Top 10 Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022

Vol.03 Issue 23 2022

1

Top

Influential

Business Leaders Post-pandemic Leadership

The Changing Dynamics of Leadership in the Post-covid World

Making a Difference 2022

(Volume 2).

Corporate Ethos

Reasons Why 2022 is the Year of Workplace Culture

Mike Griffin CEO

B

usinesses are reforming themselves swiftly these days. New solutions to old problems are emerging, which are helping consumers simplify their lives. In order to come up with a newer or innovative product or service solution, it takes the mind of a leader who has wisely observed the gaps in the markets and has decided to do something about them, to fix them once and for all. Those who successfully fix it are identified as inspiring change influencers for millions.

Vol.03 Issue 23 2022

Mike Griffin CEO

You may say that nowadays, anyone can come up with new innovations, and what's so special about it?

And yes, you could be right in saying so. But business is not all about innovation. One can have a groundbreaking idea to reshape the way things are done. Bringing it into the market bravely and promoting it with complete conviction, on the other hand, requires the minds of business-savvy leaders.

A leader gets to know the consumer segment better through years of his or her accumulated experience or observations. Over the years, they identify the gaps in the market, which drives them to make a difference in people's lives with newly developed solutions.

Marking Your Presence in the Digital World

Improving the customer experience no longer means that you have a famous product or service to offer.

Consumers these days are widely preferring companies that are enriching their overall product and/or service experience. The sooner the leaders understand that, the quicker they start focusing on the customer-first approach.

business, and most importantly, making a difference in the lives of every stakeholder in their companies. These leaders' journeys will influence you to better yourself and your leadership skills.

So, can we say the leaders' task ends there? The simple answer is no. To be a change-making leader, one must have a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the business. The third decade of the 21st-century demands leaders to be on their toes all the time, ready to face anything and everything that comes in their way.

Lastly, do read the well-researched exclusive articles written by our in-house editorial team on trends forming in today's business leadership space.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a great test for leaders around the world. Leaders had to manage their workforce, consumer demands, technology integration, marketing, and sales figures. This is just an eagle-eye view of what leaders across the world do in their everyday lives.

The closer you get to it, the more real and complex it will get for people to understand how these people are managing their responsibilities so well day-in and day-out. It can certainly leave you amazed.

In this edition, Top 10 Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022, we have identified a list of business leaders who are thriving in their respective industries with their innovations, ideas, ways of doing

Happy Reading!

- Vishal Golekar

08 ARTICLES 20 Future Finance Crypto Trends to Watch Out For in 2022

30 Digital Currency

How Cryptocurrency is Transforming the Future of Business

Ahmed De a An Extraordinary Leader Working for Humanity Crypto Exchange Alexandra Gerritsen An Empowering Leader Crea ng a Healthy Work Culture Dr Chad Audi An Eminent Leader Serving Humanity Ma hew Brown Enhancing modern Digital Marke n through Strategic Planning Ne a Jenkins Adding Depth to Diversity and Inclusion with Dipper Yaniv Shachar Crea ng Cyberworld Safer through Discipline, Innova on, and Educa on

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Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Senior Editor Anish Miller Managing Editor Abhishaj Sajeev Assisting Editors Trishika, Vinayak Visualiser David King Art & Design Head Rohil Shinganapurkar Co-designer Paul Belin Art & Design Assistant Mrunalinee Deshmukh Business Development Manager Sherin Rodricks Marketing Manager Joseph D'souza Business Development Executives Kelly, David Sales Executives Mark, Alice Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head Amar Sawant Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Amol Wadekar SME-SMO Executives Gemson, Renuka Research Analyst Eric Smith Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

March, 2022 Corporate Ofce Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-859-2600 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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Company Name

Featuring

Brief

Ahmed Detta CEO and Founder

Enviroo advanced-sd.com

Enviroo is committed to recycling plastic to a regulatory standard that encompasses every strand of the circular economy recycling model.

Alexandra Gerritsen President and COO

Artemis Institute for Clinical Research artemis-research.com

Artemis Institute for Clinical Research was established in 2008 by a group of colleagues with extensive clinical research experience, who shared a commitment to developing a more thoughtful and professional approach to conducting clinical trials.

Barbara Paldus CEO

Codex Beauty uk.codexbeauty.com

Codex Beauty Labs is a biotech company grounded in science, dedicated to supporting the microbiome, and pioneering products having clinically proven, meaningful skincare benefits.

Dr. Chad Audi President and CEO

Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries drmm.org

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries has spent over 100 years of continued service providing food, shelter and services to intervene where homelessness and substance addiction occur.

Jeanniey Walden Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer

DailyPay dailypay.com

DailyPay, powered by its industry-leading technology platform, is on a mission to build a new financial system.

Matthew Brown CEO

Digital Kungfu digitalkungfu.com

Digital Kungfu is a premier demand generation and pipeline acceleration partner to technology businesses.

Mike Griffin CEO

First Choice Agents Alliance fcaalliance.com

First Choice Agents Alliance (FCAA) is an insurance agency network created to assist Independent Agents in securing top level company contracts and developing business plans to help them grow their revenue stream.

Netta Jenkins Co-founder

Dipper ourdipper.com

Dipper is an online, interactive community and safe-space for professionals of color to share their workplace experiences both past and present.

Shannon Wilkinson Founder/CEO

Tegocyber tegocyber.com

Tego Cyber is the only threat intelligence company made specifically for the SIEM, regardless of vendor, to quickly correlate threats across large enterprises and help security operations teams understand their attack surface faster.

Yaniv Shachar Co-founder and CEO

Cympire cympire.com

Cympire was founded by cyber, simulation and gaming experts, who believe that mission-ready cyber professionals are the key to a safer world.

Cover Story

Mike Griffin Helping Insurance Agents through Independent Agency Transition

First Choice has over 350 members and is fast establishing itself as one of the greatest premium volume networks in the United States.

Mike Griffin CEO

Top 10 Influen al Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022 (Volume 2).

T

he world we live in is a dwelling full of uncertainties and risks. Individuals, families, businesses, properties, and assets are exposed to different types and levels of risk. These include the risk of losses to life, health, assets, property, etc. Although it is not always possible to avert unwanted events from occurring, the financial world has brought about products and services that protect individuals and businesses against such losses by compensating them with financial resources. Insurance is such a financial product that reduces or eliminates the cost of loss or effect of loss caused by different types of risks.

But insurance is not the most desirable product. iPhone is a desirable product. People stand in queues to avail the latest iPhone; but you would not find the masses showing the same enthusiasm for buying insurance. The reason is simple: because insurance makes people ponder on an uncomfortable question that they would rather not think about – "what if something went wrong?"

It is the art of a skilled financial advisor or insurance agent to sit down with their client and make them question their future and how they would mitigate any risk if it were to arise. An independent insurance agent, however, is a broker who is not employed by any specific insurance agency.

Rather, they act as a middleman to connect insurance buyers and sellers in order to facilitate a transaction.

But traversing the insurance sector is a tricky endeavor filled with its own variety of uncertainty. In the pursuit to bolster their clients' financial futures and safeguard business operations, independent agents have to rely on their wits and their tenacity to help their clients find the best risk mitigation product.

Mike's vision for FCAA's future is for it to continue to grow responsibly and to become the preferred aggregator for insurance agents across the country.

Fortunately, there is a man who has made it his life's mission to foster a community of growth and prosperity for such independent agents. Since 1978, this man has been establishing his prominence and gradually building a legacy for himself in the insurance sector. Meet Mike Griffin – the CEO of First Choice Agents Alliance, LLC (FCAA), the President of Griffin Insurance Agency Inc. and a Majority Member of Tarheel Insurance Services, LLC. Under the supervision of Mike Griffin, these agencies have grown to the pinnacle of being continuously ranked among the top agencies in the country, earning numerous industry honors and recognition. He was inducted into the Nationwide Insurance Sales Hall of Fame in 2011.

Recently, Mike has been highly involved in growing his newest enterprise, First Choice Agents Alliance, into a big player in the insurance aggregator industry and is committed to developing a quality organization for insurance agents across the United States.

FCAA is an insurance agency network created to assist independent agents in securing top-level company contracts and developing meaningful business plans to help them grow their existing revenue stream. FCAA guides agents to manage carrier relationships, increase their knowledge, and set the stage for continued growth and profitability.

The Birth of a Career While still in school, Mike worked for his father in the HVAC business and, at the same time, began working parttime in the jewelry business after school and on holidays. It was here that he developed a keen interest in the jewelry business and pursued it after college, taking on the responsibility of managing a store for a small local chain.

He was introduced to the insurance business by a District Manager for Nationwide Insurance who had moved into his neighborhood. Little did he know at the time that this neighborly relationship would lead to a major career transition.

Watching his father grow his HVAC company from the ground up, Mike picked up some useful skills and learned some valuable lessons about establishing a business. To begin, you'll need a strategy and the willingness to take some risks along the route to attain your objectives. Mike has used this crucial lesson many times during his insurance career.

The Griffin Insurance Agency and Tarheel Insurance Services

For over 40 years, Griffin Insurance Agency has provided superior insurance solutions to its consumers. It has established itself as a trusted advisor for its policyholders in all aspects of personal and commercial risk management needs, with nine offices and over 50 staff members in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The agency takes great pride in having highly qualified, licensed professionals handling its clients' needs. As a result, the business is continuously ranked among the Nationwide Insurance Companies' top 25 agents.

Because of the agency's performance and the increased need for competitive pricing in the business market, there was a growing need for other sources of 'workers compensation' (WC) coverage. After brainstorming with Nationwide Insurance leadership, Mike suggested a concept to develop a WC wholesaler to deal with Nationwide Captive Agencies exclusively in order to give them a greater opportunity to serve their clients.

Tarheel Insurances Services, LLC was founded by Mike and his son, Rob Griffin, in November 2005. Tarheel began operations by dealing with agents primarily in North Carolina, but soon, its success allowed it to expand its operational territory to 27 states, with over 1100 agency ties. Rob has managed the WC business from the beginning, and together with his dad's relationships, this company continues to experience positive growth.

Tarheel is dedicated to offering affordable rates and industry knowledge to its agents, allowing them to match their insureds with the carrier that best suits their needs. Tarheel gives clients access to a professional staff familiar with every aspect of the WC space, focusing on lowering 'Workers Compensation' expenditures. This has distinguished them as a go-to provider in the business world as a specialty broker.

Until recently, Griffin Insurance, the retail firm, was a captive agency affiliated with the Nationwide Insurance Companies. When Nationwide decided to restructure its business strategy in 2015, allowing its agents to represent other commercial carriers for the first time, a need arose to discover more markets to service their expanding business client base. This was easier said than done, and many agents discovered they either couldn't handle more carriers or couldn't get the needed appointments.

The Inception of First Choice Agent Alliance Based on Tarheel's success, Mike was approached by several of his peers and asked about forming a wholesale

The best element of partnering with First Choice is the possibility for additional money above and beyond what an agency could earn on its own.

brokerage outlet where Nationwide agents could go for all lines of commercial coverage. Mike, Ron Parks and four of his highly recognized industry peers gathered in Washington, DC, in March 2015 to discuss the proposal.

And thus, First Choice Insurance Brokers was born after a lot of planning and development from Mike and Ron! The concept of First Choice Insurance Brokers was sound.

However, throughout the implementation of this business strategy, Mike and his colleagues ran into some unexpected difficulties. Agents (all Nationwide exclusives at the time) were just not ready or equipped to move business away from Nationwide, nor did they have the necessary understanding of other carriers to effectively represent them in the market. Despite the fact that the brokerage unit swiftly grew to over 270 agents, Mike understood he needed to make a change.

There was a need for greater agent education in the carrier space and there was a need for other carriers to trust that these agents knew what they were doing. There was also a need for the agents to recognize that they could succeed outside of Nationwide. The idea of assisting agents in gaining additional representation would be inadequate without this.

A New Direction Mike had a chance meeting with Diane Wagner after battling with this company idea for almost 18 months.

Diane was a marketing representative for one of First Choice's carriers. They began talking about the company's uphill battle and the timescale and additional funding that

technology guidance, training materials, and an experienced management team dedicated to assisting agents in maximizing their revenue. Each agency receives additional sales help as needed and annual strategic planning to establish and implement plans to achieve targeted goals.

FCAA guides agents to manage carrier relationships, increase knowledge, and set the stage for continued growth and profitability.

would be required for prospective profitability.

During this initial meeting, Diane inquired if First Choice had ever considered becoming an aggregator instead of a wholesale brokerage market. Aggregators assist agents in setting up direct appointments and then pool the producer volume to create larger revenue opportunities.

As the conversation progressed, Mike learned that Diane (in a previous life) had been instrumental in establishing an aggregator from the ground up and had served as its President for several years. At that point, Mike asked Diane about joining the team and assisting in the transition from the present business model to that of an aggregator. A few months later, Diane was appointed as the COO of First Choice Insurance Brokers.

The changeover was planned in the fourth quarter of 2016, and all 270+ contracts with the brokerage unit were canceled on January 1, 2017. As a result, the 'new' model only began with the original 20 investors. Because exclusive agents were unfamiliar with the role of an aggregator and how they would manage direct writings from other carriers, the company's initial growth was slow.

Despite this, FCAA was able to enroll an additional 70 agents in its first year.

FCAA Today Today, First Choice has over 380 members and is fast establishing itself as one of the fastest-growing premium volume networks in the United States. FCAA continually supports its members by providing contract assistance,

Top carrier alignment and exceptional compensation plans are available to its members. FCAA is certain that the tools they offer to member agencies is a roadmap for achieving profitable expansion by applying industry best practices.

What First Choice brings to the table The following are some of the advantages of becoming a member of First Choice: Ÿ Access to top insurance company contracts Ÿ Significantly higher excess compensation earning potential Ÿ Higher base commissions Ÿ A multitude of vendor resources Ÿ Strategic planning at the 'agency owner' level Ÿ Producer sourcing Ÿ Producer development programs Ÿ Best practices, procedures, and analysis Ÿ Succession planning Ÿ Internal security reviews Ÿ Google presence optimization Ÿ Target marketing plans Ÿ Bi-weekly educational webinars Ÿ Member portal with carrier and vendor resources Ÿ Monthly newsletter Ÿ Annual Meetings and Trade Shows Networks can usually provide direct carrier codes with lower volume requirements than an agency might receive on its own. These less stringent rules enable an agency to represent several companies that it might not otherwise be able to. The best element of partnering with First Choice is the opportunity for additional revenue above and beyond what an agency could earn on its own. There are no minimum premium requirements, so agencies may start earning growth incentives and contingencies with their first dollar of premium production.

The Winning Spirit Mike Griffin developed a desire for winning as a result of his upbringing in a sports-rich environment. It's a passion that he's carried with him throughout his life, in both personal and professional undertakings. His leadership approach is filled with this passion, and it has shaped his career.

To a Prosperous Future As an experienced entrepreneur, Mike Griffin advises his employees to always keep a 1/3/5-year plan in front of them. Their goal is to maintain a steady rate of growth!

"Our approach is for agents who believe what we believe and want to see their agencies flourish," Mike confidently declares. "We believe we can assist them in achieving these objectives," he added.

Mike is equally concerned about his team's personal development. 'Reinvent yourself regularly, not just when you realize you're losing ground,' says one of their objectives. In fact, this is how he views leadership: assisting people in excelling in their chosen fields with passion. He accomplishes this by instilling in them the belief that they can overcome hardship. This he considers a success.

Mike's vision for FCAA's future is to continue to grow responsibly and become the preferred aggregator for insurance agents across the country, all of this while maintaining the organization's quality and integrity.

Mike started working with Nationwide Insurance in 1978 as an agent, but his major duties now, as CEO, are to listen to his management team, offer counsel and assistance, and support them in their tasks. Mike is extremely proud of the management personnel at each of his companies. He knows that each of these teams is composed of a great group of highly dedicated professionals who do an awesome job directing the success of their respective areas of responsibility.

His professional accomplishments have not come at the expense of his personal life. Mike and his wife Cindy live in Cornelius, North Carolina, where they live a happy and fruitful life. Meredyth, Robert, and Courtney are their three grown children. Mike enjoys being with his family, as well as being on the lake, on the golf course, and traveling with his wife.

Ahmed Detta

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I founded Enviroo because of realizing the huge problem within the UK recycling industry after having done comparative studies in the Middle East and the EU as well as having completed the feasibility of a facility in the Middle East.

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Top 10 Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022

Ahmed

De a I

n this present competitive world, strong leadership is the key element for the success of an organization. An effective leader provides clarity of vision, motivates employees, and guides the organization to achieve its objective.

An organization may have people with unique talents and capabilities; however, it is the leadership that utilizes individual efforts towards the collective goal since he is the torchbearer for the entire team and contributes to society too.

One such influential and successful business leader is Ahmed Detta, who realized the problems of UK and came up with a solution with its innovative brand Enviroo.

Ahmed Detta is the CEO and the Founder of Enviroo with the purpose to raise recycling rates by shifting the behavioral habits of society when it comes to recycling on the go.

Enviroo is one of the most innovative recycling businesses in the UK for thinking around recycling and offering a solution to post-consumer plastic waste.

In an interview, Ahmed Detta sheds light on the company's journey, the current industry scenario, and his vision for the company's future.

An Extraordinary Leader Working for Humanity

comparative studies in the Middle East and the EU as well as having completed the feasibility of a facility in the Middle East.

The big difference between Europe and the Middle East compared to the UK comes down to habitual recycling. We have the legislation to recycle but we're missing the habit to recycle, especially on-the-go recycling which is where the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) comes into play.

Other countries such as Germany have DRS machines across the country so recycling when traveling is easy. In the UK we don't have that option, so once Enviroo distributes DRS machines across the UK after a while recycling will become an on-the-go daily habit.

The plastic we collect from these machines, along with other plastics from other sources, will then go to our recycling facility. We are building the first net-zero recycling facility next year to recycle PET plastic. We know that this is a material that can be used long term and we plan on focusing on other plastics further down the line.

So, Enviroo is really the solution to the problem that the UK is facing when it comes to recycling plastic now. We're here to provide the practical recycling element, as well as change consumer behavior and mindset about recycling.

Ahmed, please give us a brief overview of your journey as the CEO of Enviroo.

Tell us more about Enviroo, its vision, and the key aspects of its stronghold in the sustainability and technology arenas.

I founded Enviroo because of realizing the huge problem within the UK recycling industry after having done

Enviroo's vision is to create a circular economy for plastic.

The legislation is in place by the Government, we have the

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Exhibiting Excellence Ÿ

Enviroo has won ‘Plastic Recycling Experts of the Year in England – 2022’ from the Global Advisory Experts (GAE) Awards.

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Enviroo Ltd. has been awarded Best Consumer Plastic Waste Recycling Specialists – UK in the 2021 Recycling & Waste Management Awards hosted by BUILD.

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Ahmed Detta has been featured as one of ‘The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to follow in 2021’ by Insights Success Magazine.

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Enviroo has been recognized as the ‘Most Progressive Circular Economy Recycling Firm 2019’ awarded by Build Magazine.

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Enviroo was cited as one of the top disruptive tech companies to watch in 2020 by Industry Wired.

best tech in the world, we're going live with our first facility next year and we already have the brand partners who are ready to buy the recycled material. What's missing is the consumer buy-in to recycle and use DRS machines.

Local authorities across the UK are good at home recycling, it is the on-the-go recycling those needs fixing to enable the UK to become a fully sustainable circular economy regarding plastic. The micro-economy in the Northwest, where our first facility will be built, will be the blueprint for the rest of the UK and internationally over the coming years.

Considering the example of the COVID-19 pandemic, how do you plan to navigate through similar situations in the future?

was less on-the-go litter but once society got back to a semi-kind of normal, that problem came back.

So, a lesson to be learned is that these pandemics or challenges are cyclical, and despite the hysteria, successful companies can step back and analyse the good aspects of a pandemic and bring in their backup plans.

Please elaborate more on Enviroo's carbon offset program.

Enviroo is currently reviewing the credentials out in the industry now. Ultimately, we want to make sure that we will fully offset and be the first net-zero recycling facility. This will be managed through a combination of independent

Ask any business owner what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught them and there is no doubt that the majority will say that it's helped them become more agile and better at planning for change. It's also given us all more resilience and taught us that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. So, our vision will always remain the same, but we might have to be agile and make tweaks where needed to overcome certain challenges.

COVID-19 gave many organizations time to take a break, pause and revaluate their business. However, for us who deal with a material that is serving a primary basic need, to serve food and water, there was minimal disruption. There

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assessments and ensuring the delivery of the sustainability goals.

What efforts did you take during the pandemic to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your team at the same time?

Ultimately, you're entering an industry with no innovation, and this can be demoralizing, so there's a need to be strongwilled.

How do you envision further strengthening Enviroo's stronghold in 2022 and beyond?

Whilst our facility is not operational, this was a time when the company focused on looking after the mental wellbeing of staff, ensuring that the team have a good work-life balance. Hybrid working between the office and home has now become the norm and we've found that this work culture helps to increase employee wellbeing and efficiency.

Keeping the team happy is our top priority.

We envisage strengthening our stronghold in 2022 by sticking to our commitment to creating a circular economy and not being deterred by pandemics or the hysteria surrounding it. We remain focused on the long goalEnviroo is a business that will be supporting the life cycle of plastic and remember that plastic will be with us for a very long time.

What is your opinion on the necessity of industries to leverage technologies like AI and ML in developing sustainable products for the economy and managing single-use plastic waste, especially keeping in mind the ever-evolving environment emergency?

For 2022 we need to commence construction on our first facility and produce industry first and leading food grade polypropylene. We're also planning to lobby and up the game for research for DRS. We will be pleased to share our research results with Lancaster University at the end of the year which will give insights into the direction as to where DRS will be successful and how we can implement that ahead of the Government announcements.

We need all the help we can get to tackle the plastic problem. This is a collaborative journey and every person and industry needs to get involved. PET plastic is a material present in everybody's life. If you use it, you should be responsible for it.

Our tech makes it easier to recycle and no doubt AI has helped with this. We welcome continued innovation within AI to make this process more effective as well as utilizing apps to help monitor and encourage people's behavior when it comes to recycling. The tech is important but if there is poor implementation, it is useless. So, if AI can help create these habitual behaviors this will be a game-changer.

As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the industry?

The recycling industry needs more entrepreneurs, no doubt.

It needs people who are passionate about making change and people who are willing to think outside the box.

Currently, the UK waste industry is littered with large companies who are fulfilling obligatory service contracts which means that innovation doesn't exist.

However, newbies to the sector need to be aware of the financial viability of their project and how this can change as they create the team, secure the funding, and take the project. Also, people need to be open-minded to the different help that is out there.

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The Changing Dynamics of Leadership in the

Post- covid World

L

eadership is all about people management. A good leader leads people to achieve the targets set by the organization while making sure that each one is at their best and giving their best. When an employee has complete control over his physical and mental states, he can give his hundred percent effort.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us how important a health issue could be! We realized what it meant to be a socially connected person when the smallest of viruses spread rapidly throughout the world, surprising everyone in terms of personal and professional consequences.

Leadership Challenges – Then and Now Right from the start of COVID-19, it was challenging for every organization to efficiently manage its workforce.

Management had to fully trust its assigned leaders to get the day-to-day work done in a remote work environment. The leaders had to rely on their rapport with each of their colleagues to make the work-from-home model effective.

Now that the pandemic situation seems to be getting under control, organizations around the world have started to call back their workforce to the offices or devise workdays in a hybrid structure. While some, after realizing the potential benefits of the work-from-home model, have decided to keep their work completely remote. In any case, the postcovid offices and work structures necessitate greater flexibility from the corporate leadership.

Managing the workplace and people in the face of

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increasing demand for agility will be a challenging as well as an interesting task for leaders. But if handled well, this new post-covid leadership period could prove to be an exemplary shift in the corporate world. While every leader has their idea on how to effectively manage the post-covid work environment, certain viewpoints can be focused on to improve the outcomes for every stakeholder in the organization.

Embracing Change The global pandemic gave a boost to the digitization of businesses. It also changed the way daily operations are managed. Companies have adopted various technology solutions to establish workplaces digitally to better serve their consumers. Employees have gotten used to this work culture, and the trend of digitization does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

This is the beginning of a new era in business that needs to be embraced to achieve greater reach and the modernization of the workplace. Leaders must not be left behind in identifying the revolution we are currently undergoing—those who can adapt promptly will flourish.

An Empathetic Approach Families across the world went through a lot during the last two years of the pandemic. Professionals had to stay back at home. Many had to face pay cuts, job losses, the deaths of

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Post-pandemic Leadership

family members, domestic violence, and a lot of other similar issues.

Today, when they are getting back to the work environment or still working from home, it is important for leaders to have an empathetic approach to reaching these employees.

A Health Comes First Approach It is said that 'health is the real wealth.' During the COVID19 era, we truly understood the meaning of this phrase.

People with unhealthy habits or less focus on fitness were at a higher risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus than healthy people.

Organizations are starting to restore their day-to-day work now, and by using their leadership team, they can encourage people to focus on better health. Several initiatives, be they online or in-person, could be organized to motivate employees to be healthy. In doing so, it can set a great example for society in making health-conscious choices.

Establishing Organizational Stability The Great Resignations saw millions of employees quit or switch their jobs in 2021. The 'I Quit' trend is still going strong. It has left organizations scrambling to fill the vacant positions frequently. According to a recent PEW survey, the main causes behind these resignations are low pay scale, no flexibility, lack of respect, lack of opportunity for growth, family issues, etc.

To regain people's confidence in the eight-hour-a-day job, leaders must make their colleagues feel secure in their jobs.

Though it is a cutthroat market and leaders cannot lean themselves to make every employee feel happy about their job, basic respect and agility must be offered to make employees feel comfortable at work.

Conclusion In the post-COVID world, organizations and their leadership must handle their workforce empathetically and sensibly. Also, the changes that were brought about by digitization are here to stay, and they should be embraced.

We have all realized a great many benefits from it. This is a terrific opportunity for corporate leaders worldwide to modernize the workspace to save resources and invest smartly.

- Vishal Golekar

21 | March 2022

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Top 10 Influen al Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022

Alexandra

Gerr sen

An Empowering Leader Crea ng a Healthy Work Culture

F

or clinical research organizations working in site networks, the biggest challenge is employee engagement. Though salaries matter to most employees, factors such as empowerment, involvement, mentoring, appreciation, promotions, value, and trust are also essential for them.

An unengaged workforce leads to poor staff retention. Thus, motivating, and engaging employees can help reduce that attrition. It further leads to a better patient experience in clinical trials.

Empowering leaders retain a talented workforce by tapping into their staff's repertoire of skills, talents, as well as their expectations and demands from the organization. They do it by creating a culture, where the entire focus remains on the people, their engagement, and their overall development by building an exceptional workplace.

Alexandra Gerritsen, the President and COO of Artemis Institute for Clinical Research, has always been extremely focused on employee experience throughout her career and has implemented multiple leadership training programs, and mentorship programs, leading to her earlier company receiving the 'Best Workplace' award.

In the following interview, she spoke about the importance of creating a people-oriented organizational culture and how she along with her company is doing it.

Alexandra, please give us a brief overview of your journey as the President and COO of Artemis Institute for Clinical Research.

Before I started at Artemis in 2019, I had never worked in clinical research or medicine/healthcare before. My background is in Operations and Technology, working for

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My focus was on building a culture and a team that could stay connected and continues to make sure our patients were safe and healthy when they came to our sites.

e-commerce companies, entertainment, and gaming companies, and starting my career as a technology consultant. In 2019, I won an award for Top Technology Executive in San Diego and was introduced to Vishaal, the CEO and founder of Artemis Institute for Clinical Research, who wanted to grow Artemis in a different way.

We thought my background would be a good fit and I started as the VP of Operations in August 2019. Only six months later the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we had to alter a lot of our plans. My focus was on building a culture and a team that could stay connected and continues to make sure our patients were safe and healthy when they came to our sites.

In October of 2020, I was promoted to President and COO and proudly had a team of people that were highly engaged during the height of the pandemic. The people have continued to remain a core focus for me at Artemis with a goal of creating the most engaged workforce in clinical research resulting in patients that are raving fans of Artemis.

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Alexandra Gerritsen President and COO

Tell us more about Artemis Institute, its vision, and the key aspects of its stronghold in the Clinical Research Site space.

Artemis has a core purpose of Prioritizing Patients, Advancing Medicine, and Improving the World. Our vision is to have patients that are raving fans of our people and what we do. We have a robust referral program and make sure our patients are always first. We operate according to five core values which are critical to the success of our trials: • We put our patients first • We provide excellent Customer Service • We work as a Team

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• We Do the Right Thing • We value Continuous Improvement Our culture, our people, and our commitment to operational excellence as well as a living culture of radical transparency have allowed us to be successful in this space.

Considering the example of the COVID-19 pandemic, how do you plan to navigate through similar situations in the future?

When the pandemic hit, we had to make a tough decision to lay off 25% of our workforce in March 2020, it was the hardest decision in my career. We were open and transparent with each team member about the decision we

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made, and I cried with them when Vishaal and I traveled to each site to tell each team member in person.

We were able to hire some of those people back in the months after which was one of the best days in my career.

We also chose to be open and transparent with the entire company and held weekly Town Halls for an entire year to keep the team informed and updated not only on the status of COVID-19 but the status of our team and our studies.

While we didn't handle things perfectly, we were transparent and created a culture of over-communication that helped us get through the pandemic and come out stronger. Now we have the largest team in Artemis history, and we still do Town Halls every two weeks to continue that transparency. If we were to ever encounter an issue like a global pandemic again, we would be transparent with our team, get their input, and explain the hard decisions.

What efforts did you take during the pandemic to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your team at the same time?

We appointed Brittany Heath, my Director of Operations, as our COVID-19 officer. She comes with 15 plus years of clinical research experience and was the perfect candidate for the role. She kept up to date with CDC guidelines and local and state guidelines, made sure we had enough PPE, and was proactive in ensuring we were taking all the precautions needed to keep our staff and our patients safe.

Due to her leadership, we were able to conduct some patient visits remotely (we had just implemented a new technology called CRIO that allowed for electronic source documentation that makes us capable of performing decentralized trials). We could not have gone through the pandemic without Brittany's leadership.

Additionally, Artemis opted in for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) even though it was optional for us since we were an essential organization. We did this so our employees had extra time off (10 days paid) if they or a family member fell ill. We did not want our employees to suffer financially on top of all the stress of the pandemic. This was a decision our employees really valued and were able to utilize until September 2021.

we have implemented on the patient recruitment side to improve our success rate with no shows, randomizations in studies, and completions. In general, technology has come a long way in clinical trials due to the pandemic, but there is still a way to go to allow for de-centralized trials and the ability to see patients remotely wherever possible.

As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the clinical research site industry?

The clinical research site industry is changing rapidly over the past 5 years, with more consolidation than ever before.

Artemis joined the Headlands Research site network in February 2021, through an acquisition, which has allowed for better relationships with sponsors and greater access to clinical research best practices across the country. For those aspiring to get into this industry, this is a great time to partner with groups like Headlands Research, that are focusing on diversity in trials and acquiring the best sites in the country and beyond.

How do you envision further strengthening Artemis Institute's stronghold in 2022 and beyond?

For Artemis 2021 was really a rebuilding year, we hired all our Site Directors and filled all management positions within the company, which had been open since 2019.

Getting these key leaders in place was a critical step to allowing us to continue to grow in 2022.

Our focus in 2022 is operational excellence at all levels, ironing out our training program and expanding into starting memory clinics at both sites -a new service we will offer at no cost to patients, who are concerned about memory loss. Artemis is expanding into Alzheimer's trials as well, which we believe is an indication that greatly needs the advancement of medicine.

Beyond 2022, we are planning to open at least two more sites by 2025 in California and expand our reach to other communities that will benefit from participating and having access to clinical trials.

What is your opinion on the necessity for Clinical Research Sites to leverage technologies like AI and ML in clinical research, especially when catering to the everevolving healthcare needs?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning is something

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Dr. Chad Audi President, and CEO

Dr Chad Audi An Eminent Leader Serving Humanity 26 | March 2022

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Top 10 Influen al Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022 ( Volume 2)

I

n today's competitive world, leadership is the key element that makes everything work seamlessly. In either formulating new strategic directions or communicating and motivating employees, leadership is invaluable.

Thus, every successful organization requires effective leaders. The lucidity in vision, honesty towards ambitions, and compassion in behaviour are the necessary qualities to become a transformational leader.

One such visionary and dynamic leader is Dr Chad Audi whose leadership style and guidance are the essences to achieve for emerging leaders.

Dr Chad Audi, with over 23 years of executive management experience is the President and CEO of a non-profit firm Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM).

DRMM was founded in 1909. It is a leading non-profit organization that confronts homelessness, runs social enterprises, offers skills development and job readiness exercises.

In an exclusive interview, Dr Chad Audi sheds light on the company's journey, its services, and his vision for the future.

homeless persons needed more than that.

But while volunteering, I developed a deep interest in the task of helping to bring help to those in dire need – the homeless, hungry, hurting, and hopeless. Seeing my hard work and dedication, the president and CEO, Don DeVos, offered me a job in the Finance department.

Having been on a countdown to the start date of a well-paying private sector job I had secured, I wrestled with the idea of accepting a low-paying job in a nonprofit. But looking back now, I am glad I took the nonprofit job at DRMM, with the encouragement of my dad who doubled as my mentor. Since then, I have enjoyed helping to put smiles on the faces of less fortunate persons – both young and old – in the Detroit area. You can't put a price tag on it.

Enlighten us on how DRMM has made an impact on eople through its service to the community?

p

DRMM is in its 113th year of life-changing faith-based operations in the Detroit area. Since its founding in 1909, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children have benefitted from various services aimed at turning their lives around. Many, who for years were homeless on the streets, were rehabilitated and

As the President and CEO at DRMM, how has the journey been for you from 1997 until today, and what are the factors that drive you to stay motivated.

The journey has been both challenging and rewarding for me. When I started here as a volunteer in 1997, it was simply because someone had suggested that I lend a helping hand to a nonprofit that was facing some financial challenges.

It was through that person that I first heard of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM). And true to type, I gave it my best, bringing my financial expertise to bear on their challenges. That helped to bring much-needed financial stability to the Christian nonprofit.

Before that time, I knew little about the plight of the homeless, the hungry, and the drug-addicted. All that came to mind were the men and women I had seen at street corners holding signs asking for help. On many occasions, I had given them some money, believing that was all they needed. I never knew truly

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I have enjoyed helping to put smiles on the faces of less fortunate persons – both young and old – in the Detroit area. You can't put a price tag on it.

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equipped with marketable skills that enabled them to get stable sources of income and live in their own apartment or single-family home.

Many children whose education would have been cut short because of domestic violence, parental loss of income, or substance use disorder were given the opportunity to grow and continue their learning in a safe and stable environment. Homeless Veterans have found hope and help through our dedicated programs.

Countless Detroit kids have made new friends, taken a break from technology, boosting their self-confidence, and developed teamwork skills and resilience at our state-ofthe-art camp – Wildwood Ranch in Howell Michigan. Each month, our food bank in Roseville, the Lighthouse Outreach Center, continues to be of great service to over 1000 families facing food insecurity in Macomb County.

And unlike many other nonprofits, the books, clothes, shoes, toys, winter gear, furniture, and other items that generous individuals and organizations donate to us are in turn donated to those in need. We do not sell donated items.

In fact, we have difference-making community food and toy distribution outreaches in over a dozen Michigan cities – and we do so in partnership with police departments, mayors, etc.

Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion on the importance of non-profit organizations working towards public well-being?

The fact is there are many people in our communities who are facing a myriad of tough challenges that governments and businesses are not best equipped to deal with. That's where nonprofits come in.

They partner with government agencies, businesses, and generous individuals and families to address those tough challenges. For instance, here at DRMM, we have the right know-how and experience to deal with homelessness and substance use disorder and have won so many awards for providing needed solutions.

We are efficient and effective in solving problems that affect people in underserved communities – and we do so at a reduced cost. Besides, we are answerable not only to donor agencies in the public sector and the foundations but also to members of the community who bought into our charitable mission and regularly support us as volunteers and donors.

Together, we change many lives for good.

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Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how did you drive your organization to sustain operations while ensuring the safety of your employees?

We heard about the virus before it became public knowledge, and quickly, we began taking the right steps to sustain our operations while protecting our guests and dedicated staff. We bought face masks and hospital-grade disinfectants before many individuals and organizations rushed to get them. And as soon as local, state, and federal authorities announced relevant health protocols, we readily implemented them at our various locations.

Also, in partnership with the Detroit Health Department, regular testing is done at our sites. We also opened overflow and quarantine shelters that have proven very effective in limiting the spread of the virus. While doing all that, we continued updating our partners and donors about our progress, and they have been very supportive.

What is your opinion on inculcating gender egalitarianism within the organizational culture from a leadership perspective?

Women are half the population of the State of Michigan – 50.7 percent to be precise. So, organizations that discriminate against them are denying themselves the skills and good work of 50.7 percent of the population.

That means they are shooting themselves in the foot and hurting society.

Here at DRMM, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified and interested persons who believe in our Mission Statement, irrespective of their gender or race. In fact, many staff in supervisory, managerial, and leadership positions are female. Our chief operating officer, vice president for programs, HR director, director of housing, director of community engagement, and director of volunteer services are all female.

I can go on and on. Also, many of our programs in cities like Detroit and Port Huron serve women in need, and we have a strong and well-known policy of not turning away anybody that comes to us for help.

What advice do you have for individuals who aspire to venture into the non-profit public service space?

I will tell them to get a broader understanding of the needs

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and challenges of their target beneficiaries, create good and mutually benefitting partnerships and alliances, hire people who are dedicated to their mission, and do everything possible to keep their costs low without compromising on the quality of service.

And if they need coaching and mentoring, I will be glad to help as time permits. Over the years, I have had the honor of coaching and mentoring dozens of emerging non-profit leaders who are doing very well in different American cities, including here in Detroit.

How do you plan on scaling DRMM and its services in 2022 and beyond?

We are about to launch our Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in Livonia at a big

building given to us by one of our biggest donors. And that's exciting because the services we will render there meet important needs in the city, and we already have fine support from the city government and remarkable collaboration with important agencies and organizations.

Also, we are exploring partnership opportunities with agencies and organizations in a few Michigan cities that have the need for our various services.

Reasons Why 2022 is theYear of Workplace

Culture

W

hat is culture, and where do we find it?

The answer to the classic question is 213.65 million. The digits served as an answer are the registered companies worldwide. Every organization, be it small, medium, or large scale, is influenced, flourished, and expanded with a magic recipe known as culture. But the question still remains, what is culture?

On a generalized understanding, culture is the practices implemented to organize a community to function in an orderly fashion. Moving into the specificity of the etymological concept of culture, the best site to explore is OUR WORKPLACE. As we walk every step of our workplace, employees are guided to function as per the organizational code of conduct. Be it the uniformity of employees, the daily office workflow, or rejuvenating tea breaks, we are conditioned into the cultural behavior pattern. It is the culture that gets us going and flourishes us into an organized community.

Workplaces have always been flexible to adapt to changes, and with the recent paradigm shift of being work from the

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Corporate Ethos

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office to work from anywhere, 2022 is predicted to be the Year of Workplace Culture.

Comforting Employees with Flexible Work The pandemic storm took employees and employers on a roller coaster ride. Office cubicles were minimized to laptop screens, and conference meetings found their resolve in cloud systems. Knowing these shifts, companies are looking forward to making flexible work modes permanent.

These flexibilities offer multiple benefits. It is not necessary to migrate to a particular region for work. No relocation or hassles of commutation is needed.

With flexible work modules, one might work from the beachside or while enjoying a cup of coffee. These restrictions of the organizational structure have blurred, and new definitions of workplace culture are getting defined.

Recognizing Employees, Boosting Productivity Out of many workforces engagement hacks, recognizing employees' hardships is the major one. The best solution to increase work productivity, companies are inculcating a practice of appreciating employees for their hardship and helping them cross individual and industry barriers.

It is important that employees' contribution to the organization is visible. In the new world of hybrid work culture, employers are using data insights to understand performance reports and engage with employees to amplify their existing productivity ratio.

Social engagement is one of the challenges in the out-ofoffice work mode, but corporates are scouting for new ways to compensate for the old norm. Connecting with employees and enabling the workforce to engage in different activities will be a positive way ahead.

organizations in employee development, fostering personnel management in its people while establishing a bond of trust and belongingness between employees, subordinates, employers, and the organizational setting.

Technocratizing the WorkForce Fostering value-based training to employees has many benefits to the organization, and coupling them with technological advancement can be the cherry on the cake!

Today, technology has imbibed into every business, and encapsulating the advancement is the need of time. It has become highly important that the office applications be integrated and personalized as per the organization's employee pool needs.

As technology bridges between employees and the employer, technology awareness have become necessary more than an option.

The Last Words With remote work culture, tech-mediated communication has derided the importance of human connectivity, losing empathy, creating a world of AI automated robots, and unknitting the social fabric of companies.

Moving ahead in 2022, company policies will focus on an employee-centric approach while utilizing technology marvels for the mutual benefit of employees and employers.

Driving these practices with a cohesive approach can sprout an era of socio-economic balance leading to a workplace culture that exemplifies social harmony and inclusive development.

- Bhushan Bhad

Connection Drives Workplace Culture It is widely accepted that connections between employees of an organizational setting play a significant role in boosting work productivity. The more employees feel strongly connected with their subordinates, the more likely they are to be engaged in work. Understanding these dynamics of employee engagement, companies will shift their focus to people-centered programs.

Amongst many, the top human resource hack initiatives are diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. These assist

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Matthew

Brown

Enhancing modern Digital Marke ng through Strategic Planning

I

n this era of digitization and immense online public presence, businesses cannot ignore digital marketing to flourish and sustain.

Marketers are realizing the significance of digital marketing and are plunging into it like never before. This year's digital marketing trends are expected to bring about a bigger revolution to facilitate better customer reach. Digital Marketing helps companies reach their targeted audience across the globe, with little investments and higher revenue conversion.

However, most digital marketing companies market without a strategy. A marketing strategy gives businesses direction and helps them understand the customer and their position in the market.

Digital Kungfu is one such company that helps businesses carve out marketing strategies and much more.

Digital Kungfu had begun its journey as a content production company while offering services to a variety of clients in different industries. Digital Kungfu began its eventful run with a determined innovative outlook and has never looked back since then.

Today Digital Kungfu has prominent clients of the industry, including Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and other major technology brands. They have generated over $24 million for their customers in over 50 countries and 200 industries.

CEO of Digital Kungfu, Matthew Brown, articulates his vision, the journey of the company, and the impact it has

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Without deal flow, technology companies can't support the businesses they serve. Each new brand we launch solves a different problem, with our proprietary technology forming the founda on of our solu ons.

created in the industry. Following are the excerpts of the interview: Matthew, please give us a brief overview of your journey as the CEO of Digital Kungfu.

Digital Kungfu began life as a content production company with a variety of clients in different industries. Soon, our technical team realized that about 90% of the business's clientele were technology companies. At first, it was just an observation, but then we started conducting customer feedback interviews and realized that we worked best with technology businesses because we really understood them.

We understood their products, the challenges their customers faced, their lead generation challenges, and their markets.

Based on these insights, we took a big risk. Instead of widening our net, we niched down and focused exclusively on technology businesses.

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Ma hew Brown CEO Digital Kungfu

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Today, remaining niche, specializing in the technology sector, and working with many of the world's top technology vendors, distributors and partners has given us unparalleled insight into the value chain challenges that hardware and software businesses face.

Digital Kungfu was the first solution we took to market because it solved the immediate need for sales-qualified pipelines. Without deal flow, technology companies cannot support the businesses they serve. Each new brand we launch solves a different problem, with our proprietary technology forming the foundation of our solutions.

Tell us more about Digital Kungfu, its vision, and how its distinct offerings are impacting the industry and its clients.

I have always been captivated by technology. As a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, I watched first-hand as arcade games shifted into Nintendos, faxes made way for email, and home computers became a reality – not to mention the first Nokias and Motorolas to reach South African shores. In short, I was at the forefront of the first generation who integrated technology into everyday life.

This fascination would only grow as I started my first job at a management consultancy that focused on technology outsourcing. It was the late '90s, and I could already see the impact that technology can have on a business. The right tech deployed in the right way has the potential to increase revenue, reduce risk, and reduce expenses. It's a gamechanger.

Today, Digital Kungfu is the premier demand generation and pipeline acceleration partner to technology businesses, a niche I believe is essential if our businesses are going to make a positive impact on the world.

I have always recognized that technology has the power to solve the key challenges that businesses face. Our role is to support their growth into key markets so that they can have the biggest impact possible.

Considering the example of the COVID-19 pandemic, how do you plan to navigate similar situations in the future?

During COVID, Digital Kungfu's team had grown from ten employees to fifty employees, a steep curve to support the company's continued growth as new brands are added to the fold.

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I have a clear vision of where I want to take the company and grow. The 2024 Vivid Vision that our leadership team is working towards includes Digital Kungfu valued as a USD100-million company by the end of 2024. You cannot accomplish incredible feats as a team if your vision isn't bold and audacious. It must excite the people who work with you and those that are responsible for bringing that vision to reality.

What efforts did you take during the pandemic to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your team at the same time?

I've always recognized that technology has the power to solve the key challenges that businesses face. Our role is to support their growth into key markets so that they can have the biggest impact possible.

We had made the decision in early 2020 to have fully remote and productive staff. While implementing weekly tasks to ensure the staff and leadership team was mentally fit, I also took time out of my day to call each staff member and check on their well-being.

As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the sales and marketing industry?

What is your opinion on the adoption of modern technologies like AI and ML in the sales and marketing space?

The key to building a multi-million-dollar business is failing faster, which might sound counterintuitive, but it is the only way to change an industry from the inside out.

Through the years, I have realized that the business environment is more unpredictable than it was five years ago and that change is accelerating.

Everyone fails. Failure is growth. You need to figure out what does not work before you can perfect what does. One of the advantages that we have always had over our competitors is that Digital Kungfu fails faster. We fail, learn the lesson, adjust our offering and ultimately, find success at a faster rate to stay ahead.

Accelerated change can be disconcerting for some, but we have always embraced the fact that with change comes great opportunities. We love change. The greatest businesses and teams in the world know how to adapt and take advantage of change.

It is a topic I have discussed often on my podcast, The Matt Brown Show, and it centers on whether people have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Fixed mindsets cannot look beyond their challenges. They tend towards a victim mentality and are not able to pivot or adapt.

On the other hand, growth mindsets are very different. They look at the world and ask, what I need to learn, and how do I need to adapt and change to make the most of my ever-shifting environment?

Additionally, we know that anybody can copy the products that Black Swan Technology Holdings takes to the market, but it is far harder – if not impossible – to copy the culture of the company.

You don't know what you don't know, which means you are often reaching out into new territory to figure things out, and when that happens, you are very likely to stumble and fall.

That's okay – just make sure you get back up again.

While many businesses are going out of business or suffering due to COVID-19, Black Swan Technology Holdings and its subsidiaries are making the most of the gaps in the market. By recognizing that the technology landscape will always evolve and that more opportunity comes with change, there is no choice but to take advantage of it.

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Ne a Jenkins Co-Founder

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Top 10 Influen al Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022

Netta Jenkins

Adding Depth to Diversity and Inclusion with Dipper

In the following interview, Netta sheds light on her inspiring journey in the corporate world and the challenges that she faced on the way to becoming the leader that she is today.

Please brief our audience about your journey as the Cofounder of Dipper.

My journey as Co-founder of Dipper has been a gift. I met my business partner Jacinta Mathis at our former company.

We were among the few Black female leaders at the organization and quickly became sisters. She shared her idea about Dipper in a coffee shop, and it gave me chills.

The idea of creating a platform that guides professionals to better workplaces and helps companies improve was intriguing. She shared her vision, and I told her I was all in.

My partner, Jacinta, knew pretty well what it was like to be Black in corporate settings. Her late father, Sam Mathis, was promoted to a leadership role in diversity and inclusion at Darden Restaurants, a Fortune 500 company, in the 1990s.

I, however, grew up in a racist affluent neighborhood located in Rhode Island, where our neighbors could not stand the sight of a Black family on that block and looked at us with disgust due to the melanin of our skin. I recall neighbors telling their children not to play with us and pulling them into the house when we got close.

I remember my mom being pulled over in our driveway, and the officer said, "ma'am, are you lost"? My mom said, "no, I just parked, and I'm on my land." One day, while

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helping my mother clean the leaves in our front yard, unprovoked, a Caucasian woman walked up to my mother with rage, cursing, spit in my face, and said, "Blacks don't belong in this neighborhood!" Stunned as a seven-year-old, I vowed to use my voice to protect and empower marginalized people and especially my family from that day forward.

Enlighten us on how Dipper functions and what its goals are.

Dipper, a technology platform aimed at reviewing and rating diversity and inclusivity for employers by people of color, is flipping the script and shifting our workplace cultures for the better. A solutions platform connects all people of color and helps employers and employees navigate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace.

Dipper guides professionals of color to a better workplace one review at a time, whether good, bad or indifferent.

Dipper is a safe community for people to gain real insight into the most inclusive-equitable places that actively break down systemic gaps, offer growth opportunities, and have zero tolerance for micro-aggressions, discrimination, and oppression.

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Dipper is safe to have honest conversations, whether positive or negative.

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I

t can be safe to state that truly great leaders recognize the existing problems in society and come up with innovative solutions to resolve those, making a real difference. In our quest to find such leaders for our upcoming edition, Top 10 Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022, at Insights Success, we crossed paths with one such prominent leader, Netta Jenkins, the Co-founder of Dipper.

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Dipper is blossoming, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

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Companies are investing in Diversity and Inclusion, but we don't see the needle moving.

Dipper is revolutionizing the $8 billion companies spend on Diversity and Inclusion by offering data-driven solutions.

We believe that our solutions will scale and disrupt the work culture globally.

Being an experienced leader, share your opinion on how social interaction for working professionals has changed over time and what more could be expected shortly?

We have a golden rule of "do not speak negatively about an employer." This leads to many systemically overlooked employees not feeling comfortable speaking up about the harm taking place in the workplace. They fear that it will impact their future opportunities. Dipper is safe to have honest conversations, whether positive or negative.

Dipper also qualifies experiences to get an overall sense of how the company feels about diversity. Without Dipper, job seekers would ask different systemically overlooked professionals in their social network or use a social platform like LinkedIn in hopes that someone would tell you something fruitful and be honest about their experiences.

newborn. Let's just say it was a tough time during the pandemic.

What is your opinion on teaching gender egalitarianism within the company culture from a leadership perspective?

We should be changing the attitudes of humans to increase equality amongst both in the workplace. At this point, that means that we increase opportunities for women in executive roles. This means that all of us in executive positions should be offering sponsorship to women leaders.

We need to be taking a critical look at our executive teams and ask ourselves, "does our executive team represent our clientele, our workforce, and our society?" If so, then we should be asking, "do we have processes in place to ensure that we continue to value diversity?" If not, then we need to ask, "why would systematically overlooked candidates want to work and stay here?"

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs and professionals?

Find your tribe, and don't be afraid to ask for help. You can't do this work alone. Think about folks you cross paths with and reach out to.

How do you plan on scaling Dipper and its offerings in 2022 and beyond?

Dipper is blossoming, and it's a beautiful thing to see. We started solely focused on B2C, and our audience requested we have our platform exclusively in their organizations. As a result, we hired a business development leader, Rahdiah Barnes, President of NAMIC organization that now focuses on Dippers B2B advancement.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, what initial challenges did you face?

During the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I had a baby girl. Let me tell you, I was so nervous. My husband could not stay with me overnight. I was alone with my baby and paranoid.

I had a cesarean section, and you typically need to keep at least four days+ in the hospital, but I was out of the hospital the day after. I had a one-year-old at home who became ill with the virus. He was admitted to the hospital for a week.

Oh, he became sick two days after returning home with my

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Yaniv Shachar CEO at Cympire

Top 10 Influen al Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022 (Volume1)

Yaniv Shachar

Creating Cyberworld Safer through Discipline, Innovation, and Education

A data breach or cyber-attack is happening every 40 seconds, most of the attacks are happening through emails.

So, Cybersecurity is a must nowadays. Cybersecurity contains defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from the cyberattack.

Serving and protecting the nation by doing national duty to Co-Founder and CEO of Cympire, Yaniv Shachar, from 2019 he provides security to his clients preventing the cyberattacks. A man with discipline and ethics, took education while serving the nation. As he worked in different organizations at the manager level, he is filled with leadership skills, and the focus is to create a safer world with the help of technology.

Recently, we had conversation with Yaniv Shachar to learn more about the personal journey and how his organization is dealing in the market.

Following is an excerpt of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as the CEO of Cympire.

I started my career in the Israeli navy. I volunteered for the naval combat officers' course at the age of eighteen (18) and spent the next 18 years as a naval combat officer and commander.

During my service I was able to complete my bachelors' degree in Economics.

In 2009, I decided to make a change and pursue a business career. I joined a private company – Logic, which was

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executing mega projects in the homeland security field. I started as Program manager where I led a global group of project teams in large-scale, multi-million-dollar, security projects within the Oil & Gas industry.

In 2013, I was promoted to lead the Project Execution Division where I took responsibility for an extensive portfolio of security programs and projects, globally. My responsibilities included full profit-loss accountability, Projects execution, and both customer and stakeholders' relationships.

I gained invaluable experience in all the aspects of a senior executive role, and despite this highly challenging and fulfilling time, I completed the Executive MBA program at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In 2015, I joined Magal Security Systems as part of a management transformation, shortly after the company was acquired by the largest private equity fund in Israel. In addition to leading the Israeli company, my main task was to build and shape seven subsidiaries into the "Integrated Solutions Division" with direct responsibility for the other subsidiaries globally.

Once again, I found myself in a highly rewarding and incredibly challenging environment, culminating successfully when the division was acquired by Aeronautics Group.

After 10 years of senior executive roles in private and public (Nasdaq) companies I decided that I wanted to build something new.

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‘We believe that missionready cyber professionals are a critical component towards a safer world.'

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ince 1990, the internet has taken over the globe, use of the internet is one of the needs in this digitalized world. More than 60 percent of the world's population uses internet services on their digital devices.

Written content, pictures, videos, documents, and a few confidential data are available on the internet. Only a small portion of that data can be considered secured, but the rest is just there on world-wide-web.

www.insightssuccess.com

Cyber security relevance increases year over year, and we wanted to build a solution that focuses on developing the human aspect of cyber resilience. We know that the weakest entry point to your organization is through phishing attacks and social engineering. Therefore, your organization invests in state-of-the-art defensive technologies. Unless your response teams know what, they are observing and how they should react, then your investment is not delivering on its potential.

We believe that mission-ready cyber professionals are a critical component towards a safer world. Our mission is to improve cyber professionals' skills and readiness by providing effective hands-on immersive training in real world conditions – realistic scenarios, using real cyber defensive tools in a safe and challenging environment.

Enlighten us on how Cympire has made an impact in the Cybersecurity training space through its stronghold in the industry?

We believe in creating a safer world through innovation and education. With that mission in mind, we built the world's most advanced cyber security training and assessment platform.

Our cloud native platform enables cyber security teams to gain practical and relevant experience that increases their cyber resilience through continuous training and assessment of their cyber skills. The training experience is fully gamified to truly engage the trainees.

Valuable insights are provided for management to easily understand and assess

their teams' skills and readiness level, highlighting, for example, where improvements are needed. Our "Scenario Builder" allows our customers and partners to create new training scenarios or customize existing scenarios in minutes. It enables you to tailor and/or customize the training to fit your specific organization characteristics. This is a unique capability that helps us grow the business and expand our content offering.

Our platform also comes with a vast library of pre-built simulations. You can easily filter the content by variables such as length of exercise, difficulty, attack vector, and topics (among others). The platform is streamlined to minimize the time and effort needed to prepare or set up the exercises. That is the direction in which we are pushing the industry.

It is very important to mention that the platform is cloud native and completely non-intrusive to your organization.

There are no setup costs or infrastructure required and we don't install anything. All that is needed is a laptop and an internet connection.

Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion on how the adoption of modern technologies in the cybersecurity sector has transformed the industry and what more could be expected in the near future?

The cyber landscape is constantly transforming. The defensive tools and technologies are constantly developed and yet cybercrime costs outweigh the cyber technology market by a factor of ten!

That is because threat actors are also ever evolving and improving, but that is honestly one of the things I like about this industry - every day is a new challenge. The development of new and improved defensive technologies takes time, and it can be difficult to keep up with the attackers.

That is why I am a firm believer that the only way to forge an effective defence is through a combination of innovation, education, and a global network of industry professionals to share knowledge. Cloud-based cyber security training is the future. It allows us to deliver training for emerging threats in a fraction of the time it would take to organize an inperson workshop or set up dedicated infrastructure for training scenarios.

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how did you drive Cympire to sustain operations while ensuring safety of your employees?

The accelerated digitization changes the way people work and how they interact with content. When we conceived Cympire, we knew that a cloud native solution would be the future of cyber security training.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation, emphasizing just how relevant a cloudbased service is. Our clients were able to seamlessly continue their training without compromising their personal safety.

At Cympire we adapted quickly to operate the company in a hybrid model. Working in cyber security means that we are faced with new challenges every day, so we approached it as another challenge for us to overcome. Of course, there are team tasks that are easier to perform face to face and human interaction within a team is paramount, but safety is our priority.

What is your opinion on inculcating gender egalitarianism within the company culture from a leadership perspective?

Unfortunately, cyber security is still a male-dominated field.

We hope that the push to get more women into STEM will also mean an increase of women in cyber security. Progress is slow, but I think the rise of start-ups has helped set a new standard for how workplaces can be.

and that everyone is given the same respect and opportunities regardless of their gender identity.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the cybersecurity industry and the related market?

I often hear people giving the advice to just keep trying, and while that is true, it doesn't paint the whole picture. If you try the same thing over and over again, you are not setting yourself up for success. You have to try and fail and try again, but what matters is what you do in between those steps. You have to keep learning and truly become an expert in your field. Even if you are confident in your knowledge and skills, there is usually still a lot to learn. If you ever reach a point where you feel like you've learned all that is out there on a particular topic, then that is an opportunity for you to push the boundaries and innovate.

Create your own path and give others more to learn. This approach is a significant time commitment, so you should choose your path carefully and go with something you are genuinely passionate about. That level of dedication and passion isn't a guarantee for success, but it improves your odds.

How do you plan on scaling Cympire and its offerings in 2022 and beyond?

Cybercrime is on the rise and Cyber professional teams are understaffed, undertrained, and unprepared. Cympire is committed to continuously improving and delivering the best solution possible to help tackle one of the most important global challenges of our time There are new cyber threats every day, and our team is continually working on new material for our training platform. We will continue to expand our content library to ensure that our clients are well prepared for current threats – and we keep our R&D engaged in developing easier and faster customization and creation of content. We are also working on solutions based on feedback from our partners and customers. I cannot share the details but there is definitely much to look forward to, so keep an eye on our LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date.

Cympire is creating a safer world through innovation and education. We invite you to join the ride.

In recent years, people have become much more conscious of the importance of a good work environment. To that end, it is essential to ensure that nobody is discriminated against

47 | March 2022

www.insightssuccess.com