The 20 Best Performing CEOs to watch in 2020

VOL 08 | ISSUE 02 | 2020

SWAPNIL AGARWAL

A Dreamer, an Achiever and a Passionate Business Leader

Industry Today

The

The Impacts of Pandemic in Pharma and Biotech Laboratory

Better Approach Build-On EdTech for a Better World

Best

Performing CEOs to watch in 2020

Editor’s Desk Leading Together, Achieving Together

T

he chief executive role is a big one to fill.

Being a CEO of a company, whether that’s a big or small company, takes a lot of work.

Mostly, it takes years of experience and climbing the corporate ladder to become one and lead the next chapter. But real meaning of a CEO is a title, which comes from those people one surrounds him/herself with, knowing that responsibilities need to be given to capable and trustworthy people. Even for a CEO, it is impossible to know everything and doing it all alone, that is why having a strong team by side is so critical.

Having a strong team is very crucial for successful leadership but it’s not easy to figure out who those people will going to, according to a research, there are at least five major traits that one business leader should look for when adding someone in a supportive role. Below are the values should be checked when it comes to hiring people who is going to work alongside the head of the company and expected to succeed in a stressful position.

• Resourcefulness Of course, skills for the job are primary criteria but it is also necessary to know how to utilize the resources.

A resourceful and active employee can change the whole scenario of the situation and turn the tide on positive side.

• Team Work It is believed that a business is only as good as the employees who work for it. An employee who learns, teach and helping others thrive in their professional careers is a complete pack with an extremely valuable skill.

• Ready to Listen Opinions are based on personal experiences, learning and capability of understanding but being great is about not putting self-ego when it comes to collaborate and working together • Always Ready to Learn Something New Learning is the life long process and lessons are learned through trial and mistake. Always playing safe and repeating the same will not get you anywhere. It is important to experiment so you can learn new even from failures.

A good CEO wants to understand the thought process of his/her employees, so, when necessary, they’re able to offer productive feedback when presented with something. It also helps when solving difficulties together as a group, keeping things organized when each employee offers an idea.

This is all about Insights Success’s new edition “The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch in 2020.” where it listed some exceptional leaders who believe in teamwork and achieving together.

rohit.chaturvedi@insightssuccess.com

COVER STORY

10 Swapnil Agrawal A Dreamer, an Achiever and a Passionate Business Leader

ARTICLE

36

26

Industry Today

Better Approach

The Impacts of Pandemic in Pharma and Biotech Laboratory

Build-On EdTech for a Better World

18

C O N T E N T S

Christopher Carter Leading a charge in SAP Solutions

22 Feras El Hajjar

30

An Ingenious Leader in Digital Transformation and Business Management

Gary Olson Protecting People and Business Through the use of Artificial Intelligence

32 Karsten Boehrs

40

Revolutionizing Education and Communication through Simple Accessible Resources

Katherine Colombino An Excellent Dedicated Professional

44 Rob Leslie

48

Advancing Business Practices with Digital Identity

Shanaz Ramzi Bringing Perfection in PR and Event Management

Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor

Assistant Editors

Rohit Chaturvedi

Jenny Fernandes

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

David King

Asha Bange

Kartik Balapurkar

Co-designer Kushagra Gupta

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

Andy Mitter

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Martin, Sagar

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Aidan, Sanket

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar

Research Analyst Frank Adams

Database Management Stella Andrew

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com August, 2020

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Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

Featuring Name

Company Name

Brief

Charles Brindamour CEO

Intact Financial Corporation Intactfc.com

Intact Financial Corporation is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over CAD$11 billion in total annual premiums.

Christopher Carter Founder & CEO

Approyo www.approyo.com

Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in hosting and managed services, upgrades, and migrations for our customers, running any SAP supported core functionality.

Dr Anil Pillai Chairman & CEO

Airolink Group airolinkgroup.com

Airolink focuses on a wide range from pre-construction services to complete turn-key construction projects.

Eileen Kiernan CEO

UM Worldwide umww.com

UM is a strategic media planning and buying agency that leverages Better Science to create Better Art that drives Better Outcomes for its clients.

Esther Poulsen Founder and CEO

Raaresolutions raaresolutions.com

Raare Solutions is an award-winning Operational CRM Agency specializing in the design, execution and support of CRM and Marketing Platforms, Campaign Orchestration, Email Execution and Analytics.

Feras El Hajjar Founder & Chairman of Infosysta | Founder & CEO of App4Legal

Infosysta & App4Legal app4legal.com

App4Legal is a comprehensive Legal Practice Management Solution addressing the entire market of legal practitioners, in law firms and in-house legal departments.

Gary Olson Founder & CEO

GT Digital Ltd gtdigitalltd.com

GT Digital is the first AI technology that can analyze and correlate all this data to help professionals prevent violence and criminal intent. Using Artificial Intelligence to save lives and protect property is essential today.

Geoff Garrett CEO

Syspro syspro.com

SYSPRO is an industry-built Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors worldwide.

Ian Charles Dench Chief Executive Officer

Ooredoo Oman www.ooredoo.om

It is a community-focused business and belives to have responsibility to its customers to help contribute to the social and economic development of the communities the comapany operates within.

Johan Jemdahl CEO

Greencarrier greencarrier.com

Greencarrier is one of the Nordic region’s largest privately owned companies specialising in global transport solutions.

20Ce The

Best Performing

s

to Watch in 2020

Featuring Name

Company Name

Brief

Karsten Boehrs Co-investor & CEO

Simpleshow simpleshow.com/us-en/

simpleshow is the industry leader of explainer videos. The explainer video format takes complicated topics and visually explains them simply and coherently in just three minutes or less– using visual tools like paper drawings, two hands, and a well-composed mix of text, images, and sounds.

Katherine Colombino Chief Executive Officer

Software & Services Consulting SRL ssc.com.py

Software and Services Consulting SRL is positioned as the number one partner in Paraguay of SAP Business One. Confidence, Clarity and Constant Accompaniment are some of the terms used by its clients to describe what SSC means to them.

Mohammad Shaheen Managing Director

Egypt Express egyptexpress.com.eg

Egypt Express (EE) is a joint stock company registered in Egypt and has been the licensee of Federal Express Corporation since 1998. Its headquarter is in Cairo and it employs more than 700 employees.

Margins Group marginsgroup.com

Margins Group and its subsidiaries are connecting people and solutions over secure physical and virtual platforms, ensuring that as its customers’ needs evolve, the company is innovating and evolving its products and solutions to keep pace with change and to exceed customers’ requirements.

Rob Leslie CEO & Founder

Sedicii sedicii.com

Sedicii is creating a federated, global identity verification network which enables real-time identity verification by certified, trusted identity providers (governments, banks, telco’s, utilities), ensuring that businesses can react quickly to new government, regulatory and industry demands for real-time identity verification, authentication and trust services.

Shanaz Ramzi Chief Executive Officer

StarLinks starlink.com

Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards.

Shelley Sullivan CEO

Modelco modelco.com

Modelco's products have been tailored to better reflect the everyday consumer, with a curated edit of purposeful beauty essentials that expand across tanning and cosmetics.

Stefano Romano CEO

NextFuel nextfuel.com

NextFuel AB offers innovative and highly scalable industrial technology for converting fast growing grasses and other types of inexpensive and abundant biomass into a clean copy of coal.

Swapnil Agarwal CEO

Nitya Capital & Karya Property Management nityacapital.com

Nitya Capital, based in Houston, TX, is a privately held real estate investment firm that owns and manages ~$2 billion in real estate assets across the US. The firm is vertically integrated to have deep focus on acquisitions, asset management and property management.

Vanessa Ogle CEO and Founder

Enseo Enseo.com

Enseo is one of the fastest growing technology service providers in the U.S. offering solutions in hospitality, education, senior living and healthcare.

Moses Baiden CEO

COVERSTORY

SWAPNIL AGARWAL

A Dreamer, an Achiever and a Passionate Business Leader

“ When you're an entrepreneur, you got to be a risk-taker.

You got to be able to hustle and have never give-up attitude and being able to maneuver and go through tough situation.

Swapnil Agarwal CEO of Nitya Capital & Karya Property Management

I

grew up in very workforce housing, or I would say Class C apartment complexes, so, my goal was to provide nice, clean, safe place for people to live who could not afford it. And that's how I started my venture” says Swapnil Agarwal. From coming to America as an immigrant in the age of 15 to becoming the CEO of Nitya Capital and Karya Property Management, Swapnil's life itself a story of success, passion and determination.

Swapnil graduated from the University of Texas in finance and secured an investment banking job out of college in Houston. He also worked in a private equity fund which was investing in real estate assets all across Asia-Pacific. In 2013, he founded Nitya Capital, a real estate investment firm. He states “I've always had this entrepreneurial urge to be able to start my own business.” He wanted to provide a vertically integrated platform where not only one buys the assets, but also is able to manage and operate it. He bought his first asset in March 2014 and now, the company has close to 20,000 apartment units across the country for about two and a half billion of assets with approx. 800 employees.

Outlook on Business, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Swapnil considers risk-taking ability as a number one quality that somebody needs to be an entrepreneur. Most of the people in the world, they all want to be entrepreneurs and start their own business, but only less than 0.1% actually end up being an entrepreneur. The reason behind that most of them cannot take the risk. They have pay check security fear, and most of them always thinking about the worst case, that is, "if I start a business, and what if I fail?”

But people rarely think about on the opposite, like “what if they start a business, and get successful”. Swapnil opines, “When you're an entrepreneur, you got to be a risk-taker.

You got to be able to hustle and have never give-up attitude and being able to maneuver and go through tough situation”.

According to Swapnil, when people start a business, the number one thing that they think about is profit. But the reason to start a business can never be to make profit.

Making profit is always the end result. He asserts “When you start a business, you need to have a bigger purpose.”

In his case, the bigger purpose was to improve people's lives, to improve people's living conditions because most of them are tenant base, blue-collar middle class, lowermiddle-class families of America, which is 90% of the population of the country. All they need is a nice and clean place to live, where they can raise a family, and feel safe.

And if the profit ends up happening, that's the end result of a successful business.

On leadership, Swapnil states, leadership and winning comes at a price. One cannot be the nicest guy. He asserts “You have to be a firm leader, but then also protect your people, whether it's your investors, your employees, or your stakeholders.” He further adds, demand hard work and good attitude; a great attitude from employees, investors, and stakeholders.

For Swapnil “if you don't push your people, then that leader is not firm enough. As a leader to get successful, you have to demand hustle, a lot of hard work. And then at the end of the time, you have to protect your employees. You have to protect your stakeholders. In my opinion, that's a sign of a great leader.”

Integrity and Excellence are Essential Integrity and excellence are the two values that are the most important for Swapnil. He believes anything one does as a business leader, as an entrepreneur; first of all, one has got to be a person of high integrity. “You've got to have the

The 20 Best Performing CEOs to watch in 2020

right intention. There might be different ways to achieve what you're trying to achieve, but your intentions need to be pure,” says Swapnil. He further adds “Your actions may be aggressive or how you go about doing it might be more risky or somebody else might not do the way I'm going to try and get things done. But if my intentions are clean, if my intentions are to returning profit or to improve people's lives, however I go about conducting my business, it takes a second step.” After integrity, excellence is second most essential value that every business leaders should possess.

Swapnil asserts “whatever you do, you've had to give your best shot. You cannot take mediocracy or you cannot be an average entrepreneur. You got to have the passion for

excellence in anything you do in life. And if you have that, then you'll be a very successful entrepreneur.”

Learning from Global Leaders Swapnil admires two global business leaders, first is Elon Musk and the second one is Alibaba CEO, Jack Ma. Jack Ma, started the business in China, which is a communist country, a socialist country and to be able to succeed in an environment which is so anti-capitalism, it's very praiseworthy. Same thing goes for Elon Musk. Elon Musk was one of the founders of PayPal, and he sold PayPal. With that he made approx. $100 million, but then he was able to take that money and invest it back in Tesla and

“ When you start a business, you need to have a bigger purpose.

SpaceX because he's so passionate about his dreams. He's thinking about 10 steps ahead, where normal people are just thinking about the past or the next day. Here, Elon was able to go in with his passion. He was a risk-taker and he was willing to risk it all for the greater good.

Balance Between Life and Work Being an entrepreneur is 24 hours job. When someone is doing something with passion and having a long-term vision, sometimes it does affect the personal life. “We might not be in the office but for me, managing hundreds of investors and hundreds of employees and thousands of tenants those live in our apartments is a lot of work” says Swapnil. He further adds “every morning I wake up and I'm still excited about the next day as much as I was excited yesterday. I try to manage to spend time with my son, my wife, and my parents. I try to keep myself fit by getting good exercise every morning. I love sports because I really think that sports, that playing the team sport or looking at the passion of these athletes for excellence, inspire me.”

Swapnil is a big fan of basketball, baseball, football, cricket because he grew up in India. And for him, that's a great getaway from daily busy business schedule. It's almost like meditation for him. He says “When I'm watching sports, I forget about the business for a little bit, for a couple of hours and I am enjoying something competitive.” And that's how he takes his mind away from work even though he is working all the time. However, it's difficult to maintain

work life balance when one is passionate about something and so many people's lives, depending on a single person; it's hard to relax for even for a few minutes.

Visioning to get Global Swapnil's objective is not only to grow in his space which is real estate but also grow in other business fields and geographies within America and other parts of the world as well. The company wants to be a conglomerate not just limited to being in real estate but have different businesses and different industries and that's where it is headed. The company is doing investments in technology firms through its venture capital fund. It has investments such as restaurants and office buildings and retail.

Never Fear and Never Give Up “The biggest and the best advice I can give anybody is don't be afraid of taking risks. If you're passionate about certain things, don't think about that homerun idea or the next Apple or next Facebook. Find something you're passionate about and just do it better than somebody is doing it today. And don't be afraid to take risks,” says Swapnil on advising emerging business leaders. He further says “The worst case if you fail you can always go back and get job. So my advice is just go out, take risks, live your life so that you don't have to look back and regret later that I wish I did it when had the opportunity to do something.”

Vol 10 | Issue 04 | 2020

Best

20

The

Performing

CEOs to Watch, 2020

+

Tech Insight Haseeb Awan

Incentives Solutions A True Partner and Reliable Strategic Advisor

CEO

Ponari A Procient Business Leader with Extensive Work Experience

Christopher Carter Founder & CEO Approyo

18 | August 2020

www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

CHRISTOPHER

CARTER

Leading a Charge in SAP Solutions

W

hen the focus of attention is on the IT sector, SAP is considered to be the most important IT infrastructure that has always been useful in coping with all the changes. As technological advancements have affected every sector effectively, SAP has seen rapid growth and demand over the last few years.

With this ever-growing technology, it becomes essential to possess a firm understanding of how it can be applied adequately.

Meet Christopher Carter, Founder & CEO of Approyo, who has over three decades of experience working in the SAP industry. A confident leader who has always led his company towards success by creating a clear-sighted vision and delivering ground-breaking results.

Below are the Highlights of the interview between Christopher Carter and Insights Success.

Describe your background and, what did you do before you started, or came into this business?

I like to say I have always been a technologist. I went to college with a Commodore Vic20 under one arm and an Apple 2e under the other. They were my first computers, and it’s what I learned to code on. My first code was to make birds fly across my screen, it was fun and exciting for me.

This is how I got started in computers, what got

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me on the road to SAP, and what led me to owning and creating businesses.

Describe your company and its cutting-edge franchise services which address all the needs of your customers.

Approyo is a part of the SAP PartnerEdge Ecosystem. As a partner of SAP, we provide SAP software as a service. We provide SAP consultation, hosting, and managed services, as well as implementations and migrations onto SAP platform systems. Approyo is made up of a global team of SAP experts, who currently manage over 200+ SAP landscapes and have done over 100 migrations for our customers around the globe.

Over the years, we have worked to bring firms running R/3 up to S/4 1909.

What strategies do you undertake to make your employees resourceful?

The easiest way to make sure your employees are most resourceful in the SAP industry is to provide them with the tools they need to do so. At Approyo, we provide our employees with access to any training they desire. If they want to learn a new platform or get a new certification, who are we to stop them? We will pay to allow our employees to grow and succeed. The more success they experience inside their job, the more success we will experience as a team. The most

August 2020 | 19

important thing is to make sure that your team is ready to go through an implementation or migration at all times.

What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion, that every leader should possess?

In my opinion, there are a few. First, be humble, but know the buck stops with you, so make the decision and go on with it. Do not second guess yourself. I fully believe that once you make the decision, you must live with it.

Next, your staff is your lifeline always, you treat them like gold, and they will treat your company, your clients, and you, with the respect you show. You get what you give.

Lastly, learn your numbers. You are the leader, so you should know your data on all customers on a day-to-day basis, including the ROI, the spending, the revenues, etc.

It’s on you and no one else.

What is your greatest life achievement?

My greatest personal life achievement is the family I’ve been blessed with, having my two incredible daughters with my wife. Business-wise, it is that we created the first virtualized SAP R/3 and S/4 environments for production usage by real customers. Our team had customers ready for launch pre-certification and then we held a certified launch at the SAP Sapphire Now Event. My everyday achievement I am proud of is that I am able to help and educate customers around the globe with SAP landscapes.

community. Our world is run off of business, and successful businesses have ERP systems in place. Those who have not implemented one yet will soon realize that having one is truly the only way to take them to the next level.

What one thing, more than anything else, do you want to accomplish in your business before you get out?

I want to provide the SAP ecosystem with quality SAP Managed service and support, allowing the clients to sleep well at night. Our goal is to help in any way shape or form.

When I leave this planet, I want to have made an impact on people, and I want them to say that I was able to help them personally and professionally.

Where do you see your industry in five years?

I see the industry growing. In five years, it will be 2025, leaving just two years until the SAP S/4HANA deadline.

With such an important deadline in place, those who are currently on SAP platforms will be forced to move to the next biggest and brightest platform. With the success that SAP has shared over the past year alone, I think that it will attract more and more companies to join the SAP

&

“Take care of your staff they take care of the customers, you will find success.”

20 | August 2020

What advice would you like to give to the emerging entrepreneurs?

Just do it. Find the details of a path you want to go down, get the motivation, and do it. If you want to grow and, get going then jump into it, but make sure that you are passionate and dedicated to your mission. You can do whatever you put your mind to if you believe that, in the end, you will get the results you work for.

How do you sustain your entrepreneurial spirit in this changing technological era?

I love technology, and it allows me and everyone to grow! I meditate every morning at 6:00 a.m. to get my mind ready. I spend a lot of time learning about new technology in the marketplace. I love to learn and I love to share my knowledge with the world. I’m constantly on the internet, doing research and learning about new technology, whether it be about SAP, Artificial Intelligence or Digital Transformations.

www.insightssuccess.com

FERAS EL HAJJAR An Ingenious Leader in Digital Transformation and Business Management

Feras El Hajjar Founder & Chairman of Infosysta, Founder & CEO of App4Legal

22 | August 2020

www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

igital transformation is vital/crucial for any business. It has become mandatory for business leaders to rethink old operating models with the new one, to become more experimental, and more agile in the ability to respond to customers and competitors.

D

Moreover, he is a permanent speaker at Agile Summits in the Middle East and a board member of different organizations including Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, Industry Advisory Board and also at Atlassian Partners Board Member in San Francisco.

Feras El Hajjar, Founder & Chairman of Infosysta, and Founder & CEO of App4Legal is an exceptional leader who has managed to make his mark in the business world with his outstanding performance in IT as well as management sector.

“Nowadays, it is crucial to align the business with technology. Follow the right processes and, using the right tools can be a game-changer when it comes to reaching objectives, on-time,” adds Feras.

Appreciating the Talent

Usually, the integration of digital technology into all areas of business results in fundamental changes regarding business tactics. If done correctly, this can prove much more beneficial for the company. Infosysta is one of the leading companies to provide digital transformation solutions for your business by challenging the status quo with market-proven strategies.

Moreover, Legal technology is quite essential, as it particularly provides and aids legal services. Currently, most of the companies struggle to acclimatize their practices and are falling behind hence, the rise of legal tech has considerably influenced the concurrent legal markets.

App4Legal is a provider of best-of-breed Legal Practice Management Software that provides solutions to keep your Legal Teams ahead of time with a detailed and organized approach.

Feras states that with a clear strategy and communication plan, employees of his company are involved at the early stage of strategic decisions and company’s yearly objectives. Employees are becoming partners of decisions instead of Task Achievers. Talents are compensated and accelerating their careers by giving them all the needed sponsorship to excel.

Overcoming the Volatility in the Markets Feras states that, he and his team firmly focuses on the ongoing as well as upcoming technology and the market needs to swiftly overcome any dilemmas. The company helps people to be agile and how to be more flexible in order to adapt to changes. It also build quarterly objectives at the management level and cascade them down to all teams and employees. He also addresses that the objective may or can

Into the Shoes of Leader Meet Feras El Hajjar, the Founder & Chairman of Infosysta, a company specialized in the Digital Transformation in EMEA and the Founder & CEO of App4Legal a company specialized in Legal Technology. With more than 18 years of multi-national experience in the Software industry including CRM, ERP & HRMS solutions, Feras proved himself as an expert in Information Systems. Being a Software Engineer with solid Management and leadership skills, graduated from Ecole ParisTech in 2002 & Paris Dauphine (Paris IX) in 2003, has earned years of experience in multi-national companies in Paris, Singapore, Dublin, Beirut, Riyadh, Cairo, & Dubai. This solid experience in the domain of Information Technology, with the most known solutions in the market, is the success key to building a sustainable two mature multi-national companies.

www.insightssuccess.com

Enjoy what you are doing every day. Focus on the positive side.

August 2020 | 23

change from a quarter to another and the dynamics of the market are the main drivers of the company’s objectives.

Eye-opener for Better Life Appraoch In 2012, Feras resigned from his job as an IT Director in a multi-national company in Paris to exercise his entrepreneurship skills and build his first company, Infosysta from Beirut to become in less than 6 years the leader in the Middle East in the Agile & Digital Transformation. Later, he launched a unique solution called App4Legal, helping lawyers and legal practitioners to resolve their daily issues with one complete solution to innovate their legal practice. In 2019, App4Legal became a leader in GCC and a major player worldwide recognized by Gartner as a Legal Technology leader.

move by small iterations to close milestone by milestone until one reach its goal. Also suggesting that one must accept the fact that every individual need to sacrifice some ‘less important’ activities while focusing on the ‘critical and high’ ones.

He also emphasizes on some of the attributes that every leader must posses. By quoting, “the Skill to stay macro and to go micro when needed are the ingredient of a successful CEO”, he states that Genuine Leadership is showing the way to others. An excellent communicator who can by a simple email or a meeting pitch gets actions into efficient executions.

He also put some light, on why is it necessary to be an organized person driven by objectives. As he states, an objective-driven organized person knows where to stop putting efforts and where to focus.

Advice to Rely On Feras believes in the word Focus. He advice that, one must

24 | August 2020

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26 | August 2020

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Better Approach

Build-On EdTech for a Better World

T

he education technology industry has even become important in this pandemic world.

The Edtech industry is providing education to every single student. The effective use of technology with education is building a culture where it has become accessible and effective for the students.

The digital platform for education supports both the teachers and the students. With the tools, the EdTech offers to build a community of learners is developing in society. For example, if a student has a doubt, being close with the platform solutions are shared immediately.

reaches the most remote locations of the world as well. It is the duty of the government to make available infrastructure facilities available everywhere in the country. So that 100% participation engagement is possible in all the areas of the world.

It is a platform where mentors, educators, guest speakers, hosts can serve their wisdom and experiences for the students. This also creates interest among the students when learning from a technological method which is the need of the hour.

Comparing it with the traditional way of teaching students cannot relate to the methods and the examples, as we have come a long way forward.

Finally, no matter how good the technology is, it is upon the humans to decide how good it is. The use of EdTech with a personal touch should be the goal of it.

No matter how good it is, if it lacks the human touch of teaching it will be of no use.

We should consider ourselves very lucky to be a part of this digital revolution where larger engagement of students can be involved. Already the lockdown has caused enough damage to the education world. Be it national or international, schools and universities are disturbed completely.

The Teaching method will see the revolution post covid with the EdTech ecosystem. The teachers have to review their old and conventional methods of teaching with innovative and technological tools. The EdTech will become more relevant because it matches the career aspirations of the students.

Today, there are a lot of platforms available for EdTech companies. The EdTech industry should always aim to reach every single student even the one who is far remote from the technology and build a network of education. The government will have to support this cause by building all the facilities required to make this dream come true. And, ensure all the children across the world reach their highest potential.

Thanks to the EdTech offerings of providing online education to continue teaching worldwide with customized learning and activities. Thinking from a global perspective it supports the sustainable literacy goals of increasing the literacy rate in the world.

Students also participate in higher amounts as it www.insightssuccess.com

August 2020 | 27

Gary Olson Protecting People and Businesses Through the Use of Artificial Intelligence.

A

rtificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming almost everything connected to human life, including employment, economy, communication, public safety, privacy, security, healthcare, etc.. To make the world a better place to live and save lives using AI, GT Digital Ltd., uses Cognitive Intelligence technology that connects the dots from accessible and available digital information to help identify potential threats and intention to prevent events that will protect lives and property.

GT Digital Ltd. is led by Gary Olson, Founder & CEO, a thought leader, technology designer and strategist in the media technology industry. Gary designed GT Digital’s flagship Artificial Intelligence solution MediaMaestro, the first technology that connects the dots by correlating video and data to uncover and prevent physical threats.

Firm Foundation As a serial entrepreneur, Gary started and operated several successful businesses. Each of these businesses focused on designing new technology solutions for the media production industry merging video with data. Gary has been on the forefront as the broadcast and production industry transitions to computer-based technology from proprietary technology.

Gary is one of the industry leaders and has been an evangelist in the convergence of video and data as media production and distribution moved to file based and IP technology. The 2nd Edition of his book "Planning and Designing the IP Broadcast Facility" was just released after the success of the First Edition.

The problem our first responders and public safety services face is preventing horrific and violent attacks on society. To address this challenge, Gary developed the concept to use artificial intelligence connecting the dots by correlating video and data from all available and accessible open sources. This idea was a natural outgrowth that brought together all his areas of knowledge and expertise.

30 | August 2020

Cutting-Edge Services According to the company, organizations in every industry are drowning in video and data. These organizations are all challenged by the overwhelming amount of data collected that appears in many formats and types coming from multiple sources. AI tools can help analyze this data and quickly provide information that allows analysts to discover solutions.

Gary states, no human can manage or process the overwhelming amount of digital information, including video, social media, online, sensors, and other sources being collected for research and security. There is a need for artificial intelligence technology to help identify strange behavior or announced intentions to commit crimes. GT Digital is the first AI technology that can analyze and correlate all this data to help professionals prevent violence and criminal intent. Using Artificial Intelligence to save lives and protect property is essential today.

What the Future Holds?

Gary knows that AI continues to evolve, and as the tools and technology improve, AI will be beneficial in all aspects of society and business services. As science continues to progress on quantum computing solutions, this will vastly improve the ability of AI technologies and expand some of the exact capabilities.

Giving Back to the World Gary states statistics show that over 75% of mass shootings are committed by people who spend a lot of energy announcing their intent long before they commit the act. It is time to save lives from these mass shootings and acts of domestic terrorism. He would like to see his technology help predict to prevent as many of these as possible.

Different Perspective on Technological Advancements Gary is fortunate that he was raised with an innate sense of curiosity and wonder. Continually excited about the www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

Gary Olson Founder & CEO

changes in technology he is also a bit of a pragmatist in its application.

He thrives on new challenges and loves figuring out new technology solutions or "inventing," a solution using components from typically disassociated sources or industries.

“Connecting the Dots - Predict to Prevent to Protect!”

Pave Your Own Way Gary believes leadership is team building. It’s crucial to any successful business to have full participation and support from your team. Find the right people and trust them. It’s more important to have smart people on your team than have them think you are the most intelligent person in the room. Another essential rule to remember is everyone has their style and way of doing things. Different is not wrong, just because it is not the way you would do it, as long as it gets the same result. Do not impose your way of doing things on others.

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean doing everything or knowing everything. It means surrounding yourself with a team that has the knowledge and skills that are not your strength. Not everyone is strong in business or is a financial expert, and sometimes a great technologist is a horrible manager. Hire others with the skills you lack and allow them to excel and trust them. Gary says, “If you can’t trust your team, you brought in the wrong people!”

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Karsten Boehrs

Revolutionizing Education and Communication through Simple Accessible Resources

Karsten Boehrs CEO & Co-investor

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echnological innovations take time to enter the growing market. For an entrepreneur, monitoring and providing the best user experience is a quest that can’t be achieved over night. Open conservations about setting goals and defining timelines for the product development, paves a creative way towards success.

Besides, learning, adapting, and improving are the keys for becoming a successful CEO of an organization.

One such agile personality, having a focused vision to achieve his goals is Karsten Boehrs. While helping his children in studies, Karsten realized that education and learning processes are continually witnessing changes. His son’s passion for gaining knowledge through online videos inspired Karsten tremendously. This advent of technology in the education sector and its rapid digital transformation motivated him to become a Co-investor and CEO of simpleshow.

Karsten started his career working in the logistics and sales industry. He has an excellent experience of working at management positions with various multinationals including Axel Springer and Otto Group for over two

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decades. Now, in his role at simpleshow his focus is on the strategic expansion of the company’s market position through internationalization and focused technology development.

About simpleshow simpleshow is the leading professional explainer video production with several thousands of videos produced in the global market. The company with its production team delivers services essential in creating videos and interactive eLearning courses for corporate customers in a variety of different styles and formats. With the mission to provide simple and effective explanations for everyone and anytime, the company is developing intelligent solutions for wide target groups, such as the online DIY video maker mysimpleshow.com mysimpleshow.com offers business and enterprise plans with premium features directed across all small-scale and large-scale companies. The intelligence behind the application includes text inputs running through a semantic analysis, a natural language processing stack, and an integrated world knowledge database to produce iconic

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The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

visuals. These are then arranged and animated by an intelligent layout algorithm resulting in a video, which the user can individualize, download, and share.

With over offices in ten countries, the company builds on a universal and scientifically proven methodology that blends simple messages with visuals that stay in mind. Under Karsten’s guidance all of the company’s offerings follow this approach, focusing on five fundamental elements: Context— An effective explanation ,looks at the topic from the target group’s perspective, providing a context the audience can refer to.

Simplification— An effective explanation focuses on the essentials. This entails reducing the topic to its core messages and simplifying the language.

As simple as possible, but as complex as necessary.

Storytelling— An effective explanation is embedded in a story, as stories help to create identification and are easy to remember.

Visualization— An effective explanation uses the power of visuals.

Multisensory— An effective explanation stimulated several senses.

A Visionary Leader Karsten’s love for the sports made him an enthusiastic cyclist as it combines all the qualities and values mandatory for understanding the roles of a CEO. He believes, the key enablers for his achievements are passion, perseverance, strategic thinking, smartly adapting with changes, constant learning and improvement. With the vision that the people are the most valuable resources of a company he states “I always try and develop my corporate family to be the best they can be”.

An example of his leadership style that focuses on empowering others, Karsten recalled a meeting in New York, where he was really impressed meeting a young freelance creative writer. He kept supporting him throughout the years that made the writer a confident and a trusted decision-maker. Today the former concept writer coleads the company’s 50 people operations in the US. Besides, leading and nurturing a smart and loyal team, he states “We have so much potential to seize opportunities, tackle challenges, and grow our business”.

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Under the leadership of Karsten, his team has created an online browser-based tool ‘mysimpleshow’. This tool allows its users to create their own simple explainer videos, transforming the way people communicate. The company has integrated AI into this tool, which is referred to as its ‘Explainer Engine’.

Karsten’s entrepreneurial vision is to change the world for the better. With simpleshow his idea is to revolutionize communication and learning through simple and accessible resources.

Catalyzing the Market Change Karsten’s idea of creating learning and communication resources is changing day-by-day with the growing digitalization. simpleshow is investing time and resources into creating amazing tools, products, and content resources to catalyze to this evolving change. They are constantly improving mysimpleshow.com as a software product and establishing brand awareness to be the go-to DIY explainer video creation tool.

Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs Karsten’s advice to new-age entrepreneurs is to stay focused. Defining the goals with agility will help them to achieve milestones. In addition to produce a business model, he adds, “Decide how your product and methodology will stand out from your competitors and make those distinctions your unique selling points”.

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Industry Today

The Impacts of Pandemic in Pharma and Biotech Laboratory

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he Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was and is a world-changing event that has touched the lives of everyone on the planet, but on a positive note, it was an accelerant of technology and has forced companies to innovate. Companies that can do it better, faster, cheaper, more efficient, and have more creative approaches to problem solving will leapfrog to the forefront of the industry. We will see more of a focus to develop and implement technology that can deliver transparent, secure, and reliable data sharing remotely.

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the industry rapidly responded with efforts put into place to effectively protect patient safety in their trials. Across the world, clinical trials answering important healthcare questions were stopped, or temporarily paused to possibly restart later, some with important modifications.

Pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations greatly felt the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the clinical trial life cycle and began to incorporate remote ways of working to mitigate disruption. Over the last decade, regulators have been advocating for greater use of technology, virtual trials, and SMART trial designs. In the era of COVID-19, ongoing studies were now faced with new challenges like site closures, quarantines and limited access to study documents. As a result, clinical study teams are now relying heavily on remote monitoring and a more secure means of document sharing in order to meet clinical study timelines.

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As a laboratory solution developer for the Pharma and Biotech industry, it's important to highlight this background as an important framework which provides a basis for the direct impact of the COVID-19 era on the bioanalytical business today as well as providing insight of what the lab of the future needs to become. For example, direct impact for the laboratory when pharma companies moving toward more efficient SMART clinical trial adaptive designs, which allows for the continual modification of the trial based on interim data, is that in in addition to help in shortening development time, such designs may reduce the total sample size needed thereby reducing the number of samples that would need to be analyzed by the laboratory. So, in a business very much driven by the number of samples to be analyzed, when trials are delayed or producing much less samples, labs have to pivot more towards a focus on other activities such as the emerging market for biomarkers in order to fill the void from lost sample count to analysis types that would generate the same revenue.

In addition to evaluating different business strategies, labs need to be able to have access to information technology to be able to manage operations more efficiently including managing all processes remotely. In order to be effective, everyone needs to be well versed and comfortable using this technology. Use of disconnected spreadsheets or non-database sources are

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no longer a viable option because they are problematic for real time sharing of information.

Despite the significant investment that pharma has made in technology, the #1 problem still facing the scientist today is “Finding data when I need it”.

Historically, technology has focused on just replacing the existing paper process with electronic counterpart. We must ask ourselves, are we going to continue to build tools to support existing business models and existing ways of working or should we begin to think about tools to reinvent the way we do business?

Labs have now learned that they can and must work remotely for many tasks without significant impact on performance. Roles relating to project management particularly fit this new paradigm very well but only if the tools to do so are in place and folks are comfortable with using them. The upside is improved quality of life for sta ffwho can significantly reduce commute time, stress and costs. Time gained can be re-invested into actual work for clients and conducting more science. For the laboratory operations sta ffwho are typically required to be on-site as “essential” lab personnel, in addition to adhering to typical lab safety requirements, new pandemic related items such as spatial distancing, masks etc have been included. Lab space available was the key driver to ensure this was achieved. But what we have learned is labs can actually reallocate space previously used by project management and other remote sta ffand even reduce their fixed costs on building office space etc needed by giving folks who can work remotely the tools and training to do so. Acting on both these learnings will only become more important depending on how long this pandemic lasts, and also as proactive preparedness for the next one. Perhaps we should already be building for this next phase? If non-essential folks can mostly work

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from home, how can we reduce the need for “essential” lab sta ffto work on site? Is the lab of the future one which places much less burden on needing so many scientists to be on site and instead leverages integrated operational robotics, machine learning and remote control of these laboratory systems?

Tools that enable a flexible business model, are cost effective, and allow for remote access will be in high demand moving forward and will allow us to get beyond just managing data more efficiently. This allows us the opportunity to start doing interesting things with that data. Technologies that facilitated the ability to do this have been brought to the forefront in lieu of the more typical investments of continually just adding more people and more instruments.

As virtual and remote working prove to be sustainable methods of laboratory operations, it is unlikely early adopters will revert back to the more laborious and timeconsuming methods involved in the previous, highcontact model. Consequently, companies will require comprehensive platforms that address their changing unmet needs and evolve their expectations of what an integrated ecosystem can provide. Having a good understanding of how much work is taking place digitally will accelerate the technology enabled remote work. At Metrendalytics, we have always recognized the value of online work situation and had the infrastructure in place to do so, therefore our operations did not skip a beat during these pandemic times.

While the new normal is still unfolding, it is becoming increasing clear that the future will be anything but normal. We will begin to see more decentralization, technology, and the need to make important decisions not at the office. It is always important to remember that during these times of disruption, uncertainty and challenge, those who can reinvent themselves and move forward will open a gateway to an abundance of opportunities.

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An Excellent Dedicated Professional ith more than 80 successful implementations and a highly qualified team with more than 20 years of experience leading the most challenging projects in the country, Software and Services Consulting SRL is positioned as the number one partner in Paraguay of SAP Business One. Confidence, Clarity and Constant Accompaniment are some of the terms used by its clients to describe what SSC means to them because in each step the company takes together, as a team, it looks for ways to help its clients strengthen their projects and evolve sustainably, what today makes it differentiate the company from the competition. One such highly qualified team member is Katherine Colombino – Chief Executive Officer with a very clear objective to pull all its energies towards a single focus: Customer satisfaction.

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consultant in Sales, Implementation, Development, Training, and Support of SAP systems, also holds a Degree in Systems Analysis, Post-degrees in University Didactics and English Teaching Staff. With extensive experience in the area of management of Work Teams, Katherine holds various positions of Headquarters for more than two decades. Before the opening of SSC SRL, for 4 years, she was in charge of the Business Unit of SAP Business One in Infocenter S.A., a Paraguayan partner of SAP and an IT company with an exemplary track record in the national market and with more than 20 consultants in different areas.

It is also an SAP Certified Consultant “FI” and “MM”. She has developed from Market plans, sales, personal motivation policies among others within the unit and contributed progress towards the project goal.

Strong Knowledge of Business Katherine completed her education from Asuncion Polytechnic Faculty and the National University of Asuncion. She joined Consulmatica SRL as Systems Development Manager. After 5 years in that position and having put the system on the market with great success, Katherine held the position of Support Manager for more than 6 years, so her orientation was customer satisfaction.

She has incorporated more than 50% of clients as Sales Manager at Infocenter S.A. actively, she had collaborated with marketing campaigns and events for SAP development, conflict resolution, in addition, to support tasks of definition and development of solutions to specific problems of the client, always having as focus, excellence in attention to the customer.

Millennial Paradigm Being informed is essential, and knowledge is necessary to understand the great changes that are already there and which SSC faces. Just as it happened with the millennial paradigm, telework, etc. that break into the lives without asking permission. The company has to be in constant change to adapt easily. It works nowadays exclusively with SAP BUSINESS ONE Systems, and everything that involves development, deploying, licenses sales, support.

Teaching how to work, how to confront difficulties, skills that one was learning in her career through the years and the example itself are her strategies that she tries to make everyone imitate to the best of their ability. The company also participated continuously in training courses and interpersonal skills.

A Glimpse into Katherine’s Journey Currently, Katherine Colombino is the CEO of SSC Software & Services Consulting SRL. She is a specialized 40 | August 2020

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The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

Katherine Colombino Chief Executive Officer

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Any company must-have technology, without technology, the company is going to die. We are in the era of Technology. You can choose, you are in, or you are out. But that decision will mark the future of your business.

Strength and Commitment Katherine Colombino had a car accident, with her father, at the age of 8 years. The diagnosis was a paralysis in her legs due to a spinal injury. Although she has to move with wheelchairs, she had all the same capabilities as any person.

That incident made her stronger, and with a great capacity to adapt to difficult situations, she also developed her best in several areas. They have to be strong because leadership must be something that others have to feel about you. Many times all is not given by knowledge, but the strength of your heart and your commitment is transmitted by your voice, your gestures, your life.

“Inspire the ordinary to become extraordinary. Be resilient.

Set goals and motivate continuously to achieve. Encourage feedback without judgment. Hire people who align with your culture and aligned with the goals of the company. Put the right person in the right role. Get to know your team.

Empower employees to unlock their ‘zone of genius.

‘Remember that leading is an inside job”, says Katherine.

Optimizing Processes in Time Software and Services Consulting wants its clients to recognize them as strategic partners to accompany them in 42 | August 2020

The limitations in life are not given by your physical or situation itself, they are given by you, if your mind changes, your world too. their growth and expansion processes. The company is highly competent professionals, motivated and aligned with an internal knowledge management policy and the development of human capital. It provides commercially attractive solutions that respond to the real needs of the customers. Collaborate with the country, generating highly qualified professionals. Reach the sources (universities, colleges, companies) and provide their training services.

Education does the country well, produces citizens aware of their duties and obligations. And above all, first-rate professionals, without discrimination, “exportable” to any first world country.

SSC’s greatest value is customer satisfaction, honesty, the obligation to be the best in the area it chooses, the company’s commitment to the present and the future of keeping up to date with the technological areas and providing first-level knowledge and services. www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

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Advancing Business Practices with Digital Identity

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riven, persistent, optimistic, a multi-tasker while at the same time listening to and being unafraid to ask for help” says Rob Leslie. For Rob, these are the vital attributes of a leader. He adds being a leader can be a very lonely place. However, he opines “the benefits far outweigh everything else. There is no better feeling in the world than taking an idea and seeing it blossom into a successful, vibrant, profitable business.”

Rob is the CEO and founder of Sedicii, a federated, global identity verification network which enables real-time identity verification. In 2018, Sedicii won the BBVA Open Talent / Fintech Award and it was commented that “Sedicii has the greatest possibility of transforming the financial sector in the next 10 years”. As a visionary leader, Rob wants to see this become a reality together with having enriched the lives of all his company's employees by leaving a healthy, profitable company before moving onto his next challenge!!

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Rob Leslie: Describe your background and what did you do before you started, or came into this business?

I am an Electronic Engineer by profession having graduated from Dublin City University (DCU) in Ireland in the 1980's. I'm a serial entrepreneur – Sedicii being my seventh (7th) start-up company. Prior to Sedicii I was co-founder of Kyckr which was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2016. In my earlier professional life I worked in Japan for 20 years before returning to Ireland where I am currently based. While in Japan I was part of the initial management team in Dell Japan that established and grew www.insightssuccess.com

the business there to almost 300 employees and $300M turnover in its first four years. It is now a billion-dollar business. I was also a partner in a Japanese computer services company called PTS which was acquired in 2000 by a Singaporean firm as part of their entry into the Japanese market.

Describe your company and its cutting-edge services which address all the needs of your customers.

Sedicii is developing a platform to manage digital identity.

We develop software as a service for KYC, AML and for the identification and authentication of people, vehicles, products and other physical and virtual goods using our unique, patented ZKP (Zero Knowledge Proof) protocol.

Sedicii is creating a federated, global identity verification network which enables real-time identity verification by certified, trusted identity providers (governments, banks, telco's, utilities), ensuring that businesses can react quickly to new government, regulatory and industry demands for real-time identity verification, authentication and trust services. Included in our identity network are products including authentication software, a KYC and Customer Onboarding solution and a Collaborative AML Monitoring Platform which we believe is unique in the world as it assesses both sides of a payment for AML risk compliance.

What strategies do you undertake to make your employees resourceful?

Sedicii is currently a small team of 15. We have an allinclusive strategy holding weekly meetings with the team which are multi-locational in Belgium, United Kingdom, the Canary Island of Tenerife and our headquarters in Waterford in the south-east of Ireland. This is a high-level meeting where everyone is encouraged, and dare I say, August 2020 | 45

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Never lose your

makes the achievement all the more rewarding. Add to this the fact that Sedicii has consistently won – year on year – varying technology awards which now number over 20.

vision and always

What advice would you like to give to the emerging entrepreneurs?

Be prepared to listen to advice. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Refine your thoughts and have good sounding boards from trusted advisors. Be prepared for good times and challenging times before you succeed – never give up on your vision and believe in yourself. Be realistic in terms of what one person can achieve. Persist. Persevere.

believe in yourself. expected to participate. Ideas are bounced and expanded upon and the team feel empowered and an integral part of Sedicii. I believe that the success of a company is dependent upon its people and I encourage everyone to share their ideas which in turn drive them to be resourceful.

There's nothing like a feeling of being valued and listened to, no matter your role in a company, to spur you on to do better and go the extra mile in my opinion.

What is your greatest life achievement?

The pinnacle of my professional life to date would certainly be the accolade of being named a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer and speaking at Davos; the only software company in Ireland to be afforded this accolade 46 | August 2020

How do you sustain your entrepreneurial spirit in this changing technological era?

A person's sustainability is a positive attribute rather than something to be tolerated. Technology is an integral part of our day-to-day lives, like it or not, it's here to stay. I've been described as a glass half-full person and believe in technology and embracing it for the betterment (rather than the detriment) of everyone. I see our technology as a way and means to preserve a person's fundamental right to privacy whilst, at the same time, the absolute need to ensure that fraud and criminality can be tackled through better compliance and always up-to-date identity records. This is for the benefit of the world economy and the protection of all of us.

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Shanaz Ramzi Chief Executive Officer

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The 20 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

Shanaz Ramzi Bringing Perfection in PR and Event Management

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n an interview with Insights Success, Shanaz Ramzi—Chief Executive Officer of StarLinks emphasizes on her impeccable journey of gaining a successful stature in current hectic markets. Her unique ideologies and methods assisted in achieving many milestones in her pathway.

different parts of the world, which have helped StarLinks to do PR for events in Dubai, London, Houston, Toronto and Colombo.

Increasing Efficiency

Shanaz started her career as a freelance journalist in 1994 and wrote prolifically for various publications, both local and international, including for their leading English newspaper Dawn. In 2004, she was hired as Head of PR and Publications by an upcoming television network, HUM, and while continuing her writing, she joined the organization as one of the founding team members. She stood with them for eleven years, finally resigning in November 2015 from her position as GM PR and Publications to start her own PR and event management company called StarLinks.

Shanaz and her team holds daily meetings to discuss the progress of projects/clients on hand and to brainstorm for future endeavors. She states that daily targets are set by the entire team and end of the day reports is to be submitted so there is clarity in how much each has succeeded in meeting their targets. An increment system has also been put in place based on the employee’s productivity, pro-activeness, resourcefulness and creativity which works wonders to motivate the team to put in their best. Further she adds that a fixed commission is also given to those employees that bring in new clients or projects.

A brief on StarLinks

Her traits led Impeccable Achievements

StarLinks PR and Events is basically a PR and event management company that has a strong CSR component as well. While the company offers pro bono services for various charitable institutions, she and her team also try to involve the company’s clients in CSR activities to enable them to give back to their country. They believe in going the extra mile for all their clients and have fast developed the reputation of under-committing and overdelivering. Company’s small team of 12 people works dedicatedly through its head office in Karachi, while it has linkages in other cities of Pakistan as well, as in

Shanaz strongly feels that every leader, and particularly one in the PR business, should and must have a cool head, tons of patience, and the ability to listen, as well as delegate. Through quoting, “A good leader is one who is accessible at all times, and who inspires confidence and respect,” Shanaz implies that the leader should be handson and know their work thoroughly, so that they can’t be hoodwinked.

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Moreover, she also mentions some of her achievements, yet she often wondered what she considered as her

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“My parting words -- Never fear competition; help others to succeed, forge partnerships, and success will be yours.”

five foreign students, and over 250 local participants taking part in the conference, which provided boarding and lodging to all the foreigners, as well as to over 60 local delegates in the interior of Sindh – in custom-made, eco-friendly resorts – as well as in Karachi, the most challenging part of the event was not the logistics or the conference itself, but the fact that the president of Pakistan and his entourage attended the opening day. The nightmare of meeting the protocol requirements and security measures made everything else pale into insignificance, but the fact that the company managed to pull it off to rave reviews by one and all, was a feat they are all very proud of.

An advice for Triumph in Tech-oriented World

greatest life achievement – her marriage of forty years to her childhood sweetheart; her two beautiful children; her book, Food Prints published by OUP, the first of its kind in Pakistan; or her two international awards received soon after establishing her company for Start-up of the Year, and Best CEO of the World. She states, perhaps, in retrospect, in a post Covid-19 world it is simply staying healthy and being in touch with her childhood friends all across the globe digitally.

Having said that, she would like to add here that there are two projects that she considers her greatest work achievement to date, which she would like to specifically mention. The first is the launch of the biggest mall in South Asia, LuckyOne Mall, which she and her team were entrusted with in the very first year of her company’s existence. It was humbling enough that the company landed the mammoth project in the face of stiff, and far more experienced competition, but what was even more over-whelming was that it landed up extending its launch activities from three days to thirteen full days, with her team staying at the mall day and night, in order to ensure footfall, for most important shops had not opened up on time.

Shanaz finds her work extremely challenging and the times we live in constantly evolving, and feels one must be grateful to this ever-changing technological era. She states that she is learning something new from her young colleagues daily, and while there is the occasional time when she misses the way it used to be, by and large she is grateful for the changes for it does make connectivity, gathering information, keeping records and so much more, a lot easier and quicker. One has to learn to move with the times, and rather than being daunted by the head-spinning technology, she find it exhilarating and exciting.

She also states the fact that there are many emerging entrepreneurs in their industry as it has been growing rapidly this past decade, but many of them are oneperson shows with no overheads, no legal standing, and are not registered as taxpayers. Her advice to all these youngsters is that there are no short cuts in life – if they want to truly succeed and make their mark, they need to go about it the right away, even if it means making a substantial investment into their business.

She also states that the second project was a three-day international conference for INTBAU Pakistan— International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism – that she and her team carried out last November. With 30 foreign delegates, 50 | August 2020

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