Insights success the 30 most inspiring women in business nov 2017 by Insights Success Media

www.insightssuccess.com NOVEMBER 2017

The way of business solutions

Iram Shah Senior Corporate Executive & Thought Leader

Expertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Insight Enhancing Education in IoT Development will reinforce Employment Opportunities for Future Generations

Women In Business Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship

Iram Shah

A Transformational Leader with a Purpose

Editorial

rom real estate to entrepreneurship, one of the constant discussions since women have entered the workplace in large numbers has been how women can achieve a work/life balance. The concept of work/life balance, predominantly for females, is a highly divisive and heavily debated topic since tech giants are encouraging women to add to the number of women who opt out of the workforce entirely. Probably this is one of the main reasons why women occupy only 4% of CEO spots at Fortune 500 companies. Although the concept of work/life balance often gets framed in the context of women who are trying to balance motherhood and working outside the home, there are much larger concerns and conversations to be had. Abraham Maslow’s explains ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ in his 1943 paper, which suggests that people have needs, which had to be met in order. Food, water, and shelter are the basic psychological needs that are must for survival. After that, people need to feel safe, and then to be loved and belong to a group. They then move on to issues of cognitive needs, self-esteem, and aesthetic needs, and ﬁnally, at the top of the ‘need’ pyramid; there is self-actualization, or achieving your full potential as a human being.

Balancing Work & Life

Practically thinking, work provides for all the basic needs: money earned provides food, and shelter, and a regular income means safety. Work also allows people to belong to a group, and doing well at work boosts the self-esteem. The lower levels are all largely met through aspects of working. At the top of the pyramid, however, are needs which are hard to meet with work alone, and this is where lifestyle choices, and having time for leisure, become important. Maslow’s theory partly explains why a work-life balance is a relatively modern concept, because you truly do need all the basic needs to be met before you have time or energy, or need, to worry about aesthetics or self-actualization. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it’s no surprise that more than one in four describe themselves as “super stressed”. And that’s not balanced—or healthy. It is quite acceptable that we all need a certain amount of stress to spur us on and help us perform at our best, but the key to managing stress lies in that one magic word: balance. Not only is achieving a healthy work/life balance an attainable goal but people and businesses alike see the rewards. It surely is possible to achieve a reasonable work-life balance, but you have to want to do it, by taking control of your life, and making time for the things that really matter to you.

Poonam Yadav

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Ariana Lawrence Managing Editor Poonam Yadav Co-Editors David Smith Abhijeet Parade Sourav Mukherjee Debasmita Dutta Contributor Nikita Doiphode Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Alex Noel Picture Editor Rahul Kavanekar Art Editor Shweta Shinde Business Development Manager Mike Thomas Nick Adams Marketing Manager William Business Development Executives Peter, Andy, Anish Research Analyst Jennifer Circulation Manager Robert Database Management Steve Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil sales@insightssuccess.com

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CONTENTS IRAM SHAH:

10 30

A Transformational Leader with a Purpose

Entrepreneurial Talk Necessary Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Women in Business Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship

Interview Insights Vandana Luthra: Helping People Realize the Real Beauty within them

Alicia Asin: An Innovative Entrepreneur with a Broader Industry Insight

Expert’s Insight Enhancing Education in IoT Development will reinforce Employment Opportunities for Future Generations

Betsy Bassan: Mission-Driven Business Leader and Change Agent

Tech Talk Impact of Public Relations in Today’s World

Caron Ng: An Accidental Leader Keeping Her Family’s Legacy Alive

Christina Dahlblom: Pioneering a Change in Leadership Development

Erin and Laurie: The Dynamic Duo in Business

Irene Arango: Spearheading a Raw Food Revolution

Ishita Sen: The Doyenne of Breaking Insidious Process

Julie Bryant: A Philanthropist Committed to Work & Community

Ligia Bonetti Du-Breil: Graceful Resilience Meets Inventive Entrepreneurship

Marianne Kirkegaard: An Authentic and Courageous Artiﬁcer of Business

Marina Tognetti: The Conﬁdent Entrepreneur with a Belief in Innovation

Marissa Salzone: A Conﬁdent Woman turning Every Situation into Learning Opportunity

Melissa Koskovich:

Sloane Perras:

A Strong, Ambitious, and Compassionate Leader

The Authentically Conﬁdent Leader Creating an Appetite for Innovation

Victoria Lennox: An Entrepreneur Who Incepted An Entrepreneurial Revolution

W MEN Redening Independent Determination, Strength & Power for Herself

he number one thing that successful women business leaders have in common is that they don’t let the persistent underrepresentation of women in business deter them from taking a place at the table. Today, women occupy only 4% of CEO spots at Fortune 500 companies, and fewer than one in five corporate board seats, is held by a woman. The pipeline is improving however—in recent years, the percentage of MBA students who are female finally broke a third, and 2 schools – Harvard and Wharton are close to achieving gender parity. But we still have a long way to go. Women’s entrepreneurship has hit a media tipping point. Women-owned entities in the formal sector represent approximately 37 percent of enterprises globally — a market worthy of attention by businesses and policy makers alike. While aggregated data is often challenging to find, the recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) found 126 million women starting or running businesses, and 98 million operating established (over three and a half years) businesses. That’s 224 million women impacting the global economy — and this survey counts only 67 of the 188 countries recognized by the World Bank. These entrepreneurs have cross the spectrum of micro to high growth — from supporting life to creating wealth. So herein we take an opportunity to feature such prudent and competent leaders in our special issue to admire “The 30 Most Inspiring Women in Business, 2017”. These women have stepped-up to define independent strength, determination and power in this competitive era. Over cover story features a Global Senior Corporate Executive and a Thought Leader in the world of business, Iram Shah. Iram is a woman who stands as an independent example of a quintessential inspiration with the power to create, nurture and transform. “Business leaders can play a key role in transforming their companies to have a purpose that goes beyond top and bottom line,” says Iram. So, flip through the amazing folios of our special issue and reap the inspiration and insights that lies in between the expository stories of these inspirational women in business. Do not miss out on some important executive acumen and in-house articles straight from the desk. Happy Reading!

CoverStory

Iram Shah Senior Corporate Executive & Thought Leader

W MEN

Iram Shah: A Transforma onal Leader with a Purpose

‘‘

Empowered people are comfortable with who they are and they bring the best in others

‘‘

valuating our extensive experiences throughout life’s journey, we can evidently perceive that nothing creates happiness in a person more than a sense of purpose. Yet, for most of us, it is elusive. A sense of purpose can be comprehended as a meaningful mental model that provides a reason for being happy and a guiding set of personal goals and objectives. A sense of purpose provides clarity of direction, unifying people to operate beyond their business objectives. A sense of purpose evokes passion and commitment; it makes sense of the world and the person’s role within it. Over the past decade, there’s been an explosion of interest in purpose-driven leadership. There are certain common traits among the most successful leaders, which include the need for work ethic, the necessity of sacriﬁce, the urge to serve others, the passion to succeed, the willingness to adapt to change, the desire to break the mold and profound attentiveness to human condition. An exemplary example of such a values-based authentic leader is Iram Shah, a Global Senior Corporate Executive and a Thought Leader in the world of business. Iram is a woman who stands as an independent example of a quintessential inspiration with the power to create, nurture and transform.

Iram is a general manager expert in top-line growth, customer experience, digital and cultural transformation, and has worked for big companies like Coca Cola, Pepsi, BP, Zurich Financial and Schneider Electric in ﬁve different countries. The Challenges and the Comebacks Throughout her decorated career with big brands and companies, Iram has won many business and community awards from one of the 100 most inﬂuential business woman in U.K. to one of the 11 international Women business leaders in Chicagoland. She has also encountered a mix bag of some good leaders and some not so good leaders. Among them, the ones who were good, opened doors and mentored her to success. Iram adds, “I have tried to focus and learn from them (good leaders) and have tried to role model them. I also learned from poor leadership as to what not to do..... one thing that is common in good leaders is that they themselves are empowered, they have integrity and bring the best in others. They are committed to the success of their teams and the company. They have the insight and courage to take risk and take the teams and companies to the next level.”

“Good leaders see the path ahead and are able to frame it

explicitly for those whom they lead”

Iram as a Leader Iram believes that the most important job of a leader is to paint a compelling picture of the future. To understand what makes the company successful today – what motivates the employees, and how it will grow and evolve in the future – purpose is important as well. “Purpose is about the fundamental nature of the mission of the organization. The more worthwhile is the mission, the higher is the loyalty of both, the customers and the employees. Good leaders see the path ahead and frame it explicitly for those whom they lead. They have clarity of the strategy and the conviction to stick with it. Finally, they get right teams to implement the strategy,” asserts Iram.

When it comes to women, we have come a long way, but we’re not there yet. We have made a lot of progress in having more girls graduating from college than boys and having more women in junior and middle management positions but we are still far behind when it comes to senior executive and board positions in corporate America. Research has shown again and again that diversity starting with gender diversity delivers higher business results. The CEOs and board members talk loudly about gender equality but few walk the talk. Their senior teams still look like the teams from 1970s. Some women executives have started to help other women and we have role models like Cheryl Sandburg, who doesn’t shy away from tackling sensitive subjects such as this. However, we still have senior women who tend to pull the ladder as they go up. It is again from the fear of losing the only seat available at the table.

“

I cannot say we conquered terrorism, but I feel that we’ve made a lot of progress. We had to stand-up, call it, and condemn it

“

‘Our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field. That’s the legacy we’ll leave behind.’ Iram is the righteous example of such a persona, who believes that diversity in general, and gender diversity in specific becomes part of the DNA of the business, because it makes economic, social and logical sense. The Incident that let to Philanthropic Transformation In addition to her corporate efforts, Iram also contributes to philanthropic causes and has served on several nonprofit boards, including Habitat For Humanity, Central Asia Institute, Seeds of a Peace, Schneider Electric Foundation NA and now chairs Sonia Shah Organization, which was started by her late daughter Sonia. The unfortunate loss of her beloved daughter was a tragedy that shook her to the core, but at the same time it metamorphosed her into a person with deep insight, confidence and freedom that Iram had never experienced before. She recalls, “It was a life changing event for me but after I picked up the pieces, I realized my life puzzle looked a lot more meaningful. My view on life, religion, culture and business evolved and I felt that I had gone up the ladder of transformation from day to day short term crisis management to long term sustainable transformation and growth, both in private and business life.” Iram found the courage to practice more openly what she had learnt from her experiences and make a difference in people’s lives and in companies that she was associated with. The tragedy empowered her to be part of a higher purpose, believing that every individual can help to change the world for the better with their actions and values, one day at a time. Purpose is

Business leaders can play a key role in transforming their companies to have a purpose that goes beyond top and bo om line.

‘

more motivating to employees than proﬁt, and when employees are motivated, proﬁt naturally comes in. Changing the World: ‘One Girl at a Time’ There is a strong link between educating women and girls and the positive outcomes of maternal health, economic empowerment and social mobility. Education gives a voice to girls and women in their communities. Empowering women through education is also an important factor in promoting peace and economic wellbeing.

With a similar noble intent, Sonia Shah Organization was started by Iram’s daughter, Sonia Shah, when she was only 17. Envisaging from her grandma’s stories of their ancestral village in the Northwest of Pakistan, Sonia thought of it as some third world sketch until she took a year gap and decided to visit the village to understand the need for school for girls. She lived in the village with very poor conditions, interrupted electricity and water supply during the summer months with over 90 degree F. Sonia conceptualized her vision into reality, established the school’s foundation and raised funds; but, unfortunately died a year later in a car accident. Iram and her friends took the mission forward, and today, Sonia Shah School in Pakistan has over 130 poor children enrolled for a better life, most of them being girls. Sonia Shah Organization provides free education, uniforms and vocational training to older girls and women so that they can become economically independent. They now have uninterrupted electricity 24/7 with solar panels, whereas the rest of the

Sonia Shah School - Pakistan

Village Kangra - Pakistan

Iram Shah with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter working on building a house for ‘Habitat for Humanity’ supported by Schneider Electric.

Sonia Shah

“It’s not enough to have the clarity of vision, mission and values; you’ve to be courageous to speak about it and to do something about it.” village gets electricity for only 4 to 6 hours a day. They’ve also installed a water ﬁltration plant that provides clean drinking water to the entire village. Girls’ education goes beyond getting girls into school. It is also about ensuring that girls learn and feel safe while in school, learn the life skills necessary to navigate and adapt to the changing world; make decisions about their own lives; and contribute to their communities and the world. “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” The biggest issue Iram faced, in the remote and nonliberated areas of the world, is the rise of extremism and terrorism, along with poverty and ignorance that most of the times translates into marginalizing of girls and women. It is a strong culture with strong values and beliefs, which again is very suppressive towards women in general and rather more targeted to younger girls. However, the hunger for learning and education among the girls has always been amazing and motivating to Iram. In the U.S, the challenge is the high cost of college including the cost of books that is rising and making it

difficult for students to graduate from college. Once the global leader in producing a talent pool of college graduates, the U.S. is now losing ground and lagging behind many nations. In 1990, the U.S. ranked first in the world in four-year degrees among 25-34 year-olds; today, the U.S. ranks 12th. The cost of higher education has increased more than 500%. Sonia Shah Scholarship program provides college scholarships to deserving girls in U.S. Sonia Shah Organization is driving diversity and equality at a basic level of education and empowerment of girls in Pakistan and U.S., especially for those girls in Pakistan who would never have the chance to go to school, or for those girls in U.S. who would not have a chance to go to college. Iram proudly mentions that their first sponsored recipient in Chicago will be graduating with an associate degree next year. “I don’t have any full time paid employees, it is friends and volunteers who give their time, talent and treasure and we all have a lot of fun.... changing the world one girl at a time!” she adds. How Important and Effective are Social Efforts! “The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones, who do”. Iram advises young

enthusiasts to first have the conviction that each one of us can make a difference, no matter how minuscule. The road to changing the world starts with the first step and it is not restricted to only charitable organizations. Business leaders can play a key role in transforming their companies to have a purpose that goes beyond top and bottom line. In the face of socially conscious customers and rising consumer activism, markets will be won by those who become purpose-driven social brands. To do so, the CEO, CMO, CCO and other business leaders must align to bring a cohesive brand story to life that clearly defines the company’s “social license to operate". In the future, companies who will integrate higher level purpose and mission in their daily operations will have a competitive advantage and thrive. “Do good” go hand in hand with “do well.” Millennials and generation Z are the future customers who are attuned to a company’s social consciousness and one of their criteria for allocating their purchasing power is putting dollars behind a company that is truly purpose driven. Several companies in different industries have made inroads on this topic from Salesforce, Accenture, IBM to Marriott and Unilever. Purpose is built upon trust. Unlike reputation, which is based on an aggregate of past experiences with a company or brand. Trust is the forward facing metric of stakeholder expectation. It needs to be managed like any other asset and be seen as a building block of a long term relationship. The employees of companies with a clear purpose feel that they are making a difference that is bigger than they could have done themselves. The higher purpose motivates all stakeholders including institutional investors who are getting the message as well! www.soniashahorganization.com

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W MEN Company Name

Management

Brief

CSM Bakery Solutions csmbakerysolutions.com

Marianne Kirkegaard President & CEO

CSM Bakery Solutions is an international leader in the baking industry, producing one of the industry’s broadest ranges of products for customers in more than 100 countries.

Exusia exusia.com

Valerie Chianuri Senior Director

Exusia provides consulting and software as a service (SaaS) solutions to leading ﬁnancial, government, healthcare, telecommunications and high technology organizations facing the largest data volumes and the most complex information management requirements.

Federal Stafﬁng Resources fsrpeople.com

Tracy Balazs President & CEO

FSR is an award winning human resources and workforce solutions company that serves clients in both the public and private sector nationwide.

GE Ventures geventures.com

GE Ventures combines capital, technical and commercial Dara Treseder expertise, infrastructure, and access to GE’s global network of (Oluwadara) business units, partners and customers, world-class training, and Chief Marketing Ofﬁcer resources to help companies grow and scale.

globaldiversitypractice.co.uk

Farrah Qureshi CEO

GDP is an award winning provider of innovative multi-disciplinary consultancy and learning solutions.

GreyCastle Security greycastlesecurity.com

Marissa Salzone Marketing Manager

GreyCastle Security is the industry’s leading provider of cybersecurity risk assessment, advisory and mitigation services.

HRBoost hrboost.com

Nicole Martin CEO & Founder

HRBoost offers a full range of human resources services on both a consulting and outsourced basis.

K. Parks Consulting, Inc. kparksconsulting.com

Kizzy (Parks) Dominguez President

The KPC team help organizations harness diversity, empower people and create inclusive cultures that transform lives.

Leidos leidos.com

Melissa Koskovich Senior Vice President

Leidos is an extraordinary technology company whose ardent employees are committed towards making the world healthier, safer and more efﬁcient.

Alicia Asin Co-founder

Libelium is a tech company developing projects to monitor and improve efﬁciency in agricultural crops, with environmental control systems to prevent climate change, or even through e-health control equipment to universalize access to health services in developing countries.

Global Diversity Practice

Libelium Comunicaciones Distribuidas libelium.com

W MEN Company Name

Management

Brief

Lyft lyft.com

Veronica Jaurez Senior Director, Business Initiatives

Based in San Francisco, California, Lyft is a transportation network company that develops, markets and operates the Lyft car transportation mobile app.

Mercury Freight (Pty) Ltd mercuryfreight.co.za

Margrit Wolff MD, C.E.O

Mercury Freight is a high-expertise, owner-managed South African logistics service provider with global reach, costefﬁcient, door-to-door air and surface freight options and a comprehensive range of added-value ancillary services.

Miltton Sparks miltton.ﬁ

Christina Dahlblom Founder & Managing Director

Miltton Sparks focuses on leadership development, with the aim of helping organizations create sustainable high-performing cultures, where both human beings and business can thrive.

Mindmill Networks mindmillnetwork.com

Sara Ohrvall Co-founder / Senior Advisor

Mindmill Networks comprises of an international network of experts helping companies and organizations ﬁnd their way in the digital transformation.

Montage Legal Group montagelegal.com

Laurie Rowen Founder, Erin Giglia Founder

Montage Legal Group give law ﬁrms access to an exclusive network of freelance attorneys who handle temporary or contract legal work remotely on project basis.

mYngle myngle.com

Marina Tognetti Founder & CEO

mYngle offers customized language training programs for business professionals through video conferencing in 45 different languages anytime, anywhere.

NAMA Foods namafoods.com

NAMA is a raw vegan restaurant in London that offers courses, Irene Arango raw vegan catering, cleanses, raw vegan cakes and all manner of Co-founder & Director information on the raw vegan lifestyle.

Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company orchidislandjuice.com

Marygrace Sexton CEO

Natalie’s Orchid Island is an American fruit juice brand and the chief marque of the Orchid Island Juice Company.

Nijhawan Group nijhawangroup.com

Lalita Nijhawan Director

Nijhawan Group is one of the leading travel conglomerates and has vastly diversiﬁed entities within the Travel Industry.

Nu-Set Lock nuset.com

Caron Ng CEO & Founder

Nu-Set Lock is a trusted global lock manufacturing division formed to develop pioneering safety products.

W MEN Company Name

Management

Brief

One World Strategy Group oneworldstrong.com

Jeri J. Brooks Founder & Lead Strategist

One World Strategy Group, is a Houston-based strategic communications ﬁrm that offers public relations, public affairs and public engagement services to their clients.

Panagora Group panagoragroup.net

Betsy Bassan CEO & Founder

Panagora Group is a woman-owned social enterprise providing novel and integrated solutions in health and development.

Rancho Biosciences ranchobiosciences.com

Julie Bryant CEO

Rancho BioSciences is a Data Curation Company that cleans, organizes and harmonizes all kinds of life science data leveraging vocabularies and ontologies.

Recruiting Source International recruiting-source.com

Bianca Jackson Chief Operations Ofﬁcer

As a full-service executive search firm, Recruiting Source International offers services with the intent of providing their clients with qualified candidates that will be a great fit for the work environment.

Schneider Electric schneider-electric.co.in

Iram Shah Senior Corporate Executive

Schneider Electric develops connected technologies and solutions to manage energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efﬁcient and sustainable.

Seceon seceon.com

Ishita Sen Head of Customer & Partner Success

Seceon provides a simple, fully automated approach to detecting and stopping the threats that matter, enabling organizations to see cyber threats clearly and quickly and stop threats that inﬂict extensive damage.

ServicePower servicepower.com

Jenniffer Breitenstein SVP Global Marketing

ServicePower is revolutionizing ﬁeld service, and speciﬁcally mobile workforce management, by enabling hybrid workforces and best in breed capabilities available as modules within a common platform.

SID Group gruposid.com.do

Ligia Bonetti Executive President & CEO

SID Group is a conglomerate of Dominican companies engaged in the manufacture, storage, transport and distribution of mass consumption products.

Startup Canada startupcan.ca

Victoria Lennox Founder & CEO

Startup Canada is Canada’s rallying entrepreneurship organization, supporting and giving a voice to every entrepreneur.

The Krystal Company krystal.com

Sloane Perras Vice President Risk, Chief Legal Ofﬁcer & Corporate Secretary

Krystal is an American fast food restaurant chain known for its small, square hamburger sliders with steamed-in onions.

Ms. Vandana Luthra VLCC Health Care

| November 2017 |

“

narrow focus is credited with many a success, but there’s a broader vision behind it that gives our focus the right direction.” A vast majority of us take life as it comes. We’re so focused on approaching events and current situations that we often don’t think in the long term. And that’s logical, because the present changes will be affecting us now. But broadening our vision leads to totality of being.

ALICIA ASIN: An Innovative Entrepreneur with a Broader Industry Insight

One such leader who’s creating a broader vision to manifest her goals at every step is Alicia Asin, CEO and Co-founder of a Spanish technology company, Libelium. Alicia holds the ability to look at the company from the top and see the whole thing working together. She perceives how different initiatives are moving towards the common strategy. Her esteemed focus has been the key behind Libelium’s success. Technology that leaves a Mark on the World Libelium’s technology is present in more than 120 countries worldwide, developing projects to monitor and improving efﬁciency in agricultural crops, with environmental control systems to prevent climate change, or through e-health control equipment to universalize access to health services | November 2017 |

in developing countries. Libelium’s wireless sensor platform has been deployed in projects of great economic and social impact to face the great challenges humanity faces in this century. In fact, Libelium sensors are helping prevent pests and improving productivity in agricultural crops, and also reducing pollution and trafﬁc in several smart cities. Alicia, along with her tech team, has also helped universalize access to a health system to populations far from hospitals, and they have deployed sensors in space on board a satellite to study solar storms in collaboration with the NASA. The company has been involved in projects to predict volcanic activity as well. In near future, the Internet of Things (IoT) will be able to incorporate transparently and seamlessly a large number of different and heterogeneous end systems, while providing open access to selected subsets of data for the development of a plethora of digital services. Libelium designs and manufactures hardware to deploy wireless sensor networks to create fast and reliable solutions for Smart Cities and Internet of Things market. Alicia’s Vision for a Connected World Alicia perceived the inﬁnite market potential of IoT and was convinced that the development will be exponential. The Internet of things will affect all markets: cities, logistics, security, agriculture, health, home automation, energy –– these processes can be optimized, if its variables can be measured, analyzed and used in decision-making processes. The opportunities are endless, it takes a whole legion of companies and entrepreneurs that are dedicated to create sensors, install them, and create applications for a smarter world. With this sense, Alicia developed a strategic plan for Libelium’s growth based on the construction of a solid IoT ecosystem for mutual collaboration, especially with start-ups and big system integrators to develop new smart solutions. She wishes to continue betting on generating an ecosystem of | November 2017 |

Ambition and selfcondence are needed: you have to dream big and picture yourself achieving your goals. — Alicia Asin CEO and Co-founder Libelium innovative and technological companies around Libelium. To support this ambition, her organization has an international network of more than 100 companies. An Intuitive Leader & a Meticulous Mom Alicia is a computer engineer, diligently focused on how IoT can change our world, starting with Smart Cities and Precision Agriculture, among other applications. She cofounded Libelium at the age of 24, and owing to her youthful appearance; her efforts were disdained by fellow executives. She describes an event at the bank as, “I remember the guys at the bank totally ignoring me when I was with David, my co-founder, even when he kept telling them I was the CEO. I also remember that at the very ﬁrst trade shows we attended some guys thought I was the stewardess of the booth and did not want to talk to me.” And their smiles at the beginning of meetings, “oh, is that you the CEO?” Alicia has no regrets on those mentions; instead, she uses them to emerge courageous with a thicker skin. She says, “You cannot get distracted with details when you have higher goals, just focus on what you want to get from people you are talking to.” Alicia hopes that the world sees more women at executive positions in a

natural way; not because they are applying for any quota, but because men and women can compete in equal conditions. Above all, Alicia envisions an empowered woman as someone without guilt for her success. Considering a broader prospect of life, pressure on women is higher than men. Alicia mentions, “I really miss my two daughters when I am traveling abroad, but I also think I am showing them the way. We need to empower our kids since they are born. I once received a fun note from the kindergarten-teacher of my elder daughter ’your girl is so bossy, she organizes the full classroom!’ I sent her a note back ’Thanks, I see my efforts to make her a leader work’.” Alicia is a frequent speaker at international conferences on issues related to Smart Cities, the Democracy of the IoT based on big data and the importance of security and privacy in the new IoT era. She has also been awarded with various accolades for her entrepreneurial merits and technological innovation. Envisioning Evolution with a More Focused Strategy Alicia’s business vision is based on two keys: horizontal approach and interoperability. Libelium’s sensor platform is open source, horizontal and scalable, allowing other products to be developed based on their platform without having to pay for patents or trademarks. Under Alicia’s able guidance, Libelium has begun a transformation, expanding from their impressive range of sensing hardware and trying to shift the focus onto their own IoT gateways, Meshlium gateways, and supporting software services. It is a revolutionary transition. Alicia is focused on providing the gateway services using Meshlium hubs, and expanding Libelium’s software services as well – all the while fostering a cloud partner ecosystem that can support the thirdparty sensing hardware. It’s a signiﬁcant evolution in the expansion strategy.

Betsy Bassan: Mission-Driven Business Leader and Change Agent

etsy Bassan is the President, CEO, and Founder of Panagora Group, a womanowned social enterprise providing innovative solutions in global health and development. With more than 30 years of experience, Betsy is an industry leader who has developed novel approaches to major global health problems while also advocating for small businesses. Driven to make a difference on a global scale, Betsy discovered early in her career that she had a mind for business and innovative problem solving. “When I discovered the field of international development, which includes a wide array of professionals working to eradicate poverty, improve rule of law, increase access to health care – and much more – in developing countries around the world, I was hooked,” she says. Betsy went on to live in Africa for 7 years, where she was part of multiple projects in the international development field and honed her passion for sustainable change. “I learned to puzzle out sector dilemmas, work toward innovative and complex solutions, develop comprehensive programs grounded in field realities that, if implemented, could really make a difference in whatever problem I was trying to address within international development,” Betsy adds.

Opening Markets, Building Sustainable Solutions Ever curious and optimistic, Betsy gravitated to business possibilities and opportunities. At Chemonics International, a long-time leader in the international development consulting space, she opened new markets in countries like Morocco and South Africa, where she and her team supported local entrepreneurs and businesses. She developed programs in new regions like Europe & Eurasia, which, after the wall fell, focused on building market democracies. She also grew entirely new business sectors like global health which was very challenging to penetrate but where international development companies could greatly contribute to saving lives. She developed many innovative solutions to global health problems, often via public-private partnerships which harness community, business, and government energy in tackling key health objectives like improved mother and child health, or effective treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS—all of which can take a huge toll on societal well-being and productivity. A leader in her ﬁeld, Betsy also fanned out into a host of industry leadership positions and found her voice in wider trade and professional associations. Through the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a membership-based foreign

aid advocacy group, Betsy helped build support for critical foreign aid programs. As Program Vice President and then Chair of the Society for International Development-Washington D.C., a leading professional association, she greatly enhanced its proﬁle as the “the public square of development” through cutting-edge knowledge exchange. It’s Personal: Self-Advocacy and Science Saves Lives At the peak of Betsy’s career, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and found herself in a life-and-death battle, one that her own mother lost. Betsy fought hard to balance a demanding job, chair a major professional association, and care for her family, alongside punishing cancer treatments and surgery. That experience solidiﬁed what she already knew: self-advocacy, preventative care, and innovation in science can save lives. “As I look back at what I’ve accomplished and look ahead at what is to come, I’m grateful for the self-advocacy and health care that ultimately saved my life. This is what fuels me to work hard to provide innovative and empowering solutions to complicated health and poverty issues that affect women and families all over the world,” Betsy says. Launching a Successful Social Enterprise In 2011 Betsy started Panagora Group,

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knowledge management and communications, performance monitoring and evaluation, and capacitybuilding. For example, Panagora helped design and build the capacity of a locally-owned health franchise in Bangladesh. Sharing Innovations within Industry At Panagora, Betsy encourages creative thinking and innovation proactively in everything the company does. “We pride ourselves on being a social enterprise where our key offering is making the world a better place through more innovative and cost-effective, out-of-thebox solutions.” Whether in strategic planning, proposal efforts, ongoing projects, or after-action reviews, Betsy challenges the team to come up with the most thoughtful, creative, and high-impact solutions.

Betsy Bassan President, CEO & Founder Panagora Group

“Be persistent: ﬁnd your passion and follow it. Work in participatory ways that build ownership for others to sustain the change” a social enterprise dedicated to novel and high-impact international development consulting with a special focus on global health. Panagora works to build national capacity and promote sustainability, utilizing integrated, private sector solutions. Through the Panagora platform, Betsy has also ampliﬁed the voice of international development companies working in this space. She led the founding of the Council for International Development Companies (CIDC) and, as chair, transformed the Small Business Association for International Companies (SBAIC). Today, Panagora Group offers a range of health and development services and experts, across family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, neonatal health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. Panagora uses private sector solutions to solve complex problems in cross-cutting areas such as health systems strengthening,

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Similarly, everyone at Panagora engages in sharing and promoting their innovations within the industry and learning from others. For example, two years in a row, Panagora has been featured in USAID’s Moving the Needle conference, which highlights and shares key innovations that increase impact in international development. In 2016, Panagora was one of five global awardees at this conference for its work in Uganda on innovations in evaluation and performance improvement. Passion and Perseverance When asked what she attributes her success to, Betsy answers, “Vision, strong work ethic, leadership, the ability to motivate others, and effective management. But most important is perseverance.” She urges women in business to believe in themselves and not be defined by others. Moving Forward Panagora Group continues to find innovative ways to share what works in eradicating poverty in developing countries so that development dollars achieve maximum results. It also perseveres in advancing novel and sustainable ways to further international development, in particular by using evidence-based approaches, building capacity among developing country institutions to take over and lead the work, and harnessing private-sector solutions that don’t depend on government financing. As an industry leader, Betsy continues to promote the role of small businesses in solving global poverty while serving as an engine of the U.S. economy. At Panagora, she is always on the lookout for ways to make the company a great place to work, where people are challenged and rewarded while achieving Panagora’s mission of making the world a better place for good.

ecessary

ntrepreneurship cosystem

he craft of entrepreneurship is observing creative avenues for success. People are finding their path towards entrepreneurship in new ways. Entrepreneurs put their “art” into the startup. There is no right way formulated to succeed as a startup, and that is why the people who start startups are characterized by flexibility, adaptability, and the ingenuity to do business out of an idea. Entrepreneurship does not occur in isolation or silos, but by collaboration and community and may require more than that. Entrepreneurs throughout the world seek supportive environments that through contiguity provide collaboration, culture, and resources that encourage entrepreneurial pursuit and reward innovative mindsets. The administration of new ventures gets strongly influenced by something much higher than the business itself: the surrounding ecosystem. Essential constituents which are fundamental for a startup success encompass appropriate talent, solid marketing strategy, funding of startup and the most important is the supportive government ecosystem with better policies, laws, and regulations. Without them, it's uncannily difficult to start a business. To thrive, entrepreneurship needs a supportive ecosystem of compromising factors ranging from infrastructure to financial access to supportive government policies. A government is the single biggest enabler for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, play a vital role in ease of doing business and supporting companies to start and expand.

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Entrepreneurial Talk

Beginning a new company is the easy part, and successfully expanding it is the challenge. The primary focus should be on encouraging sustainable, growth-oriented and innovative ﬁrms not just cultivating more start-ups.

The big question is, what exactly is an entrepreneurship ‘ecosystem’, a perfect blend of attitude, resources, and infrastructure? An article published in 2010 by Professor Daniel Isenberg from Babson College helped to boost the awareness of the concept. Isenberg outlined various constituents for the totality of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. According to Professor Daniel, ecosystem should be built on regional conditions. Expand existing industries and build on their foundations, capabilities, and skills instead of trying to launch high-tech industries from scratch.

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At the center of an entrepreneurial ecosystem typically there is at least one, and usually many,’large established businesses,’ with important management functions as well as undertaking R&D and production activities. These firms will also be rich in technology. They play important roles in strengthening the ecosystem. They are ‘talent magnets,’ hiring large numbers of skilled employees, and many of them are recent graduates, irrespective of their field. They provide necessary training to their workers and allow them to advance up the corporate hierarchy. It is through this procedure that staffs who were initially hired for their technological know-how acquire management skills to become technology managers. This exemplifies a propitious resource for small firms. They are also a source of new businesses as few of their staff will leave to start their own company. Government plays a decisive role in cultivating enterprise and innovation. Their role is to direct the public departments and agencies to focus on the problem and develop effective policies. It makes a good economic reason for governments to implement policies that encourage business growth since most of the business being conducted by new entrepreneurs. The major five ways in which government can have the highest positive effect are by making capital more accessible, promoting entrepreneurship, facilitating business education, protecting intellectual

property, and reducing regulatory burdens. Banks never directly engage or interact with entrepreneurs, and they help ﬁnancial markets mature and indirectly impact the entire value chain of investing which makes them relevant for the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Bankers make a lot of money investing in somewhat later stage technology companies, which in turn increases the conﬁdence of early stage investors that if their investments grow, they would obtain the capital to fuel their expansion. Most of the leaders are unsure about exactly how to start creating the programs, policies, and culture to draw out the entrepreneurial spirit that almost always is lurking beneath the surface. Leadership programs like BEEP are must in every region. The Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project is directed by Professor of Entrepreneurship Practice Daniel Isenberg, a renowned authority on entrepreneurship around the globe, and a former Harvard and Columbia Business School professor, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. It stimulates and supports entrepreneurship, fostering an entrepreneurship ecosystem in which development oriented entrepreneurial businesses can thrive. Today, it's crucial to understand the best practices in fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems, which helps inform the participatory and democratizing potential of technology. In turn, that can lead to widespread adoption of digital technologies and services accompanied by a global surge in economic development.

Caron Ng CEO and Founder Nuset, Inc.Â®

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colossal number of business officials and pioneers work in the corporate world today, yet few of those will be remembered after their last day at work. In reality, numerous successful individuals finish their careers and vanish without a trace being left at their organization. “Begin with the end in mind” the idiom perfectly sums it up. That is decisively what inheritance leadership is about. An enduring effect can’t be accomplished at the tail end of a person’s tenancy at an organization or the very year a pioneer begins wanting to retire. A legacy is made throughout that person’s corporate career. However, keeping that legacy alive is as important as leaving a great legacy. When you talk about keeping one’s inheritance alive, one must talk about Caron Ng, CEO of Nuset, Inc.® —who gave up her dream career because of family obligations. Shebelieves an empowered woman is an amalgamation of someone who has failed and who is not afraid to fail; she has always learned from her mistakes and has tried to learn from it. Caron thinks that at the end of the day, she is willing to share her past struggles with anyone who crosses her path.According to Caron, her success is based upon three elements: she surrounds herself with great people, her insatiable curiosity, and her unapologetic hunger for learning more. Abandoned Dream Career for Family Nuset, Inc.® is a 3rd generation family-owned business and a trusted global lock manufacturing division formed to develop pioneering safety products, established 45+ years ago. But, Caron was not groomed to lead this division of her family business. She recalls it all happened by accident, or one may say by fate. Caron abandoned her dream career after college in order to fulfill her family obligation and serve in the family business. It took her ten years to recognize her position and her value to the community. | November 2017 |

Today, Caron leads the company from the front as the CEO of Nuset, Inc.® changing the narrative of lock solutions. She has—since diving into this business—led Nuset, Inc.® from a small manufacturing business to a company with a global perspective.Presently, at the brink of transforming the narrative of lock solutions, Nuset, Inc.® is adapting legacy systems of the lock hardware to be the forefront of the IoT solution.

ways to the community. She is the Senior Vice-Chair for the Los Angeles Women Business Enterprises Forum (WBEC-West), the Advisory Board for the Enterprising Women Magazine, and Steering Committee for the Women President Organization (WPO). On a personal capacity, she is a leader for the International Bible Study Fellowship. She also volunteers her time to mentor business entrepreneurs and students on a monthly basis.

A Trusted Global Lock Manufacturing Division Originally, Nuset, Inc.®; was founded on building customized locks for various other companies, but about 25+ years ago it developed the Nuset, Inc.® brand in order to represent their own product to the end user market. Today, Nuset, Inc.® specializes in custommade security hardware. Its products used to be considered traditional hardware, but the company has newly introduced a new line of security products that give customers the quality that they trust along with the convenience of today’s technologies. Building long lasting relationships with clients who appreciate Nuset, Inc.®’s attention to detail fused with its vast knowledge of manufacturing and product design is what it strives for. The point of difference in the Nuset, Inc.® product is customization and product innovation. Nuset, Inc.® also manufactures custom products for other industries, including construction, medical, real estate, ﬁtness, and property management to name a few. Product distributors are located throughout the US and overseas and are now found in wellknown retail markets such as: The Home Depot, Grainger Inc., and Amazon

Diversity is the Key! Caron believes there are a lot of startups in the marketplace and a surge to merge lock hardware with electronic technology. Caron values diversity in her team. She usually sits in and listens attentively at different brain storming sessions, where everyone (quite literality) has chance(s) to go crazy on the white board or post-its. She likes to listen to her team’s new research, wild ideas, and customers' feedback. A new idea carries a revolutionary impact on the way how they use security; it usually has her undivided attention and ultimately unyielding support.

Serving the Community Caron's day starts at 4: 30 am for exercising and for personal devotion time. In the evening, she is usually home between 7-9 pm, when she devotes her time solely on her two young children. She serves in many

Caron advises the people who bring social change, “Listen, everyone has a story. A very simple act of attentive listening can bring a lot of changes. Each one of us has the power to change for a better society; it all begins by listening and helping to those who are closest to us.” Moving Forward Nuset, Inc.®; is leading the way in advancing lock hardware to the forefront of the IoT era. The new series of security product is called Eyecon™. “It is always exciting to see new products impacting our way of life. Nothing is more encouraging to see we are contributing to the big picture. My concern is how we as a society adapting to the IoT generation,” she concludes.

Christina Dahlblom: Pioneering a

Change in Leadership Development

or every company striving ahead to attain success, the role of a leader is of utmost importance. Leadership is the cornerstone for strong management; guiding employees to maximize efﬁciency and effectiveness, as well as enhancing the overall productivity of the ﬁrm by meeting and exceeding organizational goals. The popular saying, or rather belief, that the traits of a sound leader are inherent within an individual is a mythical concept as leaders can also be developed. Christina Dahlblom, a passionate entrepreneur and founder of Miltton Sparks is determined to change organizations by focusing on leadership development and providing leaders tools for effective leadership.

Christina Dahlblom

Founder & Managing Director, Ph.D. Miltton Sparks

Bringing-Forward a Positive Change Christina’s company Miltton Sparks focuses on leadership development, with an objective of helping organizations create sustainable, sound climates and cultures, where employees can thrive and perform. Add to that, the company is equally

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“An empowered woman is someone who is pursuing something she is passionate about, doing it well, and having enough freedom but also enough support – enjoying life”

passionate about enhanced business performance and work-life well-being.

emotions and energy, and leads to actual changes in behavior.

help more organizations in their leadership development.

With its research-based approach, Miltton Sparks helps its customers create a positive change, be it in an organizational or individual level, by focusing on actual behaviors, practicing new behaviors, getting feedback on them and identifying every minimal step of improvement.

Making Yourself a Priority She reminds her clients that to be a great leader, you need to put yourself high on the priority list. “It’s hard to energize others if you are not energetic yourself. Emotions and energy are extremely contagious,” she continues. She points out that even 15 minutes of daily self-care is much more than zero. Christina aslo tries to set the bar high with her own example. Aside from prioritising sound sleep, eating healthy, and trying to ﬁnd time for small but daily sessions of yoga, she spends as much time as possible with her family.

Following your passion and getting support Christina has pioneered a demanding career with several board positions, while having a family with three kids at home. Never to undermine the contributions of others in her path towards success, Christina is thankful of all the people who have supported and trusted her during her entrepreneurial journey.

To achieve this, Christina sees the recruitment process as a key to success and growth. Her business is all about having the right people, doing the right kind of work. Christina’s team of coaches comes from varying background expertise, with a parallel understanding in neuroscience, coaching and positive psychology. Pushing the Boundaries of Leadership Development When asked about the present industry scenario, Christina feels that the leadership development industry has not renewed itself quite as fast as it could have. “There are still too many courses out there that do not actually take advantage of what we know about human learning, brain functioning or how to reach high performance.”

A Future Filled with Continual Growth Christina is conﬁdent that the leadership development market continues to grow. She envisions a future with a strong demand for supporting organizations create stronger, sustainable and peopleoriented leaders. Many leaders have never gotten to learn much of human to human skills at school or university, and are hungry to learn when they face the challenges of leading people and change.

Christina’s calling is to inspire organizations and leaders to push the boundaries of their leadership. Miltton Sparks strives to turn fresh research ﬁndings into actionable learning, which can be practised with customers in a manner that evokes positive

In the coming years, Miltton Sparks will continue to grow and recruit new talents especially from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Miltton Sparks has already gained important references from large international projects and is now well-positioned to surge ahead to

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“We should teach kids habits of a healthy, happy life. Make sure everyone understands the value of taking good care of themselves. We should also be better at taking care of each other. Offering a hand when needed, creating a culture where people aren’t left alone as much as today,” she concludes. According to her, the secret to is to follow your passion “The more time we’ll spend doing things we feel passionate about –the more we go out and pursue our dreams, without caring so much about what other people think we should d, the better we will do.” She has the same amount of respect for those who choose to stay at home with their children, as for those who choose to pursue demanding careers. She adds “I hope in the near future, gender will not be such a relevant topic, because we will all be considered based on competence and qualities, not gender.”

Erin & Laurie: The Dynamic Duo in Business

here is nothing new in saying that working parents have it tough. Juggling their personal and professional life is a neverending balancing act, and sometimes, sacriﬁces must be made in an effort to be it all and to do it all.

Similar is the story of Erin Giglia and Laurie Rowen, founders of Montage Legal Group. Their goal was to manage life in a way to stay at home with their children, and at the same time remain in the legal profession. This led them in quitting their jobs and starting a new business model that not everyone fully understood back in 2009.

Laurie Rowen Founder Montage Legal Group

Erin Giglia Founder Montage Legal Group

We believe philanthropy is an essential part of business

The Terrific Twosome Erin and Laurie met while working at the same law firm and grew close through their daughters. Life in a leading law firm is a well-known grind. Expectations of long hours, travels, and unpredictable demands are a part of the culture. Both Erin and Laurie loved their work but realized that sleeping for only a few hours a night was not a long-term recommendation for health and happiness, and thus decided to leave the firm. Initially, Erin was terrified to quit the firm and to undertake a notion that was somewhat new in the legal industry. Laurie was the one who came up with the idea to create a network built around other people in their position and with the same level of legal skill and expertise. Both Erin and Laurie invested $2,000 each to get the company off the ground and in 2009, Montage Legal Group was formed.

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“After having children, we were torn between staying on the law firm path and aspiring to join the partnership, or venturing out on our own, hoping to find ways to spend more time with our families while simultaneously advancing in our careers.” They say that the risk alone was empowering. Montage Legal Group’s success has brought them both personal and professional satisfaction and they hope to create opportunities for others to achieve the elusive career/life balance that many people seek. Practicing CEO Craftsmanship Erin and Laurie continuously decided to stay true to Montage’s original mission; which is to help busy law firms while providing freelance attorneys with career flexibility. While it was difficult to balance the freelance lawyers’ various needs, they made the decision to support them to the best of their abilities. They also made the decision to stay focused on exactly what they do best — connecting freelance lawyers with busy law firms. Other companies would frequently pitch ideas which would require them to grow larger by expanding into other areas of law or even outside of the legal community. Deep down, they knew that their decision to focus efforts on freelance lawyers — and only on freelance lawyers — will serve their clients best. Envisioning Empowerment “When we close our eyes and imagine an empowered woman, many types of women come to mind. We imagine a woman who calls the shots in her own life. We see a corporate CEO who has made sacrifices to achieve success in business. We imagine a working mother balancing career and family. We also imagine an older women entering retirement who paved the way for women to hold equal positions in the workplace. Empowered women take many forms, and can be inspiring in their own individual ways.” Providing a Sense of Control Montage gives lawyers career flexibility so they no longer have to choose between a career and being a stay-at-home parent. Lawyers who previously left legal practice can relaunch their legal careers, which bring income into their families. Lawyers who wish to opt out of traditional firms can take a step back, without stepping out. Career flexibility through Montage reduces stress for freelance lawyers, creates room for more time with aging parents and families, and provides freelance attorneys with a sense of control over their lives. While Montage receives hundreds of

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resumes monthly, it accepts only a very small percentage of the best freelancers, keeping the network at around 200 freelancers from the best law schools and most prestigious law firms in the nation. The Secret to their Success Attributing their success to hard work, meticulous (yet flexible) procedures, and also to luck, Erin adds, “Timing has been on our side. First, we were lucky that we were both pregnant with our daughters at the exact same time, which sparked the idea to leave traditional law firm practice to carve our own path. We are also lucky to have stared our business during the 2009 Recession, when law firm layoffs were peaking.” Big firm layoffs resulted in the emergence of thousands of small firms, but these Big Law firms still needed high-level help periodically. At the same time, many women lawyers who were previously elected to stay home with children needed extra income and wished to re-enter the workforce. Erin and Laurie consider themselves lucky to start their business when technology was advancing rapidly, making remote working possible and common. Finally, they were lucky to have started the business at a time when large law firms were putting pressure on lawyers to work grueling hours, and women lawyers – especially mothers – were increasingly leaving these firms in search of a way to practice law at a different pace. Montage filled all of these needs, at the right time. Revolutionary Results Erin and Laurie’s leap of faith has resulted in making Montage a top brand that has been recently named as “Association of Fundraising Professional’s National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Small Business”. Today, Montage handles administrative and billing tasks, allowing its law firm clients and freelance lawyers to focus on legal projects. Future Expectation Erin and Laurie aim to focus on keeping Montage as the nation strongest freelance attorney network and are encouraged by the amount of interest from both applicants seeking to join Montage and law firms seeking help on legal projects. Their only concern is that the business might grow too rapidly, and they might feel pulled too strongly away from their families. “We started this business to stay in the legal field while still maintaining happiness in our personal lives, and we would not want to lose sight of this,” asserts Erin and Laurie.

Irene Arango Co-founder & Director NAMA

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unger is never fulﬁlled by the quantity of what we eat, but the quality of our food. Raw foods are considered as the healthiest option to heal yourself from the inside out. However, learning how to prepare food this way—as with any other cooking (or rather un-cooking)—is of utmost importance considering the key it unlocks to this amazing and healthy world. Meet Irene Arango, Cofounder and Director, NAMA—who has dedicated her life helping others ﬁnd that perfect balance of good health and high energy levels; whether they wholly embrace raw food or simply add a little to their existing diet.

frequently exploited by herself is the opportunity to recreate food products, but made raw vegan and healthier so people than follow NAMA’s food philosophy and can also enjoy them and don't feel deprived of anything in any way.

Founded in 2013, NAMA is a pure raw vegan restaurant in London, which has been capitalizing on this growing raw food trend. NAMA was created to enrich, inspire and nurture. Situated in the heart of Notting Hill, NAMA provides savory and sweet dishes, catering, juice and food cleansing programs and more. NAMA also teaches raw food un-cooking classes, Bringing the Wonders of Raw Food sells raw vegan products which the to a Wider Audience team manufactures, makes bespoke Her enthusiasm for raw food started raw vegan cakes for celebrations and through her search for better health and other occasions, and delivers raw food more energy. The raw food lifestyle packages around London. worked a treat, and she’s been captivated by it ever since! Irene aims to bring raw food, and all of its advantages, into the mainstream, demonstrating exactly how exciting raw dishes can be when both your creativity and imagination is utilized. Opening NAMA with fellow raw food chef, Rich Havardi, has enabled her to joyfully seek after this aim—bringing the miracles of raw food to a wider crowd.

‘‘

To bring about change, you have to truly live the change

‘‘

Leading NAMA from the forefront, Irene still considers her path has just started. However, she feels proud of where she has reached so far and strongly believes she has a lot more to share. Irene’s career in the raw food industry started before there was even a market in the UK for it. “I do feel that at that time it took a lot of conﬁdence to feel capable to create the demand for what we were offering. I feel that was the biggest challenge those of us who were at the forefront of this trend,” Irene afﬁrms. Enriching, Inspiring and Nurturing Irene believes raw foods to be a growing industry where nothing is set in stone, as there are multiple ways to evolve the trend. One such aspect | November 2017 |

Finding Balance and Peace with Who You Are Irene considers an empowered woman as someone who is happy with where she is in both private and business life; who has the support she needs to stand strong and grow her business. She also believes that empowerment comes from ﬁnding balance and peace with who you are and where you are at a particular time as that’s the base for both personal and professional growth.

Talking about her own personal life, she asserts “Since having kids I have to say that I have very little time for myself, so the best I can do is a warm bath before bedtime and a little yoga session in the mornings a few times a week. As the kids grow older I expect to have more time to dedicate to myself. It is simply a period in the life of a woman where children take priority and I am ok with that.” Encompassing Hard Work with Dedication There has been a great deal of diligent work behind the scenes. Irene thinks a lot of people neglect to understand that achievement, for the most part, originates from living and breathing a topic or a business for a long time. She goes ahead and adds, “I can see that women are natural leaders and, historically, we have been nurturing society. I genuinely believe that women have a very important place in the business sphere- we are natural creators and nurturers and being an entrepreneur essentially encompasses those qualities together with hard work and dedication.” The best advice Irene gives to people who bring social change to the society is it would be to make sure they believe so deeply on their purpose that they are willing to loose themselves to it for a while. She believes to bring about change, you have to truly live the change. Future Plans Running in NAMA’s ﬁfth successful year, Irene hopes to launch a product range into the UK market in the next year. She also wishes to write a uncooking book and start organizing international retreats. The fact that the up taking and understanding of raw vegan food is growing is something that really empowers Irene to work on the mentioned ideas. Her concerns are related to growing competition, although most of it; it’s not with NAMA’s offering, but for those not knowledgeable, it can be confusing.

Ishita Sen:

Ishita Sen Head of Customer & Partner Success

Seceon

The Doyenne of Breaking Insidious Process

en are no longer the only role models in the maledominated finance world; women have worked tirelessly to break through and become professional leaders and role models, too. In fact, millions of successful, talented and intelligent women in the business world are leading some of today’s biggest financial companies. Studies support women’s natural ability to be excellent leaders due to traits like high levels of logic and reasoning. These studies are the antidote to female economic disenfranchisement, and are reaching a critical mass of women at the top rungs of the global financial system.

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One of the most prominent women directing the nation’s wealth is Ishita Sen, the Head of Customer and Partner Success at Seceon. She asserts, “Whenever I faced the slightest indication of gender bias, it gave me extra motivation. I was even more determined to succeed. I went the extra mile to prove my abilities, working nights and weekends.” Ishita imagines herself as an empowered woman who traverses the journey of leadership, at the bleeding edge of technology and business innovation. She is creating an impeccable impact on business, and living in a world where potential and track record of contribution are what matters, and gender does not. This woman possesses traits of self-respect, dignity, conﬁdence, and selfdetermination. She has the passion and drive to give back to society so that it can continue to improve. Ishita’s Empowerment Anthem Ishita started off on the path to empowerment by wanting to become a vital part of each company she worked for. She was an energetic contributor and organizational leadership took notice. She was put into roles where she could learn leadership attributes, not only by observing great leaders in her organization, but also by allowing her to take purposeful action to evolve as a leader within her job. Moreover, she extended herself to blend management and technology into one with her on-the-job education. This helped her acquire knowledge through both formal and informal programs. Ishita is an accomplished leader with more than twenty years of experience and an impressive track record of building high-performance technology teams to deliver products and services in Telecom and IT. She has managed many multi-location teams to bring telecom solutions across various platforms including Mobile and IP

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Telephony, Intelligent Networks, Messaging, NGN and Central Office Switches. She is known for excellence in managing IT & Network Operations and large Customer Engagements. Building Financial Models for the Company The need for inspecting and responding to data breaches in realtime spurred the development of Seceon’s innovative Open Threat Management (OTM) platform. The company’s mission is to empower enterprises to detect, respond to and eliminate all known and new cyberthreats. Seceon’s OTM platform provides the industry’s first and only fully automated threat detection and remediation software system. Its subscription based, environmentagnostic solution detects all forms of threats as they happen, without need of human intervention, and automatically stops them in minutes. Ishita’s role in Customer Success, which is an integration of Marketing, Sales, Professional Services, Training, and Support, seems like a natural fit for her. She enjoys interacting with people and problem solving. Her mission as a leader for Seceon is the most important aspect of her professional life, i.e., creating excellence in all customer touch points, whether they are prospects, customers or partners. Ishita and her team impress clients with Seceon’s vision, technology, and support to customers; so they know Seceon is the right organization to work with now and into the future. Achieving her mission means a variety of things including improving backend processes, automation of various deliverables, listening to Seceon’s partners and customers, and acting as a bridge between sales, customers, and engineering, to evolve the technology that the company builds.

support, technical documentation, product packaging, and technical infrastructure such as CRM systems have proved to be successful. They all play a role in maturing Seceon along with its product offerings to satisfy their customers. The Lady Envisions Gender Equality In Tech Ishita believes that a woman in business who wants to succeed as a professional leader needs to pursue her goals with passion, and exhibit the impact she is making to her organization, her family, and to society. Determination, sincerity of purpose, focus, discipline, resilience, and positivity are among the valuable qualities that a woman should carry with her, as Ishita does. Ishita believes that balance across one’s life as a professional, a wife and a mother is needed – as the world of business embraces talent regardless of gender. It is needed as much by a man who needs to uphold his role as a father, just as much as he needs to be a successful leader in business. She believes having more women in business will create better and more balanced work cultures, as organizations employ from a larger pool of talent who can create value for a business. Ishita emphasizes that education of both men and women are needed to eliminate gender inequality and create social awareness about the reality of women in the workforce. She believes that leadership talent should be spotted and nurtured regardless of gender, as talent and the aspiration to grow and succeed are not biased by gender. An organization should be patient and persistent in ﬁnding the appropriate roles that nurture talent. Recognizing the talent and motivations of men and women equally will empower women. Empowering women will also empower families, and entire nations.

Ishita’s inﬂuence and decisions toward the process of installation, technical

Julie Bryant: A Philanthropist Committed to Work & Community

hat goes around comes around” or “as you sow, so shall you reap” is the basic understanding of how karma – the law of cause and effect – works. Everything we say and do, determines what's going to happen to us in the future. A firm believer in Karma and a work-passionista is Julie Bryant, CEO of Rancho BioSciences. She saw her next opportunity to build a world class, solution oriented lifescience service company to help leverage the explosion of data by utilizing experts in their field with a flexible business model on an as needed basis. Julie believes that she has been extremely fortunate to meet some amazing mentors along her way to entrepreneurship. In the arts, it is an accepted fact that a young person learns the trade best when studying under someone’s guidance. In business, too, the importance of the mentor relationship for a person’s development has been anticipated. Attributing her success to her father and key people she has worked for in her career, Julie asserts, “My dad taught me that you can do whatever you want and can be whoever you want to be and treat everyone equally. I am passionate about science and helping find cures. This motivates and empowers me every day”

‘

I am passionate

about science and helping ﬁnd cures. This motivates and empowers me every day

‘

“

Julie Bryant CEO Rancho BioScience s

| November 2017 |

Julie’s Entrepreneurial Expedition Julie has an extensive experience of over 25 years in Life Sciences starting with Nature, Journal of Science in London. In San Diego, she worked for a molecular modeling company called Biosym. Julie was one of the pioneers in molecular modeling growing the Asian and Latin American marketplace and finally coming back to the head office in San Diego. Julie then moved to high throughput microarray technology (expression and genotyping) with Genometrix building a blood bank of diseases in The Woodlands, Texas. Analysis of this kind of data was the next step, and Julie helped spin out OminiViz, where they used text mining algorithms to analyze categorical, numerical and text data. She then established the Bryant Consulting Group that worked with several companies: Kinematik for ebooks, ChemDiv for building blocks and chemistry services and GeneGo for manually curated pathways. Julie, in the role of the Vice President at GeneGo, built a group of international sales people, customer support, application scientists and IT as GeneGo’s products MetaCore and MetaBase became an industry standard staple. GeneGo was later acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2010. Rancho BioSciences, the Data Curation Company, was founded at the end of 2012 by Julie as a fee for Service Company to support life science in industry, hospitals, CRO’s, foundations, Government, and academia. “Rancho Biosciences” ─ the Scientific Data Curation Company With the rapid growth in research activities and the resulting body of scientific data, it has become as important a strategic resource as

| November 2017 |

natural resources and human resources. Scientific research depends more and more on finding theories and knowledge from scientific data, and thus data-intensive scientific discovery has become an important paradigm of scientific research. Therefore, it is urgent to develop and adopt methods to support the collection, collation, preservation and utilization of scientific data, which are referred to as scientific data curation. Rancho BioSciences is a Data Curation Company that cleans, organizes and harmonizes all kinds of life science data leveraging vocabularies and ontologies. As a result of this, the company also provides analysis services with a team of bioinformaticians and diligent developers who create workflows, build new databases and interfaces whenever needed. Clients approach Rancho with their tougher problems as it provides a onestop-solution. Each member at Rancho has at least a PhD and the team is creative and innovative working always on time and within budget. Julie’s Belief in her Creative Thinkers Rancho BioSciences prides itself on having only ‘A’ Team Players. Julie's assiduous efforts in hiring creative thinkers, which is assessed by their underlying passion for what they do, has paid off in the form of Rancho's success. Julie says, “This is number one in our culture code…be passionate about what you do and we love to curate and analyze data that could help make a diagnostic or stratify patients to ensure success of drugs.” Every day Julie and her team have the honor of being able to help people have their drugs approved or fast

tracked by the FDA. This in turn helps a diagnostic company have their panel validated or help foundations like Michael J Fox Foundation (http://neuroshare.michaeljfox.org) and CHDI (https://www.hdinhd.org) get their experimental data in the public domain so more people can help find cures for their disease area. “This takes a lot of work, we follow our culture code religiously to make sure everyone fits our culture, we run personality tests and we test all people coming in as well having multiple team members interviewing them. It also helps if someone I trust recommends them. We also have a few of our former clients working for Rancho now which is rather nice,” affirms Julie. Future Aspects Julie envisions an exponential growth for Rancho BioSciences. The company is already running ahead of its annual revenue target with 3 more months to go and each year it strives to thrive with higher growth. This is a result of the word-of-mouth from their valued current clients, who have been in business with Rancho for years. Julie and the team at Rancho are grateful towards all the kind words they receive which motivate them to be the best they can be. “I am encouraged by how much messy data is out there and it keeps coming in higher volumes so I think we will be busy for the rest of our lives,” mentions Julie. Julie is sure that Rancho will continue to grow and be involved in projects that will make a difference for human betterment. She is quite excited about the future of health and wellness and microbiome in the industry.

Ligia Bonetti Du-Breil: Graceful Resilience Meets Inventive Entrepreneurship

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The key to delivering your very best lies on how successful you have been finding your personal equilibrium and purposeâ&#x20AC;?

Ligia Bonetti Du-Breil Executive President & CEO SID Group

| November 2017 |

ou can either be at the effect (powerless) of your business or act as the cause (in power) of it. Your internal belief system about business is the most important predictor of success or failure. Success is something all career-driven individuals desire yet it eludes many people – at least at the levels desired. Often there’s nothing really different between one entrepreneur and another in terms of ability, as each person can eventually excel in whatever he/she wants. It all zeros down to having the frame of mind to set practical habits and keeping a balance between traditional and evolutional methodologies. Many people lack the courage to use a creative approach in their workplace. Almost all creative people feel inadequate in some way, but it is how they deal with that feeling of inadequacy that is important. People with a talent of taking risks possess a highly optimistic perception of risk, but are also rational decision makers who have an extraordinary ability to mitigate that risk. The fear of failure inhibits creativity in the workplace and is often the reason that growth stagnates. Only a leader who combines conﬁdence with intelligence and informed risk management can successfully conquer that fear and propel their company to new heights of success. Ligia Bonetti Du-Breil, Executive President and CEO of the SID Group, is one such person. SID Group is a conglomerate of Dominican companies engaged in the manufacture, storage, transport and distribution of mass consumption products. Under Ligia’s stewardship, SID Group has expanded considerably, adding numerous high-quality products and services to its already sizable portfolio. Strategize to Thrive SID Group celebrates its 80th anniversary this year as an international, diverse conglomerate that began as a humble oil company. Ligia’s own career mirrors the company’s evolution - in her 20 years with SID Group, she has held a number | November 2017 |

of leadership roles, including a tenure as MercaSID’s Vice President of Business. Today, Ligia leads SID Group and all its subsidiaries – MercaSID, Induveca, Agua Crystal and Induspalma – with the common overarching principle of promoting and safeguarding the interests of its stakeholders. Her prime strategy is the creation and delivery of superior products and services. She has designed a strategic 5-year plan with a vision to exponentially expand the Group’s presence on the world stage. Her approach of leveraging the synergy between its subsidiaries has given each a competitive edge, allowing them to become market leaders in their own right. Ligia has focused inward as well, embarking on a journey of cultural transformation that involves everyone at SID Group. Her hands-on, leadfrom-the-front approach has earned her widespread admiration and respect while her ambitious, but carefully considered strategies have inspired interest and fueled enthusiasm from the top down. A Determined Social and Economic Reformist Ligia graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in economics and worked briefly in New York’s banking sector before joining the SID Group. By age 28, she was active in nonprofit organizations that promoted the Dominican Republic’s private business sector. Shortly after, she was elected president of the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE). ANJE advocated strongly for social and economic reforms under Ligia's skillful guidance. Her ability to eloquently express complex ideas in support of ANJE’s positions to the media earned both her and the organization universal recognition and approval. Her leadership was integral to many of the reforms that were adopted by the government at that time. Ligia became a familiar public figure through frequent appearances on panels, arguing convincingly for her

positions on political, social and economic reforms. Part of this was in the capacity of the president of the National Industrial Organization, a position she held for 4 years. Her extraordinary contributions to the business world have earned her an honorary Doctorate of Law. With her sincerity and her transparent approach, coupled with accountability and a strong work ethic, Ligia has led every organization she has helmed to extraordinary success. She is a shining example of the effective company leader who manages a multi-milliondollar business, while also ﬁnding time to give back to the community through social and economic causes. Ligia has been named one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in Latin America, and was also listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the most powerful and inﬂuential female leaders in the Dominican Republic. Shaping the Future through Innovation and Creativity For Ligia, constant innovation is the key to success, both personally and for any organization. She holds that to be true regardless of whether we consider products, services, manufacturing facilities or distribution systems. This emphasis on driving change has led to SID Group’s growth in the past and will continue to do so in the future. In order to be able to successfully transform the new business model, Ligia brings down the walls in the working spaces, fostering an open work environment as well as designed thinking areas to promote novelty and out-of-the-box thinking in every department of the organization. There is no question that SID Group is looking beyond the borders of the Dominican Republic as it seeks to diversify its interests. Ligia envisions the company as the number one provider of superior quality branded consumer products in the region. She recognizes that the open economy is a hotbed of competition, and is developing the brands under SID Group’s umbrella to align to that objective.

Alicia AsĂn CEO Libelium

| November 2017 |

Expert’s Insight

Enhancing Education in IoT Development will reinforce Employment Opportunities for Future Generations Alicia Asín, Libelium’s CEO Alicia Asín is CEO and Co-founder of Libelium, the wireless sensor hardware provider, creators of Waspmote, a modular, open source sensor platform for the Internet of ings (IoT). Alicia is an intuitive technologist focused on how IoT can change our world, starting with Smart Cities and smart agriculture. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences on issues related to Smart Cities, wireless sensor networks and IoT. Alicia holds a master’s degree in computer engineering from the Polytechnic Center, University of Zaragoza, and is a graduate of the Cambridge Judge Business School and ESADE. | November 2017 |

he best well-known research companies are continuously publishing reports with estimates and forecasts on the burgeoning IoT market, including device growth, amount invested and potential return on investment. But there is an important reality that only a few warn: the educational gap and practical knowledge absence to cover the workforce needed to develop IoT solutions. Moreover, IoT devices will account for 24 billion by 2020, while traditional computing devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) will comprise 10 billion. Different consultancy forecast reports states that nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next five years. Current students must select their degrees knowing that around 4-5 million of job positions will be required to work as IoT developer in the next years and technology progresses so fast that demand is growing daily. In fact, 26% of European companies do not find the right profiles for their vacant positions. The Internet of Things market opens a new opportunity for electronic and computing engineers and Libelium is focusing on education by training current students that will be the future leaders in the sector. Libelium’s commitment with education pursues fostering the IoT skills among students in every University and Educational Institution all over the world. Enhancing education in IoT development will reinforce employment opportunities for future generations to reduce the educational gap between skills demanded by IoT companies and practical knowledge of workforce. This risk could even decrease or even endanger the expected growing of the market. In this sense, the Internet of Things market opens a new opportunity for electronic and computing engineers and Libelium is focusing on education by training current students that will be the future leaders in the sector. Due to the increasing demand of IoT solutions, Libelium has launched the second edition of the free online educational program “IoT Spartans Challenge”. The aim of this training program is to improve the practical knowledge that IoT companies usually demand when recruiting future developers studying Computing or Electronic Engineering. The IoT Spartans Challenge is now opened to find the best IoT developers among 600 worldwide participants from 250 engineering universities and technical schools enrolled in the battle. This e-learning contest offers teaching materials, webinars, online quiz and tests in nine different modules about IoT, analog and digital I/O, SC card, interruptions, accelerometer, RTC, power management, networking and sensors to prepare students for the IoT world. Eight universities are competing at the moment: Aarhus University from Denmark, Charles Sturt University from Australia, Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave (IPCA) from Portugal, Telecommunications and Remote Sensing Lab (University of Pavia) from Italy, University of the Philippines Diliman from Philippines, Grupo San Valero from Spain, and Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá. This year, in addition to the 10,000 € prizes, the top 3 Spartans will obtain special learning discounts and the possibility to be presented to other organization talent matching programs thanks to the collaboration of Mioti and the IoT Talent Consortium. The more “Spartans” we have for the future, the greater will the IoT market be and the faster it will reach our companies and lives. It should be a shared commitment of corporate and social responsibility that should include governments, educational institutions and private companies to reinforce employment opportunities for future generations. Alicia Asín, Libelium’s CEO Alicia Asín is CEO and Co-founder of Libelium, the wireless sensor hardware provider, creators of Waspmote, a modular, open source sensor platform for the Internet of Things (IoT). Alicia is an intuitive technologist focused on how IoT can change our world, starting with Smart Cities and smart agriculture. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences on issues related to Smart Cities, wireless sensor networks and IoT. Alicia holds a master's degree in computer engineering from the Polytechnic Center, University of Zaragoza, and is a graduate of the Cambridge Judge Business School and ESADE.

| November 2017 |

www.inď&#x20AC; onic.com

n a marketplace defined by complexity, disruption and change, today’s most successful enterprises are those that bring diverse perspectives and experiences to each new challenge. In fact, economic growth is more robust and sustainable when women and men alike participate fully. However, as more women join the leadership ranks, they should see themselves simply as business leaders, not as ‘female’ business leaders. A staunch believer in this philosophy is Marianne Kirkegaard. Marianne is a woman who delineates genuine magnificence and fierceness of spirit, whether it is in empowering businesses or empowering people. An Artificer of Business Architecture As President and the Chief Executive Officer of CSM Bakery Solutions, Marianne combines business acumen with go-to-market expertise, identifying the appropriate strategic and organizational structure and building the business around it. “The most difficult task when it comes to strategy is to focus, and thereby decide ‘what not to do’. Somehow adding activities, products and services is for most of us just easier than letting go,” she says. “The letting go part requires good business acumen and, as importantly, a lot of courage, an ingredient I don’t think a good leader can have enough of. And, of course, no leader will ever become successful with any of this without the right engaged and empowered team around him or her.” Marianne has extensive international experience working with consumer products – food and non-food for more than 20 years. She has held a variety of executive positions at Unilever and Carlsberg Group before she joined CSM almost 6 years ago. She started her career in Marketing and Sales, but has for many years now been busy with general management roles of

Marianne Kirkegaard: An Authentic and Courageous Artiﬁcer of Business

‘‘

I see an empowered person as one who dares to be authentic

increasing responsibility. She has been fortunate enough to have been expatriated with her family to different parts of the world for the last 11 years. She is a member of the board of directors of AAK, a Swedish-Danish company producing high value-added vegetable oils and fats, and of Dansk Supermarked Group, the market leader in retail in Denmark. She has an executive MBA from the Scandinavian International Management Institute and a master's degree from Aarhus School of Business. A Personal Path of Empowerment Marianne believes that the path of empowerment walks through the asphalted pavement of education. She wishes everyone – no matter where they are from – would have access to good education. “Throughout my life and career, I've been fortunate. I was raised by wonderful parents who showed a great deal of faith and trust in me and made certain I had access to good educational opportunities,” she says. She also feels lucky to have worked with multinational corporations, where she was positioned in challenging roles and given responsibilities that allowed her to

| November 2017 |

I'm not sure it’s any different for a man or a woman. I see an empowered person as one who dares to be authentic. It’s also a person who is comfortable with who they are and has the self-conﬁdence and empathy to make the right personal and professional decisions, and not at least, who is perfectly willing to deal with the consequences of those decisions – whether they're good or bad.”

Marianne Kirkegaard

President & CEO CSM Bakery Solutions

leverage and continue learning. She believes that the best environment to learn, grow, and take some calculated risks is provided through the “freedom within a framework.” Marianne is grateful for the talented people who have given her that freedom, and played a major role in her personal and professional development. “Without a doubt, authenticity and courage have helped me succeed more than anything else,” she says. “I see little value in not being as transparent and candid with people as possible, and I have found that most often people appreciate it. Most people can see through insincerity, and I don't think anybody is comfortable in such an environment.” Empowering Women in Business Marianne's vision for women is to see

| November 2017 |

themselves less as “women” and see themselves more as business leaders. Women in business must intersect race, cultures, professions, faiths, sexism, generations and perspectives, rather than see themselves as victims. Says Marianne, “Unfortunately, I still meet women who feel unfairly treated in business life vs. their male colleagues. Sometimes they even feel victimized. And, while I certainly know and appreciate that it is harder to succeed as a female leader in certain cultures, I am convinced that the victimized attitude is not the solution to ever change that. Instead we should step out of that role, and through examples and good role-modeling, change this culture over time.”

Leading the Legacy of CSM Bakery Solutions CSM Bakery Solutions is a global leader in bakery ingredients, products and services for retail, foodservice and traditional bakeries. The company connects bakeries and businesspeople with an international presence that includes 28 manufacturing facilities, four innovation centers of excellence and more than 7,000 employees. It also maintains strategic partnerships with partners all over the world to ensure availability of specialized ingredients, leverage unique product expertise, and offer known, trusted brands to help the customers grow their businesses. Marianne leads CSM’s overall business performance and operations while also guiding the company’s long-term strategic direction. She’s perceptive about creating a work environment and a framework that will help her team be successful. “Things will never be perfect, but they can always be better,” she says. “I'm very fortunate to have the resources and people to make sure it is!” Marianne envisions focusing and developing the business to become an even better supplier to its customers in the product areas that it would like to be famous for. In addition, the talented team at CSM is working diligently to bring some exciting innovations to life.

Marianne believes empowered women in business should be no different than men: “In terms of being empowered,

Marina Tognetti: The Conﬁdent Entrepreneur with a Belief in Innovation

“

ost people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” ― Bill Gates It really takes the pressure off if you understand that every experience you have, whether you characterize it as “good” or “bad,” is exactly the experience you need to have at that moment. Some choices may lead to more painful lessons than others, but nothing hurts like living in the fear of negative results as the consequences of bad choices. Sometimes our intuition guides us toward those things that we fear the most, so we can push past them and become stronger as a result. Raptly, our future is very sensitive and highly dependent on the present as events that might seem insigniﬁcant now can completely transform the future.

Taking the responsibility for her choices and the destined results each time, Marina asserts, “I never waited for something or someone to pave my road, but assumed that the ﬁrst step was on me. If you start from that perspective, you know that ─ no matter what obstacles you encounter (in life or work) ─ you can always move further, strong on your own feet. You are in control, and you feel in control.” About the Entrepreneur and the Inception Story Originally from Italy, Marina has lived and worked in different countries and has eventually developed a passion for foreign languages and cultures. Her drive, besides languages, and creating something from scratch, is to leverage the internet to change the traditional world of education from being supplydriven to being demand-driven.

By being responsible for our own lives, and being accountable for the decisions we've made, we can change our lives for the better. While mentioning about responsible decisions and making fearless choices in life, prompts-up the name of an archetypal innovator who is Marina Tognetti. Marina is the founder and CEO of the leading multi-language global platform for live online language learning mYngle.com.

Marina graduated cum laude in Business and Economics from L.U.I.S.S. University in Rome, and holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau (France). Before starting her own company, she had 18 years of professional experience in consumer goods marketing and business development by Procter & Gamble, Philips, Sara Lee; strategy consulting by the Boston Consulting Group and ecommerce / technology by eBay.

Marina valiantly took the bold steps in her life as she believes that one of the keys to any successful business is being able to come up with new ideas to keep operations, products and services fresh. She used to ask herself: “What is the worst that can happen?” And then it would turn-out that in most cases it is something that can be managed or corrected or that is not so bad after all.

Pursuing an ardor for language and neologisms, Marina has developed proﬁciency in speaking Italian, English, Dutch, French, Spanish and a bit of Mandarin. She was inspired to open a facility for language learning when she herself faced difﬁculty in learning a new language. She concluded that language learning would be much easier if people could learn languages as if they were living

in the country where the language was spoken, benefiting from native teachers through internet connections. Her quest to provide affordable and high quality online language lessons to thousands of people all over the world impelled her to establish mYngle.com. mYngle offers customized language training programs through video conferencing in 45 different languages anytime, anywhere. The platform provides one-on-one lessons from highly qualified native coaches and insights relevant to the job-position of the learner. mYngle virtual classrooms enable learners to take classes 24/7. The Pivotal Turnaround Moment Initially, mYngle was launched as a marketplace, something Marina knew very well from her previous experiences in the industry. But entrepreneurship in reality turned out to be very different than her corporate life. At first Marina and her team thought they had it all: funding, lots of Awards and PR, and extremely motivated individuals to work with. But there were symptoms of a deeper problem. They listened to their customers and followed their wish of quality education, starting to adjust mYngle's services for the people that had the highest “need” for them. That brought them to a position where companies, more than consumers, were interested in the services they offered. This was another pivotal move wherein the company was to be transformed into B2B from B2C. They implemented everything they wanted over the last years and it worked. It was difficult to let go of the initial idea, but necessary. Today, mYngle is the solution for busy professionals who need language | November 2017 |

“

Letting go of old ideas and constant adaptation to new demands proved to be the key to success

training to be successful in their international business, and for Companies that want great learning results and a transparent and controllable learning process to make their investment a success.

“

Adapt, Innovate, Learn & Evolve Marina believes that ‘Once you stop evolving, it is the beginning of the decline.’ She attributes her successes to her constant pursuit of learning and evolving. This allowed her to take many risks and to be persistent in the face of difficult situations, to be flexible and adapt- which is essential to be successful as entrepreneur. “We tend to get attached to our initial ideas and well-thought plans, because change is often difficult, and inconvenient. Keep on evolving till you get it right. Change is an essential part of being entrepreneur,” asserts Marina. She believes that learning requires honesty with oneself, as, in order to learn, you have to recognize and accept that something can be done better. In mYngle, people stimulate a culture of experimentation and allowing mistakes. Innovation cannot exist in a culture of fear of consequences. For her staff, Marina seeks entrepreneurs, people who do not keep the status quo, but push themselves beyond their comfort zone. If you try ten new things, some will fail, some will be OK, and one will make a difference. At mYngle, the team is always looking for that “special one''. Be Unique. Be You. Marina opines young enthusiasts with her aphorism “Do not talk about things you are not satisfied with, if you are not going to do anything about it. We are in a world of too many words and too few deeds. Start walking the walk.” Her hope for future women business leaders is that they could stand courageous and be able to build & lead successful businesses by being true to themselves, instead of trying to imitate the types of leadership that surround them. She believes in giving examples of role models that other women can identify with. A different way of looking at leadership, one that better fits a new female model of leadership, and can be equally or even more successful at the end. “When I talk about my experience, I try to give the genuine picture of who I really am. I am not a superwoman, not an unachievable example. You cannot be successful if you try to be someone else,” says Marina.

| November 2017 |

Marina Tognetti Founder and CEO mYngle

Marissa Salzone:

A Conﬁdent Woman turning Every Situation into Learning Opportunity

pportunity dances with those already on the dance ﬂoor. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Turning every situation into a learning opportunity – even during the not-so-fun moments – is an important quality to possess and a sign of a leader who looks at the bigger picture and acts accordingly. Advocating the same, Marissa Salzone is a woman with utmost conﬁdence. She is someone who pushes herself to be comfortable despite being uncomfortable. Simply putting, she can put herself in scenarios with her head high without fear. Regardless of her position, Marissa knows what she wants, and can tackle any situation that comes her way. She believes in herself more than anything; in her own words, “I’m going to take this on, watch out world.” Journey of her Gut Feeling When she entered college, she was enrolled in a different major. During that time, Marissa had this gut feeling that this isn't her mission in life. “I thought, ‘people who have made an impact in their industry didn’t settle.’After doing more research, I switched into the Communications program with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising. As soon as I got into the program, I immediately felt right at home,” Marissa recalls. Soon, she started a podcast and interviewed nationally recognized public ﬁgures including American pollster John Zobgy, joined the Public Relations club, and made connections with people in the industry throughout the Upstate NY Capital Region. Marissa wanted to absorb everything she could, because in her heart, she knew that she was here to make an impact in one of the most fastpaced industries out there. When walking out of the Communications building for the last time, Marissa said to herself, “I have no idea where life is going to take me, but I know what I'm meant to do.” Back

then she didn’t know, which route will take her to the ultimate destination, but she knew what she wanted – to become a role model for strong young professionals. Later as an intern, she was assigned to call random strangers asking for donations. Even though that wasn't fun for her, she took something away from that experience, and that's how she has greeted every experience of her life. Play along the line, learn something from it and take it to the next adventure. Constantly Assessing the Outlet, Audience, Content and Design Currently serving as a Marketing Manager at GreyCastle Security, Marissa has achieved most of the things she dreamed of. Be it hosting an event, a webinar, or developing an advertisement, as the Marketing Manager, she has always believed in using her creative resources best, which has always helped make her cause better. She constantly assesses the outlet, audience, content, and design. Marissa believes marketing is about being in front of the right people, at the right place at the right time. “You don’t want to waste something on nothing. That’s why strategic marketing is critical” she adds. When they have Marketing Interns at GreyCastle Security, Marissa always makes them sit in meetings that might not make sense to them then, but it would be useful for them when they graduate. Leading Provider of Risk Assessment GreyCastle Security is the industry’s leading provider of cybersecurity risk assessment, advisory and mitigation services. The company was established to help organizations establish effective cybersecurity programs, minimize the impact of security incidents and simplify compliance. GreyCastle Security has clients throughout North America, specializing in cybersecurity for healthcare,

| November 2017 |

higher education, ﬁnancial services, technology and critical infrastructure. GreyCastle Security’s revolutionary approach to service delivery completely eliminates an organization’s need to recruit and retain new cybersecurity personnel. Its award-winning cybersecurity programs are delivered continuously and managed proactively by certiﬁed experts, including risk assessment, awareness, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing and incident response. Going into future, Marissa expects rapid business growth, and nationwide expansion to meet the demand of its clients that are throughout the entire United States. At the end, it’s all about Outlet and Content Marissa believes when it comes to Marketing there are two types of trends: outlet and content. When creating a campaign, regardless if it’s B2B or B2C, she claims there are two questions that always need to be asked, “Through which outlet are we distributing the content?” and “What is the content?” To explain it better, she gives an example of putting an info-graphic on Instagram which would not be the best use of your budget. Allocating money towards online advertising would possibly make more sense since certain audiences are on certain channels.

| November 2017 |

Marissa Salzone, Marketing Manager, GreyCastle Security

“

People who have made an impact in their industry didn’t settle

For the same reason, she encourages creative thinking throughout her entire organization, and they do that by taking everyone’s ideas into consideration. This is important because ideas that are presented to them are from employees that are in the ‘trenches’ with clients every day. A Coffee Lover on the Mission When asked about daily routine, Marissa answers, “Coffee in the morning, 90’s music on the way to work, and a good Netflix series after dinner with my fiancé and French Bulldog, Chi Chi. My twitter bio says ‘Coffee wakes me. Marketing gets me. TV relaxes me’ which is 100% accurate.” Considering the increasing number of women in business, Marissa’s hope for women is that they should never feel threatened by a statistic that's against them. She thinks if you're qualified for a job, apply. If you see a job that is one position above your current, apply. Don't ever let intimidation be an option. “Embrace the social change; it is organic. With different generations, come different perceptions of life. With technology being a foundation of today's world, it’s going to create an influential movement. Social change is happening for a reason. It's evolved over past decades and will continue well beyond your and my lifetime,” she concludes with advice for people who want to bring social change in the society.

of other successful women, who have her back

everal female entrepreneurs today are so successful that it is easy to assume that high-proﬁle businesswomen in a variety of ﬁelds have always been a feature of this economy. Regrettably, it has not always been so. The fact is that achievements of today’s women owe much to the groundwork of earlier generations of female entrepreneurs and workers. Businesswomen have always struggled with unique challenges presented by the society, which have both created opportunities for women’s advancement and limited their growth as professionals. For many decades, women’s role in business and workforce was determined by the cultural notions about women’s appropriate role in society. ‘The cult of domesticity’ in the early nineteenth century dictated that women’s proper place was at home and that they could best serve the political and social needs by dedicating their energies to the creation of a wholesome and nurturing household. The idea of domesticity in the public arena shaped the perception of what types of jobs were “proper” for women, who needed to work outside their homes and family farms. These factors limited the avenues for women entrepreneurship and

dictated that women were suited for few selected occupations more than others. The Genesis of Change The nineteenth century witnessed a boom within the textile industry and industrialization and also the development of the national railroad system and the telegraph. These changes brought by the big business, industrialization and urbanization helped to redeﬁne women’s place in the economy. Women began to work outside of the home, mostly as “helpmates” of various types. Some women ventured into management by establishing their own companies, but most of these companies still fell within the purview of woman’s sphere. Dorothy Shaver, in an effort to upgrade women’s fashion, rose to the top of American retailing between the 1920s and the 1950s in the exclusive capacity of the departmental store Lord & Taylor. During the Progressive Era, although women were propelled into the workforce, little opportunity was provided for the establishment of creative enterprises. Madame C. J. Walker is one such entrepreneur who took

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“

Behind every successful woman is a tribe

Women in Business

advantage of the industrial revolution. She was the initiator of hair care products and needed the creation of the railroad and telegraphs to be able to communicate effectively and establish the network that enabled her in becoming one of the most successful business women of her time. Revolutionizing the Economy In 1932, Olive Ann Beech co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company, which supplied the US, military aircrafts during the World War II. As the war progressed, many women entered the workforce to fill the void men had left behind to serve in the military. Some women took these jobs as a patriotic duty, whereas others ventured into establishing their own enterprises. One of them was Pauline Trigere, who started a tailoring business which later on turned into a high-end fashion house. Another such inspirational woman was Estee Lauder who launched a line of beauty products post-war and was the only women featured in the Time magazine’s list of 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century. The “Federation of Business” and “Professional Women’s Club” were sources of inspiration to female entrepreneurs at this time by providing advice and holding workshops with already established entrepreneurs like Elizabeth Arden. In 1940, Khertek Anchimaa-Toka became chairwoman of the Little Khural of the Tuvan People’s Republic, making her the world’s first non-hereditary female head of state. As the 1950s rolled in, women like Estelle Ellis helped magazine

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publishers and many others in understanding the changing economic roles and personal aspirations of girls and women. A sales executive by the name of Brownie Wise accumulated a personal fortune and made Tupperware into a household name by capitalizing on well-established traditions of women’s social network to create ‘Tupperware Home Parties’. The 1950s also witnessed the first female governor of the American Stock Exchange, Mary Roebling. Propelling towards Modernization The 1970s brought about the feminist movement that encouraged equal opportunity. This was also when the divorce rates rose and several women were forced back into the role of being the sole provider. This urged them back into the working world, where they were not well-received. When the recession hit, many of these women were the first ones to be out of work. And once again, the entrepreneurial ventures of women came to the rescue. Mary Kay Ash and Ruth Fertel were a part of this crusade. In 1972, Katharine Graham became CEO of the Washington Post Company, making her the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She led the newspaper during its coverage of the Watergate scandal, and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her memoirs. The 1980s and 1990s proved to be the time for reaping the benefits of the hard work that women had put in. Martha Stewart and Barbara Bradley were among the top business

Business owners. The public became more receptive and encouraging to women entrepreneurs and started acknowledging and appreciating their valuable contribution to the economy. Another historic moment for women in business was the appointment of Susan Engeleiter as the lead of the US government’s Small Business Administration in 1989. Throughout the 1990s, the world of female entrepreneurs was focused on propagating networking opportunities and assisting those who were interested in starting their own business. Organizations like ‘Women’s Business Development Centre’ provided ﬁnancial help and seminars to support upcoming women entrepreneurs.

is just

& we had we had

before

BUSINESS -Edith Mae Cummings

An Ongoing Struggle The 1990s brought the advancement in computers and the increasing popularity of the internet gave a much needed boost to women in business. This development allowed them to be more prevalent in the business world and helped showcase their skills. Even though women in business increased in popularity and the availability of technology and support from different organizations encouraged them further, female entrepreneurs are still struggling. The economic downturn of 2008 further resulted in a troubled condition. However, with the continual attention given to female entrepreneurs and the educational programs provided to women seeking to start out with their own business venture, there is comparatively much more information and help available. In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the ﬁrst and till date the only women to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. 2014 saw the highest-ever number of female Fortune 500 CEOs ever recorded. Women in various areas are willing to support and offer encouragement and advice to moms who seek to provide for their families through their own businesses. Several small groups and organizations are seeking to bring women business owners together to collaborate with each other for the betterment of their business. Moreover, there are several government supported programs available for the female entrepreneurs today. Businesswomen across the centuries have often adopted a work-oriented view. Business has been a way to make a living and survive. Business has been so essential in women’s lives that some have steadfastly refused to distinguish business from life.

long

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A Strong, Ambitious, and Compassionate Leader

n inspiring businesswoman is genuine and comfortable in her own skin, Melissa Koskovich believes. She knows what her “superpowers” are, Koskovich said, but also values the talents of others. She is humble and kind, because she understands every person matters. She is a “change agent” and “unafraid of conﬂict,” she added. “She helps others along the way and gives back to her community.”

Koskovich aims to be this type of inspiring businesswoman as Senior Vice President and Director of Communications & Marketing at Leidos, a Fortune 500 technology company based near Washington, DC. The company’s mission is to make the world safer, healthier, and more efﬁcient through information technology, science, and engineering. When she describes the type of work Leidos does, she often asks people to think of the hardest, most important problem they can. “Leidos is there and likely excelling,” she then explains. In her personal life, she is the mother of twin boys who start college later this year. Through motherhood, she has learned what she is capable of when it matters most. She’s learned how to be creative and efﬁcient in achieving desired outcomes. The lessons she’s learned as a parent have made her more comfortable with herself, her abilities, and her value. “When you understand your value,” she said, “very little can rattle you.” Professional Journey After earning bachelor's degrees from the University of

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Maryland, Koskovich spent the ﬁrst decade of her career in the U.S. Air Force learning about “sweat equity,” a term she uses to describe getting your hands dirty while working as part of a team. The Air Force taught her that while “sometimes it’s your role to lead,” she said, “other times it’s your responsibility to follow.” She believes both roles are equally important, and that individual accomplishments are never as great as what a talented group of individuals linking arms can do. Koskovich deployed numerous times throughout her military career. During her last mission, she was a liaison in to embedded journalists in Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported the commander of air forces for U.S. Central Command. During this time, she became highly skilled in addressing the media in high-pressure, sensitive situations. She also furthered her education by earning degrees in public affairs and aircraft armament systems technology. Later, Koskovich earned an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland. Today, with more than seventeen years of experience, she is a seasoned expert in media relations, crisis management, and internal communications. She oversees a $4 million annual philanthropic program, and has led major communications efforts including support to her company’s initial public offering (IPO) and headquarters relocation, as well as the spin-off of then SAIC’s technical services business in 2013, and the company’s subsequent merger with Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business in 2016.

A Strong, Ambitious, and Compassionate Leader Leidos

Leadership Style and Philosophy Koskovich is an optimist who believes in turning adversity into growth opportunities. As a leader, she is motivated by team goals over individual goals. This mindset allows her to be propelled by others instead of threatened by them. Her entire model of leadership centers on teamwork. She believes in bringing everyone along for the ride so they share in the team’s success. She said the most important decisions she makes involve recruiting, professional development, and succession planning. “Building the right team is everything,” she said. “It defines success or failure, and determines if you enjoy walking through the office door each day.” Reflecting on the state of her industry, Koskovich said she sees change everywhere. She believes major improvements in things like innovation and cost structure can no longer be

achieved by re-engineering the wheel. “We need to blow up the wheel and start over with a blank sheet of paper,” she said. “We need to shoot for the moon, not just the horizon.” But she’s not intimidated by change or even chaos. Instead she sees them as opportunities, and believes managing change is the true test of effective leadership. In the face of uncertainty, her challenge to those around her is simple: “If you’re not comfortable with change, get there.” Part of her role as a leader is to encourage creative thinking and innovation. She emphasizes that differentiation cannot be achieved through sameness, and pushes her team to be forward-thinkers. “If what you’re doing makes people a little uncomfortable,” she said, “you’re probably on to something.” She said that if you’ve done your homework, and have the support of leadership, it's

okay to make bold moves. “More often than not,” she said, “that’s when you get the big payoff.” When she thinks about the future of women in business, she hopes for equality across the board. She hopes to see diverse environments where everyone feels safe and ﬂourishes based on merit. To achieve this, Melissa encourages women to have faith in their abilities. “The landscape and people that surround you will always change,” she said, “but strong performance shines in any environment.” She also encourages women in leadership to be genuine and vulnerable. “When people see you for your true self, individuals can truly connect,” she said. “Those connections yield trust and the potential from there is limitless.”

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“ e moment we accept that there are ways to go forward other than what we originally thought, that's when meaningful, useful dialogue begins.” Sloane Perras Vice President Risk, Chief Legal Ofcer & Corporate Secretary The Krystal Company

he word innovation gets tossed around a lot, and it has become a buzzword for a number of industries and services. If you want to compete in today’s market, you have got to be an innovator. This is a particular challenge for established companies where risks are magnified—there are enormous profits, thousands of jobs, and publicly traded share prices on the line. Like many industries, the restaurant industry also faces a variety of challenges keeping up with the rapid pace of change driven by the consumer trends and changing demographics. Growing preferences for healthier food options, concerns over environmental sustainability, heightened consumer expectations, increased competition from grocery stores, and rapidly advancing technology are rebuilding the traditional dining experience and coercing change on how the industry operates. While the millennial generation of consumers, with increasing spending power, is accelerating the industry’s response to such trends. An effective leader recognizing the importance of embracing innovation in business is Sloane Perras, the Vice President Risk, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary for The Krystal Company. Established 85 years ago, Krystal is America’s second-oldest fast food restaurant. A passion that has been passed down from generation to generation, Krystal has become an experience that many families in Krystal’s communities have shared. Sloane describes Krystal as a brand that is built on honoring past memories and creating new memories for the future. Sloane’s Journey of Professionalism Sloane’s professional career began as a law clerk for Chief Judge William T. Boyett in Dalton, Georgia. Later, she served as the Assistant Corporate Counsel for Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., a Fortune 500 global

logistics company. She then went on to spend more than two years as the Vice President, Assistant General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary for Americold, the global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics to the food industry. Prior to joining Krystal in May of 2013, Sloane had served as the Acting General Counsel and Senior Managing Counsel for Aaron’s Inc., where she provided strategic advisement and had responsibility for complex litigation and profit and loss accountability for the multinational brand. In her current role of the Chief Legal Officer, Sloane oversees all legal aspects for the Krystal brand, including risk management, litigation management, compliance and employment law. Her expertise includes compliance, business advisory, mergers & acquisitions and employment relations. Sloane is grateful to her childhood best friend and former spouse, an Air Force Officer, for impelling the sheer changes in her career trajectory as well as in her personal life. Being an army spouse, she traveled well beyond the small town she grew up in and became a citizen of the world. This in turn effectuated her desire of meeting and working with people all over the world. She affirms, “I’ve interacted with co-workers and business partners from all different cultures and learned about many different types of businesses… all because I chose a life that’s without traditional stability. I learned the importance of standing on my own two feet, advocating for myself, my career, and, most importantly, my well-being and happiness… even when it was challenging, and unexpected for me to do so.” Sloane attained global insights through her extensive experience and proved herself as a recognized leader promoting diversity in her community and industry, receiving recognition as an inductee to OnBoard’s 2017 Executive Leadership Honor Roll; the 2016 recipient of the Women’s In-House Counsel Leadership Institute’s Bridge-Builder Award; the 2015 Diversity Champion by the Atlanta Business Chronicle; and the Counsel on Call In-House Woman of the Year in 2013 as well as internal | November 2017 |

Sloane Perras: The Authentically Condent Leader Creating An Appetite For Innovation recognition for founding and sponsoring Krystal’s Women’s Foodservice Foundation chapter and acting as Krystal’s executive liaison for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. An Instinctive Desire for Authenticity The legal strategist believes that Authenticity – without exception – has always led her to the best possible outcome. Sloane finds empowerment from trailblazers, and specifically Iris Apfel – the self-made style maven. Not only because the exemplary woman always has her own distinct sense of self that is uniquely and authentically her – even though holding true to yourself in any field is worthy of admiration – but also because she translates that confidence into the causes that matter to her like museums, art, and what those things can teach us about ourselves. Every year, Sloane participates in a vision boarding event, and Iris Apfel inspired her and became the theme of her vision board for 2017. “She (Iris) is unabashedly her, even when it’s not popular. And, she believes that you know when something’s right – when it feels good as you’re doing it. There’s a real sense of empowerment that comes from that kind of courage,” says Sloane. Sloane’s Vision as a leader Krystal is a brand that is deeply ingrained in the memories of so many people – which is rare and special. It is a great asset to have, and it is also one of the things that we all work hardest to preserve – providing that ongoing special memory association with Krystal for every person who comes through the doors. Notwithstanding all those memories, the corporate world is tough--some days more than others, some people more than others. When Sloane first came to Krystal, she had to spend quite a bit of time finding her niche. It was a new industry for her, a newly acquired company with all new executive leadership, including a new CEO, and really no existing peer relationships to fall back on. It is a common assumption, everybody makes in the corporate environment, that people have 360-degree vision of everything going on around them – especially at the executive level – when; in fact, the opposite is usually the case. Executives, especially CEOs, are relying on their teams to keep them informed and insightful. Sloane knows how critical those first few months are with a company to build the relationships to be able to pass on reliable and thoughtprovoking insights. However, the ways she had established those relationships before did not work as well now that she is part of this executive team. Sloane asserts, “Brainstorming for new solutions is harder than relying on our prior paths to success; for me, the executive level created a need for new ways to build relationships amongst my peers, my new manager and CEO and my own team and co-workers. Not surprisingly though, the moment we (e.g., I) accept that there are ways to go forward other than what we originally thought, that’s when we can have new successes, which begins the meaningful and useful exchange of ideas.” Encouraging Innovation & Creative Thinking Sloane’s vision to encourage creative thinking and innovation goes beyond Krystal. She acts as a conduit between 7 different companies, 4 different brands, commonly owned at the equity level. She has implemented the first shared services arrangement for her private equity’s restaurant portfolio providing counseling and strategy for all 7 teams. And, she does act as that conduit, using her ability to see activity across all the companies to leverage their combined bargaining power for the benefit of all. In one recent case, she combined three ongoing negotiations into one, leveraging the strength to bargain from one, large national platform instead of 3 smaller players. Now, the 3 companies negotiated better terms; and, the remaining companies also can onboard without any delay for their own negotiations. What encourages Sloane the most is the diversity of leadership in Krystal and the restaurant industry at large. “It is common for us to see women, people of color and multi-generational peers in various leadership roles in our company and the industry. Also, even with technology and the move towards “online”, there are still many personal “touches” within the restaurant industry that allow us to build relationships with our guests, who become part of our families. This advantage should enable restaurants to evolve, be nimble and innovative,” concludes Sloane. | November 2017 |

Victoria Lennox

: x o n n e L

Founder & CEO Startup Canada

a i r o t c i V

eu n e r p tre

n En

hether it was getting inspired from her grandmother who had migrated from Portugal to Canada and her mother who stressed the importance of education, or finding entrepreneurship and realizing that it gave her all the tools she needed to be self-sufficient and create a better future for herself and others, Victoria Lennox’s journey is indeed a rousing one. A Humble Beginning Victoria’s voyage to finding herself began since she was an ill child with environmental sensitivities, when the importance of education – to rise above the poverty and take everyone to the path of empowerment – was instilled in her by her grandmother and mother. Victoria, as a child, always wanted to get into

t p e c n ho I

nt E n dA

politics, so when she graduated from high school in Kitchener, she went to the University of Ottawa – which was the closest to Parliament Hill – and studied politics and public policy. Victoria then went on to work for a number of Members of Parliament, but she never really found herself.

Thus, she tried working in a developing nation, but that went in vain as well. She then traveled and ended up doing an internship in Beijing for an Australianbased consulting ﬁrm thinking she might want to work in an emerging economy. The answer, however, was to go back to school. She went to complete her Masters from the University of Oxford with a Commonwealth Scholarship studying Global Governance and Diplomacy. Victoria unknowingly stumbled upon a student club called Oxford Entrepreneurs who were showcasing photos of people like Nelson Mandela and other amazing

ria u e n e pr

lutio o v e R

leaders. Victoria had never been exposed to the word ‘entrepreneur’ before and she didn’t really know what that meant, but little did she know that she would do anything to have a legacy like these people and that she wanted to make a difference. Victoria joined Oxford Entrepreneurs and found her tribe.

Accolades that Made the Journey Worthwhile From there, Victoria learned how entrepreneurship could help people find out what’s unique about them, and to bring out that to the world in order to serve others, their communities and their country. She then went on to become the first woman president of Oxford Entrepreneurs, the largest entrepreneurship club in Europe. She started Oxford Women in Business for women entrepreneurs seeing that women were not joining the club. Victoria also started her first charity called NACUE, The National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs, during the economic recession in the UK. After a couple of years, she returned to Canada through a recruitment and policy leaders’ program for the government of

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o be t s a o it h nate d o t oose re passio h c r you at you a ﬁred up e v e t Wha ething th gets you entrepreneursh som out and ip, was that I had been ab a part of a Rotary Club in

‘‘

Canada where worked in Industry Canada (currently ISED), and realized that the country needed a cultural shift. Canadian entrepreneurs needed to elevate their ambitions and surge above the cycle of scruple. Victoria had seen her friends creating Startup Britain, and was also aware of what was happening in the US with Startup America and Startup Chile. She thought her country needed to do it in their own way and left the government to incept Startup Canada, and that’s how it all began.

Kitchener-Waterloo, and I heard this beautiful motto that they had and it was “service before self” and that resonated so deeply with me.” Victoria always wanted to serve Canada, serve humanity, make a difference and make an impact and today, she truly believes that she is able to serve every entrepreneur, everyday through Startup Canada, and to bring that value of “service before self” by empowering those who see opportunities where others see nothing and who are creating the future. This makes her inspired by the work that she does every day.

Victoria is also the first Canadian and one of the youngest recipients of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion on the recommendation of the British Prime Minister. She is the recipient of the UK’s ‘Enterprise Support Network Builder Award’ and ‘Overall Enterprise Startup Canada celebrates and shares the Champion of the Year Award’ and has been recognized as a ‘Top 30 Under 30’ stories of entrepreneurs through the Startup Canada Awards, and gives them a by Real Business Magazine voice in the Capital through Startup Passion is the Key Canada Day on the Hill as well as The most important quality that Victoria through policy and advocacy efforts. attributes her success to, is her work Moreover, Startup Canada is engaging ethic and perseverance, but that wouldn’t industry to elevate their investment in the entrepreneurship community. And all matter if she wasn’t passionate about this for a dream that Victoria dared to see what she does that drives everything and helps get her through difficult times. and find her way to this point where everything is possible and happening, all “My vision and hope for women in at once. business is that we support and empower one another and that we take our rightful Service Before Self seats at board tables and at the helm of When asked about her foundling major companies and of our country. I memories of entrepreneurship, she replied, “One of my key first memories of believe that when women are around the

The Revolution She Dreamed Of Fast forward two years, today, Startup Canada boasts nearly 200,000 members across the country and 40 Startup Communities from coast to coast giving voice to every entrepreneur.

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table more thoughtful decisions are made and there are higher considerations about the wellbeing of others because we look to foster consensus, understanding and collaboration,” she adds. Victoria’s Advice for the Young Entrepreneurs You really need to find an issue that you are passionate about whether it’s supporting indigenous social innovators, or helping to end world poverty or to eradicate cancer. Whatever you choose to do it has to be something that you are passionate about and gets you fired up. Secondly, you need to do is empower other people and find other people who are equally as fired up and work together because you can’t do it alone. It’s also much more satisfying working in a team to achieve something much more than you could do on your own. It’s Time to Move Fast For Victoria, the increased engagement of major anchor companies and industry in the little guys and entrepreneurs, has never been more important. However, the slow pass of change concerns her in the context of Canada’s global competitiveness. Canada needs more urgency as a nation to really build up the entrepreneurial competencies and see entrepreneurship as a key pillar and value of what it means to be Canadian. She considers this as their opportunity to lose if we don’t move fast enough. Victoria believes that we all need to be working together to create a more entrepreneurial nation for every entrepreneur. And yes, she really enjoys yoga. It helps her quiet her mind and stay focused. She also enjoys walking and she tries to get the right amount of sleep every night.

Tech Talk

Impact of

Public Relations in Today's World P

ublic Relations has never enjoyed a position of greater prominence than it does today. In a competitive, fast-paced global environment, organisations across industry and geography are looking for new and more effective ways to influence customers, prospects and partners to build trust and reputation. The growth of the Internet, coupled with 24/7 news cycles and social media, has accelerated the growth of the PR industry. While I did see promise in the profession when I embarked on a career in PR, I never imagined that it will become so mainstream. In 1990, Public Relations was hardly understood. The practice of PR was confused with advertising or direct marketing or guest relations. Today, it is fulfilling to see that boardrooms make time for PR in their agenda! The strategic value of PR is being acknowledged and it is an integral part of the marketing mix. PR dons the hat of a 'strategist' to develop campaigns that contribute to business objectives. At PR Pundit, we believe that the customer is at the heart of all propositions, and it is therefore imperative, that the PR approach supports the business objectives of our clients. The PR industry is at an exciting phase of growth, with a rather sharp inflection from Information to Conversation. Institutions are increasingly realising that monologues or one-way marketing communications do not work anymore, and conversations or dialogues are needed to engage stakeholders. Technology affords us a new way to meet and interact. In fact, the new age mediums are enhancing the PR proposition of story-telling and thought leadership. As

people become more sophisticated both in terms of using the Internet and at filtering the information they receive each daily, it is likely that they will develop more specific preferences for how, where and when they access information. We as communicators must understand and stay ahead of these trends. With customers being increasingly swayed by cyber conversations, PR helps brands and organisations sift through the noise and identify influencers, determines what they are saying, why it sways others and how best to activate audiences. PR practitioners are keeping pace with the expanding universe of 'digital influencers', tracking the enormous volume of social media conversations and realtime mentions that surround a product, a brand, an organisation and its competition. We therefore need a new set of hybrid communication skills, which marry elements of management consulting, business intelligence, direct marketing and an internet strategy. Owned and shared media are now a key part of the responsibility of the PR professional, in addition to earned and paid media! With augmented and virtual reality technology getting more and more accessible, PR practitioners are able to deliver customised content to specialised audiences to influence stakeholder sentiment. It could not be more interesting times. I fell in love with the profession, in my first job as the Marketing Communications Manager at Hyatt Regency Delhi. I was less than 25 years old and an invitee to the

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Archana Jain Managing Director PR Pundit

management committee that managed the hotel operations. It made me feel valued. In my two years at the hotel, I was entrusted to manage a new advertising campaign, a public art project, extensive food photography and development of collaterals. I was managing a team of four including the inhouse graphics department. When I moved to the consulting side of the profession in 1992, I found the freedom to engage with senior management liberating. I liked being responsible for writing speeches for leading CEOs. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to make a company that sells insurance seem sexy. I was managing photo calls with celebrities, launching new cars at trade shows, networking with captains of industry and grabbing headlines for all my clients. Now almost 30 years later, the rush still remains. In 1998, when I founded PR Pundit, specializing in consumer PR, my team was predominantly young women balancing their home, children and a PR career. I was at a point in my career where I wanted to give back and help other women succeed. For me, it was the natural progression to introduce ďŹ&#x201A;exibility for women who wanted

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Archana Jain, Managing Director, PR Pundit holds a Masters degree in Business Economics from Delhi University, and has been practicing PR since 1990. She founded PR Pundit in the year 1998. She is also the principal trainer for PR Pundit's media training and crisis communications programmes to continue to pursue their career, without the demands of getting to the ofďŹ ce each day. This also helped me bridge the biggest challenge facing the industry and a young start-up; the ability to attract and retain people. Today, we are almost 100 people strong with an over 80 per cent women workforce. But I would hate PR Pundit to be considered a pink ghetto. Younger women may chose a PR career because they think they are going to be the glamorous Samantha Jones from Sex and the City where they will be opening restaurants and promoting hot new clubs. While managing a communications programme is exciting, it is more about being able to inďŹ&#x201A;uence people, build relationships, the ability to tell a brand story, multi-task, meet deadlines, and survive in a high-pressure environment. It is about thinking creatively, yet strategically while staying ahead of conversation currents. Many of us who thrive on change enjoy PR and staying in-the-thick of events that are upending and driving businesses.