Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021

TOP

VOL 03 | ISSUE 07 2021

PIONEERING

CEOs

TO FOLLOW IN 2021

FEATURING CEO

MIKE GOREY AN ESTABLISHED LEADER EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO STEP UP

Transformative Approach Seize the Opportunity

EDITOR’S NOTE When a CEO Leads!

A

leader needs to be agile with his open leadership qualities, sharing the vision with the organization. It is about creating a positive environment that delivers and achieves the common goal of the organization. When it comes to leading as CEO, the role becomes more challenging.

The role of CEO is continuously evolving. However, when starting as a CEO , he or she learns the business structure that is already a completely different undertaking. Being a CEO, one has to get to the root of the problem so that he/she can get what’s needed to succeed.

A successful CEO thrives by driving new products, services, new business models and continuously working for the betterment of the company. He/she has the opportunity to work with the world’s most successful brands and create more connections from anywhere.

The biggest challenge for a CEO is to be more inclusive and embracing different perspectives in the business. Different people are important to drive innovation and growth, as the organization has a bigger and more diverse pool to choose from. Another challenge is understanding the rapidly changing client’s needs and the long-term solutions for it.

CEOs have the belief and confidence in themselves and their business ideas. This is because they always carry a learning attitude and keep extending their network. Being a responsible person, he/she opens the doors of opportunities for others. A CEO understands that it is the age of the digital revolution and it is impossible to keep oneself restricted with the new technological advancements.

As a CEO he/she allows the free flow of ideas and to evolve as a person and as an organization. While the pandemic onset is still there, the role of CEO was put to the test. The emerged out strong by helping organization to keep the business and the team up and running, with their efforts. They are always in a growth mode. Looking with a broad perspective, a CEO is willing to sacrifice, adopt, change, and feel passionate in what he/she does.

Looking at this, CIO Look approaches with its new edition of Top 10 Pioneering CEOs to Follow in 2021.

The listing includes CEOs who with their novel approaches took their businesses to the new heights.

Featuring on the Cover Story is Mike Gorey, the CEO at Propex GeoSolutions. His roll-up-your sleeves leadership style has transformed the organization into a market-centric company with a bright future.

Currently, Mike is focusing his energy on building out the Propex franchise. The company is in an industry where branding is undervalued, yet it believes that building its brand is essential to future growth, and Propex is in growth mode. Through the development of cutting-edge technologies and systems, it has earned the position as an industry innovator.

While you know more of such CEOs and their journeys inside, make sure to also go through CXO standpoints by the industry experts and the curated articles written by our in-house editorial team.

Have an effective read!

Hitesh Dhamani

c

COVER STORY

o n t e n t s

08

Mike Gorey An Established Leader Empowering People to Step Up

article

20

Transformative Approach Seize the Opportunity

Leader's Viewpoint Keeping It Human

David Meltzer

16

Delivering a Lot of Value by Making a Lot to Share a Lot

24

Janet Schijns Exemplifying Visionary and Thoughtful Leadership

Mathieu Gorge

28

A Seasoned International Security Expert

36

Sibongile Sambo A Dedicated and Aspiring Business Individual

Valerie Vacante

Bringing Emerging Technology Products to Life

40

CXO

32

Sumita Sarkar Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

Senior Editor Alan Swann Executive Editors Sharad Chitalkar Alex Spellman

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March, 2021

Featured Person

Company Name

Brief

David Meltzer Co - Founder

David Meltzer Enterprises dmeltzer.com

David Meltzer quickly rose to the top of his game in the business world, becoming a millionaire. David lectured around the globe and saw rapid success in every business project he touched. But something was missing.

Janet Schijns CEO

JS Group jsgnow.com

JSG specializes in creating impactful indirect go-to-market strategies for tech firms.

Jim DeVries CEO

ADT adt.com

For 145 years, ADT has made the security of its customers its top priority. Today, more than 17,000 professionals in over 200 locations throughout the U.S. ensure that over 6 million customers stay as safe and secure as possible.

John Proctor CEO

Martello Technologies martellotech.com

Martello’s digital experience monitoring (DEM) solutions provide monitoring and analytics on the performance and user experience of critical cloud business applications while giving IT teams and service providers control and visibility of their entire IT infrastructure.

Mate Rimac CEO

Rimac Automobili rimac-automobili.com

Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009 from a love for automotive and with the vision to create high-performance cars for the electric era.

Mathieu Gorge CEO

VigiTrust vigitrust.com

VigiTrust is an award-winning provider of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) SaaS solutions to clients in 120 countries in the hospitality, retail, transportation, higher education, government, healthcare, and eCommerce industries.

Mike Gorey CEO

Propex Operating Company propexglobal.com

Propex GeoSolutions is a global leader in developing and manufacturing innovative geosynthetic and erosion control products and systems.

Ron Saslow CEO

Hu-Friedy hu-friedy.com Hu-Friedy

Founded in 1908, Hu-Friedy has since become a world leader in dental instrument manufacturing.

Sibongile Rejoyce Sambo Managing Director

SRS Aviation srsaviation.co.za

SRS Aviation is the African distributor of new and overhauled aircraft spare parts for the commercial, commuter, corporate, Military and Cargo aerospace Industries.

Valerie Vacante Founder

Collabsco collabsco.com

Collabsco is an independent, executive collaborators, emerging technology strategists and connected product communication leaders.

Mike Gorey, CEO, Propex GeoSolutions

COVER STORY

MIKE GOREY An Established Leader Empowering People to Step Up

If you make a mistake, don’t deflect. Own it and move forward.

COVER STORY

The most undervalued trait in leadership is Humility. Humility is a trait that is often overlooked in business leadership, but the truth is that it acts as a source of great strength. After all, leadership is all about empowering others. Mike Gorey has adopted this approach aptly since the start of his career. With his commitment to respecting every individual, leading with humility, and creating healthy teamwork chemistry, Mike has developed a company culture at Propex GeoSolutions that empowers all its employees. He took the reins as Propex’s CEO in April 2011. His roll-up-yoursleeves leadership style has transformed the organization into a market-centric company with a bright future.

B

uilding From the Scratch

Ten years into his career, Mike was offered the opportunity to be in operations in Des Moines, IA with Bridgestone/Firestone. This plant was well known for mismanagement and poor labor relations with the unionized workforce. The board had put this plant on the closure list, and two months after taking the operations position, his boss suddenly retired. At the age of 34, Mike was now in charge of Firestone’s largest and most inefficient plant, which produced agricultural products. He spent the next three months gathering elements for the “Des Moines Improvement Plan,” that shifted the business to a market-driven focus. One of the first and most critical initiatives was team discovery. Giving the team context to what they already knew was key to earning their trust and reenergizing the culture in Des Moines.

Within 24 months, Mike along with his team created the most profitable segment of Bridgestone/Firestone and within the next five years, the entire company moved toward the model it implemented. Not only did the turnaround yield the company’s best operating margins, but it also saved more than 1,600 jobs.

Learning the power of problem-solving through his experience in Des Moines made him realize he liked the “turnaround” work, and he seemed to be good at it.

Bridgestone/Firestone also recognized this skill, initiating the next of what would become several turnaround projects throughout the organization.

Some of these included implementing a common IT platform and ERP system and guiding a labor settlement with the Steel Workers Union.

Concluding the labor settlement, Mike flew out of the negotiation and was met by corporate Japanese management who tasked him with navigating the company out of the Ford Explorer/Firestone recall crisis. Return the company to stability after recalling 6.5 million Firestone tires after safety authorities linked them to fatal accidents was something that many thought would not be possible. By reorganizing the America’s operations and restructuring the business into four standalone businesses, we were able to obtain a $1.3 billion tax refund from the government of Japan.

This facilitated Mike and team to return the company to profit a year later.

Successfully navigating this crisis afforded him his next opportunity to turnaround a $1.5 Billion segment of the company. Mike was now the CEO of Firestone Diversified Products, which was a new division of the company thanks to recall related restructuring.

His next opportunity was fixing the tire business unit as President of Consumer Tire with Bridgestone Americas. Bridgestone had invested huge capital in Firestone, but the consumer products had been losing money for 21 years. Now, with 30 years of experience – the last 20 working on transforming the business – Mike had the opportunity to show his skills directly seated in the company’s most valued business.

Consumer Tire was the company’s gem, but despite high-profile promotion efforts, the division was unable to produce a profit. The management team was very good, but they had a poor game plan. Mike has learned that good people with a bad plan will not yield results.

He and his team replaced the existing market share

Stay true to the vision, but not necessarily the strategy.

COVER STORY

approach and focused on optimizing profit. They took advantage of falling raw material prices, closed an inefficient plant and held pricing on products. They sold less volume, but increased their margins. In the end, Consumer Tire not only made money, but improved profits by $160 million year over year.

After a 25-year career at Bridgestone, Mike decided to pursue the CEO position at Propex. During his time at Bridgestone/Firestone, specifically with the Diversified Products division, he was able to appreciate the world of contractors, product specifications and project work.

He liked the construction business and the role of products in solving contractor challenges. Experience with the construction and fabric business were instantly beneficial. Plus, Mike was familiar with Propex because it was a supplier to Firestone building products.

Coming from a much larger company to a mid-sized organization was a bit disorienting. Size did matter.

Mistakes were more impactful on the business.

Discovery of what Mike didn’t know, and the need to learn about the Propex company culture, took time and patience. However, the process that he gleaned from six prior transformations proved applicable.

Innovation at the Forefront Innovation is at the roots of Propex’s history. In 1940 Patchogue Plymouth Mills, a lace and curtain manufacturer, developed new weaving yarns and backing for the carpet industry. Thus, the path for Propex was forged. While the company’s name has changed several times over the last century, one thing has remained the same – its drive for innovation.

Propex has developed various means to achieve strength properties for its geotextiles with the least amount of input materials. Results are not only the preservation of raw material usage, but also lower freight costs to its customers. Its erosion control solutions have been tested and approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, recognized as a Best Management Practice (BMP) by the EPA, and Propex is the only manufacturer of High Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat (HPTRM) to have its carbon footprint verified by an independent organization.

New products developments have been recognized by the Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) and the

“Develop your vision from what real solutions your company can provide – it is a must to have competitive advantage.”

Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), receiving awards in both 2018 and 2019.

The company provides highly valued intelligence to its customers utilizing its holistic approach to market development and technical selling. Propex developed MILO (Market, Influence, Lead, Optimize) to provide unmatched customer support. This includes developing innovative products, but also provides customers with technical support, market research and marketing. This method has been proven to increase leads and improve project closing rates.

A Defining Moment Mike’s Journey was full of undulating moments, and his resilience has brought him this far. He says, “Coming into something new, there will always be resistance. Your reputation can proceed you, but it may not be your true reputation. If you really want to make change, you can’t do it like a bully. You have to have empathy. Learn your people, learn your culture. Forge a path built on the company’s strengths and create the competitive advantage. There is always a defining moment when you know if things will work out or not.”

Building team and facilitating team discovery, Vulnerability, Being Fearless, Staying True to the Vision, Empowering Others, Flexibility and Humility are some of the essential traits Mike believes every leader should possess.

Balancing Employee’s Health and the Company’s Financial Health Propex is part of the transportation and infrastructure industry, so it is deemed essential, thus limiting the impact from the pandemic. The health and safety of its workforce has always been its top priority. Propex’s attention to company-wide safety has earned world class recognition. Navigating through the pandemic has brought unexpected challenges, but Propex has strived to uphold its commitment to its teammates’ wellbeing.

Facemasks and social distancing practices are followed throughout the organization. The company has equipped its team to host virtual meetings, increased bandwidth to support those working from home, and increased cleaning and sanitation protocols. Propex has even offered COVID-19 antibody screenings to its staff.

Central to Mike’s responsibilities is balancing employee’s health and the financial health of the

Propex business. Financial flexibility/agility is the second priority.

Mike states that being agile without being emotional, allows one to address the unforeseen rationally. When the pandemic became a reality last March, contingency planning was undertaken in the event demand collapsed. Propex’s market demand was altered in its favor as PPE products forced other industries to substitute their materials with the company’s materials.

This year required an aggressive effort to attract nontraditional business, which is successfully doubled in 2020. This diversified business helps keep production up when other segments are soft.

Focused on Growth Currently, Mike is focusing his energy on building out the Propex franchise. The company is in an industry where branding is undervalued, yet it believes that building its brand is essential to future growth, and Propex is in growth mode. Through the development of cutting-edge technologies and systems, it has earned the position as industry innovator. Propex is also recognized by the quality of its products and the customer care provided by its team. Even its products that are considered commodities mean something more because they are connected to the franchise.

Resistance to Change is Universal In his advice to upcoming business leaders aspiring to make an impact on the world, Mike states, “It’s imperative to have relevant, effective strategy, however, don’t marry your strategy because the market changes.

Know your business, know your market and customers; most of all know your people. You have to be willing to adapt. Resistance to change is universal, and will be throughout time. Passion endures time. You have to like what you are doing. If it’s not fun, you should be doing something else. Look for mentors who allow you to learn from their achievements and their set-backs.”

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David Meltzer Delivering a Lot of Value by Making a Lot to Share a Lot

T

Meltzer Enterprises take on is aligned with its values, which are gratitude, empathy, accountability, and inspiration, and that is something that is very attractive for potential partners.

he greatest motivating force in the lives of great leaders is to make a lot to share a lot. They are not driven by materialistic greed, but they are fueled by the highest values such as love, compassion, servitude, gratitude, empathy, accountability, effective communication, and contribution spirit. Leaders driven by such high values can do more for the world than those who are simply motivated by materialistic greed.

David Meltzer is one such business leader who is driven by such highest values. He is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and Founder of David Meltzer Enterprises. His life's mission is to empower over 1 billion people to be happy! This simple yet powerful mission has led him on an incredible journey to provide one thing — VALUE.

Building Positive Habits The biggest challenges that David has faced throughout his career all boil down to one thing: human nature. He says that our nature is to live with an ego-based consciousness, something that we all have to work to combat. He says that we are also inconsistent by nature, which is why David is an advocate of creating a “habit machine,” or a system to help one build positive habits. He says that when one can do something consistently and persistently, one will be exponentially more successful.

Living by Values and Empowering Others

Being Consistent and Transparent

In his 30's, when David experienced a lot of success, he became entitled and lost touch with the values that had helped him to be successful in the first place. It wasn't until he was forced to declare bankruptcy and nearly lost his family that he puts a renewed focus on the values of gratitude, empathy, accountability, and effective communication. And he has made it his mission to connect to others through those values and empower them to be happy. Every project that David

David states that consistency and transparency are what separate a leader from an impactful leader. He says that when leaders are consistent, their team knows what to expect every day in the office (or working remotely). David says that when leaders are transparent, particularly in times of change, their team does not feel as much stress and are more likely to be

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effective communicators. He considers another aspect of making an impact on others comes from being willing to plant trees that one will never sit under, which means empowering others with no expectation of getting something in return.

David Meltzer Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and Founder of David Meltzer Enterprises

Ability to Adapt to Unprecedented Times

Empowering Entrepreneurs Worldwide David's team was quick to adapt to a virtual working environment that pandemic has fostered, and, in fact, David would say that his organization's productivity and efficiency has increased over the past year. He states that the organization adapted some of the

‘‘

‘‘

2020 was a time of forced innovation and adaptation, which has certainly been true of David and his brand. He has seen his personal brand skyrocketing in recent months, in large part due to David's understanding of traditional and digital marketing. Apart from the many accolades that he has earned recently, such as being named one of the Best Employer in Sports 2019 by Front Office Sports, a Top 100 Business Coach by renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith or being recognized at the Super Bowl as the MVP (Most Valuable Philanthropist), some of his biggest recent successes have been because of his ability to adapt to the pandemic. In 2020, David launched several new livestreamed shows during the pandemic including 2 Minute Drill, which evolved into a television show on Bloomberg and Amazon Prime that airs in more than 100 million homes around the world and is preparing to film season two.

The four principles of gratitude, empathy,

accountability, and effective communication in

everyday practice allow David to live by his

mission to “make a lot of money, help a lot of

people, and have a lot of fun.

things it was already doing (such as his podcast “The Playbook” and organization's Friday Training sessions) for the digital realm in order to provide as much values as possible to others for free. David Meltzer Enterprises also launched new online coaching groups and even created David's new TV show on Bloomberg and Amazon Prime, called 2 Minute Drill, to help empower entrepreneurs worldwide to master the art of the pitch.

Approach of Kindness It may seem unusual, but David believes that kindness is one of the keys for any business or leader to thrive. He states that what's most important is to be kind to one's future self, meaning that one's actions today will have an impact in the future, so it is best to approach every situation one is faced with from a standpoint of kindness.

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Giving Back to Society As David mentioned, he is on a mission to empower over 1 billion people to be happy, and giving back is a large part of that. He serves as Chairman of the Board for the Unstoppable Foundation, which works to bring sustainable education to children and communities in developing countries, and even had 50 birthday parties around the world for his 50th birthday to raise money for Unstoppable to build leadership and community centers in Africa.

In addition, David serves as Chief Chancellor for Junior Achievement University, and JA is one of the world's biggest non-governmental organizations, empowering aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide.

Ensuring to Evolve Continuously David states that the most important thing for any business leader is to ensure that one's business' doors open tomorrow. He adds that succeeding in business is about evolution and not revolution, and it is impossible for one's organization or idea to evolve if one is not operating.

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SEIZE THE

A

s they say, “If opportunity does not knock your door, build the door”. Let’s justify this quote through this article in the context of business leaders.

A business leader realizes that with his/her creativity and vision the business can unleash opportunities and make things happen. He or she drives new products, services, new business models and innovate the ways of working. Being a business leader, broadening the diverse pools is meaningful to the business. Embracing the change by working with different people and perspectives with different backgrounds and knowledge is important to drive innovation and growth.

We are in the digital world of innovation where entertainment, living, and learning share the global stage of connection. It is going to impact the way people interact and connect in the physical world. When we talk about innovation and technology, we are working continuously to build a better world for all of us. For business leaders, there is always room for learning and improving their companies with these technological tools like AI, IoT, Cloud, Robotics.

In the Depth of Leadership Ultimately it is all about passion and belief to empower the community and being confident about the business concepts. There are a lot of leaders right now providing opportunities and they continue to build the doors of opportunities with the help of their qualities.

A Challenging Journey The challenge for business leaders has been creating and connecting people with the physical and digital worlds. Unveiling technology for growth creates business partnerships, market opportunities, connect communities, and encourages people to explore out.

Other challenges also include learning how to grow the business as an entrepreneur. Business leaders have to navigate through different roles and responsibilities, and they create new opportunities solving complex problems.

Those who practice such impactful leadership qualities deliver to achieve the goal of the organization. A good business leader inspires and encourages to lead the organization to new levels of success. As a business leader, one’s growth is based on the performance of the team. They use their intelligence to outplay the competition. He is the specialized person creating the impact in the organization.

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Transformative Approach

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He is the go-to person for all the team members of the company and with his deep expertise he helps to strategize the plans to achieve tangible growth. Once he develops the legacy of success in the industry with his skills, he can ensure digital dominance and become a preferred choice over every other leader to achieve growth.

about growing together and this quality will transform the industry and the world as a whole.

This is the most underestimated trait of leadership.

Business leaders are well aware that if they really want to bring a change, they have to be empathetic. There is always a way of working out things through technology, but it is constrained to business only. Coming out as a true leader, learning, and respecting people will build one’s reputation. It allows one to address the problems and issues of the people. Business leaders know their business, market, and customers, but what is important is to know your people and a desire to mentor them with the opportunities and achievements.

The quick and adaptive business leaders have increased their productivity through the virtual working environment because of the pandemic. They introduce the digital realm in order to provide value to the people along with new digital coaching groups, making the environment positive.

Know It Before You Blow It Our actions today will impact the future and only kindness and empathy towards each other with help to face every problem in our life. So, an empathetic business leader feels it is his responsibility of giving back to society. There is so much more to do for the people and the environment. Above all, the important thing is to build that door of opportunities for himself and open it for others. Succeeding in business is all

The Shining Message Finally, in a world where almost everything is transforming, the journey for business leaders also goes through digital transformation. The bottom line - the real leader knows how to get the stuff done. For them, the greatest motivation lies in creating opportunities, as they are not driven by the materialist world.

For them, the highest motivation is gratitude, empathy, and contributing to the success of the team members and the organization. It is the difference between consistency and inconsistency that separates from an ordinary leader to an impactful leader. The best aspect of making an impact on others is by empowering others with opportunities and no expectation of getting something in return.

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JSchijns anet

Exemplifying Visionary and Thoughtful Leadership

I

mpactful leadership is about creating a positive environment with a purpose that matters, a plan that delivers, and results that achieve your goal.

Those who practice impactful leadership know that it is critical that the team embraces the problem or opportunity ahead, helps develop the solution, and internalizes the approach to win. A CEO must be a leader who inspires, encourages, and drives the teams to results. In order to lead organizations to new levels of success, they need to be decisive and committed to challenging the status quo. They earn trust with their teams by actively listening and showing compassion.

And they do it all with a sense of humor.

“

JS Group specializes in creating impactful go-to-market strategies for tech firms in the digital normal. We are the answer when you want to achieve record growth.

“

Janet Schijns is one such influential leader. As the CEO of channel and go-to-market consultancy JS Group, she challenges her teams to bring their “A game” to every engagement, demonstrating trust in their expertise and placing focus on their strengths. The result is a firm that’s innovative, results-oriented, and hugely influential. Janet’s motto? Play to win or don’t play at all.

Services Officer, but throughout her career in corporate America, she always longed to get back to her entrepreneurial roots. In 2019, she came full circle and re-launched JS Group so she could apply the lessons she had learned leading some of the largest businesses in the world to grow her own firm while helping the technology industry achieve record growth.

Yearning to Be an Entrepreneur The journey to being a CEO has been a circular one for Janet. Over 20 years ago, when she saw most tech companies struggling to identify their real value propositions to end users, she launched her career as a tech consultant. In 2008, Motorola snapped her up as VP of Global Channels. She served at Verizon as Chief Channel Officer and Office Depot as EVP Chief

Leveraging Strengths As a female leader, your career is always managed on two planes: your actual role and how that role is

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perceived by others internally. Early on, Janet learned to leverage her strengths as a female leader like empathy and collaboration to outplay her competition.

She used these strengths to encourage cooperation between teams when she saw them wasting time and month with internal competition. Infighting costs businesses billions of dollars and keeps them from being able to reach market leader status. Under Janet’s watch, teams learned to play together—and play to win.

Having a Proven Value What advice does Janet have for aspiring leaders?

Know your value—and charge for it. Don’t start with a vague plan of trying to be everything to anyone. That will only lead to slow and low results both in your consultations and in your fee structure. Being a specialist with a proven value will propel you to success. Take the time to map what it is you offer, how you charge for it and then put that offer out in the market – stand by it and you will win.

first. This turned out to be a prescient move that served the firm well when the pandemic hit as it was almost a full year ahead of the market in terms of its digital offerings, and it showed in JS Groups 2020 growth.

Janet also invested in making sure its teams were safe; she cancelled attendance at events and in-person meetings well before much of the industry admitted to itself that the risks were not worth the benefits.

Creating Wins for Technology Companies JS Group is known for its thought leadership, its deep channel expertise, and having an action-oriented approach that’s focused on driving both near- and longterm results. The firm specializes in creating impactful indirect go-to-market strategies for tech organizations.

It creates strategic wins for technology companies through the development of modernized channel frameworks, digital sales and marketing programs, and advanced training. JS Group has built multiple 5-star award-winning channel programs for F100 technology firms that span the channel ecosystem, ranging from multinational enterprises to small and midsize organizations, including early-stage startups.

Achieving Tangible Growth JS Group provides go to market, channel, marketing and sales consultation and programs primarily in the technology industry. It has deep expertise in designing strategies and plans that work to achieve tangible growth. Because its team has a long legacy of success in the industry as well as the skills to ensure digital domination, it is the preferred choice for firms looking to achieve growth. Finally, in a world where almost every firm is using technology as their primary route to market, it has excelled in its ability to offer programs that deliver leads and sales in what is for many a new environment. As an example, JS Group has launched a social selling program in late 2019 that has delivered hundreds of millions in leads since launch. The bottom line? JS Group is real, it gets results, and it knows its stuff.

Embracing Digital Normal Back in 2019, JS Group committed to a strategy of what Janet calls Digital Normal, changing its go-to-market, consulting focuses, and program delivery to be digital

Being Charitable Janet understands the importance of supporting those in the world who haven’t been as fortunate as she has.

JS Group supports two charities that are critical to its communities. Project Self-Sufficiency works with single mothers and those at risk in the community to obtain the skills, support, food, and programs needed to break the cycles underpinning poverty. The Elle Foundation focuses on providing final wishes to children who are faced with a terminal diagnosis, providing a final moment of comfort for them and their loved ones together.

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Mathieu Gorge A Seasoned International Security Expert

W

Board, an international security & compliance thinktank.

here is your data & how does it flow? Who are the stakeholders & what regulations and standards are you subject to? Founded by Mathieu Gorge in 2003, VigiTrust has been answering these questions to international clients in the healthcare, financial services, retail, and government sectors for over 20 years.

Aims to Deliver Innovative Projects The security and compliance sector evolves very quickly at the best of times, so Gorge pro-actively and diligently keeps his finger on the pulse at all times. He does this through the VigiTrust Global Advisory Board which gives him amazing insight into what's happening in the industry from a technology, regulation, and research perspective.

A Regular Speaker at International Conferences Mathieu Gorge is the CEO and Founder of VigiTrust which he created in Dublin. He is an established authority and speaker on Cyber security, Risk Management & Compliance with more than 20 years’ international experience.

Right now, a lot is going on in Machine Learning, AI, and Quantum, not forgetting blockchain. VigiTrust is involved in a few innovation projects with research partners globally and aims at delivering new innovative solutions to clients & partners at all times. Gorge is also on the board of several tech companies and part of working groups within the security & compliance community. This allows him to keep learning at all times and to extend his network.

Gorge’s areas of expertise include PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, VRM, and ISO 27001. He has been involved in payment security for more than 20 years and has worked with many security working groups and associations in the US and EU. He is a regular speaker at international security and compliance conferences such as RSA, ENISA & ISACA.

Passionate About Data-Security Gorge studied languages, marketing and law. He never once studied IT or compliance. However, he was fortunate to work for companies whose leaders were passionate about security, and having caught the bug, he developed a keen interest in data security, a subset of the security market. Things grew from there, and Mathieu remains passionate about data security, risk management, and compliance.

Gorge was the President of the French Irish Chamber of Commerce in Dublin from 2017-2019 - he remains on the Executive council and as chair of the ICT working group. Mathieu has also served as the Chairman of InfoSecurity Ireland and was an Official Reviewer for ANSI (US). He is the founder of the PCI DSS European Roadshow, which has been running since 2011. He is also the Chairman of the VigiTrust Global Advisory

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Focusing on Core Solutions The current global crisis is unprecedented, and like most organizations VigiTrust had to learn as it went along. Whilst the company had a crisis management plan, it had not planned for a crisis that would impact travel, health, finances, and global geopolitics at the same time. So, Gorge and his senior management team started with reducing all costs, focusing on core solutions that were not impacted by the crisis, and servicing the company’s key clients and partners. The organization then decided to explore if there was any opportunity to reposition its solutions to address the new way to perform risk assessment audits. It quickly realized that its clients and partners alike could no longer go on-site to conduct assessments.

As it happens, VigiTrust’s 2020 roadmap for Q4 included the development and deployment of remote assessment capabilities, so it moved that forward to Q2 and Q3 and the company was able to address this opportunity and, incidentally, majorly enhance its partner program and partner onboarding.

A Perceptive and Accomplished Individual Gorge ensures that VigiTrust continues innovating, looking after existing clients, and gaining new markets.

There are a lot of companies doing well right now because they can see new opportunities and they are agile. VigiTrust is one of those, and Gorge is very proud to be surrounded by a team of highly motivated, resilient people, and by very encouraging close people.

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Gorge suspects that VigiTrust will either be acquired in the next few years or start acquiring other businesses to continue its expansion. From a personal perspective, the founder has just published his first book, The Cyber Elephant in the Boardroom, published by Forbesbooks and it has opened up many opportunities. Gorge is now a regular contributor to US, UK, and French media outlets on the topic of cyber-accountability and cyber security.

Wake up early and believe that today is going to be a good day for your business.

Your passion and persistence coupled with key skills from the team you've assembled will take you, your business and your team and entourage to the next level.

Gorge has also just been appointed VP of the Dublin section of the French Trade Advisors, and he remains involved with the French Irish Chamber of Commerce.

“I think I'll remain involved in those spheres as long as I can continue to add value wherever I am, probably with similar structures but based in the US as Vigitrust builds its US team out of New York”, shares Gorge.

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Mathieu Gorge CEO and Founder VigiTrust

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Leader's Viewpoint

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On various occasions, I have been asked for my advice for managing a team remotely. And this answer comes very natural for me. It is all about Keeping it human.

We have to be genuinely interested in the people and their current needs and lives beyond work. Everything being remote has turned listening into one of the essential soft skills. We must acknowledge that as nonverbal cues we typically rely on are lost, we must focus on actually listening. Also, I have learned that a turning on your computer camera makes the difference! People know that if you turned on your camera, you are focused 100% on them and it may sound as an insignificant gesture, but it is a small act of interest that can engage you with people you work with. I also recommend enabling office spaces, maintaining all the biometric security measures and social distancing, to hold face-to-face meetings. Keeping up employee morale is particularly challenging in these uncertain times, but through little acts of listening and actually caring, we will definitely come out victorious. As all leaders are saying, we have less chances to ask employees if they feel good or bad, like before just bouncing in the corridor of the office, and what we know is that a lot of them are struggling for different reasons.

he Secret for Setting a Positive Workplace Culture in a Work from Home Era

Uncertainty has become the new normal. For the past year, working remotely is, as well, the new normal.

Employees all over the world had to cope with this new reality as they keep track on their responsibilities and better manage their life-work balance. As company leaders become more aware of their roles in this pandemic era, it is the perfect time for them, for us, to reinvent the concept of office, and manage to keep fostering a positive work culture. How can we rethink the way we work to benefit our employees as well as our businesses? This is a very complicated question, with no right or wrong answers. My approach has to do with thinking from a leadership perspective. Now, more than ever, leaders need to become emotionally connected with their employees to foresee what may come in the so unclear future.

We need to use technology to innovate and develop more human-like tools to improve our workplace interactions. Emails, social networks, and teleconferencing meetings may feel as enough but they might not be when thinking in setting a positive culture or transmitting values and ways of working… It is about looking for social tools so that people can interact, and, with these tools, we are going to be able to discover the value of making working remotely, work. In the end, it is about how we create real experiences for real people.

How we create activities that go beyond work life and understand that there might be employees that treasure working in a fully remote environment and how there are others seeking for an office space. How I see it, the hybrid model will be the one prevailing in the months and years to come, and it is simply because this model takes into account both perspectives of returning to an office and working from other spaces.

The hybrid way is the ultimate way of achieving the human side and keeping up with the businesses. With this model, leaders and employees, must come up with activities that make work more human, a lot closer, social and fun.

And to keep it human, means to be human as well with the new employees. We have to think about the new people joining our teams. The onboarding process has changed, and it is very important to reinvent methodologies to create and maintain the bonds that would otherwise be generated naturally by being in a face-to-face environment. A remote Buddy Program has shown to be successful. People have other people to come to and express their needs, difficulties, fears and all kinds of emotions. To enable this program has meant to continue passing the culture and the company´s DNA through a word-of-mouth strategy.

In the end, I believe a positive work culture is essential.

You can ask, but how do you maintain that culture being remote? Communication and transparency are the key.

The only way to transmit your businesses DNA is by enabling different communication channels which have different social purposes. The email will still be the formal way to talk about work, WhatsApp will become the platform where good news and milestones are transmitted, Slack can be used as that relaxed tone, communication channel where peers can talk about their lives and vain conversations will be taking place here. All of them matter, not because talking about your wife and children is less important that talking about the closing of a deal, but because they maintain the work-life balance that is vital to succeed both personally and professionally, and it is this balance that we long for in the workplace.

In this work from home paradigm, CEO´s and leaders will be determinant from whatever perspective they will address the situation. Reading a Forbes article regarding stats employers need to know about the workforce, I came across the 2020 study conducted by Growmotely, in which they asked working professionals and entrepreneurs to share their thoughts on the new work from home paradigm, 74% of professionals expect remote work to become standard. These stats show an overwhelming percentage in favor of remote work continuing post-pandemic, so we must stay on top of these trends, to give employees what they expect from us as business leaders.

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KEEPING IT HUMAN

Veronica Crisafulli CSO and Cofounder MO Technologies

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Sibongile Rejoyce Sambo, Managing Director, SRS Aviation (Pty) Ltd, & Aero Metals (Pty) Ltd

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Sibongile Sambo A Dedicated and Aspiring Business Individual

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n the past 27 years, the South African government has made substantial progress in growing the economy, becoming internationally competitive, incorporating greater numbers of people of all races into the economy, and diversifying the economic base.

However, the transformation of South Africa’s economy will not be complete until Women, Youth, and Leaders of tomorrow play a vital role in the mainstream economy.

envy, and undying passion. Sibongile has since then had a dream that one day she will have access to them in one way or the other.

Sibongile Sambo has spent 17 years at SRS Aviation since 2004, the journey was not smooth at all. It was full of turbulence. Sibongile did enjoy the journey; she learned a lot and she got an opportunity to empower other people in the process. This business has given birth to Aero Metals, where the company manufactures elementary parts for new Airplanes.

Fostering the culture of entrepreneurship is critically important for the country and Sibongile Sambo has outstanding gifts, abilities, and knowledge to go out there and become the best that she can be. She is the Managing Director at SRS Aviation & Aero Metals (Pty) Ltd, taking advantage of the political freedom she is creating economic freedom not only for the company but for the community at large.

Pursuing her Dream and Passion In 2000 Sibongile Sambo registered a company for cleaning, security, and HR services but it never took off because she had no passion at all in mentioned services though she was well trained & gained a wealth of experience in Human Resources. Sibongile searched her soul for what lies within her.

Sibongile’s Journey and Background It all started with a dream and passion for aircraft.

Sibongile Sambo was born in Bushbuckridge, a village where aviation was never part of the vocabulary. She did not have any sophisticated toys and therefore she just played outside on the streets with other children.

She used to stop everything & every time when an aircraft flies by, so she could wave them with eagerness,

The love for aircraft never left her mind. Sibongile started attending air shows and did extensive painstaking research on aviation business opportunities. One day at De Beers Consolidated mines she took a decision that she doesn’t regret, leaving her well-paying job to venture into the unknown world of aviation.

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The only thing Sibongile had was a belief and confidence in herself and the business idea. Sibongile was so confident that she would go out there and be the best she can be in order to be successful. This is when she moved to what she really wanted – the fulfillment of her dreams and passions.

similar challenge - trying to access capital. Secondly, employing and retaining skilled employees has been a challenge because once they are well trained and experienced, they move to bigger organizations.

The company now has emerging subsidiaries in the following areas: -

How SRS Aviation got Funded The team approached banks and different institutions for finance however most decision-makers were on holiday at that time - a week between Christmas & New Year's Day. The remaining gave feedback on the spot saying we would not be financed because aviation is regarded as a high-risk industry. As they had no collateral and no aviation experience and the contract at hand meant nothing to the financiers.

The supply of aircraft components and spare parts for manufactures such as Boeing; Bombardier, Airbus etc. Ÿ It is also an industrialist, manufacturing of aerospace elementary parts and components, planning to expand to Automotive, Rail, and Maritime. The company is called Aero Metals (Pty) Ltd. Ÿ During the 2020 lock-down due to the Covid- 19 pandemic, the company inherited a technical training school that was closing down. This is a strategic organisation for technical training not only in aerospace but in all key industries. The company is called Dyondzo Technical Training Academy. Ÿ

Sibongile Sambo then had to come up with an alternative solution before she could lose the entire contract. Sibongile’s Mother and Aunt borrowed her their pension money, she got so much support from them.

17 years later the team is now experienced and has generated enough revenues that would give comfort to investors. The company has established networks worldwide and has managed to break through an untapped Aviation industry.

Contribution and Recognition Sibongile Sambo and her team have always been involved in Aviation awareness programs, empowering the youth about career and business opportunities in the industry. The organisation has produced pilots, people who never even thought they would have access to an aeroplane.

A Motivational Leader Sibongile Sambo likes open and inclusive leadership. It is important that the colleagues and employees share the vision with the leaders of the organization. She acknowledges that different situations require a different style of leadership. As a leader, she needs to be agile and respond to situations without procrastination. She is indeed, a future Leader.

Since 2006 to date, the company has won several accolades both locally and abroad. The organisation has gone through its own share of challenges. It has crossed the oceans and rivers full of challenges and is now still crossing streams of challenges. The team has become stronger and wiser.

Challenges and Growth Aerospace is capital intensive and access to financial capital is required. Therefore, the biggest challenge was securing finance for the business. Sibongile faced a

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To reach for my dreams and conquer the challenges; I will dare to be different; and with proper guidance and direction and with God on my side, nothing is impossible 39

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Valerie Vacante Bringing Emerging Technology Products to Life

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o uncover new opportunities, enhance existing product experiences or ensure a presence on a global stage Valerie Vacante, Director of Strategy at LiveArea and Founder of Collabsco, is here to share perspective on innovation and global experiences. In a connected world of entertainment, play, living, and learning, Valerie has pioneered awardwinning digital products and connected experiences across IoT, AR, VR, voice, robotics, and beyond.

high-end office or loads of overhead, just the flexibility to work with brilliant people on interesting products and experiences serving as an independent collaborator to explore, educate, inspire and ignite product innovations, collaborations, and experiences.

Valerie has expanded innovation efforts across the US, Europe and South America helping companies build their portfolios through collaborations with inventors, startups and global brands. She laughs that her house looked like Doc Brown’s house from the film “Back to the Future” with so many connected products, prototypes, and inventions in the works. Collabsco has allowed Valerie to experiment with new technologies, collaborations, and ways of working setting her own boundaries and constraints.

Valerie guides by saying, “When designing a new product or experience ensure there is always room for ongoing testing and learning across all aspects of the business to continuously improve focusing on what’s working and swiftly getting rid of what’s not as possible.”

As Director of Strategy at LiveArea she brings her entrepreneurial instinct and expertise to a creative and collaborative organization where she uncovers cultural trends, next generation innovations, and designs strategies impacting the way people connect and experience in the physical and digital world.

Creating Connected Experiences in the Physical and Digital World The common thread throughout Valerie Vacante's career has been creating and connecting consumer experiences to the physical and digital worlds. She started her career in London, England in the early 00’s, working with an outstanding team to create platforms and technologies that did not exist.

Navigating Challenges Some of the biggest challenges with starting Collabsco were learning how to build a business from the ground up. Valerie always served as an intrepreneur; however, starting as an entrepreneur is very different, you have to learn about the business legalities, structure, operations that are often already in place when you are an intrepreneur. It’s a completely different undertaking.

After returning to the U.S., she worked with a number of digital marketing and advertising agencies serving as a catalyst for growth, uncovering new technologies, business partnerships, and market opportunities. In 2014, she segued into product innovation, primarily focused on emerging technologies and experiences such as IoT, wearables, connected communities, connected play and gaming. After a short stint in a small design startup, a few colleagues encouraged her to venture out on her own so she did.

In 2016 Valerie launched Collabsco. She did not want a

Other challenges in her prior roles coming up in the industry were always not being heard or navigating unnecessary hierarchy and too many rules - she doesn’t

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“THERE IS A HUGE VALUE IN LETTING THE OUTSIDE WORLD IN TO INSPIRE NEW THINKING, LEARNING FROM FAILURE, KNOWING YOUR LIMITS TO PIVOT, AND TAKING ON THE NEXT CHALLENGE AHEAD.” Valerie Vacante Founder, Collabsco Director of Strategy, LiveArea

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like rules. Valerie is best when she works with collaborators where the team brings their superpowers or strengths to create new products, services or solve challenges, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Creative, Collaborative and Charismatic

Valerie Vacante's style of leadership is collaborative.

The command-and-control ways do not work in this day and time. They are too constraining, take up too much time and don’t get to the root of real open thinking and problem solving. Valerie believes that people need a clear vision, to have freedom in a framework, to be empowered, supported, and know that they can get what they need to succeed.

“A successful business must have a clear vision and creativity to thrive; it must support wildly creative people, those who are curious and who not only uncover opportunities, but realize how to connect the dots to make it happen - they drive new products, services, marketing, sales, new business models and ways of working,” explains Valerie.

One of the most influential leaders, Nolan Bushnell, the godfather of video games and founder of Atari, has a shared belief. In his book “Finding the Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Hire, Keep and Nurture Creative Talents,” he explains the importance of having a “staff of wildly creative people who live as much in the future as the present, who thrive on being different, and whose ideas will guarantee that your company will prosper when other companies fail.”

There is no surprise, after all he hired Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, as well as Valerie Vacante and many other creatives over the course of his five decades in business.

A Relentless Champion Throughout her career, Valerie has launched awardwinning products and experiences that have been featured at CES, SXSW, Wired Live and in such publications as Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, VentureBeat, Forbes, The Drum, VRScout, PCR, ToyNews, and more.

Valerie has worked with some of the world's most innovative brands. Her portfolio includes MercedesBenz, MINI, AT&T, Honeywell, Sleep Number, Dell,

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Vodafone, Nestlé, Hasbro, Mattel, Disney, Bandai Namco Entertainment, WowWee, Virsix Games, MERGE, Pressure Games and Firebolt Games among others.

In 2018, Valerie launched the first-ever connected play landscape; her latest iteration maps over 260 connected experiences, emerging technologies and business growth opportunities featured in VentureBeat, The Drum, VRScout to name a few.

In collaboration with Peter Jenkinson, she also cofounded TechUp, a curated service that showcases innovative products on a global stage as featured at WIRED Live, WIRED Next Generation, CES and SXSW. Most recently, in her role at LiveArea, she is one of the co-creators of LiveArea Scan & Go,™ a patent-pending, web-based, app-free contactless payment technology that, seamlessly integrates into a retailer’s existing website, customer profiles, and loyalty programs, providing opportunities to create more meaningful connections with consumers in store or online, from almost anywhere. She has also architected NXT Intelligence™, a collection of 12 solutions focused on technology, innovation, and brand experiences designed to explore, evaluate and evolve business growth opportunities.

education, and backgrounds are important to drive innovation and growth. With more remote work opportunities companies have a bigger and more diverse pool to choose from,” says Valerie.

Collaborative, Outside-in Perspective and Actionable Insights Valerie Vacante continuously hears feedback from clients who have worked with large management consultancies. The most significant and consistent feedback is that management consultancies overprocess simple challenges, restate the challenge or already known issues instead of providing actionable recommendations. The real opportunity is understanding a client’s business and rapidly uncovering near-term and longer-term opportunities with actionable solutions.

She serves on the SXSW Innovation Advisory Board, as a CES KAPi Awards judge, a global expert to MassChallenge, an international speaker and writer.

She has recently been named one of the Top 25 Women in Tech 2019 and 2020 by PCR magazine, 40/Forty and Mojo Nation 100 – Design Champion.

You can likely find her where creators are designing the future.

At LiveArea, the team is directly addressing these challenges through its new collection of solutions, NXT Intelligence™ which allows the company to provide an outside-in perspective to clients in meaningful ways to their business across technology, innovation, and brand experience. These are strategic exercises that provide actionable insights in weeks, not months.

The Importance of Perspective The biggest change that Valerie Vacante brings to management consultancies include two key concepts: , first, to be more inclusive, broadening recruiting pools, embracing different people and perspectives; , second, to work with real people in ways that is meaningful to their business. “When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents had a bakery and made all sorts of pastries, cakes, and cookies. It doesn’t take a baker or lover of sweets to know that if you only have flour you can’t make a cake, cookie, cannoli or anything. Different people, perspectives,

The team keeps a collaborative approach to work with clients. It doesn’t really pitch, it designs opportunities “with” its clients based on their goals. The organization provides an unfiltered, unbiased perspective.

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