10 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch 2021

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VOL 11 I ISSUE 01 I 2021

The

Most Successful

BUSINESSWOMEN to Watch, 2021

Spearheading Upwards The Urge to Thrive in the Business World

Shifting Tides Evolution of Women Leadership

Laura Drabik

A Prominent Name in the Insurance Industry

EDITOR’S NOTE The Essence of Success

E

veryone has to reach somewhere. The ones, who actually work for it and have honesty in their approach reach their desired destination, and others just dream about it. I guess that’s the difference between the success and failure of an individual in all the stages of life.

However, the definition of career success is different for different people. For some, it is about their payscale; for some, it is about status or promotion. Women have a different idea of success, as they are less motivated by pay and status. Their definition of success lies in making a difference in the lives of others while encouraging other women to step up.

Women wear several hats in their lives. And they ensure to give their best in every role they play. They have also proved their mettle in leadership roles. With their grit, determination, and remarkable achievements, they have shown that business and entrepreneurship should no more be defined by gender.

There have been many influential women in history whose contribution cannot be ignored and had a huge impact on society through art, politics, and leadership. To name a few, Kamala Harris, Maya Angelou, Mary Wollstonecraft, Malala Yousafzai, Oprah Winfrey have made their mark in their respective sectors.

In terms of business, today there are women who look up to them, making these women’s strengths their own. The purpose remains the same to make the world a better place to live. That’s the quality that shines in every businesswoman to bring the best for the people.

In this edition of The 10 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021, we have curated a list of women whose undulating yet successful business journeys exemplify what successful leadership looks like.

On the cover, we have Laura Drabik, the Chief Evangelist of Guidewire. Through her role, Laura keeps her finger on the pulse of insurance industry disruption to coach insurers on ways to innovate their business and achieve a competitive advantage. Over the last 15 years, Laura has been fortunate to play a central role in helping the company grow from an ambitious startup with just 10 customers to an industry-leading postIPO success story with nearly 450. Today, Laura serves as Guidewire’s brand ambassador in the field, elevating the company’s profile while acting as a catalyst between insurers and Guidewire.

In this edition, you will read about many such inspiring stories of women who are at the top of their games.

While flipping the pages, also make sure to read creative articles curated by our in-our-house editorial team.

Have a Pleasant read!

Sourabh More

COVER STORY

08

Laura Drabik

A Prominent Name in the Insurance Industry

C O N T E N T S ARTICLES

20

Spearheading Upwards The Urge to Thrive in the Business World

16

32 Shifting Tides

Evolution of Women Leadership

24

Gloria Lee

Hilda Agajanian

Leading Client Relationship Initiatives

Optimizing Patient Satisfaction with Extremely Devoted and Caring Approach

28

36

Kami Guildner

Manna Kadar

Helping Women #RaiseUp their Voice, Visibility, and Business

A Competent Entrepreneur Curating a Prestige Chain of Cosmetics Boutiques

Hitesh Dhamani Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

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November, 2021

Featuring Person

Company Name

Brief

Davida Brook Partner

Susman Godfrey susmangodfrey.com

Susman Godfrey is America’s premier litigation boutique.

Gloria Lee Client Relations Partner

Rutan & Tucker rutan.com

Rutan & Tucker’s lawyers are widely known as among the best and most effective attorneys in California.

Hilda Agajanian Chief Growth Officer and Founder

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation theoncologyinstitute.com

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation is advancing oncology by delivering highly specialized, value-based cancer care in the community setting.

Hannah Ott Vice-Chair

Cushman & Wakefield cushmanwakefield.com

Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners.

Jacqueline O'Donovan Managing Director

O'Donovan Waste Disposal Limited odonovan.co.uk

O’Donovan Waste Disposal is one of London’s leading waste management company.

Kami Guildner Founder

Kami Guildner Coaching kamiguildner.com

Kami Guildner Coaching weaves soulful-inspiration into mindful business strategies, helping her clients up-level their business.

Karen Burge Owner

Karen J Burge karenjburge.com

Karen J Burge enables entrepreneurs expand their business with expert mentoring.

Kara Boccella Partner

Camden Capital camdencapital.com

Camden Capital provides a holistic approach to wealth management and legacy planning for prominent high net worth families.

Laura Drabik Chief Evangelist

Guidewire guidewire.com

Guidewire is the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently.

Manna Kadar Founder

Manna Kadar Beauty mannakadarcosmetics.com

Manna Kadar Beauty is dedicated to making your makeup regimen as simple and easy as possible.

Laura Drabik Chief Evangelist

Guidewire

Cover STORY

Laura Drabik

A Prominent Name in the Insurance Industry

‘‘

P&C insurers need a platform that helps them engage personally, innovate freely, and grow efficiently. That’s why they trust Guidewire.

W

omen have made significant strides down the road, changing the face of almost every industry. And the insurance industry is not devoid of their contributions.

Today, many women are at the top of their game in the insurance industry. One such woman we, at CIO Look, came across is Laura Drabik, the Chief Evangelist of Guidewire. Through her role, Laura keeps her finger on the pulse of insurance industry disruption to coach insurers on ways to innovate their business and achieve a competitive advantage.

In an interview with CIO Look, Laura talks about her journey and how she has earned industry-wide acclaim for turning savvy insights gained in the field into category-leading solutions for Guidewire and its customers.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Give us a brief overview of your position at Guidewire and its journey since the inception of the company.

Guidewire was still in startup mode when I joined the company back in 2006. I think I was employee number 93. Today we have over 3,000.

One of the best things about joining an organization at such an embryonic stage is that you get to help shape the company it will become. Over the last 15 years, I've been fortunate to play a central role in helping the company grow from an ambitious startup with just 10 customers to an industry-leading, post-IPO success story with nearly 450.

Today, I serve as Guidewire's brand ambassador in the field, elevating the company's profile while acting as a catalyst between insurers and Guidewire. To accomplish that, I am at the center of a crossfunctional team leading the development of industry thought leadership through podcasts, blogs, articles, videos, events, press interviews, and other content that showcases the technologies and expertise that make Guidewire the leader in its category. See

https://evangelist.guidewire.com/ to review my thought leadership.

A critical component of my role is working with insurers to understand their evolving needs and strategic objectives. This not only helps unearth emerging trends, but it also enables me to provide guidance to our internal development teams about new product capabilities that can help meet insurer business challenges and drive new sales growth. Given the pace of change in the industry, another increasingly important part of my portfolio is identifying insurtech investment and partnership opportunities that can help Guidewire customers get ahead of pack—and stay there.

What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you?

For me, any list of contemporary influencers has to include the likes of Michelle Obama, and the respectful public discourse she and her husband have always modeled—a rarity in presidential politics of late. Any mindset that includes the phrase "when they go low, we go high" is one that's coming from a place of strength and equanimity.

Moving beyond current influences, one of my favorite books is Jane Eyre. It's a story about female individualism at a time when that was nothing short of radical. For me, Charlotte Brontë is like a female version of Horatio Alger.

The top of my list of "life factors" that have meant the most to me would be that little checkbox on the adoption form where it asks, "Will you accept an emergency pick-up of a baby from the hospital?" and then clicking "yes"—which I did. My emergency pick-up was my daughter. No advanced notice, no formula, no car seat, no diapers? No problem. It was a leap of faith that nine years later continues to fill my heart with joy every single day.

As a business leader, what is your opinion on the impact of the current pandemic on the Computer Software Industry?

A lot of people describe the pandemic as a Black Swan event—something nobody could have been predicted.

But I disagree, both in terms of the nature of the pandemic as well as its impact. By this point, it's clear that the pandemic hasn't really created new trends as much as it accelerated them. To say the importance of

cloud technology, SaaS solutions, and globally distributed development teams has grown significantly during this time would obviously be quite an understatement. And cramming a decade's worth of adoption and deployment into one year is nothing to sneeze at, either. But the precipitating factor wasn't a Black Swan event at all. It was more like a Gray Rhino—sky-high probabilities long predicted but summarily ignored.

What is your thought on the necessity of a positive work culture? In what ways do you implement it at your organization?

Positive or negative, company culture has a bottom-line impact. You can choose to foster a culture that attracts and retains the best talent, or you can try in vain to buy it. To me, a truly positive work culture has an inclusive, diverse workforce and recognizes and rewards hard work, respects everyone regardless of title, and is fun.

According to McKinsey, companies that are able to attract and retain a diverse workforce are 21% more likely to achieve above-average profitability compared to category peers.

But it doesn't just happen—you have to work for it. You need leaders at every level who can establish clear divisions of labor so everyone knows what they are responsible for—and then give them ownership of it.

Support and promote a wide diversity of thoughts and ideas. Praise people publicly and only criticize them directly and privately. Never give safe harbor to disrespectful statements or behavior between employees.

‘‘

For forward-thinking insurers, Guidewire provides innovative solutions to challenges and opportunities—with a platform that propels businesses forward.

One of the things I make sure to do is to give employees shout-outs about their contributions. I don't keep praise at a team level; I make sure to praise specific individuals for specific accomplishments. One of the things I've found to be effective in creating a positive work culture is through mentor programs that help employees take that next step to attaining their career objectives. And most important of all, you have to lead by example. If you want to cultivate a positive work culture, you have to be positive, approachable, and invested in each individual member of your team.

What is your thought on the necessity for businesses to align their offerings with newer technological developments, especially when it comes to AI, Cloud Platform, and Data management?

Remember what I just said about my drive-by baby pick up? Adoption of cloud platforms, AI, and data analytics technologies can help a business achieve its dreams.

But that's only if it's done well—and for the right reasons.

"I want cloud" isn't a strategy. When considering a migration to the cloud or AI or any other technology, the first question to ask isn't "how." It's "why." To be successful, it's critical that technologies support the business's objectives; and not other way around.

Stakeholders should first define the business problem they're seeking to solve—and then find the technologies that solve them.

But make no mistake. A failure to leverage these technologies where they're needed can already impact a company's competitive posture. In the not-toodistant future, they could call the entire viability of a company into question.

Using the insurance industry as an example, organizations that leverage our cloud platform are able to quickly deploy leading-edge technologies and easily connect multiple different platforms and applications using APIs to create competitive differentiation and fend off rivals. They can rapidly prototype, deploy, and manage new insurance products and services—and then scale capacity to meet changing needs—without crushing operational overhead and capital expense.

In what ways have you or the Guidewire contributed to the community?

We have a program called Guidewire Gives Back that makes donations of both money and employee time to local charities and non-profits. Beyond the financial support, providing opportunities for employees who want to donate their time to a good cause is emotionally rewarding and helps build camaraderie.

We've also implemented a diversity and inclusiveness program to provide educational and career opportunities for underrepresented members of our workforce.

Personally, I sponsor and execute hackathons designed to encourage girls and young women to explore careers in technology. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see high school girls experience that "aha!" moment when they realize that coding is for everyone, and that boys shouldn’t have all the fun.

I'm also a board member of Girls in Tech (girlsintech.org), which is an incredible organization focused on the engagement, education, and empowerment of women in technology. I believe in this organization and its mission so much that I chose to become a board member of GIT over a paying board member position. And I can't tell you how proud I am that Guidewire is a major sponsor.

In your opinion, what could be the future of core, predictive and risk analytics? And how are you strategizing Guidewire’s operations for that future?

I see a convergence of these business-critical technologies into a single, smart platform. After all, users shouldn't have to flip between multiple systems to find and analyze data to understand the best path forward. It should be done for them—within a smart platform that leverages Internet-scale data sources and predictive analytics to instantly provide accurate risk scoring and other actionable intelligence—both proactively and on-demand, depending on the need.

Informed by real-time intelligence and orchestrated through AI and machine learning, this smart platform will automate the vast majority of low-level tasks so human underwriters and claims adjusters can focus on providing a concierge level of service. Like the cybernetic Cylon raiders from "Battlestar Galactica," the smart platform will work symbiotically with the

human, providing the exact right piece of information, at the exact time it's needed.

At Guidewire, we're bringing this vision to reality today.

Our cloud platform integrates and analyzes first, second, and Internet-scale third-party data to instantly and accurately score risk. We're embedding real-time, actionable insights gleaned from this data everywhere it's needed within core system processes.

Our AI-powered claims management tools automate the majority of claims and route only those requiring empathy and expert judgment to human adjusters. And our business-friendly product development tools enable underwriters to launch exciting new products in weeks instead of months or years, and then leverage real-time data to refine those products in-market to maximize profitability. For us, the smart platform isn't just a business system. The smart platform is the business itself.

How do you envision sustaining your company’s competency in a cutthroat and volatile world of business? Where do you see your company in the next five years?

In the most important ways, Guidewire is still the scrappy startup I joined back in 2006. You don’t become the industry leader by resting on your laurels once you have them. We say, 'You think that's cool? Hold my beer," and proceed to outdo ourselves. We've built the industry's largest R&D team, services team, and insurtech partner ecosystem precisely because our customers' success is quite literally our success. And we play to win.

As an established businesswomen leader, what would be your advice to the budding women leaders and entrepreneurs?

Simple: Keep doing what you're doing.

Yes, only 2.3% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups goes to companies started by women.

But a study from Boston Consulting Group found that for every dollar of funding, women-founded startups generate 78-cents, while those founded by men eke out just 31-cents. It's just a matter of time before the savvier end of the VC pool catches on.

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Even within the conservative legal industry, there are ways to innovate your brand and career trajectory.

F

or sustainable business growth, building and maintaining strong client relationships is most important. Strong relationships allow businesses to focus their resources on developing new strategies for success. Gloria Lee works closely with clients to involve experienced legal counsel to address a wide range of legal issues for strategic growth of business development opportunities.

Gloria serves as the Client Relations Partner at Rutan & Tucker, LLP, where she implements new and creative initiatives for developing client relationship initiatives for the firm. Her dedication and expertise in her work have been recognized and honored with several national and state awards for her legal skills and her community advocacy.

We at CIO LOOK caught up with Gloria in our quest to seek “The 10 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021.” We talked with her to get more insights into her work and understand how she has made her mark in the industry.

Below are the highlights of the interview.

Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Rutan & Tucker.

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

I graduated from Stanford University in 1999, the early days of the internet. I worked at an educational start-up which was later sold to Kaplan. I loved working in an entrepreneurial start-up environment and advising families, so I decided to attend law school at UC Berkeley to continue counseling companies and businesses.

I worked at a large real estate firm to help with the development of financing of real estate projects in California. I was fortunate to have a great network of colleagues and friends that helped me through the various downturns in the economy and real estate cycles.

In my prior roles, the requirement to be behind your desk doing client work while actively networking to develop a book of business was challenging, especially for me because I had difficult pregnancies and was trying to raise two young children in a client service industry. Fortunately, the organic relationships I invested in through bar associations, non-profit organizations, and other networking groups paid off into business development opportunities. After about ten years of legal practice, my current firm Rutan allowed me to create a unique role as its

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Gloria

Lee

Leading Client Relationship Initiatives www.ciolook.com

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Chief Business Development Officer, originating clients for the firm and connecting the business community to new opportunities.

business environment. I also want to support each client in their professional goals by connecting individuals to new career opportunities. This may be helping them with new jobs, introducing them to potential investors or business opportunities or connecting them to a public or private company or nonprofit board seats.

Tell us something more about Rutan & Tucker and its mission and vision.

Rutan is one of the largest full-service law firms in California, with approximately 150 attorneys in Orange County and Silicon Valley. We advise clients from startup companies to multi-national corporations with middle-market corporate and real estate transactions, litigation, employment, and intellectual property matters.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the law sector?

Even within the conservative legal industry, there are ways to innovate your brand and career trajectory.

There are new ways to bring value to clients and create roles within large law firms, such as positions in diversity, equity, and inclusion, corporate social responsibility, and data analytics. Don't be afraid to leverage your strengths and passions to deliver what clients need in a novel way.

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

Prior to my new role as a Client Relations Partner at Rutan, it was not very common to have designated business development officers at law firms. Instead, practicing lawyers were responsible for growing their own individual practices. The success of Rutan's investment in a role like mine where I provide a platform for the entire firm by curating industryspecific events and roundtables and coordinate initiatives for the entire firm has been getting noticed, and in the past few years, I have seen more firms invest in business development roles both with lawyers and marketing professionals.

I'm a business development professional that doesn't look like a “typical” law firm partner. I am an Asian American woman doesn't play golf or drink or know much about sports, but I have been able to draw from my interests and experience as a working parent to connect with people in a meaningful way.

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

Our firm has an entrepreneurial partnership model that allows and encourages each attorney to develop their own unique practice area and personal brand.

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

Some law firms are reimagining the billable hour and incorporating AI and using outsourced resources for diligence and practices outside of their core practices to leverage technology and provide clients with the best value proposition for their business needs.

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

My goal is to provide value to our clients by providing practical, cost-efficient, and expert legal services that anticipate future needs in the constantly evolving

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The Urge to THRIVE in the

BUSINESS WORLD

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SPEARHEADING UPWARDS

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hat are the things that shape the journey of any entrepreneur? When you understand the roles and responsibilities in the organization, you indirectly evolve as a leader. For a businesswoman, there are important factors to consider like – work-life factors, risk factors, confidence factors, and many more. Through this article, we’ll see such factors that impact businesswomen’s success.

every role; you have to look after your home as well as the work, so keeping the balance becomes crucial. In this journey, the family members can help to cooperate, and businesswomen can maintain the worklife balance. This may be tough for the initial years, but life becomes much easier once that balance is maintained.

Community Factor – Your passion for your work is valued even more when you serve the community.

Giving back to society is actually a part of the organization now termed Corporate Social Responsibility. For women, this comes quite naturally, because being a mother in most cases, she always has a caring heart.

Environmental Factor – A lot of things depend upon the culture and its impact on the entrepreneur. Creativity boosts in an environment where an individual feels promoted to do so. To create a positive culture, you have to support the individual, respect their thoughts and ideas and celebrate their achievements. Having such an environment gives the best results creating a pool of talented women leaders for the industry. That is why environmental or cultural factor is a big differencemaker in the life of businesswomen.

Self-confidence - Self-confidence is another factor that is necessary when making big decisions and making any changes. This brings a positive approach to the team and a belief among the team members in the leader.

Things to Consider Above all, the thing that reflects in the businesswomen is their never-giving-up attitude and their energy in handling things. They never let go of things that easily.

If they are assigned some tasks, they will give their heart and soul into it, no matter the task is small or big.

Even their approach is always helping and bringing new ideas and perspectives to the table. Not only are they a big asset to the team, but they have also become a big force of the industry today, and their contribution is worth appreciating.

Technological Factor – The technology platforms like AI, Cloud Computing, IoT, or Machine Learning solve complex issues and meet the changes of the business world. Thus, businesswomen need to stay updated with emerging technological trends. There are many women leaders who have made their marks in the tech space, and others are following. Technology has become an important factor because the platform provides a competitive edge and holds a greater capacity to drive success for entrepreneurs and the organization.

Diversity and Inclusivity – If we want everyone to have equal opportunities in life, diversity and inclusivity should be encouraged in the organization. This is also an important factor because everyone deserves to be successful. This should not be limited to the workplace but at all places for fair competition.

Such businesswomen are setting the example for coming new women leaders and are here to make their mark in the world. We are seeing businesswomen ticking all the boxes of leadership, and soon there will be a world where businesswomen can thrive in all the fields. The only thing, they need to consider these above factors, and they can bring transformation in the world.

Work-Life Factor – You cannot be present at two places at one time, can you? Being a woman, you have to fulfill

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Hilda Agajanian Optimizing Patient Satisfaction with Extremely Devoted and Caring Approach

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V

alue-based care can make a huge difference in the lives of patients. An ardent leader, Hilda Agajanian has aptly exemplified it through her institute, The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation.

Hilda is committed to providing optimal care for her patients during their most challenging times. Through her diverse background, she cultivates a patient-centric culture and optimizes patient satisfaction.

Inspired by her vision, we at CIO Look caught up with Hilda to learn more about her journey and contribution to healthcare.

A Switch to Healthcare Hilda started her career in finance but made the switch to healthcare when she and her husband, Dr. Richy Agajanian identified a gap in the healthcare system.

They saw the cost of oncology care skyrocketing and knew it was unsustainable. Together, they decided to start their own practice, focusing on patient satisfaction and outcomes. After opening the practice in 2007, they found that their model of highly specialized, community-based care delivered excellent outcomes while managing costs.

Hilda Agajanian

Chief Growth Officer and Founder The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation Ÿ 40% fewer acute care facility deaths Ÿ 25% Lower median total healthcare costs from diagnosis to death Ÿ All while improving patient satisfaction by 14%

As the demand for their services increased, The Oncology Institute grew alongside its payor partners, innovating new ways to expand access to high-quality cancer care. When Hilda and Richy started TOI, valuebased cancer care was uncommon and relatively unknown, but that did not deter them. They saw the potential of reimagining cancer care and what it could mean for patients and relentlessly pursued that goal.

As one of the largest community-based oncology practices in the country, TOI is delivering on the promise of value-based healthcare and putting patients first.

Providing Best-in-class Medical Care During Hilda’s time at TOI, she has spearheaded a number of innovative new programs, bringing best-inclass medical care into the community setting. She helped co-found Innovative Clinical Research Institute (ICRI) in 2011, which serves as the research arm to TOI. Today, ICRI manages 100+ clinical trials and serves as a leader in the advancement of new cancer treatments. It allows thousands of patients to access cutting-edge treatment in their local communities. Clinical trials aren’t the only specialized treatment Hilda has brought to her clinics. In 2019, TOI launched outpatient transfusion and stem cell transplant programs.

Healing and Empowering Patients with Value-based Approach The Oncology Institute is dedicated to healing and empowering patients through compassion, innovation, and state-of-the-art medical care. TOI is helping to rebuild the healthcare system in the U.S. by replacing costly, inefficient Fee for Service care with a valuebased approach that aligns physicians, patients, and payors to simultaneously enhance quality and manage costs. TOI’s High Value Cancer Care (HVCC) model has been validated through research conducted by Stanford University which concluded that patients in the HVCC program: Ÿ Experienced 30% lower inpatient admissions Ÿ 75% fewer ER visits in the last month of life

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TOI is the first community-based provider on the West Coast to offer outpatient stem cell transplants, allowing patients and their families to avoid the hospital and recover in a more comfortable setting. Transfusions are

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enhance the care that patients receive. Whether it is rolling out a translated, ADA compliant website, expanding telehealth capabilities, or improving connectivity at clinics so patients can stream their favorite show during treatment, they are always looking for new ways to improve.

Being at the Forefront of Innovative Programs Moreover, TOI is at the forefront of innovative programs like research into clinical trials. ICRI hosts hundreds of trials, and TOI physicians serve as Primary Investigators, enrolling patients and contributing to research. As for cancer prevention, patient education and early detection are two of the most important tools available. In addition to promoting both methods at TOI clinics, TOI’s foundation, The Foundation of Hope and Innovation, historically contributes to organization leading research, education, and early detection.

“To date, The Oncology Institute has served more than 150,000 patients with personalized, precision cancer care tailored to each patient’s unique needs.”

Expanding Value-based Approach for Benefiting Patients Everywhere Hilda believes outcomes-based cancer care is the future of oncology, so the biggest change she would recommend for the industry is expanding that model across the country. While value-based care has become commonplace in California, there is still opportunity to educate payors in other regions of the US about the benefits of this model to patients, providers, and payors.

a common element of a treatment plan for cancer and blood disorder patients that typically requires a trip to the hospital. By conveniently offering transfusions at all TOI clinics, patients enjoy the convenience and comfort of a familiar setting. TOI’s world-class cancer specialists deliver quality care that is compassionate, easy to access, and personalized to the needs of cancer patients.

Having dedicated her career to innovation in the oncology space, Hilda remains committed to that goal.

She aspires to bring TOI’s cancer care model across the country, ensuring patients everywhere can benefit from the specialized, cutting-edge care TOI clinicians provide.

Creating Beneficial Environment for Patients and Each other The mission, vision, and core values at TOI inform every decision by leadership and every interaction between teammates and patients. The team at TOI is driven by four core values – genuine empathy, better together, strive for excellence, and unwavering integrity. By keeping the experiences and needs of others at the forefront, collaborating with colleagues, remaining committed to continual improvement, and serving as an honest and reliable partner, TOI teammates create an environment that is beneficial for patients and each other.

Staying Committed to Vision Hilda’s best advice to women starting their careers in healthcare is to stick to their vision. “Hard work pays off, and though the long days won’t be easy, there is nothing more fulfilling than knowing you made an important impact on your industry and on the lives of patients,” she concludes.

Constantly Improving and Enhancing Patient Care TOI’s technology team is always looking for ways to

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Helping Women #RaiseUp their Voice, Visibility, and Business

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hen a woman steps up and thrives, she also takes her peers along. Kami Guildner is the epitome of the above statement.

A connector, a storyteller, and a business coach for changemaker women of influence, Kami believes that women's voices matter. She leads high-vibe entrepreneurs to give voice to their most important messages and create a ripple effect of worldly impact.

Kami is the Founder of the Extraordinary Women Ignite Conference, Extraordinary Women Connect events, and Extraordinary Women Radio™—a podcast featuring wildly successful women who are making an impact on the world. She is also the author of Firedancer: Your Spiral Journey to a Life of Passion and Purpose. She was named to the 2020 Twenty-Five Most Powerful Women in Business List by the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce.

Kami is on a mission to uplift and empower one million women into their passions and purpose so that they live into their full potential and leave a legacy that matters.

At CIO Look, we got into conversation with Kami to know more about her entrepreneurial journey and how she is impacting women everywhere.

Below are the excerpts from the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader. What challenges you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

I left the corporate world after a 20-year marketing exec journey that took me around the world. I always say two gifts took me away from the corporate world. First, I got laid off, and second, I got laid off in 2008, when there were no other VP Marketing roles readily available. I had to take time to slow down and reconnect to myself. My father passed away one month after I was laid off, and as I reflected on the life values he taught me, I embarked upon a 17-month reflective journey of reconnecting to www.ciolook.com

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myself and discovering that I had a different purpose beyond being a corporate exec. It was not an easy journey … I had significant self-perceptions and fears to break through... Then, on one particular day, when it all felt like my life was falling apart, the simple breath of my horse helped me find the clarity and courage to start my own business. From that moment, I never looked back. I knew there was a different journey ahead for me.

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

I weave soulful inspiration into mindful business strategies, helping my clients succeed in business. With decades of leadership, marketing, strategic planning, and business growth expertise, I guide my clients to master their marketing, money, and mindset. My soulful spirit leads my clients to unleash their magical manifestation powers of manifestation and to live out loud, fueled with vitality and courage.

“I have a passion for bringing together a sisterhood of inuential women to learn, connect and inspire, each dedicated to raising up her voice, vision, and visibility to lead soulful, wildly successful businesses of impact.”

Kami Guildner Founder

www.ciolook.com

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I followed a lot of the formulas and shiny stars out there – teaching the pain-based conversations. I got caught into the shiny claims of success and switched my business over to this approach several years ago, and with that came a drop in business. I also sounded like all the other mundane coaches out there following the same formulas. When I switched my marketing back to speaking to my clients desires and all that was possible, my business grew exponentially. I love helping my clients expand what they think is possible in their business, and speak their own clients' love language. So much more powerful – and together we're raising up the energetic vibration of our world to a much higher frequency, instead of playing to uncertainty, fears and doubts.

My clients have raised up their voices, their visibility, and their businesses. They have landed on TedX stages, been named to Most Powerful Women in Business lists, grown their bottom line exponentially, and carried on the vision of my ripple effect aspirations.

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

Continue to build a ripple effect of impact!

I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, reaching more people in my goal to impact a

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization. Ÿ Making a difference Ÿ Community and Collaboration Ÿ Abundant Mindset Ÿ Connection to Nature Ÿ Delight in Life Ÿ Leadership Ÿ Learning Ÿ Passion & Purpose Ÿ Freedom Ÿ Philanthropy What, according to you, could be the next big change in Coaching industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?

The way we market coaching businesses has to shift. Instead of using the old antiquated formulas of speaking to your clients' pains, fears, and scarcity mindset, speak to your clients' desires and aspirations. Speak to their love language, not their pain language. There was a time in my business that

www.ciolook.com

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million women! I am completely aligned with this mission and calling!

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Coaching sector? Ÿ Build a brand that is uniquely yours. This means building your brand from the inside out from your very essence: your strengths, passions and values.

Your life experiences have guided you to this point in your life, and if you build a brand that weaves together all the best parts of you, no one can serve exactly like you. This eliminates competition – because no one is exactly like you! It also opens the door to more collaboration – as you bring your best gifts forward and they bring their best gifts forward – your impact is multiplied. No longer does one plus one equal two; one plus one equals much grander combined strength. Ÿ

Your energetic presence is your secret sauce. We can have all the right branding and marketing in place, the right packaging and pricing and be showing up on stages and more – and if we're not resonating in high vibe energy – your business can get stuck. To attract your ideal clients into your business, your inner fire needs to be burning bright and strong. I call how we resonate our #RFactor™.

There are four elements to #Rfactor:

Mindset – meditation, awareness, filling our minds with good content Ÿ Body – nourishment, movement, energetic self care Ÿ Spirit – however you spirit – playing in your inner wisdom and purpose Ÿ Community – choosing community that uplifts and empowers you Ÿ

If you spend time on each of these elements every day, you will #RaiseUp your #RFactor – you will show up in high vibration mode.

Create Community and Collaboration with influence.

Relationships are the heart of every business. Seek out win:win partnerships with others and create spaces where you can bring together the many people you know and meet in your business dealings. There is magic in the powerful introductions you can make.

Nurture relationships. www.ciolook.com

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Evolution of Women Leadership L ong ago, there was a perception that women could not lead and play effective roles in society or businesses. But today, we can see that they have gone beyond all prejudices and are playing a pivotal role in every field. They have crossed over all the barriers, and today women are the drivers of most successful businesses and are the most resourceful asset to many businesses all over the world. The leadership of women is evolved over the years and is continuing to evolve. They might have faced challenges in their evolution, but they have been determined to thrive in the world of business, and they have proved their value to the world.

www.ciolook.com

Understanding how female leadership has evolved over time can help us tap the potential for their advancement in the future. The evolution of women's leadership is not an abrupt thing. It has been happening for long years, and this evolution will continue to happen in the future. Since the event of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, progress for women leadership has proven quite more substantial.

Women leaders have proved that they are capable of taking the right decisions. They have proved that they understand the strategy and are rational in their approach. They have the vision, mission, and guts to play the role of leadership without being afraid and drive the businesses in the appropriate direction of growth and development.

Today, women realize their potential and act on their greatest strengths to address the challenges that minimize their efforts to build successful, rewarding, and sustainable careers. Women leaders today are choosing not to give in to the thought process of someone else. They have their own thought process and the opinions of wrong people do not provoke them.

Women’s perception of themselves as potential leaders today has undergone a remarkable shift. They address

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SHIFTING TIDES

the needs that are to be addressed much diligently and calculatedly. They don’t take irrational decisions but are capable of taking high-value decisions that drive the profitability of the businesses.

Today in 2021, almost 24 countries are being led by women leaders.

Moreover, the pandemic has also contributed to the evolution of women's leadership. As there is an increasing shift towards remote work culture, there is an opportunity to include a number of women in the workforce.

Women leaders have become more confident that they can contribute significantly to any field. They are not limiting themselves to any field, but they are thriving even in the male-dominated industries also and setting an exemplary example for many women to come ahead and be a part of the workforce. They have learned the value of female solidarity and supporting each other.

They are open to learning from each other. They are comfortable working with men allies, and they are proving themselves as a capable and resourceful asset to the organizations with their leadership abilities and soft skills. The women lead movements and government support have also contributed significantly to the rise of women's leadership.

Today women leaders are creating many opportunities for themselves and are seizing the opportunities when they are available. They are not casual and are ready to play a key role by being in leadership positions. They are demonstrating their excellence by leading effectively and producing successful results. They are strengthening their capabilities and resolve to push through all the barriers and come out victorious. They are defeating all prejudices and biases, setting the standard of exemplary leadership, contributing to the businesses profoundly, and proving their excellence.

Over the years, the leadership of women has evolved incredibly and will continue to evolve more in the future.

Today no one can dare to underestimate the value women leaders bring to the table. Many women today are in leadership positions of global institutions and influential companies. More women leaders have also been elected to represent the high office in the world.

www.ciolook.com

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Manna Kadar

Founder Manna Kadar Beauty

www.ciolook.com

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Manna Kadar A Competent Entrepreneur Curating a Prestige Chain of Cosmetics Boutiques

I

n recent years, the shift of women leaders towards entrepreneurship has increased exponentially, but when one is born with a knack for entrepreneurship, nothing can stop oneself. The above statement wholly resembles Manna Kadar and her entrepreneurial venture Manna Kadar Beauty. She is a natural-born leader who proved herself as a successful young entrepreneur in the competitive sales and marketing realm early on in her career.

seven stores in six years in her entrepreneurial drive.

After college, Manna sold her beauty business to enter the world of corporate banking. Over the next six years, she excelled rapidly yet missed the fulfillment and purpose that entrepreneurship provided. In 2007, she exited the finance world, taking everything she learned and applying it to her new venture: developing a chain of tanning salons that would one day lead to the Manna Kadar Beauty empire.

Manna is a well-known persona in the cosmetics industry for her evolutionary line of product produce with the motto Beauty Simplified. She aims to simplify her consumers’ beauty routine!

Seeking to maximize revenues creatively, Kadar turned her tanning salon lobby into a beauty bar. The idea quickly gained traction, giving Kadar her first opportunity to develop an original cosmetics line. By really listening to the needs of her customers, she was able to craft products that delivered real-world beauty solutions, growing the small company into what is today a family of six brands with more than 600 SKUs in 40,000 stores nationwide - all without outside investment.

We at CIO Look caught up with Manna in our expedition to find ‘The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021.’ We got into a conversation to have an insight and understand how the thought process behind her high-quality beauty and wellness products.

Dive right in.

Better than the Rest The motto of Manna Kadar Beauty – “when you look good, you feel good” - means something different to everyone. She designed products to suit multiple concepts of beauty, from minimalist to glam.

Understanding that makeup can feel time-consuming and too technical for some, she developed her signature three-step Beauty Simplified System, coordinating instructions with numbered products to streamline application. More than the opportunity for profits,

Journey Until Now Manna was born in the world’s fashion capital, Paris.

Her courageous single mother and grandmother raised Kadar in California. She grew up in a tough neighborhood and witnessed first-hand the battle to survive and viewed education and enterprise as the way out of the struggle.

At age 16, Manna purchased her first cosmetics store at the local mall, and at 18, she became one of the handfuls of students accepted into college. She stayed close to home, studying Finance and Distribution Management at USC. She implemented what she learned to grow her mall-based cosmetics chain to

www.ciolook.com

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Kadar is drawn to the hope and self-confidence she can encourage others through her work. She has found that providing people with multi-functional, high-quality cosmetics can change their whole outlook on life, helping them become the best version of themselves.

business has earned her a spot among the Orange County Business Journal’s “2021’s Top 50 most influential people”, “Top 40 Under 40 Beauty CEOs,” along with being named 2018’s USC Alumni Member of the Year.

The Wide Range of Manna Kadar Beauty

The Manna Kadar brand made Inc. Magazine’s 2020 “Top 5,000” list and is published among the fastestgrowing enterprises in the LA Business Journal. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently named her 2020 Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Manna Kadar has become a celebrity in the entrepreneur world, carving her name and brand out in Orange County, California, for over a decade now as the GO TO in all thing’s affordable luxury for life! She has become a reliable resource for her cult following, delivering high-quality beauty and wellness products that perform.

Putting Pedal to the Metal Manna states that her venture has dedicated various marketing efforts to all things digital in the last year. It has found great success engaging its current and future customers with video. She adds that you can discover Manna Kadar Beauty streaming all things beauty on Instagram to Amazon and all the channels in between.

The self-made, self-funded minority mompreneur behind the Manna Kadar Cosmetics family includes Manna Kadar Beauty, Goddess by Manna Kadar, Beauty and the Bump, Haute Dog luxury pet products, Mason Man Skincare, and Manna Kadar Luxe Bath and Body. She is the creator of the “7 Minute Face,” Kadar’s three-step, award-winning Beauty Simplified System, and a Life Stylist host for MKB’s weekly Amazon live.

Driven by a philanthropic DNA, Kadar gives back 10% of the company’s annual profits to a variety of organizations she supports year-round.

Never Give Up Manna advises budding entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into the cosmetics sector to be true to themselves. She says, “Create a brand that you believe in and shoot for stars. There may be days where you want to give up but don’t. You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.”

Manna has worked hard to curate beauty products that fill a void—being able to produce products that are multi-functional and easy to use sets Manna Kadar Beauty apart from other beauty brands.

Awards and Accolades Kadar’s innovative approach to both beauty and

“A prestige line of luxury cosmetic products formulated with the finest ingredients and most innovative technology.” www.ciolook.com

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