The
Most
Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022 Innovation- The Key
Innovation Defines Success
Leadership Redefined Enroute to Success
William Shum
Founder and CEO
The Rooted Empathetic Approach of Inspiring Leadership VOL-04 | ISSUE-02 | 2022
www.insightssuccess.com
Editor’s Desk A New Calling in Digital Age
T
hink about the times when the seeds of digitalization began to sprout with the introduction of the internet, gradually growing across the world with stronger roots and widespread branches like the Árbol del Tule. The world has rapidly changed, and digitalization’s implication in every business sector has transformed the perception preferred in conventional methodologies. Can you imagine operating a business two decades ago, when the marketing mediums were expensive and limited to radio, TV, newspaper ads, and several print mediums? It was challenging to expand the brick-and-mortar of any organization while creating a powerful connection with the masses. The heavy reliability of word of mouth drove many businesses; however, that isn’t the case today. The technologies that are currently accessible have made it extremely straightforward to connect and expand a business with stout acumen and ethics in a brief period. The massive shifts caused by technology disrupted leadership throughout the digital decades, contributing to the steep rise in entrepreneurial projects globally. Several digital platforms came into fruition with unique ideas and have grown exponentially, connecting people worldwide. The entrepreneurs who perceived similar forthcoming changes outlined the framework of the modern business world. Following the concept of simplicity to make every aspect of life more accessible, these leaders came up with intriguing ideas, turning them into reality to strengthen the foundation of a great future. Today’s young leaders are imbuing their expertise in every sector, finding the dire needs, and upgrading the existing methodologies to stay parallel with evolving times to become the difference-makers of tomorrow.
When I reminisce the past, I genuinely see these changes affecting humankind, certainly bringing the must-needed change to adapt to the digital world, which has become the new norm today. It is astonishing to see the world and people around us grow exponentially, which gives me hope for a better future, and leadership in the digital age will lead a path towards it. Keeping similar thoughts in mind, Insights Success features leaders across several sectors who are at the forefront of leading us into a digital future in its new edition, “The 10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022.” I humbly encourage you to go through the edition, read about these leaders’ unique journeys, and know what they are planning for the next adventure. While flipping through pages, have a quick rundown of the articles penned down by our in-house editorial team and CxO highlighting the industry insights! Delve in!
Aditya Gaikar
aditya.gaikar@insightssuccess.com
C O N T E N T S
The Rooted Empathetic Approach of Inspiring Leadership
08
A RT I C L E S
28
Innovation- The Key Innovation Defines Success
Leadership Redefined Enroute to Success
50
C O V E R S TO RY
Delivering the Most Impactful Consumer Beauty Shopping Experiences Using AI and AR
Alice Chang
20
Leading YOU to Choose a Better Future
David Wachs
30
38
A Distinct Leader with Innovative Approach
Creating Thriving Business Environment for the Community with Workforce Development Initiatives
34
Karin Volo
A Proficient with Extensive Work Experience
Creating Difference in Business World with Passion for Robotics
Ran Rachlin
24
Derek Anthony
Empowering Businesses with Cultural Transformation
May Yap
46
Carsten Nygaard Broegger
Building Lasting Bonds with Customers through Power of Handwritten Notes
Jeanine Jerkovic
16
42
Mohammed Mubin Mallick
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
52
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M Bansal Managing Editor Anish Miller
Executive Editor Sharad Chitalkar
Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Sourabh More
Visualizer
Art & Design Director
Associate Designer
David King
Sonia Raizada
Shyam Sonawane
Senior Sales Manager
Business Development Manager
Kshitij S
Peter Collins, Mayur
Marketing Manager
Sales Executives
John Matthew
David, Martin
Technical Head
Business Development Executives
Jacob Smile
Steve, Joe, Prathamesh
Technical Specialist Aditya
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive Atul Dhoran
Research Analyst Frank Adams
Circulation Manager Robert Brown
Database Management Stella Andrew
Technology Consultant David Stokes
sales@insightssuccess.com April, 2022
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The
Most
Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference 2022 Featured Person
Company Name
Brief
Alice Chang CEO
Perfect Corp perfectcorp.com
Perfect Corp. is the world’s leading beauty tech solutions provider.
Carsten Nygaard Brogger Founder and CEO
CasusGrill casusgrill.com
CasusGrill™ is an award-winning Danish innovation company.
Derek Anthony Vice President
Woodmont Company woodmont.com
Woodmont specializes in every aspect of commercial real estate, including development, asset management, tenant representation, brokerage, construction supervision, and investment sales.
David Wachs CEO
Handwrytten handwrytten.com
Handwrytten allows you to send real cards and notes with your message written in pen and ink.
Jeanine Jerkovic Economic Development Director
Surprise AZ surpriseaz.gov
Surprise, Arizona is home to nearly 140,000 residents who enjoy safe neighborhoods and a family-friendly environment.
Karin Volo Managing Director Head of Financial Markets UAE
Evoloshen evoloshen.com
Evoloshen is transforming business through culture by bringing joy to the workplace.
May Yap Senior Vice President
Iht iht.com.sg
LHT Holoings is the Transportation, Logistics and Storage.
Mohammed Mubin Mallick CEO & Founder
Kiran Smart kiransmart.com
Kiran Smart is a Top IT Company in Kuwait that provides an industry-standard integrated solution, IT consulting, IT maintenance, IT consultancy and IT solutions.
Ran Rachlin Co-founder & CEO
Ubertesters ubertesters.com
Ubertesters is a crowd-based, complete mobile apps/web testing solution provider.
William Shum Founder
Memorigin memorigin.com
“Memorigin”, a combination of “memorial” and “original”, represents the fountain of hope for humankind.
C O V E R
William Shum
Founder and CEO Memorigin Watch Company Ltd
S T O R Y
The 10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2022
The Rooted Empathetic Approach of Inspiring Leadership
W
hat makes a leader distinct from others is their perception of several business aspects. Though, the simple act of listening to itself is an act of inspiration. People often want to be heard, and when a leader responds to their words, it creates goodwill laying the groundwork for strong business relationships. Akin to such qualities while also incorporating kindness to give people a strong voice, William Shum is truly an inspiring leader. William is the Founder CEO of the Hong Kong-based Memorigin Watch Company, specializing in tourbillon watches. He utilized his exemplary entrepreneurial skills to elevate the company achieving major milestones in his business journey over a decade.
me the power of kindness. In my journey as a founder, the approach I have used the most is to try, observe, adjust, and try again. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, so it becomes more important for me to think from broader perspectives. I always encourage my team to share their ideas and show respect. I actively listen to my business partners and try to understand. Kindness isn’t just about being nice, which somehow is perceived as being weak; it is an essential skill for good leadership. With this virtue, I successfully lead Memorigin to achieve various milestones.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
One of the biggest challenges for me is brand positioning. Memorigin is a Hong Kong brand through which I want to proudly present the charisma of “East meets West” and to spread the crux of this cultural spirit to all parts of the world. Despite having a high quality of products, Asian brands like Memorigin are somehow difficult to expand into Western markets because Swiss brands dominate the world’s watch markets and consumers’ preferences. I have to spend much effort on mapping out strategies to change the perceptions of consumers.
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Memorigin. What challenges do you have to overcome to reach where you are today? I started this company when I was 25. Though it has been ten years since I became a business leader, I am still learning to be a better one. Having read lots of books about leadership, I particularly like Gary Vaynerchuk’s. He taught
Words of Gratitude I would like to specifically express my heartfelt gratitude to my business partner Mr. Hikaru Nakagawa. We got to know each other ten years ago when Memorigin first participated in Hong Kong Watch Fair. He visited my office and bought a few pieces for a watch quality test in Japan. After the watches were awarded the top-quality certificate by the prestigious Japanese watch certification institute, he started
Insights Success caught up with William and talked about how he successfully conducted his business to penetrate the international market.
Your Tourbillon – Witness of Your Journey.
the partnership with me at the drop of a hat. In these ten years, we made concerted efforts in numerous collaborations and invited many Asian celebrities to take part in our projects. A strong international relationship is built as these opportunities have facilitated cross-cultural trust and communication among Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Japan. Thanks to the help of Mr. Nakagawa, Memorigin’s watches could be distributed in Dr. Haruhisa Handa’s HANDA Watch World, one of the biggest watch retailers in Japan. Dr. Handa is multi-talented and charismatic. Working with them has broadened my horizons and boosted my team’s creativity to design more unique watches. They were truly inspirational. Tell us something more about Memorigin, its mission, and vision. Being the first Hong Kong brand that specializes in tourbillon watches, Memorigin integrates marvelous oriental arts and top western watchmaking skills to produce tourbillon watches with prominent cultural features. “Memorigin,” a combination of “memorial” and “original,” represents the fountain of hope for humankind. Watches record the passage of time, and the constant rotating of the tourbillion balance wheel symbolizes life’s ticking engine. We all play a part in the journey of time – each tourbillon watch worn is a collection of emotions and dreams, a witness to the ups and downs in life. When creating every exquisite tourbillon watch, Memorigin is devoted to creativity, determination, and hope. It is hoped that each watch can ignite inspiration and courage to seize opportunities, conquer challenges and realize dreams, creating infinite miracles ahead.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the watch components through your expertise in the market. Memorigin’s passion for watches has driven investments in research and development, both in terms of models and technology, pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and creating tourbillon watches that bring endless surprises to customers. We produce our in-house tourbillon movements, from building the half-skeletonized ratchet and barrel to developing the “autorotor” self-winding caliber. We made breakthroughs in blue sapphire glass cutting and engraving technology. We created watches with double tourbillon
Mr. Nakagawa
|
William (right)
We are committed to sourcing materials of the highest quality from different countries and utilizing the cutting-edge Swiss machineries to manufacture our watch components.
movements and a central tourbillon with free-sprung balances. We also hollowed out the Japanese Akoya pearls and placed tritium gas tubes in for luminescence. We had three-dimensional reliefs on the dial with a dome-shaped 2.5D sapphire watch case. That said, polishing and watch design are not neglected. We continuously improve our finishing processes while turning imagination into reality.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful? Many people consider digital technology and traditional craftsmanship are two separate things. We think technologies can assist artisans in creating better works and reviving the cultural heritage. Even though Memorigin’s watches are assembled manually by watchmakers, the brand utilizes cutting-edge machinery to manufacture watch components of the best quality. Paying attention to every detail is the key to producing masterpieces.
On the other hand, we have been keeping an eye on the nascent technology. As these advancements touch every aspect of the businesses nowadays, we shift more focus to digital marketing and incorporate various technologies in business operation to facilitate the conversion in sales from online to offline. We even tapped into the NFT market recently in our collaboration with the NBA rising star LaMelo Ball. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Memorigin? Rather than the Founder and CEO, I regard myself as a spiritual leader of Memorigin. Incorporating vision, faith, and altruistic love to motivate my team, I also pump new energy into my brand as a creator. If a brand just focuses on one offering, consumers would become tired. In the long run, I will continue to revitalize my brand. I hope there will be more collaborations and even partnership opportunities on a greater scale in the future. Our ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility will benefit more disadvantaged communities from all walks of life. I believe Memorigin will be more appealing to consumers with strong and positive brand equity.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the business sector? It is crucial for them to maintain trust and make kindness a habit. Showing the side of being trustworthy can help get most of the things done effectively. Yet, it is easy to lose. A lack of trust can be an entrepreneur’s biggest expense as it can take a long time and much effort to restore. Kindness refers to listening and showing respect. Budding entrepreneurs will be future leaders, but leadership is not about forcing fellows to do what you say and having control over everything. A charismatic leader taps into hearts to lead. Equipping the ability to inspire and motivate others toward success will make them lovable. Meanwhile, thinking in reverse can enhance one’s creativity, which can help the business stand out in the rivalry and get through the tough times. Ideas coming up by thinking from various perspectives can be surprising.
Alice Chang, CEO and Founder
Perfect Corp.
April 2022 | 16 | insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Alice Chang Delivering The Most Impactful Consumer Beauty Shopping Experiences Using AI and AR
A
s an industry projected to be worth nearly 440 billion dollars by the 2026, it is safe to say consumers are into their beauty products. Given the complexity and ever-growing assortment of newness entering the beauty shelves, consumers are looking for ways to a safely and conveniently experiment and explore new products in order to make more confident purchase decisions. As a beauty lover herself, Alice Chang was motivated to find a unique solution that improved the consumer shopping journey. She had always been a problem solver and her experience with advanced AR and AI technologies sparked her desire to translate the idea for the beauty journey. She wanted to find a solution that would deliver hyper-realistic virtual beauty effects that rivaled the accuracy of physical product try-ons, in an engaged, fun, and convenient way. Her desire to improve the consumer beauty experience led to the inception of Perfect Corp., the leading global beauty tech solutions provider using AI & AR to transform the consumer experience. Embracing Challenges and Solving Problems Alice has always been a leader to embrace challenges that solve consumer and business pain points. It’s what motivates Alice to think strategically and find resourceful and impactful ways to grow as an individual and as a company. The road to success in the beauty tech category has been an ongoing hustle to prove to potential brand partners and billions of beauty consumers, that its virtual try-on technology and solutions went beyond a cool selfie editing tool, and proved a true utility to aid in the consumer shopping experience. Over the years, brands adopted the hyper-realistic AI and AR effects as a means of boosting
conversion and consumers have learned to rely on the trueto-life try-ons to help them make more confident purchase decisions. Deploying Innovative, Experimental Digital Services During pandemic consumers have quickly adopted AR and AI powered virtual try-on as a means to safely experiment, discover, and shop for beauty. Living in a Pandemic, virtual beauty has become a necessity, for brands, retailers, and consumers. With business closings and stay at home orders, the demand for engaging direct to consumers online shopping experiences increased, and brands were forced to look toward technology-powered solutions to deliver on the try-before-you-buy consumer journey. As a company, Perfect Corp. quickly adapted to offer a variety of special programs to provide complimentary beauty tech services to brands looking to leverage the power of AR and AI to enhance their online consumer journey and adapt to the evolving impact of COVID-19. Perfect Corp. is helping brands lean into beauty tech with a 360-degree omni-channel approach that deploys innovative, experiential digital services across all consumer touchpoints, instore, online, mobile, and social. Encouraging Free-flowing Communication A positive work culture is essential for productivity. At Perfect Corp., its leadership team strives to maintain a flat organization that gives every employee direct access to top management and encourages free-flowing communication from all team members to help drive the next big idea forward. Innovation and teamwork are at the root of everything Perfect Corp. does and no idea is too big or too crazy.
April 2022 | 17 | insightssuccess.com
Being Innovative in Approach Innovation is at the heart of everything Perfect Corp. does, and it hopes this forward-thinking vision inspires its brand partners as well. It’s essential for businesses to continue finding new ways to align their offerings and consumer journey with the evolving consumer demand for more engaging shopper experiences and to seamlessly integrate across all omni-channel touchpoints. Adopting Impactful Beauty Tech Solutions The age of Shoppertainment is here, and brands must challenge themselves to find new ways to connect with their audience—across physical, online, mobile, and social—and deliver impactful digital experiences through a 360-degree direct-to-consumer strategy. Perfect Corp. hopes to inspire brands to lean into the digital transformation and adopt the impactful beauty tech solutions—like virtual makeup tryon, AI Skin Diagnostics, on-demand beauty consultations, and AR livestream video content—in order to deliver a more personalized and fulfilling consumer shopping experience. Educating Consumers About Beauty Tech Innovation As a leader in beauty tech, Perfect Corp. strives to not only service its brand partners with cutting edge beauty tech solutions to meet their business needs, and deliver one-of-akind virtual app experiences to its users, but it also wants to drive though leadership and educate the greater beauty industry. Perfect Corp. first launched its Global Beauty Tech Forum in 2019 with single day conferences around the globe (from New York, to Tokyo, and Paris), featuring innovators and
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“Perfect Corp. is the world’s leading beauty tech solutions provider transforming the industry by marrying the highest level of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology for a reimagined consumer shopping experience.”
key opinion leaders who can speak to digital transformation and results of beauty tech innovation. The company also launched a Global Beauty Tech Education Series which offers step by step tutorials spotlighting new innovation today and its successful implementation. Furthermore, Perfect Corp. strives to continue to be a resource for brands, retailers, press, and aspiring entrepreneurs, and release regular weekly content across its blog to help educate readers about the benefits of beauty tech in driving business today. It also releases a quarterly Global Beauty Trends Report that dives into data and analytics of virtual try-on to deduce evolving consumer beauty behaviors around globe. Unlocking Endless Possibilities The vision for Perfect Corp. over the next five years is to continue expanding, innovating, and adapting to deliver on the most impactful consumer beauty shopping experience possible. It’s time to double down on AI innovation and unlock the endless possibilities that this smart technology brings to the industry. Perfect Corp. will continue to provide cutting-edge beauty tech services to partners across the globe expanding to all markets in order to meet the growing demand. It will strive to deliver unique beauty tech solutions and digitally enhanced consumer experiences to the industry, leaning into the digital transformation. It also envisions cross-category expansion using advanced beauty tech for jewelry, hats, eyewear, accessories and beyond. Alice says that the ‘sky is the limit so stay tuned’. Enlightening Emerging Innovators Alice’s message for aspiring entrepreneurs has always been to dream big, embrace change, and never give up! She says that this mentality will inspire a future of innovators who embrace challenge with confidence necessary to achieve the impossible and break boundaries.
April 2022 | 18 | insightssuccess.com
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Carsten Nygaard Broegger Founder and CEO CasusGrill ApS
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Carsten Nygaard Broegger Leading YOU to Choose a Better Future
I
nnovative ideas are the predicament of the leaders that took a different approach and took valid actions to make them a reality. It makes them unique, and a sought-out leader keen on driving change can inspire, cultivate, and ignite meaningful changes in the world. Akin to such innovative leadership skills is Carsten Nygaard Broegger.
what he is today. He says, "My wife often expresses her dissatisfaction when we shop because I do not look at the products, but more how things change. It can be anything from store decor, customer behavior, trends, and compositions or how things are simply made!” Carsten knows that being an entrepreneur is not just rosy! Getting a good idea presents many challenges and
As the Founder and CEO of CasusGrill, Carsten aims to become a role model for the market in disposable barbecue and inspire others to become healthier and environmentally conscious about the products they may encounter. CasusGrill™ is an award-winning Danish innovation company with a green DNA and passion for making a difference for the planet earth. It aims to combine sustainability and smart, functional design to re-design and make a green transformation of existing products, which we use every day. A Persistent Journey Born and raised in a family that has a long history in the furniture industry, Carsten's upbringing was highly influenced by life lessons and challenges that came with it. He reminisced that the conversations at dinner were often about how they could change and innovate while perceiving how new tomorrow will be! Creativity and development have always been the essential things in Carsten's life that helped him shape to become
April 2022 | 21 | insightssuccess.com
pondering questions. How should your new idea be made? How do you fund your idea? How to create success with the idea? How do you protect your idea? Speaking from experience, Carsten asserts, "I have made my mistakes and fallen into many "stupid" fall groups. One thing is for sure if you do not dare to think differently and change things, the road to success is much longer.”
got hot, and the heat was uneven and tough to cook on. He says, "Our son was eight years old and very curious. By accident, he touched the aluminum tray and got a small blister. But it was not just that - the discarded aluminum trays from the disposable grills lay left around in fields, in bushes with burn marks after use. A really bad experience!” Thus, CASUSGRILL was born!
Carsten states that everything may sound extremely simple, but persistence is one of the essential cornerstones of success. He knows that most people give up just before the finish line! Carsten's mottos is when a door closes, three new doors open – it is always a matter of finding them in time!
The DNA of CasusGrill is to combine sustainability and smart, functional design in re-design and green transformation of existing products people use in daily life at an affordable price.
If you are not constantly evolving, then you are in liquidation.
CasusGrill is an innovative and green company. It wants to become a role model for the market for sustainable products and inspire others to become healthier and environmentally conscious about their products.
The Inception Carsten asserts that the idea behind CasusGrill arose on an RV trip in the French mountains back in 2009, where he had the experience of using disposable aluminum grills. The first did not start, and the second took a long time before it
Effective Impact Carsten expresses that the barbecue and accessories market has always been conservative. The lack of focus on sustainability and green transformation has been a hallmark
April 2022 | 22 | insightssuccess.com
of the industry. The bigger and more masculine the grill can get - the better! CasusGrill has an entirely different approach and point of view, where sustainability plays a crucial role in the product being convenient and solving the challenges of the existing disposable aluminum grill. It has made a green transformation of one of the essential things in human existence - cooking, however, with a minimum footprint in nature compared to the existing product on the market! Sustaining Environment In Carsten's view, technology is many things. However, CasusGrill is only made of sustainable materials like cardboard, bamboo, lava stone, and bamboo briquettes. All biodegradable materials, except the lava stone insulation, are inorganic and neutral products, without any risk of rotting or transforming. It can be recycled, and there is no need for a landfill; it can easily be returned to nature or even used as soil improvement and 100% pure cultivation for plants. To do this, you'll need fire and cardboard. The key is to use and put together different materials in a new way - in a specific relationship and a particular design. Carsten notes, "What may not be possible today will be possible tomorrow - the sky is the limit, or you set the limit!” The Preparation for META Universe According to Carsten, Virtual Shopping will be the next big thing in the META universe combined with artificial intelligence. One can virtually walk around a local supermarket, hardware store, or shop. He notes that one can talk to the clerk and receive guidance in the buying process, demonstration of products if desired. Carsten says, "CasusGrill will be ready and a part of this META universe when it becomes a reality. CasusGrill must be able to be bought, experienced, and enjoyed with family or friends in a virtual way anywhere in the world.”
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CasusGrill is here to make its green print on our planet.
A Long Way Ahead In Carsten's view, CasusGrill is just the beginning of a long journey that never ends. "There will always be products where green transformation will be relevant. One day it will be relevant to make a green transformation of green products that already exist - due to technology evolving at a rapid pace and making the impossible possible today." CasusGrill will always strive to be one of the leaders in its segment. Ideas to Reality Carsten advises budding entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into the consumer goods sector to take even the most impossible dreams and make them come true. He believes that this is where the best ideas emerge! He continues, "Never take a NO for an answer, even if it looks bad and you thought all options are exhausted. There is always a solution to everything - it's just about finding the right solution. Never be greedy as it can end your days as an entrepreneur.” Carsten adds that going to a store and getting inspired - the task is simple - just do it better than your competitors and keep it as simple as possible. Always choose the path to a better future!
April 2022 | 23 | insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
David Wachs Building Lasting Bonds with Customers through Power of Handwritten Notes
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n an age where everyone is drowning in electronic communication, handwritten notes really stand out. They go a long way in building lasting relationships with people, and companies that send notes are set apart from the competition. To help its clients leverage this untapped form of outreach, Handwrytten automates handwritten notes on behalf of companies large and small. Handwrytten was founded to fill an unmet need of sending handwritten notes as easily as sending an email. To solve this problem, the company invested heavily in robotics to build a machine unmatched in handwriting quality and scalability. The mind behind the company is David Wachs, CEO, Founder and Chief Robot Mechanic. A serial entrepreneur, David is bringing back the lost art of letter writing through scalable, robot-based solutions that write one's notes in pen. The Challenge of Educating People about the Unique Service
Facebook and LinkedIn advertising, but also through earned and paid media placement. Delivering Realistic Handwriting As Handwrytten has grown, it needed better robots to write the notes for its clients. Its initial vendor's technology was antiquated, and the results were not in line with its expectations. Four years ago, Handwrytten began a journey to design, program and build robots itself. Now, it has 115 custom built, pen-wielding robots. These robots deliver the most realistic handwriting available. Handwrytten builds these robots for much less than its old robots used to cost, allowing it to scale up faster. As it has full control of the software and firmware, it designs fonts and signatures quicker than it could have otherwise, and makes additional improvements to increase realism as well. Handwrytten's robots are now its point of difference and no other company comes close to its capabilities. Learning from the Greats
Handwrytten was founded in 2014. The first challenge that Handwrytten faced and is still facing is making its target audience aware of its service. Handwrytten is very unique and has truly defined the space of automated handwritten notes. It has been successful in doing this primarily through
David states that he was fortunate to meet Conan O'Brien while he was in college over twenty years ago. Conan told David and his classmates to “always get in over one's head”. David has never forgotten these words of advice. He
April 2022 | 24 | insightssuccess.com
lives by this mantra daily. The book “E-Myth” by Michael Gerber has also made an impact on David. This easy-toread book talks about setting up one's business as a franchise, even if one never plans on operating it as one. By going through this process, one is forced to create a manual, define jobs, create processes, and as Michael explains, “work on the business instead of work in the business”. Reaching out Using Handwritten Notes The pandemic has created terrible isolation for a good percentage of the population. People are forced to work from home, abstain from in-person meetings and gettogethers and are separated physically from their loved ones. This is painful and scary for many people. David says that as a business, it is important to reach out to one's clients and customers just to tell them you care. Of course, Handwrytten recommends reaching out using its service, as it knows that handwritten notes generate impactful and personal results.
As a company Handwrytten used handwritten notes throughout the pandemic, but its team also picked up the phone, called its clients and asked if there was anything they could do to help. Handwrytten is uniquely qualified to overcome this challenge due to the nature of its business. By the end of 2020, Handwrytten's business was hitting sales records as people began using its service to send well-wishes to their prospects and clients. Ensuring Happiness and Productivity of Employees David has built and sold a company before. In this process, he has learned what is truly important. It turns out, happy, productive employees are the key! As such, he works every
April 2022 | 25 | insightssuccess.com
day to ensure his employees are happy and excited to come to work. While he certainly makes his employees work hard, David wants them to stick around for the long-haul. He states that employee turnover is one of the most expensive factors in running a business. To improve work culture, David advises to hold weekly meetings on the financial and operational state of the company. This creates a sense of transparency and instils ownership by the entire team. He suggests praising publicly and criticizing privately. He advises giving “shout outs” to team members during the weekly meeting but giving criticism to employees only in private. He also suggests having frequent fun events. Supporting Inclusiveness Handwrytten has put a “Handwrytten Cares” section on its web site, with cards for equal rights and Black Lives Matter causes. 100% of the profits from these cards go to aligned causes.
David Wachs CEO, Founder and Chief Robot Mechanic
Handwrytten's technology allows customers to scale their handwritten outreach, creating positive impressions and long-lasting bonds.
The Road Ahead for Handwrytten Handwrytten will continue iterating its robots and creating more integrations into other platforms. In addition to its plugins for Salesforce, Zapier, Integromat and SyncSpider, it is releasing a plugin for Shopify shortly, and it hopes to revisit its HubSpot integration. It is currently revamping its web site and is excited to release the new version in Q3 of this year. Longer-term, Handwrytten plans to roll out additional facilities around the world. It will also partner with 3PL and other forms of partners to incorporate its offering into their service.
Being Considerate of Emotions of People When everybody else is pivoting towards digital, David advises future leaders to realize the consumer is analog and emotional. He recommends the leaders of tomorrow to come up with solutions to grab the emotions behind their target audience, and don't just recreate a familiar marketing offering done by dozens of other software firms. David says that in the last 5 years so much of marketing and advertising has gone online, and this has created huge opportunities to improve the offline experience as well.
April 2022 | 26 | insightssuccess.com
Innovation- The Key
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very day there is a new product that brings disruption to the market and becomes innovative. In the business world, innovators are the ones who look at problems differently and find solutions others may not see. Not following traditional methods and looking for new ways is the way to success. Being innovative is the most crucial aspect to thrive in today’s competitive business world, and without it, one may survive but will not get successful. What Numbers Say? In 2015, the Deloitte Innovation Survey found out that many companies approx. sixty-six percent believed that innovation is the key to business growth. Innovation allows businesses to increase their reach, merge with new partners, and scale up to more human force. Adding innovation also puts the organization at a positive front end and attracts more investors towards it. Why Innovation Matters? When an organization comes up with innovation, no matter its size, growth is guaranteed. Top leading companies in the world with different sectors like Tesla, Apple, Google, and Microsoft are known for their innovation. Apple is the leading smartphone company but it generates 1/3 revenue from its accessories; Apple’s AirPods' revenue is more than Adobe, Spotify, and Twitter. The reason behind this enormous success is the innovation and the focus towards the problems which can only be solved by making an innovative approach. What’s the Catch? We all have encountered people in our life who are different than others and even being alone is not becoming a hurdle to their success. The logic is simple, thinking different or out of the box is also a part of innovation where one wants to explore new things beyond its declared boundaries. Thinking EV cars as the future of automation looked like a dream but Tesla made this possible. The company did not choose the easy path, but explore the possibilities with futuristic batteries, and enhance the durability. Now, this is what any company can do which is what we call advancement. What Tesla did differently is they just did not advance
their EV cars but transform them into futuristic ones by adding automation. They introduced the concept of cars without human interaction. It was combining the idea of renewable energy and making driving safer than ever before. Today, Tesla is one of the leading Fortune 500 companies that has doubled its revenue in a very short period. Understand the Market Innovation is also the key to ruling the market. The modern world is not waiting for anyone, as the customers' demands bar have risen very high. From advanced communication, digital platforms to globalization, everything from anywhere is reachable now without any boundaries. We already have seen that if anything that has the capacity to bring global impact can be monitored by the whole world in few seconds. An idea that has the potential to transform people’s lives to some extent or can fill the consumers' demand that has not noticed before, is innovation. People constantly change their choices and want something amazing, and new with upgrades, and that makes the market unpredictable. Innovators have to predict change and understand the demand of consumers, so that there will be a solution even before the customer needs it. Determination and appetite for constant growth is the real quality of innovators and successful business leaders. Idea Check, Market Availability Check, Then What is Next? Transforming an innovative idea into a successful venture is a long journey. If you are capable enough, you can finance the idea, but if you are not then there you need stockholders (angel investors) who will provide the fund. But arranging the funds and establishing the operations is only half success. It is people who brings an idea into reality, and then lead it to success: people with the same mindset, people who are able to see and modify the perspective. Finding and adding talented people to the team is essential. And people with talent and vision also love to work with innovative ideas and in a vision that comprises success. For an innovator, the challenge is the thrill they are starving for and is the way to keep them encouraged. So lead with talent, align vision with investors, and most significantly innovate; an idea, a dream, or something that can bring change.
April 2022 | 28 | insightssuccess.com
INNOVATION DEFINES
SUCCESS
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Derek Anthony A Distinct Leader with Innovative Approach
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o work is too small or too big; if one does their work with passionate determination, one will eventually climb the ladder of success. Having such strong determination, Derek Anthony, worked at 22 jobs in his professional journey learning a valuable lesson in hindsight. Each of these lessons molded Derek into becoming the Vice President of Real Estate at The Woodmont Company. His tremendous corporate background in sales, marketing, operations, P&L, and negotiation skills are unlike anyone in the real estate business. Woodmont specializes in every aspect of commercial real estate, including development, asset management, tenant representation, brokerage, construction supervision, and investment sales. A Distinct Journey Grown up in North County of St. Louis suburbs, from cutting grass, to lifeguarding in high school, to stringing rackets in college, to help pay for bills, to buy an engagement ring, and then graduate from Missouri State in Marketing, Derek wasn’t sure what he wanted to pursue. Derek took his first job out of college at Woods Wire Products, Inc., which got him on the right foot having a wonderful friend and mentor, John Wiesehan Jr. John had 15 years with GE and a corporate structure background in Sales & Marketing and patiently got Derek to break out of his shell. Since then, Derek has taken every opportunity that knocked on his door utilizing his ability to put deals together, which has been with him even after the Woods Wire days.
about different cultures professionally, took his strengths of direct reports, and incorporated those traits into how he manages and leads his team today. Speaking about his journey, Derek says, “Given all my experiences from operations, P&L’s, people skills, emotional intelligence, and how to read a room, makes commercial real estate no different. It just comes down to deal-making and figuring out how to get to the closing table and being sensitive to both sides views and having an open mind, while making the soft ask.” Crossing the Hurdles Derek has come across many challenges in his journey. He remembers one company he worked for was dealing with a lawsuit of $64,000,000 for not paying royalties and the company was shutdown. Derek had to sign up as an Uber driver to take care of his two kids and wife, even though he had the highest-earning period of his life and a mortgage. He also applied for a warehouse job at Amazon and was
What gets measured gets improved.
Over the next 17 years, Derek managed, sold, and marketed Consumer Electronic products to big retailers and distributors throughout the United States with Coby, Uniden, X-10, Fulfillment Plus, GPX, and many more brands. Derek traveled the world, visited factories, learned
April 2022 | 30 | insightssuccess.com
Derek Anthony
Vice President The Woodmont Company
offered the job, and a day later, The Woodmont Company called. For the first two years, he worked fingers to the bone for 12 hours a day through cold calling and networking, getting every lead he could until he was satisfied with the prospect list. He notes, “Singles and Doubles are good starting points to get to the home runs, eventually. For the last four years, I still am still doubling my business year over year.” Technological Impact Derek mentions that today’s real estate industry makes decisions driven by data, as much as financial. Data in terms of mobile tracking, demos, sales figures, and data at our fingertips helps the company make more of a finite decision. It can now track visitors and pull them for yesterday, last quarter, or last year, and compare the rankings of that same operator elsewhere in the market, city, town, or US. Desired Change Derek states that CRM’s are all over the place, and the biggest challenge in the real estate world is the schedule, follow-up, and staying on track on every deal. However, prospecting Landlords and Tenants there are several avenues to go down on each of side of the table. Derek wants to create a business plan and stay on track. He notes, “Google Earth and Google maps have been a savior for the CRE world and amazing tools that are free to help us with our job. There are smarter folks than me that will create the next best thing, but I look forward to embracing it and learning about it!”
Prepared for Changes Derek believes that touring a space with virtual reality could be the next disruptor; however, it all comes down to who pays for it. Woodmont is vetting new software partners all the time, only if the technology is efficient, productive, and cost-effective. Currently, Woodmont partners with CoStar, LoopNet, Placer AI, Retail Trac, and Site Seer for commercial real estate vetting and analysis. Moving Forward Derek envisions himself conducting deals, making new friends, and growing his team to a more prominent national footprint in Nashville, Charlotte, Austin, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Denver, and others in the next ten years. He also expects organic growth or acquisition to always be on the table. Lessons over the Years Derek advises aspiring entrepreneurs not to get too excited or too down; if you are doing the tedious, mediocre tasks to get you a deal, that is what it takes. He says, “No deal is ever done until it’s done, and the commission has been paid, and tenant is open. There will be uncontrollable substances or decisions made in the process, and you cannot let it get to you.” Concluding his thoughts, Derek asserts, “It’s not that hard; you have to be disciplined in your everyday tasks and don’t get distracted. Remember, attitude is a choice. What gets measured gets improved.”
April 2022 | 32 | insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Jeanine
Jerkovic
conomic development of any region is the central pillar of growth in all areas and its sustainable growth depends on good leadership. City of Surprise is a striking instance of the above mentioned notion, as it is thriving under the leadership of Jeanine Jerkvoic.
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Throughout her tenure at City of Surprise, Jeanine has enjoyed creating initiatives to change perceptions about the city! Inspired by her visionary approach, we at Insights Success caught up with Jeanine to learn more about her journey and her contribution to the dynamic economic development industry.
A management professional, Jeanine serves as the Economic Development Director at City of Surprise. Her 15 years of enriching experience in the economic development industry reflects her passion for economic development. She believes that the most important skillset to build is learning to embrace change and practices the same in her approach.
Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Surprise. What challenges did you overcome to reach where you are today? I grew up in the Greater Phoenix West Valley in Glendale, Arizona and then graduated from Arizona State University (ASU). Early in my career, I had the great fortunate of completing a college internship for former US Senator John McCain and then working for a political action committee (PAC) called Campaign America. After graduating from ASU, I attended the London School of Economics in the UK to get a master’s degree. While in the UK, I interned with the US Embassy in London and soon after got a job with the designated UK-based European contractor for the Arizona Department of Commerce. It was there that I was exposed to the commercial trade and economic development profession and learned about it as a career option. I moved back to Arizona soon after and worked in the International Trade and Investment Division for the
April 2022 | 34 | insightssuccess.com
Jeanine Jerkovic
Economic Development Director City of Surprise Economic Development Department
“The Surprise Economic Development team is committed to the constant pursuit of attracting quality jobs and business to Surprise and the Greater Phoenix Area.” Arizona Department of Commerce, but it was only when I accepted a position at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), where I worked for four years, that I can say I truly fell in love with the economic development profession. I left GPEC in 2006 to work where I live today in the City of Surprise! I was the Economic Development Manager in Surprise for over four years but left for an exciting opportunity with the Canadian Consulate in Phoenix. Shortly after landing there, the Canadian government began to shutter several US trade and consular locations, and unfortunately, our office was one of them. I landed at the City of Glendale, Arizona – my hometown – but ultimately, I returned to the place I love and still call home, the City of Surprise! I have served as the Surprise Economic Development Director for more than seven years! The economic development profession is faced with constant economic, political and social changes, and while I have found this to be the greatest challenge, it is the greatest opportunity! Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision. The mission of the City of Surprise Economic Development Department is: to accelerate an enhanced quality of life and a thriving business environment for the community through the facilitation of new employment opportunities and workforce development initiatives; the attraction of retail amenities; the promotion of entrepreneurship and small business growth; and the retention and expansion of local businesses.
Until recently, the Surprise Economic Development Department has been primarily focused on strategic industry and business attraction in four key general sector areas: advanced manufacturing, innovation, medical excellence, and signature retail. Business retention, small business assistance, workforce development and infrastructure, while important, have generally been secondary for us until 2021. This focus will change a lot in 2022! Moving ahead, it will be essential to pivot quickly and execute effective workforce development and infrastructure support programs that allow us to accommodate the current surge of commercial and residential growth. Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization. I am a huge believer in servant leadership, and the City of Surprise has a culture that reflects and supports this. It is important to build a culture where people connect, relate to one another, and build one another up. As I mentioned before, economic development is a dynamic industry, and there can be considerable pressure to meet – or even exceed – expectations. This makes it critical to hire talented, likeable individuals who aren’t afraid to leave egos at the door, and I am lucky to work with the best team in the world. Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
April 2022 | 36 | insightssuccess.com
Technology has made us all more virtually accessible, and the Surprise Economic Development Department is no exception. Our marketing has become more creative, especially as we have had to adapt and create meetings, events and even community tours of Surprise in a virtual format! During 2020, we had a prospective company unable to visit due to restrictions, and we were able to produce a custom virtual tour video for them, which impressed them! Additionally, we hosted a first-ever virtual Spring Training VIP event with over 200 businesses and development professionals online – and as a result, we now have a signature restaurant negotiating in our market after attending that! What, according to you, could be the next big change in Economic Development? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change? The next tidal wave in the economic development profession is the workforce development issue. It will be everyone’s greatest challenge – and greatest opportunity. Over the next several months, we are aligning our workforce and industry partnerships with certifications and resources to help accelerate opportunities for dislocated workers, youth and remote professionals. Workforce development will become our primary focus in 2022. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for Surprise?
The City of Surprise has incredible economic assets that are any economic development professional’s dream: a successful business incubator; an emerging downtown with a residential university – Ottawa University Arizona - as well as an award-winning Spring Training stadium; developable land; highway accessibility – and even rail! My future goals are to lead initiatives to create a thriving downtown, to ignite our untapped workforce potential, to support new infrastructure solutions, such as broadband development, and to attract more commercial and employment opportunities to our future growth area in North Surprise! What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Economic Development sector? I am a big believer in just putting yourself out there and talking to people! My advice would be to reach out to a local economic developer like myself, have a virtual chat or a cup of coffee, and learn more about economic development as a career path.
Karin Volo CEO and Chief Joy Bringer Evoloshen
The 10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2022
Karin Volo
Empowering Businesses with Cultural Transformation
Organizations that emphasize on revitalizing the work culture with leadership skills receive exponential growth. Today, employee engagement is not an option anymore; rather it has become a necessity to drive growth for companies, business leaders, and employees! This was very well understood by CEO and Chief Joy Bringer of Evoloshen, Karin Volo. She has been empowering organizations with her unique cultural transformation model, which involves educating employees and top management professionals. She has expertise with conversational intelligence, masterminding, and one-on-one leadership coaching. By imparting caring cultures at workplaces, Karin aims to create a productive environment for companies and their employees. We at Insights Success caught up with Karin to learn more about her exciting journey of mentoring business leaders with Evolvoshen. Let us look into the interview highlights below: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Evoloshen? What challenges did you have to overcome to reach where you are today? My early career was in Executive Search, headhunting, coaching, and mentoring both in the United States and in Europe. After a major life crisis that lasted four years, my work pivoted. I was drawn to teaching a lot of the tools I’d learned to manage during the most difficult time in my life. This led to writing books, inspirational speaking, and
corporate training. The book Engage! was the catalyst in creating my current company, Evoloshen, where we help transform business through culture. I believe in empowering people in their work so that they feel passionate, engaged, and are highly productive. It’s a winwin for both employees and companies. Tell us something more about Evoloshen, its mission and vision. Evoloshen’s purpose is bringing joy to the workplace. We do this through inspiration and teaching empowering tools. There are three main pillars we focus on under the umbrella of culture: engagement, purpose, and trust. We have programs and strategies for companies and leaders that help to bring out the best of an organization.
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I believe that the majority of the 7.2+ billion people on this planet want four things in their lives: love, peace, joy, and abundance.”
April 2022 | 39 | insightssuccess.com
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usinesses thrive on proven leadership hacks! And, one of the most promising corporate practices is creating the happiest and motivated workforce, which ultimately leads to happy customers.
April 2022 | 40 | insightssuccess.com
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the mentoring niche through your expertise in the market. Evoloshen has a big impact on several levels. We support, mentor, and coach top management to create a high trust and caring culture. We offer proven companywide training and certification programs that teach employees with empowering skills and hands-on tools they can use immediately. We also facilitate team leadership learning and masterminding. Evoloshen has a team of incredible trustbased leadership coaches that can work one-on-one with leaders and employees to support them as well. The combination of these programs and services has a direct positive impact on the well-being of the people and the bottom line of an organization. Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful? Evoloshen had already offered online training and programs globally, prior to 2020. We were able to pivot quickly to 100% virtual trainings in 2020 and simply scaled up our work during that time, supporting many companies during some challenging times. We are looking forward to offering live training again but the last couple of years have proven that it is possible and cost-efficient to invest in all the employees and do training together. It helps to have everyone learning and growing together and what we’ve seen is that it “super boosts” the culture and connection of the employees. It’s like putting the culture on steroids! So, we will continue with using technologies for our online work. One other aspect of Evoloshen is that we are creating a microlearning platform offering to both private clients with customized training and individuals who are interested in topics around culture, engagement, trust, conversational intelligence, resilience, self-leadership. and have much more to come! If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the employee engagement industry?
80% are not. The solution is proactively working on creating high trust caring cultures where people feel valued. This drives the high-performance team that leaders want to see. What, according to you, could be the next big change in cultural transformation? How is Evoloshen preparing to be a part of that change? We are currently dealing with the Great Resignation. The future of businesses will depend on creating a culture and a company that both employees and customers love because of its bigger purpose. We are seeing a great divide between purpose-driven companies and toxic organizations. Purpose-driven companies with caring cultures will more easily attract top talent and have an obvious competitive edge. Toxic companies that are damaging the planet and their people are simply not sustainable and will not survive. Plus, we are about to experience 100 years in change with technologies from 2022 to 2026. We need to have an agile, fast-moving mindset in companies. This is the wakeup call for leaders to pay attention, right now because nothing can stop this movement. We are going into a few chaotic years until the dust settles. Evoloshen can be a great support to leaders, their employees, and their organizations for all these emerging trends and changes! What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the organizational development sector? It is vital for any entrepreneur to have clarity in their purpose and have passion for their work. That is what will get you through tough times. If you only start a business for money or to make an exit, you may succeed, but your life may feel very empty in the end. I’ve coached so many leaders in mid-life who have experienced what looks like success on the outside, but inside they are miserable. Having a bigger purpose will give you meaning and keep you going no matter what. When you have that for yourself, do the same with the company you want to build. So, my advice is to start with the purpose and passion, first and foremost! The rest will follow.
I’d love leaders to understand the value of investing in their employees and the positive impact this has on the bottom line. It becomes an easy step to take when CEO’s and CHRO’s can see the impact and results. I do believe we’ll get to a point in the future where we won’t need to talk about employee engagement because it will become the norm. But we have a LOT of work to do before! According to Gallup, only 20% of the global workforce is engaged and
April 2022 | 41 | insightssuccess.com
MAY YAP A Proficient with Extensive Work Experience
“Deforestation is one major cause of climate change. Recycling is one of the many e orts that reflect our commitment toward mitigating climate change and global warming” April 2022 | 42 | insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
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e must know the market well, identify our competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Build rapport with customers, find out what matters to customers, provide solutions, and solve their matters,” says May Yap. She is the Managing Director, and CEO of LHT Holdings Limted and accountable for strategic IT management and smooth day to day operations across operating sites in Asia and US.
May has Extensive Management Consulting Experience advising clients on business transformation initiatives; familiar with operations in Manufacturing, Government, pharmaceutical, Bank and Insurance, Telco, FMCG, Airlines and Logistics sectors. In an interview with Insights Success, May Yap highlights the importance of customer service and understanding the market one wants to grow in. Below are the highlights of the interview: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a young and proficient shepreneur. It all started in December 1977, after completed my secondary school, I joined former Lian Hup Timber Trading Co before it was retitled to LHT Holdings Limited as a multi-tasking clerk which handles accounts, administration, operations, and housekeeping. At that time, the firm had around 20 employees and on leasing land size of less than 1000 sqm situated in a remote area in the north region of Singapore. During my 40 years of services at LHT, I have climbed the corporate ladder through rank-and-file from an admin clerk to a chairwoman. I have witnessed the changing landscape from a traditional company to an environmentally friendly company. As time went by, wood pallets became prominent as many foreign MNCs invested massively in Singapore that required these pallets as export goods. And inevitably, LHT followed the same wind too. At that time, Singapore was on its journey toward development and the firm grew so tremendously that we had to pursue bigger land in Sungei Kadut.
Moving the factory two times, in 1988, the firm acquired a 35,680 sqm land, and the company staff strength went up to 168 employees, and with the right timing, the group renamed to LHT Holdings Limited when listed in the mainboard in 1999. During this time, I was Sales Director-in charge of all sales and marketing functions. Perceiving the opportunity to be an Executive Director, I became one of the major shareholders during the company’s reconstruction. I was appointed as the acting Managing Director in 2016 due to my MD had health issues. In 2017, followed by the retirement of my founder MD, I was re-designation as the chairwoman, Managing Director, and CEO. How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to entice the target audience? Wood pallets have been traditional for more than 60 years since world war two, to entice our target audience we need to provide a competitive one-stop solution. Besides selling wood and plastic pallets, we have technology pallets known as system pallets that cooperate with the RFID system. We also manufacture
April 2022 | 43 | insightssuccess.com
of confidence and trust to be built over the team or management working with. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? Nobody knows that the Covid-19 will hit and disrupt that hard in all kinds of business and make changes to the way we do business. As a pallet manufacturer, we are lucky to be considered as essential services as we provide logistic support to the supply chain. Without pallets, goods cannot be transported and stored in the warehouses. As for us, we remain status quo, except the reshuffle of our workforce to cope with the high demand from some sectors due to customers’ stop work. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of women empowerment?
environmentally-friendly pallets that make from recycling wood waste. By 2013 we took over a big plant at Johor, Malaysia for Green innovative Gpac moulded pallet production, and became a multi diversity of wide ranges of ECO Green pallet leadership to distribute all kinds of Wood packaging and Champion the green journey and made company with more effective business model and longevity sustainable for success. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? A successful entrepreneur is focused on the business and its goals. At this digital transformation era, and Covid-19 had changed the way we do business. Creativity and flexibility, we need to embrace that changed and go back to the drawing board and restart, reorganize, relook on what is the better ways at the current situation, brainstorm, and amend accordingly. As a businesswoman, she shall have a charismatic character that possesses good knowledge in that field, a high level
In Singapore, I do not see any gender discrimination as long as you can do the job. This day, I do see many women are leaving their home as a housewife to join the society and many women are now holding the high ranking post. I could only post and set an example that a female clerk that it is possible comes one day she can be the top management. How do you cope up with capricious technological trends to boost your personal growth? Yes, we need to embrace the change and adapt the appropriate one. Firstly, we must understand the purpose of adopting the technology, which is to provide convenience or to make things simpler and not complicated and should be users friendly too. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? The Covid-19 pandemic is a testament that proof the company is sustainable over the majority of companies that were shut down due to the lockdown period and we were the few companies that provide the essential service to the community as well as the society.
April 2022 | 44 | insightssuccess.com
Mohammed Mubin Mallick April 2022 | 46 | insightssuccess.com
Creating Difference in Business World with Passion for Robotics
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t is easy to come from a great business background to continue that legacy, but it is distinctive, coming from a challenging background to thrive in the business world. Such business leaders have to build everything from scratch. They overcome all odds, attaining success with their determination. Mohammed Mubin Mallick comes from a remote place, where the only language people speak in their native tongue: Bengali. While growing up, he had difficulty communicating with people in other languages in his school, mostly English. However, Mohammed managed to get a good grasp of the language when he moved into an urban area, resulting in him pursuing his MBA at Cardiff University (UK). After Mohammed completed his MBA, he went to Kuwait to land his first job, but instead, he ventured to set up his own startup company following his childhood passion for Robotics. He is the Founder and CEO of Kiran Smart, providing solutions and services locally and globally. It has the vast experience and technological know-how of robotic solutions dealing with multiple robotic manufacturers and companies worldwide to deliver the right solution to its customers. Overcoming Challenges Today, Mohammed sees himself in a position to create a difference with his passion. He constantly faced challenges personally and professionally, overcoming them to get ahead of his competitive peers, gaining customers' trust, loyal employees, a smart team, and reliable manufacturers. Providing Innovative, Reliable, and High-Quality Services Mohammed's persistent approach towards his passion helps him research different products and innovative solutions for its customers. So, he spreads his suppliers from different regions not to be cut down due to any natural disaster or geopolitical issues. Kiran Smart's main focus is robotics, digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence, and FinTech as the world is demanding it. Kiran Smart's Mission is "To provide innovative, reliable and high-quality services to clients throughout GCC and globally." Its Vision is "To achieve global brand recognition as a finest solutions and services provider where customers find the optimal business solutions to their needs."
Sorting Out Problems of Customers Kiran Smart's impact was hard regarding its services and solutions in the market. In the beginning, when it came to the market as a new brand, it concentrated on those customers who did not get the services and solutions they were looking for. Kiran Smart started targeting those difficult customers. Then Kiran Smart entered to sort out the problems of its customers with its solutions and services. It started building its trust like this in the market locally. Now customers give it the first call if they have any issues, and its prices are unbeatable because its solutions are very innovative. It keeps its expertise as technical support on top, and solutions are the combination of different products to make it more innovative. Tapping Potential of Robotics, AI and Fintech Every solution and service must be available easily, whether it is an urban area or a rural area. So, Mohammed will put much effort into making it easy access to everyone as the world moves towards an advanced level in Robotics, AI, and Fintech. Therefore, one of the major changes that Mohammed will look into is bringing the robots to do the job ASAP when humans are not available in the technological industry. Transformation of Humans in the Digital World Mohammed states that the next big change in digital transformation would be the human body. The human body
Kiran Smart effectively combines technical expertise and domain knowledge to offer customized Computer Networking Solution and System Integration solution to its customers.
April 2022 | 47 | insightssuccess.com
Mohammed Mubin Mallick CEO and Founder Kiran Smart parts would be the communication mode with digital interaction whether one talks about payment, access, or travel. He believes that it is not the digital transformation, but there will be a big change in the human transformation in the digital world. There would be more, and the mobile device would be everything for a single person in the future. Smart mobile will become daily life ID and transaction for humans. This is just a start but more to be seen.
and money, but it never discusses people's problems. Mohammed's objectives are solving people's problems related to their personal life and professional life while Kiran Smart is doing business worldwide.
Kiran Smart is focusing on these trends and changes too. At the same time, it is also building some solution that a person can have everything in one single app. This will be one of the digital suitcase revolutions. In the world, from a baby to an adult can have this.
Mohammed mentions that the technology sector is a vast industry. Therefore, he advises aspiring entrepreneurs to choose a field they are experts in. He advises them to watch what is going on in the world regarding the latest technology development and develop the capabilities to forecast the future in terms of the technology world.
Kiran Smart's main future goal is to expand globally to resolve problems by offering its best solutions and services. Forecasting Technology in terms of Technology World
Solving Personal and Professional Problems of People In the long run, Mohammed wants to help people around the globe solve their issues in their business and personal life. Kiran Smart always talks about business development
April 2022 | 48 | insightssuccess.com
Enroute to
Success
Leadership Redened
T
he greatness of a person or leader has to be estimated by his or her ability to thrive even in the most provoking or challenging situations. It is in the tough times that one’s mettle is tested. And it is at the same time one has the opportunity to prove one’s mettle. It is said that patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet. The more one is able to hold one’s nerves even in the challenging times and continue to fight for success, the more one will be able to crossover even the toughest challenges. Life rewards those who put in sincere hard work and strive for achievements. “As we sow, so shall we reap.” Success is not the cakewalk, but it is about repeated efforts day in and day out. There is no free lunch in this business-minded world. One has to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for accomplishing something worthwhile in this world, especially in the world of business. One has to accomplish something in this world to earn the trust of people and thereby to be the well-wisher of people. One can contribute a lot to others when he or she has gained worthwhile accomplishments to create his or her credibility. The reliability of leaders increases in great proportion when they deliver results more than expected by others. The reliability or credibility of leaders is directly proportional to the expansion of the businesses. Morality is the Foundation for Victory Great business leaders are aware that it is important to lead with morality. They consider it is very important to keep the morale of everyone in their organization very high. High morale helps in taking the most courageous decisions. They understand that it is essential to deliver what is expected by clients or even beyond thinking well ahead of the clients. This is where the innovativeness in leaders plays a big role. That is the reason they keep it on high priority to be well updated with the latest technologies and they are keen to implement those technologies in their businesses. Determination, Dedication, and Discipline Determination, Dedication, and Discipline form a big part of success. There is a huge significance of resolute determination to succeed in the world of business. The world is filled with cut-throat competition. To sustain one’s competency in the business world, one has to keep on improving oneself and everyone in the organization to create massive success. The journey sometimes can be filled with a lot of challenges, but if one has a determination to persist then one can achieve one’s goals in due course of time. Dedication gives life to one’s purpose and goals. It is very much synonymous with leading with purposefulness. The stronger the purpose the greater can be the dedication
to achieve it. And Discipline is the bridge between success and failure. Without discipline, nothing substantial can ever be accomplished in life. One has to pay the price of resolute determination, absolute dedication, and high discipline to be successful in the world of business. What Not to Do? As much as it is important to know what to do, it is also equally important to know what not to do. Doing what is favorable for success and avoiding what is harmful for success should be avoided at any cost. For business leaders to succeed in the business world, they should be well aware not to waste their precious resources after bad money or bad deals. They should not throw their good money behind bad money via negative deals. They should be calculative and should take calculative decisions related to where to invest and where not to. Having a Right Mentor is the Key Having a good mentor goes a long way in making highvalue decisions. One should choose that person as one’s mentor who has demonstrated one’s character and competence in one’s chosen field. Great leaders are not just interested in being great leader themselves only, but they would like to create more great leaders. By choosing a capable leader as one’s mentor, one will be able to attain great heights in life in a short span of time. One good mentor is worth more than all the books in the library. Books also play a huge role in the lives of great leaders, but the help of a mentor is priceless as one will be able to develop oneself more quickly with the help of a good mentor and avoid the mistakes that previous leaders have done. Great leaders become great because they don’t shy at accepting good mentors in life. They are open to learning from all. They know that they don’t have all the time in the world to commit all mistakes and then learn and then apply. Therefore, they prefer to avoid mistakes on the journey by having a good mentor in life. It is a mark of great leaders to do justice to their roles, routines, relationships, and responsibilities. They also build such a type of culture in their fellow teammates and employees and staff in the organization. This helps them to achieve greatness in their business by building an organization with responsible and competent people. They lead by example and with resolute determination and with a goal to deliver more than needed. They thrive on their purpose and necessary actions. They do what needs to be done with due diligence and they set the standards for everyone else to follow and that is the reason they become admirable.
April 2022 | 51 | insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Ran Rachlin The 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
T
he growing significance of Crowdsourced is becoming more reliable to get constructive feedback and insights to develop an utterly bug-free product before launch. The amount of flexibility that these tests provide is helpful in numerous applications, permutating various scenarios as a part of quality improvement. To contribute to making digital products bugfree, Ran Rachlin co-founded Ubertesters. He leads the company as the CEO implying his extensive global experience in various industries to offer unmatched crowd testing services. Ubertesters is a crowd-based, complete mobile apps/web testing solution provider. The company offers a crowd of global, professional testers for hire with devices that can test any digital product and provide feedback to clients. The Lead-Up Ran trained himself to become an effective leader from a very young age having a global view. When he took his first job in sales in a Hi-Tech Israeli Company that sold products globally, his goal was to gain cross-cultural experience. Later, he moved to the USA to complete his MBA and make a living in the center of where things happen. He advanced in his roles, climbing up the ladder, holding several high-profile management positions, conducting business across six continents in different industries. Ran decided to leave the safety of corporate life in 2013 to cofound Ubertesters - a startup in the field of software testing.
Crowdsourced testing is the most flexible, fast, easy, and
cost-effective way to scale your QA testing just when
needed. Anytime! Anywhere!
One of Ran's main challenges is how to keep the team inspired and motivated. He firmly believes that success should come from teamwork, allowing team members to speak their minds to provide or suggest how to improve things. He understands that when an employee feels valued, the motivation level is significantly increased. He also tries to provide clear goals to avoid micromanagement by completely trusting his team and asking them to be responsible and accountable for their actions. He says, "When they make a mistake or fail, I don't punish them. I use this as a trigger to learn a valuable lesson and what to do next time to avoid this mistake. I believe that these guidelines allow me to keep my team motivated and inspired." The Testing Excellence Ran mentions that he was excited when companies such as 'Uber,' 'AirBNB,' 'Lime,' and Zipcar came to the world. "The "sharing economy" (or gig economy) term blew my mind. It allows companies to use available resources to benefit clients while allowing the resources to earn money. I helped implement this within the software testing segment." One of the significant changes Ubertesters does is providing the opportunity for young, inexperienced QA people who completed their QA education to gain experience in the QA and testing world. It works with many QA schools worldwide and allows recent graduates to get their first testing experience by working for us as freelance testers. It enables them to earn money during their free time. More importantly, it allows them to gain the needed testing experience and put this job experience in their resume while looking for their first job opportunity in the IT world. A Reliable Partner Ubertesters offers a complete software testing solution for digital products to help organizations beta test their digital products before launching. It provides two complementary services: 1) A crowd testing service of global, professional freelance testers for hire with devices (part of the "sharing economy"
April 2022 | 52 | insightssuccess.com
Ran Rachlin Co-founder & CEO
model) for the most flexible and cost-effective global testing under real-life conditions. 2) Offshore outsourcing services of remote QA experts on a full-time basis based in the company's East European facilities.
continues to grow as mobile devices are increasingly more intelligent and capable.
Ran notes that Ubertesters has a clear vision "to provide cost-effective, innovative, and quality testing services that exceed the expectations of its esteemed customers." Its mission statement can be summarized as "help digital organizations launch better, well-tested, bug-free products by enhancing natural best testing practices while providing exceptional customer services."
Mobile test automation must be a part of the software development life cycle to fully support 'time-to-market' and the fact that mobile apps are becoming more complicated. However, the current utilization of mobile test automation is very low, partly due to the lack of methods and tools and the multitude of devices, and the fragmentation of operating systems. He strongly believes that automated testing for the mobile app will continue to increase. This trend is driven by the need to shorten time-to-market and more advanced methods and tools for mobile test automation.
Ubertester aims to help digital consumers (the end-user) get a tremendous bug-free product from its business customers for a better, faster, simpler, and no-frustration digital experience.
Ubertesters is working hard to be part of the future alternatives for mobile test automation. Its development roadmap includes a solution to allow its clients to use the Ubertesters platform to perform mobile test automation.
A Fast Paced Platform Ran understands that technology and human touch are the main values Ubertester provides. It had to develop its proprietary QA management platform to allow easy bug reporting. The platform enables the testers to easily submit bugs and issues (including video recordings and screenshots) while providing the client with an easy-to-use and precise tool to review the bugs/crashes. Technology allowed us to simplify the bug reproduction process for the client. Thus, allowing the client a much faster 'time-tomarket.'
Personally, Ran sees himself developing Ubertester, ensuring it continues to grow in the next few years. He hopes to build a new company to find a product that will help humanity by improving the quality of life and life longevity.
What the Future Holds Ran states that Ubertesters aspires to become the #1 global player in the field of crowdsourced testing within the next three years period. It will achieve this by growing through creativity, invention, and innovation.
Empathetic Approach "Take Care of Your Team" is the most valuable advice Ran implies in his work. He says, "Trust your team and let them shine but also be prepared to accept responsibility when things don't go as planned. Help your employees advance their careers and always respect them. As a leader, maintain the 'personal touch and often speak to your team. Lastly, stay humble. Humility is not a weakness; it's a strength.”
According to Ran, the following significant change in the professional app testing industry is Mobile Test Automation. The trend of mobile app development
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