The 10 Most Influential CEOs to Watch in 2021

MAY 2021

The 10

How can Tech CEOs Fight and Transform to Win the Future?

MOST INFLUENTIAL

O

Healthcare IT Executives are Embracing the Challenges for a Better Future of Care System

TO WATCH IN 2021

SUMIT AN JA CEO

OF VOXCO

EDITORIAL

I

n Japan, they call it “reading the air.” In the corporate world, they know it as feeling the pulse. Company CEOs know

how important it is for a corporate leader to “read the air” and intuitively understand the situation without any

words being spoken. The effect a CEO has on an organization depends on a complex interplay of factors, from

culture, industry, and personality to timing and age. Their discretion varies across industries and companies. Those who run technology or manufacturing firms have control over prices, product design, packaging and distribution that their counterparts in the highly regulated commodities industry such as oil and gas could only dream of. Despite the limitations, CEOs strive to outperform others and bring a bigger impact on the firm's performance. Even though their title is the same, everybody has their own set of strategies and guidelines they follow to achieve success.

So who is the best CEO? Jeff Bezos, who is very confined and speaks out only on necessary occasions or Elon Musk who is popular among Twitter users for his quirky tweets? Or maybe someone from the old classic style of leadership like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet? Whoever they are, the first thing to remember about leaders is that they also started from scratch. The CEOs validated their worth and climbed the corporate ladder all the way to the top. Besides, they also developed amazing companies on their way to the peak.

The leaders are the big factor behind their companies' net worth, value, public perception, and innovation. On their path to victory, they constantly come across many hurdles. Unlike any others in the organization, CEOs have the vital role of balancing between challenges and achievements. If a company maintains a modest profile and shields itself from the challenges for a long time, it will not see growth. But if they face challenges constantly, the organization will spare no time to improve. Therefore, CEOs have the responsibility to handle the ups and downs of running businesses over an extended period.

The pandemic year 2020 is the biggest test that many CEOs passed. The crisis of the pandemic has been a defining movement for the world's top corporate leaders. Fortunately, the leaders are going behind expectations and raising the standards of leadership. They are earning the respect and admiration of their employees all the more in these turbulent times. A major step leaders took to straighten their falling revenue was technology.

Today even non-tech company CEOs are highly relying on digital trends to streamline their routine work and accelerate their working system. The disruptive world is seeing numerous companies boost its financial performance after their CEOs made it a priority to strengthen the technology function and bring more technological capabilities closer to the businesses' strategy and operations. At a certain point of the falling economy, when the outbreak of the Covid-19 scorned their companies' efforts, the leaders realized that they can do more than other executives to transform the IT function's role, resource model, and core systems, and initiated to bring about the cultural and organizational changes that such transformations involve. Moving on to 2021 and beyond, CEOs are looking ahead to imply more emerging trends and make educated decisions to continuously drive the company's commitments.

- Adilin Beatrice Senior Analyst

Credits Ashish Sukhadeve

Adilin Beatrice

Apoorva Komarraju

Priya Dialani

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COVER - STORY

08

SUMIT ANEJA Voxco

16 Kylie Ward Australian College of Nursing Executive of the Month

24 David Schi er RevBits

44 Natasha Makhijani Oliver Sanderson Group PLC

30

36

Dr. Nagma Abbasi NextGen Life Sciences

Kiran Kuchimanchi RoundSqr

50

56

Nish Sehgal & Roman Garin OSAI

Ofer A. Lidsky Excellent Brain

22 62 Tuuli Pärenson Gofore Estonia

ARTICLES

42

How can Tech CEOs

Healthcare IT Executives

Fight and Transform

are Embracing the

to Win the Future?

Challenges for a Better Future of Care System

Boosting ROI And E ciency With The Power Of Data & Analytics

T

he power of data and insight is a herculean tool to solve business problems that every industry faces.

By harnessing this power, Voxco is empowering researchers and professionals from all over the world with their innovative solutions. As data runs in every major business process, Voxco's solutions have the ability to collect data from anywhere at any time. Known for improving an enterprise's efficiency with analytics, the company boasts esteemed clients like EY Sweeney, Walmart, Christian Dior, American Directions Group, the University Of Michigan amongst many others. What does it take to run a company of such caliber? In an exclusive interview with Sumit Aneja, we asked him questions to know more about his role as a leader of Voxco and his responsibilities.

COVER-STORY 08

SUMIT ANEJA

CEO of Voxco 09

“

Voxco provides organizations with the platform and tools needed to unlock the full potential of data.

Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are helping organizations go through heaps of data to derive actionable insights that will make their operations more e cient and improve profit margins.

“

w w w. v o x c o . c o m

10

Insights about the Company Voxco is a global leader in omnichannel cloud and on-

anytime and anywhere via online and mobile surveys,

premise enterprise feedback management solutions.

over-the-phone interviews, or face-to-face offline

The company provides market research organizations,

surveys. Founded over 45 years ago and with offices

government & government agencies, universities, and

around the world, Voxco services more than 450 clients

global corporations with a platform to collect data

in over 40 countries.

Few Words about the CEO Sumit brings strong leadership to Voxco with his

acquired Voxco in 2019) with a passion to help lower

experience of founding companies and working at the

middle-market companies unlock untapped value. He

International Monetary Fund, Bank of America, Merrill

holds an MBA from Yale School of Management, an MS in

Lynch, and Houlihan Lokey. Throughout his career, he has

Financial Engineering from Claremont Colleges

worked at the intersection of technology, finance, and

Consortium, and a BE in Electrical Engineering from

data in parallel. Sumit founded Pivoton Capital (which

Punjab Engineering College.

Experiences that Shaped the Entrepreneurial Journey Despite his experience and skills from Yale and previous

background, enter some data into a model, and make a

employments, it was his family that eventually propelled

few guesses”, stated Sumit. “It's a whole different

Sumit into running a technology business. His

ballgame to see success as a direct result of the work you

grandfather had caught the entrepreneurial bug and

do every day — and, of course, to demonstrate the

focused on the agriculture industry. In addition, after

opportunity to shareholders.”

retiring from his government job as a civil engineer,

As he is currently the CEO of Voxco, Sumit is on the other

Sumit's uncle started a construction business.

side of the table, managing a company rather than

He saw the challenges they were up against and realized

dealing with transactions. Even with the effects of

that running a business wasn't easy or risk-free. But

COVID-19, Voxco has grown its global family by 30%

Sumit was also enamoured with the process of starting

since May 2019 (when Pivoton Capital acquired Voxco).

and growing a company, which outweighed the risks.

The company is investing heavily in virtually every

“I wanted to know what it was like to take a business from

department, and its subscription revenue is up around

point A to point B — to know what it was like to create

25% year over year. It's been an incredible ride so far, and

something. After all, it's one thing to sit in the

Voxco aims at doing more incredible things in the future.

Leveraging the Might of Disruptive Technologies Voxco provides organizations with the platform and

organizations go through heaps of data to derive

tools needed to unlock the full potential of data. Artificial

actionable insights that will make their operations more

intelligence and predictive analytics are helping

efficient and improve profit margins.

11

Challenges that Paved the Road to Success “I came to California from a Tier 2 city in India in 2007 and

a time, Sumit was working at the International Monetary

faced the same challenges as all immigrant students at

Fund where he conducted macroeconomic research with

the time: no money, visa issues while trying to find an

other economists to assist countries such as the United

initial job. All of this was intensified because of the

States, the United Kingdom, and many others in the

financial crisis of 2008. It was not an easy time. The

European Union in finding solutions to the financial

effects were felt all over the world”, said the CEO. At such

crisis.

Serving Customers with Innovation Voxco is an omnichannel feedback platform, which

free customer experience offerings such as its NPS

strives to add value for all kinds of enterprises. As

calculator, which helps customers benchmark where

customer experience makes a huge impact on company

they stand in comparison to the competitors in their

revenue, brand affinity & growth, the company

industry.

constantly keeps adding new features to help

Sumit added, “Our integrated CATI system which comes

enterprises deliver exceptional customer experience

with a proprietary dialer & IVR is another example of a

across all their channels, with a determination to be

full-fledged solution that can help call centers boost

accessible to small & medium businesses too. Therefore,

productivity by up to 400%, with our predictive cloud

to help them understand the impact Net Promoter Score

dialer, agent talk time increases from 10-15 minutes per

(NPS) can make on the revenue, Voxco keeps building

hour to 50 minutes.”

What does Voxco's Crystal Ball say?

When asked about the future of the company, Sumit said,

our company and industry. We have aggressive plans for

“Our industry is more than US$80 billion in size and

growth over the next several years and are expanding our

growing at a rate of 15%+ year over year. As the

product offering as well. It's a very exciting time for the

importance of data and most importantly, actionable

business as well as the industry overall.”

insights are becoming more prevalent every day, so are

A Piece of Advice for Emerging Leaders “My advice for emerging CEOs would be to follow your

path easy but gives you the strength to stay optimistic

passion”, said Sumit. “Being a leader is often hard. The

and overcome the hurdles”, he concluded.

road is not always smooth, and passion doesn't make the

12

Sumit Aneja

Kylie Ward

CEO

CEO

Voxco

Australian College of Nursing

Sumit Aneja is the CEO of Voxco.

He brings strong leadership to Voxco with his experience of founding companies and working at the Interna onal Monetary Fund, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Houlihan Lokey.

Throughout his career, Sumit has worked at the intersec on of technology, finance, and data.

Sumit founded Pivoton Capital, later acquired by Voxco, with a passion to help lower middlemarket companies unlock untapped value.

Kylie Ward is the CEO of the Australian College of Nursing. She is a Policy Reformer, Humanitarian, Visionary, Nurse, For-Purpose Leader, Equality Warrior, Adjunct Professor, Execu ve Coach, Mum, and Transforma on Specialist. In her current role, Kylie has led a program of transforma on at the college, turning around membership numbers to increase revenue and tripling student numbers - all within five years.

The 10 MOST INFLUENTIAL

O

TO WATCH IN 2021

www.acn.edu.au www.voxco.com

David Schiffer Co-Founder & CEO RevBits David Schiffer is the Co-Founder and CEO of RevBits, a provider of next-genera on cybersecurity solu ons that closes the gaps le open by mainstream cybersecurity so ware services.

He started a long career in both technology and interna onal business a er briefly teaching high school math in NYC and earning two Master’s Degrees.

Before co-founding RevBits, David was the Founder and CEO of Safe Banking Systems, which was sold later.

Nish Sehgal Global Managing Director

Roman Garin CEO OSAI OSAI, a sport technology company, was founded with a vision to transform spor ng experiences with disrup ve technologies. OSAI has designed and developed a new revolu onary sport technology solu ons that can help be ng companies, bookmakers, professional sports bodies, rights holders, coaches, players and all those who are involved with the business of sports.

Natasha Makh ani

Dr. Nagma Abbasi

Group CEO and Founder Oliver Sanderson

CEO and Founder NextGen Life Sciences

Natasha Makhijani leads Oliver Sanderson Group PLC, as its Founder and CEO. She is a purpose-driven leader with a strong understanding of execu ve search and exper se in digital recruitment solu ons. Being a pioneer in this field, Natasha leads the crea on of Oliver Sanderson’s new execu ve apps and Snapp CV. It is the world’s first mobile job board with voice technology capability and Amazon Alexa connec vity.

Dr. Nagma Abbasi leads NextGen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd since its launch in 2014. As the CEO of the company, she desires to take NextGen Life Sciences into a global spectrum by developing and execu ng innova ve and long-term strategies. Nagma, being a scien st herself has wide knowledge about issues faced by scien sts and researchers.

Therefore, she is commi ed to offering innova ve solu ons to them.

www.oliversanderson.com

www.nextgenlife.com

www.revbits.com

www.osai.ai

Ofer A. Lidsky

Tuuli Pärenson

Kiran Kuchimanchi

Renaud Laplanche

Founder and President

CEO

CEO

Co-founder and CEO

Excellent Brain

Gofore Estonia

RoundSqr

Upgrade

Ofer A. Lidsky is the Founder and President of Excellent Brain who has successfully developed innova ve so ware and technologies in VR, Gene cs, Digital Health, and Educa on with exper se in cybersecurity and cloud storage. He is an innova ve inventor of patents in various so ware fields. Some of the skills that Lidsky has mastered include PHP, TCP/IP, strategic planning, cyber defense, brain research, blockchain, etc.

Tuuli Pärenson is the CEO of Gofore Estonia. She is currently leading the subsidiary located in Estonia, but on a daily basis, her team works as a crew with the Gofore group. As the CEO of Gofore Estonia, Tuuli is responsible for interna onal business development that aims at building an ethical digital world. She has experience working with many digital transforma on journeys.

Kiran Kuchimanchi is the CEO of RoundSqr, a digital transforma on company that aims to solve customer problems through digital solu ons, leveraging emerging technologies like Big Data, Ar ficial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Blockchain.

Kiran has over two decades of experience in the IT services and digital space and has played mul ple roles in both Technology and Business se ngs. He has headed Country opera ons as well as Global Delivery.

Renaud Laplanche is the Co-founder and CEO of Upgrade, a neobank that offers affordable and responsible credit to mainstream consumers. He is a fintech pioneer who helped invent a whole new sector and marketplace lending. Renaud works to reduce the consumer burden that he thinks shouldn’t exist anymore, now that be er products are available. Prior to Upgrade, he founded and ran Lending Club, a company that pioneered consumer fintech.

www.excellent-brain.com

www.gofore.com

www.roundsqr.com

www.upgrade.com

13

Adjunct Professor

Kylie Ward CEO Australian College of Nursing 16

N

ursing has been at the forefront of our lives, as the global pandemic has dominated our countries and way of life. Never in living memory has there been such a strong demand for the expertise of the well-respected profession and strong demand for highly qualified nurses all over the world.

EXECUTIVE OF THE MONTH

Dare to be Di erent, one leader trailblazing the path to Advance Nurse Leadership in Australia

The nursing profession allows for one to specialise in a wide variety of health, social, education and policy areas to name a few. However, nursing also relies on strong leadership to guide large staff groups, ensure high-quality care and help design social health policy.

In an interview with the Analytics Insight Magazine, CEO of The Australian College of Nursing (ACN), Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN shares her inspiration and knowledge behind providing world-class education opportunities, advocacy of the nurse's voices to government and strong support to the profession right across Australia. Her work at the helm is committed to enhancing the health care of all Australians.

17

“

Surround yourself with exceptional people at every level and let them challenge you and let them soar. Know ahead of time that you will not have all of the answers but stand in your conviction and courage when you do know the right thing to do.

“

w w w. a c n . e d u . a u

18

A Brief About the Institution

The College's approach to customer service is

The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is the national

exemplified by having a 'customer care' team, because

leader of the nursing profession and a community of

they know what individual nurses need, across the 56

dynamic and passionate nurses.

disciplines their members represent.

ACN provides exceptional member and non-member opportunities for learning, networking and inspirational

From Dreamer to Achiever

events, policy, advocacy, well-being support, awards,

Kylie, CEO of Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is a

curation of the historical contribution of nursing,

Policy Reformer, Humanitarian, Visionary, Nurse, For-

support for gender equality in nursing, and provides

Purpose Leader, Equality Warrior, Adjunct Professor,

recognized higher education courses, which allow nurses

Executive Coach, Mum, and Transformation Specialist.

at all levels to stay informed, skilled and connected.

She was born and bred in the outer western suburbs of

ACN supports industry and community programs

Sydney. Life was simple but she wasn't. She was a self-

including, 2020 International Year of the Nurse and the

described dreamer. However, what she didn't know then

Midwife; Nursing Now – a three-year global campaign

was she was destined to become one of the most

with ICN and WHO; Close The Gap – Australia's peak

influential health professional leaders of the country and

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander campaign; Our

a formidable, passionate advocate for health, women

Climate, Our Health – Australia's response to the Paris

and equality.

Agreement regarding the 'right to health' in the national

As the CEO of ACN, Kylie has led a program of

climate policy context; and awareness campaigns

transformation at the college, turning around

including Community In Nurses Week; Nursing Expos,

membership numbers to increase revenue and tripling

and National Nursing Forums for nurse leaders.

student numbers - all within five years.

ACN has 11,500 individual members, represents over

She has done this by leading the ACN community to find

120,000 nurses through its corporate memberships and

their relevance through policy leadership, political and

has an average monthly audience of 300,000. During the

industry influence. ACN is now widely regarded as

last year, ACN provided educational courses to 106,000

Australia's beacon for Nurse Leadership.

nurses, including the RN and EN refresher courses, as a

Kylie holds honorary academic appointments with five

response for the need for more nurses due to the

leading Australian Universities and was ministerially

pandemic.

appointed as the Director to ADHA (Australian Digital

ACN supports NurseStrong, a peer-to-peer support

Health Agency) and NHMRC Health Translation

Facebook group to 6,700 nurses, many who aren't

Advisory Committee (HTAC) whilst holding numerous

members, but seek support and guidance from their

other board positions. In 2020 she was named as one of

community. During the qualifying year, the membership

the Top 100 Health Voices for LinkedIn worldwide and in

of NurseStrong increased by 423%.

2021 was recognised as a National Influencer by AuSAE,

ACN has offices in ACT and NSW but rely on a network of

the leading body for Association Executives.

19 Communities of Interest and 8 State and Territory

In 2017, Kylie won Telstra Businesswoman of the Year in

Chairs, who further support regional teams. ACN also

ACT for Purpose and Social Enterprise.

has five policy chapters: emissions reduction, end-of-life care, chronic disease, ageing and workforce

Lessons that Shaped Her Journey

sustainability.

According to Kylie, the last five years at ACN have been punctuated by major achievements. They are many and

19

varied and include achieving financial success, and the

for all Australians during 2020. ACN made available

implementation of numerous programs such as:

1,000 scholarships for members to complete the ACN Leader's Mindset Masterclass Series.

Men in Nursing.

There are hundreds of men who are nurses. Being a

Nurses and COVID

staunch warrior in the fight for gender equality, Kylie

Kylie led the development of a critical strategy – the

launched a successful campaign to assist with

COVID-19 Nurses Support Strategy, which provided

dismantling the 'stigma' around men in nursing.

practical help and a six-pronged approach: Information,

Men from a wide variety of roles shared their

Upskilling, Advocacy, Support, and Changes to the

experiences in the nursing profession in a series of 30

Health Care System and Community Awareness.

videos and an eBook. Each story is a unique, passionate,

This strategy needed to immediately address the need

and raw description of being a man in nursing and

for accurate research and clinical procedures, as the

highlights the value of nursing as a career path for men.

landscape was moving fast. It resulted in the design, development and launch of:

Institute of Leadership

Ÿ

To spearhead the advocacy of nurses as leaders – to be able to influence others, and to work towards changing

COVID-19 Disclosure Portal for anonymous complaints

Ÿ

COVID-19 information for nurses, links to latest

the profile of nurses and nursing, Kylie led the

information (there was a real need to find the latest

development and launch of ACN's Institute of

research and information on the unknown Corona

Leadership in August 2019.

virus) Ÿ

This has included the launch of: Ÿ

The Nurse Executive Capability Framework, creating

to do) Ÿ

a national standard for a nurse executive. This is a seminal piece of work that promotes capability and

Mentoring systems extended and launched in some areas

Ÿ

equity of leaders over subjectivity. Ÿ

Live Q and A sessions for nurses (what to do, what not

Political advocacy for nurses on the PPE, moving between facilities etc

The launch of the Mid-Career Leadership Program.

Ÿ

Promoted materials to use with patients

An intensive residential course developed by nurses

Ÿ

Established the NEO COVID-19 Forum for ongoing

and for nurses to excel in their career and supported

discussions about the virus

with mentoring and professional development Ÿ

opportunities

The Launch of the Australian College of Nursing

The Leader's Mindset Masterclass Series – a 20-hour

Foundation (ACNF)

executive level course for all aspiring nurses. This

Launched in August 2019, the ACNF financially supports

series has been designed and inspired by the latest

nurses through scholarships, grants, awards, fellow

global research, theories and thinking in leadership.

programs, and study tours to provide high-end leadership training to keep nurses at the cutting-edge of

Gifting $1M in scholarships to the membership

healthcare. And, Kylie is a foundational supporter.

Kylie led the initiative that saw the ACN, through its

Around ANZAC Day in 2020, she led a media blitz to raise

Institute of Leadership, gift members $1,000,000 in

awareness of Australia's most revered army nurse

scholarships to acknowledge the work nurses have done

Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel AO, MBE by telling

20

her story to the press.

them each a tailored and generous Care Package filled

"It is my ambition to have a statue and memorial erected

with well-being focused items in which all 82 staff

at the Australian War Memorial to recognise the work

received one delivered to their homes. Whilst this might

and sacrifices of the nurses and women who fought for

seem like a simple idea, and despite it being logistically

Australia", said Kylie. This will be the first memorial

challenging, it was timely, practical, and very well

statue of a woman and nurse on the grounds of the

received. Items for the Care Packages were sourced from

Australian War Memorial, giving us an opportunity to

Bushfires affected areas as well as rural and remote

redefine history with monuments to women.

communities.

Qualities That Define Leadership

Advice to Emerging Leaders

According to Kylie, there is no greater asset than the

Kylie's advice for budding or emerging CEOs and

relationships we have across and in our organisations

executives is to understand who they are, what they

and society - from the local to the political, friendships

bring to the position and organisation as well as the areas

through to formal acquaintances. Our life is a series of

they need to strengthen. She further adds that we should

relationships and our success comes from how impactful

all understand we have more learning and growth to do

we are to these lives.

and we should commit our lives to personal and

"I have learnt from being a nurse and a transformational

professional development. This will require finding the

culture specialist that a leader should work to

right mentors and coaches who will challenge you, and

understand and uncover the relationships the

then it is up to us to do the personal work to be authentic

organisation has to itself, its members, students,

and assimilate the learnings into improving the lives of

community and stakeholders; working to pull and push

those you serve.

them for outcomes.”

Kylie leads from a position of equality and mutual respect and her personal motto is “Dare to be Different”, for

Spearheading Innovation

when we do this, we become true to ourselves and our

Kylie's answer to what drives innovation is by taking the

greater purpose.

time to listen and walk a mile in other's shoes. She adds

"Surround yourself with exceptional people at every

that CEOs have a sense of what is going on with their

level and let them challenge you and let them soar. Know

organisations and people, but only by finding the time to

ahead of time that you will not have all of the answers but

sit and talk, do they get the important nuances of the

stand in your conviction and courage when you do know

change that needs to happen.

the right thing to do."

They can then connect the dots at a strategic level to

She concluded by saying being a CEO/ business leader or

achieve the change required, but without listening to

executive comes with great privilege and power but most

people through meetings, surveys, results, casual

importantly it comes with great responsibility. Always

conversations etc. they will miss the mark. "For example,

conduct yourself with integrity, grace, clarity and

I work to strengthen the team by enabling them to take

purpose and be filled with gratitude and kindness, even

up new opportunities, support their ideas and initiatives,

when making the tough decisions. Time is the most

ensuring they have the help needed to do their job, whilst

precious resource today, and it is not renewable so be

cultivating an innovative and compassionate culture",

respectful of other people's time, as well as your own and

she asserts.

be decisive so people can follow your lead.

During the pandemic, Kylie supported her staff by giving

21

How can

Tech CEOs Fight and Transform to Win the Future?

22

T

he highest-ranking person in a corporation or an

Leverage Data

organization is the CEO, meaning Chief

The most successful CEOs make sure that all of their

Executive Officer. The CEO is in charge of a

company's administrators are managing their staff and

company's or organization's overall performance as well

activities objectively and with as much detail as possible.

as making top-level management decisions. They may

They do this by using observable data to manage people's

seek advice on important issues, but they have the final

success and data tools to learn as much as possible about

say when it comes to decision making.

what's going on within their companies. The more facts

A CEO develops, implements, and revises the

you have and the more you can evaluate it, the more

organization's mission and objectives, as well as leading

decisions you'll be able to make.

plan creation, execution, and revision. The CEO is also responsible for overseeing the development and

Understand the Changing Market Conditions in your

execution of the organization's strategic plan, as well as

Industry

assisting in the formulation of strategic goals. To that

CEOs who never completely comprehend or neglect

end, the CEO must be mindful of both the external and

opportunities in their business and market will never

internal competitive landscapes, as well as potential

survive in today's fiercely competitive world. To ensure

growth prospects, clients, industries, emerging industry

future business success, one of the essential

trends and standards, and so on.

characteristics of a true leader is the ability to recognize,

A tech CEO must follow five steps to effectively lead the

understand, and capitalize on the ever-shifting market

performance of their company:

dynamics in your industry.

The Strategy Method

Gather Feedback

CEOs who take this approach assume that their most

You have an issue if you do not receive feedback on your

important task is to develop, evaluate, and design long-

results. It's not enough to simply request input and wait

term strategies that can last for years, if not decades.

for it to arrive. You should constantly seek input from

They demonstrate that their role of managing all areas of

both your staff and your board of directors. Obtaining

the enterprise gives them the exclusive ability to decide

employee input would often necessitate the use of an

their organization's resource distribution and optimal

anonymous feedback system or a third-party gatherer.

course.

Your board's feedback can be both informal and formal, as well as on a regular basis.

Create Specific Goals for each Business Unit and Team Having a clear overarching plan isn't enough; you also

Conclusion

need to make sure that each unit and team within the

While disruption is the new normal for today's business

company understands its own goals and how they

leaders, staying focused on strategies and the bottom

contribute to and fit with the overall strategy.

line in challenging times can help technology CEOs

Many great CEOs use the Objectives and Key Results

guarantee their company survives and flourishes

(OKR) approach to ensure proper coordination, in which

through the coming changes.

management determines both goals and the metrics by which success toward those expectations will be calculated (the key results).

23

David Schi er Co-Founder & CEO RevBits 24

Delivering Innovative Cybersecurity Solutions to Anchor Industry Demands

R

evBits is a provider of next-generation

different software companies to VP of Sales, David is

cybersecurity solutions that closes the gaps left

finally the Co-Founder of two technology companies.

open by mainstream cybersecurity software

Prior to co-founding RevBits, David was the Founder and

providers. Its Cyber Intelligence Platform (CIP) was built

CEO of Safe Banking Systems, which was sold to Accuity

upon a unique architecture and integrated approach

/ RELX after almost twenty-year in business.

fortified by several cybersecurity patents. This allows

His main responsibilities at RevBits are setting the goals

David Schiffer, CEO of RevBits, to confidently state that

and defining the vision for the company's future. At

CIP achieves a previously unattainable level of

present, David is also the sole investor and handles the

cybersecurity protection for its customers. RevBits also

financial and legal aspects too.

offers related, cybersecurity professional services of PenTesting, Forensic Investigation, Malware Analysis

Continuous Learning from Real-Life Experiences and

and Source Code Review.

Peers Over forty years ago, while David was a junior

An Influential Leader

programmer, the VP of Engineering walked into his

David's career spans several decades of mathematics

office and among other things said one simple

and computer science endeavors. He started a long

statement that shaped his thinking about developing a

career in both technology and international business

corporate culture: “A company runs as the personality of

after briefly teaching high school math in NYC and

the president.”

earning two Master's Degrees (Math and Computer

David knew that as a CEO, he would have to create a safe

Science). From the very early days of Assembly Language

and comfortable environment where he would be happy

programming, initially on an Intel 8008 processor, to

to be an employee. Even the staff would enjoy coming to

several positions including Systems Programming

work, finding the daily and long-term tasks challenging,

Manager, International Channel Manager for four

and providing an opportunity for professional and

25

“

State-sponsored hackers dramatically increase the sophistication level of cyberattacks. Agility and continuous innovation in cybersecurity is the only way to mitigate this enormous and dangerous exposure.

“

w w w. r e v b i t s . c o m

26

intellectual growth - all this while offering competitive

able to achieve this rapid response because of its ultra-

employment packages.

lean architecture and development methodology.

David also understood two main factors of success - to maximize 'Employee Satisfaction,' which would lead to

Creating the Right Cybersecurity Solutions

'Customer Satisfaction.'

David explains that artificial intelligence, IoT,

According to David, building close working relationships

automation and the increased uptake of cloud-based

with clients is critical when selling enterprise-level

computing across most industries have led to

solutions, especially to the international market.

operational efficiencies, cost savings and greater

Understanding their issues and problems and solving the

exposure to cyberthreats. Over the last few years,

most difficult ones are the most rewarding.

RevBits have seen an extreme shift of mainstream cybersecurity providers to develop only cloud-based

Diversification: Road to success

solutions that leave significant gaps and weaknesses in

David feels whether it is a startup or an established

the protection of their customers. The unique

company, finding and hiring staff that fits best as per the

architecture of RevBits leverages and protects both

requirements of the job and the corporate culture, has

resources within the customer's perimeter as well as

always been challenging. Moreover, as a startup's CEO,

their cloud-based assets in the most efficient and

focusing on the company's core competency is critical.

effective way possible.

Although in a dynamic, warp-speed technology market, it is important to stay flexible, one has to balance when to

Leading the Change in Next-Generation Cybersecurity

“stay the course or change gears” and understand the

Industry

costs and implications of both.

According to David, the sophistication of cyberattacks will continue to rise as a sheer number and as the

Factors Forming Leaders of Tomorrow

consequences of successful attacks become dramatic,

At the top of David's list of vital attributes are integrity

agility and constant innovation will be the key for the

and credibility. Those are key to creating a lasting

cybersecurity industry. RevBits will continue to be at the

reputation for oneself and for the company. Others are

forefront of innovation to provide the best available

trust and empowerment of one's employees, a

protection for its customers.

willingness to take risks and curiosity to identify and solve the most difficult problems facing the target

Radiating Key Advice to Young Talents

market.

On advising to emerging leaders, David says:

Equating Customer Needs with Revolution

Ÿ

Be honest, frank, and true to yourself.

Ÿ

Listen to suggestions but make decisions based upon

David believes that innovation is at the core of

rational choices of what is in the best interest of the

everything done at RevBits. Cyberthreats are

company.

continuously evolving, so the company continually

Ÿ

If the target market is large institutions or

benchmarks its products against the latest and most

organizations, adapt an ETDBW (Easy To-Do

sophisticated threats. If changes are required, these are

Business With philosophy), reducing friction during

implemented within hours or days instead of weeks or

negotiations and working within prospects'

months as usually applicable in their industry. RevBits is

framework and business model.

27

Dr. Nagma Abbasi CEO and Founder NextGen Life Sciences, Pvt. Ltd. 30

A Transformational and Eminent Leader creating opportunities from challenges in Biotechnology, Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry

N

extGen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd is committed to

A Leader with Deep Industry Knowledge

catering to the research needs of scientists in

Dr. Nagma Abbasi leads NextGen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd

the field of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology,

since its launch in 2014. As the CEO of the company, she

Immunology, Healthcare, and Drug Development.

desires to take the company into a global spectrum by

Established in 2014, the company aims to be a

developing and executing innovative and long-term

frontrunner in the life science research and diagnostic

strategies. Nagma, being a scientist herself has wide

market by providing the best innovative biological

knowledge about issues faced by scientists and

products. The company's offers products and services

researchers. Hence, she is committed to offering

for Cell Analysis, Cell Culture & Transfection, Cloning,

innovative solutions to scientists from Biotechnology,

DNA & RNA Purification, Sequencing, Next Generation

Life Sciences, and the Healthcare sector.

Sequencing, Drug Discovery and Molecular Diagnostics.

Nagma studied Business Administration from the

NextGen Life Sciences works closely with its customers

Institute of Management and Technology (IMT),

and serves the mission to provide quality products and

Ghaziabad, and took a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from

services in time at a competitive price. The company

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Nagma was a Post-

partners with leading brands from the USA, Europe,

Doctoral Research Fellow at the Indian Agricultural

Singapore, and other South East Asia countries for

Research Institute, Delhi. She has a career spanning over

distribution business, manufacturing, and R&D.

a decade that includes handling and leading various positions at esteemed research institutes and MNCs.

31

“

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.

“

w w w. n e x t g e n l i f e . c o m

32

Her expertise revolves across different verticals

started working with clients recommended by the ICMR

including product management, brand building,

for Covid testing and VTM manufacturers.

customer segmentation, and strategic marketing. Prior

Nagma recalls how the lockdown and temporary

to establishing NexGen, Nagma worked as the Key

shutdown of companies affected the company's

Account Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a

deliveries and payments. During this scenario, she states

biotechnology company.

that the team got personally involved, applied for an e-

As a scientist, Nagma could easily point out existing

pass, and moved products from airports to client sites.

hardships of scientists and decided to bridge the

Even in the unfortunate crisis, NextGen continued aiding

technology gap in the industry by creating NextGen Life

its clients. This, says Nagma, helped gain the confidence

Sciences. The company addresses a variety of

of customers and the company went ahead to give credit

requirements such as the sample, material

as required to the customers and delivered much-

characterization, and analysis to clinical diagnosis and

needed products within given timelines. Nagma believes

biological-based therapeutics handling. Nagma reveals

that the pandemic as a challenge has prepared leaders to

that working in India's Premium Research Institutes on

adapt to the changing workspaces, work with time

advanced techniques in biotechnology during her

management and limited resources. According to her, as

academics and handling different positions in Sales and

a women leader she has managed to have a good work-

Marketing at Multinational Companies have shaped her

life balance, have projected multitasking skills, and she as

successful career path.

a leader has been patient throughout this transition.

Nagma considers NextGen's consistent growth for the

Churning Out Opportunities from Hardships

last six years in terms of revenue and profitability as the

Businesses are not successful without a handful of

key achievement for the company and team. The

challenges. Nagma and NextGen had their own share of

company has been successful in attaining customer trust

obstacles to sail through. Nagma recalls that initially, like

in a short period by providing excellent services in the

any other start-up, the company had to face a few

industry, concludes Nagma.

challenges like capital investments, assembling a quality team, building a customer base, and good relationships.

Revolutionizing Biotechnology through Technology

However, today Nagma proudly says that NextGen can

Nagma reveals that NextGen aims to create an

deliver the best smart services because of great hard

innovative environment, where the team could work

work, determination, and dedication shown by her and

effortlessly and provide innovation in biotechnology. She

the team. She reiterates that this determination and

says that the biotechnology sector has developed over

growth has made NextGen the most preferred brand for

the years and hence, NextGen could advance and adapt

clients. Nagma transformed challenges into

to changing market scenarios and initiate revolutionary

opportunities and enhanced the potential of the biotech

company policies. As per Nagma, NextGen has

industry.

maintained a long-term, successful relationship with its

Nagma mentions that the COVID-19 pandemic has been

clients by delivering quality services. This includes

another notable challenge the company had to deal with.

turnaround time for product deliveries, managing

Since research institutes were closed, Nagma says that

inventories with microanalysis of basic needs of prime

the Life Science Research area of the company was

customers, addressing customer problems in time with

impacted and had its repercussions. Nonetheless,

the best solutions, and maintaining a highly skilled,

Nagma and her team did not step back and instead

trained sales and technical team.

33

According to Nagma, the wide range of product offerings

Bulletin, winner of India 500 CEO Awards 2020, and

by NextGen aids scientists and researchers to cope with

listed as India's Most Influential CEO of the Year 2020-

difficulties, challenges, and helps them to interpret the

Life Sciences by Corporate Vision Magazine, UK.

desired results. Nagma discloses that NextGen and its

NextGen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. is a winner of India 5000

products offerings attempt to empower scientists and

Best MSME Award 2020.

researchers to deal with complex analytical challenges in

Nagma recalls that she was taught to be an independent

pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, government,

woman from a very young age and this has driven her to

environmental and industrial research, and provide

transform her dreams into reality. She has gained

knowledge on innovations and technologies. Nagma

recognition and distinction as a leader and entrepreneur

conveys that NextGen has a major focus on scientific

in the start-up industry and has been working

research needs and customer services.

relentlessly and ethically to bring technological

She ensures that NextGen is keenly working towards

advancement to the life sciences and healthcare

innovating techniques in Biotechnology like Next

industry.

Generation Sequencing (NGS) in clinical laboratories, NGS data analysis, and interpretation of unknown

Communication and Passion is the Key

genetic variants and CRISPR technology. She adds that

According to Nagma, leadership is a journey, and not a

CRISPR technology is a simple and powerful tool for

destination, hence leaders make pathway decisions

editing genomes which can bring new revolution in

about the people they lead, their organizations, and

clinical market. The company is looking forward to

themselves. She feels that passion, a positive attitude,

expanding its business in West and South India in the

and communication skills are the most significant

coming years. She further reveals NextGen's plans to add

aspects of a leader. In her opinion, an entrepreneur is a

more brand products owned by the company.

person who is responsible for setting up a business or an enterprise, one who has the initiative, skill for

Recognized as a Transformational Leader

innovation, and one who looks for high achievements.

Nagma proudly shares that she and NextGen have

Nagma believes that a leader should work for the good of

secured many awards and recognitions over the past few

the people, open up many employment opportunities

years. Dr. Nagma has been featured as One of the Top

and lead to the growth of other sectors.

Inspiring Business Leader making difference in 2021 by

She highlights that a leader should be someone who can

GlobalTech Outlook Magazine. The Enterprise world

bring an overall change through innovation and benefit

featured Nagma on cover page and NextGen as one of

society. Leadership qualities are important for

the The Best 5 Biotechnology and Healthcare companies

entrepreneurs as far as Nagma is concerned. Lastly,

to be focussed in 2021. The CEO Story 2021 featured

Nagma reiterates that a leader and an entrepreneur

NextGen as Top 10 Trend Forecasters giants in the

should be prepared to take risks, have good decision-

business. Nagma was recognized in the Cover Story

making skills, and effectively communicate with the

Feature as Top 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to watch in 2021

team and public on behalf of the company.

by Prime Insights Magazine. WCRC selected her as India's Inspirational leader in 2020. Nagma was also featured by Forbes India among the Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs of India 2020. Other accolades include, featured amongst 30 Most Influential CEOs by CIO

34

Kiran Kuchimanchi CEO RoundSqr 36

Leading Teams To Find A Simple Route To Digital Transformation

D

igital transformation is fundamentally

About RoundSqr

changing how businesses function and deliver

RoundSqr was setup with a vision to solve customer

value to customers. It is also a cultural change

problems through digital solutions leveraging emerging

that requires organizations to continually challenge the

technologies like Big Data, Artificial Intelligence,

status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure.

Machine Learning & Blockchain. Headquartered in

Organizations that have embarked on the digital

Hyderabad, the company has offices worldwide.

transformation journey are reaping benefits while those

According to Kiran, RoundSqr services its global clients

that are procrastinating this shift have fallen behind. The

across three broad segments:

process of digital transformation is itself multi-fold and complex. To help businesses make the right choices,

Ÿ

Consulting services using a Proof-of-Concept driven

RoundSqr demystifies the digital transformation journey

approach to identify solutions to unidentified and

into small chunks of initiatives, making it agile and

unarticulated problems. As an example of this service,

iterative, while delivering business benefits rapidly.

Kiran says “For a large manufacturing firm, we

To understand more about the company, and the leader

leveraged computer vision to digitally fingerprint the

behind RoundSqr, here is an exclusive interview with

equipment from their manufacturing lines. This was

Kiran Kuchimanchi, the CEO, who talks about the need

not possible using traditional methods due to the

for innovation and what it takes to build a successful

extreme conditions involved in the manufacturing

organization.

process. The potential for this solution is immense, in improving the customer experience of the business as

37

“

We expect to double our revenues y-o-y for the next 2-3 years. The journey should be exciting, given the highend problems we are solving, and the resultant impact on our clients.

“

w w w. r o u n d s q r . c o m

38

well as run the manufacturing lines very efficiently.

Delivery. He has been instrumental in setting up a digital

Another example is the solution we are building to

division encompassing Big Data, Cloud, Mobility, and

identify gender bias (and then automatically replace

Analytics. Late in 2018, Kiran setup RoundSqr along with

text to mitigate it) in the content that is published by a

a few friends, who also believe that AI / ML will

global publishing house. In most cases, when we start

fundamentally transform the way businesses operate in

discussing such problems, we are not sure that these

the future.

can be solved using existing technology. It calls for a

Ÿ

deep understanding of domain, tech knowhow at the

Experiences That Built the Mindset

highest end of the spectrum and extensive research

When asked about the experiences that shaped him,

to be able to come up with a viable solution. We are

Kiran said, “Take responsibility for everything. Never shy

thrilled to be working in such areas and hope to build

away from new challenges. Believe that anything can be

IP-led solutions for some of these problems in the

learned.” He also says that it is not very difficult to find a

future”

solution if one gets to the crux of the problem and takes a

The second area involves providing digital services to

common sense approach to responding to situations.

help customers translate ideas into products. This is

Being a part of a tech company, Kiran always had to be

sort of a de-facto “CTO + Technology Team” role.

abreast with the latest tech. However, the exposure to

RoundSqr helps customers right through the process

the intermingling of business and technology has stood

of brainstorming requirements, finalizing technology

him in good stead at all times.

& infrastructure, deciding on the MVP features, and

Ÿ

iteratively enhancing the product based on market

Overcoming Challenges to Succeed

feedback. For a healthcare firm, RoundSqr helped

Kiran's CEO role started with believing in the potential of

launch multiple solutions to improve the efficiency

the company. According to him, it is even more critical in a

and experience of the users - Patients, Doctors &

start-up context when one is unsure of where the first

Nurses. The success of this initiative has prompted

revenue Dollar is going to come from. This personal

the firm to create a new stream of revenue by offering

belief had to be articulated into a vision to the rest of the

these solutions to other businesses similar to them.

company. Kiran adds that using this vision to rally

The third areas involves helping customers expand

everyone around and shifting focus to identify business

their delivery capability by building strategic teams

opportunities was the most challenging phase.

based on the customer's specific needs. By hiring &

At RoundSqr, Kiran and his team were fortunate on three

grooming digital talent and providing the right

counts. First, a set of like-minded founders came

processes & framework, RoundSqr is able to deliver

together who were friends and shared the same passion

continuous value to its customers. A prime example of

to build an organization. Second, the initial group of

this is the multiple AI/ML+Data initiatives being

customers that saw the company's potential and came

taken up for a mid-sized Bank in North America.

forward to work with them, and third, the colleagues who took a leap of faith and joined RoundSqr.

Past experience

Kiran believes that one has to take strategic punts when

Kiran Kuchimanchi, has over two decades of experience

building a company. While some of them pay off, others

in the IT services and digital space. He has played

don't. Balancing the risk while constantly experimenting

multiple roles in both Technology and Business settings.

is crucial to the success of any organization.

He has headed Country operations as well as Global

39

Another aspect of his role is to engage with potential

we have been able to use historical data to identify the

investors and to convince them that the organization's

right kind of programs for juvenile kids, the very first

vision can translate into fiscal success. In a nutshell, Kiran

time, resulting in far higher success rate of their

explains that keeping the intent always correct by

rehabilitation. These are examples of use cases that have

looking after the long-term benefits of the customer, his

tremendous benefits to our society. In the near future, a

team, and investors is his success mantra.

section of our elite think that we can upload our brains into a cloud that can evolve to possess far superior

Aids to better decision making

capabilities!”, explains Kiran Kuchimanchi.

According to Kiran, having clarity of purpose is essential.

The goal has to be universal and should not be limited to

Plans for the growth of RoundSqr

one's personal benefits only. In his opinion, a leader

Despite the pandemic, we have doubled our team size. As

should look through the clutter without getting

the markets open up, we plan to expand our presence

distracted and find the optimal path in line with the

across the US and Europe. We are looking at relocating

organization's vision. He advises that one should start

one of our senior colleagues to Australia as soon as travel

with a broader view and narrow it down progressively to

permits. We plan to have our senior team travel

the issue that needs attention. Kiran adds that people

frequently to have facetime with our customers and

should combine analysis & instinct to make decisions on

prospects.

things that matter and have the strength to deal with

We have also ramped up our efforts to bring on board

failure.

Architects and digital consultants. We plan to aggressively engage reputed colleges from where we can

Leveraging the Capabilities of Disruptive Technologies

hire talent to meet our growing demands.

“Technology is evolving at a breath-taking pace. Humans

We expect to double our revenues y-o-y for the next 2-3

have evolved in about 6-7 million years to what we are

years. The journey should be exciting, given the high-end

today. Just in the past 100 years, advancements in

problems we are solving, and the resultant impact on our

technology have accelerated our quality of life manifold.

clients.

A combination of data mining, computing power and the advancements in Machine Learning & Robotics will help

Shaping Future CEOs

us cross frontiers that we have not imagined before. We

As a piece of advice to emerging CEOs, Kiran says that

have partnered with a major hospital chain to use

they should think from the first Principles-based

Machine Learning techniques to help doctors make

approach, have the right intent, work hard, build trust

better decisions about disease progression that the

and long-term relations.

doctors cannot achieve manually. For another customer,

40

+

+ +

HEALTHCARE IT EXECUTIVES ARE

EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES FOR A BETTER FUTURE OF CARE SYSTEM

T

he Covid-19 pandemic has not been a smooth

part of this journey. Since last year, telehealth and e-

ride, especially for the healthcare sector. We are

pharmacy have become the go-to solutions in case of

witnessing how healthcare professionals and

health issues and consultation. Many healthtech

frontline workers are striving to reduce the spread of this

startups sprung up and health IT providers were keenly

deadly pandemic and how they are efficiently using

working on improving virtual care.

technology for this. Last year, the pandemic has been driving organizational changes resulting in various

The pandemic-induced change was quick and many

innovations and rapid technology adoption in the

industries did not get enough time to think about

Healthcare and Health IT sector.

migrating to digital platforms. This could be considered a lesson to learn from the scenario. Health IT departments

The Health IT leaders were prompted to reimagine and

can now specifically focus on the data available regarding

redefine their strategies, which were useful in a pre-

telehealth services, how it is benefitting people, who are

Covid phase. The pandemic-induced transformation

at a maximum and minimum advantage, etc. Although

demanded quick results with limited resources and

virtual healthcare services were embraced, a larger

mostly under stressful conditions. Cerner Corporation is

population was negatively impacted due to the lack of

a Health IT solutions provider. While speaking to Cerner

access, lack of digital literacy, the high expense met in the

Linda Reed, Vice President, IT and CIO at St. Joseph's

digital health services, and many other reasons. From

Health, Paterson, New Jersey, says, “COVID-19 forced

this year, it could get more advanced and accessible to all

everyone to do more with limited time and resources. It's

without any divide. Going digital and remote was not just

underscored the importance of working smarter, and

limited to patient care, but also other operations

we'll continue pursuing opportunities to enhance

including IT and development, inpatient services, help

efficiency while providing world-class care as we move

desks, and every business function. To ensure this there

into the future."

arose a necessity to technically enable the staff and train them for the digital era.

Remote and Digital, the New Norm We all witnessed how the pandemic-driven restrictions

Refocusing on Cybersecurity

impacted the economy. Public, private, and almost all

During the rapid digital transformation last year, many

services went online. Healthcare also had to become a

companies fell victim to several data breaches and

42

cyberattacks. This was the result of heightened

healthcare centers should break silos and collaborate for

vulnerabilities exposed by the weakly secured digital

better management in the coming years.

systems. It is not very far when health institutions will also fall prey to such cyberattacks. Health systems are

Patient-Centered Care

going virtual and the widespread deployment of virtual

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the idea of a patient-

desktop interfaces and connectivity can become the

centric system where healthcare providers started

reason for such attacks. These large vulnerabilities will

working towards making care accessible to all people

be targeted and taken advantage of. Thus, Health IT

and patients out there. The digital shift and virtual care

systems should refocus on cybersecurity and building an

system enabled this and now we have IT devices and

advanced and technologically strong security

products that put patients at the focus and work for their

infrastructure for the health centers. Apart from

betterment and needs. All the telehealth and virtual

endpoint security, the large virtual workforce interface

health education services were initiated to give patients

should also be secured from potential cyberattacks.

the needed attention during a crisis and answer their

Multiple authentications are necessary to understand

heath and pandemic-related queries. The heath IT

who is accessing the system and getting hold of sensitive

sections scaled and revamped their products to suit the

data.

demands of their patients. A simple, accessible, and efficient care system for people will be the norm for the

Enhanced Collaboration

coming years.

The new way of providing healthcare services and

+

understanding the patients and the scenario demands

Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

the efficient use of data and analytics. Analytical insights

All the changes mentioned above are either already in

enable health IT analysts to understand the diaspora and

place or anticipated to come into force soon. They are all

provide services according to rising needs.

digital solutions that leverage cutting-edge technologies like AI, machine learning, computer vision, deep learning,

Data is the soul of businesses and gathering a huge pool

and more. Most of the healthcare systems across the

of usable data necessarily needs collaboration. IT

world were not very familiar with these technologies.

systems should encourage maximum collaboration with

However, they had to adopt and adapt according to the

other services providers, vendors, patients, healthtech

changing regulations put forth by the crisis, which is an

companies, and other important stakeholders.

infectious, easily spreading virus. Hospitals had to step

Collaboration with Human Resource Information

out of their comfort zone to use the innovations and in

Systems (HRIS) is imperative. When healthcare

some cases engage in innovations according to the

institutions digitally transformed, the staff population

specific needs. Patients inside the hospital demanded

and frontline workers contributed exponentially to this.

special care since they were the most vulnerable to the

Hence, the IT systems should gather and preserve data

infection. The health IT systems had to repurpose

on the staff, workers, and other internal communities.

technologies according to changing needs and this was in

The vaccination drive for frontline workers demands

no way a simple task. Therefore, the system should

clear data of who received vaccination and when. The

innovate itself in a way that it can exploit these

silos between the payroll system, vaccination data,

technologies and virtual healthcare devices to their

should hang together with all other employee status

advantage rather than getting trapped inside the

data. The human resource and IT operations systems in

technology.

43

Natasha Makhijani Group CEO and Founder Oliver Sanderson Group PLC 44

A Strong Visionary Shaping the Future of Digital Recruitment Industry

O

liver Sanderson is an executive search firm

executive desks at both Hays and Michael Page, Natasha

with a difference - combining experience and

decided to launch her own business. She reveals that

expertise with innovation and fresh thinking.

Oliver Sanderson was born in her dining room, and what

The company specialises in finding talent at the board

began as one woman, and a laptop has grown into an

and senior leadership level for FTSE 100, FTSE 350,

international business at the cutting-edge of executive

Fortune 500, and PE-backed businesses. Placing

search.

permanent and interim positions across a wide range of sectors, Oliver Sanderson has built up a strong record of

Natasha is a purpose-driven leader with a strong

a c c o m p l i s h m e n t o f C- s u i t e a p p o i n t m e n t s .

understanding of executive search and expertise in

With its suite of digital apps and powerful diversity and

digital recruitment solutions. Being a pioneer in this field,

inclusion work, Oliver Sanderson is leading the way in

she leads the creation of Oliver Sanderson's new

discovering the next generation of business leaders.

executive apps and Snapp CV. It is the world's first mobile job board with voice technology capability and Amazon

A Leader Born Out of Confidence and Talent

Alexa connectivity. Natasha is passionate about tackling

Natasha Makhijani leads Oliver Sanderson Group PLC,

D&I challenges with clients and is currently establishing

as its Founder and CEO. Natasha graduated with

a charity with a team of leading figures to address a range

Bachelor's and Master's degrees from City, University of

of issues related to race equality, disability, and gender.

London and DePaul University in Chicago, respectively.

She began her recruitment career on the Graduate

The Go-Getter

Scheme at Hays. After achieving four successive

Natasha considers the launch of Oliver Sanderson as a

promotions in four years, Natasha took up senior

major turning point in her career. Natasha states that she

management roles, moved from Hays to Michael Page,

comes from a very entrepreneurial community, and

and earned recognition as a top biller. Having set up

hence felt that there was something more out there, even

45

“

The future in Executive Search will

be a blend of the human touch

and innovation around digital platforms such as Snapp CV, Snapp inView bringing technology, AI and machine learning together.

It will be interesting over the next few years how organisations will embrace technology in search to

“

break down barriers and address

topics in D & I and Social Mobility.

w w w. o l i v e r s a n d e r s o n . c o m

46

though she was happy in the jobs at Hays and Michael

She tackled this challenge by holding regular remote

Page. Although people questioned her decisions, she

catch-ups unrelated to work, running virtual team

took the risk and since then has not looked back. Natasha

building sessions where the team had lunch together,

launched Oliver Sanderson in 2011, now the company is

organizing online yoga classes, playing remote games,

an international executive search firm, working with

and other fun activities. Thinking outside the box is

FTSE 100, FTSE 350, and Fortune 500 companies, and

important, as per Natasha, since the monotony of remote

winning awards. Natasha believes that she built a great

working proves to be very difficult for employees. She

team, but still, has a lot more to achieve together, and she

reiterates that leaders need to adapt to the “new normal”

finds it hugely exciting.

and create supportive environments as the business world moves towards establishing new hybrid and

The Stereotypical Society's Odd One Out

remote working models, which are here to stay.

Natasha remembers that she has faced unique challenges as an Asian woman CEO in a male-dominated

Innovation is the Core

industry, but always seen this difference as a strength.

At Oliver Sanderson, the team is constantly innovating to

Natasha has always stood out from the crowd and taken

provide value to its clients and the wider community.

new approaches, allowing the business to be more

Natasha says that the company's permanent practice has

adaptable to change. Most importantly, she admits to

built up a strong track record in end-to-end executive

having to be extremely assertive to get where she is

search and consultancy after placing CEOs and senior

today. Natasha is proud that apart from just working to

leaders at FTSE 100, FTSE 350, and Fortune 500

deliver success for the team, she is also inspiring other

companies. Oliver Sanderson recently saw a gap in the

young women from minority communities, especially

market for interim specialists and established its new

those who feel different, by telling them they can achieve

brand, Just Interims, to provide creative solutions to the

success by going in unique ways.

interim recruitment needs of the clients. Specializing in HR and Business Change, Just Interims sources

Creating an Inclusive Strong Team

executive specialists for clients requiring interim

According to Natasha, a great leader should be able to

support to overcome complex challenges and navigate

empower others and foster a great team. Her success at

periods of change.

Oliver Sanderson is by building a happy, confident, and engaged team who work well together, mentions

The company also established partnerships with leading

Natasha. She reminds that building a strong team is not

industry professionals to offer its clients a series of

easy and as a team leader, Natasha focuses on creating an

consultancy services to complement the executive

inclusive environment where every member feels

search processes. Oliver Sanderson now delivers

valued. Natasha empowers the team by giving them

Executive Coaching, Psychometric Testing and

autonomy and trust, and making sure there are regular

Assessments, and D&I Consulting. These new ventures

meetings to connect, both professionally and socially.

highlight the company's ability to innovate to meet the

Studies have shown that a good team spirit promotes

ever-changing needs of its clients, claims Natasha.

wellbeing and productivity and it has been challenging to maintain this kind of connection during the COVID

Unique Digital Solutions for Seamless Recruitment

pandemic, as many other business leaders around the

New technology is transforming executive search and

world have discovered, says Natasha.

recruitment, and it has been central to Oliver

47

Sanderson's rapid growth. Natasha has been recognised

cannot match great people with great jobs like those that

as a pioneer of digital innovations since co-founding

Oliver Sanderson can. However, in her opinion, digital

Snapp CV & Resume, the world's first mobile job board

platforms can help the company to unlock a new world of

with voice technology capability and Amazon Alexa

global talent.

connectivity. The app currently has a database of over 25 million candidates in the UK and the USA, with over

Oliver Sanderson has exciting plans for the next 5-10

250,000 positions listed on its mobile job board. Natasha

years, reveals the CEO. Natasha says that the company is

recently launched a dedicated Oliver Sanderson

growing its team, planning an expansion in Oliver

Executive app after the success of the Snapp suite.

Sanderson's Europe and the US operations, and has just

Designed and created by the company's in-house tech

launched an ambitious new charity with an initial focus

team, the Executive app provides digital solutions at

on race equality and black leadership.

every stage of the appointment process, featuring introductory candidate and client profile videos,

The only certainty in business is change and there is a

fingerprint and password-protected online NDA

need to constantly innovate to keep up, continuously

signatures, digital candidate packs, integrated job

learning, expanding and adapting, and that is how Oliver

applications, and video interviews.

Sanderson will remain at the forefront of an evolving industry, according to Natasha.

With digital platforms increasingly becoming prominent in the executive search and recruitment industry, Oliver

Just Be You and Success Will Follow

Sanderson is leading the way with its executive app and

To the emerging leaders, Natasha says to believe in

integration with Snapp CV. In Natasha's words, the

oneself, but be open to constructive criticism and use it to

company's objective is to harness the power of modern

learn and grow. She asks the budding CEOs to always

technology to discover and connect with the next

remember that doubts and setbacks are part of

generation of business leaders.

everyone's journey and the road to the top is never simple. Thus one needs to be resilient, and never give up.

Leading the Race in Future

Natasha acknowledges that she has been doubted in the

Although digital platforms are simplifying some of the

past, but she used those doubts as fuel to fire the greater

manual tasks of recruitment and sourcing, Natasha says

successes. Whoever it is, wherever they come from, with

they will never replace the headhunter. She says that

hard work, a bit of luck, and a good team around, they can

although machines are becoming intelligent, they still

do it too, concludes Natasha.

48

Nish Sehgal

Roman Garin

Global Managing Director OSAI

CEO OSAI

50

Innovating GPU-Accelerated Neural Network to Transform the Sports Industry

O

SAI, a sport technology company, was founded

projects. A business

with a vision to transform sporting

certificates from Duke University and University of

experiences with disruptive technologies.

Lausanne, Switzerland, for the last 19 years, he has been

OSAI solutions transforms data into real concrete value

involved in launching new sports properties, opening up

that not only helps its B2C clients but also add value In

new market segments, creating new revenue streams,

B2B revenue streams. The company aims to enable

and developed successful new sports businesses. Nish,

the

most

through its extensive business network and with OSAI

demanding analytics, visualization and data-driven

cutting age new technology, is scaling up the OSAI

problems, with uniquely optimized systems that have

business and taking the sport industry to the next level.

no comparison in today's market proposal. OSAI has

He is also influencing the young generation into sports

designed and developed a new revolutionary sport

business by volunteering as a guest lecturer to several

technology solutions that can help betting companies,

international universities and also a mentor with

bookmakers,

Advisory Singapore.

big

data

revolution

professional

to

solve

sports

the

bodies,

rights

management

graduate and

holders, coaches, players and all those who are involved

Roman Garin, the CEO of OSAI, is focused on making

with the business of sports.

sports better with his deep technology skills viz.

Within a few months since its launch of Go-to-market

development of neural networks and computer vision.

strategy, the visionary approach has helped the company

Roman is focused on making sports better and from his

to grow to one of the most innovative and promising

experience. He would like to increase objectivity and

companies in the industry and now has clients

enhance the sports industry with the power of Artificial

from Australia, Germany, UK, Ireland, Russia and India.

Intelligence (AI) and Computer Vision (CV). Roman firmly believes in “creating value with artificial

Young, Dynamic & Visionary Leadership Guiding AI &

intelligence” and collaboratively work to solve real

CV Success In Sports Business

problems. He is known for providing valuable inputs to

Nish Sehgal, the Global Managing Director of OSAI, leads

the development of projects with his strategic product

the company from the front and has more than 19 years

view and solid technical experience.

of varied global experiences in mid to large-scale

The combination of sport technology and sports

51

“

Entrepreneurship is a journey

worth trying with a clear

vision and an attitude of gratitude. Celebrating the smallest wins and milestones can boost up the confidence and conviction to get motivation for the dynamic

“

future.

w w w. o s a i . a i

52

business in leadership is hard to witness and this

factors. He has observed that there is a need to bridge

exceptional partnership between Nish & Roman has

the gap in the referee's subjective point of view. This gap

helped OSAI to secure clients from across the globe.

contradicts the sports' motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius”.

Here is an exclusive conversation with Nish Sehgal who is

Roman believes in creating value with Artificial

determined to scale up OSAI further in the global market

Intelligence and Computer Vision to enhance the sports

with his partner, Roman Garin.

industry while solving real problems.

The partnership between these two exceptionally

Transforming Sports Experience for GenZ with Big Data

talented individuals, Nish and Roman, has helped OSAI

Revolution

to secure global clients through advanced sports

With major disruptive technologies such as Artificial

technology and professional leadership in the sports

Intelligence and Computer Vision, OSAI solutions add

industry.

value to B2B revenue streams and B2C clients by transforming real-time data into real concrete value.

3Cs to Drive Innovation

OSAI has an objective to enable the Big Data revolution

The enigmatic duo believes that a solution delivery

by solving the most demanding analytics, data

model should foster a culture of innovation that aids in

visualisation and data-driven problems with uniquely

the business approach of 3Cs--- Co-innovation, Co-

optimised OSAI solutions. The cutting-edge sports

investment and Collaboration. OSAI focuses on

technology engages betting companies, bookmakers,

designing and delivering solutions with the 'value' for the

professional sports bodies, rights holders, coaches,

positive business outcome of the users as well as the

players, and others in the sports industry. The company

stakeholders. 3Cs can enhance customer experience

has a diverse set of clients' database from multiple

with new looks and seamless backend integrations in

international countries such as Australia, Germany, the

real-time. Co-innovation includes joint IP sharing in

UK, Ireland, Russia and India. The launch of the go-to-

revenue or zero-cost development, Co-investment

market strategy has an immense contribution to the

involves acquiring new businesses and growing existing

growth of the company as one of the most innovative and

ones with the proposition to share in revenue and equity

promising companies in the sports industry.

positions, and Collaboration includes joint planning and execution of the Go-to-market strategy with a detailed

Promising Contributions from Eminent Members

focus on target account base, project or services

For the past 19 years, Nish is guiding clients in seeking

outsourcing model as well as fixed bid projects.

the subject and medium that best fits their unique identity to produce top-notch outcomes. Being an

GPU-accelerated Neural Networks for OSAI solutions

inspirational executive, Nish is equally passionate about

Global clients prefer OSAI betting solution because the

sports, data analytics and delivering exceptional

whole process is cost-saving and increases the accuracy

technology solutions to his clients. He is scaling OSAI to

rate without any human intervention. The trending talk

the next level for the sports industry through his

in the sports industry is about OSAI AI and CV-powered

extensive business network and impressive stakeholder

Table Tennis solutions that gather in-game data in real-

management.

time and produce data analytics. These match data

Roman Garin, the Director at OSAI with over 15 years of

analytics influence several coaches and players for a

IT experience, is focused on transforming sports by

performance boost by capturing the weaknesses that

considering cognizance of multiple issues with human

need to be improved. The real-time data is transformed

53

into mixed reality to showcase the live results. OSAI

Nish is excited for OSAI to grow and evolve to be a

solutions utilise GPU-accelerated neural networks to

complete Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision-

process video frames that were captured by a high-

powered sports technology solution provider

frame-rate industrial camera. OSAI has successfully

worldwide. OSAI is set to transform the sports

designed and developed this GPU-accelerated neural

technology industry in the next five years by helping

network to provide disruptive business solutions to

businesses to achieve more with smart real-time

global clients.

information. The sudden hit of the coronavirus pandemic has a massive effect on people involved in the sports

Dynamic Leadership Aligns Teamwork

industry. 2021 is an effective year post-pandemic due to

Nish elaborates that the strength of OSAI solutions is

the introduction of a technologically advanced approach

generated from its technical expertise, new-age

in all fields of sports to move forward. The key factor of

disruptive technological solutions as well as dynamic

boosting the growth of the sports technology industry is

leadership. The role of aligned teamwork is crucial for

the increase in the utilisation of Virtual Reality by

OSAI to enter into new market segments and provide

athletes and professional sports teams. Nish explained

solutions to nuanced problems with cutting-edge

that the global sports technology market was valued at

disruptive technologies. The aligned teamwork

US$17.9 billion in 2021 with a high expectation of

addresses the barriers transparently to the global clients

reaching up to US$40.2 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of

and the company to effectively maintain a strong

17.5% between 2021 and 2026. Several professional

customer relationship with long-term partnerships.

sports bodies across the world have adopted modern

Every team leader should be highly energetic,

cutting-edge technologies such as sports data analytics,

passionate, and resilient with higher emotional

wearable devices and many more to boost team

intelligence. He also considers that a transformation

performance as well as enhance fan engagement with

leader should gain sufficient knowledge of passion, fear,

smart infrastructures.

weakness and strength about other team members. The

OSAI already has specialisation in three sports but is

combination of empathy, resilience, innovation and a

considering expanding the number of promising sports

growing mentality always tends to show dynamic

such as basketball, snooker, tennis and badminton. OSAI

leadership power in transforming challenges into golden

will soon launch a mobile app for Table Tennis coaches

opportunities.

and players who can directly record their games to

Roman considers execution to be the key to innovation.

receive a high-performance report in real-time. There

Dynamic leadership means to make a plan, stick to it,

are multiple eSports titles on the pipeline for which OSAI

focus on execution and is necessary to learn to say no to

will provide solutions too. OSAI has extensively invested

people who are not directly involved with the specific

in betting and looking for further enhancement in

business. Irrespective of magnitudes of opportunities,

offerings.

the primary goal is to efficiently deliver to clients with full diligence. It is very important to empathise with

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

customers by listening carefully to their challenges for a

Entrepreneurship is a journey worth trying with a clear

better understanding of the business objectives.

vision and an attitude of gratitude. Celebrating the smallest wins and milestones can boost up the

The Next 5 year Plan: Reshaping the Sports Technology

confidence and conviction to get motivation for the

Industry

dynamic future.

54

Ofer A. Lidsky CEO Excellent Brain 56

Real-time, cutting edge neurofeedback platform for attention training

E

xcellent Brain is an innovative platform

Brain training is recommended for adapting to the fast-

developed to help people who suffer from ADHD

paced world before meetings, public performances,

access the Neurofeedback method. This

examinations, crises, projects, and many more. The most

platform enables real-time feedback of several brain

important factor of brain training is that people of all age

waves with advanced sensor measurements. Using the

groups can reap the benefits from this program.

Excellent Brain Home Kit one can train the attention

Ofer A. Lidsky is the Founder and President of Excellent

abilities with a personal training program. Excellent

Brain who successfully developed innovative software

Brain has several more options --- meditation kit and a

and technologies in VR, Genetics, Digital Health, and

trainers kit.

Education with expertise in cybersecurity and cloud

The Neurofeedback method has been found to be one of

storage. He is an innovative inventor of patents in various

the most effective non-drug treatments for ADHD which

software fields. Some of the skills that Lidsky has

works on operant conditioning and reinforcement to

mastered are PHP, TCP/IP, strategic planning, cyber

improve a variety of symptoms with several different

defense, brain research, blockchain, and many more.

conditions. The brain is reinforced to change behaviour

Here is an exclusive interview with the CEO of Excellent

of symptoms through visual images in the computer. It

Brain, Ofer A. Lidsky, where he talks about the mission

effectively works on ADHD, but it is also suited for

and vision of this social enterprise along with valuable

elderly who wish to preserve or improve their cognitive

pieces of advice to drive the start-ups to success

abilities.

effectively and efficiently.

57

“

Brain training as a potential field with a huge demand from di erent market segments. Excellent Brain is intended to become a world leader in the field of brain training with the integration of Neurofeedback.

“

w w w. e x c e l l e n t - b r a i n . c o m

58

Expanding Technology Access Excellent Brain was initiated as a social enterprise with a mission to provide free training to schools in the periphery. Since then, the enterprise has reached a certain stature in society while maintaining the principles as an “association” to expand technology access at a minimal cost. In the present, Excellent Brain has started the program at eleven schools, focusing on student's progress. The reactions of the parents and the educational staff generate excitement and motivation

or solutions to meet the needs of the target audience. It

for the enterprise to move forward. The primary goal is to

can be successfully achieved by developing new

spread the word and provide everyone with the

interfaces with updated sensors, creating new content

opportunities to train their minds effectively.

for different target audiences as well as producing new Neurofeedback protocols with enhancement in

A Veteran Software Developer

meditation and other performances.

Ofer A. Lidsky is the CEO of Excellent Brain with a specialization in software development in the fields of

Harnessing the most out of Disruptive Technologies

Virtual Reality, BCI as well as Cyber. He has more than 25

According to Ofer, the most crucial part in achieving

years in different experiences of being an entrepreneur

success for a start-up is to have the ability to adopt new

that created an immense impact on him to grow and

technologies with the current trends. Cloud Computing

evolve with time.

is the primary basis for the development of web-based solutions whereas Automation is a necessary tool to

Navigating through Foundational Challenges

deploy in marketing and other aspects of a business.

According to Ofer and his team, they have faced extensive work for more than six years to promote

The Future of Brain Training

Excellent Brain for the wellbeing of society by making

Ofer considers brain training as a potential field with a

Neurofeedback accessible to the public.

huge demand from different market segments. Excellent Brain is intended to become a world leader in the field of

Integrity: A Key to Leadership

brain training with the integration of Neurofeedback.

Ofer said, “Everyone is a leader of his own life.” He mentioned that a leader has to take all responsibilities to

Piece of Advice to Budding Entrepreneurs

transform innovative ideas into viable products. The

Ofer recommends agility and rapid adaptability with

journey always commences with a very important virtue-

changes to the aspiring CEOs who are driving for success

-- Integrity. The pathway to success starts with the ability

in this fast-paced world. Two things are dynamic--- life

to respect the words that leaders promise to complete as

and business that can be beneficial to people who can

a team.

adapt to those within a short span of time. Last, but not least, dedication is very important to achieve business

Advancements through Customised Products and

goals efficiently and effectively. The leaders are required

Services

to possess a lot of dedication to drive the business to

There are more than enough ways to customize products

success.

59

Tuuli Pärenson Chief Executive O cer Gofore Estonia 62

Accelerating International Business Development

by Leveraging Ethical Digitization

G

ofore is a digital transformation consultancy

supported several countries in the implementation of

with close to 800 impact-driven employees and

secure data exchange solutions to increase the

many top experts in the industry. The company

transparency of digital societies. She has also helped to

uses its holistic offerings including consulting, coding,

implement governance practices that aid in turning

design, and assurance as tools to incite positive changes.

cooperation into collaboration. May it be a design of joint

Gofore helps bring new technologies from the drawing

development of e-governance core components of e-

board into daily use. The company aims to help

state or a bizdevops implementation in the private

organizations transform, make them stay current in the

sector, Tuuli takes challenges head-on and brings a shift.

ever-changing environment, and aid them to capitalize on new opportunities.

Learning from Life Experiences Tuuli believes that many people focus on the goals and

An Influential Leader

outcomes in their early careers. She asserts that they put

Tuuli Pärenson is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

in efforts to do the right things initially and build from

Gofore Estonia. She is currently leading the subsidiary

there. Tuuli presumes that the more humans learn and

located in Estonia, but on a daily basis, her team works as

experience, the more focus they dedicate to the journey

a crew with the Gofore group. As the CEO of Gofore

itself and how they do things. She exclaims, “There should

Estonia, Tuuli is responsible for international business

always be a bit of spark and joy in our work! If there is a

development that aims at building an ethical digital

spark, then we can go beyond what we think is possible.”

world.

Tuuli holds a Ph.D. in Economics with an interest in

Biggest Challenge: Sorting between Casual and Serious

sustainable business and social enterprises. She has a

Matters

history with several digital transformation journeys and

Tuuli declares that it is very important not to take oneself

has taken part in many large-scale changes in both the

too seriously. It is one of the biggest challenges that Tuuli

public and private sectors. For example, Tuuli has

overcame in her early career. She adds that most young

63

“

Let's call the disruptive technologies by their true name – promissory technologies. These are the tools that we can use to make the world better, but they do not do it themselves.

“

w w w. g o f o r e . c o m

64

female employees have had those situations where they

their brains. At the end of the day, technology alone can't

are told that black coffee is okay and asked when the

change anything. She highlights that without people, it's

director will arrive. This happens when they meet with

all just hardware and code. Gofore will continue to see

their potential cooperation partners first time in person.

more and more new technologies in the upcoming days

Tuuli remarks that it has happened to her and she has

and months. She claims that she personally would not call

overcome it by taking it effectively.

them disruptive, but rather promissory technologies.

These are the tools that Gofore can use to make the

A Couple of Necessary Attributes of Leaders

world better, but they do not do it themselves.

Tuuli opines that a good leader should have two vital attributes. First is good listening skills, and secondly, they

Preparing to Embrace Disruptive Technologies

should have a good balance between asking and telling.

Tuuli opines that a consulting sphere is an ever-changing place and everybody must continuously learn and

Customization as the Catalyst of Innovation

improve. She adds that as digital implications are

Tuuli mentions that all transformations are as much

increasingly becoming a part of humans' everyday life

a b o u t c h a n g i n g t h e b e h av i o r s o f p e o p l e a n d

and she first-handedly experienced the shift in working

organizations, as they are about technology. She adds

methods. For example, agile teams are spreading into

that Gofore is a consultancy and consulting is about

everything Tuuli's team does.

collaborating with customers. Every customer is

Tuuli presumes that Gofore has experienced the effect of

different, every need is different. Therefore, Tuuli

networking on a personal level. Henceforth, the core

highlights that the company innovates every day in every

team of the company believes that the next main changes

project where they participate. She continues that agile

would be related to scaling it to organizations, societies,

practices, including retros, give very good insights for

and cross-border settings.

them and for Gofore's customers on what and how the company can do better.

Word of Wisdom for Emerging Leaders Tuuli believes that the core of leadership is the ability to

Vouching for a Human-Technology Collaboration

build bridges and trust between a wide set of

Tuuli remarks that at Gofore, the team really does not

stakeholders. She adds that agile practices are great

believe in titles. She adds that they work as one crew and

tools for doing it. By giving more freedom to the teams

for the same goals. They believe that the company's

(and not only development teams in IT), leaders unleash

success lies with its customers' success. Tuuli mentions

not only creativity but also responsibility. Tuuli exclaims,

that the company's customers succeed if Gofore's

“Together, we turn challenges into opportunities.”

experts do their work with their heart and not only with

65