Business Vision Winter 2017-2018

BusinessVisioɳ | Winter 2017-18

WEF summit: balance in age of Davos man

Corporate Rebels fighting for fun

Also in this issue...

Photo special: Stunning saris

•

Cryptocurrency — BV gets some

Office dress codes — changing fashions GBP 9.95 | EUR 14.95 | USD 15.95

•

Status symbols: ultimate cool

B RE IT L ING . C O M

Letter from the editor This Editor's Letter is something of a message in a bottle, cast hopefully into cyberspace with a leftclick and a prayer.

There's plenty of optimism, but no certainty, at the time of writing, that we'll meet our deadline and achieve our goal. If you're reading a hard-copy version of Business Vision, in a little town starting with “D” in the Swiss Alps, within the canton of Graubünden – it means we made it. Like every other publication worth its salt, we want to be represented at Davos for the 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on January 23. Come hell, high water or snowdrifts, we aim to have stacks of BV at Davos, hot off the press and shamelessly begging for your attention.

The programme for this year's WEF meeting focuses on Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World. “By coming together at the start of the year,” reads a recent editorial on the WEF website, “we can shape the future by joining this unparalleled global effort in co-design, co-creation and collaboration.”

The editorial bemoans “geostrategic fissures” and “new and divisive narratives”; it notes glumly that “the global commons cannot protect or heal itself”, and that “the social contract between states and their citizens continues to erode”.

This could be seen as negative… or as calling a spade a spade. Whichever way you look at it, it's an example of the forthright and honest approach that makes the annual Davos summit more than a talkfest. It's easy enough to paint over the cracks, focus on the future, big things up with success stories and details of positive, far-reaching initiatives. A bigger, and bolder, task is to lay everything out on the table and take a good, hard look at it – and that, it seems, is just what Davos, under the watchful eye of Klaus Schwab, is doing.

Executive chairman and founder Schwab, and his co-chairs Sharan Burrow, Ginni Rometti, Fabiola Gianotti, Chetna Sinha, Isabelle Kocher, Erna Solberg and Christine Lagarde, are worth a sidelong glance before scrutinising this year's agenda. Note the intentional gender bias here;

there's an art to correcting an imbalance, and Schwab – as John Starr notes in his story on page 26 – has taken the dive-right-in approach.

We take a quick peek behind the curtain and to bring you a Davos amuse-bouche – and hopefully we'll have Starr or another of our staffers there (and when I say “there”, I'm realistic enough to mean in the conference centre car park) to make sure, at least, that our magazines are on view. And hopefully – there's a whole lot of hoping going on – said staffer will manage to make meaningful contact with some of the movers and shakers present.

If you're there – and we're there – pick up a copy and have a natter with the person with the BV name tag as you bustle past on your way to change the world. If you feel we can help to communicate the message you bring to the forum, so much the better.

Wish us luck. We wish all of you a happy and prosperous 2018.

HAL WILLIAMS hw@bv.world

Correspondence Navigator...

Waste of space

I have yet to see a copy of Business Vision “in the flesh”, though I believe you do produce a print version of the magazine.

I'd like to enquire whether it is possible to receive copies of the magazine, and, if possible, get on the mailing list.

I'm sure that this information is available somewhere on your website, which is very attractive and no doubt comprehensive, but – at the age of 73, having somehow been bypassed by the computer age – I find navigating websites wearisome.

I have discovered that finding a specific page is a matter of clicking on the mouse umpteen times, or hit-and-miss dabbing on that bar at the bottom of the page. Is it possible to gain access to a page by clicking on the relevant article in the contents section? If this function exists, I can't work it out.

Please advise.

Better still, let me know how to get my old-fashioned hands on an old-fashioned magazine that exists in 3-D. Tabitha Jennings Byfleet

Regarding the article in your autumn edition, “What in the world are we doing with our waste?”

While I´m sure the writer´s intentions were laudable, I find there is so much smugness and, indeed, hypocrisy attached to these so-called environmental arguments.

Firstly, with a man´s jacket retailing at north of £300, I don't think many of us will be rushing out to purchase one any time soon, so that initiative´s impact on the economy will be minimal.

Secondly, how transporting Roman rubbish by rail over 1,000 kilometres can be described as ecological is completely beyond me.

As with most of these schemes, they serve to give the oxygen of publicity to their creators but how much good they actually do is debatable.

From Hollywood actors flying by private jet to pick up an environmental award to local councils forcing us to separate our household refuse only for them to dump it all in the same tip, we are endlessly lectured to and made to feel guilty about our modern lifestyles.

Therefore, despite the current zeitgeist, I feel bound to conclude that the article was, on the whole, a load of rubbish.

BV's IT guru Thomas replies:

Richard

Thank you, Tabitha, for raising a very good point. We have added that functionality for this edition, so if you are reading this on our website you can now click on each item on the contents page and you will be redirected to the appropriate article. And if you click here you will be redirected to the contents page! To purchase a subscription to the magazine, please contact subscriptions@ bv.world

10

Charles Anderson Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Defending ‘red tape’ In response to “Navigating the maze of red tape” (BV Summer).

I find it galling when the media complain about red tape – when most of that red tape comes directly from the clamour of the media. Let's think about where most of the red tape comes from.

Despite the claims of the tabloid press, most governments do not sit there churning out regulations at random. Something happens (a workplace accident, a toddler's death, a mass poisoning) and there is a clarion cry: “Something must be done!”

A politician produces an idea for new standard, regulation or law and says, “This is something!”, to which the press replies, “It must be done!” and another regulation is added to the pile. Eventually, the original event is lost in the sands of time and people just complain about “the burden of red tape”.

Don't be too hasty to toss those regulations onto the bonfire — those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it, as George Santayana observed.

Peter Riley Richmond, UK

Editor Hal Williams Assitant Editor Janet Newbury Executive Editor Susan Shaw Pictures Editor and Layout Richard Thomas Editorial Jason Agnew Heather Leah Smith Naomi Snelling Darren Parkin Tony Lennox Nathan DeMetz John Starr Jane Rush Steve Dyson Art department: Alejandro Lampre Velรกzquez Distribution Manager Thomas Terrell Subscriptions Max Pragnell Commercial Director Graham Church Publisher David Eyres Business Vision The Lansdowne Building 2 Lansdowne Rd Croydon CR9 2ER United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)203 745 7671 Fax: +44 (0)203 745 7674 Email: info@bv.world Web: www.bv.world Printed in the UK. All rights reserved.

In this issue...

WEF: Dismissing Davos contradictions

30 26 Cannabis: Federal, State laws conflict Litecoin: Our bid for cryptocurrency

38 Photo special: Stunning saris

56

Status symbols from cufflinks to cars

76 62 Uber and the Black Cab clash 14

24: Australia fleecing migrant workers

84 Dressing sharp, looking cool

Also:

16: Innovation, grit and gumption 19: 10 People: Hanadi Jabado 20: Microbes making cleaner fuel 23: 10 People: Tina Fordham 34: 10 People: Jayne-Anne Gadhia 35: 10 People: Paul Allen 36: Corporate Rebels with a cause 42: The acquisition of wisdom 44: Challenges of Climate Change 47: 10 People: Kwon Oh-Hyun 48: The costs of going green 52: Companies back from the brink 55: A very open CEO 59: 10 People: Masayoshi Son 60: Century Financial Brokers 64: Czech company helping investors 66: Electric vehicles with spark

68: Quest for a hybrid plane 70: Cruising with the cartoon king 72: South African mogul on the ropes 74: 10 People: William Zhou 75: 10 People: Lilly Singh 83: Stick to your resolutions!

87: 10 People: Don Brawley 88: Liquid lunch?

90: Sports giant just doing it 92: Future-proofing new graduates 94: London's caffeinated buses 98: Film review: Bitcoin on the silver screen 100: Moving with the algorithim 102: Phones from Bell to 5G 104: Breakaways affect EMA vote 108: 10 People: Daniel Jeffery 110: Award Highlights

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

80: Getting hot under the collar

15

Grit and gumption are the key to ‘innovation nation' ‘Innovative’ is the word that binds together some of the UK’s greats, from James Dyson to George Stephenson. JULIAN BIRKINSHAW, of the London Business School, reports JAMES DYSON perfected the bagless vacuum cleaner only after tinkering with more than 5,000 prototypes: he taught us about true grit.

Tim Berners-Lee's vision of a global hyperlinked information system led to the birth of the internet, and George Stephenson's engineering brain saw Britain build the world's first public railway.

George Bernard Shaw's realisation that “all progress depends on the unreasonable man” taught us about the sometimes odd nature of innovators.

Britain led the Industrial Revolution with scientific and technological discoveries that triggered dramatic improvements to living standards, and enormous economic benefits. The UK ranked fifth in the 2017 Global Innovation

Index; only the US has more Nobel Laureates.

But we're facing a period of rapid technological change, and enormous economic and political upheaval. Which of Britain's “beacons” will spark the next wave of innovation?

Brompton Bicycle, the British fold-up cycle manufacturer, began in Andrew Ritchie's bedroom in 1975. The inventor eventually designed a brand synonymous with British engineering excellence.

The bike's compactness has reshaped how people travel around urban cities. Today, it's combining the best of British design with an electric twist: Brompton's e-bike.

The firm has worked with Williams Racing, of the Formula One group, to create a detachable lithium-ion battery that can power the ride.

Will Butler-Adams, OBE, Brompton's chief executive, says that the new bike will double the size of the business over the next three to five years. Outside the UK, high value is placed on heritage brands such as the British Brompton; the firm exports around 80 percent of its production.

Butler-Adams berated the UK's pessimism towards Brexit during an All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group's “Exporting after Brexit” debate in the House of Commons earlier this year. He said: “Brexit is overrated. All this worrying is causing everyone to stagnate.

“What matters to my business is launching new products.” And that is exactly what he's doing.

With space at a premium in city centres around the world, we

ROCKET POWER! The Rocket, seen here in a Hungarian postage stamp from 1979, was built by George Stephenson, his son, Robert, and Henry Booth. It was created for the 1829 Rainhill Trials held to find the best locomotive engine for a railway line between Liverpool and Manchester

Lefteris Papaulakis / Shutterstock.com

16

need to be more effective in how we use it,” reads the web page of Yo Home, the latest line-up in English entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe's venture portfolio. Woodroffe launched the Japanese conveyorbelt restaurant chain Yo! Sushi in 1997 with a £150,000 investment.

Six years later, he sold a 78 percent stake in the business to private equity firm Primary Capital for £6.5 million.

Today, Yo! Sushi has more than 90 restaurants, with Woodroffe no longer involved in the daily operations.

Instead, he set his sights on rolling out the Yo brand across multiple sectors. In 2007, Woodroffe launched hotel chain YOTEL, which offers “small but luxurious cabins” – and then subsequently sold it to Kuwaitlisted IFA Hotels and Resorts.

Yo Home produces spacesaving prefabricated homes, where walls slide away and homeware – tables, chairs, beds – seemingly appear from nowhere. The point?

Woodroffe has an ability to let go of past successes and jump into

‘What matters to my business is launching new products’ the future with new ideas. In one interview, he predicted: “YOTEL will eclipse Yo! Sushi in the distant future in terms of the amount of money it makes, and Yo Home will be bigger than both of them put together.”

The digital revolution has enabled a new approach to innovation, built around customer journey mapping, rapid prototyping, and beta testing. But these methods aren't the exclusive preserve of Silicon Valley start-ups.

One of the shining stars is the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS), described by the Wall Street Journal as “the goldstandard in the global world of

digital government”, and winner of the 2013 Design of the Year award for its website www.gov.uk.

In 2010, the UK embarked on transformational change in response to a damning report from dotcom entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox. She said the UK's digital services had fallen behind the times.

Mike Bracken, the former head of digital at The Guardian newspaper, was hired by UK cabinet secretary Francis Maude to run its new Government Digital Service unit. His challenge?

To liberate an often conservative civil service — serving half a million employees — and to innovate.

“I told Francis Maude I needed three things – a separate building, a team with the right specialist skills and control over the internet domain, www.gov.uk,” Bracken said.

But rather than taking a “traditional change approach” and engaging people's hearts and minds, Bracken's approach was that strategy is delivery. Initially, his

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The World Wide Web — invented by a Brit at Switzerland’s CERN

17

If you thought Yo! Sushi was Japanese, think again

18

team worked on simple projects, such as tax discs for drivers, and began gaining traction. The unit put users' needs ahead of the government's and took an agile approach, iterating fast and identifying key services that could swiftly go online.

At the same time, Bracken built a network of digital leaders across various government departments to ensure he had political buy-in when it came to budget crunch time.

In 2016, the GDS budget was ÂŁ112 million per year, twice what it had been the previous year. This was a lesson in taking action.

There have been 200 acquisitions of private companies using artificial intelligence (AI) since 2012, according to the venture capital database CB Insights. No prizes for guessing which tech giant bought the 11 biggest.

Yo Home to Go gaming: lessons are for learning Google acquired Londonbased AI firm DeepMind in 2014. Two years later, DeepMind hit the headlines when its creation AlphaGo, the computer programme that plays the Chinese game Go, first defeated world champion Lee Sedol.

The supercomputer impressed the greatest tech experts on earth because it demonstrated intuition.

The software gained experience by playing again and again, and by learning endless countermoves

EQRoy / Shutterstock.com

so it could better judge its human opponent.

Still led by its founders Demis Hassabis, Mustafa Suleyman and Shane Legg, DeepMind's systems are now learning how to use less energy in Google's data centres, and the company is collaborating with clinicians in the UK's National Health Service to deliver better care to millions of people.

Many successful innovations have timing to thank. DeepMind is an example of a clever firm that arrived, was spotted and scaled at just the right time.

From bikes to brands and government services to Gowinning computers, these innovations all have big lessons and hold the potential to revolutionise the wsay we live our lives.

And they all began in Britain. www.london.edu

Hanadi Jabado Serial entrepreneur

10

HANADI Jabado is a passionate serial entrepreneur with a strong understanding of the needs of start-ups.

Jabado has a wide range of interests covering several industries, ranging from the traditional – such as education – to more esoteric sectors such as biotechnology. She selects the ventures she applies herself to depending on the individuals behind the idea, and on the quality of the teams they form.

She was the driving force behind the creation of Accelerate Cambridge, the in-house start-up hothouse of the illustrious university, where she remains director. It is via this body that Cambridge Judge Business School provides help, nurture, and support to innovators and entrepreneurs in Cambridge.

Jabado coined the phrase “sneak-outs” to describe IP (Intellectual Property) of the University of Cambridge which was commercialised directly by the inventor. She is the executive director of the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Hanadi Jabado is often a guest speaker on the topic of entrepreneurship, and sits on the advisory board of several start-ups. She has co-authored several articles and is currently working on a book on early stage ventures.

Born in Lebanon and raised in France, she is fluent in English, French and Arabic, and speaks anther four languages.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

PEOPLE

19

Microbes making cleaner jet fuel a real possibility Innovators in the fields of fuel, steel and aviation reveal how a low-carbon fuel made with steel process gases could revolutionise air travel. ANDREW NEISH reports The future of aviation is being fuelled by old-school technology – four billion years old, to be precise.

Scientists are now creating jet fuel with microbes that transform carbon to ethanol in a process almost as old as the Earth.

The key to all this is a humble microbe that began creating ethanol in the Hadean era when the Earth was, in geological terms, a mere infant of just 500 million years or so.

Using modern techniques,

the ethanol can be converted to a low-carbon, environmentally friendlier aviation fuel that could one day fulfil around one-fifth of the airline industry's global requirements.

Leading this charge is clean

The China Baowu Steel Group factory testing site in Shanghai, China 20

tech company LanzaTech, which hopes to supply Virgin Atlantic with the fuel.

But this collaboration could never have got off the ground without LanzaTech first forging partnerships with steel companies, including China Baowu Steel Group in Shanghai and Shougang Steel near Beijing.

LanzaTech's fuel, called Lanzanol, is produced in a process that recycles carbon-rich gases from steel mills to create the ethanol base of its fuel.

Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson says: “This is a real game-changer for aviation and could significantly reduce the industry's reliance on oil within our lifetime.

“Our understanding of lowcarbon fuels has developed rapidly over the last decade, and we are closer than ever before to bringing a sustainable product to the market for commercial use by Virgin Atlantic and other global airlines.”

LanzaTech experts reckon that the Lanzanol fuel formula offers a 50-70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional gasoline. About 150 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be cut worldwide if steel production process gases alone were used to manufacture the ethanol.

LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren says: “We can now truly imagine a world where a steel mill cannot only produce the steel for the components of the plane, but also recycle its gases to produce the fuel that powers the aircraft.”

The China Baowu Steel GroupLanzatech partnership was able to produce more than 450,000 litres of Lanzanol per year from a single site in Shanghai, China, which could then be converted to make 225,000 litres of jet fuel.

Even this experimental demonstration site was able to produce enough fuel for an aircraft to make the trip from Shanghai to London, with greater

output expected from commercial production installations.

The commercial potential seems huge. LanzaTech experts calculate they could “retrofit” the technique to around two-thirds of all the steel plants on the planet.

If so, that would mean up to around 136 billion litres of ethanol could be manufactured worldwide every year, from which 68 billion litres of aviation fuel would be produced (in the process half a litre of fuel is created for every litre of ethanol).

This figure amounts to a little less than 19 per cent of all jet fuel expended annually – 360 billion litres.

Some steel giants are already envisioning the potential and making headway in this developing bio-economy.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker and a development partner with LanzaTech, is building an €87m pilot plant at its steel facility in Ghent, Belgium, to produce

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Nature’s little helpers: microbes transform carbon to ethanol

21

The Lanzatech laboratory in Illinois, US, where history is being made

22

ethanol on a commercial basis.

The company says that for every tonne of ethanol produced, total CO2emissions would be cut by 2.3 tonnes, and that the ethanol process would displace eight barrels – one tonne – of gasoline.

To get a fix on this process, back to the Hadean age we go, when micro-organisms from the acetogen family used gas emissions produced from naturally occurring hydrothermal vents to grow.

These organisms are some of Earth's earliest life forms and their method of using gas for their whole life cycle is one of the oldest biological reactions on the planet.

Now LanzaTech scientists have plucked this primordial “technology” from our far-distant past to create a fuel of the future.

Their proprietary microbe is also from the acetogen family.

The Lanzanol technique mimics that biological reaction, as steel production gas emissions are comparable to gas emissions from hydrothermal vents.

During the process, carbonheavy process gas streams enter a fermentation bioreactor. Here microbes feed on the gas, creating as a by-product the ethanol that is then converted to jet fuel.

In a recent milestone, a

6,800-litre batch of jet fuel was created from Lanzanol at a Beijing demonstration facility co-owned with Shougang, one of China's largest steel makers.

Success in creating such a quantity, considered a breakthrough, is exciting the bioeconomic world.

Now the fuel must undergo more tests required by aircraft

‘Production potential is starting to look real’ and engine makers before it is approved for regular use on commercial flights.

Holmgren says of LanzaTech's milestone, “The importance of our ability to make the fuel in that quantity is firstly that it shows we're ‘out of the lab', that the production potential is starting to look real.

“Secondly, we are making enough for the testing that's required for certification by the relevant authorities, so we can really move forward.”

Holmgren sees it as a significant component of a “basket of solutions” to wean the world off fossil fuels. While the world awaits a potential electric solution for jet power, Lanzanol is firmly fitting the bill.

“In the next 30 years it's unlikely that we will be flying electric aircraft, so this use of recycled carbon from steel production to power aviation is really important and exciting,” she explains. (*See BV feature Up, Up And Away on page 68) This vision is in-step with those airlines that are addressing the environmental issues generated by fossil fuels. Virgin Atlantic has pledged to reduce its aircraft CO2 emissions by 30 percent from 2007 to 2020.

As Virgin Atlantic Head of Sustainability Emma Harvey puts it: “Our single, biggest environmental issue is the carbon emissions associated with our aircraft fuel use. This pretty much dwarfs everything else we do. It's clear what the priority is and we have a responsibility to address it.”

It's a huge responsibility, but with LanzaTech's collaboration with steel companies, the advances in the battle for sustainability in the air, seem far from being pie in the sky. stories.worldsteel.org

Tina Fordham ‘I don't apply for jobs'

10

TINA FORDHAM is the managing director and chief global political analyst at international bank Citi, advising corporate boards and institutional investors on issues such as macro-political security and socioeconomics.

This is a long way from her first job which she got at the age of 14 by “walking in to the coolest record shop in San Jose, and asking for it”. Since then her philosophy has been not to apply for jobs, but rather to find opportunities and make a case for her contribution.

For example, she founded the Political Analysis Unit that she heads at Citi Research, which is to say she persuaded Citi that they needed to create such a role, and then persuaded them she was the person to perform it.

Fordham's advice on political issues is well respected; when she opined (slightly tongue-in-cheek) that Donald Trump's twitter feed was one of 2017's top geopolitical risks, people took notice.

Her CV includes high-level political appointments, including a role as Senior Adviser in the Strategy Unit of the UK Prime Minister, and serving on the UN Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment.

She was personally appointed to the position by the-then UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, and worked alongside IMF Chief Christine Lagarde. Fordham is a public speaker and media commentator, contributing to the Milken Institute and the UK's Speakers for Schools as well as the BBC, CNN and Bloomberg.

Fordham is also academically active as an advisory board member of the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and she is a senior research fellow at the King's College Graduate Centre for Risk Management.

She has made the Financial News' Top 100 Most Influential Women in Finance list on several occasions, and was included in The Evening Standard's 2017 Progress 1000 list.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

PEOPLE

23

Down-under dream sours for backpackers and migrants Exploitation of international students and backpackers in Australia is endemic, a study by two universities has found.

FIONA MCGILL and WENDY FREW report ONE THIRD of international students and backpackers in Australia are paid about half the legal minimum wage, according to a report by the University of New South Wales and the University of Technology, Sydney.

The study also shows international students and backpackers encounter conditions that may constitute criminal forced labour.

It is the most comprehensive study of temporary migrants' work and conditions in Australia, and draws on survey responses from more than 4,000 temporary migrants from 107 countries.

The report authors, law lecturers Laurie Berg (UTS) and Bassina Farbenblum (UNSW), say their findings present a bleak picture of the extent of wage theft among international students and backpackers in Australia, and how it varies across different nationalities, visas and industries.

The study also dispels the myth that underpayment occurs simply because temporary migrants don't know the minimum wage.

“We found the overwhelming majority of international students and backpackers are aware they are being underpaid,” Farbenblum says.

“However, they believe few people on their visa expect to receive the legal minimum wage.”

The study found 86 percent of international students and backpackers earning up to $15 per hour believe that many, most or all other people on their visa are paid less than the basic national minimum wage.

Laurie Berg says wage theft is not confined to fruit and vegetable picking or convenience stores, nor is it confined to any nationalities (though there are variations for different nationalities).

“A fifth of every nationality was paid around half the legal minimum wage. For almost 40 percent of students and backpackers, their lowest paid job was in a cafe, restaurant or takeaway.”

In 91 cases, respondents had their passports confiscated by employers; 173 respondents were required to pay up-front “deposits” of up to $1000 to secure a job in Australia; and 112 respondents had been asked to pay money back to their employer in cash after receiving their wages.

The study also found 44 percent of overseas workers are paid in cash, including two in three waiters, kitchen-hands and food servers. Half never or rarely receive a payslip.

The study raises “urgent concerns” about the actions and resourcing required of government, business, unions and other service providers to address the scale of non-compliance, says Farbenblum.

“It provides compelling evidence for expanded services that respond to temporary migrants' experiences, as shared directly by them.”

Key points: A quarter of all international students earn $12 per hour or less and 43 percent earn $15 or less in their lowest paid job A third of backpackers earn $12 per hour or less and almost half earn $15 or less in their lowest paid job

Wage theft is not confined to fruit and vegetable picking

24

• •

A third of backpackers earn $12 per hour or less Workers from Asian countries including China, Taiwan and Vietnam receive lower wage rates than those from North America, Ireland or the UK. Chinese workers are also more likely to be paid in cash About the survey: Anonymous, online survey of 4322 people who had worked in Australia on a temporary visa Available in 12 languages as well as English Focused on participants' lowest paid job in Australia 2392 respondents were international students; 1,705 were enrolled at a university and 523 at a vocational or English-language college 1440 respondents were backpackers The remainder, including tourists, worked in Australia on other temporary visas Between 2014 and 2016 (when 69 percent of survey participants worked in Australia), the statutory minimum wage in Australia for an adult was between $16.87 and $17.70 per hour

• • • • • •

•

These wage levels understate most temporary migrants' entitlements since most international students and backpackers work as casual workers Casual positions attract a 25 percent loading in lieu of regular hours, paid leave and other entitlements At the time of the survey most temporary migrants were entitled to at least $22.13 per hour as casual workers Cash payments to workers are not illegal but are more difficult to verify and can undermine workers' ability to access remedies for unpaid wages Employers are legally required to issue pay slips documenting all employees' pay (Fair Work Act 2009) It is unlawful for employers to require prospective employees to pay a ‘deposit' at the commencement of their job “Cash back” payments – where an employer pays an employee correctly but then demands that the employee return part of the payment – is in breach of workplace laws.

• •

• • •

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

•

25

Gender agenda and balance in new age of Davos Man WEF founder Klaus Schwab, troubled by contradictions, ensures a level playing field, as JOHN STARR reports THE WORLD Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland (January 23–26), will be discriminating in favour of female participation in a dramatic, meaningful way that may help resolve what has, up to now, been a tricky problem.

Has WEF founder Klaus Schwab finally resolved to get tough on the many contradictions that bother Davos observers?

The entire 2018 event, which will bring together 1000 of the world's top corporate leaders, is to be chaired by women. Among the seven chosen ones are Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF since 2011 and ranked eighth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2017.

Look out too for Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and

CEO of IBM – the first woman to lead the company – who also squeezed into the Forbes top ten.

In a 2017 report, the WEF claims it is going to take 217 years to close the gender gap in terms of pay and employment opportunities. (Worryingly, and perhaps bizarrely, they upped their previous annual forecast by 47 years: what on earth can be happening?)

Despite pleas some years ago from Klaus Schwab that organisations ensure that one in four of their delegates to Davos are women, not enough progress has been made.

In 2017 some 80 percent of participants were male: an improvement from the turn of the century (when WEF gatherings were presided over by

small groups of middle-aged men known not always affectionately as “manels”) but not good enough.

This chairwoman initiative is going to get things rolling.

Harvard's Samuel Huntington coined the expression “Davos Man” to characterise the “gold collar workers” that congregate at the WEF Annual Meeting.

According to Huntington, Davos Man has no concern for the nation state and is uninterested in traditional organic societies.

Although this may have been fair comment when the good professor was speaking, it is hardly fair now – although it is still a common criticism.

China's participation at Davos has been substantial for many years and at the last meeting, President Xi Jinping led a delegation of his

Davos 2018 aim is to create a shared future in a fractured world 26

Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com

country's top business leaders who clearly still have a place in their hearts and minds for the nation state.

There are also plenty of non-business delegates at Davos that are highly vocal and often openly critical of free markets.

Schwab himself has been consistent in calling for a taming of transnational capitalism and is the champion of stakeholder inclusion.

He has pointed out that it was a crisis driven by globalisation that led to the election of Donald Trump and Brexit. So, who is Davos Man? The movers and shakers who control the world's top corporations (and hardly ever seem to be seen at the earnest organised sessions because they are too busy networking)?

The civil sector, academics, journalists, religious leaders and other non-business people who, in aggregate, outnumber the latter group? Or the founder himself who, clearly, is sometimes uncomfortable in the gathering he organises?

Time to give corporate leaders a good shake?

In 1971, Schwab founded the European Management Forum.

The significance of its setting, Davos, was not lost on him.

Davos was the setting too for Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain, where the sanatorium is a microcosm for Europe.

This first forum was set up to answer the challenge facing European businessmen who needed to catch up with their US counterparts. In 1987 the name was changed to World Economic Forum with Davos, like the sanatorium, as a place to relax and open-up (in this case to the stakeholder concern mentality that Schwab still enthusiastically

Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com

espouses).

One gets the feeling that the WEF founder would like to give some of the corporate leaders a good shake and direct them to the task in hand: for 2018 it is “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”. Like the rest of us, the WEF is “Committed to Improving the State of the World”.

In addition, for those uberwealthy individuals who are willing to debate inequality and the need for diversity — yet travel by private jet to consider climate change issues — there are the super-smart, unofficial parties.

But Schwab is dead-against the “caviar, champagne and expensive wines, which are out of character with the mountain village”. Then there is the cosying up of masters of the universe to central bankers and the world's top political leaders (who would sometimes be better advised to spend their time working on more pressing matters at home).

Davos is an important world stage and of that there is no doubt. WEF successes include the

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Girl power: gender imbalance at Davos has been addressed

27

diplomacy that in 1988 helped pull Greece and Turkey back from the brink of war.

Representatives of the two Koreas met up through the Forum in 1989, but sadly the momentum was lost.

Three years on, FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela were at Davos, the first time they had been seen together at an international gathering.

In 1980 Henry Kissinger used Davos to warn of a Soviet military build-up. But Davos missed the collapse of the Soviet Union, failed to foresee several major financial collapses and was blindsided by the bursting of the tech bubble in the late 1990s.

When asked about the pride he has in his work, Klaus Schwab points to health initiatives, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) which has protected 580 million children and saved many, many lives.

Another example of his work is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. He is indeed a man of noble causes.

Schwab will celebrate his

28

GAVI initiatives and other noble causes 80th birthday soon after Davos 2018. By the time he was 27 years old he had earned five degrees in economics and mechanical engineering, and four years later he became the youngest university professor in Switzerland.

There is no sign of him letting up, although he seems to be passing on some of his day-to-day responsibilities.

Perhaps he will want to give thought to finessing certain of his extraordinary achievements.

There are speculations about a successor, but Klaus Schwab is confident that the right man – or woman – will be found within the board of trustees.

The founder of the World Economic Forum is a sociable man who follows his own tastes.

He is an outstanding skier and a devil on the dance floor.

This year there will be no shortage of partners waiting for him at the top table.

DAVOS FACTS

• •

• •

•

The very first “Davos” lasted a full two weeks It was called the European Management Symposium, and until 1987 it was called the European Management Forum The first Chinese delegation came to Davos in 1979 Former UK Prime Minister Edward Heath made an appearance at the forum as a conductor, taking charge of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra at a charity concert The Northern American Free Trade Agreement was first proposed at an informal Davos meeting

Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com

The ďŹ rst mobile app in the world to launch video call with money transfers integrated in the same screen!

Download now:

Get 10ÂŁ registration bonus using the special promo code:

Dramatic about-turn on legal cannabis has US states in turmoil and confusion The American Green Rush to the newly legalised cannabis industry had barely begun when prohibitionist US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced, just days into 2018, a repeal of the Cole Memo, an Obama-era protection for states that have legalised. HAL WILLIAMS reports POSSESSION and use of cannabis can still land you in hot water in America – even in those states to have legalised or decriminalised the plant.

Jeff Sessions' historic U-turn has cleared the way for federal prosecution of dispensaries, growing operations, sellers and users, despite full state legalisation and accreditation. Until that decision, cannabis was legal

under State law, for medical and recreational use, in eight states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

The move is likely to strip millions of dollars from the fledgling industry, worth $7.9 billion in 2017 alone. Agronomists, botanists, breeders, seed developers, growers, trimmers, extract specialists and others had

been emerging from behind the wall of prohibition to explore a world of legitimate business and medicinal possibilities.

Even the states that have “fully legalised� for medicinal and recreational use are once again under federal fire.

Possession, transport and cultivation of the plant and its derivatives had remained a felony in many other states. This

Tinctures and oils have proven effective but are again illegal in many US states 30

confusing criss-cross of legislation was already causing headaches for entrepreneurs who had broken cover and were making a bid for legal cannabis-related businesses.

Sessions' new regulatory environment could effectively eliminate any “cannabusiness” at any time.

“We're talking about an industry in its infancy that is already generating billions of dollars of economic value, and is expected to grow exponentially as cannabis is legalized globally,” Michael Wagner, CEO of the Las Vegas-based Tokes Platform, told BV. His company introduces itself as “a turnkey solution for the cannabis industry” with its own cryptocurrency, Tokes (also abbreviated as TKS).

Wagner said his first priority had been to assist entrepreneurs to navigate the tenuous legal status of the marijuana business and to provide an electronic payment gateway to facilitate a transition from all-cash sales.

“We're building out a point-

‘We’re talking about an industry in its infancy’ of-sale system that will ultimately be capable of handling all of the core point-of-sale functionality that a business would need, but with the added ability to process transactions in digital currencies like TKS, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and so on.”

The commercial mainstream had been “quite positive” regarding the acceptance of cannabis and its potential to create new opportunities for wealth creation and problem solving, Wagner said – speaking before Sessions made his announcement.

Decades of propaganda were being torn down and accurate information provided to people,

he lamented, adding that this gold rush was never going to be a source of “easy money”.

“The people contributing to the industry are taking on significant levels of risk from many directions,” he said.

A major issue these businesses face is the inability to bank their assets or process transactions electronically due to that disparity in federal and state legislation.

As a decentralised payment solution, cryptocurrencies had provided an immediate solution to that problem.

“Beyond that, we're also developing a private blockchain solution to track chain of custody (provenance) seed to sale, supply chain management, inventory management, and more,” Wagner says.

“Those in the industry have never been able to utilise more traditional payment systems,” laments Wagner, “and generally (they) don't have broad access to bank accounts without getting creative in their account establishment process.”

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The times they are a-changin’ — ­ US states in green had fallen in line with new legalisation trend

31

Cannabis and CBD — that's not a central business district The humble cannabis plant had been outgrowing its notoriety as a drug and moving into the medical mainstream CANNABIS has been used by humans for centuries, but only recently has it shed its image as a dangerous drug.

The plant's marginalisation began in what came to be known as the Reefer Madness years, largely presided over by the controversial director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA), Harry J. Ainslinger, from 1930 until 1962.

“The use of cannabis,” quoth Harry J., “whether smoked or ingested in its various forms, undoubtedly gives rise to a form of addiction, which has serious social consequences – abandonment of work, propensity to theft and crime, disappearance of reproductive power.”

Contrast that Ainslinger quote with the findings of Dr Phil Denney, MD, co-founder of the medical cannabis evaluation process: “I have found in my study of these patients that cannabis is really a safe, effective and non-toxic alternative to many standard medications.

“There is no such thing as an overdose. We have seen very minimal problems with abuse or dependence, which at worst are equivalent to dependence on caffeine. While a substance may have some potential for misuse, in my opinion, that's a poor excuse to deny its use and benefit to everyone else.”

While US Attorney General Jeff Sessions may empathise more with Ainslinger's sentiments, the good doctor's words would resonate with the parents of young US resident Charlotte Figi.

Charlotte's doctors agreed that her epileptic seizures (brought on by a condition known as Dravet Syndrome) were drastically reduced after her first dose of marijuana at the age of five. Yes, five.

But the cannabis she uses would be worthless to anyone trying to get high. Charlotte, now 11, is prescribed a strain developed especially for her, called Charlotte's Web. Charlotte's Web is a high-cannabidiol (CBD), lowtetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extract marketed as a dietary supplement under federal US law. It is produced by the Stanley brothers in Colorado, who ensure their product consistently contains less than 0.3 percent THC. The chemical compound known as CBD is the one which has led to many changes of perspective. High-THC cannabis has been blamed for problems in some individuals with a predisposition to anxiety disorders and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. In some cases (experts believe) it can trigger latent psychoses.

But while THC tickles the pleasure senses, offering the soughtafter “high”, CBD operates on different neurons. It doesn't offer any recreational benefits, but it is said to help with insomnia, anxiety, depression – and epilepsy.

It is, nonetheless, likely to be targeted by federal lawmakers in Sessions' new era of prohibition.

32

Accepting cash only has been causing many other burdens on the entrepreneurs.

They must transport cash to their local government offices to pay taxes, and generally employees are paid in cash. “It makes it difficult to process payroll, taxes, and all other bills we must pay.”

Wagner says another core challenge resulting from the shaky and unequal legalisation status is the requirement to collect information from customers.

In many establishments the dispensary must document who each of their customers is, track the amount of product they've purchased, and ensure they are of the appropriate age to be consuming.

“These data management systems encumber the cannabis space with requirements most other industries do not face.”

Decades of propaganda were being torn down Venezuelan bolivar).

“This is just to say that introducing new payment technology typically has high barriers to entry in the US. “I don't think Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or even PayPal and Venmo have seen massive levels of adoption relative to credit cards and more established means of making payment.”

Crypto and cannabis are synergistic because they directly

benefit from one-another, Wagner feels.

“Cryptocurrency provides a means of processing payments electronically, as well as a digital bank account on blockchain for cannabis businesses, and cannabis businesses provide an outlet to demonstrate how easy, efficient, and functional crypto can be in a mainstream business.

Time will tell how the new amendment will affect entrepreneurs and consumers.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The cannabis industry presents one of the most appealing use-cases for cryptocurrency.

“While economic instability in developing countries (Venezuela, for instance) has led to quicker adoption of digital currencies like Bitcoin, within the United States we generally have excessive options for making payments,” says Wagner.

“Additionally, the US dollar is the world reserve currency, so it's quite stable (not true for the

33

JayneAnne Gadhia

10

PEOPLE JAYNE-ANNE Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money, has been at the forefront of a concerted effort to promote gender balance in the City.

She recently called-out two prominent investment banks for failing to sign a (government-backed) charter that she designed. The 10-point charter aimed to promote gender equality in the financial sector, and has attracted more than 140 supporters.

Gadhia has addressed a select committee over a new inquiry into women in finance, and told MPs of “pervasive sexism” in the area. She wrote a book (on her Blackberry), The Virgin Banker, in which she talks frankly about her battle with depression, IVF and suicidal thoughts.

The proceeds of the book go to Heads Together, a mental health charity that has attracted the support of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

She links her physical fitness with her mental fitness. “When I am slim and physically fit, then I am in good shape mentally,” she says. The aim of the book was not to discuss mental health, however, but to tell the story of Virgin Money, which is backed by Sir Richard Branson.

The business started in 1994 when the insurer Norwich Union – she was an employee – joined Branson's Virgin Group to launch a savings and pensions product.

But it is her recent, and timely, attack on sexism that has brought her back into the limelight. And yes, as Gadhia's book relates, even in the financial world there is an element of the sleazy “casting couch” mode of career advancement, the disturbing process that Hollywood moguls have recently been chastised, sacked and scorned for.

Signatories to the Women in Finance charter must agree to link executive pay to goals that improve gender equality. Firms that refused to sign up were driven by profit motives, she says.

She believes business has a responsibility to society, and it is more than just about creating jobs and profits. To encourage focus on gender issues, Gadhia says companies should include reports on diversity in their annual reports.

34

Paul Allen Forgotten man of Microsoft?

10

IF MICROSOFT were a band, Paul Allen would be the drummer. Ask anyone in the street who they think created Microsoft and you'll hear the response “Bill Gates” – but Allen was there from the first.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates were born two years apart and went to the same Lakeside school near their native Seattle. In June 1975, Allen and Gates founded Microsoft. By the time Allen had bought the Q-DOS operating system for just over $50,000, Microsoft was supplying software to fledgling tech start-ups Commodore and Apple.

The two friends reworked the system, which became MS-DOS and was installed in IBM's PCs which claimed the majority market share shortly after their release in 1981. And while the business went from strength to strength, their friendship did not.

By 1982, the pair were barely on speaking terms. Allen found his business partner overbearing, and thought back to the time when they had signed a formal business partnership agreement in 1977. Paragraph 12 was about ‘irreconcilable differences', and made it clear that Gates, as the majority stakeholder, could demand Allen withdraw from the company.

Allen was diagnosed with early stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It had been caught in time, but it still required radiotherapy. On his return to Microsoft, there were complaints about Allen's lack of effort while he had been undergoing treatment.

His resignation came on February 18, 1983. He remained on the board until 2001, and still holds a staggering 100 million shares in Microsoft.

Now worth an estimated $17bn, and inspired by the health scare that saw him split from Bill Gates, he spends most of his time chasing adventures and – as the 55th wealthiest man in the world, donating to philanthropic causes.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

PEOPLE

35

Workplace savants bringing magic to the daily grind The Corporate Rebels travel the world to brighten up your working day and take a challenge to management.

HAL WILLIAMS reports EVER felt overlooked and undervalued in your workplace?

That your initiatives aren't rewarded, your ideas never taken seriously, your input ignored?

You're not alone. Standing right beside you, in spirit at least, are Joost Minnaar, Pim de Morree, Freek Ronner and Catelijne Bexkens, together known as The Corporate Rebels. The Netherlands-based team aim to address all those issues, and make work more fun while they're at it.

“It started out of frustration,” says Pim de Morree, speaking to BV from the headquarters of business management consultants Haufeumantis in St Gallen, Switzerland.

The Rebels are constantly on the move on a seemingly never-ending world tour to learn, and share, the secrets of a happy workplace.

“Joost and myself started out in engineering degrees and found

work in an organisation that suited the career path we had in mind. We liked the work, but were unhappy with the way the organisation was run. We became more and more frustrated by a lack of purpose and decision-making, the complaining around the coffee machine; so we decided to do something for ourselves, and for other people.

“We started with the idea, ‘Let's make work more fun'. We quit our jobs, made a list of the most inspiring organisations around the world, and set out to visit them. We didn't have any business models.

We were opportunistic and naïve, but we thought if we shared the information, we could make a living out of it. We didn't set out to teach, we set out to learn.”

Wherever the road takes the Rebels, there is inspiration, challenge and a wealth of new ideas. At Haufe-mantis, Pim and

Pim de Morree: “Let’s make work more fun” 36

Joost found an organisation which brings democracy to the forefront.

“Every year they have elections for leadership positions in the company,” explains Pim. “They simply shift the decision-making to the employees themselves. This company is about democracy, others are about creating more freedom and trust.”

Freedom? Trust? Democracy?

These are radical, possibly scary, ideas for some employers, but they are ideas that many have begun to pursue – sometimes to the extent of letting workers decide how much they should be paid. The major surprise for more hierarchical, rigid workplaces, is how well this sort of system functions. “Listening is an important part of it,” says De Morree. “One thing (the places we visit) have in common is that they are all engaging, cool places to work.”

The Corporate Rebels are now a highly regarded group of consultants and speakers, giving workshops and offering consultancies, but De Morree is quick to point out that they dithered their way to the top. “At first, all we could do was share our findings on a blog,” he admits. “It was the easiest way to share with people. We didn't really have an idea of what to do with the information.

“But we knew there was a need for people to know this, and we were damn sure there were a lot of people looking for solutions. (The blog) was irregular and poor at first, we sent it mostly to our family and friends, but it's grown.”

The Rebels tend to work in pairs, usually Pim and Joost on the

road, Catelijne and Freek taking care of the home front and the consultancy. The group has visited almost every country in western Europe, as well as Australia and the US – and the Rebels will soon visit Asia for the first time.

“We'll be visiting (white goods manufacturer) Haier in Qingdao.

It's an interesting one – they have 30,000 employees.” De Morree isn't sure how their message will be received in a country and culture known for strict hierarchy and formulaic business practices.

“Some people have an idea that it won't work there. There's a different approach in different cultures and countries. In Holland, there's not much hierarchy; in other places, more so.

“It can be hard to find examples of companies that have made the change. People in positions of power sometimes feel threatened, but (even in upper echelons) there are a lot of people not happy with their jobs, or about not being in a position to use their skills.”

Is that fear justified at any level?

“Sometimes (companies) do fire

all the managers, but usually they find a different role for them within the company.”

Are the companies they visit sometimes defensive, as a result?

“Yes, especially when we are there for conferences and (talking about) letting people decide their own salaries, make decisions – but a growing number of companies are doing that.”

Tech start-ups like Google have become world-renowned for their go-ahead workplace attitudes, but surprisingly few Silicon Valley organisations appear in the Rebels' list of inspiring companies.

“There are many organizations in the world that are way ahead of Silicon Valley,” says De Morree.

“Not of lot of our ‘heroes' are from there. We visited Google, but it doesn't come close to some of the other inspiring companies we've visited.

“The beautiful, hidden pearls are often way more inspiring than the famous tech start-ups. For them, a lot can be learned from other pioneers around the world.”

What of upcoming plans for

the globe-trotting Rebels? Every month they aim to visit a different city around the world. In 2018 they will be visiting Paris, Melbourne, an undecided location in Poland, and then on to Brazil to check out one of the Rebels' original Bucket List companies: Semco Partners, whose stated mission is to “seek out new business, oversee existing businesses and promote synergies among them”.

The Corporate Rebels have built up a wealth of information which they share on their website and blog (www.corporate-rebels. com), but BV wanted to get to the nut. What is the One Big Thing that all employers need to understand?

“The most important thing is to continually listen to what employees want, to really have a dialogue, and ensure people can do their job in a better way. They need to ask: ‘What barriers can I take away?'

“There are more and more examples of people doing that, there is more and more enthusiasm to attract and retain the right people and motivate employees.”

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Rebels with a cause: Freek Ronner, Catelijne Bexkens, Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree

37

Hassle, hustle and hope: our hunt for cryptocurrency With so much focus on the meteoric rise (and periodic fall) of Bitcoin, Business Vision decided it was time to get in on the action. BV pictures editor RICHARD THOMAS rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in. How hard could it be, after all…?

38

WE NEEDED some first-hand experience with cryptocurrency.

It would be easier to do this with the boss's money, but editor Hal Williams and I decided to make it interesting. “Let's stick 50€ each into Litecoin,” we said. “How difficult can it be?”

Five days later we were the proud owners of (almost) 100€ of Litecoin – but at the cost of many more grey hairs and patience stretched paper-thin. If you're thinking of dipping your toe in the waters and wondering how to go about it, read this epic saga of exchanges, verification, wallets and – finally – purchases.

Day 1 – 09:30 Coinbase price: 250€ per Litecoin (LTC) Start at the beginning: go to www.litecoin.com. It seems you install the official wallet software on your PC then register with an exchange to buy the currency.

The exchanges I choose to investigate are Coinbase, wez. nz, 247exchange.com, Bitpanda, Anycoin and Bittylicious.

Coinbase: Confirm email address.

Confirm phone number but it doesn't register on the website.

Coinbase wants to confirm my ID my taking a photo of my driving licence or passport via webcam, which seems strange – so I move on.

WEZ.NZ: Register. Try to deposit money but all the instructions are in Russian. Call me paranoid, but again I decide to move on.

247Exchange: At first, I thought 247 dealt

only in Bitcoin, but it turns out it does cover other cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin. However, this is a demo system that isn't going “live” until sometime in the first quarter of this year (2018).

COINBASE: Again with the request for photos of my driving licence...

I decide to play ball and go through the process. Waiting for confirmation email…

BITPANDA: After registration with Bitpanda you get a LTC deposit address, giving you a means to send Litecoin to your wallet.

But first you have to buy some Litecoin…

I confirm my mobile phone number, giving me a Bronze verification level which allows me to deposit 50€ per day – but only by bank transfer. To use a credit card I would need Gold level, which requires a face-to-face interview. I ascended to Silver level by entering my home address and a few minutes later I was verified.

Unfortunately, Silver doesn't seem to entitle me to much of anything, at least at this early stage of Bitpanda's development.

I am now waiting for a webcam “chat” for further verification. I try to do a bank transfer, but the online system accepts only a small number of banks – none of which is mine.

ANYCOIN: On this site I am taken straight to the “buy” page without registration. Sounds too good to be true, and it is. It asks for an address to send the Litecoin to, which I work out is an address you can create in your wallet software.

I do that, but as soon as I try to pay (via CC or bank transfer) it says I need to confirm my ID. I upload a copy of my driving licence and wait.

BITTYLICIOUS: I have to upload an ID document and proof of address. I don't bother.

Day 1 – 12:00 BITPANDA: I've been waiting for a webcam chat for over an hour, hoping to nail that Gold level verification.

The three third-party services offered for this all require an ID card or passport, one requires a utility bill as well.

COINBASE: I need to confirm my payment method (bank transfer). I send a small amount (0.13€) via SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area); then I am told the process will take one to two days. But I wants my precious now…!

12:35 Still waiting for ID confirmation. The first exchange to respond gets my business. I suppose the delays are due to so

many people (like me) trying to get on the cryptocurrency train.

15:00 Still waiting. For some reason, I think Coinbase is the most likely to come through.

Day 2 – 09:00 Coinbase price sits at 236€, so it has gone down since I started.

That wasn't part of the plan.

Upload ID documents to Bittylicious. My purchase, via SEPA, is immediately enabled – but the SEPA price is 400€ (as opposed to 262€ via credit card, which I can't use).

The price on Coinbase (which I'm using as my barometer) has gone down 12 percent in past 24 hours, so maybe the delays aren't all bad.

Bitpanda says I can now deposit money via SEPA, to a maximum of 50€. I send this, and pay an extra 2€ express fee to my bank.

11:45 I'm still waiting for verification on Anycoin and Bittylicious.

Coinbase is asking for photo ID again.

Try to send passport via webcam on Coinbase web page.

The page opens a pop-up window and tells me to hold the front of my passport up to your webcam — it underlines the word front just like that. I expect it to ask for the photo and details page later, but it doesn't. “We will email you when we have verified your identity,” is all I get. I wonder how many photos of passport front covers the site accumulates. Hopefully not just mine.

14:00 Coinbase price: 220€.

15:00 The SEPA payment has left my bank account – but it hasn't arrived at Bitpanda yet.

15:20 Coinbase price is back up to 250€. Coinbase is still awaiting verification, and gives me the option of scanning my passport again. This time I send the details page.

Day 3 – 09:55 Coinbase price: 258€ 10:00

Received an email from Coinbase overnight saying that my euro deposit failed because my ID hasn't been verified. That must the 0.13€ I sent to verify my bank account. Why did the website let me try to verify my bank account before verifying my identity? The 0.13€ has not been returned.

18:00 I try to check Bitpanda from home. I can't log in and have to reset my password. Still nothing in my Euro wallet, and nothing unusual in the account log file.

I'm not suspicious. Yet. The Coinbase status page says there are delays with wire transfers.

On Anycoin, I'm still waiting for confirmation of my ID and address. Nothing has changed since yesterday.

19:15 Coinbase price: 300€ Download and connect to Coinbase mobile phone app; it says it is verifying my ID. It also says two small amounts have been sent to my bank account, and to enter both amounts on the app.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The verification process can make you feel like you have something to hide

39

There is no sign of any payment in my bank account.

Day 4 – 12:45 Another email arrived overnight, this time from Bittylicious: my ID documents have been approved. There is also an email from Coinbase, telling me to add a payment method. Yet another email about identification for Bitpanda; I haven't completed it.

13:15 Nothing in my BitPanda euro wallet yet. Nothing has changed on Coinbase, where I am still waiting for verification of my ID. 1345: Litecoin price is 273€ on Coinbase. I still can't buy any.

Day 5 This is getting ridiculous. But I have a mission…

09:30 Coinbase price: 267€ Bittylicious says there is no Litecoin available for sale in the EU. Great. Anycoin is still waiting for confirmation of my ID. Nothing has changed over at Coinbase, where the ID verification process drags on. There is still nothing in my Bitpanda Euro wallet.

40

11:30 Tried passport verification on Coinbase again, first using the mobile app (falied after a few minutes) and then via the webpage. Still waiting. Checked Bitpanda, Euro wallet still empty.

11:34 Suddenly I get a message on the Coinbase page saying my ID has been verified and I can pay by credit card.

11:40 I can't. I must verify my payment method by sending a small amount by SEPA. Again.

And the mobile app is still asking for the amounts of the two small payments that were sent to me.

Nothing in my account yet. I am wondering how long this will take.

12:00 Bitpanda credit card price: 275€, and no, I still can't buy.

12:40 I send 0.07€ to Coinbase via SEPA to verify my payment method. Maybe it will work now that I've verified my ID? It should arrive tomorrow, even without the 2€ “express” fee. How long will it take for Coinbase to process it?

14:25 Nothing in my bank account from Coinbase. Nothing in my

Bitpanda Euro wallet. But at least Coinbase has verified my bank account. Oh, hang on – no they haven't.

14:30 I have successfully added my debit card to Coinbase. Paying by card incurs a four percent fee. I am buying 0.17245076 LTC. There is a 1€ Coinbase fee, 1.19€ payment method fee. The price is 276.57€ per Litecoin. 3D Secure authentication kicks in, and I am redirected to my bank's verification page. I enter the code they send to my mobile, and…

“Your request is being processed”.

14:35 I get an email from Coinbase confirming the transaction. And, simultaneously, an email from Bitpanda confirming the receipt and processing of my 50€ deposit.

On Bitpanda, I buy 0.18215327 LTC at a price of 274.49€.

On Coinbase we have 0.1728 LTC worth 47.08€ On Bitpanda we have 0.18215327 LTC worth 48.43€ On day five, we have finally spent 100€, giving us (after fees) 0.35495327 Litecoin worth roughly 95€. We bought at a price of 275€ per LTC.

Day 7 – 09:00 Our investment: 96.33€ (Coinbase price 274€) Up 1€ since purchase, but down 9€ since yesterday.

I received an overnight email from Coinbase. They have received my 0.07€ and credited my account. We thought about buying 7c worth of Bitcoin just for fun, but the minimum transaction is 2€. I can't withdraw it from my bank account either, as it is less than the minimum fee (0.15€).

Oh well.

10:00 It is time to test how the local software wallet works. I send 0.05LTC (14€) from Coinbase to an address I generated in my wallet. There is a 10c fee for the transaction. I am notified by the software of an incoming transaction within a couple of seconds. The funds are available within two minutes.

02/01/2018 The day we return after the Christmas break. We are definitely not rich, but neither have we lost too much.

10:00 Total holding: 71.80€ (Coinbase price 203€) In conclusion, if you think there's even a remote possibility you might buy cryptocurrencies in the future, get yourself set up NOW. Download a wallet, register with an exchange (or three) and get your identity confirmed so that as soon as you decide to click on the “buy” button you can hit the ground running.

Litecoin price increased from 249€ to 275€ during the sign-up process, because verification took so long. If you are transferring money to an exchange via SEPA, it probably isn't worth paying extra for same-day transfer. It will still take a few days to process.

Meet Charlie Lee IN OUR last issue we devoted a sidebar to Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. Nobody knows his, her or their identity, or even whether the alias refers to a person, group of people or a company. Unlike Bitcoin, the provenance of Litecoin is well known. Charlie Lee is an MIT computer science graduate, both Bachelors and Masters, and has worked at various companies including Microsoft, Guidewire, and Google. Here he is, in his own words.

“I discovered Bitcoin in April of 2011 from an article on Silk Road.

I created Litecoin in October of 2011. I left Google in July 2013 to join Coinbase as the third hire. I'm now leading the Coinbase exchange and payments engineering teams.”

On the possibility of Litecoin overtaking Bitcoin : “The plan was not for Litecoin to overtake Bitcoin. And I don't see that happening except for an extremely rare scenario. I think Bitcoin/Litecoin is a good 1-2 crypto-currency punch against the world of fiat currencies.”

On attracting more people to be part of the Litecoin community: “Unfortunately, most people are motivated by greed. So they will participate if there's a potential reward. A higher Litecoin price will always encourage people to participate more.”

On the necessity of Litecoin alongside Bitcoin: “Litecoin is not necessary. It's a good trading pair with Bitcoin and is a good alternative decentralized currency protected by its own set of machines. It can help Bitcoin handle the worldwide transaction volume. Due its security costing less, it would be better suited for small transactions due to less fees.”

On selling all his LTC: “Over the past year, I try to stay away from price-related tweets, but it's hard because price is such an important aspect of Litecoin growth. And whenever I tweet about Litecoin price or even just good or bads news, I get accused of doing it for personal benefit. Some people even think I short LTC! So in a sense, it is conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence. I have always refrained from buying/ selling LTC before or after my major tweets, but this is something only I know. And there will always be a doubt on whether any of my actions were to further my own personal wealth above the success of Litecoin and crypto-currency in general.

“For this reason, in the past days, I have sold and donated all my LTC. Litecoin has been very good for me financially, so I am well enough off that I no longer need to tie my financial success to Litecoin's success. For the first time in six-plus years, I no longer own a single LTC that's not stored in a physical Litecoin. (I do have a few of those as collectibles.) This is definitely a weird feeling, but also somehow refreshing. Don't worry. I'm not quitting Litecoin.

I will still spend all my time working on Litecoin. When Litecoin succeeds, I will still be rewarded in lots of different ways, just not directly via ownership of coins. I now believe this is the best way for me to continue to oversee Litecoin's growth.”

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Day 6 – 09:15 Our investment: 107.16€ We have gained 12€ in roughly 18 hours. Still waiting for verification on Anycoin

41

Masks, dreams and the modern quest for wisdom

By MANFRED KETS DE VRIES THE DAY after becoming the CEO of a company facing turbulent times, David had a dream.

While walking on a beach he discovered a bottle. He opened it, and a female genie appeared, offering him a wish in exchange for her freedom. Eschewing riches, fame or a long life, David opted for the one thing he knew he needed to help him guide his people in the best way possible.

He chose the gift of wisdom.

In today's hyperactive digital age – as in any other – attaining wisdom is a challenge. With tablets and phones and their various apps constantly vying for our immediate attention, it is increasingly difficult to find the time and mental space for making meaningful connections or engaging in the deep conversations, reflection, emotional awareness, empathy and compassion necessary in its pursuit.

It is an unfortunate fact for many leaders in David's position that while wisdom requires education, education does not necessarily make people wise. As Professor Charles Gragg noted in his classic case study Because

42

Wisdom Can't Be Told, the mere act of listening to wise statements and sound advice doesn't necessarily ensure the transfer of wisdom.

People often equate wisdom with intelligence or being knowledgeable, but being intelligent and being wise are quite different. The world is full of brilliant people who intellectualise without really understanding the essence of things. In contrast, wise people try to grasp the deeper meaning of what is known and strive to better understand the limits of their knowledge.

Wisdom implies more than merely being able to process information in a logical way.

Knowledge becomes wisdom when we assimilate and apply that knowledge to make the right decisions. As the saying goes, knowledge speaks but wisdom listens.

Wise people are blessed with good judgement, and possess the qualities of sincerity and authenticity – the former implying a willingness to say what you mean, the latter to be what you are.

Wise people are also humble; humility is a willingness to

recognise the limitations of knowledge. Wise people accept that there are things they will never know. By accepting this, they are better prepared to bear their own fallibility. People who are wise know when what they are doing makes sense, but also when it will not be good enough.

It is exactly this kind of selfknowledge that should provide the drive to do something about it.

Wisdom can be looked at from cognitive and emotional perspectives. Cognitively, wise people have the ability to see the big picture. They are able to put things in perspective; to rise above their personal viewpoint and observe a situation from many different angles. From an emotional perspective, people acknowledged for their wisdom are reflective, introspective and tolerant of ambiguity. They know how to manage negative emotions, and possess both empathy and compassion, qualities that differentiate them in an interpersonal context.

Ironically, what makes wisdom more important than success and riches is that it enables us to live well. Our mental and physical health flourishes when we are congruent with our beliefs and values.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Wise people are attuned to what constitutes a meaningful life. They know how to plan for and manage such a life.

This implies self-concordance, behaving consistently with their values, a journey that requires selfexploration, self-knowledge and self-responsibility.

So how can we acquire wisdom?

Becoming wise is a personal

and encouraging them to work on emotional awareness, emotional self-regulation, relational skills and mindfulness.

A number of specific steps can be taken to expedite the road to wisdom. When participants have the opportunity to tell their stories, this not only has a cathartic effect but also helps them to bring

People try to grasp the deeper meaning wisdom to bear.

While written case studies can be helpful, life case studies narrated by participants have a much more dramatic, emotional impact. Telling and listening to personal stories is a starting point for a deeper understanding of oneself and others, and helps participants learn to hear what's not being said.

A learning community is also a great place to practice open-mindedness. Encouraging participants to step of their comfort zone and to deal with people who are different from themselves leads to a deeper understanding and acceptance of the ambiguous nature of things.

If designed in a holistic manner, learning communities are a great exercise in humility, giving participants a better awareness of their limitations as well as a greater ability to integrate their knowledge and experiences when dealing with the challenges ahead.

In their pursuit of wisdom, group members will be encouraged to learn from their mistakes, to think before acting and, by taking off their masks, to become more authentic in living their values. * Manfred Kets de Vries is the Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change at INSEAD. This article first appeared on INSEAD Knowledge (http://knowledge.insead.edu).

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

quest. It is only through our own experiences, learning how to cope with the major tragedies and dilemmas embedded within life's journey, that we will discover our capacities and learn how to create wisdom.

Setbacks are memorable growth experiences contributing to a deeper understanding of the vicissitudes of life. Overcoming difficult situations contributes to an increased appreciation of life and the recognition of new possibilities. These experiences enable us to rise above our own perspectives and see things as they are.

Wisdom is not something that automatically comes with the passing of years. While older people may be more capable than their younger counterparts, many never put their life experiences to good use. To acquire the required sense of reflectivity may necessitate the help of others.

Educators, coaches, psychotherapists and mentors can play a significant role, not only by assisting with the dissemination of knowledge but by helping those searching for wisdom work through challenging experiences

43

The Boat, the gloom and the boom of climate change In a bid to encapsulate the complex challenges global warming poses to businesses and modern society, TONY LENNOX goes down the pub THERE'S a painted sign above the door of The Boat Inn, a riverside pub in the Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, which reads: “Unspoilt by Progress”. Look more closely at the tide marks on the wall, and one can tell that it has been spoilt by something else – the adjacent River Severn.

This is an irony which isn't lost on climate campaigners. The Boat opened its doors in 1740 to serve booming Coalbrookdale, the teeming hive of forges and furnaces which gave birth to the Industrial Revolution. What began in this isolated wooded gorge in the English Midlands spread across the globe.

Within a couple of centuries,

mankind was pumping noxious fumes into the skies above almost every nation in every continent.

In November 2000, after a miserable summer, the skies turned black over the Welsh hills. The rains swelled the tributaries of the Severn, the surge gathering force as it swept through Shropshire and Worcestershire.

It swamped the towns and villages of the Severn Valley. It wasn't the first flood to devastate homes and businesses in the region, but it was the worst in living memory and, said some, it was man-made.

Earlier that year, catastrophic floods in Mozambique on an

entirely greater scale than Shropshire's had left thousands homeless and 700 people dead.

While the threat of climate change had been known for some time, the apparent increase of extreme weather episodes was causing alarm across the planet.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), set up by the UN in 1985, studies the impact of human-induced climate change and examines options for adaptation and mitigation.

But attempts by governments to adopt a united front in the face of the challenge have been dogged by controversy and disagreement, including Donald Trump's notorious assertion that

Offshore wind farms aren’t in anyone’s back yard 44

climate change was a hoax.

While environmentalists say the planet's only hope is to drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, there has been a recent, perceptible change in attitudes in some quarters. If global warming is happening, we need to learn to adapt, and live with it, they say.

A dichotomy is developing between environmentalists and those who see a potential gain in adapting to a changing climate.

It has already been suggested, darkly in some quarters, that Russia's initially sluggish response to the Kyoto agreement may have had something to do with the fact that warming could have a positive effect on a frozen Siberia.

Similarly, Canada and Greenland stand to be net-gainers in the winor-lose stakes as the ice retreats.

In the hotter, poorer quarters of the world, the devastation caused by flood, drought and heat is critical, damaging already unstable economies, putting millions at risk of death and

homelessness and potentially provoking mass migration.

There will be winners and losers in the great climate shift.

The question is: How much will the losers lose, and how big is the prize for the winners?

While it is still the case that the nations of the globe are

‘Stop speaking about the problems, start speaking about the solutions’ active, to a greater or lesser extent, in trying to reduce the effect of man-made climate change, there is a growing tendency, among economists – if not environmentalists – to accept that change is happening, and that the world should be preparing to adapt rather than

trying vainly to turn the tide.

There is a profit incentive in the production of greenhouse gasreducing technology, and there are plenty of inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs poised to take advantage – an example being the growth of alternative energy production: wind, wave and solar.

Plans to double the size of the world's biggest offshore wind farm in the Thames estuary have been blocked by conservationists worried about its effect on sea birds.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, more than 800 acres of Kent farmland is about to be blanketed by a vast solar farm, causing anguish to nature lovers at the loss of natural habitat. The pursuit of sustainable energy comes at a price.

But while the hand-wringing continues, there is evidence everywhere of change – some of it encouraging. Bertrand Piccard, the first man to fly around the world in a solar-powered aircraft and the founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation, has

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The United Kingdom’s Ironbridge Gorge gave birth to the global Industrial Revolution

45

launched the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions.

This organisation aims to identify and catalogue one thousand profitable climatechange solutions and then match them with regions, governments and, most critically, private sector investors.

Swiss national Picard says: “Stop speaking about the problems, start speaking about the solutions. I love when people tell me it's impossible. [The project] will attract pioneers.

They are people who want to innovate, they want to create a new business case.”

An example is the world's automotive industry. Many carmakers are also racing to develop lighter, more efficient vehicles, using modern materials to replace steel.

Tesla Motors vice-president, Jack Pell, says: “The industry has been talking about using different materials for years, and now it has no choice. You are seeing a domino effect as the industry educates itself.”

Entrepreneurs thinking of diving into the climate change industry need to understand that there are risks as well as opportunities.

The Californian company, Solyndra, which designed and manufactured a radical new solar panel, raised millions from state and private investors on the promise of growth in the solar energy industry.

PUBLIC PURSE It collapsed in 2012 owing $500 million to the public purse.

The problem with Solyndra was that while its technology was cutting-edge, its costs were oldschool. Customers found that the Chinese were producing similar products at a fraction of the price, and headed east.

McKenzie Funk, the author of Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming, says: “The business community has a real vested interest in understanding reality. I was surprised by how much the big oil companies, for instance, had not just thought about climate change but

also put it into their business calculations.”

Critics say that the people best positioned to profit from climate change are the ones most responsible for causing it – the already wealthy in the developed West. So is this a callous response from global business? Not necessarily.

According to Funk, politicians have chosen to do little or nothing about climate change. Business is acting partly because political action has overwhelmingly failed.

So, whether it's insurance companies devising new, lucrative policies to keep wealthy clients safe in the face of extreme weather events, or onshore and offshore wind farm proliferation, or farmland going under acres of solar panels, the business of climate change is booming.

The “Unspoilt by Progress” sign is still above the entrance to the Boat Inn in Coalbrookdale where, these days, they have developed rapid coping strategies to deal with regular floods.

NextNewMedia / Shutterstock.com

US President Donald Trump says that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by China 46

Kwon Oh-hyun His departure came as a shock to many

10

Despite record sales and impressive forecasts, the tell-tale signs of a looming crisis within the mobile phone giant Samsung are there.

The South Korean corporation has spent years building its reputation as one of the world's leading tech firms, but storm clouds appeared over Seoul's business scene in 2017 with the announcement of the imminent departure of vice-chairman and CEO Kwon Oh-hyun.

Amid reports of record profits and optimistic forecasts, Kwon called it quits, citing “an unprecedented crisis”. His departure came as a shock to many, and the announcement was tucked away at the end of a statement which showed Samsung's record-breaking results.

The figures themselves were nothing short of remarkable, forecasting operating profit for the three months to the end of September at a staggering Won14.5tn (almost $12.9bn).

That's three times the results on the same period on the previous year. It also hiked the sales forecast up by an unprecedented 30 percent.

Kwon Oh-hyun chose to play down his departure in a letter to staff, claiming it was his will to retire as the company was on a high.

“I believe that the time has now come for the company to start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry,” he said in a letter.

“It is something I had been thinking long and hard about for quite some time – it has not been an easy decision, but I feel I can no longer put it off.”

This got plenty of tongues wagging, with much of the chatter among observers hinting that he was pushed. Kwon's clearly preparing to make way for someone to take over the day-to-day running of Samsung.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

PEOPLE

47

Eco-frenzy or eco friendly – the real cost of going green Market expectations and tangible cost benefits are the new cornerstones of corporate sustainability goals.

NAOMI SNELLING reports FINANCIAL experts point out that as the global economy shifts towards a low-carbon model, many of the world's largest companies and organisations are under an increasing pressure to cut their greenhouse gas emissions – embedding low-carbon thinking and practice across all their operations.

This drive for low-carbon comes in the wake of the Paris Agreement, an international accord to limit greenhouse gas

emissions, which came into force in November 2016.

A growing trend for multinationals, such as Amazon, Google, Ikea and Lego to source “clean” energy and even invest in renewable energy resources, reflects this over-arching push to respond positively to climate change and embed green policies at the heart of business.

Energy consumption is also a key focus point at governmental level, and in July 2017, the UK

BSI, the business standards body, has a range of key standards that help businesses get advice about sustainability goals, helping to ensure they remain ahead of the curve

•

•

•

48

Sustainable Procurement ISO 20400:2017 gives the lowdown on the sustainability impacts and considerations that should be incorporated across the different aspects of procurement activity, and is applicable to any organisation, either public or private, irrespective of its size or location.

Circular Economy BS 8001:2017: Framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations – details the guiding principles for organizations and individuals to consider and implement more sustainable practices. It is the first standard of its kind, both in the UK and globally.

One of the key aims of the circular economy is to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times.

Environmental management ISO 14001 is framework for organisations to develop their business while reducing the environmental impact of growth, decreasing waste and saving energy. It is designed to help businesses become more innovative, improve management system process, meet regulatory requirements and enhance corporate reputation among investors, customers and the public.

government launched a plan to give homes and businesses more control over their energy use and support innovative new technologies, as part of its Industrial Strategy.

The plan revolves around a smarter, more flexible energy system by removing barriers to smart and battery technology, reducing costs for consumers.

Until fairly recently, corporates and forward-thinking SMEs embraced key principles of the sustainability movement, such as reducing water and power usage, in order to achieve their end goal of better-managed risk- and costsavings.

The environmental benefits were a plus, not a driver. But now emerging societal and governmental pressures are accelerating the push to go green.

Finance staff are also realizing that greener practices can be a useful part of helping to control volatile energy and input costs.

But sustainability looks different for each business – it's rarely a one-size-fits-all solution.

Targeting Value, the latest report from UK thinktank SustainAbility states that the right approach to setting corporate sustainability goals depends on a company's culture, its progress on its sustainability journey, and the context of the issue targeted.

Robert Speht, director of Renewable Experts Limited consultancy, points out that going green is crucially about changing a culture from within not changing appearance from without.

“In the past, companies have

to the market. It's about market expectations: businesses are increasingly being measured on environmental and social performance, as well as financial.

Large and successful organisations need to be moving along the curve towards carbon free.”

And getting ahead of the curve

There’s a whole host of energy advice you can get for free offers significant business benefits, especially as climate change has already shown to impact on businesses, and its ripple effects could end up being even bigger than expected.

On a global scale, predictions indicate that climate change could also have an impact on the

financial stability of individual economies.

In December, 2017, Bank of England governor Mark Carney added his voice to a swell of support for the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a campaign that aims to improve climaterelated disclosures. Around 237 firms with a stock market value of more than $6 trillion (£4.5 trillion) have signed up to back the plans.

December 2017 also saw the launch of the Climate Action 100+ initiative at the One Planet Summit in Paris, France, which will see around 225 global investors engaging with the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters, hopefully prompting them to enhance their emission ambitions.

With trillions of dollars' worth of influence behind it, the fiveyear initiative will make it even harder for any major listed firm to ignore, or downplay, the climaterelated risks being faced.

Although multi-nationals may

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

gone green to be seen to be going green and financially it didn't really stack up.

“Unless your branding is green or your product or services are green, I would say don't waste money from your marketing budget on green gimmicks but do spend time and a little money saving energy. Look at your heating, lighting and transport – every £1 you can save here counts.

“There's a whole host of energy advice you can get for free depending on your industry sector.

“Normally it won't involve capital investment, it's more likely to involve a bit of time, so it's part of your operational budget.

After you've brought energy costs down it might be the next natural step to make a capital investment focused on sustainability.”

Speht also highlights that the rationale of the Paris accord means that by the end of the century all businesses will have to be zero carbon.

“If you're a company with public shares, you have to report

49

be leading the way, SMEs are often quick to adapt and follow-suit.

Oxford-based Seacourt Ltd, a green printing company, was recognised by the European Commission EMAS Programme as the most sustainable SME in Europe, a remarkable accolade for a manufacturing business in a perceived “dirty” industry.

VALUABLE ASSET Managing director of Seacourt, Gareth Dinnage, believes that sustainability must have boardlevel representation, and be seen as a valuable asset which can further support brand reputation.

“We have been working to the triple-bottom-line, before there was such a thing, and having social and environmental business goals as part of your wider objectives will ensure you have a stronger business in all aspects.

“Our reputation is everything, as it provides our customers confidence that by working with us they can make a positive impact on their supply chain, and further enhance their reputation.

50

Promising business strategies for those who are serious “It is this position which has ensured we have not just survived in a commoditised industry, but thrived.”

Dinnage suggests that organisations should review responding to climate change as an opportunity to future-proof their business.

“Climate change is not going away, positive change needs to happen now – customers will decide the fate of all businesses and so if you are demonstrating leadership in your sector you will receive the deserved loyalty of your customers, which in turn will translate into enhanced brand reputation and ultimately a

stronger business.

“But greenwash will have the opposite effect – you need to be serious with your objectives.”

Sustainability goals yield as much as any other well-designed business goals. Meeting market expectations, reputational boost, cost-savings, increased certainty, and opportunities for growth.

Whether one cares deeply about environmental benefits or not, in today's economy there are few business strategies that are more promising or cost-effective.

Got a comment on this story?

Contact us at info@bv.world

Deliver us from insolvency – patron saint of the rebound BV meets a man who has a dose of reality for those with their heads in the sand. HAL WILLIAMS reports WHEN it all hits the fan and everything goes wrong with a business, you don't call Ghostbusters. You call someone like Shaun Smith, a Sheffieldbased turnaround and recovery expert.

It's an area which is aligned with, but separated from, an insolvency practice. Smith is the managing director of The Enduro Partnership, and his first task in the case of an impending insolvency is a delicate but direct one: “I deliver reality.”

His take on “reality” may not always be well received by the company concerned, but it is always well meant – and usually accurate. Smith and his

52

team identify the problem, or problems, and, ideally, propose a solution. There can be a myriad of reasons for a potentially profitable company to find itself in trouble.

“It could be that the directors simply recognise that there's a problem, or an important customer is insolvent and can't pay them. Or it could be sectorspecific,” says Smith, “for example, construction, which has had a difficult time the last few years. It could be bad management, or the loss of a valued supplier.”

The problem, whatever it is, usually manifests itself as an inability to pay creditors; and any one of those creditors may take action through the courts and

present a petition for the windingup of the company.

Directors are often bombarded by the flak of day-to-day business, and sometimes tend to put their heads in the sand and avoid the issue. They are not always inclined to take Smith's advice.

But his track record shows that his intuition and training has put him on the right track.

“Almost all of our work comes through referral. Once we're introduced to the board of directors and we deliver that reality, invariably they hold their head in their hands and say, ‘What you say makes sense'.”

In more than 100 cases, Smith says, he can count “on the fingers

this business for x number of years, and I know more about this business than you will ever know'.”

And sometimes, Smith admits, that is true, at least in terms of each company's intricacies.

“But we're looking at things holistically, using general business principles.” He takes a gentle and efficient approach to insinuating his way into the running of the troubled operation.

The day-to-day activity rests with management, but he will check to see how his advice has been interpreted. His approach could almost be described as catch-and-release.

“I sometimes take over in an interim holding role, but I prepare the company to move on.” That isn't always possible – in which case, Smith believes honesty is the best policy: “If there's nothing to salvage, it's unfair to lead people to believe there's a salvageable situation.”

The toolbox of skills he draws on is not esoteric or magical. He has years of experience – Enduro was formed in 2011 – and his staff have a broad range of skills, from traditional accountancy to lean, or efficient, manufacture. “We

have a small team of eight to 10 people, and a good relationship with professionals to give advice if (the problem) is sector-specific.”

And the Enduro Partnership has seen a fair bit of variety when it comes to sectors: to pick at random from the company records, let's take a look at a bakery in Wales, a private airfield near London and three football teams, one in the Scottish Premier League and two in the English League One, the third tier of the English football league.

Start with the ovens. The Bala Bakery, in North Wales, was a small operation with about 30 employees, making cakes, bread and buns. Usual bakery stuff.

“There was a good management team, weighed on by history, and not everyone agreed about what had to be done.” What was certain was the Bala was on the ropes.

Smith's revision plans for Bala were swift and decisive. The Bala Bakery was rebranded as The Cake Crew, and production was streamlined and redirected. “The Cake Crew now sells cup-cakes to major UK supermarkets, with £12m to 14m in annual profits.”

Another one back from the dead.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

of one hand” the occasions when Enduro's proposals have all failed. “Our overriding objective is to salvage the business with staff and directors intact.” That aim is consoling to a besieged company which often has little or nothing to lose by “going with it”.

How did he gain this experience? By going into insolvency.

One of the Smith family's manufacturing and printing businesses in Sheffield “got into a situation” in 2005 through what was deemed to be “an illegal act” by an outside consultant. An insolvency company was called in to deal with the fallout.

There was no turnaround or recovery for the Smith family.

“The bank panicked,” he says.

“Once the insolvency practice was appointed, it was impossible to dislodge them.

“The business was sold in parts to non-UK companies. I was disappointed that the team just wanted to get money, sell off the assets.

“That's when I thought that this is a business that can be done much better, for a better outcome.” Smith's learning curve had begun. He went to work with another insolvency practice, and again he was quickly disappointed.

“I decided their ethics were not suited to turnaround and recovery. It was more, ‘Let's sell the assets and earn as big a fee as possible'.”

Initially, when setting out to save a floundering business, his plan is to set out key performance indicators. “The shop floor is the best place to start,” he says, “and the blame is often passed to the shop floor. But blame, if there is such a thing, should start much higher up, because it's the directors and the management that have allowed the situation to develop and continue.”

People are sometimes antagonistic when Smith, or another of Enduro's experts, is brought in. “It's a question of, ‘Why are you so clever?', that sort of thing. Or ‘I've been in

53

Then came the troubled private jet and helicopter business, based in Blackbush, near London.

“They had a subsidiary interest in its infancy whose niche was in drones,” recalls Smith, who took the operation over as a subsidiary, “but they were ahead of their time.”

He put the company on the Alternative Investment Market as a smaller-cap company with promise, and focused on the drones. The company is now using the drone fleet to map the Thames River to assess flood risk – comfortably back in business.

Football clubs tend to be trickier, and in these cases Enduro can't follow the normal business rules. “The more emotive local element makes it more difficult to manage a turnaround.

“Once a licensed insolvency practice is appointed, the club is deducted 10 points, which means it's hard to keep its position in the division. They aren't able to get promotion, more like relegation.”

An additional problem is that football clubs often have little in

Football clubs often have little in the way of saleable assets the way of saleable assets. Banks are unwilling to get involved, and even if a loan is justified “half the town will hate the bank” if it is granted.

The allure of the sport itself is often the saving grace. “Despite what may appear to be nonsensical values, football clubs have the ability to charm high-worth investors from abroad, often from Asia. For many (of these investors), money is secondary consideration.” Two of the clubs are back in business; the third is a recent project which is still under review.

It can be a lucrative industry, with many spin-off revenue

streams. Enduro has followed one of those options and moved into refinancing. “We have considerable access to niche lenders. High street banks are slow and difficult to deal with.

“The chances are a business will need refinancing. It's another revenue stream for us.”

Turnaround and recovery is anything but depressing for Smith; he isn't an undertaker, more a medic who can get the patient back on its feet. “If you look at the situation, 95 percent of the time it's a cash flow problem that brought us in. To walk in and talk to the board about big fees isn't palatable. They would rather spend on the business.”

Turnaround and recovery is a viable enterprise, as the Enduro Partnership has shown. Smith and his team are doing very nicely, thank you. “It's not different to other businesses,” says Smith, “the better you are at it, the more rewarding it will be.

“The more you can demonstrate your success, the more recoveries can be made.”

Saved... Shaun Smith’s speciality is pulling businesses back from the brink, including football clubs 54

CEO: ‘Clients should know everything about me' The word ‘family’ is not only integral to the title of the Holdun Family Office, it encompasses an ethos -- and a literal lineage

Photograph - Ben Jamieson

Generation game: Brendan Holt Dunn has the family behind him but a get-rich-quick scheme.

Holdun helps clients manage generational wealth, and Brendan stresses that inaction in times of uncertainty – not making any rash moves – can be more of a key to long-term success than taking decisive action at an inopportune moment.

“It's a volatile market (in 2017), but if you spread your investments out over time, that volatility diminishes,” says Brendan.

“Things (for a particular investment) may look bad now, but look at historical trends. It's the power of compounding. Most banks operate on the short-term.

It's very active trading.

“The longer the time-horizon, the bigger the potential profits. We are conservative stewards (of family wealth) to make it perform over a long period of time.”

But, he adds, “we keep cash available and we can deploy that if something is undervalued”.

Brendan admires and espouses billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett's philosophy of “Let my money work for me”.

It's hard to fault when it has proved so effective for Holdun -- the company has consistently outperformed the market on behalf of its clients over the past quarter-century.

Honesty and transparency are vitally important to Brendan, and to the company as a whole.

“It's something we preach, but it's also ingrained in the family,” he says. “I was raised honest and transparent.

“We try to put ourselves in our clients' shoes: I know everything about them, they should know everything about me.”

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

HOLDUN Family Office (Bahamas) CEO Brendan Holt Dunn – the great-great grandson of company founder Sir Herbert Holt -- took the helm 15 years ago.

Sir Herbert created an empire that spanned three continents through challenging times — including the Great Depression.

The company flourished and grew beyond Canada's borders, and it now has offices in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas -- where Brendan is based.

He gets better weather than his father, Stuart, who is now the chairman of the company and is based in Montreal. Can BV readers correctly imagine Brendan wearing faded shorts and soaking up the sun during this interview?

“Ah, no – that's after hours.”

Brendan, 38, holds a Bachelor of Administrative and Commercial Studies from King's University College, Canada, and is the fifth generation of the family to run the business.

Brendan controls the Family Office's international operation while Stuart controls Canadian operations.

With four generations of Holdun Family Office executives behind him, Brendan understands as well as anyone the importance of the middle word in that illustrious company title -- family is “100 percent” part of the Holdun philosophy, he says.

“Family is very important to us – we're a family business. We try to treat all our clients as family, we try to do what's best for them.”

Patience is a virtue that's hammered home to all Holdun clients; the operation is anything

55

Strong spirits in stunning saris The gaiety of their clothing catches the eye, but belies the misery that frequently dominates daily life for women in India.

Story and photographs by HEATHER LEAH SMITH

VIBRANTLY draped in bold colours, the flowing fabrics tucked, wrapped and arranged in modestly seductive layers, the women of India make even manual labour fashionable.

Their bangled wrists flash in the merciless sun as they go about their duties, artfully balancing heavy loads on their heads.

The manual workforce in India is an almost even gender mix of men and women – but with women mostly employed

in unskilled positions. Jobs as maintenance and janitorial staff at tourist attractions such as the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur or the Amber Palace in Rajasthan are the most sought-after positions.

The brightly clad workers are often recruited as impromptu models for the never-ending stream of snap-happy tourists, and enjoy some supplemental income from tips. Tourists abound in India, a land famed for its gurus and sumptuous

palaces – but there is a darker side to all that bright pageantry.

India is a land with a growing population, dwindling resources, and a history of gender discrimination and abuse. Archaic practices such as bride dowry payments and gender selective abortions are still the norm, despite recent law changes.

Gender-based violence is still prevalent and too often goes unpunished when reported, and there is ingrained inequality

and injustice. The disparity is strongest in poor rural areas, where patriarchal traditions rule and women are often intimidated and uneducated.

While recent laws have been passed to prohibit gender discrimination and punish abuse, it has proven nearly impossible to enforce them.

The situation may seem bleak, but positive changes are slowly taking hold. Female literacy rates are on the rise and the gender gap is closing, while advocacy programs against gender-based violence are raising awareness of the problem.

In a society dominated by patriarchy, these women are struggling to fight for equality in education and employment.

Masayoshi Son Business visionary or deluded dreamer?

10

HE'S won, lost, then won again – and Masayoshi Son, Japan's richest man, has amassed a Vision Fund to spread investment around up-and-coming tech businesses. If the gamble doesn't work, Son could well find himself with nothing – again.

Son is a risk-taker who doesn't fit the billionaire techleader mould. Growing up in Kyushu, on Japan's southern island, a young Masayoshi Son kept a scrapbook of the inventions he wanted to create. Fifty-odd years later, he commands a $93bn pot ready to invest in companies he thinks will deliver a return on the investment.

The brainchild of SoftBank – a telecommunications corporation he established in Tokyo in 1981 – Son has now raised the largest venture capital fund in the history of finance, and has already begun making investments.

The business acumen of Son himself has been called into question several times over the years. Add to that his warmth towards US President Donald Trump – a modern day lodestone of reproach – and you can see how the naysayers begin to pile up.

Son has made it clear to the White House that he intends to pledge around $50bn into US firms, but he has stressed that the Vision Fund is destined for companies around the world, not just the US. All the businesses he has been filtering share a common drive – data collection. And plenty of it.

Son's plan is seriously long-term – he is looking at the the next 300 years.

“People think this was a stupid move, but they've voted with their money,” he recently said. The jury is out, and may not resume for another three centuries.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

PEOPLE

59

Century Financial Brokers: Trusted financial and investment services With almost three decades of experience and dedication to its ideals, CFB continues to surge ahead CENTURY Financial Brokers was founded by Sulaiman Baqer Mohebi in 1989 with a vision to provide its clients impeccable services, accessible trading instruments and financial products, and a wealth of investment opportunities spanning the global financial markets.

Since its inception, the Dubaibased firm has emerged as a leader of the financial services industry in the Middle East, offering cuttingedge online trading solutions with an emphasis on customer care and satisfaction.

Century Financial Brokers (CFB) has earned its reputation as a regional pioneer in its industry, driving innovation throughout its 28 years in business. This lively and customer-centric institution has been on a path of continuous improvement, led by its visionary CEO Bal Krishen, who has a fullcareer experience in the relevant field.

Krishen has been selected to lead the team of professionals, managing the present business with a keen eye on the future of the company with an intimate knowledge of its past, having spent over 20 years at CFB. Krishen has been an inspirational leader in the business, who embodies the company's core values: Trust,

60

Why investors choose Century Financial Expertise and Innovation. Having joined CFB in 1997, his meteoric rise, parallel to the rise of the

institution itself, has made him a perfect role model for aspiring professionals.

Over 10,000 diversified instruments across 110 markets worldwide

“CFB has the honour of being the first company in the region to offer margin trading in the global financial markets, the first to offer online trading facility, to operate a 24-hour dealing room, and to provide CFD trading through the most advanced trading platform on the market.�

A philanthropist and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of financial expertise across various investment fields, covering bonds, real estate, equities, currencies, commodities, and capital appreciation products.

Krishen is a true pioneer in mapping and developing investment strategies.

CFB has the honour of being the first company in the region to offer margin trading in the global financial markets, the first to offer online trading facility, to operate a 24-hour dealing room, and to provide CFD trading through the most advanced trading platform on the market.

For nearly three decades, CFB has provided a diversified range of financial products and a wide array of professional services to its

private and corporate investors.

The firm has raised the bar of client expectations in the region, and has met the challenges with aplomb.

CFB's clients are provided with a host of premium services that includes market research updates, training in trading and online platform functionality, a personal trade advisor, a dedicated 24-hour customer service desk, access to customized analysis, research, and support.

The company's bespoke services and flexible investment solutions, coupled with roundthe-clock comprehensive market information, and training and education programmes that continue to empower investors, and allow them to make wellinformed investment decisions.

The momentum CFB has gathered since its beginnings shows no signs of slowing down, and has seen the company extend its network throughout the Middle East and the Gulf Region.

With its visionary leadership in full control, CFB looks set to grow further in the region, while staying true to its core values and its commitment to provide the highest quality services and solutions to private and corporate investors, and tailoring financial solutions for local and expatriate clients.

Century Financial Brokers is licensed by the Central Bank of UAE and regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority. The firm remains Dubai's oldest and most trusted investment services provider.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

CEO Bal Krishen

61

Status symbols in and out of the boardroom From cufflinks to cars, Blackberries to dog breeds: status symbols are evolving. BV’s RICHARD THOMAS cranes his neck to get a glimpse of the high life IN THE competitive world of business, especially the higher echelons, displays of wealth have always been important indicators of authority, and perhaps superiority.

Some status symbols are timeless, but the actual items change with the passing years.

Sometimes months. Fashion moves with the times, and last year's must-have all too quickly becomes this year's “everyonehas”. When that happens there is no time to lose. Ditch whatever it is and swap it for the latest shinyshiny bling thing.

A well-tailored suit (bespoke of course) is still a must. But to stand out from the crowd you need to embellish it with accoutrements: hand-made shoes, a silk shirt or blouse, cufflinks (even today), necklaces or earrings (both genders). Getting ready for work is no longer a case of falling out of bed, through a cup of coffee and into your cleanest item of clothing.

Apart from what you wear, you can never go wrong with the corner office, the suddenly available table at the overbooked

62

restaurant when you catch the maitre d's eye, or the key to the executive bathroom. (OK, the last one I've only heard of through ‘70s sitcoms; do they even exist?)

And, as always, a tonne or two of steel and alloy, lovingly finished in leather and walnut, will always turn heads at the golf club.

Especially if driven by a smartly uniformed chauffer.

Over the past 20 years, the rise of the internet has seen the intrusion of the personal computer onto the desks of even the most technophobic. But, of course, for executive management it must be the smartest, shiniest computer with the biggest screen, or a laptop with a metallic-finish and edges so thin that the user is in danger of cutting themselves when trying to open it.

It doesn't matter if the holes this peppers in the IT budget mean that the marketing department has to continue working on steampower for another year. Ignore the wailing from the fourth floor; they'll get over it.

Mobile phone technology has progressed faster still, and the occupants of the executive suite

compete these days to have the latest and greatest smartphone.

If you were to show an ‘80s style mobile phone to anyone under the age of 30 it's debatable whether they would be able to identify it. In its day it was the ultimate status symbol, but when even toddlers — those with welloff parents, at least — have iPads, the simple mobile has become less an ostentatious display of wealth and more an essential tool.

For a few years, the Blackberry was synonymous with the highflying executive. Being able to send and receive emails while away from your office was once the height of technological prowess.

Barack Obama was a huge Blackberry fan until he took over the US presidency, at which point the White House Information Security people had to forcibly remove it from his hands. With the advent of the smartphone (first the iPhone, and later a range of Android-powered phones from Samsung et al) the days of the Blackberry were numbered.

The story about President Obama's Blackberry brings us to another issue with executive toys: compatibility. In these days of Bring Your Own Device, the IT department can still enforce policies to ensure that the equipment is compatible with the company's systems, and that proper data security can be maintained. But when it's the boss who wants to use an incompatible or insecure device, what do you do?

In Obama's case it didn't matter that he was the President.

It's because he was the President that his communications system

the threat of cuts, downsizing and unemployment, the latest status symbol is being — or at least appearing to be — busy.

Nothing confers more status at the golf club than saying you're too busy to turn up.

The mantra used to be, “Work to live, don't live to work”. These days it seems that this has been reversed. Leisure time itself used to be a status symbol, but no more. Movers and shakers in the 21st century are far too busy for

holidays, hobbies, family time or school plays. Gordon Gekko would be proud.

But is this progress? That depends on the eye of the beholder. Yes, many people devote their leisure time to fitness activities, but many more spend it hunched over their phone or sprawled on their sofa. For the sedentary among you, would you prefer to ruin your neck or your back?

Maybe the way to kill this insidious fad of chuff-chuff-busybusy-work-work-bang-bang is to make leisure more interesting.

Yoga, perhaps, or meditation. A trip to the gym, or just a walk in the fresh air?

If this last option appeals to you, you could do worse than to adopt a dog. That way you are forced to go out in all weathers, and there's no getting out of it. But of course, even your choice of dog says something about you. Some of the more desirable breeds are prone to peculiar health issues, such as breathing problems in the case of the currently-trendy French bulldog. And that won't help you become top dog in the office.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

couldn't be trusted to a foreign country — even if it was Canada.

The security people won, and the President was restricted to approved systems. iPhone 8, Mr President?

The status symbol of the moment, however, is something quite different. It costs more than money, but everyone can have it.

It's trendy, but it can also benefit the company. And it doesn't give pleasure to the owner. In these days of permanent austerity and

63

Czech company nails the art of good timing, minus stress Conseq leads clients to wealth via conservative, patient investment

IF YOU find investing daunting, you're not alone. But Conseq of Czechia has a message for you: it's not as difficult as it seems.

The first step – perhaps the hardest one – is to decide exactly why you intend to invest. Conseq offers specific opportunities for its clients, even those with little or no investment experience.

The company goes back to basics and uses a questionnaire to lead the way.

If the aim is to put the money somewhere safe, but delivering better returns than a timedeposit in a bank, that's one option. If you want to deposit part of your income on a regular basis to create a reserve for your pension over the long-term, the company's experts have a plan for you. Maybe (you lucky

person) you have “extra money” and you want to see it appreciate at more than the average rate.

Conseq's first advice to would-be investors is to avoid short-term speculation in the hope of making a quick profit.

Financial markets can be very tricky over a short-term horizon, but work over the long term.

Short-term speculation and efforts to “time the market” can return fast profits, but can also result in losses. Conversely, a reliable guideline for savings and their meaningful appreciation is long-term investing associated with responsible adherence to investment discipline.

Conseq Investment Management offers a wide range of quality products. It is the independence gained by

selecting from the best of the range which gives clients a high value-added end-product. Their funds are broadly diversified within the framework of a single product “under one roof”.

The basic first step in product choice for private investors is the procurement of participation certificates (shares or units) in Conseq or one of its product partners' funds, including BNP Paribas Asset Management, Credit Suisse and Franklin Templeton Investments The Conseq investment programme is a “life cycle” product which is very popular worldwide, especially for long-term regular investment programmes, typically pension plans. Conseq offers the administration of a participation-

certificate portfolio, in which returns are gradually “lockedin”, because, over time, the share of equity funds in the product structure is gradually reduced and the share of bond and money market funds is increased (“re-allocation”).

This process of making the portfolio gradually more conservative is planned with regard to the time horizon of the investment, and protects the investor's resources from a significant equity-market drop as the planned date for the withdrawal of money approaches.

Again, this programme includes not only Conseq Invest funds, but the funds of other and inter-independent investment managers including Parvest and

Franklin Templeton funds.

Investors can choose one of the three portfolios – Dynamic, Growth, or Balanced.

The selection of the portfolio determines the distribution of resources among individual funds before re-allocation commences.

The Dynamic portfolio offers the biggest potential of return and risk, as it almost exclusively contains equity funds. The Balanced portfolio is the most conservative because, from the very beginning of the programme, it contains a larger proportion of conservative funds (bonds and money market funds).

By gradually reducing the share of equity funds and increasing the weight

of conservative funds, the composition of the portfolios gradually converges.

More details on the investment policies of individual portfolios, their current composition and historical performance can be found in the section on the administration of portfolios.

The re-allocation portfolios of the Horizont Invest programme can also be invested in on a oneoff basis, or through regular investments.

Clients with CZK 1,000,000 (about $47,000) or more to invest, when none of the standard products fits, can benefit from individual portfolio management services with the investment strategy prepared according to individual needs.

Clean? Check. Cool? Check.

But e-vehicles have poke too Hot new electric wheels offer more than just zero emissions – the latest offerings have some serious grunt, too THE TIMES are changing, and nowhere more so than on our roads.

Pessimistic petrol-heads are, a bit prematurely but collectively, lamenting the imminent demise of old-school gas-guzzling delights.

We're not just talking about the Charger and the small-block Chevy here; read the writing on the wall and it's clear that even modern, lean-burning lust machines like the 2018 5.0-litre Mustang are destined to eventually become as extinct as the fossils that currently fuel them.

It's not just cars, either. Bikers gnash their teeth and rend their denim garments at the thought of losing muscle bikes like the Yamaha MT-10 or old-school Honda CB1300S – along with their clutch and gear-shift levers.

Are we really ready for twistand-go machines with a battery

66

the size of a suitcase, and one permanently engaged gear that fits all situations? Can we ever truly embrace a ride that has no need – or reward – for individual skill, timing or mechanical knowledge?

One that sounds, at full whack, like a vacuum cleaner trying to suck up the dog?

Fossil fuels may be for fools, but nothing compares to the manic freedom of a rumbling lump of alloy and a throttle begging for the stomp of the boot or a twist of the wrist.

Nonetheless, we may very soon have no choice, as car companies like Volvo and Volkswagen (the latter a little shame-facedly, after the emissions-cheat bungle) pledge billions of euros to create comprehensive electric model ranges in coming years.

Bureaucratic controls like the Euro-4/5/6 legislation make

it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to produce a petrol-powered vehicle capable of meeting ever-stricter emissions and noise-level limits.

Hybrid vehicles were the thin edge of the wedge, with the Prius sticking its shiny, holier-thanthou snout into the trough and edging-out its grunting, rutting, petrol-slurping counterparts. It was a short step to fully electric powerplants, and one that has been quickly taken.

And driverless cars? The sky is finally falling, and it's heavier than it used to be thanks to all those unburned hydrocarbons.

Where's the pleasure in owning a sleek, low-slung beast if all you do is sit in it like a passenger in a taxi?

Think of a 21st century version of Jack Kerouac's On The Road, with coast-to-coast road trips undertaken in silent, emissions-

The Tesla Model S P85D, the fastest four-door sedan in the world

Allen.G / Shutterstock.com

free shuttle pods with governed top speeds and eight-hour battery charge times. Has the magic gone, or what?

But before we have to walk the plank and drop into a briny deep of driverless vehicles, there's an opportunity window rapidly filling with some exciting electric vehicles awaiting your wedge of cash.

These are early days, but some very smart designers and engineers are lining up some sexy, planet-friendly options for drivers with an environmental conscience – even those who still have a hankering for some tyreshredding performance.

Think happy thoughts and try to wallow in the ghostly shriek of battery powered beasts that deliver almost unheard-of performance figures as they barrel past. The exciting end of the e-fleet comes with a hefty price tag, of course; all electric vehicles cost more than their polluting counterparts.

But those prices are slowly falling as more people consider the fuel-free option and swell the customer base – and the performance they offer is truly impressive, with no “for an electric

vehicle” qualifier required.

The Tesla Model S P85D is the first four-wheeler to spring to mind, the fastest four-door sedan in the world, according to Tesla. Being quick off the mark, Elon Musk's vehicle operation has had the advantage of time to develop and hone its flagship.

With twin motors above the front and rear axles, giving all-wheel drive and a whopping output of 691 horsepower, its rivals are most often seen disappearing in those sleek, colour-coded wing mirrors.

The huge bugbear of electric vehicles so far – autonomy – is greatly improved in the P85D, falling just short of the “magic” 300-mile range before it has to be plugged in back into the mains.

It also has an autopilot mode, making it a crossover electricdriverless car option further down the track.

When it comes to two-wheeled fun, the Energica Ego features a “synchronous oil-cooled motor with permanent magnets”. The Italian machine puts out 107kW (145 horsepower) and 200 Nm of torque – available from 0 rpm.

The Ego accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h) in three seconds

to reach a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h).

Rival e-bike manufacturer Lightning Motorcycle produces the LS-218, which claims to be the fastest production motorcycle in the world – gas or electric.

Retail price of the LS-218 starts at $38,888, which might be easier to swallow when you consider that it has won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in America, beating all the petrol-engined bikes on the highaltitude, 156-corner course.

The LS-218's spec sheet tells all: 218mph top speed, 168 footpounds of torque, Brembo brakes, Ohlins fully adjustable shocks and … a range of 100 miles with the standard 380v, 12kwh battery (an optional 20kwh battery extends that by another 60 miles or so).

At least you can cover those miles quicker than anyone else.

It's reassuring to know that all that wheel-screeching, eyeballflattening goodness awaits when the bureaucrats finally consign the “crobba crobba” of a Ducati, the flat-four roar of a Porsche, or the “potato-potato-potato” exhaust note of an idling Harley, to history.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The Lightning Motorcycle LS-218, which claims to be the fastest production motorcycle in the world

67

Up, up and away (very soon) with the hybrid aircraft Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens say electric propulsion plans are clear for take-off, though the reality may take a little longer EMAIL, the e-cig, e-commerce, e-filing… and the e-plane. Well, the E-Fan X hybrid aircraft, actually, rather prosaically described by one of its developers as “the world's most powerful flying generator”.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at developing a flight demonstrator which will be a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aircraft.

The three companies recently announced the collaboration at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is

‘Compelling technology for the future of aviation' expected to take to the air in 2020, following a ground test campaign, provisionally on a BAe 146 flying testbed with one of the aircraft's four gas turbine engines replaced by a 2MW (two megawatt) electric motor.

Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.

“The E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight a reality in the foreseeable future.

“The lessons we learned from a long history of electric flight demonstrators … will pave the way to a hybrid single-aisle commercial aircraft that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective,” said Paul Eremenko, Airbus CTO. “We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation.”

The E-Fan X demonstrator will explore the challenges of high-power propulsion systems: thermal effects, electric thrust management, altitude and dynamic effects on electric

The technology demonstrator is expected to take to the air in 2020 68

systems and electromagnetic compatibility issues.

The objective is to mature the technology, performance, safety and reliability, enabling swift progress on the hybrid electric technology.

The programme also aims to establish the requirements for future certification of electrically powered aircraft while training a new generation of designers and engineers to bring hybridelectric commercial aircraft closer to reality.

As part of the E-Fan X programme, Airbus, RollsRoyce, and Siemens will each contribute in their respective fields of expertise.

Airbus will be responsible for overall integration and the control architecture of the hybrid-electric propulsion system and batteries, as well as its full integration with flight controls.

Rolls-Royce will be responsible for the turbo-shaft engine, 2MW generator, and power electronics. Along with Airbus, Rolls-Royce will also work on the fan adaptation to the existing nacelle and the

Siemens electric motor.

Siemens will deliver the two megawatt electric motors and their power electronic control unit, as well as the inverter, DC/DC converter, and power distribution system.

This comes on top of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration between Airbus and Siemens, launched in

‘A new chapter creating new perspectives’ 2016, which to develop various electric propulsion system components and their terrestrial demonstration across various power classes.

Rolls-Royce CTO Paul Stein described the development as revolutionary.

“The E-Fan X enables us to build on our wealth of electrical expertise to revolutionise flight and welcome in the third

generation of aviation.

“This is an exciting time for us as this technological advancement will result in RollsRoyce creating the world's most powerful flying generator.”

Siemens has been pursuing this angle for years. Roland Busch, the company's CTO, said this represented “a new chapter, creating new perspectives”.

With the E-Fan X partnership, he said, “we now take the next step to demonstrate the technology in the air”.

Improved environmental performance, more efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels, is something of a holy grail.

The partners are committed to meeting the EU technical environmental goals of the European Commission's Flightpath 2050 Vision for Aviation (reduction of CO2 by 75 percent, reduction of NOx by 90 percent and noise reduction by 65 percent).

These cannot be achieved with existing technology, and electric and hybrid-electric propulsion are seen as the most promising technologies to meet the challenge.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

The E-Fan X hybrid aircraft — “the world’s most powerful flying generator”

69

Fairy tale cruises have all the angles covered Disney ships offer eco-friendly initiatives as well as traditional magic OK, SO you've seen Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3 and 4. You've set sail (in your imagination) to exotic isles and hideaway coves.

You've maybe even dived beneath the silver screen surface with The Little Mermaid. But are you ready for the real thing?

Disney does more than “just” make family movies. The Disney Cruise Line has four luxury ships ­— named Magic, Wonder, Fantasy and Dream — for “pirates, princesses and parents”. The ships set sail from ports around the world, from England to Canada, the US to Puerto Rico and Spain, with exciting destinations.

But before we delve into the fun, let's take a quick look at the go-ahead environmental stance Disney has taken with its cruises. Each ship has an onboard environmental officer dedicated to overseeing all environmental systems and procedures, along with shipboard recycling, waste minimization and water reclamation efforts.

Condensation from the shipboard air conditioning units is collected and re-used to wash the decks, saving more than 30 million gallons of water each year.

Disney made history by being

70

Most of the staterooms on the ships have ocean views the first cruise line to use a hull coating that is 100 percent nontoxic to the marine environment, and effective in increasing fuel efficiency. The coating helps reduce the ships' surface resistance in the water, decreasing the need for propulsion power.

Used cooking oil from shipboard galleys is offloaded and recycled in ports of call around the world, and converted into biodiesel fuel.

Onboard recycling systems help divert more than than 325 tons of aluminum, plastics, paper and non-traditional recyclables from conventional waste streams each year. (That's the equivalent of over 54 school buses – or 24 humpback whales.)

Partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, researchers and educators in a multi-year

project restore the health of the coral reefs around the Bahamas.

Researchers are taking longspined sea urchins that are native to the area and translocating them to coral reefs endangered by algae overgrowth.

Back to the fun. There's entertainment for the kids, of course, but the “big people” are not forgotten, with spas, intimate dining and nightlife, Broadwaystyle live shows, deck parties and more.

Original Disney live shows play in the Walt Disney Theatre (the theatres on the four ships keep the same names). There are also new-release and first-run movies – some in 3-D – in the Buena Vista Theatre. Open-air music-anddance deck parties are heavy on fun—and fireworks.

Whatever port your ship docks in, you'll come into contact with interesting cultures and places, such as Hemingway's home on Key West, Rome's celebrated Colosseum or Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

The Disney ships are painted in Mickey Mouse-inspired colours – black hull, white superstructure, yellow trim and two giant red funnels, each with the Disney

100 percent non-toxic to the marine environment

NAN728 / Shutterstock.com

The ships boast nearly an entire deck of space dedicated to age-specific children's activities, and the swimming pools on Disney ships are heated. There is wi-fi in staterooms and public spaces.

Compete in a karaoke showdown, test your Disney knowledge during an evening game show, round up the kids for family line dancing or simply splash it up—or catch a night-time movie—at Goofy's Pool.

Some facts: Measuring 964 feet in length, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are each longer than Main Street U.S.A at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. At 1,115 feet, the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and longer than the height of New York City's famous Chrysler Building.

The anchor on the Disney Magic weighs 28,200 pounds – about the same as three full-grown elephants.

On a special night aboard most Disney cruises, the “Pirates in the Caribbean” deck party features a spectacular pyrotechnics performance – fireworks at sea like only Disney can do!

•

Cruise Line Mickey Mouse logo. Disney was granted special permission from the US Coast Guard to paint the lifeboats yellow, in keeping with the colour theme.

The Disney Magic was built in two halves 100 miles apart.

Part of the ship was constructed in Ancona, Italy, then towed 100 miles to meet the stern in Marghera (just outside Venice) to be joined.

Most of the staterooms on the ships have ocean views, and many have private verandas and the added convenience of a sink and tub/shower in one room and a sink and toilet in a separate room.

On an average seven-night sailing aboard the Disney Magic, the following food items are consumed: Beef – 5,000 pounds Chicken – 10,000 pounds Salmon – 1,200 pounds Shrimp – 1,300 pounds Lobster Tail – 1,000 pounds Melon – 15,000 pounds Pineapple – 4,500 pounds Eggs – 71,500 Coffee – 57,820 cups Soda – 3,125 gallons Beer – 12,385 bottles/ cans Wine and Champagne – 2,700 bottles Every ship has an atrium lobby statue celebrating a classic Disney character: Minnie Mouse, Donald

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Duck, Mickey Mouse or Ariel sitting pretty. The main showplace for entertainment, the Walt Disney Theatre, spans three decks and can seat 977 guests onboard the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and 1,340 guests on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

Movies premier at sea on the same day that they are released on land.

Anchors aweigh, me hearties!

Time for a real-life adventure – with pizazz.

The Disney Magic and Disney Dream interiors are in art deco style, while the Disney Wonder and Disney Fantasy tend to art nouveau.

• •

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Disney ships are painted in Mickey Mouse-inspired colours

71

Steinhoff on the brink, Christo Wiese stays silent The retail giant is in deep trouble, and with interests in 30 countries Steinhoff’s fall from grace could have global reverberations. DARREN PARKIN reports WHEN global retailer Steinhoff announced it was looking into historical accounting irregularities in mid-December, shares in what had been widely hailed as South Africa's safest investment fell by 80 percent in 48 hours.

Steinhoff, which many analysts now believe is on the verge of going down in flames, took five decades to build a fine reputation and intense customer loyalty. It may have taken only two days to be reduced to ashes.

The catastrophic collapse of a firm with connections to household names across the globe has thrust its now-departed chairman – the tycoon Christo Wiese, until his recent resignation

Steinhoff's leading shareholder – into an unwelcome limelight.

It was this conflict of interest as chairman and majority shareholder that drove Wiese's departure in a public relations move designed to steer external concerns away from the uncomfortable financial juxtaposition. His 36-year-old son Jacob also quit the board.

Wiese had been with Steinhoff since 2013, becoming chairman in 2016. The irregularities are thought to have begun in 2015.

On the surface, it looks as though Steinhoff will go under, but the implications of its collapse could be far-reaching. As well as several companies under the

Steinhoff umbrella in South Africa, the firm owns significant stock in the UK: discount store Poundland, and the furniture retailers Bensons For Beds and Harveys. Its interests reach further still, with noteworthy shares in a raft of investment companies including Brait SE, which has controlling stakes in Virgin Active, Iceland and New Look.

Steinhoff Holdings Ltd had been a reputable company to deal with for generations, and attracted a good deal of investment from its good reputation. It became wellknown in South Africa as a safe place to lay venture assets. Once Wiese became involved, it's fair to say that reputation rocketed.

Every pound may be needed... the discount store is one of the UK companies that may be affected 72

WHO IS CHRISTO WIESE? CHRISTO Wiese set up clothing retailer Pepkor in 1965, before becoming involved in Shoprite – a South African grocery store – in the 1970s.

He was instrumental in the expansion of Shoprite which went from half a dozen shops to a sprawling empire of hundreds across Africa.

In 2014 he sold Pepkor to Steinhoff in exchange for a holding and cash. This sale resulted in his 22 percent stake in Steinhoff, which he then helped turn into a global brand.

Look, Iceland and Poundland, but it is unlikely to pacify the thousands of investors who thought their money was in safe hands.

Fanning the flames of discontent among those likely to be affected by the collapse of Steinhoff, both Wiese and his CEO Markus Jooste – who also resigned as news of the scandal broke – have refused to answer questions about their departures.

This silence, as much as anything, is driving investors to the exits. It's a move which is being branded as frustrating and unhelpful by some of South Africa's business leaders.

Magda Wierzycka, CEO of Cape Town's Sygnia Investment Management Ltd, is one of those voicing concern for Steinhoff's employees, and the staff elsewhere who may end up bearing the brunt of what appears to be a serious mishandling of accounts.

“People have been expecting some kind of explanation from Steinhoff,” she said. “Instead, we have received nothing and, in the absence of any form of real

information, you tend to assume the worst.”

Despite repeated requests by Business Vision and other media outlets, Steinhoff is refusing to shed any light on the state of its balance sheets. Rumours have it that some €6bn can't yet be accounted for.

However, after its market value was reduced by a staggering €10bn in mid-December, it is likely that the only people expected to be party to any form of explanation will be the investigators.

To that end, Steinhoff has brought in PwC to probe internal misconduct, while Moelis & Co has been appointed to take over negotiations with lenders, and AlixPartners LLP will now handle operations.

All three external organisations will have their work cut-out to keep a sinking ship afloat long enough to save the thousands on board. And, with 6,500 retail outlets spread across 30 countries, this is no minor collapse.

As for Christo Wiese, many questions will be asked about his involvement in the debacle.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

South Africans warmed to Steinhoff when it began global expansion. It was seen as an example of the country's success and became a source of great pride for a nation often set back by mismanagement and financial wrongdoing. There was a certain pride and admiration for Wiese – a man who had built a retail empire from very little and went on to become a billionaire.

Wiese's personal success was a magnet to would-be investors who queued-up to part with their cash, expecting it to open a portal to returns from around the globe. The draw of Steinhoff was its knack of repeated success within developing and emerging markets. Its expansion into the US and Europe in 2012 gave it serious leverage – a move that was amplified in 2016 when Wiese was elevated to the role of chairman.

However, with more than 200 subsidiaries in those markets, the sudden wealth collapse across its holdings is set to bring Steinhoff down.

The question is, what other assets might it take down with it?

As it stands, this potential scandal could end up being South Africa's version of the Enron accounting debacle. Potentially worse, in some eyes.

DEMOTED TO JUNK Steinhoff's credit rating has already been demoted to “junk” by Moody's in the wake of bond yields evaporating as the company's stock lost €12bn of its value.

The firm's only real hope for survival is that its creditors hear its appeal for leniency. Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, BNP Paribas SA and Bank of America Corp are among its global lenders, and all have it well within their capability to support Steinhoff.

There is little guarantee of a quick-fix financial solution.

Lenders are likely to favour a rollover credit facility that would at least allow the firm to dispose of the assets at risk.

That would at least placate the boards of companies like New

73

William Zhou Written in Chalk

10

PEOPLE

74

WILLIAM Zhou is the 25-year-old co-founder and CEO of education software company Chalk.com.

Chalk.com is used in more than 20,000 schools and aims to help teachers to focus on the most important thing — the students.

Zhou has been named in the Forbes 30 Under-30 list, and has been an entrepreneur from a young age. He founded his first company while he was still at high school, and launched his first internet business in 2010, which he sold at the age 18.

The whizz-kid was born in Beijing and raised in Vancouver, Canada, where he still lives. He says that solving problems is one of his passions, along with variety. He works with engineering teams on product direction, meets with teachers and pitches to administrators. “Every day is different and that's part of why I am an entrepreneur,” he says.

Zhou's aim was to personalise education and support professionals. He says he sees Chalk.com as a “personal assistant” for teachers. “Education is a very personal and human endeavour,” he said in a recent interview.

His technique is to use the tools and methods at his disposal to make available helpful technologies such as blended learning, and bring quality education to the masses.

He has embraced the challenges of fundraising, hiring and marketing , and seems set to make a difference on a grand scale.

His driving ambition? “To give everyone an equal opportunity to participate in the future.”

Which is not to say that this young man doesn't “have a life”: he lists art and photography as his passions.

Way to go…

Lilly Singh YouTube millionaire is making things Singh

PEOPLE

MILLIONAIRES are a dime a dozen – but YouTube millionaires? It's a new concept for many, especially the older generation, but with the amount of revenue and interest generated by the video-publishing platform, it has transformed into a genuine “business” venture.

Lilli Singh (aka IISuperwomanII) is a Canadian comedian, entertainer, actress and the founder of #GirlLove – and just one of those YouTube millionaires.

Singh obviously understands the mechanics of the emerging market, and has found worldwide fame through her YouTube videos, amassing 12 million subscribers. She doesn't limit herself to chipper comedic chat; in March last year, she released her first book, How To Be A Bawse: A Guide to Surviving Conquering Life, which became a #1 New York Times Best Seller. (A bawse, if you were wondering, is a person who exudes confidence, turns heads, reaches goals and finds inner strength.)

Singh also created her #GirlLove initiative to break the cycle of girl-on-girl hate and encourage women to support each other. The positive vibes and creative energy of her emissions have allowed her to rise to the top of the field.

Singh, a Sikh born in Toronto, Canada, has her own website and rather than being a flash in the pan, she appears to be something of a mainstay in YouTube stardom.

“I thoroughly believe in crying, yelling, pulling my hair out, and experiencing heartache,” reads one quote, “but once I'm done I dissect the pain and learn lessons from it.”

The feel-good passion and limitless scope of her onewoman enterprise is winning-over viewers, and readers. Since beginning her channel in 2010, her videos have received more than two billion views. In 2016, she was ranked 3rd on the Forbes list of the world's highest paid YouTube stars, earning a reported $7.5 million in 2016 alone.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

10

75

Uber unter alles? Hacking, harassment and data woes JASON AGNEW digs into the dark side of car hire operator Uber, and wishes he’d been wearing gloves IS UBER a fit and proper private car hire operator? It's a question that London mayor, Sadiq Khan, recently responded to with a clear “No”.

Khan announced that Transport for London (TfL) would not be renewing Uber´s licence in the capital as the company was not a “fit and proper” private car hire operator because of “public safety and security implications” in its approach to reporting criminal offences, and laxity in carrying out background driver-checks.

It was perhaps the biggest setback the San Francisco-based global transport technology company has faced, and one which caused much consternation

among customers, drivers and even government ministers. But it was supported by employment rights campaigners and – unsurprisingly – the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association, which represents London's Black Cab drivers.

The licence expired on September 30, but the company lodged an appeal with Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 13 and is allowed to continue operating until the court reaches a decision.

Recently, the Mayor has indicated that Uber´s licence would probably be renewed, praising the company's “contrition and humility” since his initial

decision to revoke it.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi replied that while the company was far from perfect, it had 40,000 licensed drivers and 3,500,000 customers.

He implored Londoners to work with Uber to make things right.

Uber Technologies Inc., since being founded in March 2009 in the northern Californian hi-tech hub, has grown exponentially and is currently valued at $68bn, the most highly valued start-up in the world. But it has come up against opposition for its cavalier attitude towards safety, and for its undercutting of existing taxi services.

From Austin and Alaska to Italy

Alexey Boldin / Shutterstock.com

76

At your service: but does Uber meet customer — and employee — expectations?

Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com

and Rio de Janeiro, the company has been forced out of the market for misdemeanours such as unfair trading practices or, in the case of Alaska, refusing to recognise its operators as registered taxi drivers – which would entitle them to workers´ compensation insurance.

According to The Guardian newspaper, André Spicer of Cass Business School described the decision as a “potentially mortal blow” to the company. “In the past, Uber operated at the edge of the law, with new technology as an alibi,” he said. “Now its rogue business model is proving to be a big liability.”

Customers have mostly been against the ban, including a wheelchair user who described the service as “a lifesaver” which enabled him to visit family at short notice when the bus would have taken two hours, and most tube stations were inaccessible.

A female user explained that she often felt unsafe alone on public transport and “Uber has given me an affordable alternative

to get home safely”.

A petition against TfL's decision organised by the company generated 500,000 signatures in the first 24 hours.

On November 10, Uber lost an appeal in the UK´s Employment Appeal Tribunal that its drivers be classed as workers entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay – rejecting the claim that the company role is only to connect independent drivers with customers.

Paul Jennings, a partner at Bates Wells Braithwaite, who won the case for the drivers, said: “We are delighted with (the) judgment, which is ethically and legally the right outcome.” Jennings said he now expected tens of thousands of drivers to seek backdated claims.

The company is planning to take the case to the Court of Appeal, and possibly to the Supreme Court.

Tom Elvidge, Uber UK's acting general manager, said: “Almost all taxi and private hire drivers have been self-employed for decades, long before our app existed. The

main reason drivers use Uber is because they value the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive, so we intend to appeal.”

On February 19, 2017 a former engineer at the company, Susan Fowler, wrote a blog entitled Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber.

She described a culture of sexual harassment, where her manager propositioned her for sex over company chat. When she reported it, she was told that as it was the man´s first offence.

“They wouldn´t feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning,” she said.

Fowler was given a choice of either finding another team and never having to interact with the man again, or staying on his team, in which case she would probably receive a poor performance review from him. She moved to another team, where she met other female engineers who had experienced similar harassment from the same manager. They had also reported it, she learned, which meant it was not his first offence.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Head to head: Uber and London’s famous Black Cabs are permanently at odds

77

Jirapong Manustrong / Shutterstock.com

Uber has tapped into the needs of the mobile phone generation...

78

After having two transfers turned down and being told that she could be fired for reporting her manager to HR (something which is illegal in California), she found a job at a different firm.

She calculated that in the year she had been in the engineering organisation at Uber, the percentage of female engineers had dropped from 25 percent to just three percent.

Her blog opened the floodgates.

Allegations of executives visiting a South Korean escort bar were made, an internal sex memo came to light, and a woman who was raped in India by an Uber driver in 2014 is suing the ride-hail giant over the alleged mishandling of her medical records. Last week, it was reported that Uber's top executive in Asia had obtained copies of the woman's records and shown them to other executives, including CEO Travis Kalanick. The alleged victim said she felt that she had been violated twice.

Uber hired the former US Attorney General, Eric Holder,

to look into the corporate culture. His report was released on June 13 and recommended that Kalanick´s role be reviewed.

He took indefinite leave, but this was not enough for five of Uber´s largest investors – including Benchmark and Menlo Ventures – which between them owned 25 percent of the company´s stock and 40 percent of the voting rights. They demanded he resign, which he did a week later.

Khosrowshahi took over the helm in late August 2017, bringing with him an impressive CV. In his 12 years as chief executive at Expedia, “the gross value of its hotel and other travel bookings more than quadrupled and its pretax earnings more than doubled”, according to The Economist.

He will need all his financial skills; even though Uber is growing quickly, and despite its high valuation, the company has just announced a third-quarter loss of $ 1.46bn (adjusted loss of $743,000,000, up 14 percent from the previous quarter).

The company's net revenue for

the third quarter also increased by 14 percent, from $1.66bn to $2bn.

The positive news was that the main yardstick of demand, gross bookings, increased by 11.5 percent to a record $9.7bn.

At the same time, SoftBankGroup Corp, a Japanese company, launched a tender offer for the company´s shares.

It claimed on 28 November, the same day as the company released its financial results, that two major investors, Benchmark and Menlo Ventures, were willing to sell stock.

Khosrowshahi, who plans to take the company public by 2019, was not slow in establishing his authority.

“What I told Travis very early on is that any new CEO needs space, and needs distance from the old CEO. You've got to let me engage with the team, engage with the company, engage with the culture,” he said.

“And I was a little worried about that conversation, but actually he took it really well.”

Kalanick, apart from facing a

lawsuit by Benchmark for gross mismanagement, made further waves in September when he used his outsized voting rights to appoint Ursula Burns, ex-CEO of Xerox, and John Thain, ex-chief executive of Merrill Lynch, to the board.

Again, Khosrowshahi didn´t pull any punches, calling the move “unusual” and “disappointing.”

“The folks that (Kalanick) picked were great, but we didn't like how he got there,” he added.

“He had his own personal reasons, I don't want to recount them.

“I'm not interested in what happened in the past, I'm interested in the company, and the employees, and the brand, and how we move forward.”

Khosrowshahi has a long to-do list to get the company ready for an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

His track record suggests he will be able to deal with the inhouse problems of sexism and bad governance, filling all the vacant board positions, and his apparent contrition and humility might well enable the company to

regain its lost licences.

Quite how he deals with the repercussions of the latest data breach to affect the company will be interesting.

On November 21, 2017, Uber revealed that it had paid hackers $100,000 to destroy data they had stolen on 57,000,000 users and drivers worldwide, including the 600,000 car number plates of their drivers in the US. The major problem was that the breach had occurred a full 13 months earlier, in October 2016. Washington State is suing Uber for violation of its local data breach notification law, which stipulates that an entity must inform the attorney general within 45 days if more than 500 residents of the state are affected.

The company's failure to disclose the breach was “amateur hour”, said Chris Hoofnagle of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. “The only way one can have direct liability under security breach notification statutes is to not give notice. Thus, it makes little sense to cover up a breach.”

The fact that the company stored this data unencrypted also caused disbelief. Khosrowshahi immediately sacked the chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, and one other employee. But with the City of Chicago and Cook County's Attorney General announcing a lawsuit, Uber is already facing four lawsuits, of which three are classaction suits involving thousands of plaintiffs. Five other state Attorneys General are looking at legal action, and realistically the firm will face similar processes in every jurisdiction they were operating in at the time.

Although Khosrowshahi asserts that the company identified the hackers and “obtained assurances that the downloaded data had been destroyed”, it had a duty to notify the relevant authorities.

Apart from the cascade of claims which could cost Uber millions, the damage to the company's reputation could be one “car crash” too many for Uber, and one breach too far for a new CEO, however capable, to overcome.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

...young or old. But not all Uber customers are happy, and for good reason

79

Too darned hot… how our inner thermostat affects our behaviour Could good air-conditioning be the key to better customer service?

80

IN THE summer of 2010, Moscow experienced its worst heat wave in centuries. Air-conditioning and ventilation were poor in many buildings, and people suffered for weeks as temperatures regularly reached over 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

The following summer, temperatures returned to normal.

These two starkly different summers created an intriguing natural experiment for a pair of researchers interested in understanding how environmental factors, like excessive heat, shape human behaviour.

Maryam Kouchaki of the Kellogg School and Liuba Belkin of Lehigh University wondered whether “prosocial” behaviours – helpful, ethical acts for which people are not explicitly rewarded – took a hit during the sweltering temperatures.

They found that customer service was far worse in Moscow stores during the hot summer.

The researchers also found in a set of studies that when people get uncomfortably hot, they are less likely to volunteer to be helpful across a variety of situations.

These findings are an important reminder for managers that employees' environment can have a sizeable impact on their behaviours, especially prosocial behaviours.

Even in circumstances when people know they should be helpful, feeling uncomfortably warm can make it hard to act on that knowledge.

“There's been the perspective that there are good people and bad people,” Kouchaki says, “but we show that something that's out of people's control is influencing their decisions.”

The idea for the research began when Belkin, who is from Russia, was approached by a large Moscow retailer hoping to improve employee performance at its stores.

The retailer, which sells leather and travel goods, had collected several years of customer-service data by hiring undercover evaluators – “mystery shoppers”, as they're known in the US – to

visit the stores and report how the sales staff treated customers. Did the salesperson volunteer to help customers? Did the salesperson greet customers? Did she — the sales staff were always female — ask questions to find out what customers were looking for?

To many Americans, such attentiveness seems like a basic job requirement in sales.

But in Russia, these proactive customer-service practices were only beginning to be encouraged, and tended to be viewed as voluntary.

So how did the heat impact this voluntary behaviour?

of college students sitting in classrooms.

A second study looked at students who were taking the same undergraduate course, divided into two sections.

One section met in a comfortable, air-conditioned room, and another met in a hot room with bad AC. Students in both rooms were asked to volunteer to fill out a 150-question survey, ostensibly to help out a nonprofit. Because the survey was so long, they were told they could stop whenever they wanted.

The room's temperature made a big difference in the amount of help students were willing to offer: students in the comfortable classroom answered an average of 35 questions, while students in the steamy room answered an average of only six.

So just what is it about the heat that shapes human behaviour?

Could it be fatigue?

The researchers tackled this question in two of their studies.

In one, they divided online participants into two groups.

One group was asked to spend a minute with their eyes closed, recalling a time when they “felt uncomfortably hot,� then write down what they remembered.

A second group did the same exercise, but were asked to recall the events of the previous day.

All participants were then prompted to describe their level of fatigue as well as their mood.

Afterwards, they were asked if they would help with another short survey, though they would not be paid for it.

As expected, the researchers found that those who had been thinking about feeling hot

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Kouchaki and Belkin analysed the mystery-shopper data and determined that prosocial customer service took a hit during the heat wave.

The same stores showed worse customer service in 2010, when the average temperature was 34.2 degrees Celsius (about 93.6 degrees Fahrenheit), than in 2011, when temperatures averaged 26.2 degrees Celsius (about 79.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

After controlling for the number of sales staff on duty, the researchers found that employees were more than twice as likely to offer help during the cooler summer than during the sweltering one.

The deleterious effects of heat are not limited to customer service. The researchers found that high temperatures also impact the prosocial behaviours

81

reported being more tired and in a more negative mood. This group of participants was also less likely to offer their help with the additional survey. Further analysis revealed that their unwillingness to help could be explained by their feelings of fatigue and their negative mood.

“People know they are expected to display positive attitudes and help the client or their instructor,” Kouchaki says, “but because of discomfort, your cognitive resources are depleted, so you have less ability to regulate your emotions.”

In other words, with your mind so preoccupied with its own comfort, your self-control plummets, making it harder to muster the goodwill it takes to help others.

Kouchaki says that any situation that causes discomfort – not just feeling overheated – can trigger this psychological process.

For example, in a different line of research, Kouchaki found that feeling anxious leads to more unethical behaviour. So there's reason to believe that high stressors, from performance pressure to bad bosses, could also

82

Any situation that causes discomfort can trigger this psychological process affect prosocial behaviour.

The idea that our environment affects our willingness to help others is part of a long tradition in social psychology research, Kouchaki explains.

A classic experiment from the 1970s, sometimes called the Good Samaritan study, found that seminary students were less likely to stop and help a stranger slumped in an alleyway when the seminarians were pressed for time.

Yet most people are quick to point to personality and character, rather than the environment, in explaining others' bad behaviour, Kouchaki says. We tend to assume, for example, that the unhelpful store clerk is just lazy, rather than having a bad day.

These assumptions can influence how we treat people.

Kouchaki has preliminary, unpublished results suggesting that when managers attribute a person's dishonest behaviour to low integrity, rather than to circumstances, the managers are less likely to give the worker developmental feedback, apparently writing them off as a lost cause.

All these findings lead to some straightforward implications for companies, Kouchaki says.

If you can provide a comfortable work environment – beyond just air-conditioning – you'll improve performance. And if an employee disappoints, it is worth taking the extra effort to investigate whether outside factors may have played a role.

“My goal is to increase awareness of these contextual factors,” Kouchaki says, “and at the same time to increase conversations in organisations to help people learn and grow.”

This article first appeared in

Stick with your resolutions!

YOU have to find motivation within yourself. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

The best another person can do for you is provide inspiring words that help drive motivation you already have. In the absence of inner motivation, those inspirational words will be pointless. That's why so many people do nothing to reach their goals, even when there are many inspirational examples in real life, on the internet, and on the news.

They lack inner motivation.

Over the years, we've produced blogs, newsletters, and inspirational speeches to help drive people. I won't be able to include all those here. That said, here are a few simple steps you can take to help you stay motivated SET A GOAL 2018 is here, and while New Year's resolutions are behind us, the early part of the year is still a good time to set a goal. Don't freak out; this is easier than you think. You

probably have a goal for health and fitness already, whether you realise it or not. Think about what that goal is. Ask yourself right now: “What do I want to achieve, physically, in 2018?” You might come up with one goal, or many.

That's fine.

If you have trouble visualizing your goals, speak them out loud.

Take some time to really think about what you want to achieve, looking at problem areas, such as health, fitness, or physique, to determine what you want to work on. Articulate these things aloud to yourself.

You might consider enlisting a friend or loved one to assist with your plans. Now, we understand this might seem silly or even embarrassing, but it can help.

You want to pick someone supportive… but honest. You don't want someone who won't support you setting goals, who will say it is stupid to do so or try to hold you back, but nor do you want someone who is a “yes-man” (or woman) and won't provide you with quality feedback.

WRITE IT DOWN Write that goal down. If you have multiple goals write them all down, and put them in order of importance.

Next to each goal, place a number

noting it as more or less important.

For example, if you have three goals, a number one should go next to the most important one, a number two next to the second-most important one, and a number three next to the least important one.

Now rewrite the list in order from most important to least important.

KEEP IT IN SIGHT Place that list of goals in a place where you will see it. You might keep it in your purse or wallet.

You might put it on the fridge or bulletin board. You might keep it as a digital sticky note or on your digital reminder. It doesn't matter where you keep it, as long as you can see it on a regular basis.

IT'S THAT SIMPLE Setting a goal really is that simple. Think about what you want, write it down, and keep it in plain sight. Setting a goal and having a regular reminder of it might seem like a simple, possibly even pointless, task – but it's not.

Put that goal in front of you every day, and you will increase your chances of success. * Nathan DeMetz is a trainer, nutritionist, and health coach who operates Nathan DeMetz Personal Training. Learn more at demetzonlinepersonaltraining. com

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Motivation is interesting, in that no one can provide it for you. US-based health coach NATHAN DeMETZ does the nextbest thing, and gives BV readers advice on keeping those New Year’s fitness resolutions on track

83

Of tats, ties and corporate cool: are we what we wear?

Workplace dress codes are changing… so what are the new rules? BV’S HEATHER LEAH SMITH slips into something comfortable MODERN business attire is undergoing a fashion revolution, freeing most of us up to shrug out of that stuffy suit or kick off those killer, yet crippling, heels.

Most workplaces and industries are adopting a more laissez-faire attitude towards workwear requirements, eschewing suit-and-tie conformity for individual expression and practical efficiency. Millennials are often cited as the vanguard of the movement, demanding a certain degree of flexibility and autonomy in exchange for their time and skills, but they're not the only forces driving this fashion liberation. Shifting societal values and changing work habits are also being reflected in our new dressed-down dress codes.

84

Business attire expectations are evolving with work habits and societal norms, blurring the line between your personal and professional image. “If I wear pants, it's a good day,” says Alabama-based journalist Jim Cook. “I think after the recession hit and deeply hurt the newspaper industry, management came to an unspoken agreement that they weren't going to hassle us much over things like dress codes any more.”

Silicon Valley leaders and workers have been showing up to the office in the modern tech standard of casual cotton hoodies and comfy shoes, and the trend has spread to allow the highly skilled and technically talented to follow in their heroes' trainer-

shod footsteps. According to JeanBaptiste Gomez, a professional engineer and longtime surfer and cellist from France, dress codes are disappearing as bosses tire of policing something with such little impact on company results.

Even when meeting customers, Gomez is allowed to wear shorts — weather permitting — and only shows a bit of restraint in regard to footwear, steering clear of flip flops because of their beach-bum association.

Financial giants, too, such as JP Morgan, are loosening up to allow all but the top investment bankers to go “business-casual”.

Roya Hegdahl, an Economics student at New York's Colombia University, believes people are freer to express their diversity through personal style. Employees are more likely to be applauded or reprimanded based on their professional talents, rather than personal appearance.

These slow-but-steady changes speak of progressive corporate cultures, where companies are intent on keeping pace with emerging tech start-ups, and emulating their clients' values.

The suit and tie, once the very image of respectable authority, might now be perceived as overly formal and inflexible, even hostile. These are undesirable traits in the modern business world, which strives to be both approachable and relatable as well as competent and competitive.

These shifting public expectations are influencing corporate branding, allowing even those in client-facing roles more liberty in their personal presentation.

“I think that in a lot of ways,

comfy clothes, tasteful tattoos, or minimal piercings. Stylists and makeup artists are encouraged to embrace their creative expression by flaunting cuttingedge fashion, bold hair colours, and even body art. Something else to consider when pondering modern workwear requirements is location.

“In NYC, employers don't even notice earrings or nose rings. It's not an issue. Any stigma associated with tattoos is all but gone,” says Geoffrey Adam Maier, who lives unfettered and free in the Big

Apple. “I personally have pierced ears and have coloured my hair blue, green, and even purple to no outcry. The sheer number of well-dressed people walking the streets with piercings and tattoos backs up my assessment.”

While piercings and tattoos are becoming more commonplace and less taboo, applicants should still have a bit of common sense regarding the location and message of their body art. Neck and face tattoos are still associated with aberrant social behaviour.

An interesting case was that of

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

business attire is based on maintaining a power structure,” says Hegdahl. “As we move away from the previous power structure and accept more diversity, attire is something that is changing along with that.”

This shift in perception and practice comes in large part from the influx of millennials, both in the workforce and the consumer base. This is a generation of technically skilled and socially conscious individuals, discriminately judging companies based on salary and perk packages as well as the company's cultural ethos and social contributions.

This is a generation of results-driven, global-minded professionals who shun stodgy traditional work practices in favour of a healthier, more practical work-life balance. They would rather not invest time, money, and effort into two separate wardrobes, preferring a mix of garments that can be dressed up or down, depending on the needs of the day.

But with businesses ceding ground on formal workwear requirements, how casual is too casual?

Industries that place great importance on technical skills, creativity, and work ethic are typically not too bothered by

85

from previous page British receptionist Nicola Thorp, who was sent home for wearing flat shoes. She began collecting signatures to plead her case and took it to the high courts, and while the judges ultimately sided with the employer, the backlash on social media suggests a change may be on the horizon.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that companies can

86

prohibit the wearing of “any political, philosophical or religious sign”, such as Muslim hijabs, Jewish skullcaps, and Sikh turbans. This is in stark contrast to employees' legal rights in the US, where courts have ruled that no company may discriminate based on religion, race, gender, or sexual orientation.

When picking out threads

for that job interview or the first day at a new company, the old adage still rings true: dress for the job you want. As a general rule, smart, clean, and competent is always a winning combination, but remember to let the “real” you show. We may soon be at the point where we are judged on the quality of our contributions rather than that of our image.

Don Brawley

10

PEOPLE

ETERNAL Reefs began in the late 1980s, when Don Brawley and a friend went diving off the Florida Keys.

Brawley saw significant deterioration and degradation of the reefs and realised something needed to be done.

He began to talk with friends about what contributions they could make to restore these fragile ecosystems.

Creating a material and system that would replicate the natural marine environment that supports coral and microorganism development was the concept. The Reef Ball was born.

The balls are designed to create a foundation for reef growth. They absorb and dissipate tidal movements and dynamic energy impacts, are made of natural materials and attract and encourage micro-organisms to settle and propagate.

A specialized concrete formula brings the pH content of the Reef Ball close to neutral. In 1998, Carleton Glen Palmer, Don Brawley's father-in-law, talked about having his cremated remains put in a reef.

As Carleton put it, “I can think of nothing better than having all that action going on around me all the time after I am gone.” ”I had forgotten about this casual conversation we had over dinner,” says Brawley. At a placement in Sarasota, Florida, Carleton got his wish, and his reef is now teaming with sea life.

The next step, Eternal Reefs, came into being. Eternal Reefs has grown to be a popular choice as a final resting place and living legacy.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Diving into the afterlife with Eternal Reefs

87

One martini, two martini, three martini… door?

The liquid lunch used to be an industry standard, and it doesn’t matter which industry you’re talking about. Is it still acceptable to get tipsy during the working day, or are you dicing with your professional future? HAL WILLIAMS reports

88

The classic martini ­— going out of fashion?

AH, THE good old days. Time was when any business deal, interview, serious meeting or staff “do” would be liberally lubricated with liquor.

Then the No-Fun Fairy was incarnated in the form of drinkdrive laws. The boss might not care (depending on the boss, of course) but the Po-po sure do. Flashing lights, breathe into the bag, step out of the vehicle, and voila: no more licence, no more job. Unless you live inner-city or own a horse (or both, but let's face it, that's unlikely), you're out of luck. Even being over the limit on a bicycle puts your driving licence in danger in some countries – Australia, for one.

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS But, in a politically correct and health-conscious world, new constraints have come into being. Ethical issues now take precedence, and try saying “ethical issues now take precedence” after a few bevvies. We are now, as a society and as professionals, “aware” of alcohol and substance abuse. Apart from anything else, this means that office superiors who could once have been fooled by a strong breath mint and a confident step now keep an eye on your co-ordination, telephone manner and give-away behaviour like peeing on the office pot plant.

It does kind-of depend on your job, of course. Air-flight controller? Brain surgeon? Maybe a swift half, as long as it's a quiet day or a routine procedure. But journalism… the liquid lunch, it has always seemed to me, was designed with journalism in mind.

In some circles, it seems somehow

wrong for a hack to be entirely sober after mid-day.

The insurance world is different. Employees at Lloyd's of London have been banned from drinking alcohol during the working day, Personnel Today reports. The new policy appears in the famous insurance market's employee guide, and instructs staff to avoid alcohol between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The new rules came into being after a review found that around half of disciplinary cases in the previous year had been related to the misuse of alcohol. Lloyd's quotes its perceived duty as a responsible employer to provide a healthy working environment to align it “with many firms in the market”. It now embraces zerotolerance, a phrase which has never had a very jolly ring to it.

SILVER LINING Employees bemoan the fact that “Lloyd's used to be a fun place to work”, and express gloom and misery that failure to comply with the new policy could cause them to lose their jobs. The silver lining for some: the ruling applies only to Lloyd's 800 direct employees, not independent brokers and

underwriters, who can happily get on with business sloshed, or perhaps the business of getting sloshed, in the same building.

SOYLENT GREEN But not all liquid lunches are created, or imbibed, equal. Take the case of Soylent (which was a pretty bold title for a nutritional start-up, considering the original Soylent of the horror movie Soylent Green was made from human remains). Here at last is a liquid lunch that even Lloyd's of London can embrace.

To take a few words from Soylent's website, “If you've ever skipped breakfast after rolling out of bed too late… if you've ever missed a lunch because of a busy schedule… if you've ever had a guilty conscience over a midnight microwave burrito… Soylent is made for you.”

Soylent offers protein, carbohydrates, lipids, and micronutrients in each product: a complete blend of everything the body needs to thrive (except alcohol). “It turns a full meal into a one-step process,” the blurb continues. “It makes things a lot less complicated. And when you're busy, it takes eating off your plate.”

That's as may be, and Soylent may have its fans, but after the first two featured products, Soylent Drink and Soylent Café, the temptation factor of the website's proposed modern menu slips south with the Soylent Powder Pouch and the Soylent Powder Tub. Yum. And anyway, isn't this just another move to streamline our busy lives wo we spend more time on the job – and strip pleasure from our plates?

The Atlantic magazine nailed the whole argument in the opening sentence of its recent product review: “Food tastes better than Soylent.” U-huh. Imagine our surprise. Glugging what The Atlantic describes as “beige food replacement” from a plastic bottle was never really going to challenge the time-honoured tradition of popping a hot, salty chip in your mouth, or reaching for another slice of pizza. And another sip from your wine glass, bien sur.

Time moves on, and a midday meeting over crudites and hommus accompanied by a bottle of spring water is the new power lunch. Everything changes.

Make mine a Jack and ice. I've got a busy afternoon.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

A more acceptable liquid lunch?

89

Celestial origins to cerebral slogans, Nike's been just doing it for 54 years straight The world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and clothing owes its success to dedication, hard work… and the willingness to correct errors and oversights NIKE is the ancient Greek goddess of victory – but even if you didn't know that, you'd probably recognise the eponymous sporting goods manufacturer's “Just do it” motto.

Nike did it – and has worked hard to hold onto the lead it has established, and to justify its quasitheistic title.

The company was founded in 1964 under another name and rebranded as Nike in 1971. From its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, the US company has grown to become a multinational corporation, and the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and clothing.

While products — ranging from football, running, golf and basketball equipment to trendy urban apparel — are a large part of the company's success, there is more to Nike than meets the eye.

Design, development, marketing

90

and sales may have formed a foundation, but creative and goahead programmes have made advances in less visible, but more globally important, ways.

For the consumers it produces for and relies on, Nike has been collaborating with NASA, the

US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State on the LAUNCH programme.

The initiative aims to attack some of the challenges facing modern society.

LAUNCH is a platform that aims to identify and solve sustainability issues. To quote from the Nike website: “From the start, community has been at the core of who we are and what we do.”

The programme aims to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to global sustainability challenges in both developing and developed countries.

LAUNCH searches for ideas, technologies or programmes that focus on international development and make an impact in defined sustainability areas.

A council of leaders

— has done little to dull the inspiring tone of the message that was adopted by Nike.

There have been other significant challenges which threatened to tarnish Nike's image — including the “sweatshop” allegations of the 1990s — and the company has responded in a responsible and direct manner.

To act on allegations of poor wages and long hours in its Asian production bases, Nike created a new department tasked with improving the lives of its factory workers. It later formed the Fair

Labour Association, a non-profit group that brought together companies, human rights and labour representatives to bring in independent monitoring and a code of conduct, including a minimum age and a 60-hour work week.

The race isn't always to the swift, nor the battle always to the strong, but swift and strong reactions to criticism and observations of lessthan-perfect working practices have kept Nike's corporate head high, and helped it to maintain its place in the industry.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

was selected from business, governmental, technological and design areas, among others, to act as a mentor group. Those council members and innovators come together to seek solutions through discussion.

The next stage targeted strategic support to each innovator to help integrate and implement the recommendations.

The LAUNCH team was a finalist for the 2011 Service to America Medal in the Science and Environment category.

Nike's commitment to the future, for commercial and ethical reasons, focuses efforts and funding on using sport as a unifying force, helping youngsters to reach their potential.

Wieden+Kennedy is Nike's primary ad agency; its co-founder, Dan Wieden, coined the nowfamous “Just Do It” slogan in 1988.

Wieden credits inspiration for the slogan to the last words spoken by murderer Gary Gilmore — to a firing squad — before he was executed.

That rather grim origin — confirmed by several online sources and reputable British broadsheet The Independent

91

VUCA, the Dark Side, and the technological transition we all need to make Why would a global company fire top MBA graduates who come from some of the most prestigious international business schools? PENNY LAW, dean and director of Regenesys Business School, investigates

92

ACCORDING to a panellist at Leaderex 2017 in Johannesburg in early September, those MBA graduates lost their jobs because they weren't equipped for the workplace: they weren't adequately prepared to operate in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) world.

Think evolution, adaptation and survival of the fittest; think business giants that once monopolised the market crumbled because they failed to change.

Think BlackBerry, Polaroid and Kodak. Businesses that ignore disruptive technologies emerging from the fourth industrial revolution will, as author Ankush Chopra succinctly argues, fall prey to the “dark side of innovation”.

Leaders and employees who fail to embrace the technological transition will become redundant.

Being relevant in the fourth industrial revolution requires some new skills but, more importantly, also requires replacing traditional linear modes of thinking with vision, understanding, clarity and agility to navigate the VUCA environment.

These five perspectives will “futureproof” new graduates.

NO-BOX THINKING Thinking outside the box still involves thoughts confined to a box, which might not lend itself to truly radical and fresh ideas.

Some of the most innovative ideas — such as the iPhone — applied “no-box thinking”, connecting

or finding patterns in seemingly disconnected ideas, nurturing curiosity and allowing the imagination to run wild.

Supposedly impossible ideas become a reality because this perspective sees no barriers, only possibilities.

“GLOCAL” COGNISANCE Leaders need to be aware of global trends, best and next practice, and challenges.

However, blanket application of global practices might not be appropriate for a local context or a local company. Instead, leaders need to have global awareness and ensure local relevance by cultivating a “think-global-actlocal” mindset.

Leaders need to extract relevant lessons from global experiences and translate them to ensure appropriate applicability

within a local context. The result is “glocally” cognisant leaders who are culturally intelligent and able to interact with multiple cultures.

USING EQ In a world of virtual collaboration, cognitive load management and “transdisciplinarity”, mental intelligence is a necessary – but insufficient – condition for managerial and leadership success.

The VUCA environment requires the application of emotional and spiritual intelligence to establish cooperative and performance-driven workplace relationships based on trust, respect and effective communication. Leaders who access their spiritual intelligence are directed by a higher purpose, positive values, authenticity and self-awareness.

with the delegate's strengths.

Effective managers and leaders should recognise that every employee offers unique contributions.

Harnessing everyone's strengths creates a multiplier effect that will translate into improved organisational performance and engagement.

MAKER INSTINCT More wicked challenges have begun to crop up in our VUCA world, many without precedent.

Tried-and-tested solutions work with familiar problems but are not always applicable.

A “maker” instinct is required to generate solutions to these unfamiliar problems.

Bob Johansen, a distinguished fellow at Silicon Valley's Institute for the Future, regards this as a “basic skill to make and remake

organisations”. Among other things, makers flip dilemmas to solve them, and refuse to be forced into premature choices.

Our world needs leaders who are, in Johansen's words, “comfortable with being uncomfortable, but not passive”.

These are no doubt the kind of leaders the global company was hoping its MBA intake would turn into, but did not find among its recruits. And so these are the attitudes and attributes business schools must include in the coming generation of graduates. *This article first appeared in The Financial Mail.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

They are comfortable with ambiguity because they see the bigger picture, learn from and rise above adversity, and proactively solve complex, unfamiliar problems without blame.

Because emotional and spiritual intelligences increase employee engagement, staff retention and organisational performance, they use these intelligences to build their organisations and alliances.

STRENGTH MULTIPLIERS Failing businesses are often characterised by engaging multiple people rather than multiple strengths. Managers don't always know how to extract the best from employees, following the traditional method of focusing on weaknesses, and delegate tasks that aren't necessarily compatible

93

Coffee means buses, fire logs, insurance: our new cup of tea The grounds from your morning cup of go, converted to biofuel, means we get two sips at the cappuccino.

JASON AGNEW reports

94

THE announcement that Transport for London (TfL) would be using a coffee-derived biofuel to run some of the capital´s bus fleet is potentially important for the environment – but it's another twist in the city´s hot and cold relationship with the bean.

A collaboration between biobean, Shell and Argent Energy could be adding a cleaner kick to London's famous double-decker buses. The fuel tanks will be filled with a biofuel mix of diesel and oil which has been extracted from coffee grounds. Production is slow, so far, with only enough on hand to power one London bus for a year. But think about the 20 million cups of coffee going down Londoners' throats every day; there is theoretically enough waste to power a third of London's bus transport needs.

London's torrid love affair with java began back in 1652 when its first coffee house (a stall in reality) was opened just off Cornhill by a Greek, Pasqua Rosée, who had worked for a British Levant merchant in Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey, where he had developed a taste for the brew. Before long he was selling more than 600 cups a day.

Fast-forward to 1998, when Starbucks acquired the UKbased Seattle Coffee Company and started the expansion into the European market with 56 outlets. By July 2016 that number had mushroomed to 884. With rivals Caffè Nero boasting 613 outlets nationwide and Costa over 2,000, it was clear that coffee consumption was again taking off.

There was a 31 percent increase

Lloyd’s of London started life as a coffee shop in coffee shops in the UK between 2011 and 2016. There are now 22,845 coffee shops in the UK, a six percent increase year on year, with 2,300,000,000 coffees being bought and consumed away from home.

All that extra coffee being consumed means a lot of coffee grounds. The company bio-bean (all written in trendy lower-case), was founded by Arthur Kay in

2013. bio-bean states on its website that the UK produces 500,000 tonnes of grounds a year, which is disposed of in landfill – emitting methane, which is 28 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

This is also costly due to the UK landfill tax.

Kay says there is “no such thing as waste, just resources in the wrong place”. And he might be right. Spent coffee grounds

are highly calorific; ideal for producing coffee logs, which can produce 20 percent more energy than wood when burnt. It takes the grounds from 25 cups of coffee to make one carbon-neutral log so – with an estimated 1,000 cups being made every second – this could be a viable alternative fuel.

In 2015 bio-bean opened the world´s first coffee recycling factory just north of Cambridge, and a year later its team, now over 40 strong, launched the log, a sustainable briquette for use in wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.

Theirs is a lean operation, forming partnerships with waste management companies such as Biffa and Veolia, which collect on their behalf from the likes of Costa – and they are always looking for innovative solutions. They give a good instance of their integrated approach on their website: Greggs bakery chain delivers products from its distribution centre in Kettering, East Midlands, to its bakery in Enfield, north London, every day. The delivery vehicles

would be empty on their return to Kettering. Now, by only adding a few miles onto their 150-mile round trip, they carry coffee grounds collected from their retail outlets.

Known as backhauling, this practice enables bio-bean to

London consumed more coffee than anywhere else on earth receive tonnes of coffee waste daily, and means Greggs doesn´t have empty lorries on the road. bio-bean won the Grow category at Virgin Media's Voom competition in June 2016 – impressing a panel of judges which, of course, included Sir Richard Branson – and the future looks bright for the start-up with

a vision of a world powered by coffee. It now it has the contract with TfL. Afterwards Branson said: “The Paris Talks said the world should be carbon- neutral from 2050, and if we're going to get there we need tonnes of businesses like we've seen today all ploughing ahead, we need government support, we need every entrepreneur out there to move into clean energy.”

Coffee might be the latest commodity to fuel buses, but it has been fuelling humans for centuries.

In the era of Cromwell´s puritanical Commonwealth, coffee came to be seen as a catalyst for pure thought, sophistication and wit – as opposed to alcohol, which was associated with violence and lust. Even the plague of 1665 and the Great Fire a year later could not halt its growth.

Between 1680 and 1730, London consumed more coffee than anywhere else on earth, and was second only to Constantinople for the number of coffee houses.

The most conservative survey

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

A third of London’s buses could potentially be powered by the city’s coffee waste

95

From tropical bush to Shepherd’s Bush — ­ London has had a long love affair with coffee

96

conducted in 1734 counted 551 (but that failed to include unlicensed establishments).

Coffee also played a large, but often unacknowledged, part in business. One particular coffee shop was founded by a Welshman, Edward Lloyd, in Tower Street in 1688. Three years later he moved to Lombard Street, the epicentre of the maritime business district.

In 1696, as a service to his patrons, Lloyd started a paper called Lloyd's News, reporting on all matters maritime, and held shipping auctions. His business grew, and in 1774, long after Lloyd himself had passed on, the members of Lloyd's, having outgrown their premises, moved into the Royal Exchange.

They started transacting solely as underwriters… and Lloyd's of London was born.

The coffee of yesteryear would have been a far cry from today´s double decaf-latte with mocha sprinkles. A huge cauldron would have been brewed in the morning and kept bubbling away all day. The old Turkish

proverb recommended that it should be “black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love”, but contemporaries evoked a “syrup of soot and essence of old shoes” and was referred to as the “bitter Mohammedan gruel” by the 17th century equivalent of Brexiteers.

The English had always drunk ale, weak and watered-down (small beer), as the fetid water of the Thames and its tributaries even then proved too perilous to drink. A brew that didn´t leave you in varying states of inebriation was a novelty that led to explosive growth. Indeed, the creation of the Bank of England, The Stock Exchange, the establishment of the insurance industry and auction houses all happened in the new era of coffee, and many were founded in coffee establishments.

However, coffee houses' promotion of political discourse and new ideas earned the mistrust of King Charles II, whose father had, after all, been beheaded. He issued a proclamation outlawing the sale of coffee, chocolate,

sherbet or tea from any house on December 29, 1675 (it was repealed two days before it was due to come into effect).

As no self-respecting woman would ever be seen in one of these establishments, any place which caused husbands to be absent from the home faced disapproval.

In The Women´s Petition Against Coffee (1674) they condemned the “excessive use of that newfangled, abominable, heathenish liquor called coffee” which, as they saw it, had reduced their virile men into effeminate layabouts.

Tea became a necessity, not a luxury, and the popularity of coffee was slowly eclipsed. But coffee wasn't going anywhere.

Through the Mods era, where late-night cafes were all the rage, to the new millennium, where Seattle-style coffee culture (“second-wave coffee”) has taken hold, Britain is still coffee-mad.

If the bus bio-fuel idea takes off – and it looks promising so far – the majority of Londoners will soon be waking up and smelling the coffee.

Ghana International Bank plc

Ghana International Bank Overview About us - Ghanaian-owned bank based in the City of London GHIB has over 50 years presence in the heart of the city of London, the world’s leading financial centre. GHIB is unique in that it is a Ghanaian owned bank authorised by the UK Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA. We combine experience across the continent with international expertise and correspondent banking links to all the major global financial institutions.

GHIB focuses on four key areas: international trade finance, correspondent and corporate banking, treasury and transactional banking services. For organisations doing business in Africa the bank provides a gateway to the global financial system, providing access and expertise, capital and extensive cross border capabilities.

London

Ghana International Bank plc 67 Cheapside London EC2V 6AZ, United Kingdom Tel: +44 207 653 0350

Accra

Ghana Representative Office 11th Floor, Cedi House Liberia Road Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 302 660809

Nairobi

East & Central Africa Office 13th Floor, Delta Corner Tower 2 Chiromo Road, Westlands Kenya Tel: +254 7808 11583

FILM REVIEW

Bitcoin is ready for its close-up, Mr DeMille In 2015, when Bitcoin: The End Of Money As We Know It was made, the cryptocurrency was trading at about £150. BV has a look at the system behind the BTC FILM-MAKER Torsten Hoffman drags us from the days of the Roman Empire to the present via bank blunders and currency development, yak dung to yen, with the sole aim of making a point.

His point: banks bad, Bitcoin good. It's a simple message, comprehensively enforced during this one-hour exploration / advertisement / documentary. It's

98

a retrospective look at Bitcoin, of course, but looking backwards is becoming the only way to catch a glimpse of Comet Crypto as it whistles past.

The need to wrest cash and currency control from government hands is the movie's destination, but it takes a while to get there. Almost half of the one-hour production is devoted to getting viewers to realise that

cryptocurrency is nothing new.

Your bank balance is already just a series of one and zeroes on a computer screen, and has been for years.

With debt rediscovered as a commodity, and bank balances notional, the cash in your account is there only digitally. Put $100 in your account; the same $100 can be loaned (minus three percent, left in the bank for safekeeping) to someone else. With fractional reserve banking, the movie shows, the same $100 becomes more than $3,300 of “new money” created as debt. Since cash was severed from the gold standard, the playing field has been anything but level.

We've seen coin debasement (using cheaper metals instead of silver or gold), the notion of selling debt in the form of IOUs (the first banknotes), the creation of money via bonds in a complex collusion involving the (privately operated) US Federal Reserve.

Sovereign debt, interest and deficit spending cloud the waters, and we have little idea where “our” money comes from, or goes to. The banks, and governments, are in control.

At this point in the documentary – almost half-way through – we finally get on-topic with regard to Bitcoin. And it becomes evident that this film was made as, more or less, an ad for Bitcoin. But it's a convincing ad, and argument. If 97 percent of money circulating in the UK is nothing more substantial than numbers on a computer screen, and every bank card or internet transaction is a digital one, why the distrust of cryptocurrency?

The shady side of crypto, from porn subscriptions in Iran to coke and ecstasy offered for sale on Silk Road, is touched upon. And sure, the Dark Net and TOR are often aligned with cryptocurrency. Does this make it a “bad” currency?

“The most popular currency in the entire world used for doing bad things is the US dollar,” observes Roger Ver, one of the talking heads chosen by Hoffman to elaborate on the theme. It's a claim that's pretty hard to refute.

The talking heads of the Bitcoin movie were exceptionally well selected, if little known: software developers, authors, journalists, economists, entrepreneurs.

The aforementioned Ver is billed as an “ex-convict, ex-US citizen, millionaire investor”.

Others include the delightfully named Bernard von Nothaus – a “monetary architect” facing jail at the time of filming – publisher Jeffrey A. Tucker, columnist Michael J Casey and tech entrepreneur Andreas M Antonopolous. Each of them adds more clarity than the sometimesrushed voice-over and slightly scatty graphics manage to.

To move to the next level of cryptocurrency, we need to think of it as a platform, or a currency, and stop using it as a speculative asset. “It isn't a currency if you don't use it to pay people,” chides Antonopolous. He joins the others in encouraging us to embrace Bitcoin in our daily lives,

Roger Ver economic need. There are only 21 million Bitcoins, no more can be created, and they are being mined at a steadily decreasing rate. Algorithms allow computer operators around the world to “discover” new Bitcoins. (The environmental upshot of this, in terms of huge demand for the electricity to power those “mines” was a cloud not yet to appear on the horizon when this film was made in 2015.)

With such well-chosen commentators and such a fascinating subject, it's a shame that the film built around them rises and deflates like a bipolar

Michael Watchulonis soufflé. Hoffman is unashamedly billed as a “first-time film-maker”, and without wanting to be unkind, it shows.

Co-director Michael Watchulonis (multiple EMMY award-winner, mainly for wildlife films) to help him along, but the result is still somewhere between (good) film school project and (average) educational film.

We have battle re-enactments and forge-side shots of the obligatory blacksmith hammering away to illustrate a step back in time; we have odd colourised sections in a nauseous shade of bronze; we have cartoons, sketches, graphs, stick-bodied, bobble-headed figures like you see on toilet doors, graphics with arrows and little stacks of green dollar bills, more battle reenactments (different century), slick time-lapse shots of city streets and the occasional stunning shot .

It all comes together to make this a mish-mash production built around a premise, rather than a real work of film-making excellence. Does it matter? Not really; it's a delivery system for a message, not a work of art.

The actual meat of the tale is enthralling. With more cash in my (digital, unreliable) bank account, I'd be half tempted to buy Bitcoin even now, as it disappears like a rocket, rather than the steamer we featured on the cover of the Winter issue of BV. HAL WILLIAMS

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Torsten Hoffman

and stop using it as an investment.

“We need working minds (with regard to Bitcoin), not magical thinking,” says Von Nothaus.

All these words ring true, even when they seem to contradict one another. With the misery brought about by sub-prime loans, bank collapses and foreclosures, why do we continue to have such faith in traditional currency and banking methods? But again, this is targeted information. Some of the challenges that have faced Bitcoin are raised then quickly dismissed, explained, or glossed-over.

Peer-to-peer, no-fee global transactions, without control, interference, or interest sounds good to anyone who's ever been screwed over by a bank.

Bitcoin, and the blockchain which creates and protects it, are built on mathematical truths, not governmental policy or

99

Slaves to the algorithm: but does it all add up?

Can the advanced functional process of stringing optional commands together really have a successful business application? DARREN PARKIN finds out THE image of Greek mathematician Euclid furiously lashing at the beads of an abacus has little bearing on any conversation you're likely to have about algorithms.

Any contemporary association of algorithmic use is almost entirely exclusive to complex computer coding. But the very presence of the algorithms in software programmes is owed to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, who pioneered the use of mathematical scales to answer a problem.

Are algorithms still useful?

Well, yes. And, predictably, no.

It depends upon the nature of

100

your business and where you sit on its transaction line. But even if your enterprise relies on working between transactions, rather than needing to predict a start point or calculate a final outcome, there may still be room for algorithms.

Of course, you can't use algorithms to their full potential without actually understanding what they are. So what are they?

An answer from your average mathematician will probably say it's an unambiguous specification of automated reasoning applied to computer science that journeys through a finite thread of problems and solutions which eventually terminate in a deterministic state.

And that would be the moment where you stare in blank befuddlement at the still-enthusiastic face of the mathematician. In layman's terms, an algorithm is a sequence of instructions or rules that must be followed to complete a specific task.

In the interest of clarity, Business Vision visited the University of Bath – one of the UK's top five universities – to meet with one of the country's leading experts on algorithms: Professor Chris Budd.

According to Budd, many businesses are using algorithms in a variety of practical ways.

Some businesses in manufacturing use algorithms in the design process

“Some businesses in manufacturing, for example, use algorithms in the design process, such as in the design of cars and aeroplanes,” he explained. “These are used to test and optimise the design before it is manufactured, and are also used to simulate … performance.”

Algorithms help to optimise logistics, working out the best routes to move products on in the cheapest and most effective way, or optimising manufacturing processes to minimise waste. In financial markets, algorithms pinpoint the optimal time and price to buy and sell.

Algorithms are everywhere.

In fact, it's highly likely that you have employed the services of one today.

If you've searched for information on Google, for instance, you've used one in getting the results of your search.

A similar principle is applied by retailers to identify your shopping preferences.

Other successful applications include satnavs or dating websites, both of which use a series of algorithms to either find your destination, or a perfect match,

even if it does come without the element of human judgement.

“Algorithms have been used certainly since the 19th century,” adds Budd, “but it is the invention of fast computers and the availability of data which has transformed their use.

“They are much faster than they used to be, they handle much more data than they used to, and they rely much more on machine learning methods which have much less human intervention and are much more complex than in the past.”

But are we using algorithms to their full potential in a business environment?

“No one knows what their full potential might be – that is the problem. I see a move towards artificial intelligence, with machines making more and more decisions without human intervention and/or understanding.”

But without that element of human judgement, does that mean the future is fraught with danger?

“Very much so,” says Budd, “and we need to have a major debate about the use of such algorithms.”

Recently, a pornographic

video depicting Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot was circulated on X-rated websites. Obviously, it wasn't really Gadot. It was Gal Gadot's face superimposed onto an adult movie actress's body using freely available software and an ingenious algorithm.

What makes this angle of the modern algorithm story so alarming is the fact that the video was created using freely accessible software and open-source code that anyone with the proper training could assemble.

Machine learning, as it is known, is on the brink of a raft of breakthroughs that could change the way we use computers and, in turn, the way we do business.

There are many areas where algorithms can be applied as a force for good in the business world, but every path to those goals will be strewn with the traps of greed and wrongdoing, which is why Budd and experts like him are calling for wider discussion over the ethical implications of algorithm application. * The University of Bath will be a hosting a special semester on ‘The Ethics of Machine Learning' in February 2018.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Computers are much faster than they used to be and they handle much more data

101

‘Hello?' Telecommunications have come a long, long way From a nine-word call by Alexander Graham Bell to the world in your pocket via 5G, phones forge a way to the future THE WORDS of the world's first telephone call were: “Mr Watson, come here. I want to see you.”

The date was March 10, 1876, with Alexander Graham Bell on lead vocals and his assistant, Thomas Watson, receiving. Bell successfully demonstrated his ability to “talk with electricity” by transmitting the nine-word call, and the rest really is history.

It was the development which led to birth of the Bell System, headed by the Bell Telephone Company and later by AT&T. The system provided phone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984. Bell formed his eponymous company in 1877, a year after that historic call to someone who was physically out of earshot.

His patent lasted 15 years, after which the market opened to competition and thousands of new companies started. Fastforward to the present day, and the word “competition” barely does justice to the frenzy as service providers fall over themselves to provide newer, better, faster communication system.

The relatively simple device -- remarkable in its day – which enabled people to talk over a long distance has evolved into a hand-held computer, capable of creating, receiving and sending links, videos and messages,

102

channelling GPS and downloading apps. Last, and possibly least, in its list of functions, is the ability to make calls.

In this ultra-competitive, closely fought world, Verizon Communications is one of the “Baby Bells” – the companies formed to break up the monopoly of the original Bell System.

NEXT GENERATION It now leads the industry, with the first commercial application of next-generation broadband services.

Verizon recently announced its plan to launch wireless residential broadband services in three to five US markets in 2018.

As a first application of fifthgeneration – or 5G — wireless,

these services will use radio signals, rather than copper or fiber cables, to provide customers with unprecedented wireless speeds for Internet access. As 5G continues to evolve, customers will benefit from a wide array of services – including broadband, mobile and IoT (Internet of things) — and the necessary bandwidth and low latency for 3D and virtual reality applications.

Verizon's first commercial launch is planned to be in Sacramento, California, in the second half of 2018. Details of that launch, and the announcement of additional markets, have yet to be revealed.

Verizon successfully trialled 5G residential applications in 11

GOING MOBILE

• • • markets last year. The commercial launch is based on customer experience and on Verizon's confidence in new technology powered by millimetre-wave spectrum.

Verizon estimates the market opportunity for initial 5G residential broadband services to be about 30 million US households.

COMMERCIAL LAUNCH Verizon says the 5G commercial launch will not have a material impact on its consolidated capital expenditures in 2018. The company expects its full-year 2018 capital spending program to be consistent with the past several years.

“This is a landmark announce-

ment for customers and investors who have been waiting for the 5G future to become a reality,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon CTO. “We appreciate our strong ecosystem partners for their passion and technological support in helping us drive forward with 5G industry standards, for both fixed and mobile applications.

“The targeted initial launches we are announcing today will provide a strong framework for accelerating 5G's future deployment on the global standards.”

We've come a long way from “Ma Bell”.

Exciting times, and a long way from that simple “come hither” call to Mr Watson.

• • • • •

first mobile phone call was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper, a former Motorola executive.

Japan is moving towards waterproof mobiles, because people like to use them in the shower.

There are 18 times more bacteria on the average mobile phone than on the door handle of a public toilet.

The first mobile phones went on sale in the US in 1983 at just less than $4,000 apiece.

The top-selling mobile phone (and electronic gadget) in history was the Nokia 1100. More than 250 million were sold.

All but one percent of mobile malware targets Android users.

Mobile phone-throwing is an official sport in Finland.

Modern mobile phones have more computing power than the desktops used for the Apollo 11 moonshot.

There are five times more mobiles than PCs in the world.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

• The

103

Catalan and Brexit breakaways add a wobble to EMA votes Abstentions and humiliation rule and a cheap glass bowl gets a starring role as EU event descends into farce.

JASON AGNEW reports ON MONDAY, November 20, 2017, Barcelona lost the vote to be the new seat of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the body responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU. When the candidates were announced back in June, Barcelona was the joint favourite, with Milan, to win selection. In something reminiscent of the Eurovision Song Contest, Bratislava was hoping to garner votes from the former Eastern bloc countries and come in as an outside winner.

In the end, the Catalan capital was eliminated in the first round, coming in fifth behind Bratislava and receiving only half as many votes as Milan. For an alpha city with such a high profile and even higher self-esteem, this was a humiliating result.

104

The process, as with so many events run by the EU, descended into farce when the Slovak health minister refused to cast his vote in the second and third rounds due to no “newer” member states going through to the second round. Or, as a Czech delegate put it, there was disappointment at a lack of “geographical balance”.

MONUMENTAL DECISION His abstention led to a draw between Milan and Amsterdam on thirteen votes apiece, and oddly, for a monumental decision by an august body, Estonian Deputy Minister for EU Affairs, Matti Maasikas, was asked to draw one of two balls from a plastic bowl (or maybe “cheap glass,” according to an EU official in the room).

The Italians, clearly used to higher standards, were outraged with their EU Affairs Minister Sandro Gozi, who said: “It's clear

that it leaves a bitter taste to lose with a random mechanism, with a ball extracted … on a tossed coin there's no possible political influence.”

To add to the “you couldn't make it up” feel of the day, the vote for the relocation of the European Banking Authority (EBA) took place on the same day in the same place and resulted in another 1313 tie, this time between Paris and Dublin, with favourites Frankfurt suffering the same fate as Barcelona (only this time, we don't know who abstained or why).

Mr. Maasikas had to put his gloves on again as the plastic bowl came back into play.

The Irish, perhaps more used to the vicissitudes of fate, didn't react, but Cliff Taylor wrote selfdeprecatingly in the Irish Times that it would have been something of an irony “for the country

Natursports / Shutterstock.com

Carles Puigdemont, ex-president of Catalonia, now exiled in Brussels Canary Wharf will have to decide whether to move across the North Sea with the agency, or look for a new job in post-Brexit London. As Amsterdam is only 45 minutes by air from London, many of the staff (average salary €60,000 p.a.) will be able to afford to commute.

The EMA, the largest EU body in Britain, has been based in London since its inception in 1995 and it moved into new premises in Canary Wharf on a 25-year lease less than three years ago.

The EU insisted earlier this year that Britain must foot the bill for moving the EMA, because it is a direct consequence of its decision to leave the union. According to The Independent newspaper,

Brussels has put the cost of relocation at €582.5m (£520m), with 60 percent of the costs the result of a botched rental contract for the EMA's Canary Wharf offices.

The agency failed to negotiate a “break clause”, which means EU taxpayers are locked into a rent contract for its offices until June 30, 2039. This is more proof that this will be a costly divorce.

Reuters notes that with an annual budget of 322 million euros ($344 million).

With those scientists and other medical experts no longer coming to the city on a regular basis there will be a huge knock-on effect for hotels, restaurants and other service industries.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

that had a spectacular banking bust a decade ago to house the institution which, in the words of its own website, ‘works to ensure effective and consistent prudential regulation and supervision across the European banking sector'.”

Leading members of the Spanish government laid the blame squarely at the door of the Catalan independence movement for creating the instability that obviously put many people off.

Spanish health minister, Dolors Monserrat, herself Catalan, who was part of Barcelona's campaign to host the agency, lamented the result of the ballot at the General Affairs Committee in Brussels.

DAMAGE INFLICTED “I dare say that this is perhaps one of the damages directly inflicted by the independence movement in Catalonia but now, more than ever, all of us have to work together to continue this great project that is Europe and that is Spain,” she told reporters.

From the same Brussels in which this had all taken place, Carles Puigdemont, ex-Catalan leader in self-imposed exile, somewhat predictably tweeted, “The success of 155: imprison civil leaders and half of the legitimate government, forcing the exile of the other half, eradicating selfgovernance and now we can add impoverishing the territory.” (He was referring to Madrid's imposing direct rule on the region through article 155 of the constitution.)

Perhaps the writing was on the wall when Oryzon Genomics, a life sciences company, announced a day after the Catalan independence referendum took place, that it would be transferring its headquarters to Zaragoza, in the neighbouring region of Aragon. It was followed by Catalan financial giants such as Caixa Bank, which has moved to Valencia, and Banco Sabadell, to Alicante.

While Catalonia's loss is “on paper”, London's is only too real. With UK withdrawal from the Union set for March 2019, between then and now the 890 highly-specialised staff working in

105

continued from previous page Barcelona did its own evaluations and reckoned that the number of delegates visiting the EMA would rise to between 40,000 and 50,000, each spending on average €100-150 a day and staying two to three days; the hotel sector alone would have benefited to the tune of €13,000,000 a year.

The pharmaceutical industry makes up seven percent of the Catalan economy and employs 42,000 people. The EMA estimates that three quarters of its staff in London, the majority non-British, wish to remain where they are because they enjoy such stability.

Spain is second only to Germany in terms of the number of Phase III clinical trials (the last phase before being given approval for market), and third in all phases behind Germany and the UK. And with 45 percent of that activity taking place in the Barcelona metropolitan area, it would have

Knock-on effects been a natural choice, given its pro-EU credentials.

Catalonia is pro-European but the Union, fearful of further breakaways, will not entertain the idea of a separate nation, and is only willing to engage with the government in Madrid.

The Catalan Commerce Confederation doubts that the companies and jobs lost in the last few months will ever return and that the damage has been done.

How Catalans vote on December 21 will depend on their reaction to how the independence side and the central government have acted so far.

On the one hand, they might turn against the secessionists because of the havoc they have wrought, not just on the economy but also within the society they purport to represent, where

families are split and long-standing friendships are strained. What good is living in a free Catalonia if your employer has exercised his freedom by upping sticks and leaving the region?

On the other hand, many people are disgusted by what they perceive to be heavy-handedness on the part of Madrid, both by how they tried to suppress the October referendum, sending in the Civil Guard, and then sacking the elected government and invoking Article 155.

This brought in a temporary period of direct rule under Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.

Whatever happens, there are bound to be further upheavals in both economies and the only winners have been Amsterdam, Paris and the cheap glass bowl.

MODESTY BECOMES HIM — BUT INDEPENDENCE WILL OUT OF ALL the great leaders to have led their people to the promised land of independence, from Moses to Simon Bolivar to “Pandit” Nehru, Carles Puigdemont, recently deposed president of Catalonia, cuts a very unlikely figure.

Despite looking like a dishevelled chemistry teacher and speaking in a soft, measured manner, he has managed to bring Catalan independence closer to reality than anyone in the last 300 years.

Born in Amer, Girona (Gerona), close to the French border, in 1962 to a family of pastry chefs, the young Carles showed a keen interest in the Catalan language, banned until he was 13, going on to study Catalan Philology at the University of Girona until a serious car crash in 1983 led him to abandon his studies to pursue a career in journalism. (His Beatles haircut is also to hide the scars of that accident.)

He joined nationalist newspaper, El Punt Avui (The Point Today), as a copy editor and quickly rose to become editor-in-chief. Even at a proindependence publication, his secessionist leanings stood out. One former colleague recalled that when they played pinball and Puigdemont lost, he would call the machine “a Spanish whore”.

In 1991, he launched a campaign to officially “Catalanise” the name of Gerona to Girona. In 2006, he decided to try his hand at politics and was duly elected Member of the Generalitat (Catalan 106

Parliament) for Girona. A year later he failed in his attempt to become Mayor of Girona but was successful four years later, ousting the Socialists after 32 years in the Ajuntament (Town Hall). For the next five years he governed the city, virtually unknown in the rest of Spain.

In January 2016, the-then leader Artur Mas failed to secure the support of the far-left party, CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) which formed a coalition with Puigdemont's centre-right Junts Pel Sí (Together for Yes).

He unexpectedly became president “a lastminute and accidental arrival through the back door,” as he said himself, the first to refuse to swear an oath of loyalty to the Spanish Constitution and the King since the reintroduction of the process in 1978.

With a small majority in the Parliament, he obtained the votes for a referendum and pushed ahead with it on October 1. Madrid recognised neither, sending in the National Guard.

On October 27, he declared independence and two days later fled to Brussels via Marseille, claiming he wasn't there to seek asylum.

The Spanish government suspended the executive and parliament of Catalonia and called elections there for December 21. In 2018 the outcome is still unclear and whether he continues to play an active role is anyone's guess.

Daniel Jeffery Always leave a positive impact

10

PEOPLE Meet Daniel Jeffery, age 23, founder of crypto-commerce company Lantah, part of a new generation of young CEOs changing the business landscape

108

Daniel Jeffery started turning the heads of Microsoft engineers while he was still in grade school.

Mentored by industry-leading professionals and professors, he filed several patents in automotive safety, and at the age of 18 he was invited to share his work at Ford's Product Development Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

Subsequent ventures included e-liquid manufacturing (the “juice” for electronic cigarettes and vape devices), retail and coral aquaculture. Now Jeffery has set his sights on the booming market space of blockchain technologies, working with a team of seasoned technology veterans to achieve his goals.

“Remember how the Internet forever changed society? Blockchain is the next technology with similar potential,” says the young entrepreneur. “As a type of distributed ledger for maintaining a permanent and tamper-proof record of transactional data, a blockchain functions as a decentralized database that is managed by computers on a peer-to-peer network.”

The benefits? A cheaper, faster, and more secure medium for online transactions without the need of third parties such as banks. “Blockchain technology will fundamentally change economic, legal, and political systems around the world,” he predicts.

Daniel's company, Lantah, based in Florida, Texas and California in the US, uses blockchain technology to offer the first global, borderless marketplace, removing entrance barriers to the new era of crypto commerce by accepting both fiat and cryptocurrency, while facilitating the distribution and sale of goods and services along the way.

As an industry first, Lantah aims to completely disrupt today's supply chain model by replacing businesses' need to handle storage of product, inventory management, and order fulfillment at a global level. This enables companies, no matter how big or small, to serve customers quickly and efficiently.

Jeffery's motto: “Never take shortcuts, and always leave a positive impact.”

Business Visioษณ

Awards 2017 Winter announcement highlights

AN INVITATION TO VOTE Readers are cordially invited to vote in the Business Vision (BV) Awards Programme.

BV seeks out candidates with outstanding corporate achievements but all eventual winners will have convinced the judging panel that they have the vision to maintain and build on their success well into the future.

Visit our website www.bv.world/awards to place your vote or email us at award@bv.world We will send you a copy of the nomination form.

The information you provide will be used by the BV judging panel but not shared with third parties. As a small token of our thanks you will be entered in a free draw for a one-year complimentary subscription.

No vote is wasted. Your recommendation will receive our full attention.

ADNEC — Most Innovative Exhibition Services | GCC 2017

ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre) has indoor and outdoor venues and a deep-water mooring facility and features the iconic Capital Gate building, the world's furthest-leaning tower, with four times more lean than the famous tower of Pisa. ADNEC has recently hosted the 44th WorldSkills vocational careers event and the World Diabetes Congress, among others. It gives its employees a dedicated space to brainstorm, and runs workshops and awareness sessions for its staff. The drive and innovation of ADNEC convinced the BV judges that it was deserving of the Most Innovative Exhibition Services (GCC) Award.

Nike – Most Inspirational Corporate Citizen | United States 2017

Agility — Best Logistic Services Provider | GCC 2017

AGILITY began as a warehousing provider in Kuwait. It has grown to become the largest logistics company in the Middle East with a global network, offices in 100 countries and more than 22,000 employees. Agility has two main lines of business. The Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business works to move, manage, and distribute goods, while the Infrastructure portfolio of companies provides logistics-related services to facilitate trade and create new opportunities. Agility's deep commitment to customers and communities led the BV judging panel to present it with the award for Best Logistic Services Provider (GCC).

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

CORPORATE citizenship – the social responsibility of businesses and their efforts to meet ethical, legal and economic responsibilities – benefits the organisation in question and the community within which it functions. US-based sportswear company Nike's LAUNCH program – an open innovation platform that aims to identify and solve sustainability issues – has attracted the attention of the BV Awards judging panel. Nike is collaborating with NASA, The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and The US Department of State to attack the most urgent challenges facing society. Enough said. Most Inspirational Corporate Citizen (US) award duly conferred.

111

Al Tamimi & Company — Best Law Firm | UAE 2017

THE NUMBERS say it all: 17 offices, nine countries, 60 partners, 330 lawyers, 720 staff and 45 nationalities. Al Tamimi & Company is the largest law firm in the Middle East with commercially sound and cost effective legal solutions. It strives for creative and commercial legal solutions, and has the ability to practice local law in each of the nine jurisdictions where it has a presence.This strength, the company's comprehensive reach and its global focus prompted the BV judging panel to present it with the Best Law Firm (UAE) Award.

Estée Lauder — Best Employee Empowerment Policies | UAE 2017

“THERE is an extraordinary level of humanity in the way we interact with each other,” said Estée Lauder's group president, Cedric Prouvé, “and this makes us a very special company.” M Prouvé's words put in a nutshell the foresight, compassion and inclusion his company shows when it comes to employee satisfaction and empowerment. The company's broad and comprehensive policies so impressed the BV judging panel that there was no hesitation is conferring the Best Employee Empowerment Policies (UAE) Award. Estée Lauder has shown respect and care for its diverse workforce, well deserving of reward.

Genel Energy — Best Exploration & Production Company | Middle East 2017

112

GENEL Energy controls huge reserves in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and is one of the largest independent oil producers on the LSE. Genel is set to be a cornerstone provider of gas to Turkey under the KRI-Turkey Gas Sales Agreement, and its strength is based on low-cost assets. The gas reserves are set to boost the economy of the Kurdistan region, and the board and management team have long-standing relationships with key stakeholders. The company aims to bring a positive and sustainable benefit to the region, and the BV judging panel feels that Genel deserves the award for Best Exploration and Production Company (Middle East).

Baker McKenzie — Best VAT Legal Team | UK 2017

BRITISH legal firm Baker McKenzie (BM) last year hosted a conference on Britain's plans for Brexit, focusing on issues which include Value Added Tax (VAT) and the impact on supply chains, customs and imports, as well as prospects for trade, were discussed. Applying ambiguous VAT law and court judgements is a confusing area which BM has managed to simplify. In taking the lead on such a complex area, Baker McKenzie has shown the sort of initiative which BV's judging panel recognised when presenting the Best VAT Legal Team (UK) Award.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts – Best Family Cruise Line | Global 2017

Hindustan Unilever — Most Innovative Company | India 2017

THE UNILEVER Centre for Molecular Informatics is the result of a partnership between Unilever and Cambridge University. It has filed nine patents and invested nearly £16m in a purpose-built building which covers the interface between chemistry and biology, molecular databases, and synthesis and tools for chemistry.

The studies relate to a range of topics from treating disease to environmental sustainability. The broad range and bold aim of the studies – and the resulting benefits – persuaded the BV judging panel to present Hindustan Unilever with the Most Innovative Company (India).

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

DISNEY does more than “just” make family movies. The Disney Cruise Line offers real-life adventures on four ships — named Magic, Wonder, Fantasy and Dream — for “pirates, princesses and parents”. The ships set sail from ports around the world, from England to Canada, the US to Puerto Rico and Spain, with exciting destinations. There's endless entertainment for the kids, of course, but the “big people” are not forgotten, with spas, intimate dining and nightlife. The thoroughness and attention to detail shown by Disney's marine operations have prompted the BV judging panel to present the Best Family Cruise Line Global Award.

113

RHB Islamic Bank Berhad — Best Islamic Banking Services | Malaysia 2017

IN ISLAMIC finance, profit must be worked-for. Charging high interest rates is considered unscrupulous, and lending money does not count as work. Under Islamic law, money must not be used to create more money, and a bank must provide a service to earn its profits. RHB is committed to developing banking services, creating value while adhering to Shariah Law and its own Customer Service Charter. Its transparency and customer focus prompted BV's judging panel to confer the Best Islamic Banking Services (Malaysia) award to RHB.

Multiplex Constructions — Most Sustainable Contractor | Middle East 2017

MULTIPLEX'S construction division began operations in the Middle East in 1997 with the construction of the office component of the Emirates Towers in Dubai. Multiplex is a leader in environmentally sustainable design, and innovates to deliver best practice solutions, often at little or no cost to the client. The company understands how building assets function, and the role they play in enhancing health and productivity.

Multiplex is committed to leaving a positive legacy, and works closely with communities. This commitment led the BV judging panel to grant Multiplex the Most Sustainable Contractor (Middle East).

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) LLP — Best Venture Capital Legal Team | UK 2017 WITH CLIENTS which include investee companies and venture and private equity funds, such as Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Actis, Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe also acts for Africa-focused private equity funds and investee companies in Africa. The firm, founded in the US, has a deep understanding of the legal and business environment in key markets in Africa, gained from years of experience. The corporate team works with, and is supported by, the firm's competition/antitrust, finance, restructuring, employment, real estate and tax lawyers. A worthy award winner as Best Venture Capital Legal Team (UK) 2017.

114

Verizon – Best Telecoms Product Responsibility | United States 2017

ONLINE safety for families with children is a thorny area, and one sometimes ignored by service providers.

Verizon has taken the lead in its partnership with FOSI, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving child safety in a digital age. US-based Verizon also provides the FamilyBase service, which allows customers to monitor each device on their account, and set usage limits. In a rapidly evolving world in which computers and the internet play such prominent roles, such detailed attention to ethical concerns has moved the BV Awards judging panel to confer the Best Telecoms Product Responsibility (US) to Verizon.

Conseq Investment Management – Best Investment Management Services | Czechia 2017

BNP Paribas Cardif – Best Life Insurance Company | Argentina 2017

BNP Paribas Cardif has branches and offices around the world, giving it a true global presence. In Latin America, BNP Paribas Cardif has invented its own “bancassurance” model, basing its business on local specificities as well as the dynamic economy of the six countries where it is present. BNP Paribas Cardif has tied strong partnerships with the biggest retail chains, while diversifying its protection offer. This expansion mode remains an example of successful development for the company. In 2016, BNP Paribas Cardif Gross Written Premiums in protection reached 1.6 billion euros. In the competitive and sometimes hard-to-navigate world of life insurance, BNP Paribas Cardif has made some real advances on behalf of its clients, and the BV judging panel decided it was a worthy winner of the Best Life Insurance Company (Argentina) Award.

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

WIDE risk-distribution, fund selection and active portfolio management are the main benefits of Conseq's Active Invest programme. Each fund has a clearly defined investment strategy and investment limits that define the yield-to-risk ratio. It has funds for the medium- to long-term, with differing focus to suit individual needs, from stable appreciation on bonds and securities to high appreciation in the medium to long term, focusing on securities issued by bond funds, equity funds and stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and securities issued by short-term bond funds and money market funds. The spread of options, and the reliable nature of the funds, ensured the Best Investment Management Services (Czechia) Award from the BV Judging panel.

115

Century Financial Brokers – Best Financial Brokerage Firm | UAE 2017

CENTURY Financial Brokers (CFB) was founded in 1989 in the UAE by Sulaiman Baqer Mohebi with the sole ambition of offering clients with better investment prospects in global financial markets. Striving to provide a value proposition for clients during the past 28 years has been at the heart of Dubai's oldest and most trusted investment solutions provider. The company provides an array of professional services together with diversified range of financial products and the best online trading platform to private and corporate investors across various asset classes. CFB has been successful in making global financial markets understandable and accessible to local and expatriate clients with its training and educational programs. Century has a strong focus on client services. Providing value at CFB involves understanding of clients' investment requirements and offering customised solutions through professional approach. This lively and customer-centric Institution has been on a path of continuous improvisation; being led by its visionary CEO Mr. Bal Krishen, who has a full-career experience in the relevant field. Its strong client focus commended CFB to the BV Awards judging panel, and CFB has been given the 2017 Best Financial Brokerage Firm – UAE award.

The Home Depot – Best Home Improvement Inventory | United States 2017

NOTHING challenges your inner serenity like a DIY project, but if home improvement is your aim, America's Home Depot outlets have game.

The range and depth of the in-store stock is impressive, and personal service is highly cited by store visitors: “The inventory is extensive and special orders are fast to arrive,” reads one comment on the website.

“There are other hardware type stores close by, but I head first to …

Home Depot because of the vast selection of items,” reads another. The BV judging panel has been impressed by the comprehensive inventory and meticulous attention to detail and service, and approves the Best Home Improvement Inventory (US) Award to The Home Depot.

Armeec Insurance – Best General Insurance Company | Bulgaria 2017

116

ARMEEC aims to exceed customer expectations by prompt and accurate underwriting, timely claims settlements, developing distribution channels and providing prompt and flexible decisions by client-orientated insurance products. The company prides itself on precision and compliance with ethical standards, responsibility and team spirit. The stated objectives of Armeec are to outperform the market and maintain the portfolio diversification and financial stability of the company. The motto: each problem can be solved. This integrity of focus and effort swung the BV judging panel's decision in favour of Armeec being awarded Best General Insurance Company (Bulgaria).

IBM – Best Technology Branding | Global 2017

IBM has one of the world's most recognizable logos, underscoring its integrity as a global brand. The eight-bar blue logo is more than a signature for advertisements or a name or products and services. When deciding how to best address the future of brands, IBM has been decisive and forward-thinking. The 105-year-old organization has creatively and consistently transformed itself to the point where less than 10 percent of IBM's revenue is derived from hardware. The company is moving with, and often ahead of, the digital consumer world, where branding and commerce are converging. The BV judges recognise and salute this prescience, and confer the Best Technology Branding (Global) on IBM.

Marriott International – Best Hospitality Industry Branding | Global 2017

IRSA – Most Visionary Residential Property Developer | Argentina 2017 IRSA is one of the leading real estate companies in Argentina.

The company has shown its professional dedication directly and indirectly, through subsidiaries, joint ventures and strategic alliances. IRSA has a diversified range of real estate activities, including the acquisition, development and operation of office buildings, malls, hotels and land reserves as well as housing. The company's main stated objective is to maximize the profitability for shareholders. It uses its knowledge of the property market in Argentina, as well as its leadership position, to generate sustainable growth and a long-term increase in assets – factors which swayed the BV judging panel to grant IRSA the award for Most Visionary Residential Property Developer (Argentina).

Business Vision Winter 2017-18 Issue • www.bv.world

Through an evolving portfolio of innovative and award-winning brands created to address specific market needs, Marriott leads the way in customer satisfaction and owner and franchisee preference. With proven systems, support and services – coupled with attentive guest care, quality amenities, in-depth local knowledge and pre-eminent loyalty programs – Marriott's global brands continue to set industry standards. The attentive and professional approach to branding has led the BV judging panel to award the title of Best Hospitality Industry Branding (Global).

117

Subaru of America – Best Automotive Branding | United States 2017

Subaru has been the best-selling all-wheel-drive vehicle in the US for the past 10 years – and it is worth noting that 98 percent of Subarus sold in those 10 years are still on the road. The company, celebrating 50 years in the automotive business, struggled for the first 40 years but has risen to the top as one of the brands boasting consistently improved new-vehicle sales. Subaru sold more than 600,000 vehicles in the US in 2016, despite a relatively small advertising campaign – the eighth consecutive year that Subaru has nailed that significant achievement. The Outback model has sold more than 10,000 per month for 45 consecutive months. Word-ofmouth counts for a lot in any industry, and never more so than in the competitive world of car sales, but praise is due to the Japanese manufacturer for establishing its marque as a consistent market leader. That praise, in the form of the award for Best Automotive Branding (US), has been duly accorded by the BV judging panel.

Paramount Land – Most Visionary Real Estate Developer | Indonesia 2017

Paramount Land, the property arm of PT Paramount Enterprise International, engages in township development, integrated mixed-use developments, real estate, and warehousing in Indonesia. An example of Paramount Land's development is Gading Serpong, an urban township linked to the capital, Jakarta, and the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by the Jakarta-Merak toll road. With expertise in urban planning and management, Paramount Land has provided infrastructure including a hospital, commercial areas, hotels, restaurants, schools, universities, public transport, security, sport and recreation. This approach won over the BV judging panel, and has won the Most Visionary Real Estate Developer (Indonesia) Award for its developer.

Nationwide Building Society – Outstanding Client Services Finance Sector | UK 2017

118

NATIONWIDE doesn't believe in dictating to its clients and customers. As a mutual organisation, it relies on its members to help mould the society and the products and services it provides. The BV Awards judging panel salutes the fact that Nationwide takes such pride in being owned by, and run for the benefit of, its members.

The comprehensive range of financial services and products it offers, including savings, mortgages, current accounts, credit cards, investments and loans, only adds to the aura of quiet confidence which surrounds Nationwide, and helped it to secure the Outstanding Client Services (Financial Sector, UK) 2017 award in a highly competitive field.

AIM FEATURES 2018