Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference 2021

1. www.insightssuccess.com New Directions 6 Trending career opportunities that have emerged post COVID-19 pandemic Digital Everything 5 Reasons why Digital Marketing will Boom in 2021 Tigran Haas Director 2021 DR. TIGRAN HAAS VOLUME-01 ISSUE-05

4. EDITOR’S DESK O remote working. What was once a one-off thing is slowly turning central for the sheer survival and growth of certain industries. In fact, practically every industry, be it related to production or services, is looking up to remote working to cut costs and speed up services. ut of sight may sometimes go out of mind with not-so- palatable consequences. One of the most likely scenarios of such a thing taking place is in the case of www.insightssuccess.com New Directions 6 Trending career opportunities that have emerged post COVID-19 pandemic That said, not all is green on the other side of the fence. Some, in fact is increasingly turning brown with time given that not enough time could be spent studying the phenomenon of Work From Home and its outcomes across industries and job profiles. Pros and cons aside, there are certain steps that business leaders ought to take to motivate those working from remote locations so that the latter gives their best, while keeping the organizational flag flying high. Digital Everything 5 Reasons why Digital Marketing will Boom in 2021 Tigran Haas Director Map out those jobs and profiles that are best done remotely! Not every job can be done remotely. Some in fact need the presence of people and systems all the time. This includes jobs directly related to production-lines and shopfloors. These obviously cannot be done from remote locations. That said, there are those which need to be done remotely either because of the way they are structured or affords the opportunity while keeping quality of work and costs either down or within limits. Jobs typically doable at remote locations could include research, writing, data-entry and accounts to name some. By taking away such jobs, most business leaders can in fact motivate existing staff in office and remote locations to perform better. One of the first things that business leaders thus need to do is to segregate jobs into doable remotely and otherwise, and only then proceed towards taking firm actions. 2021 DR. TIGRAN HAAS VOLUME-01 ISSUE-05 Leading from Distance: How business leaders can improve productivity while working remotely

5. Daily face-to-face interactions in a structured manner with a fixed agenda that is mixed with small talk (not necessarily being strictly related to work). One of the biggest drawbacks of remote working is the feeling of alienation, and more so for those used to the air of an office with people milling around. Working alone can be disturbing, boring and in some, can lead to feeling low which if not addressed in time, may lead to depression. The good news is that the feeling of being lonely can be done away just as easily with the use of technologies which helps interact with the outside world, especially seniors and business leaders. fact muddles things which affects productivity and employee morale, and more so of those placed away from an office set-up. Productivity thus demands that one be as open and clear to the extent possible with figures and facts in place. For instance, in the case of writing-related assignments, it makes sense for business leaders to be open with aspects including word-count, tone and tenor, dates of assignment etc. By providing relevant details and doing so with clarity, business leaders make their expectations clear to everyone including those working remotely which goes a long way in motivating workers to perform in a clear, precise, and output-related manner. With broadband internet not being an issue in most countries, platforms including Google Meet, Zoom, Xoho etc have come up with elaborate systems where business leaders and those down the line can interact with those working remotely with the same ease and flexibility that applies in the physical world. While it makes sense to have structured meeting to make the most of time, it’s equally important to keep time aside for small chit-chats about the family, the weather and topics not strictly related to employment and a job. Where possible, insist on physical interactions. Where there exists a possibility to meet in person at fixed intervals, it should surely be encouraged and utilized. Body language and nuances are something one cannot understand-despite the best of tech support unless one comes face-to-face with a person in a particular setting. It can have various forms including office attendance at regular intervals, meeting colleagues in informal (though structured) settings, presence in shared spaces which does away with travelling to far-off places. While the former helps streamline job-related work including getting requisite permissions in place, the latter helps engender closeness among co-workers. This is especially true in times of crises like the present pandemic or when remotely working co-workers go through a personal tragedy. Forms aside, what’s of importance is to meet in person where-ever possible. Sometimes it’s just one meet that does the trick of motivating people- and of that, most of the talking is done by gestures and body language! Set-up clear KRAs and derive ways to achieve them. Treat deviations with requisite significance. Sales is an activity where being opaque doesn’t help. It in Abhishaj Sajeev abhishaj@insightssuccess.com

6. C O N T E N T S COVER STORY Dr. Tigran Haas Dr. Tigran Haas Dr. Tigran Haas PROVIDING A VERSATILE OUTLOOK ON IMPACTFUL LEADERSHIP 08 A Trendsetter How a Techie built a Million-dollar Venture that empowers businesses with the power of mobile apps 26 CXO

7. C O N T E N T S ARTICLES New Directions 6 Trending career opportunities that have emerged post COVID-19 pandemic Digital Everything 5 Reasons why Digital Marketing will Boom in 2021 18 32 16 22 Approyo Inc The leading global SAP provider Nicole Martin Empowering People, Empowering Companies Ray Pasquale An epitome of Leadership, Innovation, and Excellence 28 36 Rob Leslie Pioneering the Cyber-safety Magic

8. Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Senior Editor Managing Editor Assisting Editors Sharad, Ashish, Vrushali Anish Miller Abhishaj Sajeev Visualiser David King Art & Design Head Asha Bange Art & Design Assistant Deepanjali Jena Co-designer Art & Picture Editor Priyanka Rajage Paul Belin Business Development Manager Marketing Manager Sherin Rodricks Joseph D'souza Business Development Executives Kelly, Jenny Sales Executives Alice, Joe Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head Amar Sawant Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David Alina Sege Amol Wadekar Digital Marketing Manager Assistant Digital Marketing Manager SME-SMO Executives Gemson, Renuka Research Analyst Eric Smith Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com January, 2021 Corporate Ofce Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com www.twitter.com/insightssuccess Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ We are also available on : RNI No.: MAHENG/2018/75953 Copyright © 2021 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

9. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 Featuring Company Name Brief Magnet Forensics is a global leader in the development of digital investigation software that acquires, analyzes and shares evidence from computers, smartphones, tablets and IoT related devices. Magnet Forensics magnetforensics.com Adam Belsher CEO Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. Approyo approyo.com Christopher Carter CEO TruWeather Solutions LLC truweather solutions.com TruWeather has a proven framework for recovering those lost profits for weather sensitive businesses. Don Berchoff CEO Ken Bond CEO AdRizer is a full-service tracking platform for advertisers seeking ROI optimization and digital analytics. adrizer adrizer.com Explorer Research explorerresearch.com Marc Inkol President Explorer Research is an award-winning provider of integrated research specializing in packaging and shopper research. PremiseLED is dedicated to being a one-of-a-kind lighting company; faster, stronger, smarter, and for just one reason: to make its customers love its products. Premise LED premiseled.com Nick Wagner Co-foundr HRBoost, LLC. is Shared Services HR firm specializing in building HR from scratch and implementing practices that add value. Nicole Martin CEO HRBoost hrboost.com Unified Office, Inc. is a leading provider of SDN-based hybrid cloud managed Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and Unified Communications services to small and medium-sized businesses. Ray Pasquale CEO Unified Office, Inc. unifiedoffice.com Sedicii allows two parties that have access to the same information to prove to each other that they both have exactly the same information, or not as the case may be, without ever exposing the underlying information to each other in the process. Rob Leslie CEO Sedicii sedicii.com KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm is one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. KTH Royal Institute of Technology kth.se Tigran Haas Director and CEO

10. DR. TIGRAN HAAS DIRECTOR

11. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 Dr. Tigran Haas Dr. Tigran Haas Dr. Tigran Haas Cover Story PROVIDING A VERSATILE OUTLOOK ON IMPACTFUL LEADERSHIP ‘ We must learn and adapt, and we also need to prepare for the tougher challenges ahead of us, as unfortunately there will be many more of these to come.

12. Sweden. He had also completed post-‘ T universities are better placed in a network society in this new digital age. If for nothing, this pandemic has taught us to be localized, less wasteful, more attuned to ecological footprint, comradeship, and the importance of micro scale. Also, the new ideas for cities of the future in terms of density and spread of people and infrastructure, new office environments, and new public places are going to be omnipresent in any future planning and development processes. New theories, new data, new approaches – all of that is necessary in order to produce new resilient and just technological environments. If you’re striving to be a top leader, you probably need to have a winning spirit and a clear purpose – drive and spirit o provide students with an easily accessible online version of their courses, economic times in the past and it will withstand them again, preparing to be adaptable, resilient and sustainable in the long run,” says Dr. Tigran Haas, Director of the Centre for the Future of Places (CFP) at KTH. and cultural hubs where students are brought together from all corners of the world where social and human capital is produced. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the unprecedented impact it has had on our society, they had to adapt to teaching, research and networking online and most importantly, to do everything they can to protect the lives of their students and faculty. Impacting Dynamically Dr. Tigran had studied Architecture and Urbanism in the USA, Former Yugoslavia and Croatia, as well as in Maximising online learning and teaching, developing robust but flexible systems, gathering information and applying the best practices have been some of the hallmarks of this difficult period, as well as great collegial and comradeship throughout the days. “The higher education sector has withstood pandemics and turbulent University and college campuses such as KTH – Royal Institute of Technology and MIT are places where students study, socialise and live in close proximity to each other. These campuses are also the nexus for social

13. them immediately, often doing it ‘ doctoral fellowships in Urbanism, Sustainable Planning, Information Technology and Urban Form at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Media Lab, UC Berkeley at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He was a guest professor at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM) as well. important. He stresses on listening, understanding and doing what is necessary along with maintaining optimistic approach towards risk taking to a specific degree. “We need to read people and adapt to their behaviour,” shares Dr. Tigran. It is one of the necessary tasks in the organization that helps in anticipating problems. Thinking outside of the box, eliminating threats and assessing psychopathic personalities is crucial to critical decision making. One of the biggest hurdles is the environment at the micro, meso and the macro scales. It is noted that macro brings the immediate one with all the challenges of competence, tasks, staff, rapid decisions, administration, and leadership. “Optimism and assessment of the risk factors should be the ultimate factor of a research-oriented company’s chairperson,” thinks Dr. Haas. Mastering and anticipating the problems as they arise, and solving Knowing your people is a must of musts Dr. Tigran has written over 100 scholarly articles, 55 conference papers, 10 books, four research anthologies, and have been involved in teaching in international educational programs such as Real Estate Management, Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, Strategic Management, Urban Planning and Design along with Sustainable Urban Planning and Design (SUPD). He has also helped in setting up an MBA program in Croatian, Zagreb and founding and running the One-year Advanced Master’s Program in Urbanism Studies (MUSE). To be an impactful leader, Dr. Tigran believes that the ability to learn from the past and from mistakes, strong communication skills and building sustainable relationships at all levels is

14. Dr. Tigran.‘ outside the box, using intuition, fast decision making, improvisation and decisive time measures, are some of the key elements of a good leader. Finally, eliminating the psychopathic personalities that might become hurdles for the working environment and business operations by disabling their destructive and negative operations is a must. This is one of the key hurdles for the whole research team and the business world, which is often wrongly side-tracked, forgotten and underestimated. Too many leaders see those they lead just as screws in a machine that needs some oil at times or little bytes in a software system and rarely take the time to learn about them. “Continuous learning and never losing your enthusiasm are the key to being successful,” informs Dr. Tigran. A fresh and enthusiastic approach is necessary all the way as leading others is both a science and an art, as KTH’s logo and motto depicts about Science and Art. “A science, in that good leadership requires some knowledge of human nature; an art because there will always be the need for creativity”, as somebody once said. The attitude of having a clear vision will serve you well, but only with a grain of caution that is where the next focus will lie in the coming five years, either continuing in the path we have set or turning the ship into another, slightly less (un)charted destination,” he describes. The main issue that needs to be addressed now is that the cities are getting more complex and the challenges are rising on a daily basis with multiple converging crises. This situation demands answers for new theories, tools and approaches. “The Centre will try to answer these calls as it goes into the next period,” concludes A Guiding Light Roadblocks will be many from personal choices, communication, decisions and projects along with program work that can bring many known as well as unknown factors. The key thing is a tight organization with good leadership and delegation of responsibilities where the chemistry functions and all are onboard towards a common goal and where mutual benefit must prevail, availing individual gain and vanity. After the five-year sequel of the Centre, Dr. Tigran is interested in seeing what the future has in store for him and the institute. “We will see what the future has installed for us,

15. Dr. Tigran’s Awards and Recognitions: • CEO TODAY EUROPE AWARDS 2020 • ACQ5 GLOBAL AWARDS 2018-2019 • CV MAGAZINE EXCELLENCE AWARD 2017 • FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2019 • CIO VIEWS MONTHLY AWARDS 2019 • CEO VIEWS 2020 AWARDS • SILICON REVIEW 2018 AWARDS

16. s u b s c r i b e G l o b a l S u b s c r i p t i o n $130.00 $70.00 $25.00 $250.00 1 Year 6 Months 3 Months 1 Month (12 Issues) (06 Issues) (03 Issues) (01 Issue) Stay in touch. Subscribe to Insightssuccess Get Insightssuccess Magazine in print, & digital on www.insightssuccess.com “ www.insightssuccess.com C h o o s e E x c e l l e n t, C h o o s e I n s i g h t s New Directions 6 Trending career opportunities that have emerged post COVID-19 pandemic Digital Everything 5 Reasons why Digital Marketing will Boom in 2021 Tigran Haas Director 2021 DR. TIGRAN HAAS VOLUME-01 ISSUE-05

18. Approyo Inc The leading global SAP provider ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ other professionals around the world. He was fortunate to have been the creator of the first SAP cloud ever to be used by an SAP client back in 2005, and the first SAP HANA Production cloud used by a true-blue client. E in the 1990s, they have been experiencing growth and enabling companies to seamlessly manage business activities. ver since the first Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software stepped in the market Investment (ROI), decrease downtime, improve analytics, and organize data, improving overall customer, partner, and employee experiences. Delivering Technology Solutions “If you want better results, you must use the best technology,” advises Christopher Carter,Founder & CEO, Approyo Inc. Christopher’s professional journey started when he studied SAP technology at Georgia Tech. Today, he is blessed to have nearly 30 years of experience in SAP and has been nationally recognized by The American SAP Users Group, Inc5000, Forbes, and many more. At Approyo, Christopher and his team work with firms to assist them in their journey to the usage of SAP and their HANA solutions. In the beginning stages of defining Approyo, the team found it difficult to draw large number of clients due to the lack of education around cloud computing at the time. Trying to convince companies to use cloud technology when it was a new concept was no easy task. Many companies were okay with sticking with their old legacy systems, and they had to come up with a plan to show them how the cloud is Technology has proven to be the fastest way to propel your business to success. It is important to constantly look for solutions to your biggest business problems and drawbacks. Staying up to date with the latest and greatest in ERP systems specifically will allow you to gain a one-up on your competitor when you are innovating while they stay stagnant. Updating systems and implementing new solutions enables companies to increase Return on He speaks and educates on the benefits of selective ERP management solutions, Cloud, and SAP solutions, to 16 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

19. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 AWARDS GALORE currently available in the market. Firms like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc. need to stop selling their data to third party companies, and there should be laws put in place to stop this from occurring in the first place. Not only can it hurt businesses, but it goes against individuals’ rights too, it hurts everyone.” Here are just some of the awards Chris and Approyo won in 2020: • Approyo has been named on the Inc 5000 list four times. This year they were listed as no. 9 in Milwaukee, no. 40 in Wisconsin, and no. 231 in IT Management. • Approyo named One of The ‘10 Most Renowned Brands to Watch in 2020' by The Leaders Globe • ‘5 Best SAP Solution Providers Companies to Watch’ by The Silicon Review • Chris Carter Awarded Bravo! Entrepreneur and I.Q Award by Milwaukee’s BizTimes Media • 2020 USA’s ‘Best Practice Operator of the Year (SAP Solutions)’ by ACQ5 • Approyo Ranked no. 36 Among The 2020 World’s Most Elite 501 Managed Service Providers • “Best 100 Companies to Watch Out for in 2020” by Exeleon Magazine Growth is Essential whatever be the Circumstances The current COIVDI-19 pandemic had sent the whole world into a tizzy and businesses looking for solutions that could help them survive. Regardless of ‘ ‘ much more agile, scalable, and reliable. help them along the way, but ultimately trust them to make the best decisions that will lead your business to success. Leadership should never be a dictatorship because, without your team, your company would be nothing,” he says. Today, Approyo provides implementations, migrations, upgrades, and 24/7 SAP support for their customers around the globe. They also provide free consultations, along with hosting and monitoring of SAP systems and applications. They support organizations that are looking for knowledge to support their own firm’s growth through current business processes, where even 1% of change can lead to millions of dollars in the business flow. “By providing the best SAP Solutions in the world, tailored to individual business needs, and by providing a focus on our Platform as a Service (PaaS), allows us to launch systems in hours rather than weeks, allowing customers to innovate and experience success at a faster rate than their competitors,” explains Christopher. ‘ ‘ Advising young entrepreneurs, he says, “If you have an idea, a concept, or a dream, go out and do it, don’t give up on it. Take risks and lean into your fear of failure or you will never succeed. Approyo would not be where we are today if I didn’t take the risk to invest in it.” the pandemic, the systems must continue to run efficiently. Therefore, Approyo has continued with its responsibility of providing its SAP services and solutions even throughout these difficult times. It has provided six months of free SAP services to old and new clients to free up their cash flow, helping them continue to stay innovative while stressing less about their budget. All for Change When asked what he would like to change about the current business ecosystem in the US, Christopher shared that he would make two changes: “As for the organization, the most important thing I see for us is growth. Already within 2020 we have gained more clients, started more conversations with new executives, gained more staff, etc. My main goal is to grow our team of SAP experts to take care of our growing number of customers and partners,” concludes Christopher. “First, I would want to bring more entrepreneurs into the world to expand innovation even more so, fast and furious. Fail fast but if you keep getting up, you’ll be on the path to success. Second, I would want to add more security to the applications Trusting, not Just Directing As an experienced leader, Christopher believes that the most powerful form of leadership is having trust in your team. “Take the time to educate them and JANUARY 2021 | 17 www.insightssuccess.com

20. 6 6 6 Trending CAREER OPPORTUNITIES that have emerged post COVID-19 PANDEMIC 18 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

21. New Directions T he COVID-19 pandemic continues to be the enemy at the gate. With vaccines having limited use, and the fight likely to be a long-drawn one, there is one thing everyone in every sphere wants to do in order not to get infected. And that is, maintaining social distancing. Though it may not sound alarming and on the contrary, quite innocuous, in reality it’s affecting industries where distance (the nearer, the better) does matter, or where maintaining the right distance as mandated, is tough. This aspect of the disease has led to the demise of a range of industries while paving the path for the creation of new ones which, besides taking care of the likely spread of the pandemic, could change the very way industries run in future. We mention a few below. • Specialists in robotics and integration! AI, ML, Robotics and beyond aren’t simply buzzwords anymore. They mean business, and for some, this actually mean business in that specialists in comprehensive robotics across industries be it BFSI, Healthcare, Logistics, and even education, are high in demand. The industry has gone way beyond websites, apps, CRM integration with ecommerce companies to mean leveraging the power of data through AI to power robots to do everything that till a while back was done by humans. JANUARY 2021 | 19 www.insightssuccess.com

22. • Communication experts In a few years from now, jobs like data entry would be a thing of the past with machines taking care of gathering data be it through voice-activated systems, capturing innage gestures to gleaning information using NLP. Those who can help companies integrate the entire exercise are in need. Before the pandemic broke-out, communication among others meant written and spoken stuff with a certain human element. Now, with the human element all but gone, and in most instances taken over by bots, the need to communicate right from the very first instance is important. This calls for communication experts who understand the language, the medium, technology, and to an extent the product. In all, such a person would seamlessly guide most marketing campaigns which these days aren’t stand-along activities but integrated to the very act of selling and making loyal clientele. • Specialists in data gathering and utilizing Data has been the new crude oil for quite some time now. Covid-19 just brought that understanding to every place where data could be gathered – without the need for human interface! Be it waiting tables at a restaurant, operating earth-moving equipment at constructions sites or administering medicines, every situation generates data every second which needs to be cleaned, sorted, completed, and put thru the right program to generate insights and predictions. The need for specialists who can predict points where information of the right kinds can be had in the right quantities is thus the need of the hour. • Re-trainers With the whole world undergoing lockdowns in some form or the other, industry across the spectrum took a severe beating. Add to that the steady movement towards mechanization, and the advent of independent systems including the cloud. Put together it shall see vast swathes of humanity either unemployed or under-employed, and not in a position to provide for themselves. You could call them information specialists or whatever, but they are here to stay.As for the pandemic, it has upset the applecart by bringing about the element of unpredictability. Such specialists can help gather data, insights and actionable information to bring further mechanization and robotization and help reduce the element of unpredictability. In order not to cause social unrest, most governments worldwide are seeking the assistance of specialist re-trainers who not only train people but in some instances make them unlearn certain things (as is the case with data-entry operators) before training them afresh. Learning and development and re-training are thus one industry which in some form or the other, can thank the Covid-19 pandemic for exacerbating the situation. • Specialists in remote assistance It started with work-from-home. And now it’s work from anywhere- other than an overcrowded office. As long as the objective is met, one’s physical location isn’t a matter of concern for most organization any longer. That said, connecting the remotest outpost to a centralized system while maintaining speed, accuracy and most of all, data security is of utmost importance in the present post-pandemic order. Working from a location other than a centralized office is affecting everyone from a services company to a manufacturer, distributor, logistics entity to even service providers including medical practitioners whose ambit now has increased to doing surgeries online, attending to patients online, and providing post-procedure care. • Psychiatrists Lockdown, losing jobs, losing mobility, losing dear ones, re-assessing life ab-initio. A sizable population worldwide has been made to go through this agony of which predictably, a sizable number hasn’t responded positively. A shrink is then everyone’s favourite person these days who besides playing the perfect agony aunt, has helped near-collapsed individuals pull back from the edge to find a new meaning to life. Be they seasoned ears or newbies, those with the right credentials are a real need of the hour. And for a change, it’s ambit is worldwide. Specialists who guarantee seamless connectivity while maintaining integrity and data security are the need of the hour. - M. Purushoutham 20 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

24. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 Nicole Martin Empowering People, Empowering Companies ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Nicole Martin Founder and CEO Nicole loves what she does, and she does it remarkably well. “I’m an accidental entrepreneur,” says Nicole, “I looked back after starting my own business and said, ‘I started a business. Whoa!’” Nicole didn’t set out to create HRBoost. She simply followed her passion to help clients understand the importance human resources can play in developing a strong business. And today, Nicole is a successful entrepreneur and an HR industry innovator who is dedicated to helping small to mid-size business realize their potential through their employees. A importance of human capital, understands this adage. Businesses, no matter what size, are built on the productivity, commitment, and integrity of their employees. “ n organization is only as successful as its employees.” Anyone who understands the full-service HR is something small businesses deserve. “Every person deserves joy and purpose through their work, and we feel companies that enable this will prosper and grow with a competitive advantage through their people,” says Nicole. HRBoost delivers skilled talent to its clients. The company believes clients need both strategic and tactical resources at the same time. “One human is not ideal as there are various cognitive abilities to optimize HR strategically,” says Nicole. “We believe our shared services approach to the middle market is the PEO (professional employer organization) alternative. And yes, the middle market needs an alternative,” she adds. ® Finding, acknowledging, and retaining employees that can aid the success of your business must be pondered upon as much as for profits and growth. Nicole Martin the Founder and CEO ® of HRBoost strongly believes in the same. Nicole grew up in Montana, where, she says, “Everyone knows you and greets you on the street.” Nicole was also lucky to have a great mentor early in life: her mom. “My mother is highly spiritual, and she raised me with the philosophy of being happy,” Nicole expresses. “She always believed in me Nicole founded HRBoost , a shared services HR firm specializing in building HR, based on the idea that ® 22 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

25. and said that you are a special person—she ingrained that in me—and you are capable of anything.” At the age of 18 Nicole was ready to start proving her mom right. She left Montana and moved in with her godmother in Libertyville, Illinois. manager and moved 18-year-old Nicole from reception to human resources. Today, Nicole Martin does her best to represent her industry, not just as a senior executive, but as a public speaker, thought leader, blogger, board member and volunteer. As an ambassador for 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For™, she is helping Chicago business to see all the benefits a fully integrated human resources department can bring. Nicole has been building HR departments from the ground up ever since. What makes her approach so unique, she says, is that she begins with the business’ vision and creates HR programs that are completely integrated with that vision. From the hiring process to annual reviews, the programs Nicole creates are designed to further the business, boost productivity, and help employees understand why and how their contributions are meaningful. Right out of high school, Nicole got a job as a receptionist at a pre-Y2K firm where she found her passion quite by accident. “They were hiring all these computer experts from overseas, but when they arrived, the company just put them in the reception area because they didn’t know what to do with them,” recalls Nicole. “It was just inhumane.” “If you go into a business and they are a 101 Best and Brightest Company to Work For™, you can feel it. You would see on the people’s faces, the authenticity, the honesty, constructive criticism (which is level of respect) not complacency where managers actually think something in silence and don’t communicate it,” explains Nicole. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there in the business community. These big businesses are coming into small to mid-size companies, and they are offering something that they call full- service HR, but it’s not. It’s tactical HR. It’s just taking care of payroll, benefits, database stuff. It’s not the strategic integration that helps a business thrive and perform.” Nicole explained. During the same time, Nicole was working on a training program for a college human resources class. “I wanted to help these guys out in the hallway, so I just marched into the director’s office and asked him if he wanted to see the training program I created for school.” When Nicole was finished with her presentation, the director created a human resources department for the site, hired a But Nicole’s brand of full-service integrated HR provides more than just a corporate culture boost or a good office vibe. She links HRBoost’s services directly to profitability time and time again— and she’s got the analytics path charts and the logic models to prove it. JANUARY 2021 | 23 www.insightssuccess.com

28. How a Techie built a MILLION-DOLLAR VENTURE that empowers businesses with the power of MOBILE APPS Ishan Gupta Founder and CEO 26 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

29. A Trendsetter N how to write code. But Meet Ishan – a perfect example of a “Successful Technopreneur” who is possessing sharp Technical Insights along with Prolific Leadership ethics. ot every engineer becomes a company leader. And not every company leader understands His belief in prioritizing people over processes for the fastest results, most efficient work, least waste, and the highest level of quality has made RipenApps Technologies a Successful Startup. This zeal and dedication of every tech- nerd under the roof of RipenApps have kept them aligned towards the path of success & this has resulted- in a concise span our Brand “RipenApps Technologies” has added multiple success feathers in its cap via developing a vast count of 400+ featured & chartbuster apps, which are experiencing gigantic counts of downloads and have enabled their founders raising million-dollar funds from investors. “His passion for Empowering world with Mobility Solution incepted RipenApps Technologies.” Acute at writing codes to lead a globally renowned mobile app development company where he marvellously unlocks the potential of employees, empower them to perform their best while driving & monitoring business outcomes, he has formulated an inspiring success story that every emerging startup can uncover to mark success into tech-world. Success Story of RipenApps Aligned to provide consultancy to build next-generation mobile applications for Entrepreneurs/Startups to Enterprise Businesses, RipenApps develops & delivers optimum quality services to individuals who want to launch their business in the market with the most approachable medium i.e., Mobile & dreaming to unlock a massive number of ROI. RipenApps delivers outstanding solutions and has already delivered various mobility solutions across various industries consists of healthcare, education, agriculture, travel and tourism, real estate, fashion, sports, entertainment, and the apps are witnessing a success assigned to RipenApps. Coming up with a strong belief that the inclusion of mobile technology and digitalization of processes for any individual or a business will help them to ease their life so that they can be more focused on their Core Business functions aligned him to establish a venture. RipenApps is a team of passionate people driven by one zealous vision to craft immortal mobile app solution & deliver unparalleled results, there is nothing that keeps every Ripener up at night more than thinking, how we shall collaboratively deliver enormous value to the individuals who are willing to go digital with their business on the most used and approachable digital platforms. “Outstanding work gets accolades” RipenApps is getting admired by their clients, various renowned platforms, and well-versed research & listing agencies. All have given them a green flag by entitling RipenApps as a leading mobile app development company. The intent and winning technical experience drives him to make a growing venture – RipenApps Technologies million-dollar startup, which is emerging as a show stopper at App Development Startups’ success walk. In a concise span, RipenApps rewarded as a fastest-growing company that got associated with Multi-Trillion USD Global Corporates like DELL Inc., ADOBE, Jana Marines Services Co., EP&T Global, and many others for their software needs and productively adding values to the above Unicorns, we have also massively raised the revenue bars of our Startup associations that consists of eGurukul, In The Rooms, Ultimate Fitness Pass, and many more via rendering them hot-sellers, Top-Trending & Millions of Downloads recorded mobile applications. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Being the Founder and CEO of the fastest growing Mobile App Development Company, Ishan Gupta, loves to solve a real-world problem for Businesses, Entrepreneurs & Enterprises to optimize their business operations while scaling their revenue. RipenApps got founded in 2017 & has clocked 1 Mn USD, expanding its workspace from 400 Sqft. to 8700 Sqft. and Team of 3 to 100+ RipenApps’ success story is a confirmation of “When you built it Right, it will be marked as a Success”. JANUARY 2021 | 27 www.insightssuccess.com

30. Ray Pasquale An epitome of Leadership, Innovation, and Excellence Ray Pasquale Founder and CEO T existing one. You have to create something that really matters,” says Ray Pasquale, CEO and Founder of Unified Office,Inc. “ perseverance, and possibilities. Ray has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He has held senior executive positions at Cascade Communications, Ascend Communications, Lucent Technologies, and Sonus Networks, to name a few. here has to be the vision to invent a new market category or to significantly improve an on execution and to be willing to listen to your customers and your employees.” Talking about his source of inspiration, Ray says, “I have always been inspired by Steve Jobs and the way he transformed the music player market back in 2001 with the introduction of the iPod and later the iPhone. We at Unified Office are also transforming the VoIP and UC market in much the same way.” Through this edition entitled, Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference, we at Insights Success are on a journey to find significant personalities who strive ceaselessly to make a positive impact on the world. When asked about how he defines himself as an entrepreneur, Ray states, “I try to tread the delicate balance between demonstrating commitment to purpose and a willingness to pivot when necessary. I have learned over the years that it is very important to relentlessly focus A Benchmark of Quality Unified Office is a highly innovative managed services provider offering reliable, hybrid cloud-based business This is the story of Ray Pasquale and his journey that exemplifies passion, 28 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

31. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 communications services, IoT services, and real-time data analytics. ourselves in providing a safe and nourishing work environment that values and welcomes open communication and close collaboration across teams, encourages employees to think outside of the box, fosters creativity and new ideas, and empowers our employees to make their own decisions. We strive to appreciate our employees’ uniqueness, diversity, and individual skills, and to encourage personal growth.” Protocol™ (HQRP™) Over This “Over The Top” (OTT) transmission technology that calculates in real- time thousands of diverse paths through its network of servers across the country, creating paths for the reliable and flawless transmission of voice and data over the Internet.” Ray started the company because he saw a shift in work habits with companies becoming increasingly virtual. Geographic distance had to become irrelevant. The only way to accomplish this was to first make Voice over the Internet (VoIP) work reliably without the need for expensive legacy techniques like T1 or MPLS circuits. Once Unified Office achieved this, it was time to make their VoIP service go to work for small and medium-sized businesses. Towards New Horizons Asking Ray what advice he would give to aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders, he offered, “We live in a real-time, hyper-connected, push-button world today, which is evident in the ubiquitous adoption of smart phones, on demand taxi and rideshare services, near real-time Changing the Ordinary Explaining how Unified Office revolutionised the telecom market, Ray states, “Many VoIP/UC ‘ ‘ Unified Office’s unique service architecture is the result of the team’s collective 150 years of experience in both the telecommunications service provider and large enterprise data networking industries. “Our executive team has designed protocols, developed scalable products, and integrated, deployed, and supported carrier-grade equipment in many of the largest converged networks around the world,” adds Ray. ‘ ‘ companies came into being in the early 2000s largely by disrupting the pricing of the legacy PBX phone market with little to no innovation. This came primarily from centralizing a PBX in the cloud that would handle hundreds of subscribers independent of location via a VoIP desk phone. There was an inherent lack of quality and reliability because the Internet was not built for real-time applications like voice communications.” product delivery and ever-increasing broadband speeds. People expect an immediate response when shopping for things. It is really important to help your customers navigate and adapt to this fast-changing world.” As for Unified Office’s ambitions for the near future, the company will continue to evolve and transform the communications marketplace helping businesses of all types adapt to the speed of market changes that occur at a pace that is historically unprecedented. Unified Office’s service and product offerings are constantly evolving in order to provide unmatched quality, reliability and innovations in a highly configurable platform that caters to a multitude of different vertical markets. Unified Office helps improve operational excellence through its Internet of things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and Real-Time Data Analytics services. And, the company offers all of this within the context of a 24/7 managed service that allows customers to focus on running their business. Talking about the work culture at Unified Office, Ray states, “We pride “Unified Office—through our hybrid cloud, managed, voice-business communications services and products delivered to small and medium sized businesses—disrupted this market paradigm. We invented our patented Highest Quality Routing JANUARY 2021 | 29 www.insightssuccess.com

34. very business needs one thing to survive and thrive – revenue generation. And this could only happen by acquiring new customers and retaining 5 DIGITAL 2021 MARKETING E the old ones. While many businesses have been choosing the traditional routes of Billboards or TV and Radio ads, very few decided to take the plunge into the digital market exploring new avenues. While the traditional marketing approach may have served well for most businesses, this won’t be the case post-pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic forced consumers and in turn businesses to enter the digital era firmly as online shopping, be it essentials, electronics, fashion, or furniture, became a necessity. Moreover, Millennials and gen-z, a huge consumer base for most niches, have been digital-savvy already waiting for their favorite brands and local shops to open digital stores to shop from. The new normal of social distancing and consumers’ growing shift towards online shopping is leading businesses towards digital marketing. Let’s see digital marketing will not only be a necessity but a new opportunity for businesses to thrive in 2021. 1. Wider reach in less investment. After surviving from the huge economic toll due to the pandemic the businesses have only one way to go 32 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

35. Digital Everything JANUARY 2021 | 33 www.insightssuccess.com

36. forward – cos-cutting. Digital marketing in that sense is a blessing for businesses as it has proven to generate high ROI in less investment. It’s the only way you can understand their wants and needs by asking the consumers. Encourage them in taking part in the brand’s marketing campaigns. Not only this builds transparency and create a loyal consumer base, but moreover, consumers feel more important for brands than just a means of revenue generation. With different social media platforms providing access to marketing campaigns, audience analysis, and other business tools, small businesses find it easier and efficient to promote their products and services online to reach new audience. Well, there are more benefits of user interaction through digital mediums. Even with the modest budget businesses can get the right pulse of their audience and change marketing campaigns without experiencing a significant economical setback. • Precise audience targeting campaigns. • Improved customer experience and satisfaction. • Increased customer retention rate. • Revenue generation through cross-sells and personalized offers. According to Gartner’s Digital Marketing Spend Report, 40% of businesses claimed considerable savings in promotional campaigns through digital media. 5. Accessing tools for fair competition The digital revolution has brought the change of inclusivity for businesses. Digitalization and globalization have truly made the world borderless. With access to the global market, small businesses can now have the necessary resources that were once available to large organizations. 2. Boon for online retail businesses. While the traditional retail sector was running in parallel with e-retail, the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to take the digital route. Even the businesses that did not sell online are paving the E- commerce route now. For these businesses, digital marketing will be a necessity in 2021 as there will be no other way to attract a huge customer base to their shops. Today, most home start-ups and local brands with the power of digital resources are experiencing prominent success in their niche market. Not only this has made it easier for the brands to reach their diverse audience but also has leveled the market competition for small businesses. Also, not only as a necessity but the precise digital marketing strategy will help businesses establish brand identity and stand tall in the competition. What’s next: Getting ready for the Tech-future? With the ongoing technological revolution, there’s no doubt that consumers will soon want their favorite brands to incorporate technology and innovation into their marketing strategy. Mobile apps are already a thing now and soon we will be firmly entering the era of IoT where people can interact with each other through the internet using the global ecosystem of interconnected devices. 3. Power of social media The success of any marketing strategy depicts how much of the incoming audience is converted into consumers. Conversion optimization can help businesses and brands target the right audience increasing their chance of conversion in less investment. While the whole array of digital mediums is available for businesses to access, according to the digital marketing giant HubSpot SEO, Social Media, and Email marketing are the most effective in terms of high conversion rate. Then there is Augmented Reality, another widely accessible technology on the verge of changing the digital marketing space by enhancing the user experience. This points towards the upcoming tech- future and only businesses with a strong digital presence adapting the innovative ways into their marketing strategies will strive in the tech era. Furthermore, with millennials and gen-z spending huge time on social media, this makes it easier for brands to reach their large, targeted audience through these platforms. Not only do social media platforms provide an easy base for brand reach it also makes for quick interaction with your brand audience. As Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Vrushali R 4. A better understanding of your audience. User interaction has become paramount for businesses. 34 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

38. Rob Leslie Pioneering the Cyber-safety Magic Rob Leslie Founder ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ I n April 2015, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) discovered that some of its personnel files had been hacked. address, even fingerprints – not just credit card numbers. With humanity being nudged more and more towards digital dependence, we are in serious need of safety and security while we surf and make use of the internet. Otherwise, hacks like and worse than the OPM-hack will keep distorting and destroying lives. An engineer by background Rob has serious interest in identity, trust, and security. To enlighten our minds with his incredible journey and to gain insights into the cybersecurity and identity protection world, we conducted an exclusive interview with Rob Leslie. Among the sensitive data that was exfiltrated were millions of SF-86 forms, which contain extremely personal information, along with records of millions of people’s fingerprints. This was arguably one of the largest identity theft cyber-attack ever. Thankfully, a successful entrepreneur and a true visionary, Rob Leslie, rose to the challenge. So, without further ado, let us dive right into the interview and relish the knowledge we are about to receive. Kindly brief us about you and your journey since the beginning of your career. I am an electronic engineer by profession having graduated from Rob founded Sedicii in December 2011, with the desire to see that everyone could live a private life without having to compromise their personal information on a daily basis. Affecting 22 million people, including millions of federal employees with security clearances, this hack put a spotlight on the need to protect personal information like name and 36 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

39. Inspiring Inspiring Inspiring BUSINESS LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021 Dublin City University in Ireland in the 1980’s. I spent the first 20 years of my professional career working in senior and director level roles with Datacraft Japan, eSafe Japan, and Dell Japan where I was part of the initial management team that launched Dell into the Japanese market and then growing the business from zero to close to 300 employees and an annual turnover of over €300 million in the first four years. Subsequently I became a partner at PTS Japan which was sold after five years, having achieved a $33 million valuation at exit. I returned to Ireland in the early 2000’s and have continued my entrepreneurial journey co-founding Kyckr (ASX:KYK) in 2007 which is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. I founded Sedicii in 2013 while extensively researching the core cryptographic technology called Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) which is at the heart of the Sedicii services. In 2016, I left Kyckr to concentrate fully on the building of Sedicii which is the platform that enables a global, federated privacy network. better, safer, more accessible place for all its users. What is your source of motivation and inspiration that drove you to become an entrepreneur? I was born with an inquisitive mind. From my earliest memories, I was always trying to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct things in a better, bigger way. I always wanted to be an engineer and so when I see something broken - in this case the personal privacy element of the internet – I want to fix it. After all, as Andrew Grove former CEO, COO and Chairman of Intel said, “Privacy is one of the biggest problems in this new electronic age”. As far as your industry dynamics go, what type of challenges did you face while setting up your business? I believe that no matter what the industry or the service you are looking to provide, all new start-ups and every entrepreneur will agree with me for the most part, on these two challenges – raising investment and delivering products that customers love. In the case of Sedicii, where our technology verifies identity without sharing personal information by using the ZKP protocol, you could say what we are trying to achieve is akin to convincing people that the impossible is possible. However, I firmly believe as did BBVA’s former head of open innovation, Marisol Menendez, in describing our Fintech for the future award that “Sedicii is the start up with the greatest potential to transform the financial sector in the next 10 years.” So, the challenge is to continue to grow the network in the firm belief that Sedicii will transform the lives of internet users everywhere whilst having full regard to their privacy, security, and anonymity. What is the current scenario of the industry you are catering to? Covid-19 has actually brought about an acceleration in interest in ZKP and our KYC, KYB and AML services. Incredibly, a survey conducted by Gartner Inc found that 88% of business organizations all over the world mandated or encouraged all their I am a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and have spoken at Davos in relation to digital identity, cybersecurity and other technology issues affecting the economies of the world. How do you describe yourself as a business leader? As a business leader I am persistent, patient and I certainly persevere! I believe I work hard – too hard some would say – and I do my best to lead by example with my colleagues, customers, and investors. Ethics and integrity are very important to me and I believe wholeheartedly that by building the Sedicii global federated privacy network the internet will be a JANUARY 2021 | 37 www.insightssuccess.com

40. employees to work from home as Covid rates rose. Additionally, 54% of IT professionals think that remote working has a greater security risk (Open VPN).Thus, remote working brings with it the increased threat of fraud, impersonation, theft, and misappropriation – both financial and physical. In tandem, personal use of the internet for online transactions, be they financial or otherwise, has seen an exponential rise in fraud and theft. So, governments, national agencies, financial institutions and telecos are all looking for ways to combat these threats. As a business leader, what do you think are the factors one should take under consideration for going about opening his/her own business? How do you think initiating a start-up decision should be based on? Seek to find a business product or service that you are passionate about and if it is something so unique that users may not realize they need it until presented with it, all the better. Once settled on a business idea, research it in detail and draw up a business plan. If there is competition in the marketplace, do extensive research and see how and where you can enhance the offering. Talk to like-minded people and take every opportunity to learn by attending webinars, conferences, and summits. It is my belief that the more prepared you are as you set off on the start-up journey the more likely you are to succeed. Be realistic. Initially, you will be a one-or two-person business. This will mean being the person who finds investment, markets the business, finds suppliers, hires (and fires). You will become a ‘jack of all trades.’ And when success happens, take the time to enjoy it. What advice would you give to the new-age entrepreneurs who are stepping into the start-up culture? First and foremost, find a niche market or product that you believe in. Secondly, you need to surround and test your idea on people you trust and respect and preferably have gone down the start-up process themselves. You will probably find after these first two actions you’ll either want to move forward, or not as the case may be. If it is the former, the next plan of action would be to research the how, why, where and when of the business. How will you finance it? How will you produce it? How will you distribute and get it to market? And how will you price it? It is my experience the more research and planning goes into a new business the more successful it is likely to be. Would-be entrepreneurs need to expect challenges, embrace them, learn from them, and continually refine what they do. In the words of Albert Einstein,“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”. What creative ways do you derive in your organization to make the work environment vibrant? The Sedicii team is currently 16 strong and multi-locational. Our headquarters are in Waterford, Ireland where operations and finance reside, innovation and strategy is based in the U.K. and our development team is in Belgium and the Canary Island of Tenerife. As you can imagine, creating a vibrant environment with such a diverse group could be a challenge. However, I believe a challenge is an opportunity and communication is the key to making it work. The whole team meets weekly and even sometimes twice a week to discuss our current projects, our achievements, and our challenges. Like so many other businesses, Covid-19 has had an impact on our organisation where even each of our teams are working remotely. So recently we have commenced a programme of ‘systemic team coaching’ which hopefully will further enhance our understanding of our organisation and improve our collective performance and how we work together to the benefit our stakeholders, the wider team, and the future direction of the business. What are you looking forward to in the future, for yourself and your organization? It is said of an entrepreneur that once the challenge is gone from building a successful business, they tend to move to the next challenge. The chase to make a successful business is as great as the moment where all the effort is realized. David Skok, five-time serial entrepreneur believes “In the start-up world, if your primary focus is on making money, you usually won’t make money. When you work because you are passionate about your work, I believe you will maximize your chances of making money.” So, I would like to see Sedicii make a difference in the lives of those who use the internet. I would like to reward our investors who have steadfastly stood with us and I would like the company to be successful and grow to scale for the benefit of our present and future colleagues. As this is my sixth start-up, I will take the time to enjoy the rewards it brings. It is my last. Be kind to yourself and do not beat yourself up when things go wrong. 38 | JANUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com