The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020

4. Editor’s Desk A cross the globe, women are smashing the glass ceiling with their determination and resilience. With every passing year, we are getting closer to the stage of parity between women and men within the business world. Seeing Business through Hers Perspective Today’s women business leaders are chartering unknown territories fearlessly and unabashedly. Be it in business, ecommerce, education, politics, investing, travel, fashion, retail, fitness, hiring, and anything and everything under the sun they are leading with initiative and unconstrained enthusiasm to change the world around them. They are setting benchmarks in their chosen fields and making a difference with their ideas, providing solutions that have never been pursued, running successful ventures, fighting social norms, and generating employment for many. As Maya Angelou has said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.” Each business woman is scripting her own success story and Insights Success is bringing the journeys of some of these dynamic women who are recognized for successful business, leadership and entrepreneurship across the world. The company aims to celebrate female success within the corporate world in its upcoming edition “The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020”.

5. A true leader understands the needs of the markets, and takes every action necessary to cope up with the consumers requirements too. We might have witnessed many great business women, who shows exceptional traits and have contributed for the betterment of their respective organizations as well as community. Through a quote, “life-fulfilling work is never about the money- when you feel true passion for something you instinctively find ways to nurture it” Clothing designer and Founder of Eileen Fisher Inc, Eileen Fisher states that a success is never defined by the monetary assets but by the satisfaction one gains from fulfilling his/her passion. With undivided passion and strong determination anyone can achieve his/her long term vision. Bhushan Ghate Let’s unveil such alike, inspiring stories and interviews of many such passionate leaders in this special edition and spread a word about their contribution in making this world a better place. 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. Have a good read!

6. 10 22 Catherine Pearce Helping to Bring Promising Medicines Forward Laura Brandao An Inuencer and Powerful Mortgage Professional 14 Kim Vogel A Visionary Revolutionizing the Investment Management Sphere 38 24 Siobhan Calderbank Leadership and Talent Development through ‘Her’ eyes Rhonda Vetere A Gem in the Jewel of Corporate Business 32 Shagun Malhotra Enhancing the Month-End Financial Close Process for Mid-Size Companies

7. CXO 46 18 Sofia Fominova Enabling Billions of People to Smarter Food & Nutrition Choices Integrated Approach How to do your best Work when you're not Actually working! 52 Tina V. Murphy Forging A Path Amid Change Contents Contents2020 2020 June 44 28 Women Impower Dynamics of Women Participation in the Ever- changing Modern Workforce ?e Art of Leading Attributes of a Good Leader Articles

9. Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Executive Editor Sourabh More Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Bhushan Ghate Managing Editor Anish Miller Co-designer Visualizer David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Kushagra Gupta Asha Bange Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager Andy Mitter Kshitij S Sales Executives Daniel, Ethan, Vishnu Vardan Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Technical Head Jacob Smile Anish, Joe, Alan, Omkar Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza Technical Specialist Aditya Research Analyst Frank Adams SME-SMO Executive Prashant Chevale Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Circulation Manager Robert Brown sales@insightssuccess.com June, 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.

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12. e Catherin Pearc Helping to Bring Promising Medicines Forward S Officer at CinRx, whose firm determination and passion helped her in achieve many career milestones in the pharmaceutical industry. Into the Shoes of Catherine Pearce he is atalented drug-development professional, an impeccable leader, and marketing expert. Meet Catherine Pearce, DHSc, MBAChief Operating Catherine started her career in sales and marketing with Hoffman-LaRoche in 1997 and later with Merck, where she launched cardiovascular products in hypertension and lipid management. For 5 years, she served as aClinical Project Director for Phase I-III global studies at a CRO, Medpace, in a variety of therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, diabetes, nephrology and neuropathic pain studies. She later started the Business Development group in 2007, and subsequently left the company in 2011 to pursue opportunities in life science investment and device development at Ethicon (J&J). She has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical clinical development, business development, and R&D at companies including Merck, Ethicon and Medpace. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Research and Development for New Therapeutic Entities (NTEs) at Teva, where she was responsible for developing over 20 repurposed products across multiple therapeutic areas. In 2012, she joined Teva as Vice President, R&D, to lead the medical assessments for the newly created New Therapeutic Entities (NTE) team, a group responsible for building a portfolio of drugs through repurposing generic molecules. After successfully helping to add over 22 repurposed molecules to Teva’s R&D portfolio, she left to co-found CinRx Pharma, LLC—a privately held biotech company dedicated to drug development. Being a Chief Operating Officer at CinRx, her daily responsibilities include the overall management of the company and its operations, business development, strategic direction and planning, for CinRx and its subsidiary organizations. Catherine has co-founded and assembled CinRx’s talented leadership team that has submitted multiple New Drug Applications (NDAs) throughout their careers, overseen hundreds of Investigational New Drug (INDs) applications, as well as Clinical Trial Applications (CTAs), and Investigational Medicinal Product Dossiers (IMPDs). Between the approximately 15 person team, the group has published 36 patents and participated in more than 2300 clinical trials which resulted in 50 approved therapeutics worldwide. www.insightssuccess.com 10 | JUNE 2020

13. Teachings worth Admiring Catherine acknowledges one of her colleagues, Dr. Jon Isaacsohn, a co-founder and CEO of CinRx, as an influential mentor for over 20 years in this industry. She states that through him, she has been taught the underlying strategies for good clinical trial design and execution, as well as been encouraged to challenge herself professionally. Personally, Catherine sees great learnings growing up with a set of grandparents who taught her that one doesn’t need an education to leave a legacy of kindness that can change people’s lives. She describes herself that as a voracious reader of all media, devoting a substantial time to newspapers and journals daily, including her favorite novels of the past several years which have been memoirs. She thinks and believes that learning about someone else’s journey and seeing life from a different perspective is both inspiring and humbling. She recalls her favorite childhood book series “Valuetales” which had a substantial positive impact on her. Each book featured a notable scientist, inventor, or historical figure that told the story of the embodied value in their work. She made the connection very early that the work is more than just accomplishing a task, but an opportunity to demonstrate your values and add meaning to your life and others. Catherine Pearce Chief Operating Officer Serving the Needs Catherine states that in more than one previous role, she needed to create her own job description and department. Through quoting, “Not having a roadmap, resources, or legacy process necessitates creativity,” she implies that when she started the Business Development Department at Medpace, she didn’t try to copy another system and implement a large-scale www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 11

14. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 Advice to Rely On Catherine firmly believes that with working hard anyone can taste the fruitiness of success. She advice every budding leaders to work hard in order to build a team that possess different traits. Maintain a culture of curiosity and go out of your way to celebrate victories, both big and small. “Do not assume that consulting “experts” will be a key to success. I have found that there are people with great, untapped ideas that just have not been called upon,” mentions Catherine. “Develop good, healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual habits uniquely right for you & balance will follow.” will follow.” “Develop good, healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual habits uniquely right for you & balance She also suggests to be surrounded with the people who are smart and will challenge you. “Invite criticism and drop complacency,” she adds. Most importantly, she ask such buds to bring a sense of joy and humor to their work. “Generally, I think people need to find their own rhythms – and those will change over time. Develop good, healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual habits uniquely right for you and balance will follow,” quotes Catherine. initiative on Day 1. Instead, she interviewed customers of Medpace and got a sense of what they wanted to see from the department and how the business might best serve their needs. The slower, systematic, more targeted approach allowed her and her team to set realistic goals and make necessary adjustments in order to grow into an optimized department with the right tools and people. CinRx’s Future through Catherine’s eyes Catherine states that the short-term goals at CinRx are to prove the value of the model. She and her team believes that there is a better, more efficient and cost-effective way to bring meaningful medicines to patients. Within 5 years, they would like to have current CinRx companies grown their respective pipelines with additional in-license activities while also establishing 1-2 NewCo’s every year in an “evergreen” approach. Embracing the Technology She believes that even though technology is a great enabler, it can also make people particularly lazy and create a “herd” mentality. The key is not to use these tools as a replacement for the ground work that can uncover novelty with scientists and other innovators. She states that human relationships and having conversations face-to-face can really help you piece together seemingly disparate pieces of data which can spark a great idea. Many times, people just simply don’t ask enough questions from each other because they assume all the answers they need can be “googled”. The biggest advantage she see to evolving technology is to connect people faster, enabling any conversations. www.insightssuccess.com 12 | JUNE 2020

16. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 KIM Vogel M has led her company to achieve many impressive milestones. She understands the needs of clients and takes every measure to meet their requirements and elevate their business objectives. A Visionary Revolutionizing the Investment Management Sphere eet an exceptional businesswomen whose unique approach and endeavors have helped her achieve an influential stature. This avid leader, Kim Vogel—Co-founder and President of BaseVenture, BaseVenture is a cloud-based software company in the investment management space. It develops innovative solutions in the areas of financial reporting, data visualization and process management. Beyond founding and building BaseVenture, Kim held executive positions in multiple large tech and finance companies, worked as a certified public accountant and taught as a professor at Saint Mary’s College where she currently serves as a member on the Board of Trustees. She also has an MBA from Harvard Business School along with decades of experience working to grow and monetize companies. Kim recently spearheaded the sale of BaseVenture to Fidelity Information Services (NYSE: FIS), a fortune 500 public company, accelerating the Company’s vision to digitize the back office of worldwide investment operations. Its employees have amazing new opportunities and the platform will reach more customers than we could have ever imagined. “It truly was a great transaction and we couldn’t be more pleased,” says Kim. Balancing Professional Life and Personal Fulfillment Kim confesses that work life balance is always a challenge and something she is constantly juggling with to try to ensure that she is not tipping the scale too far in any direction. With a seventeen year old daughter and a five year old son, there are a lot of demands that unfold daily. First and foremost the biggest enjoyment she has in life is being a mother. She reminds herself every day that she has worked so hard to achieve what she has so that she can ensure that she has flexibility in her schedule to be an active part of whatever her children are experiencing. Kim believes that balancing becomes much easier when priorities are clear. “My priorities couldn’t be clearer, my children come first.” Expect the Unexpected One of Kim’s biggest setbacks occurred early on in her career for which she is thankful. She was laid off at 23 years old from her very first professional www.insightssuccess.com 14 | JUNE 2020

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18. and benefits are received,” says Kim. “So much of the hard work has to be done early in life while the benefits and paybacks come down the road. I worry about the young adults in my family. I see how so much of their future depends on the decisions they are making in their late teens and early twenties. Those foundational years are pivotal and working hard early on sets the path for life. I still work hard, don’t get me wrong. Still too many hours however I also spend time looking around at what I have, the relationships that surround me and most of all the flexibility I have and constantly pat myself on the back knowing that this only exists because of all the hard work I did decades,” she adds. “Success takes a passion for controlled risk taking, bold decision making and a desire to build kick-ass teams.” Advice to Rely On Kim advises that one must not feel that he/she has to do it all by himself/herself. She admits that her most successful ventures were achieved with a strong partner and together building out strong teams. She modifies the age old saying, “It takes a village to build a successful family and a successful company,” and therefore cautions that one should always seek out the best and brightest people to work with. position along with half of the office but she still took it personally. She quickly landed another position with better pay and more time on her hands which gave her the opportunity to apply to Harvard Business School. She doesn’t believe she would have ever applied if she hadn’t been laid off given the grueling hours of public accounting. It was a complete game changer in her life. HBS completely transformed her career path, exposing her to things that she would have never thought possible. She learned to live by the belief that “Setbacks are shortcuts to our ultimate goals, if we allow them to be”. Complacency and stagnancy scares Kim, she never ever wants to stop moving and growing. The list of things Kim wants to do and learn is quite long. Surrounding herself with brilliant and driven people provides consistent inspiration and rejuvenation whenever needed. It is easy to be allured and feels comfortable to work with people that are similar. Kim feels that this can be detrimental. Success in partnership comes from everyone bringing their differences and uniqueness to the table, having very different skills is what makes success in business complementary. She enjoys bringing valuable insights to the table while also knowing that she does not have to be a master of all things. When she looks back over the three companies she built, she realizes a solid partner is what initially attracted her to each one and building a diverse team is what made each of them successful. All three of these companies were technology companies, all with products based on engineering code and for better or worse she can’t read or write a single stitch of code. She is fascinated with the productivity, utility and efficiency that technology brings and adds her part to the development process and shapes her companies by focusing on these facets. A Lookout for the Future Kim truly believes, we get out of life what we put into it, and we are all co-creators of our own respective destinies. With that being said, there is still a lot of work to do. Her life journey continues to be a work in progress and she feels that there is so much yet to see, experience, and accomplish. She firmly thinks that a key characteristic of successful people is the love of learning and never feeling one has achieved all they have desired. There is so much to experience and do in this world. “There is an endless supply of next steps,” says Kim. She is really proud of what she has accomplished but she also hopes that she never feels like she has accomplished enough. After one big accomplishment or meeting a goal, it is merely time to start thinking about and exploring the next challenge, it is the foundation for building on repeatable success. Now that she is older, she tries to spend a bit of time acknowledging how her hard work has paid off. “I think one of my biggest realizations is how the timing around the work we do ISN’T closely aligned with when the rewards www.insightssuccess.com 16 | JUNE 2020

20. HOW TO DO YOUR BEST WORK WHEN YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY WORKING! Maintaining a personal and professional life balance I of events. And without fail I’m almost always asked something along the lines of “How do you juggle having a family with a start-up?” Whilst this is an extremely valid question – and it touches on a topic that’s very close to my heart, it really frustrates me because I never hear the same question levelled at male peers. As a result, this seemingly innocuous question is laden with an enormous amount of gender bias, generally to the exclusion of men. I would suggest that if we want to achieve a fulfilled balanced life for all – male and female – we have to ensure that we’re all participating in this debate about work/life balance, and that inclusivity needs to be the starting point. n my role as chief evangeliser for OLIO – the world’s only neighbour-to-neighbour food sharing app – I speak about our work and journey at a lot Tessa Clarke Co-founder & CEO OLIO Another challenge in this area is, funnily enough, the gender bias experienced by men who choose to be the “stay at home Dad”! Several years ago my husband and I decided that given our respective career paths and motivations in life, it made sense for me to be the “bread winner” and for him to look after our two kids and home, whilst developing property in his remaining time. This has given me the flexibility to pursue the opportunities for OLIO with full vigour, and has been absolutely invaluable in terms of helping me to achieve a balanced life. However, sadly, my husband experiences more than the occasional disparaging passing comment and has even been asked “When are you going to get a proper job?” Thankfully he has no self- www.insightssuccess.com 18 | JUNE 2020

21. Integrated Approach esteem issues, and thinks he has the best job in the world! But I highly doubt that in this day and age anyone would ever dare say this to a woman; and so why to a man? If women are to be truly equal in the workplace – and to achieve a balanced life, then we need to adjust our perceptions of what it means to be a male in a modern society, and accept that this will require men to taking on an increasingly prominent role in the delivery of childcare – which is to the benefit of all involved, not least the children! employee’s induction, we talk about the importance of a balanced life, and in our line manager training, we stress that the line manager is responsible for working with their direct reports to ensure that they are achieving a balanced life. What this means is that on a day to day basis our team chat will often show someone walking the dog at mid-day, someone else with their kids at 3pm and others heading off to swim or yoga. Each team member is responsible for ensuring that their work is done, according to whatever schedule best suits them, and as a result, we have an incredibly motivated and productive team, the majority of who say that working for OLIO is the best job they’ve ever had! If you aren’t already talking about how you can achieve a balanced life as individuals and as a company, then I can highly recommend spending some time on it, as the rewards will be enormous! Gender issues aside, I spend a considerable amount of mental energy working towards achieving a ‘balanced life’. I prefer the terminology of a ‘balanced life’ rather than ‘work/life balance’, because when you’re an entrepreneur (and especially an entrepreneur working from home), the two can become very mixed! And to suggest that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are the antithesis of one another surely isn’t what we should aspire to. In the very early days of setting up OLIO, it was pretty much impossible to lead a balanced life because we had to achieve so much, in so little time, and with virtually no resources. As we’ve grown the business and the team however, both Saasha my Co-Founder and I have achieved a much more balanced life – which is important, because the start-up journey is a series of marathons, not a sprint, and so it’s essential to avoid burnout. We find that working predominantly from home is extremely helpful in achieving balance (5-10 hours per week gained back through not having to commute!), and we both carve out time during our working days to exercise. In the early days we used to feel quite guilty about exercising when we ‘should’ be working, but now we recognise that if we’re to perform at our best then we need to be mentally and physically fit and exercise is absolutely critical for this. Plus, I find that I have many of my best insights and inspirations for OLIO when working out, so it really is killing two birds with one stone! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tessa Clarke is the Co-founder and CEO of OLIO, a free app tackling the problem of food waste by connecting neighbours with each other, and volunteers with local businesses, so that surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. Since its inception in 2016, 850,000 people have joined OLIO and have together shared over 1.2 million portions of food. OLIO also publishes ZeroWasteWeekly.com, a website and newsletter that aggregates all the best zero waste news from around the world. Prior to founding OLIO, Tessa spent 10 years as a digital Managing Director in the media, retail and financial services sectors, and gained her MBA from Stanford. Tessa is passionate about the sharing economy as a solution for a sustainable world, and is equally passionate about the importance of leading a ‘balanced life’. As well as working towards a balanced life for ourselves, we’ve really baked this into the DNA of the company too. And this has manifested itself in a couple of important company policies. The first is our holiday policy – we have no cap on the number of day’s holiday an employee can take; however we do have a minimum and insist that everybody has at least 20 days off. This is because we saw research from other companies who had adopted a limitless holidays policy, and it actually showed that the number of days worked by employees increased, not decreased! We also think it’s really important for the team to have a collective break over the Christmas holidays so everyone can really relax, confident in the knowledge that their email inbox isn’t rapidly filling up! We also ensure that in every www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 19

24. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 LAURA BRANDAO An Influencer and Powerful Mortgage Professional I Laura Brandao President Wholesale. For over 12 years, Laura has been the driving force catapulting AFR Wholesale to the top of Manufactured Home, One-Time Close, and Renovation lending. Growing AFR into a national leader in specialized programs, she stays connected to the clients and families she serves, allowing her to develop new products based on market demand, including VA renovation, USDA repair escrow, and a full suite of One-Time Close Construction-to- Permanent programs. Under her leadership, AFR remains on the cutting edge of technology with mobile-friendly applications that cohesively integrate AFR with the borrower, Realtor, and broker. magine being able to build a stronger book of business than ever before, simultaneously working more efficiently. Yes, it is possible, thanks to - and After a few years running the call center, her boys were out of diapers and Laura was ready to make the leap to working fulltime, during the day. Naturally, she went to work for a mortgage company. She quickly recognized that the company did not have a strong operations team, so Laura taught herself everything she could about how to process loans. She climbed to COO of People’s Mortgage, while still in her 20s. Partner AFR at Fast forward to the market crash of 2007. Laura Brandao had worked for a few mortgage companies since her telemarketing days and was looking for a new opportunity. AFR Chairman Rich Dubno ffwas looking to start a wholesale division. He provided Laura the opportunity to build the wholesale business from the ground up, and at that time, there were a lot of great mortgage professionals out of a job. So, she did exactly what was needed to be done. And the rest, as they say, is history. Striking the Working Balance Laura Brandao is living proof of the adage, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” She LOVE’s what she does! She loves the people she works with, the company’s clients, and the families they are helping to bring home. When the company opened an office in Arizona was when Laura recognized just how important it is to strike a working balance between your personal and professional life. She realized you do need to take time to recharge – everyone does. Her husband and herself now spend winters in Arizona to break habits and reset. Her motivation is renewed in the fresh air and sunshine, and she can work out of AFR’s regional office in Scottsdale. The biggest thing that Laura has learned is that if you go into every situation with no preconceived notions or expectations, you can do ANYTHING! She feels that as humans, we often create our own fears or cause our own let downs, because things don’t turn out exactly the way we expected them to. But by realizing that you are doing it to experience something possible way to be let down, because as long as she did something for the first time -SHE WON! , there is no new Opportunity- Building Wholesale Business When Laura was a young mom, she needed to find a job she could do in the evening after her husband got home from work. At that time, that meant telemarketing. She was propelled into the industry because her first job was making calls for Champion Mortgage explaining to borrowers how to refinance. You remember, “when your bank says no, Champion says yes.” Turns out she had a knack for explaining the benefits of refinancing, and moved up quickly to management. Laura feels blessed by the life she has. She is grateful for what she has built, and that at this point in her career, she needs less time tied to a desk to be an effective leader. Recent Accolades Among her many recent accolades, Laura was named a “Best 50 Women in Business” by NJBIZ in 2019, a HousingWire “Women of Influence” in 2018 and 2019, and one of www.insightssuccess.com 22 | JUNE 2020

25. “ “Don’t shy away from new opportuni?es, in business or your personal life. I encourage all of you to “Say YES every day!” Laura Brandao President “Mortgage Banking’s Most Powerful Women” by National Mortgage Professional in 2018 and 2019. Laura was also one of Mortgage Professional America’s “Hot 100 Mortgage Professionals” in 2017, and an “Elite Women of Mortgage” in 2014, 2016, and again in 2017. industry leaders and wholesale mortgage professionals across all levels. The group offers a place to discuss industry topics, celebrate career accomplishments, share personal experiences, insights, and resources. Also, the upcoming Annual Regional Conference of MBAs (Mortgage Bankers Associations) will host its first-ever Women’s Event! Developed for and by women, this event promises to engage, empower, and provide value to all who attend. Laura is actively trying to empower other women to pave the way; teaching them that by uniting, she says,“we can all succeed together. No one can limit you, except you. And, there is strength in numbers.” should never become routine. You have to keep working at it. You are never finished, you are never done, and you should never stop putting people first,” says Laura. Empowering Other Women Not only has the ‘glass ceiling’ been shattered at AFR, but women account for more than half of all AFR employees up to and including the vice president level. Women do not want to hide in the shadows anymore, and each year more organizations are recognizing that they need to support, and empower women, or be left behind. She is also actively engaged with many industry organizations, including the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), and is a sought-after speaker, moderator, and panelist. Stay Learning and Listening “Emerging business leaders should remember that continuous education is key. Continually feed your brain to stay fresh in your skills and broaden your perspective. Get out of the office and meet your customers and connect with your team. Stay learning and listening to make better decisions. Leadership The AIME (Association of Independent Mortgage Experts) Women’s Mortgage Network, for example, is a community for women in the wholesale mortgage industry to influence conversations between It’s a new decade, a decade of doers. I want to leave a legacy that the mortgage industry is not just for men anymore. Boys club be gone! www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 23

26. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 Meet Rhonda Vetere, a two- time author as well as a global C-suite leader, who has exceptionally contributed in the evolution of business sector and inspired many budding personalities out there. Moreover, she is an also a two time author and a true Corporate Athlete. Rhonda Vetere A Gem in the Jewel of Corporate Business www.insightssuccess.com 24 | JUNE 2020

27. She has been also recognized as one of Most Powerful Women in Technology along with a two-time author, irrespective of spearheading corporate initiatives around the world, competing in another IRONMAN 70.3 mile triathlon, or mentoring students & athletes globally in STEM through sports. Insights Success admire Rhonda’s commitment to work and takes pride in featuring such leaders in its special edition, “The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020.” In the interview, Rhonda expresses her journey which portrays application of her unique ideologies. Into the Glimpse of Rhonda’s Life Rhonda Vetere is globally renowned C-Suite leader, passionate global technology icon, two-time author, and corporate athlete. She is also known for being a change agent, digital transformation leader, global leader. Rhonda Vetere has worked across industries as a global executive and change agent at Herbalife Nutrition, Santander Bank, Pamplona Capital Management PE, Estée Lauder Companies, AIG, HP Enterprise Services, Barclays / Lehman, Bank One / JPMorgan Chase, CompuServe, UUNET, MCI, and Worldcom. A two-time author, Vetere first co-wrote the HP special edition book, Enterprise Service Management for Dummies. Her second book, Grit & Grind, was published in 2019. She has lived and worked internationally – in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Mumbai, and across India – and has managed teams of up to 20,000 people. Her role at Estée Lauder Companies included global leadership across 162 countries and running the technology & operations team. She spearheaded the transformation of the IT capabilities foundation into a digital environment at record industry pace, without business disruption, around the world – while saving $28 million a year. A dynamic leader both at work and play, Vetere is constantly training for and competing in events – over 70 races so far, including triathlons, halfmarathons, marathons, and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons (single-day races that consist of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bicycle ride, and a marathon 13.1-mile run). In 2018, Rhonda participated in the first-ever women- only run across the Serengeti wilderness, and she returned in 2019 to do it again — all 55 miles. Rhonda is a member of the New York Road Runners (NYRR) and Winged Foot Golf Club, and encourages her friends and associates to pursue active, healthy lifestyles as an integral part of career success and improving performance. Below are the highlights of the interview: What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? My Mom is the largest impact in my life, growing up as an only child and watching her work two jobs impacted me. I knew at an early age I wanted to make this world a better place and bring unity and strong bonds in my life. Also, not seeing a lot of female mentors growing up in the business world, inspired me to push myself stronger to make this world a better place and be a role model for others. My best friend, I have known since I was three years old and I believe heavily in strong relationships in life. www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 25

28. What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion, that every leader should possess? The ten principles in my Grit and Grind Book. Listen, Treat everyone with respect and how you would like to be treated, openly communicate, be humble and learn every day. Be a servant leader daily. How do you maintain balance between your professional & personal life? Managing large global teams throughout my career, I use triathlons as my outlet and my workout time to think without technology in front of me. As a Director and leader, describe a challenge you overcame. As a leader, I overcame being one of the youngest, female Managing Directors in the Finance Sector in my career- I didn’t know it at the time but it was told to me several times 20 years ago and I didn’t realize what that meant at the time. Do you think women feel intimidated in business? This is coming to light more and more with the world events- in my career, I haven’t felt intimidated and have been true to myself. However, I do think this is a hot topic now that I am reflecting on how to help others daily. Is there anything you wish you had done differently? I hoped to start a global mentoring program formally earlier for the technology Industry. What specific advice would you have for young women who would like to become an entrepreneur? I would like to advice many upcoming leaders that, Don’t give up, get a mentor and don’t lose sight of your dream, surround yourself with people that prop you up and not tear you down. www.insightssuccess.com 26 | JUNE 2020

29. “ Open, transparent, over communicate, learning and putting myself in others shoes. www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 27

30. Dynamics of Participation in the Ever-changing Modern Workforce www.insightssuccess.com 28 | JUNE 2020

31. Women Impower G opportunities. Today, women have announced their arrival in many fields of the business world. Therefore, it seems more important than ever before to recognize female contributions in every profession. possibility can be attained by combining efforts from different resources, channels and departments. Further, collaborating products with consumer experience are enormously important. It leads to crafting the best solutions for customer’s pain points and compelling value propositions that reflect their overall business objectives. one are the days when women were stereotyped to a certain set of skills and professions, restricting them from exploring the world of endless Multiple studies have found that women prefer to work in teams, while men prefer to work alone. An unfaltering affinity towards collaboration primes women to garner success in different fields of business which gives them an edge over others. Fighting through biased work culture in favour of male dominance, women have conquered the unconquered on the account of their distinct calibre and predilections. In the times when the world female participation rate is to the dispiriting levels of around 67% and pay-off rate of about 63%, achievements by women go-getters are praiseworthy. Increased profitability can be a motivating factor for many firms to hire more pool of female talents as many studies support the fact. Statistical research shows that Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on boards financially outperform companies with the lowest representation of women on boards. Moreover, gender- diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams, and a recent Gallup study found that gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units. Listening capabilities is one of the distinguishing aspects of feminine species as compared to their male counterparts. Instilling and pursuing ones thoughts is undoubtedly important for effective working. But being a better listener is something that can make a difference as studies show that the customer values and trusts the firms if they perceive that they are being listened to by the firms. With inherent caring and affectionate traits, women outclass men when it comes to understanding critical demands of the customers. Trust over female leaders is an attribute which needs to be reciprocated while making the choice. More American workers perceive female executives as honest and ethical than male executives. Pew’s “Women and Leadership” surveyed Americans in 2015 and found that 34% say women are better at this, while only 3% say men are better at it (64% say there’s no difference). Emotional Intelligence (EI) - the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others - is an essential skill when it comes to dealing with a diverse class of consumers. Women are naturally gifted with higher EI making them better suited for pressure situations and avoiding counter-productive decisions while keeping emotions in check. While it’s unclear whether this means women are actually more honest, it’s a subtle reminder of how tangled some business decisions can be. Leaders are often tasked with choosing between options that aren’t black and white, ethically speaking, and the capacity to lead honestly is important to the entire company’s success and job satisfaction. Emotional Intelligence encompasses two major dimensions – awareness of one’s self and awareness of others. Both the attributes are very much significant for the survival and success of any organisation. Self-awareness involves being familiar with trigger points and behavioural traits when put to the test. This, in turn, helps to modulate impulses avoiding conclusions which are harmful for the welfare of business. In addition to self-awareness, an awareness of others is equally critical in business. Analysing and decoding non-verbal communication – that amounts to 93% of the message – eventually benefits in convincing and converting a lead into a client. Not to mention, increased job satisfaction and organizational dedication to cite positive and meaningful business culture are the added advantages feminine employees carry to the organisation. However, the journey is not all merry go round every time. Hindrances – seen, unseen – are there to check the unrelenting zeal of women aspirants to thrive in the industry. These obstructions need to be pointed out and rectified to create an environment that fuels women empowerment. Collaboration, and not the cutthroat competition, is the modern era’s principle virtue to achieve success. Many endeavours which seem to be beyond the bounds of www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 29

32. While proving value, women tend to overcompensate in order to demonstrate that they are adding value. Instead of doing it all alone, change the paradigm and track to encourage others to take on more responsibility, thus enabling them to scale and multiply their own impact. Lack of confidence, according to many experts, is one prime reason women tend to question themselves and doubt their worthiness. In order to advance, they must coach their inner critics. Out-speak and define what women want professionally if they want to get succeeded. Too often they don’t know or rely upon others to define it for them. Not to forget, biased work culture and regional barriers are the crucial obstacles in the road of women work participation. But, today women are breaking these shackles and coming out boldly to be a part of economic processes shouldering their male counterparts. “Building relationships with those in positions of leadership is critical,” Susan Brady, executive vice president of Linkage Inc. says. “Put down the to-do list long enough to connect with decision makers across the organization, and help them understand who you are and what you bring to the table.” There has been obvious progress in achieving gender equality around the world over the past two decades: more girls are attending school, more women are working and are being elected to public offices, more women hold management positions, and the situation involving women’s legal as well as social rights have also improved. Women are generally uneasy about asking for what they want. They must stop thinking about what they need as a self-serving request. They must develop the courage and fortitude to stand up and ask for what they want. However, a great deal still remains to be done to achieve equal outcomes for women and men. Recognizing women’s abilities, the values they bring to the organisation, the transformation they achieve as far as work environment is concerned, and considering monetary benefits associated with the female work participation, corporate sector need to welcome their emergence with open arms. No future is far where male- dominated workplaces will be a tale of extinct, we believe. www.insightssuccess.com 30 | JUNE 2020

34. www.insightssuccess.com 32 | JUNE 2020

35. SHAGUN Malhotra Enhancing the Month-End Financial Close Process for Mid-Size Companies C potentially run into regulatory and compliance issues. Mid-sized companies, in particular, are challenged with having to manage complex operations, close quickly and report accurate numbers, often with a lean accounting team. The task of closing each month produces as much administrative work as strategic work, forcing limited resources to focus on manual and low-value activities in addition to high-value work. losing the books, reconciling accounts and performing flux analysis are essential activities for every corporation. Failing to close properly and efficiently can put organizations at a competitive disadvantage and To overcome this set of challenges, Shagun Malhotra, the Founder and CEO of SkyStem, built ART – a SaaS solution that automates month-end close, from managing close checklists and reconciling accounts, to performing flux or variance analysis. In an interview with Insights Success, Shagun Malhotra sheds light on the remarkable benefits of the unique platform and also recalls the interesting story behind the inception of the organization. Below are the highlights of the interview: Can you give a brief overview of your background and role at SkyStem? I started my career in the travel and hospitality industry, and through my experience in audit and investigative accounting, I ultimately fell in love with the world of audit, www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 33

36. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? My parents have always been a crucial part of my life, I come from a family of hard workers and problem solvers. They are very supportive and loving people who have modeled me into a successful and strong woman. My father started life as a refugee and eventually was able to live his dreams despite all the obstacles that he faced. He started his own business with a wife and two kids – believing that anything is possible. Years later we have enjoyed living in various countries, went to prestigious schools and have been given the tools to expand and grow our own lives. There are so many books that have influenced my life such as Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. Each have themes of standing by your convictions even when others are not on your side and being able to be vulnerable to allow growth to take place. controls, and the accounting process. I was asked by a troubled financial services giant to lead the year-long remediation effort due to a failed regulatory audit. This happened due to broken controls around the month end process. After a year of arduous work, long hours and team work, we were able to deliver a clean audit and retain the banking license. Due to various projects and being immersed in the accounting world, I knew firsthand the multitude of problems and risks accountants face when employing manual methods to close the books and complete reconciliations. Whether it's a large corporation or a small company, closing and reconciling is part of the routine function in the accounting department. I also realized that existing platforms with automation in this area were barely existent, priced quite high, and often beyond reach for mid-sized companies. Mid-sized companies are often operationally complex, and can benefit from automation during the close, but lack the excess capacity and resources to make a large investment and undergo a multi-month implementation. This motivated me to found SkyStem, a SaaS provider aimed to create an affordably priced solution to help automate the month- end close and reconciliation process. SkyStem's flagship solution, ART, was brought to the market shortly after. What is your vision for SkyStem for the next five years? Accounting is filled with so many micro processes and tasks and there has always been limited focus on the small things that make the accounting world tick. I would like to continue to build and refine our current product to mirror what our customers need. As we continue to acquire customers, I am always amazed at, and grateful for, how many great ideas are delivered to us by them. Continuing to inject intelligence into our tool will enable our customers to do more with less and we want that vision to be a constant focal point. “We love our customers; they are the basis of our company ensuring ART always feels custom made just for them.” What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion, that every leader should possess? www.insightssuccess.com 34 | JUNE 2020

37. There are all kinds of leaders that have proven success so I don’t believe there are a few magical attributes that make it happen. However, in my opinion it is important to have passion, patience and a strong commitment to customers and colleagues who make the vision a reality. No business can be built alone and it is necessary to always remember that. initiatives to afford women the opportunities in areas that have not been common. Mentoring young women who are on the path of entrepreneurship or set out to accomplish their dreams is something that would be very rewarding. How do you sustain your entrepreneurial and leadership spirit in this changing technological era? Strategic vision, commitment to innovation, and a progressive leadership approach has been essential to the success of SkyStem. My personal involvement in many aspects of entrepreneurship, such as being a member of a Department of State panel for women entrepreneurship and being a judge for the New York City Business Plan competition, has made me a known leader in the community. Through these programs I meet and mentor women entrepreneurs to motivate them to strive for their dreams. By maintaining a progressive leadership philosophy and involvement in every department, women at the company have excelled in their roles and have learned firsthand what it takes to run a company. I’ve also encourage my employees to take classes that will enable their career success and to strive for their passion. This has not only directly impacted the customer experience through frequent touch points, but also that of SkyStem’s employees. How do you maintain balance between your professional and personal life? Make exercise a must do not a should do. I take a 6am yoga class every morning, it’s a great mind and body exercise. Yoga sets a positive tone for the rest of my day, I feel like I can tackle anything afterwards. A healthy body means a fresh mind, which means you’ll function better overall. I’m also an avid traveler, I’ve traveled all over the world and ensure I make time for taking multiple trips a year with my friends and family. Keeping things in perspective gives one the tools to be able to focus on the important things in the business and not get too derailed by the challenges and setbacks that are faced as a usual part of business. As a leader, describe a challenge you overcame? Being a female pursuing a start up in a male dominated industry has been a tough journey. The imbalance is very evident, but I feel lucky to have stayed our course even with these challenges. This has led me to become a different type of entrepreneur. SkyStem consists of a majority of diverse women in all departments. With this diversity, SkyStem has created several powerful and vibrant marketing campaigns to reflect the female mind. I make a conscious effort to continually include outstanding women on my team and have always encouraged women to take on growth-oriented roles regardless of the industry. I aim to put a dent in the gender imbalance in the finance and tech industry and have also been an advocate for minority women in the workplace. As a minority woman myself, I personally understand this issue by seeing it through my own experiences as an auditor. What advice would you like to give to the emerging business leaders? You can’t do it all. Focus on your strengths and hire qualified people to do the rest. SkyStem Headquartered in the heart of New York City, SkyStem’s flagship solution, ART helps CFOs and Controllers shorten the month-end close by automating balance sheet reconciliations, managing month-end tasks and performing flux analysis. Learn more at www.skystem.com What one thing, more than anything else, do you want to accomplish in your career? Being known as a leader in the financial software space would be a great start. The primary reason for that is to be able to use that platform to get involved in women’s www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 35

40. I n an interview with Insights Success, Siobhan Calderbank, an experienced Director of Talent Management at LCBO, shares her leadership insights, personal journey, career challenges and passion for learning. In parallel to her key role in the organization, she is also a keynote speaker, recognized Learning Leader, consultant, and award-winning author. In this very issue entitled, “The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020”, Insights Success takes pride in featuring such an avid personality. A brief about Siobhan Siobhan has over 20 years of progressive experience in transforming businesses, leading change and developing leaders. She has spoken to diverse groups and thousands of people from 71 countries at conferences, events, seminars, and planning sessions to motivate individuals to work more collaboratively. Siobhan is a Universal Women's Network 2019 Women of Inspiration Award recipient for Diversity & Inclusiveness. She is the Founder of Butterfly Ladies – a Mentoring Program committed to helping develop the careers of women and youth, especially visible minorities. She was also voted Top 10 Finalist for Women Entrepreneur’s 2019 Inspirational Female Entrepreneur. At LCBO, Siobhan focuses on talent development, learning, change management, and diversity and inclusion. As an advocate of change, she has integrated change management strategies with learning and developed a 4-step process to increase engagement, innovation, performance and resilience of people during times of disruptive change. Siobhan Calderbank Leadership and Talent Development through 'Her' eyes www.insightssuccess.com 38 | JUNE 2020

41. Siobhan Calderbank Director of Talent Management LCBO www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 39

42. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 Below are highlights of the interview: What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? I have been fortunate to have many great coaches and mentors such as Priscilla Fraser, Gregg Brown and JT Foxx that have shown me how to adjust my approach to become a better leader and to embrace mistakes. My friends and family members have been a huge support network in my life, especially during challenging times of a divorce and being a single parent. My husband, Chris, has been one of my biggest advocates and constantly encourages me to grow. Books such as “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek and “Becoming” by Michelle Obama have provided clarity on knowing my purpose and have inspired me to not silence my voice, but rather to tell my story. As I reflect on my life, my greatest teacher has been my mom. She overcame adversity coming to Canada from Trinidad at 17 years old and became a college professor. She taught me to be grateful for what I have, to always do my best even if I think no one is watching, and that my words are powerful - so always speak positively with purpose and intention. What is your vision for your role at the LCBO for the next five years? Over the next five years, I envision the Director of Talent Management role to evolve learning, talent and change strategies to further increase employee engagement. Self- service learning options could be expanded to improve onboarding, overall leadership, skill development, and enhance customer service experience. I also see the integration of artificial intelligence technology with learning to identify and develop key talent to fill the succession pipeline. Lastly, I envision the expansion of the LCBO's diversity, inclusion and belongingness initiatives. As a keynote business speaker, what are some of the vital attributes that every leader should possess? One of the most vital attributes of a leader is effective communication and the ability to express commitment to their vision in a way that is compelling enough to inspire others to act. Having the courage to be authentic and show vulnerability is also critical for a leader. Lastly, a leader needs to show empathy, compassion and respect to others. This is especially important during uncertain times, when people look to leaders for understanding and to demonstrate resiliency while navigating disruptive change. www.insightssuccess.com 40 | JUNE 2020

43. “ How do you maintain balance between your professional & personal life? Maintaining balance can be challenging, especially when you have children who demand your time and competing work deadlines. I prioritize the most important tasks such as spending time with my family, meditation and personal development. Time management skills and having supportive people in my life are key to maintaining balance and remaining centred. Be a catalyst for change by taking consistent and persistent action towards a vision to help others learn, live and lead. As a Director and leader, describe a challenge you overcame. Being a female leader can be challenging when attempting to express your opinions in a room filled with men. The desire to be assertive, engaging and influential is more difficult for me since I'm an introvert. However, I remind myself that being introverted in no way means I should silence my voice, but rather focus on the value I bring and that we all have a right to be heard. To break down barriers, stereotypes and biases, I remain committed to change and confidently state my views, even when I am nervous, to be seen as a role model for others. . What one thing, more than anything else, do you want to accomplish in your career? To be able to help accelerate the advancement of women in the workplace. We still have a long way to go and are making progress with the help of men advocating for change. The most successful organizations recognize through simple changes to their approach to attracting and developing talent, they can engage women and all employees to thrive and reach their full potential, thus cultivating an environment in which everyone can succeed. people, change can be challenging. However, embracing technology allows me to find new ways to be productive, collaborate with others and develop better processes to enable learning and enhance engagement. What advice would you like to give to the emerging business leaders? Make sure that you have a mentor, a coach and a sponsor to help propel your career forward. A mentor will provide the guidance you need as you move up in your career and encounter new experiences. A coach will offer suggestions to adjust your leadership approach and help you build critical skills. However, a sponsor will advocate for you in the boardroom with their peers and highlight your contributions so that you get noticed. All three of these individuals play a vital role in your career development and progression. How do you sustain your entrepreneurial/leadership spirit in this changing technological era? I am constantly seeking new opportunities to learn, develop myself and help lead others to do the same. For some www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 41

46. Attributes of aGood Leader www.insightssuccess.com 44 | JUNE 2020

47. The Art of Leading L order to attain a common goal. A leader’s task is to implement the plans that usually look good on paper, through a delegated team, in a specific time with an ongoing motion. She/he may use the traditional method or may think out of the box. It depends on the leader as how to do it; the ultimate motive is to get the job done. Although, each and every individual has a different approach on leadership, some might say it is about setting examples, some might say it is about sharing the authority; what matters is, taking the right decision when it is most needed. eadership is about using the power of a position to empower a group of people in more detail oriented managers to successfully implement their strategies. Transformational Leadership is considered among the most effective employees of the organization. One of the examples of this type of leadership is when a leader is assigned on a higher level for effective environment. communication grows. Especially, when it comes to leadership, there is no scope for lack of communication. A Leader who fails to develop this skill is looked up as incompetent, because it is his job to send the message loud and clear. Although, it is also important to listen as it is an integral part of communication. The Transactional leader The transactional leadership, as the name suggests, enables the leader to incentivize the team corresponding to their performance. The team gets rewarded when it attains the goals and the Leader has the power to review the results and act accordingly when the team fails to do the same. The goals and the strategy to attain them are decided by the leader and the team itself. Integrity C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” Be it giving credit to one of the team members or be it admitting a mistake, a leader wears integrity as a badge of honor. They do what is right, no matter what. Empowerment As mentioned earlier, Leadership is about using the power of one’s position to empower a group of people in order to attain a common goal. A good leader shares his authority with the team in order to get the job done. By doing this, he shows confidence in the team and obliged by the gesture, the team works with full enthusiasm to accomplish the goal. Leadership varies from one organization to another. An organization is a dynamic body and creates new probabilities every now and then. And with new probabilities, come new challenges. The Situational leader Situational leadership is a theory that the best leader will adapt to the required leadership style according to need of the hour. A Situational leader may adopt democratic style while discussion business with senior executive, but may switch to transactional at the time of team review. However every individual has a natural style of leadership and it may be difficult to switch roles at a certain point of time. Although, it is impossible to overcome every challenge, the business environment has adopted certain leadership styles for the efficiency of business: Decision making There is risk in decision to making. Great leaders take great decisions when the stake is high and it is the success of those decisions that make them great. To add up, a good leader takes right decision at the right time. In conclusion, a good leader can be defined by the dynamics of his style in leadership, the values that he brings to the organization, the methods he uses to make the best of the resources, and the kind of decision he makes in the given situations. At the end it is about the attitude of an individual to bring the change for good. The Participative Leader Participative Leadership is the process of sharing authority with the work force in order to get optimum efficiency. The team, after getting access to certain powers, works responsibly to accomplish the goals set by its leader. The shared leadership also helps in case of any requirement of change, as the employees adapt quickly in such environment. Incidentally, this style of leadership fits best in a scenario when there is a limitation of time. Qualities of a good leader There is an old proverb that says, “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” So is the case with leadership. One of the basic qualities of a Leader is to pass on the leadership skills. Following are some of the qualities of a good leader: The Transformational Leader A transformational leader inspires the team through effective communication and an intellectual environment. However, these individuals require Communication Skills Communication is the basic requirement for efficiency in a business. As the level of hierarchy elevates, the requirement of www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 45

48. Sofia Fominova Founder and CEO Mealz www.insightssuccess.com 46 | JUNE 2020

49. Sofia Fominova Enabling Billions of People to Smarter Food & Nutrition Choices I emphasizes on her impeccable journey of being a technology entrepreneur and paving her own path of success. Her unique ideas and methodologies helped her company to achieve many milestones en route to success. n an interview with Insights Success, the Founder and CEO of Mealz—Sofia Fominova Our portfolio of products today includes the following: 1. An online recipe platform, mealz.com, with thousands of recipes and meal plans from professional chefs and bloggers; 2. An online membership community that helps people save up thousands of pounds on healthy products - Mealz Club, and; As an experienced technology entrepreneur, her passion for, and about, the food industry has never taken a leap back. She is building an open recipe publishing platform that helps people discover recipes and enables food brands to excel at recipe marketing. 3. A B2B software product that allows our partner food brands to create their own smart recipe hubs and build digital communities around their brands. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you? Travelling around the world taught me a lot about appreciating diversity, respecting different cultures, and looking for opportunities to make people's life better, especially when it comes to basic needs, like nutrition, clean water, education and human rights. When I was little my father took me travelling around Africa, South Asia and India for months and since then I always remember that the world is big and there are many diverse people. Insights Success admire such leaders and takes pride in featuring Sofia in its special edition, “The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020”. Below are the highlights of the interview: Give a brief overview of your background and your role in Mealz. Mealz is a technology company with a mission to help people eat more healthily. We are building software products that enable efficient content creation and distribution; all focused on making it easier for people to access and consume healthy eating content. Some of my favorite books are The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy, The www.insightssuccess.com JUNE 2020 | 47

50. The 10 Most Influential Businesswomen to Follow in 2020 Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates, Becoming by Michele Obama and Origins by Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg. I am also currently doing a Speak and Inspire course with Lisa Nichols, who has become one of the women who constantly motivates me to come out of my comfort zone and always strive to be the best version of myself. Amongst other women are the war reporter Martha Gellhorn (second wife of Ernest Hemingway) and a well-known TV journalist Oprah Winfrey and her “Vision 2020” series. “I am passionate about building technology products that positively influence the lives of millions by changing status-quo in conservative industries.” What is your vision for Mealz for the coming years? Our vision is to rapidly become the #1 content platform focused on healthy eating. To achieve this vision, we will continue building state-of-the-art software products that make healthy eating content available to billions of people worldwide – across multiple devices, languages, and geographies. The journey to healthy eating starts from inspiration, continues with practical learning, and culminates in shifting the habits in food consumption. Mealz is helping to positively influence all stages in this chain through technology. Over the next few years, our goal is to reach 10 million active users, making us a go-to platform for healthy eating. What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion, that every leader should possess? One of the most important attributes is to be able to think strategically and make mindful decisions whether they are business or team related, technical or creative. Good communication skills is another quality I value in leaders and team members. working hard to build a great business and through that experience we grow together, we learn a lot from each other and we have fun. Having a long-term vision of where we are going and that we are building a business for our future family also helps me see my work as an essential part of my life, that isn't separate from my personal or family life. Having great listening skills, a talent to be concise and the ability to communicate your ideas and vision in a clear manner helps a true leader to build a strong team, inspire and empower people to work towards the same goal. Building equal partnership both at home and at work with responsibilities shared on a 50/50 basis also makes it easy to maintain the balance between professional and personal life. As a few habits, though, we always go for a walk to the park everyday where we talk about other ideas, what is happening in the world and just dreaming about our future and we try not to work on weekends, where possible. We also love travelling and always find time to switch off from work when exploring other countries. Focusing on results rather than on the process is more effective in my opinion. Other attributes would include being curious and eager to learn, being innovative and always ready to challenge the existing approaches to problems and solutions and being confident and patient. How do you maintain balance between your professional & personal life? Building a successful business that allows me to spend good quality time with my family has been a priority for me for a long time. I started to develop Mealz on my own, but now that we work on Mealz together with my husband, maintaining the balance became much easier. As a Director and leader, describe a challenge you overcame. Getting to product market fit is harder than many people would assume. It took us a while to understand what our customers want in terms of functionality, and define the best business model to go with it. This entrepreneurial challenge of testing various business models and approaches is exciting for some, but created a managerial challenge. When the direction is changing so Overall, I see my professional and personal life not as separate concepts but something as deeply connected and intertwined on the daily basis. My husband and I are www.insightssuccess.com 48 | JUNE 2020