CXO Outlook – June 2022 – Global Edition – 10 Most Inspiring Franchise Leaders - 2022

GLOBAL EDITION

JUNE 2022

INSIGHTS. IDEAS. INSPIRATIONS

Emily Roberts VP of Marketing, Pet Wants Jason Olsen Founder & CEO, IMAGE Studios

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Jaya Aiyar Founder & CEO, Créatif Jordan Meinster CEO, PickUp USA Fitness Paul Flick Founder & CEO, Premium Service Brands

Robert Bruski HOW IS

CREATING A REVOLUTION IN VR FRANCHISING? CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

K12 Digest Sept-Oct 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

June 2022

Vol - 3 Issue - 6

Most Inspiring Franchise Leaders - 2022 Head of Advisory Board

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Managing Editor

International Representation

Dr. Manoj Varghese, Ph.D Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Andrew Scott Joseph Alex

Naomi Wilson Stanly Lui Emma James

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Art & Design Charlie Jameson

Sales & Marketing

Jennifer Anderson Rachel Roy

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Monica Davis Anna Elza

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Going Global: The Success Mantra for Franchisers

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very 1 in 7 businesses is a franchise. No wonder an average of about 300 companies start franchising every year, and a new franchise opens every 8 minutes during a single business day. Franchising as an industry has a long history of existence, and we have seen bands going global through franchising and become a formidable success. For instance, one of the most franchised food and beverage brands, Subway, has 44,758 outlets, followed by McDonald’s with 36,525 outlets. McDonald’s has its franchises in 117 countries, while Subway has franchises in 112 countries.

Why should every franchise business owner consider taking their brand international as the final frontier for growth? Let's take the success of Domino’s Pizza as an example. It began serving consumers outside the United States in 1983 when the first store opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Since then, Domino’s has extended its global reach, and by 2022 it operated a total of 18,848 restaurants worldwide. According to the industry experts in this sector, cross-border franchising is a strategic way for brands to reduce dependence on domestic

demand and grow new, future revenue and profit centres worldwide. Besides, globally expansion through franchising involves low risk, requires minimal investment, and offers a huge upside potential for scaling capabilities.

With many benefits, the franchise industry globally is witnessing rapid growth and is achieving incredible milestones in terms of business. In this issue, we have identified the ‘10 Most Inspiring Franchise Leaders - 2022’ who have been finding success in a rapidly evolving and changing economic, social, technological, regulatory, and business environment. On the cover, we feature Robert Bruski, CEO & Co-Founder of Ctrl V VR Franchising, North America’s first and the world’s largest virtual reality arcade franchise.

Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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CONTENTS

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COVER STORY

Robert Bruski, CEO & Co-Founder, Ctrl V VR Franchising

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Robert Bruski HOW IS

CREATING A REVOLUTION IN VR FRANCHISING?

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

FRANCHISE LEADERS

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EMILY ROBERTS

JASON OLSEN

VP of Marketing, Pet Wants

Founder & CEO, IMAGE Studios

Making Nutrition and Pet Food Synonymous

A Trailblazing Franchisor Creating a Mark in the Salon Suite Industry

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50

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JAYA AIYAR

JORDAN MEINSTER

PAUL FLICK

Founder & CEO, Créatif

CEO & Founder, PickUp USA Fitness

Founder & CEO, Premium Service Brands

Redefining Art Studio Experience through Créatif

A GenNext Leader, Delivering Basketball Focused-Fitness Experience to Customers

Opening the Door of Franchising Opportunities in the House Improvement Industry

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

CONTENTS IN MY VIEW

LEADERS’ INSIGHTS

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HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IS ON THE ROAD TO RAPID RECOVERY AMID REVIVING ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

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THE FOUNDATION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES

Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO & Managing Director, Les Roches Marbella

Matt Robinson, CTO, Rahi

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EXPERT’S OPINION

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Tim Zheng, CEO & Founder, Apollo.io

Dr. Hans Andrews, Distinguished Fellow in Community College Leadership, Olney Central College, Illinois, USA

Girish Kukreja, Founder & CEO, FlexC

LEAD GENERATION STRATEGIES THAT BRANDS SHOULD ADOPT IN 2022

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

SLOWING DOWN TO HELP OVERCOME TEACHER SHORTAGES!

DIGITAL HR: WHAT IS IT & WHAT’S NEXT?

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TECH IT TILL YOU MAKE IT: 4 WAYS THE INSURTECH INDUSTRY COULD EVOLVE IN 2022 Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder, Kenko Health

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Higher Education Digest October 2020

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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IN MY VIEW

THE FOUNDATION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES Matt Robinson, CTO, Rahi

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s organizations seek to pull emerging technologies to the changing business and customer demands, Digital Transformation (DX) is key for IT modernization. Organizations that embrace DX are able to bring new products and services to market. They can enhance the customer experience, meet revenue goals, and make better data-driven decisions.

Many organizations begin their DX initiatives before embarking on an IT modernization journey.

However, architectures weren’t designed to support artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and other advanced technologies.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

As a result, many are experiencing performance issues, unplanned downtime, and security threats.

This is particularly challenging when the IT modernization journey includes implementing existing services on a cloud hyperscaler platform.

A recent Vanson Bourne study found that nearly onethird of the typical organization’s IT environment is made up of outdated systems. Eighty percent of IT leaders say these systems will stop long-term growth if they aren’t modernized.

An IT modernization strategy can help organizations overcome these challenges and prepare

An IT modernization strategy can help organizations overcome these challenges and prepare for the future IT needs of the business

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Matt Robinson has been in the technology industry for the past 30 years and is the CTO of Rahi. He has previously held leadership roles at Google, NetApp, Silicon Graphics and Alacritech across a variety of business domains, including engineering, marketing, product management, professional services and customer success. Matt’s role at Rahi is to help guide all global pre-sales and postsales organizations, and to build a new cloud engineering organization focused on data strategy and architectures utilizing hybrid cloud solutions for enterprise customers.

Matt received his bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of California, Riverside.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

An effective IT modernization strategy encompasses every aspect of the IT environment, including infrastructure, networking, security, and endpoint devices

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for the future IT needs of the business. By laying the proper foundation, organizations can execute their DX initiatives and maximize the ROI in new technologies.

The IT Modernization Challenge That’s not to say that IT modernization is easy. In a recent IBM survey of IT leaders in midsize and large organizations, 60% of respondents said their company’s modernization program is not yet ready for the future.

Nearly a quarter admitted that their organization is just starting its IT modernization journey or has yet to begin modernizing. About a third said they are still in the IT modernization process. This, combined with pressures from leadership to find new ways to lower costs, leads to rushed decisions and higher long-term costs, especially when the cloud is part of the modernization effort.

An effective IT modernization strategy encompasses every aspect of the IT environment, including infrastructure, networking, security, and endpoint devices. Backup systems will likely need updating to address rapidly growing data volumes and widely distributed data sources. Organizations should also address communications to ensure that users have effective tools for collaborating and sharing information.

Choosing Hybrid Modernization Organizations can jumpstart their modernization initiatives with a hybrid IT strategy that combines onsite and cloud resources. Hybrid IT enables organizations

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

to maintain control over mission-critical and highly sensitive workloads. All this, while gaining the flexibility, elasticity, and cost advantages of the cloud.

In the IBM survey, more than 95% of IT leaders said they are looking to adopt public, private, or hybrid cloud strategies. On one hand, a hybrid IT strategy may seem challenging to enterprises burdened with technical debt. But on the other, identifying the right workloads and applications to migrate or modernize is key to successfully evolving an IT organization’s services. This approach creates a reliable path to hybrid IT without impacting customer experience through the introduction of too many changes at once.

Choosing the right Partner for Digital Transformation IT skills gaps can complicate modernization initiatives. A full 40% of the technology leaders surveyed by Teneo Research feel that their teams lack the right skills to fully meet their organizations’ IT modernization requirements. But, more than 75% say they will rely more on trusted partners that can provide infrastructure services.

Choosing the right partner is critical. IT modernization requires deep expertise across the IT environment and up and down the technology stack. An IT solution provider must also have the business insight to develop a strategic approach that meets current and future requirements.

Powerful protection designed for PC gamers

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NORTONLIFELOCK.COM CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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Robert Bruski, CEO & Co-Founder, Ctrl V VR Franchising

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

COVER STORY

Robert Bruski HOW IS

CREATING A REVOLUTION IN VR FRANCHISING?

Robert Bruski is the CEO & Co-Founder of Ctrl V VR Franchising. After graduating with a degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University, where he co-founded the school’s premiere business society, “The Link,” Robert spent over a decade working in Canada’s financial investment industry, focusing on buy-side investment management. Working with some of the industry’s leading investment professionals, Robert was exposed to various businesses. He precisely sharpened his skills in determining the difference between a good business and a great business. All of this while dabbling in various entrepreneurial initiatives until he decided to make the leap into starting his own company.

Robert co-founded a company called PipeDream Interactive that developed a piece of cinema eyewear called Invisivision. This company made waves throughout Hollywood before Robert and his business partner co-founded Ctrl V. Ctrl V is North America’s first and the world’s largest virtual reality arcade franchise. He is also the co-founder of Good Company Productions (GCP). GCP is a music production company that puts on concerts, shows, and festivals. It acts as a talent-buying representative and provides musicians with artist management and representation opportunities. This initiative gave Robert a flavour for contributing to the local community. Robert is also a mentor for the Waterloo chapter of Palo Alto based idea-stage accelerator, The Founders Institute, where he contributes his experience and knowledge to helping budding entrepreneurs grind and build out their dreams and ideas.

In a recent interview, the team of CXO Outlook chatted with Mr. Robert Bruski to gain his insights on the current trends emerging in the VR industry, obstacles and hindrances faced by him while running his company, how can new franchisees seek benefits from Ctrl V VR Franchising, and a lot more. Following are the excerpts from the interview.

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You have been an active part of the Virtual Reality industry for quite some time.

According to you, what are the biggest trends to watch out for in this industry in 2022?

The VR industry has been growing significantly and at an accelerated pace in the last few years. As a result, it can be tricky to truly anticipate what may be next. However, there is a significant case for VR to expand beyond gaming and entertainment. Sure, there has been a lot of effort put into VR entertainment, and several reputable companies and organizations are putting efforts and resources into expanding their VR horizons. VR will continue to grow into the world of education and training as it has proven to be an innovative, scalable, and cost-effective way to deploy content.

Furthermore, virtual reality is poised to have a large insurgence of content and hardware development in the worlds of sales (like real estate) and medicine (like PTSD therapy and senior care). These industries have been champing at the bit to explode and will continue to innovate. This, coupled with the natural growth of VR entertainment, will be explosive for adopting this technology.

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What lessons and insights have you gained from the COVID-19 experience as an entrepreneur?

COVID-19 has undoubtedly opened many eyes regarding how businesses and the economy can be affected. It goes without saying that building a company that can survive a pandemic (or, at least, have a backup plan) is critical. It may have been the first pandemic in a generation, but who knows if it will be the last one. However, the most insightful experience gained is on the repercussions of a post-pandemic world. Namely, the economy. Businesses need to be built to survive the adverse effects on the economic stability of a nation and its people. Being recessionproof is just as important, if not more important, than being pandemic-proof. Having efficient economies of scale and scope, tight unit-level economics, and a clear plan in case of a disaster are imperative for a business to possess.

As the CEO & Co-Founder of VR Franchising, what challenges do you face? And how do you overcome them?

The job of a CEO is 3-fold. To increase shareholder value/wealth, to plan the future and vision of the

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

VR WILL CONTINUE TO GROW INTO THE WORLD OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING AS IT HAS PROVEN TO BE AN INNOVATIVE, SCALABLE, AND COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO DEPLOY CONTENT

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Robert Bruski

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company, and to build & maintain the culture within the business. These facets come with their own struggles, roadblocks, and hurdles. But it is important to note that every challenge can be overcome by staying sympathetic and empathetic. Business, at its core, is a people game.

You may be operating in the technology, entertainment, food & beverage, or a myriad of other industries. But what truly makes the wheels go round are the people behind the company. Being able to connect with, understand, and grow people, is what will help any CEO & Co-founder overcome whatever challenge comes their way. They will have a team that supports their mission and vision and together can move forward.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

At Ctrl V VR Franchising, what tools and technologies are you currently using for sales and marketing?

The world is quickly changing from the standpoint of sales and marketing. Being able to utilize the tools of Web 2.0 (specifically social media) is critical. A business needs to understand these tools entirely and be able to deploy them efficiently. Web 3.0 is inbound, and knowing how to deploy the social tools online is becoming par for the course. This is especially the case as Gen Z becomes a more prominent contributor to the consumer economy.

They are digital natives and expect a minimum standard of compliance with web tools. Ctrl V puts a considerable

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CTRL V BELIEVES IN A CONGRUENT FRANCHISORFRANCHISEE RELATIONSHIP. OUR PREROGATIVE IS FRANCHISEE HAPPINESS AND PROFITABILITY

amount of effort and resources (including technologies) into mastering this realm and deploying the strategies efficiently.

What type of opportunities does Ctrl V VR Franchising have in store for the new entrepreneurs?

What should be their mindset before entering the VR industry?

Ctrl V is expanding across North America (and, if you’re interested… the world!). As a result, the best opportunity for new entrepreneurs is to become business owners through the ownership of their own Ctrl V virtual reality arcade. They can go into business for themselves, doing something fun and impactful, but not by themselves, with a supportive and

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

actively engaged franchisor working alongside them. It is critical to have a mindset of hard work, grit, and moxie.

Ctrl V is an emerging brand, so resilience is required. But VR is also a new technology that requires a pioneering mindset amongst all franchisees, business owners, and entrepreneurs.

Becoming a first-time franchisee can be difficult. What kind of support do you provide them in their first 12 – 24 months?

Within the first 1 to 2 years, Ctrl V franchisees are supported immensely. Not only does Ctrl V provide the standard operating manuals, tools, and tricks that most franchisors do, but we double down on our franchisees.

It starts with an in-depth initial training program, followed by an initial deployment program. It then moves forward with continued active support – an LMS

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

packed with content, peer performance groups, webinars, weekly franchise business coaching, franchise advisory councils, and many more inputs. Ctrl V believes in a congruent franchisor-franchisee relationship. Our prerogative is franchisee happiness and profitability.

Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?

The person who has had the most tremendous impact on myself as well as Ctrl V is Angela Cote of AC Inc. Angela has been a mentor to our entire team, teaching us what it means to be a great franchisor, support your franchisees, and be a leader to team members and business owners. She has helped us build our business into something that everyone can be proud of and has

21 provided insight into the franchising world that can be rivalled by none. Without her mentorship, leadership, and guidance, Ctrl V would be facing the same fate that too many emerging franchisors and franchisees face.

Thank you for all of your guidance and support, Angela.

You have co-founded companies, led numerous teams, and successfully created a mark for yourself in the VR industry. Which one of your accomplishments makes you the proudest to date?

The biggest accomplishment that any franchisor would be proud of is creating a franchise system that has happy franchisees in an emerging industry and has survived a pandemic. Granted, this is many accomplishments rolled into one, but ultimately this is quite the feat that should leave any business owner proud.

What is the forecast for VR Market in the next 5 years?

VR is poised to continue its growth and expansion into several different verticals over the next few decades.

Within the near and current future, a considerable

amount of effort is being put into developing the metaverse and VR’s role in it. With the adoption of the metaverse by the general public and the growth in virtual reality arcades, VR will be the main gateway for people to enter the metaverse and interact with it. A recent Gartner report indicated that by 2026, a quarter of the population will be accessing the metaverse at least once a day. As we know it, VR is the way to do so.

The future is inevitable.

Lastly, what is the best advice you would give to a learning leader?

A leader has only one way that they can impact a company. And that is through the development of an environment conducive to its team. Altering an environment is the best tool that a leader can navigate.

It will create a business culture that fosters fulfillment and joy and migrate away from tentative feelings of happiness and excitement. This will allow people to follow the leader into whatever battle is necessary. Don’t be a manager. A manager can command authority, but that doesn’t mean people will follow them. Leaders need people to follow them to achieve their goals.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

LEADER’S INSIGHTS

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IS ON THE ROAD TO RAPID RECOVERY AMID REVIVING ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO and Managing Director, Les Roches Marbella

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Carlos Díez de la Lastra was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Les Roches Marbella in January 2014. Since taking office he has focused on promoting the expansion of the school on an international scale by leveraging synergies with Les Roches Global Hospitality Education and from being part of Sommet Education. Throughout his professional career in the field of higher education he has held various executive posts in the areas of marketing, operations and management. His recent positions include Director of Sales and Customer Services at ISLA (now the University Europeia) in Lisbon, Portugal, Vice-President of the European University of Madrid and Director General of the European University of the Canary Islands.

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rom creating new employment opportunities to bringing foreign exchange, the hospitality industry contributes significantly to a country's total GDP (Gross Domestic Products). The field that encompasses lodging, food, travelling and tourism offers a constant flow of income into a country, which has only flourished over the last decade due to globalization and digitization. World Travel and

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Tourism Council (WTTC) 2019 data showed that the Travel & Tourism sector contributed 10.3% to the global GDP. But when the pandemic hit the world and the global economy shrank by 4.4%, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the billion-dollar hospitality industry faced a major blow. With travel bans and preventive restrictions imposed on public

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The resilience and agility of the hospitality industry helped it bounce back on the path the recovery

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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compound annual growth of 6.24 per cent between 2022 places across the globe, the world witnessed a nearto 2027. economic shutdown. UNWTO (United Nations World The revival of the journey continued with the Tourism Organisation) data revealed that during the lifting of the international travel bans, leading to a first lockdown in 2020, the hospitality industry hit a rebound in the international tourist arrivals. After over new low, dipping 73 per cent due to a staggering drop two years of lockdown, travellers who were unable to in international tourist arrivals. However, gradually travel overseas started heading out of the country for a with mass inoculation of vaccination against covid and breather or comfortable experiences, a safe and secure a drop in the infection cases, the industry showed the environment and better facilities. The positive response signs of recovery. from the traveller across the globe soon got reflected on The resilience and agility of the hospitality industry the business side leading to a jump in the share prices helped it bounce back on the path the recovery. During the of many hotel chains. Observing the recovery of the pandemic, when many industries were struggling to rehospitality industry, UNWTO said that despite its quick strategize and plan their operations, hospitality players bounce back, the industry would take were quick to adapt to the change, about two-and-a-half to four years catering to the new requirements of to return to 2019 levels in terms of the testing time. Be it hotels being international arrivals. transformed into quarantine centres The World Travel and Tourism to contain the virus, promoting the Council (WTTC) described the local economy with indigenous food hospitality industry as the main and stay options, or embracing a The revival of the driver of global value creation and new work model by offering people' journey continued predicted it to contribute 8.6 trillion workation' and 'staycation' options with the lifting of USD to the global economy in 2022. for convenient remote working and It is only 6.4% below pre-pandemic unwinding. Understanding the need the international levels. With the rise in revenue, the of the hour, the industry promptly travel bans, leading industry also helped in generating altered its services to cater to one to a rebound in the employment opportunities for the and all. This fluidity in operations local population and at several and services helped the hospitality international tourist destinations. In line with the evolving and tourism sector flourish at an arrivals needs and demands of the customers, unprecedented rate, leading to the the industry raised the requirement revival of the local, national, and for skilled professionals. At present, global economy. about 330 million people are part The introduction of cuttingof this industry. This figure is just 1% below the preedge technology and innovative methods to provide pandemic level and 21.5% above the numbers as were the guest with hassle-free and contact-less services in 2020. Given the pace of its growth, the Hospitality encouraged guests to step out of their comfort zone Global Market Report 2022 expects the industry to and resume their activities like the pre-pandemic era. grow significantly from $3,952.87 billion in 2021 to Research by an online hotel room offer platform Hoo $4,548.42 billion in 2022 at a compound annual rate of reported an 18 per cent hike in staycations across 16 15.1%. The data showcases great growth prospects that global holiday hotspots in 2021 as compared to the the hospitality industry holds, which is all set to soon previous year. Besides the rise in stays and resumption surpass pre-pandemic numbers and reach newer heights. of national and international tourism response, the F&B The opportunity for our students is that the industry is segment also exhibited upward movement. The fourth in terrible need of talents to drive this dynamic. At the industrial revolution, governed by rapid digitalization same time, the interest for these international careers is and advanced technology, helped food delivery services very strong. to reinvent their operations and supply chain module in At les Roches globally, we have seen for example a line with the pandemic requirements. The slump of the very positive trend of interest in our Master’s programs first year was soon replaced by a jump in the revenue as than enable talents to reskill into our industry, upskill people ordered more food while staying at home. The or fast-track their career in hospitality and managerial estimates based on this trend suggest that in the postpositions. pandemic era, online food delivery services will reach a

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education Digest June 2019 2022 December October January 2020

FRANCHISE LEADERS

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Pet Wants

IMAGE Studio

Name: Emily Roberts

Name: Jason Olsen

Designation: VP of Marketing

Designation: President and Co-Founder

Website: https://www.petwants.com/

Website: https://imagestudios360.com/

Headquarters: Ohio, USA

Headquarters: Utah, USA

About the Company: Pet Wants produces fresh, nutritional pet food from the highest quality ingredients, slow-cooked in small batches.

About the Company: IMAGE Studios is an exclusive salon suite that provides modern, high-end salon studios at affordable rates to salon professionals.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Créatif

Wild Birds Unlimited

Name: Jaya Aiyar

Name: Jim Carpenter

Designation: Founder

Designation: CEO

Website: https://www.creatif.com/

Website: https://www.wbu.com/

Headquarters: California, USA

Headquarters: Indianapolis, United States About the Company: Wild Birds Unlimited is the #1, largest and most recognized source for backyard bird feeding and nature-related products in North America.

About the Company: Créatif is a modern, tech-savvy Art Studio, offering an immersive customer experience.

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PickUp USA Fitness

The Avocado Show

Name: Jordan Meinster

Name: Julien Zaal

Designation: CEO

Designation: Co-Founder and CEO

Website: https://www.pickupusafitness.com/

Website: https://www.theavocadoshow.com/

Headquarters: Missouri, USA

Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands About the Company: The Avocado Show is the world's first international avocado franchise, serving Pretty Healthy Food made from sustainable avocados.

About the Company: PickUp USA Fitness is the first and only basketball-focused fitness club concept operating in the US

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Realty ONE Group

Premium Service Brands

Name: Kuba Jewgieniew

Name: Paul Flick

Designation: Founder and CEO

Designation: CEO

Website: https://www.realtyonegroup.com/

Website: https://www.premiumservicebrands.com/

Headquarters: Nevada, USA

Headquarters: Virginia, USA

About the Company: As a dynamic, fullservice lifestyle Real Estate brand and franchise model, Realty ONE Group redefines the way brokerages should approach change.

About the Company: Premium Service Brands is an industry-leading home service franchisor in North America with nine unique brands in its portfolio.

Ctrl V VR Franchising

Wendy’s

Name: Robert Bruski

Name: Todd A. Penegor

Designation: CEO & Co-Founder

Designation: President and CEO

Website: https://www.virtualrealityfranchise.com/

Website: https://www.wendys.com/

Headquarters: Ontario, Canada

Headquarters: Ohio, USA

About the Company: Ctrl V was North America’s first virtual reality arcade and is currently the largest virtual reality arcade chain in the world.

About the Company: Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain it was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations.

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education Digest June 2020 2022 October

FRANCHISE LEADERS

EMILY ROBERTS VP OF MARKETING, PET WANTS

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Making Nutrition and Pet Food Synonymous

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oday, the world is undergoing a revolution in how we perceive pets- as a part of the family, and an essential ingredient to our well-being. For decades, each generation - millennials to seniors - has reshaped the meaning of pet relationships.

Numbers are reflecting this growth. Several research analysts predict the pet care market will grow from 261 billion dollars in 2022 to 350 billion dollars by 2027. This shift can be attributed to the rise in double-income families, increasing nuclear households, urbanization, evolving lifestyles, and growing pet ownership.

One may observe that the increasing trend of pet adoptions is directly proportional to the intense competition

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

in the pet care, pet food, and pet supplies space. Mass merchandisers capitalize on this market with high-volume sales while maintaining lower margins. This sector urges the design and development of various pet products and new mediums to connect with new customers, creating an advantageous scenario for a myriad of brands to penetrate the market and thrive on customers investing in ‘premium pet products’ now available in the market. However, to reach these customers at the level the pet-parent market is demanding, these mass-produced pet foods are of inferior quality and low nutritional value, ultimately affecting a pet’s health. There needs to be some sort of accountability from the vendor’s end.

At Pet Wants, our key investment strategy is to ensure fresh, healthy food reaches your pet quickly so they may maximize its full nutritional benefits

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Emily Roberts VP of Marketing, Pet Wants

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Pet Wants is stirring things up. We are unique because our recipe includes high quality ingredients, local ownership, customized nutritional consultations, and an unrelenting focus on freshness. Our method is easy, prioritize health and wellness over economics 32

Emily Roberts, VP of Marketing for Pet Wants, agrees, and has directed her focus to position Pet Wants as being a primary resource in animal health and wellness for pets and their owners with the Pet Wants array of artisanal pet foods and products.

A Company and a Cause Pet Wants is stirring things up. The company is unique because its recipe includes high-quality ingredients, local ownership, customized nutritional consultations, and an unrelenting focus on freshness. Their method is easy - prioritize health and wellness over economics.

“Pet Wants was established because of our true passion for pet health and wellness. The products that claimed to be healthy just didn’t meet the standards of our founders, and they were frustrated with the cost of going directly to a veterinarian when nutrition could solve their pet's problems,” informs Emily.

She explains how the inception of Pet Wants came about when founders Michele Hobbs and Amanda Broughton noticed some severe skin and coat issues with their trio of beloved pets in 2010. Michele realized that they couldn’t provide the quality of life and care for their pets with the pet food products available. As dedicated pet parents, they wanted and expected more for their four-legged companions.

After many frustrating trips to the veterinarian’s office and

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

several thousand dollars spent with no improvement, they began to research causes and solutions for themselves. As is so common today, the culprit was the inadequate quality and low nutritional value of mass-produced pet food. They were shocked to learn that ‘premium/pro’ pet food advertisements on the front of large bags did not equal quality protein in the food. Additionally, the time between manufacturing and retail sales inherently created a long shelf life that sapped the food of its nutritional value Getting Nutritional Food into your Pet’s Food Bowls Faster!

Pet Wants takes pride in producing fresh, healthy food every six weeks, getting it to your pet’s bowl in just 3045 days. “Many companies claim to be fresh and healthy when the reality is their products have been sitting in warehouses aging for 12- 24 months before getting to the consumer. The quality of their food has significantly degraded. Pet food manufacturers most often care about their financial performance and the cost of ingredients and supply chain. The pet’s needs come in last. At Pet Wants, our key investment strategy is to ensure fresh, healthy, food reaches your pet quickly to maximize its full nutritional benefit," opines Emily.

Offering Proven Expertise A pioneer in the business space, Emily Roberts is a strong professional, skilled in integrative and digital marketing, corporate-community relations, brand management, relationship cultivation, public relations, and curating meaningful consumer engagement opportunities. Emily channels her collective 17 years of rich experience with multiple industries including, Retail, Media, Franchise, Education, Business Services, Banking, and Non-Profits to help build a better community today. She has been recognized for her professional impact and service to the Cincinnati community by the Business Courier's Forty Under 40, as a finalist in the Legacy Awards Northern Kentucky, and as a member of the inaugural class of The Metropolitan Club's, 'Roebling Society.'

She elaborates on how she believes work is just another thread to the fabric of her life. She positively thrives under pressure while maintaining a calm element as circumstances may intensify. For her, this is an inherent skill. One she attributes to naturally seeing challenges and obstacles as opportunities. It is a talent she sharpens in her personal life, as well. As an avid hiker, runner, and adventure traveler, she constantly seeks the physical and mental challenges a mountain, a race, and the unknown terrain provide. Many

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often ask her what her favorite experience has been or place she has visited, her enthusiastic answer is always, “the next one! Thrusting yourself into the unknown is the greatest way to find out what you’re made of, and equally important, what you’re not. I find it to be the purest way to connect with me.

Dedicating time to doing that and to learn more about myself only makes me a better leader, and team-builder.”

She approaches her team at Pet Wants as she does to comprise teams in ultra-racing. She explains, “There are many exceptional runners who were passed up to join these adventure race teams for those who had not ever run a mile in their life. They would have brought us to the finish line quicker, but wouldn’t have been a champion, supporter, or a source of positivity during the race. This was more important to me. Every team I have cultivated for these ultra-races has crossed the finish line, and we did it having had an experience of a lifetime we could share. This method translates seamlessly

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Commanding quite the market presence today, the Pet Wants private label product line is expanding rapidly to meet consumer demand

when working within any team. Become a student of each team member, champion their individual role, and guide each on how to build upon each other’s work to collectively cross the finish line.”

Staying Ahead of the Growth Curve Taking all this positive energy, she envisions ultimately bridging the gap between pet owners and nutritional pet food/products by harnessing the power of improved analytics, advanced technologies, and enhanced marketing strategies. “My vision for the company is accelerated growth and continuous innovation in nutrition, technology, and marketing. We are driven by analytics and technology, which allows us to preserve and perpetuate our values. We are already growing at a dramatic rate because through proven improvements in pet health, we have earned the consumer’s vote.

Consumer spending on Pet Wants as a brand is up by 44 percent in the last nine months,” says Emily.

The portfolio of products boasts of its unmatched quality owing to the team constantly innovating and ensuring the products are lab tested and consumer tested. In doing so, the company has established extraordinarily high standards for both its private label products and partner products. Pet Wants has a full-time focus and staff dedicated to nutrition, product management, and product innovation. The company believes in a hyper-local model for retail.

Pet Wants owners are not only pet lovers but also experts in pet health and wellness. “Many found us as customers first, and after seeing life-changing improvements in their pet’s health, decided they had to be a part of it,” says Emily.

Once onboard, the owners receive extensive training related to nutrition, and many pursue higher education programs in addition to the ownership of their Pet Wants business. The community-based model allows the owners to tailor their goto-market plans to the specific dynamics of their communities.

Improved Quality of Pet Life She urges customers to educate themselves and to pay attention to the details, beyond the beauty of the packaging.

Pet Wants owners, not advertisements, are the trusted source of nutritional information found in a pet’s food. “We have yet to see an advertisement from a big box brand that offers free, customized, one on one nutritional consultations solely for an individual pet. But, we do,” says Emily. “We encourage customers to leverage that.”

Commanding quite the market presence today, the Pet Wants private label product line is expanding rapidly to meet consumer demand. In parallel with the everevolving domain, Pet Wants has recently launched its R&D store fashioned to test new pet services, technology, and marketing to enhance and accelerate the franchise model.

Simultaneously, the company is deploying new e-commerce technologies as well. “We have such a diverse and passionate ownership base, and we will continue to capture more owners to provide more locations for consumers,” declares Emily. Pet Wants is also being pursued by high net worth individuals, family trusts, and small investment groups interested in leveraging their assets in this dynamic industry and with a socially responsible company like Pet Wants.

Emily concludes with a bit of advice that she believes has helped to shape her and that continues to guide her in her career. “Be curious. Be a continuous student of your industry, your work, your customer, and the people around you. Then, apply those seeds of understanding and nuggets of knowledge to impact positive change and growth. When you do this, your professional growth and personal joy inherently follow.”

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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EXPERT OPINION

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Lead Generation Strategies That Brands Should Adopt In 2022 Tim Zheng, CEO and Founder, Apollo.io

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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n the digital age, connecting with current and potential customers has never been easier. And yet, the very abundance of online users and content makes it harder to know whom to reach and how to reach them optimally. The question arises, therefore, as to how one can build a solid pipeline of prospective buyers who can then be converted into paying customers. The answer lies in lead generation - one of the core strategies for any B2B company, and one that has evolved considerably over the last few years.

Tim Zheng is the CEO and founder of Apollo. io, an intelligent, data-first sales acceleration platform.

Before launching Apollo in 2015, the Massachusettsborn entrepreneur founded, built and sold e-learning platform BrainGenie. Since the company’s founding, as CEO of Apollo.io, Tim is primarily responsible for driving the product, hiring and go-to-market strategy for the company. Before his success as a young entrepreneur, Tim interned at Citadel Investment Group, The Boston Consulting Group and Goldman Sachs.

Based in Austin, Zheng graduated from MIT with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 2011.

Why a lead generation strategy matters Traditionally, marketing and sales were two separate departments. Marketing collected data on prospective customers and passed them on to salespeople, who would then do the actual selling. However, the lines are increasingly blurring between the two as lead generation in its modern avatar becomes the norm.

Essentially, lead generation is the first stage of the purchasing journey, in which interested customers are located and roped in through persuasive tactics that demonstrate value for the customer. Lead generation is a useful strategy as it focuses on interested candidates from the get-go. Traditional marketing is more general and often reaches people who are not interested in the product. With lead generation, however, the emphasis is on getting only genuine prospects to subscribe to a mailing list or book a consultation. It also enables a more personal initial conversation than with generic content, which most modern buyers are fatigued by.

And with modern trends like data mining and predictive analytics, lead generation can anticipate and creatively solve customer needs, which serves to boost customer delight and brand loyalty.

Lead generation strategies to keep in mind for 2022 Lead generation and digitization go hand in hand. Given that most people have an active online presence, it makes sense to target them on the channels and with the media formats they like best. Now that businesses are embracing the digital workforce, therefore, it’s also the perfect time for them to invest in lead generation tech.

There are several strategies one can opt for depending on industry/market requirements, resources available, and company priorities. We discuss some of the most popular ones as follows. ● Social selling - This involves using a social network to connect and engage with customers and nudge them towards a conversion. B2B brands tend to

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Every customer interaction online generates a host of data points that marketing and sales teams can use to pitch better to both current and existing customers

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experience high success rates with LinkedIn, the preferred platform for professionals across industries. LinkedIn InMail open rates, for instance, are nearly three times as high as that of regular B2B emails. Sales executives should thus prioritize reaching out to LinkedIn prospects - several tools can help with filtering out appropriate profiles and delivering timely message campaigns. ● AI-powered sales - Modern AI can use customer data to pitch products, help out with queries and deliver personalized content. All while being available 24x7. With an AI chatbot on your website, you can easily qualify site visitors with a few automated questions and direct them to the right content for their needs. Moreover, given that modern chatbots can mimic human conversation and have bright, simple layouts, customers will be happy to approach them for queries. ● Remarketing - This is a simple yet powerful way to attract people who have already visited your site or browsed your products, but left without taking any action. It involves using paid ads to remind customers about the products they liked, or simply highlight more features about the company, with the intent of calling back customers and pushing them towards conversion. ● Data-driven marketing - Every customer interaction online generates a host of data points that marketing and sales teams can use to pitch better to both current and existing customers. In particular, AI can process data to deliver predictions about how certain categories of customers are likely to behave. The team can then reach out preemptively to those buyers and fulfill their needs before they even express them, thus amplifying the experience. ● Video marketing - Data shows that about 72% of prospects prefer to receive information over video. Many companies have thus started creating tailored pitch videos for each of the prospects they email, featuring solutions for

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

their specific needs. It's a more personal form of selling than text-based email and allows the receiver to relate better to the people behind the product. ● Conversational marketing - The days of "selling to" are over. Customers want to know that they can have a relationship with the brand they buy from. Rather than rely solely on lead capture forms, therefore, companies are investing in the creation of conversational marketing teams whose sole focus is to listen to customers and find innovative solutions to their problems. By having someone on hand to reach out to, customers can trust a brand more easily. ● Content marketing - At the core of every good lead-gen strategy is top-notch content that attracts, informs, and persuades. Data from Demand Gen shows that 47% of buyers consume at least three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales team member.

Moreover, 96% of B2B customers want more thought leadership content. Companies should invest in creating content that highlights their expertise and dives deep into hot topics, and then use them as lead magnets and lead nurturing tools.

In 2022, technology will power lead generation and customer retention activities in many new ways. The basics of good selling, however, remain the same. Companies need to optimize their website for SEO, list themselves in marketing platforms to attract local customers, create a relevant stream of content, and keep their communications timely. What the strategies listed above can do is refine the communication process to fit tech-savvy buyers who may need more convincing than regular selling tactics can accomplish. Above all, make sure that every customer interaction is consistent with each other and with your overarching brand message.

With consistent and thoughtful efforts, you’ll soon have a strong pipeline of prospects who are ready to become your permanent customers.

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

FRANCHISE LEADERS

JASON OLSEN FOUNDER & CEO, IMAGE STUDIOS

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A Trailblazing Franchisor Creating a Mark in the Salon Suite Industry

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robust set of core values is the driving force behind successful leaders, creating a clear pathway for their success. Creativity, freedom, and success are Jason Olsen’s (Founder & CEO of IMAGE Studios) core values. “There’s nothing like having the freedom of being your own boss to take risks and build something from nothing based on the relentless thoughts and dreams of an idea that won’t let up until you execute,” says Jason.

Jason’s entrepreneurial journey began during his junior year of high school. At that time, the internet revolution had just started. It was a Pandora’s box of opportunity for those who saw its true potential. Jason was a car enthusiast, and the entrepreneurial bug in him wanted to

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

tap the opportunity to sell automotive aftermarket parts and accessories via the internet. A fellow neighbor taught him how to code and develop his own website. A few months later www.street-looks.com was launched. At the time, it was one of the only e-commerce websites that sold aftermarket automotive lighting. Within 12 months the company was shipping orders worldwide. For the next 6 years, the company continued its growth, and eventually Jason sold Street Looks to an investor in 2004 while he was still in college.

Shortly thereafter, Jason teamed up with his brother and father, buying and selling cars at Prestman Auto, a retail car dealership in Salt Lake City, Utah. They scaled the company tremendously over the next 15 years and

There’s nothing like having the freedom of being your own boss to take risks and build something from nothing based on the relentless thoughts and dreams of an idea that won’t let up until you execute

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Jason Olsen Founder & CEO, IMAGE Studios

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eventually the dealership was selling 2,500 used vehicles annually and generating 77,000,000 in top-line revenue.

Their dealership had became one of the largest independent dealerships in Utah. Like they say, the road to success is not always a straight line. When the recession hit in 2008, the company endured many hardships, and the fear of bankruptcy became a real thing at one point. But they managed to get through this difficult time and the company rebounded even stronger than before the recession.

Inception Story of IMAGE Studios Coming to terms with almost going broke and battling financial challenges during the recession, Jason began brainstorming new business ideas that would be less

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

susceptible to economic downturns. During this time, he spoke with a close friend who was a hairstylist in Salt Lake City. She had informed him that her business hadn’t been affected too much by the great recession. She explained to him how people preferred to spend money on their beauty services since splurging on other luxury items was not an option. “The wheels in my head started turning, and I fell in love with strength of the beauty industry.”

During his research, Jason discovered that beauty professionals loved the freedom of working in a salon suite as their own boss, but the locations he saw were poorly designed. “This is the beauty industry after all, and none of these spaces inspired creativity or even looked like intentional spaces for beauty.” Jason further

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continues, “Seeing these shortcomings, I set out to make IMAGE Studios a beautifully designed space that would look and feel like a high-end salon from New York or Miami.”

His plan also included ongoing training and support to help beauty entrepreneurs understand the basics of business, with continuing education courses offering more advanced training aimed at making these professionals as successful as possible.

On June 1st, 2010, IMAGE Studios opened its doors in Draper, Utah. The beautiful space was over 6,200 sq ft and housed 33 studios for beauty professionals. “Within a few months the salon was at 100% occupancy, and I began looking for a second location,” said Jason. Over the next five years he would build a total of five locations in the Salt Lake Valley. In 2016 he started a new company, Image

Studios Franchise, that would use the franchise model to expand the Image Studios brand across the country. By the end of 2017, Jason sold his first franchise, followed by a second one in 2018. “At this point, I thought that I might go bankrupt again trying to get this business off the ground. But persistence paid off.” After gaining his momentum, Jason sold 18 franchises in 2019, 45 in 2020, and 66 in 2021.

A Luxury Leader in the Salon Suite Industry IMAGE Studios is an exclusive franchise that provides modern, high-end salon studios at affordable rates to salon professionals. In addition, IMAGE Studios also has its own smartphone app called ‘IMAGE Pro by Gloss Genius,’ an

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

IMAGE Studios is an exclusive franchise that provides modern, highend salon studios at affordable rates to salon professionals

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all-in-one business suite tool helping salon owners run their business more efficiently. This app includes point of sale credit card processing, inventory management, financial reporting, client record management and transaction history, online scheduling, text message marketing and reminders, and an education portal where salon owners can access a library of business topics to help them maximize their income. Elegantly designed studios, smart apps, and a visionary leader make IMAGE Studios a trendsetter in the salon suite industry.

Raising the Bar of Leadership Jason has always been driven by passion, creativity, and success. And his previous successful ventures are an example of his dedication towards entrepreneurship.

A leader such as Jason is what inspires and motivates people around him. He shares, “I want to help other entrepreneurs succeed by starting their own business.

IMAGE Studios is the perfect platform for thousands of beauty professionals to start their own business.” He also leads by example and has created many IMAGE Studios’ training programs that are aimed at supporting, educating, and empowering these professionals to take the leap and start their own business. “I also love the franchise model because we’re also working with other entrepreneurs who want to start their own IMAGE Studios franchise.

Working alongside other entrepreneurs each day is why I love what I do,” remarks Jason.

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Upcoming Plans from the House of Image Studios This year, Jason and his team are planning to open 40 new stores, which will more than double the current operating store count in just 12 months. By December 2023, they are targeting to have a total of 150 stores open and 300 total licenses awarded across the country. To accomplish this, IMAGE Studios has hired several new team members to support its expansive growth. Furthermore, they are also work with lenders who can provide financing to franchisees.. If history has taught Jason & his team anything, that would be to prepare for the worst. “We are always prepared with contingency plans if the pandemic takes another turn for the worse and more shutdowns or restrictions are put into place..”

Expert Advice on the Franchise Industry For Jason, franchising has been an extremely fun adventure where he got to learn about many incredible things in this journey. He opines, “I love how community-oriented the franchise industry is—so many franchisors are so willing to give their time to help me navigate new territory that they once went through, and it’s been extremely helpful every step of the way.”

In this light, Jason suggests that aspiring franchisors join IFA and attend as many conferences as possible, especially the emerging franchisor boot camps. This will allow them to form connections with other fellow franchisors and understand their viewpoints on the industry.

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Higher Education Digest July 2020

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EXPERT OPINION

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Slowing Down to Help

Overcome Teacher Shortages!

Dr. Hans Andrews, Distinguished Fellow in Community College Leadership, Olney Central College, Illinois, USA

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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ith widespread teacher shortages in most countries appearing at this time it is time to look at what is happening. We then need to make some commonsense changes that will help alleviate this growing crisis.

Dr. Hans Andrews is the Distinguished Fellow in Community College Leadership through Olney Central College in Olney, Illinois. He is a former president of the college.

He also served as Dean of Instruction at Illinois Valley Community College and Vice President for Community and Student Services at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was an adjunct teacher for Illinois State University and a business teacher-counselor in two secondary schools.

Open new pipelines for teacher candidates Teacher shortages have been expanding into what now appears to be a ‘crisis’ situation. This has been a concern over the past decade with little or no changes being made to offset this yearly growing problem. Now as we look around the United States and most other countries there are solutions that can be tapped.

There are over 1,200 community and technical colleges in the United States. India, the U.K. and several other countries also have these two year colleges that could quickly be expanded to offer the last two years of a baccalaureate degree in teaching. Baccalaureate degrees have been legislated for community colleges in a number of states in the U.S. but very few for preparing teachers. When the Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing (BSN) was being demanded by more health provides several states did allow for legislation to be passed.

Community colleges in these states did help cut back the shortages in fairly short order.

In most secondary schools in the United States there are dual-credit programs for their students in their last two years. These courses carry both secondary school credit and college credit. It is not unusual now for students to have completed one year of college.

An additional group is now completing two years and receiving an Associate Degree (2-year degree) at the same time as their secondary school commencement.

These dual-credit students can enter either universities or community colleges and be either onefourth or one-half the way to their teacher education baccalaureate degrees. They do need to be ‘recruited’ early and during the dual-credit years with programs such as Educators Rising. This is a student club type of program which can be placed in secondary schools to help students learn about the many opportunities in teaching. The program has a website that is easily accessed.

There will be pressure from universities, leaders in state and national agencies, and others to keep the present system in place. Political people in each of our countries are also aware of the growing shortages of teachers in almost every one of their districts. These are persons who need to be on the forefront of pushing back on the pressures and move legislation forward that

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allows for these new pipe lines for teacher development to evolve. The time is now as many students in all of the countries are presently in classrooms without qualified and competent teachers.

To date much of the work to overcome the shortages has been in legislating and/or offering ‘patches’ or ‘band aids’ as they have been called. The legislation in the U.S. to date has centered on the following: (1) adding more hours of classes to the teachers they presently have; (2) bringing back retired teachers and not deducting pay from their retirement monies; (3) expanding the number of days substitute teachers can work; (4) allowing bus drivers, janitors, cafeteria workers, and other non-teaching staff to fill in classrooms that teachers are not available to fill on days, weeks, etc. This author sees this is very sad when the profession of teaching has to put together some of these patches to cover classes for their students.

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The cost of obtaining a baccalaureate degree in teaching continues to go up almost every year

Lower the costs for training new teachers The cost of obtaining a baccalaureate degree in teaching continues to go up almost every year. In order to enroll more future teachers with diverse backgrounds these costs are far too often out of reach. Many students with diverse backgrounds are already enrolled in their local area community or technical colleges but too often lack the financial resources to go beyond that level of education.

• Offer the teacher education programs new the homes of the candidates • Recognize that many of these community-technical students work or have families • Look at offering ‘tuition waivers’ to those in financial need • Offer financial incentives with stipulations to work in the local schools after becoming teachers • Avoid student loan debt; obtain school foundation or local financial support for these future teachers

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• Use dual-credit programs to obtain one or two years of college at little to no cost to students Improve the school climate There are many studies out that have highlighted the reasons so many teachers have been moving away from teaching into early retirements or other work that offers better pay or working conditions. Near the top of every list is teacher pay.

Other areas highlighted are: • Move away from High Stakes Testing; this has destroyed teacher cooperation in many schools • Evaluate teachers on their teaching ability • Assign teachers only to those areas they are trained and educated to teach • Have a recognition program as an outgrowth of teacher evaluation Prognosis for the future There is definitely a need in most countries to have new pipelines that will produce many of their future teachers.

The present university pipelines are proving unable to attract enough teacher candidates to meet the needs now.

Some have even closed their teacher education departments.

This condition has been happening over the last decade.

Each country needs to identify their own way of moving to slow down and eliminate their teacher shortages. There are long-term solutions that are now in need of being identified and utilized.

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education Digest June 2020 2022 October

FRANCHISE LEADERS

JAYA AIYAR FOUNDER & CEO, CRÉATIF

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Redefining Art Studio Experience through Créatif

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ntrepreneurship opens the door to endless opportunities where passion can be turned into reality. Jaya Aiyar, the Founder of Créatif, also wanted to pursue her love for art and turn it into a unique family-friendly art studio business. Jaya is an electrical engineer with an MS in project management.

Her academics led her on a conventional corporate career path. Family is a priority for her, so when her kids were young, she took some time off from work to fulfill her responsibilities towards them. “I have always been an independent thinker with a strong desire to establish myself as an entrepreneur and a creative visionary, “shares Jaya. A corporate job wasn’t fulfilling this desire. Thus, her kids and love for arts became the primary reasons for her inclination to start a family-friendly art studio business.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

The First Step towards Entrepreneurship During her research, Jaya didn't find the adult-centric paint and sip model, a traditional pottery place, or an art class concept, impressive or exciting. “As I started to delve deeper into the vision for my art studio business concept, the pieces started getting clearer,” adds Jaya. An aesthetically crafted studio with an inspiring interior and ambience offering interesting bits for people of all ages and bringing out the creative best in everyone ticked all the right boxes for her. Keeping these ideas as her building blocks, Jaya started putting the concept together.

Jaya wanted to incorporate one more thing into her venture: infuse art with technology. She remarks, “As I researched more into it, I couldn’t find any art studio concepts that incorporated technology as part of their

My vision for Créatif is to become a global brand that redefines what an Art Studio is

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Jaya Aiyar Founder & CEO, Créatif

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

customer experience.” This led to a revelation for Jaya.

An art studio mixed with technology enhancing customer experience presented an untapped opportunity waiting to be explored. Jaya took this opportunity with both hands and incepted Créatif.

Créatif: The Future of Art Studio Experience Créatif is a modern, tech-savvy Art Studio offering an immersive customer experience. The studio has been designed to appeal to kids and adults alike, and the ArtPad

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

app provides art lessons to create a unique masterpiece.

“At Créatif, we understand that everyone loves art. So, we've combined an inspiring studio environment with a wide selection of items & services to create a unique, exciting, and engaging space!” asserts Jaya.

Under its umbrella of services, Créatif offers DIY walk-in & paint, paint parties, corporate events/team building, instructor-led painting workshops, art classes for preschoolers & toddlers, and kids summer camps. Jaya and her team have already transformed a traditional art studio

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Under its umbrella of services, Créatif offers DIY walk-in & paint, paint parties, corporate events/team building, instructor-led painting workshops, art classes for preschoolers & toddlers, and kids summer camps

into an exciting and experiential community destination by integrating Art with Technology.

Since its inception, Créatif has been bestowed with several awards and recognitions. Creatif won the international design:retail Spectrum awards in the hybrid retail segment, and was listed amongst some of the biggest retail brands in the world – Hershey’s Chocolate World, L'occitane En Provence, The Container Store, Sub Zero etc. NBC California Live's segment covered Créatif and shared the ‘Anyone Can Paint’ philosophy of the studio with its viewers. Créatif was also featured in Design Retail and Diablo magazines. Jaya was also listed as one of the “50 Women of Wonder” in franchising, by the Franchise Dictionary magazine. This has been made possible through Jaya's relentless pursuit for excellence and dedication towards Créatif.

Lessons Learned from the Past Experiences There are times when even entrepreneurs get uncertain about venturing into new and unchartered areas. When Jaya started franchising, she sought the assistance of professionals who could promote and market Créatif in more effective ways instead of her. Sharing an important

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the world. Knowing this today, Jaya never doubts her capabilities and learning potential. “I can do it!” is her mantra for any new project or engagement.

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With the expansion in newer territories, states, countries, and across various continents, the future looks bright and art-filled for Jaya and Créatif

lesson learned from the past, Jaya mentions, "I quickly realized that no salesperson can present my brand better than ME, as this is my everyday life."

Jaya also realized that prospective franchisees prefer to speak with the founder who understands the nuances and intricacies involved in running the business. Sales personnel can only pitch the company's services and objectives. However, owners can share their mission, vision, and story behind starting the business. This firsthand knowledge holds more value than anything else in

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Hands-on Leadership “I’m the primary driver of our franchising program from shortlisting/qualifying the prospects—taking them through the discovery process and bringing them on board. Once they come on board, I support their journey from site selection to opening. I’m heavily involved in training as well,” explains Jaya. Being involved and aware of all aspects is Jaya's way of keeping plans on track and maintaining high quality and ethical standards. “My team and partners are committed to our franchisees’ successful training and launch, and it keeps the franchising process running smoothly and efficiently,” adds Jaya.

As the CEO, Jaya’s leadership style is hands-on.

She considers herself as a part of the team. She skilfully devotes her time supervising Créatif’s corporate location operations and managing location-specific tasks. “I’m well acquainted with all aspects of running a Créatif studio.

This helps me see the positives and challenges that our team faces. I use this information to develop solutions that make our processes and operations more efficient,” remarks Jaya.

Future Endeavours Jaya and her team moved all of Créatif’s services to a virtual platform during the pandemic. This online platform will continue to be a part of Créatif’s offering as a new revenue stream in the coming days. "I'm glad I had faith in the brand, my team, and myself, and here we are already on the way to opening our first franchise location in April 2022,” Jaya continues. With the expansion in newer territories, states, countries, and across various continents, the future looks bright and art-filled for Jaya and Créatif.

Words from the Wise According to Jaya, franchising is not like a typical company expansion. The success of a franchise system depends entirely on the success of its franchise partners. Hence, it becomes essential to always keep that at the focus.

Moreover, an entrepreneur needs to be fearless about an unknown task, take on the challenge, and learn. Learning allows us to grow. As a franchise brand starting out, the founders must take the time to evaluate all prospects & only bring the most assertive candidates on board. It is this process that will build a strong foundation for exponential growth. These are some crucial tips for those who wish to enter the franchising industry.

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education Digest June 2021 2022 January

FRANCHISE LEADERS

JORDAN MEINSTER CEO & FOUNDER, PICKUP USA FITNESS

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A GenNext Leader, Delivering Basketball Focused-Fitness Experience to Customers

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rom working at restaurants as a teenager to beginning a career in banking to finally taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, Jordan Meinster’s (CEO & Founder, PickUp USA Fitness) journey is nothing short of inspiring.

he envisioned for himself was climbing the corporate ladder somewhere. But as they say, never say never; ten years ago, Jordan quit his job in banking and decided to pursue an idea that he had been thinking and working over since his freshman year.

This is where it all began!

From a young age, Jordan was always a hard worker.

Even as a teenager, he worked full-time at Jiffy Lube, in restaurants, and as a window washer. Unlike his peers, Jordan made his way to college by paying for his own tuition fees. Later, after completing his MBA, he spent about six years working at reputed banks. At that time, entrepreneurship never crossed his mind. What

Taking the First Step Towards Fulfilling the Dream In October 2011, Jordan founded PickUp USA Fitness, the first and only basketball-focused fitness club concept operating in the US. However, the journey between realizing his dream and founding it wasn’t a cakewalk.

To get PickUp USA’s first club off the ground, Jordan had to get creative with his financing. This took a lot of time and persistence. But, once he secured

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

We are a full-service basketball focused-fitness club that offers basketball games, basketball tournaments, group and private basketball training, youth development leagues, full weight, cardio rooms, and a lot more

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Jordan Meinster CEO & Founder,PickUp USA Fitness

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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Casey Meinster, Founder

funding, he had a hard time leasing space for his venture. Landlords weren’t ready to lease their facility to an undercapitalized start-up entrepreneur who had no prior experience in operating a gym. Rejections came and went. Sometimes, Jordan thought that his dream would not turn into reality.

“I stayed the course, though, and eventually, in May of 2022, I signed a lease on our first location in Irwindale, CA, and we were in business a month later,” says Jordan.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

A Unique Concept behind PickUp USA Fitness Clubs PickUp USA’s slogan and mission statement are the same: A Better Way to Play. From the beginning, Jordan’s objective was to provide a better basketball experience.

With his team, he has stayed true to it by adding numerous service offerings for the members and guests of the clubs.

“Initially, we started as a gym that runs officiated pickup basketball games with referees. Now, we are a full-service basketball focused-fitness club that offers basketball games,

basketball tournaments, group and private basketball training, youth development leagues, full weight, cardio rooms, and a lot more,” mentions Jordan. Today, with a myriad of annual participants, PickUp USA is shaping the future of basketball and delivering an unparalleled gym experience to its customers.

With a myriad of annual participants, PickUp USA is shaping the future of basketball and delivering an unparalleled gym experience to its customers

Leading from the Front As the CEO & Founder of PickUp USA, Jordan fulfills two key responsibilities. The first one includes overseeing PickUp USA’s corporate team to ensure they are growing the company, supporting the franchisees, promoting the brand, and taking care of their customers nationwide.

His second responsibility is to be in constant touch with all the franchise owners of PickUp USA Fitness Clubs, whom he considers his business partners. Being the supportive leader he is, Jordan is either communicating with them via phone or visiting them on-site across the country. Since he owns and operates PickUp USA locations himself, Jordan wants to be in the trenches with the franchise owners through the good and bad times.

“They work incredibly hard to grow our brand, and it’s our job to support them and provide them the resources to help them succeed,” states Jordan.

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CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

From site selections to identifying facilities to negotiating leases to targeting the club launches, Jordan is completely involved in the entire process with the new franchise owners

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Mistakes are the Stepping Stones to Success Jordan considers mistakes and missteps as a constant part of growing a business. He says, “I make mistakes all the time.

But you learn from them.” Mistakes didn’t stop him in any way. Instead, Jordan and his team made every ‘failure’ turn into a learning moment that helped them revise systems and create a better customer experience.

This is why people chose to franchise PickUp USA Fitness Club. “We have ten years’ worth of mistakes that we have made, and we provide our franchisees with training and a playbook to ensure that they don’t have to go through the learning curve that we did,” shares the wise CEO of PickUp USA. Milestones Depicting the Growth Journey “Getting our first location opened was a massive milestone,” shares Jordan. Taking an idea and turning it into a legitimate business serving customers is a huge accomplishment for him. Opening PickUp USA’s first franchise location in the following years was another big achievement for him. This was special because Jordan and his team had spent five years working out the flaws in their operating model at the original location into a scalable concept.

“We have always been very deliberate about our growth plans. And so, opening multiple clubs in several markets is our latest accomplishment that we feel good about,” asserts Jordan with great pride.

A Day in the Life of a Leader At PickUp USA, Mondays are devoted to team meetings and work updates. “I meet with the whole team first thing in the morning, and then meet with each department throughout the rest of the day,” shares the CEO of PickUp USA. Jordan further explains that it is a great way to kick start the week and ensure everyone on the team is rowing in the same direction.

Likewise, Jordan’s schedule is jam-packed throughout the week. From site selections to identifying facilities to negotiating leases to targeting the club launches, he is completely involved in the entire process with the new franchise owners. He also checks in with his exiting team of franchisees to know about how they are doing and if they need any assistance from his team in further growing their business.

During turbulent times, ‘this too shall pass’ is Jordan’s mantra for dealing with pressure and anxiety. He opines that when things are stressful, it is always a temporary situation that will be resolved through hard work and diligence.

As for unplugging from work, Jordan tries to take out a dedicated day each weekend where he likes to explore the outdoors and stay away from his gadgets.

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He also enjoys playing basketball and working out at PickUp USA’s gym daily. “The nice thing about my work travel is that every city I go to has a PickUp USA, so I don’t have any excuse for skipping the gym,” says Jordan with a grin.

A Piece of Advice to the Aspirants The CEO & Franchise Owner of PickUp USA Fitness Clubs shares that it is a gratifying feeling to own and run one’s

business. However, it comes with a price. It takes hours of hard work to achieve your goals and great perseverance to deal with hardships. Therefore, Jordan recommends aspiring entrepreneurs to prepare their mindset for the same right at the beginning.

“As a franchisor, my team works to ensure that our franchise owners always have a support system. This allows them to be in business for themselves but not themselves. Even though they still have to put in the work,

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they have a whole team on the corporate side working for them seven days a week,” says Jordan.

Beating the Pandemic Blues At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, PickUp USA had to suspend its operations in all locations. From a franchise owner’s perspective, it was a nightmare.

Countless thoughts were going through Jordan’s mind.

How long would this last, and would the customers return when it reopens?

Fortunately, the turbulent times didn’t last very long.

“Our clubs started reopening in May of 2020, and not only did the customers come back, but we were also immediately outperforming our pre-pandemic numbers,” reveals Jordan. The demand for basketball was basically the same pre and post-COVID. Still, many basketball gyms didn’t survive, so PickUp USA and its franchise owners benefited from having less supply in the market of basketball services.

“2020 turned into our best year on record. 2021 beat 2020. And year to date in 2022, we are pacing way ahead of 2021 and on our way to another record-setting year,”

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Today, consumers all over the country are very eager to see a PickUp USA open in their communities, so Jordan and his team are doing their best to keep up with the demand 63

excitedly adds Jordan. He credits his franchise owners for how efficiently and calmly they navigated through the pandemic storm. “Although we provided guidance, resources, and 24/7 support, the franchise owners put in the real work to turn a crisis into a major opportunity,” continues Jordan.

Trailblazing Towards the Future Today, consumers all over the country are very eager to see a PickUp USA open in their communities, so Jordan and his team are doing their best to keep up with the demand. To make this happen, they are taking time to select the new franchise owners and locations that would amplify PickUp USA’s client base.

“We currently have nine clubs under construction, so we are busy working day and night to launch these new locations. Additionally, we are also rolling out several new youth basketball services, keeping our team busy as we service a ton of demand from the youth market at our clubs,” reveals Jordan. And so, PickUp USA as a franchising brand is at an exciting point of growth, and Jordan loves every bit of it.

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

EXPERT OPINION

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Digital HR: What is it & What’s Next?

Girish Kukreja, Founder & CEO, FlexC

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

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igital HR is the optimisation of HR management using social interactions, mobility, analytics driven by big data and cloud technology to drive innovation and establish effective connections.

It also aligns culture, talents and processes to achieve innovation as the organisation continuously grows.

Digital HR is required to not only future proof an organisation, but also improves employee experience and helps companies win the war for talent.

Girish Kukreja is the CEO and Co-Founder at FlexC, a distinctive platform that aims to revolutionise the hiring landscape in India. FlexC is a one-stop solution for hiring, a scalable digital platform that serves as an integrated marketplace for Independent Consultants to access White Collar Gigs and for organizations to access best-inclass talent. Starting something on his own was always on the bucket list, Girish is an MBA from the Indian School of Business. He has over 20 years of rich and versatile experience in the field of IT covering Product Companies, IT and BPO services.

What’s In Store for Digital HR in the Coming Years?

AI will Play major role in HR management: With AI, acquisition specialists can personalise their complete talent management process. AI helps organisations scale and expand while controlling the cost at the same time. The digital HR process uses AI in various stages of the employment cycle. AI helps in cutting down the amount of work managers must perform to find the right candidate and eliminates the time wasted on ineligible ones. AI powered technologies help leaders leverage troves of data generated by business every day. Taking business decisions on the basis of data creates a more disciplined process since decisions are taken using a rational approach rather than observation. This will require the future HR leaders to be more tech savvy to understand the algorithms delivered by AI, to make better decisions.

The future Workplaces Will be Hybrid: With the world moving back to normal, different businesses are adopting various forms of work cultures according to their style and productivity. Some have opted for complete remote structure. Others are bringing the pre-pandemic offline culture back.

And then there are businesses striving for both by establishing hybrid work models. While working in the hybrid work models, organisations are becoming more flexible with the ways they source their talent as well. Hence, it is vital for HR management systems to become flexible enough to adapt to the ever changing business conditions and market. And to achieve so they need technologies that can minimise the complexities while fulfilling the needs of their employees.

Training Through Virtual Reality: VR is a promising tool to provide an engaging and immersive training environment. 39% of larger companies use VR to train their employees in a simulated environment (source) .Virtual reality

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technology creates a lifelike audio-visual experience.

Hence, it can be effectively used to provide training for many complex and risky tasks. Virtual reality tools trigger psychological cues that encourage employees to actively participate, learn and retain what they have learnt. Thus, these tools also come handy while training employees about responding to an emergency such as fires.

Through VR tools, companies can reduce their expenses associated with travelling, provide accessible training and attract a wider range of job applicants.

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While working in the hybrid work models, organisations are becoming more flexible with the ways they source their talent as well

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Focus on Cyber Security in HR: The advancement of technology is going to bring everything online. Since hybrid work is the future, many companies are moving a number of their business operations completely online. While establishing a global online network of different employees seems thrilling, it also raises concerns regarding the cyber security issues.

95% of cyber security breaches happen due to human errors. Security breach can cost an organisation both their money and reputation. Hence HR tech must establish robust technology measures to create a secure online environment and protect confidential information. To minimise any vulnerability, HR leaders in collaboration with IT departments should create training programmes.

They should make cyber security training an integral part of the onboarding and training process.

Implementing Digital HR tools Digital transformation in HR evolves the complete business. While most businesses have already embarked on this journey, some are still contemplating. The challenges faced by HR in the past two years and many that may come in future are good enough reasons to implement HR technologies into business.

The initial step is to dig deeper into business operations and find out what areas require improvement. Does business need better training tools? Are the current tools helping HR analyse employee data properly? What new technologies can be introduced for better coordination?

Next, chalk out the technologies that are potential fits for your business. And finally, select one that has a higher impact in terms of output and takes lower cost and effort to implement. Digital HR will replace human touch from many business operations. Only time will disclose to what extent this would be done. But the only thing that’s certain is the next generation HR is going to be more technology driven.

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Higher Education Digest CXO OUTLOOK November June 2020 2022

FRANCHISE LEADERS

PAUL FLICK

FOUNDER & CEO, PREMIUM SERVICE BRANDS

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Opening the Door of Franchising Opportunities in the House Improvement Industry

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hat sets entrepreneurs, leaders, and influencers apart from the ordinary is their relentless pursuit of excellence. They refuse to settle for less. Great is not good enough for them. They aim for the extraordinary.

People who believe in pushing the envelope, breaking stereotypes, and forging their own path are usually highly spirited entrepreneurs -Paul Flick, the Founder & CEO of Premium Service Brands (PSB), is among them. He chose to step outside of his comfort zone and foray into entrepreneurship.

Initially, Paul worked for a leading Fortune 500 company but didn't find it liberating. "I wanted to be able to control my schedule, financial outcome and build an environment that allows others to grow and succeed,"

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

shares Paul. Being a franchisee himself, Paul became naturally inclined towards the franchising business model. Therefore, he decided to take the path that led him into franchising based on previous entrepreneurial experience and a dash of passion, and an enduring vision.

A Leader in Home Services Franchise Opportunities Established in 2006, Premium Service Brands started with 360° Painting as its first brand. The goal of PSB from the beginning was to bring quality home remodeling, repair, and services to homeowners across the US and Canada.

Through numerous startups and acquisitions, PSB has grown up to 9 different service brands. Its companies—360° Painting, Handyman Pro, Maid Right,

Until you live an entrepreneurial life, you can't understand how liberating, empowering, and rewarding it is to be an entrepreneur

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Paul Flick Founder & Ceo, Premium Service Brands

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

Pro-Lift, Kitchen Wise, Renew Crew, Rubbish Works, Rooterman, and Grout Medic—have been providing services to an ever-expanding customer base for over 10 years. This has been possible only through Paul and his team’s unrelenting commitment towards building meaningful connections and creating lifetime customers.

Furthermore, PSB's one-of-a-kind consumer-focused platform Home.One is now being leveraged at over 1000 franchise locations. Stating his long-term vision for the company, Paul reveals, "The vision I hold for Premium Service Brands is to have 25-30 home service brands leveraging our Home.One Platform focused on leveraging the same end-user."

Gaining an Edge over Competition Getting started is the most crucial part for an entrepreneur.

But investing in franchising opportunities such as with PSB allows business owners to focus on their vision and products instead of battling numerous challenges and pitfalls on their own. Paul and his team offer initial and ongoing training and support programs to their franchise partners and give them the necessary skills and tools

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Along with the Home.One platform, PSB leverages the end-user to make it a one-stop service provider for all home improvements 71

to facilitate their goals and success. This is not all. As a franchise partner, franchisees are offered marketing, and advertising research-based strategic plans, a brand presence, credibility in the market, franchise management resources, a network of home service franchisees support system, and, most importantly, a culture of honesty and integrity and respect.

According to Paul, what sets PSB apart from its competitor franchisors is its Owner Experience Center (OEC). Along with the Home.One platform, PSB, leverages the end-user to make it a one-stop service provider for all home improvements. Based on these merits, PSB's winning philosophy to seek franchisees who share its commitment to customer service excellence and passion for their work makes it unique.

An Inspirational Leader with a World-Class Team A healthy workplace culture where team members are motivated, acknowledged, and credited makes one of the significant pillars to a company's growth and success.

Speaking about his team members and their roles in

PSB's growth, Paul says, "Our team is amazing, and they share my vision and execute every day. I do not micromanage anyone. If you hire the best, let them do what they are best at and get out of the way." Trusting team members to get the job done and right makes Paul an inspirational leader.

At work, Paul's typical day begins as early as 4.00am. These early hours give him the time to work on the vision and strategy for Premium Service Brands without any distractions. Later as the day progresses, he attends several zoom and conference calls and team meetings. On striking a work-life balance, Paul reveals his love for cooking dinner for his family and enjoying a Napa Valley Cabernet.

Drawing Lessons from the Past A business owner must always be equipped with strong financial assets, helping him shape up the future business goals as a leader and be prepared for the unknown. When PSB was incepted in 2006, Paul was undercapitalized. To make things worse, two years later, when the recession

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hit the US economy, it became more difficult for him to invest in skilled human resources and tools. This became Paul's lifelong learning lesson as an entrepreneur.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, Paul and his team developed, organized, rolled out, and executed a perfect plan on how their franchise partners navigate during such difficult times. As the Founder & CEO, these well-thought-out plans exceeded all of Paul's expectations, with system-wide sales up 50% each year of the pandemic.

Proud Milestones & Current Goals According to Paul, PSB's most significant milestone has been surpassing the 1,000 franchise locations. Paul and his team are currently working on a special program for underprivileged children. He says, "The rollout of

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

our charitable Kids Lift has allowed us to significantly impact the multiple communities our franchise partners operate in." Continuing its upward trajectory, PSB aims to expand its services and brands through further acquisitions in the coming days. This will allow PSB to not only grow its footprint and service more customers but also allow clients to leverage Home.One platform.

Expert Advice on Entrepreneurship Paul advises newcomers to take the risk and dive into the unchartered waters of entrepreneurship even if there are 99 reasons to stay put. Take the leap! "Building something you can call your own is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Until you live the entrepreneurial life, you can't understand how liberating, empowering, and rewarding it is to be an entrepreneur," he concludes.

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+91 33 4061 1086 March June

EXPERT OPINION

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Tech It Till You Make It:

4 Ways The Insurtech Industry Could Evolve In 2022 Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder, Kenko Health

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

A Aniruddha has been working for 20 years with various organisations across hospitality and health insurance. A 2010 alumni of ISB, he started his career with ITC in Calcutta in 2002 as a management trainee. Post his MBA, he joined Max Bupa as part of the team that helped start operations. After 2 years, he joined CignaTTK as part of the earliest set of employees and, along with Dhiraj, made functional and strategic contributions toward early product testing and design, digital distribution and marketing, channel operations etc. Aniruddha’s eight year stint at CignaTTK played a major role in formulating the early ideas around Kenko Health and getting a deep understanding of Insurance Operations and Tech.

ccept it or not, technology has changed the face of the insurance industry. Getting best quotes, customised to your needs, is a matter of a few simple clicks. Archaic companies are being forced to evolve to match their millennial consumers. No industry can afford to stand still in the age of digitalisation including a traditional one like insurance. The phrase ‘insurtech’ itself reflects a sector that is in the middle of rampant transformation, evolving through technology in its established world.

The Tech Juggernaut The focus of the Indian insurtech space is to allow consumers to switch from bloated insurance premiums to tiny subscription plans. These plans are accessible and easy to understand. At low prices, one gets a range of services, from medicines and diagnostic check-ups to treatments.

Digital insurance offerings and a rapidly diversified approach are dictating the pace at which the insurtech industry changes. In a space cluttered with disconnected innovations, everyone is looking for solutions that will actually last and are worth investing in in the long run. 2022 could be the year that identifies scalable technology capable of constantly evolving to match changing demands.

Here are some technological innovations expected to take place over the year and how they could impact this mid-transformation industry.

Automation with Core System Modernisation Over the past few years, insurance companies have focused primarily on accessibility, with intensive investments in digitising distribution, policy issuance, and digital customer communication. In 2022, we expect these efforts to expand, with insurtech firms moving towards targeting other parts of the insurance value chain, such as risk management, claim settlement, administrative systems, and evaluations.

Organisations are now identifying and assessing partners to start venturing into workflow automation, robotic process automation, and AI automation. As a whole, automation is certain to bring numerous advantages to the core functions carried out by firms today. With a reduction in human intervention, there is an expectation of faster processing of claims, better request analysis systems, increased usage of data in decision-making processes, and standardisation of core systems, thus bringing transparency to an industry notorious for claim settlement.

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At the end of the day, the customer is the biggest benefactor from these changes in core systems. Automating the insurance value chain comprehensively will address frauds and reduce expenses, ensuring that premiums are lower for individuals as they enjoy quicker and more transparent underwriting and claim processes.

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Data-Driven Innovation at Your Doorstep The entire insurance industry is based on a large-scale level understanding of risk and the manners in which it can be managed. In the age of insurtech companies, data availability will facilitate structural changes in this understanding. In such a data-dependent industry, comprehensive analysis and data-driven insights will allow for more accurate assessments of risks and the replacement of misguided assumptions with real-world inputs.

The seeping in of technology in all aspects of our lives has meant that an unprecedented amount of data is being generated on a daily basis. The abundant availability of smartphones and laptops, some of the lowest internet prices in the world, and a constant increase in the computing power of small devices have ensured that insurtech companies now have access to data they never had before. The increasing presence of health-monitoring applications and smartwatches will only add to these inputs. These insights can be used to create insurance products that are better customised to individual habits, patterns, and decisions.

The days of premiums being decided simply by your age, gender, and smoking habits are long gone.

To make the most of this data-driven innovation, insurance companies are now moving beyond underwriters and risk managers to invest in data science engineers.

Furthermore, the health insurance industry in India will benefit from data standards such as ‘Electronic Health Record Standards for India’ and ‘National Digital Health Mission’.

Artificial Intelligence for a Better Customer Experience As there is greater adoption of artificial intelligence in India, both in the systems we are a part of as well as our personal spaces, AI will soon be a standard fixture in everyone’s lives. Therefore, consumers are seeking experiences more personalised to their needs, especially when it comes to insurance in the health sector. Decades-old ‘packages’ are being ignored for curated, state-of-the-art offerings that meet the demands of the modern customer.

AI allows insurers to create unique experiences, improving the experiences of consumers today. Its ability to leverage significant amounts of data based on an individual’s behaviour and habits is sure to grow over time. Gradually,

CXO OUTLOOK June 2022

To make the most of this data-driven innovation, insurance companies are now moving beyond underwriters and risk managers to invest in data science engineers

the data being created from numerous industries, such as healthcare and automotive, will be assimilated through opensource data standards and protocols. This will provide even more intelligent insights for contextual products, embedded insurance, and automated claim processing, allowing for better customer servicing and smoother processes.

Predictive Analytics: Getting a Glimpse of the Future Predictive analytics has been used in numerous ways by insurers to collect a range of data and better understand and predict human behaviour. However, 2022 promises new ways to improve the accuracy of data generated and their usage.

Over the year, insurtech companies are expected to improve the utilisation of predictive analytics for pricing and risk selection, better identify customers at risk of cancellation, and assess outlier claims. There is also an immense opportunity to address fraudulent use of insurance services, anticipate trends, and triage customer claims.

With better analytics, there is an expectation of increased revenues and accuracy for several insurance providers.

Currently, predictive analysis focuses on longestablished systems and ensuring that they can be more accurate in nature. However, down the road, we can expect a more proactive use of this technology to identify new revenue sources.

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education June Digest 2022 October 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK Higher Education Digest June 2022 October 2020