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Paula Carneiro Cox leads that charge, managing a business development team whose responsibility is to match value to needs within the WonderBotz customer base.
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Top Inspiring Business Leaders Difference Making a in 2022 Paula Carneiro Cox, SVP of Business Development Carneiro Cox Unlocking the True Poten?al of an Integrated Human & Digital Workplace www.insightssuccess.com VOL-12 | ISSUE-11 | 2022
Editor’s Desk I n this modern era, business leaders are searching for ways to lead their teams to success and adapt to current events that have thrown many companies into a loop. Good leadership is difficult in times of change and crisis, and many managers are realizing that the many tried and true business strategies of the past are not applicable to the current state of world affairs. Constantly keeping an open mind and approaching business from a learning perspective also allows them to foster a more diverse work environment that accepts and encourages all sorts of different perspectives. Embracing the journey of such staunch business leaders that are revolutionizing the modern business arena, Insights Success’ latest edition, sheds light on the Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022. Many leaders are choosing to adopt managing styles that are more focused on keeping their team lean, agile, and adaptive. The ability of organizations to stay flexible is more important than ever, given how unpredictable the future is today. Moreover, much of the conventional wisdom about management has been turned on its head due to the adoption of new technologies that have significantly changed the business culture of many companies. Flip through the pages and explore the fundamentals of success with the resolute leadership charismas. Have a Delightful read! Benchmarking Brilliance Managers should have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve and be able to inspire this vision in their subordinates. A leader’s vision should be clear and meaningful. Setting a vision your team can rally behind and tangibly work toward is crucial. Sharing this wisdom will make workers feel like they are part of a collective whole that is working together towards the same goal. Without a vision, employees are more likely to be isolated and self-serving, which can lead to infighting and conflict in an organization. In today’s fast-paced digital world, stagnation and close- mindedness are a good leader’s worst enemies. Effective managers are constantly learning new skills and expanding their set of skills. Doing so allows them to communicate more easily with different team members that might possess their own unique expertise. Abhishek Joshi Abhishek Joshi
Editor’s Desk I n this modern era, business leaders are searching for ways to lead their teams to success and adapt to current events that have thrown many companies into a loop. Good leadership is difficult in times of change and crisis, and many managers are realizing that the many tried and true business strategies of the past are not applicable to the current state of world affairs. Constantly keeping an open mind and approaching business from a learning perspective also allows them to foster a more diverse work environment that accepts and encourages all sorts of different perspectives. Embracing the journey of such staunch business leaders that are revolutionizing the modern business arena, Insights Success’ latest edition, sheds light on the Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022. Many leaders are choosing to adopt managing styles that are more focused on keeping their team lean, agile, and adaptive. The ability of organizations to stay flexible is more important than ever, given how unpredictable the future is today. Moreover, much of the conventional wisdom about management has been turned on its head due to the adoption of new technologies that have significantly changed the business culture of many companies. Flip through the pages and explore the fundamentals of success with the resolute leadership charismas. Have a Delightful read! Benchmarking Brilliance Managers should have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve and be able to inspire this vision in their subordinates. A leader’s vision should be clear and meaningful. Setting a vision your team can rally behind and tangibly work toward is crucial. Sharing this wisdom will make workers feel like they are part of a collective whole that is working together towards the same goal. Without a vision, employees are more likely to be isolated and self-serving, which can lead to infighting and conflict in an organization. In today’s fast-paced digital world, stagnation and close- mindedness are a good leader’s worst enemies. Effective managers are constantly learning new skills and expanding their set of skills. Doing so allows them to communicate more easily with different team members that might possess their own unique expertise. Abhishek Joshi Abhishek Joshi
08 24 Henrik Andersson Pioneering Smart Retail 2.0 30 JODY Paulus Offering Innovative Nano-coating Solutions Unlocking the True Poten?al of an Integrated Human & Digital Workplace 34 Mimoun A. Assraoui Addressing Migration Needs of Investors and High-net-worth Individuals 38 Nabil Ben Soussia Thriving for a Significant Change 28 ARTICLE Leadership Redefined Enroute to Success 42 Tony Bates 16 Driving Innovative Technological Shifts with Empathy at Forefront Boris Kontsevoi Bringing Concepts to Reality 44 20 Edwin Bessant Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence Wael A. Itani A Continual Pursuit of Freshness
08 24 Henrik Andersson Pioneering Smart Retail 2.0 30 JODY Paulus Offering Innovative Nano-coating Solutions Unlocking the True Poten?al of an Integrated Human & Digital Workplace 34 Mimoun A. Assraoui Addressing Migration Needs of Investors and High-net-worth Individuals 38 Nabil Ben Soussia Thriving for a Significant Change 28 ARTICLE Leadership Redefined Enroute to Success 42 Tony Bates 16 Driving Innovative Technological Shifts with Empathy at Forefront Boris Kontsevoi Bringing Concepts to Reality 44 20 Edwin Bessant Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence Wael A. Itani A Continual Pursuit of Freshness
Top Inspiring Editor-in-Chief Merry D'Souza Business Leaders Difference Making a Managing Editor Abhishek Joshi Executive Editor Jenny Fernandes Assistant Editors Anish Miller in 2022 Art & Design Director Revati Badkas Associate Designer Sandeep Tikode Visualizer David King Company Name Featured Person Brief Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager Intetics intetics.com Boris Kontsevoi CEO Intetics Inc. is a leading global technology company. Kshitij S Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Sales Executives David, Martin Ceuta Group ceutagroup.com Ceuta Group works with some of the most dynamic brands in Health & Personal Care and Food & Drink. Edwin Bessant CEO Technical Head Business Development Executives Henrik Andersson Instorescreen.com Henrik Andersson CEO Henrik Andersson Shelf Strip displays fit perfectly in front of your standard shelves. Jacob Smile Steve, Aidan Studio Moderna studio-moderna.com Studio Moderna is a leading omnichannel, multi-brand and direct-to-consumer retailer. Jan Heere CEO Technical Specialist Prachi Mokashi Digital Marketing Manager Dominique T. Europlasma is a global technology leader in innovative nano- coating solutions. Europlasma europlasma.be Jody Paulus CEO Research Analyst Frank Adams SME-SMO Executive Sagar Lhigade RIF Trust's overall strategic direction is to provide HNWI and their families with second citizenship & EU residency solutions. RIF TRUST and Latitude Group riftrust.com Mimoun Assraoui CEO Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Circulation Manager Robert Brown IEC Telecom iec-telecom.com Nabil Ben Soussia CEO IEC Telecom is an international satellite service operator. sales@insightssuccess.com December, 2022 As the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Paula is committed to helping clients quickly deliver quality and value back to their organization. Paula Carneiro Cox SVP of Business Development WonderBotz WonderBotz.com Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ We are also available on : www.twitter.com/insightssuccess Genesys genesys.com Genesys cloud technology helps ensure customers are remembered, heard and understood. Tony Bates CEO Copyright © 2022 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. General Poultry Company specializes in poultry farming & sale of fresh table eggs accounting for a 65% share of local Bahraini egg production. General Poultry Company gpc.bh Wael Itani CEO
Top Inspiring Editor-in-Chief Merry D'Souza Business Leaders Difference Making a Managing Editor Abhishek Joshi Executive Editor Jenny Fernandes Assistant Editors Anish Miller in 2022 Art & Design Director Revati Badkas Associate Designer Sandeep Tikode Visualizer David King Company Name Featured Person Brief Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager Intetics intetics.com Boris Kontsevoi CEO Intetics Inc. is a leading global technology company. Kshitij S Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Sales Executives David, Martin Ceuta Group ceutagroup.com Ceuta Group works with some of the most dynamic brands in Health & Personal Care and Food & Drink. Edwin Bessant CEO Technical Head Business Development Executives Henrik Andersson Instorescreen.com Henrik Andersson CEO Henrik Andersson Shelf Strip displays fit perfectly in front of your standard shelves. Jacob Smile Steve, Aidan Studio Moderna studio-moderna.com Studio Moderna is a leading omnichannel, multi-brand and direct-to-consumer retailer. Jan Heere CEO Technical Specialist Prachi Mokashi Digital Marketing Manager Dominique T. Europlasma is a global technology leader in innovative nano- coating solutions. Europlasma europlasma.be Jody Paulus CEO Research Analyst Frank Adams SME-SMO Executive Sagar Lhigade RIF Trust's overall strategic direction is to provide HNWI and their families with second citizenship & EU residency solutions. RIF TRUST and Latitude Group riftrust.com Mimoun Assraoui CEO Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Circulation Manager Robert Brown IEC Telecom iec-telecom.com Nabil Ben Soussia CEO IEC Telecom is an international satellite service operator. sales@insightssuccess.com December, 2022 As the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Paula is committed to helping clients quickly deliver quality and value back to their organization. Paula Carneiro Cox SVP of Business Development WonderBotz WonderBotz.com Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ We are also available on : www.twitter.com/insightssuccess Genesys genesys.com Genesys cloud technology helps ensure customers are remembered, heard and understood. Tony Bates CEO Copyright © 2022 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. General Poultry Company specializes in poultry farming & sale of fresh table eggs accounting for a 65% share of local Bahraini egg production. General Poultry Company gpc.bh Wael Itani CEO
C O V E R S T O R Y Unlocking the True Poten?al of an Integrated Human & Digital Workplace As a leader I have learned it is important to show the next generation to recognize that humility is key. It is important to stay equal parts inquisitive, teachable and hard-working to make it in today’s modern world.” Paula Carneiro Cox, SVP of Business Development
C O V E R S T O R Y Unlocking the True Poten?al of an Integrated Human & Digital Workplace As a leader I have learned it is important to show the next generation to recognize that humility is key. It is important to stay equal parts inquisitive, teachable and hard-working to make it in today’s modern world.” Paula Carneiro Cox, SVP of Business Development
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 I identifying and delivering value is the only way to develop scalable growth strategies for an organization while remaining obsessed with customer needs. Through a commitment to being a leader from any position on the team you can assist in propelling the company to newer heights. Letting authenticity and humility guide her, Paula Carneiro Cox leads that charge, managing a business development team whose responsibility is to match value to needs within the WonderBotz customer base. She attracts new clients through compelling content, web engagement and community education. through intelligent automation. I have a feeling I'll be sticking around this industry and line of work for years to come. managers and recruiters would view it negatively. It was only when the recession of 2007-08 kicked into high gear that my work experience outshined the "loyalty" card, and I was a hot hire. I had ten years of professional work before I completed the final few credits to get my diploma, so I did it at 28 years old, and today I am proud of that journey. My career path and the corresponding challenges help me connect with today's developers, contingency laborers, and gig-workers who should take every bit as much pride in their work as someone with a pedagogical education track. Success with an alternative approach and sharing that with rising workplace stars has become part of my "why.” What challenges did you face along the way? In my early tech career, I was always one of the only women in the room, and I was certainly the youngest by far. It didn't hinder my growth, but it helped shape my diplomacy tactics and refined my EQ so that I could be effective and my voice would be just as influential as my male counterparts climbing the ranks. I've always advocated for equal representation and have only had a few snags along the way as have most women executives in my circle, but they were good learning moments for me and have served as valuable stories for the women I mentor in the technology space. As the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Paula is committed to helping clients quickly deliver quality and significance back to their organization. Her strength is helping them identify roadmaps to value and encouraging internal networking among executives. WonderBotz is a professional services firm focused on the advisory, design, deployment, and ongoing management of Intelligent Process Automation involved in solution-based outcomes. What significant impact have you brought to the RPA industry? Proudly, I've had the opportunity to impact both the executive leadership side of the industry encouraging stories and elevating the discussion to value rather than "features and functions," and also within the grassroots of the RPA developer community "hands on keyboard" level. I learned RPA on the UiPath platform after a operational process career, and through WonderBotz now work closely with Blue Prism and Automation Anywhere, too. All of these "anchor RPA platforms," as I call them, began to saturate the market at a time when the advisors and practitioners were learning best practices alongside their clients. I made it a point to get my BA Certification for credibility, took off my "operations" hat, and went into the commercial and business development side of the industry. I was one of the first to interview CFOs and facilitate roundtable discussions with my partners to help evangelize RPA through social media and reach a broader crew. Partners like to work with me for my willingness to both strategize and cold call as needed- when you are experiencing and sharing the impact stories this tech category can quickly add, it's easy to passionately spread the word. I think I help do that in a gentle, unintimidating way to clients and am very effective in identifying automation suitability thanks to my operational background in process improvement and process documentation. And just to note, of course, there are several other incredible intelligent automation partners we work with-these three we have made the most impact on. Along similar lines, as a self-proclaimed outlier, the idea of being a "lifer" at an organization never appealed to me. Not for lack of loyalty, but for my need to continuously grow, be challenged, and give back. Fortunately, my sentiments have been echoed over the years, and in this modern age, employees seek alternative experiences, multiple industries to work for, shorter tenures, and loyalty to their values rather than an organization they serve. Insights Success caught up with Paula in our endeavor to find "Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022" and talked about her professional journey, the roles she played in operations prior to her current role as a growth leader, and how it led to a career following her passion for connecting people, technology and processes. I preceded that philosophy at a time it wasn't very popular, staying at a firm anywhere from 2-4 years before moving on to the next learning experience. At the time, hiring Below are the highlights of the interview: Briefly describe your professional journey up until now. I started my career at a Global Manufacturing and Logistics organization, mapping out processes and interactions between systems, people, and ultimately, technicians. That segued into a proper Process Analyst role where my job was to write the procedural documentation and capture SLAs for the BlackBerry Global Data Center team. Through a series of operational-related roles and process improvement projects, I began to realize I had a gift for simplifying complex tech challenges for business leaders. My career morphed with a few turns into the M&A space, always with a laser focus on my interest in process improvement and efficiency. These disciplines naturally transition into a consulting role in the automation space. I turned my visio documents into Robot Design Documents and haven't looked back. Today I sit on the leadership team at WonderBotz, servicing clients who want to improve their organization, their employees, and their quality of work-life Leadership opportunities may reveal themselves in non-traditional environments. There may be relationships where you are not a direct manager, however you can still be a human and offer support if you've had the experience. Tell us about WonderBotz and its foundation pillar. WonderBotz was founded on the principle of quality outcomes, no matter what. Our inception story is one of the main reasons I was attracted to WonderBotz. I met WonderBotz leadership at a few industry conferences
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 I identifying and delivering value is the only way to develop scalable growth strategies for an organization while remaining obsessed with customer needs. Through a commitment to being a leader from any position on the team you can assist in propelling the company to newer heights. Letting authenticity and humility guide her, Paula Carneiro Cox leads that charge, managing a business development team whose responsibility is to match value to needs within the WonderBotz customer base. She attracts new clients through compelling content, web engagement and community education. through intelligent automation. I have a feeling I'll be sticking around this industry and line of work for years to come. managers and recruiters would view it negatively. It was only when the recession of 2007-08 kicked into high gear that my work experience outshined the "loyalty" card, and I was a hot hire. I had ten years of professional work before I completed the final few credits to get my diploma, so I did it at 28 years old, and today I am proud of that journey. My career path and the corresponding challenges help me connect with today's developers, contingency laborers, and gig-workers who should take every bit as much pride in their work as someone with a pedagogical education track. Success with an alternative approach and sharing that with rising workplace stars has become part of my "why.” What challenges did you face along the way? In my early tech career, I was always one of the only women in the room, and I was certainly the youngest by far. It didn't hinder my growth, but it helped shape my diplomacy tactics and refined my EQ so that I could be effective and my voice would be just as influential as my male counterparts climbing the ranks. I've always advocated for equal representation and have only had a few snags along the way as have most women executives in my circle, but they were good learning moments for me and have served as valuable stories for the women I mentor in the technology space. As the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Paula is committed to helping clients quickly deliver quality and significance back to their organization. Her strength is helping them identify roadmaps to value and encouraging internal networking among executives. WonderBotz is a professional services firm focused on the advisory, design, deployment, and ongoing management of Intelligent Process Automation involved in solution-based outcomes. What significant impact have you brought to the RPA industry? Proudly, I've had the opportunity to impact both the executive leadership side of the industry encouraging stories and elevating the discussion to value rather than "features and functions," and also within the grassroots of the RPA developer community "hands on keyboard" level. I learned RPA on the UiPath platform after a operational process career, and through WonderBotz now work closely with Blue Prism and Automation Anywhere, too. All of these "anchor RPA platforms," as I call them, began to saturate the market at a time when the advisors and practitioners were learning best practices alongside their clients. I made it a point to get my BA Certification for credibility, took off my "operations" hat, and went into the commercial and business development side of the industry. I was one of the first to interview CFOs and facilitate roundtable discussions with my partners to help evangelize RPA through social media and reach a broader crew. Partners like to work with me for my willingness to both strategize and cold call as needed- when you are experiencing and sharing the impact stories this tech category can quickly add, it's easy to passionately spread the word. I think I help do that in a gentle, unintimidating way to clients and am very effective in identifying automation suitability thanks to my operational background in process improvement and process documentation. And just to note, of course, there are several other incredible intelligent automation partners we work with-these three we have made the most impact on. Along similar lines, as a self-proclaimed outlier, the idea of being a "lifer" at an organization never appealed to me. Not for lack of loyalty, but for my need to continuously grow, be challenged, and give back. Fortunately, my sentiments have been echoed over the years, and in this modern age, employees seek alternative experiences, multiple industries to work for, shorter tenures, and loyalty to their values rather than an organization they serve. Insights Success caught up with Paula in our endeavor to find "Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022" and talked about her professional journey, the roles she played in operations prior to her current role as a growth leader, and how it led to a career following her passion for connecting people, technology and processes. I preceded that philosophy at a time it wasn't very popular, staying at a firm anywhere from 2-4 years before moving on to the next learning experience. At the time, hiring Below are the highlights of the interview: Briefly describe your professional journey up until now. I started my career at a Global Manufacturing and Logistics organization, mapping out processes and interactions between systems, people, and ultimately, technicians. That segued into a proper Process Analyst role where my job was to write the procedural documentation and capture SLAs for the BlackBerry Global Data Center team. Through a series of operational-related roles and process improvement projects, I began to realize I had a gift for simplifying complex tech challenges for business leaders. My career morphed with a few turns into the M&A space, always with a laser focus on my interest in process improvement and efficiency. These disciplines naturally transition into a consulting role in the automation space. I turned my visio documents into Robot Design Documents and haven't looked back. Today I sit on the leadership team at WonderBotz, servicing clients who want to improve their organization, their employees, and their quality of work-life Leadership opportunities may reveal themselves in non-traditional environments. There may be relationships where you are not a direct manager, however you can still be a human and offer support if you've had the experience. Tell us about WonderBotz and its foundation pillar. WonderBotz was founded on the principle of quality outcomes, no matter what. Our inception story is one of the main reasons I was attracted to WonderBotz. I met WonderBotz leadership at a few industry conferences
before we began formally courting, and I was immediately aligned with the partnership value system they shared. I met Bhavyesh Virani in New York on the east coast, and later met Steve LaValle in Las Vegas. I connected instantly with each of them. WonderBotz hires, trains, and retains the best talent in the RPA space, period. We have service providers and competitors knocking on our doors every day for developer support or solution design, not to mention a pipeline of client work and net new buyers we meet every week because our expertise and talent are so widely known. We have a leadership team that backs their word and a partner ecosystem that allows us to pull any arrow from our quiver as we seek to continuously innovate our clients' operations. It is a special place for many reasons, but the integrity behind our leaders' promising outcomes "no matter what" is something easy to stand behind. of technology or automating just to automate are poor reasons to apply technology. In order to increase efficiency, cut costs, reduce errors, improve the scalability of output volume, organize larger data sets, etc., it is good to have a healthy tech mindset and see where there can be an answer in a platform or solution. I believe in creating scalable solutions through RPA and adjacent technologies because the power of the process is in your hands to adjust and reconfigure, at scale, without training teams or departments. In my personal function, I leverage technology to organize the thousands of relationships I manage and maintain the important "human" details about my clients and colleagues top of mind. I'd love to meet anyone who says technology is NOT important in this modern world. It is crucial to maintain integrity, work hard and have humility about your strengths because that will get noticed, valued, and promoted. What will be the next significant change in the Intelligent Automation industry, and how are you preparing for it? I believe that Intelligent Automation (IA) will be a standalone business unit much like a shared-service center concept, only more of a NOC-like environment. IA touches many disciplines and as the industry grows in popularity and buyers begin to see how cost-efficient it is, more folks from the business are upskilling into the IA world and changing the type of talent that performs this work. It could be a whole new category of degrees and training. We are even seeing courses rise up at Universities supporting Intelligent Automation. Fundamentally, I think all intelligent automation methodologies have been headed in three directions for some time, 1) productizing RPA + Adjacent tech solutions and selling them as a service, and/or 2) more Low Code/No Code digital assistant-type software for the individual 3) AI-powered Process and Task mining will expose areas of the business that need attention to increase profitability. With our partner-centric mindset at WonderBotz, we have aligned with a few players in these areas and have enabled support teams. Clients trust us with their business challenges because, as IA advisors, it is our duty to understand what is coming down the pike in our industry and where it could apply to their business challenges. One thing is for sure; it will never stop changing. How does WonderBotz promote workforce flexibility, and what is your role in it? The very nature of automation work is remote when the proper methodology is followed. The Business Analyst function and Customer Success leaders we have on our client projects, however, make time for meeting clients in person and having a more frequent cadence depending on the stage of the program. My Business Development Analysts are in various parts of India, but our proximity in work and collaboration is such that I feel I already know them. Hoping to finally meet them in person next year! The US Growth Team comes together more frequently, and we proudly inaugurated our headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey earlier this summer. Even still, we have a hybrid policy so that our employees can maintain their work-life balance. We know there are times when 12 hour days can happen in the consulting and advisory world; that's why it's important to promote a culture of flexibility. At the end of the day, it's about trust and accountability- the truth about someone's productivity always shakes itself out. What is your take on technology's importance, and how are you leveraging it? What are your goals in the upcoming future? Paula Carneiro Cox, SVP of Business Development I believe that in some shape or form, every industry will have a digital modification, improvement, or full transformation within the next 20 years. Technology is extremely important, but it is also getting very saturated, making noise that mutes the value. Technology for the sake My goal is to help WonderBotz reach our strategic revenue and client acquisition goals over the next year. It is by staying very present in the Intelligent Automation space and offering my support, guidance, and experience to the aspiring practitioners so they stay motivated and understand
before we began formally courting, and I was immediately aligned with the partnership value system they shared. I met Bhavyesh Virani in New York on the east coast, and later met Steve LaValle in Las Vegas. I connected instantly with each of them. WonderBotz hires, trains, and retains the best talent in the RPA space, period. We have service providers and competitors knocking on our doors every day for developer support or solution design, not to mention a pipeline of client work and net new buyers we meet every week because our expertise and talent are so widely known. We have a leadership team that backs their word and a partner ecosystem that allows us to pull any arrow from our quiver as we seek to continuously innovate our clients' operations. It is a special place for many reasons, but the integrity behind our leaders' promising outcomes "no matter what" is something easy to stand behind. of technology or automating just to automate are poor reasons to apply technology. In order to increase efficiency, cut costs, reduce errors, improve the scalability of output volume, organize larger data sets, etc., it is good to have a healthy tech mindset and see where there can be an answer in a platform or solution. I believe in creating scalable solutions through RPA and adjacent technologies because the power of the process is in your hands to adjust and reconfigure, at scale, without training teams or departments. In my personal function, I leverage technology to organize the thousands of relationships I manage and maintain the important "human" details about my clients and colleagues top of mind. I'd love to meet anyone who says technology is NOT important in this modern world. It is crucial to maintain integrity, work hard and have humility about your strengths because that will get noticed, valued, and promoted. What will be the next significant change in the Intelligent Automation industry, and how are you preparing for it? I believe that Intelligent Automation (IA) will be a standalone business unit much like a shared-service center concept, only more of a NOC-like environment. IA touches many disciplines and as the industry grows in popularity and buyers begin to see how cost-efficient it is, more folks from the business are upskilling into the IA world and changing the type of talent that performs this work. It could be a whole new category of degrees and training. We are even seeing courses rise up at Universities supporting Intelligent Automation. Fundamentally, I think all intelligent automation methodologies have been headed in three directions for some time, 1) productizing RPA + Adjacent tech solutions and selling them as a service, and/or 2) more Low Code/No Code digital assistant-type software for the individual 3) AI-powered Process and Task mining will expose areas of the business that need attention to increase profitability. With our partner-centric mindset at WonderBotz, we have aligned with a few players in these areas and have enabled support teams. Clients trust us with their business challenges because, as IA advisors, it is our duty to understand what is coming down the pike in our industry and where it could apply to their business challenges. One thing is for sure; it will never stop changing. How does WonderBotz promote workforce flexibility, and what is your role in it? The very nature of automation work is remote when the proper methodology is followed. The Business Analyst function and Customer Success leaders we have on our client projects, however, make time for meeting clients in person and having a more frequent cadence depending on the stage of the program. My Business Development Analysts are in various parts of India, but our proximity in work and collaboration is such that I feel I already know them. Hoping to finally meet them in person next year! The US Growth Team comes together more frequently, and we proudly inaugurated our headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey earlier this summer. Even still, we have a hybrid policy so that our employees can maintain their work-life balance. We know there are times when 12 hour days can happen in the consulting and advisory world; that's why it's important to promote a culture of flexibility. At the end of the day, it's about trust and accountability- the truth about someone's productivity always shakes itself out. What is your take on technology's importance, and how are you leveraging it? What are your goals in the upcoming future? Paula Carneiro Cox, SVP of Business Development I believe that in some shape or form, every industry will have a digital modification, improvement, or full transformation within the next 20 years. Technology is extremely important, but it is also getting very saturated, making noise that mutes the value. Technology for the sake My goal is to help WonderBotz reach our strategic revenue and client acquisition goals over the next year. It is by staying very present in the Intelligent Automation space and offering my support, guidance, and experience to the aspiring practitioners so they stay motivated and understand
active participation in the CFO Leadership Council. Personally, I plan to reactivate some of my mentoring channels, and I have made it a goal to begin accepting speaking engagements again and getting out in the automation community more for networking and the exchange of ideas. I am fortunate to have a brilliant network of all varieties. What advice would you like to give the next generation of aspiring business leaders? It has become a completely overused "buzzword," unfortunately, but the depth of its meaning is my advice to all: authenticity. The key, however, is knowing yourself in order to present that truth to the world. I see so many youngsters rising up with a chip on their shoulder, a sense of entitlement, and a bravado about what work should look like. You simply don't know yet! And guess what? That's perfectly ok. I strive to be the same Paula at work, with my clients, with my employees, with my family or friends, and with my husband. Sometimes she is silly, sometimes she is serious, but she is always the truth-telling woman with integrity who works hard and will come through for you in a pinch. It is important for the next generation to recognize that the virtue of humility is important and can only be experienced when we admit to needing help. No matter what stage of my career, there is always something else for me to learn, especially in a rapidly moving industry like tech. It is crucial to maintain integrity, work hard and know yourself because that will make up the approachable side of you that will get noticed, valued, and promoted. Not to mention, keep you happy.
active participation in the CFO Leadership Council. Personally, I plan to reactivate some of my mentoring channels, and I have made it a goal to begin accepting speaking engagements again and getting out in the automation community more for networking and the exchange of ideas. I am fortunate to have a brilliant network of all varieties. What advice would you like to give the next generation of aspiring business leaders? It has become a completely overused "buzzword," unfortunately, but the depth of its meaning is my advice to all: authenticity. The key, however, is knowing yourself in order to present that truth to the world. I see so many youngsters rising up with a chip on their shoulder, a sense of entitlement, and a bravado about what work should look like. You simply don't know yet! And guess what? That's perfectly ok. I strive to be the same Paula at work, with my clients, with my employees, with my family or friends, and with my husband. Sometimes she is silly, sometimes she is serious, but she is always the truth-telling woman with integrity who works hard and will come through for you in a pinch. It is important for the next generation to recognize that the virtue of humility is important and can only be experienced when we admit to needing help. No matter what stage of my career, there is always something else for me to learn, especially in a rapidly moving industry like tech. It is crucial to maintain integrity, work hard and know yourself because that will make up the approachable side of you that will get noticed, valued, and promoted. Not to mention, keep you happy.
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Bringing Concepts to Reality T global mission to bring meaningful value to business society and engage talented people in strategically planned business with a vivid and clear mission, vision, and a road map. But in the beginning, usually, one has only enthusiasm, a spirit of an innovator and experimenter, and the desire to face challenges. To achieve the results, one had to be dedicated, persistent, and industrious; akin to these qualities is Boris Kontsevoi. he journey from a business leader to a Chief Executive Officer isn't just connected with personal goals and ambitions. It also always aligns with a around 800$, the total price was $2200 per channel at 128 kbit/s; moreover, it was tricky to deliver the software to the client because "heavy" files couldn't be downloaded via the internet. It needed to take a floppy disk, get on a plane, and fly to the USA. Only in Spring of 1995, finally, the opportunity to access on the internet appeared in Belarus. Eight years later, Boris moved to the USA and “Client- Server Programs” became one of the development centers at the American company – Intetics Inc. It has found more offices in the USA, Belarus, Ukraine, UK, Poland, and Germany. Yet, despite all the odds, the company grew to the global level. In 2021, it has achieved clients in 30+ countries. It has 700+ employees at the company; they are spread across 11 offices and work offline and remotely. As the CEO and President of Intetics, Boris leads a global software engineering and data processing company focused on creating and operating effective distributed teams for application development, systems integration, GIS solutions, and back-office support. Intetics celebrated its 26th-anniversary last year, and it is progressing, innovating, and making an impact because of the individual efforts of every employee. Vision of Intetics Intetics has been facing a rise in recent years, with a need to execute customer-centric marketing strategies across multiple channels using various data. It met the need to coordinate and adjust the approaches to its brand awareness. Boris Kontsevoi CEO and President Transformative Journey Boris's professional career started in 1984. Ten years later, in January 1994 he's founded a company and started the entrepreneurial journey when he and four other software engineers huddled over a laptop and began writing software for their US-based insurance clients. Originally, Intetics was founded in Minsk, Belarus, and initially operated under the name "Client-Server Programs." Boris states that in the era of no internet in the post-Soviet Republic, none in Belarus could understand its name and type of business. Modem calls were made to Berlin because there were no Internet providers in Belarus and the phone bills were Intetics Boris describes the vision of Intetics through its brand style. On the design level, the updated corporate style has become closer to the "White and Bright" approach and thus emphasizes the logo, its color, and history. Orange is a consequence of being bored by uniformed “blue chips”, in 90th they have been called BLUE chips by Wall Street exactly for the reason that all IT companies had blue logos, sometimes green. December 2022 | 16 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 17 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Bringing Concepts to Reality T global mission to bring meaningful value to business society and engage talented people in strategically planned business with a vivid and clear mission, vision, and a road map. But in the beginning, usually, one has only enthusiasm, a spirit of an innovator and experimenter, and the desire to face challenges. To achieve the results, one had to be dedicated, persistent, and industrious; akin to these qualities is Boris Kontsevoi. he journey from a business leader to a Chief Executive Officer isn't just connected with personal goals and ambitions. It also always aligns with a around 800$, the total price was $2200 per channel at 128 kbit/s; moreover, it was tricky to deliver the software to the client because "heavy" files couldn't be downloaded via the internet. It needed to take a floppy disk, get on a plane, and fly to the USA. Only in Spring of 1995, finally, the opportunity to access on the internet appeared in Belarus. Eight years later, Boris moved to the USA and “Client- Server Programs” became one of the development centers at the American company – Intetics Inc. It has found more offices in the USA, Belarus, Ukraine, UK, Poland, and Germany. Yet, despite all the odds, the company grew to the global level. In 2021, it has achieved clients in 30+ countries. It has 700+ employees at the company; they are spread across 11 offices and work offline and remotely. As the CEO and President of Intetics, Boris leads a global software engineering and data processing company focused on creating and operating effective distributed teams for application development, systems integration, GIS solutions, and back-office support. Intetics celebrated its 26th-anniversary last year, and it is progressing, innovating, and making an impact because of the individual efforts of every employee. Vision of Intetics Intetics has been facing a rise in recent years, with a need to execute customer-centric marketing strategies across multiple channels using various data. It met the need to coordinate and adjust the approaches to its brand awareness. Boris Kontsevoi CEO and President Transformative Journey Boris's professional career started in 1984. Ten years later, in January 1994 he's founded a company and started the entrepreneurial journey when he and four other software engineers huddled over a laptop and began writing software for their US-based insurance clients. Originally, Intetics was founded in Minsk, Belarus, and initially operated under the name "Client-Server Programs." Boris states that in the era of no internet in the post-Soviet Republic, none in Belarus could understand its name and type of business. Modem calls were made to Berlin because there were no Internet providers in Belarus and the phone bills were Intetics Boris describes the vision of Intetics through its brand style. On the design level, the updated corporate style has become closer to the "White and Bright" approach and thus emphasizes the logo, its color, and history. Orange is a consequence of being bored by uniformed “blue chips”, in 90th they have been called BLUE chips by Wall Street exactly for the reason that all IT companies had blue logos, sometimes green. December 2022 | 16 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 17 | www.insightssuccess.com
“ flexibility, scalability, and more modern cutting-edge architecture. As a result: 87% of students said that access to learning analytics positively impacted their studies, and 77% increased their engagement with course materials.Boris asserts that to impact the healthcare industry, they have developed the publicly available diabetes & glucose monitoring Mob App. The challenge was to create a powerful and flexible desktop app to interact with the Client's miniaturized modular diagnostic imaging hardware platform. As the result the best-in-class digital microscope is operated by Intetics software.The Client continues the development based on the present architecture. teacher, so there is no learning gap between the two classrooms. And, due to strides in AI attendance monitoring, there will be less persistent absenteeism, increasing learning hours. While institution-facing AI might be behind learner and teacher-facing applications, it still has the power to change the educational system for the better. Thereby implementing technologies in every industry we might see its evolution in business processes. A team of knowledgeable engineers is powerful. A?er all, technology is only a tool. It can only achieve its best results if there are though?ul people behind it. And that's our goal: create teams of smart individuals to build great so?ware. “ Farsighted Goals Boris states Intetics' future goals are as follows:1. Continue to transform businesses by providing leading digital technologies and innovative technical talent. 2. Capitalizing on its Centers of Excellence of Cloud and DevOps, Test Automation, Data Science and Big Data, Machine Learning and AI, Internet of Things, CX/UI/UX design, Geospatial, GIS and LBS solutions, UAV/drones, Low Code, Chatbots and Conversational Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and more. Value-Driven Culture Intetics in its brand name means internet. Technology. Ethics. Boris states Intetics' Code of Conduct underlines the main principles of its daily work ethic. The values emphasized here help it drive quality results, deliver satisfaction to its clients, and build professional relationships in the company. These ideals have guided Intetics to become who it is today. He says, "To attain even greater success, it is vital that we rely on and apply these values to our decisions every day.” 3. More scientific research in software development technology. 4. Achieving 2000+ employees as a part of the Intetics family. Implementing Technology Talking about the significance of technology, Intetics leverages AI/ML, IoT, blockchain, and GIS/UAV/LBS technologies to make resourceful solutions. Bequeathing Guidance Boris strongly advises budding CEOs to go to 100 potential clients and speak up about an idea to get feedback. Follow feedbacks to analyze the results to make an MVP of the product. "Entrepreneurs shouldn't just rely on their own will when developing a software product because, ultimately, no one will buy it. So, first, do your customer development," concludes Boris. Through its color and design, the Intetics logo embodies the company's mission and vision. Orange is associated with meanings of joy, warmth, energy, enthusiasm, creativity, success, happiness, fun, balance, and fascination. This sunny color sets the company apart from the mainly blueish and greenish IT community and draws attention to its ability to create new business models, deliver value and strive for innovation. highlight three cases in different industries: transportation, education and healthcare. To pick up on the Intetics' Case Study, Boris asserts that Artificial intelligence has huge potential to increase an institution's student outcomes – students will be on equal footing, no matter who their teacher is or what their background consists. AI systems can flag students who are at risk so that educators can provide them with additional support. The curriculum will be the same from teacher to The Intetics Offshore Dedicated Team® scaled a logistics company business to transport millions of tons of cargo every day. The challenge concerned the Client's need to enhance the product, improve the quality and to execute the maintenance with a development team's help in a very short term. The results that were achieved: The Intetics star is a guiding star to success and value, the symbol of connection between our spirit and all the elements of this world. It further represents the global vision behind Intetics' innovation and its intended future: to rise as the number one star in the software services industry (a title that has been earned already according to the IAOP's list of Top 100 Global Outsourcing Companies.) It also reflects the company's roots in Eastern Europe, and its current headquarters in the USA, where the star has a very special meaning of the goals to which humankind aspires. Thriving Expertise In the pursuit of being the best, Intetics' daily work is dedicated to making an impact. Intetics would like to The Transport Management System was scaled and optimized with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements. The legacy hierarchical database gradually migrated to Oracle. With a united reliable and autonomous team, the number of issues decreased 5 times. With a third-party systems integration, the Client could exchange live information in several months. Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Another case, regarding to the Edtech, Intetics team did the redevelopment of an omnichannel eLearning Platform, which 9.5 million students use across America. The main challenge was migrating to a platform with greater December 2022 | 18 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 19 | www.insightssuccess.com
“ flexibility, scalability, and more modern cutting-edge architecture. As a result: 87% of students said that access to learning analytics positively impacted their studies, and 77% increased their engagement with course materials.Boris asserts that to impact the healthcare industry, they have developed the publicly available diabetes & glucose monitoring Mob App. The challenge was to create a powerful and flexible desktop app to interact with the Client's miniaturized modular diagnostic imaging hardware platform. As the result the best-in-class digital microscope is operated by Intetics software.The Client continues the development based on the present architecture. teacher, so there is no learning gap between the two classrooms. And, due to strides in AI attendance monitoring, there will be less persistent absenteeism, increasing learning hours. While institution-facing AI might be behind learner and teacher-facing applications, it still has the power to change the educational system for the better. Thereby implementing technologies in every industry we might see its evolution in business processes. A team of knowledgeable engineers is powerful. A?er all, technology is only a tool. It can only achieve its best results if there are though?ul people behind it. And that's our goal: create teams of smart individuals to build great so?ware. “ Farsighted Goals Boris states Intetics' future goals are as follows:1. Continue to transform businesses by providing leading digital technologies and innovative technical talent. 2. Capitalizing on its Centers of Excellence of Cloud and DevOps, Test Automation, Data Science and Big Data, Machine Learning and AI, Internet of Things, CX/UI/UX design, Geospatial, GIS and LBS solutions, UAV/drones, Low Code, Chatbots and Conversational Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and more. Value-Driven Culture Intetics in its brand name means internet. Technology. Ethics. Boris states Intetics' Code of Conduct underlines the main principles of its daily work ethic. The values emphasized here help it drive quality results, deliver satisfaction to its clients, and build professional relationships in the company. These ideals have guided Intetics to become who it is today. He says, "To attain even greater success, it is vital that we rely on and apply these values to our decisions every day.” 3. More scientific research in software development technology. 4. Achieving 2000+ employees as a part of the Intetics family. Implementing Technology Talking about the significance of technology, Intetics leverages AI/ML, IoT, blockchain, and GIS/UAV/LBS technologies to make resourceful solutions. Bequeathing Guidance Boris strongly advises budding CEOs to go to 100 potential clients and speak up about an idea to get feedback. Follow feedbacks to analyze the results to make an MVP of the product. "Entrepreneurs shouldn't just rely on their own will when developing a software product because, ultimately, no one will buy it. So, first, do your customer development," concludes Boris. Through its color and design, the Intetics logo embodies the company's mission and vision. Orange is associated with meanings of joy, warmth, energy, enthusiasm, creativity, success, happiness, fun, balance, and fascination. This sunny color sets the company apart from the mainly blueish and greenish IT community and draws attention to its ability to create new business models, deliver value and strive for innovation. highlight three cases in different industries: transportation, education and healthcare. To pick up on the Intetics' Case Study, Boris asserts that Artificial intelligence has huge potential to increase an institution's student outcomes – students will be on equal footing, no matter who their teacher is or what their background consists. AI systems can flag students who are at risk so that educators can provide them with additional support. The curriculum will be the same from teacher to The Intetics Offshore Dedicated Team® scaled a logistics company business to transport millions of tons of cargo every day. The challenge concerned the Client's need to enhance the product, improve the quality and to execute the maintenance with a development team's help in a very short term. The results that were achieved: The Intetics star is a guiding star to success and value, the symbol of connection between our spirit and all the elements of this world. It further represents the global vision behind Intetics' innovation and its intended future: to rise as the number one star in the software services industry (a title that has been earned already according to the IAOP's list of Top 100 Global Outsourcing Companies.) It also reflects the company's roots in Eastern Europe, and its current headquarters in the USA, where the star has a very special meaning of the goals to which humankind aspires. Thriving Expertise In the pursuit of being the best, Intetics' daily work is dedicated to making an impact. Intetics would like to The Transport Management System was scaled and optimized with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements. The legacy hierarchical database gradually migrated to Oracle. With a united reliable and autonomous team, the number of issues decreased 5 times. With a third-party systems integration, the Client could exchange live information in several months. Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Another case, regarding to the Edtech, Intetics team did the redevelopment of an omnichannel eLearning Platform, which 9.5 million students use across America. The main challenge was migrating to a platform with greater December 2022 | 18 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 19 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Edwin Bessant Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence S requires one to have a lot of guts and courage to give up on such a job and enter the world of business with a leap of faith. A courageous leader, Edwin Bessant, spotted a gap in the healthcare arena 27 years ago, gave up his high-flying career in consumer healthcare at Pfizer Consumer [Formerly Wyeth], and set up Ceuta Healthcare with his founding partner Annette D’Abreo. Edwin is now serving as the CEO of Ceuta Group. Tenaciously and diligently, Edwin continued to retain a vision on the future, ensuring that Ceuta was always fit for the future and delivering a market need for his client base. Ceuta Group has a strong and trusted global Manufacturing & Private Equity [ consumer brand acquirers] client base and is a global leader with first market move advantage. etting up and starting a business sounds like an easy task, but even after having a highly successful and lucrative corporate job, it is not a simple feat. It Group employs more than 400 people, turns over around $140m, and after a whirlwind of acquisitions, comprises twelve distinct companies. Several of these businesses were bought after meticulous planning to logically expand the business model. Edwin predicts that their net income, currently around $13m (EBITDA), will double over the next two – three years. Leading a Pioneering Initiative Edwin was working for Pfizer Consumer when he spotted a gap in the market. He’d been with the pharma giant for 18 years, which led to a Director’s role on a European fast track programme. There, he saw a growing demand for “Outsourcing” and “Brand Fostering” – where an organization gives total responsibility for one or more of its brands to a third party. Certainly, he could build a company to meet this untapped market demand, and using all his blue-chip experience, Edwin crafted out a visionary and pioneering business plan, left his highly successful job, and set to work, encouraging Annette D’Abreo to join him as equally, she had a successful role at Pfizer. Annette immediately understood the opportunity and trusted Edwin to lead the pioneering initiative. Pioneering a Unique Vision and Expanding Business Model Started in 1994 as an omni-channel sales & marketing outsourcing partner, Ceuta Healthcare has now transformed into a Group of twelve companies with access to 114 international markets. Together, Ceuta Group’s businesses deliver the next generation of an industry-unique ‘Integrated Consumer Brand Outsourcing Services’ business – Global services include: Advisory, Digital, Shopper & Category Insights, Creative Design, Data Analytics, Field Marketing Sales & Marketing Execution and Logistics [https://www.ceutagroup.com/.] “By the end of Year One, Ceuta Healthcare had 30 employees,” Edwin says, to give the impression of how he has never once doubted Ceuta’s ability to become a global powerhouse. He adds, “We made a loss of around £300,000 [ $414,000] in the first two years [in line with the bank’s support]. And in year three we made a profit of £50,000 [ $69,000].” Since then, the growth and investment have been explosive, leading Ceuta to be the ONLY company that can deliver a single point of contact for a company that needs international reach and complete management for their brands. Edwin Bessant CEO Ceuta Group Edwin and Annette launched brand management specialist Ceuta Healthcare alone, with no clients, from a three-desk office in Bournemouth in 1994. Today Ceuta Group, through Edwin’s pioneering and unique vision, has several offices around the world [ including: New York, Dublin, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, and Sydney]. Ceuta December 2022 | 20 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 21 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Edwin Bessant Leading With Courage, Tenacity, and Diligence S requires one to have a lot of guts and courage to give up on such a job and enter the world of business with a leap of faith. A courageous leader, Edwin Bessant, spotted a gap in the healthcare arena 27 years ago, gave up his high-flying career in consumer healthcare at Pfizer Consumer [Formerly Wyeth], and set up Ceuta Healthcare with his founding partner Annette D’Abreo. Edwin is now serving as the CEO of Ceuta Group. Tenaciously and diligently, Edwin continued to retain a vision on the future, ensuring that Ceuta was always fit for the future and delivering a market need for his client base. Ceuta Group has a strong and trusted global Manufacturing & Private Equity [ consumer brand acquirers] client base and is a global leader with first market move advantage. etting up and starting a business sounds like an easy task, but even after having a highly successful and lucrative corporate job, it is not a simple feat. It Group employs more than 400 people, turns over around $140m, and after a whirlwind of acquisitions, comprises twelve distinct companies. Several of these businesses were bought after meticulous planning to logically expand the business model. Edwin predicts that their net income, currently around $13m (EBITDA), will double over the next two – three years. Leading a Pioneering Initiative Edwin was working for Pfizer Consumer when he spotted a gap in the market. He’d been with the pharma giant for 18 years, which led to a Director’s role on a European fast track programme. There, he saw a growing demand for “Outsourcing” and “Brand Fostering” – where an organization gives total responsibility for one or more of its brands to a third party. Certainly, he could build a company to meet this untapped market demand, and using all his blue-chip experience, Edwin crafted out a visionary and pioneering business plan, left his highly successful job, and set to work, encouraging Annette D’Abreo to join him as equally, she had a successful role at Pfizer. Annette immediately understood the opportunity and trusted Edwin to lead the pioneering initiative. Pioneering a Unique Vision and Expanding Business Model Started in 1994 as an omni-channel sales & marketing outsourcing partner, Ceuta Healthcare has now transformed into a Group of twelve companies with access to 114 international markets. Together, Ceuta Group’s businesses deliver the next generation of an industry-unique ‘Integrated Consumer Brand Outsourcing Services’ business – Global services include: Advisory, Digital, Shopper & Category Insights, Creative Design, Data Analytics, Field Marketing Sales & Marketing Execution and Logistics [https://www.ceutagroup.com/.] “By the end of Year One, Ceuta Healthcare had 30 employees,” Edwin says, to give the impression of how he has never once doubted Ceuta’s ability to become a global powerhouse. He adds, “We made a loss of around £300,000 [ $414,000] in the first two years [in line with the bank’s support]. And in year three we made a profit of £50,000 [ $69,000].” Since then, the growth and investment have been explosive, leading Ceuta to be the ONLY company that can deliver a single point of contact for a company that needs international reach and complete management for their brands. Edwin Bessant CEO Ceuta Group Edwin and Annette launched brand management specialist Ceuta Healthcare alone, with no clients, from a three-desk office in Bournemouth in 1994. Today Ceuta Group, through Edwin’s pioneering and unique vision, has several offices around the world [ including: New York, Dublin, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, and Sydney]. Ceuta December 2022 | 20 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 21 | www.insightssuccess.com
‘‘ ‘‘ ‘‘ engagement and technological enhancement i.e.: Jeff Bezos – Amazon, Elon Musk – Pay Pal, Tesla, Space-X, Steve Jobs – Apple, Travis Kalanick & Garrett Camp – Uber, Will Shu & Greg Orlowski – Deliveroo & Jack Ma – Alibaba, Larry Page & Sergey Brin – Google, Larry Ellison, Ed Oates, Bob Miner – Oracle. Ceuta Group provides a unique collective of services to enhance, grow and support the brands it represents; delivering everything a brand owner would ever want or need from one outsourced partner. Edwin expresses that he does not like to plagiarise when reading business books, but of course, he considers it is important to never stop learning, and there is no harm in having a good mentor. He does like reading books that have actually been written or co-written by successful entrepreneurs i.e.: ‘The Alchemist’ by Jim Ratcliffe [ The Ineo Story] and the series of the Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift by W.Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne. Accelerating Brand Marketing Development During the covid period, Ceuta Group has thankfully had a record-breaking year, working within the Health & Personal Care and Food & Drink industries, and having part of its workforce working from the offices and the majority of personnel successfully working from home. Ceuta experienced more challenges with Brexit affecting its Being Inspired by Pioneering Innovators and Entrepreneurs Edwin admires the pioneering innovators and entrepreneurs who have truly taken up the opportunity of spotting a gap in the market, defining and shaping the new way we live and shop with phenomenal success, changing consumer Marketing Agencies, as corporations were holding back because of the uncertainty of elections and getting the Brexit bill passed. In the short term, there was a temporary hold on Marketing budgets within some sectors, but overall, it saw a rapid change to brand marketing development which continues to accelerate. It supports 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Edwin periodically goes into classrooms to talk to students [from all ethnicities] on business building and the watchouts etc. which he really enjoys. Expansionary Approach In a conclusion, Edwin mentions that for the next five years, Ceuta Group’s vision is to continue to build out its Global Digital services. It wants to continue to build out its ‘Marketplace Support Platform’ – USA, Europe, and China. It wants to selectively acquire other Ceuta type organizations worldwide and to acquire Consumer Health & Wellness brands’. Ensuring Inclusive Work Culture Further, Edwin opines that culture creation within any organization is key, and this has always been an important mantra for Ceuta. Ceuta Group has four different generations of employees, and they all have different levels of expectations from an employer. Ceuta must deliver to ALL, and the right culture glues its workforce together. In addition to culture creation, it has also engaged with further intent, monitoring, support, and executing for the right reasons such as ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Gender balance [ Ceuta Group is approx. 48% female / 52% male]’. Also, sustainability and environmental protection are key imperative for Ceuta Group. Edwin is also a ‘Life Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine’. Supporting Local Community Ceuta is emersed and engaged through its CSR team and supports a different number of initiatives: Ÿ Support local charities with financial contributions Ÿ Organize clean-up events Ÿ Volunteer in local schools or community projects Ÿ Local fund-raising events Edwin is a ‘Fellow of the Prince’s Enterprise Trust’ which helps vulnerable young people get their lives back on track. December 2022 | 22 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 23 | www.insightssuccess.com
‘‘ ‘‘ ‘‘ engagement and technological enhancement i.e.: Jeff Bezos – Amazon, Elon Musk – Pay Pal, Tesla, Space-X, Steve Jobs – Apple, Travis Kalanick & Garrett Camp – Uber, Will Shu & Greg Orlowski – Deliveroo & Jack Ma – Alibaba, Larry Page & Sergey Brin – Google, Larry Ellison, Ed Oates, Bob Miner – Oracle. Ceuta Group provides a unique collective of services to enhance, grow and support the brands it represents; delivering everything a brand owner would ever want or need from one outsourced partner. Edwin expresses that he does not like to plagiarise when reading business books, but of course, he considers it is important to never stop learning, and there is no harm in having a good mentor. He does like reading books that have actually been written or co-written by successful entrepreneurs i.e.: ‘The Alchemist’ by Jim Ratcliffe [ The Ineo Story] and the series of the Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift by W.Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne. Accelerating Brand Marketing Development During the covid period, Ceuta Group has thankfully had a record-breaking year, working within the Health & Personal Care and Food & Drink industries, and having part of its workforce working from the offices and the majority of personnel successfully working from home. Ceuta experienced more challenges with Brexit affecting its Being Inspired by Pioneering Innovators and Entrepreneurs Edwin admires the pioneering innovators and entrepreneurs who have truly taken up the opportunity of spotting a gap in the market, defining and shaping the new way we live and shop with phenomenal success, changing consumer Marketing Agencies, as corporations were holding back because of the uncertainty of elections and getting the Brexit bill passed. In the short term, there was a temporary hold on Marketing budgets within some sectors, but overall, it saw a rapid change to brand marketing development which continues to accelerate. It supports 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Edwin periodically goes into classrooms to talk to students [from all ethnicities] on business building and the watchouts etc. which he really enjoys. Expansionary Approach In a conclusion, Edwin mentions that for the next five years, Ceuta Group’s vision is to continue to build out its Global Digital services. It wants to continue to build out its ‘Marketplace Support Platform’ – USA, Europe, and China. It wants to selectively acquire other Ceuta type organizations worldwide and to acquire Consumer Health & Wellness brands’. Ensuring Inclusive Work Culture Further, Edwin opines that culture creation within any organization is key, and this has always been an important mantra for Ceuta. Ceuta Group has four different generations of employees, and they all have different levels of expectations from an employer. Ceuta must deliver to ALL, and the right culture glues its workforce together. In addition to culture creation, it has also engaged with further intent, monitoring, support, and executing for the right reasons such as ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Gender balance [ Ceuta Group is approx. 48% female / 52% male]’. Also, sustainability and environmental protection are key imperative for Ceuta Group. Edwin is also a ‘Life Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine’. Supporting Local Community Ceuta is emersed and engaged through its CSR team and supports a different number of initiatives: Ÿ Support local charities with financial contributions Ÿ Organize clean-up events Ÿ Volunteer in local schools or community projects Ÿ Local fund-raising events Edwin is a ‘Fellow of the Prince’s Enterprise Trust’ which helps vulnerable young people get their lives back on track. December 2022 | 22 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 23 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 S using consumer products like TV, DVD player, VCRs as a medium of digital signage in retail stores. However, there was a massive opportunity in the industry to develop retail specific solutions, this pushed Henrik Andersson to establish Instorescreen, transforming retail stores with the digital revolution. Henrik Andersson Pioneering Smart Retail 2.0 ignage! A discovery that emerged into commercial space by the early 20 century. From the inception of billboards to wall- mounting digital screens, the signage industry has always been searching for tech-mediated business solutions. th With businesses going digital, enterprises started off by As a visionary leader and CEO, Henrik is keen on mapping visionary prospects of digital signage solutions with a technocratic approach! Let's dive into the inspiring journey of Henrik Andersson. The Path to Screen Before Instorescreen, Henrik had an impressive career at Cisco, where he was responsible for the reconstruction of several company's network infrastructure. He later joined SonyEricsson, they hired him to invent, develop and run their entire multimedia department. His work in this area ended up being a huge success and motivated Henrik to design and manufacture digital signage hardware solutions, and Instorescreen was born. purchase with motion media. Sales lifts of 80+ % were common, and as a result, Instorescreen proliferated." Henrik Andersson CEO Instorescreen As the organization sales skyrocketed, Henrik moved Instorescreen headquarters to the US market. This helped the company grow by designing and manufacturing hardware solutions that retrofit perfectly in existing shelf solutions, leveraging the customer's existing shelf investment, with Smart Retail 2.0. Talking about the future, Henrik says, "Instorescreen helps making Lenovo OEM into a multibillion-dollar supplier of Smart Retail products and solutions. He focuses on developing smart solutions that facilitate high consumer engagement, with technological advancement." Trailblazing Digital Signage Hardware Solution Deploying Technology, Developing Smart Retail Solutions At Instorescreen, Henrik focuses on designing and manufacturing requirements targeted at Digital Signage hardware solutions for individual customer needs. Henrik notes, "We are specialized in custom branded solutions, leveraging the customer's marketing investment, and developed standalone solutions. We became the leading display solutions provider for many major brands such as Diageo, Marlboro, and Lego during this period. These companies were thrilled how Instorescreen could showcase their products and influence customer actions at the point of Our passion is in designing durable, sustainable and cutting-edge display solutions lifting sales and the customer experience alike. If it does not exist then invent it! With a vision of transforming Smart Retail 2.0, Henrik says, "InstoreScreen is developing optimized solutions called "Smart Retail" with a focus on easy to deploy and maintain systems. Shelves that can see, hear, and understand the world around them, will make retail shopping fun again, and we are ready to deploy now!" "Smart Retail is our line of uniquely shaped screens, with sensors and triggers, that seamlessly blend into and fit December 2022 | 24 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 25 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 S using consumer products like TV, DVD player, VCRs as a medium of digital signage in retail stores. However, there was a massive opportunity in the industry to develop retail specific solutions, this pushed Henrik Andersson to establish Instorescreen, transforming retail stores with the digital revolution. Henrik Andersson Pioneering Smart Retail 2.0 ignage! A discovery that emerged into commercial space by the early 20 century. From the inception of billboards to wall- mounting digital screens, the signage industry has always been searching for tech-mediated business solutions. th With businesses going digital, enterprises started off by As a visionary leader and CEO, Henrik is keen on mapping visionary prospects of digital signage solutions with a technocratic approach! Let's dive into the inspiring journey of Henrik Andersson. The Path to Screen Before Instorescreen, Henrik had an impressive career at Cisco, where he was responsible for the reconstruction of several company's network infrastructure. He later joined SonyEricsson, they hired him to invent, develop and run their entire multimedia department. His work in this area ended up being a huge success and motivated Henrik to design and manufacture digital signage hardware solutions, and Instorescreen was born. purchase with motion media. Sales lifts of 80+ % were common, and as a result, Instorescreen proliferated." Henrik Andersson CEO Instorescreen As the organization sales skyrocketed, Henrik moved Instorescreen headquarters to the US market. This helped the company grow by designing and manufacturing hardware solutions that retrofit perfectly in existing shelf solutions, leveraging the customer's existing shelf investment, with Smart Retail 2.0. Talking about the future, Henrik says, "Instorescreen helps making Lenovo OEM into a multibillion-dollar supplier of Smart Retail products and solutions. He focuses on developing smart solutions that facilitate high consumer engagement, with technological advancement." Trailblazing Digital Signage Hardware Solution Deploying Technology, Developing Smart Retail Solutions At Instorescreen, Henrik focuses on designing and manufacturing requirements targeted at Digital Signage hardware solutions for individual customer needs. Henrik notes, "We are specialized in custom branded solutions, leveraging the customer's marketing investment, and developed standalone solutions. We became the leading display solutions provider for many major brands such as Diageo, Marlboro, and Lego during this period. These companies were thrilled how Instorescreen could showcase their products and influence customer actions at the point of Our passion is in designing durable, sustainable and cutting-edge display solutions lifting sales and the customer experience alike. If it does not exist then invent it! With a vision of transforming Smart Retail 2.0, Henrik says, "InstoreScreen is developing optimized solutions called "Smart Retail" with a focus on easy to deploy and maintain systems. Shelves that can see, hear, and understand the world around them, will make retail shopping fun again, and we are ready to deploy now!" "Smart Retail is our line of uniquely shaped screens, with sensors and triggers, that seamlessly blend into and fit December 2022 | 24 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 25 | www.insightssuccess.com
existing retail gondolas. These displays are designed and approved for retail, in partnership with fixture manufacturers such as Lozier and leading retailers such as Whole Foods," explains Henrik. is why Instorescreen is developing analytics capabilities with our Smart Retail solutions in the coming year.” We asked Henrik, if given a chance, what changes would he like to introduce in the digital Signage industry, to which he answered, "We see that one of the trickiest problems to solve to bring technology to retail shelves is the limited availability of power. Not only is there virtually zero power deployed across the main parts of the aisles, but the power conditioning is nonexistent. So, we are focused on this problem and plan to announce a new daisy chain soon utilizing the latest USB-C protocols. The plan is to have one cable for video, data, and power, and no need for hundreds of power supplies and all of the associated electrical infrastructure to support them." At Instorescreen, Henrik is leveraging technology to make digital signage solutions resourceful and cost effective. He says, "inDAISY+ is one of the key features enabling the scalability of the Smart Retail displays. This daisy chain technology reduces the number of computer and Wi-Fi endpoints needed, reducing the corresponding number of Operating System and Content Management Software licenses. Minimizing the computers and Wi-Fi endpoints improves the system's reliability, and limiting the number of software licenses needed lowers the cost to maintain the system.” He believes that the daisy chain solution will be a game- changer in scaling Smart Retail. Henrik mentions that the Digital Signage industry is changing quickly, and it has become essential to implement the data-centric approach to enhance the consumer experience. Inspiring Budding Entrepreneurs Henrik believes that digital signage can reshape the retail industry, and innovation knows no boundaries with technological expertise. Adapt & Change! Henrik is deploying Lenovo edge computers into retail, in order to empower the Smart Retail displays, supporting digital shelf edge pricing and providing processing power for advanced analytics at the shelf edge. He notes, "When shoppers can enjoy an experience that anticipates their needs and shows them new things to try and enjoy, people will gladly flock back into the stores. That Henrik marks, "It is an exciting time to be in retail. New technologies are evolving very quickly, so keeping up with trends, and even driving them in retail is important. Visit trade shows, read industry publications, and be open- minded about emerging trends like cryptocurrency.” December 2022 | 26 | www.insightssuccess.com
existing retail gondolas. These displays are designed and approved for retail, in partnership with fixture manufacturers such as Lozier and leading retailers such as Whole Foods," explains Henrik. is why Instorescreen is developing analytics capabilities with our Smart Retail solutions in the coming year.” We asked Henrik, if given a chance, what changes would he like to introduce in the digital Signage industry, to which he answered, "We see that one of the trickiest problems to solve to bring technology to retail shelves is the limited availability of power. Not only is there virtually zero power deployed across the main parts of the aisles, but the power conditioning is nonexistent. So, we are focused on this problem and plan to announce a new daisy chain soon utilizing the latest USB-C protocols. The plan is to have one cable for video, data, and power, and no need for hundreds of power supplies and all of the associated electrical infrastructure to support them." At Instorescreen, Henrik is leveraging technology to make digital signage solutions resourceful and cost effective. He says, "inDAISY+ is one of the key features enabling the scalability of the Smart Retail displays. This daisy chain technology reduces the number of computer and Wi-Fi endpoints needed, reducing the corresponding number of Operating System and Content Management Software licenses. Minimizing the computers and Wi-Fi endpoints improves the system's reliability, and limiting the number of software licenses needed lowers the cost to maintain the system.” He believes that the daisy chain solution will be a game- changer in scaling Smart Retail. Henrik mentions that the Digital Signage industry is changing quickly, and it has become essential to implement the data-centric approach to enhance the consumer experience. Inspiring Budding Entrepreneurs Henrik believes that digital signage can reshape the retail industry, and innovation knows no boundaries with technological expertise. Adapt & Change! Henrik is deploying Lenovo edge computers into retail, in order to empower the Smart Retail displays, supporting digital shelf edge pricing and providing processing power for advanced analytics at the shelf edge. He notes, "When shoppers can enjoy an experience that anticipates their needs and shows them new things to try and enjoy, people will gladly flock back into the stores. That Henrik marks, "It is an exciting time to be in retail. New technologies are evolving very quickly, so keeping up with trends, and even driving them in retail is important. Visit trade shows, read industry publications, and be open- minded about emerging trends like cryptocurrency.” December 2022 | 26 | www.insightssuccess.com
Leadership Redened Enroute to Success T he greatness of a person or leader has to be estimated by his or her ability to thrive even in the most provoking or challenging situations. It is in the tough times that one’s mettle is tested. And it is at the same time one has the opportunity to prove one’s mettle. It is said that patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet. The more one is able to hold one’s nerves even in the challenging times and continue to fight for success, the more one will be able to crossover even the toughest challenges. Life rewards those who put in sincere hard work and strive for achievements. “As we sow, so shall we reap.” Success is not the cakewalk, but it is about repeated efforts day in and day out. to achieve it. And Discipline is the bridge between success and failure. Without discipline, nothing substantial can ever be accomplished in life. One has to pay the price of resolute determination, absolute dedication, and high discipline to be successful in the world of business. What Not to Do? As much as it is important to know what to do, it is also equally important to know what not to do. Doing what is favorable for success and avoiding what is harmful for success should be avoided at any cost. For business leaders to succeed in the business world, they should be well aware not to waste their precious resources after bad money or bad deals. They should not throw their good money behind bad money via negative deals. They should be calculative and should take calculative decisions related to where to invest and where not to. There is no free lunch in this business-minded world. One has to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for accomplishing something worthwhile in this world, especially in the world of business. One has to accomplish something in this world to earn the trust of people and thereby to be the well-wisher of people. One can contribute a lot to others when he or she has gained worthwhile accomplishments to create his or her credibility. The reliability of leaders increases in great proportion when they deliver results more than expected by others. The reliability or credibility of leaders is directly proportional to the expansion of the businesses. Having a Right Mentor is the Key Having a good mentor goes a long way in making high- value decisions. One should choose that person as one’s mentor who has demonstrated one’s character and competence in one’s chosen field. Great leaders are not just interested in being great leader themselves only, but they would like to create more great leaders. By choosing a capable leader as one’s mentor, one will be able to attain great heights in life in a short span of time. One good mentor is worth more than all the books in the library. Morality is the Foundation for Victory Great business leaders are aware that it is important to lead with morality. They consider it is very important to keep the morale of everyone in their organization very high. High morale helps in taking the most courageous decisions. They understand that it is essential to deliver what is expected by clients or even beyond thinking well ahead of the clients. This is where the innovativeness in leaders plays a big role. That is the reason they keep it on high priority to be well updated with the latest technologies and they are keen to implement those technologies in their businesses. Books also play a huge role in the lives of great leaders, but the help of a mentor is priceless as one will be able to develop oneself more quickly with the help of a good mentor and avoid the mistakes that previous leaders have done. Great leaders become great because they don’t shy at accepting good mentors in life. They are open to learning from all. They know that they don’t have all the time in the world to commit all mistakes and then learn and then apply. Therefore, they prefer to avoid mistakes on the journey by having a good mentor in life. Determination, Dedication, and Discipline Determination, Dedication, and Discipline form a big part of success. There is a huge significance of resolute determination to succeed in the world of business. The world is filled with cut-throat competition. To sustain one’s competency in the business world, one has to keep on improving oneself and everyone in the organization to create massive success. The journey sometimes can be filled with a lot of challenges, but if one has a determination to persist then one can achieve one’s goals in due course of time. Dedication gives life to one’s purpose and goals. It is very much synonymous with leading with purposefulness. The stronger the purpose the greater can be the dedication It is a mark of great leaders to do justice to their roles, routines, relationships, and responsibilities. They also build such a type of culture in their fellow teammates and employees and staff in the organization. This helps them to achieve greatness in their business by building an organization with responsible and competent people. They lead by example and with resolute determination and with a goal to deliver more than needed. They thrive on their purpose and necessary actions. They do what needs to be done with due diligence and they set the standards for everyone else to follow and that is the reason they become admirable. December 2022 | 28 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 29 | www.insightssuccess.com
Leadership Redened Enroute to Success T he greatness of a person or leader has to be estimated by his or her ability to thrive even in the most provoking or challenging situations. It is in the tough times that one’s mettle is tested. And it is at the same time one has the opportunity to prove one’s mettle. It is said that patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet. The more one is able to hold one’s nerves even in the challenging times and continue to fight for success, the more one will be able to crossover even the toughest challenges. Life rewards those who put in sincere hard work and strive for achievements. “As we sow, so shall we reap.” Success is not the cakewalk, but it is about repeated efforts day in and day out. to achieve it. And Discipline is the bridge between success and failure. Without discipline, nothing substantial can ever be accomplished in life. One has to pay the price of resolute determination, absolute dedication, and high discipline to be successful in the world of business. What Not to Do? As much as it is important to know what to do, it is also equally important to know what not to do. Doing what is favorable for success and avoiding what is harmful for success should be avoided at any cost. For business leaders to succeed in the business world, they should be well aware not to waste their precious resources after bad money or bad deals. They should not throw their good money behind bad money via negative deals. They should be calculative and should take calculative decisions related to where to invest and where not to. There is no free lunch in this business-minded world. One has to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for accomplishing something worthwhile in this world, especially in the world of business. One has to accomplish something in this world to earn the trust of people and thereby to be the well-wisher of people. One can contribute a lot to others when he or she has gained worthwhile accomplishments to create his or her credibility. The reliability of leaders increases in great proportion when they deliver results more than expected by others. The reliability or credibility of leaders is directly proportional to the expansion of the businesses. Having a Right Mentor is the Key Having a good mentor goes a long way in making high- value decisions. One should choose that person as one’s mentor who has demonstrated one’s character and competence in one’s chosen field. Great leaders are not just interested in being great leader themselves only, but they would like to create more great leaders. By choosing a capable leader as one’s mentor, one will be able to attain great heights in life in a short span of time. One good mentor is worth more than all the books in the library. Morality is the Foundation for Victory Great business leaders are aware that it is important to lead with morality. They consider it is very important to keep the morale of everyone in their organization very high. High morale helps in taking the most courageous decisions. They understand that it is essential to deliver what is expected by clients or even beyond thinking well ahead of the clients. This is where the innovativeness in leaders plays a big role. That is the reason they keep it on high priority to be well updated with the latest technologies and they are keen to implement those technologies in their businesses. Books also play a huge role in the lives of great leaders, but the help of a mentor is priceless as one will be able to develop oneself more quickly with the help of a good mentor and avoid the mistakes that previous leaders have done. Great leaders become great because they don’t shy at accepting good mentors in life. They are open to learning from all. They know that they don’t have all the time in the world to commit all mistakes and then learn and then apply. Therefore, they prefer to avoid mistakes on the journey by having a good mentor in life. Determination, Dedication, and Discipline Determination, Dedication, and Discipline form a big part of success. There is a huge significance of resolute determination to succeed in the world of business. The world is filled with cut-throat competition. To sustain one’s competency in the business world, one has to keep on improving oneself and everyone in the organization to create massive success. The journey sometimes can be filled with a lot of challenges, but if one has a determination to persist then one can achieve one’s goals in due course of time. Dedication gives life to one’s purpose and goals. It is very much synonymous with leading with purposefulness. The stronger the purpose the greater can be the dedication It is a mark of great leaders to do justice to their roles, routines, relationships, and responsibilities. They also build such a type of culture in their fellow teammates and employees and staff in the organization. This helps them to achieve greatness in their business by building an organization with responsible and competent people. They lead by example and with resolute determination and with a goal to deliver more than needed. They thrive on their purpose and necessary actions. They do what needs to be done with due diligence and they set the standards for everyone else to follow and that is the reason they become admirable. December 2022 | 28 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 29 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 traditional coatings techniques, water and or solvents are used to apply chemicals. The resulting wastewater then needs to be carefully purified or disposed of, but in reality, this is often not adequately done. Look at the PFOA and other fluorinated chemistries that er building up in nature. Europlasma’s coating technology is a dry process, so there is no wastewater to dispose of! Also, the number of chemicals we use in many factors is smaller than with other techniques. Our coatings are nanometers thick, typically between 20 and 60 nanometers. To understand how thin this is: your fingernails grow at 1 nanometer per second! Global technology leader in Environmentally Friendly innovative nano-coating solutions based on low pressure plasma. Jody Paulus CEO Europlasma Europlasma also has a wide range of patented chemicals that can replace fluorinated and otherwise polluting chemistries, allowing for more sustainable coatings in a wide range of industries. Also, our technology eliminates the need for drying after or any other post-processing, so the CO2 reduction is up to 80%! realized I was never going to make a good jurist. Being degree educated and speaking three languages fluently, I ended up in sales in the financial services industry. After the banking crisis of 2008, I found myself out of a job in London and took stock of my life. What did I want to do and achieve? I realized that I wanted to be involved in technology that would make this world a better place; since then, I have been involved in technology that reduces energy consumption and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. When the opportunity came to head up the sales at Europlasma, I jumped, as the low-pressure plasma technology Europlasma excels at has immense potential for the environment. About a year later, I was promoted to CEO, where I divided my team between managing my kick- ass team and global plasma evangelization. What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Plasma Technology industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change? The ECHA is currently reviewing new restrictions on the use of so-called forever chemicals and (the PFHx) and their derivatives. These intentions are great, but many industries are already lobbying hard to get exemptions, and in many cases, they make a good point. Currently, there is no other chemistry known that can add oleophobicity (oil repellency), and although not essential in many uses today (outdoor clothing, etc.), there are a few where oleophobic properties are vital. Think about air filtration, where we need to filter out oily particles that can carry viruses etc. Here instead of just allowing the old polluting industry, a real change can be made by banning the polluting process Jody Paulus Offering Innovative Nano-coating Solutions Can you explain the technology? Europlasma makes low-pressure plasma machines, their processes, and chemistries. In layman’s terms, plasma is easiest explained as the 4th state of matter; after a solid (like ice), a liquid (water), a gas (steam) comes plasma. Naturally, this does not often occur on planet earth, but 99% of the universe is in a plasma state (think stars, nebulas, etc.). Europlasma creates this plasma at ambient temperatures at very low pressure. Europlasma uses plasma as a way to change the surface of various substrates, which can be 3d objects or rolls of fabric. The change in the surface can be temporary to further process the material (bonding, gluing, printing, laminating), or we can apply permanent coatings, where we have dedicated coatings for filtration, medical application, and electronics. T he path of leadership isn’t something that one walks on; it is the path one paves for oneself by capturing the essentials of the journey and inspiring others around them. Akin to the above characteristics is JodyPaulus, who embarked on a distinct journey and is changing the world with his remarkable skills. Insights Success caught up with Jody in our endeavor to find “Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2022” We talked with him to understand how Europlasma is providing ultra-thin functional coating for a cleaner world. Below are the highlights of the interview. As the CEO of Europlasma, Jody has cultivated a robust and talented team to accomplish its mission and help its customer achieve the highest performance for its products, with a production process with the lowest environmental footprint. Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Europlasma. What challenges you had to overcome to reach where you are today? I have a Law degree, but after five years of university, I Tell us more about your company and its mission and vision. The mission of Europlasma is to replace environmentally with the far more sustainable plasma solution. In most December 2022 | 30 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 31 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 traditional coatings techniques, water and or solvents are used to apply chemicals. The resulting wastewater then needs to be carefully purified or disposed of, but in reality, this is often not adequately done. Look at the PFOA and other fluorinated chemistries that er building up in nature. Europlasma’s coating technology is a dry process, so there is no wastewater to dispose of! Also, the number of chemicals we use in many factors is smaller than with other techniques. Our coatings are nanometers thick, typically between 20 and 60 nanometers. To understand how thin this is: your fingernails grow at 1 nanometer per second! Global technology leader in Environmentally Friendly innovative nano-coating solutions based on low pressure plasma. Jody Paulus CEO Europlasma Europlasma also has a wide range of patented chemicals that can replace fluorinated and otherwise polluting chemistries, allowing for more sustainable coatings in a wide range of industries. Also, our technology eliminates the need for drying after or any other post-processing, so the CO2 reduction is up to 80%! realized I was never going to make a good jurist. Being degree educated and speaking three languages fluently, I ended up in sales in the financial services industry. After the banking crisis of 2008, I found myself out of a job in London and took stock of my life. What did I want to do and achieve? I realized that I wanted to be involved in technology that would make this world a better place; since then, I have been involved in technology that reduces energy consumption and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. When the opportunity came to head up the sales at Europlasma, I jumped, as the low-pressure plasma technology Europlasma excels at has immense potential for the environment. About a year later, I was promoted to CEO, where I divided my team between managing my kick- ass team and global plasma evangelization. What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Plasma Technology industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change? The ECHA is currently reviewing new restrictions on the use of so-called forever chemicals and (the PFHx) and their derivatives. These intentions are great, but many industries are already lobbying hard to get exemptions, and in many cases, they make a good point. Currently, there is no other chemistry known that can add oleophobicity (oil repellency), and although not essential in many uses today (outdoor clothing, etc.), there are a few where oleophobic properties are vital. Think about air filtration, where we need to filter out oily particles that can carry viruses etc. Here instead of just allowing the old polluting industry, a real change can be made by banning the polluting process Jody Paulus Offering Innovative Nano-coating Solutions Can you explain the technology? Europlasma makes low-pressure plasma machines, their processes, and chemistries. In layman’s terms, plasma is easiest explained as the 4th state of matter; after a solid (like ice), a liquid (water), a gas (steam) comes plasma. Naturally, this does not often occur on planet earth, but 99% of the universe is in a plasma state (think stars, nebulas, etc.). Europlasma creates this plasma at ambient temperatures at very low pressure. Europlasma uses plasma as a way to change the surface of various substrates, which can be 3d objects or rolls of fabric. The change in the surface can be temporary to further process the material (bonding, gluing, printing, laminating), or we can apply permanent coatings, where we have dedicated coatings for filtration, medical application, and electronics. T he path of leadership isn’t something that one walks on; it is the path one paves for oneself by capturing the essentials of the journey and inspiring others around them. Akin to the above characteristics is JodyPaulus, who embarked on a distinct journey and is changing the world with his remarkable skills. Insights Success caught up with Jody in our endeavor to find “Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2022” We talked with him to understand how Europlasma is providing ultra-thin functional coating for a cleaner world. Below are the highlights of the interview. As the CEO of Europlasma, Jody has cultivated a robust and talented team to accomplish its mission and help its customer achieve the highest performance for its products, with a production process with the lowest environmental footprint. Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Europlasma. What challenges you had to overcome to reach where you are today? I have a Law degree, but after five years of university, I Tell us more about your company and its mission and vision. The mission of Europlasma is to replace environmentally with the far more sustainable plasma solution. In most December 2022 | 30 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 31 | www.insightssuccess.com
rather than the chemistry. If we can get the filtration industry and outdoor clothing manufacturing to gradually switch to different production processes like nanocating, this world could save tons of emissions, and millions of liters of potable water would no longer be wasted. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Europlasma? Personally, I am hoping to complete my Global Executive MBA (nr2 in the world now according to the FT!) that got delayed due to the pandemic. I am also looking forward to growing Europlasma as a company and increasing our headcount accordingly. We have to grow organically against competitors with a lot of VC/PE investment, but I think this can be a strength as well. Europlasma is incredibly adept at doing a lot with very little, whether that is time, money, or people. This is a spirit I want to keep while expanding exponentially over the next 5 to 10 years. December 2022 | 32 | www.insightssuccess.com
rather than the chemistry. If we can get the filtration industry and outdoor clothing manufacturing to gradually switch to different production processes like nanocating, this world could save tons of emissions, and millions of liters of potable water would no longer be wasted. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Europlasma? Personally, I am hoping to complete my Global Executive MBA (nr2 in the world now according to the FT!) that got delayed due to the pandemic. I am also looking forward to growing Europlasma as a company and increasing our headcount accordingly. We have to grow organically against competitors with a lot of VC/PE investment, but I think this can be a strength as well. Europlasma is incredibly adept at doing a lot with very little, whether that is time, money, or people. This is a spirit I want to keep while expanding exponentially over the next 5 to 10 years. December 2022 | 32 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Mimoun A. Assraoui Addressing Migration Needs of Investors and High-net-worth Individuals T Trust in Dubai, UAE. he whole world is a playground for entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals, and investors, and therefore having multiple citizenship or residency options is their essential need. When Mimoun A. Assraoui saw the growing demand amongst high-net- worth individuals and investors seeking second citizenship or residency in the Middle East and Africa, he founded RIF residency consultancy, Latitude Group. The partnership has assisted the firm’s global ambition to provide outstanding service, smooth processes, and transparency while helping high-net-worth individuals and investors gain greater freedom to travel and asset optimization. RIF Trust has already assisted over 2,000 clients and their families with obtaining Residency or Citizenship by Investment. The company’s mission is to expand, grow and satisfy the needs of its clients by bringing them market- leading solutions and programs. RIF Trust’s residency programs can entitle investors to visa-free travel, access to education, and free healthcare. Mimoun is the CEO of RIF Trust and Group Vice- Chairman of Latitude. RIF Trust has grown to become one of the largest global investment migration advisory in the Middle East and Africa with over 90 staff worldwide spread over 19 countries through hard work and persever- ance. The business has expanded its brick-and-mortar in Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, KSA, South Korea, UAE, UK, and the USA. Recognizing Key Benefits of Crypto-currencies RIF Trust has recognized the key benefit of crypto- currencies from the beginning of its foundation. It is proud Enabling Greater Freedom to Travel and Asset Optimi- zation Our clients expect the world. We give it to them. Say hello to freedom. After working with different international banks, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices throughout the Middle East and Africa for 24 years, Mimoun left the banking world in 2013 to set up RIF Trust. To compliment RIF Trust's ongoing pursuit to provide unrivaled service for its clients, RIF Trust has partnered with a leading citizenship and Mimoun A. Assraoui CEO, RIF Trust & Group Vice-Chairman., Latitude RIF TRUST and Latitude Group December 2022 | 34 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 35 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Mimoun A. Assraoui Addressing Migration Needs of Investors and High-net-worth Individuals T Trust in Dubai, UAE. he whole world is a playground for entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals, and investors, and therefore having multiple citizenship or residency options is their essential need. When Mimoun A. Assraoui saw the growing demand amongst high-net- worth individuals and investors seeking second citizenship or residency in the Middle East and Africa, he founded RIF residency consultancy, Latitude Group. The partnership has assisted the firm’s global ambition to provide outstanding service, smooth processes, and transparency while helping high-net-worth individuals and investors gain greater freedom to travel and asset optimization. RIF Trust has already assisted over 2,000 clients and their families with obtaining Residency or Citizenship by Investment. The company’s mission is to expand, grow and satisfy the needs of its clients by bringing them market- leading solutions and programs. RIF Trust’s residency programs can entitle investors to visa-free travel, access to education, and free healthcare. Mimoun is the CEO of RIF Trust and Group Vice- Chairman of Latitude. RIF Trust has grown to become one of the largest global investment migration advisory in the Middle East and Africa with over 90 staff worldwide spread over 19 countries through hard work and persever- ance. The business has expanded its brick-and-mortar in Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, KSA, South Korea, UAE, UK, and the USA. Recognizing Key Benefits of Crypto-currencies RIF Trust has recognized the key benefit of crypto- currencies from the beginning of its foundation. It is proud Enabling Greater Freedom to Travel and Asset Optimi- zation Our clients expect the world. We give it to them. Say hello to freedom. After working with different international banks, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices throughout the Middle East and Africa for 24 years, Mimoun left the banking world in 2013 to set up RIF Trust. To compliment RIF Trust's ongoing pursuit to provide unrivaled service for its clients, RIF Trust has partnered with a leading citizenship and Mimoun A. Assraoui CEO, RIF Trust & Group Vice-Chairman., Latitude RIF TRUST and Latitude Group December 2022 | 34 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 35 | www.insightssuccess.com
to be the first citizenship-by-investment company to accept bitcoin payments in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Nowadays, its clients are interested in migrating to countries with crypto-friendly policies, such as Portugal, which doesn't impose any taxes on payments in crypto- currencies. The Portugal Golden Visa programme provides investors with a residency opportunity in exchange for an investment. able finance and tokenization of assets. RIF Trust is among the pioneers keen to adapt to new market norms. The company expects HNWIs in the Middle East and Africa to continue to seek second citizenship and residency as their plan B and diversify their investment portfolio with crypto wallets and NFTs. Becoming International Leader in Investment Migration Industry No Tax on Crypto Gains RIF Trust has achieved a 99% of approval rate for its clients' applications. Within nearly ten years in Investment Migration Industry, it has been able to list all residency and citizenship by investment programs in its offerings. RIF Trust has recently been named the Investment Migration Council’s (IMC) Regional Representative Office in the Middle East. As a firm that endeavours to uphold the IMC’s Code of Ethics and lead by example, the prestigious appointment was an expected outcome and the cause of great celebration. RIF Trust is classified among the fastest- growing companies in the investment migration industry by several industry-specialized publications. Cryptocurrency has become an increasingly popular source of wealth for many RIF Trust's new clients. It expects this trend to continue as more "crypto-millionaires" are created by adopting this new currency. Many countries that offer citizenship by investment are also becoming more accept- ing of crypto-currency. Caribbean countries like Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and the South Pacific country of Vanuatu, all offer a lenient tax system which entails zero tax on capital gains, including crypto gains. By becoming a citizen in one of these countries, RIF Trust clients are able to establish tax residency and benefit from the generous tax system the country has to offer. This is especially attractive for crypto- investors who live in countries with strict “no crypto” bans. RIF Trust's goal is to become the international leader of the Investment Migration Industry. With its current growth rate, Mimoun thinks that the company can achieve that status in very short order. RIF Trust wants to keep developing and winning mandates in three market segments: B2C, B2B, and Government Advisory. Mimoun says, "We like to surround ourselves with like-minded colleagues and partners that help push our industry forward and bring innovative solutions to our esteemed clients." Preventing Fluctuations in Financial Markets Mimoun would like to work closely with governments to help regulate the crypto-economy and make it the new norm for regular people to pay for their daily groceries with crypto-currencies. The global economy, as it is, has suffered enough from crises and recessions, and current centralized banking ecosystems cannot prevent sharp fluctuations in the financial markets. Mimoun would like to help find a solution. Being Open to Doing Business Across the Globe Entrepreneurs seek new sources for fresh investment and capital to sustain the growth of their ventures. This could mean that they are required to participate in international events and conferences or establish a business base internationally, and these activities require a high level of global mobility. With the current state of national borders, entrepreneurs need passports that allow them greater freedoms to travel and do business across the globe. Mimoun advises entrepreneurs to make smart investments that will pave the road for their future and tells them that second citizenship is one major way to do it. The big players in the financial market of crypto-currencies are the young mid-range investors who look forward to owning their future, moving freely, and pushing their boundary lines. The same segment forms a large part of RIF Trust's client base in the investment migration industry. RIF Trust gives investors the chance to have the freedom of global mobility. Being Keen to Adapting New Market Norms The big change in the banking industry in the coming times will be the move towards more simplicity in banking services backed by fintech solutions. Banks can expand their cloud-based services in line with the rise of sustain- Download the 2022 RIF Trust Citizenship Guide here: https://pr.riftrust.com/hello-freedom December 2022 | 36 | www.insightssuccess.com
to be the first citizenship-by-investment company to accept bitcoin payments in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Nowadays, its clients are interested in migrating to countries with crypto-friendly policies, such as Portugal, which doesn't impose any taxes on payments in crypto- currencies. The Portugal Golden Visa programme provides investors with a residency opportunity in exchange for an investment. able finance and tokenization of assets. RIF Trust is among the pioneers keen to adapt to new market norms. The company expects HNWIs in the Middle East and Africa to continue to seek second citizenship and residency as their plan B and diversify their investment portfolio with crypto wallets and NFTs. Becoming International Leader in Investment Migration Industry No Tax on Crypto Gains RIF Trust has achieved a 99% of approval rate for its clients' applications. Within nearly ten years in Investment Migration Industry, it has been able to list all residency and citizenship by investment programs in its offerings. RIF Trust has recently been named the Investment Migration Council’s (IMC) Regional Representative Office in the Middle East. As a firm that endeavours to uphold the IMC’s Code of Ethics and lead by example, the prestigious appointment was an expected outcome and the cause of great celebration. RIF Trust is classified among the fastest- growing companies in the investment migration industry by several industry-specialized publications. Cryptocurrency has become an increasingly popular source of wealth for many RIF Trust's new clients. It expects this trend to continue as more "crypto-millionaires" are created by adopting this new currency. Many countries that offer citizenship by investment are also becoming more accept- ing of crypto-currency. Caribbean countries like Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and the South Pacific country of Vanuatu, all offer a lenient tax system which entails zero tax on capital gains, including crypto gains. By becoming a citizen in one of these countries, RIF Trust clients are able to establish tax residency and benefit from the generous tax system the country has to offer. This is especially attractive for crypto- investors who live in countries with strict “no crypto” bans. RIF Trust's goal is to become the international leader of the Investment Migration Industry. With its current growth rate, Mimoun thinks that the company can achieve that status in very short order. RIF Trust wants to keep developing and winning mandates in three market segments: B2C, B2B, and Government Advisory. Mimoun says, "We like to surround ourselves with like-minded colleagues and partners that help push our industry forward and bring innovative solutions to our esteemed clients." Preventing Fluctuations in Financial Markets Mimoun would like to work closely with governments to help regulate the crypto-economy and make it the new norm for regular people to pay for their daily groceries with crypto-currencies. The global economy, as it is, has suffered enough from crises and recessions, and current centralized banking ecosystems cannot prevent sharp fluctuations in the financial markets. Mimoun would like to help find a solution. Being Open to Doing Business Across the Globe Entrepreneurs seek new sources for fresh investment and capital to sustain the growth of their ventures. This could mean that they are required to participate in international events and conferences or establish a business base internationally, and these activities require a high level of global mobility. With the current state of national borders, entrepreneurs need passports that allow them greater freedoms to travel and do business across the globe. Mimoun advises entrepreneurs to make smart investments that will pave the road for their future and tells them that second citizenship is one major way to do it. The big players in the financial market of crypto-currencies are the young mid-range investors who look forward to owning their future, moving freely, and pushing their boundary lines. The same segment forms a large part of RIF Trust's client base in the investment migration industry. RIF Trust gives investors the chance to have the freedom of global mobility. Being Keen to Adapting New Market Norms The big change in the banking industry in the coming times will be the move towards more simplicity in banking services backed by fintech solutions. Banks can expand their cloud-based services in line with the rise of sustain- Download the 2022 RIF Trust Citizenship Guide here: https://pr.riftrust.com/hello-freedom December 2022 | 36 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Ben Thriving for a Significant Change S changes, believing in their ability to deliver more streamlined solutions than expected. Resembling a similar approach is Nabil Ben Soussia, who believes in putting in more effort and providing exceptional results. uccess is attainable when preparation meets an opportunity. With extreme diligence and presence of mind, cognizant business leaders are ever ready for Nabil grew into the role of Group Vice President in 2018. Nabil was appointed as the CEO for Asia, the Middle East, and the CIS regions in May 2020. Nabil Ben Soussia Group CCO, President Asia, Middle East, and CIS IEC Telecom Group Enabling Digitalization for Maritime Industry IEC Telecom is one of the leading international satellite service operators. Renowned for supplying high-quality satellite-based solutions to customers for more than 25 years, it delivers efficient end-to-end voice and data services when and where it matters most. As the Group CCO, PresidentAsia, Middle East, and CIS regions at IEC Telecom Group, Nabil enjoys meeting and exceeding the evolving challenges of bringing state-of- the-art satellite communications technology to IEC Telecom's customers no matter where they choose to do business. IEC Telecom offers industry-leading satellite communication (Satcom) solutions to governments, public institutions, business enterprises, and individuals worldwide. IEC Telecom is committed to enabling digitalization for the maritime industry and remote units on land, where GSM coverage is not available. For urban networks, IEC Telecom provides a powerful satellite backup to ensure the business continuity of customer enterprises. Bringing Recognition with Strategic Vision Delivering Excellence Nabil states that IEC Telecom develops its Satcom solutions, keeping customers' requirements in front and center – as quickly as they evolve. This bespoke development experience is a cornerstone of its approach no matter where it delivers its services. With extensive experience in the satellite communications sector in the MENA region and advanced degrees in satellite communications, Nabil began his journey at IEC Telecom as Director of Technologies and Operations in 2008. Early in his tenure, Nabil was instrumental in expanding the group by opening an office in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and an office in Kazakhstan in 2014. In the same year, he became the Managing Director of the Middle East division. His strategic vision for the maritime segment, along with the enduring support of his team, brought IEC Telecom international recognition in the form of industry awards such as Thuraya Best Performing SP Maritime (2014, 2018), YahClick Service Partner of the Year (2014), and YahClick Innovation Excellence Award (2018). IEC Telecom is an international satellite service operator with 25+ years of mobile and fixed satellite communications technology expertise. December 2022 | 38 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 39 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 Ben Thriving for a Significant Change S changes, believing in their ability to deliver more streamlined solutions than expected. Resembling a similar approach is Nabil Ben Soussia, who believes in putting in more effort and providing exceptional results. uccess is attainable when preparation meets an opportunity. With extreme diligence and presence of mind, cognizant business leaders are ever ready for Nabil grew into the role of Group Vice President in 2018. Nabil was appointed as the CEO for Asia, the Middle East, and the CIS regions in May 2020. Nabil Ben Soussia Group CCO, President Asia, Middle East, and CIS IEC Telecom Group Enabling Digitalization for Maritime Industry IEC Telecom is one of the leading international satellite service operators. Renowned for supplying high-quality satellite-based solutions to customers for more than 25 years, it delivers efficient end-to-end voice and data services when and where it matters most. As the Group CCO, PresidentAsia, Middle East, and CIS regions at IEC Telecom Group, Nabil enjoys meeting and exceeding the evolving challenges of bringing state-of- the-art satellite communications technology to IEC Telecom's customers no matter where they choose to do business. IEC Telecom offers industry-leading satellite communication (Satcom) solutions to governments, public institutions, business enterprises, and individuals worldwide. IEC Telecom is committed to enabling digitalization for the maritime industry and remote units on land, where GSM coverage is not available. For urban networks, IEC Telecom provides a powerful satellite backup to ensure the business continuity of customer enterprises. Bringing Recognition with Strategic Vision Delivering Excellence Nabil states that IEC Telecom develops its Satcom solutions, keeping customers' requirements in front and center – as quickly as they evolve. This bespoke development experience is a cornerstone of its approach no matter where it delivers its services. With extensive experience in the satellite communications sector in the MENA region and advanced degrees in satellite communications, Nabil began his journey at IEC Telecom as Director of Technologies and Operations in 2008. Early in his tenure, Nabil was instrumental in expanding the group by opening an office in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and an office in Kazakhstan in 2014. In the same year, he became the Managing Director of the Middle East division. His strategic vision for the maritime segment, along with the enduring support of his team, brought IEC Telecom international recognition in the form of industry awards such as Thuraya Best Performing SP Maritime (2014, 2018), YahClick Service Partner of the Year (2014), and YahClick Innovation Excellence Award (2018). IEC Telecom is an international satellite service operator with 25+ years of mobile and fixed satellite communications technology expertise. December 2022 | 38 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 39 | www.insightssuccess.com
Nabil notes, "We're committed to keeping our customers connected – in the way that they want to be connected and at the cost that works best for their operations. We're able to do this with our strong global network that supports our strategic vision and complements our efforts to bring a truly unique and unparalleled communications experience to our customers." technical issues concerns over remote access. Such state-of- the-art communication solutions are developed with IoT data visualization and unmatched noise cancellation to ensure operational efficiency and remote worker safety. Being Relevant by Having Future-oriented Solutions Nabil believes that the key to success is a future-oriented philosophy since one can no longer afford to develop solutions solely based on current market demands. Any development IEC Telecom undertakes today targets its customers' requirements in 5-10 years. Nabil continues, "We work closely with each customer to deliver Satcom solutions that address their specific needs. Our value-proposition even stretches into making current solutions future-ready so that their investment into Satcom is cost-effective and lasting. This integrated approach of in- house design and engineering expertise has translated into solid relationships with our customers and made IEC Telecom their go-to for value-added Satcom services." Nabil states that below two trends will mark the near future: • Space X, OneWeb, Inmarsat, SES, and Thuraya have committed to expanding their services in the coming years. An increasing number of Satcom players in the market will eventually lead to an oversupply of satellite services. As such, airtime will no longer be a rare resource but an essential element of a much wider communication infrastructure. Metaverse is no longer a futuristic concept but the near future. The expectation for connectivity, particularly among Gen Z and those to follow, will increase exponentially to be equally available anytime and anywhere. Developing State-of-the-art Communication Solutions Nabil mentions that the future of technological advancement is about user experience. As digitalization spreads across all economic sectors, "being online" is expected by default. Business continuity comes first. Customers are no longer interested in services delivered exclusively over the high broadband channel. The operational cycle should be flawless, whether on GSM, VSAT, or L-band. • Nabil shares, "Over the past five years, IEC Telecom has invested in developing specialized applications optimized for the low-bandwidth environment. In addition to enhanced compression, most applications are pre-set to resume data transfer from the moment of interruption in case of any signal loss, thereby saving data, time, and money." To remain relevant in this future landscape, IEC Telecom is slowly shifting its offer from the material world (hardware) to virtual space (an innovative range of applications and digitally driven services). Moving incrementally in this direction, IEC Telecom is pursuing a goal to one day create an IEC Telecom-powered AI platform capable of processing and transferring data and generating operational suggestions for a human decision-maker. Videoconferencing is leading the demand. It is not only a facilitator of business communication and crew welfare; it is the driving force behind a whole new range of smart services, including telemedicine, e-learning, and remote maintenance. The need for the latter grew exponentially, particularly in response to the pandemic. Restriction on group gatherings and traveling kept remote specialists on a one-on-one basis with technical challenges. With the help of solutions, such as OneAssist, they can bring an expert to the field over a digital channel. Being Competitive by Embracing Changes Nabil informs budding entrepreneurs, "The future starts now. Embrace change today to be competitive tomorrow. It is not an easy choice. Change-makers usually face much opposition and often must resort to unpopular decisions. Yet, the outcome is worth the fight.” Moreover, with a hands-free approach, being that OneAssist is accessible over an HD display on a rugged head-mounted device, field workers can conduct multi-party video and audio calls for easy collaboration and resolve 80% of December 2022 | 40 | www.insightssuccess.com
Nabil notes, "We're committed to keeping our customers connected – in the way that they want to be connected and at the cost that works best for their operations. We're able to do this with our strong global network that supports our strategic vision and complements our efforts to bring a truly unique and unparalleled communications experience to our customers." technical issues concerns over remote access. Such state-of- the-art communication solutions are developed with IoT data visualization and unmatched noise cancellation to ensure operational efficiency and remote worker safety. Being Relevant by Having Future-oriented Solutions Nabil believes that the key to success is a future-oriented philosophy since one can no longer afford to develop solutions solely based on current market demands. Any development IEC Telecom undertakes today targets its customers' requirements in 5-10 years. Nabil continues, "We work closely with each customer to deliver Satcom solutions that address their specific needs. Our value-proposition even stretches into making current solutions future-ready so that their investment into Satcom is cost-effective and lasting. This integrated approach of in- house design and engineering expertise has translated into solid relationships with our customers and made IEC Telecom their go-to for value-added Satcom services." Nabil states that below two trends will mark the near future: • Space X, OneWeb, Inmarsat, SES, and Thuraya have committed to expanding their services in the coming years. An increasing number of Satcom players in the market will eventually lead to an oversupply of satellite services. As such, airtime will no longer be a rare resource but an essential element of a much wider communication infrastructure. Metaverse is no longer a futuristic concept but the near future. The expectation for connectivity, particularly among Gen Z and those to follow, will increase exponentially to be equally available anytime and anywhere. Developing State-of-the-art Communication Solutions Nabil mentions that the future of technological advancement is about user experience. As digitalization spreads across all economic sectors, "being online" is expected by default. Business continuity comes first. Customers are no longer interested in services delivered exclusively over the high broadband channel. The operational cycle should be flawless, whether on GSM, VSAT, or L-band. • Nabil shares, "Over the past five years, IEC Telecom has invested in developing specialized applications optimized for the low-bandwidth environment. In addition to enhanced compression, most applications are pre-set to resume data transfer from the moment of interruption in case of any signal loss, thereby saving data, time, and money." To remain relevant in this future landscape, IEC Telecom is slowly shifting its offer from the material world (hardware) to virtual space (an innovative range of applications and digitally driven services). Moving incrementally in this direction, IEC Telecom is pursuing a goal to one day create an IEC Telecom-powered AI platform capable of processing and transferring data and generating operational suggestions for a human decision-maker. Videoconferencing is leading the demand. It is not only a facilitator of business communication and crew welfare; it is the driving force behind a whole new range of smart services, including telemedicine, e-learning, and remote maintenance. The need for the latter grew exponentially, particularly in response to the pandemic. Restriction on group gatherings and traveling kept remote specialists on a one-on-one basis with technical challenges. With the help of solutions, such as OneAssist, they can bring an expert to the field over a digital channel. Being Competitive by Embracing Changes Nabil informs budding entrepreneurs, "The future starts now. Embrace change today to be competitive tomorrow. It is not an easy choice. Change-makers usually face much opposition and often must resort to unpopular decisions. Yet, the outcome is worth the fight.” Moreover, with a hands-free approach, being that OneAssist is accessible over an HD display on a rugged head-mounted device, field workers can conduct multi-party video and audio calls for easy collaboration and resolve 80% of December 2022 | 40 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 customer experiences. New applications of AI, digital, and cloud technologies have rapidly changed fundamental aspects of the global economy. Bates notes that those leading in customer experience are able to do so because they put people where they belong—at the core of who they are and what their organization does—and use technology to deliver empathetic experiences no matter what part of the organization a customer is interacting with. “ “ Leading companies are starting to invest in experience orchestration, an approach to coordinating data, AI and channels in real time to put employees in position to empathize with their customers. I evolve, bringing transformative shifts in how we work and live. This digital world has ushered in an experience economy that has drastically changed how organizations have to think about how they connect with their employees and customers. The Genesys model of experience orchestration provides companies with a system for listening to customers, understanding and predicting their behaviors, prompting employees to take action to promote positive outcomes, and cycle learnings from customer interactions back into the model. The highly scalable cloud service supports the entire customer lifecycle across marketing, sales, and services engagements. n the 1990s, the earliest internet infrastructure was digging its roots deeper to branch out globally. Over the course of decades, it has continued to grow and employee (EX) and customer experiences (CX) for better business outcomes. From Business-Centric to People-Centric In the book, Bates outlines that, until recently, customer experience technology has been focused almost entirely on enterprise efficiency and effectiveness. Though it has helped the bottom line, it has also created an enormous blind spot – the human part of the customer-employee interaction. TonyBates, CEO at Genesys,experienced these changes up close, steering organizations across business-to-business and business-to-customer companies through significant market transitions. With nearly three decades of professional experience in various management positions, Tony considers himself fortunate to have played a role in shaping several of the most critical technology market transitions—from building the internet to ushering in the new era of online video conferencing and mobile apps. “When companies put empathy in action, customers will get what they’re looking for without wasting unnecessary time or effort,” said Bates. “And, just as important, a company’s employees will have the resources they need to meet a customer’s needs without wasting their own time or effort.” With little to no emphasis on EX and CX, business-centric companies often face high turnover, widespread burnout, and struggle to maintain a loyal customer base. By creating an empathetic culture, based on people-centric strategy, organizations embrace their customer and employee experiences as the basis for evaluating how they operate. As a result, they deliver amazing experiences that foster trust and loyalty. Empathy becomes a business advantage. Expectations on how a company makes its customers and employees feel will only continue to grow in this experience economy. Organizations that don’t embrace empathy risk losing ground to innovation-minded competitors that are investing in Experience as a Service. Customer loyalty will wane, and employee turnover will grow. He attributes that breadth of experience to what drew him to Genesys—he sensed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apply what he had learned to lead the charge in the next major market transition: embracing empathy to transform experiences. Business leaders have long considered the benefit of an authentic one-to-one experience. The problem is technology hasn’t been widely available to make tailored experiences work at scale. Alternatively, companies have settled on consumer segmentation and targeting techniques far too broad to have a meaningful and lasting impact. Now, with tools like AI that contextualize data to provide more personalized interactions, companies are better able to make their consumers feel seen, heard and understood. This approach, based in understanding the context of a person’s situation and treating each person in light of it, has played a crucial role in how he approaches putting empathy into action, his strategy for changing the way business is done today. It is through this strategy that Bates set out to transform the culture at Genesys and is the basis of his new book, Empathy in Action: How to Deliver Great Customer Experiences at Scale, co-authored by Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. Together they lay out the framework for how businesses leaders can shift their organizations to transform their “Efficiency and effectiveness are no longer enough to build lifelong customer brand loyalty,” Bates added. “In the future, customers will only do business with – and employees will only work at – companies that value providing excellent experiences based in empathy.” Over the Horizon Shedding light on today’s market transition, Bates mentions it is fueled by the wide adoption of AI, digital, and cloud software – technology that creates dynamic personal December 2022 | 42 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 43 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 customer experiences. New applications of AI, digital, and cloud technologies have rapidly changed fundamental aspects of the global economy. Bates notes that those leading in customer experience are able to do so because they put people where they belong—at the core of who they are and what their organization does—and use technology to deliver empathetic experiences no matter what part of the organization a customer is interacting with. “ “ Leading companies are starting to invest in experience orchestration, an approach to coordinating data, AI and channels in real time to put employees in position to empathize with their customers. I evolve, bringing transformative shifts in how we work and live. This digital world has ushered in an experience economy that has drastically changed how organizations have to think about how they connect with their employees and customers. The Genesys model of experience orchestration provides companies with a system for listening to customers, understanding and predicting their behaviors, prompting employees to take action to promote positive outcomes, and cycle learnings from customer interactions back into the model. The highly scalable cloud service supports the entire customer lifecycle across marketing, sales, and services engagements. n the 1990s, the earliest internet infrastructure was digging its roots deeper to branch out globally. Over the course of decades, it has continued to grow and employee (EX) and customer experiences (CX) for better business outcomes. From Business-Centric to People-Centric In the book, Bates outlines that, until recently, customer experience technology has been focused almost entirely on enterprise efficiency and effectiveness. Though it has helped the bottom line, it has also created an enormous blind spot – the human part of the customer-employee interaction. TonyBates, CEO at Genesys,experienced these changes up close, steering organizations across business-to-business and business-to-customer companies through significant market transitions. With nearly three decades of professional experience in various management positions, Tony considers himself fortunate to have played a role in shaping several of the most critical technology market transitions—from building the internet to ushering in the new era of online video conferencing and mobile apps. “When companies put empathy in action, customers will get what they’re looking for without wasting unnecessary time or effort,” said Bates. “And, just as important, a company’s employees will have the resources they need to meet a customer’s needs without wasting their own time or effort.” With little to no emphasis on EX and CX, business-centric companies often face high turnover, widespread burnout, and struggle to maintain a loyal customer base. By creating an empathetic culture, based on people-centric strategy, organizations embrace their customer and employee experiences as the basis for evaluating how they operate. As a result, they deliver amazing experiences that foster trust and loyalty. Empathy becomes a business advantage. Expectations on how a company makes its customers and employees feel will only continue to grow in this experience economy. Organizations that don’t embrace empathy risk losing ground to innovation-minded competitors that are investing in Experience as a Service. Customer loyalty will wane, and employee turnover will grow. He attributes that breadth of experience to what drew him to Genesys—he sensed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apply what he had learned to lead the charge in the next major market transition: embracing empathy to transform experiences. Business leaders have long considered the benefit of an authentic one-to-one experience. The problem is technology hasn’t been widely available to make tailored experiences work at scale. Alternatively, companies have settled on consumer segmentation and targeting techniques far too broad to have a meaningful and lasting impact. Now, with tools like AI that contextualize data to provide more personalized interactions, companies are better able to make their consumers feel seen, heard and understood. This approach, based in understanding the context of a person’s situation and treating each person in light of it, has played a crucial role in how he approaches putting empathy into action, his strategy for changing the way business is done today. It is through this strategy that Bates set out to transform the culture at Genesys and is the basis of his new book, Empathy in Action: How to Deliver Great Customer Experiences at Scale, co-authored by Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. Together they lay out the framework for how businesses leaders can shift their organizations to transform their “Efficiency and effectiveness are no longer enough to build lifelong customer brand loyalty,” Bates added. “In the future, customers will only do business with – and employees will only work at – companies that value providing excellent experiences based in empathy.” Over the Horizon Shedding light on today’s market transition, Bates mentions it is fueled by the wide adoption of AI, digital, and cloud software – technology that creates dynamic personal December 2022 | 42 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 43 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 A?Continual?Pursuit?of?Freshness Wael A. Itani Wael A. Itani W ael is no stranger to change management and business transformation, having spent 27 years in leading MNCs in the Middle East, Africa, India and GCC region doing precisely that before taking on his current role as CEO of General Poultry Company, Bahrain. in transforming the company’s journey from its legacy operations to a state-of-the-art automated poultry egg farm. When Wael took charge at the helm of affairs, GPC produced 126,000 cartons of fresh eggs annually accounting for 65% of domestic production and a market share of 18%. Today, its annual production has been amped up to over 200,000 cartons per annum with production further expected to rise to 360,000 cartons in the coming 18 months targeting an estimated market share of 42% by 2023. The expansion will also see, down the line, introduction of specialty egg variants (brown, Omega 3, Lutein enriched eggs, etc.) as well as value-added egg products like Liquid Eggs. Established in 1977, GPC is the country’s leading producer of fresh table eggs in the Kingdom of Bahrain and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mumtalakat Holding Company, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund. Wael Ahmed Itani C.E.O. General Poultry Company B.S.C. With Bahrain’s Leadership vision 2030, Mumtalakat Holding Company envisioned a greater role for GPC in the nation’s drive for self-sufficiency in production and delivery of ‘Farm to Table Fresh Eggs in 2018. For this mission, Wael was invited to join GPC in 2019 and lead the change Under his stewardship, GPC has mitigated key challenges and has embarked on a phenomenal expansion program of December 2022 | 44 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 45 | www.insightssuccess.com
Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference in 2022 A?Continual?Pursuit?of?Freshness Wael A. Itani Wael A. Itani W ael is no stranger to change management and business transformation, having spent 27 years in leading MNCs in the Middle East, Africa, India and GCC region doing precisely that before taking on his current role as CEO of General Poultry Company, Bahrain. in transforming the company’s journey from its legacy operations to a state-of-the-art automated poultry egg farm. When Wael took charge at the helm of affairs, GPC produced 126,000 cartons of fresh eggs annually accounting for 65% of domestic production and a market share of 18%. Today, its annual production has been amped up to over 200,000 cartons per annum with production further expected to rise to 360,000 cartons in the coming 18 months targeting an estimated market share of 42% by 2023. The expansion will also see, down the line, introduction of specialty egg variants (brown, Omega 3, Lutein enriched eggs, etc.) as well as value-added egg products like Liquid Eggs. Established in 1977, GPC is the country’s leading producer of fresh table eggs in the Kingdom of Bahrain and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mumtalakat Holding Company, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund. Wael Ahmed Itani C.E.O. General Poultry Company B.S.C. With Bahrain’s Leadership vision 2030, Mumtalakat Holding Company envisioned a greater role for GPC in the nation’s drive for self-sufficiency in production and delivery of ‘Farm to Table Fresh Eggs in 2018. For this mission, Wael was invited to join GPC in 2019 and lead the change Under his stewardship, GPC has mitigated key challenges and has embarked on a phenomenal expansion program of December 2022 | 44 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 45 | www.insightssuccess.com
goal was to learn as humanly as possible to gain knowledge, acquire evolving skillsets and build expertise both regionally and internationally. A relentless focus on business development, relationship building, executive experience, and cross operational experience in sales, “ marketing, and budget management won him accolades in his previous companies that include the likes of Energizer Holdings/Edgewell Personal Care and SONY Gulf FZE across MENA, India, and G.C.C. markets. Wael is a firm believer of “people” being an organization’s greatest asset and “process” being a key proponent of driving change. Migrating away from a personal relationship business model to a data driven business model while maintaining the cultural and personal ties is a key objective in GPC’s transformation journey, while leading with core values of knowledge, passion and integration. He is confident that the new structure, facilities and policies will position GPC as a role model in the poultry farming sector while achieving the three key principles of Sustainability, Continuity, and Competitiveness as laid out in the Economic Vision 2030 document. Age may simply be a number, but not when it comes to fresh eggs! You just can't beat the great taste of fresh eggs cooked to perfection. “ Words of Wisdom Wael’s advice to emerging leaders is best summed up in 4 words: Passion, Engagement, Inclusion & Openness. He believes that when you practice these core values diligently, success follows naturally! Striving for Excellence Wael notes, "We are striving to integrate the most advanced technology into poultry farming, including poultry health management, biosecurity, nutrition, and food safety for the benefit of our customers, consumers and community alike." growth through strategic tie ups with Big Dutchman, GmbH Germany for the new farmhouses & MOBA, Netherlands for the Grading & Packaging unit respectively. This move firmly establishes General Poultry Company as a leading player in poultry farming, egg production, grading, and packaging cycle in Bahrain and on the regional stage. Key measures implemented included understanding the market dynamics, learning thoroughly the business cycle and investing significantly in: Wael notes, "The new facilities boast of several advanced features such as automated grading and packaging technology, limited human intervention, and 24/7 live data streaming. You will find technology in use across all aspects of operations from ventilation, temperature control, lighting, electricity, water, feed consumption, health & safety of our biological assets, Eggs placement, grading, packing and storage to logistics and supply chain management… In fact, you will be hard-pressed to notice any area of our operations where technology is not playing a significant role in our migration." 1. Technology 2. Biosecurity 3. Food Safety According to Wael, technology will help GPC streamline its poultry farming process with significant efficiency and to establish a lean agile organization able to evolve to not only meet consumer demand; but also to become a solution provider beyond table eggs towards catering to niche market variants as well as egg meal solutions. Under Wael's leadership, the company also obtained key international certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 22000, and is working towards FSSC 22000, a significant milestone in GPC’s food safety journey. A Professional’s Professional Starting out as a sales rep in the FMCG industry, Wael’s key December 2022 | 46 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 47 | www.insightssuccess.com
goal was to learn as humanly as possible to gain knowledge, acquire evolving skillsets and build expertise both regionally and internationally. A relentless focus on business development, relationship building, executive experience, and cross operational experience in sales, “ marketing, and budget management won him accolades in his previous companies that include the likes of Energizer Holdings/Edgewell Personal Care and SONY Gulf FZE across MENA, India, and G.C.C. markets. Wael is a firm believer of “people” being an organization’s greatest asset and “process” being a key proponent of driving change. Migrating away from a personal relationship business model to a data driven business model while maintaining the cultural and personal ties is a key objective in GPC’s transformation journey, while leading with core values of knowledge, passion and integration. He is confident that the new structure, facilities and policies will position GPC as a role model in the poultry farming sector while achieving the three key principles of Sustainability, Continuity, and Competitiveness as laid out in the Economic Vision 2030 document. Age may simply be a number, but not when it comes to fresh eggs! You just can't beat the great taste of fresh eggs cooked to perfection. “ Words of Wisdom Wael’s advice to emerging leaders is best summed up in 4 words: Passion, Engagement, Inclusion & Openness. He believes that when you practice these core values diligently, success follows naturally! Striving for Excellence Wael notes, "We are striving to integrate the most advanced technology into poultry farming, including poultry health management, biosecurity, nutrition, and food safety for the benefit of our customers, consumers and community alike." growth through strategic tie ups with Big Dutchman, GmbH Germany for the new farmhouses & MOBA, Netherlands for the Grading & Packaging unit respectively. This move firmly establishes General Poultry Company as a leading player in poultry farming, egg production, grading, and packaging cycle in Bahrain and on the regional stage. Key measures implemented included understanding the market dynamics, learning thoroughly the business cycle and investing significantly in: Wael notes, "The new facilities boast of several advanced features such as automated grading and packaging technology, limited human intervention, and 24/7 live data streaming. You will find technology in use across all aspects of operations from ventilation, temperature control, lighting, electricity, water, feed consumption, health & safety of our biological assets, Eggs placement, grading, packing and storage to logistics and supply chain management… In fact, you will be hard-pressed to notice any area of our operations where technology is not playing a significant role in our migration." 1. Technology 2. Biosecurity 3. Food Safety According to Wael, technology will help GPC streamline its poultry farming process with significant efficiency and to establish a lean agile organization able to evolve to not only meet consumer demand; but also to become a solution provider beyond table eggs towards catering to niche market variants as well as egg meal solutions. Under Wael's leadership, the company also obtained key international certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 22000, and is working towards FSSC 22000, a significant milestone in GPC’s food safety journey. A Professional’s Professional Starting out as a sales rep in the FMCG industry, Wael’s key December 2022 | 46 | www.insightssuccess.com December 2022 | 47 | www.insightssuccess.com