Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021 July2021

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VOL 07 ISSUE 10 2021

Pioneering

TOP Innovative Approach Resolving Challenges with Out-of-The-box Thinking

Changing Leaderships The Break from the Orthodox Leadership

CEOs

TO FOLLOW IN

2021

Founder and CEO | Action Plus Foundation

Changing the Lives of People Living With HIV/AIDS

Editor’s Desk

Taking Responsibility of a Demanding Role

U

ndeniably, leading an organization is not a simple feat. Every leader has to go through a lot of hurdles to reach the finish line. But one peerless role that is regarded as the most powerful and sought-after title is that of a CEO.

A CEO is a person who is involved in solving the majority of problems for the organization, employees, and clients. It won’t be surprising to know that a CEO's decisions in their organization account for 45 percent of a company’s performance.

This might sound fascinating. But when you see the other side of the coin, the role of a CEO is stressful, lonely, and challenging. He or she has to live up to the expectations of directors, shareholders, customers, and employees. It takes perseverance, coupled with passion and presence of mind, to excel in the role of a CEO. A CEO is involved in providing honest recommendations in every part of the management process. It follows by investing time in the industry developments and getting the best for the company. He or she gets the right solution by digging deep into the problem. A CEO’s role also involves several industrial meetings for the company’s growth with continuous advice and guidance. The bottom-line – he or she stands through the thick and thin of the company. So, if any person claims to be the perfect fit for meeting the company’s needs, it has to be a CEO. CEOs like Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and many others have transformed

the world. Today, these CEOs have made it possible and exceeded all expectations.

In this edition of “Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021”, we have featured the journey, challenges, and overall experiences of CEOs who are leading their organizations splendidly.

On the cover, we have Apostle Fred Annin, the Founder and CEO of Action Plus Foundation. He opened Actionplus Foundation Ghana in 2007 with the aim of campaigning against HIV stigma and discrimination towards people living with and those affected by the disease in Africa. This initiative by Actionplus Foundation was the right step to be taken in making the world better, safer, and a lot more tolerant and understanding to the needs of individuals within their communities to enhance the development of healthy communities where everyone thrives despite different challenges. Today, Actionplus Foundation is an international faith-based HIV campaigning and advocacy organization with it’s headquarters still based in the UK with branches in Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya.

While you read the influential stories and other CEOs in this edition, also make sure to read about the CXO standpoints by the industry experts and the articles written by the in-house editorial team.

Have a good read!

Sourabh More

sourabh@insightssuccess.com

Cover Story

08 Apostle FRED ANNIN ARTICLES

Changing the Lives of People Living With HIV/AIDS

30

44

Resolving Challenges with Out-of-The-box Thinking

The Break from the Orthodox Leadership

Innovative Approach Changing Leaderships

16

Caroline Lafferty

The Entrepreneur at the Intersection of Cryptocurrency and Animal Advocacy

CONTENTS

20

CHRISTOPHER AMOS

A Profound Trailblazer Offering Marketing Solutions for Micro-Enterprises

24

Edwin Bessant

32

Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence

Jude Gomes

Protecting Lifestyles, Dreams, and Ambitions of Sri Lankans

36

Mohammed Mubin Mallick A Doyen in the Field of Robotics

40

Mr. Sami Sharif

An Embodiment of a Proven Leadership

46

Thomas A. Bock

A Recognized Life-Science Leader Developing a New Class of Oncology Medicines

52

Thomas Shivers A Relentless Leader with a Progressive Approach

Editor-in-Chief Hitesh Dhamani Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor Sourabh More

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

Co-designer

David King

Priyanka Rajage

Kartik Balapurkar

Shubham Dali

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

Ben Peterson

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Martin, Sanket

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Maneesh

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar

Research Analyst Frank Adams

Database Management Stella Andrew

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com July, 2021

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Featured Person Apostle Fred Annin Founder and CEO

Company Name

Brief

Actionplus Foundation is an international faith based HIV Action Plus Foundation campaigning and advocacy organisation with it’s headquarters still based in the UK with branches in Ghana, Uganda and actionplusfoundation.org Kenya.

Carol Lafferty Founder and CEO

CaliCoin calicoin.me

CaliCoin is the first and only cryptocurrency devoted to helping animals of determination around the world.

Christopher Amos CEO & Chief Digital Architect

No Boundaries Marketing Group noboundaries.marketing

No Boundaries Marketing Group was founded to simplify the marketing and advertising game for small to medium-sized businesses.

Edwin Bessant CEO

Ceuta Group ceutagroup.com

Started in 1994 as an omni-channel sales & marketing outsourcing partner, Ceuta Healthcare has now transformed into a Group of twelve companies with access to 114 international markets.

Jude Gomes CEO

Union Assurance PLC unionassurance.com

Union Assurance has been in the business of protecting lives, empowering people achieve their dreams, and providing peace of mind to thousands of Sri Lankans since 1987.

Mohammed Mubin Mallick CEO & Founder

Kiran Smart kiransmart.com

Kiran Smart is the first AI humanoid robot company in Kuwait Dubai and India to offer provide IT services to business and home users.

Mr. Sami Sharif CEO

Kuwait Insurance Company kic-kw.com

KIC maintains a leading position in the local and regional insurance market by providing reliable and innovative insurance products and services and professional team of experts at the level of Kuwait and GCC.

Thomas P. Shivers CEO and President

FourStone Partners fourstonepartners.com

FourStone Partners is an innovative consulting firm specializing in business development, sales outsourcing, and operational support services.

Thomas A. Bock MD, MBA, CEO

Notable notablelabs.com

Notable is a clinical-stage precision therapeutics company developing a new class of oncology medicines: Predictive Precision Medicines.

Rob Rosenberger CEO & Co-Founder

Blackdragon blackdragon.expert

Blackdragon is the largest and fastest-growing bid and proposal (B&P) company throughout the federal industry.

Apostle Fred Osei Annin Founder and CEO

Ac on Plus Founda on

COVER story

Apostle Fred Annin

Changing the Lives of People Living With HIV/AIDS

‘‘

HIV should be completely defeated so we can leave a legacy behind us and one day when the story of HIV is told to our children and to our children's children, we will be smiling at the other side of life knowing well that we all fought together to make the history happen.

‘‘

H

IV has always been high in the African communities because of ignorance and lack of knowledge about the facts and the mode of transmission of HIV. With this ignorance, coupled with stigma and discrimination, people living with HIV are left in poverty. Majority of people from the African communities see the disease as a taboo and a curse from God. Stigma and Prejudice are the barriers to HIV intervention resulting in the unfortunate behaviors and attitudes towards people living with HIV in that community.

These unfortunate attitudes have resulted in people living with HIV in these communities believing in myths and not the facts related to HIV and AIDS and have therefore put many lives within the community at risk.

Immediate action was needed to solve this problem and therefore, Apostle Fred Annin found a way of solving this unfortunate situation with Action Plus Foundation.

Fred was moved to intervene in this situation when he saw that these unfortunate behaviors and attitudes were being

practiced even in the church. He took it upon himself to lead a campaign targeting the black African churches by interacting with Pastors so that the growing number of HIV infections in the BAME community will be prevented.

How it All Started?

Apostle Fred Annin was born in Ghana a very religious country but wasn’t born again until his conversion to the Christian faith in 1980. He attended the Full Gospel Bible College and graduated with a diploma in theology and later at the Fountain Gate Bible Seminary to pursue a Bachelor of Ministerial Theology degree. He became a fulltime Pastor at the Full Gospel Church in Ghana and served for ten years until his missionary tour to the UK in 1991.

During this tour sponsored by the Chalk Farm Baptist Church in London, Fred was assigned to a national crusade programme, preaching and teaching about Praise and Worship to revive the church in the UK. Fred in one of his interviews said during these meetings many prophetic

In 1997, Fred opened the Pneuma Outreach Ministries and the Pneuma Community Link and registered the two institutions with the Charity Commission. Pneuma Outreach Ministry was set up as a place of worship and Pneuma Community Link was also to offer practical charitable support such as organizing health awareness and wellbeing activities to educate the Black minority and ethnic communities in Southwark. Some of the projects they were organizing were, about healthy eating, drug and substance abuse, HIV awareness and prevention, teenage pregnancy, training young people to use music and drama to educate their peers to refrain from violence and crime.

It was through this initiative that Fred discovered that Lambeth was the highest HIV prevalent community in the whole of the UK seconded by its next door neighbour Southwark where the headquarters of the Charity is based.

He also discovered that the black African community was also one of the communities at risk of having the HIV infection and Southwark also being the second community with the highest HIV prevalence in the whole of UK after the MSM group.

It was through this discovery that gave Fred more understanding about why God brought him back to the UK and led him to set up the charity right in the heart of Southwark and no other place. He, therefore, decided that his charity was going to spend more time to concentrate on HIV prevention and creating the awareness of the infection in the community to reduce the spread of the infection.

A Passionate Servant of God At that time, Fred didn’t know much about the battle he intended to fight and so he decided to do more research work on HIV. Later, he also decided to consult the experts about how they could support this great vision. He travelled across London and the USA to meet with some of the known "experts" but unfortunately, they all gave him all sorts of negative comments contrary to his expectation. To them the vision was good, but they saw more than a hundred and one barriers, which suggested that Fred’s dream was going to be a mission impossible.

‘‘

This is our world let’s all do something to make it a better place to live.

‘‘

messages came from men of God to him saying “when I return to Ghana, God will bring me back again to the UK for a specific ministerial assignment.” In 1992 when he returned back to the UK, he was engaged in many ministerial assignments as a freelance minister of the gospel.

After spending some days with God in prayer, Fred heard God saying, "Fred I am the one who has called you to intervene in this situation and I am going to use you to release my people from the bondage which HIV has brought upon them especially those in the church. I will prove myself that I am a good God who can never put a curse on my people." The Lord also said to him that although the journey will be long and tough but if he look to him, he will provide for him and will never fail him.

Fred worked tirelessly over the years with their limited resources to keep the infection rate of HIV lower in both the UK and Ghana because the vision to establish the NGO was not born from him but God. He is grateful to God for using him to do what others could not do and will continue to fight to save more lives.

A Central Role in Improving Lives Fred changed the name of his charity to Actionplus Foundation to reflect to the kind of change he wanted to see in his organisation. After his hard work and faith in God, these are the remarkable miracles his NGO has achieved. It has trained over 6,000 pastors and church leaders both in Ghana and the UK for them to know more about HIV and they have embraced the facts about HIV but not the myths.

Ignorance is removed and stigma is broken in the church. It has become the first organization in the UK and in Ghana to successfully launch the most effective module for HIV prevention today called “Take Action Now”. It has become the cutting edge for HIV testing in churches worldwide and many organizations are using this module. Others have adopted the module but have only changed the name. One of the organisations using this model have changed the name of Take Action Now to “Testing Faith”. These organisations are using the Tane Action Now module to

reach out to the faith communities to get many pastors and faith leaders trained so that people in churches and mosques can be tested for HIV to save lives and reduce the prevalence of the infection.

Challenged Stigma and Discrimination Apostle Fred Osei Annin opened Actionplus Foundation Ghana in 2007 with the aim of campaigning against HIV stigma and discrimination towards people living with and those affected by the disease in Africa. This initiative by Actionplus Foundation was the right step to be taken in making the world better, safer, and a lot more tolerant and understanding to the needs of individuals within their communities to enhance the development of healthy communities where everyone thrives despite different challenges.

Today, Actionplus Foundation is an international faith based HIV campaigning and advocacy organisation with its headquarters still based in the UK with branches in Ghana, Uganda and Kenya Supporting the Vulnerable and Disadvantaged In 2010, Action Plus Foundation became the first HIV charity in Ghana to open the first HIV testing center in a church in Ghana. Fred has managed to break stigma in the church. The church has accepted the responsibility and has now become a sanctuary again for the vulnerable especially people living with HIV and their families.

To achieve all these remarkable results globally with the limited resources, the organization is a big success to HIV prevention and a great module to be used in fighting the menace till it is finally eradicated from the communities and the world at large. Action Plus Foundation has four key objectives to address HIV in the UK and the rest of the world: 1. To prevent HIV infection from occurring.

2. To promote early diagnosis and access to treatment.

3. To challenge prejudice and reduce stigma.

4. To reduce poverty experienced by people living with HIV. The Message of Salvation Even though Fred has gone through millions of uncountable challenges and oppositions throughout the 24-year journey, the organization is still growing stronger and stronger every year sending the message of HIV to both the young and old.

This is a great breakthrough because the place where innocent people were discriminated because of their HIV status has now become a sanctuary again. Glory to God. Fred has won many national and international awards for his great achievements by championing the HIV campaign both in the UK and in Africa. After 10 years of intensive campaigning only about the dangers of HIV and its devastating effect on the Ghanaian community, God at his own time opened the door on Sunday the 25th of May 2017 for Actionplus Foundation to open the headquarters of its church, Joy City Chapel International (JCCI) in Accra with 150 members during the initial dedication service.

Organized HIV training and Women Empowerment Program Currently, Actionplus Foundation aims at training women living with HIV through capacity building to empower them with requisite skills to enable them to acquire useful experience to help sustain their lives. To help these women, a microfinance scheme to support the trained women with financing will enable them to become independent and work on their own after acquiring the necessary training from the center.

As part of the ‘Take Action Now’ campaign by the Action Plus Foundation, it is trying to get churches more involved with this issue. It is also hoping to build a modern Empowerment Centre in Accra to serve as a place to organise training programs for church leaders to emulate a similar campaign in Ghana and the rest of Africa.

Actionplus within 14 years of its establishment in Ghana, has managed to launch four major projects to reduce the spread of HIV infection in the country, including; the National CHEP Program “Campus HIV Educational Program.”

COVID-19 Pandemic During the Covid -19 pandemic, Fred again took the lead in organizing online training programmes and conferences to create the awareness of the infection here in the UK and in Africa. He also led Actionplus Foundation to distribute free PPE’S to schools, institutions, traders and the general public

Passionately Embracing NGOs Many people in the developing countries expect people from Europe or the developed countries to come to their countries to open NGOs therefore depending on the AID which they donate to them. Fred however has managed to do the opposite by leaving Africa to open his charity in the heart of Europe. He has managed to establish the charity all by himself for 24 years and has returned back to Africa to do the same, single handedly running it for 14 years.

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world but here Actionplus has grown to become one of the leading HIV organisations supporting the BAME Communities in the UK. In the UK. Actionplus Foundation, has branches not only in London but Luton and Colchester. In Africa too it has branches in Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya. Truly this is a miracle by the hand of God and we give him all the glory.

Awards Since 2015, Fred has won many Local, National and International Awards which includes: Southwark Major’s Civic Award, The Diversity Champion Award For Charities (UK). The Heroes Award, The African Prestigious Award and the latest being the 2020 Best HIV Prevention Service Award (UK).

Caroline Lafferty Founder & Chief Execu ve Officer CaliCoin

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Caroline Lafferty The Entrepreneur at the Intersection of Cryptocurrency and Animal Advocacy

T

he foundation of humanity has always been helping each other. There are people, and certainly animals, who are less fortunate than us. Animal-based charities are in perpetual need of financial support—only an estimated 10% of all charitable giving is directed towards animal -based charities; but unfortunately, these charities also suffer from the same issues of funding and governance many charities face.

Now, imagine a charity token existing to address such animal welfare needs with transparent, seamless, and documented donation.

Meet Caroline Lafferty, who leveraged this relatively new world of cryptocurrency to open new avenues of donation for needy animal charities by founding CaliCoin.

CaliCoin is the first and only cryptocurrency devoted to helping, what Caroline terms, Animals of Determination (animals that suffer from a disability and/or are homeless) around the world. It provides a 100% flow-through of funds (0% commissions, overhead fees, or other charges) directly to pre-qualified animal-based charities serving AODs around the world. It ensures CaliCoin donors that their donations are helping animals of determination, and their funds are going directly to helping the animals without any of the issues which can plague existing charitable giving options. Caroline wears the hat of the CEO in the company.

This is all about helping the world be a better place, one needy animal at a time.

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A Blend of Passions CaliCoin is a wonderful blend of passions.

Caroline has always been an avid animal lover. She along with her husband James Michael Lafferty moved to Dubai with their wonderful Yorkie dog, “Cali”. Shortly thereafter, they discovered that she has a genetic disorder of her bones.

So, they, unfortunately, had to amputate one of her legs.

Cali however never let this situation bring her down; she continued to romp and play and enjoy life, inspiring them all. Shortly after, they both found an abandoned kitten on the street in a pile of rubble, who followed them home. She is a lovable Arabian Mau named “Karma”. Both are best friends and integral parts of the company’s family. The three-legged dog and the orphan cat!

Besides her love for animals, Caroline also had a special affinity with the emerging world of cryptocurrency. She has been deeply involved as an investor for the past 5 years.

She saw a unique blend of the two, an idea in which it could leverage cryptocurrency and the universe of crypto users, to open entirely new pathways to support Animals of Determination. And that is how CaliCoin was born!

CaliCoin marries Caroline’s love of the cryptocurrency world with her love for animals.

Making the World a Better Place for Animals of Determination In essence, CaliCoin was created out of the pandemic to bring urgent help to animal charities around the world that saw their donations and financial support dry up. Caroline hears from many charities about how CaliCoin has helped keep them operating and serving Animals of Determination.

“I get a huge sense of pride and joy in being able to help these noble causes. I firmly believe it represents the best of humanity when we can help those on our planet truly less fortunate than ourselves. It’s hard to imagine a population more in need than animals who suffer from disabilities or

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are homeless and roaming the streets,” expresses Caroline.

CaliCoin’s mission is very noble: It helps perhaps the most disadvantaged subset on this planet—Animals of Determination. The team at CaliCoin has financed 100% of the start-up of CaliCoin and it takes no fees or commissions on donations.

Built from the Scratch The biggest challenge for Caroline by far was doing what any entrepreneur knows well—doing things prudently and on your own! Most ICOs are executed via large teams and the engagement of many consultants and advisors, whereas Caroline and her husband launched CaliCoin entirely with an internal team of just a handful of people. The team created this entire project from scratch with limited budgets and lots of sweat equity, all driven by a combined passion for giving back and helping animals in need. And so far, she is proud of the early results: CaliCoin has gained global traction and has appreciated over 300% since its launch.

Sources of Inspiration Caroline was greatly influenced by her parents. She learned from them, the courage and will to succeed. They emigrated from Hong Kong to Canada with nothing and built a life so that Caroline and her brother could have opportunities they never had. She watched them sacrifice and work endless hours, just to give their kids a chance. She wasn’t going to let them down and squander the sacrifices they made.

Caroline was a top student and thus, she worked to get into the best schools such as the University of Toronto and studied the most demanding fields. CaliCoin is only the latest of several successful start-ups she has launched over the past decade.

The second great influencer was her husband James, who co-founded CaliCoin along with her.

thing. It’s a passionate and caring team and I think this directly reflects on the culture we put people in at CaliCoin.”

A Profound Note to the Emerging Ones In her advice to emerging CEOs, Caroline says “This industry, cryptocurrency, is rife with questionable ethics and people out to make a quick buck. And it is undermining the entire space and the adoption of what is an amazing and forward-thinking concept. Be able to look in the mirror at yourself and be proud. Look at any industry and eventually, ethics wins out. If you want to be both proud and sustainable, embrace strong ethics as a core of your business. It will be harder and take more time. But choosing the “harder right” over the “easier wrong” is always the winning way.”

The Pinnacle of Professionalism Caroline has always believed that success starts and finishes with people. Her small team is like a family to her, and she takes care of her family! She tries to breed a culture of ownership, where every employee “owns” a piece of CaliCoin. She further believes in developing talent, as people are most inspired when they see themselves grow.

She says, “We are fair and principled, and we do the right

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Christopher Amos

CEO and Chief Digital Architect No Boundaries Marketing Group

20 | July 2021

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

CHRISTOPHER AMOS

A Profound Trailblazer Offering Marketing Solutions for Micro-Enterprises

H

ave you ever wondered while enjoying a scoop of the dessert that you wanted to try while relaxing on your couch what made you choose the specific brand to satisfy your hunger? Was it the brand jingle, or the tagline, or was it the mind-boggling post that you saw on social media? Whichever reason it might be, one of the essential factors that make any product popular among the masses is the magic of marketing.

sized businesses. Its goal is to produce transparent, measurable results for clients to focus on growing their business.

Often, it is quite a misconception that only large organizations invest in marketing their products to create a buzz when it comes to marketing. However, it is not the case anymore with simplified marketing and advertising services provided by No Boundaries Marketing Group.

Christopher Amos, the CEO and Chief Digital Architect has cultivated unique marketing strategies and solutions that assist micro and medium-sized enterprises in promoting their products and achieving success.

Cultivating a Value-Driven Work Culture

The Synopsis Behind the Venture Christopher has had quite a journey over the last few years to design an agency that can consistently exceed the expectations of small businesses both locally and nationally.

With over a decade of experience in the industry, he knows business owners need more as a team. They need additional transparency, leads, and extra efforts out of their marketing team!

No Boundaries Marketing Group was founded to simplify the marketing and advertising game for small to medium-

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As a full-service marketing and advertising agency, No Boundaries Marketing Group uses various software platforms, applications, tools, and resources to ensure its clients get the best value out of their marketing dollar.

Christopher has learned that the key to an awesome team is to foster a positive work culture. A work environment where people are encouraged to share their thoughts, grow the business, and collaborate across products and platforms eliminates service barriers and ultimately helps produce an amazing result for clients.

The truth is, Christopher has an amazing team with skill sets that range from former business owners, customer service professionals, web developers, SEO strategists, and more! Each person provides valuable insight and problemsolving skills that help the company produce a better experience and outcome for its clients!

The Adaptation through the Pandemic Christoper mentions that the post-pandemic world has changed considerably, from the ways consumers search and find local businesses to the way one shops for goods and services. The need for a strong, consistent digital presence

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“Your Business, Our Forte.”

has never been greater than it is today. Even post-pandemic as consumers venture back out to restaurants and local shops, the means to which they find these businesses almost always originates on a digital platform.

media, email marketing, and more are no longer optional.

Creating a synergy between platforms and brand messaging has never been more critical. Christopher puts this with a saying, "You get one shot to make a great first impression!”

For many businesses, this means that having a website or social media page just isn't enough. Businesses owners have to focus on providing consumers access to high-quality content and dynamic images across numerous platforms.

This is where access to an experienced marketing team comes into play. Business owners are already stretched thin, so the need for a reliable and experienced marketer can not only drive leads but can save time, create efficiencies, and so much more.

Strategizing Products and Services

Upscaling Technological Advancements The post-pandemic business environment has really forced businesses to become more digital or technology savvy to meet the demands of consumers. This digital transformation has taken owners and marketers alike out of their comfort zones and thrust them into diversifying their online presence. Now, things like reputation management, social

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Christopher expresses that for a business owner to meet the challenges of the future is to communicate with their marketing team. Sadly, because business owners wear multiple hats, it can be difficult to stay up on the data and trending. This can lead to missed opportunities, diminished results, and poor decisions in the long run. The best way to avoid fire drills and get the most out of the marketing strategy is to stay consistent, understand the data, and communicate!

Weaving Up with the Community When it comes to giving back to the community, No Boundaries Marketing Group prides itself in being a part of the very fabric that makes up this community! It invests in several local chambers of commerce, volunteers at www.insightssuccess.com

community events, and its team members volunteer their time to help educate startups and new businesses so they can hit the ground running!

Christopher says, "If given a chance, I would absolutely love to get additional resources into the hands of aspiring entrepreneurs. A common issue that we hear after meeting with a new client is "I wish I found you guys sooner" or "I wish I knew about that before I wasted my money.”

“Most marketing professionals are great at the sale and the creative. Sadly, what most marketing professionals lack is the transparency and communication skills necessary to truly wow a client. As an entrepreneur myself, we made significant investments into our reporting platform to make sure clients have access to data in real-time, and we made significant investments in our CRM platform to ensure we can effectively communicate with our clients," concludes Christopher.

"Sadly, many new business owners just don't know the insand-outs of the marketing game, and so they are susceptible to being taken advantage of. So, if I could change something, I would love to see more transparent information about marketing and advertising provided to new business owners to help them better navigate the marketplace," Christopher asserts.

Guiding Up-and-Coming Generation In his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs into the marketing space, Christopher says, "Be transparent and communicate.”

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Edwin Bessant CEO

Ceuta Group

24 | July 2021

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Edwin Bessant Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence

S

etting up and starting a business sounds like an easy task, but even after having a highly successful and lucrative corporate job, it is not a simple feat. It requires one to have a lot of guts and courage to give up on such a job and enter the world of business with a leap of faith. A courageous leader, Edwin Bessant, spotted a gap in the healthcare arena 27 years ago, gave up his high-flying career in consumer healthcare at Pfizer Consumer [Formerly Wyeth], and set up Ceuta Healthcare with his founding partner Annette D’Abreo. Edwin is now serving as the CEO of Ceuta Group. Tenaciously and diligently, Edwin continued to retain a vision on the future, ensuring that Ceuta was always fit for the future and delivering a market need for his client base. Ceuta Group has a strong and trusted global Manufacturing & Private Equity [ consumer brand acquirers] client base and is a global leader with first market move advantage.

Pioneering a Unique Vision and Expanding Business Model Started in 1994 as an omni-channel sales & marketing outsourcing partner, Ceuta Healthcare has now transformed into a Group of twelve companies with access to 114 international markets. Together, Ceuta Group’s businesses deliver the next generation of an industry-unique ‘Integrated Consumer Brand Outsourcing Services’ business – Global services include: Advisory, Digital, Shopper & Category Insights, Creative Design, Data Analytics, Field Marketing Sales & Marketing Execution and Logistics [https://www.ceutagroup.com/.]

Edwin and Annette launched brand management specialist Ceuta Healthcare alone, with no clients, from a three-desk office in Bournemouth in 1994. Today Ceuta Group, through Edwin’s pioneering and unique vision, has several offices around the world [ including: New York, Dublin, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, and Sydney]. Ceuta

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Group employs more than 400 people, turns over around $140m, and after a whirlwind of acquisitions, comprises twelve distinct companies. Several of these businesses were bought after meticulous planning to logically expand the business model. Edwin predicts that their net income, currently around $13m (EBITDA), will double over the next two – three years.

Leading a Pioneering Initiative Edwin was working for Pfizer Consumer when he spotted a gap in the market. He’d been with the pharma giant for 18 years, which led to a Director’s role on a European fast track programme. There, he saw a growing demand for “Outsourcing” and “Brand Fostering” – where an organization gives total responsibility for one or more of its brands to a third party. Certainly, he could build a company to meet this untapped market demand, and using all his blue-chip experience, Edwin crafted out a visionary and pioneering business plan, left his highly successful job, and set to work, encouraging Annette D’Abreo to join him as equally, she had a successful role at Pfizer. Annette immediately understood the opportunity and trusted Edwin to lead the pioneering initiative.

“By the end of Year One, Ceuta Healthcare had 30 employees,” Edwin says, to give the impression of how he has never once doubted Ceuta’s ability to become a global powerhouse. He adds, “We made a loss of around £300,000 [ $414,000] in the first two years [in line with the bank’s support]. And in year three we made a profit of £50,000 [ $69,000].” Since then, the growth and investment have been explosive, leading Ceuta to be the ONLY company that can deliver a single point of contact for a company that needs international reach and complete management for their brands.

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‘‘

‘‘

Ceuta Group provides a unique collective of services to enhance, grow and support the brands it represents; delivering everything a brand owner would ever want or need from one outsourced partner.

‘‘

Being Inspired by Pioneering Innovators and Entrepreneurs Edwin admires the pioneering innovators and entrepreneurs who have truly taken up the opportunity of spotting a gap in the market, defining and shaping the new way we live and shop with phenomenal success, changing consumer

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engagement and technological enhancement i.e.: Jeff Bezos – Amazon, Elon Musk – Pay Pal, Tesla, Space-X, Steve Jobs – Apple, Travis Kalanick & Garrett Camp – Uber, Will Shu & Greg Orlowski – Deliveroo & Jack Ma – Alibaba, Larry Page & Sergey Brin – Google, Larry Ellison, Ed Oates, Bob Miner – Oracle.

Edwin expresses that he does not like to plagiarise when reading business books, but of course, he considers it is important to never stop learning, and there is no harm in having a good mentor. He does like reading books that have actually been written or co-written by successful entrepreneurs i.e.: ‘The Alchemist’ by Jim Ratcliffe [ The Ineo Story] and the series of the Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift by W.Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne.

Accelerating Brand Marketing Development During the covid period, Ceuta Group has thankfully had a record-breaking year, working within the Health & Personal Care and Food & Drink industries, and having part of its workforce working from the offices and the majority of personnel successfully working from home. Ceuta experienced more challenges with Brexit affecting its

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Marketing Agencies, as corporations were holding back because of the uncertainty of elections and getting the Brexit bill passed. In the short term, there was a temporary hold on Marketing budgets within some sectors, but overall, it saw a rapid change to brand marketing development which continues to accelerate.

Ensuring Inclusive Work Culture Further, Edwin opines that culture creation within any organization is key, and this has always been an important mantra for Ceuta. Ceuta Group has four different generations of employees, and they all have different levels of expectations from an employer. Ceuta must deliver to ALL, and the right culture glues its workforce together. In addition to culture creation, it has also engaged with further intent, monitoring, support, and executing for the right reasons such as ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Gender balance [ Ceuta Group is approx. 48% female / 52% male]’. Also, sustainability and environmental protection are key imperative for Ceuta Group.

It supports 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Edwin periodically goes into classrooms to talk to students [from all ethnicities] on business building and the watchouts etc. which he really enjoys.

Expansionary Approach In a conclusion, Edwin mentions that for the next five years, Ceuta Group’s vision is to continue to build out its Global Digital services. It wants to continue to build out its ‘Marketplace Support Platform’ – USA, Europe, and China.

It wants to selectively acquire other Ceuta type organizations worldwide and to acquire Consumer Health & Wellness brands’.

Edwin is also a ‘Life Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine’.

Supporting Local Community Ceuta is emersed and engaged through its CSR team and supports a different number of initiatives: Ÿ Support local charities with financial contributions Ÿ Organize clean-up events Ÿ Volunteer in local schools or community projects Ÿ Local fund-raising events Edwin is a ‘Fellow of the Prince’s Enterprise Trust’ which helps vulnerable young people get their lives back on track.

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Innovative Approach

RESOLVING Cha

OUT-OF-TH THINKI

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allenges with

HE-BOX ING T

he challenges in life or business, or any field are inevitable. Challenges make the journey more interesting, and overcoming them makes life meaningful. Without challenges journey of life becomes dull. An easy life doesn’t allow us to come out of our comfort zone and do something extraordinary. Challenges add a good flavor to life and are blessings in disguise as challenges bring out our real leader.

Crisis forces a person to be a leader, and challenges are the wake-up call to think innovative and intangible to break the shackles. If we see with the right perspective, obstacles are opportunities. Pioneering leaders believe in transforming challenges into opportunities. They believe that tough challenges are the opportunities to come up with more innovative solutions.

Unprecedented challenges call for distinctive and out-ofthe-box solutions. Pioneering leaders in any field choose this approach to deal with unprecedented challenges and understand that no problem can be solved with the same level of thinking when it arrives.

The time of pandemic is unprecedented gives rise to new challenges. The greatness of a person or leader has to be estimated by their ability to deal with tough times. Their

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ability to be most pragmatic and clever in the approach and play the role of situational leadership to resolve the challenges in unprecedented times make them admirable.

Leadership is not a post to enjoy, but it is a serious responsibility. Great leaders think in this way. They are the personification of exemplary and ingenious leadership.

They also hold the ability to come up with solutions to the challenges even at the spur of the moment. They can take high-value decisions even in unprecedented times. They don’t believe in giving up and keep fighting courageously with passion and perseverance. They know that with the fighting spirit, anything complex can be overcome. They adopt a new approach to dealing with situations that are never experienced before.

The world is a battlefield. Business leaders believe in having a fighter spirit for sustaining their competency and value in the world. They understand that new situations will require new solutions, and old ways need to be given up.

They prioritize clearing out the old to make way for the new.

Not being stuck and always having the attitude to deliver what the situation demands should be the attitude to be the most outstanding leader in modern times for delivering evolving solutions to sustain the competency in the market.

Innovative and out-of-the-box thinking is the hallmark of pioneering business leaders. They are always open to accepting the new way of working and expanding the business. They ensure that they can continue their dominance in the market by serving their clients even if there are challenging times. They are clever at adapting new ways to serve the clients, but they will never give up their spirit of servitude, and in this way, they keep expanding their services to the greater number of clients and can ensure the success of their businesses.

Times like pandemics may be unprecedented and challenging. However, pioneering leaders can deal with such situations also immaculately with their clever, innovative, rational, and pragmatic approach. They can deliver value to the clients no matter what the odds or challenges are. That’s what the glorious leaders do, and that is what they will keep on doing. In this way, they inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to thrive even in challenging situations with a spirit of fighting, grit, perseverance, and resilience. Such leadership goes a long way in making a sustainable impact in the lives of everyone they come across.

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Jude Gomes

Protecting Lifestyles, Dreams, and Ambitions of Sri Lankans

I

However, he guided his team on a journey of transformation, positioning the Company as a modern, customer-centric, digital life insurer to address the lag in technology adoption within the industry.

Jude Gomes, the Chief Executive Officer of Union Assurance PLC, is among those leaders. He draws from a highly accomplished career in financial services spread over three decades with experience accrued across key Asian markets and key global financial institutions. With over three decades of industry-leading success, Union Assurance (UAL) is the country's oldest private Life Insurer empowering the Sri Lankan dream, offering a range of insurance solutions covering education, health, protection, retirement, and investment needs of Sri Lankans. Powered by a network of 76 branches and a 3,000-strong team that shares a customer-centric approach to business, the company continued to invest in people, digital infrastructure, products and processes to remain agile and responsive to emerging and unprecedented changes under Jude's guidance and visionary leadership.

With the mission of simplifying insurance and empowering customers, the Company shifted its focus towards digitisation during this time. The transformation was initiated by simplifying, innovating, and digitising complex processes, culminating in an overhaul of its operating system to a digital model. To provide uninterrupted service to its policyholders, the Company established a trilingual call centre that operated 24/7, an online chatbot and enabled digital platforms and gateways to meet the growing demand in customer queries. Furthermore, Union Assurance disrupted the future of Life Insurance by adding a dynamic facet to its customer experience with a 100% digital platform - Clicklife, which offers customers to purchase products instantly without any paperwork and physical interaction as well as a platform with real time selfservicing capability as part of its end-to-end online insurance solution. The app features World Health Organization approved challenges, rewards, and other exciting in-app features to engage and motivate users to stay fit and healthy.

n a pandemic-ridden environment that was uncertain, complex, and fast-evolving, a handful of organizations have shown true resilience and business success under the guidance and navigation of leaders who have broken away from the archetypal 'command and control' mould of traditional leadership.

Under the banner 'Your life, Our strength,' the company has nurtured the Sri Lankan dream in unique and personal ways to support its policyholders and the people they love.

Excellence, ethics, integrity, innovation, and a customercentric mentality are the heart behind day-to-day operations at Union Assurance.

Acting as a Catalyst The coronavirus pandemic broke out just a few months after Jude took the reins as the CEO of Union Assurance.

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Navigating through Challenges Speaking about challenges, Jude mentioned that aspects of economic growth, socio-cultural factors and financial literacy have been barriers to industry expansion. In his view, financial literacy is low compared to developed markets in which insurance penetration is high. This is an important factor for improving insurance consciousness and awareness across society.

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Jude Gomes

Chief Executive Officer Union Assurance PLC

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People Empowerment Jude is an ardent believer that leaders should constantly challenge themselves and their teams to exceed expectations and embrace new opportunities.

Empowerment is an important criterion for leading people and organisations to success. To this end, Jude nurtures a workplace environment in which safety and trust are prerequisites for people’s empowerment. When people feel empowered and safe in the workplace, it paves the way for more innovation and advancements to take place. He believes in cultivating a culture where employees learn from mistakes and strive towards excellence.

Accelerating Growth Insurance has trailed other industries and in particular financial services when it comes to transformation – digital or otherwise. In an increasingly data-driven environment, poor public perception of insurers came down to a combination of factors. The lack of transparency augmented by archaic processes; low understanding and misinformation of investment vs. protection, lack of confidence in insurance agents, inadequate focus on training and skill development, restricted channels and limited product suites skewed towards investment rather than protection, are some of the industry challenges.

Gomes believes a defining feature for growth acceleration is in the depth of customer-centricity adopted. Protection should centre around the people it protects.

By rolling out a simplified customer-focused digital agenda in 2019, Union Assurance mapped out a comprehensive customer journey, addressing pain points, eliminating complexities, and customizing solutions through the application of technology, setting the benchmark for a future-ready operating model.

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“

Understanding that you don’t know everything is a very valuable lesson to learn early on.

Admi ng o failures, taking accountability, and making necessary changes fast is what is important for success.

“

Gomes articulated three key strategies he believes will drive the insurance sector: first, cohesive strategies should be in place to attract and retain the right talent, especially given that the industry is manpower-dominant; second, there should be a focus on an omnichannel distribution model to provide greater accessibility to customers; third, is in creating efficiencies in operations and delivery platforms making the buying cycle easy, convenient, fast, and transparent.

A Note to Emerging Leaders “When you’re in a leadership role, developing your intuition plays a big part as your employees rely on you to make trustworthy decisions meeting needs of all stakeholders.

“It is important to note that staying true to your values and morals is key in your journey. Understanding that you don’t know everything is a very valuable lesson to learn early on.

Admitting to failures, taking accountability, and making necessary changes fast is important for success.”

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Mohammed Mubin Mallick A Doyen in the Field of Robotics

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ince decades, technological advancements have been assisting humans in almost every sphere of their lives. Even in this pandemic situation, technology didn’t fail to offer assistance to us. The use of robots was explored extensively by most of the researchers and businesses, especially healthcare organizations, considering the facts that they don’t need mask, they can easily get disinfected, and they don’t fall sick. With this idea, Mohammed Mubin Mallick’s Kiran Smart has significantly contributed to the development of advanced robotics in this ongoing pandemic through its state-of-theart robotics solutions.

traveling, or living alone away from home. He has never broken down and has always stood up to fight the situation.

As time passed, things became easier for him to handle due to the experience he gained.

Towards Visionary Project In the year 2017, Mubin predicted the future as it is going to take a turn towards some advanced technology. The thought came into his mind was robots as it was his childhood dream to have robots. But he was demotivated and discouraged after being rejected on his robotics idea or topic by many. These negative factors made him stronger to face and challenge the market.

Well versed with different robotics manufacturer around the world, Mubin is working on his Visionary Prime Project which could make him the pioneer in the world on robotics services that human has never imagined or expected on the idea.

Since his childhood, Mubin has seen many difficulties and has tackled them successfully, be it studies, sports,

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Mubin founded Kiran Smart with lots of love from people who really wanted to have these services and solutions. He did market research in GCC on robots. He developed every single robotics solution for every industry and as well for home too. He did not find suitable CEO who would understand his vision and that is the reason, he decided to wear the hat of CEO as well.

Getting the Best out of Everything Mubin mentions that every journey is not pleasant and thus, running a company successfully is also not as pleasant as we think. There are always ups and downs, because as a holistic view it is a company and not a business.

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Mohammed Mubin Mallick CEO / FOUNDER Kiran Smart

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At present Kiran Smart’s Robot Services are inclusive of Humanoid Robots, Services Robots, Delivery Robots, Educational Robots, Logistics Robots, Pet Robots, Disinfection Robots, Cleaning Robots. Other than this it has smart digital screens which the company sell as solutions and also rents them out. Even for Robots, it provides the solutions and also rents out the robots in multi-purpose use, providing services globally as well.

At the same time, Mubin is also working on the “Rise of Robotics Generation” where he is training children about robots, teaching about robots but with live demo on the company’s different models of robots. His vision is simple for the next 5 years – to be recognized as one of the best brand service providers globally especially in terms of Robotics Services.

For Mubin, building a company was like being on the battleground. As a challenge he saw financial crisis, getting the right people for right place and right job, finding expert people with innovative ideas, and getting the investor.

Mubin kept on going and today, Kiran Smart is a first Humanoid Robot Solutions and Services company in Kuwait having existence in multiple location, providing IT services to business and home users.

Devoted to Serve Humanity Mubin’s father late haji Noor taught him to live for others and serve humanity. One of the incidents that impacted his life was the case where he found a lady who was crying for the money to do the treatment of her daughter. He was just a child and only could understand that she is asking for money. He had 50 paisa in his pocket to buy a chocolate for her younger sister. He could not say no to the lady because her tears brought him down so emotional that he started weeping and gave her 50 paisa. The lady just saw the coin and said, “My son GOD will give you enough so that you can help others and GOD will make your heart big enough to help others.” He can never forget this incident.

Innovation in Robotics Kiran Smart is into Information Technology, Digital Transformation, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Fintech. Mubin is of the belief that these technologies will play a major role post-pandemic. Thus, if businesses in any industry have to survive, they will need to implement Robotics, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence to make advanced hybrid solutions to survive in the future.

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Good Network for Business Opportunities Mubin and his team generate jobs for every category so that people could survive and feed their families. He and his team create jobs for drivers, engineers, managers, supervisors, developers, skilled and unskilled labor, waiters and waitress, and cleaners. Also, he shares the company profit on a certain percentage as charity across the world where the community is helping to survive their life.

He is looking for a great opportunity to change the world into a smart village but of course there must be a good team to execute it like investors, businessmen, entrepreneurs, partners, engineers, and a lot more, because he is working on one of his project called ROBO2050 where every house will have Kiran Smart’s robots.

“Information Technology will be so advanced and if we don’t adopt ourselves in terms of business and personal life then we will be left alone to suffer.” www.insightssuccess.com

Mr. Sami Sharif CEO

Kuwait Insurance Company

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Mr. Sami Sharif An Embodiment of a Proven Leadership

T

he pioneering leadership is a combination of exemplary skills, abilities and talents. To lead organization successfully, it is essential for leaders to have good amount of competence, as it plays a significant role in the success of the organization and its clients. When the same competence is paired with strong managerial and technical skills, the results attained are excellent. An embodiment of such a leadership is Mr. Sami Sharif. He is the CEO of Kuwait Insurance Company (KIC) since 2016.

Prior to KIC, Mr. Sharif has held various leadership roles in different renowned companies. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Space Physics and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics both from the University of Houston – USA. He worked for several years as a lecturer in mathematics and statistics at the same university. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in the USA since 1996 and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) since 1993. Besides, he also has an in-depth experience in life, health, and general insurance, and takaful. He carries an immense knowledge of strategic management consulting combined with sound actuarial background. He also has in-depth experience in launching and leading new insurance operations in different countries.

KIC has a full line of conventional and takaful insurance products for corporate and individuals covering general insurance, life insurance and money accumulation. It has more than 200 employees and 10 branches in Kuwait.

Being Driven by Achievement, Innovation and People Development Mr. Sharif is driven by KIC’s shared values i.e.

Achievement, Innovation and People Development. He mentions that the company cares for its staff, shareholders, and clients. It adheres to a set of values.

KIC’s vision is to be the fastest growing company in Kuwait and to expand geographically. It aspires to be the www.insightssuccess.com

company of choice for personal and commercial insurance products and services. It aims to be the fastest and the simplest in delivering its services and the most advanced in using technology. It envisions to be the company of choice for employment. All the efforts of Mr. Sami are in the direction towards achieving this goal.

KIC’s mission is to provide its clients with the most competitive products in terms of benefits, values and services, to provide its distribution channels with state-ofthe-art services, to invest on developing its staff, and to be a school of insurance and management. Besides, the company also believes in being sales-driven and in achieving its sales target. It believes in differentiating itself with innovative Products & Services, Distribution Channels, and Technology. It believes in its people to exhibit Knowledge, Leadership, and Communication & Interpersonal Skills.

Having Advantage of Experienced Staff Talking about the challenges, Mr. Sharif shares that KIC had to deal with a challenge of political risk since the area is inflamed with many political problems that lead to some business instability in the region. Maintaining the size of the portfolio was a major challenge for KIC. KIC is the first insurance company in Kuwait and the GCC. It has the advantage of keeping experienced staff who have been with the company for decades. Taking some of the key staff to the most advanced ways to run a business, in particular the reliance on technology, was a challenge that they enjoyed the stages to overcome it.

Being Influenced by Working with Great People Mr. Sharif is an ex-consultant with McKinsey& Co. that he considers his best school. He still cherishes the days he worked for Mckinsey, the people he worked with, and the leaders that he worked under such as Mr. Dominic Barton.

In addition, he has worked with people who had a great influence on him, like:

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Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

of Houston.

His space physics professor Dr. Bering at University of Houston.

His first actuarial manager Mr. Marc Pitoniac who taught him how to survive under any work challenges.

Mr. Abbas Khalaf, Regional president of ALICO, MEASA Region who taught him leadership.

Mr. Barry Jacobson, President of ACE Life (now Chubb) a great leader.

Mr. Ghazi Abu Nahl, President of Nest Investments hard work and perseverance.

Evaluating Employees Objectively and Compensating them Fairly Mr. Sharif has created a positive environment at KIC where everyone thrives. The company strongly believes in the well-being of its employees. It strongly encourages education and pays all education expenses to its employees.

Moreover, it created the first company kitchen run by a professional chef to provide daily healthy meals to its staff at minimum charges. It created a nursery at work to help mothers with baby kids, age 0-5 at no charge. It has a thorough 360 system to evaluate its employees objectively and to compensate them fairly. It established KIC academy to offer professional courses and training to its staff.

‘‘

Striking a Balance between People Safety and Business Safety

When Covid-19 pandemic arrived, it had its pros and cons on the insurance industry as a whole. However, Mr. Sharif sees more pros than cons. The way of doing business became more technology-driven, as technology is a key success factor for all industries including insurance.

AKIC puts a balance between people safety and business safety. As such, it was present and functional in its market.

Contributing to Community with Welfare Services When it comes to giving back to the community, KIC always stands tall. On almost monthly basis, it runs different campaigns Examples: Ÿ Cleaning the beach in Kuwait Ÿ Blood Donation campaign Ÿ Brest cancer awareness campaign Ÿ Diabetes awareness campaign Being People Person and Expanding Robustly Mr. Sharif advises aspiring and emerging CEOs in the insurance industry to work on their technical and managerial skills. He tells them to learn the essence of leadership and cultivate a healthy lifestyle. He asks them to be rough, tough, but reasonable.

Besides, he also advises them to be people person, have a large connection in industry, and to avoid arrogance and give smile to everyone.

Kuwait Insurance Company enjoys a stable and strong financial foundation and maintains a leading position in the local and regional insurance market by providing reliable and innovative insurance products and services and professional team of experts at the level of Kuwait and GCC.

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‘‘

Ÿ His mathematics professor Dr. Klaus Kaiser at University

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The Break from the

ORTHODOX

LEADERSHIP T

here is a saying, "become the best version of ourselves." Well, what does it take to become one?

It is the break from the ordinary, challenging orthodox thinking, and coming out as the best version of ourselves. It applies the same in leadership; today, it is the break from orthodox leadership, which we need with innovative ideas. What else follows in the journey of a leader? Let's have a look through this article.

Long-lasting Leadership The will to learn new things by collaborating with the experts of that particular field expands the knowledge of the business leaders. While we may agree that everyone's journey in life is different, it follows you till the end once you choose. But the end goal is to make an impact in the life of others, be it in the form of business, sports, politics, entertainment, or any other niche. And, when it comes to business, there is a position where assisting, motivating, and impacting the lives of others is the responsibility of the business leader - CEO. The decisions taken by a CEO can have a huge impact on the organization's life and the people.

The CEO Ingredients When we speak about the CEO, what are the must-have qualities to watch out for? The primary aspect comes from knowing to solve the problems of the employees and the company. The team's support helps the CEO in critical times and without a team player, one cannot succeed in business or any other field. The rest of the qualities comes from maintaining a culture that is worth inspiring and following.

The CEO is the most appropriate and responsible person for meeting the needs of the employees and the company. The ideas, decisions, and culture set by the CEO make the company shine in every situation. He/she is involved in every management decision and is the person who understands the clients and the employee's needs. He/she

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also acts as a mediator who digs deep into every problem of all the company levels, as the CEO is involved in several meetings right from the employee to the company growth.

There is no single decision taken without a CEO; as a matter of fact, he/she is the face of the management.

There is a lot of value for integrity in the life of a CEO because you have to provide honest recommendations and instruction in every part of the organization. Additionally, being aware of the market updates and know-how comes naturally, as you got to be the best in business for the team and the company. Lastly, promoting inclusivity and diversity in the organization makes the organization a place to thrive.

Where are we Now and the Future Today, we see more intelligent CEOs with a positive and fresh approach entering the business arena, breaking the trend of orthodox leadership. With their innovative thinking, companies are resulting in more innovative practices. The CEO is bringing the transformation and successfully meeting all the expectations from the clients to the employees. Ultimately, only living up to these values can bring the overall transformation in the industry.

The journey of the CEO is no doubt challenging but looking at the results, it is all worthy in the end. In a world full of transformation, it is best to balance both technology and compassion. It will lead us all to a better future, where we as humans can nurture and progress even more, making the world a better place to live for us all.

Lastly, with this, let's all hope that we live a life full of compassion and kindness whatever time we have on earth.

After all, it should not always be about the business and profit but also about creating a world of opportunities, where all the people feel included. And, being a CEO, it becomes his/her role to lead all such people with the best skillset. www.insightssuccess.com

Changing Leaderships

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Thomas A. Bock MD, MBA, CEO Notable

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Thomas A. Bock A Recognized Life-Science Leader Developing a New Class of Oncology Medicines

R

ecent advances in science and technology have resulted in a new era of more targeted therapies for many diseases. These advances have materialized for patients, resulting is some truly transformative treatments, thanks to the talent and dedication of the life sciences community.

Meet one such life-science leader who has developed and commercialized six lifesaving paradigm-changing blockbuster medicines in cancer, ultra-rare disorders, and inflammation, and who has built four entrepreneurial organizations that created a major impact for both patients and investors. - Thomas A. Bock, MD, MBA, and CEO at Notable.

Inspired by his work, we at Insights Success had a conversation with Thomas to know more about his journey and how Notable is transforming the way cancer is treated.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Give us a brief overview of your position at the company, and your journey since inception.

I joined Notable as an Independent Board Director in 2020 and then started serving as the CEO in February 2021. At that time our company was known for our predictive technology platform developed to help physicians determine which cancer treatments are most effective for their individual patients.

Today, we are beginning to leverage Notable's leadership in predictive technology to develop cancer treatments focused on individual patients who we know will respond to a specific treatment. My role is to drive our organization to a leading precision therapeutics company by creating a new class of precision medicines – predictive precision medicines. www.insightssuccess.com

Please describe the technology that makes your company standout from the competition.

Notable's predictive technology combines machine learning, laboratory automation, and high throughput screening directly on patient blood samples to predict responses to therapies with a 92% accuracy. Over the past years, we created a unique and continuously growing library of optimized (out of millions of options) platform conditions and predictive data across approved and investigational cancer treatments. This enables us to focus on the most promising candidate medicines and develop them as predictive precision medicines solely in clinically responding patients. Patient by patient. Cancer by cancer.

What is your opinion on the advancements of businesses to improve their offerings with newer technological developments?

Notable represents the next generation of predictive precision medicines for patients with cancer, based on the emergence of new technology. Our platform can predict an individual's clinical response to cancer treatment from a blood sample taken before beginning treatment with a 92% accuracy. I am proud of how our proprietary technology addresses the question that matters most to patients, yet previously could not be answered: "Doctor, will this treatment work for me?"

What is your thought on the necessity of a positive work culture? In what ways do you implement it at your organization?

Notable's culture extends from its core mission of redefining treatment for people with cancer. For us, the patient matters most. This means that we not only pursue transformative medical impact but also, proceed responsibly and with the sense of urgency that patients deserve. Our team is spearheading therapeutic solutions at the interface of therapeutics, diagnostics, and engineering.

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Scientists, engineers, and experts from many fields work together closely and also build off of the insights and ideas from each other. They work hand in hand, peer to peer in a unique and collaborative approach. Leading this patientfocused and integrative culture is key to an innovative environment, and I believe it is because of this that we have been able to recruit and retain top talent across industries.

In what ways have you or your company contributed to the community? If given a chance, what change would you bring in creating a "community of healthy business"?

Today, most cancer treatments deliver only modest clinical response rates and fail for the majority of patients, exposing them to ineffective therapies and unnecessary side effects and toxicities. Notable's mission of delivering predictive precision medicine that works for each cancer patient, and reducing unnecessary side effects, makes an important impact for the community. These types of advances will revolutionize treatment for people with cancer.

What is the best way to meet today's/tomorrow's challenges with your company's exceptional products and services for urgent needs coming our way?

In order to create the stream of predictive medicines that patients can rely on with the urgency they deserve, it is critical that we continue to collaborate with industry partners and academia. Having developed and commercialized medicines for cancer and rare diseases for more than twenty years, I know that many medicines can deliver a huge medical impact but unfortunately only for a small subpopulation of the patients who receive them.

We have created a platform that reproduces the human cancer cell microenvironment that can be used to test cancer therapies, patient by patient, with a 92% accuracy,

before they receive treatment. Thanks to our platform and its prediction accuracy (as reported by Stanford University*), we can now engage with prospective partners to co-develop and license such transformative medicines solely focused on responding patients. Patients can be confident that their treatment will work for them, and our life sciences partners benefit from a faster development speed and a higher likelihood of success. *Source: Michael A. Spinner, …, Peter L. Greenberg; Ex vivo drug screening defines novel drug sensitivity patterns for informing personalized therapy in myeloid neoplasms.

Blood Adv 2020; 4 (12): 2768–2778.

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

Be able to pivot quickly to take advantage of emerging opportunities, expect bumps and detours along the way, and most importantly, stay true to your core values. When you develop products for patients, proceed with extra urgency and care.

How do you envision sustaining your company's competency in a cutthroat and volatile world of Security? Where do you see yourself and the company in the next five years?

Part of our integrative culture is to be externally focused and equally seize opportunities and address challenges with the best possible approaches. Challenges make us stronger and will expedite our vision of delivering a stream of predictive precision medicine and redefining the standard of care, always ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients. Patient by patient. Disease by disease.

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Each patient is notable and can benefit from a predictive precision medicine that works for them.

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Thomas P. Shivers CEO and President

FourStone Partners

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Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

Thomas Shivers

A Relentless Leader with a Progressive Approach

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elentless leaders set directions to make ideas into reality. They focus on producing ideas that have practical implications for them. What makes them stand out from the rest is their ability to listen to their team and recognize the effectiveness of their offerings. One such pioneer of relentless leadership is Thomas P. Shivers, who has been consistently recognized as an industry leader for his constant focus on results, accountability, and practical application.

With over 25 years of executive and entrepreneurial experience in the workers’ compensation managed care marketplace, Tom has been instrumental in shaping the industry. As the CEO and President at FourStone Partners, he has created a unique consulting firm that has been widely praised for its innovation, effectiveness, and efficiency.

We, at Insights Success, caught up with Tom to unveil his entrepreneurial journey and how FourStone Partners is optimizing the performance of businesses.

An Entrepreneurial Journey Tom founded FourStone as a startup that has now grown into a national organization. The firm started without any private equity money; FourStone has been self-funded since its inception.

Along the way, Tom has met great people and great clients who, in one way or another, have contributed a tremendous

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amount of learning experience for him. It has been an incredible journey for Tom, and there is yet more to come.

The Values that Optimize Performance FourStone has continued its expertise in the workers’ compensation industry and commercializing healthcare products with a unique approach. Tom has centered FourStone around practical application and collaboration.

He focuses his time and attention on practical application that helps clients maximize their opportunities based on what truly works and develops implementable and actionable strategies.

Tom believes in less theory and more practical actions. In his opinion, what differentiates FourStone from its competitors is that it provides its clients with impactful strategies and then executes them on their behalf.

Sculpting Strong Leadership From the perspective of Tom, impactful leadership is collaborative in nature, and it is also never asking anyone to do anything that you won't do yourself. A leader needs to be accountable for the decisions of his or her team.

The personal philosophy of Tom is 'everybody in the room is the smartest person in the room based on the subject.' He implements the same at FourStone. This way, the best idea wins, no matter who creates that idea. This allows people to be at their best selves without any fear and express their

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We are a high energy, high intensity, results driven organization that fully engages with our clients to optimize performance.

point of view, thoughts, and ideas on the subject. At some point, these ideas and can be embraced and moved forward.

Overall, this empowers people to feel free and not be afraid to make mistakes. This approach will unlock their maximum potential in the long term.

In addition, Tom also believes that humility is an essential trait for a leader. A CEO should be open to new ideas and understand that every colleague brings their knowledge to the business. It is crucial to be able to listen. On the flip side of being a humble leader is being relentless in pursuing goals and success.

Tom says, "I've got a team of employees that count on me to be very good at my job. So, I have to be really good at my job for them. And I feel like one of the traits that I have that has allowed me to succeed is that sort of relentlessness and tenacity. If you combine that with humility and behaving honorably, I think it creates a nice culture. And I think the culture at our firm is something we're very proud of.”

A Healthy Work Culture When asked about maintaining positive work culture at FourStone, Tom says, "I don't think you can overvalue a positive work environment and a positive work culture. I think it's incredibly paramount to the success of a firm long term. We take an immense amount of pride in the culture that we have.”

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The culture at FourStone is collaborative, competitive, and family-oriented that prioritizes performance and taking care of each other. The culture is also based upon practical application; the team at the firm treats themselves like they treat its clients. There isn't any theory, esoteric, unquantifiable sort of mission or goal. When people bring ideas to the table for the firm or the clients, they have to be based on practical application, focusing on real world solutions that can be tracked and managed.

Tom and his team are fearless and tenacious when implementing new things. They aren't afraid to quickly make educated decisions to roll out new products and enhance existing products. They work collaboratively, both internally and with their clients and other constituents. The team takes much pride in how they present themselves to one another and their clients and industry.

The Highs and Lows of Pandemic FourStone managed to survive and experience a slight growth during the pandemic because of its diversified portfolio. Some of its products and services did suffer, but some of them could maintain and grow.

Culturally, the pandemic affected FourStone the most as everyone had to undergo a remote work culture. The company implemented some virtual models for some of its products and services in a brief timeframe. It also meant to www.insightssuccess.com

trust the team to do the right thing and work the right way.

Fortunately, Tom has spent much time on hiring based upon character. This helped the firm when it went remote and had to do things differently overnight; the hiring philosophy proved successful as the entire team adjusted remarkably well.

Tom opines that it was crucial to adapt to the circumstances.

The performance of the company in many ways has exceeded expectations. In fact, some of the FourStone Team will continue to work from home post-pandemic.

Technological Aspects to Move Ahead Technology has played such an incredible role in the evolution of how companies function during this pandemic, and Tom doesn't think that's ever going to roll itself back. It will get more important moving forward.

Heading Into New Horizon Tom has an absolute vision of organic growth, which is a challenging road, and he thinks in the future FourStone will also grow through acquisition. The company is actively looking at some potential acquisition targets. The firm would also like to diversify and expand the services that it offers to its clients.

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Entrepreneurs In his advice to upcoming entrepreneurs, Tom says, "Be absolutely relentless in your pursuit of success. Listen to people who know more than you, surround yourself with the best team that you can find that has complementary skills to yours, and allow them full opportunity to help grow the company with their own expertise and spirit”.

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