Author: CIO Times

The media and advertising industry, in the past few decades, has undergone a huge transition. From full-page newspaper ads to microcontent and personalized push notifications on the consumer’s smartphone, the way organizations reach out to customers has had a dramatic shift. Leading this paradigm shift in India is not just a bunch of startups and Gen Z but also seasoned players like Dr. Rachana Chowdhary who has been a witness to the transition, catching on with every trend and even setting up a few. 

Growing along with the industry

Dr. Chowdhary started working at the young age of 19 years and was selected to be a member of the print media industry. She joined the Response Department (Ad Sales) of the prestigious The Times of India Group. She was privileged to have had the opportunity to work under the leadership and guidance of the Late Pradeep Guha, the man who changed the destiny of the Indian media industry.

As a teenager, Dr. Chowdhary had a chance to participate in a few Advertising Workshops conducted by the Father of Modern Indian Advertising, the Late Alque Padamsee. “His words inspired me to fall in love with the essence of audience-impacting content and communications,” she admits.

As internet penetration started to increase in parts of Asia, there was a dotcom revolution in the early 2000s, and the first league of the Startups and entrepreneurship flavor was in the air for the youth. Dr. Chowdhary, too, took the plunge to be part of an e-journalists network back then, which aimed to ease information dissemination to media digitally. Over the years, she navigated content creation, management, marketing strategies, strategic communications and PR, online content distribution and publishing, CRM/ORM, and Customer Experience. She acquired the necessary skill set to become a 360-degree integrated global marketing communications professional.

As a pioneer staff of the prestigious US-based PR Newswire, Dr. Chowdhary was instrumental in setting up their India business plan in 2009-10. As a pioneer in propagating Digital PR in India and APAC, she also led the Mumbai office of Business Wire for over four years and handled over 5K+ Customers. She also worked with a leading global contract publishing house, managing over 100+ D2C brand campaigns on behalf of their international publishing partners. As an evangelist on international outreach, Dr. Chowdhary is incredibly passionate about designing marketing strategies for enterprises or small and medium businesses to go global.  

In 2011, Dr. Chowdhary set up a bootstrapped venture ‘MediaValueWorks’ as a solopreneur with two clear goals – helping Indian companies communicate globally and assisting international organizations to penetrate India / APAC markets.

To stay visible is not a choice anymore

Many top management professionals/ business owners/ CEOs, or decision-makers think of marketing only when the organization needs to grow sales. This myopic view limits an organization’s growth in today’s hyper-connected, hyper-competitive, omnichannel world. We need to learn more to understand the best opportunities across products, services, and solutions that are all taking place from customers on digital platforms.

There has been a complete overhaul around the business categories comprising B2B, P2P, D2C, B2B2C, and many more models. The emergence of new communities around digital platforms and applications enables businesses to communicate, interact and share freely.

In building MediaValueWorks, Dr. Chowdhary has tried to evolve beyond the industry-level contours. In 2014, MediaValueWorks built an online PR publishing platform – www.india-press-release.com, to facilitate online visibility and search results to hundreds and thousands of users. They have offered and coached over 7K businesses to help them understand how they would benefit from online publishing on India-Press-Release.com to achieve enhanced Google search results, and SEO, and level up with backlinks.

Globally, MediaValueWorks pioneered the concept of cloud-based PR software, supported by strategic remote PR publishing services, and launched International Outreach for enterprises to communicate in over 25 languages across 100 countries. To date, MediaValueWorks has communicated and engaged with over 0.5 million journalists across 68 counties and has published content that has generated over 2 billion views. MediaValueWorks (MVW) was declared a Runner-up at a recently concluded Innovation Practitioner’s Summit by the premier institution, All India Management Association.

Leveraging the right tools to automate and scale is critical

As the CEO and founder of MediaValueWorks, Dr. Chowdhary understands her client’s overall business strategies. Accordingly, her team can offer the right solutions from the marketing lens, focusing on building effective stakeholder strategies.

Team MediaValueWorks (MVW) has put granular processes to capture to craft stories, publish content and compete globally. They manage the tasks and subscribe to various practical tools to help them scale with automation. They have successfully served on the board of many small and medium enterprise clients for over 5 to 7 years. MVW’s clientele is segregated into three categories – Long-term clients, short projects, and pay-per-use customers. Corresponding to the client’s requirements, the services team gets allocated to the right team to deliver. 

“We enjoy healthy and honest client relationships and close-knit teamwork as a client’s extended arm. Marketing communications, particularly from the point of view of managing corporate news and announcements, is attached with a very high level of trust and credibility,” says Dr. Chowdhary.

MediaValueWorks (MVW) today boasts of being one of the most versatile marketing solutions agencies reaching 100 countries and communicating in 25+ foreign languages. Strategic communications embedded into robust marketing strategies drives the brand stories with a high impact. Their 360-degree integrated marketing infrastructure is backed by a B2B Demand Centre, SMB Development Centre, and Customers’ Media Centre. Digital communications have disrupted marketing strategies. With irresistible publishing opportunities, most complex than ever, only very few successful brands have been able to amplify their messages to their target audience and achieve proper growth.

Delivering as a Leader

“The only difference between flying and falling is judgment.”

Over the 20+ years of her professional journey, Dr. Chowdhary has met over 25K+ businesses from different industries, sizes, structures, locations, etc. Having interacted mainly with the leadership and or the top management has resulted in significant observations, learnings, and insights. There has been one common challenge across the board- Crafting the best communications strategies to influence customers.

Each business day, Dr. Chowdhary wears many hats. While her role involves the organization’s strategic management, winning new customers and leading the team to comprehend and accomplish the suitable campaign methodologies from the operations angle is vital to driving high-impact results. 

Dr. Chowdhary has been passionate about perfecting marketing strategies, planning for stories, visualizing the various artifacts, and directing graphics, videos, and collaterals before the campaign gets released externally and to publishing partners. She enjoys reviewing hundreds of stories weekly to ensure the right messages are communicated to the right audiences in the right context.

Dr. Chowdhary also works closely with her finance team to ensure the organization’s cash flow status, operating capital, and other requirements are smooth. A quick connection with the audit team, she feels, is a responsibility to ensure the compliances of the organizations in multiple locations are being fulfilled timely. MVW has registered offices in India and the US and has partners in Singapore, Dubai, and Toronto and many more locations

Services inspired by Innovation

Team MediaValueWorks firmly believes that innovation is at the core of their approach, guiding them in various aspects of their operations. They strive to identify unique solutions to complex problems by fostering a culture of innovation. Regular feedback and insights from clients to develop innovative products and services that better cater to their requirements, ensuring high customer satisfaction. Encouraging innovation empowers their people and fosters a culture of creativity and collaboration. Employees who feel their ideas are valued become more engaged and motivated to contribute to the organization’s success.

As an organization, MVW’s employee turnover is negligible. The work culture permits staff to flourish by learning and expressing their thoughts. They have a remote workflow, and the teams operate from the nearest workspaces when required. “With the evolutionary trend worldwide, we need fresh talent who believe they are intrapreneurs. We offer the infrastructure and support the entrepreneur; to make their mark. We are open to meeting and interacting with professionals from all over the globe who feel passionate about making a difference in customer communications,” says Dr. Chowdhary.

Supporting diversity and inclusion are woven into MVW’s fabric

By embracing diversity, MediaValueWorks believes that it can unlock innovation and creativity and conceptualize better solutions that positively impact their business and society. Embracing diverse perspectives, fostering an inclusive environment, and empowering their team members are vital ingredients helping them drive towards their goals. 

As the International PR and outreach solutions, MVW is essentially a diversified and remote function across the world’s leading cities; they welcome and are excited to connect and engage with senior citizens, homepreneurs, and intrapreneurs looking to diversify and grow. With efficient reading, editing, comprehension, and interpersonal skills, the teams are being trained to incorporate AI into the workflow skillfully. Recognizing the diverse needs of its employees, MVW offers flexible work arrangements that enable them to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Metaverse – the next marketing trump offering immersive and interactive environment

The concept of the Metaverse, feels Dr. Chowdhary, presents an exciting and transformative marketing landscape for businesses. Adapting to this new landscape requires marketers to develop a deep understanding of consumers’ evolving needs and expectations within the virtual realm. 

Various tools have gathered vast amounts of data on user behavior and preferences, so marketing strategies have become more personalized and targeted. Creating engaging and compelling content will be paramount in the Metaverse. Brands must craft captivating narratives and stories to stand out in a dense virtual landscape.

Winning Over Challenge

Dr. Chowdhary gets inspired by straightforward things. She is a passionate entrepreneur and imparting truthful guidance to people drives her. Life teaches many lessons; it’s only learned by people who choose to reflect. A progressive and go-getter attitude has helped her bounce back from many challenges; emotional, financial, and health. 

“While there are small day-to-day and operational challenges one needs to live with and navigate, a few instances make you stronger. Precisely a month before our wedding, I had a near-fatal train accident in Mumbai, resulting in a life-threatening situation with a head injury and being in a coma, and staying hospitalized for a few weeks. Time healed me, and I could manage to walk, talk, and get back on track with a positive attitude and determination. Simple living and high thinking were taught to me by my parents. Courage and action, I learned from my in-laws. Perfection and discipline, I learned from my husband, Vikrant Chowdhary,” shares Dr. Rachana Chowdhary.

Mission Ahead

MediaValueWorks is working on its mission to establish the power of Remote International PR and Marketing Services across 100 countries’ reach and penetration. Their hub and spoke model enables intrapreneurs from different countries to leverage our network, collaborate and grow. 

“Future businesses shall have altogether different work philosophies. As our societies are transcending very fast, newer contours of life patterns will emerge, breaking traditional norms and ideologies. We need to learn to adapt to the emerging new system, focus and think creatively,” concludes Dr. Rachana Chowdhary.

Advice for budding entrepreneurs:

“Be mindful of your decisions.”

Building a business requires dedication, determination, passion, and the right mindset. 

As a founder, it’s best if you learn to acquire basic knowledge across functions within your organization. Banking and Finance, Production, Human Resources, Board Management, CRM, Sales, Business Law, Supply Chain, Distributors, Business Management, Employee Engagement, Mergers & Acquisitions, Growth strategies, etc, while you keep your focus on your core responsibility intact. Be open to feedback from customers, mentors, and advisors. Build relations with your stakeholders that go beyond the value of the transaction you may have with different entities. 

Quote: “Those who walk alone have the strongest direction.

Technological advancements in the gaming industry have propelled the industry to new heights. The recent pandemic especially pushed online gaming to a high growth path with more people taking to it for the lack of physical outings. Developers across the globe are continually striving to improve the way games are created and enhance the overall gaming experience of the users for diverse consoles/platforms.

While growth is visible, the industry faces several challenges which companies like Playtech Managed Services need to overcome to deliver a great experience by understanding regulation measures and focusing on the benefit they provide while understanding the customer’s point of view and apprehension to them. As Elena Coronado, VP Operations at Playtech Managed Services puts it, the industry always had the mentioned challenge to accomplish, but with the correct process and a team that is caring and genuinely interested in the customers’ experience has made it very possible to achieve.

This, she says, is the first hurdle to overcome and the next would be evaluating the systems currently supported by companies and the initiative to improve them. This of course takes the stakeholders out of their comfort zones and requires step-by-step implementation schedules that show the stakeholder the benefits and rewards of such changes. Some of the ideas for customer experience are simply not available yet but through commitment and effort, they will be accomplished with Innovation and strategies being developed.

Innovative Gaming Experience

Elena’s current role incorporates a myriad of prior experience in managing and providing services to key positions including:

• Developing an innovative and current customer strategy with the advent of AI that complements the service now being provided.
• Coordinating and educating stakeholders on the improvements that can be seen through procedures
• Implementation of digital transformation and other digital solutions including a strong commitment to automation bringing the business to world-class service.

Innovation, says Elena, drives everything at Playtech in a constantly changing market. Therefore, keeping up-to-date with any new releases or ideas that they can capitalize on must be done with urgency as the importance of innovative tools is unsurpassed in this changing market. Without innovation, some of the best features Playtech can now offer for customer service satisfaction would never have been developed to give the customer the most fulfilling experiences in our business. “As I analyze the current strategies in a company, I first begin to identify what manual processes can be relieved with innovative answers such as automation which creates additional time and resources for allocation,” says Elena.

An Insightful Leader

Elena’s experience has always been in the customer service/experience atmosphere from a young age. She was suited for customer experience with a genuine desire to help people in whatever capacity her position provided. She discovered through her journey that she could advance and make an impact in a more professional and global arena if she only kept pushing forward and learning as much as she could from the experiences provided to her. “I can’t say that I actually chose this career or more that it chose me, and it’s been a perfect fit. My Passion to contribute to an ever-evolving CX experience continues to grow and each new project is as exciting as the first,” explains Elena.

The style of work Elena found to be working best for her is developing procedures and processes based on best practices and the insight of the company heads and each person that is involved. Knowing the person is key to the planning and execution of a good business plan. Taking ownership of the task at hand and fully understanding how it helps to develop each person in the chosen role they will need to fulfill is crucial.

Her work style allows her to inject herself in any area that may not be performing to standards or need coverage in any instance to facilitate the company’s requirements. In this way the team is always whole no matter the situation and being able to deliver in this way has brought her success but more importantly this style of work has allowed many others to succeed as well as the company. “Multitasking is inherent for me, and I have a strong desire to pursue higher learning not only for myself but to share freely with others in their career growth adding value to them and the endeavor,” says Elena.

A team player and true leader, Elena is not much interested in contests and awards although she encourages her team and staff to achieve them. Mentoring her colleagues to succeed and achieve these awards has given her great satisfaction. She gratefully accepted the Service Excellence Mgr. of the Year award recently and feels this accolade was truly representative of her daily dedication to improving the customer experience in her industry.

Overcoming her Biggest Challenge

So far in her career, the biggest challenge Elena has encountered was a project that required the synchronizing of 7 different operations working together simultaneously. Several stakeholders were resistant to many of the necessary changes needed to be successful. Overcoming this was dependent on expressing the vision and end goals bringing together All stakeholders as one team in a short period. This could only be accomplished by educating the team that was responsible for delivering. Once the team was aligned with the overall objective, they were able to take time to personally visit each stakeholder and follow up as needed. This instilled confidence in the stakeholders seeing that Elena’s team and vision were shared by all.

“Although this was a challenge that required a lot from all involved it was one of the most rewarding not only for me and my team but for the stakeholders and the teams they manage as well. Any challenge, even one of this scale can be overcome with teamwork, dedication, communication, and a strong commitment to the end goal,” shares Elena.

Celebrating Diversity

Diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of any project that Elena oversees and feels it should be a model for anyone. She feels that each individual, regardless of background can offer unique experiences and insightful ideas. “I contribute to diversity by understanding each person is an individual and bringing with them the experiences they have gained that contribute to us as a team. I come from Guatemala and my mentors were always accepting with open arms myself and any other persons regardless of background. This has had a big impact on me as my beliefs follow the same structure,” insists Elena.

Diversity benefits everyone, being able to share and learn from each other to develop great customer service through the lens of many different eyes expanding one’s focus and improving the customer experience.

Decoding the Future

Elena takes this moment to share her advice for budding entrepreneurs. To all the newest developing entrepreneurs, she would like to tell some important things she has learned during her journey that has been key to all her success. “Never stop learning, never stop moving forward, and never give up on your path to the desired goal as you will get there by being committed to the project and or vision. The saying “nothing is easy:” is very true and you are the pioneers that will lead the vision of yourself and your company. The commitment that you have or the ideals that you will instill in others will affect all those around you. Being the spark for the flames of the future will bear you the greatest rewards far beyond your own efforts.”

As for her own team, what Elena expects to see from them in the next few years is they demonstrate the value and growth in the industry with the knowledge and experience gained. How they can translate that to add value and growth to the company will be the success. “I take great satisfaction in this and strive to share my knowledge with all of those around me to improve the growth of the organization one person at a time,” concludes Elena.

Quote 1: “We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” — Albert Einstein

Quote 2: As we develop in our career we must be open to new ideas, innovation, methods, and processes that can improve, in my case, the customer experience and how this fits in your current pursuits in the business world and even into your personal ventures as well.

We all make plans for our lives and strive to fulfill those. However, sometimes, some best things just happen without a plan and we realize them to be way better than what we decided for ourselves.

Growing up, Ized Uanikhehi always thought of being a doctor or working in the medical profession. When she couldn’t get to study medicine, she decided to study biochemistry with the hopes to switch to medicine along the line. In the meantime, she ignored the other skill which she was honing unknowingly, that of sales and marketing. When she needed to raise money back in school, that became her side gig, selling for other businesses/people and making commissions. Other times she would come up with marketing plans, strategies, and campaigns for school events, shows, and businesses, making money from those. After graduation, whilst she was waiting to go back to study medicine or get a job as a Biochemist or something in the medical industry, she finally realized what life had been telling her and took to sales and marketing as her go-to profession. The career took off from there and she never went back to school to study medicine or worked as a Biochemist.

Ized would go to businesses, and send proposals on how she could market for them on commission and it grew bigger from there. Even when she went to organizations to work in different roles, I sort of always ended up in the sales and marketing unit because that’s where she thrived. “So, I started to read and learn more about what I had a flair for. So basically, I didn’t choose the Industry, the industry chose me and I just stayed,” admits Ized. In 2021, she finally started her venture Zedi Africa with Co-Founders Elizabeth Ughoro and Kemi Ogunmuyiwa.

The Creative Head

Like Ized, Elizabeth, the Co-founder and Creative Head, too slowly discovered her passion for sales and marketing. Her career journey began in Journalism at a magazine in 2009. Elizabeth later moved to BusinessDay as an arts correspondent, a period she enjoyed, but couldn’t shake the feeling that she belonged in the world of marketing and advertising. In early 2012, she transitioned and joined CentrespreadFCB as a copywriter, and then moved to Noah’s Ark, a top advertising firm in Nigeria. Here she worked as a creative lead on many leading household brands, from Telcos to FMCGs, until she left as a Group Head, Copy in 2020, before proceeding to Loose Media as Creative Director and then Zedi as Co-founder/Creative Director, providing creative direction for numerous leading startups in Nigeria. “We are currently in the Golden Age of young startups doing great things. I want to be a part of that by creating passionate brands out of them and finding creative solutions that will help them grow,” says Elizabeth.

In her role as a Creative Director, Elizabeth is largely interpreting and executing Zedi’s creative vision and those of its clients, from creative strategy to creative direction. Zedi’s services span the whole marketing ecosystem: Strategy, Content creation, and design, SEO, Media buying, PR, personal Email Marketing, Tech, and recruitment of marketing talents for startups. She has introduced the creed of creative excellence as a mantra, guiding everything we do, from ideation to execution.

Managing The Human Asset

As for Kemi, she feels the industry chose her. In 2013, Kemi took up the role of a Project Officer at Career Development Network, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping Nigerians build skills and capabilities for the workplace, with an emphasis on fresh school leavers. In this role, her responsibilities centered on devising strategies that assisted the company in realizing its organizational goals, engaging both internal and external stakeholders, and managing the resources working on the projects. She rose through the ranks to become the Project Coordinator where she led the team that developed and published a Student Career Handbook in partnership with known brands in Nigeria, successfully managed the deployment of the Ventures Career App, and piloted and managed the annual ‘I Cee Technology’ workshops designed to provide internship platform for fresh graduates and undergraduates. This role redefined both her career interests and her professional path significantly. It made her see the wider impact of what they were doing as an organization and the roles employers can play in helping their employees better understand the importance of planning their careers, including playing a part.

All of these contributed to her decision to transition into Human Resource Management with areas of keen interest in business leadership and talent management and development. “As an HR professional, I have mostly worked in the marketing tech industry and as the pioneer People Ops professional in 3 startups, have helped to build the organizations’ human resources units from the ground up, developed organizational culture, implemented employee engagement initiatives, and managed the people resources to help achieve organizational objectives,” she says.

The Biggest Challenge (yet)

When they had just launched Zedi; the holding company that owns Zedi Africa – the marketing agency, ZedFlo – the sales agency, and HireFoster – talent recruitment in communication companies they have, Ized tried raising funds for the company to drive growth but it was really difficult, not just as a black person but also as a woman. Although she had prior industry experience and had reached certain numbers that she thought would be helpful in convincing investors that what they were doing with Zedi was the thing, it didn’t pan out as she had hoped. Even when they tried crowdfunding for $100,000, what they were able to do from their Friends & Family round was $30,000 – $40,000 which was spent before the 1st 3 months just setting up. What Ized and her co-founders learned was no one was coming to save them, they needed to be the ones to save themselves. “So, we started to come up with ideas on how to drive revenue up to sustain our expenses and instill growth. We started looking for and making key partnerships to help us drive growth. That’s what brought us to becoming a company that can sustain itself,” shares Ized.

Creating a Supportive Workspace

Zedi believes that diversity and inclusion are essential for a successful workplace. First, they want everyone who works for Zedi to feel like they belong and that they are valued for their unique contributions. They do this by creating a culture of open communication, where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and perspectives. They also make sure that every team member is treated with respect, regardless of their race/ethnicity, gender, or any other personal characteristic. Second, they believe that everyone should have the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of their background. They do this by creating a fair and equitable workplace, where everyone is evaluated on their skills and performance, not on their characteristics. They also make sure that every team member has access to the same resources and opportunities, regardless of their background.

On attracting and retaining young talent, Elizabeth says, “It’s about creating an enabling creative environment that is a culture fit for the team to thrive. I learned that you can’t make young talents stay; you can only make them feel valued, and appreciated and that you care about their overall growth and well-being.”

How Emerging Technologies Will Change the Marketing Game

Elizabeth feels that with the Metaverse, marketing just got way more personal. And it will guide many strategies, knowing that the way people try and experience products even before purchase has changed. We can connect with anyone, wherever they are in the world, on a genuine, one-on-one basis. In virtual spaces, customers can research and experience products and then decide which ones to buy.

AI marketing automation, on the other hand, can transform how marketers manage their marketing campaigns, provide personalized content, and boost customer connection. And remember that, at the moment, AI needs to be prompted; it does whatever it’s told. So, creatives and marketers in general are the super admins that guide AI. That means skill and technical know-how are still very important, even in the world of AI.

Dreams for a Better Tomorrow

Elizabeth sees Zedi as a leading growth marketing solutions platform for startups and businesses around the world. They agree that the business environment can be largely unpredictable, and startups face many challenges. However, they want to be known as a leader in providing value-adding marketing tech solutions integral to growth.

As an HR Professional, Kemi would like to change the way that HR is perceived in the workplace. She believes that HR professionals are capable of taking up more responsibilities beyond hiring, firing, and recruitment because they are equally essential to the success of the organization. As a woman entrepreneur, she would like to see more women give themselves more credit. She sees women trying hard not to brag about their accomplishments and believes it’s past time that they start to do so.

Ized on the other hand as the CEO is poised to keep the business nimble and flexible even as they grow to explore the opportunities the market may present, evolving, innovating and even pivoting with new innovations should the need arise. This is the fastest growing industry in the world, she says, to stay alive, you have to adapt with the times.

“We see our organization continuing to grow and thrive in the years to come. We have a strong team of experienced professionals who are committed to providing high-quality service. We are also always looking for new ways to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing marketing and sales landscape. In the next few years, we plan to: Expand our reach into new markets and offer new services, such as marketing consulting and training. Become the leading marketing/sales and recruitment company in the world. We are confident that we can achieve these goals because of our strong team, our commitment to excellence, and our passion for helping businesses succeed,” conclude the Founders.

Message for the Budding Entrepreneurs

“If you have a passion for something, don’t go into it until you are ready to make a business out of it. It’s not merely a passion point; it’s a business. Even charities have to make a profit. So you must be convinced that you have a product that will deliver value and make you money before following that passion.”

Quote to Live By:

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – The Dalai Lama

Diverse Styles Common Goals[1] 

Elizabeth: My work method is simply allowing the team to do their jobs while offering direction and supervision when it’s required. I have spent my entire academic and professional life as a creative person, I am aware of the need to give people space and trust them to do their jobs.

Kemi: My working style is a blend of structure and flexibility. I believe that having a well-defined plan and goals is essential for staying on track and being productive. However, I also understand that things can change quickly in the workplace, so I am always willing to modify my approach as needed.

Ized: My work style is lazy- it’s always about the simplest, fastest way to achieve results. Although it might not look like that from the outside, I am really a lazy person. So I like to get things done upfront and on time so we can go rest or bask in what we have done. For example; if I was working for a client to sell their product/service, I’d look for the fastest way to sell in bulk, meet my KPIs fast and go rest. It comes off to most people as being an overachiever because I and my team try to go beyond and above to meet KPIs in record time, but I am really just looking for us to get back to resting. LOL. I might work very well with pressure but I don’t like pressure

Having women leaders on board is a crucial step towards achieving gender equality and promoting diversity in the workplace. According to the seventh edition of Deloitte Global’s Women in the Boardroom report, companies with women CEOs or chairs tend to have more diverse boards. However, the pace of progress toward gender parity is slow, and it is estimated that the world could reach near-parity only in 2045.

This also means that women leaders, already in power and position, need to help their organizations go that extra mile in bringing women aboard. Being experienced, they know what changes in the organization will make it promising and appealing for women employees. Women need to stick together and that forms the base of CHIEF, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.

CHIEF is the only organization specifically designed for senior women leaders to strengthen their leadership journey, cross-pollinate ideas across industries, and effect change from the top down. As a distinguished member of the organization, Gretchen Villegas, a senior leader with 25+ years of experience specializing in mission-driven innovative program designs has met the most inspiring, welcoming, supportive women leaders from all industries and corners of the United States. “I am so blessed to have access to women who not only want to help one another but who really care about one another.  Since I joined CHIEF, no matter what challenge I have been facing, I do not feel alone.  I thank all of the women in CHIEF whose paths have crossed with mine for being there for me. I am also here for all of you,” shares Gretchen.

An Exciting Journey

Gretchen is an Executive Leader with 25+ years of experience in global development; with 15+ years living and working in Latin America and East and Southern Africa, and 10+ years at the headquarters offices of global development organizations working abroad.

She has worked at the intersection of where international NGOs meet both local and international private sector companies’ supply chains and how smallholder farmers, their families, and communities can become included in the system instead of excluded, leaving wealth in the communities. The growth of local wealth in vulnerable communities abroad brings dignified income, dignified lives, and empowerment for the future.

Gretchen has worked on projects in various countries including Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal to name a few. She has co-created projects with the likes of Walmart Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, Cargill Animal Nutrition, General Mills, United States Agency for International Development, United States Department of Agriculture, and too many to mention local civil society organizations making a difference in their own country’s futures.

The projects included technical training in farming as a business as well as agricultural production systems, creating entrepreneurship opportunities for those excluded from the ecosystem, integrated with nutrition-focused agriculture, job creation, and community resiliency efforts.  The effort of bringing the private sector, donors, and local civil society organizations together made the work sustainable – it did not extract resources, knowledge, and wealth, but it built it locally or at least provided a foundation to build from.

Guided by her Vision to Make an Impact

Gretchen’s working style is to set a big-picture vision as the north guiding star, and then integrate the team into How to actually execute the vision. She believes that data should drive decision-making and learning and adaptation is key to project planning, pivots, and use of human and financial resources.  The impact is the end goal – and thus how are we best stewards of the resources we have to get to the end goal.

“My teams are very collaborative; I have a flat team structure for the executive team and everyone’s voice weights decisions.  I believe I ultimately work for my team – I need to ensure the objectives are clearly defined and it is then my responsibility to ensure the team members have what they need to execute to the optimum degree possible.  As one person a vision goes nowhere, but as a team, we can join together with our individual superpowers and create a lasting impact,” she says.

One of the most impactful leadership initiatives Gretchen led was regarding how to develop not only a winning proposal design for global development impacts but to create a proposed project that would have a significant and measurable impact based on evidence and backed by a financial model.  This entailed facilitating a process that integrated various departments across the organization including the field staff, and headquarters staff, finance, human resources, programs, monitoring and evaluation, donor management, and risk and compliance.

“As the process was new it was grueling at times, however once the end result came, staff were pleased with the outcomes and felt ownership over the execution, and the donors were pleased to have an impact and financial model they could use to measure results against the funds that had been spent and define if the project was successful or not,” reminisces Gretchen.

Believing in Ideas

Innovation has been the key to Gretchen’s 25+ years of work. She believes that, for all successful global development programming, most times innovative ideas come from those very same people/communities who are being supported.  Vulnerable communities understand their circumstances, and root causes of challenges. When you listen carefully, they have parts of the answers, that when we come together and partner WITH communities, we can find innovative solutions to move forward.   Ownership, she feels, is a key ingredient in development – you not only need an innovative idea but you need to own the marketing and execution from the bottom-up to make it work for impact to be achieved.

Bridging the Gender Disparity

Gretchen has been a successful professional woman, thanks to some senior male executives who believed in her when she was young; just entering the global development industry.

The so-called “Old-boys-Club” gave her challenges to overcome and as she proved herself, they promoted her to more responsibility. “I was the only woman leading a field program for one organization for many years before another female executive was hired for the same job.  I was blessed to have some men believe in my potential and give me the chance to learn, and make mistakes, but gave me the space to prove that I could deliver.  And I did deliver time and time again, but I had to learn from my mistakes.    In some ways you could say it was Tough Love that made me the professional I am today – but I would not have asked for it to be any other way.  I really appreciate those who believed in me, when I was still growing into my positions,” she says.

There was a roadblock in being a woman leader in a still male-dominated industry when Gretchen entered. That has now changed significantly. However, when she started, she remembers being the only woman in meetings with the donors in the field and younger by at least 30 years.  She had to speak louder, present better, and push back when appropriate to gain respect.

And in the end, just be fearless and not worry about how she was perceived. 

“I believe companies need diversity at the top executive level in order to have great products/services.

We all come to the table with our own experiences and if you will “superpowers” that are honed from where we come from, thus many perspectives are the key to real quality and success.

If you limit the life experiences at the executive table, I believe you limit the optimum success that you will ever achieve,” states Gretchen.

Miles to Go

Gretchen sees herself continuing to work in global development, evolving her skills to stay innovative, and on top of her game, and becoming a mentor to so many more young leaders in the field.  She was gifted with her superpowers of building robust high-performing teams, visioning tremendous impact, and lighting the way through negotiated partnerships and co-creations. She wants to be able to pass that on to those who will evolve it into something even more impactful someday.

On taking her time out from work and balancing life Gretchen depends on friends and family as a support system. “I have a female colleague/mentor and friend who I can thank for reminding me to take care of myself.  I am not very good at it – really.  I love my work and it does become all-consuming because I love helping people and doing it across cultures and languages.  However, my friend always reminds me to take time out – block time in my schedule, just to THINK.  That advice has been invaluable as I have grown in my career.  Without time to just REFLECT and THINK I cannot stay grounded and balanced in both my personal and career goals.  For that – I am eternally grateful – and it is still a work in progress,” concludes Gretchen.

Transforming Lives :

Gretchen prides herself on being a mentor to young women. She was given support and she wants to pay that forward. 

Amenye’s Story:

Gretchen met Amenye when she was working in Malawi.  Amenye had just graduated from the local University when she applied for an entry-level monitoring position for the project I was managing.  She was young, timid in her interview, and did not have as much experience as others who had applied.  Gretchen had been told by foreigners in Malawi that women especially young women were not going to college or entering the workforce at even half the rate of men.  She saw something in Amenye, took a chance in hiring her, and never regretted one day since then. Amenye is now the National Project Manager for FAO in Malawi. As a Project Coordinator, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of two projects in fisheries, gender, and social protection including the overall management of the budget, work plan development, and partner and stakeholder collaboration. She also supports the leadership of the FAO corporate strategy.

“Amenye is a brilliant young woman who is committed to making her country a better place for everyone.  I was so blessed she joined my team right out of college,” says Gretchen fondly.

Alejandra’s Story:

Gretchen met Alejandra when she was providing support to a project in Honduras.  Alejandra was working as an administrative assistant when Gretchen entered, and once she met her, Gretchen could see right away the potential for her to manage much more.  Alejandra has an analytical mindset, uses data and evidence to describe her opinions, and is already a budding entrepreneur.  She has a passion for helping those in need and never wavers in the time it takes to get a job done the right way.  Gretchen was able to adjust her position to Impact Analytics while with the team, and she took on extra coursework in her free time and spent the many hours required to help her teammates understand how to gather and use data. “My proudest moment was when she took the reigns at a moment’s notice when asked to lead a facilitation of a mapping project; explaining to her teammates how to collect and organize data.   I am confident she will continue to create impact for her country and community at large and I am blessed to have been a part of her journey thus far,” says Gretchen.

QUOTE FROM ALEJANDRA :

“Gretchen’s leadership, characterized by a blend of passion and professionalism, has not only fostered a positive work environment but has also inspired and encouraged others to develop their skills and abilities.  Under her guidance, I have learned the importance of effective communication, the value of planning, delegating, and maintaining effective lines of communication, and the significance of fostering a supportive team culture.  Her insightful comments and constructive criticism have helped me grow personally and professionally.  I am happy to have worked with her and look forward to putting the invaluable lessons I have learned from her into practice throughout my career.”

The biggest asset for a company or organization is its people. Good employees align with the vision of the company and strive for collective growth. Organizations are always on the lookout for employees who quickly learn, are team players, and are satisfied with their jobs. Other than taking up the hiring process themselves, they also seek advice from specialized companies to find the right human resources for them.

Founded in 2013, Meethaq Employment Agency, based out of Dubai, is part of Al Ghandi Group. The Agency has been built on the foremost principle of trust, to bring a unique proposition that ensures a seamless link between its business partners and their employees. Whether the client is looking to hire a temporary assistant or wishes to outsource its entire Customer Service operation, Meethaq knows how imperative it is to motivate and engage every employee, just as a member of a growing team would be.

The Company

Meethaq helps its clients recruit the best employees. It works with the client to ensure that the recruits are fully trained and have a complete understanding of the organization’s values and culture.

“Our objective is to ensure that temporary workers are integrated as closely as possible into our clients’ operations, so as to maximize engagement, without creating the possibility of co-employment,” says the CEO, Maryam Buti AlMheiri. 

Meethaq works continuously with its business partners to maintain these high levels of engagement and employee enthusiasm. This has uniquely enabled them to create an environment of trust, longevity, security, and career development that, in turn, has resulted in consistently low rates of absenteeism and attrition.

A Confident Leader

Maryam confidently serves as the CEO of Meethaq Employment Agency, where she weaves in her expertise and passion for the sector and plays a strong role in its operations. 

Maryam comes from three different work backgrounds. She had a career in TECOM Group, a semi-government group, as an administrator in 2005. It served as a stepping stone to her journey. In 2011, she joined the Dubai government sector where she was involved in a variety of roles, including managing the Dubai land departments. Finally, in 2015 she settled into the private sector with Meethaq Employment Agency as CEO.

These opportunities provided Maryam with a platform to grow as an individual alongside her management career, despite some challenges. The new concept of outsourcing came into the Dubai market around 2013 and she decided to choose the outsourcing industry because it is driven by a combination of business goals, market conditions, and individual career aspirations and she wanted to explore that. Convincing people about outsourcing services was a challenge initially. “There is one major challenge that I have faced since I started my career, which was to educate people about the outsourcing industry explain the new concept of outsourcing to them within the UAE and drive Meethaq Employment Agency to success. I overcame this challenge by completing new business deals from all around the world. I have learned that always “just do and don’t think”, take the risk and think out of the box,” shares Maryam.

In her current role, Maryam is responsible for setting Meethaq’s strategic direction, making critical decisions, and overseeing the execution of business plans. Also, she guides the entire organization toward its goals and ensures that all departments and teams work in alignment with the company’s vision. Additionally, Maryam often represents the company to stakeholders, including investors, the board of directors, and the public, fostering relationships and maintaining the organization’s reputation. “In essence, I am the driving force behind the company’s success, balancing leadership, decision-making, and accountability for the overall health and performance of the business,” she says.

A Role with Multiple Layers

As a CEO, Maryam’s working style varies widely depending on the individual and the organization’s culture and needs. She gets to play the role of a visionary as she sets a clear and inspiring vision for Meethaq’s future. She needs to utilize her strategic and decisive skills while developing long-term strategies to achieve Meethaq’s goals and making tough decisions to drive the organization forward.

She needs to be collaborative as she must work with leadership teams and employees to foster a collaborative culture. At the same time, she needs to be inspirational to motivate her teams to excel. She is expected to be accountable and take responsibility for the company’s performance and results. She also needs to consider global perspectives in decision-making for multinational companies and focus on achieving measurable outcomes

As the CEO, Maryam has introduced many novel ideas at Meethaq. One of them is to extend its recruitment services to doctors, teaching professionals, and financial units. Another idea was establishing an Emiratization program within the organization where they support the local candidates to find their dream future careers. She also helped establish an electronic system for the company, which led to speeding up the work, maintaining its quality, and saving operational costs. 

A Strong Presence

Meethaq established a strong presence in the market, serving as a bridge between skilled individuals and organizations in the public and private sectors not just in the country and region, but also internationally. The firm assists with the initial recruitment process, designs customized solutions for businesses’ objectives, and introduces flexibility in the workforce for staffing requirements.

Being unique as a 100 percent Emirati-run organization, it caters to a variety of job sectors, with plans to extend its recruitment services to doctors, teaching professionals, and financial units in the future. The agency also takes pride in client retention, loyalty, and trust.

The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the way businesses operate, and successful entrepreneurs are leveraging this power to their organization’s benefit in innovative ways. At Meethaq, the leadership has built virtual teams with members located around the UAE. Collaboration tools like video conferencing, project management software, and shared document platforms enable effective teamwork despite distances. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, but Maryam was one of the first entrepreneurs who adopted this trend already. “Remote work options and flexible hours are becoming the norm, improving work-life balance and employee satisfaction which led to the operation saving costs on the company and increasing profits,” shares Maryam.

Current Challenges in the Industry 

The outsourcing industry, which has experienced significant growth in recent years, is currently facing several challenges that threaten its progress, shares Maryam. These challenges include increased competition, cybersecurity threats, changing customer expectations, and evolving regulatory landscapes. To maintain and enhance its position in the global business landscape, the outsourcing industry must address these issues with strategic solutions.

According to Maryam, cybersecurity threats and changing customer expectations are the biggest challenges nowadays. As a potential solution for cybersecurity threats, she believes in investing in state-of-the-art cybersecurity infrastructure, including encryption, intrusion detection, and employee training. Also, the implementation of real-time monitoring and threat intelligence systems to proactively identify and respond to threats can be done. The potential solution for changing customer expectations is to develop a deep understanding of client needs and preferences, tailoring services to meet their specific requirements. Fostering open and transparent communication channels with clients to build trust and provide regular updates on project progress can also help.

Maryam encourages young entrepreneurs to come to the fore with creative ideas to resolve the issues. She says, “Starting a business is a challenging but rewarding journey. Remember that every successful entrepreneur faces obstacles along the way. Your determination and dedication can lead to a prosperous venture. Believe in yourself and you will be successful. You can do it. When you are planning to pursue something, you need to have a vision and set goals — think about what you want to be and where you would like to go with it. Learn to improve yourself and accept risks.”

Plans Ahead

“As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of our industry, it’s important to set clear expectations for the future. The expectations for the next few years from my team revolve around innovation, customer satisfaction, efficiency, collaboration, personal development, and ethical conduct. We believe that by aligning our efforts with these expectations, we can achieve our strategic goals and continue to excel in our industry,” concludes Maryam.

Drawing Inspiration 

“The quote that I live with is the saying of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, “They say the sky is the limit of ambition …. We say: the sky is only the beginning.”

Quote: “I hold an innate curiosity for the world of business management.”