Industry leaders magazine q4 issue 2014

December 2014 CLICK AN ICON TO VIEW OR FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL NETWORKS

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by Anna Domanska

Welcome to the final issue of Industry Leaders Magazine for the year of 2014!

While we were putting this issue, we were thinking of ways in which readers could get a chance to admire incredible business ideas that will change how we live in the present and beyond. Our Cover Story, “Top 10 Businesses of 2014” celebrates savvy business concepts that have defined the very idea of innovations and inventions in the business world in past twelve months.

In Imminent Trends, we peeked into the recent trend of Corporate-Divorces-in-Silicon Valley that is here to stay. Did you know that the IMF has warned off losses of U.S. $3.8 trillion due to shadow banking and excessive risk taking? Latest in Business brings you top updates from the world of business on everything you need to know.

If you have been thinking of hosting an ugly Christmas sweater party this year, then you must take a virtual trip of the compelling ride of some of the most successful ‘ugly sweater’ peddling entrepreneurs who saw great business opportunity on the trend way back in 2008.

How will you finish the year? It’s natural – take some time off work and enjoy a holiday to remember! Bringing The City of Music in Big Ticket, for there could be no better place to get into the festive spirit than in Vienna and its magical Christmas markets!

Plus: World’s tallest wooden skyscraper; MIESSEN COUTURE Europe’s most tradition-rich house of fine art conquering the realms of luxury and lifestyle, Saving Rhinos and more!

We wish you a happy beginning and lots of success!

Anna Domanska Editor-in-Chief, Industry Leaders Magazine Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Anna Domanska, Editor-in-Chief

Christy Gren, Sub-Editor

Aubrey Chang, Associate Editor

Priyansha Mistry, Sub-Editor

Kevin Paul Sr. Grahpic Designer

Nisha Dhamecha, Graphic Designer

Tony Raval Project Director

Jay Raol Project Director

Jason Miller Sr. Project Director

Richard Dean, Advertising Manager

John Hancock Head-Web Department

Le Manh Coung, Sr Sofrware Coordinator

R R Baratiya

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Riana Petanjek, Sub-Editor

Julia Hunt, Magazine Production

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Event & Tradeshows

Elon Musk CEO and CTO of SpaceX | on the colonization of Mars “Space travel is the best thing we can do to extend the life of humanity. “I will go if I can be assured that SpaceX would go on without me . . . I’ve said I want to die on Mars, just not on impact”

@elonmusk

Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft | Apologizing for the controversial comment he made about women at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference earlier this month “If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.”

@satyanadella

Cook CEO of Apple | on joining Apple “My intuition already knew that joining Apple was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for the creative genius, and to be on the executive team that could resurrect a great American company.”

@tim_cook 010

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Richard Branson Billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Virgin Group | on unlimited vacation policy for Virgin employees “While some managers fear that such programs (unlimited vacation policy) tempt a catastrophic free-for-all, others have found that vacation time actually increases very little upon institution”

@richardbranson

Jack Ma CEO of Alibaba | on dark days at Alibaba “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. And when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.”

Sheryl Sandberg Facebook COO | during a conversation on feminism “It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do”

@sherylsandberg Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Silicon Valley giants Apple and Facebook, famed for their extravagant perks such as concierge services, massages, in-office haircuts are now adding a new perk for female employees in hopes of recruiting the best from industry’s talent pool.

Both the companies have initiated a program through which they will start paying employees who wish to freeze their eggs to delay parenting until later years.

Facebook has initiated offering female staff up to $20,000 for the so-called “ocyte-cryopreservation” that will allow them to have their eggs extracted and stored. The expensive process most commonly costs between $10,000 and $15,000, in addition to an extra $1,000 per year to keep the extracted eggs on ice.

The flagship social media network is likewise offering help to men who wish to become parents. All staff will be qualified for aid with adoption process, and a “host of other fertility services”, the company announced.

Apple, on the other hand, plans to initiate paying for egg freezing from January.

The move goes in accord with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, who has since long been a strong supporter of gender equality in the work place. In her book, Lean In, she more than once urged ladies not to cutoff their career decisions to fit around kids, yet to be as goal-oriented as possible.

Generally, women’s fertility goes starts declining after the age of 35, and tends to considerably fall by the time she turns 40, an age when they attain a maximum level of competence. Instead of climbing the corporate ladder to much senior positions, women with plans of parenting wind up getting out of workforce, prompting a loss of accomplished ability.

The giants are competing neck to neck to attract the most skilled engineers, and retain them for longer periods by taking the pressure off their shoulders by introducing such perks.

image: Sheryl Sandberg Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF), renowned worldwide for its draconian lending policies, issued a timely warning in October of a losses of US $3.8 trillion due to climbing interest rates by Federal Reserve and geopolitical tensions that will affect global bond portfolios. Easy-going monetary policies and rising non-bank lending has brought over excessive risk taking.

The IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report stated that “shadow banks” that functions outside the regulated banking system are lending credit at a time when a majority of banks aren’t strong enough to support such actions. “This is shifting the locus of risks to shadow banks,” IMF Financial Counsellor José Viñals said in remarks prepared for a press conference on the report Wednesday. “If left unaddressed, these risks could compromise global financial stability.”

Seeing that the advanced economies get ready to increase interest rates, an unexpected sell-off that pushed up government borrowing expenses by a percentage point would result in investors enduring an 8% loss on their bond portfolios, or around USD 3.8 trillion, the IMF stated in its global financial stability report.

An IMF review of 300 of the world’s biggest banks indicated that “banks representing almost 40 per cent of total assets are not strong enough to supply adequate credit in support of the recovery,” Mr Vinals said.

For now, while the IMF cautioned about the Fed increasing interest rates, it likewise notes the risks of the Fed and other national banks keeping rates low for so long.

The report advocates that policymakers work to assist banks restructure them while at the same time improving the government’s knowledge and supervision of the asset management sector and different sorts of financial institutions outside the regulated banking system.

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image: Headquarters of the International Monetary Fund

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Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot Corp., famed creator of Roomba, automated vacuum cleaners has launched a new operating system, which improves the ability of robots made for military purposes to think for themselves when going through a dangerous topography. Until now, the robots created by iRobot were controlled using an arcane, which is an outmoded interface. Particularly using remote operations with the help of a joystick, monitored on a Linux based platform, according to iRobot’s technical director of defense and security Orin Hoffman.

The newly launched OS comes with an Android app that permits users to control its robot on a tablet with the touch of a finger instead of a joystick. It incorporates engineering that falls in agreement with the Pentagon’s demand for robots that can control and perform errands themselves through precarious situations, like those found in conflict hit zones.

The system allows autonomy for robots and incorporates inertial sensors; a digital magnetic compass, GPS as well as cloud access said Frank Wilson, general manager of iRobot’s defense and security unit.

The company aims to create essential components for controlling and selfgoverning military robots that can think on their own feet when given a certain tasks without any outside intervention. It plans to create robots with more selfgoverning abilities for defense market.

In 2013, the defense market represented 9 percent of iRobot’s $487 million sales, with half of the orders coming from Pentagon. Currently there are roughly 6,000 defense and security robots created by iRobot which have been set out across the world. Known as iRobot Warrior, these military bots have the ability to read radiation levels in Fukishima nuclear power plants to bomb-disposal duties in conflict zones in the Middle East.

image: iRobot Warrior Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Fifth Avenue in Manhattan where the tills never stop ringing and where customer is the ultimate king is now welcoming a Martian in high spirits.

America’s hugely successful e-tailer Amazon Inc., is now taking the conventional route by opening its first brick-and-mortar store in 34th Street Manhattan, New York. Quite an unusual way to spread some early Christmas cheer! The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources, familiar with the plan.

The Manhattan’s mini-warehouse type space will be home to inventory for sameday delivery, for product returns as well as pickups in New York. The Seattle-based company may even use the space to showcase its product line such as Kindle e-readers as well as tablets, in addition to the underperforming Fire smartphone and Fire TV set-top box. Amazon’s same-day delivery service will be offered in 12 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Phoenix. In short, Amazon is just in time for holiday shopping!

Amazon has disrupted the world of e-commerce by offering products at a much lower cost than numerous brick-and-mortar stores. A pioneer in bringing forth the comparison app tool that introduced the trend of “showroom buying” where smart buyers would visit physical stores to see the product and then head home and buy them online to save money. A physical store will also facilitate an opportunity to accumulate data on real-time consumer buying patterns.

Amazon will open the storefront near the Empire State Building on 7 West 34th Street, and a block east from Herald Square, to take on Macy’s and Herald’s other retailers.

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image: Manhattan, New York

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With Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles being the new alternative fuel vehicle, Toyota Motor Corp. offered more details about its long-awaited fuel-cell powered sedan named “Mirai,” meaning “future” in Japanese.

The Japanese automaker made the announcement on the eve of the Los Angeles auto show. The eco-friendly car can travel 300 miles (483 kilometers) deriving energy from a single tank of hydrogen and refuel in three to five minutes. It is expected to go on sale in Japan soon, but no specific date was announced.

Toyota is one of several automakers who have been the most vocal proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as the appropriate zero-emission solution for future transport. The cars emit only water vapor as oxygen from the air is combined with hydrogen fuel to generate electricity in the fuel cell.

Also automakers in California as well as across the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea are under pressure to offer zero-emission vehicles and reduce petroleum use.

The low center of gravity of Mirai provides it dynamic handling while its fuel-cell offers ample energy to power the car, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said.

“Our fuel cell vehicle runs on hydrogen that can be made from virtually anything, even garbage,” he said. “It has a fuel cell that creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week. This is a car that lets you have it all with no compromises.”

image: Toyota Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sedan Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Despite facing criticisms for its security practices, Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has outpaced rivals to become the third-largest smartphone maker in the world, trailing Samsung and Apple, according to a latest report by the market research firm IDC. Since recruiting former Google executive Hugo Barra, Xiaomi has been making impressive strides by more than doubling its sales following international expansion. The company’s focus on China and adjacent markets resulted in tripledigit year-over-year growth taking Xiaomi into the Top 5 list.

The four year old company has already surpassed handset manufacturers such as LG, Lenovo and HTC who have been longer in the industry. Xiaomi which currently sells smartphones only in a few developing countries has been the top seller in China and recently entered India, where it sells phones exclusively through Flipkart.

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image: Xiaomi Headquarters in Beijing, China

Xiaomi has sold nearly 19 million smartphones and holds a market share of 5.3 percent leaving behind Huawei that sold 16.8 million smartphones, according to market researcher IDC. And unlike global players Samsung and Apple, it’s a huge deal for Xiaomi since its availability is limited to only China, India, Singapore and a few other countries.

Even in terms of smartphone shipments this year Xiaomi emerges as the clear winner, since both Samsung and Apple experienced significant reduction in their sales compared to a year ago.

Xiaomi’s ticket to fame comes from selling inexpensive devices that are packed with high-end features. Moreover, its phones are known to cost just a little over the total price of the components. To maintain low costs, they don’t have any physical retail outlets, but depend on online retailers and social media for getting the word out and selling products online.

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image: North America’s tallest ‘wooden’ skyscraper

Just like snowflakes, no two pieces of wood can ever be the same on the planet. Vancouver architect, Michael Green long-time advocate of timber construction and the Canadian wood frame construction has proposed North America’s tallest ‘wooden’ skyscraper in a bid to change the face of sustainable architecture.

Wood is undeniably the eco-friendliest building material on the planet. When it comes to ecological building materials, wood has its own class and nothing can be compared to it. Wood is indeed the most priceless asset for the people and the Earth, since trees are self-regenerating like any crop and can absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.

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Since the British Columbia building code permits only a six-storey wooden structure, the building’s floor to floor heights have been boosted to make it taller than an average nine-storey structure.

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The 27.5 meters, ‘Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC)’ in Prince George, British Columbia will display wood as a sustainable building material and showcase its many fringe benefits. With wood being a globally available renewable material, it will be promoted as renewable source that will not only improve the local lumber economy but also stand as a pillar availing innovative outcomes in construction. The six-storey structure will contain a mezzanine level, classrooms, offices and an open public gallery on the ground floor consecrated to perceptible experience of wood, loungers, as well as a rooftop deck. The state-owned project will likewise put up the University of Northern British Columbia’s Masters of Engineering program as well as provide space for private offices and public spaces.

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image: University of B.C. in Vancouver includes two six-storey wood-frame buildings

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image: Wood Innovation Design Center

Made entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, even the elevator code which is generally made using concrete is being made from thick timber panels whose density and size can withstand proper fire rating characteristics.

The confining framework empowers a more noteworthy exterior transparency, allowing natural light and extending the appearance with a low emissivity glass coating and misty timber screens The floor and roof that help control solar access. sections of the wooden skyscraper will be made out of mass timber panels (MTP) that give sidelong firmness as well as annihilate the requirement for surface finishing, and accommodate a lot of design opportunities for future wood construction within.

When it comes to tall buildings, two materials, concrete and steel have been overused leaving little to zero space for more innovative infusion of other renewable materials. But, with the rise of climate change in recent years, it has become a top priority for construction industry to change the existing scenario. According to a report, steel represents roughly 3% of carbon dioxide emissions; concrete represents over 5%, thus totaling the contribution of both the materials at 8% alone, while transportation of concrete and steel represents more than 5% of carbon dioxide emissions.

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image: Michael Green

Michael Green, Principal at Michael Green Architecture highlights a number of sustainable alternatives for the climate challenge in the urban world through his work. A highly-anticipated study on the same, The Case for Tall Wood Buildings pushes new ways of construction using renewable, durable and sturdy naturally available building materials. Did you know that one cubic meter of wood can store one tonne of carbon dioxide? It does! When it comes to addressing our climate change woes, wood is the only globally available renewable building material that can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions In comparison to steel and but also store carbon. concrete, cross-laminated timber (CLT), which is also known as mass timber that is used in the construction of wooden skyscrapers, is sustainable, cheaper, more fire resistant and readily available. A nine-storey wooden building called Stadthaus by architects Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton in London can store 186 tons of carbon.

A steel and concrete building here would have generated 137 tons of greenhouse gases during its construction. CTL has become unconventional architects’ favorite toy these days and is called “plywood on steroids” by engineers these days.

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Demographs have shown that with urbanization doubling in 36 years, there will be an ever-increasing demand for taller structures in denser parts of cities that are overly-polluted.

Innovative and sustainable building materials such as CLT would prove to be a huge asset to the planet and construction pioneers. In May 2014, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $2m competition “Made in Rural America” to exhibit the feasibility of wooden “plyscrapers”. The USDA believes that just a 4-storey wooden tower can cut down greenhouse emissions equivalent to taking 500 cars off the road for one full year.

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image: North Vancouver City Hall

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image: Burj Khalifa

Can you imagine a city full of wooden tower absorbing tons of carbon? It is absurd to think that wooden skyscrapers can be as tall as today’s concrete and steel towers, but it still is a viable option to combat climate change. While steel was the material of the 19th century, concrete and steel of the 20th century, wood is the new concrete in the 21st century!

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the architecture firm behind both, America’s tallest building, the new One World Trade Centre in New York and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai conducted a study last year. They concluded that a 125m-high skyscraper made from mass timber products is theoretically practicable, economically competitive and could reduce its carbon footprint by up to 75%.

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European Heritage of Art and Culture MEISSEN COUTURE stands for judicious European luxury.

Their charismatic mid-century style creations are soaked in beauty and luxury that goes way beyond stylish handcrafted royal opulence and gives voice to an epicurean cultural awareness. Their austere, honored inclination to quality and blatantly stellar royal elegance gives immortality to the work and promises something special to international collectors of artefacts and curios.

Europe’s most tradition-rich house of fine art and hand-crafted luxury was established by King Augustus the Strong in 1710. Europe’s first porcelain atelier has since conquered the realms of international luxury and lifestyle with its fine Joaillerie collection, exclusive fashionable Couture & Accessoire collections and its refined Home & Art collections.

image: Meissen Couture Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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image: Meissen Couture

MEISSEN COUTURE creations are seen as the essence of opulence at international auctions and are treasured in all the world’s leading museums. Passed on and treasured from generation to generation as an endeared memory of the past and an investment in the future.

Each of their creation today is impressively a modern interpretation of European heritage of art and culture appreciated by the aficionado.

MEISSEN COUTURE, http://www.meissen.com

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image: Phinda Forest Lodge

Luxury experiential travel company & Beyond has associated itself with Great Plains conversation safari camps in its efforts to migrate more than 100 black and white rhinos from South Africa to Botswana. Since 2013, South Africa is a hotspot for poaching of rhinos for their horns which has reached catastrophic levels with one rhino killed every seven and a half hours.

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& Beyond clients can make a financial donation to its rhino-preservation initative “Rhinos Without Borders”. Through the campaign, the official bodies hope to raise $8m and have even rolled out “sponsorship packages” ranging between $5,000 and $1m. Suppose a client donates $50,000, they will be earn a two-night stay for two at &Beyond Phinda Mountain or &Beyond Phinda Forest Lodge in South Africa, or Xaranna or Xudum in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where they can actively support the conservation initiative. A $100,000 donation will include a three-night stay for two guests in addition to a two one-hour helicopter flights around the camp.

image: Phinda Forest &Beyond, www.andbeyond.com. Great Plains, www.greatplainsfoundation.com

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Holiday of a Lifetime!

image: Ancient Castle in Scotland. The Inverlochy Castle The most charming and magical castle hotels in Scotland promise the ultimate luxury experience, giving an indulgent and truly atmospheric much-needed Christmas break. In September 1873 during a trip to Balmoral, Queen Victoria spent a week at Inverlochy sketching and painting and later wrote in her diaries ‘I never saw a more lovelier or more romantic spot’.

Inverlochy Castle, built in 1863 is Scotland’s finest hotel and most prestigious restaurant across 500 acres of garden and ground is nestled amongst the glistening glens and the frosty lochs mountains of the West Highlands of Scotland. Inverlochy Castle Hotel’s supreme service and spectacular rooms make it an idyllic place to visit. It offers plenty to admire during the scenic walks across its sprawling grounds, private loch and boat house, clay pigeon shooting, archery and tomahawk throwing.

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At the Inverlochy Castle Hotel, each of its 17 bedrooms come with amenities such as private bathroom with their own distinct design and character, along the picturesque foothills of Ben Nevis. Facilities such as 30 inch Philips mirror televisions, personal laptop computer with internet access, personal safe, cd player, radio, iron/ironing board and DVD player, video player along with a Playstation II available upon request.

Dinner at any of Inverlochy’s dining rooms offer a truly special dining experience. Each of its three distinctive dining rooms is emblazoned with period and flamboyant furniture presented as gifts to the Castle from the King of Norway. It’s menu features internally recognized modern British cuisine.

Inverlochy Castle’s great hall provides the perfect place to enjoy tea by the open log fire and the drawing room which is an ideal place for a pre-dinner cocktail.

image: Inverlochy Castle Hotel Lounge Area

Inverlochy Castle, http://inverlochycastlehotel.com Torlundy, Fort William PH33 6SN, United

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Kingdom +44 1397 702177 Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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A modern twist to traditional tailoring Located at 55 Jeremy Street and close by 19 Piccadilly Arcade in the heart of London’s St James is UK’s leading label that is known for its traditional styles and slick silhouettes with stylish finishes. The immaculate British occasionwear’s ready-to-wear collection this season comes with a bit of a twist: three different suiting styles in 10 fabrics.

The astute attires include double-breasted waistcoats with lapels. Its fabrics radiate the essence of royal luxury with barathea wools in midnight blue, merino wools in gutsy charcoals and browns. The British occassionwear also offers a made-to-measure service (from £1,380).

55 Jermyn Street, London SW1. 020-7493 5060; www.favourbrook.com.

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image: Tom Rucker - Goldsmith Fair

Handpicks for the Goldsmith’s Fair Leading British selling exhibitionist for connoisseurs to meet and commission top jewelers and silversmiths, Goldsmiths’ Fair, this year asked the mogul of design-world, Dame Zaha Hadid to curate a line of artisanal jewels to bring grace to its livery hall.

Dame Zaha drew 21 pieces wide-ranging, from top names like Hannah Martin (Ring of Fire, £21,200), William Cheshire (Lightning Bolt Cuff, £1,250), Ute Decker (Shadow textured-gold earrings, £2,600) and Jo McDonald (White porcelain and rough-diamond ring, £415).

Some of her personally curates pieces such as Martin, Decker and new exhibitor Jennifer Saker’s amazing Chipperfield gold ring (£4,800), are duly architectural. Saker and Sarah Herriot (Splash silver ring, £470) has been developed using a special digital technology.

Goldsmiths’ Fair, Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2 020-7606 7010; www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk .

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The effects of the financial crisis of 2008 still reverberate, six years on.

The collapse of one tumbling global bank brought down the entire financial system, worldwide. With the nasty turndown, investors started betting on companies that were Too Big to Fail.

Regardless of the fact that a business was stagnant and wasn’t galloping briskly, investors found solace in those large numbers, for them bigger the sales better the scenario.

Thereupon, in 2011, when HewlettPackard suddenly proposed a plan to split the company into two, shareholders discouraged it. To them, by separating HP’s PC unit from its enterprise products and services appeared as a gamble that could leave both its units susceptible to market swings. The proposal was put off, and the CEO who proposed the split was immediately fired.

image: US Bank Center

Two years later, things have taken a 180 degree turn. Stock market investors today are risking on companies that have a narrowly focused vision. Too many units in a company are tantamount to a greater chance for dispersed distraction for management. Today, activist investors are enthusiastic to take little stakes in large companies and call for splits, expecting profits to follow.

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image: Carl C. Icahn In October when HP revived its 2011 plans of breaking up the company into two, shareholders celebrated the split with good cheers, HP’s stock skyrocketed and nobody questioned its plans!

HP is ushering itself towards a new trend set by technology companies in Silicon Valley, including eBay and IBM. By adhering to investor’s ravenousness for simplicity, the older much bigger HP is leaving behind ripples of spinoffs and divestitures revamping Silicon Valley that has just yet started.

Chris Ventresca, co-head of global mergers and acquisitions at JPMorgan Chase explains that during the financial crisis investor’s honored size, sales and diversity in terms of business units. Today, investors are more confident in companies that are robust with a narrow focuses, regardless of its numbers and diversity.

Bowing to activist investor Carl C. Icashn, eBay in October, reported that it would split its PayPal units into a separate publicly traded company. The move comes after eBay’s sale of Skype to Microsoft a few years ago.

IBM on the other hand has regularly cast off units that were no longer a fit for its strategy.

Just this year, it sold off its low-end server business to Lenovo, the Chinese company that had previously acquired IBM’s personal computer business.

Currently another Silicon Valley firm, EMC, in the business of big data storage is being pressurized from activist hedge funds to denude of its stake in VMware, a virtualization company. Recently some analysts also called for Microsoft breaking up into different companies focusing on software, video games and search.

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image: CEO of HP

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image: Time Warner 054

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According to the numbers from a recent study conducted by the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flager Business School, spinning off equals increased financial strength and shareholder value. It was founded that shares of North American conglomerates were outperformed by recently spun off rivals by an average of 11.4 percent in last decade. It was also founded that within three months of companies announcing split, their shares outperformed rivals by more than 6 percent.

The overall change in attitude of investors is now prompting turmoil that goes beyond the technology industry. A whirlwind of spinoffs and divestitures has reshaped the media business too. Similarly, more and more private equity firms are now willing to gain good business, and investors are stocking up good will in new companies with a narrow focus. Companies vulnerable to losses have wider choices when it comes to selling off units.

Time Warner trimmed down to the core, spinning off its TV and movie studio group. Lately, it has also spun off AOL, Time Warner Cable and Time Inc. News Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch was split in two, with the new company today known as 21st Century Fox. Gannett, publisher of USA today also announced similar plans to casting off its newspaper units to focus only on TV operations.

Industrial companies are also trimming down. DuPont split into two after being pressurized from activist investor Nelson Peltz. Dow Chemical was under pressure from activist investor Daniel S. Loeb, although it keeps on stripping off smaller businesses. General Electric sold its appliance business and spun off its retail finance unit.

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image: Procter & Gamble Headquarters

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Pharmaceutical companies, Procter & Gamble and Abbott Laboratories too have spun off in recent months.

It was the HP split that got the most attention and left other companies driving into a upheaval.

HP was established 75 years ago, when two Stanford University students, William Hewlett and David Packard, started making sound equipments in a garage. The company turned into the biggest producer of PCs on the planet, a dominant supplier of printers and ink and a huge supplier of servers, programming and supplies for different organizations.

In 2011, when Meg Whitman was anointed CEO after the fizzled residency of Léo Apotheker, she got her hands on a troubled company that was vulnerable to more mammoth losses and needed streamlined focus.

This is the case with most large corporations in Silicon Valley today.

Companies have balance sheets that have degraded to the point of losing their legacy and thus are, susceptible to intense pressure from investors for streamlining their portfolio. For such companies spinning off a business unit into a company doesn’t necessarily mean a secure future and profitable outcomes. Investors of such spun off companies don’t get to enjoy big numbers as they previously did during the financial crisis. While the trends of splitting off doesn’t promise taking away all of their troubles, it does give a glimpse into a future where things are more transparent and easier to handle. An incredibly smart and amazing move, it surely guarantees to boost companies back onto their competitive levels that they once enjoyed.

image: Léo Apotheker Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Cover Photo courtesy: Christopher Ferguson 060

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Peek.com Companies like AirBnb and Uber have proved that there’s a lot of money in moving fragmented offline industries online. About a year and a half ago, Ruzwana Bashir moved to San Francisco with a solid new business idea that could possibly disrupt the $37 billion fragmented travel activities market.

Peek.com is an adventure-seekers travel concierge website that curates effortlessly bookable and exquisite travel activities were once offline and brings them together online (many of them run by small, local, family-owned businesses) in an elegantly appealing interface, selling them to people looking for new travel adventures. With $5 million in seed money, the travel website is supported by tech heavyweights such as Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey. Using this onestop shop, travel-junkies can search for activities based on a number of listings such as - cabarets, romantic, under $50, adventures, off the beaten path, wine tasting, tours and much more. Travelers can also browse through “My Perfect Day” section of itineraries featuring must-sees and tips from the likes of Diane von Furstenberg and Wolfgang Puck!

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Pigeonly It is rare that spending time behind the bars can result in an innovative idea, $2 million in seed funding, and the earnest support of tech magnets such as Angela Benton, founder and CEO of NewME Accelerator and Mitchell Kapor of Kapor Capital. Nevertheless such is the case for Frederick Huston, founder and CEO of Pigeonly!

Pigeonly is a data company that offers a suite of tools and service to help those incarcerated stay connected with their friends and families. Fotopigeon, one of its most prominent products with more than 7,000 users across the U.S., lets users upload photos and send them via mail for $.50. The Telepigeon app offers long-distance phone calls at quite moderate prices to inmates, helping them save a substantial amount of money. It was launched in September and already has more than 2,000 users.

This Los-Angeles based start-up has created a buzz for cracking one of the most regulated markets in the world!

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Nest Labs When Google acquires a company its motto usually goes a little something like this: Kill the company, Bury the Status Quo. That wasn’t the case with Next that hauled $3.2 million in cash from Google upon its acquisition. Its smartly designed home products such as Nest Protect – smoke and CO detector and Digital Thermostats, feature advanced AI sensors that learn and adapt to surroundings for better security and energy savings. The products connect to the home network via WiFi and send alerts to the connected iOS or Android device. The thermostat detects local utility’s peak load times when energy is most expensive, and sends signal to the dryer to run on a cooler, slow drying cycle during those times. Protect utilizes humidity sensors with advanced algorithms to look for the differences between steam and smoke before setting off during an emergency.

The trailblazing company is largely responsible for transforming home automation products into smart, beautiful and mainstream appliances. Next was founded by Apple alums, Tony Fadell, the man who helped invent the iPod and iPhone and Matt Rogers.

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Repurposed Materials Most people go dumpster diving in the past. Damon Carson did want to go dumpster diving but for a slightly different reason – to play dumpster cupid and that too towards a novel future.

Damon Carson owned a traditional trash pick-up company before he sold it and started Repurposed Materials Inc, an industrial cupid in the reclamation business. Repurposed Materials business model is simple: it purchases cast-offs of various industries across the country and gives them a new life by selling them for different purposes. In a world where environmental experts are strongly urging for entrepreneurs to play middlemen, Damon’s business model comes as a blessing which actually puts the ‘reduce’ and ‘reusue’ from the three Rs for some good use. Old billboards are now used by the U.S. Army Rangers as training maze, old commercial fishing nets with holes on them as burlap sacks in the coffee industry.

His weekly e-newsletter is dropped in more than 25,000 U.S. customers’ inbox which gives updates on his latest finds sitting in his yard.

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PackBack Packback is a student-founded, student-run Chicago based ed-technology startup, which aims to revolutionize the textbook industry and has already earned the title of “iTunes of Textbook Rental”. Launched in 2013, the pay-per-use e-textbook platform addresses a major student problem – EXPENSIVE textbooks.

Founded by Illinois State undergraduates as a dorm-room operation - Mike Shannon and Kasey Gandham, the startup has already raised more than $1 million in seed funding.

Its inventive website helps allows students to digitally rent reading material for $3 to $5 a day as opposed to potentially purchasing textbooks for hundreds of dollars only for one-two time use a semester. There’s also a price comparison tool, quite similar to kayak for books, which enables cost-conscious students to compare and evaluate all options before them, before buying a textbook.

Currently, Packback has more than 3,800 registered users. In the coming months, the studentfounded venture will add a few more features to its platform, such as a question-and-answer community where students can learn more about their textbook and the subjects.

If nothing but incredibly ambitious, the startups vision is most certainly magnanimous to give a facelift to the textbook industry.

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World View Enterprises By the end of 2016, World View Enterprises, an Arizona-based near-space tourism company hopes to send tourists on suborbital spaceflight giving them the very same overwhelming view of the Earth that it’s CEO Jane Poynter experienced a decade ago. That’s right the selling point of this venture is to let its passengers view the earth and its curve for a $75,000 ticket per person.

In the 90 minute flight, World View will send space-tourists in a pressurized capsule lifted by balloon to 18.6 miles above the Earth in the jet-black void of space. The luxury capsule will allow passengers to drink, walk around – but with experiences of weightlessness.

The company is currently aiding private efforts to bring humans to Mars, another ambitious venture indeed!

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Medivation This year alone, one in six U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Androgen concealment which is the most basic treatment often leads to lead to depression, loss of libido, and poses much worse risks. Medivation, a San-Francisco based biopharmaceutical company, discovered that the much talked about and widely ignored androgen blockers can play a vital role in fighting against cancer. Its resulting drug, Xtandi showed signs of extending patient’s lives who were in much advanced stages of cancer.

Fast forwards a few months of Xtandi, which is now an FDA approved drug has landed Medivation more than $338 million in net sales.

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Beyond Meat How many times have you felt like an outcast for not eating meat during Thanksgiving or any other food-based social outing-event? How many times have you curbed down on your meat cravings just to stick to your decision of following a vegan lifestyle? If it’s a lot of times-everyday, then we won’t delay the good news any further - you can now nurture your irresistible meat cravings by eating vegan meat!

While a growing number of fast-food chains are responding to non-meat food-items, a LosAngeles based company decided to do it with a little backward integration.

Beyond Meat is a Los-Angeles based company that produces a plant-based vegan meat alternative by replicating animal proteins, in an effort to reduce our dependence on animal protein and thus, lessen the harmful impact of its production on the environment.

Beyond Meat produces plant-based meat which has a number of qualities - zero cholesterol, zero saturated fat, and lots of protein! The company’s products can be found in more than 4,500 stores nationwide. Its range of products includes Beef Crumbles made from non-GMO pea protein, chicken strips made from non-GMO soy and pea protein and its forthcoming Beast Burger, ready to hit the aisles in a few months. All its items are priced between $3.99 and $5.99 per package.

Beyond Meat’s founder and CEO Ethan Brown hopes to expand his range of products beyond soy in the near future. Beyond Meat is backed by Bill Gates and Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone.

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

The Garage In 2012, a Central Florida-based young-entrepreneur, Pranam Ben named his healthcare startup The Garage paying tribute to most innovative Silicon Valley companies in the world that basically started in a garage and went big.

The Garage has already been featured in CBS Money Watch, Marketwatch, business.com, Silicon India Magazine, Orlando Business Journal and the Orlando Sentinel, for its innovative technology that aims to transform healthcare experiences for both patients and physicians.

The healthcare IT startup develops app and similar breakthrough products which help hospitals and healthcare systems improve patient safety, care coordination and increase patient engagement. It particularly focuses on mobile technology, clinical integration as well as handsfree apps.

In recent months, the company has earned the title for becoming an industry champion in its nationwide efforts to improve and protect the healthcare experience through its technologies.

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Blab A major tech firm had just released a software update that caused its tablets to crash. Discontented customers had already started giving severe backlash on social media sites. Those disgruntled complaints were spotted on a very nascent stage by an analytics startup. The startup gave a heads up to the tech company regarding the escalation of the matter on social media which gave the company less than 40 hours to work out on how it should mitigate the impending issue.

Blab, a Seattle-based analytics startup predicts real time data and helps nimble brands optimize campaigns, solve issues and improve products in order to stand out from the competition. It catches budding conversations across the social media much before they even become mainstream, thus helping brands become more efficient in devising their marketing strategies accordingly. Its proprietary system, BlabPredict makes more than a million predictions every minute, while sifting through more than 100 million conversations on a daily basis.

Blab has raised more than $5.85 million in funding and has a client base of 10 global brands.

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What happens when you combine hideous holiday gear and entrepreneurial spirit into one booming business?

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived to celebrate the camaraderie, the blissful streaming of non-stop Michael Bublé Christmas music, the abundance of tins full of festive treats and of course, the gaudiest piece of Christmas clothing you could find.

Ugly Christmas Sweaters are all the rage! The credit (or the blame) goes to generations of loving grandmas who, enchanted by the holiday spirit cannot resist knitting those hideous wooly wonders clad in snowflakes, bells and reindeers, all wrapped in a great big bundle of love.

The itchy wooly wonders are so popular, that they have inspired oodles of ugly Christmas sweater parties and ambitious entrepreneurs, DIYers, thrift stores and big retailers cashing in on the million-dollar cottage industry of kitschy clothing. Never underestimate people’s willingness to pay some good money to look ridiculous in holiday selfies folks!

You see celebrities like Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Ed Sheera, Taylor Swift and Kanye West take the ugly Christmas sweater to a whole new level. The growing fad has been particularly well-timed for small business and budding entrepreneurs.

Five years ago, Anne Marie Blackman, a stay-at-home mom from Vermont ski town, with a background in computer science decided to sell something on eBay to put her kids through college. She put her time into researching on what was trending and UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER were it!

In 2008, when she first started MyUglyChristmasSweater, she sold 50 sweaters on eBay, priced from $50 to $150. The one-time business affair turned into a year-round, full-time job that could provide enough money to fund both her sons’ college tuition. Till date, Blackman has sold about 25,000 sweaters and have made over a million dollars in terms of revenue. The sweaters created were embellished with stitched-on plastic Christmas trees, winking bulbs, sledding cats and snowflakes. Blackman aimed for the ugliest sweater with each succeeding design. Her work has been featured in a new book, “Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater” co-authored with Brian Clark Howard.

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The gold rush today can be seen on e-commerce sites where dozens of entrepreneurs are tapping into the growing trend. Sites like Skedouche, UglyChristmasSweater, MyUglyChristmasSweater, ButtUglySweaters and Tipsy Elves, feature tones of designs that aficionados can choose from. Right from happy kittens, mistletoes and candy canes, poinsettia-covered, birds in merry branches and even raunchier themes, it has become a big hit.

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College mates Evan Mendelsohn and Nick Morton, co-founders of Tipsy Elves in San Diego cannot be missed. The two quit their respective jobs in 2011, after they sold more than 6,000 sweaters at $65 each. A decent profit from the $140,000 invested was put back into business. In 2013, Tipsy Elves received a $100,000 investment from the reality show Shark Tank. The company has more than 11 employees, and has reached a few million up from the $870,000 in 2012. Today, they sell more than 5,000 to 10,000 for a popular design on their online site.

Just when you thought, you had seen it all, there’s more.

An alternative to the ugly Christmas sweater is the ugly Christmas shirt. The Christmas Shirt Company sells dress shirts and shirts in design that could undoubtedly be mistaken for a wrapping paper.

James McCarthy, 20, founder of The Christmas Shirt Company, has been selling ugly Christmas sweaters since he was in eighth grade.

He used to buy sweaters for $3 to $5 from thrift stores in summers and sell them online for $20 to $50 just in time for the holiday season. “I just see the trend as a good excuse to wear something ridiculous that your grandma used to wear,” he says. In 2012, he earned more than $50,000 from those sartorial masterpieces and has been able to pay a decent amount of his college tuition by himself. McCarthy with very little plans of staying in the sweater business jumped into something more unique – ugly Christmas shirts.

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Just like thick-rimmed glasses and plaid flannel shirts, ugly Christmas sweaters have turned mainstream. The once an askew style, is today, a nationally celebrated day. As per nationaluglychristmassweaterday.org , National Ugly Sweater Day is celebrated on the second or third Friday of December every year.

The popularity of upcoming pullover parties has even got retailers dreaming of merry Christmas sales. Big or small, some retailers have rolled out their own glittered-out Christmas sweaters to compete with thrift stores and DIYers. This year alone, Wal-Mart, Target and Forever21, Macy’s Nordstrom and SkyMall have aisles bursting in tackiness with DIY ugly Christmas Sweater kits for about $30, which comes with a sweater, stencils, and ornates such as googly eyes that could make your grandma jealous.

Michael Gerald, the company behind the DIY ugly Christmas sweater kits sold more than 35,000 pieces last year. Meri Barnes, the product and business developer for the company expects the number to boost up to 400,000 due to the popularity of Christmas sweater events. “I’ve never seen a product or category blow up like this”, she says.

The cultural touchstone is now a great way for people to take out those old sweaters from their attic and celebrate in the spirit of the season over a glass of eggnog and bond over the combined garbled ugliness. It’s great to see budding entrepreneurs cashing on by enticing people into buying intentionally appalling sweaters for Christmas themed parties.

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

A Heartwarming Festive Tale of Vienna, the City of Music

European capitals enjoy their status as timeless beauties and grace of the old world, as opposed to outshining them. Vienna, the luxurious capital of Austria has magically baled all in one, preserving its long-held legacy as Europe’s capital of classical music and magnificent imperial palaces, while at the same time embracing modern architecture and design.

Centuries ago, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert performed their sonatas in its 50-odd opera houses and grand music halls. In the 20th century, the grand, handsome and creatively vibrant city was a hive for intellectuals, seminal personalities, artists and philanthropists, including the likes of Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Gustav Klimt, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Arnold Schoenberg, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele.

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image: Christmas in Vienna Today with more than 800 traditional coffee houses, 100 museums and 50 theatres, and 4 opera houses, Vienna has turned into the most entertaining European city.

Since the holidays are drawing near what better way to get in the festive spirit than by strolling through the dynamic capital’s splendor? After all, Christmas and Vienna go a little something like turkey and cranberry sauce. There’s mulled wine, mild glow of the magical scenery, sweet aromas of local delicacies, and plenty of Christmas cheer!

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The Sofitel Vienna Steohansdom Located on the banks of the Donau Kanal is the sleek, skyscraping hotel Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom that makes a bold artistic statement. Established by versatile French architect Jean Nouvel, the 182-room glass structure reflecting Vienna’s historic skyline is a poetic homage to the monochromatic. The avant garde rooms are awash in walls of monochrome tones of immaculate white, velvety black and cool grey windows that give the kaleidoscopic views of the Vienna city.

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The award winning rooftop restaurant Le Loft, is set on the 18th floor of Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom whose dizzying panorama comprises of Vienna’s iconic monuments and museums such as Vienna Woods, the City Halls, St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Antoine Westermann, a culinary expert with three Michelin stars mans the restaurant’s daring gourmet cuisine. Le Loft’s wine cellar is more of a walk0in treasure chest for wine connoisseurs. It offers the finest wines from Austria and the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions of France.

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

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Vienna’s horde of grandiose hotels, still awes, most outstandingly the 138-room Hotel Imperial Vienna, and the 152-room Hotel Sacher Wien. The Sacher Wien wins by a nose on the sentimentality front, with its location exactly opposite to the Staatsoper Opera House, and its antiques-filled drawing rooms and restaurants upholstered in energetic blue, green and red silks and damasks. You may, in any case, discover the long line of non-visitors smashed into its public areas to get a slice of its widely-acclaimed Sacher torte, the dark luxurious and divinely rich chocolate cake. Completed in 1863 for the Prince of Württemberg, it is a majestic portrayal of nineteenth century Viennese sophistication.

With high stucco roofs accentuated by crystal chandeliers, and a staircase lined with marble statuary and eighteenth century paintings, its stands out amongst Europe’s most luxurious hotels. Its location along Vienna’s Kaerntner Ring is perfect – not overflowing with vacationers, yet minutes away from attractions, for example, the Hofburg Imperial Palace.

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image: The Leopold Museum

The Leopold Museum, home to the largest collection of early 20th century paintings is an attraction that shouldn’t be missed. The Leopold is decked in the heart of the Museumsquartier among about twelve fascinating foundations, including the MUMOK, the Museum of Natural History and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. At MAK, Vienna’s historical center of applied arts and design, guests can meander in the midst of different ages of furniture, materials and specialties from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.

Architecture enthusiastics will admire the exhibition hall’s accumulation of design models by contemporary architects, for example, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid, while those nostalgic for the times of workmanship nouveau will discover an accumulation of silver and porcelain

by Koloman Moser, a pioneer of the late nineteenth century Secession movement. The MAK’s beautiful shop is loaded with dexterous gifts like twisted Sheffield steel bar sets

by Michael Antrobus. Visitors can even relax over a cup of coffee or a cocktail restaurant and bar, Österreicher im MAK. A bit further away, the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is likewise worth a visit, set in the surroundings of the previous Belvedere Palace, with a collection spreading over the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Gold-on-vellum paintings by Klimt and Max Liebermann are shown next to Vincent van Gogh’s pastoral post-Impressionist pieces.

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Weekends are the best times of the week for both shopping and enjoying Vienna’s culinary scene. This is especially true when it comes to the Naschmarkt, the city’s biggest marketplace, which throughout the last few years has been home to wine and oysters bars and bistros. Among the champions is Naschmarkt Deli for its young crowd, beers and DJ line-up. Food here is heavenly and profoundly fulfilling, such as the golden schnitzel, delicate steaks, pastas and salads.

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image: Steirereck Restaurant Food

The Steirereck restaurant, located in the Stadpark, offers one of the most fulfilling dining experiences. Its menu comprises of Austrian dishes like puntarelle and trumpet chanterelle mushrooms with cashew nuts and radish grows. If you end up anyplace close to Augarten, Vienna’s most established extravagant park, where Beethoven debuted his Kreutzar Sonata in 1803, visit the captivating new Augarten Porcelain Manufactory to eat at DÊcor, its bistro restaurant is a must.

Two champions from its menu are venison filets with wild mushroom sauces and home-made chocolate cake.

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A fraction of Vienna’s appeal is that the classics once in a while blur. This is especially true for its retail scene. J&l Lobmeyr, a fine glass and gem company that has been working since 1823, still draws genuine connoisseurs and causal customers for dainty stemware, carafes and decanters that can be cut or engraved with intricate outlines or initials. The men’s luxury accessories and clothing purveyor Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe, is decked with unusual ties and silk pocket squares stacked in perfect heaps on old oak ledges. Here customers are fitted for suits custom-made from any of the 1,000 pieces if wools, cashmeres and tweed fabrics in stock. Sisi, a fasion salon with tailor-made fleece coats and skirts, dainty millinery, flower print dresses and silk slipovers designed after the broadly jazzy Empress Elisabeth is a must-visit for ladies. Demel, patisserie-confiserie is another place, one must not miss. It is renowned for its scores of treats accessible, from cheddar rolls to jellies and the celebrated Sacher torte in Demel’s pastel-toned shop on the Kohlmarkt.

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During the holiday season, charming Christmas Markets pop up in all of Austrian towns. Vienna is no exemption. Join in to the festive spirit at the Schรถnbrunn Christmas Market held in front of Schรถnbrunn Palace held every year from November 22 to January 1. The Christmas Market offers traditional handicrafts, plenty of Christmas decorations; a sweet aroma of gingerbread, mulled wine and Christmas baking that permeates the air! Happy Holidays from Vienna!

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

At the stroke of the midnight, between bubbly champagne swigs and custom kisses, you might catch sight of the star-studded Times Square celebration on the TV, where a million New Yorkers are bringing their trademark energy into the New Year’s Eve. Everything looks as though God had unleashed a pretty celebratory confetti blizzard amid thousands of balloons, pyrotechnic displays, the spectacular crystal ball drop and live music by popular artists culminating the 30second countdown to mark the end of another year.

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To drop the 7,000 pounds of varicolored confetti that will flutter down at midnight, there needs to be somebody who would volunteer to coordinate for the task. Enter Treb Heining, owner of Treb Inc., who has been coordinating the confetti fiesta for the Times Sqaure Alliance since 1991.

Hundreds of confetti police (volunteers) on this big day are perched on the roofs and backgrounds of eight structures from 43rd to 48th Streets. Exactly 20 seconds before the clock strikes midnight on Jan 1, Heining declares “Go confetti” enough for all volunteers to toss the colorful tissue and motley artfully and it’s officially New Year’s in Times Square.

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Heining recollects the most special year for the business was in 2000, when they did the countdown for each New Year’s around the world. They started working at 6 a.m. on Dec. 31 and went on till 6 a.m. on Jan 1. The business has been going strong for past 22 years and those involved with the high-profile event have made a fortune. Treb Inc., started with $1 million in liability insurance, today it stands at $5 million and is expected to reach $10 million in the coming months.

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image: PrivateFly

PrivateFly, a luxury private jet company offers travelers a unique opportunity to celebrate New Year’s Eve in not only one of the world’s most illustrious party cities, but two, and that too in one single night. The idea certainly beats sitting in front of the TV and watching the celebrations all around the world!

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For an amount as insignificant as £7,380 per person, or £132,838, for 18 passengers, party animals get to make the most of evening’s celebrations in Sydney and after that, do it all over again in Los Angeles, by travelling in the world’s fastest private jet. PrivateFly, the company behind the incredible trip, makes it possible by moving eastwards over the International Date Line. With Los Angeles 19 hours behind Sydney, party animals can visit both the places in one single night by making use of PrivateFly’s cleverly planned itinerary. The flight time between both the cities is under 11 hours, which gives people can catch 8 more hours of party time.

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image: Sydney Opera House

The journey begins in Sydney, at the city’s most elite party spots. Alternatives include joining other VIP celebrants at the NYE Midnight party at the Sydney Opera House.

Couples travelling alone are given the option to cozy up in the Dining Room at the Park Hyatt Sydney where they get the marvelous view of the harbor and the stunning annual firework display.

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PrivateFly offers passengers to carry on with the celebrations all in VIP style with music and plenty of fine wines, champagne and bespoke catering. For the individuals who need a disco nap, there’s the alternative of a twofold quaint little inn with shower, and in addition completely leaning back seats. While others are waking to a New Year and sore heads back in Sydney, the night is yet youthful in LA. Party fiends land at Van Nuys airplane terminal, in LA at 6pm, where the glitziest nightspots of Beverley Hills are close-by. Every year, the Cleopatra’s Ball pulls in some of Hollywood’s A-list to the Egyptian Theater. On the other hand visitors can eat at one of LA’s most luxurious restaurants, for example, the Crustacean, popular for its South East Asian cooking and floor-to-roof aquarium.

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image: Tom Brooks and Peter Dowds

Tom Brooks and Peter Dowds, two university buddies over a year ago, decided to pack in their high-flying careers to start a new business as partners after throwing a Christmas party and attempting to find a nice cleaner to help with the mess. 29-year old Brooks and 28-year old Dowds, following seven years respectively as a commodities broker and a legal advisor, recognized a massive opportunity in the business - setting up some place for individuals to discover a decent cleaner online. Thus the pair wound up launching an online cleaner booking website, Mopp, with an application for the same, which is now a rapidly growing business.

Having rehashed awful encounters was unquestionably the impetus. When the duo began diving into the business, they saw a multi-billion market that had totally shied far from development and remained offline while different commercial enterprises moved online with their client base. The high recurrence of service and customer loyalty was other empowering gimmicks. Having seen the achievement of offline to online success stories like Uber and Justeat, they felt that customers and cleaners deserved the same service in this industry. They were putting in 16 hour days, 7 days every week except it didn’t feel like work when they saw the development of the business every month and it turned from a mere idea to a legitimate business.

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In 2014, Mopp grew 11x times in the initial 6 months alone. From running a six-figure business, it has now turned into a multi-million dollar business and has more than 1,000 cleaners sprawling in its platform across major cities in the UK.

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image: UberXSeattle

The greatest day of the year for ride-sharing companies is always New Year’s Eve. Last year on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2013, Uber generated $10.7 million in gross revenue, an astounding 367% increase from its NYE 2012 revenue.

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So how did Uber practically rake $11 million in one single evening? Last year in Chicago, Uber finished almost 22,000 rises on NYE. That night, it had around 2000 drives active, and around 30 of those drivers earned more than $1,000 bucks in one single night. Around 62% of UberX rides that night had increased pricing. In New York, Uber completed around 33,000 rides, where its gross revenue practically exploded to $1 million. In London, which is Uber’s biggest global market, it finished 4,500 rides with a little more than 500 drivers. Its booking had multiplied by 15 times from 2012 to 2013. In Los Angeles, one of the most active cities on Uber’s target, there were 45,000 rises with 3,000 cars.

Los Angeles, Chicago and New York on the whole generated more than $1 million in gross revenue in one single night. Altogether, Uber’s gross revenue on New Year’s Eve surged 367% from $2.28 million in 2012, to $10.7 million in 2013.

Now that’s what we call the-most-productive-opening to the New Year!

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Energy and Renewables Fair for economies of Energy

Date: 09-11, Jan 2015

Fair for economies of Energy is a 3 days event which is being held from 09th January to the 11th January 2015 at the Metz Metropole Parc des Expositions in Metz, France. This event showcases products like Stoves, boilers, fireplaces, woodwork, water treatment, solar, insulation, heat pumps, heaters, wind etc lots of latest technology products from the solar and power industry from the various leading national and international exhibitors.

Venue: Metz, France

Environment Kaiserslautern

Date: 10-11, Jan 2015

Environment Kaiserslautern will be organized at Kaiserslautern on 10-11 Jan, 2015 in Germany. Approximately more than 50 industries and manufactures are supported to be participated in this leading international exhibition. Many organizers were also involves in this exhibitions. Main motive of exhibition is to show how the energy is saved by effective energy saving equipments like solar panel, sun roofing, thermal insulation, heat insulation and devices to control energy, electro technical equipment were also there. Energy effective equipments will also be shown. Environment Kaiserslautern is the very unique kind of event which enlightens the mind of the people’s regarding the efficient use of the bio gas and bio gas product & service.

Venue: Kaiserslautern, Germany

Bremer Old Days

Date: 16-18, Jan 2015

Bremer Old Days is a three day event that will be held in Bremen in Germany. This show will help the visitors to get a wide range of information about the energy efficient measures that they can take avail of to modernize their house. This show also offers a large number of information related with the sector in order to make the attendees informed about the industry and also help them to acquire all technologies that are modern yet cost effective and energy efficient. Bremer Old Days will present a good number of products and services for the benefits of the industry and will also look forward to the excellent quality of all the latest equipments that can be used for improving the quality of its produce.

Venue: Bremen, Germany

Haus und Energie

Date: 22-25, Jan 2015

Haus und Energie is one of the most comprehensive power and energy sector trade show in the entire European region. Organized at Messe Sindelfingen, this show will attract a large contingent of well targeted professional buyers from more various countries. Attendees to the show take part in the informative sessions conducted by numerous experienced and eminent speakers, to get familiar with the latest and the recent power and energy sector products.

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Industry Leaders Magazine [DECEMBER 2014]

Construction Seattle, Washington Remodeling Expo

Date: 02-04, Jan 2015

Seattle Remodeling Expo will showcase an array of products and services for the interior and exterior of the home. This expo is expected as the best event for the home decors. It will be a perfect place for the people who love the latest accessories and want to remodify their interior and exterior designs. Seattle Remodeling Expo will represents the most recognized and most qualified names in the remodeling industry ranging from residential and commercial design, architecture, interior design, landscape design, furnishings, accessories, home entertainment, tech smart homes, security systems, baths, kitchens, video surveillance, new construction, remodeling, commercial and residential.

Venue: Seattle, USA

Construction and Renovation

Date: 10-18, Jan 2015

Construction and Renovation is a 9 day event being held from 10th January to the 18th January 2015 at the Antwerp Expo in Antwerp, Belgium. This event showcases products like building materials and construction companies, kitchens and bathrooms, doors and windows, heating and electricity, automation, floor and wall coverings, roofing, insulation, solar panels, fireplaces, stoves, step, lighting, porches and more etc. in the Building Construction industry.

Venue: Antwerp, Belgium

Et Acetech-Kolkata

Date: 16-18, Jan 2015

The Economic Times ACETECH, Kolkata is the leading Architecture, Construction, Building Materials, Engineering, Innovation, Interiors and Design trade event in Asia and the third of its kind in the world. Hosted over a span of 3 days at Science City Exhibition Centre the show avails its participants and visitors an opportunity to exhibit, exchange, invest and progress at a pace newly accomplished.

Venue: Kolkata, India

Doors & Windows Technology International Exhibition

Date: 23-26, Jan 2015

The 3rd Doors & Windows Technology International Exhibition is the right place for producers and traders to present their products and services or promote their business in Iran and neighboring countries. Do-Win Tech 2015 is the only official exhibition in Iran for doors & windows which have been created based upon the Iranian market’s demand and taste and is so appreciated by the producers, traders, visitors and experts.

Venue: Tehran, Iran

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Manufacturing Autosport International

Date: 08-11, Jan 2015

Autosport International brings together the industries of national and international motorsport & encompasses areas such as performance engineering, aftermarket, historic motorsport and the fast growing trackday market. No other exhibition brings you the high-class mixture of trade visitors from across the world and carefully targeted public visitors who are passionate about motorsport and performance cars.

Venue: Birmingham, UK

Koi Auto Parts Expo

Date: 09-11, Jan 2015

Koi Auto Parts Expo is most relevant and significant trade fair for automotive evaluation and technology, event for any engineer involved in this sector of the automotive industry.

Koi Auto Parts Expo will be held at Duke Energy Convention Center, USA. This exhibition will bring together the world’s leading automotive test equipment manufacturers and test service providers, who are all targeting the ever growing & developing automotive.

Venue: Cincinnati, USA

Laundry & Dry-Cleaning

Date: 20-23, Jan 2015

Laundry & Dry-cleaning is to be conducted in the framework of the 15th anniversary international specialised exhibition Bellegmash. Subjects of the exhibition include equipment for dry-cleaner’s and laundries; professional cleaning equipment; cleaners and detergents; facilities for cleaning services.

Venue: Minsk, Belarus

Motor, Drive and Automation Systems

Date: 21-22 Jan 2015

The Motor, Drive & Automation Systems is one of the renowned automotive events which is being successfully organized from many years. This year this conference is going to be organized concurrently with the Magnetics Conference so that one will get added benefit of both these world class technical events. This year’s Motor, Drive & Automation Systems conference will feature expanded coverage of semiconductors and power management, electric motors in automotive applications, renewable energy applications for electric motors such as wind turbines, solar equipment positioning, stream and tidal power and more, nano-power, ultra precise and miniature motors, advancements in energy efficiency for motor and drive systems in industrial operations, new materials and technologies for motor and drive manufacturing and so on.

Venue: Orlando, USA

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Logistics and Supply Chain TrafficInfraTech Expo 2015

Date: 07-09, Jan 2015

Delivering Value !TrafficInfraTech Expo 2015 brings to the traffic industry the opportunity to showcase, see and understand the latest in Road/Rail Infrastructure, Traffic Management technologies and Systems for safe and rapid public mobility. The Expo ensures that the right national and international solutions are exhibited to the right audience the decision makers from the public and private sectors.The last three very successful TrafficInfraTech Expos have been indicative of the growing awareness in the traffic industry to incorporate world class technologies and also of the Governments (both Central and States) readiness to improve the infrastructure and provide technology backed public transport.

Venue: New Delhi, India

NW Food Processors Expo and Conference

Date: 12-14, Jan 2015

The 100th Annual NW Food Processors Expo and Conference is the place to be January 12-14, 2015. Sized right to attract premier food processing industry experts and exhibitors, it is the largest regional food manufacturing trade show in North America. The event is held annually in Portland, OR and attracts almost 4,000 food processing industry professionals from across the country and around the world in addition to 425 exhibitor booths.

Venue: Portland, USA

Mena Logistics

Date: 18-21, Jan 2015

Mena Logistics is a 4 day event being held from 18th January to the 21st January 2015 at the Cairo International Convention & Exhibition centre (CICC) in Cairo, Egypt. This event showcases products like maritime logistics, inland shipping, air cargo based products, rail freight transport, forwarding agents, road transport companies, express, parcel, supply chain management, and logistics etc. in the Logistics & Transportation industry.

Venue: Cairo, Egypt

The International Exhibition for Transport Logistics and Freight

Date: 25-28, Jan 2015

The International Exhibition for Transport Logistics and Freight is a 3 day event being held from 25th October to the 28th January 2015 at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center- RICEC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This event showcases products like integrated supply chains, freight forwarding services and specialized warehousing zones to enable further industrial growth etc. in the Logistics & Transportation industry.

Venue: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Food and Drink Hampshire Farmers Market Romsey

Date: 04, Jan 2015

Hampshire Farmers Market Romsey is a 1 day event being held on 4th January 2015 at the Alma Road Car Park in Romsey, United Kingdom. This event showcases products like cheese, brewery, farm animals, and bakery products associated with this field etc. in the Agriculture & Forestry, Food & Beverage industries.

Venue: Romsey, UK

The Denver Boat Show

Date: 09-11, Jan 2015

The Denver Boat Show is the premiere boat show held in the Rocky Mountain Region. It is organized by the Colorado Marine Dealers Association (CMDA) and attracts thousands of regional visitors from the state of Colorado as well as from surrounding states. This is the three days exhibition that will be held at Colorado Convention Center - a First Class venue.

Venue: Denver, USA

Katikati Avocado Food & Wine Festival

Date: 10, Jan 2015

Katikati Avocado Food & Wine Festival is a 1 day event being held on 10th January 2015 at the A&P Showgrounds in Auckland, New Zealand. This event showcases products and services like various food and wine based products, seafoods, ice cream, sandwiches and many more related services etc. in the Food & Beverage industry.

Venue: Auckland, New Zealand

Food & Grocery Forum India

Date: 14-16, Jan 2015

Food & Grocery Forum India is one of the largest food and beverage sector trade shows in India. The event serves as a convenient channel for business interaction among noted corporate stakeholders and decision makers who operate in this sector. Hosted at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), the show is highlighted by the presence of eminent industry speakers and business delegates too, who take part in topical conference sessions. Participants are also helped to get familiar with the latest industry trends and business opportunities. Special tasting sessions and exciting competitions are also arranged during the event. More than 150 exhibiting companies take part in the event, looking to promote a varied array of frozen food, additives, raw materials, beverages and several other related items. The show is organized over a span of two days and brings in over 6000 well qualified professional visitors too. A total area of 5000 square meters is occupied by this systematically held business event.

Venue: Mumbai, India

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