The 10 Most Successful Digital Leaders To Watch 2022

VOL 04 I ISSUE 04 I 2022

The

0

Most

Successful

DIGITAL Leaders

to-Watch

2022

Beginning of Greatness

Going Beyound Normal

Wendy

Redshaw The Powerful VOICE of Leadership

EDITOR’S NOTE Transforming Businesses

by Encouraging Digital Literacy

D

igital transformation makes it easier for businesses to harmonize their operations in tune with changing the behavior of consumers. Adopting a digital presence is a must for all businesses, and this need has been increasingly highlighted intensely by the pandemic. Many companies are witnessing the advantages of going digital and serving consumers using online platforms.

The need for digital transformation is also bringing a significant change in the roles and responsibilities of the business leaders.

Digitalization is transforming the business world, becoming essential for business leaders to be experts at adopting this change and making it a necessary norm. The transformation in industries and business models towards digitalization pushes leaders to be proficient in digital leadership for changing organizational approaches from conventional to digital platforms.

Steering the businesses from analog mode towards digital transformation to maintain their competency and relevancy in the market should be prioritized by business leaders. It is seen that successful digital leaders are prioritizing this most diligently. Those leaders utilizing the best digital tools and techniques are availing significant advantage to run their businesses. Quickly adapting to digitalization and having the benefit of a social media ecosystem can be advantageous to companies in reaching out to a more extensive consumer base and increasing their range of business.

Digital platforms allow firms to serve maximum consumers and, in turn, derive sufficient profits.

Digital culture also involves remote working or addressing consumers' issues using several techniques. Leaders should convey the essential message most eloquently and concisely so that everyone can understand and implement it.

The

0

Most

Successful

DIGITAL Leaders

to-Watch

2022

Keeping up to date with technology is essential for leaders to integrate technological advancements in their companies for better service to all associated stakeholders. Experimental approaches and innovative ideas should be encouraged by leaders among their employees to come up with brilliant solutions.

Providing technical support to the consumers or clients is essential wherever necessary. They diligently ensure collaboration and communication with everyone to resolve issues quicker.

Facilitating digital change, prioritizing tasks, managing ambiguity, encouraging digital literacy, keeping solutions up to date with the latest technologies, providing technical support, and being innovative will help digital leaders drive successful digital transformation in their companies.

In this edition of "The Most Successful Digital Leaders to watch in 2022," we present digital leaders who efficiently facilitate digital adoption in their companies.

Kindly have a look at it!

Sharad Chitalkar

Cover Story

08

WENDY REDSHAW

The Powerful VOICE of Leadership

Article

24

Beginning of Greatness Going Beyound Normal

18

Dr. Maja Zelihic

A Profound Leader Dedicated to Create a Better World

26

Farrah E. Smith Living a Life of Purpose and Passion

32

John Baldoni

Assisting YOU to Find Your Purpose

36

Lynda Aphing - Kouassi

40

Sculpting YOUR Life with Excellence

Yanna Winter

Transforming the IT Infrastructure of the Insurance Industry

C O N T E N T S

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April, 2022

Featuring Person

Company Name

Brief

Dave Ulrich Co founder

The RBL Group rbl.net

The RBL Group is a consulting and development firm.

Dr. Maja Zelihic Interim Dean

Arizona Global Campus www.uagc.edu

Arizona Global Campus vision is to transform the higher education landscape and make it accessible for everyone, no matter their background or circumstance.

Farrah Smith Director

Sea shepherd Conservation Society seashepherd.org

Sea Shepherd’s sole mission is to protect and conserve the world’s oceans and marine wildlife.

Helen Johnson Chief Technology Officer

Data Dynamics datadynamicsinc.com

Data Dynamics is the pioneer of unified unstructured data management software.

Ian Ziskin President

EXec EXcel Group LLC exexgroup.com

EXec EXcel Group LLC is a coaching and consulting firm.

John Baldoni Keynote Presenter Executive Coach

Baldoni Consulting LLC www.johnbaldoni.com

John Baldoni is a globally-recognized leadership educator, and a certified Master Corporate Executive Coach.

Keren Eldad Professional Speaker and Coach

Enthusiasm Coaching coachcampus.com

International Coach Academy (ICA) was created in the year 2000 with a vision to create a vibrant global community of coaches.

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi Founder and Director

Cabinet International Kaizene www.annuaireci.com

Kaizene is a business consulting, training, coaching, translation and networking firm approved by the FDFP.

Wendy Redshaw Chief Digital Information Officer

NatWest Group natwestgroup.com

NatWest Group are a relationship bank for a digital world.

Yanna Winter CIO Head of IT

Generali www.generali.com

Generali is one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers.

COVER STORY

WENDY REDSHAW

The Powerful VOICE of Leadership

When our customers succeed, our communities succeed, and our economy thrives. And we succeed as a result.

Wendy Redshaw Chief Digital Information Officer, Retail Banking

NatWest Group

T

he “Digital Future” leader simultaneously drives forward significant shifts in delivery of digital outcomes for business and technology, and enables people to develop and flourish. This style of leadership is innovative, energised and energising, and challenges the status-quo through positive disruption. Exhibiting servant leadership qualities, and being actively mindful of the impact they are role modelling, they exist between, within and around both business and technology - deliberately and purposefully. Wendy Redshaw embodies such a leadership style, and exhibits this consistently at NatWest Group where she is the Chief Digital Information Officer for the Retail Bank.

Wendy's remit covers Retail Banking digital and technology across NatWest, Royal Bank and Ulster Bank, ensuring focus on customer journeys and unlocking value across Home Buying and Ownership, Everyday Banking, Short Term Borrowing, Digital Channels, New Customer Propositions, Shared Experience, and Physical Channels. Wendy and her teams are committed to pioneering digitalisation, reuse, and innovation while focusing on efficiency, safety, and simplification of the digital and technology estate.

A dynamic leader in the Financial sector, Wendy is a recognised role model, having been most recently awarded CIO/CDIO of the Year at the EveryWoman Tech Awards in March 2021 and was named in HotTopics/Hewlett Packard's Chief Digital Officer Top 100 in February 2022. Wendy also holds a nonexecutive Director position for NatWest Trustee & Depository Services, is a Member of the Board of Directors for RoosterMoney, a newly acquired youth proposition, and is on the Board of Trustees of TechSheCan, a charity with the aim to enable women to play an equal role in how our world works, looks, thinks and feels.

Sprouting Roots A blend of engineering creativity shaped Wendy's career, enhancing her skillsets in the ever-changing innovative digital landscape. After graduating with a

degree in Mathematics from Imperial College, she began her career as a software engineer specializing in Knowledge Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction, recognizing the powerful combinations that humans, computers, and businesses could bring.

Wendy's entrepreneurial spirit led her to create a FinTech start-up, developing a derivatives system adopted by 14 of top-tier banks. With momentum in her early career building, she further went on to become a part of the team that created Egg Bank, which was one of the UK's first telephone and internet-only banks. Wendy continued to lead numerous strategic business/technology digital programmes for top banks in the UK and Europe via her consultancies before joining Deutsche Bank in 2014.

As CIO of Collaborative Technology Solutions in Deutsche Bank, Wendy combined her transformational, entrepreneurial, pathologically collaborative, start-up approach, with Deutsche’s corporate culture to positively bring about digital change. She introduced industry-leading elements such as Design Thinking, Agile (with a little and big A), Robotics, AI, machine learning, plus embedding the art of the possible “How Might We…?” mindset, and effected digital culture shifts across the bank.

In 2018, Wendy joined RBS (now NatWest Group) as the Head of Digital Distribution, then moved to become CIO of Technology for the Retail Bank, and in 2020 broadened her position into the newly created Chief Digital Information Officer role, which spans Retail Banking Technology and Digital Business. Working closely with her leadership team, colleagues, fintechs and partners, she continues to pioneer digital innovation within NatWest's award-winning mobile app, online banking channels, branch technology, ATMs, telephony technology, mortgage systems, lending systems, and its digital AI assistant named Cora.

Wendy is also a passionate champion of diversity. It was when Wendy attended University, specifically an engineering university where the gender demographic was 85% male, it became clear to her that there were few female role models in the computer, science, engineering, STEM type subjects. With this in mind, Wendy became the first Woman Officer at the college,

and has been passionate about encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion ever since. Wendy firmly believes that girls and women can bring something unique to a sector that desperately needs diversity. Wendy notes, "Too many girls nowadays are put off careers in technology from very early on. We all have a part we can play to foster curiosity and learning across the career lifecycle."

Denting the Universe Wendy is a uniquely positioned leader, embodying the blended triumvirate of business, technology expertise, and people leadership while unlocking actual customer value and potential through digitalisation and innovation at scale. Wendy has continued to be a vocal advocate for customers and climate, seeking ways in which digital technological innovation can provide products, services, and information that genuinely help NatWest’s customers, communities, and businesses.

The impacts of her expert leadership are especially demonstrated through delivery to customers and how NatWest Group is positioned as a leader in conversational AI, digital mobile, and climate solutions.

We champion potential, helping people, families, and businesses to thrive.

An example of this was evident during lockdown.

Under Wendy's leadership in 2020 during the pandemic, the teams were able to respond quickly and scale efficiently, to support customers' needs, especially for the most vulnerable. Ÿ Through leveraging automation and robotics, teams processed 240,000+ initial mortgage holidays. Ÿ Quick, innovative thinking enabled more than £2 million delivered securely to vulnerable customers at the height of pandemic lockdown. Ÿ Development of a companion card and "get cash" codes to enable cash delivery for customers who were shielding. Ÿ Supported 320,000+ proactive calls to support elderly & vulnerable customers. Ÿ Consistently kept more than 95% of branches open and supported real-time updating of branch hours was available. Ÿ Introduced Banking my Way, a free service that allows customers to record information about the support or adjustments needed to make banking easier, especially for its customers in vulnerable situations.

Ÿ Implemented a dedicated emergency line for NHS workers. Ÿ Offered free Financial Health Checks – a face-toface, phone, or video, confidential service open to customers and non-customers that offers a chance to talk through your money plans with a Senior Personal Banker.

In 2021, Wendy continued to champion potential and through innovations and partnerships, she and her teams launched and iterated upon several exciting technologies, including a new Spending feature within the mobile app, helping customers to build financial capability, understand how and where they are spending their money, and providing helpful suggestions on changing spending habits to become financially better off.

In November 2021, Wendy and her teams also launched carbon tracking within the NatWest Mobile app, enabling customers to see the CO2 emissions associated with their daily spending and providing hints and tips on how to go greener while supporting customers to set plans and commitments to reduce carbon emissions further. Indeed, NatWest is the first UK and European bank to launch a free carbon footprint tracker, which was launched in partnership with carbon tracking expert, CoGo, and customers can now see the carbon impact of their daily spending.

Tackling climate change is one of our world’s biggest challenges collectively, and insights from the initial pilot showed the average user saved approximately 11 kg of CO2 emissions per month, through awareness and committing to behavioural changes that use less carbon – such as composting, reducing meat consumption, or switching utility providers. If this behaviour were replicated across NatWest's 8 million+ mobile app customers, it would save more than 1 billion kg of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to planting 17 million trees.

Wendy's impact is not just about the technology, however, but also about the people, and building capability for the future workforce of tomorrow. Her leadership ethos is about championing potential, and helping people to flourish and thrive. She role models this daily, and whether it be speaking at graduate

events, mentoring the next generation of tech talent, hosting hack-a-thons and encouraging "innovation anywhere," Wendy is considered inspirational and industry-leading by her peers and colleagues.

Perhaps what sets Wendy apart is her passion for bringing people on the journey, setting vision and intent, and empowering those around her, ensuring no one is left behind. As previously mentioned, as an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, Wendy champions accessibility, openness, skill-building, understanding, and transparency, which is critical to supporting NatWest Group colleagues, particularly those in under-represented groups. She is proactive, instigating connections, facilitating positive partnerships, and sharing insight and best practices to help others thrive in their careers and gives back to the wider community, such as mentoring for the 30% Club, a global campaign to increase gender diversity at board and senior management levels, and being part of the McKinsey Black Executive Sponsor scheme.

We Champion Potential!

NatWest Group is deeply committed to being a Purpose-led Bank. It champions potential, helping people, families, and businesses to thrive and its purpose guides and underpins everything it does, building long-term value, investing for growth, making a positive contribution to society, and driving sustainable returns for shareholders.

NatWest is the UK's leading business bank serving 19 million customers across every region of the UK. As a relationship bank for a digital world, it helps break down barriers that might hold back its customers and is helping to build their financial confidence.

NatWest Group is centered around its purpose, driving sustainable growth through its strategic priorities.

Wendy asserts, "We are a relationship bank for a digital world, building and deepening connections with our customers, meeting their needs throughout their financial lives. It is these relationships, based on insight and surfaced through a seamless, delightful experience that removes complexity and frustration”.

“When we look at our evolving Technologies, our customer is pinnacle, centred at the heart of everything we do. This enablement nurtures relationships that start earlier in our customers' lives and adapt to meet their evolving needs. All of which will be enabled by the strategic partnerships and acquisitions we have made, and by our efforts to simplify how customers interact with our bank so they can enjoy an easier, frictionless banking experience," explains Wendy.

NatWest is also building a culture to champion potential positively contributing to the communities it serves by creating an open, inclusive, and progressive workplace, breaking down barriers for its customers and colleagues. It does this through listening, learning, being incredibly passionate about being a learning organisation, and understanding that its culture today is critical to its future success.

Technological Significance The pandemic accelerated digitalisation, evolving established consumer behaviours and societal expectations around e-commerce and services and thus becoming a blend of the digital and physical space – coined as 'phygital.'

We're concentrating on bringing our purpose to life across three initial areas of focus.

Wendy states that phygital is about the seamless transition between digital and physical without friction.

Whether it is virtual and physical processes integrated into 'space,' innovating with concepts around augmented reality, or bringing digital services to our customers, anytime, anywhere.

efficiency, it also enables our colleagues to focus on more complex customer enquiries. We will continue to invest in the use of appropriate and innovative technologies to make it easier for our customers to get the support they require when and where it is needed." – ESG Supplement

She shares, "Our teams are looking to provide new and exciting ways for businesses and customers to interact with one another and the bank."

Preparing for the Change

"A great example of this is our Video Banking capability, which launched in 2020 and quickly scaled to meet customer demand throughout the pandemic. Video Banking allows our customers to meet with an advisor on-demand seamlessly through our mobile app. While traditional inperson banking appointments are still available in branches, through technology, customers can also preschedule their appointments or instantly and securely connect via the mobile app to speak with an advisor in seconds. With appointments available 24/7, customers can connect digitally face to face, regardless of this physical space or time. This capability has been incredibly wellreceived, with our teams handling more than 10,200 video interactions a week," explains Wendy.

Wendy and her teams are also pioneering advancements in conversational AI with the Digital Assistant named Cora. Now, 4-years evolved and built with IBM Watson assistant, Cora is continuously learning, improving, and transforming its customer experiences.

During the pandemic, Cora was quickly re-trained to help customers with COVID-19 related questions and helped thousands of customers apply for payment holidays and deferrals on their mortgages, loans, and credit cards. In 2021, Cora was further integrated into its omnichannel 'always on' service offerings and can now facilitate requests by phone, leverage natural conversation to enable self-service, and seamlessly transfer customers directly to a live agent for those queries requiring a more human touch.

"Cora is now a key part of the bank's digital and telephony offering, with a constantly evolving role in frontline customer support. As well as improving our service

Wendy, like many global leaders, agrees that the biggest challenge and change ahead collectively and globally is climate change. The changes required (not just in the financial industry but across several sectors) will need to be bold, innovative, and disruptive to meet the global collective targets for NetZero. The snippet from NatWest’s annual results ESG mentions that tackling climate change will require collaboration and cooperation globally.

NatWest Group was proud to sponsor the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow in October/November 2021.

The snippet mentioned, "Our industry has a responsibility to drive and influence positive change. As such, NatWest Group is committed to getting its own house in order, ending the most harmful activity, and providing the support, advice, and products our customers need to accelerate the transition to a netzero economy. We are one of the few banks to offer a Green Mortgage product, with £728 million of lending to retail customers since its launch in Q4 2020. We established the Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition with British Gas, Worcester Bosch and Shelter to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK. Working with the fintech company CoGo, we were also the first bank to introduce a carbon-tracking feature in our mobile banking app. And we are helping colleagues and customers to move to electric vehicles through a collaboration with Octopus Energy.”

"Our Springboard to Sustainable Recovery report found that the transition to net-zero can create a huge opportunity for SMEs. Close to 40% of our accelerator hubs are dedicated to supporting sustainable businesses to help our most innovative start-ups to take advantage of this opportunity. There is a clear societal responsibility here, but also an obvious commercial

imperative in helping our customers to thrive as we transition to net zero."

Bequeathing Brilliance Wendy advises budding entrepreneurs, future innovators, and engineers with two reflections.

"Pathological Collaboration is one of the secret ingredients to success. In a world where we have been led to believe that knowledge is power, there can sometimes be an unsettledness or fear that is collaborating, sharing ideas, and being open and transparent is dangerous. I would challenge this notion, turn it on its head, and suggest, what if one doesn't share ideas and collaborate? What opportunities are being missed? There is a world full of unlimited possibilities. The collective power of crossfunctional, multi-disciplinary solutions is incredibly potent, sometimes sparking new ideas that could be the next thing, you just have to ask, how might we!"

“Purpose is life-blood. Your career, job, and the activity you dedicate 30% of your life should resonate with your purpose in an ideal world. When it does – it doesn't feel like work. As we reflect on resiliency and well-being, having just lived through an unprecedented global pandemic, it is important to recognize that passion keeps us motivated, even in difficult times and especially as an entrepreneur.

Though it might seem difficult, as the start-up path can be quite challenging, purpose and the values that underpin your work will differentiate your service offering and come across in your passion," Wendy concludes.

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Dr. Maja Zelihic

Interim Dean, Forbes School of Business and Technology®

University of Arizona Global Campus

Dr. Maja Zelihic A

rriving in the land of opportunity in 1996 as a refugee, Maja Zelihic went through several challenges across her personal and professional aspects of life. Being an immigrant, she had to get used to the American culture and a new way of living. Maja began her career in the finance industry while simultaneously attending school as a non-traditional student, balancing her life as a mother and careeroriented woman, working 2-3 jobs, trying to climb the corporate ladder to achieve her goals and dreams.

While working in the finance industry, Maja developed her interest in corporate training. As time passed, she discovered her passion for teaching through the lectures in the corporate training setting. From 2010 to 2013, Maja taught part-time and made her shift in the world of academia full-time later, embarking on a new chapter of her life.

Today, as the Interim Dean, Forbes School of Business and Technology® at the University of Arizona Global Campus, Dr. Maja leverages her passion for teaching, conducting various research to contribute to the unique large-scale study of cultural practices, leadership ideals, and interpersonal trust.

Impactful Prowess Dr. Maja defines herself as a global researcher and lecturer first and foremost and then a professor. When Dr. Maja found her passion for implementing e-learning and development, she started working on research ventures across the globe, including Haiti, Cuba, and the Balkan region, from former Yugoslavia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Jordan, and Zambia funded by different university grants.

contributed from the Southern African region, particularly Zambia. Her primary focus in research ventures is studying the small enterprises and every obstacle surrounding them and how they prevail to be successful against all the odds.

Ahead of the Norm In Maja's opinion, digitalization has accelerated the pace in the education sector during the pandemic.

I hope to inspire my students the way I was inspired by my teachers - with my enthusiasm, professionalism, and academic excellence.

Maja is also a Fulbright researcher. She also participated in a comprehensive study across 160 countries studying cultural practices, in which she

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Shifting Tides, Embracing Changes Maja states that brick-and-mortar schools will always have a place, but they won't be as significant in the world of education as they once were. She expects an acceleration of the degree programs in many different fields. She notes, "The concept of Nanodegrees is the way to go because sometimes you start with a particular study program and by the finish, your skills are obsolete because the industry has already moved on at a rapid pace. I think there will be many opportunities for the certificate market and professional development."

Beyond the Horizons Maja eagerly anticipates for the world to completely open its arms to continue her research and complete her Fulbright project. She is at the final stages of negotiating with a university in the Middle East.

As far as her full-time job, Maja aims to continue to serve the student, ensuring that they are provided with the best curriculum and content. She mentions, "We are also having a very robust center for women's leadership that is delivering amazing content monthly. We work on a community chat and the main event's panels; we also work on the workshops. "

However, the University of Arizona Global Campus was ahead of the game, providing online classes to its student from the get-go. She shares, "A lot of traditional universities were resisting digitalization quite a bit. When I was working on the e-learning implementation worldwide before COVID, you were encountering resistance because the traditionalists in the world of education were deeming online education to be less-than, not as worthy, not as quality-driven, not as content-driven, which as we all know that to be false."

"Therefore, now the universities are more open to embracing the pillars of online education. They are actually in a hurry to learn how to utilize online technology and deliver all their courses and content online. I think that pandemic accelerated digitalization. We see it in every single industry sector," explains Maja.

"There's an immediate focus on what I can do within my full-time job, also what I can do in the world of research.

And of course, I'm always writing something. Recently, I was doing a chapter contribution in the International Handbook on Research that Francis and Taylor published. My chapter contribution has been published, so I always like to collaborate with other colleagues on articles or books, but I would like to emphasize one thing. We published Dr. Diane Hamilton, behavioral expert, and also, she's a host of the nationally syndicated radio show. And we wrote a book on perception."

Maja's biggest focus is raising awareness of the research and working with the companies on the Perception Index –research that focuses on all the variables impacting human perception as it correlates to the concept of global leadership, effectiveness, motivation, and productivity at the workplace. "I want to consistently promote awareness of our research on perception and the Perception Index and to collaborate even further with the companies that are interested in using this index and applying it," clarifies Maja.

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A Guiding Light Dr. Maja Zelihic advises emerging educators to find their passion. She says, "Have your goals, have your dreams; it's not a cliché because I've discovered my passion working in the developing world. I thought I'd discovered my passion once I first became a professor. That was a wonderful experience. But my passion was discovered during global research. To define what your goals are at first. You may have three, four, five goals as a young person.

And ultimately, you will find your passion and make a difference within your little area of influence."

educate yourself in the field of your passion. And also, be brave to try a few things. And it is okay if you're not successful. At least you know that you've tried something and you were pursuing your path. And also, as I said, make a difference. And don't always think big picture. All of us want to change the world. Don't think big at first. What difference can you make within your little area of influence?

Can you make lives better around you, those loved ones around you or people in your neighbourhood, in your community with the work that you do?" Maja concludes.

"Also, be very adaptable. You may have several goals right now in a particular field. That field may not exist five years from now, or that field may completely change. So your goals are not aligned with the movements within that field.

So make sure that you are consistently able to adapt and change. Make sure that you're a lifelong learner. Always

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G

reatness of a leader is established by his or her ability to thrive even in the most provocative or most challenging situations. The substance of the leaders is revealed in the toughest situations. If they are able to calm their nerves even in difficult times and are able to deliver the good results even amidst challenges, they become the most valuable asset in the success of the organization. Their ability to thrive, no matter what the situation is, make them exceptional.

Such leaders play a huge role in successful and sustained growth of the company.

As it is believed courage is grace under pressure, substantial leaders never crumble even amidst the greatest pressure. They are not fazed by the external praise or criticism. They hold the ability to exhibit grace even in the situations of high pressure. This grace and calmness inside them helps them to deal with the challenges from inside-out approach and resolve the issues without creating a big havoc. Those who don’t have the guts to handle the pressure remain like a coal.

But those who handle the pressure with grace are the people who one-day become like a diamond, just like coal under pressure transforms into diamond by undergoing through a tremendous pressure for many days. Therefore, ability to exhibit grace even in the times of pressure makes you a great leader.

Secondly, talent and temperament both play a huge role in becoming the successful leader. Talents are the innate abilities that you are born with and that talents can be enhanced with good upbringing, training and associating with talented people. Temperament is the ability to channel the emotions most appropriately. You should have control over your emotions but should not be controlled by your emotions. You should not take decisions whimsically, but by thinking deliberately and acting on the conclusion of most logical, thoughtful and rational thought. Temperament is very much synonymous with emotional intelligence and morality is the foundation of appropriate temperament. You hold the potential to become the successful leader if you have appropriate talents as well right temperament. By associating with right people, you can develop your talent as well as temperament. By reading appropriate books, by having successful business leaders as your mentor or guide, you can certainly develop your talent as well as temperament. Right talents and right temperament help leaders to achieve something remarkable and that help them to make significant difference in their organization as well as to the clients and in the industry for a sustainable period of time.

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Beginning of Greatness

Having exceptional attributes like determination, persistence, patience, hard work coupled with smart work, ability to lead the team in the right direction, planning, right strategy, being innovative, and being technically smart, makes the leader of the organization very valuable. Exceptional attributes of the leader of the organization create a ripple effect on the people in the organization and that is huge for the organization. This inspires everyone in the organization to perform to their best of abilities and make a significant difference. The contribution of everyone leads to glorious achievements for the organization.

The high level of trust in the competence and capabilities of each other create a good culture in the organization. The cooperation between everyone in the organization leads organization to a heightened success, resulting in a win-win for everyone in the organization. Setting the right example in front of others is the one of the best ways of leadership. Great leaders lead exemplarily by doing justice to their roles, routine, relationships and responsibilities and in turn inspire everyone.

Moreover, great business leaders build another set of great business leaders with their ripple effect. This helps in the growth and expansion of the business of the organization tremendously. They promote the individual talents and cooperative behavior in their team members and lead with responsibility. They don’t hesitate in taking bold decisions. Business leaders who are thoughtfully decisive are able to do what needs to be done diligently. They address the needs that are needs to be addressed before it is too late. They act in the right interest of the organization based on the conclusion of logical and deliberated thought process. They act on the integrated thoughts. They are organized and precise in their approach. They utilize their intelligence, resources, talents, words and abilities in most constructive ways. They don’t act whimsically. But they act on their rational conclusions. The technical, ingenious and innovative smartness in them makes them most valuable. They destroy the prejudices by going beyond normal. They deliver more than needed.

That makes them truly remarkable.

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Farrah E. Smith Director of Major Gifts

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS)

Living a Life of Purpose and Passion

T

Sea Shepherd works to defend all marine wildlife, from whales and dolphins to sharks and rays, to sh and krill, without exception.

he purpose of life is to live a life with a purpose.

When Farrah E. Smith read a quote by Winston Churchill, "To each, there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for what could have been their finest hour," she felt disappointed, feeling that she wasn't preparing for her moment to make a difference in the world.

While climbing the corporate ladder, Farrah steered away from her passion for kids and animals and found herself feeling unfilled professionally. She determined the best way to impact the causes she cared about and have a more meaningful career was to transition to the non-profit sector. Then, she came across the show "Whale Wars" on Animal Planet and loved how the brave Sea Shepherd crew put their lives on the line to save whales, thinking to herself that these were people living a life of purpose and passion.

Igniting the spark within herself, Farrah landed a job at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), and now a decade later, she is the Director of Major Gifts at SSCS. Farrah is responsible for strategic relationships with major donors, foundations, celebrities, and advisory board members. In addition, she oversees Sea Shepherd Productions, a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society subsidiary that develops docu-series content for film, TV, and new media.

Finding a Cause that Matter Most Farrah years spent working with wealthy and highprofile clientele and hosting events for the entertain-

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ment industry were all preparing her to be the right person, with the proper skill set and the perfect connections to make a difference at her favorite charity. All the relationships Farrah had made over the previous ten years in Los Angeles and Las Vegas came to be invaluable in her new role at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Over the past decade, Farrah has had the incredible opportunity to raise millions of dollars to help protect the ocean and save marine wildlife. She feels honored to be a Sea Shepherd and surrounded by such devoted and passionate individuals, all of whom she considers heroes. Farrah is grateful to finally be living a life of purpose, impacting two of the causes that matter to her the most, ocean conservation and animal welfare.

Protecting Ecosystems and Species Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an international non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization.

Sea Shepherd's mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Its engagement model provides unique, at sea resources to assist, serve, and support developing coastal and island governments in protecting their sovereign waters against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Sea Shepherd's primary goal is to significantly enhance a government's capacity to patrol, monitor, and enforce its laws.

Saving a Lot More Lives with New Approach Farrah notes, "Sea Shepherd has grown and evolved quite a bit over the last few years. Of course, we have always been an anti-poaching organization. However, we save many more lives with its new approach of partnering with governments to stop illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing."

It can be seen that the model of cooperating with government bodies worldwide is showing increasingly good results. For example, just in Africa alone, Sea Shepherd works with eight coastal states has resulted in the arrest of over 70 vessels for illegal fishing and other fisheries crimes. Over the past five years, Sea Shepherd assisted law enforcers from its partner governments as they arrested dozens of vessels resulting in numerous successful prosecutions. These efforts increased monetary recoveries for its partners,

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reduced subsequent maritime crimes, and helped restore fish populations.

Tackling Most Critical Issues with Awareness, Cooperation, and Education Farrah states that Sea Shepherd is the only organization with ships on the frontline stopping wealthy industrial fishing companies from the World's wealthiest countries from stealing from some of the World's poorest people. Not to mention, labor abuse is rampant in the illegal fishing arena, with some fishers kept at sea for months to years without pay or adequate shelter. By working with governments to intercept IUU vessels, Sea Shepherd is also impacting human rights issues.

Farrah believes that cooperation, awareness, and education are the way forward to tackle the most critical issues we face today, climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, or social justice.

Leading a Fight for Protecting Marine Wildlife Sea Shepherd is leading the worldwide fight to protect marine wildlife against the deadly threat of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by using its ships, cameras, and crew to investigate and document what is happening at sea.

Farah expresses that Sea Shepherd uses technology to track down illegal poachers and report their activity to the appropriate authorities and expose the fishing industry's impact on the World's oceans to the public at large. Sea Shepherd's campaigns in African waters were recently featured in National Geographic's Trafficked,

hosted by Mariana van Zeller. In addition, SSCS's work combatting IUU fishing was also featured in the groundbreaking Netflix Original documentary Seaspiracy.

People can see Sea Shepherd's challenging mission to protect the most endangered marine mammal in the World in Leonardo DiCaprio's film Sea of Shadows as well. Sea Shepherd has always said the camera is one of the greatest tools for change, and that is even more true now that their work is being highlighted on global media platforms like Netflix.

Expanding Conservation Role Globally Sea Shepherd's Conservation program joins with the nations of the world in the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of oceans by the year 2030, a target endorsed by more than 100 countries at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Sea Shepherd has been instrumental in establishing shark sanctuaries in Gabon and Palau. Currently, it is partners guiding the development of the proposed UN High Seas Treaty, which seeks to create legally binding MPAs within nearly 50% of the planet currently without protection.

Through local partnerships, coalition building with NGOs, and sustained emphasis on building country partnerships, Sea Shepherd will expand its critical conservation role in Central and South America, along the coast of Africa, across the Mediterranean, and in the Western Pacific.

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John Baldoni

Executive Coach Baldoni Consulting LLC

John Baldoni Assisting YOU to Find Your Purpose

T

he quote goes, "If you can't figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose."

From writing executive speeches to delivering keynotes on stage, John Baldoni leverages his ability to communicate with a passion for helping others see the best in themselves. John fulfills his mission in three ways: executive coaching, writing books and articles, speaking on what it means to lead with clarity, conviction, and compassion.

John Baldoni is a globally recognized leadership educator, certified Master Corporate Executive Coach, and author of 15 books that have been translated into ten languages. He is also a member of the renowned

Develop yourself by

seeking new challenges and professionally by educating yourself

formally and informally.

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Marshall Goldsmith 100 coaches, a group of executive coaches, and thought leaders from the worlds of business, academia, and social service.

John's thought leadership is reflected in his writing and his choice of media: columns, videos, and books. He also integrates piano improvisations into his keynotes, illustrated in his still life photos. John is the host of LinkedIn Live's GRACE under pressure interview series, enabling him to interview 150 global business, academic, and thought leaders and doers.

John's positive impact is evident in the people he has coached and taught. His passionate, laser-focused approach delivers energy and enthusiasm, demonstrating a good sense of humor during his sessions. Through his articles, books, and videos, John has become a source of practical wisdom on topics such as influencing without authority, applying power appropriately, leading with grace and conviction, and developing genuine followership.

John speaks widely to corporate, professional, military, and university audiences. Those who attend John's keynotes and workshops find his advice practical and inspiring. Mixed with stories of great men and women and leavened with light-hearted humor, John seeks down-to-earth, practical advice that individuals can apply immediately. John's presentations blend his passion for leadership with genuine enthusiasm for helping people achieve their leadership ambitions.

CIO LOOK caught up with John to know more about his journey and his coaching approach that makes a significant difference.

Below are the highlights of the interview: What challenges you have to overcome to reach where you are today?

The challenge for any solo entrepreneur is building a strong enough client base to sustain you in hard times.

The way to do this is through doing good work and being recognized by clients and peers.

What do you want to achieve as a coach?

I am passionate about helping women and men become individuals who lead with greater purpose and grace.

Coaching is one way I can fulfill that aspiration. My coaching helps managers lead with authority, presence, engagement, and purpose. I also teach how to influence

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(sometimes without authority) -- up, down, and across borders. My approach is centered on leadership principles, e.g., helping managers achieve personal and organizational goals that are right for individuals and the organization.

Why do you integrate advisory services into your coaching?

Coaching is behavioral change, and change does not occur within a vacuum. Executives with whom I work are looking for insights into the leadership and management issues beyond traditional coaching.

Executives need perspective on strategy, talent management, and succession planning. They also need a sounding board that can help them navigate the ceaseless churn of change related to their business.

That is a role I can play.

What coaching model do you employ?

I use the coaching model adapted from existing sources and my own experience. My model includes assessment, action planning, and evaluation.

Assessment involves discovering where you are now and where you want to go. Action planning describes the steps you will take to achieve your goals—evaluation reviews what you have achieved.

designated period, we assess progress via observation and stakeholder interviews. I conclude with a coaching summary document and recommend the next steps that may or may not include more coaching.

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

My focus is balancing my work with my family and my outside interests. I make time for my grandchildren as well as my hobbies. I play piano and golf, both of which teach me the virtues of patience and humility.

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

Know what you can do. And do it. Surround yourself with a team of advisors, people you can trust. Find a mentor or two. Invest in your career. Develop yourself by seeking new challenges and professionally by educating yourself formally and informally.

What techniques do you use in your coaching?

My goal in coaching is "assisted self-discovery"; that is, I want the executive to discover for himself (but with help from a coach) what, how, and why he should change. Toward that end, I focus on listening to determine needs, issues, and behaviors. Questions I ask help the coachee discover issues and problems and work through solutions. I also provide insights and tips to stimulate thought and new direction. At times roleplaying is useful to help the coachee see alternate points of view and experiment with new ideas. Personal growth is essential to self-discovery, and my coaching techniques support that aim.

What does a coaching engagement involve?

Once a coachee commits to a change process, I work with people to improve one or two behaviors. My coaching is designed to reinforce the executive's business objectives, e.g., changing behavior to help them succeed with immediate and longer-term goals. In the beginning, my technique is directive and specific, e.g., things to do. Over time my involvement focuses more on listening and observing because I want the coachee to discover what is important and why. After a

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Lynda Aphing-Kouassi Founder & Director Kaizene

LYNDA

APHING – KOUASSI Sculpting YOUR Life with Excellence

F

ailures are part of life; however, facing a failure and picking up oneself to thrive with a bigger and better comeback takes determination and valor.

The business world is a pit of challenges, where failures and success aren't stagnant; it is a process. One has to keep griding, learning new things, and adapting to innovations that can be a hectic task. Thus, to guide individuals and organizations with various strategies that align with the values, creating synergy is Lynda Aphing – Kouassi.

Lynda is the Founder & Director of Kaizene, a business consulting, training, coaching, translation, and networking firm. Lynda's passion for ensuring organizational success is unmatched. Her journey is filled with challenges that were the stepping stones that led her to become one of the most successful business leaders worldwide.

Today, Lynda acts as a difference-maker to numerous people bringing the much-needed change and setting them on a path of success.

CIO LOOK caught up with Lynda to understand how she ensures sustainable development, becoming a role model for the younger generation.

The Start Towards Guidance Lynda started her professional journey as a team manager at Société Générale, Vaultex (a subsidiary of the HSBC group) in Santander. Her dedication and grit ensured her rise to become investment director and

then investment banker in London for 15 years, giving her solid expertise in the financial and banking sector.

She also spent a brief time in the field of social responsibility and human capital management. Lynda shares, "l strongly believe in developing the talent to achieve milestones.”

Lynda achieves her goals by working with people who share similar values of excellence, expertise, and work, building a professional network and quality partners.

Though getting to this point wasn't as easy as it seemed, Lynda faced a significant challenge when she started to build her network, which was the critical aspect of developing a successful business.

Building Perfection Lynda states that Kaizene shares the vision and mission that accompanied her throughout her career, notably:

“Don't aspire on becoming rich, aspire on becoming a serious contributor, and the rest will fall into places.”

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•

•

Ensuring the complete success of individuals through capacity building, coaching, and building an African elite in the pursuit of excellence.

Unlocking the potential of people and simplifying the company's activities through agility and quality is the mission of Kaizene.

Lynda notes, "We live in an era where SMEs in Africa is key to the economic development; therefore, through our activities, we strive to position them to the top and accompany them efficiently in their quest for growth. The most important value that does not appear on the balance sheet: people and we focus on them.”

Adapting Technology The world is changing to adapt to technological evolutions. Lynda understands that digitalization is a powerful means of transmitting information, which is she has invested in digital communication to reach the maximum number of prospects. She ensures that most of the services that Kaizene provides are online and aligned toward pushing the clients' growth.

Expected Turns, Aiming Ahead Lynda would like to change the mindset of the people towards coaching, pushing on its usefulness for every individual's growth. She asserts, "We can't all be a coach, but when we are, we must position this role at the top with seriousness and integrity.”

Lynda believes that the following significant change will be the number of actors in the consulting industry that will strive to create a stronger community that could push reforms for the greater good of the business ecosystem. She will continue to grow Kaizene forming new partnerships training more people to become the leaders of tomorrow.Bestowing Experience Having garnered various personal and professional experiences throughout her life, Lynda advises aspiring entrepreneurs to believe in themselves. She says, "Ensure your beliefs with dexterity and seriousness no matter the hurdles that may occur, stay determined and on your course, and you will make it. Don't aspire on becoming rich aspiring on becoming a serious contributor, and the rest will fall into places.”

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Yanna Winter

CIO for Generali UK and Generali Corporate and Commercial

Generali

Yanna Winter Transforming the IT Infrastructure of the Insurance Industry

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F

or the past few years, the insurance industry has made great strides towards transforming digitally. And, women have played a significant role in riding these waves of growth, taking the industry to new heights. By bringing new ways of thinking and innovation to the table, they have become powerful players within the industry. One such woman we at CIO Look, came across is Yanna Winter.

What challenges did you overcome to reach where you are today?

The main challenges have been: Always link IT delivery to business success.

Keep up to date with technology advancements.

Build the necessary IT infrastructure, data model to enable this Build reputation through these steps -promise, deliver, repeat.

Yanna serves as the CIO for Generali UK and Generali Corporate and Commercial. Her role includes the depth of breadth of IT – spanning transformation, projects, and running services. The ownership of the responsibilities and the complex job is what keeps her interested and motivated.

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

I often describe our IT strategy as divide, conquer and integrate. It is our duty to enable the current business and keep the foundations for future innovation and scalability.

Yanna is a strategy and technology expert with extensive IT experience. She has a strong track record and an established reputation in leading and delivering large-scale transformations.

Inspired by her passion for IT, we got into conversation with Yanna to learn more about her journey.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Tell us something more about Generali GC&C, which are your mission and vision.

Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) offers P&C insurance and service solutions to mediumlarge companies and brokers in over 160 countries around the world. Thanks to its solid global experience, knowledge of the local markets and the corporate sector, the unit offers integrated and personalized solutions in property, casualty, engineering, marine, aviation, cyber e specialty risks. Through its experts in Multinational Programs, Claims and Loss Prevention, GC&C guarantees companies the same level of assistance and protection over the world.

Currently we are in the second half of a major 6-year IT Transformation Programme. The phases of modernisation are: (1) integration and security, (2) infrastructure, (3) financial integration and data & analytics, (4) applications.

It is of paramount importance to be clear about the business needs (both current and future) as well as what is available as solutions – in the IT industry as well as IT solutions available elsewhere in Generali Group.

What role does IT and innovation play in your corporate strategy?

IT and innovation are key elements for our success and evolution.

Data are key to support decison making and enable operating and financial efficiency (data driven decision framework).

Vision We actively enhance, protect and help people's businesses to succeed, adding value beyond the policy Mission Our mission is to be the best provider of services and insurance solutions for medium- and large-sized companies. We challenge established industry practices, generating value and delivering relevant, accessible insurance solutions.

We enable people to shape a safer and more sustainable future by caring for their lives and dreams.

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Ÿ

Consolidate Global Platforms, upgrading user experience and simplifying current landscape.

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Launch global smart AI automation program and AA (Advanced Analytics) Predictive Modelling at scale and consolidate Data Stewardship Model.

Ÿ

Improve local operational efficiency: e.g. process simplification and waste reduction, systems integration, organizational fragmentation and not value adding activities reduction, central synergies.

If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Finance industry?

Simplification of IT change delivery is a key topic in the finance industry. The usual frameworks for change need a change – simplify the steps; focus on what is important; interlock IT change and with business change. Most of all, ensure program delivery is achieved on an incremental basis, moving the business through islands of stability.

What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Insurance industry? How is Generali GC&C preparing to be a part of that change?

We need to take care of the entire ecosystem in insurance – to enable it and to protect it (e.g. from

security threats). This informs key IT decisions on data, applications, integration and security.

We value our people. We treat the employees as customers. One of the key goals of our IT Transformation is to improve and simplify the user experience of our own employees – they are the people using the IT solutions on a daily basis.

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

In the long run, I'd like to continue my role as a Chief Information Officer – it is exciting and challenging, it is a fundamental role in the insurance industry.

It is key to contribute to community, education, women in technology. This is personally important to me.

In insurance, I'd like to further contribute to transformation for simplicity and flexibility.

What would be your advice to budding new joiners who aspire to venture into the insurance business sector?

Try to understand clients' needs and "speak their language". Be aware of key business strategies metrics.

Know how technology can enable the business. Know the IT metrics. Measure expectations and delivery against them. Benchmark yourself and learn from the feedback.

Be honest and open. Keep an open mind. Respect other people's opinions.

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