The 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Watch, 2021

Solving the Puzzle

The Role of CEO in Shaping Company's Culture

Pragmatic Strategy

Leadership in the Times of Crisis

EDITOR’S NOTE Leading with Ingenuity, Presence of Mind and Rationality

C

OVID-19 has impacted every business sector, dramatically changing how the workplace functions, adding more responsibilities to the role of the CEOs in managing businesses. Confronting this unprecedented event, CEOs have utilized their ingenious mindset rationally, suiting the new era after the pandemic. These leaders use an innovative approach to stay ahead and gain a competitive edge, delivering effective results.

They have great insights that help them in making brilliant decisions. Leading CEOs take initiatives that can ultimately bring disruptive, transformative shifts adapting to the constantly changing business world. They leverage technology to utilize them at their fullest potential, maximizing efficiency.

What sets CEOs apart is their methodologies that align with the organization's goals, paving a path to streamline the work process.

With their inventive approach, these leaders take their businesses to great heights, utilizing the resources at their expose to deliver more significant results exceeding expectations. When challenges present themselves, these leading CEOs view them as opportunities to seize the moments with an analytical approach driving high profitability.

Great leaders have great attributes, and their innate traits help them lead efficiently and effectively. Their presence of mind, preexisting knowledge, and talents help them take the most pragmatic decisions even at the spur of the moment. They anticipate market

trends and prepare strategies accordingly to deliver the solutions more rapidly and provide a competitive advantage.

Leaders inspire others with their words and actions akin to their commitments. The inspirational standard they set in their organization brings out the best in their employees to perform more diligently. Employees are happy to go one step ahead and perform better when they have an inspiring example of a great business leader in front of them. They tap their inner potential and combine their talents and skills to address the needs while anticipating possible challenges along the way. Not only do these CEOs engrain a supportive work culture, but they also encourage their team to promote a work culture that can bring ideas to the table without any hesitation. They inspire the upcoming generation of leaders by setting exemplary examples of business acumen, ethics, and strategies.

Thus, CIO LOOK features "The 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Watch, 2021" in its latest edition, shedding light on the journeys of the leaders across the world who have defied the odds and come out on top.

While flipping through the pages, glance at the articles written by our in-house editorial team and gain insights about leadership through the CxO by industry experts.

Enjoy the Read!

Aditya Gaikar

Cover Story

08 Albert Fouerti

Transforming the Consumer Goods Industry

C O N T E N T S

20

Pragmatic Strategy Leadership in the Times of Crisis

Articles

34

Solving the Puzzle

The Role of CEO in Shaping Company's Culture

16

Arun K. Singh

Strategic Cyber Security Leader

24

Kirsty Gordon

Making Safari a Seamless Process for People

28

Renee Welsh

Informed and Forward-thinking Leader with Wealth of Knowledge and Valuable Experience

36

Steve Wilcenski

Passionately Driving Changes with Nanotech

Hitesh Dhamani Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

Senior Editor Alan Swann Executive Editors Aditya Gaikar Alex Spellman

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December, 2021

Featuring Person

Company Name

Brief

Albert Fouerti CEO

Appliances Connection appliancesconnection.com

Appliances Connection is your one stop shop for any and all appliance brands you may need.

Alice Chang CEO

Perfect Corp perfectcorp.com

Perfect Corp. is the world’s leading beauty tech solutions provider.

Arun Singh Global CEO and Board Member

Ilantus Technologies ilantus.com

Ilantus Technologies makes Identity and Access Management an exhilarating experience.

Ged Parton CEO

Maru Group marugroup.net

Maru Group helps its clients make informed decisions in realtime by combining proprietorial software, deep industry experience, unique IP in System 1 apps.

Jack Owoc CEO

Bang Energy bangenergy.com

Bang Energy Performance Beverages and Sports Nutrition has been producing epic innovations for 25 years.

Kirsty Gordon CEO and Owner

Anywhere in Africa Safaris anywhereinafrica.com

Anywhere in Africa Safaris is a tour operator, safari and travel company.

Lex Howard CEO

Balance of Nature balanceofnature.com

Balance of Nature is an all-natural nutritional supplement company.

Mike Betzer CEO

Hypergiant hypergiant.com

Hypergiant Industries is an enterprise AI company.

Renee Welsh CEO

Embed embedcard.com

Embed is the worldwide leader of the integrated cashless business management systems and solutions.

Steve Wilcenski Co-founder and CEO

BNNano bnnano.com

BNNano is currently the only company in the world with a commercially viable manufacturing process for Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

Albert Fouer CEO

Appliances Connec on

Albert Fouerti Transforming the Consumer Goods Industry

Your source for all home and kitchen appliances.

‘‘

‘‘

over the years the industry changed, and the computer industry became less profitable. As a result, he switched to digital cameras, and in 2008, with cellphone cameras surpassing the specs of the digital camera, the industry became pretty much obsolete for him.

Finally, Albert shifted focus towards domestic appliances and embarked on his decision to consider that appliances and their demand can only ever grow in scope as technology improves.

O

ver the last few decades, every industry has seen the opportunity, inevitability and promise of technological innovations to elevate its business. The consumer goods sector had it difficult at the earliest stages of this digital transformation. Ecommerce has been a significant vector for retailers to sell their goods, making it more convenient for sellers and buyers alike to conduct business.

Today, with the help of online platforms, retailers can connect with consumers everywhere to create a buzz around their brand. This means even greater exposure for highly sought-after luxury brands such as Miele, ILVE, Monogram, Café, Bosch, Viking, Bertazzoni, Fisher & Paykel, and Forté. What was once sold to customers wanting to touch and feel the appliances up close can now be simulated remotely to give them a personalized digital shopping experience. Industry leaders have expectedly developed strategies to deliver the same exceptional services to consumers, no matter where they may be located.

Albert Fouerti, the CEO of Appliances Connection, is one such leader and a pioneer of the switch to the digital realm. He has led Appliances Connection for over two decades with his expertise and innovative strategies, which have yielded significant improvements to both operations and sales after implementation.

A Paradigm Shift Albert started his journey with a computer store, but

However, the appliance industry covers a very wide scope of brands, appliance categories, and design styles, making it hard for consumers to find the perfect appliances for them. As a result, considerable focus was placed on optimizing searches, allowing customers to dramatically narrow down their selection according to their specifications. Products can be filtered by design style, availability of specialized features like Sabbath Mode, or even by technical details so you can confirm they are compatible with your utilities. Additionally, they produce a wide breadth of educational content on their blog site so customers are updated on the newest releases, the top appliances of the year, and are even provided buying guides so they are as educated about their purchases as the experts at Appliances Connection are.

A Straightforward Streamlined Approach From its inception, Appliances Connection has striven to be customers’ one-stop shop for all their appliance needs. It believes in providing customers with the most seamless, worry-free shopping experience by keeping everything within its vast network of residential and commercial design professionals.

Whether you need help remodeling your home kitchen or are looking to stock an entire apartment complex, look no further than Appliances Connection. The company’s close relationships with interior designers, builders, customer service specialists, and other professionals will ensure everyone is working as a cohesive unit to get your project done precisely to your specifications.

Moving Up in the Industry Before Appliances Connection came online in 2008, buying appliances online was a rarity and mostly unheard of. Most consumers preferred the personalized experience of a brick-and-mortar retailer

that would allow them to see and touch the appliances personally before making their purchases.

The Highs and Lows of the Pandemic Albert expresses that the consumer goods industry took a heavy hit because of the pandemic. Many brickand-mortar stores lost significant capital due to lockdowns, and many customers transitioned to ecommerce platforms like Appliances Connection for their needs.

Additionally, limited manufacturing has caused significant delays in the delivery of physical goods.

Many retailers, both in-person and online, are unable to keep up with the growing demand from consumers.

Being based in the Northeast United States, Appliances

‘‘

We're able to give customers a personalized digital shopping experience.

‘‘

After seeing how successful Appliances Connection became, many retailers followed the trend it set, trying to get a piece of the pie. It has remained a top contender in this industry through its diligent efforts and continues to grow every day.

Connection had an uncertain first couple of months of the pandemic, as many retailers did. However, thanks to its merger with Goedeker’s, it has not only been able to expedite deliveries, but it also acquired and continues to acquire new warehouse locations across the United States. Combined with an expanded fleet of trucks, these developments will greatly reduce shipping times and allow the company to make deliveries faster than ever before.

Customer Focused Work-Culture As stated earlier, Appliances Connection has striven to be customers’ one-stop-shop for their appliance needs.

Albert believes this is fostered by facilitating solid interpersonal relationships amongst the company’s staff. To this end, it has adamantly committed to having a very open and friendly office environment for its employees.

When everyone is on a first-name basis, everyone feels respected. When everyone feels respected, the quality of the work flourishes and its customers reap the rewards. Appliances Connection does not simply “put on a face.” It wants its customer service professionals to be authentically committed to providing customers with a warm, friendly experience for even the simplest appliance inquiries. To help them, the company provides regular, informative training sessions to ensure they are prepared for whatever its customers may need assistance with.

Appliances Connection’s employees are much more productive when they are confident in both their appliance knowledge and the company’s commitment to fostering their career growth.

Gaining A Foothold Utilizing Technologies Albert states that e-commerce has a solid foothold in every industry, including retail, but its potential continues to manifest in new and exciting ways with each passing year. The pandemic gave e-commerce a significant boost in the number of new shoppers in the online space as well as user experience innovations being developed, making online retailers more competitive in the industry.

Appliances Connection has several teams of marketing professionals, web developers, data entry specialists, and more to ensure it explores every avenue and keeps up with the latest technology trends.

In particular, the dedicated web development team produces and integrates new technologies into Appliances Connection’s website to enhance its visitors’ shopping experience, such as the Interior Design Inspiration Platform. It is not simply a brick-andmortar appliance retailer. It prides itself on providing customers in both the domestic and commercial sectors with personalized, in-depth e-commerce experiences from their project’s planning stages all the way to completion. In addition, the company’s merger earlier this year has greatly expanded its distribution network, allowing it to provide quick deliveries to every corner of the country.

The Change in the Wind Albert expresses that the pandemic caused an unprecedented transition for many consumers to ecommerce platforms to conduct most of their shopping.

As computer technologies continue to advance, customers are demanding more interactive e-shopping to match the in-person experience they have become accustomed to.

In addition, Appliance Connection’s website has become a hub for interior designers across the country to create their unique designer portfolios. These portfolios will connect them with clients in their geographical area, so together they can plan a complete home makeover with products from Appliances Connection.

Rising to a New Dawn Albert plans to make Appliances Connection a household name such as Lowes or Home Depot. His business ventures have had unprecedented growth due to the transition by many consumers to e-commerce platforms. He plans to utilize this boost to garner more national acclaim while expanding the company’s warehouse locations across the continental United States.

Appliances Connection has always been an industry leader and pioneer in e-commerce. The combination of technologies available on its easily navigable site provides customers with the greatest shopping experience that can be found online. Hence, its industry peers frequently look to them for guidance. It has many new and exciting developments coming down the pipeline, so stay tuned for those!

Guidance from Experience While advising up-and-coming entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into the consumer goods sector, Albert says,“Keep adapting; the worst thing you can do is be stagnant. The market changes, and you must change and adapt with it.”

‘‘

Your inspiration lives here.

‘‘

Appliances Connection has risen to meet this new demand with its Interior Design Inspiration Platform, which combines a multitude of strategies to fulfill customers’ wishes for their dream homes, no matter where in the country they are located. Appliances Connection’s interactive galleries allow customers to “shop the look,” providing various lifestyle imagery of kitchen appliances and more information on these items once clicked. For instance, if you see a built-in refrigerator you like in a gallery image, clicking it will redirect you to that unit or a comparable unit’s listing.

That way, you can know how the appliance will fit into your home’s layout before buying it, as well as be provided with information on all the exciting features it comes with.

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Arun K Singh Global CEO and Board Member Ilantus www.ciolook.com

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Arun K. Singh Strategic Cyber Security Leader

L

eaders in the security industry understand the importance of forming trusted relationships, not only internally but also with third-party entities.

Leaders who demonstrate a go-getter attitude and the willingness to learn with the team have great potential to drive result-oriented solutions for clients. With a unique combination of business acumen and deep technical knowledge, Arun K. Singh paves the path to success in cybersecurity at Ilantus Technologies.

started with a very small group of 40 cybersecurity professionals which scaled up to a large number of professionals with a strong global footprint and services covering end-to-end cybersecurity domain from risk & compliance to application security, data protection, infrastructure security, security operations and convergence of logical & physical security. We won multiple awards for productized service offerings and established a global security brand. The key challenge during my tenure at Wipro was to develop a team of skilled professionals in each geo who can interact with the client on the end-to-end cybersecurity domain to position all the services with equal strength.

Arun is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Ilantus Technologies. He is a solution-centric leader who motivates others to achieve their targets with his passionate and vibrant leadership skills. His unique ability to bring the best out of the team is backed by his sound knowledge of the security domain and a strong work ethic. To gain insights into his successful methodologies, we at CIO LOOK interviewed Arun focusing on his professional journey.

My success at Wipro was noticed by Accenture, and I was invited to join their global cybersecurity group as Managing Director. Though I was hired to drive security consulting and implementation business however soon after my joining, I realized the potential to build a managed security business aligned with Accenture’s Infrastructure and Application Outsourcing business.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Ilantus Technologies. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

At Ilantus, we envision that our flagship solution, Compact Identity, will continue to hold the market leadership position in the class of converged IAM, and we are continuously striving towards achieving that goal.

I started my career in cybersecurity as a cryptographer and security research professional and later moved on to building and driving cybersecurity businesses for multiple organizations. After my post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, I joined Infosys Technologies and focused on creating innovative security solutions for healthcare industries.

That was the time when regulations such as HIPAA, PCI, and Sarbanes Oxley were catching up in the market. This trend was recognized by Wipro Technologies and they invited me to build a global Enterprise security business. My journey with Wipro

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This led to the development of a business case and obtaining funding approved from the Steering Committee to start a new group focused on Managed Security Operations. As the global leader for Managed Security business, I had to pass through many challenges e.g. defining the service catalog aligned with the market, baselining delivery processes, defining guide rails, set up sales and delivery capabilities from scratch, and continuously engage senior management by demonstrating customer success stories. It was an extremely rich experience to build the global business by setting up security operation centers in different parts of the world, acquiring clients in each region, demonstrating profitable growth, and getting high recognition from analyst groups.

As a professional services organization, Ilantus have implemented 3rd party IAM products for clients globally for many years. That experience made us realize that the IAM vendors are offering only fragments of the IAM solution, and clients are burdened with not only buying 5 to 7 different products to solve their IAM requirements but also spent significant time and effort in integrating them. This led to the creation of Compact Identity, which is a comprehensive solution that converges Access Management, Identity Governance and Administration, Identity Analytics, and Privileged Access Management capabilities in a single platform and is backed by an intelligent risk engine and robust identity analytics. It is cloud-native, risk-aware, easy to use, and built on the Zero-trust framework to provide Identity centric holistic cybersecurity to secure clients and their digital transformation journey.

After Accenture, I joined EY LLP as Americas Risk Advisory leader and Partner to build the “Cybersecurity-as-a-Service (CaaS)” business. I started working with EY Global team to develop a business case and obtained funding from EY’s Advisory Investment Committee (AIC) for this new business. My work involved selecting cutting-edge technologies to implement SaaS solutions covering Digital Identity, Data Protection, Threat Detection & Response, and Threat exposure management. These innovative solutions were developed leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Threat Intelligence, and Security Analytics tools. We established an advanced center for cybersecurity in USA to run CaaS operations. Setting up the next generation, fully automated, and clouddelivered cybersecurity services for EY’s enterprise clients was a great challenge to solve at EY. My quest to do something more challenging prompted me to move out of EY and join Ilantus Technologies as the Chief Executive Officer. Ilantus had been in cybersecurity domain since past two decades and provided right platform for me.

Leading analysts agree that converged IAM is the future of IAM, especially in a covid influenced business landscape where Work from Home is the new normal, and Compact Identity from Ilantus continues to be a leader in this space recognized consistently for its innovative features and simplicity. Compact Identity is the only solution in the market that is a true converged IAM solution. With three patents, this product is in the 3rd generation of maturity and enjoys a diverse client base across Retail, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, Telecom, BFSI, and Government sectors.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Ilantus Technologies?

In the long run, I envision myself working closely with the investment firms, serving as advisory board leader for cybersecurity companies and growing business at Ilantus. The future goals for Ilantus is to further enhance its identity analytics engine to integrate it with the latest cybersecurity solutions in the organization and create more use cases for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to leverage these solutions deeply. In the next five years, we see Ilantus as a strong global brand and a major player in the Converged IAM space.

Ilantus has a startup culture, and my past experiences of working with large organizations came in handy in going through a transformation cycle to align Ilantus’ growth trajectory with the market. Currently, I am focused on driving an accelerated growth for Ilantus and taking this company to next level.

Enlighten us on how Ilantus have made an impact in the (respective) niche through security expertise in the market.

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U

learned so well that altogether minimize the threats or challenges that situation creates.

nprecedented time requires an unprecedented response. We may not be able to avoid crises, but how we deal with them can be a complete game-changer. We become stronger by facing challenges courageously without giving up. The greater the resistance we face, the stronger we become. Many people give up in times of crisis. But great leaders deal with it effectively and eventually crossover such situations and emerge stronger.

Being an Eternal Optimist Great business leaders have a never-give-up attitude.

They are an eternal optimist. They know that they can emerge victorious sooner or later. They understand that neither success is final and nor failure is fatal.

Courage to continue is what matters to them most.

They know that crises are inevitable, but the way they will respond will determine the organization's future.

Optimistic Leaders find a way to come out of the crisis situation with their imaginative approach. They focus on what they can do instead of complaining about what is happening to them. They believe in responding cleverly.

Let us see what type of leadership is effective in times of crisis: Hoping for the Best and Preparing for the Worst It is important for leaders to hope for the best and prepare for the worst so that when the challenges come, they are able to be part of the solution. A crisis situation teaches a person more than success. How leaders respond to the crisis makes all the difference for many institutions. A leader's mettle is especially tested in tough times or crisis-like situations.

Taking Strategic Actions and Having Contingency Plan Leaders in times of crisis respond more cleverly, and they transform that situation into an opportunity for doing something different and innovative for dealing with the situation. They take the most strategic actions to deal with it effectively. They also keep themselves prepared with the contingency plan to deal with the crisis most effectively without being disoriented.

Proving Reliability Even in Tough Times The greatness of a person is estimated by their ability to overcome challenging situations and how they handle crises. Crises have the capacity to make or break a leader. Covid-19 is one such unprecedented crisis that tested business leaders very much. Those leaders who successfully handled this crisis and managed the tough situation with new methods have proved their reliability. Such leaders ensured that there was no communication gap between employees and clients.

They ensured communication with their teammates through online tools and provided solutions to the clients by working remotely without getting lost in the pandemic wave.

Navigating Tough Times Brilliantly The amazing traits of leaders make them different from the rest. They step up and lead from the front in times of crisis by taking even more responsibility. They are sharp at navigating tough times brilliantly. They collaborate effectively. They are sharp at leveraging all the assets and resources diligently. They have great negotiation abilities, and they use those abilities wherever needed.

Valuing People Over Projects In times of pandemic, many great leaders put concern for the well-being of their employees ahead of everything else. Great leaders put people ahead of their projects. This attitude helps them be a more successful business leader than the rest.

Responding Pragmatically with Cool Head The crises can be of different nature. Great leaders believe in transforming crises into opportunities. They don’t see things from a narrow-minded perspective.

They have a broad mindset, and they know that what happens to them is not more important but how they respond to the situations matters much more. Great crisis managers or crisis leaders believe in taking some time for responding instead of responding instinctively or without overall evaluation of the crisis. They take a pause and respond most pragmatically with a cool head.

They prepare themselves by taking advanced training and developing their skills, abilities, and resourcefulness to deal with the crisis effectively. And when the crisis hits, they execute what they have www.ciolook.com

Crossing Challenges by Holding the Nerves Leaders, especially in times of crisis, believe in encouraging and empowering people. They encourage people and bring their best out. They make people feel safe around them. They don’t unnecessarily judge them.

They give constructive feedback with empathy as well as courage. They cross the challenges by holding their nerves and not panicking.

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Pragmatic Strategy

Leadership in the

Times of Crisis

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Making Safari a Seamless Process for People

W

hen planning a safari trip, one expects their time to feel incredible, with animal spotting by day and stargazing by night. Having a spectacular experience to be left awestruck is what people seek on safari. To provide such an exhilarating experience, Kirsty Gordon plans meticulous trips and tours to Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, to make your journey a reminiscing experience for a lifetime. As the CEO and Owner of Anywhere in Africa Safaris, Kirsty implies her immense knowledge about travel and tourism to make your safari experience wonderful while managing all the details from hotels, flights, and meals, to make your journey straightforward and seamless.

One of my first incentives was for 350 people from Opel, Germany, to Cape Town. This was challenging as, at that time, there were not as many large hotels that could handle such a big group, but we made a plan and got everyone accommodated. We did special events like - Cape Minstrels on Table Mountain with cocktails and snacks for our guests, themed Fishman evening at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Then I left Cape Town and moved to KwaZulu Natal where I started two travel companies - one was an authentic overland company called Heading South Safaris specializing in ''glam camping'' in Botswana / Okavango Delta, with typical ''Out of Africa Safari'' dinners under the stars around a set table with crystal glasses, white linen, and cutlery; all in the middle of Botswana. My other company was focused on online travel.

We at CIO LOOK embarked on the journey to learn more about Kirsty's 31 years of experience as an African travel specialist and how she provides accessibility to ensure that your trips go smoothly.

I was also a professional horse rider in South Africa, and in 2004 I had the opportunity to go and try and qualify for Beijing Olympics to ride for South Africa as an individual in 3-day Eventing. As I was too old to get a work visa, I applied for an ancestral visa and sold my two businesses to move to the UK. I was offered an incredible opportunity to ride for Jane Holdermess Roddam and try and qualify on her horse Tiger's Eye II. Sadly, I missed the qualification for the Olympics due to a fall and slipping disks in my lower back which subsequently resulted in a back operation in the UK. I got back to riding within three months but ran out of time to get the final three qualifications in place to ride for the Olympics.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at the company.

What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

I studied travel and tourism when I left school, which was over 30 years ago, and then went straight into working for a travel agency in Cape Town called Wynberg Travel. I was doing corporate travel at the time, and about a year later, there was an opening in their Incentive Division, which I applied for and was offered the job. This was super exciting as we focused only on doing travel incentives for big corporate companies.

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So, in 2008 I decided it was time to return to Africa. I missed the beautiful blue skies, lovely warm weather, incredible people, and my family. When I landed back in

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Kirsty Gordon

CEO & Owner Anywhere in Africa Safaris

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Cape Town, I knew that I wanted to base myself in this city that nestles below Table Mountain. This is where I decided that the travel industry was still very much in my blood. The soccer world cup was going to be run in South Africa in 2009, and tourism was the buzzword! I had to do some soul searching as this was the crossroads in my life - do I stay in the travel industry?

The answer was yes…I love people, I love Travel, and I love Africa, so why was I trying to reinvent the wheel.

focus of the business gets to be a number and sometimes passed from consultant to consultant as they leave or move to different positions. Often by the time the clients' trip arrived, their information has become pretty diluted, which compromises the clients overall experience.

Another reason was that I had studied travel and tourism as I wanted to work with planning trips, but down the line, I was ''managing staff and more staff'' and didn't have any interaction with the clients or their dream trips. So, I decided in 2015 to regenerate Anywhere in Africa Safaris and put all my focus on developing a company that I believe is the future model for travel. It has been the best decision I have ever made, and it is so exciting to see how Anywhere in Africa Safaris is going from strength to strength.

I started Anywhere in Africa Safaris and was then approached to assist with a company that specialized in YPO travel. Anywhere in Africa Safaris was put on hold while I ran this other company for five years.

Over the next few years, I start to observe areas not only in the industry but also in myself that I felt needed to be addressed.

We have weathered the storm the past year and a half through covid. Our clients moved bookings but didn't cancel, and focused on increasing our social media outreach, and we focused on making sure that all our clients knew we were still here and going strong developing trust!

Having worked with the big travel companies, I started to notice that often the client who should be the main

I have been so grateful as the bookings are coming in fast and furiously with my international clients desperate to travel to Africa - bookings into Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana, and Zimbabwe have been consistent. And exciting to see new inquiries coming through for travel in 2022 and 2023. Even though we have had come challenges in Southern Africa with some countries putting us back on Red Lists, the encouraging thing is that clients are still traveling as long as they can arrive on flights and get over borders. It is super encouraging how Africa is very much the destination to travel even in these challenging times.

Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.

Our mission is to create philanthropic journeys for our clients to Africa and Indian Ocean Islands that are immersive and life-changing.

Our vision has been to create a tourism company that is small, personalized, and focuses on the client's bucket list dreams of traveling to Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands in the care of a trusted travel company.

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‘‘

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

We are keeping a balance between the ''old'' and the ''new'' technology. In the past, we haven't had to focus too much on social media as our clients have always been repeated and referral clients. When covid hit last year, I had some time to focus more on social media and how we could turn the ''covid'' situation of no travel to our advantage. I employed an incredible social media team who is focusing on blog posts, newsletters, Facebook, linked in, and Instagram so increasing our overall social media reach.

My dream has always been to create a tourism company that is personalized and focuses on the client's bucket list dreams of traveling to Africa and offers more than just booking the clients trips.

‘‘

This has certainly helped us to stay top of mind with our present clients, database and to bring in and work with incredible new clients who have found us through our new marketing/ social media reach. The most important is that we are here and going strong so clients new and old trust our integrity, honesty, and knowledge in planning and assisting them with the challenging travel experiences, so their trips run smoothly and efficiently.

Our Goal - Anywhere in Africa Safaris believes that traveling to Africa has the power not only to transform you, the guest, as you experience places, people and wildlife, that are unique to the world; but in turn you make an extraordinary difference in your support as an ''Ambassador of Africa''. Tourism is vital for the African economies, and each dollar helps to transform the land, wildlife, and communities, for environmental and community protection; so that present and future generations can come and visit this incredible continent - Africa.

We are sitting on the fence with regards to going too ''digital'' with itineraries as many clients still like to have the feel of a beautiful booklet itinerary in their hands during their travels and not only focused on their mobile phone for the app itinerary or digital itinerary.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for the company?

The reason I started Anywhere in Africa Safaris is that I believe there are a need for smaller high-end boutique ''tour operators'' that have a small staff compliment where all the staff is passionate about what they do and that they are not in it just for the ''job''. As the CEO I want to get involved in planning and helping plan my clients' trips, not just oversee. Clients spend a lot of money coming to Africa, so they deserve to have the best people/person working with them, so our journeys change their lives!

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in your respective niche through your expertise in the market.

I pride myself in the relationships I have developed, over the past 30 years, with sustainable, ethical, conservation-minded properties and operators all over Africa. From hands-on rhino monitoring and gorilla research experiences to donating a portion of every booking to an incredible cause like Elephant Havens in Botswana.

I focus on supporting suppliers in the industry who are focused on conservation, wildlife, and community so my clients know that their trips have made a impact and difference to the areas they have traveled and that they can leave Africa knowing that their trip has made a contribution to the sustainability of Africa. My clients can pride themselves on being ''Ambassadors for Africa''.

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Renee Welsh CEO Embed

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Informed and Forward-thinking Leader with Wealth of Knowledge and Valuable Experience

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reat business leaders have a forward-thinking approach. They anticipate events and consciously prepare themselves to make most of the opportunities. They are ready to face challenges, even at the spur of the moment. With a high presence of mind, they keep themselves well-informed with the wealth of knowledge and valuable experiences they have gained in their life. These experiences help them become inspiring and forward-thinking business leaders. Akin to the above mindset is Renee Welsh, a renowned leader in the tech and travel sector who leads with an innovative approach.

dominated industry, it posed challenges. That's why it became her journey to have greater female representation, especially at the C-suite level, so sponsorship, mentoring, and championing became a personal mission for Renee.

Enabling, Empowering, and Easing Management of Family Entertainment Businesses At Embed, its leaders enable, empower, and ease the "business of fun" for owners and operators in the Family Entertainment Center (FEC) Industry.

They enable them to achieve greater operational efficiency while reducing costs and increasing profitability through Embed's integrated hardware and software system solutions.

Renee is passionate about building businesses and transforming industries, and as a natural innovator, she launched her first tech business when she was 27.

Renee gained relevant experiences by joining prominent start-ups including lastminute.com, Wotif, Monster, and RedBalloon. In 2013, she started Booking Boss, the ticketing and booking management start-up, with her husband, Andy. Helix Leisure acquired their start-up four years later, and Renee was appointed CEO of Embed, an integrated cloud-based software solution platform for family entertainment, attractions, and amusement. Renee was a unicorn as one of the rare female CEOs in the tech industry, specifically the family entertainment center sphere. In a heavily male-

Embed offers an array of innovative business solutions such as its arcade debit game card reader smartTOUCH, self-service kiosks, RFID wearable media, game cards, and the integrated software solution TOOLKIT. It offers a suite of software that eases the management of family entertainment businesses via transparent business reporting, central games management, mobile assistant, online party bookings, and more. Embed takes great pride in these next-gen solutions, especially its award-winning Mobile Wallet – the only Apple iOS and Google Android certified solution in the business.

Designed to deliver a superior guest experience in entertainment centers, Embed's software platform is a complete integrated solution that enables entertainment business owners to achieve increased operational efficiency while reducing costs and increasing profitability.

This is what makes it the Ultimate Contactless Solution.

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This makes Embed the only non-banking, nonloyalty, and non-financed brand to sit in the consumers’ Apple Wallet or Google Pay. Mobile Wallet is a virtual game card that guests can top-up or reload using their phones without leaving the arcade game. And Embed is proud that its SaaS systems operate on Amazon’s AWS platform.

Embed operates with a highly competitive global team, with offices in the United States, EMEA, and APAC regions, adding South America to its roster.

To date, it has over 1,000 customers and 3,000 installations in 56 countries.

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Pioneering Tech Transformation of Family Entertainment Industry A very important aspect of what Renee does at Embed is pioneering the tech transformation of the family entertainment industry – the industry of fun. Embed’s award-winning Mobile Wallet is a testament to this – no one in the industry has ever come close to developing what Embed has, and Embed launched it back in 2019!

Challenging Boundaries and Driving Evolution of Industry Renee is proud of Embed’s ability to pivot its business to what the industry needs now. It continues to keep a finger on the pulse of key technology trends to continue to be innovative. Embed harnesses the maverick mindset to challenge the boundaries and drive the evolution of its industry. In hyper-competitive industries, it draws significant inspiration from emerging technology partners (Apple, Google, and Amazon).

Being an Impact Player in an Industry with Strong Business Agility The pandemic forced businesses in the FEC industry to close their doors first and reopen them last, so Embed was there to help them turn the lights back on. To showcase its commitment to the industry’s recovery, it launched Embed’s COVID19 Relief Act in 2020, giving away its Mobile Wallet to everyone in the industry for free for one year. Aside from this, Embed also kicked off its COVID-19 Resource Center, which includes free white papers, an expansive video series featuring critical advice from industry leaders, and free creative toolkits to help operators facilitate the successful reopening of their FECs.

Driving the FEC Industry Forward In today's low-touch economy, Embed's contactless solutions have become more relevant than ever because this is how consumers expect to transact so they can engage with brands safely and securely. From an operator's standpoint, this also means getting realtime data to improve their business. Embed continues to develop and evolve its solutions to drive the FEC industry forward.

Staying Ahead of the Game Renee believes the complete transition to cashless systems is the next big thing. She thinks there is still a huge gap in FECs that have not converted their outdated systems to future-proof businesses. Embed is already ahead of the game. It anticipated this great leap forward, and while it is still innovating to stay ahead, it is preparing for this by lining up exciting solutions that enable the FEC of the future.

Embed joined the fight to eliminate COVID-19 by developing Embed Hygiene Defense products – powerful 100% natural hygiene protection that’s safe for families, which is the primary segment that frequents family entertainment centers. Embed’s business agility makes it an impact player in its industry, aside from the tech solutions it provides.

Making Businesses Thrive and Transforming Industries As an innovator, Renee sees herself continuing to do what she loves in the years to come – creating opportunities to make businesses thrive, transforming industries. She sees Embed at the forefront of solutions providers in the industry, pioneering products that the FEC sector has not yet seen.

Having a Customer-first Approach and Results-driven Work Culture Embed runs on a customer-first approach, ensuring its software enables the optimal end-customer experience because when the customer thrives, the operator thrives. Embed informs every operating and strategic business decision it makes and how it executes it. Embed is dedicated to supporting operators and enabling their businesses to become FECs of the future. It’s why it partners with the best in the tech industry like Apple, Google, and Amazon to empower its customers to provide a superior guest experience at their locations.

Giving Priceless Advice to Emerging Leaders Renee advises emerging leaders to embrace change.

She says, "Advance just as technology advances. Do not just keep up with the times; stay ahead of them. And if ever you feel disheartened with challenges, bring your focus back to the very heart of what you do and why you are doing it.”

Embed operates as a global brand and a tight-knit team, with a results-driven work culture that takes the “business of fun” seriously.

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The Role of

T

he company's leadership determines the company's work culture because it can create a direct impact on everyone in the company.

Leader, especially the CEO of the organization, plays a massive role in shaping its culture as it is the most crucial position in the company. CEOs affect the employees' confidence by the way they deal with them.

They should see employees' mistakes as learning experiences instead of seeing their mistakes as a failure of the employees. Leaders should inspire confidence, courage, hope, and enthusiasm in the employees.

COMPANY

They should not see things in fragments. They should see every isolated event in the context of the larger picture and then take the most rational, analytical, and profitable decisions. Great leaders drive a hunger in the employees for constant learning.

The value-driven work culture can sustain for a more extended period and be more organized and freer from any haphazardness. Great CEOs lead by cultivating a value-centric culture in the company. They make sure that they follow the organization's values and imbibe and develop the same values in their employees.

Leaders of the company inform their employees very well about the mission and vision of the company. They build the company's culture so that it is conducive to accomplishing the company's mission and for making the vision of the company a reality. CEOs of the company play a significant role in determining the company's values for accomplishing the company's mission and vision. CEOs empower their employees to contribute their best for the company's cause. They promote discipline, ethics, morality, a culture of respect, dignity, and shared responsibilities in the company. They make sure that there is no approach of complacency in the team, and everyone is focused on the company's projects.

Leaders of the organization should be great at communicating their ideas brilliantly to others. They should take good inputs from others and implement them in the organization. They should encourage the employees and empower them to attain their best. The CEOs of the companies have a huge responsibility to uphold the morale of everyone in the team. CEOs of organizations should promote a culture of diversity, equality, and inclusion to avoid any form of discrimination against anyone in the company. CEOs uphold the dignity of everyone in the company, and they promote the same culture in everyone, caring about the well-being of everyone in the company. They believe in doing justice to all the stakeholders of the organization they lead.

The company's CEO should award the best performing employees to appreciate the best contribution and encourage others to do the same. It helps CEOs achieve great results for their companies and assistance from the employees, and more profitability for organizations. Great leaders drive outstanding results by being personable and boosting employee engagement for great causes. Creating a culture of discipline, shared responsibilities, win-win attitude, respect, dignity, research, innovation, team spirit, unity, cooperation, contribution, and appreciation is helpful to leaders for driving successful results for the company.

The best way to inspire others or create maximum impact is by setting an example, being genuinely exemplary, or leading from the front. Great CEOs lead so that people naturally would like to follow them because of the leadership traits they embody. Great leaders embody the change or result they want to see.

They lead by example and take decisions in the organization's best interests. Great leaders reinforce attitudes or behaviors in others that reflect the company's values. The responsible CEOs of the organizations diversify their research and efforts to innovate to ensure the future success of the company they are leading.

The CEOs of the organizations have a responsibility to lead with a broad-minded approach and inculcate the same approach in their teammates and employees.

They should be capable of seeing the bigger picture. www.ciolook.com

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Solving the Puzzle

CEO in Shaping

Y'S CULTURE

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Steve Wilcenski

Co-founder and CEO BNNano

STEVE

WILCENSKI Passionately Driving Changes with Nanotech

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o enable disruptive technologies for various markets, including Defense, Aerospace, Biomedical, Automotive, Communications, and Consumer Electronics, Steve Wilcenski leads his team to develop technologies and products on the micro and nanoscale.

As the Co-founder and CEO of BNNano, Steve helps develop new nanomaterial technologies with his innovative and collaborative approach.

CIO LOOK caught up with Steve in our endeavor to find “The 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Watch, 2021.” We talked with him to gain insights into his passion for advanced materials, and the disruptive product development that is driving a transformative wave.

Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.

BNNano is located in Burlington, NC. Our company manufactures nanomaterials and products that contain nanomaterials.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at BNNano. What challenges you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

My journey began after I graduated from NCSU with my bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. I had always had a need to learn and found myself with so many more questions following graduation than when I began. Such questions fueled my interest in other technologies and fields.

We make a specific type of Boron Nitride Nanotube called the NanoBarb™. When added to other materials, the NanoBarb™ improves the material’s properties and performance. For example, when added to aluminum, we can double the strength; when NanoBarbs™ are added to 3D printing materials, they print faster while also becoming stronger and more durable. We can make plastics become heatsinks and enable new technologies to clean water, just to name a few.

Throughout the first half of my career, I was an engineer who made things. I have helped usher in new technologies that impact daily life, made devices that left the solar system, helped explore Mars, and even made devices that have been implanted in human bodies. I am very proud of what I have been able to accomplish on my own and as part of teams.

As the only company in the world with a commercially viable manufacturing process for Boron Nitride Nanotubes, we at BNNano are working to develop novel products that will leverage this super material.

But I have also failed and made a lot of mistakes. That combination of wins and losses prepared me to lead my first team. I wanted to lead, and found with my background and experiences, it felt like a natural progression. I led teams in Operations, Engineering, R&D, Sales, and Marketing before ultimately being selected to lead that company.

At BNNano, we believe that through cutting-edge materials science and innovation, we can transform, revitalize, and revolutionize industrial commodity materials. Our goal is to bring value back to materials like aluminum and polyester that have been relegated to commodity status. We are striving to bring manufacturing jobs and industries back to the United States.

During this time, I began to feel pulled by the desire to branch off and start something of my own. It took a few years to find the right idea, plan, and team, but once this aligned, I took the leap and started BNNano with my business partner Jason Taylor. We have been off and running ever since.

Our goal is to make everyday materials extraordinary by producing new materials that will enable nextgeneration technologies and products that only recently seemed impossible. We are working to make aluminum a super material, evolving additive

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new type of Boron Nitride Nanotube that we call the NanoBarb™. It is easier to use, performs better, and has a low enough cost to be incorporated into applications and markets that traditionally could not use nanotechnologies.

“Transforming and Revitalizing Industrial Commodities.”

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.

At BNNano, it is our people that make the difference.

We are a small, scientifically minded organization with unique technologies and products at the forefront of nanoscience.

manufacturing to support the production of 3D printed parts, and are even developing technologies to help clean the world’s freshwater supply.

The relationships within the company, with our partners and customers, are the key to our success. As a team, we work together, celebrate successes, recover from failures, and grow.

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in nanotechnology through your expertise in the market.

We are not classically educated nor typical nanoscientists. We got involved in nanotechnology because we had been disappointed by the state of nanotechnology in our prior careers. As process engineers tasked with making products out of the latest and greatest materials and technologies, we were exposed to weaknesses in nanomaterials. Often the development of these nanomaterials was driven by a science first perspective rather than an engineering first approach.

Our company culture prioritizes needs over wants.

When possible, we put the needs of our customers and partners first. We locate our operations in small towns and communities where jobs matter and partner with organizations that believe in giving back to communities through training and education.

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

Our NanoBarbs™ and products enhance and complement other technologies, industries, and

Our expertise in understanding how to make and use materials gave us a unique perspective. Our focus was the development of nanomaterials that could be easily used and set out to solve the common problems that plague nanomaterials. This novel approach resulted in a www.ciolook.com

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applications. Examples include aerospace to biomedical, textiles to metals, space to marine, and electronics to water purification. Which in turn helps speed advancements and continue to push that evolution along. We are helping make things lighter, stronger, more durable, and safer while developing more efficient processes and products.

about the current and future potential for nanotechnology.

What would be your advice to emerging leaders?

Be open and honest in your communication and treat everyone with the same respect, courtesy, and excitement. People understand you may not be able to give all the details all the time, but they value leaders who always take the time to communicate with their teams.

Our nanomaterials compliment industries and applications far and wide.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for BNNano?

As one of the founders of BNNano and the current CEO, I believe we are just getting started. Every day we interact with people who share our excitement and vision for nanotechnology. While I plan to continue promoting our company and products, I also hope to advocate for the wider application of nanotechnology and plan to take a leading role in educating the public

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Complex concepts or ideas should be explained in such a way that everyone can see the benefits. Do not use your technology, expertise, or position as a shield to keep people out or to bring people in.

Remember that success may be determined not by the individuals you first meet but by the networks and contacts you build. We have been introduced to a number of customers and partners through our initial contacts.

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