The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch 2021

Vol 03 | Issue 07 | 2021

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Women's World Through Thick and Thin

BARBARA PALDUS A Detail-Oriented Leader Who Can Brighten Any Space

The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Editor’s Desk Leadership at your Service!

L

eadership works on the collective strengths of an organization’s people by empowering everyone, and taking ownership of their growth in the company. It is a collaborative process that isn’t given to you, it is something that you must earn. It opens up the door for opportunities in the industry and allows to take the road to success.

The current pandemic has put the business leaders in a difficult position, but it is through their skills they are serving the people in these tough times as well. From a businesswomen’s perspective, the industry has been extremely challenging and sets very high expectations for women. Finding a balance between personal life, family and work have become extremely important for them. And, there is no other way than to deal with it daily.

Thus, for businesswomen only hard work won’t get them anywhere, getting creative is the ultimate survival tool in the business. That can be achieved by working with flexibility and a smart working environment. The job they do should ultimately give them satisfaction and should be totally worth it. They expect to work and plan accordingly for such smart work.

While technology has made things a little less complicated, businesswomen have adapted according to the working ways of it. It has its challenges but learning and understanding the innovation is the hour of the need. Valuing team’s thoughts, ideas, and opinions is equally important. Above, all the main goal is to inspire the team. It is better to make mistakes early on so that you learn, as they say biggest lessons are learnt from our own mistakes. Lastly, it allows rooms to learn and grow continuously.

Businesswomen today are going the extra mile beyond the traditional ways of leading with all these innovative ideas. They are brave enough to take the step forward of leadership.

Hence, acknowledging the contributions of all such businesswomen leaders Insights Success has come up with its upcoming edition of The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021. Featuring on the Cover Story of this edition is Barbara Paldus – CEO at Codex Beauty. Barbara and her team are bringing fundamental changes to the beauty industry.

Barbara overcomes being told that as a Ph.D. woman could never lead a company as a CEO, raise venture capital, or build an enterprise. She discovered that many practices in the skincare industry do not yield the most potent ingredients, or do not follow the quality practices of regulated industries. Her goal as a leader is to help her organization grow despite the pandemic and leverage the change in US leadership that has brought science back!

Along with Barbara, there are more exciting journeys of businesswomen, in this edition. So, while you read about their stories, keep yourself updated by reading CXO standpoints by the industrial experts and also the creative articles written by the in-house editorial team.

Have a satisfying read!

Hitesh Dhamani hitesh@insightssuccess.com

CONTENTS

10

Barbara Paldus

Cover Story

A Detail-Oriented Leader Who Can Brighten Any Space

48

32

CXO

Article

Leader’s Viewpoint Virtual Classes Becoming New Normal

Women's World Through Thick and Thin

20

28

24

Amanda Brock

Dawn Kane

Denise Crossley

Dedicated to Drive Businesses With Open Source Technology

Igniting Success for Franchising Businesses

Adding a More Human Touch to Debt Recovery

36

40

44

Julianna Yau

Julie Fergerson

Mary Senkowska

Helping Students to Accomplish Their Goals

Making a Difference in eCommerce

Redefining Approach to Career Development of Youths

52

56

60

Monica Boudreau

Ruth Darby

Building Growth Marketing Strategies for Brands

A Multirole Leader With Extensive Work Experience

Shannon Shoemaker

Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor

Assistant Editors

Rohit Chaturvedi

Jenny Fernandes Sourabh More

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

David King

Asha Bange

Kartik Balapurkar

Co-designer Kushagra Gupta

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Martin, Aditya, Dharmendra

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Sagar, Binay

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 March, 2021

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Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

2 BusinessWomen Most Successful To Watch

2021

Featured Person

Company Name

Brief

Amanda brock CEO

OpenUK openuk.uk

OpenUK is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. It harnesses the power of collaboration around Open Technology being open source software, open source hardware and open data, in the UK.

Barbara Paldus CEO

Codex codexbeauty.com

Codex is a biotech company grounded in science, dedicated to supporting the microbiome, and pioneering products having clinically proven, meaningful skincare benefits.

Beverly Plost CEO

BLP Marketing LLC blpmarketing.com

BLP Marketing LLC is a business management, market research, business development, product management, and strategic marketing consulting firm. Focusing on medical technology, medical device, diagnostic imaging, capital equipment, surgical, and dental.

Dawn Kane CEO

Hot Dish Advertising hotdishad.com

Hot Dish Advertising is a full-service advertising agency that can do anything one brand needs to stand out in the crowd.

Denise Crossley CEO

Lantern lanternuk.com

Lantern is an award winning Debt Purchaser operating for the past 13 years, working with lenders to acquire and manage customers identified as experiencing financial difficulty & vulnerability.

Joan Gregor CEO

Intersection-Inc intersection-inc.com

Intersection works with GE Healthcare, Innovative Office and UCSD Design Lab to improve the beauty, comfort and function of lives.

Julianna Yau Founder and Director

Ampla ampla-edu.com

Ampla is a premium education services provider based in Hong Kong, with tutors experienced in local and overseas education systems.

Merchant Risk Council Merchantriskcouncil.org

The MRC is the leading global trade association for eCommerce fraud and payments professionals to learn, collaborate, and share information.

Kathryn McLay CEO

Sam's Club samsclub.com

Sam’s Club (NYSE: WMT) is a warehouse club with 597 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Kathy Spahn President and CEO

Helen Keller International hki.org

Helen Keller, our co-founder, envisioned a world without barriers to human potential. Guided by her fierce optimism, we have been working on the front lines of health and well-being for more than 100 years.

Julie Fergerson CEO

Featured Person

Company Name

Brief

Marilyn Bruno CEO

AEQUOR, Inc. aequorinc.com

Aequor offers a large portfolio of non-toxic, “green,” ecofriendly, and sustainable chemicals — dispersants, cleaning and freshening agents and antibiofilm, antifouling, and antimicrobial agents — and proprietary “green” products containing them.

Mary Senkowska CEO

My Creative Brain Mycreativebrain.eu

My Creative Brain is committed to equalising access to opportunities to entry- & mid-level professionals forgotten by privilege. It helps professionals discover and live their purpose using it as fuel to live their best live.

Monica Boudreau Founder

posh media posh-media.ca

posh media is a boutique marketing firm that designs strategic solutions for courageous brands. It works in partnership with community leaders in both the Maritimes and our Nation’s Capital Region to create powerful experiences.

Nicole LaPointe Jameson CEO

Evil Geniuses evilgeniuses.gg

Evil Geniuses, one of the oldest and most recognizable brands in professional gaming, was founded 20 years ago on the belief that passion, commitment and innovation could transform a beloved interest into a global phenomenon.

Nicole Paolozzi Founder & CEO

OndeCare ondecare.com

OndeCare is reinventing in-home care around today's busy families. Providing care for all loved ones and all schedules while generating worthwhile jobs to local care, safety, and education professionals.

Rachel Fletcher CEO & Co-Founder

Ofwat ofwat.gov.uk

Ofwat’s role is to help the sector build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society.

Rose Fernandez CEO

ALGENIST algenist.com

Algenist uncovers the limitless potential of Algae, known to thrive in the harshest environments of the planet, to offer visible skin transformation in 10 days.

Ruth Darby,

Keyser keyser.com

Keyser is a world-class commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents companies of office, industrial, retail, medical, education, and non-profit space helping them with all types of real estate matters including lease renewals, relocations, build-to-suits, acquisitions and dispositions.

Shannon Shoemaker Vice President

Cisive cisive.com

Cisive is a global provider of compliance-driven human capital management and risk management solutions.

Wanda Reder CEO

Grid-X Partners, LLC gridxpartners.com

A women-owned management consulting firm created to assist utilities, communities and regulators with their complex energy challenges.

Barbara Paldus, CEO, Codex Beauty Labs

COVER STORY

Barbara Paldus

A Detail-oriented Leader Who Can Brighten Any Space

“

While ingenuity and charm have their place, nothing replaces consistent hard work and brutal honesty.

“

S

ome people say, being an entrepreneur is risky and difficult. You need to have a degree of insanity to do it. And in some cases, it is a matter of necessity to solve problems that others refuse to acknowledge exist. To Barbara Paldus - CEO at Codex Beauty being a leader is a matter of will.

Barbara quotes on leadership, “It is not for the faint of heart. Know thyself and ask – I am truly up for this? “We must become the change we want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi”

As a little girl, Barbara was a huge fan of Marie Curie. To her, she was a symbol of brilliance, passion, science, and self-sacrifice. Her father is also an enormous influence. He is a quantum chemist, professor, and researcher. He taught her to rely on data rather than storytelling, to find answers with measurements, not guesses, and to be honest about failures – not everything is meant to work.

An Interview conducted between Insights Success and Barbara Paldus is truly up for frequent challenges around every corner. Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief our readers about your leadership position at Codex Beauty.

I am CEO and founder of Codex Beauty and we are bringing fundamental changes to the beauty industry. I started Codex Beauty in 2018, with a mission to bring data, science, and transparency to skincare. The “clean” movement has all but destroyed science.

I discovered that many practices in the skincare industry do not yield the most potent ingredients, or do not follow the quality practices of regulated industries. Plant-based ingredients hold so much potential, but the extraction techniques, stabilizing methods, delivery systems, and analytical tools are not on the same level as biotechnology.

We can leverage biotech fermentation to produce concentrated ingredients in a highly sustainable way.

COVER STORY My goal as a leader is to help my organization grow despite the pandemic and leverage the change in US leadership that has brought science back!

What were the challenges you came across prior launching the organization in 2018?

Codex Beauty is my third startup. Prior to launching Codex Beauty and Sekhmet Ventures, I spent two decades leading innovation in spectroscopy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. By 34, I had founded two Silicon Valley companies that, among many breakthroughs, paved the way for carbon cycle/natural gas pipeline monitoring, and accessible vaccine/cancer therapeutic manufacturing.

Some of the challenges that I came across prior to launching Codex Beauty include: I have overcome being told that as a Ph.D. woman I could never lead a company as a CEO, raise venture capital or build an enterprise that didn’t manufacture in China. Ÿ I have had larger competitors disparage my start-ups as non-viable entities in front of key customers, and supply chains cut off by partners. Ÿ I have been in situations where my company had less than six weeks of cash, where we had frivolous legal threats or distributors try to cut us out of the market.

And despite this, every time, we found a workaround.

Ÿ

My biggest challenge in launching Codex Beauty in 2018 was that I was new to the industry, and finding experienced sales and marketing executives, who could handle Silicon Valley culture and were technology-oriented, took a long time.

Being an experienced business leader, what is your opinion regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Cosmetics Industry? And how has Codex Beauty managed to overcome this significant challenge?

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt in three areas of the beauty business: 1. Sales – many retailers have been closing doors or shuttering, leaving smaller companies with only on-line distribution. With large companies also switching to on-line sales, social media advertising costs have skyrocketed, adding to the financial pressure; 2. Capital – venture capitalists have used this opportunity to become more selective and lower valuations as the supply of cosmetics startups has exceeded demand; 3. Supply chain – shortages of ingredients and packaging, warehouses shutting during local lockdowns, and limited

transportation options have all hampered scale-up and general operations.

Our biggest challenge this year has been COVID and maintaining our new product development and clinical testing plans, as test facilities had long shutdowns with countries going into lockdown. Most of us already worked from home prior to the pandemic, so the only change we had to make was to create the safety shifts at our Irish soap making facility.

What is your thought on the necessity of a positive work culture? In what ways do you implement it at your organization?

A positive work culture enables people not only to believe in the company mission and vision but pursue it with passion and determination. It is a culture that allows people to grow, acquire new skills, and be challenged, yet feel supported to succeed and be inspired. It is a culture where when people fail, they feel that they will be given another chance because risk-taking is rewarded, not punished.

People feel free to be themselves and have flexibility in their work hours and spaces.

I have implemented three guiding principles: Ÿ Focus on solving problems. Sometimes, you have the break it down to bite-size chunks. Ÿ Treat people right. Every human, irrespective of age, race, orientation, or beliefs deserves respect. People are smarter than you think. What you put in is what you get out. Ÿ Do the right thing. It’s the hardest path, but the only way to keep the trust, ethics, and integrity of your team intact.

What Truth everyone needs to know about natural beauty with organic, vegan ingredients, and plant-based preservatives?

The truth is that the answer is in fact very complex, and there is no trite “soundbyte” that is a realistic answer.

Natural beauty isn’t everything that “clean” companies say, and there is nothing wrong with synthetic ingredients, that can outperform organics. Not all-natural products are pure (oftentimes organic ingredients aren’t even tested properly by suppliers for contaminants such as heavy metals), and organic products (such as essential oils) can be more unfriendly to sensitive skin than well-characterized chemical ingredients. Plant-based ingredients can lead to unsustainable supply chains that harm the environment, just like poorly managed mass-production of certain chemicals can lead to pollution.

Conversely, there is a belief by traditional brands that organic, vegan products aren’t effective. This is not true

either, which is why at Codex Beauty, we perform clinical testing and report the performance achieved. In the end, *all* cosmetics companies should provide more data to the consumer: safety testing, quantiproduct performance, and an unedited ingredients list. Without this data, consumers will remain confused and frustrated.

What is your vision for the company for the next five years?

In the next year, I want to provide affordable acne solutions based on our ingredient platforms and in March we are launching a collection to combat inflammation that leads to premature aging and loss of collagen.

And plant-based preservatives do work just as well as traditional preservatives.

In two to three years, I want to have solutions for antiaging, as well as innovative solutions for psoriasis, eczema, SPF, and after-sun care. Codex Beauty will go deeper into biotech for real solutions at affordable prices. I also want to go back to partnering with the right companies to create next generation skin measurements systems.

In what ways have you or Codex Beauty contributed to the community?

I am deeply concerned about climate change and biodiversity, which include indigenous peoples. I would love to inspire a movement of reduced consumption. This goes counter to being an entrepreneur where growth is everything but is necessary to save our planet. We consume too much junk, and we produce too much garbage. We are not meeting our carbon emissions goals and we are killing plant and animal species at a ferocious rate. We need to create more mindful consumers. Being in skincare, we promote minimalist routines – you only use what you need to keep your skin healthy and no more. And you recycle your packaging.

Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of women empowerment?

I have built a team that is 75% female, where senior executive leadership is 80% female, and where we have diversity. Our goal is to mentor and train the next generation of executives at Codex Beauty.

As a venture capitalist, I have funded and continue to fund female-founded and female-led startups. These make up 60% of my portfolio. Many of the current start-ups have young founders who need a mentor or advisor, so I spend a lot of my time teaching.

I also donate to organizations that allow underprivileged women to enter STEM and give STEM lectures at high schools when needed.

What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you?

I will be forever grateful to Robert Halperin (“Bob”), who was the President of Raychem Corporation. Bob not only funded my first company (Picarro), but he helped secure additional venture capital. He was my mentor for many years. He taught me the fundamentals of business, how to be a leader, and allowed me to take risks. He also made me swear that one day when I was successful, I would in turn help and mentor others. And that is what I live by today.

On the sustainability side, I want to support projects that provide plant-based solutions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, help clear ocean plastic, and provide opportunities to indigenous people around the world. To this end, we want to convert from glass to sugarcane plastic packaging for all products by 2022, create a recycling program for our plastic tubes by 2022, and create a royalty program for indigenous people in areas where we source our plant actives.

& & 20 The

Most

SUCCESSFUL

BUSINESSWOMEN to Watch, 2020

kimberly Khoury

Paving her Way in Sustainability Development

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www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Amanda Brock Dedicated to Drive Businesses With Open Source Technology

A

manda Brock is the CEO of OpenUK, a not-forprofit company which advocates for Open Technology being open-source software, opensource hardware and open data, “Open” in and for business communities across the UK. Amanda was introduced to open source when she joined the company Canonical, which is based in London and one of the world’s biggest and best-known open-source companies. She realized that she belonged in the opensource community of users and businesspeople, and really engaged in the open source way of working and running organizations.

In an interview with Insights Success, Amanda Brock shared her view on impactful leadership, merits of open technology, and why OpenUK is the global leader in it.

Below are highlights of the interview: What makes your organization a preferred choice of your clients over the competition?

There is no competition to OpenUK as we are a unique organization. We are the UK industry body for Open Technology, and an advocacy organization. Open Technology is open-source software, open hardware and open data, and the first organization I am aware of looking across all three areas.

We work on three pillars: Community, Legal and Policy and Learning. This approach has the goal of developing UK leadership in these areas and we bring together the enormous community of people working in and around Open Technology in the UK. There are hundreds of thousands of these people, some working for UK companies and many more working with international organizations, that make up that Community. We kicked off 2021 with our very own Honours List, celebrating 100 of the UK’s leaders https://openuk.uk/aboutwww.insightssuccess.com

us/2021honourslist. The UK is really a center of excellence in this space, and we should blow our own trumpet a bit more.

What is your idea of impactful leadership? What style of leadership do you personally prefer and have implemented at your company?

Leadership is a big deal to me. To my mind, if you are brave enough to step forward, you take on a big obligation.

If you are going to be a successful leader, people have to want to follow you.

That for me requires a mix of integrity and fun. OpenUK is largely a volunteer-driven organization, including the Leadership team. If things are tense or unnecessarily difficult, they are not going to keep on volunteering, so creating an environment that makes people want to participate is crucial. They have to feel that they are making a difference, and that their time is being well-spent.

I very much believe in trying to be authentic, to try to share the journey with others, and to ensure that the people who have done all the work get credit for their results. We offer our volunteers various training and personal development opportunities as part of the reward for their time and I think that giving back to people and supporting their journeys too is crucial.

Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving Open UK to sustain operations accordingly?

We have existed as a company and not for profit organization since 2018. Last year, when I became CEO, was our first real year of generating revenue. The pandemic meant that we had to keep adapting and pivoting our activities to evolve in the new world we are all living in for the time being.

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“

We believe in open technology and its continued impact in changing the world.

“

I experienced a level of sexism, much of which was institutional or unconscious. I’m pretty determined and I can be quite direct. While those character traits can be admired in men, those same qualities can be frowned upon in women. As we run up to International Women’s Day on 8th March 2021, this inequality is something to consider.

If you want people to engage online, you have to be creative and provide an experience. People are now tired of video calls alone and really having “zoom fatigue”. At the same time, the barrier to engaging is much lower as you don’t have the expense of travel and time away from home.

We are increasingly looking at hybrid formats for events, so we can take the best of online meeting and more diverse audiences.

According to you, what essential traits should an entrepreneur possess to thrive in the present day cutthroat business ecosystem?

The world of open source is different. Rather than being about taking the entire pie and keeping it to yourself, opensource businesses aim to grow the pie so substantially that everyone benefits. By making technology easier and more ubiquitous to adopt globally, we all benefit, and each get our piece of pie.

What would be your advice to the upcoming entrepreneurs aspiring to enter the domain?

Find the right people to give you advice. Try to understand the market you are going into, the competition and how to generate your revenue. However, don’t feel that you have to do things the same way that everyone else has. If you have a new and disruptive way to operate in a specific market, try to understand why it has not been done already - you may find hidden barriers, or you may find that you can innovate in a staid sector. I think having the right advisors is critical in 2021, it’s a norm for businesses to seek an Advisory Board and hugely helpful.

What have you envisioned for your company’s future, in terms of expansion, introduction of new services, and talent acquisition?

We are being asked to support people in other countries who would like to replicate what we are doing with OpenUK in their countries. We will work with people in a number of countries including Kenya and Botswana as they start this journey later in the year.

Our focus is on building the organization in the UK and supporting our international reputation as the UK’s technology leaders in Open. I hope we will increase our participation in international collaboration through 2021.

What were the challenges you came across in your career as a business leader?

I’m a 51-year-old Scottish woman who spent her first decade in a council estate (public housing) then had an assisted place (scholarship) to attend a private school.

Unsurprisingly, I haven’t always felt that I belonged in the environments I have worked in.

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Amanda Brock, CEO, OpenUK

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Dawn Kane, CEO and Co-founder

Hot Dish Adver sing

‘

We connect more people to franchise brands, deliver more quality franchise leads and spark more brand loyalty to ignite success.

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www.insightssuccess.com

‘

The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Dawn Kane Igniting Success for Franchising Businesses

I

t started with a Dawn Kane’s sheer curiosity for advertising. As she fed her curiosity with her nose in books and watching commercials, she knew she wanted to get a degree in advertising and marketing.

Dawn was also very fortunate to work for and with some amazing mentors who helped her establish her management and leadership style. So, when it came time to start her own agency, she was scared but ready. Currently, Dawn is the Co-founder and CEO of Hot Dish Advertising.

Hot Dish opened in 1999, and it has managed through 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now stronger and busier than ever.

In an interview with Insights Success, Dawn shares how her agency has worked to reshape the franchise category while shaping our client partners’ franchise brands.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Tell us about your leadership position at Hot Dish Advertising.

My role is both CEO and visionary for our agency…but I also stay involved in strategic planning, new business growth and future opportunities for service expansion. Like most entrepreneurs, I’ve worn many hats as we moved through growth phases and invested in new initiatives. For example, in late 2019, we implemented the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS), which allowed us to evaluate our entire team and build out a leadership bench. We now follow a more prescriptive process in managing and growing our team, our business and our franchising clients’ success…always with a fun, play-to-win spirit.

all working remotely, and that in itself is challenging. As far as how the pandemic affected our industry, brands had to be nimble in getting their products and services to customers, and as marketers, we had to be nimble in changing our messaging focus and target-reach strategies.

At Hot Dish, we quickly adjusted our digital strategy. After an initial pause on digital marketing, we quickly saw consumers spending even more time online. We relayed that to our clients to keep the digital ads going with the right message and media mix to maintain a presence with their audience to spur growth. We were fortunate in having several clients that were deemed “essential,” and in 2021 they have remained steady or even increased their budgets over 2020.

We also say more “do good” messaging and that customers had a stronger desire to shop local and support their communities. This supported our restaurant franchising brands that dialed up drive-thru, curbside and online ordering.

What is your thought on the necessity of a positive work culture? In what ways do you implement it at your agency?

Culture is key when it comes to having a healthy work environment. You can’t force culture and it’s been an ebb and flow of positives and negatives over the years. Add in COVID and a fully remote team, and we’ve got ourselves a

Being an experienced Marketing expert, what is your opinion regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Marketing & Advertising Industry?

And how has Hot Dish Advertising managed to overcome this significant challenge?

There’s no question that the Advertising and Marketing industry looks different today than it did a year ago. We are

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foreign set of challenges. But, we are much more deliberate today about setting us all up for success with clear expectations and celebrations.

We have increased our communication overall. Each of the department heads holds weekly one-hour L10 meetings to discuss client updates, needs, trends and issues. Plus, each Disher has a 5-5-5 meeting with their supervisor to talk about their quarterly goals.

We have weekly, quarterly and annual all-agency Zoom meetings to share the state of the business, new client wins and our goals. We have a Fun Committee that keeps us connected on the human level with Hot Dish swag bags for holidays, a question of the week and games. Also, our Kudos channel in Slack is where Dishers can spotlight each other for exemplifying our core values every day… smarty pants, curious, fun, respect, passionate and play to win.

In what ways have you or Hot Dish Advertising contributed to the community? If given a chance, what change would you bring in the Marketing services with digital innovation & technologies to reduce costs substantially?

We created our Franch Strong movement to help strengthen franchise brands as a community. Franch Strong began during COVID as a way to share stories of franchise brands giving back to their communities and frontline workers. We

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sold Franch Strong t-shirts with all proceeds going the IFA Educational Foundation. Franch Strong continues to evolve with our quarterly newsletter and as a connecting thread to grow strong together.

As far as changes in digital innovation, we keep our focus on being smart first in ways that lead to the most impact.

New advances in technology allow for more interactive digital experiences through videos, parallax design and animation. But, without a smart strategy and a proven tracking process, any shiny new tech will have inefficiencies that cost time and money. Smart leads. Impact follows. That’s how we roll here at Hot Dish.

What would be your advice be for aspiring and emerging women entrepreneurs in the Franchise Advertising and Marketing Industry?

The nature of franchising is entrepreneurship, so if that excites you…you’ll love being part of this ever-changing industry. Whether you’re a Franchisor, Franchise Owner or Supplier, everyone truly helps each other succeed. From legislative issues to unique franchise business models, there are endless opportunities to learn and grow. And, there are plenty of mentorship avenues, including the International Franchise Association, which has a Women’s Franchising Committee.

www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

“I’ve always believed that, even in the world of debt collection, and especially when you’re dealing with people facing dif icult circumstances, there is only one way to behave: be empathetic, honest and relatable. This approach is at the very heart of Lantern,” states Denise Crossley, the CEO of Lantern, an award-winning debt purchase & recovery specialist.

Denise Crossley CEO Lantern Debt Recovery Services Limited

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DENISE

CROSSLEY

Adding a More Human Touch to Debt Recovery

H

ow it All Started?

Lantern started its life as a small independently owned business, turning over c£2m with small profits. In 2014, the sector became regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, therefore it was time to overhaul its operation and become more robust and industrialised, in readiness for regulatory scrutiny. Growth followed and increased volume of debt purchases meant the company now held several debt lines per customer, therefore it made sense to look at improving the customer journey. Ultimately, it migrated c1m customers to a new collection platform and created a unique ‘single customer view’. This provided a bespoke journey for the customer whilst creating operational and cost efficiencies.

Denise reviewed the company’s position and found that the market it was heavily focused on was in decline due to regulation, and thought deeply about its USP against competition. As the largest purchaser of ‘payday’ debt it had by far the most comprehensive data set of vulnerable customers. By this time, she had focussed the whole company on delivering a specialist customer management programme. It no longer considered itself as a debt recovery specialist.

In 2016, the company successfully gained regulatory authorisation and attracted new investment for growth in 2017 from Copper Street Capital who acquired the controlling share in Lantern. Then came the much needed rebrand to ‘Lantern’ – based on its consideration of being ‘a leading light’ in the sector and ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’ for the customer.

www.insightssuccess.com

The new investment, together with additional funding lines secured from two banks during 2019/20 allowed Lantern to grow its customer base to c3m today and triple all of its key financial metrics.

To ensure the culture was embedded across the business and colleagues worked towards the same goals, Denise introduced an LTIP for staff at all levels. This aided alignment of culture and vision across the company in order to deliver the strategy.

In 2019/20 she wanted to see what customers and staff really thought about the business and its treatment of them, and thus, embarked on an independent survey by Investors in Customers (IIC). Denise is incredibly proud that it resulted in a silver award initially, followed by GOLD in 2020 and again in January 2021, which is fascinating in any business but particularly one whose ‘customers’ never chose to conduct business with Lantern at the outset. Only 1 of 2 businesses in the sector have achieved this.

During 2020, these achievements led to 8 new client contracts, 5 of which have committed long term to Lantern to acquire their vulnerable customers.

Being a Reliable Partner Lantern’s brand and reputation, its low level of upheld complaints, and its single customer view make it the ‘safe’ choice when lenders think about a partner to acquire and manage their customers in arrears who require specialist care. Its extensive database of consumer data and sector trends is invaluable as a tool for pricing debt purchases accurately to ensure over-pricing doesn’t lead to customer detriment through inappropriate practices, and for developing bespoke collection strategies.

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“

Everyone has to start somewhere and inevitably it won’t be at the top, so be patient.

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Aiming to Scale the Business

It’s About Creating Real USP Denise is of the opinion that being in a regulated business means that the accountability and responsibility of all personnel is a prerequisite. This ensures that her ‘open door’ policy and ‘firm but fair’ leadership style allows her executive team to remain autonomous but within the confines of compliance and regulatory guidelines. In some respects, regulation has helped her to embed the correct culture across the entire organisation. She likes her team to get on with it, but ensure controls are in place to check and authorise changes.

Her idea of impactful leadership is staying ahead of the curve. She believes that if one wants to stand out from the crowd, one must stand for something special. With that said, she adds “Create a real USP that everyone believes in and supports, then encourage your teams to further innovate and grow that USP which in turn develops the whole business into something special that clients and colleagues alike want to be a part of. The rest will take care of itself.”

The future is always in Denise’s thoughts, as she likes to horizon scan and forward plan in readiness for the company’s strategy days and has therefore been ‘industrialising’ the business regularly with senior management hires, to ensure alignment with growth plans.

Her ultimate vision is for Lantern to be the single largest specialist Debt Purchaser acquiring and managing defaulted customers experiencing vulnerability. Over the next 3 years, the company aims to scale the business to c3x the current turnover and profit, utilising technological efficiencies and creating more customer self-serve options to avoid increasing headcount. Acquiring competitors or ancillary businesses would add to that growth and are certainly in its sights.

Having Belief in Self is the Key In her advice to upcoming entrepreneurs, she says, “Have belief in yourself and stand up for what feels right and what you believe in. Always try to ensure you’re speaking from a position of strength by getting your facts right, then work smart and make sure your voice is heard in the right way.”

According to her, belief, tenacity, bravery, being a forwardthinker and planning well to execute ideas are some of the essential traits every leader should possess.

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www.insightssuccess.com

THROUGH

THICK T

here were a lot of forces earlier working against women, but the world evolved and today it all works in favor. With the rise in global industrial revolution, there has been a lot of participation of the women in the industries. The scenario of the male-dominated industry is changing and gender inclusiveness is taking its place. It is only with gender equality and equal opportunities world is moving forward.

A Matter of Time There has not been much importance given to these topics earlier, but now women with different business roles in the industry are making things happen. More participation and more communication are making things simpler and easier for them to solve complex issues at hand. This fosters an environment of a happy and productive workforce, where women’s voices are heard.

Women in business and other leadership roles tend to have a unique viewpoint towards the working and their points are valuable in society. Today, a majority of the companies are welcoming more talented women at the top level of the organization.

A Captain Marvel This is a hard, competitive, and fast-paced industry of technology and innovation and only the creative ones can survive in this volatile world. Businesswomen are always ready for these challenges and opportunities in the way of the business. Women have overcome all the shackles of a society that says that they could never lead the company or team. As a matter of fact, women today are not just building start-ups, but also are the key personnel in their respective industries.

There are a lot of areas now, where women are adding new ways to thrive and becoming their best version of themselves, be it tech or any other field. The end goal is to grow well beyond the businesses and realize their full potential.

The pandemic has certainly put all of us in a tough situation, but it is also an opportunity to serve the people in their time of dire need. Businesswomen are showing their commitments like employee communications, opportunities, and allowing to save money in these financial conditions. Even in these tough

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and

THIN

conditions' women are extremely competitive and sets very high expectations constantly. They are successful to keep a very good balance between personal and professional life in order to overcome these challenges.

Born for Greatness Taking into consideration the nature of women’s leadership in entrepreneurial ecosystem it can be said that there are endless opportunities for businesswomen to learn and grow in this ever-changing corporate world.

Businesswomen ensure that they excel and adapt to the needs of the industry and become a resourceful problem solver and motivational leaders. They always strive to solve the problem and help people, and they tend to build great relationships with customers.

They are involved in strategic planning, new business growth, and future opportunities for personal and professional expansion. They are wearing many hats of leadership which depicts their growth opportunities. Ultimately, gender inclusivity is the key when it comes to having a healthy working environment.

Think about it Women are smarter than you think and deserve respect. We as a society should have a goal to build the next generation of women leaders at all phases of the industry. We have come a long way in empowering women however, things are not the same everywhere. And we must find ways to work on such areas.

There are still a number of countries like African and Gulf countries where the women empowering journey is still in its starting phase. With all our support we hope to increase their participation in the international market in the coming years.

Hence, the culture that we are going to develop should enable women to believe in their passion that will allow them to grow, acquire new skills, feel supported to succeed, and be inspired.

It is upon our hands, that we give a chance to reward such women by making them feel free to be themselves and have flexibility in their lives.

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Women's World

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Julianna Yau Helping Students to Accomplish Their Goals

N

othing is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Education is the most powerful weapon one can use to change the world.

In many parts of the world education is still not accessible to underprivileged people and to many girls. To make quality education accessible to everyone has always been the goal of all countries. Quality education is one of the most important sustainable development goals. Educating students is the most critical welfare work. The world is always in great need of leaders in education industry who democratizes quality education. Julianna Yau is one such educator and entrepreneur who is making it possible. She is the Founder and Director of Ampla Education. Julianna is experienced in advising students on overseas education. She is committed to fostering, encouraging, and motivating students to think independently.

Making Quality Education Widely Accessible Before founding Ampla Education, Julianna frequently encountered Hong Kong students with great academic potential, but she found that many of them lacked the opportunity to fully appreciate their skills due to inadequate teaching or attending education centres with overcrowded classrooms. Hence, Julianna established Ampla Education in 2016 to help children aged 6-18 achieve their academic goals by delivering niche mentorship programmes and high-quality teaching that cater to the individual needs of each child. In addition to Ampla Education’s core business, she is also leading her team to make quality education widely accessible. By implementing and executing developmental projects, such as free university application workshops for under-resourced students, and girls’ literacy programmes, Ampla has successfully helped over 1800 students from early childhood up to young adults in realizing their dreams.

Incorporating Perfect Blend of Teaching Methods Having spent her childhood in Canada, adolescence in

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Hong Kong, and attended boarding school and university in the UK, followed by a teaching course in the US, Julianna’s unique position helps her to understand the needs of students. The global exposure allows her to incorporate different teaching methods across the world, offering the perfect blend of knowledge, flexibility, and interaction.

Keeping Students Motivated to Learning Many of Ampla’s students have been taking its online lessons before Covid so they are quite used to online mode of learning. Nothing beats actual human interaction, so Ampla tried to make its courses as engaging and interactive as possible to help its students stay motivated to learning during this period of social distancing.

Niche Mentorship Programmes In this dynamic and ever-changing world, it is crucial to help students find clarity in their pursuits, and develop the soft skills and mindset needed in navigating through the obstacles and life challenges in high school. Ampla Education’s Mentorship Programme is specifically tailored to meet the academic and personal objectives of each student, and to support them throughout their development.

Creating Harmonious and Inclusive Community Ampla Education is one of the few private education consultancies that devote a significant portion of its time and proceeds to sustainable developmental work. It is Julianna’s dream to make quality education widely accessible and that every child is nurtured and encouraged to fulfil their full potential. At Ampla, every student is given the opportunity to flourish and unleash their potential.

Julianna hopes to create a harmonious and inclusive community in which disadvantaged children will be able to do the same.

Reducing Gender Inequality Julianna thinks about ensuring scientific literacy within the www.insightssuccess.com

The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Julianna Yau

Founder & Director Ampla Education

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curriculum and making free technologies available to students. Through providing online teaching materials in the past few years, Ampla supported girls’ literacy classes and mentoring girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Ampla strives to reduce gender inequality and encourage girls to follow their dreams. The literacy classes drive sustainable change by helping girls stay in school and supporting girls to develop critical skills so that they can advocate for themselves, raise educated children and lead meaningful lives. The significance of Ampla’s mentorship resulted in over 50% of STEM degree offers received by its female mentees, compared to a worldwide average of 25% female STEM graduates.

Supporting Underprivileged Children Ampla Education firmly believes that every child deserves a quality education. To democratise education and enhance lifelong learning opportunities for less fortunate children, Ampla created supportive learning environments by constructing two schools in Cambodia which greatly reduced drop-out rate from 20% to 5%. Due to Covid, many children do not have access to basic stationery so they cannot do their work at home. As such, Ampla provided three unsupported schools with stationery packs so that children can continue their education at home.

Learning from Children Julianna advises women leaders who wish to venture into

education industry to learn from children because they are not afraid of falling nor are they afraid to try new things.

She states that children’s imagination is limitless, and they are always able to find happiness in the smallest of things.

Improving Employment Prospects of Students Ampla Education’s long-term goal is to increase the number of underprivileged children it supports and raise the number of years it funds their education. By equipping underresourced students with crucial skills that are not included in traditional school curriculum, such as logical reasoning, public speaking, and presentation skills, Ampla Education hopes to improve their future education and employment prospects.

For the third year running, Ampla Education have partnered up with YMCA Boundless Hong Kong to help underresourced local students accomplish their goals by providing personal statement and interview skills workshops, and university application guidance. Equipped with the skills needed to make a competitive application, Ampla ensures that under-resourced students will be on an equal footing with more financially capable students when it comes to university applications. In response to the tough job market conditions affected by Covid, Ampla Education extended the scope of its partnership with YMCA to encompass CV enhancement and job interview training to support the recent cohort of graduates.

“

Ampla Education is catering to the individual needs of each student and provide top notch one-stop services which are customised and all-inclusive.

“

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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Julie Fergerson

Making a Difference in eCommerce “For a serial entrepreneur, the highs are very high, but the lows can be very low. During those lows, you must be able to pick yourself up and persevere. Having a team that fights for common goals alongside you is also important, as is utilizing clearly defined metrics on what constitutes success,” believes Julie Fergerson, the CEO of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC). With aforesaid, Julie has always inculcated resilience in her leadership.

Servant Style Leadership

Exceptional Group of People

Julie prefers Servant Style leadership. She believes in hiring capable, passionate people who she knows will excel at their work. Her job is to ensure they have everything they need to be successful, and every opportunity to do their best. She believes that when people feel empowered, have the tools and resources they need, and have a leader who believes in them, anything can be accomplished.

The MRC community is a family. It’s a group of exceptional people from a wide variety of backgrounds committed to helping one another succeed. These people are united through the MRC’s common goals: fighting fraud, maximizing revenue, and creating the best possible consumer experience.

Wealth of Knowledge and Expertise

Proven Track Record Julie has over 25 years of experience developing, delivering, and promoting Internet-based technologies. She generates enthusiasm about new technologies. She is adept at evaluating new technologies to determine flaws, competitors, and obstacles. She has a proven track record of positioning existing technology to meet the needs of an audience without changing the fundamental value of that technology. She is a resourceful problem solver and a motivating leader.

Addressing Varied Challenges For Julie, the best part of guiding the MRC is addressing the varied challenges and issues that keep members up at night. By connecting those members with their peers and encouraging cooperation, they can develop mutually beneficial solutions, and help to solve industry-wide problems in creative ways. Since day one, the MRC family has made a clear difference in eCommerce, and that’s always exciting.

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One factor that separates the MRC from other industry organizations is its global footprint. It has had strong membership in Europe for many years, members in India and Latin America, and has recently launched MRC APAC to serve those in the Asia-Pacific region. Its eCommerce merchants are global, and the issues they face are unique and challenging. Fortunately, the MRC has a wealth of knowledge and expertise to share. It prides itself on finding solutions to these problems and providing educational resources for its members. A great example of this is RAPID Edu, an online learning platform that leverages the MRC’s subject matter expertise and years of fraud prevention and payments experience into on-demand classes that can be taken anytime, anywhere. RAPID Edu courses are designed to teach the basics of chargebacks, fraud, and payments and have received extremely positive feedback thus far.

Expanding Online Membership Engagement The MRC has made two fundamental shifts since Julie joined as CEO in May of 2020. The first was expanding the

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Julie Fergerson CEO Merchant Risk Council (MRC)

“

I truly believe in the

mission of the Merchant Risk Council; that we can work together to build better commerce for everyone. That goal guides every I make.

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“

professional decision

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MRC’s online membership engagement. The MRC wants to be sure its members are aware of the comprehensive educational resources and tools available to them. MRC membership is much more than just conferences. It also consists of a massive eCommerce content library, networking opportunities, career development, discussion forums, communities, and more, all at your fingertips.

The second fundamental shift was migrating the MRC’s popular events from in-person to online. During its first virtual conference, the average attendee spent over six hours participating, and conversations were so vibrant and engaging that many people reported feeling like they were speaking face to face.

Though nothing can replace in-person communication, the MRC discovered some upsides to hosting its events online.

It is now hoping to apply some of these learnings as it transitions back to in-person events. For example, the organization is considering creating a virtual event as a supplement to future in-person conferences, so those that can’t attend physically can still benefit from the networking opportunities and educational resources.

The live Q&A sessions were also very engaging due to the live chat function. The MRC is now incorporating that functionality into webinars and considering ways to leverage that live interaction for future events, both inperson and online.

Embracing Challenges and Being Reasonable Julie also mentioned that success increases our responsibility, because it increases expectations. Learning to embrace success and the challenges it brings is a hard lesson. She has always strived to solve problems and help people. She is not driven by money. It’s nice to have, but it’s not what pushes her to succeed. That said, as a leader, she is vigilant about issues like revenue and paying the bills. Learning to prioritize financial considerations alongside building great products and relationships with customers is a learned skill that Julie focuses on every day.

CEOs assume an active role in shaping the future of a

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company, by putting the right people in the right roles, and steering the ship. That leadership role can be a lonely experience, however. One of the biggest hurdles CEOs must overcome is not having anyone to confide in. Given that Julie naturally likes to collaborate and seek the opinions of others, she sometimes finds it challenging to keep things to herself. She recognizes that not having a peer or professional partner to celebrate her successes or share her struggles with can be a challenge. However, Julie considers herself lucky to have found mentors in her career that she can lean on and having a great team at her side certainly helps too.

Valuing the Role of Mentorship Julie advises aspiring entrepreneurs to ask for help when in need. People want to help, and many find it rewarding. One consistent truth throughout Julie’s career is that when she has struggled with challenges, she asks for help. She is always stunned by how far people are willing to go to help her overcome those challenges. Mentors are everywhere, and she advises to utilize that resource, and ask for help.

Because the MRC knows the value of the mentee/mentor relationship, it developed a mentorship program to help facilitate those connections. Mentorship is an important component in preparing the next generation of industry leaders, and the MRC is committed to nurturing that development.

Complete eCommerce Resource The MRC will always remain focused on providing value to its members and being the go-to resource for everything eCommerce related. Part of that commitment involves prioritizing education, which is why it continues to build out its online learning platform. RAPID Edu allows for ondemand learning on subjects like chargebacks, fraud, and payment essentials, and provides a foundational understanding of these critical eCommerce topics. It intends to continue investing in these educational resources in the coming years.

The MRC has also developed a comprehensive collection of webinars, whitepapers, presentations, and a wide selection of other educational resources that are available to members. This collection of content has been developed by some of the brightest minds in the eCommerce industry and is an invaluable resource to industry professionals of any experience level.

There’s always more to learn about this exciting industry, and the MRC is proud to be on the forefront of that effort. www.insightssuccess.com

MARY SENKOWSKA Redefining Approach to Career Development of Youths

S

tanding with a mission to equalise access to opportunities for early talent, Mary Senkowska formed Creative Brain. It all started with an idea that young people are the future of this world, but they are being shaped right now. Mary along with her team mapped the development paths of young leaders who managed to progress faster and create more impact relevant to their peers. They engineered a method to measure future potential, guide and track their development, accounting for experiences that usually fall through the cracks.

Creative Brain is a purpose-driven team that wants to start a societal transformation, redefining the definition of success and most importantly, show the young people that they have a choice. It wants to raise awareness that everyone needs to take ownership of their own progress, heighten selfawareness to benefit from those experiences that make them unique, stronger, able to create impact.

The company has gone through several iterations. Mary along with her team are continuously researching and adapting their approach, improving methodology, and advocating for change. The team is expanding and learning along the way.

A Take on Impactful Leadership Mary believes that organisations are from people and people are from organisations, and just like that, we, all, evolve. Her idea of leadership involves facilitating success of others. To facilitate the success of others one needs to first learn what success means to every individual, what is their purpose that fuels them, and help them align with organisational vision and objectives. After knowing all this, one then should ask to self how do he or she needs to be to

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support them. This perception aligns with her personal purpose to create opportunities.

Mary mentions that Creative Brain is first and foremost connected by purpose. It deeply cares about its mission.

This just trumps any qualifications, time zone differences, amount of workload. She states, “When we get brainstorming, that energy keep me hyped for a week!

Secondly, we talk. We talk about everything and nothing or we talk when situations get difficult, and they do when we’re crazy busy, our private lives take us through mud or we simply have a bad day. We’re not perfect, we’re human.

We make time for one another. I think we know what each of us is good at and also what we enjoy doing, which sometimes are not two same things, but we use these datapoints to our benefit and we always find a way. No idea is too big, and no idea is too crazy. Lastly, we allow room to learn; from each other, on mistakes and continuously.”

Went Forth and Conquered Mary has a feeling that she has always been much. Coming from, a small, then, village in Poland, with very traditional parents, she has always been told she only has a limited number of options. She thinks it made her a child that went ‘’Watch me’’ in response to that and it’s her thinking ever since.

It is a belief that we live in the world where your gender is enough to challenge your potential. Your age is enough to challenge you skills. Your race is enough to make you struggle trying to fundraise. Your social class is enough to make you doubt your opportunities. Mary finds this belief wrong and always strives to break these glass ceilings.

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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Mary Senkowska, CEO

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Mary once has been asked if she is sure she wants to stay for the time of the presentation because she may not be able to follow, when she was the one to deliver it. She was assumed to be an assistant, a girlfriend, an observer. After she became the youngest, to her knowledge, PCC certified coach in the world she was even asked to cut her hair so she looks older and clients could feel more comfortable. She thinks all these experiences were a blessing. She doesn’t think she would be be where she is right now without them.

Every single thought taught her something, challenged her thinking, motivated her to create change.

Imparting Wisdom In her advice to budding entrepreneurs, Mary says, “Don’t try to do it all alone. Don’t be perfect or afraid of failing.

See every hiccup as a learning lesson. Observe, accept, calibrate, improve and don’t lose Focus. These are your foundation.”

“On top of that, be kind. It goes a long way. And never forget to keep creating opportunities for others. We learn from both people who have succeeded us and those who are earlier on their path. Being attentive and present can make you notice concepts and lessons also in personal life that

will help your organisation, stimulate innovation and creativity” she adds.

Building the Next Generation of Talent In the near future, Creative Brain will launch a platform that is a personal control centre for youth’s accelerated, purpose-driven, holistic growth.

The data model the company is working on will enable to also account for skills built through experiences like healing from trauma, dealing with environment’s realities etc., when measuring potential; going beyond age, gender, race, social class or fancy school names and job titles; working towards equal access to opportunities. It will provide people with a dynamic learning ID, that will ensure they are on the most optimal track to realizing their purpose, remain balanced and mentally healthy and remain futureproof.

With the right support, the company hopes to scale it to underprivileged communities and use to help the youth from poorest regions grow as well.

Creative Brain aims to partner with educational institutions, organisations and governments to help building the next generation of talent that is well-aware, purpose-driven and eager.

“

HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO MAXIMISE POTENTIAL OF AN INDIVIDUAL IF YOU’RE NOT SEEING THEM FOR THE WHOLE PERSON THEY ARE?

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C

OVID-19 Fast-Tracked the Trend to Online

Even before the pandemic, the education market was already in the transition from offline to online, the shift accelerating in the past years. This age of quarantine, social distancing, and remote working has fast-tracked the trend, and online education has become in many cases the only possible way of learning.

While there has been a slowdown in the growth of the education market as a whole, EdTech has offered a lifeline to learners, institutions and employers attempting to continue Education & Training, and it is now forecasted to grow at a rate greater than anticipated before the coronavirus pandemic came along. Global EdTech spend is now expected step change in 2021 and continue strong growth thereafter, projected to grow at an average of 14.5% and 16.4% per year to about $400bn in 2025, accounting for 5% to 6% of the overall education market. (IBIS Capital Cairneagle Associates).

For corporate training, it is estimated that the offline sector will suffer big losses, while online is holding and will grow once (training) budgets are approved again, L&D budgets also shifting from offline to online. At the same time, employees are becoming accustomed with online distant communication, meaning that the changes the coronavirus has caused might be here to stay.

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Polarization in the Online Arena COVID-19 has completely changed the world as we know it, causing major disruption to many businesses.

In response to this increase in demand for online training, the established players have been rushing to find a quick fix, moving their existing solutions online.

Good remote training, however, is not just a matter of adding a tech solution for the virtual classroom and moving a teacher from a physical classroom to a computer, but it requires a more fundamental rethinking of the total learning experience and a whole new set of capabilities, different from those of offline education. The way the training is delivered, the teaching, the content, the interaction, all need to change in order to provide a good user experience.

While many of the traditional offline companies have been challenged by this sudden shift, online players like mYngle were already in the ‘right place’, leveraging many years of experience and proven capabilities to deliver successful online training.

This is progressively bringing a polarization in the market: those players developing sustainable capabilities and investing the necessary resources to build high quality online solutions, and those implementing improvised solutions, lacking preparation for a method different from a classroom setup, resulting in a poor user experience.

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Leader’s Viewpoint

Virtual

Classes Becoming

New Normal

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From Pioneering to Mass Market When the first pioneers of virtual education- amongst which mYngle- started offering live online training, they had to bypass all sorts of resistance from a still immature market, especially the stereotypes that consumers had in their minds about education. The common perception was that a class, to be effective, had to be conducted face-to-face. This simply because that was the way it had been done till then.

Like other internet disruptors, the new education players had the hard task to not only identify and develop the right products and solutions, but also to educate the market on the benefits of the online versus the better-known traditional solutions.

It took a major shake, like COVID’s social distancing, to force the adoption of alternative solutions and open the mass market to this new opportunity. Customers were suddenly forced into this new modality of learning, but what they are also discovering along the way are all the extra advantages of virtual education compared to traditional physical classroom learning.

Advantages of Virtual Education For learners, virtual lessons offer the same results, but it is significantly more convenient, with the possibility to take lessons 24/7, from any location, with much more flexible scheduling and rescheduling. This means that lessons are easier to fit into busy agendas, also after the end of COVID restrictions, for all those learners who struggle to make time for class while working full-time jobs and raising families. Additionally, learners can benefit from the skills of teachers who are not located in geographical proximity, making a whole new pool of teachers available, apart from where in the world they are located.

At the same time, L&D professionals are discovering that virtual education offers the possibility of more closely monitoring progresses and results, and much easier coordination, all at a better cost as the bricks and mortar infrastructure of traditional classes is no longer needed.

Also, virtual learning can deliver a better (and more measurable) ROI. Traditionally measurements have been limited to the most visible, direct program costs, and seldom the evaluation of benefits has gone beyond a like/ dislike judgment of the course and some measurement of acquired skills and knowledge.

Virtual training does not have hidden costs and its emphasis on measurable results means a shift towards more quantitative evaluations, facilitating a more objective measurement of the ROI. These are all benefits that go beyond the short-term limitations of the lockdown, but they opened the customers’ eyes to new possibilities, modernizing the world of education.

Becoming the New Normal It is clear now that online education is here to stay. After years of encouraging e-Learning and virtual classroom approaches, the pandemic has helped move the needle on to technology acceptance, for learners and L&D professionals alike. That is why the adoption of online solutions will continue post- pandemic, accelerating over the next years.

The integration of information technology in education will further accelerate and online education will become an integral component of education. L&D budgets will shift from offline to online learning, which is the only viable option with remote working, and learners who embrace online learning during these difficult circumstances may stick to it after the pandemic has passed.

Online learning will be an intrinsic part of the new normal.

AUTHOR Marina Togne : Founder and CEO of mYngle. mYngle offers customized language training programs through video conferencing in 45 different languages any me, anywhere. Our lessons are one-on-one, with highly qualified na ve coaches and related to the learner’s job posi on. Our virtual classrooms enable learners to take classes 24/7. mYngle is the solu on for busy professionals who need language training to be successful in their interna onal business, and for Companies that want great learning results and a transparent and controllable learning process to make their investment a success.

Our lesson score is 4.8 out of 5.0. Results speak for themselves!

You can see how it works: www.myngle.com

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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Monica Boudreau Building Growth Marketing Strategies for Brands

A

fter spending the early years of her career working in events, marketing, and advertising, Monica Boudreau founded posh media in July 2019. Posh Media, a full-service bilingual marketing firm with a team of passionate and experienced marketing professionals handpicked from across North America. Monica wanted to fill a void between independent freelancers and large agencies to give small business owners a more tailored and personal approach. According to Monica, posh media started with just herself, and in just over a year has grown into a team of 30+ top-tier industry collaborators. She says her focus is on making local brands thrive in their communities – 2020 has proved all the importance of supporting local businesses.

The Power of Collaboration For Monica, the most common success factor that truly illustrate the posh difference is: Ÿ

Collaboration- As a collective team, the team at posh media strongly believes in the power of collaboration and wanted to ensure it was rooted in their business model. The team works alongside their clients to accomplish a shared goal. “Our team will always choose collaboration over competition, our client’s journey is not about us – it’s about them,” opines Monica.

Authenticity: What Defines a Leader Monica believes the greatest traits a leader can possess are loyalty, great communication skills, the ability to delegate, be humble, and sincere enthusiasm. These qualities give leaders the privilege to “influence” their team which leads to an open space where ideas are welcomed, not judged.

Authenticity promotes honesty and makes leaders “human”; easier to connect with. Monica states “Valuing your team’s

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thoughts, ideas, and opinions is extremely impactful and rewarding. I’d say my current leadership style is mostly Charismatic and Visionary - my main priority is to inspire my team to give each project their all. I paint a clear picture of the end goal and together we decide how to get there. My ability to help them focus and give 110% has been the key to our success.”

Be Prepared for Upcoming Challenges This past year has challenged everyone in more ways than one. The key is to plan ahead, but one should always be open to adapt his/her plan. The industry is very fast-paced nature, so the team at posh media prepares for multiple scenarios as regulations around covid-19 continues to evolve.

Monica illustrates “Our business structure has always encouraged a remote and flexible work environment, which allowed for a smooth virtual transition into expanding our team.” She further says, “We ensure our clients are wellinformed on project status through multiple touch-points and continue to communicate and meet regularly via Zoom.”

Adopting Post Pandemic Changes Monica describes the biggest challenge of her career as an entrepreneur has been to juggle business growth during a pandemic. Over the last year, the company had to triple its team of collaborators while pivoting all its clients marketing efforts to reflect the new #WFH reality. With an everchanging competitive landscape, it continues to adapt, and has reallocated its efforts and its client’s budgets towards digital and social media advertising. She thought “the reality is that your target audience is no longer driving by billboards on their way to work or listening to radio while dropping off the kids at basketball practice, they’re

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In a world full of noise, we strive to ensure brands find their North Star.

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working from home listening to Spotify, staying informed through online news channels and creating TikToks with the kids.”

A Note for Emerging Leaders “Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ timing or until you have the ‘perfect’ plan in place, because it’ll never happen,” says Monica. She further adds, the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman says it best: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

“The biggest lessons you can learn as an entrepreneur are from your own mistakes. And surrounding yourself with mentors or people you inspire to become is always rewarding.”

Helping to Grow Local Brands “My goal is to continue to establish thriving partnerships with local brands,” says Monica. She plans to continue to help as many small businesses as she can to achieve their full potential and posh their brand. They currently have partners throughout North America and want to grow beyond. Posh media’s goal is to set your direction, invent your presence and realize your potential.

Monica Boudreau

Founder

posh media

The posh media team is in constant expansion. It is expanding its skillset and expertise by introducing new services and refining its current services. Monica asserts “My goal is to onboard industry leaders who goes beyond traditional ways of working and bring next level results to the table.”

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Ruth Darby R

eal estate has always been considered a male dominated sector, and is making progress towards acknowledging women participation, and moving towards that change. Over the years, the real estate sector has grown considerably. With the sector getting more organized, there has been increased global penetration into the local markets and increased service offerings. In this scenario, limiting the sector to only one section of the population, also curbs the available resources and talent base that is required to take the sector forward. The extension of companies and the need for talent, inspired the inclusion of more women into the segment. One such woman leader is Ruth Darby, Member at Keyser, who plays multiple roles at the company. As a broker, she represents both single location tenants and large global corporate accounts.

Ruth has over 21 years of comprehensive commercial real estate experience working with, national corporate clients, and single- and multi-location tenants and also oversees the sales side of the business as well as mentor of younger brokers and staff. “There are some days when all I do is read legal documents. Other days, when not completely booked with client or internal meetings, I’m reviewing client portfolios or touring sites in Phoenix or elsewhere.

There’s never a dull moment,” says Ruth.

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Ruth Darby: What makes your organization a preferred choice of your clients over the competition?

Keyser is a commercial real estate firm who only represents tenants and occupiers of space, including leasing, purchasing, constructing, and disposing of facilities. Being

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A Multirole Leader with Extensive Work Experience

a tenant-only firm frees our advisors from any conflicts of interest, which are unfortunately all too common in the commercial real estate industry. When a broker represents both sides of a deal, tenants often get the short end of the stick because the multi-deal relationship with the landlord/developer is too valuable for the broker to risk on a tenant’s one-off transaction. In other words, keeping landlord/developer clients happy, and agreeing to the terms they set, often means a steady stream of income to the broker representing them. This often causes tenants to receive poor lease terms and landlord-friendly agreements that do not serve their business’ best interests. With Keyser, a true tenant-only firm, there’s no question whose side your broker is on.

What is your idea of impactful leadership? What style of leadership do you personally prefer and have you implemented at your company?

Impactful leadership leans on the collective strengths of an organization’s people, empowering everyone to lean into and take ownership of the success of the company.

Leadership is a collaborative process that isn’t given to you, it is something that you must earn. Personally, I believe that there isn’t enough importance put on listening, and as simple as that sounds, truly listening allows you to more clearly understand what is happening throughout your organization. It opens up the lines of communication within your organization and allows you to take the real pulse of how things are going. Most questions can be answered by simply allowing your team to communicate to you uninterrupted, thereby giving you all of the information needed to effectively solve the issue at hand. This also fosters a more collaborative working environment and typically, when someone feels heard they are happier and more productive because they feel they have a voice.

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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Ruth Darby, Member, Keyser

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Keyser is so much more than a commercial real estate rm, we’re a partner to our clients long after the ink dries.

Taking into consideration the current pandemic and its impact on global economies, how are you driving Keyser to sustain operations accordingly?

The pandemic has certainly put business leaders in a tough situation, but it has also presented Keyser the opportunity to better serve our clients in their time of need. Because so many companies currently need money saving solutions, especially with regard to long-term commitments like commercial real estate, our client communications, negotiations, and streams of opportunity have not faltered, allowing us to thrive in these economic conditions.

According to you, what essential traits should an entrepreneur possess to thrive in the present-day cutthroat business ecosystem?

An entrepreneur should possess patience, perseverance, and a true desire to help people—it doesn’t need to be cutthroat to win.

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What were the challenges you came across in your career as a business leader?

Finding balance where its hard-to-find balance. The commercial real estate industry is extremely competitive, and clients have very high expectations. Finding the balance between, personal life, family and work is a constant challenge, and you have to work at it daily.

The elephant in the room, being a woman in a male dominated industry. I used to think this was working against me but as the world evolves, I feel this actually works in my favor. Women tend to bring a different viewpoint and way of working to the table that clients appreciate.

Finding your hustle, no safety net. This is a fast moving, hard driving industry and it’s commission only, getting creative about how you enter this industry so that you can survive while building your business is imperative.

Whether that means you have a weekend and evenings job or you start out in the Research department like I did, the struggle is totally worth it and this job while hard work, offers so much flexibility and opportunity.

What would be your advice to the upcoming entrepreneurs aspiring to enter the domain?

Expect to roll up your sleeves and work hard if you plan to work in commercial real estate. While technology has eased some of the ways that we do business, it still takes hustle and market knowledge and those two go hand in hand.

There is no formula for figuring out what to do next, you have to get your hands dirty. Learn the markets, understand what your clients want, and listen to what they're asking and saying. So many people miss that last step and it’s probably the most important.

What have you envisioned for your company’s future, in terms of expansion, introduction of new services, and talent acquisition?

Keyser is a rapidly growing company, and we are frequently adding new lines of business to better serve our clients. Through lease administration, project management, negotiating new space, or selling a business, we make sure that our clients are cared for. Although we have recently been adding talent like crazy, we don’t hire everyone who wants to work here. While we’re always looking to add the best and the brightest to our Keyser family, I would argue that the most important part of our hiring process is making sure that they’re a good fit into our culture of selfless service.

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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch, 2021

Shannon Shoemaker,

Vice President, Solutions, Marketing, and Partnerships, Cisive

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Shannon Shoemaker I

n today’s highly regulated environment and technology-driven landscape, employers are competing for top talent more than ever in digital-first world exacerbated by the Coronavirus global pandemic. As a result, they must focus on providing the best candidate experience, which normally means balancing compliance and due diligence with efficiency. Efficient processes that leverage the latest technology can determine whether an employer meets their hiring goals. With Cisive’s technology, employers can have both without compromise.

Shannon Shoemaker oversees Cisive’s Solutions, Marketing, and Partnerships as Vice President. In less than 3 years, her leadership and vision for Marketing, Solution Management and Partnerships have established the Cisive brand as the premier provider in the screening industry. Due to Shannon’s efforts, Cisive is widely recognized across the globe. Shannon was also recently recognized as ‘Business Women of the Year 2020’ by CEO Today and the Top 10 Most Influential Businesswomen for 2021 by CIO Look.

She also serves within the Human Resources community and served as a board member for the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO) and the Ohio SHRM State Council.

Building and Motivating Strong Teams As Vice President, Shannon has been challenged with leading the company to long-term growth. Under Shannon's leadership, Cisive's Marketing, Solution Management and Partnership teams have thrived despite the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic. Although the workplace has been changed forever, Shannon continues to build and motivate a strong and growing teams that have

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learned to innovate and collaborate more than ever in the midst of disruption.

Providing Comprehensive Services Cisive is a global provider of compliance-driven human capital management and risk management solutions. The company’s core onboarding and pre-employment background screening offering provides clients with a streamlined, high quality, and regulatory compliant solution. Comprehensive services include background screening, vendor/contractor screening, executive screening, drug testing, fingerprinting, paperless onboarding, and electronic Form I-9/E-Verify solutions.

Today, Cisive provides comprehensive global background investigations on potential and current employees, vendors, clients, and business partners. It also provides drug testing and fingerprinting services through their additional brands and partners.

Meeting Unique Requirements of Clients At Cisive, its team is expert in the specific risks and regulations that apply to the financial services and other highly regulated industries. For over 40 years, it has

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Cisive is a global provider of compliance-driven human capital management and risk management solutions.

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provided tailored solutions to meet the unique requirements of its clients. It has launched its onboarding suite of technologies in 2007 to cater to enterprise clients’ talent acquisition needs, and have been enhancing the platform ever since. Founded in 1977 as CARCO Group Inc., it launched its new brand Cisive in 2017 to keep pace with its incredible growth and its clients’ increasingly complex challenges for accurate information and insights to make confident decisions.

SAFE19 COVID-19 Clearinghouse repository were developed to help businesses re-open safely during the pandemic.

Developing Leading-edge Technology Cisive is going to continue to develop leading-edge technology as the approach to talent acquisition and management continues to evolve. The nature of background screening is going to undergo a revolution in the next few years due to advances in technologies such as distributed ledgers (blockchain) and this will change the business models for background screening companies. Cisive is seizing on that opportunity and will be out in front.

Expanding Capabilities Cisive recently joined 14 other leading enterprise multinational labor market organizations to launch the Velocity Network Foundation (VNF). VNF is a collaborative, vendor-neutral, nonprofit organization established to define, deploy, and champion the Velocity Network: a globally accessible, trustworthy “Internet of Careers” powered by innovative blockchain technology in response to growing data privacy, security, and market pressures.

Prioritizing People’s Health and Safety Cisive believes that the human capital landscape is going to continue to change over the next few years, a change that has been accelerated by the Coronavirus global pandemic.

Cisive will be at the forefront. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has developed three solutions, SAFE19, CONTACT19, and ACCESS19, each designed to work together to help businesses and organizations safely re-open during the ongoing crisis.

As Artificial Intelligence in HR gets smarter and more focused on solving specific problems, Cisive expects to see even further capabilities: smart matching of individuals and career opportunities, predictive analytics and smart people development recommendations.

Nurturing Creativity of Team As a leader, Shannon has supported her team throughout the pandemic. In order to support their creativity, she implemented quarterly “Creative days”, where team members can take a break from their daily routine to focus on learning new skills, seek inspiration from other sources and industries, and so forth to reinvigorate their creativity, reset and foster new ideas.

Developing Innovative Solutions The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the world operates. As a result, companies like Cisive have risen to the occasion to develop innovative solutions that address the world’s critical business needs amid the new challenges presented by the pandemic. In a digital-first world, companies are relying on technology more than ever to conduct business. That’s why solutions like Cisive’s

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