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Coaching has grown beyond the world of sports.
Between April 2020 and October 2022, when the pandemic had our life in its hands, life coaches worldwide had a hectic schedule with an anxious population seeking advice on things like changing jobs or navigating a fitness routine. During this time, LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise report listed “professional and personal coaches” as one of the 15 career categories showing the fastest year-overyear growth, with hiring for these roles growing more than 51% since 2019. Another data stated that 80% of coaching clients felt the sessions improved their self-esteem. Thanks to the growing number of people who seek professional help, coaching is now a USD 2.85 billion global industry and the second fastest-growing market in the world.
There is an increase in the number of companies that invest in coaching for their leaders and high-potential employees, as it directly affects organisational financial performance. About 788% ROI has been recorded by many Fortune 500 companies by employing executive coaches. In fact, many companies have added a new title, Internal Coach, to help employees overcome daily professional hurdles through regular coaching sessions. However, people looking for coaches should also understand that coaching can be done
by just about anyone, and there is no proper regulation within this sector.
To help our readers understand more about the coaching industry and its leaders, we have come up with a special issue featuring the 10 Most Inspiring Transformational Coaches - 2022. We have identified some of the best coaches around the world who work with individuals, corporate teams, leaders, and executives, at all corporate levels, providing one-to-one or group sessions directed towards fulfilling personal and professional goals.
On the cover, we feature Dr. Santarvis Brown, a multifaceted executive leader with over 15 years of documented success in providing stellar organisational leadership, delivering innovative solutions, spearheading major institutional missions and initiatives, overseeing fiscal budgets, as well as training, developing, and managing personnel within the higher education sector. Enjoy Reading.
Sarath Shyam
BLISSVANA
Rupali Apshankar & Dr. Kapil Apshankar, Founders
The Ultimate Gateway to Discovering Love, Happiness, & Abundance in Life
Jack Sim, Founder, World Toilet Organization
IN MY VIEW
Digitization In the Logistics Industry: How to Stay Ahead of The Curve
Coen van der Maarel, Managing Director of Kuehne+Nagel India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
Keeping Bank Frauds at Bay: Best Practices to Secure Financial Transactions Edwardcher Monreal, Principal Solutions Architect, IAM Consumer Authentication Solutions, HID Global
How AI Will Assist Businesses with Their Core Values and How Leaders can Develop Skills for New Digital Platforms Rhys V Jones, Global Head of Banking Services, Vuram
The Social Protection, Migration of Data, and Future of Work
Kevin Reed, Chief Information Security Officer, Acronis
IN MY VIEW
We're like refugees after a major war that devastated our planet, our livelihoods, and our norms. In the aftermath of the Covid crisis, the world is now facing high inflation, failure states, massive bankruptcies, joblessness, mental health crisis, hunger, collapse of global institutions and people’s uprising.
Clearly Capitalism and Consumption Growth as an economic model is unsustainable, as it led to concentration of wealth and also concentration of industries with money in the hands of 8 billionaires owning as much
as the lower half of the human population, with the ability to distort distribution of wealth to fulfill their masculine egos.
Imagine our global economy is a human body, but only the stomach (the rich) is growing rapidly and disproportionately, while the lungs cannot breathe (the environment), the mouth cannot taste ( poverty hunger), the hands and legs cannot work (joblessness) and the heart cannot beat (empathy deficit), the brain cannot coordinate (deterioration of global institutions) and the eyes cannot see far ( shortterm populism politics). Such a dysfunctional body cannot live for long and will surely die.
Clearly, the poor need everything from food, housing, water, sanitation, detergent and clothes to energy, home appliances, healthcare, transportation, ICT, education, entertainment and financial services
Prof Dr Jack Sim is the Founder of the World Toilet Organization and Creator of the UN World Toilet Day 19 November unanimously adopted by all 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. Its effective advocacy brought access to proper sanitation to about 1.2 billion poor people over the last 20 years. He is also the Founder of the BOP HUB with the mission of Designing Business to End Poverty. He named Time Magazine’s Hero of the Environment 2008, Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum 2016, Ashoka Global Fellow 2017, Queen Elisabeth’s Points of Light Awardee 2018, and bestowed an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow in 2022.
Yet, instead of restoring order, major countries are resorting to trade wars and shooting wars to decide winners and losers. We are led by macho super-powers who drag the ordinary people into conflicts causing inflation, poverty and hardships, even while droughts, forest fires and floods are simultaneously happening everywhere due to our over-consumption growth economics model.
We now need to find and facilitate a new breed of System-Led Leaders who can think for the whole body and not merely wealth accumulation.
Past partialist approaches have distorted and choked the flow and harmony of the entire ecosystem. To succeed this time, we need all stakeholders to redesign a new World’s Economic System to mimic the sustainability of the forest, where everything is conserved and nothing is wasted.
The biggest waste in the world is Ideas Waste. If we can recycle and adaptively reuse good ideas, we can scale all ideas, solutions, business models, technologies and their interaction; we can produce a self-sustainable global economy to achieve all the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals over the next 2 or 3 decades. (Even though we might miss the 2030 target deadline).
When Singapore became an independent nation in 1965, our per capita GDP was the same as Kenya.
Over the last 57 years, I've witnessed how Singapore transformed itself from a 3rd world country into a 1st world nation with the 4th highest per capita in the world. We did this by
The way forward to achieving scale in social ventures is a collaborative effort to integrate solutions within sectors and across sectors with an inclusive approach involving all stakeholders: corporations, technologists, designers, policy makers, investors, philanthropists, academia, etc
refusing foreign aid or charity. Our strategy was to unlock the spirit of enterprise and good work ethics of our people and become the Switzerland of Asia, whcih we did.
We can learn from the Singapore model how to attract foreign investments, train locals with skills to reach full employment rate, generate local velocity of money and multiplier effects, remove corruption, provide 80% of affordable public home ownership, and develop clean honest and stable government that can plan 30 to 50 years ahead for the nation. https://www.bbc. com/news/business-32028693
In 1978, China replaced its former dysfunctional communist economic model by adopting the Singapore economic model and has since gotten 800 millions Chinese people out of poverty, by becoming the factory of the world. https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/ articles/china-and-the-singapore-model/ Rwanda branded itself as The Singapore of Africa https://www.warpnews.org/innovation/ rwanda-the-singapore-of-africa/ after its 1994 genocide and became the fastest growing African state today.
The 4 billion poor living on less than USD 8 a day is actually the largest Blue Ocean Marketplace Opportunity in the world. China's Belt & Road Economic Plan will connect many of these marketplaces and unlock their potential through trade and prosperity. The European Union is now offering similar support to the Base of Pyramid countries and offering healthy competition to boost the attractiveness of these developing regions.
Clearly, the poor need everything from food, housing, water, sanitation, detergent and clothes to energy, home appliances, healthcare,
transportation, ICT, education, entertainment and financial services. Investment in the poor and jobs creation can generate a high velocity of money and create a massive multiplier effect within their economies.
There are today 4000 branded social entrepreneurs today with proven business and implementation models under Ashoka www.ashoka.org, Schwab Fellows www. schwabfound.org, and Skoll Fellows www. skoll.org. Their solutions cover all sectors from Agritech, Edutech, Fintech / Microfinance to Off-Grid Clean Energy to Foodtech, Health tech, eCommerce, ePayments, affordable housing, clean water, safe sanitation, nutritions, eGovernance, transportation, etc. If each of these 4000 solutions can be replicated adaptively into hundreds or thousands of other locations,we can create an efficient global marketplace for the 4 billions poor earning less than USD 8 a day and include them into our formal global economy and disintermediate plenty of extractive middlemen.
The way forward to achieving scale in social ventures is a collaborative effort to integrate solutions within sectors and across sectors with an inclusive approach involving all stakeholders: corporations, technologists, designers, policy makers, investors, philanthropists, academia, etc. It is our hope that this book can help to facilitate this collective learning about how to create markets at the Base of Pyramid.
Let's redefine a billionaire as one who improves the live of a billion people and create impactful people instead of greedy people.
PEOPLE REALISE THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL
Dr. Santarvis Brown is a multifaceted executive leader with over 15 years of documented success in providing stellar organizational leadership, delivering innovative solutions, spearheading major institutional missions and initiatives, overseeing fiscal budgets, as well as training, developing, and managing personnel within the higher education sector.
Moreover, Dr. Brown’s wealth of experience, unrivaled passion, and strong work ethic have equipped him with the skills and tools to effectively lead faculty and staff while also being an agent of progressive change and innovation. The intersectionality of faith, service, education, and vision-
driven leadership has been the hallmark of Dr. Brown's entire professional career and, ultimately, his life.
From a young age, Dr. Brown learned the importance of hard work and dedication. He also realized that education is the key to a successful future. Likewise, Dr. Brown grew up in a very supportive family that ensured he had all the resources needed to become a decent adult. He studied at world-renowned universities such as Harvard, Cornell, Columbia Southern University, and many others to pursue higher education.
Since July 2022, Dr. Brown has been appointed as the Thought Leader and Facilitator at eCornell, Cornell University's executive education unit, providing professional programs to students & organizations globally
Dr. Brown cites an instance during his college days when he struggled with Math. He explains, “I would do well on the homework assignments, but when it came time to take the tests, I would fail.” He even volunteered whenever the professor asked for someone to solve a problem on the board, knowing his answer was wrong. He would even go to the professor’s office every day, asking for help.
Later, to his utter surprise, he scored a B in that class at the end of the semester. “I remember going to the professor and asking him if he made a mistake on my grade,” shares Dr. Brown. What his teacher quoted that day remains a life lesson that Dr. Brown continues to implement in every aspect of his life to this day. His teacher said, “You gave it your
best in the test, and that was all that mattered. Remember, you won’t get everything in life, but as long as you give it your best shot, you will succeed.”
In 2002, Dr. Brown’s career and passion for education began when he served as the Executive Director at the AGAPE Academic Enrichment Center. The center was dedicated to providing tutoring services to the students attending schools in the Overtown community. However, it ended up closing due to a lack of funding. After that, he took on the role of a middle school technology teacher. “I loved my job because it allowed me to work with
children, and I also understood what it took to be an effective educator,” states Dr. Brown. He indeed donned numerous hats besides being a teacher; he became a father figure, big brother, uncle, lawyer, pastor, and advocate, all rolled into one for his students.
Afterward, Dr. Brown served as the Vice President of Civic Leadership at Catalyst Miami, where he provided leadership and vision to the Civic Leadership department and
supported the team in meeting the department’s goals and upholding organizational values.
At Seminole Tribe of Florida Department of Education, he became the First AfricanAmerican to hold the distinction of Director and was responsible for strategic planning and the overall development of the department.
In 2014, Dr. Brown took on the role of Project/Grant Director at Miami Dade College, where he oversaw and managed the tracking and
As a transformational leadership coach, Dr. Brown speaks at numerous community and educational forums and offers one-on-one training programs to people and organizations
maintenance of multi-million-dollar grants. He then joined Miami Regional University as the Associate Provost Academic and Full Professor and launched various remarkable programs, including the Inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the School of Business with the Master of Business Administration Program. Under his leadership, the university experienced significant enrolment growth and a tremendous retention and graduation rate increase.
Since July 2022, Dr. Brown has been appointed as the Thought Leader and Facilitator at eCornell, Cornell University's executive education unit, providing professional programs to students & organizations globally. He is also serving as a Fellow at Governance Institute for School Accountability and as the Leadership Lecturer at the University of Virginia.
As a transformational leadership coach, Dr. Brown speaks at numerous community and educational forums and offers one-on-one training programs to people and organizations. At the beginning of each session, he likes to understand his target audience and what they expect to gain from the training. Moreover, his choice of method is the nurturing and engaging approach. He explains, “I always like my clients to know that I am there to support and guide them as they realize the potential inside of themselves while reaching their goals.”
Currently, Dr. Brown is working on publishing his book entitled ‘Leading while Leading, Leadership Lessons Learned on the Curb and Cuff, ’ which is slated for launch by December 2022
During one of his Emotional Intelligence training in South Carolina in 2020 to Law Enforcement, Dr. Brown recalls that on the first day, the attendees didn’t really seem to get engaged and were a tough crowd to please. However, on the last day, many of them reached out and asked for Dr. Brown’s contact number so that they could continue to engage. From his former students becoming his colleagues to him guiding institutions through the accreditation process to mentees carving successful careers as teachers, principals, professors, and administrators, Dr. Brown regards them as his special mileposts.
Being an early riser, Dr. Brown starts his day by 5:30 a.m. His mantra for staying calm under stress is reminding himself that it is not the
end of the world. Although, he admits that it took some time for him to come to this realization. Dr. Brown also shares that he finds 100% unplugging from work a difficult task. Therefore, one thing that he personally follows and recommends to others is to put the phone on airplane mode and just live in the moment.
“I want to leave people better than they were when I met them,” passionately says, Dr. Brown. This desire to change the life of every student he encounters comes from the time when he first entered the education field back in 2003. He further adds, “Since then, I have been blessed to come into contact and teach thousands of students, and it is my hope that I made their lives better.”
As an experienced leadership coach and education strategist, Dr. Brown recommends aspiring business executives to be unapologetically and authentically remain true to themselves! He further says, “Trust yourself, trust your abilities, and know that you’ve got what it takes. Sometimes, we doubt ourselves and our abilities, so it is important to constantly remind yourself of this daily.”
Currently, Dr. Brown is working on publishing his book entitled ‘Leading while Leading, Leadership Lessons Learned on the Curb and Cuff, ’ which is slated for launch by December 2022.
Incepted in 2017, Blissvana is the brainchild of Founders Dr. Kapil Apshankar and Rupali Apshankar. The dynamic duo has extensive technology and entrepreneurship experience working across the US, Europe, and India. During their stints, they worked with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and high-performance teams with one common thread. All these individuals had great careers but often struggled in their personal and family lives.
“We discovered early on that people only focus on improving the material aspects of their life and ignore the other dimensions. Hence, we decided to practice what we discovered and learned along the way in our lives. And out of this experience, Blissvana was born,” share Founders Dr. Kapil and Rupali. Today, Blissvana empowers entrepreneurs, business leaders, and high-performance individuals to discover, create, and live their dream life, a life full of bliss.
Rupali is an internationally certified Heal Your Life teacher and workshop leader. She is also an accomplished meditation guide, a certified music
therapist, and a mind-body coach. Before starting to work on her passion for transforming people’s lives, Rupali worked in the tech industry for more than 15 years.
Dr. Kapil Apshankar is a licensed and certified hypnotherapist affiliated with the National Guild of Hypnotists and the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners. He is also a certified Heal Your Life workshop leader, teacher, and coach in the philosophy of Louise Hay. Apart from these, he has had formal training and experience in a variety of eastern and modern energy healing systems.
According to Dr. Kapil and Rupali, every individual has unlimited potential to create and live the life of their dreams. As certified coaches, they play the role of catalysts in helping clients discover their purpose and how they can fulfil it.
“We help our clients identify what is stopping them from achieving their goals and help them remove those limiting beliefs, blocks and limitations,” assert Blissvana’s Founders. Through their heart-centred coaching techniques and healing processes, clients learn skills and strategies to deal with their energy and emotions. Likewise, Dr. Kapil and Rupali help clients integrate everything into routines that really work for them. As a result, clients establish sacred rituals in creating new habits along the way and embrace inspired action every day towards achieving their goals.
Dr. Kapil and Rupali reveal that all clients who work with them share the same big goals in their lives, making them both similar and unique at the core. They desire professional success and happy relationships. They are looking to create
financial abundance and prosperity in their lives. They desire good health and a healthy body. Yet every client brings in their own life experience into Blissvana’s programs. They have unique beliefs, challenges, and constraints that need to be overcome to get them to their dream life.
Blissvana’s Live Your Bliss Life Transformational Framework (TM) starts with the premise that all power lies within the clients. “The answers they need to live their bliss are theirs alone. Our role as coaches is to hold a loving and non-judgmental space for them and allow them to get in touch with their higher, sacred selves,” mention Dr. Kapil & Rupali.
“We also work with a variety of psychological tools and frameworks to create differentiated coaching approaches that are deeply meaningful and relevant to each client.”
Live Your Bliss is a transformational lifestyle design system that empowers clients to discover, create, and live their very best life. For Dr. Kapil and Rupali, it is their most successful program and also the one that is close to their hearts. And why not? They have distilled decades of personal experiments and experience into this program
and successfully created and perfected a nofail system that can help clients achieve their seemingly impossible goals using a set of lifetransforming principles, strategies, and tactics for creating an extraordinary life of dreams. “We know our program is successful because our clients have created a life of their dreams for themselves and know what it entails,” share Dr. Kapil & Rupali.
At the outset, participants often have selfdoubts and question the program's real value. However, when they see the results, they are truly amazed at just how much is possible for them with the right coaching guidance and support. In this way, Live Your Bliss helps participants create a life full of love, happiness and abundance – and that becomes the new foundation for every aspect of their life.
In the initial days, Dr. Kapil & Rupali faced many challenges in getting their clients to commit to the coaching process. People wanted the end results but were unwilling to spend the energy or effort required to get to bliss. “This experience early on allowed us to tinker with our coaching framework, change the way to structure our programs, and educate our clients on their personal accountability, commitment, and investment to both the process and the outcomes,” state Blissvana’s Founders.
However, being trained in Heal Your Life philosophy and Activation Method Coaching, Dr. Kapil and Rupali have undergone intensive study and training in strategies to handle the whole range of human needs and life
challenges. Most life coaching programs focus on one type of results, such as goals, beliefs, or steps. However, Blissvana focuses on the wide range of human potential and obstacles, making it unique.
Milestones that Matter the Most Walking down memory lane, Dr. Kapil & Rupali reveal that the day they decided to work together and launch Blissvana is one of the most significant mileposts of their lives. In the world of transformational life coaching, very few couples do coaching together— Tony and Sage Robbins, Jon and Missy Butcher, and Mark and Magali Peysha. Hence, coaching together and following their role models and mentors is, therefore, special to them. The next important milestone is walking the path of Louise Hay's Heal Your Life philosophy and becoming internationally licensed and certified as Heal Your Life teachers, workshop leaders, teen trainers, life coaches and business coaches.
Live Your Bliss is a transformational lifestyle design system that empowers clients to discover, create, and live their very best life
new projects. Since Blisswork is the foundation of their personal growth and professional success, they love to practice what they teach their clients. These include affirmations, mirrorwork, journaling, and practising active gratitude and forgiveness. In addition to these inner work - bliss work practices, Blissvana’s Founders also bring in a lot of eastern and modern energy practices into their lives and work day like tapping, priming, pranayama-breathwork, yoga, chanting, mantras, sound healing, and energy work.
“Our focus on bliss work empowers us to stay calm all day, deal with everything that comes our way, and live in the present moment now,” reveal the dynamic duo.
On the home turf, they are proud parents of a son and a daughter with whom they love spending time together, along with their three cats. They also actively and intentionally disconnect multiple times throughout the day, creating a work-life balance.
In addition to these, Blissvana’s Founders are also thankful for the close professional associations and personal friendships their work has allowed them to foster over the last decade, including some of the most prominent thought-leaders in the personal development, self-growth, and life transformation space.
Dr. Kapil & Rupali’s typical day is evenly split between bliss work, coaching, and working on
Blissvana’s journey began when Founders Dr. Kapil and Rupali refused to live an ordinary life. Today, as artists, entrepreneurs and adventurers, they have designed and are living a life most people might call impossible. By passing the torch of their learnings and wisdom, they want to empower families and communities worldwide to break free from narrow mindsets and limiting beliefs that hold them back from becoming their best selves and living their
authentic, dream lives through Live Your Bliss. Kapil and Rupali have spent their life sharing their knowledge and helping others. Today, they support a few charities in India and USA with a specific focus on orphans and girl education. Their vision is to scale up the impact of their contributions manifold, as Blissvana grows.
Kapil and Rupali's actions reflect their belief in the powerful impact we each have when we share. When we give more, we become more. “Our vision is to help a million people take control of their own destiny using - and help them Live Your Bliss,” share Dr. Kapil & Rupali.
Besides their love and dedication to coaching, Dr. Kapil and Rupali also have another side to their talent and expertise. They are teachers, artists, and entrepreneurs at heart. Rupali, who dreamt of becoming a singer as a child, is finally fulfilling her desire and is all set to launch her first single this month. Dr. Kapil, too is immersed in writing and working on his book and upcoming projects.
When it comes to Blissvana, they both share a grand 5-year vision for the company. As part of this plan, they want to take Live Your Bliss to a million people worldwide and empower them to create more love, happiness, and abundance in their lives. They also have some exciting short-term projects in the pipeline, including publishing Live Your Bliss as a book, launching a Blissvana growth platform, and leading research on the power of meditation, visualisation, sound healing, and the mind-body connection. “Apart from coaching, we are working on launching online programs on self-love and creating a happier life which is easily affordable and more accessible so that we can impact more people and take our vision beyond what we currently do,” happily conclude the dynamic duo, Dr. Kapil & Rupali.
Speciality: Rapid Transformational Therapy,
Mind
About Her: Alicia Rios Wilks
thought leader,
repute, a licensed
Mind
Speciality: Strategic Planning, Executive Coaching, Change Management, Training & Development, Project
About Her: Amber Howard
a wellrenowned consultant, leadership coach,
speaker, and
Speciality: Leadership Expert, Business Strategist, Organizational Behaviorist, International Author and Speaker
About Him: Dr. Corrie Block is a globally recognized business strategist, author, speaker, and Professor of Strategic Management at Monarch Business School, with over 25 years experience working on more than 150 companies.
Website: Website:
Website: https://www.libertas-coaching.co.uk/
https://www.businesscoachdan.com/
Speciality: Master Business Coach, Speaker, Author
About Him: Real-World Master Business Coach Danny Creed is a professional, certified business coach and consultant with nearly 40 years of experience in growing and turning around businesses and helping business owners achieve their definition of success.
Website:
https://drcorrieblock.com/ https://www.gabriele-werstler.de/
Speciality: Personal Transformation, Achieving Goals, Success in Business, Just Talk
About Him: Darren Diprose is a highly experienced coach with 20 years of practice and also his own life experience, which he combines in his work with clients.
Speciality: International Speaker, Trainer, Coach Educator
About Her: Gabriele Werstler is a mentor, visionary and world connector. In her work, she combines the highest spirituality with down-to-earthness and soul work with wellfounded coaching methods.
Speciality: Iridology, Juice Cleansing, Eczema
About Her: Kasia Dabrow-Kielan is a health coach specializing in healthy living and natural healing. She has over 15 years of experience as a Social Worker, including working in the community with kids with disabilities and the ageing population.
Website:
Speciality: Leadership Coaching, Keynote Speaking, Workshops, Organizational Consulting. Program Development, Program Evaluation, Accreditation Services
About Him: Dr. Santarvis Brown is a multifaceted executive leader with over 15 years of documented success in providing stellar organizational leadership, delivering innovative solutions, spearheading major institutional missions and initiatives, overseeing fiscal budgets, as well as training, developing, and managing personnel within the higher education sector.
Website:
Website: Website:
Speciality: Certified International Life & Relationship Coach, a Certified NLP Practitioner, Motivational Speaker
About Her: Laura was born in Helsinki, Finland, and from a very young age, she was exposed to many different nationalities and cultures, which gave her good people skills and an understanding of communicating with different people.
About Him: Satwinder is an Amazon bestselling author, multi-award-winning positive influencer, and a transformational coach on a mission to help men and women grasp the happenings of menopause and reclaim their positive power.
Every individual, personally or professionally, paints a picture of their life based on their own parameters for success and happiness. However, most individuals’ thought process has been largely influenced by well-meaning adults, peers, and even society as a whole. So, is our almost innate need to belong or be accepted stopping us from truly reaching our potential and achieving our dreams? That is
the question we need to be asking ourselves. If the answer to this question was a resounding yes, then the next question we need to ask is, how do we go about it? Coaching and mentoring programs are gaining traction as it is believed to help individuals identify their weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, goals, and threats, which can then be utilized to develop personalized strategies to achieve desired objectives.
Making sure my clients have clearly defined goals that are worthy of their lives is a vital part of the process. I believe that goals are our access to growing as human beings
Holding one of the leadership positions in this domain is Amber Howard, a well-renowned consultant, leadership coach, instructor, speaker, and author. She says, “I believe we all have the strength and ability to overcome adversity, but sometimes we need a little help to get started. That's where I come in. I'm here to provide the awareness, tools, and resources people need to build resilience and create positive change in their lives. I'm also committed to partnering with individuals, families, and communities to create lasting change. Together, we can build a world that is more resilient, equitable, and just.” She has several programs, techniques, and tools designed to empower individuals to fulfill their dreams.
She elucidates that whether she is working with her consulting or coaching clients, the process is always the same and yet produces powerful results. She quotes Soren Kierkegaard - “Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards,” as she explains to us the process involved once she on-boards a client. To determine the client’s coaching needs, Amber guides them through the process of identifying their future self in terms of their career or personal development. She then assesses their current state. This involves understanding the client’s existing skills, knowledge, and abilities. She then proceeds to locate the gaps between the current and future state of the client. Once the needs have been penned down, she goes on to architect customized solutions that will help bridge this gap and achieve the end results within a shorter timeframe. This may involve developing new skills, knowledge, or behaviors. It is important to tailor the training program to each individual’s needs to maximize
effectiveness. “Making sure my clients have clearly defined goals that are worthy of their lives is a vital part of the process. I believe that goals are our access to growing as human beings. Results are an important byproduct of the process and less important than the new awareness, skills, and tools we develop to create the results. We must have goals bigger than our current knowledge of how to achieve them to grow,” opines Amber.
journey of her training programs implemented within organizations. She reveals that when designing a training program, it is important to consider the specific goals and objectives of the organization. Once these have been identified, a curriculum can be created that targets the skills and knowledge employees need to improve. Regarding leadership coaching, various methodologies can help leaders effectively manage their teams. One popular approach is action learning, which involves leader reflection and peer support to create an environment conducive to change. By carefully assessing the needs of an organization, it is possible to develop a training program that will effectively meet its goals. “As a leadership coach, I work with individuals and groups to help them develop their skills and reach their potential. My work is based on the latest research in the field of psychology and coaching, and I employ a variety of effective methodologies to help my clients reach their goals,” says Amber.
In the same way, the power of coaching and mentoring programs can be harnessed to inspire employees, thus boosting company productivity and success. An organization is only as good as its workforce. And so, high-performance businesses are increasingly acknowledging that such programs are key components of modern managerial practice. Amber leads us along the
Delving deeper into the content aspect of the training program, Amber divulges that it constitutes three main pillars: self-awareness, skill development, and goal setting. This method helps clients to attain a greater understanding of themselves and their strengths and weaknesses. “From there, we focus on developing specific skills to help them meet their goals. Finally, we set measurable goals that they can work towards to track their progress. This holistic approach has proven to be highly effective in helping my clients achieve lasting success,” adds Amber.
She recounts one of her most successful training initiatives was a resilience-building program
My work is based on the latest research in the field of psychology and coaching, and I employ a variety of effective methodologies to help my clients reach their goals
she and her team ran for a large financial services organization. The client’s company was undergoing significant change, and many employees struggled to cope with the associated stress and uncertainty. The training program helped employees develop the skills and resilience needed to effectively manage change. It also included a strong focus on self-care, a key success factor. Amber proudly declares, “The company reported significant improvements in employee engagement and productivity, and we continue to receive positive feedback from participants. We know the training was successful because it produced tangible results consistent with the program's goals.”
Having established her consulting and leadership coaching business seven years ago, Amber has worked with many clients. This valuable experience helped her learn about herself and what it takes to be a successful leader.
She remembers how she was always academically well-adjusted. Being pregnant with her eldest son at the age of 16, she dropped out of high school and worked two customer service jobs to support her children in her late teens. She rediscovered her love for learning in her early twenties as she chose to go back to school to get her undergraduate degree. She gained certificates, personally and professionally, that she believes have transformed every area of her life, helping her become the leader she is admired for today. She learned some valuable lessons that she imparts to us, like how we must set goals and work hard to achieve them. She also learned the importance of resilience in the face of adversities and gratitude for everything achieved so far. “I
have always been driven to achieve growth in my personal and professional life. In my career, I have pushed myself to take on new challenges and learn new skills, even when it meant stepping outside my comfort zone. I believe that this willingness to face my fears and embrace change has been a key factor in my success as a leader,” adds Amber.
As a female in the top management space, she shares with us a few pointers that she feels will lead to becoming a successful woman leader. Apart from defining the purpose and goals, she encourages women to ask for help when needed. Reaching out to others in their time of need can be viewed as a sign of strength. Lastly, always remember that one is never alone. Many women have walked the same path and continue to do so. And as such, seeking out guidance and wisdom is encouraged. "Through my challenges and triumphs, I have continued to grow and develop as a leader, and I am excited to see what the future holds," says Amber.
A driving force at her tech startup that is impact driven, she and her team are currently working on a few different projects. Still, the main goal is to create technology to improve collaboration and partnership in the impact sector. Amber has also dedicated her time to writing a book about success and happiness. She concludes, "My hope is that by sharing my ideas, people will understand how inquiring into our existing standards and creating new ones is vital in designing a life you love based on what you authentically want."
Change is constant, and organisations and their leaders must continually evolve to maintain market relevancy. Additionally, every organisation has its own culture, language, social norms, taboos, sacred spaces, business processes, varied IT systems, and informal hierarchy. It’s unreasonable to expect any program to translate perfectly from one economic community to another. Moreover, work commands a massive portion of one’s day, so deriving meaning
and contentment in what we do and the time we invest in it is imperative. While today we may acknowledge that some form of change is necessary, such transformation mandates the need for a dramatic change, self-actualisation, and inspiration.
Dr. Corrie J Block, a world-renowned business strategist and celebrated author of several books, including ‘Business is Personal’ and ‘Spartan CEO’, has empowered individuals to form new insights and find the link between
I don’t rent my time. I rent space in my head. My clients know that I take their concerns with me
My mission is to help people find meaning at work. No matter where you live or what you do, if you are going to spend half of your life at work, it should be a meaningful half
their purpose and work. One of the most soughtafter business and executive coaches, he helps employees to connect meaningfully to their work and helps leaders to create that meaning for their team. An increase in productivity and meeting business goals is simply a by-product. Business Strategies, Online Courses, Private
Coaching, Masterclasses, and Motivational Keynotes are some novel services he has to offer.
In an exchange with Dr. Corrie, he tells us how he has multi-pronged strategies in place to determine and implement the right training methods. He dedicates his time to asking
questions, listening, and understanding the leader’s requirements. He adds, “I can only hear the voice of the organisation once I’ve listened to a varied cross-section of its people. Then, in the synthesis of those individual narratives, the organisation starts to take on its own voice in my head.” Post conducting extensive inquiries
and obtaining enough input, the last question he asks the client is, ‘what does the organisation need from me that I can provide?’.
He elaborates on the methodologies he employs as a successful leadership coach in
his training programs. He believes it has four elements: story, science, skill, and summary. He commences the training program with stories from himself and his participants. The questions stimulate a conversation and spark debate on a particular subject. Once the participants feel like they are heard, they are ready to hear back, and that is when Dr. Corrie brings in the science. “I’m a leadership guru. But if you truly want to learn leadership, don’t follow me; follow the science. Smart people are more moved by what’s true than what sounds good on a mug,” opines Dr. Corrie.
Once the stories and science are done, they are all translated into a set of skills. All the new information amalgamated needs to be processed and funneled into creating a set of replicable skills
that can be applied to real life. After practicing the skills in the training environment, he leads a summary conversation with the participants to see what ideas meant the most to them. “My leadership training programs have clocked in at an average direct ROI of more than a whopping 800 per cent, but that’s not why I think they’re successful. I think profit and performance are a by-product of passion and empowerment. At the end of my programs, participants regularly line up for selfies with me, ask me to sign a book for them, and send me 'thank you' notes even after days and months because something significant changed in their view of themselves and their work. That’s a successful training program,” explains Dr. Corrie.
While his name and services spell out recognition and success in the market, Dr Corrie reveals he encounters several challenges in his line of service. He states that his topmost challenges are staying current on research, and getting emotionally involved with his clients. He adds, “I don’t rent my time. I rent space in my head. My clients know that I take their concerns with me. I dream up solutions at night and sometimes even devise great strategies while at the gym. I live a holistic life, meaning I don’t compartmentalise. I’m amazing as a coach because I empathise with my clients and genuinely connect with them. It’s sometimes
He believes that the world is changing so quickly that any leader that doesn’t spend at least 4 hours per week in research will inevitably be left behind by the pace of development. Dr Corrie nipped this challenge in the bud by taking
M.I.T. to add layers of input to the books and blogs he reads to stay sharp. It’s easy to become complacent, and it’s tough to stay in shape.
Dr Corrie shares with us how he did not even possess an undergraduate degree and had started with just a high school education to sustain himself. It wasn’t until he founded four companies that his mentors and leaders persuaded him to return to school. He admits, “I thought they were crazy, and it would be a waste of time. But I was wrong. My mentors saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. a risk on me and let me participate in MA in Global Leadership.”
It was a four-year program that he completed in 18 months with an extra 8-credit thesis and a 4.0 GPA. It was then that he discovered that academics, research and writing were all his talents that play a key role in the success he has achieved today as a leadership expert. His passion for research and writing has become a best practice and remains a core discipline in
To a n y busin e ss e x e c uti v e s looking t o c ar v e a t o p manageme n t spa c e , D r Corrie advises them t o g e t t o kn o w themsel v es b e t t er ; d e t ermin e thei r st r ength s and w e aknesse s
his life. He confesses, “Since then, I’ve always had some kind of formal education going on in the background. It’s my hobby I don’t watch hockey or collect stamps. I read and write, and due to my unorthodox hobby. For me, though, it’s about knowledge and competency.”
The decision to walk down this career path was influenced by his father, shares Dr. Corrie. At 23, his father, with a contemplative look, turned to him and said, “Son, I’ve been working for the same company for the last 25 years, and I’m just not sure if I’ve wasted half of my life or not. If you want to do something crazy with your life, you should do it now while you have time to clean up the mess.”
These two simple lines shook him to his core and woke him up. He was the Inventory Manager for a major manufacturer, and his wife was an award-winning Retail Manager. They were headed straight for a suburban home with a white fence, 2 kids, and a dog. This got him thinking about himself and how dull his life would be; everything lined up, predetermined, sterile, and void of adventure. “So, my wife and I quit our jobs and moved to Estonia as social entrepreneurs. It was tough. We didn’t have much savings, so we dined on potatoes for about a year. We became malnourished in the process, and it wasn’t until our second year that we started bringing in enough money to eat meat regularly again. But wow, what an adventure,” discloses Dr. Corrie.
Now recognised as a leadership expert, business strategist, organisational behaviourist, and international author and speaker, he does not let his success take over his humble nature and perception of success. “Going bankrupt twice taught me to redefine what success meant to me. I have a much more balanced definition now that includes health, fun, family, travel, love, and art,” he says as he adds, “My mission is to
help people find meaning at work. No matter where you live or what you do, if you are going to spend half of your life at work, it should be a meaningful half.”
He believes that work is every individual's social role and how they add value to society in exchange for its resources. He aptly describes how adding value to one’s occupation makes life of greater significance, “Adding your efforts to the world through work is how you express gratitude for being born into a world of opportunities and technologies created by generations that came long before you. Work builds your dreams, cares for your family, and contributes to the development of our species. And at its foundation, it’s not just a job, it’s half of your life. How can we not find meaning in that?”
To any business executives looking to carve a top management space, Dr. Corrie advises them to get to know themselves better; determine their strengths and weaknesses. A leader that knows themselves very well has a significant advantage over those who don’t. Leaders that know themselves can surround themselves with people whose strengths cover their weaknesses. They can capitalise on the wisdom of diversity by including different people in their team. They can invite disparate or contradictory opinions without feeling disrespected or offended because they know they don’t have all the answers. Leaders who know themselves very well also know who they are not. And that is a competitive advantage in executive leadership. He concludes, “I think we all deserve to find meaning in our work, and I’ve dedicated my life to helping people find that meaning.”
Coen van der Maare, Managing Director of Kuehne+Nagel India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
Coen van der Maarel is the Managing Director of Kuehne+Nagel India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Coen is responsible for driving the company’s future growth and laying the groundwork to further develop a comprehensive, cutting-edge supply chain offering for India and the Asia Pacific cluster, as well as global customers looking to capitalize on the region's growth potential.
Coen, who is currently based in New Delhi, is an internationally recognized logistics expert with over 35 years of leadership experience and extensive knowledge of the global logistics industry.
As the internet and mobile revolutions took hold over the last two decades, our daily lives have become increasingly digital, with digitalization becoming the norm across industries. Due to the global pandemic, this process accelerated even further as the world moved online. The logistics sector has quickly risen to market challenges, aiding brands to ensure consistent inventory flow and product availability in remote locations by facilitating timely deliveries and efficient warehousing. Most digital-first businesses, particularly direct-to-consumer brands, today rely on 'e-commerce logistics' for pan-India expansion.
Indeed, the pandemic was a wake-up call for the logistics industry. During the pandemic, the industry experienced stalling of product movement, fewer invoices to raise, and increasing pressure to move online – in short, the industry found itself suddenly surrounded by changes, challenges, and expectations. Most of these issues stemmed from a lack of a dependable and modern integrated logistics digital platform, which made it difficult for logistics leaders to assess the time and cost-effectiveness of their operations.
The logistics industry has always been open to digitalization, albeit more slowly than other industries in implementing digital innovations. However, given the fundamental shifts in our world brought about by the pandemic, besides digitization across industries with close ties to logistics, such as retail, the likelihood of digital disruption engulfing the logistics industry continues to grow
So, if the vision of Industry 4.0 is to be realized, most enterprise processes must become more
digitized, and the logistics industry must adapt digital technology to raise operational standards, differentiate themselves from their peers, and succeed in the market.
‘Global spending on digital transformation in the logistics industry is expected to reach $84.6 billion by 2027.’ It is critical to the business strategy of multinational corporations with global supply chain operations.
The logistics sector in India is valued at $250 billion currently, is on the verge of unprecedented growth, back-office operations such as, documentation, tracking and data management are becoming digitally automated, and technologies such as Big Data, Predictive Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, and AI are propelling modern digital transformation, supplanting older technologies. There is no doubt that digitization will be the force that transforms the logistics industry landscape, and it is no longer a choice but a necessity. In addition to investing in these technologies it is also crucial for logistics firms to closely monitor these innovations to determine how they can best assist the customers and create an efficient model.
Some of the technologies that will have the greatest impact on transportation and logistics in the near future are: AI And Machine Learning: Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help companies improve their logistics operations by uncovering patterns in supply chain data. Algorithms can pinpoint the most important factors influencing success in
the supply network, and the technology can learn continuously and simultaneously.
Internet of Things (IoT): IoT can improve logistics operational efficiency by eliminating flaws such as transportation delays, poor vehicle monitoring, operator errors, and so on. The use of IoT is going to change the game completely becoming one of key logistics trends that will transform the Indian supply chain market.
Blockchain: Blockchain has huge potential and can help supply chain companies by creating smart contracts, increasing trust, and making digital payments safer. This technology decentralizes information, expanding transparency and detectability by giving each member inside the chain the keys to important data on an item's journey.
In many ports, airports, modern warehouses, and other supply chain locations, autonomous forklifts and trucks are already common to see. Soon, there will be a ton of autonomous forklifts
and trucks on the roads, delivering goods that are going to be unloaded by robotic arms and automated conveyor belts.
Companies looking for cost controls to help reduce their overhead are increasingly turning to the 3PL sector. Leveraging 3PL expertise to negotiate better transportation and other service deals and allowing the company to outsource some or all its logistics operations.
There is no doubt that digitization will be a game changer for the industry, ushering in new paradigms in data visualization and capitalization, allowing the industry to make more informed decisions while also building a more optimized infrastructure.
However, many businesses see digitalization as an end goal in and of itself, but it’s just a tool to help improve business and logistics management. The key is not in investing in flashy new systems, but in understanding your firm's needs and assessing the return on investment for each innovation.
There is no doubt that digitization will be the force that transforms the logistics industry landscape, and it is no longer a choice but a necessity
The one who goes through a lot is the one who has a lot to share with the world. Coming from a humble background is Danny Creed, a business coach, consultant, and mentor to many. Danny started his career after his father passed, compelling him to leave college and join the workforce as a farmer. Over the years, he had numerous mentors that showed him and taught his life lessons, tools, mindsets, and concepts
that he continues to carry to this day. “One of these is the value of hard work. I might not be the smartest guy, but I will make up for what I don’t know with acquired knowledge and oldfashioned hard work,” he shares. The awareness of the value of lifelong learning is another concept dear to Danny. Acquiring the love for learning and finding relevant text to gain more knowledge about a certain subject and stepping out and applying it keeps him going. A positive
I am passionate about my clients' success and honored to be a trusted business mentor and leader who uses experience and passion to make a difference in their lives, their families’ lives, their employees, and their world
attitude was the more important value that Danny held on to. He says, “Written in 1928, Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich says that whatever you think about most of the time, you become. If you believe that things are terrible, they will be. In turn, you will have incredible opportunities if you think anything is possible, no matter your situation.”
Due to his positive attitude, Danny always sees an opportunity as a test to master his craft. In his own life, he applies this thought and says, “I feel as if all the twists and turns of my past have led me to my career as a master business coach.” Though being a farmer in southern Kansas was tough, he changed his career path and became a media person, working in
broadcast radio and television. Working with the media prepared him for the life of advertising, marketing, and communications that lay ahead of him. In the late 1980s, Danny joined his first entrepreneurial start-up and was in 15 different ventures throughout his professional life. By learning the tips and tricks early on, Danny understood the value of learning from successes and failures. “I recorded that new knowledge.
I would brush myself off and then do the task again, this time better. I’ve seen firsthand what good and bad leadership can do to people and companies of all sizes,” shares Dr. Danny.
In 2006, one of Danny’s trusted mentors suggested that he take all of this acquired business knowledge, both the successes and failures, and work with other businesspeople to help them both personally and professionally grow faster than they ever could on their own. The path led him to the emerging business of Business Coaching, and he started his company in 2008. Since then, he has logged over 15,000 hours of coaching, working with entrepreneurs, business owners, corporations, and executives from around the world and helping them to learn to thrive rather than survive. “The great Zig Ziglar once told me
that real success comes from helping others get what they want, and in turn, with this attitude, I would then be rewarded with what I wanted. I am passionate about my clients' success and honored to be a trusted business mentor and leader who uses experience and passion to make a difference in their lives, their families’ lives, their employees, and their world,” says Danny.
The last few years have been tough for many. Businesses were down, and the whole world was in a crisis. Danny understood that starting a business in this climate was not easy, with the turmoil and chaos we see on the news and in our daily lives. His biggest challenge is always to help his clients acquire and maintain a possibility mindset. Though most are in a ‘survivor’ mindset, opening up your mind to an array of possibilities is important. According to Danny, the key is to help them understand what they can and can’t control. “I help them understand the WHAT IS versus the WHAT IF. I try to be a lighthouse of hope and possibility,” he says. In the last two COVID years, Danny learned that many businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and executives had zero positive input in their lives. Many told him that he was
When businesses don’t work out, Danny continues to apply his positive attitude, allowing them to reflect and work on their business and themselves to find new solutions and ideas
their only exposure to possibility and hope. With that in mind, he proudly states that all his clients’ businesses were thriving and witnessed significant growth in 2020 and 2021. “One additional challenge I face with many clients is that they have simply forgotten how to dream. When I say dream,
Clarity in their lives. Their goals are more specific and have a renewed purpose,” Danny shares.
Though Danny is very proud of his client's success, he, more importantly, reminds himself of the ones that had to struggle to make it through. Each client is encouraged to do the work. When they do, they usually far exceed all of their expectations and dreams. When businesses don’t work out, Danny continues to apply his positive attitude, allowing them to reflect and work on their business and themselves to find new solutions and ideas. “Every person or organization I work with understands from our first conversation that our prime task to begin our coaching journey will be to set some metric on everything we do,” he says.
Danny has learned that personal and professional success is not always based on profitability. So, he applies this thought to his failures too. In fact, Danny believes that coaches and consultants that weigh all they do on improving profitability are wrong. Profitability is just one of the areas where metrics should be set. Areas for metrics can be everything from improved profitability to tracking improved productivity, reducing staff turnover, sales closing ratios, or growing the average sale.
“We always set metrics, so everyone involved has a precise and clear barometer for the effectiveness of our work together. Great metrics also show us where to make change and improvements,” opines Danny.
I mean that they have never had or have lost their VISION for their company and their life. I work very hard with small and large clients to learn how to get back to dreaming. When they learn how to do this again, everything changes. They have
Every entrepreneur, every business, and every client is different. Danny's coaching program structure is customized to best suit each company’s goals, vision, and needs. After reviewing the
After reviewing the client’s health based on the timehonored personal and professional foundational Success Recipe, Danny finds out what the client needs by finding the missing ingredients
client’s health based on the time-honored personal and professional foundational Success Recipe, Danny finds out what the client needs by finding the missing ingredients. “One of my personal mentors is the legendary Brian Tracy. He has repeatedly said there is a Foundational Recipe for personal and business success. And that the ingredients of that recipe are the same for all types of businesses and professions. The recipe does not change,” Danny shares. Using this concept, Danny helps any type of business, anywhere in the world, in any economic condition. This Universal Recipe of Success includes business clarity, written goals, priority and time management, Communication skills, sales skills, and so forth. By focusing on
the fundamental areas, Danny finds the greatest opportunity for growth and new prosperity in the fundamentals themselves, be it a new entrepreneur or a multi-billion dollar client.
Being in the business for over 20 years, Danny knows the importance of the art of listening. So, he begins and maintains every engagement by asking questions and then actively and intently listening to their needs, opportunities, challenges, and issues. Based on that, a customized coaching plan is formed, utilizing every resource available to build a flexible program with one goal: to help them get a big ‘win’ early. By attacking and solving issues head-on, Danny allows clients to embrace opportunities as quickly as possible. “I
also have a policy of being “rigidly flexible.” That simply means that when necessary, we will make adjustments as we go to briskly solve new issues and challenges and to take advantage of new opportunities as swiftly as possible,” he explains.
Good work never goes unnoticed. Danny’s is no exception. Through his hard work and dedication to the growth of businesses and entrepreneurs, he won multiple awards and recognitions in his career. He won the FocalPoint Coaching International Brian Tracy award for Sales Excellence seven times, where he and his clients found each other and had short-term and consistent long-term success. Other milestones include the very special mentorship and leadership that Danny had from some of the top experts in the world on personal and professional growth. “Many client successes stand out. One, in particular, was a client on a serious downward slide. Working together with some very specific strategies and techniques, we took them from USD 1.7 million a year to USD 43 million in just three and a half years. That kind of change will change a family tree,” shares Danny.
Unlike some speakers, authors, and trainers, Danny’s initial goal is to consistently deliver immediately actionable steps that a client or reader can apply that day. “I want to “sell” HOPE. " No matter how bad a person thinks their world might be, that maybe, just maybe, I might be the one person that gives them the hope and skills so that they can and will make changes to adapt and prosper,” he states. Danny strives to be the proverbial “Pebble in the Pond.” and hopes that the impact his words or teachings might impact the world through the clients, then their
families, employees, companies, communities, region, country, and then the world.
Leading the way forward
Leadership was always seen as a series of acts that dealt with authority, telling people what to do, someone they feared was cold and uncaring. But, today, things are different. People want and need people in leadership roles to guide them and work more effectively. They place their trust, confidence, and hope in a leader who can reflect their emotions and thoughts. “Today, the key to leadership is to ACT like your listening; ACT like you care; ACT like you understand; Pay attention and be accountable,” says Danny. He wants to share this advice with other business executives looking for a successful career. People wish for leadership and direction. They will take visual and auditory cues from their leader, both positive and negative. “Being a successful leader is not about authority, position, and title. It is about
being a person worthy of being followed. When everyone you lead is comfortable with you, they’re always more open to “helping” you get what you want for your company, the team, and them,” he further explains.
Danny has a goal to reestablish his live speaking practice. Before COVID, he did many events across the US and internationally. Though Danny has maintained a speaking presence via ZOOM meetings, it’s not the same as the energy that can be generated with face-to-face events. “My speaking topics are all based on “streetfighting” and “real-world” entrepreneurial and business experience, and it’s different than many speakers present today. I have written six books, and I have outlined three more that I would like to complete,” he shares. Now, Danny wants to spend more time with some specific charities he supports. Danny also does prison seminars and workshops for inmates interested in business and self-improvement.
Unlike some speakers, authors, and trainers, Danny’s initial goal is to consistently deliver immediately actionable steps that a client or reader can apply that day
Sometimes, it is only when we reach our lowest point in life is when we are ready for the greatest change. Transformational programs comprising tailored NLP, certification training, and hypnotherapy courses empower individuals to derive outstanding personal and professional results. Once on-boarded, a skilled transformational life coach dedicates his time and resources toward helping their mentee identify any underlying behavioural or emotional causes that may be emerging from
various aspects of life. The coach would then work toward helping remove this block to better implement pivotal life-enhancing changes. This approach involves a paradigm shift in selfawareness at the very core essence of our being while helping map a blueprint for professional and personal growth. Essentially, life can be an uphill journey of self-discovery with varied levels to explore. And having a transformational life coach that resonates with the commoner and his daily struggles and helps uplift them is imperative.
A lot of the work I do with men is to first understand their own unique neural pathways and then subsequently to help them create newer, more positive ones.
Darren Diprose, with his inspiring story, is one of the UK’s most sought-after Transformational Coaches & Master Practitioner of NLP & Hypnosis. “As a Master Practitioner of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), my approach is firmly grounded in the principles of NLP. I also draw heavily on concepts from Transactional Analysis which compliments NLP perfectly,” adds Darren.
Abandoned at birth, Darren suffered a childhood of emotional neglect. He was soon hit with the tragic death of his mother at the tender age of 16, which completely left him feeling unable to cope with life. Alcohol consumption soon became his crutch, spiralling into using narcotics, any substance to numb the pain he felt. He recounts a particular incident that became the catalyst that led him to reform his life. He describes a time when he had nowhere to live. He had become homeless and destitute, a dark road that led to the day when four men, from whom he borrowed money that he could
not return, came to kill him. The only thing that separated him from this fate was the door and his silence. Terrified and paralysed with fear, he felt powerless! Even as they left, he just sat there immobilised with panic, knowing they would return and his luck may not run forever. That is when he decided to change the narrative of his life. “This was the moment that changed my life! I embarked on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately transformed my life. Within 10 years, I was at the most senior levels of some of the largest companies in the UK. A number of my friends started to encourage me to take up coaching and told me that my own story was so inspirational, and they convinced me that I would be an inspiration to others, too,” explains Darren.
Today, Darren works toward coaching men (primarily) from all over the world, including a couple of celebrities and several business
Darren intends to address the lack of awareness and importance given to the male mental health dynamic. His upcoming book unravels all this in great detail and highlights how men can achieve freedom from their self-limiting beliefs.
leaders. He aims to continue to positively impact today’s society, where men are painted as strong beings sans emotions. He realised suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst men, three times more so than women. Darren founded ManUp due to the prevalence of male suicide in the UK. ManUp has embarked on a mission to revolutionise the primitive culture of men not talking about their emotions and promoting authenticity as a virtue that all men should pursue.
Upon closer scrutiny, he discovered that the main challenge is that men, socially conditioned over the years, find it hard to admit that they have a problem in the first place. Darren addresses the aforementioned problem by creating online groups where men have a safe space to identify and share their thoughts and concerns.
He further shares his findings with us. He tells us how every life experience we have during the first 7 years of our life is firmly embedded in our brain as a neural pathway,
formed through several neurons fused together by synapses. These pathways ultimately serve to create the path of least resistance and become reinforced through repetition. “A lot of the work I do with men is to first understand their own unique neural pathways and then subsequently to help them create newer, more positive ones. I offer all clients a free 30-minute session where we explore the exact issues that they want help with, and I then tailor my approach accordingly,” elucidates Darren.
Another challenge Darren intends to address the lack of awareness and importance given to the male mental health dynamic. His upcoming book unravels all this in great detail and highlights how men can achieve freedom from their self-limiting beliefs.
In his successful 15-year-long career in this domain, Darren has achieved several milestones. He fondly recollects one such
instance that stood out. He was approached by a man, a business leader, that felt like life was closing in on him, and he could not go on any longer. Together, they explored the root cause of the client’s poor mental state and discovered that he was being driven by a set of unhealthy beliefs about work. As a child, one day, when he was unwell, his parents refused to accept his illness and told him that he had to keep going and not to let a little cold keep him away from school. This manifested throughout his life for over 30 years into becoming a workaholic and never taking any sick leaves. During that time, whenever he felt unwell and often very ill, he would push himself to go to work, wearing his lack of sickness absences like a badge of honour.
Darren reveals, “Working together, we were able to challenge his innate belief and help him see that his parents were misguided in how they told him that message many years ago. He started listening to his body, and when he was unwell, he would phone in sick, and over time he became comfortable doing so. Gradually his life turned around, and his despair was replaced by a sense of hope.”
Darren is committed to reshaping the landscape of services available for men struggling with mental health. Aligning himself with this vision, his main goal is to build ManUp into a global platform and for it to become a beacon of hope for men everywhere. Once the website attains serious traction and widespread awareness, he envisages expanding and offering a wide range of services from 1-1 coaching, weekend retreats, online training courses, and social events. Darren says,” I want to help every individual become the best version of themselves they aspire to be. When an individual changes for the better, it tends to ripple out to their family, the local community, and the workspace. I can’t personally think of anything greater than that to motivate me. When a client gives 100 per cent, I also give my 100 per cent, and that’s when the magic happens.”
In conjunction with this initiative, Darren is very close to completing his book, titled Man the **** Up, Start Talking & Start Living. He hopes this will provide him with a platform to raise awareness of the proposition he is trying to create.
Edwardcher is a highly skilled
digital security expert and avid technologist with an instinctive passion for finding pragmatic technologies to solve practical problems. He has over two decades worth of experience working in the trenches developing software and delivering solutions & services to the military, telecoms, banks, enterprise and the government with synergies in NFC, TSM and mobile financial services applied with PKI, risk management and strong authentication.
With the recent rise in banking fraud cases globally, the importance of consumer access control has gained a lot of attention. There has been a marked increase in frauds related to Private Sector Banks (PVBs), both in terms of volume and monetary amount involved, according to the 2020-21 report by the Reserve Bank of India. However, many of these fraudulent incidents could have been prevented at the initial stage with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and fraud prevention solutions. Today, several banks are willing to implement preventive measures to limit the dangers of phishing, identity theft and other such frauds.
Banks with a defense-in-depth (DID) strategy view ‘authentication’ as part of a comprehensive risk management ecosystem. This ecosystem uses artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioural biometrics to identify threats and minimise exposure. So, banks can proactively safeguard their customers' assets, including online identities. Let’s delve into some best practices that banks can utilise from this ecosystem to ensure secure financial transactions.
Who has requested this transaction?
Security measures begin with simple and intuitive yet safe authentication.
SCA regulatory requirements, which require users to authenticate their identities via what they own or know, have driven financial institutions to upgrade their authentication solutions. Still, there are some financial institutions that continue to utilise risky authentication methods to login or sign transactions. According to a survey in 2021, the leading authentication mechanism used by many such organisations was an SMS sent to customers' phones, despite the security risks associated with
Push authentication, which permits the use of a mobile phone to perform multi-factor authentication (MFA), is a more secure and user-friendly method of protecting logins and financial transactions
SMS authentication. Traditional authentication methods, like secret questions and answers and email password resets, are still in use.
Push authentication, which permits the use of a mobile phone to perform multi-factor authentication (MFA), is a more secure and user-friendly method of protecting logins and financial transactions. "Push" uses cryptographic techniques to associate a specific device with its owner's identity, making impersonation impossible without physical access to the device. Its user interface is straightforward and simple to use. Instead of referring to and retyping an OTP acquired via SMS, users can simply swipe to validate the transaction request by picking one
of two alternatives – "accept" or "reject" – when alerts appear on their phones. However, SCA is just one piece of the fraud preventing puzzle.
Data about user behavioural biometrics, and payment transactions can be incorporated as adjacent data to form a user behavioural pattern. Some common or customary patterns, such as how the user types, swipes, and interacts with their gadgets, can help detect unusual login and transaction attempts that basic authentication systems would otherwise overlook. The idea is
to complement such data with point-in-time data (credentials based on what we know, what we have, and who we are) to prevent bank fraud.
To enable quick decision-making and fraud protection, banks can use advanced internet and mobile channel risk management and fraud prevention systems to continually assess customer experience in real time. These solutions help map data points that are trivial on their own, but when aggregated, offer a picture of fraud prevention across the whole user journey.
Here are a few examples:
● Understanding the type of operating system being used
● Knowing whether the device is connected via VPN or infected by a malware
● What is the IP address and geolocation of each login attempt?
● Generating a unique device fingerprint from the system that includes language settings and the type of fonts loaded, to the number of contacts in the directory. Many data points are taken to ensure the behaviour profile is distinct
● Identifying payment transactions that can be fraudulent
It is important to assess the transactional context when users log into their accounts. For example, if a user is sending money or checking their account balance. The system can calculate how much this action varies from the usual behaviour.
When banks combine SCA with risk management and fraud prevention systems to detect potentially fraudulent transactions early on, they make it simpler for banks and financial services providers to be one or several steps ahead. Here are some of the most commonly known techniques used to commit bank fraud:
● Phishing attacks: Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which someone poses as a legitimate institution via email, phone, or text message to contact and trick individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, online banking information, and passwords.
● Account takeover: A cybercriminal takes control of internet accounts by utilising stolen passwords and/or usernames, mostly obtained from bulk lists on purchases available on the dark web.
● Social engineering & scam: Social engineering is carried out through human interactions. This involves tricking the user into disclosing important information or making a security error to steal their assets or identity.
● SIM swapping: Hackers get personal information and reroute all incoming messages and calls to their own handsets. SIM swaps are especially adept at bypassing MFA measures; swappers stole more than $100 million in the United States alone last year.
Fraudsters and cybercriminals will always be a part of the digital banking scene. Banks and financial institutions need to proactively understand and implement the right technology not just to maximize user experience but also to maintain their reputational integrity and remain risk averse. We can play a crucial role in the detection, prevention and most importantly securing customer’s hard-earned finances with the help of its full end-to-end consumer authentication journey.
Most successful entrepreneurs and corporate leaders are rapidly moving toward implementing increased and improved mentoring and coaching services to better their lives. They realised that truly bring about a change around us, there needs to be a change within us for which we need to obtain true happiness and inner peace.
Forging a relationship with the right mentor and spiritual guide can be tremendously valuable in
personal development and happiness, ultimately translating to a thriving business.
Gabriele Werstler is one of those live changing Mentors, often called “The Coach in Germany”, better known to her mentees as a spiritual master. Many of the top leaders, influencers, millionaires, and billionaires across the globe have worked with Gabriele and the unique experiences she delivers. As an international trainer, speaker, bestseller author,
I believe our mind can help our bodies instead of being anxious and making our bodies stressed all the time
and spiritual coach for more than two decades, Gabriele facilitates her already well-renowned mentees to establish a deep connection with their truest selves and be present in the moment, on an easy way.
She breaks through the stereotypical thought process most individuals possess. Gabriele
explains that attaining happiness is not associated with your outer form but rather with your inner self, which then reflects on personal and professional relationships. She advocates that true happiness and inner peace are already within us; the real quest is to align your focus with it. Every successful person that has worked
You do not need to master your whole life; you just need to master this momentCopyrights Markus Bronold Photography
with Gabriele sings her praises as their business gets even more successful through clarity, calmness, and inner strength, having found their deep purpose through her.
Gabriele guides us through some of her core offerings which, along with her skill and compassion, can be leveraged in supporting one’s personal development. She adds, “There is a huge universal power provides to everyone. Most people, don´t know about it or don´t know how to use it. To get known to it and to be around by someone who embodies that power makes massive changes in people’s lives.”
One of the programs she particularly enjoys conducting are 3 month 1:1 online mentoring programs or such as “Book a Holiday Coach”. A program designed for business people. Immersed in stressful situations and decisionmaking is often associated with leading a successful life and business. Even holidays can be stressful, because everything comes up to your mind, either from work or personal things which what had no room before, while you want to relax. Keeping this in mind, the program can be utilised by entrepreneurs as they embark upon a holiday where the first two or three days are joined by Gabriele. She conducts bespoke coaching and meditation classes that relieve the client of stress, worries, never ending seeming
thoughts. Clarity, inner peace and a clam mind are coming back and the rest of the holyday they can spend much more relaxing and go back to work refreshed, with a calm clear mind and the ability to make better decisions at work. When the individual rejoins work, something similar to a domino effect is what follows. The energy is felt by the employees who begin also making better decisions and performing better. Often Gabriele Clients reveals, “before meeting Gabriele, I had one life, an other started after meeting her, I truly began living. After working with her Live will never be the same.” “She is am mixture between Antony Robbins and Eckard Tolle”, “The Top Expert in spirituel awakening, if you want to get your mind still, and be even more successful meet her”. People Gabriele works and continue to work with are already successful and live a large life. But once
they contact her, they firmly believe their new life has begun. Having done a complete 180, market leaders vouch for the program's success. They wake up early feeling happy and spend the day in peace and contentment. They have achieved deep inner peace and more success in work, and also relationships.”
Another of the core services she has to offer is her revolutionary ‘master the moment’ program. It is a spiritual weekend designed to put you in touch with a bigger reality. Once onboard, one can learn about the basic laws of energy, the power of your thoughts, how to deal with unwanted emotions, get your intuition run, and several special tools needed to navigate easily through life. “You do not need to master your whole life; you just need to master this moment.
You can only be in this moment if you are at peace with yourself and the situation. Otherwise, your mind either goes to the past or the future because it does not want to stay in this moment. We all have inner peace, but we need to get in touch with it, and this is easy if you know how to. It is no long way.” proclaims Gabriele. “You are more than your thoughts and feelings, you had been here before your first thoughts or feelings. During your life you picked up thoughts and feelings, and began thinking that is who you are. But this are just thoughts you picked on your way, it is not what you really are. You had been here before these thoughts, You are pure purity, a purity noting needed to be added or removed. Getting in contact with this power again, opens up so many opportunities, freedom and leads from an un conscious and limited mind (even it may already seem brilliant) to a genius mind. Ease, happiness, unique synchronicity and flow comes back to life.”
For over twenty years, her focus has full of mildness been to help people find peace within
their hearts and to be free of the man-made confines of humanity. She explains, “If we get comfortable on the outside, we call it success, and if we get comfortable on the inside, we call it inner peace, joy, and happiness. We often associate the two, but they are not bound to each other. Happiness is life joy, and joy comes with vibrancy inner peace . And we do not have to bring inner peace back because it is always inside us. If you learn to find and focus inner peace and the fact that it is always there, your life suddenly transforms. What you thought may take years may just take a few moments or a few hours!” It seems to easy, but so many trusted, the Book a Holiday coach program, 1:1 mentoring, coaching, trainings, and retreats with her and have been recognised as incredible with the immense power to change lives!
A single mother for eight years to three beautiful children, Gabriele strives to strike the perfect balance between her personal and work life. Helping people find inner peace and clarity feels for her more like a hobby than a career, within it she exudes brilliance.
If we get comfortable on the outside, we call it success, and if we get comfortable on the inside, we call it inner peace, joy, and happiness
In conversation with Gabriele about the life experiences that brought her one step closer to the leader she is today, she briefly tells us of certain instances that led her along the path of becoming a well-renowned international coach and powerful mentor. Her calling began during her childhood itself, she was full of questions. She recounts that as a child, her curiosity was piqued as they were read from the bible in Kindergarten how God created the world on command.
She and her friends were so fascinated that they began taking turns playing God while the rest would follow the orders given. “As a child, we were also told that we were made out of God and we are the same. This made me ponder. I was a child and not a god. Adults seemed more capable, yet they could not command things like time or money on their side. At my age, the adults would not take me seriously, but I kept questioning these ideologies,” says Gabriele.
Fast forward to age eight, Gabriele met her houseguests, who happened to be energy healers. They understood her question and her deep inner search for answers as spiritual beings. “They started teaching me the philosophies of meditation and yoga. That actually was a huge turning point in my life. They also had a child my age, and so I went with them on holiday. I was completely immersed in yoga, meditation, and just about any book related to these concepts,” reveals Gabriele.
Then, at the age of ten, her mother gave her two tapes on mental training. She conducted her own experiment and convinced herself to redirect her mind when her feet got cold in the snow.
This, again, was one of the turning points in her life. A sports enthusiast, she introduced mental training here as well. Her determination and dedication led her to win five prestigious European dancing championships. While most participants took up dancing in childhood, she won through extensive mental training, an unusual and applaudable feat.
The next incident that played a pivotal role that led to the career she loves today was the first seminar she conducted upon the insistence of a guest she met and conversed with about God and life.
Despite her apprehensions about not possessing an appropriate degree/diploma then, participants of that seminar approached her to book her coaching services. And so, her story began.
Today, Gabriele has more than 30 coaching educational classes and Diplomas with a Master's Degree in Psychology. Just by being with Gabriele, who is not bound by the manmade self-imposed constraints, one can feel her infectious warmth, freedom, and inner peace. Additionally, for over 30 years, she has sought guidance and honed her skills through education from the best Coaches, Therapists, Headers worldwide, and spiritual Masters. She is an astounding mentor who focuses on the whole person and not just their career. And it is through this approach that she has achieved complete customer delight.
While trying to be in the moment herself, Gabriele’s sessions have been booked till April 2023, and she is scheduled to conduct a few retreats in Dubai as well. She is also the author of some bestsellers and envisages penning down more books in the future.
Kasia Dabrow-Kielan is a health coach specializing in healthy living and natural healing. She has over 15 years of experience as a Social Worker, including working in the community with kids with disabilities and the ageing population. She is also a health and wellness speaker who is often invited to share her insightful knowledge with the audience to encourage them to live better, healthier life.
From a psychology student to a career in social work to becoming a health coach and creating her brand called Consciously Healthy,
Kasia’s journey speaks volumes about her personal strength, courage, and passion. Today, she inspires others to live a healthier lifestyle and build a strong, healthy foundation for the next generation.
Life Experiences that led to the Beginning of the Health & Wellness Journey Kasia holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a postgraduate degree in Social Work. She began her career as a Social Worker. She has worked in various hospital settings and covered oncology wards, post-surgery wards, acute,
As a social worker by trade, I love working with others and hearing about people’s journeys, but the health warrior I have become and the health nerd within me drives me to share my knowledge and make this world healthier
rehabilitation, and pre-admission in Australia and the UK. While living and working in London, her mum became unwell. Kasia returned home to take care of her mother. However, the road ahead was anything but easy. She lost her mum when she was only 56 years of age to cancer. This incident left Kasia heartbroken and shattered. After coming to grips with her grief, Kasia started looking deeper into health and wellness; she took up numerous courses, attended seminars, and learned from the best individuals in the industry. More importantly, she consciously started making healthier choices, from how she ate to how she lived. What began almost 10 years ago has stayed with Kasia to date; neither has she stopped nor looked back.
day. Kasia was told to apply steroid cream by her GP and a specialist. “Her struggle with eczema again made me look further into why and what was the cause of it. This is how Consciously Healthy was started,” shares Kasia.
“As a social worker by trade, I love working with others and hearing about people’s journeys, but the health warrior I have become and the health nerd within me drives me to share my knowledge and make this world healthier,” asserts Kasia. Through Consciously Healthy, she offers clients iridology, sclerology, health consulting, one-onone consulting, and detox online programs.
As a health coach and iridologist, Kasia begins with an hour-long eye assessment of the client.
“I dived into wellness and health and looked at the entire concept from a different angle, away from the common way of thinking, and this aligned with my values which were deep within me all along,” mentions Kasia. In 2017, Kasia signed up for a course run in Bali, where she was first introduced to iridology. At that time, she was pregnant with her youngest daughter. By age two, her youngest daughter developed severe eczema, which kept getting worse by the
This is followed by a thorough discussion about the client’s physical and emotional state
One of the biggest challenges that Kasia faces as a health coach is to cut through the noise and confusion that is out there. “Luckily, I have reliable coaches, and we all learn from each other and stay on
the right path,” says Kasia. “It can be extremely hard to get the client to re-learn the truth about what is right and what is not.” She, however, feels that individuals who take their health seriously and commit are the ones who see a shift in their health. This is not only rewarding to the client but also for her as a coach.
As a health coach and iridologist, Kasia begins with an hour-long eye assessment of the client. This is followed by a thorough discussion about the client’s physical and emotional state. Since no iris is the same, Kasia customises each client’s reports and recommendations according to her findings. The report also includes causative factors that need the most focus and attention in their diet and lifestyle. The fact that the iris shows the genetic makeup and what has been passed down three generations down also plays a role in what is recommended for each client.
Kasia’s aim is to not overwhelm but help each client along their own journey to build the healthy life they deserve. Apart from this, Kasia also offers solutions and guidance to parents who come with their children as young as one to heal their eczema naturally.
Regarding the successful coaching program, Kasia continues to receive positive feedback from her clients, who are surprised by the accuracy of the iridology findings. Moreover, Kasia’s tenacious nature to always seek answers also benefits her clients.
Kasia's biggest milepost was getting started on the journey as a health coach. “I dived into this new way of living with no hesitation and made many changes along the way, the way I eat, the way I live my life; all of it was suddenly revamped,” mentions Kasia. People around her found her transformation inspirational and began seeking her advice. But, it took time to step out of her comfort zone and take on the new role as a health coach. “Nevertheless, I am forever grateful for where I am today,'' shares Kasia.
At one point in her career, Kasia undertook a course in nutrition. However, she realised that the course was not aligned with her beliefs and values, so she stopped it halfway. For Kasia, who has never been a quitter, one takeaway from this experience has been to live within one’s own truth and stay away from external chaos.
When it comes to creating a work-life balance, Kasia considers her role as a Social Worker to have been her biggest teacher. When she first started her social work career, Kasia used to take a walk along the beach before going home to leave all work-related problems outside her personal life. She admits that it was difficult to do so in the initial days, but with time, it became the norm and has remained to date. Today, she has skillfully mastered the art of work-life balance. She further believes that as individuals, everyone has their own unique way of dealing with stress and staying calm under pressure. It's just a matter of finding the correct method for oneself and practising it.
“I wish everyone, no matter their age, to be the best version of themselves and the healthiest version of themselves,” shares Kasia.
“My biggest advice is to support yourself with the right kind of people who think and believe the same way as you do,” states Kasia. “This way, you will stay grounded and focused and not lose track.”
Currently, Kasia is finishing her Integrated Iridology course to qualify as an Advanced Physical Iridologist. After its completion, she is planning to pursue two other courses
Currently, Kasia is finishing her Integrated Iridology course to qualify as an Advanced Physical Iridologist. After its completion, she is planning to pursue two other courses. Moreover, Kasia’s team is working on further developing her website to reach more clients online while she is designing a few other programs. One of them is targeting individuals, both kids and adults, as to how to treat eczema naturally packed with resources. A similar online program led by Kasia will be available on fasting, which will also be full of resources so that everyone can have a one-stop shop if they like.
In addition, Kasia has been invited to deliver a talk addressing the need and confusion around immunity-boosting in her local area this November. Handpicked for her knowledge and expertise, she is also an Executive Contributor at Brainz Magazine, which publishes her articles every month. Recently, she finished her first podcast at Brainz and is looking forward to more in the future.
“My goal is to incorporate all my services into a healthy hub, attached to a space where kids and adults can come together and enjoy a healthy snack or meal and have a laugh or two in a space where all aspects of health and wellness are catered for,” concludes Kasia.
Kevin Reed, Chief Information Security Officer at Acronis, global cyber protection company with dual headquarters in Singapore & Switzerland. Unicorn status since 2019, Acronis now has more than 2,000 employees and offices in 34 locations worldwide. In his 20+ years in cyber security, Kevin has been protecting the network of various organisations, including the 3rd largest bank in Europe, where he implemented cryptographic protection. As a CISO and Vice CIO of Yandex, the $10 billion NASDAQ traded search engine, he supervised the company’s security strategy. Now CISO of Acronis, Kevin is in charge of developing cutting-edge security solutions and leads the company's Cyber Protection Operation Centres (CPOC) worldwide.
The majority of the connected population in India is hounded by one question, and that question is, "Is there no place for privacy in India? And at what point will audiences realise that online privacy and security go hand in hand?”
Over the last 20-30 years, what has changed and what will keep changing down the road is technology—while foundations may remain the same, technology is constantly evolving
and changing. Companies need to implement technology as they cannot afford downtime, hence the pressure to reduce the difference between downtime and recovery time drives the pressure toward RTO and RPO.
The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the amount of data that usually gets lost within a period, reflecting its consequences to the most relevant business before any significant harm
NO MATTER THE SITUATION IN ANY PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHY WHERE COMPANIES OPERATE, THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEIR BACKUPS ACCESSIBLE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY DURING A DATA LOSS EVENT
occurs— starting from the point of a critical event to the most preceding backup one. On the other hand, Recovery Time Objective (RTO) generally refers to the quantity of time that an application or system, within the process, can be down without causing significant damage, including the time
the cloud for data protection. Hence, with the cloud beginning to encompass most if not all data entering the web, applying the 3-2-1 Rule as the foundation of data protection is basic. This Rule works so that one needs to make three copies of every piece of critical data and store them in two different formats while keeping one of the copies offsite. This Rule will ensure no complete wipeout of data as the offsite copy helps in protecting the data from physical disasters. In contrast, the following two copies will include an internal drive and external media, for example, cloud storage.
Traditionally, companies preferred making backup copies of essential data on a specific drive and concluding the entire storage process by sending it somewhere safe. For instance, Iron Mountain is wholly dedicated to keeping data safe in a secure, protected environment.
When choosing on-site versus cloud backup, opting for cloud storage as an offsite data backup option is essential. Based on Acronis user base globally, the trend observed is that 45% of data is in a local storage format, whereas 55% is in a cloud storage format, resulting in fewer security breaches and human errors. It means fewer people involved in this process send a copy of one's data to data protection software, from where the copy of data gets encrypted and sent to the cloud.
spent restoring the application as data. Ultimately, it helps to have a basic sense of alertness regarding both RPO and RTO.
As changes in technology are important now, one critical point of interest is the prevalence of
Companies will be using the cloud more and more to keep at least one copy of their data, which will be considered backup data that will be capped in the cloud. With the amount of data increasing, more and more companies will start using the cloud as their offsite backup cloud storage.
With clouds becoming increasingly local, there is a trend of hyper-scalers like Amazon and
Microsoft, which started with large data centers in a few countries, now applying the approach with smaller data centers in more countries specifically to adhere to local legislation and improve connectivity.
The data transfer rates also depend on the network and the target's distance from the source. As data backups are done in massive amounts, having the backup data center close to the source data center is helpful for backup and restoring speed. Typically, restoration occurs when data is lost, and companies are under pressure to recover the data as soon as possible—resulting in the pushing of data centers locally to customers because of good network connectivity and compliance with local legislation of specific geographies.
No matter the situation in any particular geography where companies operate, they would like to have their backups accessible as fast as possible, especially during a data loss event. It means that the data centers that hold their data need to be physically close in terms of network connectivity. Because of this, Acronis has 49 cloud data centers worldwide, with that number increasing every year.
Organisations are also investing across the board in IT improvements and enhancements where top priorities include data privacy and compliance with modernising cybersecurity stacks to reduce risk. According to the Acronis Cyber Protection Week survey, 76% of organisations faced downtime due to data loss. The downtime is the result of several common issues, including system crashes (52%), human error (42%), cyberattacks (36%) and insider attacks (20%), with 61% of global organisations preferring integrated solutions that replace their complicated
stacks of cybersecurity and data protection tools with a unified console.
Ransomware is the biggest game changer as cyberattacks grow, becoming increasingly malicious, common, and harder to bypass. The best and most effective approach to defending against targeted attempts to deprive companies of data is the continued merger of data protection and cyber security into cyber protection. As malicious third parties intentionally lock the company out of the systems, the cyber protection cycle is the only possible way to prevent those non-random events. Starting from surveillance, the initial compromise, followed by the propagation of network privileges, and finally burrowing down the hatchet; metaphorically with network dominance, which turns out to be costly in terms of recovery events—ultimately resulting in the integration of cybersecurity into the data protection process and circling back to cloud storage. When talking about logistics in terms of security, the amount of data is growing, leading companies to use the cloud as an offsite data backup storage facility. But this has to keep changing with the necessary changes in technology, preventing potential ransomware attacks that are affected by hardware and human error. These are nothing but intentional actions by cybercrime. With data protection legislation, various countries took different approaches to recognise the value of data.
Companies use two approaches: one is the Indian approach of keeping data in the country, meaning the companies want to process the data independently. That involves the country having adequate legislation in terms of data protection, which also requires encryption for the data before
ORGANISATIONS ARE UNDER PRESSURE TO IMPROVE BOTH RTO AND RPO, WHICH MEANS THEY NEED TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF DATA, INCLUDING DATA LOSS EVENTS, AND THE TIME IT TAKES TO RESTART THE SERVICE
it is sent anywhere. Another one is more in line with the European Union, meaning all companies need to comply with the requirements to consider it a safe location for data processing.
Organisations are under pressure to improve both RTO and RPO, which means they need to decrease the amount of data, including data loss events, and the time it takes to restart the service. Despite technological advancements, additional pressure exists to respond to potential data loss, increasing the total number of data loss events worldwide.
Companies should now merge cyber security with data protection strategies. In addition,
companies will be pressed to reduce their power RPOs when it comes to industries like online order processing with online auto processing. For example, customers won't appreciate it if a company loses their hotel or ticket reservation due to a cyberattack.
The future of data protection will be RPOs reduced to zero. Of course, as a cyber protection company, we commend investing in security, but it’s important to spend wisely — instead of just building a stack of unintegrated, outdated solutions. As 2022 will continue to prove further, the best way to utilize this budget is with integrated cyber protection solutions—before it’s too late.
Laura Rinnankoski is a Certified International Life & Relationship Coach, a Certified NLP Practitioner, a Motivational Speaker, and an author.
From a very young age, Laura was exposed to many different nationalities and cultures, which gave her good people skills and an understanding of communicating with different people. She also has a background of working with leading advertising agencies in Miami and Dublin, where she successfully managed client relationships. Therefore, communicating with people, patiently listening
to their issues, and wanting to help them succeed comes as second nature to Laura.
“Life Coaching combines three things that have always been very important to me; helping people, communication, and spirituality,” shares Laura. “As a life coach, my dream and vision are to use my international background and proficiency in 5 languages to help people all over the world!”
Laura was born in Helsinki, Finland, on a beautiful sunny winter morning. Soon after
I love helping people find their own answers and become more empowered with all the new awareness they gain in our sessions together
turning 5 months old, Laura and her family moved from Finland to Venezuela.
Getting quickly adapted to the changes, new people, diverse environments, and different cultures was just the beginning for Laura. She grew up in Venezuela, where she studied in two American international schools.
After shifting to Boston, she enrolled at Boston University to pursue a major in Mass Communication and Advertising and a minor in Psychology. She became a Life Coach in Ireland with the Irish Lifecoach Institute. Currently, Laura resides in Dublin and gives oneto-one sessions in person and over Zoom, as well as group workshops & courses in English, Spanish, Finnish & Italian.
“I love helping people find their own answers and become more empowered with all the new awareness they gain in our sessions together,” says Laura. “It is a joy to witness a client gaining new understanding and awareness of themselves, taking full responsibility for their lives and realising that they are the only ones that
In all of Laura's coaching career years, the most standout training initiative has been her ‘Breakthrough to Love’ course. This course aims to improve the relationship with oneself, which in turn will improve all the relationships in a person’s life
can change their lives for the better.”
Apart from life coaching, Laura is an expert relationship coach. She helps clients develop better relationships with themselves, resulting in positive relationships with others in their lives.
As a life coach, Laura sometimes gets too involved with her clients and the issues that they are working on. However, for a life coach, the most important thing to keep in mind is that it’s good to care, but they also need to have space and boundaries with clients. “I remind myself to take a step back so that I don’t get compassion fatigue,” asserts Laura.
“I also make my own self-care a priority.” Some self-care routines include going for walks, listening to music and inspirational talks, going out with friends, journalling, singing, and dancing.
Just like every individual is different, their challenges, needs, and goals in life are also different. For this purpose, Laura structures the contents of a training program depending on the client’s requirements. The first step involves understanding the client’s background and determining what
they want to work on. Once done, Laura and the client write down the end goal and devise a plan with action steps to reach that goal. When it comes to implementing coaching techniques, Laura uses the SMART method for the desired goal to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timebound. She also carries out a story-writing exercise with the client to figure out what stories they are telling themselves about the goal they would like to achieve. For a goal to be achieved and manifested, many different levels need to be aligned; an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions. Likewise, she uses the Wheel of Life exercise to understand how balanced a person’s life is. “One of my favourite exercises is creating a Vision Board.” shares Laura. “Here, the client creates a collage of images of what their ideal dream future life looks like.” Given their nature, vision boards are very powerful and can help manifest amazing things.
Moreover, Laura explains that one needs to believe that everything they want is possible and that they are worthy of achieving it. She adds, “You don’t need to know how things will happen because when you are aligned within yourself, you will attract the right people, events, and circumstances to help you achieve your goals.”
In all of Laura's coaching career years, the most standout training initiative has been her ‘Breakthrough to Love’ course. This course aims to improve the relationship with oneself, which in turn will improve all the relationships in a person’s life. In this course, Laura talks about selflove, self-acceptance, self-talk, personal stories and how one can change them, forgiveness,
letting go, gratitude, and manifestations. “I know the training was successful because I received very positive testimonials after the course from the participants, and many found new relationships as well,” reveals Laura.
In 2015, Laura introduced her 6-week Breakthrough to Love course to a room full of participants for the first time. She was anxious
and nervous about how it would turn out. However, she had nothing to be worried about. Not only did the participants give positive feedback after the course, but they also felt more empowered and aligned and were excited to continue manifesting amazing things into their lives. This was one of her biggest milestones as a relationship coach.
Another massive milestone for Laura was getting interviewed on the highly-acclaimed, The Elaine Show in July 2019. She had previously done over 10 radio interviews and hosted a radio show for a while. But, the opportunity for a TV interview came to her unexpectedly and synchronistic way, leaving no room for Laura to prepare anything for it. “I was in a waiting room where the Elaine Show was on the TV, and then they called me from the Elaine Show!” gleefully
shares Laura. “The interview happened so fast that I didn’t have time to prepare anything, so all I could do was be myself, and that’s what I did.”
Over the years, Laura has conducted several workshops where she teamed up with other practitioners to facilitate the sessions. Most of them had a large number of participants attending them. However, in one workshop, she collaborated with a practitioner with a large ego. This led to causing trouble between them during the workshop. “This experience taught me that I have to pick my working partners better and that it needs to be a person who is aligned to me,” implies Laura.
As a life & relationship coach, Laura wants people to realise how incredibly powerful they are and how they can change their lives if they want to with the right tools
Beginning her day early, Laura likes to listen to motivational talks in the morning and think about what she is grateful for. It is the time for a refreshing cup of coffee and breakfast, followed by planning the schedule for the day ahead. Checking the calendar, noting down the sessions, making calls, and doing any necessary research is Laura’s order of the day.
Regarding handling pressure, Laura keeps things in perspective and reminds herself that everything has a solution. If she gets overwhelmed by a situation, a couple of deep breaths in and out with some tapping calms her down and retains her focus. As for unplugging from work, she enjoys a leisurely stroll, having a pleasant conversation, singing, dancing, and writing.
As a life & relationship coach, Laura wants people to realise how incredibly powerful they are and how they can change their lives if they want to with the right tools. She also wants individuals to feel happier and more empowered, have a sense of inner peace, and make a positive difference in the world. “On a spiritual level, I want people to realise how connected we are in this world and that we are not alone,” states Laura.
“Stay true to yourself and your values and always prioritise people because they are your biggest asset and value.” shares Laura. “You can be a good leader and be kind at the same time.”
Currently, Laura is looking forward to the book launch of ‘Quiet & Badass: Visionary Women
Embracing Their Uniqueness To Create Epic Impact’ where she is one of the 18 women from around the world who have come together and shared their inspiring and motivational stories. The book is available to buy on Amazon from 23rd September 2022. Apart from this, Laura is also working on two other books; one based on her life journey and the other focused on coaching.
From being bullied at school to losing his best friend to facing heartbreak at a later stage in life to becoming a best-selling author and a motivational speaker, Satwinder Sagoo’s inspiring journey is about never giving up.
At various stages in his life, Satwinder was at war with adversities. However, having been born with a warrior spirit, he always found the strength and power to defeat them and emerge
stronger. “If I didn’t have these adversities, I would never have been in a position to have written a bestselling book, speak at events, appear at podcasts, radios, or TV,” says Satwinder.
Today, Satwinder is an Amazon bestselling author, multi-award-winning positive influencer, and a transformational coach on a mission to help men and women grasp the happenings of menopause and reclaim their positive power.
I want to reduce divorce rates, depression and suicide rates by creating awareness of Menopause across the world for both men and women and coaching as many as possible to find their strength, their positive power and regain control during this transition
Born with inverted toes, Satwinder was bullied throughout school as he could not run or hop fast. He was physically beaten outside school, followed to the toilets, mocked, and ridiculed.
To build confidence and strengthen his body and mind, Satwinder started learning Karate
at the age of 11. “I nearly quit because my toe problems started to cause challenges in my progress, but with persistence, I carried on, and 30 years later, I hold a black belt in Karate and a black belt in Jujitsu,” proudly shares Satwinder.
After finishing school, Satwinder aspired, like many other students, to study at one of the top universities in the UK but failed to secure
a successful position. Refusing to give up, he later got accepted at Staffordshire University and graduated in International Business Management.
When asked about the lessons learnt from his academic days, Satwinder reveals, “Educational life has taught me that if you have a goal, you can achieve it if you believe it and put in the work. It has also told me that when you have challenges in life, never give up. Get up and keep fighting.”
Satwinder and his partner were in a loving and happy relationship for nearly three years. However, towards the end of their relationship, he noticed that she was no longer affectionate or even warm towards him. Recalling those stressful times, Satwinder shares, “She made me aware she was having what looked like menopause symptoms, so we took a step back from the relationship to focus on supporting each other, and that is where I took the initiative to learn in-depth about menopause and how this affects a woman.”
Shortly after, she found relief and began lowering her defences. Being a supportive partner, Satwinder felt that they were finally moving towards normalcy. But things took a turn for the worse. Satwinder was suddenly blocked out from her life and on social media. He felt a myriad of emotions: anger, hurt, denial, and helplessness. At one point, he also felt like giving up his life. However, his dreams and children jolted him back to reality.
“This experience made me see what other couples go through if menopause lands and neither of them are aware of it,” reveals Satwinder. “Such is my depth of knowledge
Satwinder has a very positive and inspiring outlook when facing adversities or setbacks. Instead of looking at them as challenges, Satwinder regards them as opportunities for growth
that during my menopause coaching, I’m able to speak to a woman about what is going on in her body during menopause, as well as their partners.” And this is how ‘the Menopause Man’ was born.
Satwinder has a very positive and inspiring outlook when facing adversities or setbacks. Instead of looking at them as challenges, Satwinder regards them as opportunities for growth. One of these opportunities is by representing himself authentically and raising awareness about menopause to the world through social media.
“In my field, what would be deemed as a challenge is some of the resistance that women may place upon a man stepping into their world and talking openly about what they go through, yet what’s actually happened is many women have warmed to the fact that a man is advocating and being so understanding of this,” states Satwinder.
As a menopause coach, Satwinder conducts two separate sessions; one with the client and the other with their partner. Through these initial sessions, he gets to understand the symptoms they are going through and, accordingly, talks to them about what is going on inside their bodies. “This tends to lower their anxieties, and from that point, I give them positivity sessions to help them find their lost motivation, take back their power, and regain control of themselves during menopause,” reveals Satwinder.
Satwinder recommends aspiring business executives to always work hard on personal development because it is through working and connecting deeply with yourself that you find your true niche and authentic self
As the sessions progress, through his ‘Power Up’ Mindset and Resilience Coaching Programme, Satwinder then creates sections relevant to the client's needs and exercises within each section to help them achieve their personal goals. However, what truly makes this programme motivating and effective is that all the exercises are done together with the programme guru himself. “During menopause, a woman isn’t always in the headset to do things as ‘homework’ as there is just too much going on in her life, along with menopause landing, that can overwhelm her, so by doing it together with her, I’m giving her my positive energy that she needs at the time,” explains Satwinder.
For Satwinder, becoming a multiple black belt holder is a big milepost as it showed him the importance of discipline and dedication in life.
He also desired to hold more than one black belt, which was blessedly fulfilled. The next milestone for Satwinder was launching his book, ‘Unleash your Inner Power’. He says, “This was a dream for me, and my life’s adversities allowed me to write this to help many others going through their own personal challenges.”
Likewise, qualifying to become a life coach was also one of Satwinder’s treasured accomplishments, as it opened the door for him to the world of coaching and helping others. Getting featured in a global article alongside Nic Vujicic, a motivational speaker, was special. In 2021, Satwinder graced the cover of a popular business magazine in his Mortal Kombat-inspired image. “This was my true authenticity which a few high-profile leaders ridiculed, so to achieve that convinced
me that I was making the right decisions for my business,” conveys Satwinder.
Over the years, Satwinder has invested in and mastered the art of journaling. The first thing he does after getting up is by writing morning pages in his journal and creating new written affirmations. He also actively posts his thoughts, book reviews, client testimonials, and insights through various social media handles. Satwinder then works from 10am to 4pm. He also takes short breaks between work for lunch, listening to music, or networking with people.
After finishing his work, Satwinder does weight training and martial arts workout. He then writes in his gratitude journal by reflecting on the day and enjoys downtime by playing on his Xbox.
“I want to reduce divorce rates, depression and suicide rates by creating awareness of Menopause across the world for both men and women and coaching as many as possible to find their strength, their positive power and regain control during this transition,” passionately shares Satwinder. Being a male speaker openly addressing a female issue, Satwinder wishes to inspire men and women to ditch the man and woman tag to embrace one gender – HUMANITY, and recognise that individuals can all work together to inspire positive change.
In addition, coming from an Asian heritage, Satwinder wants to inspire different cultures to unite in addressing menopause matters for
both men and women and that empathy and understanding must prevail over cultural ego, labelling and demanding respect.
Satwinder recommends aspiring business executives to always work hard on personal development because it is through working and connecting deeply with yourself that you find your true niche and authentic self. He further says, “Be unapologetically you and never fear how others may perceive it. You live life for YOU, and by being YOU, the right people will magnetise towards you in abundance.”
Furthermore, Satwinder mentions that one should never give up irrespective of circumstances. At the end of the day, it’s not what happens to you; it’s how you respond that truly matters. He also advises having respect
for everyone. No matter the gender, culture, or ethnic origin, respect is the only religion that helps people thrive in a volatile, challenging society.
Satwinder is currently deeply immersed in writing his 2nd book, which he hopes to launch on his birthday next year. He has also been invited to co-author books with other great authors.
“I will be doing more podcasts and show appearances advocating menopause from a man’s perspective,” reveals Satwinder. He is also planning to expand his network and connect with other speaker groups and agencies, which will give him a global platform to create awareness about menopause. Likewise, Satwinder is also planning some fundraising events to raise money for a good cause.
Satwinder is currently deeply immersed in writing his 2nd book, which he hopes to launch on his birthday next year. He has also been invited to co-author books with other great authors
Rhys V Jones is the Global Head of Banking Services at Vuram. He has over 17 years of experience delivering largescale technology transformation for some of the world's largest banking groups. At Vuram, he leads the organization’s Global Banking Practice as a trusted partner and advisor on low code.
In the fast-evolving world of business, organizations are adopting hyperautomation technologies to streamline business functions and gain operational efficiency in a competitive environment. Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business is a game changer as it simulates human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. AI technology can be implemented in expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition, and more.
As organizations embrace their digital transformation journeys with a renewed focus, the need for AI-enabled applications is more accelerated. Businesses are optimistic about the potential of technology with AI-driven analytics to uncover deeper insights on market trends alongside efficient customer sentiment analysis, allowing firms to offer hyper-personalized, targeted solutions. With the opportunity levels rising, it is crucial to explore how AI goes beyond automating tasks to inspire and improve core business values.
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Most importantly, AI's ever-growing role enables businesses to position their human workforce to devote time and resources to qualitative processes that build relations, understand its value proposition, and offer innovative solutions faster by leveraging technology.
AI creates a connected, digitized, agile ecosystem that gathers rich customer intelligence and empowers businesses to deliver ever-deeper personalization of services. When you increase the time-to-market for services, companies can deepen connections with customers and supercharge their solutions to create a more excellent value.
