The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

by

Simple and Useful-As a Technology Should be

Editor’s

Raunak Mhetre

ver since the introduction of technology into

Emainstream human life, debates have been going on about its usefulness, advantages, and disadvantages. But where does it bring us to?

A definitive answer? No, I don't think so. How much ever may we argue over the technology being a double-edged sword, it is inevitable that we continue to use it irrespective of anybody's views about it.

As a technology pioneer and founder of one of the most technologically sound companies in the world, Microsoft, Bill Gates has said, “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life.”

The idea behind the inception of technically advanced products is straightforward- making human life easier and better. The product that fits this basic requirement will create a niche for itself. The catch is using upcoming scientific advancements and translating them into a system that takes labor off human shoulders.

The success of any new technology depends on how many human hours it has saved. Most machines are built to perform human tasks with little or no supervision, making time for us to do other tasks. Companies have been vying to create an ecosystem that performs tasks like their human counterparts, simultaneously or using less time.

Another factor driving the research and development of new technologies is their efficiency. The aim of technologists has been the perfection of the tasks. Taking the human aspect out of the picture gives them the luxury of eliminating human error from a specific operation. Creating technologies that work with the principles of efficiency and time revolutionize the core structure of how things work for the company and the industry.

As major biggies in a particular field start rolling out new advanced tech products, the industry automatically starts catching up with the rising trend. In contrast, there has been the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and its subsidiary, Machine Learning, long ago. Companies are still developing and redeveloping the basic framework to suit their requirements, meet the industry needs, and challenge the set norms to create something fresh.

Automation of processes within a company has been the central area of focus for many organizations within the last year. While there have been software and AIs that maximize the production output, setting an efficient system for utilization of resources can be termed the hot selling product of 2022. The only thing that matters is how much a new offering eases the complexity of a chain to create outstanding results.

To summarize this wide-ranging year for tech companies, Insights Success has come up with an edition of “The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch 2022.”

In this issue, you will have access to inspiring tech leaders whose profiles have been written by our in-house editorial team, who have broken the barriers of the human mind to create primitive technologies that are sure to take the sector by storm.

Hop inside for a thought-provoking read!

Anil Kumar, Founder Chairman and Chief Technology Officer

H E

Most Inspiring 2022

Brigitte Falk, CIO / COO IIOT / Smart Factory Strategy, B2B Marketing, Leadership

Ritu Jyoti Group VP for AI & Automation Research and Market Advisory Services

Cavisson Systems Inc cavisson.com

Benjamin Buchanan CEO SBT sbt-alliance.com

BriefCompany Name FORCAM forcam.com

Cavisson Systems Inc., having its headquarter in Santa Clara, CA (USA), is a leading provider of performance intelligence platform that ensures exceptional customer experience and business efficacy of mission-critical applications.

SBT Alliance partners with small, medium, and Fortune 500 customers to design, deploy, and support IoT-enabled solutions, systems, devices and technologies.

FORCAM delivers IIoT technology and an ecosystem that empowers manufacturing in the pursuit to reduce complexity and maximize profit.

International Data Corporation idc.com

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.

Shimrit Tzur CTO

Tom Edwards Chief Digital & Data Officer

Victoria Pelletier Vice President & Senior Partner

Secret Double Octopus doubleoctopus.com

Omnicom Health Group Inc. omnicomhealthgroup.com

IBM ibm.com

Secret Double Octopus is the passwordless authentication solution for the enterprise.

Through its shared commitment to learning and development—and a relentless focus on innovating and delivering value—the company drives extraordinary results for healthcare clients.

IBMers believe in progress—that the application of intelligence, reason and science can improve business, society and the human condition.

Wayne Zwiers Founder Basalt basalt.co

Basalt is adaptable and resilient, solid and reliable, capable of keeping up with the world as it shifts and changes.

Adela Mehic-Dzanic Head of Connectivity Service Providers - CSP

MAVOCO AG mavoco.com

MAVOCO is one of the leading software manufacturers of CMP – Connectivity Management Platforms.

Featured Person

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

eing recognized as a trusted advisor to the

B world's largest technology firms and an executive analyst for Fortune 500 organizations is a commendable milestone that isn't easy to achieve. Making it possible with a vast experience of 25 plus years, Ritu Jyoti is setting incredible standards. Currently, she serves as the Group VP for AI & Automation Research and Market Advisory Services at International Data Corporation . She is a tenacious leader who thrives in ambiguous situations and environments.

IDC is a premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and investment communities make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategies. Ritu is providing strategic insights to help its clients achieve their key business objectives. She is skilled in developing creative solutions and leading teams through periods of change and uncertainty, making her a seasoned and dependable leader.

Elite Education, Elite Learnings, Elite Leadership

Ritu Jyoti is the Group Vice President, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation Research with IDC's software market research and advisory practice. Ms. Jyoti is responsible for developing IDC's thought leadership for AI Research and management of the Worldwide AI and Automation Software research team.

Before joining IDC, Ritu held various executive-level positions in Product Management, Marketing, Solutions, technology alliances, and Consulting at Kaminario, EMC, IBM Global Services, and PwC Consulting. Ritu has over two decades of experience in high-tech, covering Business applications (ERP, CRM), Databases, Big Data Analytics, and Enterprise Infrastructure Services, driving big picture corporate growth and strategic direction by identifying a high potential new business, market, and partnership opportunities. She is a proven innovative thought leader adept at leveraging her strong technical background to uncover and align business/customer needs with on-theground solutions engineering. Most recently, she was the Chief Product Officer at Kaminario.

She completed her executive education in Corporate Strategy & Strategic Marketing from MIT Sloan School of Management, USA. She also holds a B.Sc. engineering degree in Electronics and Communication from Ranchi University, India. Ritu is a frequent speaker, presenter, and moderator at IDC, industry, and customer events and provides analysis for multiple media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wired, CIO Techie, and CIO. Ritu is often quoted in leading business and technology publications.

Accomplishing More with Fewer Resources

Ritu Jyoti is a trusted advisor to some of the world's largest technology firms and end-users. Her research focuses on the state of enterprise AI efforts and global market trends for

the rapidly evolving AI and Machine Learning (ML) innovations and ecosystem. Ms. Jyoti also leads insightful research that addresses the AI technology vendors' needs and provides actionable guidance to them on how to crisply articulate their value proposition, differentiate, and thrive in the digital era. She has delivered ground-breaking research for the technology suppliers and buyers to drive their business transformation, re-enforcing IDC's position as the go-to thought leader in the industry.

In addition, from raising market awareness to advancing revenue growth goals, growing tech disruptors have a lot on their plates. Especially in a turbulent market, organizations are tasked with accomplishing more with fewer resources and often compete with more mature organizations. The right partner can help build trust in the brand's expertise, expand reach, and drive awareness, lead generation, and revenue. She has also led IDC Emerging Vendor and Accelerator Program for AI and Automation: to better support these disruptive organizations and supercharge their growth in hyper-competitive markets.

Speaking about her challenges, Ritu says, "While everyone's journey is unique in some ways, I remember that in the initial phase, blending-in in into a male-dominated industry was not easy. I was the only female student in my undergraduate (BTech), which I thought had prepared me for the future, but then being the only female Graduate Engineering Trainee was quite different. Sometimes, I experienced a lack of inclusion based on ethnicity and gender. In addition, it was not easy to get mentors who could provide guidance or social support. While it is a bit strange, I recall in one exceptionally large consulting engagement - where I was the lead, and some women doubted my leadership more. It took me time to win everyone's confidence and succeed."

Disruptive Technologies, Flexible Working

With over 1,200 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight help IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based technology decisions and achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG, Inc.), the

world's leading tech media, data and marketing services company.

International Data Corporation (IDC) is at the forefront of providing flexibility in the workplace. This includes telecommuting, remote working, customized working hours, condensed workweeks (e.g., early release on Fridays during summer), flexible vacation time, unplugging days etc. Ritu shares, "My work mantra has always been to empower the team members to put in their best, and work flexibility plays an integral role."

Disruptive technologies (AI, Automation, Cloud, Big Data, etc.) impact every aspect of the business, from corporate strategy to business operations and job functions. These innovations can directly influence both the production and the characteristics of a wide range of products and services, with important implications for productivity, employment, and competition. But, as important as these effects are likely to be, AI also has the potential to change the innovation process itself, with consequences that may be equally profound and which may, over time, come to dominate the direct effect. For e.g., developing a novel technology for identifying potential drug candidates by using neural networks to predict the bioactivity of candidate molecules. The learning algorithms that are being developed suggest that artificial intelligence may have applications across a very wide range of use cases. Ritu states, "These technologies are not just used in my day-today personal life but also in my business setting from market research to interactions with customers and partners."

Insightful and Confident Decision Maker

IDC is changing the way the world thinks about the impact of technology on business and society. Ritu envisions the incorporation of AI in market research data collection methods. Areas for data collection will become more seamless and automated, including analysis of open-ended text responses. These capabilities will enhance researchers' time efficiency, create more value for clients, and break down the 'why' when purchasing behaviors. Another example of this is in "Sentiment Analysis," where researchers will be able to decipher positive or negative responses better. In addition, market researchers will focus

on insights that can carry over into clear and confident decision-making. Research has shown that customers value and appreciate it more when brand experiences are more curated or customized.

Ritu shares, "I am a big proponent of continuous learning. Keeping that in context, I would like to strengthen my skills as a visionary leader, explore digital disruption from strategy, organization and leadership perspectives, generate new value propositions for my coverage area, and create sustainable growth."

She concludes with encouraging words, "I would advise the aspiring business leaders to focus on communication, integrity, accountability, resilience, and vision. Effective communication entails relentless, simple and direct communication, affirmed with actions. As C.S. Lewis said: "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." Having a good conscience is important, and integrity is the cornerstone of all leadership qualities. We rarely see this personified, but it is truly magical when it is. Next is accountability. An effective leader needs to give credit when the credit is due and take responsibility for blame when necessary. I have met very few leaders who truly embody this in the 25+ years of my career. Next would be resilience. In today's disruptive and unpredictable world, the true grit of a leader is not how they perform during good times but how they react to challenging situations."

Adela Mehic-Dzanic Head of CSP segment MAVOCO AG

Adela Mehic-Dzanic

Playing the Infinite Game

t is a characteristic of leader that he or she is motivated

I by the spirit of contribution to the society by using technological advancements. This is what makes him or her an influential leader. Giving back and serving the community are essential traits of an influential leader. Such a leader wants to be part of something great and make the world a better place. Adela Mehic-Dzanic genuinely believes in giving back and serving the community. Apart from making the impact within the industry, Adela, the Head of CSP segment at MAVOCO AG works making sure each customer of MAVOCO AG loves company’s software. She is actively involved within two communities, WU Executive Academy Female Leaders Network as well the Businesswomen of BiH (as the Vice President), with the mission to empower, connect and share among themselves; under the motto “Together we are stronger”.

Apart from that, Adela has started her mission “1000 Women” to share her career story and inspire more women to pursue the career in the Tech industry and to follow their dreams. As we all know it, the role models, and stories we share to lift one another are crucial and that is why Adela is committed to working with the future leaders, be it through her mission or serving as a mentor in the various communities, such as the BOSNIA and Herzegovina Futures Foundations as well the WomenTech Network.

Passionate About Technology

Adela’s journey started back in 2015 when she joined the Tele2 M2M /IoT Global Unit as a Solution Consultant responsible for the CEE (Central Eastern Europe) market. This took her career to a whole new level and enabled her to work with customers and partners looking to launch global IoT solutions for the very first time. As for someone who is passionate about people and technology and committed to making the world a better place, IoT is the place to be. Her recent move to the software company MAVOCO AG was a strategic move to go even deeper into the world of Data and IoT platforms and influencing the Telecom industry while deploying the connectivity management platform of the new generation.

Huge Market Presence

Adela says that MAVOCO AG’s core market includes world largest telecom operators that are using the company’s connectivity management platform & subscription billing software to manage, analyze and bill their subscribers. However, the very same platform and its capabilities are perfectly suited to be deployed for the needs of the global MVNOs as well the large Enterprises (such as the Automotive industry sector) who have the volume and resources to manage their own connectivity deployment. At the end of the day, it is a matter of configuration. MAVOCO AG is currently working with the customers and partners that bought the private 5G license and they as well have the needs of managing their connectivity and their customer base.

Appreciating Culture of Experimentation

Adela believes that passion, vision, perseverance, and generosity are the essential traits every leader should possess. She is currently reading this book from Simon Sinek “The Infinite Game” and she highly recommends it to every business leader. Adela believes that the culture of failure and experimentation and playing the infinite game is beneficial. She asks to experiment, be open to new ideas, collaborate with the startups and be ready to try it all over again as well to pivot. It is a greenfield and the rules are yet to be written. She suggests looking beyond one industry and to be curious about the other industries and their approaches to tackling the challenges.

Empowering Employees

There are endless ways to create new sets of data and start or apply a new model. The data can be re-created, as it is not a limited resource.

Adela considers it is important to empower one’s employees, set high priorities on diversity and inclusion, and make sure that the product reflects one’s customers. Unfortunately, we still read about too many examples where women are completely left out and women are the half of population. Adela thinks that women must be at the

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

table discussing the products and services meant to make their lives better.

From Adela’s experience, a healthy company culture with strong values and a vision is way more than just profit and a short-term game. Of course, with the opportunities to grow, leaders do take time for their employees and create a culture where they feel appreciated and safe to raise their voices and have their opinions heard. It is not about the ping-pong table, free coffee, and goodies. Quite the opposite.

Being Updated with Latest Technologies Adela keeps herself updated with the latest technologies using books, workshops, trainings, podcasts, magazines, LinkedIn community and respective feeds as well as various groups and communities focused on the specifics, such as IoT, AI and Data science etc. She tends to mix it up and use the best of all the options available out there.

Gratitude to Colleagues, Mentors, and Managers

Throughout her career, Adela has been the only woman and the youngest team member, as well woman in tech and working in the multicultural environment. It was not once that she would get a reply to her email as “Mr.” and during the customer meetings that they would ask her male colleague to answer the technical question, even though he was in sales. On the other hand, it was a major advantage, and she feels grateful for the colleagues, mentors and

managers who believed in her from the day one and cultivated the culture of talents, hard work and supportive environment.

Valuing Culture, People and Values

If there is one advice Adela would like to give to her younger self is to choose wisely your boss and the company, you are joining. Back in 2014 when she moved to Austria from her home country Bosnia and Herzegovina, and when deciding the company to join, her priority was the culture, people, and the values. Once she felt aligned with those values, she did not think for a second and used every single opportunity along the way, to grow, learn and connect. Then it is true what they say, nothing is impossible.

“Think bigger than you can imagine, keep your eyes open and push through against all odds. Then the opportunities will come!

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

Engineering is in our DNA.

Benjamin Buchanan

The Best IoT Professional

Over the years, many technological innovations quickly rose to prominence but ended up falling off just as fast. What happens to those systems beyond? Odds are those systems no longer work, leaving those businesses up a creek without a paddle! That’s why Benjamin Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer sets out to create something better, something smarter at SBT (Smarter Building Technologies) Alliance.

An interview conducted between Benjamin Buchanan and Insights Success identifies his leadership development by fully embracing innovative thinking and building an all-star team to help drive the SBT mission forward. Below are the highlights of the interview:

Kindly take us through your journey to becoming a proficient tech business leader.

From my humble beginnings in this industry as a project designer, I saw the importance of working hard to bring the customer more than what they expected and making their project truly valuable. There are plenty of examples of projects built with cheap products, and I knew the customer had left so much on the table. So I made it my purpose to educate myself on all the technology available to marry them with the customer’s needs perfectly. This technologyfirst approach guided me from lighting into the world of wireless IoT systems and now is a cornerstone to SBT’s mission, bringing true value through technology to our customers and suppliers alike.

What business roadblocks or challenges have you faced? And how did you overcome them? As with any business, leadership position, or professional role within an organization, roadblocks and challenges are abound – there’s simply no way around it. You’re going to hit roadblocks and confront challenges – be it cash flow, funding, sales, employee relations, productivity, etc. The question then becomes, will you persevere, or will you let them defeat you and knock you down? Perseverance and persistence is the path to success, in my opinion. It is only

through perseverance and persistence that I’ve overcome business (and personal) roadblocks and challenges.

How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to entice the target audience?

SBT is committed to a business model that is product and technology agnostic. This approach allows our product and IoT solutions teams to engineer solutions for clients that answer specific data-related questions about their facilities while also solving critical business challenges. A one-sizefits-all approach simply doesn’t work in the sphere of IoT and technology-led solutions. It sounds nice, but proper IoT solutions are an amalgamation of many technologies, devices systems, and solutions that, when pulled together, create the enticing solution offering that meets our target audiences’ needs. That’s why we stand out with our clients; we don’t try to sell them something they don’t need. We partner with them to solve business and operational challenges and design a mix of solutions to achieve that goal.

What culture change do you suggest for companies that want to embrace the full power of AI? The full power of AI, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT), more broadly, honestly depends on each customer’s needs. In B2B – which is the sphere that SBT operates – it isn’t necessarily a question of culture change, rather a better understanding and realization of what’s possible when using the advanced technologies of IoT to solve business challenges. It is more about education and proof points.

What are the vital traits that every business leader should possess?

Leaders in any business setting should encompass some of the following traits/approaches, as I’ve identified in my own leadership development and shared by many of my leadership mentors within the business community. I chalk these traits into five vital characteristics of successful leaders:

Benjamin Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer, SBT (Smarter Building Technologies)

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

1. Effective leaders need the ability to streamline and clarify the complex.

2. Passionate leaders must fully embrace new thinking –that’s what primes innovation.

3. Confident leaders must have both self-assurance and humility – they inspire, not belittle.

4. Compassionate leaders must set high standards but modesty to admit when wrong.

5. Responsible leaders need to be honest, truthful, and transparent – that’s what builds trust.

How do you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest technology?

As a technology-forward company, SBT and our team technicians and IoT thinkers keep me in the know, along with our industry partners with whom I continually meet.

As I mentioned earlier, the SBT model focuses on product and technology agnosticism, so we’re continually meeting exciting new technology companies and learning how they approach IoT, AI, and machine learning. To me, there’s no better way to keep up to date than getting right in there and being hands-on with innovators as SBT does every day.

What does it take to attract and retain tech talents?

As I mentioned earlier in this conversation, it is my firm belief that if a leader takes to heart the five vital characteristics that I reviewed, they will set the stage and environment that will attract, retain, and encourage tech (and non-tech) talents. It’s about building an atmosphere that allows folks to contribute and help SBT deliver on our mission and reach our vision to transform how IoT products, services, and technologies are delivered to the market and optimized by customers.

Where are you focusing your energy now, and where do you hope to make an impact next?

Right now, we are in the whirlwind that comes with scaling a technology-focused company. I am keen to drive SBT forward to continue making the impact we are for our customers, industry partners, and the facility management space as a whole. My immediate energy is focused on continuing to build an all-star team of SBT team members who evoke our CIVIC values as a company and as individuals. These include:

usiness leaders in technology have to develop good

Bskills both in technology understanding and business as well to be the most influential business leader in technology. They should be prepared to use whatever talents, skills, abilities, and resourcefulness they have for the purpose of coming with creative and inventive solutions so as to make a worthwhile contribution. They have to be keenly aware of the latest technologies that can be integrated into the businesses so as to improve the offerings of the businesses.

Technology if utilized appropriately, it offers enormous advantages and has the capability to make a profound impact in the industry. Business leaders have to go beyond the boundaries of traditional or conventional thinking just to settle by the norms and have to be inventive in approach to break the status quo or stagnancy in the businesses. They need to develop the most pragmatic approach to lead the businesses that create a tangible impact in the industry with its contribution. Business leaders should think about out of the box solutions to not to be just trapped by what is available in the market and be comfortable with that.

Comfort zone is the worst enemy of progress. To be successful business leader in technology, one cannot afford to be comfortable or complacent. Being complacent is absolutely dangerous.

Comfort zone doesn’t allow one to take the inventive or creative approach to develop something new that can be integrated into the businesses. Therefore, one should go beyond the comfort zone by stretching oneself above the limits of comfort zone and should be open to the new changes that can be incorporated in the businesses. Business leaders should prefer to be in the stretch zone to come out with inventive solutions.

Seduction of safety is much more perilous than the perception of the risk. Calculated risks in businesses always pays off. Therefore, business leaders should not be afraid to take calculated risks. Regret of not taking risk is heavier than risk itself, so therefore one should always be open to take risk in businesses and play out the bold game.

Nothing substantial can be accomplished by playing by cowardliness and being trapped by mediocrity and timidity. Boldness is genius and therefore business leaders should have the courage to pursue their audacious goals. Mediocrity and fear are the worst traps and those should be avoided by the leaders who want to make a tangible difference. Business leaders in tech should be cognizant to recognize the potential of technologies that can be

implemented in the businesses to improve the quality of the solutions.

Business leaders should be open to the wonderful opportunities and should grab them diligently to play the key role in delivering modern solutions to the challenges present in the business world. The leaders in tech have to be smart enough to tap the potential of highly capable technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics etc. Artificial Intelligence offers enormous benefits for the businesses and to automating the many mechanical processes. This potential of Artificial Intelligence can be incorporated in the businesses to help businesses expand the scope of their services.

The potential of many emerging technologies can be integrated in the businesses and businesses can be taken to new heights for the purpose of benefits of clients. Due to the pandemic, many businesses are incorporating digitalization into their businesses. So, this area also offers a potential for lot of growth and innovation. Business leaders have to be vigilant to grab the chances they have to make a positive difference in as many ways as they can. They should have planning and strategy to make contribution in the areas where there are opportunities for contribution.

Business leaders should also see that they have most resourceful team of people with them to recognize the potential technologies for the purpose of implementing those technologies most effectively in the businesses. There can be no keener revelation of a leader than the way in which he or she treats and trains their employees or teammates to play the most important role in being part of the solutions to the challenges. The business leaders should train their teammates and employees to be part of the solutions. Great leaders are not just leaders themselves, but they also make more leaders, and this creates a tangible difference.

Technology offers enormous advantages that business leaders should incorporate in the businesses to drive the growth of the businesses and also for the purpose of most creative and inventive solutions. With great potential of technology being implemented by technically, smart leaders will help businesses to attain the greatest leaders and this will create the most impact in the industry and the credit of that will go to the leaders who integrate the technology and business skills most effectively and in a more profitable and organized manner.

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

prominent personality in the international IT

A Industry, Brigitte Falk is setting a striking instance of impactful leadership. Brigitte brings 25 years of management experience in the IT industry to the table. Currently, she is serving as CIO and COO at a IIoT software company FORCAM, with a strong focus on the innovation environment, digitalization, and agile working methods.

Brigitte started her professional career in 1996 at SAP as Product Manager Oil and Gas. During her tenure over, she worked in corporate development, innovation management and event management. In 2004, she took over the Business Operations department as Marketing Director. Having worked for several years there was a substantial learning experience accompanied by management & leadership techniques, innovation methodologies, product management know-how, intercultural and interdisciplinary teams.

After graduating with Malik MZSG Executive Diploma, Brigitte Falk founded the Simplicity Company to support consulting firms, analysts and investment banks with strategic consulting worldwide. In 2014, she took over global responsibility for Marketing & Sales Applications at Celesio AG (today McKesson Europe). In 2017, she was appointed Division Lead Organization & Information of CRONIMET Holding GmbH.

Brigitte's interdisciplinary studies of arts, humanities, and natural sciences, complemented by an open spirit, are the

foundation of where she is today. She inculcates strategic thinking through work with venture capitalist in a startup environment, followed by taking on European ecommerce IT assignment in a challenging environment. Her achievements have been reflected over the last three years as “CIO of the year 2018” (CIO Magazine Germany), “CIO of the year 2019” (Bonhill – Women in IT Awards Europe), and “CIO of the Decade 2020 Germany” (Confare & EY).

Customer Centric Approach

FORCAM FORCE™ is the first turnkey and manufacturerindependent IT platform for the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The company's claim that it delivers results in productivity remains a solid foundation since its establishment in 2001. Almost two decades ago, FORCAM celebrated its debut and first deployment at Mercedes-Benz. The iconic automobile company has since celebrated many accolades, including the “Factory of the Year” award in 2007, 2008, and 2012. The most recent award in 2020 is the Manufacturing Leadership Partner Award by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Since then, the company has evolved into a comprehensive IIoT solution partner with a high-performance manufacturing 4.0 platform and a vital ecosystem. Today, its turnkey and freely extensible cloud platform is used by large and medium-sized companies including Lockheed Martin Audi, BMW, BorgWarner, Daimler, KUKA, Pratt & Whitney, Schaeffler, Swarovski and many more. Today,

COO and CIO

more than 100,000 machines are monitored with FORCAM technology worldwide.

Having Brigitte at the helm, the company is about to launch two new IIoT product lines by introducing “Customer centricity” as guiding principle. They are based on

Ÿ market gap: connecting supposedly “non-connectable” older brownfield machines to the internet (FORCAM FORCE EDGE) and leverage their data potential and

Ÿ the need for fast, easy and low-cost connection of production lines of SMEs or smaller subsidiaries to the internet (FORCAM FORCE SaaS)

A Culture Change to be Adopted

According to Brigitte, to embrace full power of AI, companies must show openness towards disruptive business models and the respective digital transformation across all parts of the business. They should unlock the hidden potential of their current staff, encourage them to take on bigger tasks beyond their usual level of comfort, agile principles (inspect and adapt), and take related responsibility.

Brigie Falk

FORCAM

Besides, it is also important to attract and retain tech talents. She mentions that for companies, it takes a bold vision, creation of jobs for people from tech background based on their ambitions and strengths, and encompassing empowerment to attract and retain tech talents.

Thought Leadership in the IIoT Domain

Currently, Brigitte is focusing her energy to market the FORCAM solution portfolio geared towards real-time datadriven decision making on the shopfloor, grid connectivity and machine data lake offerings as foundation. Now, all her efforts are in the direction to drive vision and thought leadership in the IIoT domain.

Besides, Brigitte keeps herself updated with the latest technological trends by reading, meeting, talking with an outmost heterogeneous, interdisciplinary audience and network from all over the world. She also keeps openness for inspirations from unusual sources beyond the mainstream.

A Take on Sound Leadership

When asked about essential traits every business leader should possess, Brigitte is of the opinion that every leader should focus on empowerment. They should always put strategic thinking and innovation into practice for every decision they take and communicate a related vision with everyone. A sound leader is one who leads by example, builds on trust, integrity & transparency, and actively listens.

Dr. Shimrit Tzur-David

CSO and Co-Founder Secret Double Octopus

Dr.Shimrit

Tzur-David

Providing Passwordless Authentication Solution to Enterprises

Influential business leaders are those who carry good decision-making abilities, courage, and presence of mind to lead businesses successfully. Those who are in technology sector possess the ability to recognize the smart technology that solves a real problem. They identify the market for that need, and with their shrewd business acumen they leverage the same to build a revolutionary solution that solves a real problem in the market. One such influential business leader in tech is Dr. Shimrit TzurDavid , the CSO and Co-Founder of Secret Double Octopus . The Secret Double Octopus is the passwordless authentication solution for the enterprises. It liberates endusers and security teams from the burden of passwords with the simplicity and security of strong passwordless authentication.

In an interview with Insights Success, Dr. Shimrit TzurDavid shares about her journey and contribution through her leadership in Secret Double Octopus.

Below are the Highlights of the interview:

Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient tech business leader. Since I was young, I had a passion for computers. My older brother studies computer science and I remember that I went through my brother’s books, began to copy code and write it on the computer, just to see what it does. Back then, it was clear to me that this is what I want to do in my life. I studied computers in high school and then I completed my BSc in Computer Science. I continued my studies to MSc and PhD right after graduated. In my MSc and PhD, my research focused on information security, so when I finished my PhD, I continued my research as a post-doc researcher, first in the Hebrew University and then in Ben Gurion University. In my research, I thought of a new approach for data-in-motion security that use the same algorithm that is used today to protect the nuclear weapon launch code in the USA. I remember the moment I told this idea to the Professor I worked with, Prof. Dolev.

I wanted to pursue an academic career and I thought it was a great idea academically, I wasn’t interested in a career in industry, but Prof Dolev immediately understood it is a great idea that can have great applications. I remember him giving me a very intense look and saying that he thinks we should go meet Vcs.

The rest is a history. Secret Double Octopus was founded in 2015 by me, and 3 other co-founders. Secret Double Octopus is the Leader in Passwordless authentication for the workforce. We delight end users and security teams

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

alike, by replacing passwords across the enterprise with the simplicity and security of strong passwordless authentication. From being named a Gartner “Cool Vendor” in 2016, our platform is now serving mid-sized to Fortune 50 customers around the globe and we are backed by leading global Vcs.

What roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them?

At first, our product was a site-to-site security solution for VPN. After a year, we felt we had a great product in our hands, but customers weren’t rushing to buy it. They all agree that we have a groundbreaking product, but the problem it solved wasn’t a high enough priority for them. We were running out of funds and needed to show some success stories for the next round, and we began thinking about pivoting. We worked on the authentication solution which is a security risk that really bothers the industry today. Once we had a working prototype that got popularity in the market, we made the full pivot, and the new product is selling very well.

How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to entice the target audience?

We offer passwordless authentication to each and every service in the organization, including web-applications, legacy applications, and workstations login, both for online

To

you must have a smart technology that solves a real problem, a market for that need, and a good team.

and offline modes. Our product can be installed at the customer pace, per-user, or per-service. In addition, the product can be installed fully on-prem, this helps many conservative organizations install our solution without any fear regarding leaking information.

Besides the basic installation that includes our Octopus mobile application, our server is FIDO certified so any FIDO authenticator can work with our solution without the need to use the Octopus application. In addition, many of our customers already have a password-based MFA, such as Okta or RSA. In that case, instead of coming with the approach of replacing the current installation, we are integrating with the already installed MFA to provide our full coverage of secure passwordless authentication solution to all services, but the users continue to use their current way to authenticate so the transition will be transparent to rdthe users and the customer investment on the current 3 party MFA solution won’t be lost.

What, according to you, are the vital traits that every business leader should possess?

I think that the two most traits that a business leader should possess are the ability to make good diagnosis and courage. The basic 3 things that a startup should have are a smart technology, a market, and a good team. In some cases, the

technology must be replaced along the way, and to make that change after you invest as lot on the current product, a business leader must have courage. another important thing is choosing the right team to walk with you, for that, you must have a perfect diagnosis when it comes to people, otherwise, you can waste a lot of time and money.

Where are you focusing your energy now, and where do you hope to make an impact next? These days we are focusing on making strategic collaborations, those that, in one hand, can sell our product in large scales but in the other hand, will not add too much bandwidth. In my dreams, I can see every employee that comes into the office and logs in to the many services without passwords at all. Secret Double Octopus breaks the long-standing security paradigm, proving that organizations can have better security with a better user experience while reducing costs.

Tom Edwards Chief Digital & Data Officer

Providing Strategic Guidance to Excel

I have spent the last twenty-plus years working at the intersection of technology and consumer behavior tied to various forms of marketing and advertising.

ascinated with technology since watching the

Foriginal Star Wards in the late 70s, Tom Edwards was enamored with the droids C-3PO & R2D2 and how they enabled the main characters on every step. Similarly, the core aspect of technology that enables humankind proved to be the foundation of his professional journey.

Tom spent over two decades working at the intersection of technology and consumer behavior tied to various forms of marketing and advertising. Starting his career during the dot com days paved a path to start-up life, proving to be instrumental in shaping his understanding of business, developing solutions, customer centricity, and grinding methods. These steps helped him build a new skill set in emerging areas shifting from software-based services to strategic marketing, innovation, data, and AI-centric roles.

Today, Tom leads as the Chief Digital & Data Officer at Omnicom Health Group Inc. , utilizing his expertise in strategy, data, analytics, intelligent systems, product development, digital transformation, and thought leadership.

However, achieving this milestone was filled with multiple challenges where the accelerated pace of change and how businesses adapt were primary. Tom gained insights that led him to begin creating original content to deconstruct and simplify highly complex topics for himself, his teams, clients, and the industry. He shares, “Since then, I have created over 600 pieces of original content, recorded hundreds of hours of video content, and began delivering keynotes across industries. I have now given over 100+ keynotes on emerging technology and AI across industry events across the globe.”

Prominent Impact

For the last twenty years, Tom has worked with outstanding teams with renowned brands worldwide. He recalls that one program that he is incredibly proud of was a collaboration with Electronic Arts. His team created the first instance of taking in-game video game content and porting it to the web, a first-of-its-kind program.

Another significant impact was launching Omni Health in 2021 for Omnicom Health Group. Omni Health is the first

and largest pharma-focused data precision marketing & HCP insights platform by any agency holding company. He adds, “We have five years invested in refining data models, and Omnicom has invested millions of dollars into the core Omni Platform.”

“This has led to several industry awards. From the 2022 DFWIMA Marketer of the year, 2x OnCon Icon Top 10 global marketer, Tech Titan Technology Advocate award, and Advertising Age recently recognized me as a Marketing Technology Trailblazer. I am humbled and grateful for the recognition and praise of my team members and family for their fantastic support.”

Tom mentions that Omnicom Health Group was recently recognized by Ad Age as the most effective healthcare marketing and communications network in the US, with more than a dozen companies and over 4,000 talented people specializing in every area of health marketing and communications.

From physicians to patients to providers to payers, it takes intense collaboration to coordinate and deliver healthcare.

That's why Omnicom Health Group agencies are culturally oriented toward working together. Most of its client assignments are shared by three or more OHG specialty agencies.

He notes, “Omnicom Health Group was built on the idea of Best of Health. Best of Health Talent, Collaboration, and Inclusion. As Chief Digital & Data Officer, I lead the Digital and Data Center of Excellence. My team responsibilities include expanding our strategic services, enhancing our data/tech/AI products, driving innovation, and empowering the world-class agencies in the OHG network.”

Cultivating Modern Work Culture

OHG offers mobility opportunities across the network to ensure that it keeps talent in the network. Employees have a chance to raise their hand and seamlessly transition from one agency to another to continue their professional development.

“OHG seeks the best talent in the industry, and we are flexible about where that talent is based. I am a great example of Omnicom Health Group's flexibility. While OHG is headquartered in NYC, I am working effectively to support our aggressive growth agenda based out of my home office in Texas,” clarifies Tom.

Technology as Benefactor

Tom expresses that technology has been foundational to his career as an executive and as a professional, where he uses the filters of Empower, Exponential, and Enhanced when speaking about leveraging technology to drive business.

Empower is all about understanding that consumers are in control. Their expectations are radically transforming how business is done. This includes GenZs impact on tech & culture, gaming, the Metaverse, Ethereum, NFTs, POAPs, the evolving role of the camera, the rise of private messaging, and how the camera is a bridge to intelligence.

Exponential is all about ease and convenience as the core motivation for why consumers are open to adopting intelligent systems. This includes all facets of AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, understanding algorithms, predictive decisions, generative models, what he calls the five levels of autonomy, digital humans, virtual assistants, and the rise of the proxy web.

Enhanced is all about perception between physical and digital and how and when technology will adapt to us vs. us adapting to it. This territory dives deeper into the Metaverse, the role of computer vision, digital synths, multi-modal interfaces, digital twins, holograms, synthetic reality, and Tom's prediction of when people will see multimodal at scale.

“My goal is always to understand the business problem we are trying to solve and align the optimal technology to solve or enhance a program vs. taking technology and making it work. I see this happen all too often when integrating new and emerging tech. Ensure that it is relevant for both the brand and the existing ecosystem and communities,” Tom explains.

What Comes Next?

Tom sets multiple short- and long-term goals to stay on course across many concurrent work streams. For Omnicom Health Group, it's to continue to evolve its capabilities and upskill its talent for the next phase of marketing and communications. For his data and digital team, it's about aligning around automation, integrating intelligent systems, and always driving outcomes.

“As a futurist, my goal is to continue to read the signals from across all aspects of technology and consumer behavior, from infrastructure that is foundational to scale advanced intelligent experiences to ecosystems that trigger mass adoption, to the patents and experiments around multi-modal interfaces that will evolve us past desktop and mobile to a time not too far in the near future where technology interacts with us vs. us interacting with it.”

“It's an exhilarating time as we see technology rapidly moving to redefine our reality. My goal is to continue deciphering what I see and inspire those I interact with across all forms of content and interaction,” Tom concludes.

Victoria Pelletier

Vice President & Senior Partner, North American Talent & Transformation Leader

Bringing Information Opportunity Together &

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch, 2022

In today’s changing environmental landscape, business leaders recognize that sustainability is fundamental to remain competitive. The global pandemic is accelerating the need for digital reinvention and adoption in the organization and has become more vital than ever.

Meanwhile, Victoria Pelletier feels fortunate working for IBM - an industry leader in IT & Services with a phenomenal learning and skills platform. An interview conducted between Victoria Pelletier - Vice President of Talent & Transformation for North America and Insights

Success shares her experience, feedback, and opinions to drive successful outcomes.

Kbecoming a proficient tech business leader.

indly take us through your journey on

points and then advising and co-creating with them, the solutions with technology, that enables the people and processes to deliver against the strategy and outcomes desired.

I have been a very early adopter of technology most of my life, and my career has centered around technology being a business enabler. I transitioned early in my career from being a heavy user of technology to leading technology teams as I transitioned into the world of Business Process Outsourcing leading very large teams of sales, customer service, and technical help desk operations supporting many business clients.

My success in leadership in this space, however, has not been by selling technology – it has been about solving challenges for clients; understanding their strategy and pain

How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to entice the target audience?

The most important criteria, in my opinion, is to understand WHO your target audience is – what challenges they are facing – often not a singular problem, but a multidimensional problem set. Once you understand your audience and frame their pain points, then there is an opportunity to create a differentiated solution that targets these challenges and tells a story about how your solutions will solve these challenges.

How do you keep yourself up to date with the latest technology?

I am a voracious reader and have subscriptions to many digital news and media publications and also have alerts set up for many of the favorite topics that I follow. This includes news and social posts from some of the top technology and business leaders that I follow.

What roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them?

I have faced many challenges in my career – one of the earliest was becoming an executive at aged 24 – just a few months after giving birth to my first child. I had to balance an extremely demanding role with long hours and significant travel with the needs of my young family. I have also faced being the only woman, or one of very few, at the executive table for a vast majority of my career and have faced discrimination, bullying, and some mudslinging, as a result.

I have also faced the types of challenges that I thrive in –organizational change and transformation. I have personally been a part of 18 mergers or acquisitions and often sat at the heart of the integration and transition – something I deeply love as the challenge of building something new and different is extremely motivating to me. I have overcome significant adversity in my life that has driven me to a philosophy whereby I believe that I am unstoppable, always finding solutions for the challenges I face. I live a life of #NoExcuses - I use this hashtag liberally, signing my social media posts with it, and even had a custom phone case made with this motto on it!

What culture change you suggest for companies that want to embrace the full power of AI?

I believe that there are a number of key elements to creating a culture and environment that will be successful in both adopting and adapting to AI in the workplace. Importantly, it’s about creating a place that fosters a growth-mind set with continuous learning and feedback – of creating a vision and allowing the team to work in a very agile way to achieve the desired outcomes. New kinds of skills are required for this moment, especially as employees are working outside a traditional office and increasingly apply digital tools and emerging technology to how they work.

Also, critically important is creating an open, transparent and empathetic culture that promotes differing points of view, and public dissent as necessary, however, all with a

high degree of integrity and ethically based and data-driven decision making.

What does it take to attract and retain tech talent?

Retaining top tech talent, and quite frankly, retaining ALL talent across an organization, is about creating both a positive culture and a highly engaging environment that offers career development and advancement. For leading organizations, artificial intelligence will increasingly play an important data-driven approach to all these areas of personalized career and skills, compensation and performance management, and creating an environment of engagement and belonging.

This approach is very multi-faceted and includes strong leadership – those operating with transparency and authenticity and modelling the values aligned to the business they joined. It is also about individual development opportunities with a particular focus on skill development and/or reskilling; this is especially important in technology given the rapid acceleration of change and the shortened shelf-life of skills.

Retention is also linked to transparency in performance management and pay; that is – clarity in expectations and goals to measure performance and doing so across a multidimensional set of goals, not a singular measure and ensuring that pay is linked to performance and also tied into the demand for the skills that one brings to and develops in their role. One of the most critical areas is also around creating a place where people feel comfortable bringing their true and authentic whole selves to the workplace.

Where are you focusing your energy now, and where do you hope to make an impact next?

I have been spending my time and energy very focused on culture, talent strategy, diversity, equity and inclusion, talent and skills development, and the enabled workforce of the future. My role at IBM is leading our Americas Talent & Transformation business unit supporting clients, so not only is this a space that I am passionate about, but I get to help companies in these areas.

A very focused area, both within and outside of IBM has been my work on DE&I given the escalation in social unrest and the need for better cultures and outcomes in the workplace and in our communities. I want to have an impact and leave a legacy around my work in creating better workplace culture and environments to live and thrive in.

A Technology Maverick Solving Complex Business Problems

The 10 Most Inspiring Tech Leaders to Watch,

Adversity is inevitable but having resilience is the single most important factor that determines success”, believes Wayne Zwiers, the Founder of Basalt

According to Wayne, leaders should be authentic, lead their business decisively and fairly as well as have humility for everyone they encounter. They need to understand that every individual has strengths and a story to share. And by encouraging each team member to grow, upskill and take calculated risks, they can cultivate resilience across their businesses. Wayne has inculcated all the mentioned traits throughout his professional journey.

Let’s find out more about his entrepreneurial ride in an interview conducted between Wayne and Insights Success Below are the highlights of the interview:

Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient tech business leader.

For several years I wanted to start my own business, one that was aligned to my values. I was in discussions with various potential partners and felt that the timing was right

to pursue my goal of creating purpose-led software solutions to address areas of need from education to health, to finance. We began Blackbeard in 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa and, after winning some incredible contracts and growing the business, we decided to rebrand in 2019 to Basalt Technology to cement and celebrate our evolving business. Basalt is now an award-winning software development company that solves complex business problems through the rapid implementation of profitable, technology solutions.

I have won several industry accolades, including the Africa Tech CEO of the Year Award in 2019, joined many entrepreneur societies and even developed an NPO, Tech Relief which distributes tech devices to African school children that are in need. I started out as an entrepreneur by walking away from a path I didn’t want towards creating a life that was harmonious and value-based, so, in that respect, I feel accomplished. Every day I grow as a leader, in part because of my incredible team, however, my journey is still unfolding and the adventure for Basalt is very much underway.

“ Have the freedom and autonomy to build and disrupt technology as quickly as possible in order to change markets & verticals for the greater good of humanity.

Wayne Zwiers, Founder, Basalt Technology

How do you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest technology?

The first step in keeping up to date is learning to speed read which I managed to master many years ago. Your ability to read faster determines how rapidly you can take in information and thereby build your personal database and points of reference. I use both books and social channels for learning and research. I recently learned how to build a motorbike piece by piece on YouTube. I love researching the latest technology through surveys, podcasts and doing short personal development and skills courses.

Where are you focusing your energy now, and where do you hope to make an impact next?

I believe that there is a moral imperative for big business to generate positive change. This thread of purpose runs throughout Basalt as a business and is the reason that we have set up our NPO, Tech Relief which is partially funded by Basalt. As a tech business that began in Africa, we are keenly aware that education in technology and facilitated by technology is an exit strategy to poverty that we need to support. Tech Relief collects and distributes ‘old’ donated technological devices such as tablets, iPads, and laptops to STEM learners.

What roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? The difficulties that you face with corporate businesses are largely to do with organizational structure and due diligence constraints. Things move slowly, approvals are slow, decisions are delayed and there are consequently many barriers to agility. I invented our business model by turning these challenges on their head and into opportunities. This saw our model incorporate remote working with international teams, agility in terms of structure, and the necessity to make fast decisions unhindered by legacy issues.

How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to entice the target audience?

Our planning is very strategic. No business and no business model can last forever. Industries, markets and customers, are constantly changing. A business needs to therefore be very strategic with how they disrupt themselves. We constantly look at our customers and evaluate their needs which helps us to stay ahead of the market.

What culture change you suggest for companies that want to embrace the full power of AI? Firstly, there needs to be a mindset shift around what AI is and how powerful it is going to become. There is no escaping it, so it will be the early adopters who naturally benefit most. Secondly, all companies need to be considering how technologists can incorporate AI and make their product/service offerings better for humanity or they risk being left behind.

What does it take to attract and retain tech talents? A work environment that is creative, admired, and experimental helps to attract top tech talents. Creating an environment of consistent innovation with a degree of autonomy encourages retention. At Basalt, our technologists work in small groups of five to seven people, whereby a leader is allocated who has certain KPIs to achieve. Our teams then split their time between clients and the rest of their time on the business itself. The latter can include categories such as mastery, incentives, business development, and innovation. Essentially, employees select what they want to work on, which naturally leads to higher engagement and better results.