Business Chief USA Magazine – August 2019

HHH USA

EDITION

AUGUST 2019 www.businesschief.com

PROCUREMENT GOES GLOBAL

Connecting the future

Holistic digital transformation Inside the tech giant’s transition from PC to a data-centric model

LOS ANGELES

City Focus

Highest paid CEOs

The startups solving the housing crisis

FOREWORD

W

elcome to the August issue of Business Chief USA. This month’s cover story features semiconductor giant Intel, a company driving an industry-wide digital transformation and mass migration to the cloud. Lisa Davis, Vice President of Digital Transformation and Scale Solutions, Enterprise and Government, in the Data Center Group at Intel, discusses the company’s Lisa Davis, digital transformation from Intel a PC-driven to a datacentric organisation.

Our leadership feature focuses on how changing consumer expectations and technological advancements are changing the face of the manufacturing industry. Victoria Holt, President and CEO of digital manufacturer Protolabs, discusses the strategies the company is using to create and maintain its competitive

advantage. “We’re in a great position to help other manufacturers take a look at how they can take advantage of IT in their manufacturing processes,” Holt says.

August’s City Focus feature takes a close look at Los Angeles, California, and some of the startups working to solve the city’s real estate pain points.

Elsewhere, Business Chief investigates the top 10 highest-paid CEOs in the country.

Make sure to check out our in-depth, exclusive features on Armacell, Avaya, the City of Phoenix, Dentsu Aegis Network and more.

If you have a story to tell, please email harry.menear@bizclikmedia.com Enjoy the issue!

Harry Menear

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CONTENTS

14 Helping enterprises realize the power of digital transformation

32

The changing face of digital manufacturing

44 WHY CORPORATES SHOULD LOOK TO STARTUPS TO SPUR THEIR INNOVATION

54

WESPORTUS: HOW BUSINESS STRATEGY CAN REVOLUTIONIZE SPORTS SCOUTING

62 THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE

HOW CASCADES AND SAP PRIORITIZE SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY

70 City Focus

LOS ANGELES

80 TOP 10

Highest paid CEOs in North America

CONTENTS

114 Steward Health Care

96 Prysmian Group

144 Armacell

130 Dentsu Aegis Network

176 Gateway First Bank

158 University of Alabama at Birmingham

204 Riverstreet Networks

192 AVAYA

CONTENTS

236 Lee Industrial Contracting

218 City of Phoenix

250 Simon Fraser University

268 City of Brampton

282 Huawei Technologies

296 KPMG Canada

310 Polaris Transportation Group

324 SSR Mining Inc.

338 Ascendant Resources

14

Helping enterprises realize the power of digital transformation WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

AUGUST 2019

15

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

Lisa Davis,Vice President of Digital Transformation and Scale Solutions, Enterprise and Government, in the Data Center Group at Intel, discusses the company’s digital transformation from PC to data-centric, and the need for digital transformations to be both holistic and customer driven.

U

biquitous digital transformation and mass migration towards the cloud has become the new reality for the world’s corporations,

governments, and educational institutions. As data 16

increasingly becomes the fuel powering the global economy, new methodologies, technologies and philosophies need to be developed in order to remain marketable –even the industry’s largest players are changing their playbooks. Intel, with over half a century at the forefront of semiconductor innovation, has been a catalyst for some of the most significant technology transformations in modern history, helping reinvent the way we work and play and thrive in the digital era.

Today, Intel is both helping its diverse ecosystem of customers and partners harness the power of the digital transformation, while simultaneously undergoing its own transformative shift in its business focus. “It’s a data-centric world, and Intel as an organization is transitioning to harness the value that this data provides,” explains Lisa Davis, AUGUST 2019

“Intel is moving from a PC-centric strategy to a data-centric one” — Lisa Davis, President of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions, Enterprise & Government, Data Center Group, Intel

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17

I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

Vice President and General Manager of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions at Intel. “We fully recognize the importance of being data-centric, to both our business and our customers. Leveraging the latest technologies that help to move, store and process data allows us to serve

“ Your company’s 18 ability to keep pace with the competition by leveraging technology to provide the services, capabilities and experiences your customers expect today is paramount” — Lisa Davis, President of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions, Enterprise & Government, Data Center Group, Intel

AUGUST 2019

our customers’ needs better.”

Unlocking the power of Big Data is, Davis recognizes, the primary driver of Intel and its customers’ digital transformation. In the modern world, a successful digital transformation is the difference between commercial viability and being consigned to the Wikipedia footnotes of history. “It is extremely difficult to compete in today’s market using the technologies of yesterday,” says Davis. “Your company’s ability to keep pace with the competition by leveraging technology to provide the services, capabilities and experiences your customers expect today is paramount. The companies that don’t do that aren’t likely to survive.” We sat down with Davis to discuss her insights,

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BEHIND THE SCENES WITH LISA DAVIS: A NEW ERA OF IT’ 19 gained from a career in technology

“I spent 26 years, after graduating from

spanning more than three decades in

Syracuse, working for the US Depart-

the public and private sectors, into the

ment of Defense. I think I may be one

need for ongoing digital transformations

of the few people who started as a high

that are holistic, guided by corporate

school senior, as a GS2 – the very

strategy and ultimately driven by

bottom of the pay scale – and retired

customer demand.

as a Senior Executive Service Member,

Davis’ journey in the public sector

which is equivalent to a US Admiral or

began as a senior in high school,

General.” Throughout her career with

spending her summers throughout

the DoD, Davis held almost every job

college working in a Junior Fellowship

in the IT organization, rising from

Program at the Lakehurst Naval Air

a computer programmer, to managing

Engineering Center. “They were trying

help desks services, to managing

to recruit engineers to come to work

infrastructure systems, to running

for the US Government,” she recalls.

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

20

“ Digital transformation is ultimately about the experiences we create for our customers” — Lisa Davis, President of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions, Enterprise & Government, Data Center Group, Intel

AUGUST 2019

21

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

22

a Deputy CIO and eventually CIO for

during her time in government, and

the Counterintelligence Field Activity

soon brought the concept of seamless

in DOD, and then for the US Marshals

internet connectivity to the Georgetown

Service at the Department of Justice.

campus. She served at the college

In 2012, Davis made the decision

for a further three years before making

to leave the public sector and move to

the move to Intel, taking on her current

academia, where she became CIO of

role two years later running the Digital

Georgetown University. “I was intrigued

Transformation and Scale Solutions

by the mission, which was to take an

business, for Enterprise and Government

institution created in 1789 and continue

customers in the Data Center Group

to make it digitally relevant for the

at Intel. “What I love about this role

students of today,” Davis recalls.

is that it allows me, having been a

Guiding digital transformations was

customer for the majority of my career

something Davis has specialized in

as a CIO, to now be in a position to

AUGUST 2019

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Lisa Davis, Vice President, Data Center GroupGeneral Manager, Digital Transformation and Scale Solutions, Enterprise and Government Lisa Davis is responsible for growing the data center business and working alongside enterprise and government CIOs to create IT transformation strategies for their organizations.

Davis joined the Data Center Group from the Intel IT Group where she led and developed the IT architecture and integrated technology solutions supporting Intel’s world-class global supply chain, HR, Finance, and M&A IT. Davis is a three-time Chief Information Officer and has led four technology transformations over the course of her 30-year career in technology. Prior to Intel, Davis served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Georgetown University, and held a variety of technology leadership roles in her 26-year career in the Federal Government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service she was the CIO of the U.S. Marshals Service in the Department of Justice, as well as CIO of the Counterintelligence Field Activity in the Department of Defense. Throughout her 30-year career in technology, Davis has been a champion for women in technology and leadership – channeling that passion into leading professional development initiatives for women.

She has served on the board of Mirantis, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and a number of non-profit boards.

Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Syracuse University, and a master’s degree in human resources management from Golden Gate University, and is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

influence the product roadmap and build solutions with Intel’s diverse ecosystem of partners that help our enterprise customers on their digital transformation journey,” enthuses Davis.

Having run the gamut of public and private sector digital transformation roles, Davis recognizes that, while there are differences between the “different flavors of government”, academia and the private sector – like speed of adoption, budget constraints and organizational structure – every transformation can be distilled to a few 24

core truths. Firstly: “Digital transformation is ultimately about the experiences we create for our customers, whether those customers are the men and women of the US Marshals Service, or the students, faculty and administration of Georgetown University.”

Unlocking the power of digital transformation is, in Davis’ mind, essential to providing Intel and its partners’ customers with the experiences they need. “I manage the global business for hybrid multi-cloud, artificial intelligence, enterprise analytics and cyber security solutions.

We’re largely driven by figuring out how we help our customers move from AUGUST 2019

legacy technology environments to leveraging cloud technologies. It’s about right workload in the right place for the right business requirements,” says Davis. “Today, our customers are managing IT environments that are more complex than ever as they manage distributed environments that consist of workloads or applications sitting on-prem and in private clouds, sitting out at public clouds, and now on the intelligent edge and with many different public cloud providers.”

The complexity and increasingly interconnected nature of enterprise software and the businesses that software supports is at the heart of Davis’ second core truth: “Digital transformation strategy needs to be holistic, because it’s not just about the technology,” she insists. “One of the first things I ask our customers is what their corporate strategy is. Technology should be leveraged to help drive the overall corporate or government strategy of the company. Corporate strategy and technology need to be connected. Today, every company is a technology company.”

In a landscape where technological innovations move from the theoretical w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

25

I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

$70.8bn Approximate revenue

1968

Year founded

107,100

26

Approximate number of employees

AUGUST 2019

27

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

to the commonplace at head-spinning speeds, it is a common mistake for companies to latch onto every new development, implement it quickly, and then try to figure out the business case later. “Don’t digitally transform for the sake of technology,” warns Davis.

“I digitally transform businesses to help them compete and remain marketable.

When we talk about transformation, it’s about a connection to your corporate strategy. It’s also about a data strategy because ultimately I want to modernize and help transform so I can 28

leverage the data within my company to drive insights for the business.”

One new Intel technology that’s playing a key role in harnessing increased amounts of data for more rapid insights is Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory. In development for the past 10 years, Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory represents a re-architecting of the memory storage hierarchy. “We’ve created a new memory pool that is non-volatile, unlike RAM, and delivers more capacity and better TCO,” explains Davis. “A great use case for Optane is in in-memory databases like SAP Hana. SAP has been a key innovative partner in AUGUST 2019

29

“Digital transformation strategy needs to be holistic, because it’s not just about the technology” — Lisa Davis, President of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions, Enterprise & Government, Data Center Group, Intel

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I N T E L C O R P O R AT I O N

leveraging this new technology, which

committees where people would ask

allows us to put large amounts of data

me when the ‘digital transformation

in memory, next to the CPU, to solve

thing’ was going to be over,” Davis

the toughest business problems for the

laughs. “Digital transformation,

company. That’s the power of this new

certainly in today’s market, doesn’t

technology.” Ultimately, the product will

have a start and an end. If you continue

help Intel and its customers navigate

to evolve and try to keep pace with the

the exponentially growing ocean of data

technology, transformation will always

covering the world, and draw insights

happen.” Much as it took on a pivotal

that will drive customer satisfaction and

role in the democratization and mass

help determine where the next stage

distribution of the microchip over the

of digital transformation leads.

last 50 years, Intel is positioning itself

“I remember sitting in budget

to be at the heart of a new reality,

30

“ Digital transformation strategy needs to be holistic, because it’s not just about the technology” — Lisa Davis, President of Digital Transformation & Scale Solutions, Enterprise & Government, Data Center Group, Intel

AUGUST 2019

constantly shaped and reshaped

being at the forefront of providing the

by digital transformation. Davis is

end-to-end solutions that we can build

confident that, going forward, she will

with our ecosystem of partners to help

be able to help Intel, its partners and,

all of our customers on their digital

most importantly, the end customer,

transformation journeys.”

be prepared to meet the future.

“Intel is continuing to make investments and will continue to lead innovation to support our customers and partners.

Certainly, in the areas of hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, enterprise analytics, cybersecurity and even quantum computing, Intel is about 31

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INTEL OPTANE DC PERSISTENT MEMORY FILLS THE GAP BETWEEN DRAM AND SSDS’

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LEADERSHIP

32

the changing face of digital manufacturing Victoria Holt, President and CEO of digital manufacturer Protolabs discusses the strategies the company is using to create and maintain its competitive advantage.

WRITTEN BY

AUGUST 2019

HARRY MENEAR

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LEADERSHIP

T

he global manufacturing industry is undergoing a transformation every bit as sweeping and profound as the one that took place over 200

years ago, when cottage industry gave way to coal-powered factories and the Industrial Revolution swept around the world. Thanks to meteoric advances in information technology and business practice, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is set to remake the way things are manufactured on a scale unseen for centuries. For the last 20 years, one company has been squarely at the forefront of this tidal wave of change. “We’re the leader in digital manufacturing, in part because we were invented

34

that way,” says Victoria Holt, President and CEO of Protolabs. Based in Minnesota, Protolabs is one of the world’s fastest turnaround digital manufacturers of small, mixed batch prototyping solutions.

Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Larry Lukis, Protolabs (then called Protomolds) was born from his frustration with the slow process of acquiring custom injection molded parts. Gathering a group of software engineers and machinists, Lukis would go on to reinvent not only the process by which injection molding is executed, but also the customer experience associated with it. “He automated all of the front-end engineering associated with making a custom part using software,” says Holt. “When you look at how much time it takes to actually make a part, a big portion of the work is that upfront engineering where you have to put thought into how AUGUST 2019

35

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LEADERSHIP

“ We’re operating at the cusp of this industrial revolution that’s taking place” — Victoria Holt, President and CEO, Protolabs

you’re going to make that part. We’ve automated that process with software, which is what makes us so unique.”

One of Protolabs’ key differentiators is the way in which it engages and interacts with its customers. “We’re 100% e-commerce, which in a B2B world is a little bit unusual, and very unusual in the world of injection molding and CNC machining,” Holt explains. “Making sure we’ve got the best e-commerce experience and can service tens of thousands of industrial customers efficiently with an awesome experience is really important to us.”

36

The model has proved a success.

Today, from its eight facilities located in five countries, Protolabs provides CNC machining, injection molding, sheet metal fabrication and 3D printing services to industry-leading enterprises worldwide. “We’re operating at the cusp of this industrial revolution that’s taking place,” says Holt. “We’re in a great position to help other manufacturers take a look at how they can take advantage of information technology and software in their manufacturing processes.” Holt sat down to discuss the strategies Protolabs is using to create and maintain its competitive AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PROTO LABS CEO VICKI HOLT ON THE RISE OF DIGITAL MANUFACTURING ACROSS EUROPE’ 37 advantage, and how it is meeting

most intriguing business I have ever

the challenges of an industry being

been involved in,” she enthuses.

reshaped by consumer demand

Protolabs specializes in creating

and technological advancement.

hyper-customizable prototype parts

Holt has worked in manufacturing for over 40 years. Working first for

for companies in need of hyperspecialized manufacturing builds.

the solution spinoff arm of Monsanto

In 2014, the company was one of

before stints at industrial giants like

the first digital manufacturers to launch

PPG Industries and Spartech, she later

an industrial 3D printing service.

arrived at Protolabs in 2014. “When this

The versatility of the medium suits the

opportunity first came across my desk,

company down to a tee and, true to

I wasn’t sure. It was a smaller company

form, Protolabs is approaching the

compared to the other ones I’d run, but

process in its own way. “We’re very

when I took a deeper look at Protolabs,

differentiated in the way we approach

the more I realized that this is the

3D printing,” she explains. “We focus w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

LEADERSHIP

on the industrial engineer and are completely technology agnostic in the sense that we select the 3D printing technologies that are best for the industrial engineer and we will work with the engineer to determine which type of technology is best for them to make their part depending on what they’re trying to do with the part. Then we make very high-quality 3D printed parts with a broad range of materials.”

The added versatility of 3D printing is perfectly suited to the hyperspecialized builds Protolabs is known for, 38

and constant technological advances mean the company is always expanding its offerings to keep pace with new frontiers of possibility. In June 2019, Protolabs announced the launch production capabilities for 3D printing using metal. The added tensile strength, dimensional accuracy and cosmetic appearance of metal parts has lead to clients using Protolabs prints for production parts rather than just prototypes. “We’re starting to see a lot of interest in the aerospace and medical device areas, where people are taking advantage of the full design freedom that you get from 3D printing in order to create something very unique,” says Holt.

AUGUST 2019

Even with the advantages of a 20-year track record in digital manufacturing, the landscape today is not without its challenges. “I think people have this idea of manufacturing as a dirty, dark assembly line – like it was in the old days,” says Holt. “Today, it’s a high tech, exciting place to work with lots of change.”

She emphasizes that attracting talent, helping young people entering the workforce to understand how vibrant and exciting the space is, has become a mission-critical priority for Protolabs.

The need for top talent is only emphasized by the second big challenge in the industry – something that Holt notes is sweeping through every business ecosystem: the accelerating pace of change.

However, generational transformation

“We’re starting to see a lot of interest in the aerospace and medical device areas” — Victoria Holt, President and CEO, Protolabs

appears to be on her side. “One of the main trends right now in the manufacturing sector is very short product life cycles,” she explains.

“People expect improvements at a pretty fast clip these days. So, being able to very quickly design, prototype, and launch products is a critical success factor for manufacturers.”

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LEADERSHIP

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PROTOLABS: THIS IS DIGITAL MANUFACTURING’ 40

and customizability is fast becoming in vogue. Thankfully, Protolabs’ unique business model in the manufacturing space looks to put it in good stead as generational change permeates the industry.

“The younger people, in particular, are very accustomed to 100% e-commerce. They expect to be able to buy a custom part over the internet,” Holt says. “That change helps our business because part of the challenge AUGUST 2019

“ One of the main trends right now in manufacturing is very short product lifecycle” — Victoria Holt, President and CEO, Protolabs

41

we’ve always faced is being a little

continue to grow. Every year we’re

different. We’re not like a traditional

adding more and more product

manufacturer, so people and companies

developers to our user base,” she

have to adapt to our process. Buying

concludes. “It’s just a matter of driving

over the internet, which was different for

that awareness and then seeing how

so long, has grown so much. We’ve got

easy it is to use us and how much value

demographics on our side with younger

we can deliver to our clients.”

people moving into the workforce who are very accustomed to doing business digitally and over the internet.”

Looking to the future, Holt believes that Protolabs’ future is bright. “We w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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TECHNOLOGY

44

WHY CORPORATES SHOULD LOOK TO STARTUPS TO SPUR THEIR INNOVATION Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene, explores why traditional corporations should be inspired by startups if they want to keep up with the blistering rate of innovation WRITTEN BY

RITAM GANDHI

AUGUST 2019

45

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TECHNOLOGY

A

ccording to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), only 60 of the Fortune 500 companies listed in 1955 still retain

their place amongst the business elite. While for some of these companies, the decline was inevitable, for many it reflects their reluctance to embrace disruptive trends that have radically transformed the business environment and the nature of consumer demands.

In their wake has come a new generation of corporate titans including tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix who have rapidly become the dominant players in their 46

respective industries. While many of these companies had humble beginnings as startups, once they went public, they began to adopt a more corporate mentality in order to deliver regular profits for shareholders.

Tesla Founder and CEO Elon Musk is a high-profile critic of this trend, saying that: “Being public puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right in the long-term.�

Indeed, part of what marks Elon Musk out as such a successful entrepreneur is that he has retained his entrepreneurial spirit despite Tesla now being one of the biggest companies in the world. Many of his contemporaries, visionary leaders who took their AUGUST 2019

47

“I believe that established companies would be wise to outsource innovation by partnering with young and dynamic startups” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene

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TECHNOLOGY

companies from startup to the upper echelons of the Fortune 500, have long since been replaced by processoriented executives with corporate backgrounds.

As someone who made the leap from the corporate world of management consultancy into the dynamic startup landscape, I know how difficult it is for companies to retain their dynamism as they transition from agile challenger to established incumbent.

While many founders bemoan the lack of a level playing field when it comes 48

to the resources available to large corporates, being small can be an

“If large companies don’t take the necessary action to stay one step ahead, they’ll soon find themselves falling behind” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene

advantage for innovative startups as they are neither too unwieldy nor too conservative to implement new ideas.

make for more cost-effective enterprises. As private entities, startups can

WHAT DO STARTUPS HAVE TO OFFER?

make decisions with the long-term in

So, if the balance of power is currently

mind as they don’t have to worry about

tipping away from large corporates it’s

the impact of quarterly performance

worth asking what about startups

on their share price.

makes them so innovative. Startups

In my work with startups, I’ve seen

generally consist of a small team

how the need to break new ground

which means they can remain respon-

affects the culture of many successful

sive to changes in the market. They

startups. Indeed, the most successful

also depend for their vitality on

see their lack of scale as a virtue

identifying new, more efficient

because it makes for clear-eyed

methods which means they usually

decision-making.

AUGUST 2019

49

However, even if corporates were to

successful that it will reshape the

acknowledge the merits of this

industry, making it less favourable

dynamic approach, they are fundamen-

to the company who developed it.

tally prevented by their size, structure startup mentality. Simply put, innova-

WHY DO BIG CORPORATES FAIL TO INNOVATE?

tion in the corporate world equates

 While large companies are too big

to risk. Risk of wasted resources,

and have too much on the line to be

both in terms of dollars and man-hours.

truly creative, total disregard for

Risk of reputational damage if a

innovation is not an option. These days,

creative project fails to bear fruit and

companies understand that they have

in exceptional cases, the risk that a

to continue innovating if they want to

new product or technology will be so

guard against the threat of dynamic

and priorities from truly adopting a

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TECHNOLOGY

new challengers. Of course, casting

between their work on existing

aside your traditional ways of working

projects and on developing new ideas.

comes with an immense amount of risk

Google’s ‘20% time’ is probably the

and so it’s understandable that many

most feted example as the company’s

executives are reluctant to whole-

policy of allowing engineers to devote

heartedly commit to new projects.

20% of their time to personal projects

Some companies reach a compro-

resulted in some of the company’s

mise that allows them to balance these

most successful products such as

competing objectives. For example,

Gmail, AdSense and Google Talks.

by implementing schemes that allow employees to strike a balance

While this can approach can be a fruitful one, it’s worth noting that many

50

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RITAM GANDHI TALKS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUILDING A STARTUP THAT BUILDS OTHER STARTUPS’

AUGUST 2019

as they have become large global

WHY SHOULD LARGE CORPORATIONS LOOK TO COLLABORATE?

businesses. Corporates like Google now

The reality is that the corporate world

span too many sectors and jurisdictions

is being disrupted at an exciting pace.

to rely on such an ad hoc approach

Therefore, I believe that established

to innovation. Consequently, they need

companies would be wise to outsource

to find a framework that allows them

innovation by partnering with young

to continue pushing technological

and dynamic startups. Ultimately, these

boundaries while still focusing on

partnerships have the potential to

maximising the value of their major

create mutual value by granting the

revenue-generating products.

startup access to capital and distribution

companies have abandoned this model

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TECHNOLOGY

52

“ These partnerships have the potential to create mutual value by granting the startup access to capital and distribution networks while giving the corporate a chance to benefit from innovative new projects” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene

AUGUST 2019

networks while giving the corporate a chance to benefit from innovative new projects.

This change in corporate culture takes many forms including mentorship programmes and in-house tech incubators but strategic partnerships are gradually emerging as the most effective way of leveraging a startups’ disruptive potential.

As corporations become larger and more results-oriented it makes it more difficult for innovative ideas to come to fruition. That’s why I believe forwardthinking companies are increasingly looking to collaboration with startups as the solution. After all, there’s nothing to suggest that corporates and startups have to co-exist as separate entities. In the digital age, size doesn’t guarantee future success.

If large companies don’t take the necessary action to stay one step ahead, they’ll soon find themselves falling behind.

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PEOPLE

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WeSportUs: how business strategy can revolutionise sports scouting Could blockchain decentralise talent-spotting and make it fairer? WeSportUs thinks so.

Ex-Banker Latif Adéothy is applying business expertise to revolutionise sports scouting WRITTEN BY

AUGUST 2019

LATIF ADÉOTHY

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B

usiness is often told to consider what it can learn from sport. But what about the other way around? What

could sport learn from business? Sport

focuses on winning, the team spirit and match analysis, but could it also learn how to focus on customers, empower teams and better use technology?

Could technology disrupt sport and the talent-scouting process? I think it could definitely benefit from technologies that could decentralise decision-making.

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I had an experience in Africa that convinced me to try and develop a solution. In Abidjan, a city on the southern Atlantic coast of Côte d’Ivoire, I came across a group of young footballers. Boys, with sandals on their feet, were playing on a field that looked more like scrub than a Premiership stadium. They let me join in for a little game. And we lost 10-0!

Despite having never set foot in a training centre and playing in sandals, one young player scored 8 goals! It disappoints me that this boy’s raw talent could go unspotted due to a lack of resources and visibility.

The sports world wouldn’t be the first entertainment industry to be challenged by technology. The music industry has had to reinvent itself by harnessing, rather than AUGUST 2019

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“The benefit is twofold: to give more visibility to talent, and to facilitate their relationship with potential supporters” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs

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PEOPLE

continuing to fight, technology. So, the sports world could reinvent itself through digital to combine entertainment experience, performance, and the experiences of professional and amateur athletes.

The benefit is twofold: to give more visibility to talent, and to facilitate their relationship with potential supporters.

All this and an opportunity to restore sport’s positive image, which has been tarnished by numerous scandals.

But how would this work when so many people play sports? In 2017, 58

two out of five people across Europe

AUGUST 2019

“ One young player scored 8 goals!

It disappoints me that this boy’s raw talent could go unspotted due to a lack of resources and visibility” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WESPORTUS – APP PROMO’ 59 played at least one sport once a week;

countries. So we need a mechanism

three out of 10 also played in clubs.

which could enable young talent to

That’s nearly 155mn, not to mention the

truly emerge from the multitude of

amateurs who sometimes play several

amateur athletes around the world.

sports, in the park or at home. More

This is still difficult to imagine on social

than 600,000 hours of videos are

networks in their current format.

uploaded to YouTube every day. With

In asking myself how we could

so many people participating in sport, it

make sports-scouting less random,

is difficult to identify the new talent who

I started thinking about my experience of

could dominate their discipline.

business, banking and blockchain. Could

The solution would need to incorpo-

scouting benefit from blockchain; the

rate an innovative social network

disruptive technology that is disrupting

based on openness. Today, our talent

the business world? It is a decentralised

spotting system is focused on just a

and participatory system and so, through

few institutions located in the richest

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PEOPLE

value proposition, we could use blockchain to engage the social sports community in a different way.

Why bet on the blockchain? Because the fundamentals of this technology are based on the very notion of transparency and information sharing. It is a technology that is open to almost everyone, is decentralised and transparent. As a result, each transaction belongs to both individuals and everyone at the same time, making the system completely democratic and robust.

This technology gives us an opportu60

nity to bring fans back to the centre of sport. Using decentralisation, athletes can showcase themselves and fans can like them, raising their profiles to potential patrons, sponsors and clubs.

They can even give new talent a boost by microfunding new boots or access to professional training grounds.

In business terms, this clearly demonstrates how sport can better listen to their customers (fans) and empower them. Fan involvement could also bring their passion and sense of fair play back to the heart of the global sports community.

I want us to imagine a sports social network model that integrates AUGUST 2019

“ I want us to imagine a sports social network model that integrates a cryptocurrency and gives power to the fan communities that will elect the young athletes of tomorrow” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs

61 a cryptocurrency and gives power to

the players never get scouted. We’re

the fan communities that will elect the

inventing a decentralised global talent

young athletes of tomorrow. It’s not a

detection platform, within the reach of

pipe dream. Social networks could take

sports professionals, which will promote

on their full meaning and we can move

champions from multiple horizons.

from a narcissistic vision to a holistic

What if new technology and business

approach, taking on the role of

nous could find, support and sponsor

revealing talent and creating a meritoc-

the next Usain Bolt or the future Kylian

racy. The world of sport is truly at the

Mbappé? That’s the plan at WeSportUs.

crossroads of funding innovations and the emergence of new media to reinvent the entertainment of tomorrow.

At the moment, too much talent is never seen, never makes it out of the park game and into the arena, because w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE 62

HOW CASCADES AND SAP PRIORITISE SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY Business Chief sits down with Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades, to learn how the business is putting sustainability at the forefront of its operations WRITTEN BY

AUGUST 2019

SOPHIE CHAPMAN

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

A

ces Sustainability is quickly shifting from an idealistic preference to a missioncritical change in operations. Beyond

reduced waste and increased efficiency,

sustainability has emerged as a necessary way to do business to appeal to both partners and customers.

Sustainable business practices are especially relevant in the packaging industry, historically one of the biggest contributors to supply-related waste with an estimated 30,000 tons rotting in landfills. Cascades, one of the top packaging manufacturers 64

in North America, is on the front lines of sustainable business practices through a streamlined supply chain. To hear about their story, we sat down with Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades.

To get started, please tell us about Cascades and its core values? Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. With 25 plants operating across Canada and the United States, we are the largest manufacturer of containerboard in Canada and the sixth-largest in North America. In line with our corporate mission to “improve the well-being of people, AUGUST 2019

“ WITH 25 PLANTS OPERATING ACROSS CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, WE ARE THE LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF CONTAINERBOARD IN CANADA AND THE SIXTH-LARGEST IN NORTH AMERICA” — Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades

65

communities and the planet by providing sustainable and innovative solutions that create value,” and to optimise its supply chain, we realised that we needed more consistent planning processes, faster planning cycles and better user engagement in our supply chain strategy.

Why did Cascades decide to address the issue of waste, and how are you doing so? We have evolved our business processes to address the w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

“ WE HAVE EVOLVED OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SUSTAINABILITY HEAD-ON, KNOWING THAT IT IS AN INDUSTRYWIDE CHALLENGE” — Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades

issue of sustainability head-on, knowing that it is an industry-wide challenge.

We understand that sustainable business practices, like an efficient supply chain, are not only good for the planet but are also good for business.

What sustainability challenges has your company faced? In order to get the business results we wanted, we knew that we had to make some changes.

Working alongside supply chain leaders such as SAP, we determined that enabling fact-based decision making by increasing end-to-end

66

supply chain visibility and providing access to information from one place was something that we needed to address. There was no relationship between sales and operations and strategy and tactical operations, which was also causing issues. We knew that we needed to make some changes in order to facilitate faster planning cycles and consistent processes for sales and operations planning, while improving collaboration and user engagement across functions.

What SAP technologies are you using to help with the project and what AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING – CASCADES IS PART OF THE SOLUTION’ 67 impact is the project having on the

customers have come to rely on. With

rest of the business? We introduced

SAP, we now have a comprehensive

the SAP Integrated Business Planning

and transparent overview of our supply

solution to provide full support for

chain, helping us to be highly responsive

monthly and weekly planning processes

to customer needs.

and to enable easy collaboration and quick resolution of issues across

In the end, why did you select SAP

functions. The enhanced data and

and how is its technology helping

forecasting help our company make

with efficiency? Implementing SAP

smarter decisions. With our employees

Integrated Business Planning has

and sales teams able to focus on

helped us establish long-term

adding value, we were able to be more

partnerships with our most strategic

agile and responsive to our customers’

customers. These partnerships

needs, allowing us to continue to deliver

enable us to support our growth and

the innovative products that our

sustainability goals with our strong w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

focus on the supply chain. Since choosing SAP, we have seen valuedriven results, including: • Improved decision-making with the aid of more-accurate data and forecasts (up to 80% better forecasting accuracy • 90% less time needed for data collection • Reduced costs, due to increased visibility and improved collaboration • Improved planning security supporting sales to new markets • Greater efficiency with maximised 68

production capacity and faster access to relevant information for both internal and external users • Enhanced ability of employees and salespeople to focus on value-added tasks such as customer service What trends are you seeing within the packaging industry and how are you adapting to them? The containerboard industry is increasingly moving towards a “buyer’s market,” as more capacity and foreign investments are shifting the equilibrium of demand and supply in this direction. In the past, it might have been somewhat acceptable to operate and service customers with AUGUST 2019

69

a certain amount of backlog within

Where do you see Cascades going in

a “weekly” window, but I don’t think

the next five years? We need to have

that will be the case in the coming

a clear understanding of our global

months and years because of this new

supply chain and master new pro-

reality. Customers are becoming more

cesses in order to deliver and exceed

demanding – and rightfully so. In

customer expectations. True customer-

response, organisations need to shift

centricity will hinge on on-time delivery

their mindset to service the customer

as a critical differentiator, and in turn,

in a timely manner, focusing more

help organisations thrive in this new

rigorously on cost control, working

environment over the next five years.

capital and “just-in-time inventory” best practices. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

CITY FOCUS

City Focus

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LOS AN Business Chief observes the oversubscribed, undersupplied, high-priced housing market in the United States’ second-largest city, and some of the enterprising startups and firms working to disrupt the multi-billion dollar Los Angeles real estate space

AUGUST 2019

NGELES WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR

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CITY FOCUS | L CO H SI CAANGGOE L E S

T

he United States’ second most-populated metropolitan area, Los Angeles County sprawls across more than 4,000 sq m

and is home to in excess of 10mn people. The City of Los Angeles itself houses more than 4mn human beings, as well as the heart of the global entertainment industry, and home to Fortune 500 companies like CBRE Group, AECOM and KB Home. In 2017, the tri-county area of Los AngelesLong Beach-Anaheim reached a collective GDP of more than US$1trn. However, while the average 72

cost of living in the city is 48.2% higher than the national average, according to Kiplinger, median household incomes are roughly $3,00 below the US median point. This hasn’t stopped people flocking to America’s second city though, drawn by its cultural prominence and aesthetic of glamorous excess.

Famously, the principalities of the rich and famous, Los Angeles neighborhoods like Bel Air and Beverly Hills boast some of the largest, most expensive properties in the country. Complete with 12 bedrooms, 21 bathrooms, three kitchens and five bars - not to mention a spa and massage studio, fitness center and 85-foot infinity swimming pool 924 Bel Air Road is comfortably the most expensive home on the market in the state today, with a $188mn price tag.

AUGUST 2019

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CITY FOCUS | LOS ANGELES

Luxury mega mansions aside, the Los Angeles property market is potentially fertile ground for real estate businesses. In December 2018, the median property price in Los Angeles was $879.5K, trending up 12.9% year-over-year, according to research done by Norada Real Estate. The city is also reportedly in the grips of a housing shortage. With this combination of high demand

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AUGUST 2019

‘The average cost of living in Los Angeles is 48.2% higher than the national average’

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘JACK RYAN, CEO OF REX, INTERVIEW ON BUSINESS ROCKSTARS’ 75 and an economically stratified popula-

on the border of the Santa Monica

tion, there are several promising

mountains. Aiming to disrupt the tradi-

startups looking to harness the power

tionally expensive and sales-focused

of cutting-edge technologies to enable

real estate industry, REX pays its

Los Angeleno home hunters.

agents larger salaries and incentivises them based on customer satisfaction,

REX REAL ESTATE

rather than the rapid closure of deals.

Utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and

Unlike traditional real estate brokers,

machine learning (ML) solutions, REX

REX charges a flat commission of 2%,

Real Estate aims to help buyers and sell-

rather than the usual 5-6%.

ers bypass the expensive Multiple

The company also has a strong

Listings Service process used by real

sense of social responsibility; for every

estate agents, marketing houses directly

50 homes sold, the company donates

to consumers. Founded in 2015, the

one to a family in need, building homes

startup is based in Woodland Hills,

in Cambodia and Columbia. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

CITY FOCUS | LOS ANGELES

76

COVER TECHNOLOGIES

in a fraction of the time of traditional

For some, just buying a home isn’t

custom construction. The company’s

enough; building one from the ground

software generates three custom

up to your exact specifications is all

designs in as little as three days.

that will suffice. Since 2014, local tech

Cover maintains the studios make

and architecture startup Cover Tech-

for excellent short-term rental accom-

nologies has been working to provide

modation, studio space, home gyms,

custom-designed and built ‘backyard

offices and of course, potentially cheap

studios’ to the residents of Los Ange-

solutions for LA’s housing shortage.

les. Cover uses proprietary design

According to Forbes, Cover can deliver

software and a precision manufac-

a 400 sq ft prefabricated structure

tured building system to deliver

between $120,000 and $160,000.

exceptional modern design, functional-

In 2018, founders Alexis Rivas and

ity, and energy performance,

Jemuel Joseph were named to the

AUGUST 2019

Forbes 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing and Industry list.

ANDREW JONES AUCTIONS Decorating a house can be as much of a struggle as the process of buying one. For LA’s wealthiest residents, seeking out unique and valuable items is big business. Last year, just south of downtown Los Angeles, Andrew Jones opened the city’s newest auction house. A full service art and antiques auction firm, Andrew Jones Auctions celebrated its one year anniversary in 2019, according

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LA STARTUP OFFERS CUSTOM SMALL PREFABS ADAPTED TO AREA CODE’

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CITY FOCUS | LOS ANGELES

to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

The two-day anniversary sale saw the house close deals amounting to $1.5mn, including a set of rare books by C.L.F. Panckoucke worth $220,000.

Jones, originally from the UK, has worked in auction houses since the age of 16 and has brought more than 40 years’ experience in the busi-

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AUGUST 2019

“The modern approach to auctioneering is embracing all the modern technology” — Andrew Jones, Founder and CEO, Andrew Jones Auctions

ness to the endeavor. Like every

“It was a little confusing, disorienting

industry, however, high end auctioneer-

… It took about 20 lots for me to just

ing has seen its share of disruption from

remember that there were people out

the internet age. The Times reported

there,” remarked Jones. “The modern

that, at the anniversary auction,

approach to auctioneering is embracing

“in a sign of how much the auction busi-

all the modern technology, understand-

ness has changed, only 100 people

ing that the good old days as I recall them

attended in person and 1,935 partici-

are gone, and you really have to be fully

pated online.”

onboard with social media platforms.”

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T O P 10

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AUGUST 2019

Highest paid CEOs in North America Business Chief takes a closer look at the highest paid CEOs at America’s biggest companies, according to a 2018 report by USA Today WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS

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T O P 10

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10

Randall Stephenson AT&T

Randall Stephenson is an American telecommunications executive and the chairman of AT&T. AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company with its headquarters at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. The telecommunications provider was established 35 years ago, and today employs over 268,540 people with a revenue of $163.8bn. Stephenson receives annual compensation of $28.7mn.

AUGUST 2019

83

09

Alex Gorsky

Johnson & Johnson

Alex Gosrky is the chairman of one of the most valuable companies: Johnson and Johnson, the medical product company that specialises in consumer and pharmaceutical goods, and medical devices.

The Kansas City-born businessman receives $29.8mn from the 133-yearold company and oversees 126,400 employees. He featured as one of the most influential leaders by Pharma Voice n 2014. He recently received CADCA Humanitarian of the Year Award and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

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T O P 10

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Indra K. Nooyi PepsiCo

Indra K. Nooyi was the CEO of PepsiCo, from 2006 until 2018, before passing the position to Ramon Laguarta. Nooyi is responsible for the successful redirection of PepsiCo’s business strategy, navigating it away from its standardised ‘junk food’ products towards healthy alternatives. The 63-year-old was ranked amongst the 100 most powerful women in 2014 by Forbes. Today, Nooyi has a salary of $31.1mn and has become joint director of a public-private partnership with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, called the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.

AUGUST 2019

Rewiring the T-Mobile Supply Chain with Digital Technology platform

Whilst the idea was to shatter the architectural monolith, the efforts were centered around “ Small and RoI-driven” bets among the others which include Inventory serialization, reverse logistics serialization, IMEI tracking, and applications that were delivered successfully through 100% agile mode of execution.

T-Mobile is known for its resolute pursuits and unwavering focus on customer experience. Digital Transformation was the preferred strategy and supply chain was one of the chosen areas for transformation in order to build foundational capabilities. The tenets of the Digital Supply chain transformation included Customer Centricity, Real-time Inventory visibility and Asset traceability, Time to market and integration with other partner ecosystems.

The resulting KPI’s were higher NPS, reduced time to market, reduced inventory cycle time and better control over operating costs. The next time a customer connects with any T-Mobile touch point and is able to access real-time inventory, check product availability, trade-off an old phone for a new one in a frictionless manner, it is the Digital transformation in action, enabled by a robust T-Mobile - Tech Mahindra partnership.

Tech Mahindra, #15 in the Forbes Digital 100 ranking 2018, collaborated with T-Mobile to take up the challenge of going beyond the brief through architectural simplifications and automation through a co-created framework for transformation.

Tech Mahindra’s ability to deliver value to the business with a state-of-the-art digital platform and transforming the culture of the operations has helped T-Mobile achieve digital maturity in a record time.

To learn more visit us at, https://www.techmahindra.com/cwce.html

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Jeffrey L. Bewkes Time Warner

Jeffrey L. Bewkes became the CEO of Warner Media, formerly Time Warner, in 2008. He held the role for the following decade, and after it was acquired by AT&T in 2016, he assisted with the transition.

The Media executive has remunerations of $32.6mn.

AUGUST 2019

87

Brian L. Roberts Comcast

Brian L. Roberts is an American CEO who is at the helm of Comcast.

He is considered to be “Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman,” according to 2003 “The Pennsylvania Report Power 75.” Comcast was originally founded by his father, Ralph J. Roberts, and Brian Roberts became President of Comcast Corporation in 1990 when the company had $657 million in annual revenue. Today the company a revenue of $80.4bn, and employs 150,000 people. As of last year, his recorded compensation was recorded at $33.0mn

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Robert A. Iger Disney

Robert A. Iger is both chairman and CEO of the largest media conglomerate in the world: The Walt Disney Company. He has overseen major acquisitions such as Pixar in 2006 for $7.4bn, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4bn, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06bn, and 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3bn. Disney has annual profits of $9.4bn and employs over 195,000 individuals. Iger receives compensation of over $36.3mn, and in recent months has been rumoured to be a contender in the 2020 US presidential elections, according to Forbes.

AUGUST 2019

89

Safra A. Catz Oracle

Safra A. Catz is an Israeli-born American co-CEO of the multinational computer technology corporation, Oracle Corporation. As of last year, Oracle became the third-largest tech firm, with revenue of $37bn. In addition to her position, she has been of assistance to President Trump, during his transition term, and she lectures at Stanford Graduate School of Business. As of April 2017, she became the highest-paid female CEO of any US company, making over $40.7mn.

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Mark V. Hurd Oracle

Mark V. Hurd is the other co-CEO of the Oracle Corporation. He makes more than his co-CEO, Safra A. Catz, with an income of $40.8mn.

Before his move to Oracle, Hurd was the chairman, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP), until he resigned in 2010. His strict cost-cutting at HP proved successful as the company navigated the recession, making profit as opposed to his projected deficit. This was apparently the motivation for previous CEO, Larry Ellison, appointing him as co-CEO of Oracle.

AUGUST 2019

“We need to make the world more how we want to see it.�

- Scott Saunders, CEO & Founder, Happy Money

Happy Money & Alliant Credit Union proudly celebrate 2 years of partnership, changing the way people think about and use money.

T O P 10

Dirk Van de Put

Mondelez International Dirk Van de Put is Chief Executive Officer of Mondelēz International and has a total compensation of $42.4mn.

The confectionery company Mondelēz International has over 90,000 employees across America and generates a revenue of $25.9bn. Van de Put has dual citizen as both a Belgium and American citizen, and completed his formal education in Belgium, achieving a doctorate in veterinary medicine.

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BIG CONSUMER BRANDS ON TRADE AND TECH TRENDS’

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AUGUST 2019

Brian Duperreault AIG

Brian Duperreault is the highest-paid CEO in the US, with a total compensation of $43.1mn. Duperreault has spent the entirety of his career within the insurance industry.

He started at AIG as an actuary in 1973, before working his way up the ranks, but left when it seemed unlikely that his predecessor Hank Greenberg would retire.

Duperreault himself retired in 2006 but was enlisted by Marsh & McLennan Companies to return to the industry in 2008 to rebuild the company following its 2004 bid-rigging scandal. His second retirement in 2012 was short-lived, as his interest in data-analytics inspired him to create Hamilton Insurance Group, in Bermuda during December 2013. He was called back to AIG in 2017 to assist in the rebuilding of the company, which had been underperforming since the 2008 recession. He transformed AIG, building its revenue to $52.3bn. He has won a vast number of awards and honours and is currently a member of the Wall Street Journal CEO Council.

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PRYSMIAN GROUP GOES GLOBAL WITH ITS LATEST ACQUISITION WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

DENITRA PRICE

AUGUST 2019

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

PRYSMIAN GROUP’S SUPPLY CHAIN DIRECTOR, GIANMICHELE ALIVIA, AND CPO, NA BRIAN SCHULTIES, REVEAL HOW ITS MERGER WITH GENERAL CABLE HAS EXPANDED THE COMPANY’S GLOBAL REACH AND OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAXIMIZE ITS SYNERGIES

P 98

rysmian Group is now a global force in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. Boasting nearly 140 years’

experience, the company’s wide service offering has driven sales exceeding €11bn via a 29,000-strong workforce operating in over 50 countries across 112 plants worldwide. Since the $3bn acquisition of General Cable in 2018, the group is embracing the complex transformation required to merge company cultures and meet the needs of a global footprint, while managing the synergies between procurement processes, supply chain and operations.

Prysmian’s CPO, NA Brian Schulties worked at General Cable, starting in 2006, so he has a unique perspective on the challenges ahead.

“While the re-organization was challenging, it was timely,” he reveals. “We’re merging two cultures into one and it’s not something you do in 30 days…”

Senior Supply Chain Director Gianmichele Alivia AUGUST 2019

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Bekaert is a strategic and long-term partner for us on steel wire and cables.

Their high quality, focus on research and innovation, new product development and responsiveness enable Prysmian/ General Cable to be successful in serving the market. We truly appreciate the relationship and push to be stronger together for many years to come.”

Arvind Parsa, Director of Metals

Bekaert is a global producer of steel wire and cable products including energy and telecommunications solutions.

Our products meet industry quality standards and can be refined to meet specific product or production requirements.

1x3, • 1x7, 1x19 wire strand

Static • strand, including Alumaclad

ACSR • and ACSS

Utility • staples

Next • generation ACSR

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A wide • range of coatings, including Bezinal ®

Get in touch! www.bekaert.com/powersolutions

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PRYSMIAN GROUP AND GENERAL CABLE JOIN FORCES’ 101

agrees: “Setting up the new organization

less what the legacy Pirelli company

was only a part of the work that had

was doing globally. All of the challenges

to be done. We’re now starting the

are mastered here. Since the acquisition,

discussions about merging the ERP

we’ve been working to bring these two

systems and the tools we need.”

entities together. North America is where

Following its acquisition by Goldman

the bulk of the general cable business

Sachs in 2005, the former Pirelli

was and so this is where the majority

Cables & Systems (where Schulties

of the effort has been placed.” That

also worked prior to General Cable)

effort has included the integration of

was renamed Prysmian. “The company

5,000 staff while managing fixed costs,

has grown tremendously in the past

something that has been key to Prysmi-

year,” explains Alivia. “We generate

an’s success as a lean organization.

approximately $4.1bn in revenue in North America, which was more or

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

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AUGUST 2019

“Expectations since the merger are high, and we only have two years from start-to-finish to work on the synergies – beyond that it becomes the normal course of business.” He cites the success of the integration of Draka into Prysmian Group in 2011 and notes that CEO Valerio Battista has stated the progress with synergies is ahead of schedule. Alivia adds that the same challenge is being tackled on the supply chain side “The first step was to look at inventory (since the merger inventory locations have dropped from 77 to 70) but now we’re analyzing more complex points including the rationalization of our network where inventory is kept, our flows, product location and distribution. We need to ensure we make the right product in the best facility,” he explains.

Prysmian is engaged in setting new contracts with carriers and working on their implementation with third-party logistics companies essential for managing the network. “It’s not only the logistics network,” adds Alivia.

“We are reviewing every single facility and product to make sure we service the customer from where it makes the most sense; we’re looking at cost of w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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When atoms come together, forming stronger cable insulations and jackets, we beneďŹ t from the energy that connects us.

Advancing a world of possibilities.

lyondellbasell.com

“ WE ARE GOING STATE-OF THE-ART WITH THE LATEST VERSION OF SAP, WHICH IS IOT (INTERNET OF THINGS READY. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO BUILD ONTO IT AND LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL FOR PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, MACHINE LEARNING AND AI” — Brian Schulties, CPO NA, Prysmian Group

production and factory efficiencies, but also the cost of delivery.”

Beyond the strategic change triggered by the merger, Alivia notes how Prysmian is always open to dynamic change in the quest for greater efficiencies through the implementation of new technologies.

“We’ve run idea pilots with augmented reality in our factories and trialed smart devices, such as sensors, both in our production lines and out in the field.” The group is keen to implement machine learning to help with its logistics network, though Alivia

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Gianmichele Alivia Alivia started his career at Pirelli in Milan with the corporate supply chain team. Since 2006, he has moved back and forth between Italy and the US working mostly on supply chain and managing the company’s B2B website.

Alivia spent time at the former U.S. headquarters in South Carolina during the merger with General Cable. At the time, he was in charge of the regional supply chain of Legacy Prysmian, North America, and then, after the acquisition of General Cable, Alivia moved to current headquarters located in Highland Heights, KY and took a role in the new organization where he is working on the synergies project following the merger between General Cable and Prysmian Group.

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

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CARING for our people and communities ACTING responsibly for the planet BUILDING a better future together Learn more at cabotcorp.com/sustainability ©2019 Cabot Corporation

A leading manufacturer of protective materials for high reliability applications since 1946.

Tapes, laminates, sealants and coatings

Wire and Cable tapes and moisture block compounds

www.chasecorp.com AUGUST 2019

Electronic and Industrial coatings

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We make a material difference

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Y T I L I B A N I A T S SU We believe it’s more than a buzzword.

It’s a pillar of our business practices.

concedes the cable industry is quite conservative and only implements technology when it can serve a proven purpose. “One of the most interesting things we’re doing is putting tracking devices on our cable drums to be able to monitor where they are at all times and ensure there is a faster turnaround of these assets once the cable on the drums has been used,” he reveals.

Meanwhile, Schulties believes there’s potential to harness AI capabilities to reduce the need for remedial tasks.

“ EXPECTATIONS SINCE THE MERGER ARE HIGH, AND WE ONLY HAVE TWO YEARS FROM START-TOFINISH TO WORK ON THE SYNERGIES – BEYOND THAT IT BECOMES THE NORMAL COURSE OF BUSINESS” — Brian Schulties, CPO NA, Prysmian Group

Almost a year on from the acquisition, Prysmian Group is preparing the

107

significant step of merging its ERP systems. “It will generate efficiencies

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Brian Schulties Brian Schulties is the head of Purchasing for Prysmian Group North America. Schulties has more than 30 years of experience in the procurement field in the automotive, foundry and wire and cable markets.

Prior to joining the company, he was the vice president of Sourcing for General Cable.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cleary University and has a lifetime C.P.M. certification.

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

with everyone operating the same way on a shared system; obstacles will be removed giving us a better foundation to build for the future,” confirms Alivia.

“We are going state-of-the-art with the latest version of SAP, which is IoT (Internet of Things) ready. This will allow us to build onto it and look at the potential for predictive analytics, machine learning and AI.” Beyond the challenges of the merger, innovation remains a high priority for Prysmian with 25 R&D centers across the globe and a 108

commitment to patenting new cable designs. Schulties is keen to act on the voice of the customer and see the company leveraging its supply base, as far as its technology and ability to provide innovation with delivery to market. On that quest, Prysmian works with 3PL, transportation and supplier partners. “We’re in discussion with companies like UPS,” says Alivia.

“How do we create more than just a supplier/customer relationship?

How do we form a strategic partnership with the extended supply chain team to come up with solutions?

We’re having whiteboard discussions to find ways of solving shared problems AUGUST 2019

109

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

M A R KS THE SP OT Raw Materials, All Over Again Since 1918 At PMR our mission is to reintroduce useful raw materials for the metals and plastics industries, reduce the scrap generator’s waste stream and play a major role in the greening of our environment.

Headquarters 99 East River Drive, East Hartford, CT 06108 • 860 622-7626 Offices & Plants: East Hartford, CT • Orangeburg, SC • Canastota, NY • Miami, FL Willimantic, CT • South Windsor, CT • Wilmington, DE • Hickory, NC AUGUST 2019

across the entire infrastructure of our organization.”

Focusing on shared sustainability goals is also key for a company

€11.bn Approximate revenue

ranked third in its sector by the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

Prysmian is working with procurement to identify ways it can increase the percentage of return of recycled plastic and wood from pallets.

Meanwhile, it is engaging with freight providers who invest in new trucks to improve mileage efficiency and reduce emissions. “We’ve also joined

1879

Year founded

29,000

Approximate number of employees 111

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PRYSMIAN GROUP SHOWS ITS ADVANCED VESSELS FLEET’

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PRYSMIAN GROUP

112 S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Prysmian 3rd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Prysmian works with its partners

sustainability issues; adopting

for a common goal: achieving

inclusion and diversity policies;

sustainability now and for the

implementing a Code of Business

future. It has improved its

Conduct designed to disseminate

ranking due to numerous actions

responsible business practices

completed in the environmental,

along the supply chain; reducing

social and governance fields.

emissions of ozone-depleting

These include, amongst other

substances; extending the KPIs

things: vesting the Board of

adopted in its own Sustainability

Directors’ Compensation and

Report, drawn up according to

Nomination Committee with

the G4 guidelines of the Global

tasks such as: overseeing

Reporting Initiative.

AUGUST 2019

113 the SmartWay,” adds Alivia. “It’s an

tion. The fact that we’ve just made a

EPA (Environmental Protection

big purchase doesn’t mean we’re not

Agency) program whereby companies

analyzing the next potential acquisi-

work collectively to reduce emissions

tion two or three years from now.”

and improve efficiency.” SmartWay

The strategy is set: making links in

offers an integrated set of no-cost,

the chain is building a bright future

peer-reviewed sustainability account-

for Prysmian and its customers.

ing and tracking tools to help companies make informed freight transportation choices across their supply chain.

Looking ahead, Prysmian’s strategy is to be “consolidators of the market,” says Alivia. “We want to squeeze efficiencies out of the companies we acquire, generate cash, pay the debt and get ready for the future acquisiw w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

s d n e r t e h t y l g n p i t t p t a Se he su ctor h t t l e in ain s Hea ch ward e t S re a C

114

BY TEN

A E A-P

CE

GAL N A S E U CE D BY R I C E D PRO RA P T I N DE

W RI

AUGUST 2019

T

115

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S T E W A R D H E A LT H C A R E

Michael Prokopis,Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care, discusses the supply chain strategies his firm is leveraging amidst digital transformation in the healthcare sector

A

s the largest private, tax paying, physician-led healthcare network in the US, Steward Health Care boasts an extensive

portfolio of 38 hospitals in the US and Malta.

Having experienced a significant transformation in its offering over the past few years, the hospital 116

prioritises the importance of first-class care to its patients. With procurement becoming increasingly influential to the way Steward Health Care operates, the firm created a shared services model which evaluates how the facilities are acquired. Michael Prokopis, Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care, discusses his company’s journey to transform its supply chain. “In shared services model, we have a number of different teams all working together,” he says. “We have a contracting department as well as a data team that helps us to understand the value metrics as well as reporting out to the facilities and observing how they’re doing on the KPIs. We have a procurement group which processes requisitions and turns them into purchase orders. We also have a value analysis wrapper, which allows us to AUGUST 2019

117

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S T E W A R D H E A LT H C A R E

evaluate from a clinical perspective

and we’re in the process of undergoing

how every single product that

that transformation now. What’s

we introduce into the supply chain

critically important from there

and deliver to our clinicians helps

is how you take that information

us decide whether it’s better than

and begin to use it, in order to get

something we’re already using.”

better consumption information at

Having taken steps to embrace

120

the point of care and understand

digitalisation over the past couple

what your inventory positions are.

of years, Steward Health Care

We’re also creating a mission control

is currently operating two ERPs

capability that will allow us to predict

and is well underway in its digital

our ability to deliver care in advance.

transformation journey. “We’re

It’s not enough that we schedule

on a digital path,” affirms Prokopis.

a patient for an operating room

“We know we’ve got to get to one

procedure two or three weeks out.

enterprise resource planning capability,

We also then have to understand

“We fundamentally believe innovation is the core” — Michael Prokopis, Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ABOUT STEWARD HEALTH CARE’ 121

what the nature of supply is and

how we can predict the back order

we can get the supply at the point

by watching and monitoring. You have

of care when we need it.”

to ask yourself what you are going

With a determination to lead the field

to do about it, and how you can do

and remain innovative in the healthcare

it in advance in order to counter

sector, Steward Health Care remains

the problem from happening.”

agile as it responds to the latest trends

Prokopis believes what really

in the supply chain space. “The back

differentiates Steward Health Care

orders are always a problem. We have

from its rivals is value analysis.

to ask ourselves how we make sure,

“If you look at other hospital organisa-

with the highest level of prediction,

tions, they have a grassroots approach

we can deliver the things that we’re

where there might be a value analysis

promising to our customers,” says

team that supports every hospital,”

Prokopis. “It’s really about deciding

he explains. “Most will also have w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

S T E W A R D H E A LT H C A R E

122

an executive steering committee,

Health Care hospitals dramatically

what makes ours different is that

increase from 10 to 38, the company

we also have a product category

considers innovation a key pillar to its

team serving as the inflection point

future growth and pivotal to success.

to understand what’s happening

“We fundamentally believe innovation

in the facilities and generate lots of

is the core,” explains Prokopis. “Due

grassroot ideas that are evaluated

to the way we’ve expanded, we’re

and monitored for broad standardiza-

moving at the speed of light. I like

tion across our nine-state footprint.”

to joke that we’re a car moving down

Due to the firm’s significant transfor-

the road at 100mph and we’re not only

mation over the past two years which

changing the tires, but we’re also going

has seen the number of Steward

to swap out the engine and the

AUGUST 2019

transmission at the same time.

more sustainable and drive more value

We have to do things differently

for patients. “One of the things that

in order to find those value pockets

we say is that every dollar we save

and continue to drive towards quality

in the supply chain is not a dollar that

of care. It’s not just about consolidating

rolls to the bottom line – it’s actually

standards or bulk buys. We’re constant-

a dollar that we can now reinvest into

ly pushing ourselves to see if there’s

our care,” he says. “There’s a long list

a way for us to improve, reimagine

of things to buy and do and renew

and rethink the way that we’re working

to stay on the cutting edge. I tell

in our hospitals, and most importantly,

my team all the time that our fiduciary

delivering care for our patients.”

responsibility as a supply chain is that

Operating with a firm customer-cen-

we’re a services organisation. We have

tric approach, Prokopis is constantly

service level agreements that we have

evaluating how his firm can become

to not only achieve but exceed! I come

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Michael Prokopis, Vice President of Supply Chain A leader with a uniquely business-minded approach to healthcare, Michael Prokopis is the Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care. Overseeing the $1.5 Billion supply chain capabilities of more than 30 hospitals comes naturally to an executive with more than t went y years’ worth of experience in strateg y, planning, and optimization.

Michael has master’s degrees from MIT and Dartmouth and lives in Dallas, TX.

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123

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“ It’s important to pick strategic partners with whom you go through the process of demand planning up to five years in advance and you’re sharing information so that both of you can improve the supply chain” — Michael Prokopis, Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care

in other industries with just as much unpredictability.”

With the importance of establishing and maintaining successful partnerships vital to all businesses’ success, Steward Health Care utilises a variety of tools to help analyse a range of different data in order to predict patient volume to allow staff to be treated accordingly. Prokopis explains what he looks for when seeking to formulate a successful strategic relationship. “At the end of the day, a good partner is the one that says, ‘If we do this or if we try that, we have the opportunity to move this KPI or metric’. We’re always looking

from a different mindset than tradition-

for ‘strategic’ partners; we hope

al healthcare and provide an outside

someone’s going to come to us and

perspective on what I think a supply

say, ‘Here’s some ideas that we haven’t

chain should look like. I tell my boss

implemented or maybe you haven’t

all the time that we don’t need to

contemplated. Let’s see if we can

reinvent the supply chain…we just

figure out how to do this together’.

need to correctly implement. It’s

Those are the kinds of things that

important to pick strategic partners

are extremely important to do. To me,

with whom you go through the process

a partner is someone who really wants

of demand planning up to five years in

to work with you, that generates new

advance and you’re sharing informa-

ways of doing things and thinks outside

tion so that both of you can improve

the box to see if we can approach the

the supply chain; that is what happens

problem from a different perspective.” w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

125

S T E W A R D H E A LT H C A R E

126

AUGUST 2019

23,000+

Number of employees worldwide

2010

Year founded

38

Hospitals in the US and Malta 127

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S T E W A R D H E A LT H C A R E

Looking to the future, Prokopis has a clear vision of how his company can continue to grow over the next few years. He believes the key to future success is to constantly monitor the supply chain. “We’ve just opened two facilities in April. One was an acquisition and the other was a facility that had been shut down that we reopened the doors for,” he notes.

“At the end of the day, you take the supply chain that you’re developing and look for an opportunity to firstly convert a hospital that was doing

“ To me, a partner is someone who really wants to work with you, that generates new ways of doing things and thinks outside the box”

things differently, and secondly provide an opportunity where you’re literally starting from scratch.

You have to ask yourself how you make sure that when the first patient walks in the door, they’re going to get exactly what they need in the time that they need it in. That’s the key.”

— Michael Prokopis, Vice President of Supply Chain at Steward Health Care

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+

130

Procurement goes global at Dentsu Aegis Network WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

DENITRA PRICE

AUGUST 2019

131

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DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

Dentsu Aegis Network is tackling the need for a centralized procurement function to meet the demands of a strategy targeting growth through acquisition

T

he Dentsu Aegis Network is the first global marketing services group built for the digital economy; designed around the

needs of its customers with the goal of driving sustainable business growth for their brands and business. Growth through acquisitions (such as Merkle), aligned with organic development, is key 132

to the company’s own strategy. To keep pace with that growth it became essential for Dentsu Aegis to create a centralized procurement team in each of its regions of operation.

Sabrina Traskos, Senior Vice President, Procurement, heads up the organization’s American Procurement Team. “My team is responsible for the entire spectrum of procurement activities, from strategic sourcing all the way through to issuing POs and ensuring invoices are correct; as well as looking after real estate and facilities on a day to day basis,” she says. “The focus of what we’re doing is supporting the entire network throughout the procurement lifecycle.”

The challenge for Traskos and her team is to build out a centralized function while assisting the brands across the Dentsu Aegis Network with their AUGUST 2019

133

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DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

E X ECU T I VE P RO FI LE

134

Sabrina Traskos, Senior Vice President, Procurement Traskos is a proven team leader with extensive international experience in contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, OEM and licensing deals. Her procurement and project management responsibilities deliver a significant impact to a company’s bottom line. As a former Senior Director at GPO Broadlane she managed strategic sourcing on behalf of healthcare providers... “Learning how to talk about requirements in an unbiased way and gain consensus and buy-in from the different organizations was a great experience which prepared me for working with 32 different brands across the Dentsu Aegis network.”

At Dentsu Aegis she manages the integration of new tech initiatives, adding value and efficiencies to its supply chain management while pushing forward with the firm’s sustainability goals.

AUGUST 2019

“ Cisco is helping us move the employee base into as few facilities as possible” — Sabrina Traskos, Senior Vice President, Procurement, Dentsu Aegis Network

procurement transformation. “We have

improving efficiency. “We aim to give

32 business units in the United States

people a say in the design of the pro-

so we’re getting 32 different constitu-

cesses and choosing the vendors,”

encies on board with our Source-to-

pledges Traskos. “After all, they’re

Pay process,” explains Traskos. “For

the subject matter experts who know

some of them, it’s the first time they’re

what they need best.” The next step to

doing a purchase order, so a solid com-

tackle is integrating the right technol-

munications plan is an absolute neces-

ogy. “When we win a new client, we

sity for us. It doesn’t stop when we sign

often have to get up and running very

the contract with the supplier and get

quickly. Procurement needs to sup-

them loaded into the Source-to-Pay

port whatever they need – it could be

system. We have to make sure all of the

research, technology or recruiting, for

relevant stakeholders know who our

example – with very quick turnaround,”

suppliers are, what the process is and

explains Traskos. “But this can lead to

what the transition plan is to switch to

wildly different approaches across the

newly selected suppliers.”

network which could present a data

Consensus building is integral to

integrity issue. Procurement has a w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

135

SMART CHANGE STARTS HERE.

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central role in harmonizing the process

To support positive disruption, what

and making sure the purchasing data

innovations is Dentsu Aegis embrac-

stays consistent.”

ing on its procurement transformation

The pathway to the successful

quest? Traskos is excited about the ad-

integration of new brands into Dentsu

vent of Source-to-Pay across Dentsu

Aegis’ processes is aided by a govern-

Aegis Network. “Previously, it’s been a

ance structure. “Steering committees

bit of a journey just to get aggregated

are at the heart of this,” says Traskos.

spend or figure out how much we

“We have representatives from each of

spend in a particular category or with

the business units and we meet regu-

different suppliers. Source-to-Pay’s

larly to discuss procurement projects,

spend analytics is going to help the

potential savings and to analyze any

team leapfrog to another level where

disruptive technologies.” She believes

we can provide our internal clients with

it’s vital to build a community approach

recommendations and opportunities

to change while providing the opportu-

to save, build partnerships where ap-

nity to learn from your peers.

propriate, and really improve overall

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT AT DENTSU US’ w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

137

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

vendor management and relationships.”

She believes building an ecosystem will improve user experience and bring through more initiatives to enhance efficiencies and savings.

Currently, Dentsu Aegis is keenly focused on the benefits of automation.

Dentsu’s Automation Team works with Catalytic and UI Path on robotics and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to aid the transition from paper to digital.

“We’ve been able to achieve some significant savings in terms of reducing the amount of time staff spend on ba138

sic tasks,” says Traskos. “This enables us to shift our employees’ time to work on more strategic functions and that benefits our clients. The success of the efforts to date allow us to roll out more automation of other processes.”

As Dentsu has grown through acquisition, its real estate portfolio has grown as well. Now, the company seeks to work on real estate consolidation in order to reduce the overall costs of running so many offices. For Traskos alongside Chris Bendowski, VP of Real Estate and Facilities, to achieve this without disruption, partnerships with the likes of Canon Solutions America are key. Canon, the leading camera AUGUST 2019

2013

Year founded

35,000+

Approximate number of employees

1,000 Clients

50%

Revenue driven by digital

and print solutions business, a leading imaging technology and managed services company, is providing office services to ensure robust support for the smooth running of office functions for all employees. “Canon Solutions America supports us with everything from traditional printers to reception and event services. We have about a hundred offices in the US alone, with as many as seven in some cities,” adds says Traskos. “Canon Solutions America is our essential partner in providing the staffing to support these offices with the highest level of service to the organization,” adds Chris Bendowski. “As we renovate office space and design offices more conducive to collaboration, we need network and WiFi support to create a stable and high performing environment in the workplace. Cisco solutions help us achieve that with a high level of confidence while achieving savings.”

Cisco are also involved with a project to install POE (Power Over Ethernet) lighting to provide energy savings across the organization. “The beautiful thing about POE is the ability to collect data from all your devices and look at room utilization, who is using the room w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

139

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

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AUGUST 2019

PRESIDIO.COM

and the capabilities that come along

us streamline processes and become

with that. For example, you can adjust

more cost efficient.”

the temperature of a conference suite

Sustainable procurement is a top

according to the number of occupants.

priority for Dentsu Aegis Network in

Big Data is helping us drive efficiencies

2019 and beyond. “We’re getting the

here, and offer a customized experi-

message out there to make sure our

ence for our employees.”

suppliers understand how important

Looking at trends across the pro-

it is,” confirms Traskos. “Source-to-Pay

curement panorama, Traskos is en-

can help us set up the initial relation-

thused by the way data accessible via

ship. From the initial RFP, a supplier will

user friendly dashboards is enabling

see Dentsu’s statement on sustainable

category managers like Sultan Bajwa

procurement, they see how much of

to make quick decisions on her team,

the scoring is based on them having

both on wa tactical and strategic

a verifiable sustainable procurement

basis. “All of the data provided via IoT

program within their organization, and

sensors can lead us towards greater

how they should align with the UN

savings. For example, the ability to look

SDGs (United Nations Sustainable De-

at energy consumption by floor helps

velopment Goals). Once they become w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

141

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

“ Source-to-Pay’s spend analytics is going to help the team leapfrog to another level where we can provide our internal client base with recommendations and opportunities to save” — Sabrina Traskos, Senior Vice President, Procurement, Dentsu Aegis Network 142

a supplier, we communicate on how our

goals. “Our center of excellence, led by

sustainability program is progressing,

Alex Love, pays really close attention

and more specifics on what we require

to savings and trying to help different

within the various categories. The com-

business units achieve their objectives,”

munication must occur on a regular

she maintains. “Source-to-Pay will pro-

basis to build a community in tune with

vide a big lift for us but we don’t want

our objectives and further the SDGs.”

to underestimate the change manage-

While Traskos notes that all procurement organizations are focused on

ment that’s involved.”

Allied to its financial and sustain-

savings targets, continuous monitoring

ability goals for procurement, Traskos

via data now allows for a more nuanced

is keen to encourage communication

approach able to identify areas for ac-

across the business around reducing

celeration to meet the organization’s

its carbon footprint. “For travel and ex-

AUGUST 2019

143

penses, how do we partner with IT so

around it. Not just for within Dentsu

that we can leverage Microsoft Teams

but within the procurement communi-

to its full potential? What else can we

ty at large, because everybody should

do to partner with different airlines and

be working towards making the world

reduce our carbon footprint? What can

a better place for the future.�

we do with S2P in terms of making sure that the SDGs are being pushed out to our different supplier partners? Not only are we making it 15% of our scoring, to determine who to partner with and who has made this a priority, but we’re trying to make this more visible by building a communication strategy w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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Creating value and sustainability through technology in the Armacell supply chain WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

DENITRA PRICE

AUGUST 2019

145

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ARMACELL

Amber Jesic, General Manager, Supply Chain,Americas at Armacell discusses using technology to pursue best sustainable practice in the company’s supply chain

T

he global perception of the supply chain has undergone a revolution over the past decade. What was once a series of

independent nodes in a scattered network of buyers and suppliers conducting transactional 146

deals has transformed into something far more delicate, complex and effective. “Organizations are becoming more sophisticated in the supply chain space. As they become better at supply chain and inventory management, they’re becoming more aware of the opportunities associated with the supply chain becoming more interdependent and approached from an end-to-end perspective,” says Amber Jesic, General Manager, Supply Chain, Americas at Armacell. “The increasing availability of real-time reporting and visibility, as well as increasing customer expectations, has certainly caused supply chains to evolve in recent years.” As the global supply chain industry changes, this newfound maturity opens up avenues for companies to fulfil ambitions and live up to core values in new ways.

AUGUST 2019

147

Production lines in Mebane, NC

Armacell manufactures structural PET panels in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

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ARMACELL

As a global leader in the insulation market, Armacell’s products are vital to making projects in the construction and manufacturing space more energyefficient, and therefore sustainable.

For Jesic, her role at Armacell was the perfect fit. “Sustainability is not only personally important to me, but it’s also the basis of how Armacell operates,” she says. “The company has a culture of global collaboration and innovation that was appealing and they’re also open to change. I saw the role as a chance to make contributions 148

to the organization, and an opportunity

“ Sustainability is not only personally important to me, but also the basis of how Armacell operates” — Amber Jesic, General Manager, Supply Chain, Americas, Armacell

Elastomeric foam sheets and rolls are stored before shipping out of Armacell’s component foam plant in Conover, NC

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MAKING A DIFFERENCE AROUND THE WORLD’ 149 to leverage our holistic network and

officially incorporated in 2000, its

supply chain to drive competitive

origins can be traced back to the

advantage and drive efficiencies.

1860s and Armstrong World Industries.

A lot of our products drive sustainability.

In 1954, Armstrong was responsible

Our ArmaFlex closed cell foam

for the invention of ArmaFlex, the

insulation saves 140 times more

world’s first flexible insulation product,

energy over the course of its life than

carving out its own industry niche

needed to manufacture and transport

that it has dominated ever since.

it.” We spoke to Jesic about the ways

In addition to making flexible products,

in which Armacell is harnessing

Armacell is committed to ensuring that,

cutting-edge technology in order to

as a company, it stands by its principles

drive supply chain innovation, not

of sustainability. “As a multi-materials

only to create value, but make the

and multi-product company, we apply

company more sustainable.

world-class practices every day

Although Armacell itself was

and expand into adjacent technical w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

ARMACELL

“ Technology provides an opportunity to simultaneously reduce costs and improve service” — Amber Jesic, General Manager, Supply Chain, Americas, Armacell 150

insulation end markets, continuously

sustainable technology and strategies

extending our temperature range

across Armacell’s supply chain, from

and equipment verticals,” Jesic says.

converting the company’s shipping

“We substitute the legacy materials

lines to an intermodal approach and

of our competition with our innovative

reducing miles travelled, to recycling

solutions and reinforce our premium

over one billion plastic bottles into

brand position to create value for

polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

equipment owners, specifier engineers,

products. “Beyond the benefits we

contractors and investors.”

seek to realize through technology,

Jesic’s role provides a broad mandate

we also are committed to best practices

and list of responsibilities, as she

that impact the environment. To reduce

oversees purchasing, planning, distribu-

waste, we have cases where we also

tion, transportation and compliance.

donate our scrap to prevent it from

She and her team are working to deploy

going into landfills,” says Jesic. “It can

AUGUST 2019

be used in the carpet industry as a padded base for installations, sometimes it’s used for the foam padding in children’s playgrounds – the breadth of application is mindboggling sometimes, given all the different areas you can use foam.”

The core of the company’s innovations and sustainability initiatives involve applying technology to create value in a sustainable way. “Technology provides an opportunity to simultaneously reduce costs and improve service. We’re driving automation wherever possible and easing the

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Amber Jesic, General Manager Amber Jesic is the General Manager of Supply Chain, Americas, at Armacell. Jesic’s innovative and analytical approaches have redefined and optimized the value of supply chains within select Fortune 500 companies.

A key strategist with an award-winning career in supply chain management, she has proven that with ingenuity, solutions to complex issues can be developed.

She is a thought leader, having led an autonomous truck program as featured in the New York Times.

Amber holds a Six Sigma Black Belt and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.

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ARMACELL

$686mn Approximate revenue

2000

Year founded

3,000

Approximate number of employees 152

AUGUST 2019

153

Armacell makes foam for gaskets for use in the aerospace industry. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

ARMACELL

Armacell makes foam for gaskets for use in the transportation industry.

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process of doing business with Armacell, predominantly through EDI integration, but also through our digitalization efforts regarding load planning and shipment consolidation to reduce miles travelled and condense shipments,” Jesic explains.

As a company that has never been afraid to carve its own way using the latest technological developments on offer, Jesic points out that Armacell is watching the development and testing of autonomous freight vehicles with great interest. “They can definitely drive sustainability benefits,” she says.

“ Beyond the benefits we seek to realize through technology, we also are committed to best practices that impact the environment” — Amber Jesic, General Manager, Supply Chain, Americas, Armacell

PA R T N E R FA C T S

Shintech The modern supply chain is becoming more collaborative and interconnected. As Jesic notes, “multifaceted partnerships are much more common. We work with our suppliers to develop mutually beneficial plans for the management, inventory management as well as delivery.” Founded in 1974, Shintech has grown to become a leader in its field in much the same way as Armacell. It is currently the largest producer of PVC in the US and has been partnered with Armacell for more than five years. “Their consistent service has been an asset to our business,” says Jesic.

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155

ARMACELL

“Autonomous trucks will let you better handle fuel usage, there’s less starting and stopping, you can have a bigger fuel tank without a driver, and of course an autonomous truck will be able to provide much more accurate track and trace capabilities.”

Gathering data from a fleet of autonomous trucks may be years away for Armacell, but Jesic stresses how vital data from other sources has become for the company today, and the importance of having the analytics 156

to draw actionable insights. “We’re in the design and development phase of using forecasting tools that will provide predictive analytics which will be used in our production planning and inventory management to better service our customers,” she explains.

As the leader in the $13.5bn equipment insulation market, Armacell is constantly striving to pursue its multi-pillar growth strategy. Its dedicated R&D teams are continually driving the company’s portfolio growth of intellectual property, having more than doubled the number of patents in the company’s name over the past five years. Looking to the future, Jesic is AUGUST 2019

excited to continue bringing Armacell’s open, innovative approach to the workings of its supply chain and management of her team. “I encourage a culture of openness to change and present things in a perspective that highlights the benefits of why that change is being introduced. So, in the instance of digitalization, if it improves the ease of doing business with Armacell, our suppliers and customers then I’ll emphasize those benefits to the teams so they understand why we’re pursuing these changes. Also, benefits like automated reporting help keep our focus on best, not budget,” she concludes. Armacell’s future is bright, as it continues to work towards creating not only value, but a bright future for the planet too.

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158

The University of Alabama at Birmingham celebrates its immense digital transformation WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

AUGUST 2019

159

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M

In an exclusive interview with Vice President and CIO, Dr. Curt Carver Jr., he shares the hundreds of ‘wins’ achieved in streamlining the university experience

E

mpowering greatness in others is at the heart of every technical solution the University of Alabama at Birmingham

(UAB) has made, and this could not be more evident from the technology transformation that has taken 160

place over the past four years under the leadership of Dr. Curt Carver. It is no surprise that the University of Alabama at Birmingham was keen to enlist Carver to spearhead IT operations with his impressive career history and dedication to student and staff wellbeing. Carver previously worked as the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at the University System of Georgia. Prior to that, during his time at the US Military Academy at West Point, he rose through the academic ranks from instructor to full professor, before becoming Vice Dean, serving as deputy to the Chief Academic Officer. Whilst in this role, Carver also participated as an American Council of Education fellow at George Mason University, visiting 40 other universities across the United States, gaining a holistic view of task management across various universities.

AUGUST 2019

$3.4bn Approximate revenue (2018)

1969

Year founded

23,000

Approximate number of employees

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161

U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M

“ When I started in 2015, it took us about 800 minutes to close out a phishing attack. Today we do it in 11” 162

— Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer

AUGUST 2019

He has been with UAB since 2015 and, under his leadership, the university has had over 420 ‘wins’. Carver defines a ‘win’ as a concern raised by the community, which is met with solutions that are validated as successful by staff and students, while in line with the strategic plan. Averaging around 100 wins a year, Carver could not begin to list all of the achievements, but shared with us some from the 2017 and 2018 reports. This year marks the university’s 50th anniversary, which has seen the University of Alabama at Birmingham ranked number one amongst young

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UAB. POWERED BY WILL’ 163 universities (those under 50 years of age) in the United States and 11th in the world.

“We are trying to empower greatness in our students, faculty, and researchers and clinicians,” explains Carver. “That means removing obstacles preventing them from accomplishing their research and teaching tasks, and trying to figure out mechanisms to co-author solutions to not only achieve their goals, but to create a competitive advantage for them compared to other universities.” Carver emphasizes the need to build strong partnerships with students to create solutions that do not only “comply or w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

Be Future Ready.

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M

166

satisfy, but delight their expectations.”

of people when devising a business

“These are solutions that they feel that

strategy. “On my first day as CIO,

they are a part of,” he comments.

we created a crowd-sourcing site,

Another motivation of the company’s

and we had some 800 meetings in the

technological transformation is the goal

first 100 days. By creating a voice for

of easing the workload of both staff and

everyone, you can work towards the

students. “Some of the ways in which

best possible solution and provide

we have achieved this is by moving to

each aspect of the university with

unlimited email, creating passwords that

its own competitive edge.” This level

don’t expire, and having unlimited storage,

of communication enabled staff

as well as creating the fastest networks

and students to be receptive to the

and research computers in the state.

technical changes, because they

When you’re working with genomics

were solutions requested by them.

and personalized medicine, these small

For example, one goal was to

factors make a great deal of difference.”

leverage the faculty’s disciplinary

Carver cannot emphasize enough

expertise. “We can’t treat faculty as the

the importance of listening to a variety

most expensive typists on the planet,”

AUGUST 2019

jokes Carver. At the end of each term, staff are tasked with the movement of student records from the learning management system to the student information system. “So if you’re teaching 300 students, that’s about 900 clicks to complete this task, taking hours. And if you make an error, the staff member then has three different permissions and five forms to complete to rectify the mistake,” explains Carver.

“So we built a button, and all of the information is transported across 167

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Curtis A. Carver Jr Curtis A. Carver Jr., Ph.D., was named Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer in June 2015, following a national search. A senior leader in higher education information technology, Carver came to UAB from his position as Vice Chancellor and CIO for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, having previously held key leadership positions at the US Military Academy at West Point. Carver earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the US Military Academy at West Point and his Master’s Degree and Doctorate in computer science from Texas A&M University. Throughout his career, he has received numerous national and international honors and awards for military, teaching, and research excellence. Carver is a frequent keynote speaker and has published extensively.

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169 systems in about a second, eradicating

and deployed a tool where the students

the previously arduous process.

could input their desired classes,

“If we’re going to change the world,

when they are working or when they

let’s be serious about changing the

would rather not be on campus, and it

world, and that means empowering

automatically builds multiple schedules

people and taking some of these

for them, and they just pick the schedule

bureaucratic tasks off their plate,”

they want.”

Carver continues, with reference to the

Carver notes that part of the success

university’s students. “When students

of the strategy is to be a servant leader,

were scheduling, they would go into

and not a Napoleonic one. “It’s not

the student information system and

about control. It’s about empowerment.”

they would download the schedules

Carver believes that it is important to

into Excel, and they would try to build

hire people smarter than himself, as

a schedule. So we worked with the

it empowers employees, instilling within

registrar and enrollment management

them a sense of responsibility to find w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M

“ We are trying to empower greatness in our students, faculty, and researchers and clinicians” — Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer

170

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171

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a solution. He commends his team

undergraduate classes into the

of staff, who are particularly committed

learning management system. “This

to the improvement of cybersecurity.

cloud-based solution enabled students

Carver reflects on how cybersecurity

to push one button, and all of their

has improved: “When I started in 2015,

undergraduate classes, all of the

it took us about 800 minutes to close

requirements then transfer into their

out a phishing attack. Today we do it in

mobile device calendar.” This is a

11.” He returns to the topic of passwords,

drastic change from the previous

sharing another solution that was

organization where staff either handed

deployed. “We gave students and staff

out paper timetables or posted them

a mobile-enabled platform that tracks

on their own websites.

passwords and generates strong unique ones, strengthening security further.”

Looking ahead, Carver notes some of the solutions that the university

Of the many wins, Carver said his

is currently piloting. “We’re working

favorite was the movement of 1,250

on building a navigation system that

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M

“ If we’re going to change the world, let’s be serious about changing the world” — Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer 174

AUGUST 2019

automatically locates free parking space for students.” Carver and his team are working toward a new strategic plan that, in the true spirit of his ethos, is a compilation of stories about those who will benefit from the technology solutions. “This puts customers at the center of the conversation and it focuses on digital moments that delight them. So we’re very excited about the future and what we’re going to be able to do with this kind of customer centric approach.”

In a time where technology and AI is considered to be detached if not impersonal, Carver is subverting this with his leadership, and using technology to improve the lives and relationships of staff and students. With any hope, his innovation will spread to other universities, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham leading the way.

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175

176

Gateway First Bank: from lender to banker WRITTEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

AUGUST 2019

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G AT E W AY F I R S T B A N K

With a goal to grow its accounts and deposits nationwide, Gateway Mortgage Group is preparing in mid-2019 to launch Gateway First Bank, its full-service, direct-toconsumer digital bank

B

uying a home is a pivotal decision for anybody. Much more than a routine commercial transaction, it speaks to that

person’s aspirations, hopes, and family identity.

It was with this awareness, and a vision to help 178

families and communities grow stronger through home ownership, that Kevin J Stitt, a career professional in the mortgage industry, started up Gateway Mortgage Group in 2000. By 2017, through some of the most challenging times for the housing market, Stitt had grown Gateway to become one of the largest privately held mortgage origination and servicing companies in America, employing more than 1,200 people at 160 branch offices.

In November 2018, Kevin Stitt was elected Governor of the State of Oklahoma, but before he stepped aside from the position as CEO at Gateway he had been able to advance a long-held desire to move beyond the origination and servicing of mortgage loans and turn the company into a fully-fledged bank. Leveraging the expertise of Stephen Curry, a banker specializing in banking AUGUST 2019

179

“ Increasingly we turn to technology to reduce the number of touchpoints and enhance the borrower experience” — Steven Harpe, CIO, Gateway First Bank

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G AT E W AY F I R S T B A N K

“ It used to take days, even weeks to get through an application process… but now on the mortgage side of the business we average less 180 than 30 minutes” — Steven Harpe, CIO, Gateway First Bank

transitions who replaced Stitt as CEO in August 2018, Gateway acquired Farmers Exchange Bank to form Gateway First Bank which, with $1.2bn in assets and five banking centers in Northwest Oklahoma, emerged overnight as one of the largest banks in the State of Oklahoma by asset size, and one of the largest bank mortgage operations in the United States.

The enabling technology team Growing the technology infrastructure to support the radical and highly-unusual transformation from a mortgage company into a bank is a process that has been ongoing since the appointment of Steven Harpe as CIO in 2013. Harpe had held senior leadership roles in IT for more than 20 years. Back then, there wasn’t really a technology division in the present-day sense, he recalls: tech was seen as a black box, and the relationship with the rest of the business was an adversarial one. “We had to develop a managed services concept within the business,” Harpe explains.

Digital enablement is now recognized as essential to all financial services, though the industry as a whole has been slow to acknowledge that.

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THE GATEWAY EXPERIENCE’ 181 This is a company built on service,

services too. “Financial services were

and that has been the secret of its

late getting into this space but as we

rapid growth to date. “As we continue

move forward it’s no longer millennial

to take on additional customers we

problems we are trying to solve.

also want to be able to effectively

We are trying to solve problems for

recruit the sales and corporate staff

everybody and the digital platforms

that will serve them. Attracting the best

that we are building and integrating

people means offering them the best

today can do that,” stated Harpe.

products available through a top tier

Over recent years, mobile-friendly

technology platform.” Harpe adds that

technology has penetrated all industries,

it’s a mistake to suppose that millennials

with mortgage lending no exception,

are the only group to embrace digital

Harpe points out. “Increasingly we turn

technology, citing his mother who,

to technology to reduce the number of

at 74, is inseparable from her iPad for

touchpoints and enhance the borrower

communication, shopping and financial

experience by giving them an intuitive w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

G AT E W AY F I R S T B A N K

182

one-touch technology platform.”

backroom mindset and created a very

Fintech has become a commodity,

dynamic, agile and digital forward-

so his strategy has been to outsource

thinking group.”

the principal elements to the partners

The IT organization Harpe leads

who do it best. “I want to spend our

now has around 40 people, all with

time on applications, enhancing digital

a problem-solving mentality. “When we

experience, and making better use of

hire someone, we look well beyond

data to understand how we can best

IT knowledge and competence,” he

deliver our mortgage and other

comments. “We want people who will

financial services,” Harpe added. “We

take ownership of their ideas, and have

see ourselves as servants to everyone

a sense of urgency about them; people

in this company, and I am proud to be

who are excited to be here and keen

able to say we quickly ditched the old

to solve problems for the business.”

AUGUST 2019

FOUR KEY PLATFORMS

on the mortgage side of the business

On the front line of a lender’s relationship

we average less than 30 minutes,”

with its clients is the point of sale (POS)

stated Harpe. “We can automatically

system. In a competitive environment,

pull W2s, tax records and the like,

the speed and efficiency with which a

ingest these files and use the Blend

loan application can be processed

platform to digest the information and

makes all the difference. The POS

quickly get through the 1003 process.”

system Gateway selected was

The difference this makes to the

provided by Blend, a Silicon Valley

customer experience is immense

software developer that now connects

and it helps Gateway deliver its vision

more than 15,000 banks and financial

to realize the American Dream of

institutions to make routine checks. “It

homeownership. As Blend’s founder

used to take days or even weeks to get

Nima Ghamsari has said, a large

through an application process, which

number of people don’t realize they

was stressful for the applicant, but now

qualify for home ownership until they

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Steven Harpe, CIO Harpe leads customers using a unique combination of business experience coupled with 30 years of technology background in large scale cloud computing operations and engineering management. He has engineered, implemented, and managed some of the world’s largest technology platforms with multifaceted business applications. In addition, he has led initiatives to digitize technologies based on aged architectures, including providing mobile platforms. Harpe is dedicated to enthusiastic and progressive leadership as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong passion of developing people to achieve their goals. In April 2019 he was appointed to the Oklahoma Board of Corrections. Harpe is a keen drummer in his spare time, having backed a number of rock bands.

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183

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘GATEWAY MORTGAGE GROUP - LINKSTEP’ 185 go through this process. Not surpris-

selecting a new partner in the summer

ingly, customer satisfaction and net

of 2019. Discussions are in hand with

promoter score (NPS) rates have

two industry-leading contenders.

soared. “Everything we’re doing is

As the launch of Gateway First Bank

geared around the customer experience

approached it was clear it should move

and we remove as much friction from

to the most sophisticated core banking

that process as we can,” Harpe

system available. In January 2019, it

emphasizes. “Blend is going to be

was announced that this partner would

helping us with direct deposit for new

be FIS, a global leader in financial

deposit account creation as well.”

services technology with a focus on

After approval, the loan application

retail and institutional banking. “FIS is

moves into the loan origination process.

a global company, and it supports

The current loan origination software

many of the leading direct-to-consumer

(LOS) provider Byte has served the

banks in the market around the world,”

company well but Gateway will be

says Harpe. “Its service will be hosted w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

G AT E W AY F I R S T B A N K

on its own private cloud, in which it has invested massively, and it has deep experience and scale in digital banking.” The transition from the current Jack Henry banking system will take place in July 2019.

Loan servicing is the ongoing relationship between lender and client, and this relationship will be trusted to Sagent LoanServ, another partner with its own private cloud. Moving infrastructure from the data center into the cloud, whether private or public, has been an ongoing goal of the IT team, 186

and has largely been achieved, with Blend hosted on AWS as well as both contenders for the LOS. “By the end of 2020, we are going to be sitting in a very unique place. We are a mortgage company that became a bank – and that is exciting enough in itself – but by then we will have all of our core technology running our operations in our business wholly on the cloud, on some of the largest fintech platforms.”

Such partners were selected because they are highly future-oriented organizations that look at themselves primarily as technology companies.

This, says Harpe, drives their behavior and decision making.

AUGUST 2019

“ Everything we’re doing is geared around the customer experience and we remove as much friction from that process as we can” — Steven Harpe, CIO, Gateway First Bank

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FIS is proud to have Gateway First Bank as a new strategic partner on the Horizon Core Platform.

To learn more about FIS leading solutions and client success stories, visit www.fisglobal.com/now.

“ When you implement new technology, new skill sets are required and new jobs get created” — Steven Harpe, CIO, Gateway First Bank

fact, creating scale. When you implement new technology, new skill sets are required and new jobs get created.

We are excited about those opportunities, and even more excited about what this is going to provide for our clients. If you are a mortgage or a banking customer (or hopefully both) you are going to be able to consume Gateway First Bank through a common set of digital experiences from a single platform.

PLAYING THE BALL IN FRONT Most of Gateway’s growth up to this

That is where we are headed.”

The future of banking is omnichannel,

year’s bank acquisition and merger has

and as such Gateway will try to achieve

been self-generated, so the new bank

a full set of responsive, personalized

will be focusing on safeguarding its

digital services to its customers. For

reputation as Harpe emphasizes. “Over

example, The Digital One Online

the coming years, we will see mainly

Account Origination solution will allow

organic growth mixed with some

customers to open and manage their

acquisitions. But to use a baseball

accounts via mobile and laptop devices.

analogy, we are very much a ‘play the

“This is a foundational time for us,”

ball in front of you’ company – one

enthuses Harpe. We are creating a

thing at a time. The ball in front of us is

brand new foundation so mobile

the bank transition, the transfer of our

banking, credit cards and personal

core systems to FIS and choosing the

finance will all be extendable through

right loan origination partner.”

the APIs and digital services that we

Digitizing the operations and leveraging 21st-Century technologies such as machine learning and automation

are building. Our customers will find it easy to find us and do business with us.”

Gateway First Bank is a nationwide

will definitely not endanger jobs at

operator that was founded in the

Gateway, Harpe predicts. “We are, in

communities of Oklahoma. Its community w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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G AT E W AY F I R S T B A N K

190

“ We are creating a brand new foundation… our customers will find it easy to find us and do business with us” — Steven Harpe, CIO, Gateway First Bank AUGUST 2019

spirit and commitment are a real differentiator for the company, Harpe insists – home ownership is all about aspiration, the family and a stable society, so the company that Kevin Stitt founded has always looked for ways to reach out. The projects it supports are numerous, but typified by the establishment and continuing support of a Christian school in Nigeria in 2009 as well as the Gateway Youth Ranch in Uganda which enhances the lives of disadvantaged young people in that country.

Closer to home, Harpe picks out Pearl’s Hope, a Tulsa-based project and refuge that supports homeless women and their families and helps them get back on their feet. “Oftentimes they find themselves having to run from home without the most basic necessities of life: Gateway provides Pearl’s Hope with some of these essentials.” The compassion he clearly feels chimes in with the company’s ethos of helping hard-working people regardless of their current wealth.

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192

Providing clients with a unique approach to digital transformation WRITTEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPMAN PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

AUGUST 2019

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AVAYA

As Avaya provides tailored services for its clients, the company’s Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation reveals how digital transformation is changing the telecommunications industry

A

vaya is a software and services organization that has a long legacy in the telecommunications industry. Headquartered

in California’s Santa Clara, in the heart of Silicon Valley, the business has evolved alongside the industry. “The evolution really came down to the 194

mobile device – the smart phone becoming the entry point for communications across every platform,” explains Tim Gogal, Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation at Avaya.

“Looking at it from a corporate perspective, not only do we have a very strong focus on evolving our customer strategies around the evolution of a multichannel or omnichannel approach to customer service, we also internally create and invent software that ties all those things together.” Gogal’s team has developed its strategy to optimize the transition from legacy telecommunications engineering skill sets to software developments that cater to clients’ needs.

“I run a sales organization that focuses on evolving our clients’ customer service strategies.

AUGUST 2019

“Digital transformation is ultimately defining that there’s a larger imperative at play; it encompasses much more than just technology” — Tim Gogal, Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation, Avaya 195

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AVAYA

“ The industry itself uniquely allows Avaya to position itself as an industry expert” — Tim Gogal, Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation, Avaya

We’re moving away from simply focusing on contact centers and looking at a larger digital transformation imperative,” Gogal says.

“We’re understanding how customers are communicating with brands and social media using crowd sourcing websites, and we’re addressing the larger understanding that customer service today, in a digital transformation mindset, is completely different than the industry as a whole.” Having previously worked as a contact center agent, Gogal realized there was a better

196

way of doing business if organizations could align technologies with customer service strategies. Through his analysis of the strategy, Gogal earned his place as a global voice architect which led to him selling the technology that can transform businesses.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, Avaya ensures it is offering the most advanced services whilst maintaining a tailored approach, enhancing efficiency and desirability in its communications component.

“Digital transformation is ultimately defining that there’s a larger imperative at play; it encompasses much more AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘AVAYA THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR EMPLOYEES’ 197 than just technology. It encompasses

has enabled it to adapt to customers’

the importance of understanding

needs. “We have the ability to integrate

who is at the other end of the commu-

very seamlessly with virtually

nication channel – whether it’s a phone

any enterprise application that’s

call, a chat or an SMS – and giving that

available and bring the contextual data

particular individual the opportunity

sets of those back-office applications

to communicate through the channel

into the overall client experience.

that’s most appropriate and most

We are uniquely positioned to provide

effective for them,” comments Gogal.

our clients with a personalized service

“I have a team of software developers

across virtually any media channel

that focus on creating individual,

and that’s a fundamental game

customized and unique experiences

changer for us,” Gogal adds.

on a case by case basis for each and every one of our clients.”

Avaya’s omnichannel approach

“Avaya’s business lineage leads us back to the 1-800 patent. Having such a strong legacy in the communications w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

space, along with the customer service

for the client leveraging service design

industry, uniquely allows Avaya to

practices focused on streamlined

position itself as an industry expert,”

business process models. “We start

says Gogal. As a business with a great

the process by understanding explicitly

understanding of the industry surround-

what our end customers want from

ing it, the firm uses its knowledge

the brand from an experience perspec-

to stay on top of vertical trends. Avaya

tive,” he notes. Following the initial

combines trends of the future with

stage, the business will conduct

its end customer experience through

interviews to align with the executive

two key areas — service design

level visions of the company. During

and driving business outcomes.

the consulting process, the team will

Gogal will deploy a team of software

build the business model into

developers and digital transformation

a communication workflow that

strategists to build prototypes

focuses on streamlining the experience.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Tim Gogal, Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation Tim Gogal built his career in the customer service industry. He’s an Entrepreneurial Leader, Strategic Thinker, Cultural Change Agent, with a passion for Anthropology, Ethnology, and Service Design Strategy with a focus on changing the landscape of business technology in today’s digitally disrupted world. His specialties include: Sales & Consulting, Corporate Management, Telecommunications (Voice) Architecture, Business Analytics, Customer Service Operations Management, Application Development.

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AVAYA

200

AUGUST 2019

201

ÂŁ3.27bn Approximate revenue in 2017

2000

Year founded

8,100

Approximate number of employees as of 2018 w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

AVAYA

202

“We look at whether we have

technologies are in play which can

opportunities for deploying artificial

be leveraged to achieve a digitally

intelligence (AI) via chat bots. We look

transformed experience, with security

at things such as IoT devices and how

in mind, of course.”

we can leverage them to build a better

As an example of the Client Experi-

and more desirable experience.

ence Innovation team’s “Art of the

Are there IoT sensors that can be

Possible” mentality, the group devel-

leveraged in this process depending

oped a prototype last year that

upon each case-by-case basis?

incorporated the customer service

We look at whether or not blockchain

agent and the residential establish-

is applicable as it relates to security

ment – working with technologies such

needs. It is important to understand

as Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

where our clients are today and what

To show how the client experience

their end customers want, and what AUGUST 2019

is evolving, and how uniquely posi-

“ It’s a delicate balance of understanding high level trends but also targeting the minutia of customers’ business issues and overall expectations, and how we solve for them” — Tim Gogal, Senior Director of Client Experience Innovation, Avaya

of everything that took place within that AI platform,” Gogal explains.

As Avaya continues to target each customer’s individual needs, the company looks forward to facing new and distinctive challenges on a case-by-case basis. “The focus is understanding what the uniqueness of each business process is and layering on the Avaya solutions as the communication fabric for making operations as seamless as possible,” says Gogal. “It’s a delicate balance of understanding high level trends but also targeting the minutia of customers’ business issues

tioned Avaya’s open architecture really

and overall expectations, and how

is, they wanted to show how they

we solve for them.” Whilst streamlin-

can enable its clients to book trips

ing the operations of its customers

via voice command. “The idea is in

by removing human latency, striking

creating that use case of booking a trip,

a parallel between technology

selecting your flight itinerary, your hotel

adoption and personalization will

capability, and capturing all those

continue to be a top priority to the firm.

attributes through the in-home AI platform. Then, if there’s a need for a conversation, it can be escalated to an agent or a customer service representative in a contact center who receives the appropriate data along with the contextual history w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

203

204

AUGUST 2019

RiverStreet Networks: digital disruption to telecoms infrastructure WRITTEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPMAN

PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

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205

RIVERSTREET NETWORKS

As RiverStreet evolves with the changing telecom landscape, RiverStreet Networks’ CTO tells us about the company’s digital transformation journey

R

iverStreet Networks was established in 1951 to create access to telephone services in rural North Carolina.

The Communications Act of 1934 ensured that 206

having access to a telephone is an inalienable right, leading to companies and cooperatives being subsidized to build telephone infrastructure.

“Our mission at the time, although we didn’t know it, was to serve the unserved,” says Jody Call, the firm’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Until 2014, the company had around 10,000 customers. This changed when the government began reducing subsidies due to a lack of access lines as a result of the proliferation of mobile devices. “We had a lot of attrition of our access lines and our company was growing as more of a broadband provider. We had overbuilt our entire network in our cooperative footprint of about 10,000 customers with gigabit fiber to the home, and we had pretty much captured the market here – so we started expanding outside of the county,” he adds.

AUGUST 2019

207

“ Our mission at the time, although we didn’t know it, was to serve the un-served” — Jody Call, Chief Technology Officer, RiverStreet Networks w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

RIVERSTREET NETWORKS

“ We’ve had to disrupt our own internal processes and ways of thinking and to accommodate and embrace new technologies” 208

— Jody Call, Chief Technology Officer, RiverStreet Networks

Under its expansion strategy, RiverStreet has acquired and merged with other businesses in the state of Wilkes County, North Carolina. The company anticipates that its customer and account rate will reach 35,000 by the end of this year, following the completion of further deals, with 25,000 of those customers connecting to broadband. “The paradigm shift in the industry is to provide broadband in the unserved and under-served areas and to address the digital divide – we’re looking at that through several different ways of infrastructure,” says Call. RiverStreet upgrades fiber to home, DSL networks, RF cables and traditional cable television, and is looking into fixed wireless options.

Part of RiverStreet’s continual transformation includes regularly evaluating each incumbent vendor relationship and their respective product roadmaps. These relationships and roadmaps have to be aligned with the firm’s current and future plans as they change – technologies change, customer needs change, and cost is always an underlying factor. Avoiding getting too comfortable in any vendor relationship is paramount in how

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RIVERSTREET NETWORKS: DRONE COMPILATION’ 209 RiverStreet’s Operations group stays

a single screen to watch OTT, app-

focused on addressing customer

based content. The look and feel of

needs and continuing to serve more

traditional TV are merged with current,

of the unserved popluation. Recently,

app-based, OTT streaming. This

as part of this evolving mindset, the

product is poised to perform well in

company partnered with Sacramento-

RiverStreet’s continued growth across

based MobiTV to complement and

their diverse markets.

eventually replace its existing IPTV

As the business has evolved with

deployment with an OTT (over-the-top)

the environment surrounding it, digital

TV package that closely resembles

disruption has been at the heart of its

RiverStreet’s legacy IPTV offering.

operations. “Typically, a lot of companies

This OTT technology allows the firm’s

in our industry are very rooted or set in

customers the option of watching

one way of doing things. We’ve had to

TV as they previously had in a linear

disrupt our own internal processes and

fashion while adding the option of

ways of thinking and to accommodate w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

RIVERSTREET NETWORKS

210

and embrace new technologies.”

how we provision customers is digital,

The CTO recalls a change in culture

how we upgrade them – everything

throughout the firm’s evolution, with

is reliant on technology,” he notes.

the business being a more IT-based

When the company began embracing

operation than ever before. Over 50%

digital transformation, it realised fiber

of the company’s staff work in IT, with

was the best connectivity option for

technology underpinning the company’s

the state. “When we embraced fiber to

core functions. “RiverStreet is a

the home technology in 2014, we said,

technology-based company. If it weren’t

‘This is the only way to do a network’.

for digital, as far as what we provide

However, it’s expensive and we had to

to our customers, we would not have a

take the blinders off and realize that there

business case at all. Everything we rely

are other ways to serve the unserved

on is integrated into our digital billing

customers in the rural areas, and that

system. Our mapping system is digital,

could be fixed wireless,” says Call.

AUGUST 2019

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Jody R. Call, Chief Technology Officer Jody R. Call oversees the organization’s operations while aligning its strategic vision with the customers’ growing and ever-evolving technological needs. Bleeding edge deployments, calculated risks, and industry disruptions in rural communications are a normal day’s work in this role, which requires a growth mindset and the willingness to adapt and change direction with short notice. Call was hired in 2006 as a systems engineer to manage the company’s IPTV roll out. Later that year, he took on the task to design, engineer, and deploy the network topology for the 8-year, $44+ million, fiber-to-the-home project effectively migrating all of Wilkes Communications’ 9,000+ legacy copper / DSL subscribers to an all-active, Gigabit, fiber network; one of the first companies in the United States to do so. During his combined 23+ year career he has simultaneously taught several years at the collegiate and post-secondary level specializing in course concentrations including: networking, cyber security, hardware and software systems concepts, network operating systems, and general IT concepts. Call holds an A.A.S in Electronics Engineering, a B.S. in Human Services, and a M.A. Ed. in Instructional Technology: Information Systems. He has completed post-graduate work in wireless technologies and network engineering and has held or currently holds industry-relevant certifications from Cisco, ITILv3, Apple, Dell, and CompTIA. Call resides in his hometown of Wilkesboro in rural North Carolina, with his wife, daughter, son, five cats, and ten dogs.

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RIVERSTREET NETWORKS

1951

Year founded

150

Approximate number of employees

212

HQ

Wilkes County, NC

AUGUST 2019

213

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Fixed wireless connectivity can be connected using existing assets such as cellphone towers, state, county or city owned towers, water towers, and grain silos at agricultural locations.

“We’ve transformed our mindset to say, ‘It’s okay to offer this’,” he adds.

RiverStreet recently entered into a 10 to 20-year partnership with the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC), which governs the 26 cooperatives across the state.

“There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about electric coops wanting to

“ Our mission at the time, although we didn’t know it, was to serve the un-served” — Jody Call, Chief Technology Officer, RiverStreet Networks

get into the broadband business – they don’t want to do it for a lot of the same w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

215

RIVERSTREET NETWORKS

“ We don’t just want to survive in the industry, we want to be able to thrive” — Jody Call, Chief Technology Officer, RiverStreet Networks

216

reasons we don’t want to get into the electric business, because it’s foreign to us. We wanted a partnership in which we share revenue, but we could utilize the NCEMC’s fiber optic infrastructure connected to substations, and in return we could do fixed wireless or fiber to the home for customers in rural areas.” The NCEMC has roughly 1.2mn customers across North Carolina, with about 700,000 being within the 17 counties RiverStreet is targeting. “First, we get customers connected to fixed wireless; that shows us where the interest is. Then we could then build a permanent fiber to the home solution to those pockets.

AUGUST 2019

It’s probably the biggest project we have going on,” Call adds.

Another aspect of the company’s transformation journey is maintaining a growth mindset, despite a lull in funding. “It is important to continue to grow rather than waiting for someone else to come in and help. We’ve been so reliant on government subsidies, with organisations like the FCC providing settlements based on access lines.

But that is slowly going away, and we don’t just want to survive in the industry, we want to be able to thrive.” Growth is driving the firm’s operations, with upgradeability and scalability being top priorities for RiverStreet. “We’re also looking out for our employees and their families, their retirements and the growth of this company. If we’ve grown this much since 2014, we can only imagine how much more we can grow if we look another 10 years into the future,” remarks Call.

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218

The City of Phoenix: Rising to the challenge of its 2050 sustainability goals WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

CRAIG KILLINGBACK

AUGUST 2019

219

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CITY OF PHOENIX

The City of Phoenix is working towards zero carbon, zero waste, a 100-year supply of water, clean air, and parks and transit in every neighborhood.

CSO Mark Hartman reveals how its 2050 goals are making it one of the most sustainable desert cities in the world.

220

W

hen the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Phoenix took up his post in 2014 the target was to become the most

sustainable desert city in the world. Five years later, Mark Hartman and the very innovative department heads across the City are setting their sights on a sustainability roadmap for 2050 to ensure progress for future generations in Phoenix.

“Back in 2016 when City departments adopted these goals we asked: ‘What kind of city do we want to be in 2050?’” explains Hartman. “Instead of thinking ‘How did we get here?’, we want to be able to say, ‘We planned to get to this place’ and this is what the perfect city looks like — our 2050 environmental goals aim to articulate those long term desired outcomes. Setting out the long-term environmental goals of zero carbon, zero waste, clean air, a 100-year supply of water, and parks and transit in every neighbourhood will drive us AUGUST 2019

221

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CITY OF PHOENIX

“ Setting out the longterm goals of zero carbon, zero waste, clean air, maintaining our 100-year supply of water, and parks and transit in every neighbourhood will really drive us towards what we’re trying to achieve as a city” 222

— Mark Hartman, CSO, City of Phoenix

AUGUST 2019

towards what we’re trying to achieve as a sustainable desert city.”

A big part of that sustainability journey is a series of major projects including the 91st Avenue wastewater biogas project (the largest facility of its kind in the US). “Our water department is capturing methane from our wastewater, putting it in a pipeline and generating revenue by selling it to the California green energy market. It’s a great example of finding a use for the methane from wastewater treatment.

In addition to the biogas, we actually reuse nearly all of the wastewater.

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BECOMING A CARBON NEUTRAL CITY’ 223 We’re ahead of the curve, which

would just build a treatment plant

encompasses how we focus our

before releasing it into the waterways,”

approach in the desert.” Along with

he says. “Instead, we’ve constructed

the biogas production, reclaimed

the Tres Rios Wetlands. It’s significant

water is also being diverted into

because we’re using nature to do the

irrigation for farming and agriculture

work for us and at the same time,

and for cooling at the Palo Verde

it transformed this desertscape into

Nuclear Generating Station. Mean-

a beautiful wetland home to 150 species

while, the final by-products, the

of birds. So in contrast to many of our

bio-solids which amount to 10%

human behaviors that are slowly

of total waste, become fertilisers

contaminating our ecosystem, we are

for non-food crops.

being restorative and enhancing

Hartman also notes the city’s approach to the final polishing of water has evolved. “Typically, you

nature so that it can thrive.”

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CITY OF PHOENIX

224

supporting sustainable home devel-

the winning design and the detail

opment with a series of initiatives as

construction drawings from Imirzian

part of its vision to have all new

Architects on our website so anyone

buildings net positive in both energy

can download the pre-approved plans

and materials by 2050. “We ran a

for free to build a net-zero energy

$100,000 competition to design a

home at a cost similar to current

beautiful home that is sustainable and

construction. And here in Phoenix, we

near net-zero, and yet can be built at

won’t charge building permit fees for

the cost of typical construction,” says

the first 25 homes. It’s an opportunity

Hartman, who notes that even with

to encourage home buyers to think

adherence to the latest building codes

differently about the energy savings

we’re a long way from buildings that

from well-insulated walls and high-

need little energy to condition them.

performance windows.” Hartman

“Our planning department has posted

highlights this focus also extends

AUGUST 2019

to government buildings. “We’re doing

implement new processes. “Public

deep energy retrofits in all of our

Works recently installed a state-of-

facilities,” he says. “We’ve put forward

the-art $15mn facility where we take

proposals on three specific sites

organics and use a state-of-the-art

where the $30mn budget will actually

Turned Aerated Pile (TAP) system to

be paid back through energy savings. ”

produce certified compost faster

Phoenix is allied to the Covenant of

than other composting methods,”

Mayors, the world’s largest movement

he reveals. “In partnership with the

for local climate and energy actions,

City’s Compost Facility operator,

which has over 9,000 cities in partner-

WeCare Denali, we’re processing

ship worldwide to meet the commit-

nearly 55,000 tons of inbound organic

ments of the Paris Agreement, chiefly

waste to compost which is either sold

a 30% reduction in carbon by 2025.

regionally, used at City parks and

Hartman takes inspiration from this

properties, or provided to City

global quest as Phoenix looks to

residents at special give away events .”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mark Hartman, Chief Sustainability Officer Mark Hartman is Phoenix’s Chief Sustainability Officer, charged to catalyze the long list of actions already underway to help Phoenix become a global leader in sustainability.

Most recently, in April 2016, the council approved the 2050 Environmental Goals and now, Hartman is working with departments and the community to develop interim goals and complementary social and economic goals. Hartman formerly worked at the City of Vancouver for eight years in Sustainability leading their carbon-neutral buildings strategy and their green building code, as well as supporting Vancouver’s ambition to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Mark holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and is a LEED accredited professional.

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225

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Hartman believes the biggest challenge any city faces in pursuit of its sustainability goals is to break the cycle of the human propensity to do things the way they’ve always been done. “We are reluctant to embrace change, even when we’re presented with amazing opportunities,” he says.

“We’re using more resources than is within the earth’s carrying capacity which is not sustainable long term.

We need to start thinking about solutions to reduce waste in all of our systems, and inspire innovation to see

$1.4bn Approximate revenue

1881

Year founded

14,000+

Approximate number of employees

what’s really possible.”

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CITY OF PHOENIX

Collaboration is key for the ongoing sustainable evolution of Phoenix.

“We’re working with established partners to help us with technology and innovation,” confirms Hartman.

“For our retrofits, we’re utilising the expertise of Ameresco, Honeywell, Trane, McKinsey and Noresco. They bring decades of experience to help us achieve our goals with systems that are easy to use and operate.” These efforts are part of the city’s 2020 goals to retrofit 185 City buildings 228

to make them 20% more efficient.

“Ameresco is also running our 91st Avenue biogas facility as well as being the contractor that build it,” he adds.

What sustainability trends has Hartman identified globally, and across the US, that can support Phoenix with its 2050 goals? “I’m excited about the potential to purchase renewable energy,” he observes.

“We’re in a regulated environment, so it needs to be in partnership with our utilities. We’re looking at options like virtual power purchase agreements and ways you can procure energy from renewable sources that are equivalent to, or less than, current AUGUST 2019

utility pricing. It is possible to save money when you buy renewable energy.” Allied to this, Hartman is keen to make these opportunities available through community solar projects by partnering with a utility to implement solar and help reduce electricity costs in lower-income areas. “We also hope to partner with Clearway Energy to provide clean electricity to the district cooling system to offer carbon-neutral cooling to downtown buildings.”

Hartman believes that, from a carbon pollution point of view, there are huge opportunities to apply the same learnings from making buildings more energy-efficient to transportation. “There’s a real move towards electrification of transportation,” he notes. “Norway’s electric vehicle sales now make up more than 70% of the market and countries like China see electrifying cars and buses as the solution to pollution.”

Elsewhere, the Street Department just completed an upgrade of its 95,000 street lights to LED. It may have cost $30mn but Hartman points out that it pays for itself out of the energy savings, with the net savings w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

229

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exceeding $1.5mn per year over and above the debt service cost, while providing better quality and more reliable lighting.

Another goal for Hartman is to see Phoenix move towards a circular economy: “What if all the products and packaging we purchase was 100% recyclable and everything went back to the suppliers, and then, they used them for reproduction?” He notes that the Public Works department is visionary as it was the first city in the U.S. to join the Ellen MacArthur CE-100 Network, an industry catalyst AUGUST 2019

for the circular economy. In partnership with the Arizona State University, the City launched the RISN Incubator to work with early stage ventures with a focus on waste diversion and improvements in processing or utilization of waste as a raw material for new products or energy. As of 1 May 2019, 13 new businesses have generated $4.75M in revenue, raised $3.44M in capital, created 57 jobs, launched 13 products, filed 3 patents, and provided 43 internships. “We’re

“ We’re looking at options like virtual power purchase agreements and ways you can actually build and contract to get energy from a solar plant that’s equivalent to, or less than, current pricing” — Mark Hartman, CSO, City of Phoenix 231

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CITY OF PHOENIX

20 50 GOALS • Make walking, cycling and transit commonly used in every Phoenix neighbourhood • Create zero waste through participation in the circular economy • Maintain a clean and reliable 100-year supply of water

232

• Reduce community carbon emissions by 80-90% • All residents to live within a five-minute walk of a park or open space • Achieve a level of air quality healthy for all residents and the natural environment • Maintain a sustainable, healthy, equitable, thriving local food system.

AUGUST 2019

working with the private sector providing feedstock and land for lease at attractive rates to turn palm fronds into animal feed and mixed plastics into fuel... It’s exciting to look at how we can turn waste into resources instead of dumping it in a huge hole in the ground. Here in Phoenix we could fill our baseball stadium seven times with the waste we collect from residential customers. What are the resources we could take out of that seven stadiums worth of waste?

Whether that’s up-cycling furniture or using plastic bags to make decking— we need to be creative. Meanwhile, the trucks that pick up that waste travel the equivalent of going to the moon and back 14 times. People say ‘it’s free to throw stuff away’, but it’s certainly is not free. Imagine the fuel needed to travel to the moon 14 times in a garbage truck.

One opportunity to address this fuel use is underway for our landfill gas, whereby the methane will be captured and converted into cleaner burning natural gas to fuel our garbage trucks.

This will ensure cleaner air and avoids mining natural gas by replacing it with methane produced in our landfill.” w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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CITY OF PHOENIX

PA R T N E R I N F O

Phoenix: supporting renewable energy and products through utilities

234

“We’re working with Arizona Public Service (APS) and Salt River Project (SRP),” explains City of Phoenix CSO Mark Hartman. “SRP wants to add 1000MW of utility-scale solar over the next five years. The first 100MW they made available to their largest customers. The city will be able to purchase solar at 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years, and then sell it on the market at prevailing rates, which today averages over 3 cents, which means a large credit on our bill. As both customers and

AUGUST 2019

utilities invest in projects like this, its producing clean energy while saving money.”

Hartman hopes to see many more of these projects. Phoenix already boasts 32MW of solar on city land, more than any other US city, and aims to double that figure. “We’re planning to add solar to parking lots, rooftops and unused land,” he pledges. “We’re also looking to lease out landfill property to utilities and renewable energy developers as a means to provide clean energy.”

235 In the short term, the city is on track to

sustainability as articulated in the

meet its target of 40% waste diversion

City’s General Plan — community

by 2020. Meanwhile, Phoenix is

health and education, equity, civil and

working hard with energy service

human rights, and safe communities

companies (ESCOs) to reduce building energy use by 20% for next

— in order to become a truly sustainable desert city.

year and targeting 15% for renewable energy used city-wide from diversified sources. Ultimately, Hartman stresses the need to also prioritize economic and social sustainability. “Environmentally there’s much we can do to raise awareness and make positive change but those outcomes must be achieved alongside economic and social w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

236

INSIDE LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING’S PEOPLE-DRIVEN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR

AUGUST 2019

PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

237

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LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING

Lee Industrial Contracting Senior Operations Manager Andrew Keilman and Director of Sales Michael Hahn discuss the company’s people-first digital transformation strategy

A

s the pace of technological advancement increases exponentially with each passing year, companies are given more

access than ever to solutions that increase efficiency, cut costs and drive competitive advan238

tage. However, in the light of new and dazzling technological applications, it is all too easy to lose sight of the core principle of a business relationship: the people. The shiniest, most powerful business tools in the world are worthless without the right people to wield them, and market leading products are irrelevant if they are not suited to the needs of the customer. For over 30 years, Lee Industrial Contracting has been working to bring turn-key solutions to heavy industry in a way that marries sector leading, top quality products with the right people in order to provide the best possible customer experience. “We consider our company to be a strategic partner with all of our customers.

Their goal is our goal,” says Michael Hahn, Director of Sales at Lee.

AUGUST 2019

“ WE CONSIDER OUR COMPANY TO BE A STRATEGIC PARTNER WITH ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS. THEIR GOAL IS OUR GOAL” — Michael Hahn, Director of Sales, Lee Industrial Contracting

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LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING

“ LEE HAS THE BEST PEOPLE IN EACH RESPECTIVE TRADE THAT WE DO WORK IN” — Andrew Keilman, Senior Operations Manager, Lee Industrial Contracting

As a people-driven company, Lee is always looking to do things in the most efficient, cost effective, meaningful manner that adds optimum value for the client in the form of end-to-end services. Over the years, the company has grown its capabilities, vehicle fleet and roster of specialized equipment multiple times over, becoming one of the most capable complete solutions contractors in the region. A powerful tool in its arsenal that allows Lee to add value for its customers is its uniquely diverse range of in-house capabilities.

Performing 13 different trade services

240

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LEE CONTRACTING IN-HOUSE DEPARTMENTS’ 241 in-house sets Lee apart within the

best people in each respective trade

industrial space. Self-performing as

that we work in,” he explains.

many different functions as they do,

We sat down with Hahn and Keilman

allows the company to control every

to discuss Lee’s corporate strategy,

aspect of its projects, from design

competitive advantages, and how the

and cost to scheduling and quality.

next steps in Lee’s digital transformation

For Senior Operations Manager,

journey will allow it to continue putting

Andrew Keilman, who joined the

people, partners and clients at the

company in 2014, the company’s

center of everything it does.

emphasis on an exceedingly high

“We’ve won Supplier of the Year for

standard for in-house capabilities is

General Motors two years in a row,”

what attracted him in the first place.

notes Hahn. One of the key drivers

“When I saw the operations, the people

behind Lee becoming General Motors’

and how everything was organized,

Supplier of the Year is the way the

I wanted to be a part of it. Lee has the

company handles safety, project w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING

242

delivery and the unique technological

Now, with the rapid advancement of

demands of providing its turn-key

business tools, Lee is preparing to take

solutions. “Our technology played

steps from private towards public

a big part in that award,” explains Hahn.

cloud infrastructure. The company is

Central to Lee’s technology strategy

currently in the process of switching

in the past few years has been the Lee

its operational software over to Oracle’s

Electronic Data Management System

NetSuite, which will enable it to have

(LEDMS), an in-house data center

a much more unified software structure

and management platform. LEDMS,

and accommodate future growth.

Keilman notes, houses the full spectrum

The transition to public cloud software

of Lee’s digital operations, from its

will help provide Lee with real metrics

quoting process to scheduling.

and real analysis on how the company

“It’s one of the big things that General

is performing month over month.

Motors really zeroed in on,” he remarks.

Most importantly, the transition towards

AUGUST 2019

NetSuite will help the company gain

We can’t succeed independently

insight into its CRM process, helping

without all those folks at the table,”

Lee continue to build meaningful,

says Hahn. “The key is understanding

collaborative and long-term relation-

the client’s performance metrics.

ships with Lee’s clients and partners.

It could be dollars, quality or time that’s

The traditional relationship between

most important to them. If we can help

seller, supplier and buyer is evolving.

them save time and increase their

A traditional, purely transactional

ability to react to their customer

approach is no longer viable in the

requirements everybody wins.

modern world of ecosystems and

We also have something else that other

strategic relationships. Lee sees the

companies don’t offer: value engineering.”

shift in the status quo and is working

With its extensive roster of trades

to embrace a collaborative approach.

and in-house capabilities, Lee is able

“We have strategic partners, strategic

to explore a potential customer’s goal

subcontractors, strategic design firms

and create their request for proposal

and strategic materials providers.

(RFP), pitching them additional ways

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Andrew Keilman, Senior Operations Manager Andrew Keilman is a Senior Operations Manager at Lee Contracting. Kielman has been in the industry for over 22 years.

He started at Lee in 2014 as a Pipefitting Coordinator and was quickly promoted to oversee multiple departments as an Operations Manager. Andrew was most recently promoted to Senior Operations Manager in 2019.

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LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING

244

AUGUST 2019

1989

Year founded Employee owned since

2015 434

Number of employees

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245

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to increase value through their project.

areas of the company that meet on

“Value engineering has reduced cost,

a monthly basis and come up with

waste and time spent, all of which are

ideas to give back to our employees,”

invaluable to the customer. Between

says Keilman. From management and

70-80% of the time our customers go

communications techniques to trade

with our value engineering options.”

skill training, Keilman explains that

The emphasis on collaboration at

Lee’s team is dedicated to “building up

Lee isn’t restricted to relationships

all of our people, all the way from the

between the company and its clients;

apprentice level up to the highest tier

internal cooperation and support is

of management”. Not only are Lee’s

a core value that the executive team

employees made to feel as though their

works hard to support. Morale and

company is invested in them, but four

personal development are also

years ago founder Ed Lee made sure

important to Lee’s corporate culture.

that every employee was personally

“We have a morale team, which is

invested in the company. “Ed decided

comprised of people from various

to sell the company to the employees,

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Michael Hahn, Director of Sales Michael Hahn has been in the industry for 33 years and has been with Lee Contracting for 15 years. Michael started out managing the electrical department and quickly moved into sales to help build the business for Lee. Michael was promoted to Director of Sales at the beginning of 2019.

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LEE INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTING

“ THE KEY IS UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT’S PERFORMANCE METRICS. IF WE CAN HELP THEM SAVE TIME AND INCREASE THEIR ABILITY TO REACT TO THEIR CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS EVERYBODY WINS” 248

— Michael Hahn, Director of Sales, Lee Industrial Contracting

AUGUST 2019

so we became 100% employee owned,” says Hahn.

Valuing its employees as much as it does, Lee’s corporate strategy places tremendous emphasis on safety. The company has a strong safety team that is involved in every project, job hazard analysis and tool box talks; the health and wellbeing of Lee’s people is paramount. As it embraces the next stage of its digital transformation journey, the company is keeping people at the heart of everything it does.

Along with the management team, including Keilman and Hahn, are at the helm of a diverse, capable, innovative company that puts people first, using the power of human dedication and ingenuity to drive innovation. Looking to the future, Keilman is confident in the capabilities that Lee brings to the table: “We have the best people, the best tools, the best equipment, the best facilities and the best plan on every project that we do. I think that’s enabled us to be successful year after year.”

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250

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY AN ENGAGED UNIVERSITY

AUGUST 2019

WRITTEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON

PRODUCED BY

CRAIG KILLINGBACK 251

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY’S SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE IS A FOCUS OF ACTION AT THE INTERSECTION OF PLANETARY REGENERATION, HUMAN HEALTH,AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

O

ne can’t help thinking that the sustainability team at Simon Fraser University (SFU) have some of the best jobs in the

world. Most of the world’s young people, at least, are now swinging behind the awareness that we 252

are living during a time of climate crisis and that time is running out to change our behaviour if we are to avoid or mitigate the consequences of biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change.

That awareness is not unique to SFU, of course, but few higher education institutions have embraced sustainability principles so intelligently or realistically. The Province of British Columbia is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2007 levels by 2050 and, in 2011, its capital Vancouver, home to SFU, set the goal of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020.

SFU is a partner in these broader goals.

The University itself has adopted sustainability as one of its six core values, which means it is embedded in the fabric of the institution and the day-to-day decisions taken by every department.

AUGUST 2019

The green wall by SFU’s Saywell Hall

The University is also in the process of developing a 5-year climate action plan to address the most urgent sustainability issue of our time.

SFU recognizes that its institutional responsibility extends beyond its boundaries to include the social, economic and ecological sustainability of its campuses and the communities in which they operate. Therefore, these plans are being developed with the recognition that sustainability work broadly, and climate action specifically, cannot be done without w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

253

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

“ THE MOMENT YOU STEP ON CAMPUS AS A NEW COMMUNITY MEMBER YOU GET INTRODUCED TO THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY AS A CORE VALUE” 254

— Candace Le Roy, Director of Sustainability, Simon Fraser University

addressing social inequities, racism, reconciliation and partnership with local Indigenous nations.

To implement SFU’s sustainability values, eight very committed professionals are led by Director of Sustainability Candace Le Roy – they provide planning, consultancy, and support services to SFU community members to help them develop, scale, or promote their sustainability work and lead sustainability projects across the university. It’s by no means an act of enacting top-down policies, she hastens to say. “We recently finalised our 20-year Sustainability Vision, which identifies 20 strategic goals following a year-long community engagement progress involving all University stakeholder groups: thousands of people took part from students up to the Board. Everything we do in the Sustainability Office is in collaboration and partnership with the faculty, staff, students, and communities we are embedded in.

Sustainability at SFU is a shared responsibility and a joint effort.

Our office merely facilitates this joint effort so that it is coordinated, connected, and inclusive.”

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SFU OPENS NEW SUSTAINABLE BUILDING’ 255

PARTNERS IN ENGAGEMENT

awareness to what SFU is doing,

It’s this level of commitment, she

listen to their ideas, and help remove

observes, that makes the job so

barriers to their contributions in

rewarding. Every new student and

practice. At SFU, students aren’t seen

member of staff receives sustainability

as ‘end-users’ to be trained and

education through orientation: “The

delivered, but as partners in learning,

moment you step on campus as a new

discovery and community engagement.

community member you get intro-

The tripartite social, economic and

duced to the concept of sustainability

ecological view of sustainability is

as a core value. We want them to see

something that all alumni have an

how each individual can contribute in

opportunity to take with them into the

their area.” However she acknowledges

world beyond. To ensure that the work

that most people come in with a high

at SFU is connected with global goals

level of awareness these days – all the

the 20-Year vision and the emerging

team needs to do is connect this

5-year plan have been developed in w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

alignment with the UN’s Sustainable

alternative to the diesel-fuelled bus

Development Goals.

service. This project has been finally

Engagement with major British Columbia institutions is key to SFU.

council, and would speed up travel

For example, the Pacific Water

times and cut emission levels.

Research Centre (PWRC) recently

256

approved in principle by Burnaby city

Another promising project is the

hosted a seminar on Vancouver’s Rain

development of the Corix biomass

City Strategy to embrace rainwater as

district energy system on the Burnaby

a valuable resource and to conserve

Mountain campus which will reduce

90% of its annual rainfall. The

the campus greenhouse gas emis-

University also aims to support major

sions by 60%-80%. This — along with

shifts in behaviour such as its advocacy

the University’s achievement of

for a funicular (gondola) to connect

reducing the carbon footprint of the

its University campus on the top

University’s investment portfolio by

of Burnaby Mountain, providing an

50% below the baseline measurement

SFU’s Academic Quadrangle

AUGUST 2019

reported as of 31 March 2016 —

Sustainable Offices adopt practices

demonstrates how the university is

that improve their environmental,

committed to working with on and off

economic and social performance.

campus partners to make big shifts in

They receive a toolkit, support and

the way they operate as an institution.

resources and that encourages others

A major project underway encour-

to participate.” This certification

ages ‘sustainable spaces’ across the

program has now been extended into

university’s facilities which integrates

events, vendors, and soon into labs.

sustainability principles into the

Large events such as the President’s

day-to-day actions of staff members.

annual staff appreciation BBQ are

Becoming a Certified Sustainable

certified sustainable events further

Office is a great way to encourage

demonstrating that all levels of

staff collaboration on sustainability

the University are contributing to

and to create a more robust, engaged

these efforts.

workplace, says Blok. “Certified

The bottom line, says Manager of

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Candace Le Roy, Director of Sustainability Guiding the institution-wide approach to sustainability leadership, Le Roy consults on risks and opportunities to integrate sustainability into the University’s core business. Over her 16 years at SFU, Candace has been dedicated to facilitating University-wide efforts to innovate and contribute meaningfully and measurably to the shift toward a regenerative, circular, and equitable society and economy. Candace works collaboratively with partners both within and outside the University to identify, develop, and deliver major cross-portfolio projects that contribute to this work.

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

258 Campus Sustainability, Kayla Blok,

When our students graduate are they

is that sustainability should be

leaving with a holistic understanding

integrated into all projects, research

of sustainability? These are the type of

and teaching. It is also central to

questions we are asking.”

procurement, with all contracts and purchases over $100,000 required

THE ROAD TO ZERO WASTE

to be considered from a sustainability

It is never going to be possible to

point of view. “Whenever we go out

recycle 100% of waste, but by

to tender we have questions and

adopting ‘circular economy’ practices

requirements for suppliers, and

SFU is heading towards a goal of 10%

I support multiple request for proposal

waste minimization and 90% diversion

(RFP) committees by advising on how

from landfill. SFU started its zero

that should be done. When we under-

waste journey in 2012 at a time when it

take a project, are our staff seeing their

had only a two-stream waste diversion

work through a sustainability lens?

system and most items were being

AUGUST 2019

sent to the landfill. Within 18 months, the initiative was diverting more than 70% of SFU’s landfill waste and had introduced circular economy principles to look at purchasing, and require suppliers to work towards recyclable and compostable packaging.

Today, across the campus, there are four-stream waste stations allowing for food and compostables, paper and cardboard, recyclables and landfill garbage. It’s not hard to get buy-in these days, with the media full of reminders about things like plastic pollution and extinction rates, but people still need to be helped to

understand the circular economy – “ WHEN OUR that is where the Sustainability Office STUDENTS steps in to educate and encourage, GRADUATE ARE affirms Kayla Blok. The team, in conjunction with a large stakeholder THEY LEAVING group that includes departments WITH A HOLISTIC across the university, is currently set to UNDERSTANDING launch an initiative to eliminate singleOF SUSTAINABILITY?” use plastics and products from all three

— Kayla Blok, Manager of Campus Sustainability, Simon Fraser University

campuses, making them the first university in Canada to act on this issue.

Research, business expertise, software engineering and the spur of environmental perils have come together in an exciting project that w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

259

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

promises to contribute a great deal to achieving zero waste. And each of these facets has come out of SFU. The founders of Intuitive AI Hassan Murad and Vivek Vyas are both alumni of SFU, where they first developed software to tackle the problem of recycling. SFU itself may have made great strides but globally only around 3% of waste is recycled. Even in a four-stream system, waste identification remains a problem – what is recyclable, what is not, where should you put it?

They began with a simple vision, 262

to create a zero waste world. This led

Erica Lay, Associate Director at SFU’s Sustainability Office presenting at a 20-year sustainability visions and goals session.

them to develop an AI platform driven by sensors that empower spaces to be more sustainable.

Murad and Vyas launched Oscar,

consultations providing key facts, giving operational and logistical

an AI-powered visual sorting system,

feedback, and providing expertise.

with a camera that detects people

The testing phase was carried out on

approaching a bin, automatically

our downtown Vancouver campus and

identifies each item and tells people

we were successful in providing space

where to place it. “This is a true

for them to test the platform and

innovation story from SFU,” explains

promote their message.” The Surrey

Blok. “They spent a great deal of time

campus now houses the first higher

formulating this idea at our labs on

education Oscar waste station in

the Surrey campus. We were able

Canada and have been taken up

to support this project right from

at coffee chains and an airport in

the ideation phase, and the Sustain-

Toronto. Intuitive is currently part

ability Office was there at the initial

of the Next AI accelerator in Toronto

AUGUST 2019

and the VentureLabs business accelerator at Simon Fraser University.

Oscar is as much about data as it is about making life easier for the consumer of a cup of coffee. The software can identify brands, patterns of consumption by area and demographic information all of value to the airport, shopping mall or university where it is located – garbage in, valuable data out. It’s by leveraging this data that Intuitive AI will monetise its software in the future. “Perhaps the most promising part of the technology is that it provides robust data,” says

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Kayla Blok, Manager of Campus Sustainability Overseeing the Campus Sustainabilityportfolio, Blok liaises with operational functions across all three campuses to implement and scale sustainable decisions and practices. Her work ensures that the University operates in alignmen with its sustainability plans, visions, and goals.

Blok offers consulting services for all SFU Community members and works closely with internal and external partners on signature projects and initiatives.

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Kayla Blok. “We look forward to seeing how we can apply this data to influence design, planning, and purchasing decisions, for example.

Our hope is that it will help our operational as well as sustainability goals by creating targets to improve waste management at the campus.”

AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION Oscar has attracted a lot of media attention thanks to its visibility. “This is a really good example of the kind of thing that happens at SFU due to 264

our culture of, and commitment to, innovation, community engagement, and student empowerment,” says Candace Le Roy. “Our students get to work on projects that they take out into the wider world and the benefit comes back to the institution through new projects and initiatives and the application of technology. In the 16 years I have been at SFU, I have seen the students always at the forefront of major initiatives at SFU and then they carry this leadership to the communities and organizations they serve when they leave.”

Even with the impetus provided by the rapidly increasing media coverage of AUGUST 2019

the climate crisis, getting sustainability thinking embedded in a large, transient and diverse university population is not a simple feat. It might seem like a no-brainer to ban plastic bottles, but many overseas students come from cultures where bottled water is the only safe water. “We constantly have to customize our communication tactics and infuse them with humanity,” she says. “On the one hand, we have to keep up with innovations in industry, research, politics and international targets and do things like ban single use plastics and dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and on the other hand we also have to bring people along with us on this journey.

We need to help people understand how their consumption decisions affect the planet and people, but we can only do this if we make an effort to understand them not has consumers, but as people who have unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Sustainability efforts have been rightly criticized for being led primarily by rich white people who come from a particular (mostly

SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Western) perspective. If we are to truly address sustainability issues we need w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

265

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

to design solutions from all perspectives and with all people in mind.”

Justifiably proud of the nuanced and holistic way in which the organisation has taken the lead on advancing sustainability best practice, Candace Le Roy, her team, and their colleagues at SFU work tirelessly to gain the support of all stakeholders. “Getting a major initiative off the ground at a university is usually the first and biggest hurdle because we value the engagement of all relevant stakeholders and engagement takes time. But the 266

effort put in is well worth the quality that is the result,” she says. She points

SFU’s Asia Pacific Hall in the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

to the cross departmental teams that have been formed to work on initiatives like the BC Cool Campus challenge, spearheaded by SFU but spread across British Columbia, to reduce energy consumption by simple actions and the Fair Trade and Changemaker Campus designations SFU has achieved.

In the end, all of this is about changing the way we see the world and our place in it. Virtually every decision we make has an impact on people and the planet, good or bad, she concludes. “At the end of the day AUGUST 2019

“ SUSTAINABILITY GIVES UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND MAKES US MORE RESILIENT TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL THREATS” — Candace Le Roy, Director of Sustainability, Simon Fraser University

267

it’s not about recycling or using less

political and ecological climate.

energy. Sustainability work is about

Addressing sustainability challenges,

understanding how to make better

like the climate crisis, gives universities

decisions based on a strong under-

and colleges a competitive advantage

standing that humans are a part of

by making us more relevant to our

nature not outside of it. We need to

communities and more resilient to

learn from, respect, and apply

internal and external threats.�

Indigenous ways of knowing and leave no one behind. This means constantly being aware of the interconnections between ecology, politics, economics, and social inequities. It’s planning to ensure we survive on this planet and our institutions survive in the current w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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THE CITY OF BRAMPTON: MANAGING ENERGY AND EMISSIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE OUTCOMES

WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

CRAIG KILLINGBACK

AUGUST 2019

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CITY OF BRAMPTON

CHUN LIANG, SUPERVISOR, ENERGY MANAGEMENT AT THE CITY OF BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, DISCUSSES THE ROLE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY HAS TO PLAY IN MEETING EMISSIONS TARGETS

C

limate change matters pertaining to emissions and sustainable sources of energy are high in the public conscious-

ness. Energy generation measures such as solar 270

panels and wind turbines serve as symbols of energy that are more sustainable because they reduce emissions at large, with an emissions strategy often functioning as the vanguard for sustainable outcomes. Chun Liang is Energy Management Supervisor at the City of Brampton, Ontario, and is responsible for the energy and emissions strategy of City owned buildings.

He credits the urgency of global warming as inspiring his entry into the field. “Right before I got into energy performance contracting, the Kyoto Protocol came into effect and said two things: global warming is happening and human activity is contributing to it. Warming is related to emissions which are generated by the energy that we use, especially the burning of fossil fuels, so I thought to myself, ‘this is a great time to get into energy AUGUST 2019

Photos courtesy of the City of Brampton

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CITY OF BRAMPTON

performance contracting – the world is moving on this, and I can join the movement to help the planet and recover energy costs’.”

In his current role, Liang has used his energy background to help rectify some of the challenges Brampton faces. This includes a large portfolio of older buildings that have a number of energy performance issues including building envelope and building automation systems. Some have outdated automation systems so Liang initiated a technology

272

“ TOO OFTEN WE WORK IN SILOS WHEN WE COULD BE SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND LESSONS LEARNED” — Chun Liang, Supervisor, Energy Management, City of Brampton

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UNLOCKING DOWNTOWN BRAMPTON’S POTENTIAL: CONCEPTUAL VIDEO’ 273 investigation including discussions

has brought his experience to bear on

regarding a unified display portal

properties in Brampton, and one of

(single pane of glass view) with key

the major potential energy efficiency

stakeholders to determine the best

improvements comes from heating.

solution for the City of Brampton.

“When you look at the energy and

“The hope with a unified display is that

emissions pie chart of a building,

building operators will have an easier

especially in an Ontario, Canada

time managing the control of many

context, much of it is from heating

different buildings, improve energy

since we’re burning fossil fuels for

performance and increase occupant

eight months a year. That is a major

comfort.” With an energy performance

consideration for us because it

and modelling background to ensure

applies to both of our objectives: to

buildings meet targets, including

reduce energy use while also reduc-

energy performance targets under

ing our emissions. The focus for the

the LEED building rating system, Liang

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CITY OF BRAMPTON

274

Zero Carbon Transition Plan – is

new structures are built to high

finding ways to reduce natural gas

performance standards. “The City

use in the City’s existing buildings.

of Brampton is designing, building

A recent successful project done

and renovating many new community

by the energy management team

centers, fire stations, etc. due to

was the installation of heat recovery

population growth. The energy

system. “This system recovers heat

management group works closely

from swimming pool drain water at

with our building design and construction

one of the City’s community centres,”

division, collaborating with them,

says Liang.

to integrate energy design into the

While effective measures can be

buildings.” To achieve the energy

taken to improve the energy perfor-

targets required, Liang and his team

mance of existing buildings, future

have introduced parametric energy

gains can be achieved by ensuring

modeling that uses cloud computing

AUGUST 2019

as one of the central tools. “The benefit of energy modeling on the cloud is that it can quickly simulate interactive effects, thereby drastically reducing the amount of time it takes to produce options that not only provide optimal energy performance but can also illustrate paths for emissions and operating cost reductions. If we change lights to LED or we use more daylighting, what effect does that have on the heating? Strategic use of daylight for a building can also be a passive form of heating which can help to reduce emissions associated

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Chun Liang, Supervisor, Energy Management Chun Liang is an energy management professional with over 20 years of experience in the building industry including HVAC design and construction, energy performance contracting, building energy modelling and LEED consulting. He is currently the Supervisor of Energy Management at the City of Brampton responsible for strategic planning, project delivery, energy procurement, utility management, third party funding and reporting.

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AUGUST 2019

“ I T’S NOT JUST ABOUT ENERGY EFFECTS, BUT ALSO OCCUPANT COMFORT” — Chun Liang, Supervisor, Energy Management, City of Brampton

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“ W E’RE IN A RACE AGAINST TIME TO HIT THE PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL EMISSION REDUCTION TARGET, WHICH IS BASED ON THE PARIS AGREEMENT, SO WE NEED TO TRANSITION TO ZERO CARBON AS SOON AS WE CAN” — Chun Liang, Supervisor, Energy Management, City of Brampton

and the federal government has set an 80% reduction target by 2050, which is in line with the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. Our Zero Carbon Transition Plan is predicated around these targets. We’re looking at reducing our energy use for new and existing buildings by 30% by 2030.

We’re targeting various measures: heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems and building envelope.

We’re going to use heat recovery: recycling waste heat wherever possible. Once you get the energy demands of the building down, then the next step is to look at renewable technology. That’s the most efficient

with heating.” Aside from utilizing

way to approach it. It’s energy

sustainable energy, such measures

management 101.” Other innovations

have the knock-on effect of improving

geared towards meeting the city’s

the experience of citizens, as with the

targets include innovations in passive

natural light provided by daylighting.

heating. “The SolarWall is a matte

“These are the types of things that we

black surface that can be put on top of

also look at. It’s not just about energy

a building’s exterior wall, leaving an air

effects, but also occupant comfort.”

gap,” says Liang. “The sun hits this

Such measures are to play a vital

black surface, and transfers energy to

part in achieving the city’s ambitious

the wall and air gap. The air is heated

Zero Carbon Transition Plan. “The

in that gap and then brought into the

provincial government has set a target

building to preheat the air for ventilation.

of 30% emissions reductions by 2030,

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CITY OF BRAMPTON

for a system installed at a City of Brampton building as it has found success in other building applications.”

The system may be able to reduce emissions associated with heating.

Regarding the reduction of vehicle emissions, charging stations for electric cars have been installed at City owned buildings with a focus on public facing sites such as libraries and community centres.

“We’re in a race against time to hit the provincial and federal emission 280

reduction target, which is based on the Paris Agreement, so we need to transition to zero carbon as soon as we can,” says Liang. It is obvious that Brampton is proactively contributing to this effort, setting targets and bringing in concrete measures to ensure their achievement. Nevertheless, sometimes advancements can bring their own drawbacks. “We have a number of solar photovoltaic installations that generate electricity for us, and they provide a steady stream of revenue, as well as reducing our electricity use.

The challenge is the cost of electricity.

If we switch over to electricity to heat our buildings, electricity costs AUGUST 2019

significantly more than natural gas per equivalent energy unit, so the question is, how do we bridge that gap? It’s kind of an open question.”

One possible solution to this conundrum is an improvement in the way society works together.

“I’m hoping to see more collaboration between municipalities, utilities, and the private sector. Too often we work in silos when we could be sharing knowledge and lessons learned.

For example, a battery storage project can provide resiliency for a building and perhaps also provide part of its energy needs for heating and cooling. This approach provides great co-benefits, if the costs of off peak battery charging can be lowered further. That’s something I hope to see more of in the future.

As we collaborate and collectively pool our resources, we accelerate the case for sustainability.”

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HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES: BRINGING RURAL CANADIANS CLOSER WITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET WRITTEN BY

LAURA MULLAN PRODUCED BY

ARRON RAMPLING

AUGUST 2019

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H UAW E I T E C H N O LO G I E S

FAMOUS AS A TRAILBLAZER IN THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AND 5G MARKET, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES IS NOW TURNING ITS ATTENTION TO CANADA’S FAR NORTH IN A BID TO CONNECT REMOTE, RURAL COMMUNITIES

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hether you want to reconnect with a long lost friend, learn a new language or even order a taxi, the internet has made it

possible with just a click of a button. It’s arguably one of the most disruptive technological innovations 284

of the last century. In fact, in Canada’s Internet Factbook 2018, a whopping 96% of Canadians highlighted how high-quality internet access was important at home, with 59% going as far as to call it ‘critically important’. Yet, whilst the internet may seem like a ubiquitous tool, ready and waiting at our fingertips, for many of Canada’s rural communities, poor or no internet access is a common reality.

One firm hoping to remedy this is Huawei Technologies Inc. The Chinese powerhouse has made it big in the consumer electronics market, standing as the second largest phone maker in the world, and it’s also leading the race towards 5G. Chris Pereira, Director of Public Affairs at Huawei Technologies, outlines how Canada has played a vital role in Huawei’s success, standing as a central hub for research and development. “Last year, AUGUST 2019

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“ H AVING ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET CAN BE LIFE CHANGING” — Christopher Pereira, Director of Public Affairs, Huawei Technologies Canada

we invested $180mn in research and development in Canada to build our research centre in Ottawa and to accelerate 5G research,” he notes – and now the company wants to give back. Pereira explains that, by committing to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, Huawei is embarking on an ambitious endeavor: to connect all Canadians with high-speed internet by 2030. In addition, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CTRC) universal service objective for fixed Internet access service is that all

286

Canadians have access to at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, with an option of unlimited data.

Likewise, the universal service objective for mobile wireless services is that all Canadians have access to the latest generally deployed mobile wireless technology (currently LTE).

According to regulators, mobile services should be accessible in homes, businesses and along major transportation roads.

To make its commitments a reality, Huawei has turned its attention to the remote towns and villages across Northern Canada. “That’s the place AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘NORTHERN LIGHTS’ 287 where the connectivity is the weakest,

can be life changing in a few ways,”

so we’re trying to connect people in

observes Pereira. “With high-speed

more remote and smaller communities,”

internet, you can open an online store

Pereira says, noting how he and his

or help your business grow beyond

team recently visited the north-western

your own community, so it’s helping

Canadian town of Inuvik, located 200km

to connect the north to the economy.

inside the Arctic circle. In this region,

Another aspect that’s often overlooked

you can witness a midnight sun or the

is how it can help communities

mesmerising lights of Aurora Borealis

reconnect.” Pereira points out that

– but until recently the internet connection

many Inuit populations were extremely

was exceedingly sluggish. Now, by

isolated before they had high-speed

partnering with Ice Wireless, Huawei

internet, whereas now with the rollout

has been able to deliver high-speed

of 4G, Inuit communities are using the

4G LTE services to the remote town.

internet to sell and trade goods or

“Having access to high-speed internet

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H UAW E I T E C H N O LO G I E S

288

in their own language. “Aboriginal

Pereira. “When you build a network

culture can be maintained and flourish

tower, it can get covered in thick ice

because of the connectivity that the

in the winter so the equipment needs

internet brings,” he says.

to be very tough and durable. You also

In trying to provide Northern Canada

need to power the station; sometimes

– where temperatures can plunge to

these stations are in such remote

-40°C – with high speed internet

places that you don’t have a power

access, Huawei has a mammoth

supply nearby so you need to find an

challenge on its hands. “The biggest

alternative solution, like solar.” To take

challenge is the environment,” admits

on this challenge, Pereira points out

AUGUST 2019

how Huawei relies on the expertise of its team (today the firm has around 1,100 employees in Canada, with around 91% being Canadian citizens) as well as its renowned R&D capabilities.

“We have around 193,000 employees around the globe and more than 80,000 of them are involved in R&D. In many ways you could say we’re an R&D company,” Pereira adds.

In many ways, the challenges faced in Canada’s north mirror those faced in Africa. Both places are remote, short on funds, and often not very populated.

Fortunately, Huawei already has extensive first-hand experience in such environments. In 2017, it launched

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Christopher Pereira Chris Pereira aims to connect people to ideas and opportunities through communication. He is an experienced media communications and branding professional from Canada with 15 years of experience in China.

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H UAW E I T E C H N O LO G I E S

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“ W ITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET, YOU CAN OPEN AN ONLINE STORE OR HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW BEYOND YOUR OWN COMMUNITY” — Christopher Pereira, Director of Public Affairs, Huawei Technologies Canada

AUGUST 2019

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘AURORA BOREALIS PROJECT: EP1 – BARBARA’

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RURALSTAR LIGHTS THE WAY TO GREATER GROWTH, HOPE & HEALTH’ 293 RuralStar, an affordable base station to help bring internet connection to villages in Africa. “Similar to Northern Canada, we faced a lot of environmental challenges, though it was the complete opposite in terms of conditions,” explains Pereira. “It was very hot and dry; the equipment needed to be able to operate in 40-50°C weather and deal with dust storms and power issues.” On top of this, Huawei also has equipment at some of the highest points in the world, like the base camp of Mount Everest, so it’s well equipped

“ A BORIGINAL CULTURE CAN BE MAINTAINED AND FLOURISH BECAUSE OF THE CONNECTIVITY THAT THE INTERNET BRINGS” — Christopher Pereira, Director of Public Affairs, Huawei Technologies Canada

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H UAW E I T E C H N O LO G I E S

C O M PA N Y FACT S

• Huawei Technologies hopes to help connect all Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030.

Huawei Technologies has over 1,100 employees in Canada, 91% of whom are Canadian citizens.

Huawei Technologies has over 193,000 employees around the globe, with more than 80,000 R&D staff.

294

Huawei’s equipment is sturdy, reliable and well made; it’s no wonder that the firm has dominated the market with its phone offerings like the new P30 smartphone. “We grow by reflection – that’s part of the culture of Huawei,” explains Pereira. “We look at what we’re doing now and we see what we can make better in the next iteration.

We’re not afraid to make mistakes, but we are afraid of repeating those mistakes. Huawei is very tireless in its pursuit of innovation.”

AUGUST 2019

“ W E GROW BY REFLECTION – THAT’S PART OF THE CULTURE OF HUAWEI” — Christopher Pereira, Director of Public Affairs, Huawei Technologies Canada

295

With over 50 contracts already

Canada but, with its latest project,

signed around the world, the company

Huawei is taking care not to leave

is also streaking ahead of its peers

the rural areas of the country behind.

when it comes to 5G. “Huawei is about

“In five years’ time, I hope we’ll be doing

12 months ahead of any other company

this interview over Skype from the

in terms of end-to-end 5G solutions,”

Arctic,” says Pereira. “I hope we will

adds Pereira, highlighting that 5G

have high-speed internet across this

will be at least 10 times faster than its

great country.”

predecessor so you can download a movie in seconds. It will also support driverless cars and other IoT networked devices. The rollout of 5G will undoubtedly be momentous for w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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KPMG: PRAGMATIC CYBERSECURITY SOLUTIONS FOR SMEs WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

AUGUST 2019

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KPMG CANADA

LEADING CYBER STRATEGY AND TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMS FOR KPMG, DARREN JONES DISCUSSES HIS EXPERIENCE AS BOTH A CLIENT AND CONSULTANT IN THE CYBERSECURITY INDUSTRY, AND HOW THE GLOBAL CONSULTANCY OFFERS PRAGMATIC AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

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O

ne is always dealing with several clients at any time, assisting them with the different challenges or opportuni-

ties that they may be dealing with,” says Darren Jones, in leading Cyber Strategy and Transformation programs for KPMG’s clients. One of the key factors that make Darren Jones such a successful consultant for KPMG’s clients is his desire to empower those around him, combined with an empathetic understanding of a client’s experience. Before taking on the role of Director in the Cybersecurity consulting practice at KPMG, Jones had been a client of the firm. He was pleased with the professionalism and level of service provided by the firm, and now that he is with KPMG he shares that this background can be a surprise to those he works with: “I’ve been the person who’s either been working AUGUST 2019

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KPMG CANADA

“ ONE IS ALWAYS DEALING WITH SEVERAL CLIENTS AT ANY TIME, ASSISTING THEM WITH THE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES OR OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY MAY BE DEALING WITH — Darren Jones 300 Director, Cyber Security Services, KPMG Canada

together with consultants at implementing a solution, and occasionally the one accountable for the budget that the different consulting teams are working within.” He continues: “Having been ‘on the other side’ as a client of consulting services, I am wary of recommending or implementing solutions that don’t have a pragmatic, lasting value for the client.” This experience helps enable Jones and KPMG to deliver a focused and cost effective solution for all organizations, but especially SMEs. Jones’s 20-plus years of work within consultancy allows him to draw upon previous experiences to create new cybersecurity solutions for his clients, as well as using his broad existing network to widen KPMG’s clientele.

For Jones, much of his personal sense of achievement has derived from supporting his clients in their technological journeys. He references working relationships that span decades with some of the most innovative creators and thought leaders in cybersecurity the world over. “That degree of intellectual engagement has always been an

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘KPMG CANADA: LET’S DO THIS’ 301 exciting aspect of working in this field,”

targets a larger scale organization like

he remarks.

a bank or a government department that’s had access to millions of dollars

BECOMING CYBER AWARE

to build their cybersecurity, there are

When it comes to cyber awareness,

instant response protocols typically

unfortunately some of Jones’s clients

in place. For SMEs and NPOs, how-

have come to him only after they have

ever, security management can be

encountered a threat. “One particularly

either minimal or non-existent in some

worrying detail in the uptick in instanc-

cases.” These themes around cyber-

es of ransomware in recent months,”

security readiness were also borne

says Jones, “is the focus toward mid-

out in KPMG’s recently published

sized and small municipalities, mid-

CEO Outlook Survey. To help encour-

sized and even small hospitals, and

age preventative measures in place

some not-for-profit organizations such

of reactive ones, Jones shares that

as charities. When ransomware

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302

and question sheet to SME clients to

the cyber strategy needs to be comm-

help to get them started on the journey.

unicated across all levels of a company.

With the rise of attention that

As an example, Jones recently delivered

cybersecurity receives, the demands

an awareness talk entitled ‘Cybersecu-

on Jones’s team have only grown. Yet

rity: How You Can Help’ which was pre-

he notes that there has also been a

sented to staff at one of KPMG’s long

growing feeling of “cyber fatigue” from

term municipality clients.

the constant fear mongering from

Discussing his experience working

companies and media over the last

with clients on change management,

decade. For this reason, Jones says,

which is vital in introducing any new

KPMG has focused on promoting prag-

strategy, Jones comments: “It’s impor-

matism in cybersecurity and cost

tant to build structures and measures

effective, sustainable solutions. To

to ensure the implementation will

ensure that a solution is sustainable,

proceed with proper acknowledge-

AUGUST 2019

ment of governance; to ensure the

feels positive about the future result-

ongoing vitality of measuring success;

ing from the solution: “It’s using that

and to have a whole strategy wrapped

frame as a way of helping the client

around that implementation.” He notes

to not only see a positive future, but

that putting these elements in place is

visualize what’s positive about the

key to helping to ensure dialogue with

future for them.” This is particularly

clients moves beyond empathy into the

important, he says, as KPMG does

practical implementation of solutions.

not operate solutions for its clients,

Jones emphasizes the importance of

so it is imperative that they are

not only creating solutions that are

pleased with and are ready to take

cost effective, but also ensuring a client

ownership of the result.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Darren Jones Darren is an accomplished IT leader with over 25 years of experience both in industry and as a consultant. With demonstrated abilities in motivating and leading technical personnel, project managers and consultants, Darren has worked in a diversity of roles — as Director of the CIO Solutions consulting function at a large consulting firm, a senior executive and investor in fintech start-ups, leading the Security & Critical Infrastructure Solutions function at a major stock exchange, the VP of Information Security Solutions for one of the world’s first integrated managed solutions providers, and as the Senior Manager and lead for eSecurity Architecture Solutions practice area at a big 4 firm. This breadth and depth of experience provides Darren’s clients with a perspective that is at once strategic and pragmatic.

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KPMG CANADA

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“ KPMG AS A FIRM CERTAINLY RECOGNIZES THAT IT WILL HAVE SUBSTANTIAL NEEDS FOR TECHNOLOGY AND AI-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND BUILD SMART CITIES.” — Darren Jones Director, Cyber Security Services, KPMG Canada

AUGUST 2019

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yorku.ca/continue

“ HERE WITHIN KPMG WE ARE DEVELOPING A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CYBERSECURITY IN MUNICIPALITIES” — Darren Jones Director, Cyber Security Services, KPMG Canada

focused on cybersecurity fundamentals, and the other on offering an advanced certificate in cybersecurity.”

Four years on from the program’s conceptualization, Jones shares that KPMG has hired one graduate who has come through the program, Frances MacTaggart, who affirms the benefits of the course: “I couldn’t more strongly recommend the combination of certificates (Fundamentals and Advanced) to those who are new to the field,

EDUCATING ON CYBERSECURITY

wishing to make a career change or

To encourage this approach to cyber-

those who are wanting to further

security in consultants and to sustain

prepare for the CISSP designation.

knowledge development in the industry,

York University’s Cybersecurity

Darren has been working with York

Certificates are an outstanding way

University to provide mentorship to

to increase your knowledge and depth

students and graduates. Jones started

of understanding.”

working as a curriculum advisor to York University at the beginning of his tenure

LOOKING AHEAD

with KPMG. “This certificate program

A well implemented cybersecurity

is offered to undergraduate students

solution ensures that a company can

who wish to augment their existing

look forward with confidence at

studies by pursuing the specific

opportunities to innovate, instead of

certificates being offered, and it was

focusing on previous errors. As KPMG

also being introduced as something

looks ahead to the future, Jones

for postgraduate or working profession-

shares that the firm will assist in the

als to participate in. We have divided

creation of the security foundations of

our curriculum into two segments: one

smart cities. “KPMG as a firm certainly w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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KPMG CANADA

CA$1.5mn Approximate revenue in 2018

1869

Year founded

6,500

308

Approximate number of employees

AUGUST 2019

recognizes that it will have substantial needs for technology and AI-driven solutions to support the local community and build smart cities.” Jones urges that, as larger cities enlist private and public sector partnerships to build and operate smart city solutions, they be cognizant of the risks. While they will have their own specific concerns regarding cybersecurity as individual organizations, they need to be aligned by a single, overall strategy that can manage the public’s expectations and ensure citizen engagement and trust.

“Here within KPMG in Canada, we are developing a centre of excellence for cybersecurity in municipalities,” says Jones, and with KPMG’s impressive collection of awards and its pragmatic focus, the firm is set to cement itself as a cornerstone in implementing these cybersecurity strategies.

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POLARIS TRANSPORT: SCALABLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF CORE LOGISTICS PROCESSES WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

AUGUST 2019

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P O L A R I S T R A N S P O R TAT I O N G R O U P

CTO DAVE BRAJKOVICH DISCUSSES HOW POLARIS TRANSPORT, VIA DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION UNIT NORTHSTAR DIGITAL SOLUTIONS, IS DRIVING LOGISTICS INNOVATION

C

anada’s Polaris Transportation Group, renowned for its cross-border less than load (LTL) service, is at the cutting edge

of technological innovation in the supply chain 312

sector. In January 2019, the company launched NorthStar Digital Solutions (NDS), both an in-house digital laboratory and separate business entity, to drive the advancement of its technology platforms, intelligent document processing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) capabilities, among others.

Dave Brajkovich, CTO at Polaris and NDS, says the new company offers Polaris, as both a customer and an owner, a level of innovative dedication that is demonstrably lost by internal and integral IT teams attempting to steer a digital transformation. “It’s not uncommon that, under one IT wing, things can quickly become disjointed – IT begins to manage network, infrastructure, application, and helpdesk AUGUST 2019

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“ WE’VE PROVEN THAT WE CAN TAKE A COMPANY THAT FROM A VERY SEGREGATED, SILOED SYSTEM TO A COMPANY THAT IS LEAN, EFFICIENT AND TECHNOLOGICALLY SCALABLE” — Dave Brajkovich, CTO, Polaris Transport

which distracts from a focused transformation,” he explains. “We saw an opportunity to drive technology and optimization as a separate entity, and become a profit center that can take the solutions we’re providing to Polaris and package them up as Software-asa-Service (SaaS) solutions for transportation and customs brokerage clients, and beyond.” The close relationship between Polaris and NDS enables a flexible and practical testbed for innovation, with newly developed solutions being piloted, tested and production hardened at Polaris before

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being sold on to external companies.

touchpoints of handling paperwork.

“We end up learning a lot from these

The process of moving paper is highly

programs and enhancing the technol-

inefficient and labor intensive for all

ogy to fit and solve business needs

players involved, including the Client,

rather than creating technology and

Carrier, Customs Broker and Border

finding a problem to solve.”

Agencies. “By implementing our RPA

A main staple for Polaris is customs

and ML platform (a powerful WorkFusion

document processing for clearing

enterprise grade automation engine

freight to cross the US and Canadian

with the NDS IP workflow solution),

borders, and this offers a perfect

to manage Straight Through Processing

example of the company’s successful

(STP) for our intelligent document

transformation efforts. As this can carry

processing, our turnaround time and

myriad complexities and duplication

error rates were significantly reduced

in work efforts, Polaris needed to

to levels beyond our expectations,”

streamline the task and reduce the

says Brajkovich. “It also added capacity

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P O L A R I S T R A N S P O R TAT I O N G R O U P

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for our staff to focus on exception

more about blockchain,” says Brajkovich.

management rather than clerical admin-

Following an event that illuminated the

istration. We can now run this operation

tech’s qualities, Cox began to see a

24/7 and scale to the business order

potential use case for it within Polaris.

demands, and we’re proud to state that

The firm subsequently partnered with

we are now driving 80% of our customs

IBM to generate various DLT-based

paperwork processing through fully

solutions applicable to their operations,

automated workflow.”

with significant success. “One of our

Of the aforementioned technologies,

use cases for a minimal viable product

Polaris’s DLT platform is perhaps the

was an outcome to achieve consolida-

most emblematic of the firm’s ability

tion and reconciliation for the interline

to bring complex concepts through to

invoicing process,” says Brajkovich.

fruition quickly and effectively. “Our

“We found that the process was lagging,

CEO, Dave Cox, had an inkling to learn

though not in terms of digitizing the data

AUGUST 2019

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Dave Brajkovich, CTO Brajkovich’s technology career spans 30 years and has mainly been focused on engineering, designing and building core transactional systems for some of the world’s leading fortune 500 companies. With key strengths in leadership and management of multi-talented teams he has excelled in moving the needle continuously by ensuring practical deployments of technology with a direct impact on improving operational workf lows along with providing an enhanced client experience as the ROI. Brajkovich has been an inf luential change agent for technological improvements, such as advanced planning and scheduling, manufacturing, distribution/supply chain and financial applications. With exposure to multi diverse markets, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, financial investment management and transportation has given Brajkovich a rounded edge to be a key player and contributor for advanced technology offerings and helping business understand and adopt enablers for future growth and advancements. Brajkovich’s focus is to strengthen and maintain a robust technical ecosystem for the enterprise group and its affiliated companies, making it a uniquely different provider of freight services and lifecycle management with enhanced digital product capabilities. Emphasis will be placed on bleeding edge technologies such as Robotic Process Automation, Machine Learning, AI, and Blockchain. Recent positions held include Executive Director roles with Sun Life Canada, Air Liquide and Dynacare Labs where his focus was on IT technology foundations and business application synergies.

Brajkovich lives in Hockley Valley, Ontario with his wife and two daughters. His additional interests include assembly and operation of drone helicopters and he is an avid motorcyclist.

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“ WHAT WE’VE CREATED IS A UNIVERSAL SYSTEM WHERE WE CAN GUARANTEE THAT MY A IS THEIR A” — Dave Brajkovich, CTO, Polaris Transport

created is a universal system where we can guarantee that my A is their A,” says Brajkovich, highlighting DLT’s ability to serve as a single, current source of truth. “Everything is tracked and traced: it’s immutable, it’s not going to change, but it can be revised.

As the information flows from one system to another, we know exactly where that data flow is.” Not only does the solution provide this reliability and traceability, but it massively increases the speed with which parties can

because it moves through electronic

access the relevant information.

data interchange (EDI) transformations

“Once the transaction is completed,

anyway. The challenge is that EDI is

we have a full audit trail,” summarizes

not dynamic – it’s very static, it comes

Brajkovich. He adds that the process

in batches and waves – and so the

minimizes paper wastage, maximizes

freight can be received by points of

accuracy and eradicates data-based

delivery where we may not get the

disputes, as well as having the

data back into our systems accurately

flexibility for additional partner

or in a timely fashion.”

channels to be added as necessary.

This problem causes both delays and

NDS is currently developing additional

a labor-intensive process of collating

IoT-driven solutions to augment with

documents to confirm payments, with

this process, offering real-time tracking

those documents changing hands

data without necessitating additional

repeatedly. The solution is a DLT-based

human input. “Our claim to fame here is

smart contract platform that runs

that we’re very strong integrators,” says

those transactions through Polaris’s

Brajkovich as he explains the foundation

hyperledger cloud and relays the data

of the firm’s IoT success. “We have

to all relevant parties. “What we’ve

talent that understands not only the w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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operations and processes involved with the transportation and LTL freight movement, but we have a very strong enterprise service technology layer that enables us to connect multiple technologies and platforms through APIs (application programming interfaces).” With IoT naturally creating numerous endpoints at the edge of the network, this knack for integration significantly accelerates NDS’s and Polaris’s time to market for additional IoT capabilities. “Currently, we are active through an IoT process for our 320

electronic logging devices (ELDs), used for truck driver mandates and tractor data logging. We capture data from the ELDs, as well as from Blackberry devices tracking our trailers’ capacity, volume and location. We have between 160 and 180 trailers, and they’re all tracked.” The data is routed back through the company’s legacy API system, exemplifying the company’s ability to integrate technological solutions successfully. Looking forward, Brajkovich says NDS’s IoT ambitions are yet to be satisfied, and plenty of exciting new innovations are on the way.

The firm is piloting a new product that tracks drivers’ locations through their AUGUST 2019

mobile devices, enabling visibility of delivery routes, delivery cycles, and access to various timeframes for cycle completion. “It’s quite revolutionary in commercial freight movements,” says Brajkovich. “Most clients don’t get that kind of visibility. They have to call customer services, who themselves have to track those trucks and have more room for inaccuracy. This way, it’ll be a holistic view of where our trucks are.” In addition to this novel approach to visibility for clients, NDS is developing a brand new form of IoT technology.

“We’re working with a couple of GPS manufacturers to develop a disposable

1994

Year founded

200

Approximate number of employees

GPS tracking device that we could directly tag to the freight, as well as working with telco companies that could provide us with low-cost cell coverage at a palatable price point that clients can absorb,” enthuses Brajkovich.

“In return, they would get active tracking at the freight level.” He notes that perhaps the most vitally innovative element of this research and development is the proposed disposability.

HQ

Mississauga, Ontario Canada

“When it is received at the last mile, the GPS will simply turn off as its battery expires and can then be easily disposed of,” he says. Enabling visibility in such w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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“ THE ABILITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LOOK INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY, AND REALLY PRIORITIZE THE MOST VITAL PROJECTS MEANS WE CAN LEAP INSTEAD OF BABY-STEP EVERYTHING THROUGH” — Dave Brajkovich, CTO, Polaris Transport AUGUST 2019

a dynamic, seamless fashion would stand to differentiate the firm’s prowess even further from the competition.

Ultimately, Brajkovich credits NDS and the strength of its partnerships with the success of Polaris’s technological innovations. “NDS, powered by strong partners like WorkFusion, Softchoice, Stratiform, Simnet and Fiorano has enabled us to launch some really dynamic offerings using tools that might not be at the bleeding edge,

323

but certainly within the cutting edge,”

upon a holy grail of digital transforma-

he says. “We’ve proven that we can

tion: agility, scalability, and a time to

take a company from a very segregated,

market that brings core innovations to

siloed system that’s hard to integrate

the fore, benefitting both the company

and communicate within, to a company

and its all-important clients.

that is lean, efficient and technologically scalable. The ability for us to be able to look internally and externally, and really prioritize the most vital projects means we can leap instead of baby-step everything through.” Polaris Transport, in that regard, has landed w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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SSR MINING: LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AMIDST TRANSFORMATION IN THE MINING SPACE WRITTEN BY

SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

AUGUST 2019

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SSR MINING INC.

DAVID THOMAS, DIRECTOR OF IT AT SSR MINING, DISCUSSES HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME AN INFLUENTIAL COMPONENT TO OPERATIONS SINCE FIRST BEING EMBRACED IN 2013

A

s a firm that has undergone significant transformation over the past few years, SSR Mining knows first hand the impor-

tance of embracing the latest trends in order to stay ahead of competitors. With the increasing influence technology has had on industries the world over, 326

SSR Mining has come a long way since it first began to leverage new software and processes in 2013. David Thomas, Director of IT at SSR Mining, believes that, due to its smaller stature in comparison to bigger companies in the region, his firm has utilised this to its advantage. “The key benefit of how we operate is that we’re smaller. Leveraging infrastructure, such as cloud services that we don’t have to invest large capital in, makes us nimbler,” he says. “This means that a few years later, if we want to change and do something that’s slightly different because of new technology, we have the capabilities to do that. If you compare that to bigger companies, a lot of them have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in capital to build infrastructure, however, then they’re locked in. The landscape has changed for us smaller companies as we can get in AUGUST 2019

327

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SSR MINING INC.

“THE KEY BENEFIT OF HOW WE OPERATE IS THAT WE’RE SMALLER” — David Thomas, Director of IT, SSR Mining

328

AUGUST 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MARIGOLD MINE’ 329 there and do what we want and move

205,000 ounces of gold in 2018.

with the times – I think it means we’re

The Seabee Gold Operation produced

really lucky and in a really great place.”

over 95,000 ounces of gold in 2018,

Based in Vancouver, Canada, the

and Puna Operations achieved

mining firm focuses on the operation,

commercial production in December

acquisition, exploration and development

2018 and produces silver.

of precious metal resource properties

Thomas points to SSR Mining’s

in the Americans and oversees three

ability to combine a proactive and

producing mines: Marigold in Nevada;

reactive approach that differentiates

Seabee Gold Operation in Saskatch-

his company from its rivals. “We’re

ewan; and the 75% owned and

quite fortunate because we can be

operated Puna Operations joint

followers and leaders,” explains

venture in Jujuy Province, Argentina.

Thomas. “In 2013, we invested a little

Since its launch in 1989, the Marigold

bit of money into the cloud despite our

mine achieved production of over

size and the fact we were operating w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

SSR MINING INC.

330

just one mine at the time. Our move

we saw back then was the fact that we

towards the cloud gave us the opportu-

could seize the opportunity to move

nity to move around our technology

into the cloud. When we acquired our

for various projects, such as predictive

second mine operation, Marigold, we

analytics or general artificial intelli-

were positioned to start moving that

gence (AI) and machine learning (ML)

operation’s IT into the cloud straight

type projects.” With mining often

away. During the acquisition, we began

considered as one of the slower

to transition from the previous owners’

industries to adopt new technology,

technology to the cloud. As Amazon

it wasn’t until 2013 when SSR Mining

and Azure introduced new things, we

really put its foot down towards

were able to take advantage of some

digitalisation. “Back then, we had no

of those new tools and features in our

tech. We had an email system and

other operation too.”

that’s pretty much it. But, one thing AUGUST 2019

Looking back to how operations

were previously conducted prior to new technology being introduced, Thomas acknowledges the challenges he’s faced over the years. “Previously, we didn’t have an Operational Excellence team like we do today,” he says.

“Making that connection with the business was a big challenge because we’ve got IT-orientated people and then at the other end of the scale are mining-focused people, too. For us, we had to bring those teams on the extreme ends together and talk about the challenges. For example, our Marigold mine has a dispatch system,

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

David Thomas, Director of IT After six years of Civil Engineering and running a high-rise building computer design department in the mid 90s, Thomas graduated from the University of Technology in Sydney with an Engineering Degree and a Masters Degree in Engineering Management. After graduation he quickly moved into the Information Technology field in Melbourne Australia, working in the bill payment and consulting industries, before moving to Canada in 2005 where he led numerous IT departments and IT Consulting teams in mining, shipping, forestry and finance. With a deep background and education in both Engineering and Information Technology, Thomas provides both IT leadership and strategic IT transformation for SSR Mining Inc.

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331

SSR MINING INC.

$400mn+ Approximate revenue

1946

Year founded

14,000+

332

Approximate number of employees

AUGUST 2019

333

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Manage, Solve, and Deliver I.T. We take pride in putting our customer service front and foremost by creating simple solutions for complex connections.

Discover your solution

similar to a taxi that tracks the destination of where you’re going. It’s important that we implement the right software that will enable us to improve. We had to have a much more conducive approach, and being able to do that gave us the ability to enhance our processes and automate emergency systems so that, if there’s a problem out on site, they can press a button and get support.”

Having partnered with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Thomas believes what

“ L EVERAGING INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH AS CLOUD SERVICES THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO INVEST LARGE CAPITAL IN, MAKES US NIMBLER” — David Thomas, Director of IT, SSR Mining

makes a successful partnership is the 335

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SSR MINING INC.

ability to understand what the other

and it offers us a much larger vendor

expects. “A good partnership will

footprint, too. With AWS, we would get

involve mutual communication at all

involved with the cyber types when

times and a joint ability to deliver

it comes to industrial.”

something that works well together.

With a determination to not rest

I know when it comes to some of these

on its previous successes, Thomas

smaller AWS or Azure partners, we

affirms SSR Mining isn’t at the finish

would choose a vendor that has the

line yet and he still considers it a small

skills and abilities internally to do the

and medium-sized enterprise (SME),

job, but that can also align with our

despite revenues of over $400mn in

nimbleness,” he explains. “A lot of our

2018. “In mining terms, our revenue is

infrastructure dovetails into Microsoft

relatively small. I think once you get

and AWS. Amazon can give us a nice

into the $2-4bn range of market

little angle in terms of IoT endpoints

capitalization, that’s when you can be

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AUGUST 2019

considered a big company. In terms

workforce is a key aspect for success,”

of market capitalization, we’re currently

he notes. “It’s about ensuring strategic

around $2bn so we’re not quite there

objectives are aligned with the

yet. I almost consider us like a shopping

operation base and being able to work

advert – we do more for less.” Looking

closely with the teams that we have

to the future, Thomas has clear ideas

recently developed in the last two to

about how his organisation can

three years, such as the Operational

continue to thrive in the mining space

Excellence team. We need to evolve

over the next few years and beyond.

as well as help with sustainability in the

“I’m sure the gold industry will drive

next couple of years.”

the success of the company through mergers and acquisitions; however, in terms of our operations, I believe our workforce and the safety of our 337

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ASCENDANT RESOURCES rejuvenation through Mining 101 WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

AUGUST 2019

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ASCENDANT RESOURCES

Chris Buncic, CEO and Co-Founder at Ascendant Resources, discusses the rejuvenation of the El Mochito mine in Honduras and the Mining 101 approach that has powered its success

T

he El Mochito mine, located in the Las Vegas municipality of Honduras and around 88km southwest of San Pedro

Sula, has undergone a dramatic rejuvenation at the 340

hands of Ascendant Resources which acquired the site in December 2016. Under Ascendant’s management, El Mochito’s zinc production has doubled and its revenues are growing rapidly.

Not only that, Ascendant has become the leading miner in Honduras, a country whose mining potential has been sorely overlooked according to CEO Chris Buncic. He earmarks both capital investment and the shift in management styles that defined the takeover as being of vital importance to the mine’s renaissance. “After we closed the acquisition, we set upon a program of optimization and rehabilitation of the asset, as well as retraining operators,” says Buncic. “It was a very peoplefocused change.” In tandem with introducing an array of new equipment – a long overdue endeavor at El Mochito – Ascendant brought the mine to free AUGUST 2019

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ASCENDANT RESOURCES

“ As we ramped up production, people have reaped the benefits through incentives” — Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Ascendant Resources

342

2006

Year founded

$85.6mn Revenue in 2018

1,242

Approximate number of employees

AUGUST 2019

cashflow positivity within a year of closing the deal.

Ascendant has approached the project with a ‘Mining 101’ mentality, zeroing in on the basics to ensure any additional developments are built upon strong and efficient foundations.

“We assembled a new management team that has performed consistently over the last two and a half years, and we replaced nearly all of the underground trackless equipment,” says Buncic. “Some of the trucks and scoops had been subject to as many

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ONE X ONE WITH CHRIS BUNCIC, ASCENDANT RESOURCES PRESIDENT AND CEO’

as four overhauls; in a typical lifecycle,

are staggered over the course of the

this would only have been done twice,

day, and changeovers at the truck

but because of their age we were

underground rather than on surface.

having availability issues. The key

This cuts out travel time, meal times

metrics of the journey have been

and so on, and has resulted in produc-

availability of the equipment and its

tivity time increasing from 15 to 22

proper and consistent utilization.”

hours per day.” Simply adding additional

It is equally essential to have both

work hours is far from the sum of

equipment at hand when it is needed,

Ascendant’s work with its staff. “In the

and trained staff who are available

five years prior to the acquisition, there

to capitalize on it. “We added a fourth

had been six general managers each

shift underground for the truck drivers,

with their own priorities and projects,”

meaning there are now four overlap-

explains Buncic, highlighting the

ping eight-hour shifts. Those shifts

general sense of uncertainty and lack w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

343

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of clear direction to which workers at

They were unhappy with the situation

El Mochito had become accustomed.

before we took over, so we had lots

Not only has the new and successful

of positive benefits come through

management team brought a fresh

that,” says Buncic. “As we ramped up

era of stability, but Ascendant has

production, people have reaped the

also been proactive in its approach

benefits of the higher production

to supporting staff significantly

rates through incentives. Everyone is

improving morale. “In 2017, we

happy in sharing the success of the

renegotiated our collective bargain-

mine, and it’s certainly something

ing agreement with the workers’

we’re happy to continue to foster.”

union, which had been long overdue.

This attentiveness to its employees

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

345

Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder Chris Buncic is one of the founding partners in the formation of Ascendant Resources Inc. and its acquisition of the company’s f lagship operating El Mochito mine from Nyrstar NV in 2016. Prior to cofounding Ascendant, Mr. Buncic served in senior management roles at several Canadian corporations in the technology and resources sectors. His depth of experience also includes six years in Institutional Equity Research at leading Canadian independent full-service brokerage firms Cormark Securities Inc. and Mackie Research Capital Corporation. Mr. Buncic is a CFA Charterholder, has an MBA from Schulich School of Business and B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto. Mr. Buncic is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the CFA Society.

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ASCENDANT RESOURCES

“ We brought in a new management team that has performed consistently over the last three years, and we replaced nearly all of the underground trackless equipment” 346

— Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Ascendant Resources

AUGUST 2019

347

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349

extends to the local municipality

school lunches and environmental

through a range of highly successful

efforts. We have 11,000 hectares of

corporate social responsibility (CSR)

forestland on our property, and we

initiatives. In each of the past 10 years,

do a lot of reforestation and environ-

El Mochito mine has won the prestig-

mental preservation on that land.”

ious Empresa Socialmente Respon-

As for the mine itself, incremental

sible (‘Socially Responsible Busi-

infrastructural upgrades have been

ness’) award from the Foundation for

vital to the leap in production, the sharp

Corporate Responsibility in Hondu-

rise in the quality of the ore produced,

ras (FUNDAHRSE). “We give back

and the efficiency with which that

to communities to a very large deg-

produce is brought to the surface.

ree,” enthuses Buncic. “We operate

“We have been able to access some

a hospital and two schools, and we

new high-grade areas of the mine that

run smaller programs with respect to

were not previously available, and our w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

ASCENDANT RESOURCES

grade has improved materially from 5.3% when we took over the mine to as high at 7% in Q4 2018,” says Buncic. Part of this success can be traced to Ascendant’s Lagoa Salgada mining project in Portugal, itself located within the famed Iberian Pyrite Belt. “At Lagoa Salgada, we conducted gravity and induced polarization (IP) work which we found to be very effective in finding additional anomalies and targets to follow up. We brought the same group that 350

conducted that study over to El Mochito, and their underground, gravity and IP studies have opened up the potential of the western part of the mine.”

In February of this year, the company completed a 700-meter tunnel from the Esperanza ore body in the northwest of the mine to the crusher.

The tunnel provides a more direct route between the sites, circumventing the original winding route comprised of rough terrain. Not only has this opened up a previously unexplored part of the mine and minimized the wear and tear of the associated machinery, but it is emblematic of the AUGUST 2019

“One of the things our team has been good at is identifying new opportunities” — Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Ascendant Resources

351

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353 infrastructural upgrades that have been pivotal in the mine’s rejuvenation.

“It’s a good example of the ways that our team is strategizing as it looks to find high-grade material to bring into the mine plan as soon as possible,” says Buncic.

In the long term, Buncic stresses that Ascendant’s commitment to maximizing the value of El Mochito is far from over. Whilst maintaining the production rates it has achieved, continuing to seek out high-grade ore bodies and evaluating areas where costs can be saved, Ascendant is

“In 2017, we renegotiated our collective bargaining agreement with the workers’ union, which had been long overdue” — Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Ascendant Resources

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ASCENDANT RESOURCES

354

“ It was a very peoplefocused change” — Chris Buncic, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Ascendant Resources

working hard to boost its profitability per ton. With respect to this, Buncic highlights the expansion plan posited in a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) released in October 2018 that seeks to cut costs to below $1 per zinc equivalent pound. The plan is split into three components: opening a more direct mine shaft in the east of the mine; installing a large and efficient water pumping system with

AUGUST 2019

355

clarification capabilities; and expand-

a lot of great opportunities, and we

ing the plant to bring its capacity up

have an excellent network of partners

to an average of 2,800 tons per day,

who want to work with us across the

boosting the mill’s production by 27%

financial gamut as we look to grow

while simultaneously cutting costs by

the company.”

the same margin. “One of the things our team has been good at is identifying new opportunities,” says Buncic.

“We’ve done that with El Mochito, we’ve done it with Lagoa Salgada.

In the mining space today, there are w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com