. Made up of 17 ornate carriages, awash in art deco styling, this 1920s train features authentic coalheated sleeping cars and windows that open. On the once-a-year, 6-day voyage from Paris to Istanbul, journey through 7 countries, including Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, and enjoy breath-taking vistas from the train’s many look-out points. Enjoy 3 nights on board, and 2 at five-star hotels, in Budapest and Bucharest, along with city tours, a Danube cruise, and a Romanian palace visit. Food is sourced en route, guaranteeing local, fresh fare, and dished up by French chefs in one of three opulent 1920s restaurant cars. The train will add 8 new suites in 2023.
Dancing to 1920s tunes played by the resident pianist and sipping cocktails in the Bar Car before indulging in a midnight brunch. The many luxury details – think stained glass windows, Lalique crystals, white-gloved butler service, and the Champagne Bar.
“Arguably the world’s most luxurious train, the Venice SimplonOrient-Express transports you back to the golden age of luxury”
Fancy a Highland fling in high style? Look no further than the Belmond Royal Scotsman, which offers 1 to 7-night tours of the Highlands. For sheer remote and rugged Highland beauty, take the classic 3-night Western tour which travels at a leisurely pace through beautiful glens, stunning lochs, and mile after mile of unspoilt coastline. Experience countryhouse luxury aboard the 10-coach train with its rich mahogany panelling and Highland wool furnishings. Indulge in seasonally led three-course lunches and four-course dinners, including scallops and venison; enjoy an exclusive spa treatment; and then kick back in the stunning Edwardian observation car where a local Highlander will regale you with stories of life in Scotland in centuries gone by. Or simply watch the world go by from the open-air observation platform.
Highlights
The Drum Major who pipes you aboard. The formal dinner dress code (Kilts and cocktail dresses). The Scottish Whisky menu of 30-plus different types. The journey is intimate with a maximum of 36 guests.
Adventure through the heart of Southeast Asia from Singapore via the Straits of Johor, Malaysia, to Bangkok on this 3-day luxury sojourn. Step aboard decadent carriages featuring cherrywood panelling and Thai silk embroidery and soak up the sights and surroundings from rice paddies to jungle scenery to mountains. Head to the observation car to catch the golden hour and kick back with a cocktail. There are four cabin types to choose from, each oozing opulence and vintage décor, along with two dining and two bar cars, where you can sip cocktails while a pianist provides the soundtrack. Feast on award-winning locally inspired dishes, from dim sum to meat-bone soup. Stop-offs include at the famed River Kwai Bridge station, and in Kuala Kangsar where you can take a hill trek or visit a local village.
The train sometimes welcomes internationally acclaimed chefs for the journey. The Saloon Car, which offers a cosy nook to retreat with in-house library and board games.
Travelling along one of the highest train routes in the world, across the giant peaks and wide-open spaces of the highest plains of the Andes, the Belmond Andean Explorer gives you a front row seat to some of the world’s most breath-taking scenery. The journey begins in Cusco, the ancient city of the Inca Empire, and travels across the Andean plains to the white volcanic stone city of Arequipa, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Take in the region’s spectacular highlights, including Puno, Lake Titicaca and Colca Valley. Breathe in the Andean air and soak up the scenery from the open deck of the observation car. Inside, there is a distinct Peruvian flavour, from the décor (Alpaca wool tapestries and linen-covered walls) to the cuisine, all made from locally sourced ingredients. Retreat to the Spa Car for a botanical-infused massage, to the library for some stimulus, or the Piano Bar for cocktails and canapes.
Peruvian Pisco Sour cocktails served in the observation car. Sunrise at the stunning Titicaca Lake and star watching in Saracocha. The in-built oxygen offers guests additional comfort in the high elevation.
Midnight Trains claims to be the cleanest and most sustainable form of travel. Arriving in 2024, the French startup offers a modern sleeper train connecting Paris to 12 of Europe’s major cities, including Edinburgh, Porto, Rome and Copenhagen. Dubbed a ‘hotel on wheels’, it functions as a compromise between the luxury of the Orient Express and more basic offerings. Private rooms are designed for solo travellers, duos, and families, and come with on-demand movies, en-suite bathrooms and room service. Midnight Trains will also feature a bar and restaurant serving seasonal fare, homemade cocktails and craft beers.
As business transforms postpandemic, business schools are developing innovative programs and pathways to address the challenges executives face today
Business has changed. And so it follows that business education must also change. As the world of work goes hybrid, expectations of leaders broaden, and business throws up increasingly complex challenges, business schools are raising their game – launching online MBAs, adapting learning pathways, and developing programs that tackle the challenges and opportunities in today’s economy.
Take the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which recently became the first Ivy League business school to launch a hybrid executive MBA program
Consistently ranked in the top three of the world’s leading business schools,
Wharton will welcome professionals from Asia, North America, Latin America, and Europe in May 2023 when the new hybrid program kicks off.
This marks a significant step-change by Wharton, given that business education at Ivy League institutions has largely been characterised by in-person courses and strong networking.
However, in the wake of the pandemic and increasing acceptance of digital learning, more business schools are launching online MBAs and other executive programs, with the University of North Georgia, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and University of Tennessee all jumping on board this year.
Other prominent business schools, like Northwestern Kellogg, UCLA Anderson, and UVA Darden are providing part-time students with online options. For example, Kellogg has added a remote option for select courses on its Evening & Weekend MBA program, giving students greater ability to customise their programs based on their individual circumstances.
Peggy Bishop Lane, Vice Dean of the MBA for Executives Program at Wharton tells Business Chief that the way people now learn, and network, has changed.
“While networking has historically been an inperson activity, this is no longer the case. And, as long as our students understand that they are getting the highest quality opportunities no matter the format they are offered, they are open to them”
Peggy Bishop Lane Vice Dean of the MBA for Executives Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Mariana Amatullo, Vice Provost and Academic Dean for Continuing and Professional Education at The New School, which offers Parsons Executive Education courses, says the executive education space is much more crowded and diverse with the number of providers soaring, from university programs to an array of consultancies and in-house corporate academies offering courses.
At the same time, she says there has been growing discontent with the effectiveness and return of executive education. At a typically high-ticket price, does it deliver the value that individuals and companies seek?, she asks.
“That said, the underlying assumption we have operated under – that executive education training can
improve managerial decision-making by creating and transmitting knowledge, which in turn has a positive impact on organizational performance – remains a constant that is in place.”
Moreover, given the techno-social and cultural workforce disruptions the world is currently experiencing, there seems to be a renewed sense of urgency. “We need to create the affordances and outlets for individuals to upskill and reskill,” says Mariana.
“I believe there is a broader recognition that organizations that have the readiness to adapt to new ways of thinking, to diverse perspectives and who have folks that show leadership courage and master smart execution will be those that hold unique levers of future success.”
“Wharton has long realised that its MBA Program for Executives (EMBA) had a geographic limit on who could attend,” says Peggy. “But when the world went online during the pandemic and we felt comfortable that teaching in this format was as impactful as in-person, we realised we could now offer our EMBA Program to the world whilst maintaining the quality of the experience.”
Peggy says that executive students expect more options today, something borne out of necessity as they are experiencing these changes at work and in other parts of their lives.
“While networking has historically been an in-person activity, this is no longer the case, and as long as our students understand
Mariana Amatullo Academic Dean for Continuing and professional Education, The New School
that they are getting the highest quality opportunities no matter the format offered, they are open to them.”
It’s a similar story at New Yorkheadquartered The New School, whose programs focus on ‘design-led executive education for transformative leaders’.
“For many executives, learning occurs at the frontline and ‘on the job,” says Mariana Amatullo, Academic Dean for Continuing and professional Education, explaining how immersive opportunities that use many sensory stimuli to practice a new skill, prototype an idea, and collaborate with a cohort of peers, has traditionally been a focus of on-site programs.
But post-pandemic, there is now a new level of digital literacy and acceptance of digital learning in the executive space, she says. “While the executive education classroom has been an early adaptor of technology, we can safely say that since the pandemic, we see in our executive learners, a new ease in integrating a variety of platforms as part of their learning.”
The New School now offers various delivery pathways, with some of its global programs for professionals following a hybrid sequence. As well as in-person global residences, students “welcome that an essential part of their team-building work also occurs ‘live online’ and via asynchronous modules that can fit within their busy schedules,” says Mariana.
Similarly blended, Wharton’s brand-new 22 month-long Global EMBA comprises 75% online and 25% in-person learning.
For HEC Paris , which ranks 11th worldwide for its MBA, and which has seen a surge in demand for its executive courses post-pandemic, networking faceto-face is a key added value in its top management programs.
“Executive courses must impart contextualised learning and high-impact and applied knowledge where new skill sets and mindsets are needed to adapt to a postpandemic world”INSEAD San Francisco
From one week to 22 months, these newly launched executive education programs are crafted to reflect the changing needs of business and leaders
Leading business school INSEAD (France, Singapore, San Francisco) has launched LEAD – its first 12-month flagship online executive education program to help execs lead in a complex world. The program, which claims to go deeper and further than many other offerings with a laser focus on competencies of organisational leadership, offers tools and techniques to help execs know where to focus energy and resources. Learning is via online, asynchronous delivery along with live virtual presentations and an in-person capstone in Europe. The first intake is November 2022.
Wharton’s long-running EMBA program, which consistently ranks top worldwide according to the Financial Times, is set to welcome its first international cohort in May 2023. The just-launched Global EMBA is a hybrid program aimed at busy working professionals around the world who want to earn an MBA while continuing in their jobs. The 22-month program combines 75% online synchronous learning and 25% in-person teaching, with a one-week residential orientation in Philadelphia and five other residency weeks worldwide.
The largest business graduate school in Japan with campuses throughout Japan, as well as in Singapore, Bangkok and San Francisco, GLOBIS recently unveiled the nano-MBA. Taking a unique approach to business education, the nano-MBA compacts study over six weeks for partial MBA credit which is then transferable to the MBA programs, full-, part-time, or online. Learning is via live classes, video, and uniquely, comprehension exercise with AI feedback, enabling students to practice solving real-life business problems.
While residential is at the heart of the Tuck’s Executive Education, the business school is looking to bring a wider range of thought leadership to a broader audience globally, and recently launched a series of online executive education courses offered via Coursera and ExecOnline platforms. Through the Strategic Leadership course, executives will learn the common mistakes even smart execs make, the neuroscience behind effective decision making, methods of managing and supporting people around you. Taught by renowned Steven Roth Professor of Management Sydney Finkelstein, the course delivers asynchronous content across four courses combining 120 videos and 70+ practical exercises.
The New School, New York
“We have identified demand from senior managers to meet both in-person and offsite following months of working remotely,” Matias Gonano, Associate Director Open Programs – Executive Programs tells Business Chief.
That said, Gonano acknowledges the acceptance of online learning, with both companies and executives seeing huge advantage in both time and flexibility. HEC Paris has also “created hybrid learning pathways with more synchronous / asynchronous content and digital courses” and now offers most of its senior executive programs in online, hybrid and face-toface formats.
Transformation of program content for a new era It’s not just the ‘how’ that business schools are addressing in the post-pandemic era, but the ‘what’ – with executive programs expanding and developing to tackle head-on the challenges that the 21st century brings.
Mariana says there is broad recognition that organisations “require a motivated workforce with capabilities different from those in the past to survive and thrive in
today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment.”
She argues that upskilling is no longer simply about the acquisition of up-to-date technical skills and business knowledge, but the delivery of relevance.
“Executive courses must impart contextualised learning and high-impact and applied knowledge where new skill sets and mindsets are needed to adapt to a post-pandemic world,” she says. “We believe that emphasising soft skills and action-learning tools that improve competencies in crucial subject domains allows participants to practice empathy and team-building and take creative risks in a dynamic, safe learning space.”
From a content perspective, Mariana says there is renewed demand for coursework on ‘future-proofing’ organisations and going beyond disruptive innovation. She argues that the demand for leaders who can successfully embrace the interconnectedness of the systems they have to navigate to connect multiple perspectives, bridge divides amid
“We have created hybrid learning paths with both synchronous and asynchronous content and faceto-face and digital courses”
Matias Gonano Associate Director Open Programs –Executive Programs at HEC Paris
