The 10 Most Successful Business Leaders to Follow 2021.

VOL 06 | ISSUE 02 | 2021

10 The

Achieving Great Heights

Leading With Courage, Competence, Composure, and Cheerfulness

Most Successful Business Leaders to Follow 2021

FEATURING

CAMERON BARRETT An Unbeatable Combination of Industry and Safety Expertise and Focus on People Help this CEO Make a Difference

EDITOR’S NOTE It’s all About Working Your Fingers to the Bone

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hat does it take to be successful? You all might have got this question at least once in your life.

Today, people those who are known to be successful or extraordinary, at some point in their past they were merely seen as ordinary individuals. They might not even have been picked as ‘people who are likely to be successful’ in their high schools. While some have been born leaders, some might not even have had enough resources like others but still managed to make it.

Did they have any recipe to be successful? Obviously, No. Coming from different walks of life, all these leaders have had their own obstacles or challenges, which were not the same as of others.

They might have had witness different failures to be known as successful today. They would not have made it if they didn’t have the required perseverance and patience in them. They certainly would have followed their own instincts, overcame every obstacle and failure, and built their own path to reach where they are today.

This clearly indicates that there is no such defined path or way that will ensure success. You will have your own failures, own obstacles, and own experiences. You may end up building your own recipe of success, which may not work for others.

If there is one thing that you can count on, it is studying their leadership styles and approaches and inculcate the same in your professional tenure. Probably, they might have done the same.

1 THE

MOST SUCCESSFUL

BUSINESS LEADERS to Follow, 2021

In this edition of “The 10 Most Successful Business Leaders to Follow 2021”, we have handpicked those encouraging leaders who created their own successful sagas with their dedicated endeavors, grit, and determination.

Featuring on the cover of this edition is Cameron Barrett, a personification of Accountability, Commitment, Teamwork, Innovation, Ownership, and Nimbleness.

When passion meets expertise, the results achieved are transformative. Mr. Barrett and his accomplished team at Field Safe Solutions exemplify this statement. Since coming on as CEO in 2018, Mr. Barrett has brought together a skilled team to build an organization that is making a difference in the health and safety of workers and experiencing tremendous growth while doing so. It’s Mr. Barrett’s passion and focus on people that have fueled that growth and his company’s success.

Let’s unveil more alike and inspiring stories of such inspiring leaders and spread the word about their contribution in making this world a better place.

Lastly, you might come across the articles written by our in-house editorial team and CXO standpoints of some of the leading industry experts to have the know-how about the industry. Make sure to scroll through them, while flipping through the pages, Let’ get on board!

CONTENTS Cover Story

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Cameron Barrett An Unbeatable Combination of Industry and Safety Expertise and Focus on People Help this CEO Make a Difference

Achieving Great Heights Leading With Courage, Competence, Composure, and Cheerfulness

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ARTICLE

Leader’s Viewpoint

CXO

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Pharma in the Times of Covid-19 Crisis What Lies Ahead?

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22

32

Bianca Shakinovsky

Raissa and Joyce de Haas

Stephen Petasky

An Astute Leader Committed to Deliver Innovative Flooring Solutions

Uniting Love for Drinks with Scientific Training for Enhancing Drinking Occasions

Making the Journey of Travelers Enjoyable

Hitesh Dhamani Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

Senior Editor Alan Swann Executive Editors Sharad Chitalkar Alex Spellman

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June, 2021

Featuring Person

Company Name

Brief

Bianca Shakinovsky CEO

Pentafloor pentafloor.co.za

Pentafloor's main aim is to supply affordable, high quality, flexible access flooring solutions, together with superior quality floor finishes, to a wide range of projects of all sizes in the commercial, hospitality and residential sectors.

Cameron Barrett CEO

Field Safe Solutions fieldsafesolutions.com

Field Safe bridges the field data capture gap to help the clients save time, save money and save lives.

Mary Strazzeri CEO

Safety First Consulting safetyfirstconsulting.ca

Safety First Consulting Professional Corporation provides a total solution service to the clients.

Marisa López-Teijón CEO

Institut Marques institutomarques.com

Institut Marquès is an international reference center in Gynecology, Obstetrics and Assisted Reproduction.

Magda Wierzycka CEO

Braavos Investment Advisers sygnia.co.za

The Sygnia Group is a specialist financial services group focused on the provision of multi-management, index-tracking and administration solutions.

Raissa and Joyce de DOUBLE DUTCH DRINKS Haas, doubledutchdrinks.com CEO and Co-founders

Double Dutch is the taste sensation, it’s a whole new world of premium soft drinks.

Rich Moore CEO

CyberSix cybersix.com

CyberSix provides organizations with applicable solutions within the Information Assurance, Cybersecurity, and Cyber Risk Management space.

Stephen Petasky CEO

The Luxus Group luxusgroup.com

The Luxus Group specializes in customizing world-class real estate and lifestyle experiences to connect dreams, passions and real estate investments.

Suzanne Huber CEO

Suzanne Huber Incsuzannehuber.com

Suzanne Huber Inc develops digital marketing programs that accelerate business growth.

Videsha Proothveerajh CEO

Lexis Nexis lexisnexis.co.za

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics.

Cameron Barrett An Unbeatable Combination of Industry and Safety Expertise and Focus on People Help this CEO Make a Difference

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No Shortcuts, No Excuses

Cover Story

Cameron Barre CEO

Field Safe Solu ons

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hen passion meets expertise, results achieved are transformative. A proficient leader, Cameron Barrett and his accomplished team at Field Safe Solutions exemplify this statement. Since coming on as CEO in 2018, Mr. Barrett has brought together a skilled team to build an organization that is making a difference in the health and safety of workers and experiencing tremendous growth while doing so. It’s Mr. Barrett’s passion and focus on people that have fueled that growth and his company’s success.

Field Safe’s corporate values spell ACTION: • Accountability, • Commitment, • Teamwork, • Innovation, • Ownership and we are, • Nimble.

Mr. Barrett is the personification of these values. Since 2018, he has moved at light speed to put the foundational pieces in place that have turned Field Safe into the industry leading organization it is today. He has accomplished this by focusing on people (the Field Safe team, its clients and its shareholders) and through his commitment to ensuring Field Safe can nimbly respond to changing market conditions and client needs.

Mr. Barrett asserts, “Building a great company never takes place without surrounding yourself with team members who share your passion.” This recipe has allowed Field Safe to maintain its growth trajectory despite the economic uncertainty brought on by the global pandemic and the challenges of building a new company.

Connecting with Employees A High Priority Communication and connection with his team are priorities for Mr. Barrett. He recognized very early that the pandemic would make that even more important.

He engaged his network of peer leaders and other experts to incorporate their advice and best practices into Field Safe’s efforts to engage a fully remote workforce to ensure their safety and that business commitments continued to be met. Field Safe’s massive growth and need for additional headcount was another challenge he and his team had to learn to manage remotely.

Events such as biweekly town halls, fifteen-minute video chats over coffee with staff, and rewarding the outstanding contributions and behavior of all team

members are some of the initiatives he has implemented.

Change is expected and inevitable at a company that is growing as fast as Field Safe and Mr. Barrett has challenged his team to take chances and “improve 1% every day”. Failure is ok… but use that failure to learn and improve.

Mr. Barrett believes that leadership is a privilege, and it is important that all leaders take that responsibility seriously. Mr. Barrett leads by example and has set a personal commitment higher than 1% improvement per day. He engages his peer network to support his growth as a leader and thanks his closest allies for their support.

Mr. Barrett’s 25+ year career includes national and international sales leadership roles within industryleading software and technology companies. Prior to Field Safe, Mr. Barrett was President of Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) Canada where he was acting president of Canada with over 800 employees. Mr. Barrett holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, an MSc (Law) from Abraham Lincoln University and an ICD.D designation from Rotman School of Business. He also served as a Board Member of the Information Technology Association of Canada and currently sits on the Board as Chair of Governance and Nominating Commitee of the Huntington Society of Canada and as Independent Director and as a member of the Board of Directors for headversity. Giving of his time to support worthwhile causes is another passion and the Huntington Society is particularly important to him. He is dedicated to making a difference here, as well.

Leveraging Technological Trends to Improve Safety Technology has been both personally and professionally rewarding for Mr. Barrett. He says that the passion and excitement that technology offers individuals to be creative and to take chances is unlike any other industry in the world. Field Safe has provided

the greatest opportunity of his career to exploit that passion and build technology that truly makes a difference.

Field Safe’s priority is to SAVE LIVES while also saving time and money. Each day its team is tasked with improving the field worker experience and it does this by leveraging technological trends like the Internet of Behaviors. Mr. Barrett believes technology and digitization affords the best opportunity to continuously advance the safety culture of all organizations, but those solutions must be easy-to-use, and connect workers.

Field Safe and The Connected Worker Field Safe’s easy-to-use safety application and smarter workflows methodology digitizes the field to connect workers. This resolves the field data gap and enables instant communication and information sharing. Ease of use increases user adoption and forms completion and submission which in turn increases the amount of data collected. That data is then shared in real-time across all team members and head office. The improved access to data allows leadership to make data informed decisions that improve safety, optimize operations and lower costs.

No deal is real until goes into the ditch three times.

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Experience in Software and Technology Companies

www.eldsafesolutions.com Field Safe’s all-in-one health and safety system does away with the inefficiencies of multiple systems and paper-based processes. Smarter workflows reduce the touch points that slow down the transfer of information. Emerging threats are identified immediately, and corrective actions implemented fast.

Solving Real Business Problems for Enterprise Clients Field Safe has a unique market position servicing the very largest enterprises in North America. With more than 10 Fortune 1000 clients and partners, Field Safe continues to evolve its market leading position based on a scalable, secure, and stable digital platform. Field Safe again looks to people (its clients and its partners especially) to ensure its research and development investments will continue to result in an industryleading application that creates value for the market and continues to solve real business problems.

The Road to Zero Incidents In the opinion of Mr. Barrett, both Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning provide tremendous opportunities to impact technology advancement to help drive business outcomes that improve safety and a company’s bottom line. Through trusted advisor relationships with its clients, and strategic partnerships with leading organizations like IBM and TELUS combined with the team’s unrivaled industry and safety expertise and its best-in-class digital solutions, Field Safe has been successful moving companies nearer their goal of zero incidents.

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Field Safe and all of its executive including Mr. Barrett are actively engaged with key associations to stay current with health and safety market drivers. It is honored to regularly receive recognition and awards from a variety of industry organizations.

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The world runs on a clock.

Learning from the Past While Looking to the Future Under Mr. Barrett’s leadership, Field Safe applies the learnings from its past to continuously improve and is a stronger company because of it. Mr. Barrett sees failures as an important tool to learn and grow. It’s okay to take chances but you must make educated decisions that are based on data… a message he applies internally and shares when presenting to clients or at executive and industry events.

But at the same time, you must maintain focus on your core values and your corporate goals. This can be difficult, especially in the early days of a start-up organization but Mr. Barrett cautions that it is critical to maintain this focus.

Day-to-day activities can often make it difficult for a leader to stay on top of market trends that may signal new revenue stream opportunities, as well as emerging threats which if ignored could be very dangerous to a young business and young leaders. Once again, Mr. Barrett looks to his people to help him stay informed.

Mr. Barrett has helped Field Safe maintain its market leading position in a very competitive industry thanks to his people-centric philosophy and encourages all leaders to do the same. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to get started, find a mentor, and do not quit.

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Bianca Shakinovsky CEO Pentafloor

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Bianca Shakinovsky

An Astute Leader Committed to Deliver Innovative Flooring Solutions

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eadership is not about title or position; it is about responsibility of empowering others. Successful leaders believe in making a difference in the lives of others. The same leadership when it’s paired with passion, can turn vision into reality. An embodiment of one such exemplary leadership is Bianca Shakinovsky, the CEO of Pentafloor. Bianca started Pentafloorin 2005 with Larry Shakinovsky, with the main aim to supply affordable, high quality, flexible access flooring solutions, together with superior quality floor finishes, to a wide range of projects of all sizes in the commercial, hospitality and residential sectors. Since 2005, this venture has grown exponentially.

Pentafloor is the largest manufacturer and importer of access flooring in Africa.

Keeping Everyone on the Same Page The journey of Bianca has not been a walk in the park by any means. She says that to have one’s fingers on the pulse of the business is of utmost importance. There are many aspects to the running of Pentafloor. Although she has competent managers in each department, she still has a day-to-day feedback on all projects, knowing that clients are satisfied with Pentafloor’s service is key.

She finds it imperative to a hold management meeting on a weekly basis to ensure everyone is on the same page.

She adds, “Giving your best at all times, and letting your clients know that you have their best interests at heart, after all they are what makes your company successful.”

Being Determined to Stand One’s Own Ground In every business, one will come across challenges.

Bianca believes that what matters is how one chooses to take on those challenges and deal with them. For Bianca, it has been finding the balance between running a home with four children and being on top of her game at work.

Being Limitless and Contagiously Passionate Bianca believes that as an entrepreneur, one should not limit oneself to working 8 to 5.

Secondly, working in a male dominated industry has been especially challenging for her. As a woman she was not always taken seriously and had to become hard and fight for her right to be accepted. Her determination to win has paid off and she is thankful for the resources she has earned by standing her ground.

According to her, entrepreneurs are all about passion in what they do, and time does not play a part for them.

“Your passion should be so strong that it rubs off on everyone you come into contact with,” she expresses.

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Putting the Needs of the Clients First

says that the industry is changing, and they need to be part of this change. “Go out there and show what you are made of. Getting your hands dirty is part of this industry, I have never been afraid to work on site side by side with my teams,” she adds.

From the very start of Pentafloor, it has been the company’s policy to ensure the needs of the client is being put first. To achieve this, Bianca has gone from just a purely supply outfit to a complete turnkey operation. This was achieved by acquiring similar flooring companies over a period of time, making Pentafloor the largest raised access flooring companies in Sub Saharan Africa and the sole distributor of the Shaw Carpet range in Africa.

Being Best in the Industry Bianca’s vision for Pentafloor is simple, “Be known as the go to company.” When it comes to expansion, the company has always looked at the international market as a target it has set its eyes on. Bianca feels with her company’s unique approach to business and its superior and diverse range of products, it will be able to reach this goal and more. “With our mindset and talented staff nothing stands in our way,” she concludes.

Being Accessible to Staff As for Bianca ‘s style of running the company, she takes an open-door approach. Although she states that this may at times disrupt her day’s planned activities, she has also found that potential problems have been prevented by swift decisions. The open-door policy shows she is not unapproachable, and this is important as it gives the staff a sense of belonging.

Remaining a Leader in the Industry Sharing her views on the pandemic, she says the pandemic has affected many lives and businesses. She feels in many ways people have become more understanding and empathic. As for driving the company, Bianca says the joint efforts of all her employees are making a concerted effort to insure Pentafloor remains a leader in the industry. Putting safety on top of the list of priorities goes without saying.

Trusting Principle of Reciprocity Giving back to the community is important and something Bianca holds dear to her heart. As a company, Pentafloor is continually involved in projects that help the less fortunate. They offer their services in which they supply and install flooring to help individuals as well as NGO’s. SPCA, homes for unwed mothers, families whose homes have been destroyed by fire and to churches , to name but a few.

Being Courageous and Fearless As Bianca mentioned this is a male dominated industry, and thus, to the up-and-coming women out there, she first welcomes them for taking the initiative to better themselves. She advises them to never accept no for an answer and allow to be put down or intimidated. She

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Leading With

Courage, Compete Composure, and Ch

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Business leaders have to accomplish certain things or skills in this world to earn a sense of the trustworthiness of clients. By delivering high-quality, upgraded, and innovative solutions to the clients business leaders are able to gain the trust of the clients.

To deliver high-quality, upgraded, and innovative solutions to clients, business leaders need to have sufficient talents and skills. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. No great results are achieved by mediocre efforts. Business leaders need to pay the price of sacrifice, hard work, dedicated and consistent efforts to make a worthwhile contribution to the industry. They need to be free from distractions, inertia and they need to divorce themselves from negativity and focus on the positive. It is essential for leaders to replace negative with positive.

ne gets only those things in life that one dares to ask for. Choosing to be an entrepreneur is not a walk in the park but it means to live on the edge of success and failure. If one has sufficient courage, boldness, and enough nerves, then entrepreneurship is the right path for such people.

Entrepreneurship is a battleground for those who are interested in playing the game of risk and reward.

Those who have the courage to pursue the path of entrepreneurship and those who have great competence to turn their innovative ideas into a reality can accomplish significant success in their business.

One’s greatness has to be established by one’s ability to thrive even in tough times. The challenges reveal the substance of great leaders. To run a successful business even in challenging times is possible for courageous and competent leaders. The two qualities of courage and competence are contagious. The courage and competence in the leaders is passed on to their team members and that truly helps them to manage their business effectively. With courage and competence, one can crossover challenges and will be able to drive the growth of the organization and its clients.

Nothing substantial in life or business can ever be accomplished by playing safe. The comfort zone is the greatest killer of progress. It may be safe but no sort of growth ever happens in the comfort zone. One has to break the boundaries to be successful and to make one’s ideas into reality. Transforming ideas into reality is the hallmark of entrepreneurship. One should be

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Achieving Great Heights

ence, heerfulness prepared to go beyond the trap of comfort zone and stretch one’s limits. Being a successful business leader takes a lot of self-discipline, determination, sincere efforts, and hard work. To be an effective business leader one needs to have a vision and goal-oriented approach to make a substantial difference in the industry.

resolve the issues by having a considerate and solutionoriented approach. They should have a great sense of problem-solving skills to be able to confront issues.

Performing to the fullest of their potential is the hallmark of great business leaders. They don’t want to confine themselves to any limits. It is a characteristic of leaders that they are motivated by the spirit of contribution to society by using technological advancements and all assets. That is what makes them greatly influential. Giving back and serving the community is in the conscience of business leaders.

Such leaders want to be part of something great by making a worthwhile contribution to the community/industry.

Exemplary leadership is about creating a positive environment with a purpose that matters and a plan that delivers results. Those who practice impactful leadership know that it is critical that the team members embrace the problem or opportunity ahead, help develop the solution, and internalize the approach to win. The right attitude and the right mindset are important for leaders.

Accomplished business leaders respond intelligently than reacting impulsively or instinctively. The advanced conscience and intuition of such leaders help them to be more in tune with their inner voice. They have the courage to follow their conscience and intuition and they don’t get distracted by the noise of others. They drive the successful growth of the organization by leading with courage, competence, composure, and cheerfulness.

Leaders should inspire, encourage, and drive the teams to deliver exceptional results. To do that, leaders need to have sufficient good qualities in themselves to be able to inspire, encourage and lead others. Business leaders need to be decisive; they should be able to take high-value decisions. They should challenge the status quo. They should practice active listening and should

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Raissa and Joyce de Haas Uniting Love for Drinks with Scientific Training for Enhancing Drinking Occasions

Raissa and Joyce de Haas Co-Founders

Double Dutch Drinks

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t gives great satisfaction to the entrepreneurs to create something that will increase the joy of their customers. By combining one’s passion along with adapting scientific approach, entrepreneurs like to deliver something that enhances the experiences of the customers. Along with this, their background also plays a significant role. The Dutch background of Raissa de Haas and her twin sister Joyce de Haas gave them an innate love for quality drinks which united with their scientific training to produce a twin powerhouse of innovation and extremely good taste. Therefore, they started Double Dutch Drinks in 2015. At Double Dutch, the finest ingredients, the latest scientific research, and the craft of mixology are combined to create soft drinks that intensify the flavor of spirits and thrill the palate when drunk alone.

Doubling People’s Enjoyment by Delivering Highest Standard Drinks Drawing on their Dutch heritage of creating great alcoholic drinks like gin, the twin sister’s ambition is to double people’s enjoyment by bringing their soft drinks up to the standards of the world’s finest spirits.

Double Dutch is a brand built on a belief of maximizing flavorful drinking, creating unexpected pairings that enhance every adult drinking occasion – whether served with premium spirits or savored solo. The company continues to position itself as the key challenger brand in the tonic water & premium mixer category, offering a fresh, healthy, and innovative proposition to the market.

flavors including an Indian Tonic Water which has been awarded best tonic globally, a spicy Ginger Beer.

Recently, it has launched its cocktail soda range with a Bloody Mary and Cucumber Margarita soda. Its entire range is low in calories and uses natural flavorings.

With innovation at its core, Double Dutch is proud to have won over 40 awards to date.

Having Faith, Passion and Perseverance Any successful company usually starts with an idea, which developed from a passion and Raissa thinks this is hugely important. She states that passion will help entrepreneurs through all the hard times and every entrepreneur will need to make the sacrifices in their journey. She says, “Greater the passion leads to stronger the perseverance. As an entrepreneur you have to believe in yourself and your product. Being convinced of yourself, your passion, and your idea, also ensures you can inspire others around you.”

Having Innovation as a Core Principle Double Dutch was the first mixer brand to launch quinine-free tonic, to focus on double paired flavoring for mixers and use the art (and science!) of molecular gastronomy for recipe development. Since it has launched with its Cucumber & Watermelon, and Pomegranate & Basil, it has expanded its range to 12

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Raissa states that in any leadership role it’s important to inspire and encourage everyone in the team to be their best self and believe in the bigger picture of what one’s company is trying to achieve. She says that it starts with listening carefully and creating a culture where mistakes are allowed to happen.

Raissa personally believes very much in trial and error whilst building any company. She thinks, at Double Dutch Drinks, they have learned a lot more from the mistakes they made in the past than they have from their successes. In terms of leadership style, being a Dutch founder of a UK-based company Raissa thinks there are certainly some challenges to be overcome.

Most importantly they both ( Raissa and Joyce) are naturally quite direct whilst their experience of working with the British is that they tend to be a little more diplomatic, so that’s definitely something they’re working on!

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Striving for Highest Quality Product Double Dutch is reliant on its suppliers, all the way from its raw ingredients to its final packaging while striving for the highest quality product. Finding the right partners that can grow with Double Dutch, but also

Double Dutch’s totally natural, low-calorie, UKproduced soft drinks can be found in 35+ countries across Europe.

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Learning from Mistakes

offer the best level of quality, has been challenging for the company. Raissa feels that this is something she needs to monitor, adapt, and improve upon.

Besides, other challenges have been growing the production itself, finding new and better partners that can bottle and produce its drinks to the standard it expects, and that are able to grow with the company. As a smaller company Double Dutch was lucky to be nibble and implement quick changes during the pandemic. For example, it was able to launch its direct-to-consumer web shop within 4 days of the announcement of lockdown in March.

Driving Sustainability by Being Carbon Neutral As a company, doing business the right way is an important principle for Double Dutch and it is trying to build a culture that helps to make change. It has a strong female representation at all levels in the business, and a clear policy in place to support diversity.

They both (her sister Joyce and Raissa) feel strongly about the fact that women need to support women – but without excluding men. They have recently

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launched a scholarship and mentoring programme for female bartenders to support women looking to build a career in the industry.

get direct feedback from customers than rounds and rounds of internal discussion.

For female entrepreneurs specifically, Raissa thinks there is so much positive changes happening with lots of incentives and events for female entrepreneurship and encourages them to make the best use of this. She believes that hard work really does pay off!

Double Dutch is also exploring new ways to drive sustainability through its supply chain. For example, it is looking to leave a positive impact on the environment by ensuring the brand is carbon neutral by the end of 2021.

Sparkling Sociable Drinking Occasions Prioritizing Validation and Feedback from Customers Double Dutch’s vision is to be the flavourful drink of choice for spirit savvy sippers as well as no/low enthusiasts and become known globally as the mixer brand for creative flavours and sparking sociable drinking occasions. To achieve this, the company is putting a large focus on international expansion. It is now available in over 35 countries and is building plans for its core 10 markets, as well as a US expansion planned for later this year.

Raissa advises aspiring entrepreneurs to get out and start selling quickly, get real market validation and then tweak their business based on real market feedback.

She advises them to not commit a mistake of postposing market launch of a new product by attempting to make it perfect. She also adds that the customer is always right and therefore, it is valuable to

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Leader’s Viewpoint

PHARMA IN THE TIMES OF

C VID-19 CRISIS What Lies Ahead?

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towards finding diagnostic, preventative and curative measures. The result- scientific innovation propelled at a pace which was unheard of. The best example for this can be seen in vaccine development timelines. The fastest that a vaccine has ever been developed is four years, when mumps vaccine was approved in 1967. In contrast, in December 2020, less than a year into development, Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine became the first to be approved for emergency usage by FDA. Interestingly, this is also the first vaccine developed using mRNA platform, a technology never previously been approved for general use. The validation of this new technology and the accelerated speed with which it was tested has changed the future of vaccine science.

Many more vaccines using different platforms have since been approved. Could this have been possible without the crisis situation that created a sense of urgency? I don’t think so.

ith increasing globalization, it seems that the world is shrinking. Pharmaceutical industry has been quick to adapt to this philosophy and accommodate rising demands for advanced medicines across the globe. With the set-up of product R&D and manufacturing centres around the world, pharma supply chain has become global. While this allows businesses to leverage local resources and reach diverse populations, under the present dynamic world economy, it has also made them face the brunt of financial, organisational and technological crisis. The pitfalls of this interdependent economic ecosystem have been apparent with the current coronavirus pandemic which has affected over 200 countries and resulted in about 4 million fatalities thus far. The unprecedented drop in trade & economic activity due to lockdown measures to contain the virus has crippled businesses and left millions jobless. There’s no doubt that the $90 trillion global economy is experiencing its worst crisis ever since the Great Depression of 1930’s.

Can there be a light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel? I believe there is.

Besides vaccine development, pharma companies are working round the clock to develop therapeutic resources for Covid-19. As per US-FDA data, 10 drugs and biological products have been given emergency usage approval and over 620 other drug development programs are in Pre-IND stage. These programs belong to diverse categories including antivirals, immunomodulators, biologics, gene and cell therapy.

Production of medicines in high demand, like antipyretics, analgesics and multi-vitamins, has also been increased. Additionally, as part of their humanitarian outreach, several big pharma companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, to name a few, are making in-kind and financial

While all businesses have been forced to pivot in order to stay relevant in the current economic scenario, needless to say pharmaceutical sector has been at the epicentre of this turmoil. Travel and import bans disrupted their supply chain, affecting manufacturing capabilities; uncertainty in trade due to global economic volatility reduced revenues and slowed growth. Even when these challenges disrupted the industry, pharma innovators led the charge in the fight against Covid-19 crisis. All resources were mobilized

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About the Author Dr. Parul Ganju is the Co-founder and CEO of Ahammune Biosciences, a drug discovery company working to develop new treatments for skin depigmenting disease, vitiligo. At Ahammune, Parul leads R&D, product development and investor relations. After completing her PhD in Skin Biology from National Institute of Immunology, Delhi she was a DST-Inspire Faculty at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB). She has extensive experience in the area of dermatology with specialization in vitiligo pathophysiology. She has unique insights into development of animal models for dermatological conditions to aid in drug discovery research. She has published her research in leading journals like Proceedings of National Academy of Science and Nature Chemical Biology and has filed for multiple patents.

Dr. Parul Ganju

Co-founder and CEO Ahammune Biosciences Pvt. Ltd

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donations to vulnerable communities. Companies like Gilead and Eli Lilly have signed non-exclusive licensing agreements with generic pharmaceutical manufacturers to increase availability of their Covid-19 drugs throughout the world.

OOAC offers alternative to this traditional animal model testing. It is a biomimetic system of human organ built on a microfluidic chip. These devices recapitulate the structural and functional characteristics of human organs and hence provide precise insights into human health. Better prediction reduces failure rate and enables faster and cheaper drug development. Considering its potential game changing impact, OOAC was named amongst Top 10 Technologies of 2016 by the World Economic Forum.

As borders blur, there is increasing realisation that global well-being across all nations is the only way out.

Indeed, the pharma sector has delivered on its promise for a quick global response during this pandemic by forging ahead at war time speed. But what lies ahead?

While the fear of next phase of pandemic still lurks, data analysis thus far indicates that chronic, preexisting medical conditions have played a critical role in driving mortality due to Covid-19. An increase in ageing population and lifestyle changes are contributing to a steady increase in such chronic diseases which include diabetes, cardiometabolic conditions, arthiritis etc. The pandemic is expected to worsen these statistics and increase pressure on health systems. Patients’ demands for chronic care needs thus are expected to be a major burden on the pharma sector in the near future. This calls for a complete strategic restructuring of pharma businesses in order to cater to requirements of accurate diagnostic solutions and safer and affordable drugs for long-term needs.

Traditionally, considered a sector averse to risk in terms of adoption of new technologies, pharma companies have now started to focus on discovery research, digital transformation and new modes of customer engagement. A massive revamp with increased R&D investment is thus in store with the adoption of new and emerging technologies to navigate the companies efficiently into the future. Infact global R&D for this sector is poised to increase from $165 billion in 2017 to about $203 billion in 2024. Few technologies that will drive this pharma revolution are listed below: Ÿ

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Artificial intelligence (AI): AI is digitally transforming every facet of pharma industry- from disease diagnosis, to discovery R&D and drug manufacture to patient care. The biggest impact that AI aims to bring is to ease the process of identifying and validating new drugs by predicting drug-target interaction at the molecular level. By making drug design process more efficient, AI is poised to reduce the cost of developing new drugs, which currently stands at a staggering average of $1.3 billion.

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Digital Medicine: Internet of things (IoT) revolution has swept through the pharma sector and is changing the way patients engage with their healthcare system. From wearable biosensors that monitor your vital signs to insulin pens and connected inhalers, digital medicine allows for remote health monitoring and gathering real-time analytics to generate actionable insights. With tech giants like Apple, Samsung and Google in the race to demonstrate their commitment to assist in health monitoring, digital medicine is going to be transformative for patients, especially for chronic illnesses.

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3D Printing: Customized pharmaceutics is no longer a thing of fantasy. Pharma companies are beginning to move away from “one-size fits all” model of mass production towards a more personalised mode.

Thanks to 3D printing, a technique which acts as a versatile tool for producing individually designed dosage form and tailor made prostheses for patient needs. It allows for the production of small, patientcentric batches of different shapes, sizes and release characteristics of drugs with high precision. With better automation, reduced wastage and possibility of easy modifications of a product at a designed level, 3D Printing is an easy to use and cost-effective alternative to conventional manufacturing methods.

Can pharma businesses sustain “Operation Warp Speed” for new drugs and medicine development? It remains to be seen. What the last few months have shown us is that with inclusive partnerships of all stakeholders- governments, regulators, academia and industry- innovative solutions can be accelerated for benefit of the people. With the uncertainty about how long the covid-19 crisis will last, the pharma industry needs to work with a sense of purpose, now more than ever, to improve healthcare which will enhance living standards and save lives.

Organ-on-a-chip (OOAC): One of the biggest challenges in drug discovery is to accurately predict drug responses in the context of human physiology.

Animal models do not always reflect human disease physiology, making data extrapolation inaccurate.

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Stephen Petasky Making the Journey of Travelers Enjoyable

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Luxus Group, which offers a range of tailored lifestyle and real estate investment strategies to help people achieve global diversification. Its unique position allows it to identify, access, develop and manage all aspects of emerging, high-quality opportunities on behalf of its clients.

ll human beings are shaped by some striking, formative, and transformative moments in life.

These once-in-a-lifetime moments create impressions in our memory, and they play a key role in deciding the trajectory of our lives. The most wonderful experiences helped shape Stephen Petasky as a young boy travelling to Disneyland with his parents and sister, learning many incredible lessons along the way.

Following that return from Disneyland, he was incredibly lucky to watch his parents buy a business and witness all of the struggles and successes that come along with entrepreneurship.

Making Vacation Experiences Incredibly Memorable Much of the inspiration for Luxus came from his love of travel and the incredible memories he made while travelling with family. Over 15 years ago, Stephen recognized a void in the travel industry and worked hard to develop a concept that would bring these experiences to more people. In 2007, he founded The Luxus Group, creating an experience that combined the consistency of a luxury hotel with the size, comfort, and sense of ownership that a private vacation home offers.

This offering grew to over 50 properties worldwide and

That was the year in his life that fostered this passion and ultimately put him on a lifelong path of entrepreneurship, travel and helping people.

Fortunately, 'The Luxus Group' allows him to do all of these at one time. Stephen is the President at The

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Stephen Petasky President The Luxus Group

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led to the expansion of new elements of its business, including the launch of Luxus Restoration, restoring ancient Tuscan ruins for discerning buyers.

It now runs a multi-disciplined company with several brands offering management, development and service of lifestyle and real estate assets. The Luxus Developments side of its business focuses on boutique luxury projects in vacation destinations such as Hawaii, Mexico, California, and Las Vegas. Helping more people buy, build, co-own and/or manage their super cool vacation properties around the world is Stephen's mission. His wife Carrie and their kids have certainly appreciated these services, making their vacation experiences incredibly memorable! Stephen wants more people to experience the power of spending dedicated time away with the ones they love.

Creating Efficiencies at All Levels With significant investment of both time and capital, Luxus developed custom software ideal for managing shared inventory. After ten years of perfecting its system, it now has a product that best serves both the consumer and the operator, creating efficiencies at all levels of its business. Technology has changed its ability to operate assets remotely, not only from a booking perspective but in the property management aspect of its business. Its system connects remote vendors to its booking system and manages ongoing property-related maintenance, cleaning programs and consumer feedback.

Facilitating Private, Safe, and Secure Vacations With in-depth knowledge of the vacation home experience, from buying and selling, syndicating usage, ground-up development and restoration, and continuous management of the assets, The Luxus Group has expertise in all aspects of this industry. It provides a different level of service for its consumers because it understands all the pieces and can manage each project more effectively.

The demand for private, safe, and secure vacation homes has increased substantially over the past 14 months due to the pandemic. A trend that was already on the move is accelerating and is likely here to stay. It doesn't mean that people won't choose to travel to hotels, but it does mean a more significant market share of people choosing to travel to a private vacation home.

Whether someone decides to buy their own home, joins

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a co-ownership or rents a comparable property, there are many options to explore.

Meeting the Changing Travel Demands Stephen has always had a strong entrepreneurial mindset and passion for creating solutions for travel and real estate investments for clients. Like most entrepreneurial journeys, The Luxus Group has had many ups and downs over its nearly 15-year history.

The Luxus Group has been helping its clients buy vacation homes as a safe alternative throughout the pandemic. As a direct result of COVID, it is launching an official advisory service that it sees growing significantly based on people's desires to travel in safe and responsible ways. It is taking away the barriers to some of the most incredible experiences in life, owning and taking care of a vacation home.

The learnings are invaluable. It will use them to grow as an organization and best serve its two existing coownership offerings: The Premiere Collection and Ena Lake Lodge Private Fishing Club. The Luxus Group will also launch new product offerings over time to meet the changing travel demands created by COVID-19.

Without a doubt, COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated the demand for travel to private vacation properties, and Luxus Group is looking forward to serving this niche for many years to come.

The advisory service will help people through the experience of making a lifestyle investment in vacation real estate. The Luxus Group takes away the fear and uncertainty, making the journey as enjoyable as it should be!

A Precious Note to Aspiring Entrepreneurs As all entrepreneurs would say, one just has to start!

Stephen advises budding entrepreneurs not to let perfection paralyze them. A small business is versatile and will eventually require more complex processes as it grows. Overcomplicating one's business will make it confusing for the end-user, hard to implement and execute. He advises them to keep it simple and don't let perfection stand in their way - just start!

Sharing Experiences, Knowledge, Mistakes and Learnings A healthy industry is good for everyone! With the launch of The Luxus Group's new advisory service, it wants to share its experiences and knowledge about the industry to both the consumer and to those wishing to start something of their own. The advisory offering is in its infancy, but Stephen truly believes that knowledge is power, and he wants to get as much content out as possible. He plans to put it out there through various social channels so that people can learn through their experiences- their mistakes, their wins, and their learnings along the way!

“The Luxus Group helps people live healthier, happier, more fullling lives. It specializes in customizing world-class real estate and lifestyle experiences for people who want to connect their dreams, passions and investments.”

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