The 20 Most Successful CEO's to follow in 2020

1. VOL | ISSUE 11 01 | 2020 The 20 Most Successful CEO's to follow in 2020 Brendan Keegan A Visionary Business Leader, Who Inspires, and Leads to Success + “Have the COURAGE to Fail and the FAITH to Succeed” Business Achievers Rewards & Recognition A Boon to Employee Achievement Brendan Keegan CEO, Merchants Fleet Tech Insight Haseeb Awan

4. Editor’s Desk I n last two decades there has been an evolution in the characteristics of business leaders and the way they think about their organizations, staffs, sectors and even themselves. If one compares the success journey of a business leaders just 10 years ago with what makes them successful today, one will easily notice some changes. Below are some major characteristics which can be seen in every successful leader’s leadership and should be acquired by every leader- Changing Aspects of Leadership A clear Vision Today organization’s success comprises both customers and employees. For a CEO, it is important to unite associates and investors with a clear perspective to energize them to work for business. Employees want to be part of something great and purposeful and want to see how their actions contribute. A Cooperative Work Culture Investing in work culture is a key way to attract and retain the right talent. A decade ago, especially when the economy stammered, the way many administrators talked about their organizations’ teams was almost as if people had no other options. In present, the scenario has changed and now employees are free for their choices. It’s essential than ever for organizations to craft a work culture that appeals to the type of employee who will drive business forward. Embracing Others’ Opinion A leader should embrace others feedback no matter good or bad because it drives transparency. It signals where organization may need to focus its attention. An open environment where everyone can celebrate the successes and learn from the failures is necessary for personal growth.

5. Challenging Own Perspective To learn something new every day one must surround him/her with people who push for more clarity and offering different point of view. This source of advice should come from both internal teams and fellow outside the company. Understand the Business Top executives are no longer limited to their board meetings and company’s success events. The business arena has been changed, one has to be prepared with every information and data about the business, board and leadership teams as well. A successful CEO’s role is still to offer bold and strategic decisions. But leaders have to understand about the significance of guidance and to keep up with the data-driven competition. CEOs who believe in unilateral decision making with little accountability will fail in today’s workplace and economy. Of course as a CEO their primary responsibility is to be the chief strategic decision-maker but it should involve others opinion, support and participation. In this issue, we have success stories of some exceptional business leaders who have accelerated business processes and shown their efficiency during unique times. rohit.chaturvedi@insightssuccess.com Also, while flipping the pages, don’t forget to go through the articles and CXOs written by our in- house editorial team and industry experts respectively. Happy Reading!

6. COVER STORY 10 Brendan Keegan A Visionary Business Leader, Who Inspires, and Leads to Success ARTICLE 36 24 Tech Insight Haseeb Awan Business Achievers Rewards & Recognition A Boon to Employee Achievement

7. C O N T E N T S 20 Christopher Carter Leading a charge in SAP Solutions 28 Feras El Hajjar An Ingenious Leader in Digital Transformation and Business 32 Management Gary Olson Protecting People and Business Through the use of Artificial Intelligence 34 Karsten Boehrs Revolutionizing Education and Communication through Simple Accessible Resources 40 Katherine Colombino An Excellent Dedicated Professional 44 Rob Leslie Advancing Business Practices with Digital Identity 48 Shanaz Ramzi Bringing Perfection in PR and Event Management

8. Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Executive Editor Rohit Chaturvedi Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Managing Editor Anish Miller Co-designer Visualizer David King Art & Design Director Asha Bange Associate Designer Kushagra Gupta Kartik Balapurkar Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager Peter Collins Kshitij S Sales Executives David, Martin, Sagar Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Technical Head Jacob Smile Steve, Joe, Aidan, Binay Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza Technical Specialist Aditya Research Analyst Frank Adams SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Circulation Manager Robert Brown sales@insightssuccess.com November, 2020 Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ We are also available on : www.twitter.com/insightssuccess Copyright © 2020 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.

10. Featured Person Company Name Brief The company acts as your FleetTech partner, connecting you with the client service, technology platforms, and products your fleet needs in a way that delivers the highest value possible. Brendan Keegan Chief Executive Officer Merchants Fleet merchantsfleet.com Intact Financial Corporation is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over CAD$11 billion in total annual premiums. Intact Financial Corporation intactfc.com Charles Brindamour Chief Executive Officer Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in hosting and managed services, upgrades, and migrations for its customers, running any SAP supported core functionality. Approyo Christopher Carter Founder & CEO www.approyo.com Airolink focuses on a wide range from pre-construction services to complete turn-key construction projects. Airolink Group airolinkgroup.com Dr Anil Pillai Chief Executive Officer UM is a strategic media planning and buying agency that leverages Better Science to create Better Art that drives Better Outcomes for its clients. UM Worldwide umww.com Eileen Kiernan Raare Solutions is an award-winning Operational CRM Agency specializing in the design, execution and support of CRM and Marketing Platforms, Campaign Orchestration, Email Execution and Analytics. Esther Poulsen Founder and CEO Raare Solutions raaresolutions.com Feras El Hajjar Founder & Chairman of Infosysta | Founder & CEO of App4Legal App4Legal is a complete practice management software for all legal practitioners. Infosysta & App4Legal app4legal.com GT Digital Ltd gtdigitalltd.com Cognitve intelligence correlates video and data from any source & any format to identify potential threats to lives and property. Gary Olson Founder & CEO SYSPRO is an industry-built Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors. Syspro syspro.com Geoff Garrett Chief Executive Officer Greencarrier greencarrier.com Johan Jemdahl Chief Executive Officer The Greencarrier Group offers sustainable logistics and supply chain management solutions worldwide.

11. THE 2 Most Successful ’s to follow in 2020 Featured Person Company Name Brief With Simpleshow one can explain any complex topic in a simple and engaging way. It transforms message into a convincing explainer video or an interactive experience - with the help of its SaaS solution. Simpleshow simpleshow.com/us-en/ Karsten Boehrs Co-investor & CEO Software and Services Consulting SRL is positioned as the number one partner in Paraguay of SAP Business One. Confidence, Clarity and Constant Accompaniment are some of the terms used by its clients to describe what SSC means to them. Software & Services Consulting SRL ssc.com.py Katherine Colombino Chief Executive Officer Lynda Ellis Capitol Concierge capitolconcierge.com Capitol Concierge is a Certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise. President, CEO, Owner Egypt Express is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company which thrives in providing and exceeding customers’ expectations, with a network of courier bases all across Egypt. Egypt Express egyptexpress.com.eg Mohammad Shaheen Chairman & CEO Margins Group is a limited liability company incorporated in Ghana on the 13th Day of December 1990 – proudly majority Ghanaian owned. Margins group marginsgroup.com Moses Baiden Chief Executive Officer Sedicii is developing advanced cryptography that provides a single platform which enables organisations to benefit from world class solutions to deliver. Rob Leslie CEO & Founder Sedicii sedicii.com Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards. Shanaz Ramzi Chief Executive Officer StarLinks starlink.com With the goal of believable, achievable beauty, it launched its first-to-market heated eyelash curler in 2002, followed by its innovative world-first Tan Airbrush in A Can which created an entire new global beauty category and forever changed the way women self-tanned. Shelley Sullivan Chief Executive Officer ModelCo modelco.com NextFuel AB offers innovative and highly scalable industrial technology for converting fast growing grasses and other types of inexpensive and abundant biomass into a clean copy of coal. Stefano Romano CEO NextFuel nextfuel.com Enseo, a privately-held, woman, Latina-owned business, is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the U.S. Vanessa Ogle President & CEO Enseo enseo.com

13. COVER STORY A Visionary Business Leader, Who Inspires, and Leads to Success BRENDAN KEEGAN

14. The 20 Most Successful CEO's to follow in 2020 S achieved success, become examples that encourage us in achieving our goals. uccess stories can be truly motivational for many. Somebody’s journey towards excellence, the hardships they overcame, or how they finally To learn more about Brendan’s and the Merchants Fleet’s journey, let us take a peek into the below interview between Insights Success and Brendan Keegan. How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to cater to the target audience? Merchants Fleet is focused on providing the most flexible, innovative, and comprehensive solutions on the planet. We have been in business since 1962 and have stayed true to the company’s core values. Three of those values—service, flexibility, and innovation—are at the core of what makes our offerings unique in our industry. Insights Success, in its upcoming edition “The 20 Most Successful CEO’s to follow in 2020,” is bringing the stories of some exceptional CEOs who are focused, dedicated and persistent towards their objectives, and are becoming a source of endless inspiration for everyone. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer at Merchants Fleet, Brendan Keegan is one such inspiring leader,who facilitates a great experience for employees, profound service for the clients, and a strong return for shareholders—through a carefully articulated and executed strategic direction to transform the company’s business model. We really see ourselves as disruptors in the industry through our FleetTech program, our ability to be flexible, and unique capabilities. Because of this, we have had the opportunity to service some of the largest fleets of vehicles in the world. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? The four people who have influenced me the most are my sister Beth, my Dad, my Mom, and my wife Dana. Beth was born with Down’s syndrome; she was the most optimistic person who ever walked the face of the world. According to Brendan, he joined Merchants Fleet for two major reasons—the people and the potential. He was able to get to know the Merchants team as a client and board member. As he knew, it would be a great experience to get to work with this group of people every day, and that is something that has proven to be more than true, based on his first two and a half years at the company. She taught me positivity, selflessness, kindness, and gratitude. Next was my Dad, who taught me integrity, work ethic and systems thinking. My Mom was a volunteer and giver who taught me generosity. My wife, Dana, has taught me partnership, love and being limitless. She has taught me how to be a better man, a better husband and we have taught each other how to be the best parents possible. The second reason he joined Merchants Fleet as CEO was because of the growth potential. Brendan could see how fast the company could grow, if some key initiatives were kicked off, led, supported, and supercharged to drive the future of the company. He signed up for that job, and it has been wildly more successful than he could have ever pictured. In my professional career, I owe any success I have been able to achieve to five individuals and mentors – Val, Bill, John, Gary F. and Gary B. They pushed me to the limit, invested in me as a person, taught me business lessons beyond my years and put my career in the fast lane, at times when I did not even know it. In fact, Bain Capital Credit also bought into the strategic direction, people and growth potential and became Merchants growth financing partner. Over Brendan’s term as CEO the company has won numerous awards to include being named to the Inc 5000 fastest-growing companies list, Gold & Bronze level Stevie® Awards in 2020 American Business Awards® for “Fastest Growing Company of the Year” and “Most Innovative Company of the Year”, respectively, for companies up to 2,500 employees; IMPACT Innovation Award, Great Place to Work Certified; Best Places to Work Hall of Fame; Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in Boston & Chicago; and more. Education is freedom, and I am thankful to all my teachers, faculty and administrators at St. Chris Elementary School, Bishop Guertin High School, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the George Washington University. What is your vision for the company for the next five years? Our vision as a company is to enable the movement of

17. Have the COURAGE Fail & “ to the FAITH to SUCCEED. “

19. people, goods, and services freely—providing the most comprehensive, flexible, and innovative service on the planet. With this as our lofty vision, we are focused on helping our clients be more efficient, save money, and drive creative solutions for their fleets of vehicles, as well as creating an exceptional experience. 19 pandemic. Once we saw that businesses were starting to shut down, we executed the plays and successfully maintained company culture, business continuity & growth during a crisis. Below are the plays from the Tough Times Playbook. Ÿ Play 1 – Don’t Hide, Be Transparent Ÿ Play 2 – Develop a Clear Action Plan Ÿ Play 3 – Focus on Employees First Ÿ Play 4 – Continue to Deliver Great Client Service Ÿ Play 5 – Open All Channels of Communication Ÿ Play 6 – Markets Shift, Be Flexible Ÿ Play 7 – Think Long Term In the next five years, with this focus, we will be the sixth largest in our industry, driving value for more and more companies every day. Over the next five years we are focused on serving our markets, seizing new opportunities, and achieving our four strategic imperatives. As a business leader, what are some of the vital attributes that every leader should possess? I have had the opportunity to both experience what it is like to lead, and then to also train and coach others on how to lead. I believe that it starts with a leader signing up to fulfill the ultimate definition of leadership: “Leadership is the willingness to accept responsibility, to organize a group of people to achieve a common goal.” How do you sustain your creative leadership spirit in this changing technological era? While many people fear change, change inspires me and drives my creativity even more than stagnation. Because of this vision and what we see for the future of technology, the premise that things are changing is simply enough to keep my creative energy flowing. From a young age, I have had a passion for technology. I went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and studied engineering. I enjoyed figuring out how things work and how they are pieced together. Once a leader understands that definition of leadership, they can move towards exemplifying the 7 key attributes of leaders: vision, brand, productivity, communication, relationships, emotional intelligence and influence. These 7 key attributes can be learned and developed over time—once one is willing to take on the responsibility of being a leader. Additionally, I started a company out in Silicon Valley just when the dot-com boom was heating up and we sold it just at the perfect time. My CEO position prior to Merchants was with a technology services company and I started my career at EDS, Electronic Data Systems—the technology giant of its time—that was acquired ultimately by Hewlett- Packard. How do you maintain balance between your professional & personal life? Balance for me is not about hours worked, it is about quality of life. Sure, as an active, engaged CEO of a hyper- growth company I work a bunch of hours. But as an equally engaged and active Dad, husband, volunteer, and community member I do not miss out! And therein lies my sincere high quality of life, which I define as the benchmark and gold standard for balance. By having great time management, I effectively lead our company while also striving every day to be highly engaged with everyone in my life. So, I would say that besides a passion for sports, something that is exceedingly high on my list is technology. Currently at Merchants, we have built a proprietary software platform that gives our fleet clients a total view into their fleet—hence its name TotalView. What would be your future endeavors and where do you see yourself in the near future? I have always stated when my two kids, Kaylie and Patrick, graduate college I would like to graduate life. Kaylie will be a high school senior this year and Patrick a high school freshman, so that puts me on the clock for 8 more years of working professionally. I am currently on an extremely focused and exciting journey, and that is leading Merchants Fleet as their CEO. As a director and business leader, describe a challenge you overcame. A challenge I have had the opportunity to overcome has been removing fear from employees, clients and shareholders amidst a crisis. During my first major crisis as a CEO, I created the TOUGH TIMES PLAYBOOK. Most recently, I pulled out the playbook during the COVID- I end virtually every company meeting with “Enjoy the

20. JOURNEY”. Our transformation is underway, and we have become the fastest-growing company in our industry. As my son would graduate college in June 2028, I plan to step down as an active CEO and move toward retirement, while continuing to make an impact on young leaders. started. But it is up to us what we do with it from there. We can all learn to become MADE leaders. I have seen this time and time again in my own career. Leaders I had the chance to work with who may not have believed that they could be leaders at the start, but once they received some coaching and had the opportunity to learn from and emulate other great leaders, they started to develop the traits of leaders themselves. I have a goal of building one million leaders, so even though I will not be an active CEO, I do plan to assertively teach, coach and mentor leadership to anyone that is willing to listen. I also plan to continue developing the series of books I have charted out over the next years. Once I slow down, I will have the greater opportunity to sit on boards and help entrepreneurs, owners and leaders achieve their business objectives through sharing some of my experience. Leadership is a daily decision. It is a gift, for sure, but it is a daily decision to show up, to work at it, to lead people, to grow and to drive towards a grander vision. What advice would you like to give to the emerging business leaders? Many people believe that leaders are born and have the innate traits of being a leader from their birth and upbringing. However, I disagree with this point. I think to a certain extent, our DNA or our innate character gets us

21. & & The 20 BUSINESSWOMEN to Watch, 2020 Most SUCCESSFUL kimberly Khoury Paving her Way in Sustainability Development

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26. Haseeb Awan T classification of these threats would fall into four categories: 1. Application-based threats; 2. Web-based threats; 3. Physical threats; 4. Network-based threats he days are long gone where the security threat surrounded our computer only. Modern problems have expanded to our personal devices. The broad Physical threats: This occurs when you lose your mobile phone or if it has been stolen. This is a strong case for hackers to loop into your personal information via your device (as they have direct access to the hardware where all your personal information is resting). Network-based threats: This is where cybercriminals are actively looking to encrypt your data with the use of public Wi-Fi networks. Application-based threats: Privacy, information security, and data security are inseparable, dependent on each other, as well as, complimentary. The advanced mobile threats comprises of: a. Phishing attacks; b. Data leakage; c. Unsecure Wi-Fi (particularly public Wi-Fi) connection; d. Sim Swap Web-application threats occur when the application resembles an authentic application, but it is a disguise and has the ability to skim your precious information. Phishing attacks: A phishing attack is an online theft attack that gains your personal information such as username, password, and even your financial information. Phishing education is mandatory to mitigate the risk of this threat to an acceptable level. It is incumbent to learn that phishing is different from conventional scams. The thwarting ways would differ depending on the level of fraud committed and who is the victim (corporation or individuals). The prime examples include malware and spyware where your personal information is at stake. Web-based threats: As subtle in nature, these web-based threats remain unnoticed because visitors visit malicious websites that are better from their front-end but in reality, they are skimming your information by downloading malicious content on your device. 24 | November 2020 www.insightssuccess.com

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28. Sim Swap: A fraudster beautifully impersonates you and manages to get victims Sim deactivated. There is a replacement activation without the knowledge of the victim (Marimuthu, V., 2019). For corporations it would be: 1. Design policies in place and the communication should be strong, 2. There should be a control designed to ensure the legitimacy of an email and it should be communicated to loyal customers (as well as others), 3. Scan the internet for likely phishing sites, 4. Implement a quality anti-virus, anti-spam, and content filtering at the gateway. This is a surplus for hackers where they can reset victims' online accounts. EFANI was designed to mitigate such happenings with a 100% money-back guarantee for 60- days. For individuals it is simple: 1. Block malicious or fraudulent email promptly, 2. Detect and delete malicious software immediately, 3. Block the sensitive information delivery to third parties automatically, 4. Apply skepticism wherever necessary. Safeguards – Ÿ 1. Beware of phishing - as it penetrates sim swapping incidents. These sketchy emails and bogus logins can get the hacker the required information and these key data can spawn a sim swap occurrence. 2. People should rely less on online space, they should reduce the personal information to be stored online. Social engineering is an initial sim swapping stage, where the hacker collects as much information as they want. Keep compromising information low-key such as your digits, date of birth, mailing address off your account. 3. Protect your accounts or crypto space using Yubikey, frequently changing the PIN, multi-factor authentication. Please do not trust SMS-based 2FA. Data Leakage: Data leakage occurs where there is a compromise in the (information) confidentiality breach. This refers to an unauthorized leakage or possible data transmission within an organization to a third party. The lost data is either private, sensitive, or confidential in nature. The data could be lost due to a system crash or even a deliberate deletion. Safeguards- Ÿ 1. Quarantine your outgoing information (which is private, sensitive, or either confidential in nature) from your organization network. 2. Archive suspicious files. 3. Quarantine sensitive files to be copied into USB or smartphones. 4. Block print jobs that contain private information. 5. Discover confidential information that is stored on databases, organizational laptops, and workstations. Unsecured Public Wi-Fi: Public Wi-Fi networks offer potential privacy risks and invite security issues. People are tempted to pursue public WiFi which is controlled by a hacker. It invigorates the MITM attack. Safeguards – Ÿ 1. The network should be verified. Hackers are smart but users are smarter, it is better to play smart. 2. Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which is the most secure surfing option on public networks. 3. Use Antivirus and keep the Firewall Enabled. 26 | November 2020 www.insightssuccess.com

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39. Business Achievers R ewards and recognition at the workplace keep the employees going. They need to know that they are valued and appreciated for their work. The employers will be the highly benefited party by doing so. It is important for companies to keep pace with the current trends in Human Resource to keep the employees satisfied. Keeping the employees engaged is a task that every company should consider. can make their day. The big things as well, bring them a great sense of pride, not only for themselves but for working with the company. A significant reward for a particular employee can bring more happiness than one can imagine. Efforts Matter too There are times when employees work hard day and night to complete their tasks or targets. Their tasks might not be big or might not lead to the end to a project, but their efforts need to be appreciated. Without hard work and efforts from each member of the team, a project cannot be completed. At times, even after so many efforts by everyone, the project can end up in drains. Success should not be the only eligibility criteria for rewards and recognition. By rewarding the efforts of employees it might even improve the company culture. It is crucial for business growth that the employees remain engaged. According to a report by the Harvard Business Review, recognition for high performers was the key driver for employee engagement. Apart from the rewards to the business, the individuals also feel respected when they are recognized. They feel they are important to the company, and to keep that impression they perform even better than before. There are several benefits that a solid recognition program can bring to a business. Top Driver for Engagement Recognition from Peers Companies that have a recognition program in place tend to keep their employees engaged. Employee recognition overwhelmingly shows positive effects on the overall employee experience. This keeps the employees motivated and the urge to do more is active. The old traditional ways of recognition like giving out watches, coffee mugs, etc. is still in picture but in a smaller quantity. The modern ways of recognition are seen as appreciation mails or letters, token of appreciation, bonus, etc. Every project or work needs more than one person to be complete. The employees work in teams and get things done. These people are the ones who work together on a daily basis and are the best judges. The peers should be given an opportunity to nominate each other for rewards. This way there is always a healthy competition going on, and this keeps them on their feet all the time. Peer recognitions mean a lot more than direct employer recognitions as there are emotions attached here. From all of this we can only conclude that all companies, small, medium and big, should have rewards and recognition program. Such things not only motivate them to perform well and give their best, it also gives them an objective to reach. The culture and environment of the workplace proves to be healthy with such schemes in place. Increase in Productivity The employees feel valued when their work is recognized. This leads to increase in productivity. When they are unhappy about their workplace or working conditions, they tend to waste time and not work whole-heartedly. Workplace recognition also curbs the wastage of resources and increases the productivity of the business. The feeling of being noticed and supported is a driving factor for everyone. A Merry Workplace Happy employees make a happy workplace, and a happy workplace brings out happier results. Appreciating the small things that employees do brings a smile on their face and | 37 www.insightssuccess.com November 2020

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