World's 10 Most Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2021 by World's Leaders Magazine

World's 10 Most Inﬂuential Business Leaders Making a Diﬀerence in 2021

www.worldsleaders.com

AUGUST 2021

Founder & CEO Aquasight

MAHESH LUNANI A Courageous Entrepreneur who is Transforming the Water Sector with Modern Tech advancements

Editorial Note World's 10 Most Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2021 World's 10 Most Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2021

www.worldsleaders.com

AUGUST 2021

Founder & CEO Aquasight

What Does Leadership Really Mean? A leader has unique challenges: everything is in his hands, all the weight is on his shoulders, and he must deal with everything on his own, which may be overwhelming and scary at times. People look to you as a leader for guidance. You must be tenacious in your pursuit of your objectives while also being enthusiastic about providing excellent products and services to your consumers. Fearlessness, Persistence, Passion, and Humility are the characteristics of a successful leader. A great leader is modest and motivates his team to reach their full potential, resulting in a dedicated and engaged workforce that goes above and beyond for the customers. A leader is nothing more than a person sitting alone in a boardroom with his ego for company if he doesn't have a strong team. Leading a transformation requires integrity, self-awareness, and confident humility. To be at the top of the technical business scene, however, it takes passion and endurance. This is gratifying in so many ways when done together, but it is not simple. Markets, products, and even individuals may be disappointing. An Innovative leader surrounds himself with exceptional people, cultivates an excellent culture, and leads from the front. He has a passionate point of view. Finally, he is adaptable and anticipates change because it is the one constant in the corporate world. He believes and maintains a passion in what he is attempting to do, whether it is a service or a product, to make the world a better place. He perseveres, expects, and accepts failures, viewing them as opportunities to develop his leadership skills. In its upcoming edition “World's 10 Most Influential Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2021” World's Leaders has enlisted leaders who are managing and achieving new heights of success with their exceptional leadership skills and sustaining

MAHESH LUNANI competency of the businesses. The cover is featuring Mahesh Lunani founder and CEO of Aquasight; a Real-Time Artificial Intelligence and Technology Company for life cycle of water. The product suite of the company is recognized by state agencies, elected officials and utility leaders for producing terrific results. Mahesh is passionate about building businesses, is both a thinker and strategic operator that is not afraid to roll up sleeves. He brings good financial acumen with specific focus on increasing company value. He has experience working in UK, Germany, Korea, China, Japan, Mexico and India. Prior to Cognizant, Mahesh was a leader in IBM's industrial sector. Mahesh was part of Global automotive leadership team at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and was start up team member to launch its NA operations. Over a period of six years Roland Berger has established itself as a premier consultant in North American automotive industry. Mahesh has started his career at Ford Motor Company as an engineer. Also, there are few other inspiring stories to read which represent a view for emerging leaders. Also never stop learning with our CXO standpoints written by the industry experts and the creative articles by our in-house editorial team which will help to improve your skillset. Let's Delve!

World's Leaders Magazine is a Media Company that covers stories of business leaders around the globe. Consistent updates to our online publication, internet based life and master sentiment give a substance rich pursuing knowledge loaded up with fascinating perspectives and remark on the issues of the worldwide business. World's Leaders Magazine inspires readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations and create the future of business. Everyone wants to know the journey of a successful personality or a venture. They want to know more about the establishment, about the path that led them to the pinnacle, about the obstacles overcome, and the all hard work about the Success. World's Leaders Magazine is the platform, where we are unwinding the untold stories of business leaders and the stories of startup turning into the venture. World's Leaders Magazine is a trustworthy and honesty acquiring acknowledgment from business pioneers universally.

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COVE R STO RY MAHESH LUNANI A Courageous Entrepreneur who is Transforming the Water Sector with Modern Tech advancements 08

MISSY MACKINTOSH

THUY NGUYEN

JANET SCHIJNS

INA BEHRENDT

CHANDRASHEKAR KUPPERI

ELINOR STUTZ

SABRINA KHAN

PAUL GUENTHER

MICHELLE BEYO

COVER STORY 08 | AUGUST 2021

MAHESH LUNANI A Courageous Entrepreneur who is Transforming the Water Sector with Modern Tech advancements

worldsleaders.com | 09

COVER STORY

he municipal water sector is localized, conservative and slow moving. It is a fraternity entrenched in relationships. The sector is not known for embracing new innovations without decades of proof, and there weren't many success stories of entrepreneurs from the outside. "When you have that many barriers to overcome, experts and well-wishers would recommend spending your prime years in a sector that has much less hurdles and is far more rewarding. Nonetheless, the problems that face the water sector are too enticing for me to not keep pressing forward. As Warren Buﬀet famously said, 'be greedy when others are fearful'," says Mahesh Lunani.

At the age of 45, Mahesh Lunani left an established corporate executive position to become an entrepreneur. The decision can be considered either naive or courageous. He is the Founder and CEO of Aquasight. As per Mahesh, Aquasight is the culmination of water, technology & AI. According to Steve Jobs, life is a series of dots, and you can only connect them looking backwards. During Mahesh's teenage years, he helped his dad with his business of water pumps. His ﬁrst job out of college was working on data analytics & neural network models in the

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“AQUASIGHT IS SMART WATER” automotive industry. Consequently, at a management consulting ﬁrm, he learned the art of organizing, restructuring, and expanding Fortune 500 businesses. Mahesh followed this up with experience in understanding technology and its impact on business transformation. Finally, he cofounded a corporate venture group that built next-generation digital businesses across a variety of vertical markets. He says, "Looking backwards, it is the connection between the many dots that traversed my life.” Why Aquasight? Aquasight's oﬀerings cover the entire life cycle of municipal water and its Industry First, Real-Time AI architecture & infrastructure allows it to innovate, add features, and deliver solutions at lightning speed. Its platform can consume both real time and non-real time data in a variety of formats, including operational data, geospatial data, physics models,

design data, log sheets, telemetry data, and weather data. The company helps with optimizing water pumping operations and predicts neighborhoods that will experience water quality issues due to lower disinfection capacity and bacteria regrowth. The advanced solution helps in detecting leaks within homes faster than conventional approaches and assists in realtime water pressure management, water accounting, and demand management for water conservation. It detects blockages in sewers, the impact of rain on flooding, and helps with sewer overflow management. As per the company, "We predict and forecast the quantity and quality of waste coming into the treatment plants, identify inefficiencies in wastewater treatment, and assist in reducing operating costs while complying with permits." It has also

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COVER STORY

INDUSTRY FIRST deployed data solutions for solids management and disposal. It also has intelligent workflow automation of infrastructure risk, asset management, and capital planning that can cut days and weeks out of an engineer's time. And Aquasight's solutions help with detecting hotspots and infectious diseases underground to alert public health and elected officials to help minimize their spread. Leading the Industry by Creating In-house Technology Except for servers and related services, Aquasight has built its entire technology in-house. The subject of fusing different types of data, such as geo-spatial and engineering models, is still in its infancy. The organization has built a robust system that can perform streaming analytics and execute real-time AI algorithms while continuing to be flexible enough to accommodate different client sensor combinations. As per Mahesh, "Our applications are common across our customer base, and we simply configure them based on customer requirements. Our development process 12 | AUGUST 2021

REAL-TIME DIGITAL AI INFRASTRUCTURE FOR WATER accommodates new features while maintaining scalability. " The team has automated administration and QA/QC processes to detect if its streams & analytics are working and data quality is what it expects, so they can make rapid adjustments and perform audits. The team says, "We are also able to manage machine learning and artiﬁcial intelligence model performance and input drifts, creating a world class process." At Aquasight, the team also demonstrated to the software sector that verticalizing and

creating out-of-box solutions with an innovative architecture is a much more cost-eﬃcient alternative than the traditional software and implementation model for the cost-conscious and budget-strapped water & wastewater utility customer base. Setting New Grounds in the Industry "Every aspect of our business is designed to be scalable, sustainable, and maintainable. This is a task that is far easier said than done, " says Mahesh. Additionally, Real-Time AI is a

“WE ARE INSPIRED WHEN RESIDENTS WROTE LETTERS TO OUR CUSTOMERS THANKING THEM IN SAVING THEIR WATER BILLS”

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COVER STORY

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

relatively new concept across sectors, so the company is treading new ground in an area where there is no playbook. He opines, "We are not satisﬁed until we understand the underlying science before we innovate; it is our MO. We are setting a vision of what the future could look like by anticipating our customers' challenges.” Getting Inspired by World’s Leaders Mahesh believes there is a lot to learn from people who are at the top of their profession, whether it is sports, business, the arts, or entertainment. As an example, he has taken inspiration from Elon Musk's ability to win as an outsider. He had no background in sending people to space nor in making cars, and it took him almost two decades to be a breakthrough entrepreneur. The same goes for Warren Buﬀet, whose perspective on how a business should have a "wide and long-lasting moat around it" so as to keep its competitive advantage has inspired the way that Mahesh has built Aquasight. Mahesh adds that even Mahatma Gandhi's ability to inspire an entire nation for a cause he believed in impacted his vision of what it meant to have a successful business. According to Mahesh, these are all amazing lessons to learn from people who have led impactful lives.

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He also finds his family as a huge influence on him over his lifetime. He asserts, "My paternal grandfather taught me important lessons about perseverance and, after seeing the 25,000 in attendance at his funeral, I learned the meaning of legacy. And of course, I will never forget the messages of carrying responsibility passed down to me by my maternal grandmother. " Critical Solution offering During Pandemic There are three ways Aquasight was able to create value during this pandemic without impacting or risking any of its employees or its customers. First, the company was able to successfully launch its products in over 25 cities, counties, and townships virtually while the Aquasight team and customers operated from their remote locations. This is testament to its business model and how it delivers solutions and services no matter the circumstances. Second, its customers require critical insights, intelligence, and data remotely, and Aquasight offered anytime, anywhere on any device access. This enabled them to deliver water or wastewater services safely and uninterrupted to their residents and end customers. Third, Aquasight developed an innovative and widely adoptable solution for underground COVID-19 monitoring using epidemiology and advanced data

“PANDEMIC HAS REVEALED THE STRENGTH OF OUR BUSINESS MODEL AND THE POWER OF OUR INNOVATION PROCESS AND MARKETING MAKING SOLUTIONS” analytics. This has been a hugely successful initiative and has delivered fantastic results in college dorms, neighborhoods, jails, senior homes and longterm care facilities.

Execute and act based on the 80/20 rule.

Foster multidimensional collaboration.

Make your work inheritable.

The Aquasight Way Many values described in the corporate world, such as honesty, integrity, and trust, are simply table stakes. At Aquasight, the company has created something over and beyond called 'The Aquasight Way'. These are a set of 10 operating principles by which the company does its work every day. A few notable ones are mentioned below: Ÿ

Be curious and embrace ambiguity.

Respectfully challenge the status-quo.

Standardize, simplify, and scale.

According to Mahesh, it is essential to have a set of operating principles that can act as guideposts for current and new employees. More AI Loaded Solutions in the Future Aquasight is Smart Water. The management is playing a long game with Aquasight. They are launching one feature a month, constantly expanding the company's product set, and looking to venture out globally. Furthermore, the company's

algorithms and streaming analytics are being made available to its business partners so that they may use the company's API service, which can be linked with their offerings. Finally, through a subsidiary brand 'Theon', the company is leveraging RealTime AI infrastructure to rapidly launch solutions in telematics, oil and gas, and manufacturing. "As we look at the road ahead from where we stand today, we see nothing but endless possibilities," says Mahesh. Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs must minimize the impact of their mistakes to sustain as an entrepreneur, says Mahesh. He further adds, "Ascertain that your expectations are appropriately set. We entrepreneurs are constantly concerned that we are not growing quickly enough, yet the market's pace may differ from your own. I had to learn patience the hard way. Have a decent group of mentors or someone with whom you can bounce ideas. “ He advises emerging entrepreneurs "Make sure you address an important problem or an unmet need and identify what business you are in. You need a bit of luck, but you can create some of it by constantly trying to figure out how to get around dead-ends. "

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FOUNDER & CEO MISMACK CLEAN COSMETICS 18 | AUGUST 2021

Missy MacKintosh An Enthusiastic Entrepreneur Revolutionizing Cosmetic Industry

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issy MacKintosh is the Founder and CEO of MisMacK Clean Cosmetics, a beauty product company that aims to redeﬁne the cosmetics industry by combining the high-quality application with ethical and ecological manufacturing. Missy MacKintosh built MisMacK from the ground up in her basement in smalltown Canoe, BC, Canada. She personally has never met or knew of anyone who had built a Makeup brand before. She had to learn all of it on her own. However, she has been in the industry for over 25 years and 16 years of that as a Professional Makeup Artist, and her work has been internationally published, and she has worked in Management for companies such as MAKE UP FOR EVER, and Nars. She says, “As someone who eats, sleeps, breathes makeup on a daily basis, I know what works and what doesn't.” According to Missy MacKintosh, she had the

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vision of MisMacK in her head for a long time. “In 2017, it was time to bring my plan to action,” says Missy MacKintosh. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World's Leaders and Missy MacKintosh: Describe MisMacK's offerings that address the need of your customers. MisMacK is one of the first Professional Performing Clean Makeup Lines on the Market. In 2016 I was introduced to Clean Makeup, but they all had the same issue – lack of performance and pigment. Trying to find products that held up to my picky pro standards just didn't exist. So I created them working directly with a Female Canadian Chemist who specializes in Clean beauty. MisMacK merges both the Mainstream the Clean and the Pro

world into one unique amazing brand. I understand that makeup is not a passive sale. It takes education and getting our clients into our chair to experience it firsthand. At our MisMacK stores, we offer Complimentary Pampering Sessions all day every day to give our clients exactly that. We are also the only brand that offers private one on one makeup lessons where you become the student and learn as you're doing your makeup with our guidance. We make you write each step down, so you have that to take home with you. Because really, where can you go to learn without someone trying to sell you a trend. We teach based on a technique that I call the Natural Guides to a face. These are taught in our MisMacK Artistry education modules for future Makeup Artists wanting to learn and become professional makeup artists.

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in this industry through your expertise in the industry. MisMacK provides fun and safe products packed with pigment and perform better than mainstream. I understand how products sit on the skin and work with my Chemist to create them, so they are easy for consumers to apply and blend. The technology we're using is incredibly unique in the cosmetic world. We're truly pushing the industry forward in more ways than one. Our impact is also around education. We are passionate about educating the Pro world of Makeup Artists and the everyday consumer that your body is your largest organ. It only takes 28 seconds for a toxic ingredient to hit your bloodstream. Yes, your body is good at getting rid of it but when we're marinating in these products since before we are born our systems tap out. We start seeing allergies, and a lot of these ingredients are hormone disruptors that can contribute to fertility issues. We're providing makeup and tools that allow everyone to ignite their creativity, push their limits, and work ﬂawlessly in a safe way not only for all humans but also for our environment. What are the challenges you and your team at MisMacK come across in your day-to-day operations? Well to be quite honest, we do all the things here at MisMacK HQ including shipping, receiving, and labelling. And getting our labels on straight is truly a daily challenge lol. What people, what books, what life factors have inﬂuenced and impacted you?

Dany Sanz the founder of Makeup Forever is my biggest idol. Our stories are incredibly similar, and a super cool thing is that we now have her full support and her using MisMacK in her pro kit. My time favourite book is the 5 am Club. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time? Safety is of utmost importance here at MisMacK. As a pro makeup artist sanitation is our number one priority. Being in a small boutique shop that's a small batch, we're able to easily manage quality and safety control. We always make sure our team is happy and healthy. Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives MisMacK. We value education, customer service, customer experience, and fun. Makeup is fun. We oﬀer

complimentary pampering sessions all day every day at our MisMacK stores; educating our clients on product placement and how to use our unique products. We believe less is more and learning how to use our products in multiple ways. Our tag is 'we're Small but Mighty and the Masters of Multi-Purpose products'. Eliminating wasteful packaging and the overwhelming guilty feeling you have when you open up an overpacked makeup bag. We teach that “Makeup does not define you; it's merely a tool of Empowerment” Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for MisMacK? I envision MisMacK being a trusted Global Brand. My goal is to have about 5 stores across Canada, one in London, one in Paris, New York and LA. 9. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs? Fail into your flow. Failure is where growth happens. I say if you're not failing you're not growing. Everything is also figure-out-able. If you want it bad enough you will figure out a way to make it happen.

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Thuy Nguyen Sharing the Entrepreneurship Spirit through Forbes

‘‘

Present success as the sum of failure experiences and hard work.

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CMO & PARTNER FORBES FRANCE

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huy Nguyen is the CMO and also a Partner at Forbes France. She participated in the launch of Forbes in France and was mainly in charge of the marketing and ad operations. As a recent company with a small team, she has also had to handle diﬀerent roles that bring variety to her job. Thuy has both experienced corporate professional experience and entrepreneurship. During her scholarship, she did various jobs to ﬁnance her and she can tell you it taught her a lot and still does today. At Forbes France, she is in charge of managing client campaigns, communication and community management with the team and Initiate win-win partnerships. She also looks for recruiting agency partners to develop the sales revenues, setting up and managing physical or digital events, and working on tech and digital projects. She is also coordinating adoperations projects with the sales, translation, and editorial teams. She says. "There is not a day that is alike and this is what I love. I am led by passion, integrity and freedom. And it is very important for me to evaluate the impact of my work. I would love to share with all French the entrepreneurship spirit through Forbes. “ She really encourages people to experience other jobs outside their comfort zone. She asserts, "My various experiences in the past have developed my capability to anticipate risks, solve problems and make decisions. I am also aware that good revenue and a great team 24 | AUGUST 2021

are key factors for a company's success. "

are here to lead by example and make you want to succeed. "

What do we oﬀer?

The Organizational Challenges

The worldwide reputation of Forbes is one of the main assets of the media. Only a few media have worldwide recognition. Forbes France is part of the Forbes network. Forbes France was launched in 2016 on the web ﬁrst and as a print magazine in 2017. It has a web site, forbes.fr, and a quarterly magazine that presents exclusive business interviews.

According to Thuy, organization is pretty crucial to the execution of any project. One can have a great idea, but without perfect execution led by a great organization, the project will go nowhere.

As per Thuy, the mindset of Forbes is unique; 'Talk positive, think positive, and act positive'. This is the spirit, the company wants to spread in France. It celebrates success through portraits of leaders telling their entrepreneurial stories. She states, "It ranks success through our famous Forbes rankings (billionaires, 30under30, women …). It celebrates people doing business! People at Forbes

She also sees human empathy as a major factor that allows understanding and sharing the feelings of others. She says, "It brings consideration and recognition towards my partners and team.”

‘‘

Reward and honor the business success in France.

Things that Inspire Thuy's family is very important to her. She sees her husband as an essential support and her children as a priority. She says, "Parents (even separated) as a guideline, while sisters, brothers and cousins open my mind." She loves reading biography books. As an example, the bio of Elon Musk is amazing. She opines, "He is changing the world. A proﬁle like him may occur each century. He is the best example of an accomplished entrepreneur led by his dreams. " Growing and Learning during the Pandemic During the pandemic, like many companies, Forbes France also had to adapt to the work organization. Thuy herself limited her trips to once or twice per week for urgent matters and did most of her work at home oﬃce. Thanks to web conference tools, the team had the possibility to manage from a distance and keep contact with the

partners and the team. She says, "This period was beneficial for us; as it taught us to keep trust with the employees, and efficiency in avoiding time wasted on transportation. All positions have been preserved. “ Future Goals The next goals of Forbes France are to enhance and increase its magazine subscriptions. Before willing to change the world, people have to look at inspiring models they could find in Forbes magazine. "This is the best investment that all French should make," says Thuy. The subscription is 30 euros for 4 magazines per year. In the near future, the company is actually developing Club Forbes, a place where decision makers can be members. Encouraging Budding Entrepreneurs According to Thuy, in France, business successes are not

recognized in comparison to other countries in the world. However, it has to keep in mind that 'entrepreneur is a French word'. French people are inventive, curious and have great productivity. But despite these qualities, they need to be apprehended by risks and failures, and be conscious that success is the sum of failure experiences and hard work. Thuy refers to Elon Musk's words, "Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough." She believes that the role as a business media is to show the impossible is possible by displaying the portraits of famous American entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and many others and how it occurs. To build entrepreneurs, it is important to encourage young people about entrepreneurship. To realize their dreams, the young have to dream ﬁrst. Then invest in them. Entrepreneurship is a mindset, not a skill. worldsleaders.com | 25

Janet Schijns Improvising Businesses Efciency by Providing Effective Channels for Customer Engagement

Founder & CEO JS Group

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A As a business leader challenges are what make you strong and effective. Learning from your mistakes creates a blueprint for future success. Being a woman in the technology space comes with its own set of difficulties, not the least of which is trying to establish effective business relationships when you are the only female on a leadership team or a project. “I found that by facing this challenge head-on, rather than ignoring it, I was able to have frank and open discussions about differences in work style and processes which ultimately helped me achieve success while levelling the playing field,” says Janet Schijns. Janet is the founder and CEO of JS Group and is known for her exemplary leadership skills. She states, “You could say that fast is the new big when it comes to the current environment; move now or prepare for your competitors to outpace you.” Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World's Leaders and Janet Schijns:

Describe JS Group's offerings that address all the needs of your customers. The technology space is in hypergrowth mode, yet not everyone profits in a fast-growth era – in fact just the opposite occurs. Companies with the right channel and go to market plan will drive record high double-digit or tripledigit growth while other less wellprepared firms will see declining profits and wonder what happened. The key difference? The speed at which they adapted to a hybrid, always-on, change rich environment. This is where JS Group comes in. We have three practice areas: channel evolution, go to market enablement and sales activation all designed to help our clients prosper. Our channel evolution practice is focused on devising a plan to expand routes to market and penetrate sales channels. Our go-to-market enablement offers are focused heavily on digital marketing with our SEO and Social Media offerings returning double-digit ROI for our clients. And our sales activation programs focused on social selling are delivering 33x ROI in the market by retraining sales teams and providing a programmatic approach for them to build sales via social media selling. You could say that fast is the new big when it comes to the current environment; move now or prepare for your competitors to outpace you.

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the Management Consulting industry through your expertise in the industry? Because I have been in the technology and consumer goods go to market space for decades I have seen and managed through both

“

We are experiencing an everescalating continuum of change, managing that change versus waiting for a return to normal that will never come about is the ﬁrst key to success worldsleaders.com | 29

good and bad times in the market and know how to respond eﬀectively to maximize proﬁts and growth. Our entire team at JS Group has similar experiences and tenure enabling us to come into even the most challenging situation and create a winning team game plan. What are the challenges you and your team at JS Group come across in your day-to-day operations? Every business in every industry is becoming a technology company,

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technology is now the fabric of our lives. In our day-today operations, we see many firms that fall in love with their technology and think it will sell itself. But the reality is even the best product of solution needs to be positioned and promoted to win. Many of our new clients struggle with the day-to-day go-to-market and sales operations needed to succeed particularly in the channel. This is where our team comes in designing the right plans and activation elements to ensure success. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? There have been so many influencers in my life, but my most recent one is Ashlyn Szilva my daughter and founder of her own social media business; a subdivision of JS Group. She has shown me the power of connecting digitally and building relationships while virtual and remote. Her programs have netted our clients' large gains in the past year and a half and are poised to continue to grow our clients' bottom lines. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time? Our teams have always been remote, we select the best talent and are location agnostic. We set a firm policy in place that travel will be at the discretion of the team member, those who are not comfortable with travel will not have to travel. This does not mean then that everyone has an equal opportunity. If clients need people to be at an event or an on-site consulting engagement those team members who choose not to travel will be at a deficit. However, we feel that our team comes first and so we must honour the life decisions they make.

clients don't win. Integrity matters: do what you say you will do, right the first time every time. Innovate for Impact: inventions earn patents, innovations earn our clients money, focus on innovation. Kindness: be kinder than the situation calls for in every instance. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for JS Group? We plan to continue to grow JS Group through our innovative programs to grow profitable revenue for our clients. Because we focus on results our programs and our brand reputation continue to flourish. We have a strong bench of senior leaders who will ultimately lead us to the next level of growth who are day in and day out working on making JS Group the best option in the industry. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs? Hard work matters – if you work on the right things – don't confuse what appears to be the overnight success of those who came before you with luck, it wasn't luck, it was determination and hard work. Draft a plan with your success goals in mind and then execute on the plan. It's not fancy but it is how success works.

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives JS Group. Our values are simple: Results: work towards success, not pretty PowerPoint presentations we don't win if our worldsleaders.com | 31

Ina Behrendt

A Emblem of Women Empowerment in Creative and Tech Space

Chief Innovation Ofcer Miami Ad School Europe Chief Executive Ofcer Innity Campus

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I Ina Behrendt's journey as a business leader grew absolutely progressively. While she passionately and successfully worked and led teams as an award-winning, integrated Creative Director and Head of Design in digital advertising, traditional agencies and for clients worldwide for over 15 years, Ina was always following her vision and never stopped learning, discovering & most importantly: collaborating. She opines, “Hold your vision and go with the flow while growing organically – trust the process.” Ina co-founded the 1st international Non-Conference, called FUTURE SUMMIT SERIES – THE 100, where 100 rebels, pioneers and troublemakers in the field of innovation were brought together to share, ideate & create the future on eye-level. These experiences made her a thoughtleader and expert in the field of digital transformation with a strong focus on creative marketing & innovation and for the past 7 years, an entrepreneur and leader in the educational sector and is now a frequent speaker at international tech & innovation conferences and summits. Ina truly believes that Women belong in all places where decisions are being made as well as men and gender neutral people no matter which

background, race or orientation. We need this diversity in general, to be together, live together, learn from each other, work together and shape the future of our world for the better – TOGETHER. Ina supports women, wherever she can in all sorts of aspects, but she looks at people to work with, learn from, be together, get inspired by, etc: as HUMANS, where everyone deserves to be treated equally. In an interview with World's Leaders, Ina Behrendt shared her journey to becoming a renowned woman in tech. Below are the highlights of the interview: Describe the Miami Ad School Europe's & Infinity Campus' offerings that address the needs of your customers. Miami Ad School Europe is one of the best and most successful, creative and innovative schools in higher education in the world. With its 2-year portfolio diploma program of Art Direction / Digital Design, Creative Conception / Copywriting & Storytelling and Creative Technology, Miami Ad School Europe unites many different schools in one. The students gain world-class room experience and business knowledge, including 3 international internships to choose out of hundreds of locations around the globe. Their graduates work for the best creative agencies, innovation companies and tech brands worldwide. It's known as: The place where you go to, to become who you are meant to be. And it is part of a world-wide network of 15 schools. Infinity Campus. As a transformation and innovation expert in this field, Ina also developed

the professional program or arm of Miami Ad School Europe further and transferred it to the next level. First and foremost, she redeveloped and brought the advanced training and courses online – collaborated with experts and developed formats that did not yet exist. This struck such a chord that it became very successful and is now officially co-founded as an independent start-up, where Ina acts as CEO – together with her 2 business partners, Sabine Georg (COO of Infinity Campus & CEO of Miami Ad School Europe) & Philip Wogart (CTO of Infinity Campus & Creative Tech Advisor at Miami Ad School Europe) and in collaboration with Miami Ad School Europe. We aim to establish a unique platform for their special courses, trainings, summits and bootcamps made up of our expansive network of mentors – available online regardless of one's physical location by mixing even more technology into their creative bloodstream. Infinity Campus means Transformation – means Movement – a Development of yourself, your Knowledge and your Creativity. It means, to pulsate, to move, to push boundaries and yourself to the next level. It means to transform! “Be yourself and express your power through knowledge, inspiration, intuition, collaboration and creativity.” Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in this industry through your expertise in the industry? Inspire the next generation through collaborative creative working & events in a very diverse environment and more from a prototype angle approach under a certain timeframe, to come up with ideas together to create innovations and solutions.

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THE IMPACT To foster sustainable change and lead the way in an on-going, ever transforming environment – especially in the educational field, for Ina it is important to encourage: a) Listening, observing & learning and use data to inform strategic decision making; actually see, understand & think b) Inspiration and foster a culture of creativity and prototyping to actually do and make. c) Collaboration & networking to gain more diversity in every kind of aspect to actually care! This guided Ina's strategic approach for the school's Digital Transformation, here she changed the future profile of creatives, through shifting it from very traditional to more digital, social media-centric to more future sustainable; T-SHAPED methodology. What are the challenges you and your team at Miami Ad School Europe & Infinity Campus come across in your day-to-day operations? With other professional partners and experts in the field, the leadership team shares a common vision to continue to foster closer relationships with students and build a network for creativity, marketing, technology and innovation on that all can access. It was and is necessary to use the learning from the COVID19 crisis to establish the Infinity Campus as a robust and innovative new e-learning platform based on the foundation of INNOVATION, DIVERSITY & MINDSET to create unique courses and expansive networks, independent of physical locations by mixing even more technology into the creative bloodstream. The pandemic indeed accelerated and amplified many things on many levels. Miami Ad School Europe also had to change, invent and innovate even more and even faster! This has led to many changes, such as the new Factory Berlin location, in addition to new collaborations. It reflects what the school stands for: a program that is fit for the future, in an environment that is full of possibilities. A state-of-the-art infrastructure with fast digital access and human connections enriching and inspiring. They find all of this in Berlin with the Factory Berlin Partnership, which offers a vibrant community and a strong context for its students. With start-ups and creative tech companies next door, a library, in-house cafés, 36 | AUGUST 2021

‘‘

We help to enable creative minds to have outstanding ideas throughout constant change and transformation. Re-imagine the unpredictable.

artists-in-residence and plenty of co-working spaces and 'sandboxes' to develop award-winning ideas. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? As already anchored in her DNA and to be cradled by her father, Ina is an entrepreneurial, creative spirit. 'You are the master of your mind & the captain of your passion – navigate your way! This answer can only be multi-faceted, because over the years, many different people have somehow stepped into the role of either becoming a wonderful mentor or an inspiring advisor or - quite simply, a real role model for Ina. Yes, Ina loves books, too – like 'Ready Player One', 'The Swarm', 'Whole Food Cooking every Day' by Amy Chaplin, 'No rules' and all sorts of different Ted-Talks, too!

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for Miami Ad School Europe & Inﬁnity Campus? Not just neuroscience results showcase that, the way we learn and engage doesn't always match up with the way we get taught. To stay competitive in an academically, economical, and technological way - we need to rethink our understanding of intelligence, re-evaluate our educational system, and reinvigorate our commitment to learning. In other words, we need disruptive innovation.” “We'll see where my passion, drive and vision takes me. We'll move on inventing new ways in the ﬁeld of ' INNOVATION IN EDUCATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION of CREATIVES ' to stay at the forefront of contemporary education. ” worldsleaders.com | 37

Chandrashekar Kupperi A Renowned M&A Expert with Excellent Track Record

FOUNDER ANOVA

38 | AUGUST 2021

ith the burgeoning start-ups, there has been a need for consulting companies that can bring fluency to processes by guiding them and the other small and medium enterprises with strategic outlook, financial discipline, ability to raise funds towards growth, and related aspects. Leading with almost two decades of experience in various multinationals with diversified sectors such as FMCG, Life Insurance, Audit & Assurance and Oil & Gas, Chandrashekar Kupperi is a proficient in financial sector and Founder of ANOVA an Investment Banking & Advisory firm that specializes in Fundraise and Mergers & Acquisitions (BuySide / Sell-Side). Chandrashekar's last stint was as Group Finance Director with Lornamead Group, a UK-based multinational in the FMCG space which owns well-known personal care brands such as Yardley of London, Finesse, etc. His prior experiences included various finance and related positions with MNCs such as ExxonMobil and KPMG in India. With a rich experience in the FMCG/Consumer space, he led and have been part of over 11 Acquisitions and 4 Divestments, besides re-structuring and refinancing transactions in North America, Europe, and India. With his rich experience Chandrashekar decided to plunge to offer support and embarked with ANOVA since mid of 2013. ANOVA predominantly works with

mid-size Corporates and earlystage companies. ANOVA works closely with customers, learning their business needs, and future objectives. ANOVA acts as a single and cohesive platform to oﬀer corporate strategy, corporate ﬁnance, business valuation, and deal structuring.

What are the challenges you and your team at ANOVA Corporate Services come across in your dayto-day operations?

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World's Leaders and Chandrashekar Kupperi:

ANOVA's larger strength has been in 'structuring' the requirement for the client. But then this calls for a different approach, and it has not been easy to persuade and convince the client(s) to adopt. To manage this, the team spends significant time and effort with the Entrepreneurs and the Senior Management, working closely without impacting their independence and focus on day-today operations. We simulate the end-result, mostly by citing appropriate illustrations, and are audacious enough to agree significant part of fees based on successful outcome. This has resulted in enlargement of trust in ANOVA, as well as building a strong association.

Describe ANOVA Corporate Services' offerings that address the need of your customers. ANOVA provides Due Diligence (DD) & Vendor Due Diligence (VDD) services with the intent of maximizing value, minimizing disruption, and avoiding late surprises. It also assists with DD Preparedness for Clients, with the aim of providing an end-to-end assistance for M&A / Fundraise Advisory for clients. ANOVA also offers Business Valuation services to determine the right price to pay or accept for a business. It helps evaluate shareholder value for stakeholders by focusing on relevant comparatives, besides identifying the business synergies. In Summary, ANOVA offers M&A Advisory and Fundraise services, besides Strategic CFO services to empower Entrepreneurs and Business Owners with financial / commercial acumen and support in strategic areas.

To us, getting the Clients to accept that 'things could be diﬀerent, and that diﬀerent can be better' has been the toughest challenge!

What people, what books, what life factors have inﬂuenced and impacted you? Several books and people have been the reason for my growth and where I am today, and naming some and not all would not do justice. I remain eternally grateful to the authors and my well-wishers. I am a ﬁrm believer of this statement that 'there is a better way'. I always keep telling myself

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that 'things could be different, and that the different can be better' and this has helped me to evolve constantly. This one strategy pushes me to strive and invest significant time and effort with the Founders/Senior Management of Start-ups and Early-stage businesses and work closely, without impacting their independence and focus on day-today operations.

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Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? These are times to demonstrate our resilience as an Entrepreneur. We should remember that we are not the only ones in this situation, but to look around to gather and

assimilate the gravity of the situation. Hence, we did the following: Ÿ Identify core team members and form a 'war-room' team to evaluate the business and ﬁnancial situation and come up with plans. Ÿ

Re-visit the business model and remodel as required but with a sense of urgency i.e., to come

‘‘

Focus deliberately to seize success. Always remember extra-ordinary people are ordinary people with extra-ordinary focus. up with scenarios such as good case, worst case, etc.

have continued to remain our premise in current times.

Freeze all discretionary expenses and oﬀer Cash Discount for faster collection

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for ANOVA Corporate Services?

Negotiate, negotiate, and negotiate – and not to feel shy!

Take the courage to write to Banker(s)/Lender(s) for deferring EMIs, other payments as well as to the Creditors.

ANOVA's vision and strive is to become a leading Investment Banker, and a brand well-known globally by 2025, and actively engage on advisory matters with

corporates across the globe. It will be largely helping them mature in business process optimization and gain eﬃciency in ﬁnancial information management. It aims to get involved in larger transactions as well as with cross-border opportunities. “To top this all, we believe the day of managing our 'own' fund is not far away,” What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs? To me, the single most critical element for startup success is 'Continued Ability to Anticipate Success'. I have seen Entrepreneurs with Scalable Ideas, Amazing Team and Information System, but what truly sustains the success as the business grows is their continued ability to 'Anticipate Success'. Therefore, my suggestion to aspiring entrepreneurs is to strengthen their self-belief and continue to embark upon the venture with faith, patience and perseverance, the rest will be history.

On managing contractual obligations including employee emoluments, we have had open conversations with employees on what can be paid and what will get deferred. The current situation is no secret, and everyone is aware of the magnitude of the impact on business, economy, and consumer conﬁdence. Flexible working hours and embracing the safety measures worldsleaders.com | 41

Elinor Stutz A Leader and Inspiration for Emerging Woman Leaders

CEO SMOOTH SALE

42 | AUGUST 2021

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44 | AUGUST 2021

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Sabrina Khan A Financial Expert with Excellent Track Record

Chief Financial Ofcer Aptorum Group Limited 48 | AUGUST 2021

N “No one is born to be a leader, so am I,” says Sabrina Khan. She is the Chief Financial Officer at Aptorum Group Limited and is having 10+ years' experience in US and Asian healthcare companies with proven track records in successful IPO, restructuring, business expansion and M&A projects in Hong Kong, China and US. Sabrina spent a few years in Big 4 and had the chance to audit multinational and reputable corporations. During her professional journey, she was not only learned technical knowledge but also how successful people and companies worked. She believes, “Everyone has a key role to play in the industry and everyone can make an impact. As an accountant, I may not be able to go to the lab and work like other scientists or develop a drug to save people's lives. But I used my accounting and financing knowledge to help raising capital and strengthen the company through inorganic approach like M&A and to provide sufficient resources for the science team to continue their work.”

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World's Leaders and Sabrina Khan:

unmet diseases and contribute to the advancement in global medical development.

Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader. What challenges you had to face to reach where you are today?

What are the challenges you and your team at Aptorum Group Limited come across in your dayto-day operations?

Like many accounting graduates, I started my career as an auditor at Big 4 where I learned a lot of technical skills and “best practices” from auditing diﬀerent clients. After I left, I joined various listed and private companies where I started to lead projects, lead teams, help management to solve problems and make important decisions. Of course, things are not always smooth. I also encountered lots of challenges throughout the journey. But I see every challenge a valuable opportunity for me to learn and grow. Every experience is an important lesson. In the past, as a junior, I always focused on myself; and now, I would put myself in the shoe of the management and the company and consider the interest of all parties and the big picture.

Managing people is always the most difficult. It's an art because there's no straight formula and you cannot easily control how people think and behave. You need different approach to handle different people, especially difficult people. Within the team, I have to understand everyone's strengths and weaknesses, their personality, job expectation and make sure they are motivated and do their job well. So it's one of my core duties and challenge to motivate the team in working together to contribute their competencies and experiences to get things done.

Describe Aptorum Group Limited's oﬀerings that address the need of your customers. Aptorum Group is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel therapeutics to tackle unmet medical needs including orphan, infectious and metabolic diseases. We continue to seek diﬀerent approaches to identify more therapeutic targets in covering more currently medical

Whereas outside the team, like many other companies, there are always staﬀs who want easy solution and do not want to follow rules. We need to have a cooperative attitude but yet,

“

No one is born to be a leader, so am I. worldsleaders.com | 49

we are the gatekeeper and have to ensure they follow the rules set by the company. So we need to take a balance. On one hand, we have to make sure everyone and all departments follow the rules but on the other hand, we don't want to build a hostile relationship with them. It involves lots of education and training and let them understand why they have to follow the policies and how they would also benefit from it. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? My dad influenced me a lot. He's punctual, committed, and reliable, though sometimes too rigid. But he always teaches me to be a responsible person and this has also become my motto in life that keeps on reminding me not to give up whenever I encounter any challenges. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? The pandemic sweeping the world and there is no sign that it would be resolved any soon. We have to implement different approaches to ensure our R&D progress is on track and operation remains normal. For staffs who need to physically present, we ask them to split teams in order to control the number of people

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working together. For back office staffs, we encourage them to work from home. Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives Aptorum Group Limited. Aptorum Group Limited is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, working to provide medical treatments, extensively in the domain of oncology and infectious diseases. They are one of the leading companies, taking the innovation curve ahead, dedicated to discovering, developing, and finally commercializing the medical treatments for such diseases which are not only infectious but as they are not given proper and adequate attention, can pose a serious threat to the survival of the mankind. They are not only dedicated but their sincerity and work speak a great deal about the company's vision and goals. They are not only changing the way of treatment in oncology and infectious diseases by providing breakthrough treatments but are leading the competition in the market and strong holding their dominance as one of the best biopharmaceutical companies.

We will continue to develop the existing projects, yet we will also explore new ways to develop more therapeutic treatments to target the ever-growing numbers of orphan diseases and unmet medical needs. The traditional way of drug development may take years and it's diﬃcult to deal with the continuous growing number of diseases. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs? Starting a business is not easy. It's essential to ﬁnd the right people of the necessary skills who can also share the same goal and values. We are fortunate to have found the right people, right projects and very important, right timing too. We did waste lots of time and resources searching, testing, making adjustment and re-testing again. The process is tough and lot of people could have given up during the process. But see it as an opportunity to make you do better next time.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for Aptorum Group Limited? worldsleaders.com | 51

Paul Guenther Helping businesses by providing Useful Insight and Analysis of the Industry

52 | AUGUST 2021

Founder & CEO Knowledge Hub Media

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“

f you are making money, your employees are making money, and your clients and vendors are making money as a result of your business process, you are doing a damn nice job,” says Paul Guenther. He is the Founder & CEO of Knowledge Hub Media and known for exemplary leadership skills. In an interview with World's Leaders, Paul shared his insights over leadership, entrepreneurship and industry challenges and advice for emerging leaders. Below are the highlights of the interview: How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? Similar to what I mentioned before, our offerings are diverse by their very nature. They have to be, really. Our core competencies fall in the areas or demand generation and content syndication. We promote our client's white papers and webinars to generate and deliver highly targeted, highly qualified b2b sales leads. As each of our clients have different products, solutions and services, they each target different segments of people (and companies). Our offerings are customized, fully tailored to target folks within the right job roles – at the right companies – who are typically already in the buying cycle for our client's solutions.

Selling the first client, and then the first couple of clients, on what was still mostly an unproven idea and then proving that idea to me and my clients even beyond my own expectations. Besides that, it is mostly client and campaign fulfilment challenges. Marketing programs that are driven by very niche targeting criteria, and reaching lead volume goals by the campaign's deadline but we are very proactive about never “overpromising and underdelivering.” We simply won't do it. We forecast for lead output and delivery as well as anyone in the industry, and we are usually dead on. Even so, we are typically conservative with the projections that we give clients. This provides another layer of protection that helps to ensure things go smoothly and we keep our promises in terms of goals. How do you maintain balance between your professional & personal life?

As a CEO and business leader, describe the challenges you overcame through your journey.

Simple enough, they are separate lives. I mean that in every meaning of the deﬁnition. I have friends who work for me, for example. My brother, also. My interactions with these people diﬀer immensely depending on whether they are professional or personal interactions. I do not allow the two things to get intertwined in any way. Also, to put it simply, I do not work weekends. I work long and hard hours, all week, Monday through Friday and to that point, I owe it to my family – and myself – to ensure that I don't get wrapped up in business dealings on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend is my time for leisure and personal experiences.

It might sound simple, but just getting o ﬀof the ground was probably my largest challenge.

What was your inspiration behind your product/service? How your products/services are are going to

54 | AUGUST 2021

help those, who are not even privileged to hear about it? To reiterate, the inspiration for our products and services often comes directly from our clients and partners. Given that we are a B2B company and sell directly to businesses rather than consumers. Anybody who wants to know about our products is usually able to and anybody who wants to have input as far as out products are concerned? Well they are certainly welcome to offer it up. What is your approach to motivating and developing talent? How does the company continue to develop, grow and elevate people to be at their very best? Oh it's easy. Treat them the same way that you'd treat your family or good friends. When you want to educate somebody that you like, somebody you love… How do you do it? Are you authoritative? Or conversely, are you more consultative? I try to treat everyone with the upmost respect. My rule of thumb is NOT to “treat everyone the same way you'd want to be treated,” but rather, to “treat everyone BETTER than you'd want to be treated.” That can go a long way. In 11 years, now, we've never lost a single employee. Nobody has ever been fired or laid off, and nobody has quit, either. I'd like to – and hope to – keep it that way. How do you sustain your leadership spirit in this changing technological era? I do not think it's very difficult, honestly. It is just the way that I have always done things, still do things. I guess it's just the way that I am. My leadership approach rarely changes based on wavering circumstances or external forces – including this

current era of ever changing, ever improving technology. To be clear, though, external forces could no doubt impact our company. They can sometimes curve our approach or force us to take different paths in certain situations. These changes can have an impact on our strategy, for example, or the products and services that we offer. But external forces have very little – if any – effect on my leadership spirit.

the business from the ground up. There have been, and still are, many weeknights where I am up until 4:30 in the morning working and then back up and going again at 8:30 am the same day. It's just part of what I do. If you are going to run an eﬀective company, you probably have to work longer and harder than everyone else. You really do not want

to be in a position where you are relying on anybody. Even if you think you can (and hopefully you can). Failure cannot be an excuse – because you never actually fail at anything until you decide yourself that you've failed. If you can't get things done one way, you try doing them a diﬀerent way.

What advice would you like to give to the emerging business leaders? Make sure you are willing to put in the time and that you are content to miss out on some other things in life when you are running a company. Especially in the early years, where much of your time is spent building

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C I O V I E W S | 59

Michelle Beyo Rising Up to Drive Forward Financial Inclusion,Gender Diversity and Open Banking

CEO & Founder FINAVATOR

58 | AUGUST 2021

M Michelle Beyo is the CEO & founder of FINAVATOR, an awardwinning strategy firm focused on bridging the gap between Fintechs and traditional Banks. Michelle is also a strategic advisor to multiple Fintechs, a Money 20/20 RiseUp alumni, a Global Council Member for Women in Payments, the Membership Chair at Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), a Payment Advisor for National Crowdfunding and FinTech Association (NCFA), as well as a Board Member at Open Banking Initiative of Canada (OBIC). Passionate about enabling financial inclusion, faster payments, and driving Open Banking forward in Canada, Michelle started FINAVATOR. With over 20 years of extensive industry experience driving innovation across the retail and payments industry, Michelle was named a "Rising Star" by Women in Payments 2018, and one of the "Top 30 Best CEOs of 2021" by The Silicon Valley Review. FINAVATOR was also recently awarded "Most Influential Leader in Fintech Consulting - Canada" in 2020.

The Journey of Founding FINAVATOR For Michelle Beyo, the two biggest risks that she has ever taken included leaving the corporate world after over 20 years and starting her own company. After building the confidence to apply to Money 20/20's RiseUp program, one of the largest payments and financial services events in the world, Michelle received the exciting news in July of 2019 that she had won one of only thirty spots out of five hundred applicants to join the program in Las Vegas. Money 20/20 facilitates the largest network of payment conferences globally, so winning that spot as one of the two Canadians selected worldwide was a dream come true for her. The news inspired her to take the risk to go after her lifelong dream of becoming a CEO and starting her own company. The journey was not easy, building a company overnight with no funding was far from an easy task. Although Michelle had always dreamed of becoming a CEO, it was a difficult decision as her family relied on only one income. During that time, Michelle had also lost one of her best friends of 26 years after a 4-year battle with colon cancer at the age of 36. This devastating loss was a reminder that life is too short to play it safe, and that she had to go after her dreams of starting a business. Michelle quickly bootstrapped the company and launched it in less than a week, announcing to the world via LinkedIn her latest endeavor. Michelle was able to

secure over 100 followers in 2 weeks and signed her first client within a month. She was excited to give back to the community and use her knowledge and incredible network to push Fintech companies and open banking forward. FINAVATOR: Bridging the Gap between FinTechs and traditional Banks FINAVATOR holds a unique position within the financial services space, helping to create a more collaborative ecosystem by bringing stakeholders together to build innovative products and services for consumers. FINAVATOR's team has expertise in a variety of areas including Open Banking, Payments & Prepaid Solutions, Challenger Banks, Micro Loans, Rewards, Loyalty Solutions and Financial Marketing. With traditional banks, Michelle and her team help evaluate Fintechs to find the best innovation partners for their clients to help them expand their customer base. When working with Fintechs, they are passionate about driving growth through helping build innovative products, strategic marketing, and enterprise partnerships to reach new customer segments. FINAVATOR has been able to help drive innovative products to market that offer consumers the opportunity to save and budget more effectively to reach their financial goals. For example, Michelle worked directly with founders at Treasure Financial to help them launch a Canadian budgeting app for kids. Using a worldsleaders.com | 59

WE ARE HERE TO HELP BAAS, OPEN BANKING & PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

SALES ACCELERATION

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

INNOVATIVE MARKETING

60 | AUGUST 2021

prepaid card, Treasure Financial enables a way for parents to educate kids about their money by sending them an allowance via a digital or physical card. This was a big achievement as Treasure Financial was one of the ﬁrst prepaid reloadable cards that can be used by kids of 6-12 years old. Michelle has also helped enable many key partnerships, in addition to creating growth and opportunities for some of North America's leading Fintechs.

in, she is always working towards gender parity and diversity. Within FINAVATOR and across the diﬀerent boards and initiatives that she is a part of, Michelle believes that advocating for gender equity and diversity is a necessity for challenging gender stereotypes, amplifying a variety of voices, and ensuring equal opportunity practices. When Michelle is asked to moderate a panel or speak at an event, she makes it a priority to assemble a panel that is diverse.

Outside of FINAVATOR, Michelle had the opportunity to speak as a payments industry expert at many global events, including being the keynote at the Cyber Security & Risk event on Open Banking as well as being on the main stage at Money 20/20. She was also involved in several panel discussions on the future of payments at Open Finance 2020, the Payment Summit, Women Future Conference, Fintech Summit and many more.

Over this last year, Michelle was honored with the opportunity to join her first board but before accepting the offer, she requested that the board at OBIC consider implementing a 50/50 gender diversity initiative, which was then accepted as their 2021 goal. As a board member at OBIC, Michelle is extremely honored to hold the codirector seat and to steer the organization towards educating different parties, connect industry players, and driving the important message that Open Banking is a force for good for Canadian consumers, SMEs, and the entire Canadian financial ecosystem. In honour of her best friend, Shannon Phair, a passionate artist who was only 36 when she left this world, Michelle has participated in the 10 KM run #PushForYourTush to help fight colon cancer for the past six years. She has raised over $50K as the lead of Shannon's Shamrock team.

Driving Financial Inclusion and Gender Diversity Michelle has spent many years supporting organizations that help empower women to rise above– whether it be in their personal or professional lives. She holds volunteer roles on the Global Council holds a seat on the Award committee for Women in Payments as well as being a Money 20/20 RiseUp alumni. Michelle is also involved in Women in Blockchain and Women in Digital Identity. No matter what initiative or organization Michelle is involved

A Force for Good through Open Banking

help Fintech's expand faster, banks drive innovation, as well as move the Open Banking discussion forward. She believes that Open Banking is critical to empower consumers, competition, and innovation as well as to help Canada stay competitive on a global scale. As a global movement, Open Banking empowers consumers with control over their ﬁnancial data using open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that enable third parties to build innovative products and services. As part of her Open Banking advocacy, Michelle takes on the role of co-creator and host of OBIC's Open Banking Insights Series that is moderated by the Honorable Senator Colin Deacon. The current ten-part series highlights the advantages and challenges in both the UK and Canada regarding Open Banking. It features distinguished guest speakers from HSBC, EQ Bank, Interac, Revolut, OBIE (Open Banking Implementation Entity), the Competition Bureau of Canada, and Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) among others. OBIC is particularly excited about the recently released roadmap for Canada and looks forward to discussing its impact in the upcoming episodes. Michelle Beyo was recently named a ﬁnalist for the Pioneer Award at Open Banking Expo's Open Banking Awards for her commitment and contribution to this initiative.

As the CEO of FINAVATOR, Michelle works passionately to worldsleaders.com | 61

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