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The 30 Most Inspirational Business Leaders To Watch, 2018

The 30 Most Inspirational Business Leaders to Watch, 2018”, spreads a light on some remarkable leaders whose penned journey and resourceful insights can inspire and help thousands to have a promising future in their respective industries.<br>

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The 30 Most Inspirational Business Leaders To Watch, 2018

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  1. www.insightssuccess.com www.insightssuccess.com www.insightssuccess.com www July 2018 July 2018 The Most Inspirational To Watch 2018 The Art of Leading Leader of the Month Attributes of a Good Leader Imparting Wisdom Successful Personality Traits to Learn from Elon Musk Vandana Luthra, Founder & Vice Chairperson VLCC Health Care Ltd. Kim Vogel President, Co-founder BaseVenture Imprinting Success on the Walls of Innovation

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  4. Editor’s Note Inspiration: An Emotion that Breaths Life in Every Idea www.insightssuccess.com www.insightssuccess.com www.insightssuccess.com www July 2018 July 2018 The Most Inspirational To Watch 2018 The Art of Leading Leader of the Month Attributes of a Good Leader Imparting Wisdom Successful Personality Traits to Learn from Elon Musk Vandana Luthra, Founder & Vice Chairperson VLCC Health Care Ltd. Kim Vogel President, Co-founder BaseVenture Imprinting Success on the Walls of Innovation D o you know any kind of idea which is not a product of inspiration? May it is an enlightening poem or a master business plan; everything is driven with an emotion of inspiration. Some of us get inspired by the smell of money, some like fame, wherein sometimes surroundings or a situation motivates someone to do something fanciful. But it is an unwavering fact that moment of inspiration has a nonpareil impact in our life. In the corporate world as well an enthusiastic approach towards work creates an environment that simply opens the door for determined success. We can see so many offices where the boss reprimands employees for no reason. Workforces are sucked due to the extravagant targets given to them. And the bosses are more concerned about the sales rather than the overall development of the company. Although organizations with such environment sometimes receives what they seek for but it is also true that this type of approach results in an ignorant work environment where we can witness a lack of vision, passion and creativity. Hence, for a complete growth of organization, an inspiration within the employees is prerequisite and no can but the leaders of the company has to make sure it subsists. It is not a cake walk to establish a business and take it to the level where a world can notice its emergence. It requires certain set of qualities and hell lot of guts to lead an international organization. First the entrepreneurs must have a resolute belief in their idea and an ability to transpire the vision into reality. Secondly they are expected to have significant knowledge about the industry. We can pin point various qualities. However, the unique approach of leading a company that can inspire associates is what makes a potential entrepreneur an inspiring leader.

  5. World’s top business tycoons have their own leading techniques to inspire their employees. An experienced leader like Ratan Tata inspires with the leading from the front approach. Trailblazer like Steve Jobs inspired his teammates with his knowledge and ability to be innovative at every level of business. On the other hand, young leaders like Elon Musk inspires with the challenge accepting capabilities. Not just leading techniques but the life stories of such leaders also motivates thousands of budding individuals to cradle the unconventional path. Thus, an issue of Insightssuccess, “The 30 Most Inspirational Business Leaders to Watch, 2018”, spreads a light on some remarkable leaders whose penned journey and resourceful insights can inspire and help thousands to have a promising future in their respective industries. Every business persona featuring in this issue has different set of qualities that allowed them to thrive in highly competitive industries. Considering the variances of different age groups in leading the organization we have included leaders of every generation. May it is young tech genius Amit On or an experienced wellness expert Vandana Luthra everyone has provided generous insights, and their enticing journey will surely inspire you. Featuring as acover story we have a story of Kim Vogel, the President and Co-founder of BaseVenture. It is an award-winning software company that is helping the alternative investment industry simplify and modernize how private funds are managed and administered. Also, make sure to scroll through the articles written by our in-house editorial team and CXO standpoints of some leading industry experts to have a brief taste of the sector. Let’s start reading! Kedar Kulkarni

  6. Cover Story 10 Kim Vogel: Imprinting Success on the Walls of Innovation Leader of the Month Content Page 22 Vandana Luthra: Transforming the Definition of Wellness Articles Editor’s Pick Imparting Wisdom The Art of Leading Attributes of a Good Leader 84 Successful Personality Traits to Learn from Elon Musk 46 The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership 60

  7. Contents Contents 30 52 70 Brand Vision Expert Viewpoint Expert’s Talk Brand Building: The Right Way Adding Intelligence and Agility to Digital Transformation A Government Hacked into the Startup Content Page 26 Alicia Asin: A True Reflection of Leadership 28 Amit On: A Young Leader with an Ultimate Call Management Solution 34 Anil Bandari: Delivering Groundbreaking Analytics Solutions

  8. 36 Anne Marie Kirby: A Born Leader Raising the Bar for Everyone with Humility and Purpose 40 Byrne Murphy: A Leader with a Penchant to Strike Gold 42 Dan McFall: An Exceptional Product Evangelist and Passionate Leader 48 Danielle Warner: A Brilliant Team Leader and Disruptor 50 Dave Fletcher: A Transformational Leader with a Purpose 56 Jackie Elnahar: Rising with Persistence and Optimism to Change the World 58 Karen Contet Farzam: A Leader Crafting Leaders

  9. 64 Mark Sawyier: 66 Fostering Positive Organizational Culture Nicole Martin: A Self-aware Leader Translating her Vision into Reality 72 Nush Khan: From Fascination to Success 74 Richard Rabins: A Formidable Combination of Innovation and Determination 78 Rob Adler: A Tech Entrepreneur with a Passion for Client Service 80 Vinny Lingham: Success through Bravery, Passion and Perseverance 86 Zohar Ben Ner: Delivering Intelligent Agriculture Globally

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  11. Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Anish Miller Managing Editor Executive Editor Assistant Editors Kedar Kulkarni Jenny Fernandes Abhishaj Sajeev Hitesh Dhamani Contributing Editors Shubham Khampariya Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Kushagra Gupta Co-designer Poonam Mahajan Art & Picture Editors Paul Jayant Belin Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Pranay Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Ajinkya Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialists Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategists Alina Sege, Shubham, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Managers Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes sales@insightssuccess.com July, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off. No. 513 & 510, 5th Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in 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/ ollow us on : www We are also available on : Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, 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.

  12. KimVogel: developyourownuniquesetofskills. Imprinting Success on the Walls of Innovation Alwayssurroundyourself withthesmartestcolleaguesyou can?indandensureyou

  13. CoverStory Kim Vogel President & Co-founder BaseVenture

  14. marketing agencies. Kim was one of the original members of the executive team that grew the business to become a global powerhouse with clients like General Motors, Orbitz and more. Innovation was at the core of Semaphore Partners, and it designed many of the first websites and intranets for its clients. After Semaphore Partners was sold to a marketing conglomerate, Kim became a finance professor at Saint Mary’s College of California. L eadership comes in many forms. Every leader develops their own formula for what it means to lead through hard work, risk, successes and failures. True leaders inspire and motivate the people around them to achieve more. Kim rekindled her passion for innovation and entrepreneurship when she became one of the early executives at a pioneering mobile banking and payments technology company called mFoundry. This innovative company helped to redefine the way that people bank by introducing the then-crazy notion of banking on a mobile device. mFoundry was the first company to submit a mobile banking app to the Apple App Store and one of the earliest to introduce the ability to deposit a check via a mobile device. Kim served as CFO of mFoundry for almost a decade, which grew to become the largest provider in North America and was later sold to FIS. We live in a unique time with an unparalleled pace of change that affects every area of our lives. The world of business has exploded with innovation that has helped usher in new industries and advances that couldn’t have been foreseen just a decade ago. Technological advancements are at the root of virtually every commercial innovation, and some leaders have proven themselves exceptionally adept at harnessing innovation to succeed. Setbacksarean forwardandIhad timedrowning One such person that has made her mark as a successful leader is Kim Vogel, the President and Co-founder of BaseVenture. Kim is a technology entrepreneur and senior finance executive with more than 25 years of experience helping companies to finance, grow and monetize their business. Kim has focused her career on building innovative, high-growth businesses with transformational products. inevitablepartofa tolearnnotto inthem. successfulpath spendtoomuch Kim currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Saint Mary’s College of California. Kim expresses, “This involvement in academia keeps me close to those who are just starting their careers and gives me an opportunity to share my story and lessons garnered along the way.” Building is Contagious Success, One Step at a Time Part of Kim’s leadership drive is the thrill and reward of building teams. “I love building great teams, developing innovative & groundbreaking products, and most of all, working with really, really smart people.” Kim’s journey to becoming an influential leader began early on with her work as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at KPMG, followed by earning her MBA from the Harvard Business School and working as a vice president at Montgomery Securities. Kim forged her path toward entrepreneurship and innovation in the late 1990s as the CFO of Semaphore Partners, one of the first digital Whether in the board room or in the classroom, one of the central tenets of Kim’s leadership is to inspire and nurture the teams that work under her. Kim has always taken a special interest

  15. CoverStory solutions in the areas of financial reporting, data visualization, and process management. The enterprise’s award-winning platform, “FundManager.io”, helps organizations simplify and automate how private funds are administered and managed. By providing users with data intelligence, reporting, workflow management, and document storage, “FundManager.io” radically simplifies the process of fund management and provides a platform that is intelligent, scalable, affordable and secure. in helping to develop people at the start of their careers and she is very proud and gratified to see many of these people having grown to become executives in their own right. Buildingiscontagious. groundbreaking really,really Ilovebuildinggreat products,andmost smartpeople. Kim is the first to admit that entrepreneurship and leadership don’t come easy, and that the path can sometimes be a challenging one. As Kim tells it, “Setbacks are an inevitable part of a successful path forward, and I had to learn not to spend too much time drowning in them.” While there is a popular myth about the thrill of the start-up life, Kim has learned from experience that starting and building any company, let alone a technology company, is very hard work that is marked by steep ups and downs. One of Kim’s favorite quotes is from Winston Churchill, who said “Success is the ability to get from one failure to another with enthusiasm.” teams,developing ofallworkingwith BaseVenture’s most recent round of funding was led by the global leader in the financial technology sector. As Kim puts it, “This is a game changer for us. The merits of the relationship are just beginning to unfold and the momentum is exhilarating.” The product development team at BaseVenture operates using the agile Kanban method. Each feature developed is initially defined and documented to start the process. The highly experienced software development team builds the software using up to date best practice methods and tools. To ensure the highest quality results, the software development team uses peer code reviews, while the quality assurance team validates all output using a rigorous testing process. Kim uses fund raising rounds as one of the most important barometers of the success of a start-up. As she tells it, “Investors want to understand that they are going to be part of something great – not just big, but huge – so you need to make sure with every round of funding that you are taking the company to the next level. The best way to accomplish this is to nurture and build the right teams and make innovation a driving force of what they do.” “Because of the industry’s enormous size and expectations that it will double in the next 5 years, BaseVenture – Envisaging a Revolution Kim’s latest business is yet another example of leadership through innovation. Kim and her partner, John Pizzi, co-founded a technology company called BaseVenture in 2015, which has already become an innovative force in the alternative investment and wealth management industries. BaseVenture is a cloud-based software company that develops innovative

  16. there’s so much at stake and it’s crucial that stakeholders rely on technology designed to relieve industry-specific challenges,” Kim believes that the industry needs to shift away from tackling its challenges by merely adding more people and instead look to technology to help automate key processes, provide the necessary transparency and address increasing regulatory concerns. “We have tackled head-on the toughest and costliest operational and compliance related problems that our customers face, using modern, easy to use software in the cloud to solve these problems,” says Kim. Beyond serving the alternative investment industry from a technology standpoint, BaseVenture is well underway in its goal to be a key thought leader in shaping the narrative of how the industry must evolve to meet the changing needs. It is carving out a role as a catalyst that helps the industry to modernize and believes that serving clients is merely one component of that. The team at BaseVenture authors an active blog in which it informs the industry of the latest news in the alternative investment space, provide insights into industry research, and predicts key industry trends. Bequeathing the Keys to Success Kim strongly believes that great communication skills are a prime driver for effective leadership. She explains, “Good communication is learned with practice. I think it is ironic that when these skills are more important than ever, the mediums for communication are becoming more isolated.” According to Kim, the gist of leadership is all about motivating and empowering other people, which can only be achieved through strong communication and connection. Kim says that another trait that an effective leader should possess is one coined by Jeff Bezos as “high-velocity decision- making”. Kim considers it the art of producing the highest quality decisions with limited information as quickly as possible.

  17. CoverStory Our?lagshipproductprovidesamodernsolution forinvestorreporting,documentmanagement, communicationandkeyprocessautomation. Kim feels that this shouldn’t be thought of as just a personal skill, but rather it is an environment that leaders cultivate. Most decisions should probably be made with 70% of the information you wish that you had. If you wait for more, you are probably acting too slowly. Push forward and quickly course correct bad decisions because although they are inevitable, they are certainly less costly if reversed quickly. Lastly, Kim recommends surrounding oneself with the smartest colleagues that can help nurture and develop unique skill sets. “Building great companies is a team sport and you will never be able to do it by yourself. Always try to create and be part of your own ‘dream team’. It is not only a ton of fun, but it is what it takes to make companies successful.”

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  19. Management Company Name Brief ACD is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier and Internet Service Provider, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. ACD Ernie Bray Chairman & CEO acdcorp.com The Allstate Corporation is one of the largest insurance providers in the United States and one of the largest that is publicly held. Tom Wilson Chairman, President & CEO Allstate Insurance Company allstate.com Alpha Software produces products that help developers of all levels speed the development and deployment of cross-platform mobile and web business apps. Alpha Software alphasoftware.com Richard Rabins CEO Fixed Anaplan is a cloud-based business planning and performance management platform based on a single hub where business users can create and use models. Anaplan anaplan.com Frank Calderoni CEO & President Avaya is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California that specializes in business communications, specifically unified communications, contact center, and services. Avaya avaya.com Jim Chirico President & CEO BaseVenture is an award-winning software company that is helping the alternative investment industry simplify and modernize how private funds are managed and administered BaseVenture baseventure.com Kim Vogel President & Co-founder Bonfyre is a workplace culture platform that helps companies build internal relationships, increase engagement, further the reach of communications, and champion behaviors to shape a collaborative and innovative culture. Bonfyre Mark Sawyier Co-founder & CEO bonfyreapp.com CallApp is a Free Caller ID and Call Blocker app that allows mobile users to block phone calls, identify telemarketing calls, record phone calls and much more. Amit On Founder & CEO CallApp callapp.com Civic is an identity verification and protection tools provider that gives both businesses and individuals the power to control and protect their identities through Blockchain. Vinny Lingham Founder Civic civic.com CoreHealth Technologies offers a corporate wellness platform that powers wellness programs for leading global providers and their corporate clients. Anne Marie Kirby CEO & Founder CoreHealth corehealth.global

  20. Management Company Name Brief DigiPlex designs, builds and operates sustainable data centres in the Nordic region. Byrne Murphy Chairman & Co-founder DigiPlex digiplex.com EnergyIQ's solutions, experts and deep industry knowledge provide you with the certainty you need in your E&P data. Steve Cooper President EnergyIQen ergyiq.info Expat Insurance is an independent insurance brokerage firm in Singapore that tailors medical, life, home and travel insurance packages for expats living in Singapore. Danielle Warner Founder & CEO Expat Insurance expatinsurance.com.sg Financial Recovery Technologies is singularly focused on providing investors with solutions that address the growing complexities of the securities class action landscape. Financial Recovery Technologies frtservices.com Rob Adler CEO HRBoost offers a full range of human resources services on both a consulting and outsourced basis. HRBoost hrboost.com TM Nicole Martin CEO & Founder Jonckers are a global provider of professional translation services. We provide document , legal and technical localization services, plus much more. Geo Janssens CEO JONCKERS jonckers.com Libelium is a wireless sensor network platform provider that delivers, open-source, low-power consumption devices. Libelium libelium.com Alicia Asín Co-founder & CEO Marchex helps you know which media drove them to call and helps you find more like them. Read the study that shines light into the offline blindspot. Marchex marchex.com Anne Devereux-Mills Chairman MATRiX works with Financial Services, Retail and Healthcare Industries to empower them with sophisticated analytics and data science solutions. MATRiX ANALYTiCS CORPORATION matrixanalyticscorp.com Anil Bandari Founder & CEO Mobile Labs provides enterprise-grade, mobile device clouds for mobile app and mobile website testing and mobile device management. Mobile Labs mobilelabsinc.com Dan McFall President and CEO

  21. Management Company Name Brief NTT Innovation Institute, Inc. (NTT i3) is the Silicon Valley- based innovation center for NTT Group, one of the world’s largest ICT companies. NTT Innovation Institute, Inc. ntti3.com Nina Simosko CEO SupPlant is a world leader in the field of data-driven smart agriculture. It has developed a unique artificial intelligence system that is able to analyze data generated from crops through sensors and translate this data into irrigation commands. SupPlant supplant.me Zohar Ben Ner CEO & Founder SyncDog is the leading independent software vendor (ISV) for building secure infrastructure frameworks that protect enterprise networks. Jonas Gyllensvaan CEO and Founder SyncDog syncdog.com TelaDietitian offers telehealth medical nutrition therapy consultations over a HIPAA compliant platform. Jackie Elnahar Founder TelaDietitian teladietitian.com Dave Fletcher CEO & DEO The Mechanism themechanism.com The Mechanism is an authentic NYC digital design agency. Trintech, Inc. provides record-to-report software solution for financial professionals in the United States. Trintech trintech.com Teresa Mackintosh CEO Nush Khan Key Account Manager Unified Inbox Pte. Ltd. unifiedinbox.com UIB makes human to machine communications simple. Vandana Luthra Founder & Vice Chairperson VLCC has the largest scale and breadth of operations within the beauty and wellness services industry in India and abroad. VLCC Health Care Ltd. vlccwellness.com Vroozi, the leading Cloud-based procure-to-pay platform, is helping companies make shopping for their business effortless, efficient, mobile-first and enjoyable. Steve Olds Vroozi, Inc vroozi.com Chairman and President WHub.io is Hong Kong’s biggest startup community which connects corporates, innovating startups and creating employment and building innovation. Karen Contet Farzam Co-founder whub.io

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  23. About the Leader With an affluent international expertise in fitness, beauty, skin care and food and nutrition, Mrs. Vandana Luthra, the Founder and Vice Chairperson of VLCC has acquired a global stronghold in the ever- changing list of influential leaders. Mrs. Luthra was recently ranked 26th in the annual Forbes Asia 2016 list of 50 Power Businesswomen, in 2018 Forbes Middle East recognized her amongst The Top 100 Indian Business Owners in The Arab World 2018. Her awards include the Padma Shri in 2013, The Asian Business Leaders Forum Trailblazer Award in 2012, and The Enterprise Asia Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010. She has also authored two books, viz. Complete Fitness Programme and A Good Life. Vandana Luthra Founder & Vice Chairperson VLCC Health Care Ltd. 22 |July 2018|

  24. Interview with Insights Success Vandana Vandana Luthra: Luthra: Transforming the Definition of Wellness I her journey as an entrepreneur. The ardently acknowledged leader has driven the health, fitness and skin care company to a global scale with her contemporary and innovative management skills. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Mrs. Luthra and Insights Success: What are the services/products offered by VLCC? n an interview with Insights Success, the founder and the charioteer of VLCC, Mrs. Vandana Luthra shares her insights behind the success of In the 29 years since it was established, VLCC has been driven by its mission of ‘Transforming Lives’, delivering best-in-class beauty and wellness services to millions of consumers. Its presence today spans over 330 locations in 14 countries across Asia and Africa. Employing over 4,500 professionals, the VLCC Group operates three highly integrated businesses in the Wellness domain – Weight Management and Beauty services, delivered through a chain of over 250 VLCC Beauty and Wellness Centers; Skill Development Institutes for Beauty and Nutrition and manufacturing, in two company-owned plants in India and one in Singapore, over 250 skin-care, hair-care and body care products. Give us a detailed background of your journey as a leader. I started VLCC with a simple dream. I wanted to create an environment where people would feel nurtured and supported; a place that would inspire people to be the best version of themselves, for themselves. During the last 29 years, while building the brand VLCC, there were numerous occasions when I had to struggle against all odds to fulfill my dream. Being in a largely unorganized sector, I struggled to raise capital, and banks were apprehensive of something that was hardly deemed as sustainable and scalable. It was sheer perseverance and my interest in ‘transforming lives’ that made me stay on this path. To be able to make a difference in people’s life be that of VLCC’s clients or staff which constitute 70% women, gave me a sense of achievement and truly encouraged me to build this brand. VLCC is also a leading player in the fast-growing on- demand services space in India, with VLCC VanityCube, which currently offers beauty service in 4 cities in India. It also has a presence in the direct selling domain, with its VLCC Wellscience range of nutraceuticals. What led you to start VLCC? What was your pivotal moment? My initial interest in the field of beauty and wellness came from my family. My greatest inspiration has always been my mother. I feel she was a woman ahead 23 |July 2018|

  25. My idea was unique and it was a successful concept which worked in our favor and clients started flocking to the center. Within a month we were able to break even which boosted my confidence and motivated me to expand the company into further territories. About the Company VLCC, the chef-d’oeuvre of Vandana Luthra, has an evident multinational position. It offers weight management and beauty programmes encompassing advanced dermatology and cosmetology solutions. The organization’s weight- management solutions include a unique DNA-based weight management system. It possesses domination in operations within the beauty and wellness services industry in India. At present, the VLCC stores operate in 330 locations in 14 countries in South Asia, South East Asia, the GCC Region and East Africa. What were the hurdles and obstacles that you had to face and overcome during the initial years as a leader? Being a women entrepreneur in the late-eighties, trying to scale up in a highly unorganized industry domain like beauty and wellness services was one of my biggest challenges initially. The idea of a holistic wellness center was not prevalent and nobody was ready to invest in my idea. Despite facing these initial hiccups, I firmly believed in my concept as it was unique and being introduced in India for the first time. It took years of hard work, dedication and patience to build VLCC into a global brand that it is today. What according to you are the most important characteristics that every leader should possess in this day and age? When it comes to leadership, every person, especially women, have many odds stacked against them. From arranging for finance to establishing a stronghold in a male-dominated social environment, women have faced it all. of her time. She was an Ayurvedic doctor and practiced yoga regularly, and was very particular about the family’s diet, which sowed the seeds of my interest in health and beauty at an early age. Not having conformed to the gender norms, I felt brave enough to give in to the feeling of venturing into an area that had always interested me. I could not have done this without the support of my husband Mukesh, who has been my pillar of strength from day 1. Despite all the challenges, one has to draw motivation from within. Passion, when combined with motivation, makes the journey a lot easier. A good leader must have faith in his/her abilities and the belief in their dream. To conclude with, what would be your advice to some of the young and aspiring leaders? The road to success is not easy. One has to be confident in fighting against all obstacles and norms that are waiting to pull them down. Never give up on your dreams. The farther you are willing to stretch yourself, the greater could be the degree of success that you may end up achieving. When I started in 1989, the beauty and wellness industry was at a very nascent stage with a majority of the sector being unorganized. The concept of health and wellness centers wasn’t well established in India and this is where VLCC came into existence. I wanted to create a brand which would be the one-stop-shop solution for all beauty and wellness needs of people. 24 |July 2018|

  26. buildings, agriculture, water management, smart factories, e-Health, and smartphone detection. Alicia Asin: A True Reflection of Leadership Building Solutions for a Better Future Libelium designs and manufactures technological solutions to build wireless sensor networks, now known as the Internet of Things (IoT). The company builds solutions for a better future, especially in three crucial areas: Health, Quality of Life in Urban Areas and Competitiveness of Businesses. I find a book on leadership in Amazon, we would have over 220,000 titles to choose from. Ask prominent leaders about leadership, and the answers would keep on shifting; multiple layer of opinions evolving through experience and struggles. During these eleven years of operation, the company has faced several critical moments. Recalling these key instances, Alicia mentions “…some moments have been very positive, such as the achievement of awards and recognitions that projected the image and notoriety of Libelium in the media, while the displeasing memories include the unfortunate fire suffered in 2014, serving as a revulsion to revive our company from its ashes and aspire for greater success.” f we Google the word leadership, exactly 297,000,000 results pop up right at our screens. If we were to In the health monitoring space, Libelium has its MySignals platform that allows it to measure, through a set of sensors, the most important vital signs of the human body. In the urban sphere, the company’s technology makes it possible to measure and therefore combat pollution, both air and noise; thereby drastically improving the quality of life. From helping others to succeed to having the capability to inspire, a true leader boasts the distinctive ability to motivate, captivate and encourage others to take action. Direct and candid in her communication, she makes decisions which matters and is willing to stretch her hand out to support others in need. She is a leader with purpose, an individual with an inherent passion to succeed and a figure with positive influence. Meet Alicia Asin, a true reflection of the above statements, who has shouldered her company, Libelium, to heights through her unparalleled efforts and dedication. Presently, the company’s strategy involves moving – within the IoT value chain – from hardware appliances to cloud services. Libelium’s expertise lies in the sensors’ layer, but it has managed to develop an interoperable platform, that has reached compatibility agreements with more than 60 partners such as IBM Bluemix, Microsoft Azure, Telit, Telefonica, Arrow, Amazon AWS, Ericsson, etc. The company firmly stands at a position to offer its customers with final solutions that combine its hardware with the cloud services of its partners. When it comes to improving productivity, Libelium is working across different sectors such as industry, logistics and precision agriculture. The company’s sensors can improve the quality of crop life, save production costs and avoid crop losses and improve the quality of farmer’s life, favoring the settlement of population in rural areas. Overcoming the Initial Barriers and Standing out as a Leader The path of an entrepreneur is filled with obstacles and difficult decisions, and Alicia’s path was no different. Obtaining financing is one of the biggest barriers initially for start-ups, but Libelium was prepared in advance with its revenue generating thought through various online sales channels. Alongside this, Alicia and David had to initially give more efforts to stand out seriously because of a pre-conceived notion surrounding youths and their lack of maturity. Libelium over the Years Libelium began as a business project with Alicia Asín and her partner and Co-founder, David Gascón. The computer engineering duo decided to bet for the undertaking of developing products based on wireless sensor networks. Fast forward eleven years, Libelium today stands as a leading wireless sensor network platform provider that delivers, open-source, low-power consumption devices. “This is how we developed The IoT Marketplace, which we hope will become the Amazon of the IoT,” mentions Alicia. The IoT Marketplace is an ecommerce in which it sells ready to install kits, which includes everything one need (hardware, software and cloud connectivity) for different sectors: smart cities, smart |July 2018| 26

  27. “I built my story through hard work and excellence.” Speaking about leadership, Alicia mentions “We are living a digital era that requires special skills to adapt to the circumstances. That’s why a leader has to be resilient: be clear about the path and objectives you want to achieve with your company. At the same time, however, the leader must be able to recognize the mistakes made in order to get things right as soon as possible by implementing the necessary measures, which will always require flexibility.I also consider that it very important to communicate: hearing, talking and empathizing with the team. We need to know how to transmit enthusiasm so that the employees can undertake projects with determination and get everyone involved in the company’s culture to the fullest extent possible.” Alicia not only believes in these characteristics and traits, but she resolutely strives to follow the same being a recognized leader in the industry. Success Stories are built on Hard Work and Excellence It’s easy to tell someone to pursue their dreams, without warning them about the complications ahead. It’s good to have aspirations and a project to work for, but at the same time it’s also increasingly realistic and aware of the obstacles bound to come down your path every single day. “Whether you start your own company or aspire to become an employee; we live in a society that craves easy success: creating a start-up, selling it fast and making a lot of money. But solid success stories are built on hard work and excellence,” Alicia concludes. Alicia Asin Co-founder & CEO Libelium 27 |July 2018|

  28. Amit On Founder & CEO Amit On: Now that we have advanced analytics programs, you need to understand that not every idea you have will perform well. Accepting when you are wrong and learning from it is something every leader should possess in this A Young Leader with an Ultimate Call Management Solution day and age.“ I magine a scenario where someone knocks on your door at home and puts their hand on the peep-hole. It might be a nice girl-scout selling cookies, but on the other part of the spectrum it could be a burglar. Would you open the door? Something similar happens when we receive an unknown call. Today, we are part of the tech savvy generation where every sector, almost every task is dominated by the internet and smartphones. Smartphones in particular have completely changed the way we communicate and perform our daily duties, but we are still unable find the caller |July 2018| 28

  29. behind each phone call. The software and applications in the current market display very few call details as well. Thus, the application which can improve the process of how we manage our calls and one which enables us to identify the unknown face behind the call is prerequisite! excelled in his work and climbed the designation ladder all the way up to be its Chief Architect. Followap was a huge success and the app was later acquired for $140M by the US Company, Neustar. After his successes at Followap, he joined the startup Amobee. He served as the company CTO for four years. Amobee was then acquired by Singtel for approximately $340M. Amit has also played a major role in many other startups as well. Tech gurus around the globe are trying their best to develop such a futuristic app. One incisive individual who comprehended the challenging issue, and created a perfect solution is Amit On. The young tech genius developed a mobile app, called CallApp, which provides users with the ultimate call management solution for all their smartphone needs. Stereotypically, it provides users with Universal Caller ID, Call Blocking, Smart Spam Filtering, Call Recording, an Enhanced Dialer and a Social Contact Book. The Pivotal Moment Amit decided to create CallApp because of his own personal experience. Once he was in a very important meeting and his mobile phone rang. Sounds fairly normal right? Well the number was unknown, and Amit had to decide on the spot if it was important enough to answer. Amit answered the call, only to find out it was a spam call. That was the moment when Amit decided that it makes no sense not having information about the person calling you. Every time he made or received a call there was a lot of information missing. He knew that all of this information was already publicly available. Thus, he decided to create a solution for people to see this information in one easy to use place. Staying true to his words, Amit developed an astonishing solution within a year, thus forming CallApp. Flourishing with an Incredible Speed CallApp is now booming with unmatchable pace and today it has over thirty six million users worldwide. The app also facilitates information such as birthdays, last email or message, productivity tools and multiple communication options that aggregate all of the major social networks and messaging applications. CallApp reinvents the way people communicate, by providing them with the right information & tools at the right time, right where they need it. An Advice from a Young and Admirable Leader The app was also acknowledged by the world’s best technology leaders. It was featured in TechCrunch’s The Top 20 World’s Most Promising Start-Ups list and was among the finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC. CallApp was also selected by Microsoft, IBM and Qualcomm as one of the most innovative and promising Israeli companies. The prime reason behind CallApp’s notable success is the young, compassionate leadership of its Founder and CEO, Amit On. The biggest obstacle for Amit was something that many leaders have had to face and overcome 30 years ago, as the landscape was drastically different than today. Amit mentions that 30 years ago a CEO would never admit to being wrong. But according to him, having humility is a must for every new leader. Amit also believes that every industry is growing at an exceptional rate, being able to adapt to any circumstance is a must for any leader in the 21st century. Although he clarifies that there is not a specific best piece of advice he can give to young and aspiring leaders, he implies on having a never give up approach. Amit claims, “There are times when you will fail, but this is a learning curve. You need to get back on your feet and give it another shot. Nothing perfect is done in the first try.” 17 years of Technology, Start-ups, Internet and Mobile Amit started his journey at a very young age. By age 14, he started his first tech company, which was a very popular Bulletin Board System, BBS. A few years later at the tender age of 16, the internet arrived to households and this changed his life forever. While still in high school, Amit worked for two different startups, both of the start-ups were later acquired by larger companies. He feels in order to succeed at a young age, a leader must be the man of his words. He notes, “You need to say what you mean and mean what you say.” Above all this, Amit’s advice for budding entrepreneurs is to have an unwavering confidence on their ideas and people that keeps the ball of success rolling. Moving on a few years to the age of 18, Amit’s professional astuteness landed him a position in the IDF’s Special Intelligence Technology Unit. After the IDF, Amit joined a startup called Followap as a developer. Once again Amit 29 |July 2018|

  30. Brand Vision About the Author: Candice Simons is the CEO of Brooklyn Outdoor, a longtime industry leader who returned to Detroit from Chicago to launch the entrepreneurial venture. The company’s multiple divisions include Outdoor, Experiential, Events, and hand painted. Brooklyn’s clients include national brands like General Motors, Adidas, Warner Brothers, Sprint, and Amazon. Simons also founded the Detroit- based lifestyle blog company, J’adore Detroit. She has been recognized for her work with both companies by Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40, DBusiness 30 in their 30s, Entrepreneur 360, Detroit Young Professionals Vanguard, Summit International Marketing and Creative Awards, MichBusiness, and Enterprising Women of the year 2017. |July 2018| 30

  31. Brand Building: The Right Way I n an increasingly saturated market, it is becoming increasingly harder to reach your target consumer through traditional channels. Brooklyn Outdoor is fortunate enough to be at the center of the oldest form of advertising – outdoor advertising aka out-of-home advertising. This is the only format of advertising that cannot be turned off in the digital age. This is an exciting time for this highly regarded industry to cut through the clutter and provide our key consumer with exactly what they need and where at point of purchase. We have had our ups and downs as a startup over the past five years battling our goliath competitors but have proven ourselves as a worthy opponent – just as our industry has stood the test of time. Just as we have built our own brand, our specialty is helping our customers build their brands just the same way through outdoor advertising, event marketing, experiential marketing, and more. various touch points allow brands and products to resonate with potential customers in a subtle, yet impactful way, as they go about their daily routine. Digital out of home (DOOH) advertising is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing, technically advanced, and most interactive advertising formats for businesses to reach consumers. DOOH advertising promises brand safety as it eliminates the risk of crisis by association. Promoting company content on social media platforms assumes the risk of having ads placed next to problematic or politically controversial content. However, in DOOH there is no uncertainty because advertisers know exactly where ads will appear and often make the site selections internally. Additionally, DOOH advertising eliminates the potential marketing threat of ad-blocking. The biggest concern with most digital formats arises when an audience is able to avoid certain advertisements by shutting them off and media companies fraudulently account for proof of completion. Out-of-Home (aka OOH) advertising is the catalyst for brand building. Advertisers can segment audiences and market campaigns more specifically than ever before and choose to reach consumers by multicultural audiences, general market audiences, age, etc. This long term and “always on” strategy is one that allows brands to be and feel as though they are everywhere to the targeted segment in the desired market. This is because OOH reaches almost the entire population and is the best mechanism for bright, in-your-face messages. Due to this inefficiency, the word “digital” naturally brings concern to potential advertisers; however, with DOOH, ad- blocking is not possible for digital signage because it cannot be blocked, filtered or turned off. Real people are seeing our ads and formats. Consumers are increasingly on the go, and while on the go they are seeing various types of placements and advertising as they go about their daily routines. Reaching an audience at the bus stop, at the intersection, in a taxi, or during the commute has a tremendous impact on the modern consumer – especially when paired with mobile advertising. These When it is done correctly and thoughtfully, the public accepts digital DOOH more so than any other media formats due to the creative advancements in this exciting format. It becomes more than a selling tool for our clients – it becomes something much larger and more impactful. 31 |July 2018|

  32. Innovation and Trends = Data-Driven Campaigns Real-time data feeds can be integrated into digital displays, as a result, clients are able to produce a very clear picture and snapshot of the “now” for target audiences. Innovation is the name of the marketing game these days, and DOOH does just that. As a result of strategically placing beacons in a high-impact area with predictable wait time, Coach was able to engage customers and create a lasting impression of the brand while maximizing exposure through virtual outreach. Hand Painted Mural Advertising Originally popular in the 20th century, hand paint murals are making a comeback in vibrant cities with strong artistic communities like Detroit, Brooklyn and Los Angeles. By commissioning local artists to create brand-promoting murals, advertisers connect with communities on a more powerful level. Using local artists to create advertisements, authentically generates interest in the community and results in public relation opportunities not typically open to run of the mill billboard placements. With the strategic and thoughtful use of data and technology, in addition to a general market campaign, a client can create a truly powerful and unique experience for their target audience. OOH advertising is THE top medium to create the lasting connection and visibility that an audience needs to take action at point of purchase. Additionally, hand paint murals take time to create. While painting, artists attract attention from pedestrians and street traffic. The process of the mural’s creation can be used as a marketing asset in itself. Time lapse videos of the process from start to finish can be used to supplement OOH advertising campaigns. Beacons = Beacons are real-world data generators that are insanely accurate. With them, you can turn your OOH advertising locations into signals, which help to pinpoint a specific target audience and market to them directly. This innovation allows the world of mobile and OOH advertising to further connect and maximize the most efficient exposure possible. This cutting-edge technology proves extremely useful to reach consumers in specific situations that naturally warrant waiting time like the airport, bus station, or even hospital. Strategically sending creative messaging via smartphones to consumers in these particular situations makes them much more likely to engage with the brand or product. Action = OOH advertising is a tried and true method in initiating audiences to take action. Over threequarters of Americans have been noted as smartphone owners, which is an enormous number of potential customers ready to interact and engage with brands at the tip of their fingers. A recent Nielsen study states that OOH generates more online activity per ad dollar spent when compared to radio, television, or print. Because of OOH exposure, consumers interact with brands via social media. Recently, COACH used beacons at the Hong Kong International Airport to engage customer participation in a cutting-edge OOH campaign. The beacon-based, social media campaign prompted participants to share a photo with hashtag #CoachPreFall2016 to enter a drawing to win merchandise from the collection. Because we are always turned on and, on the go,, OOH’s unsurpassed ability to bridge the gap between audience and brand will ultimately drive action from consumers. About the Company: Brooklyn Outdoor is a Detroit-based independent outdoor advertising agency. The company was founded in 2013 and has subsequently emerged as a national and regional force in the outdoor advertising industry with satellite offices and full-time sales representatives in Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Beaconstac reports, “to participate, passengers, had to go near a beacon hoarding (with the Bluetooth switched on their smartphones), go on WeChat and shake their phones. The beacons installed in the advertising media would then communicate with passengers’ smartphones and take them to the campaign landing page.” |July 2018| 32

  33. Anil Bandari: Delivering Groundbreaking Analytics Solutions I your position but from your competence, effectiveness, relationships, excellence, innovation and ethics.” This quote applies very appropriately to the Founder and CEO of MATRiX ANALYTiCS CORPORATION, Anil Bandari.Not only has his title as a leader, but also his perseverance, competence and innovation set a noteworthy instance of Leadership. t is exquisitely stated by a famous author and a speaker, Robin Sharma, that “Basically, to lead without a title is to derive your power within the organization not from With an extensive experience of more than 25 years in various leadership roles in the financial industry, Anil is leading the organization on the way to excellence. Prior to founding MATRiX, he headed global modeling and risk analytics in Citi for 7 major markets/countries including Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. He was the Director of Global Credit & Fraud Risk Management based in New York. Along with this, Anil also holds a distinctive portfolio of being an innovator in the field of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Transaction Analytics, Genetic Algorithms, Signal processing, Credit & Fraud Risk Modeling, and Strategy Optimization & Analytics. Transforming Data into Expert Decisions MATRiX was incepted from Anil’s inspiration, who has extensively worked with data, particularly in the Financial Services Industry. His goal was to leverage the data across various domains. Empowering Businesses MATRiX works with the Financial Services, Retail and Healthcare Industries to empower them with sophisticated analytics and data science solutions. The company enables them to mitigate risk, reduce losses, increase profitability and provide better customer experience. Delivering robust and high-performing models is the topmost priority of the company. This incorporates all the diagnostics needed for defense of model in internal audit and regulatory exams. The methodologies used are time tested and validated. MATRiX works closely with its clients in development, ‘‘ The data science team at MATRiX has always been inspired and driven by transaction data, inclusive of its volume, frequency, signals, noise and outliers generated across industries. The company has been building analytics solutions into various domains to simplify the day-to-day process of making decisions by using data. It was this inspiration that led the company to build proprietary algorithms to transform data into machine form. It also facilitated the development of genetic algorithm, machine learning, deep learning and goal programming based models, which are exceptionally dominant, robust and efficient for large volume and high dimensional data. We strive tirelessly to be the leading custom analytics solution provider to serve individuals, communities, institutions and nations. A Pioneering Leadership Anil Bandari founded MATRiX with the sole purpose of using advanced analytics and AI to democratize financial systems and make it simple for common person to have access to the financial services with the best possible pricing with respect to his/her risk given to the financial institution. Anil acquired a few big clients on-board in earlier stage of the company. From there on, the company provided custom analytics solutions to client, which far exceeded their expectation. ‘‘ |July 2018| 34

  34. deployment and post deployment processes in every modeling and analytics solution they deliver. MATRiX’s solutions are based on the use of Statistical, Operations research, Machine & Deep Learning, proprietary, best industry known algorithms and state-of-art analytics business processes. Its solutions leverage all possible data sources, which are, on-us bank data, off-us credit bureau, and other available alternate data sources. Discovering the Light after a Walk through the Darkness In the initial years of MATRiX, the only challenge for the company was grabbing a chance from the big banks to having them on-board as clients. However, the company eventually converted couple of big clients and started working with them. The most effective strategy of identifying right talent and people made it easy for the company to tackle initial struggles. With the dedication, professionalism and hard work of team to deliver the best to clients, the organization was able to provide analytics solutions to clients which far exceeded their expectations every time. MATRiX has been and is growing day after day. The company boasts a group of satisfied customers. The company is working on building new analytics solutions for the client’s priority objectives these days and at the same time pursuing acquisition of new clients. The company has earned the trust of its clientele and converted initial engagements into long-term partnerships. Anil Bandari Founder & CEO MATRiX ANALYTiCS CORPORATION The company’s first project rollout was with one of the largest banks in the country. Being a startup, it was competing with some pretty big names in the industry and the bank chose MATRiX. The company exceeded the expectation of the bank in the first project itself and it became a hit within the bank. Banks’ internal team had multiple road shows demonstrating the value of Machine Learning and Artificial intelligence across various departments within the bank. In review meeting of final presentation to the bank, the company told that the results and performance of its analytics solutions spoke for itself. The first project transformed into a long-term partnership with the bank and today MATRiX is working on multiple projects with the bank on an ongoing basis. Solutions We Offer Strategy Optimization Fraud Anomaly Detection Dynamic Risk Control Credit Scorecards Regulatory Modeling Signal Detection Recommendation Systems Governance Solutions MATRiX was first to build inventory optimization solution in construction industry and the optimization solution that led the retail company have 30% gain in their cash flow in first year itself. The company has filed for a patent for the algorithm, which digitizes very irregular structures with random space allocation in 2- dimensional surface. The application will be available for architects in the retail space. Transportation Problem Product Sales & Vendor Purchase Analytics Inventory & Pricing Optimization Genome Sequencing Based Models Cross-Industry Soloutions Enlightening Aspiring Leaders Anil believes that the most important characteristics which every leader should possess in these days and age are Ethics and Innovation. Strategy A/B Testing & Adaptive Control Customer Analytics Anil’s advice to the young and ambitious leaders is to give their best to whatever industry, kind of work they have chosen and funnel attention on the bigger picture. Sometimes, it may need for the leaders to be patient to reap its benefits. Text Mining 35 |July 2018|

  35. Anne Marie Kirby: A Born Leader Raising the Bar for Everyone with Humility and Purpose “We support wellness visionaries in their quest to change the world one employee at a time to achieve healthy living.” ― Anne Marie CEO & Founder CoreHealth Technologies |July 2018| 36

  36. here are many different types of leaders and leaderships around the world. Some believe in leading people and making a difference in their lives. These leaders are often admired and carry a warm glow around them because they are often in the limelight. However, others are more subtle because they wish to lead the world with their work and silently raise the bar for the world with their humility. One such outstanding persona in the business world is Anne Marie Kirby. Similarly, CoreHealth Technologies develops and distributes a one-stop- technology solution for corporate wellness companies. The platform is a state of the art SaaS solution and currently serves more than 2 million employees worldwide and over 1000 client organizations. Anne Marie humbly accepts her motives for changing her fortunes with the successful business but also firmly believes the product is making the world a better place for everyone by improving employee health. a team while building a solid foundation. It is perhaps these talents that made Anne Marie walk a path which is truly unique. In the current business world, some women talk about a glass ceiling they face. Anne Marie never noticed such a ceiling despite sometimes being the sole woman in a large group in the field dominated by STEM professionals. Her determination to succeed and walk through life with humility turned out to be her reality as she was promoted and ended up forming a successful enterprise, which is a story envied by others. Anne Marie is the Founder and CEO of CoreHealth Technologies, a leading wellness software company trusted by global providers to power their wellness programs for corporate clients. A Dream and A Personal Journey Apart from her ambition to become a successful business leader, she also faced personal challenges that made her realise the need for preventative health solutions to help people improve their overall well-being. In the mid- 90s, she suffered from an immune system disorder that was triggered by undiagnosed food allergies. Using her expertise as a software engineer and her independent and initiative-seeking attitude, she wrote a software program to track and analyse food ingredients. Her passion to find a solution for her ailment motivates her to serve a purpose much bigger than herself and the industry she continuously contributes to. Currently, prevention is an underrated solution to medical problems around the world. Additionally, prevention could save billions of taxpayer dollars when people take personal initiative and have the right tools at their disposal to make the best decision regarding their long-term health. Hence, Anne Marie and CoreHealth Technologies are transforming the world and raising the bar for every business leader with their work. She has been an active listener in her journey and has a few words of wisdom for aspiring young entrepreneurs around the world. She said, “Every day when you get up, think about the 2 or 3 most important things that you can do to move yours and your company’s agenda forward.” Anne Marie believes that the world around entrepreneurs is filled with a lot of noise and it is important to take a quiet step back before focussing their energy on the most important agenda of the day, every day. She realised her inclination to lead early in her career. During her long career as a software engineer, she always took initiative and led a life of example with humility. Her passion for understanding the big picture including the business case, overall environment and the people helped her quickly earn the deserving position of leadership, almost at every turn. She quickly captured her opportunities to lead, learn and grow as a leader. Anne Marie reveals a hidden good side of human nature. Human nature is filled with many inconsistencies and makes us often prone to committing grave errors. However, there is a good side to us as well. It does not lie in the contemplation of what can be or how it should be. It can come from a relentless pursuit of objectivity and truth in the larger picture. It can also be followed by the determination and zeal to achieve perfection in human nature. When these qualities are put together with a purpose, the world can and does become a better place for everyone. The Big Picture and the Right Path Anne Marie believes that every good leader has an underlying purpose of making the world a better place. In the business world, this is often the most under spoken truth. Often business leaders have their ambitions and motives in order to provide a service or a sell a product. This honest statement needs to be made more often because it does not take away from the real contributions of business leaders. In the larger picture, business leaders and their work often contribute positively and make the world a better place to live in. A Humble Leader As mentioned earlier, what sets Anne Marie apart from many business leaders is her quality of quietly leading 37 |July 2018|

  37. O development, Byrne’s first step into the European market began by launching a successful range of outlet centres and private resident clubs. It was while successfully running these that his business and the world was forever changed by the arrival of the internet. ver the past 30 years, Byrne Murphy has spearheaded a number of ventures. Initially focussing on international property The Nordics immediately interested Byrne as the place to start and grow a data centre business, as the region offers some of the lowest costs for clean renewable power, and a climate with a low year-round temperature, ideal for state-of-the art energy-efficient cooling. With DigiPlex’s commitment to 100% renewable energy and constant drive to innovate to reduce power consumption, the company is pioneering sustainable practises within the industry. Byrne quickly came to appreciate how important the physical infrastructure was to the digital revolution. Interested in where the virtual world meets the physical world, he rapidly identified data centers as that pivotal intersection point. This led him to start DigiPlex in 2001, then a company with presence only in Norway but with big Nordic ambitions that would redefine innovation in data centers across the world. Data centres operate at the heart of nearly all streaming, ‘cloud-based’ or network-based services. As the world moves quickly towards wider distribution of Internet of Things, cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence, the demand for fast, secure and powerful data centres grows exponentially each year. Today, data centres are responsible for about 2 per cent of the world’s annual CO2 emissions and 3 per cent of the world’s power usage. Given that data centers are the heart of the digitization, this is just a sliver of the impact the industry may come to have on the planet in the years to come. Businesses, and the data centers that support them, will both need to take greater responsibility for their environmental footprint. Mission driven from the beginning, today, DigiPlex is one of the most cost-effective, secure and sustainable data centres in the world, taking full advantage of attractively low Nordic energy prices and clean renewable power to build its compelling offer. Innovation is woven into the company’s DNA. Throughout its 17-year lifetime, the business has won multiple awards for innovation and constantly adhered to the concept of ‘there’s got to be a better way.’ As soon as a project is completed, DigiPlex automatically leans into tomorrow and starts to brainstorm around new innovative ways to do the next project even better. A good example of this is the recent modifications to DigiPlex state of the art data centre in Stockholm. The centre became operational in 2015 and is one of the greenest and most energy efficient in the world, however true to the DigiPlex innovation DNA the company took the decision last month to modify the centre to recover excess heat from the severs to heat the district. The agreement is the world’s first where an already operational data centre with an indirect evaporative air- to-air cooling solution, will be retrofitted to recover |July 2018| 40

  38. ‘‘ ‘‘ Byrne Murphy Chairman & Co-founder DigiPlex fully commit and persevere it’s easy to fall behind. This is a quality that DigiPlex looks for in all management positions. excess heat to heat up for 10,000 residential apartments. It is a virtuous cycle where everyday digital activities that start a process in DigiPlex’s data centre, like browsing or streaming video, turns into actions which contribute to heating the district. Build the right organisation culture. Long term survival requires the ability to constantly innovate. Hence, innovation needs to be a collective state of mind deeply rooted in the corporate culture. At DigiPlex every department lives and breathes the “innovate or die” maxim. Ÿ Byrne’s long career as a business leader and an entrepreneur in international markets, has offered him a fair share of challenges and lessons learnt. Byrne’s piece of advice for some of the young and aspiring leaders out there is threefold: Stop waiting! “If you really, really, have the urge to be a business leader, take the leap now. You won’t regret having tried, even if you fail. But, you may bitterly regret it if you never even tried.” Ÿ Recruit for ‘grit.’ To truly succeed in today’s fast- moving world, every business leader needs ‘grit.’ When building your management team ensure you recruit for the strength to never give up. If you don’t Ÿ 41 |July 2018|

  39. An Exceptional Product Evangelist and Passionate Leader Dan McFall President & CEO Mobile Labs P identify the undeniable possibilities of innovation. Notable examples include Steve Jobs, who had the vision of a phone with one button on the front; or, Amazon Tycoon, Jeff Bezos, who had a vision for a store that sells everything. assion is the drive, ambition and the love for what you do and who you serve. It provides you with a unique ability to Without curiosity, there is no room for growth and that is when everything falls apart. Every successful leader must have an inherent passion that drives them forward -- a core belief that keeps him or her pressing on. Such undying passion always leads the way and enables individuals to stay ahead of the curve. Another prime example amongst such extremely passionate individuals is Dan McFall. From his very first job as a product support engineer for a supply chain software company, McFall has had a passion for helping companies solve problems with software and integrated technology. |July 2018| 42

  40. Mobile Labs was a pre-product, pre-revenue organization when McFall first joined the organization. There was an unsure product-market fit and no go-to-market strategy for deviceConnect. This made for a challenging environment in not only selling the solution, but for determining what the ideal profile of new sales team members would need to be for success. Today, he is the president and CEO of a leading provider of mobile device cloud technology, Mobile Labs. McFall has helped some of the largest companies in the world to design and implement complex optimization solutions for their mobile testing labs, while providing leadership of Mobile Labs’ technical sales, marketing, development and partner management teams. McFall’s true growth as a leader came when he joined Mobile Labs as the vice president of sales in 2012 and decided to take the plunge into a true start-up environment. In this role, he was directly responsible for acquiring the company’s very first customer and also its largest customer to date. At the same time, he developed a full cycle field sales team which dramatically increased the customer base and revenue of the organization. With his passion for solutions, McFall often played and continues to play the role of ‘product evangelist’ with several speaking engagements, webinars, and industry events to his credit. Mobile Labs: Your Appium Success Company Mobile Labs is a leading provider of mobile device cloud technology for the enterprise. Easily deployed either on- premises or in a hosted cloud infrastructure, Mobile Labs’ deviceConnect™ allows development and testing teams to accelerate their mobile application release cycle with utmost confidence in application quality and performance. Additionally, deviceConnect enables teams to accelerate mobile test automation strategies by enabling a wide variety of both commercial and open-source automation tools to run on their platform for mobile app and mobile website testing. By connecting remote teams of developers, testers, automation engineers, and quality assurance, Mobile Labs’ solution allows its customers to considerably decrease their time spent testing. deviceConnect has perceptively increased collaboration by enabling teams to share the same pool of real devices for improved mobile DevOps. In 2016 McFall was promoted to the role of president where he took over expanded responsibility for all aspects of the business, including sales, development, marketing and customer care. In 2017, Mobile Labs showed a significant growth in both new subscription business and customer acquisition, culminating in McFall’s appointment as the president and CEO by the Board of Directors at the start of 2018. For companies that are interested in building their automated testing strategy around Appium, Mobile Labs positions itself as ‘Your Appium Success Company’ by providing a built-in Appium server as part of deviceConnect that makes working with Appium easier and more productive. It particularly emphasizes on improvements to Appium architecture which can enhance performance and reliability of the platform. Those who are ready to make the shift to automated testing leveraging Appium, are further assured by Mobile Labs’ world-class support and training services. Curiosity: The Core to Everything According to McFall, a leader must be curious, and not just about market opportunities. Leaders need to be curious about what their customers, employees and competitors think, in addition to focusing on what is happening adjacent to the company’s industry. He notes that, “Leaders today also need to have the confidence to admit when they do not know something.” They are not expected to have all of the answers about every aspect of the business. However, they must be capable of creating a team that can find those answers. He also adds, that aspiring leaders should trust in their team’s experiences and wisdom. They must be able to collaborate, and to go forward steadfast in their ability to integrate those experiences into a meaningful strategy for the business. Transforming a Pre-product, Pre-revenue Organization into a Market Leader McFall realized that everything was going mobile in late 2011. He envisioned that everything was eventually going to be mobile, resulting in all apps and mobile websites having to be tested on real devices. 43 |July 2018|

  41. L Strong Risk Tolerance Founding a start-up involves a great deal of uncertainty and risk. A study found that after 10 years of being in business, 96 percent of the start-ups fail. Going by the statistics, Musk must have faced the same odds against him, when he had decided to leave an otherwise comfortable life to start a risky and uncertain business venture. For instance, Musk left his PhD program at Stanford University to find a company called Zip2 with his brother in the year 1995. Later, the company was sold to Compaq computers, profiting Musk a bit over $20 million. Following this, Musk once again took a great risk by investing millions of dollars to found a company called X.com, one of the world's first online banks. egends never need an introduction. They tend to be victorious despite of their uneventful histories. They stick to captivating traits such as Discipline, determination and self-belief which help them accomplish wonders in the long run. One such example of an extra- ordinary person is Elon Musk, a South African Business Magnate, Investor and an engineer. Musk is the founder, CEO, and chief architect of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product designer of Tesla Inc.; and co-founder and CEO of Neuralink. As of February 2018, he is the 53rd-richest person in the world and has a net worth of $20.8 billion, which is far more than the net GDP of Greece taken into consideration. While each entrepreneur possesses a unique set of traits that makes him/her successful, this Tech founder has a few traits much different from any other ordinary CEO, which has allowed him to build some of the world’s most respected and innovative organizations. Musk once quoted, “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” ‘Always Be Learning’ Attitude An astounding and less-known fact about Elon Musk is that he is self-taught in programming and in many advanced level subjects. He read and understood a variety of books, which helped him gain endless and persistent knowledge and understand diverse concepts. Let’s have a look on these personality attributes and characteristics that make him a contender for the most innovative intellectual entrepreneur of the century alive. The best piece of advice on learning and implementation is to constantly think about how things could be done in a better manner and question self to seek the answers. Hard-work and Characteristic Work Ethics Elon Musk is a hard-working innovator, working for about 100 hours a week, and has been productive since many years. He may even be considered as the hardest working employee of the company, setting standards for his colleagues to follow and implement. Since the field of work lies inside his radius of interests, he enjoys it to every moment and bit when it comes to learning and execution. Feedback Loop It is of prime importance to recognize the present symbol or otherwise ‘status quo’ in the market as an organization and re-position accordingly. Musk solicits constant feedback of the companies and executes ‘self-analysis’. He induces efforts and divergent strategies to improve customer feedbacks and strives towards perfectionism. |July 2018| 46

  42. Imparting Wisdom as well as the potential-seeking factor of its founding team. He does not hesitate to gamble on large scale unless he is genuinely aware of the expected end-results. Tesla Motors, a far headed firm headed by Elon Musk, is anti-ordinary. Its compelling marketplace has become a one-stop destination for potential buyers where they can interact about product specifications. They also have video testimonials that far outperform in the sales-dominated industry. For example, he seeks out his critics and tries to converse with them. This habit of self-reflection at regular and considerable periods is pivotal for any entrepreneur or organization to succeed in the long run. It is equally essential to maintain clarity of doubt in any large scale organization. Under his supervision, Musk encourages in creating a positive and comprehensive environment across his firms. Tendency for Vertical Integration Vertical integration is a strategy where an organization or a firm acquires business operations within the same product vertical. Both Tesla and SpaceX embrace this concept. For example, Tesla not only produces electric cars; they also generate public awareness about their cars via Tesla showrooms across various countries. And SpaceX does not only have the primary goal of rocket propulsions; they develop their own rocket architecture as well. There is no ambiguity that Musk, by far, has been a pillar of inspiration for budding entrepreneurs and investors because of his prolific and optimistic approach towards life Preferring to Stand Out From the Crowd Musk elects to bring up innovation at every level of his understanding. He tends to impart theoretical knowledge at the base level, applying changes and executing the same on the practical level. He relies more on transitional aspects such as research and development, thereby increasing the probability of ground-breaking inventions. All these traits possessed by Musk, in some manner or the other, coincide with most of your habits. The only thing that stands as a potential barrier between these two is identifying your strengths and working on them on a continual basis. Go on, apply these traits into your daily life, and you may become the next big CEO the world is in need of today! Faith in Self and the Founding Team Musk undoubtedly possesses a profound belief in his own capabilities 47 |July 2018|

  43. Danielle Warner A Brilliant Team Leader and Disruptor “Nothing excites me more as a leader than watching people find their inner drive and lighting that flame inside them. It’s what gets me up in the morning – it keeps me powered by purpose.” — Danielle Warner Founder & CEO Expat Insurance |July 2018| 48

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