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Anouk Vastert: Customer Centricity Transformation Leader driving Outside-in culture change

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A motivator, planner, and connector, Anouk Vastert, Global Customer Experience Advisor at SAP, believes in the importance of bringing people together for better results. An advocate of cross-functional cooperation, Anouk is averse to silos which she feels are the biggest roadblocks in companies hampering the delivery of a good and consistent customer experience and a great employee experience.

She believes in Driving business results through product-, employee- and customer experience improvements. She loves to empower people and teams by first creating a Vision together and setting clear goals. These tactical goals and assets, which she calls Experience Principles, are created with everyone’s input, can be used by everyone, and are a clue towards a successful transformation.

Customer-Centric DNA

Born into a family of Hotel-Restaurant entrepreneurs, Anouk found customer-centricity in her DNA. Luckily, the first job she got was with Coca-Cola where she was nurtured as an Outside-In professional. It allowed her to learn professional Sales and Marketing skills and a customer-centric way of working and building professional customer partnerships. “I learned the service business by heart from my father and often remember his famous quote – the customer is King but only when he/she behaves as a King,” shares Anouk.

At Coca-Cola as a Key Account manager, she was always looking for improvements. Anouk noticed the Order Entry Services department operated separately and was situated on a different floor in the building. That hampered a good way of working towards their largest customers. So here was her Lesson One: if you make a good plan to improve, big chance leadership says ‘Very good idea, go do it! Here Anouk learned that you can do anything, there are no limits; just make a plan, propose, discuss, and GO.

Later when there was a problem with the Supply Chain at the factory in the south of the Netherlands, she went to work there as a Supply Chain Development manager. Her Lesson Two: If you stay a specialist, you might rise faster on the career ladder; I loved going wider from Sales to Supply Chain, learning much more about the overall business which makes you richer and very effective as a manager and cross-functional professional.

After 8 years with Coca-Cola, Anouk moved on to Royal Philips, a leader in Consumer Lifestyle products, Lighting, and HealthCare where she was responsible for the Marketing, Sales, and Digital Transformation of Global Consumer Care. Together with her team, she built and executed Customer Experience in the B2C part of Philips. A few years later, B2B Healthcare asked her to do the same there. That brought her to Atlanta for 2.5 years, building a Global Customer Experience or Customer Centricity Transformation program together with the USA team. Markets and customers were extremely happy with this focus and it brought great results for the company increasing NPS; resulting in increased order book and revenues.

Speaking at a few conferences in 2019 brought her to SAP, another beautiful large strong global company that was at that time hiring people straight from business roles instead of a technology background. For Anouk, it was a great opportunity to work with all kinds of companies instead of just transforming one.

Kickstarting Transformation at SAP

SAP is the Market leader in Enterprise application software helping companies to run at their best. 77% of world transaction revenue touches an SAP system. SAP will continue to be the engine for business, bringing powerful, proven innovations that serve companies both now and into the future. They are helping enterprises around the world transform their business models to accelerate growth, put sustainability at the center of their operations, build resilient and agile supply chains, and increase productivity. Whether companies are transitioning amid market uncertainty or are intent on getting ahead of the competition and being ready for fast-changing demands, SAP helps address top priorities: achieve business transformation at speed, gain easy-to-use innovations, and work with a trusted partner.

When Anouk started with SAP in 2020 as Global Customer Experience (CX) Advisor, she noticed SAP was talking about Customer Experience as if it was only a Digital or IT activity related to their CX Solution Portfolio. This is only partly true. Most companies worldwide talk about Customer Experience as an overall direction or transformation of the organization. And that is wonderful cause SAP can help them to get there. “Together we first create the Customer-Centric Vision and their Experience Principles. Then we do Customer Journey Mapping with a cross-functional team to find their top 10 pain points. This can be in Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, Finance, or Employee experience. Then we support our customers driving the change in People, Process, Data, and Tools: in the end, bringing in the right technology to support that direction,” says Anouk explaining the process.

Anouk heads a team of 25 Global Customer Experience Advisors that are consultants for customers worldwide. They all come from Business roles at companies in different industries like Walmart, Caterpillar, Philips, Nespresso, ABB, Swarovski, PVH/Calvin Klein. Due to their experience, the conversations they have with Customers are in their business language instead of technology language and are outside-in instead of inside-out.

Customer Centricity as a Way of Business

The notion of having Customer Experience (CX) as an integral part of business strategy has been around for the past 2 decades. However, with the rise in discussions about Customer Experience, there has also been a rise in misunderstanding about CX, how a company can be successful through CX management, and the benefits that a company can expect from CX done right. To dispel the misunderstandings, and make customer-centricity more effective for business, there is a large Customer Experience organization in the world called CPXA. That is where Experience professionals meet, connect and share their work. The CXPA provides a great Exam for everyone who wants to become a Customer Experience Transformation professional: the CCXP. Anouk, a CCXP herself, feels that it is very important that many more CX professionals get this title as there are still so many more companies that need to go in this direction for long-term value.

As the world continuously wants to run better; be more sustainable, efficient, and customer-focused, there are not many things hampering the progress of customer centricity. Things that might stand in the way of moving faster are the original strong technology culture and short-term sales focus at the industry side, and the lack of customer focus at the company’s side. Anouk still gets surprised about the amount of (mostly B2B) companies that can deliver a difficult experience to their customers. There is likely an inside-out, old-fashioned mindset and the company is clearly not investing enough in making it easy to do business with. So, there is still a lot of work to do!

For a few years, Anouk has been a Judge at the International Customer Experience Awards organized by Awards International. “This is beautiful as it brings ALL companies in the world together with their best Customer Experience or Employee Experience projects and results. A great way of seeing what’s going on in the world and where can you learn from it. This year I have been asked to join the Steering Committee of the ICXA,” she shares.

Creating an Inclusive Workplace

SAP aspires to be the most inclusive company and therefore there are many initiatives across the world. They recently launched an initiative called ‘SAP Allyship for Inclusion’; to create an environment where each of us feels included, all of us have a central role to play as allies. “Allyship is the intentional use of our privilege and voice to support and advocate for those who might not have a seat at the table. The beauty is that each one of us needs an ally and each of us can be an ally, and together we can lift each other,” explains Anouk.

Currently most of her efforts go to taking care of respect for each other. There are many different cultures and it is important that everyone understands each other related to behavior and language differences. Native English speakers can take more care of the non-natives by speaking slower and using less slang or word jokes. “We want everyone “in the teams call” to feel included and understand what is being discussed. Here we touch Employee Experience which is a big pillar of Customer Experience hence extremely important to take care of,” says Anouk.

Handling Difficult Situations

Challenges are a part of a professional’s life. When a company is going through a Customer Experience transformation or an IT implementation, many leaders think this is a rational or technical thing. But the biggest challenges often sit with the people. Most times budgets for change management are way too small or taken out and Change is brought back to just a few communications. Same happened in Philips when Anouk was implementing CRM worldwide or during the CX transformation period. Her lesson at that time: “A Fool with a Tool is still a Fool”. They had to increase investments in people for them to understand and drive the change.

As an example; Customer Journey Mapping is not just a rational exercise finding customer pain points, but an opportunity to bring 40 cross functional people together for better understanding of each other’s challenges and teaming up to improve the customer experiences. This also tackled the second challenge which is the silos in the organization. Bringing people together reduces silo thinking and silo way of working.

“I am really allergic to silos and a red thread through my career has been connecting people from different departments to work together cause I truly believe in 1 + 1 = 5.

Especially in Customer Centric or Customer experience transformations, change management is extremely important. Create a Vision together and make the implementation practical, tactical and enjoyable. Make sure to free enough funds and FTE’s for this if you want to be successful,” shares Anouk.

Coming up Next

The Customer Experience Advisory team in SAP will continue to build an outside-in, customer-first way of working within SAP, and they support their customers’ transformation to a customer-centric organization where all capabilities are designed outside-in. Anouk and her team have also developed “Firestarter”; an external thought-leadership and innovation

community crowdsourced by a growing network of business members focused on business topics, issues, and outcomes.

Words of Wisdom

Anouk shares the following gem of advice for budding entrepreneurs:

“Customer First: whatever product you create and sell, make sure your Customer is really at the Center of everything you do. Do not just focus on the technology or selling but make sure your (potential) customers can find you easily, reach out easily, get their questions answered fast and easily, and solve their problems with your products fast and in the way THEY WANT it, not the way you want it. Immediately develop (or hire) a true outside-in mindset in your team.”

Living by Her Rules

“Well-behaved women rarely make history” Eleanor Roosevelt.

Anouk lives her life on her terms and loves to discuss the Status Quo or be a little provocative (her perfume is Provocative Woman by Elisabeth Arden) not just for the sake of it but to get people out of their routines, comfort zones, and flip their thoughts 😊

Anouk is based in the Netherlands and has 2 dogs. As she works full time across the Globe they have a Nanny at home for 2-3 days a week and go to daycare. She didn’t start a family on purpose as she liked her life too much with just work, travel, and friends. She is also a part of an all-women band with 23 other spirited women who love to make some music and have fun.

As a volunteer, she is currently on the board of the animal shelter and this July with her niece Nynke (20, daughter of her sister) she’ll be off to Malawi, Africa to work at the Lilongwe Wildlife Sanctuary.

Quote: “I have a very positive, always motivating personality and I love big challenges.”

Dr. Melissa Hortman – a purposefully driven disruptor

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The Purposefully Driven Disruptor Leads Higher Education Transformation Innovation for Students of Today and Tomorrow

As a purposefully driven disruptor, Dr. Melissa Hortman does everything intentionally and strategically to challenge the status quo and to create positive change.

Charting Her Path

Dr. Hortman’s path was never meant to lead her to work for big tech. She realized early in her professional journey that she was meant for a path less taken. However, the common thread that has pulled her along through each step of her journey is a fundamental mission to help others and make a positive impact in the world.

As an undergraduate, Dr. Hortman chose Architecture because every space we occupy can affect our mood, productivity, and behavior. As a bonus, this was as far away from education as she could get as her parents were educators and she didn’t want to walk in their footsteps. She had to pave her own path.

Outside of learning about the theory and practice of Architecture, Dr. Hortman worked multiple jobs on campus to help pay her tuition. She learned about the heart of higher education through auxiliary and support services. There was something there for her that aligned with her passions. She decided to pursue a master’s in student affairs to understand higher education more. The layers started to unpeel for her to see how working in higher education could give her purpose in helping others and making a positive impact. She found a love for innovating in teaching and learning, working to pave the path for new programs and initiatives, and being an ally and advocate for inclusivity. She had the privilege of teaching amazing students and mentoring people around her, many of which had more of an impact on her than she had on them.

She then found her personal mission aligning with that of Microsoft, “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” While she does not work within a singular higher education institution, Dr. Hortman gets to lead work across all of higher education. “My goal is to bring higher education and Microsoft closer together because we are both working on solving the same problems, serving the same people, and driving forward a future of transformation and innovation in education,” she says.

Her Work at Microsoft

When Dr. Hortman began to understand the heart of higher education, she became deeply invested in its success. When she joined Microsoft, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t leaving higher education as she knew there is still more work for her to do there. As a Senior Industry Executive at Microsoft, she helps higher education transform for the students of today and tomorrow. Her goal is to empower faculty innovation and student resiliency to make higher education more agile and stronger during disruptions now and in the future. “We live in a time when disruptions are all around us, increasingly more in higher education than there ever was in the past. I work with colleagues across academia to help solve these current challenges and anticipate future needs,” she says.

Another part of Dr. Hortman’s role is driving Microsoft’s strategy in academic research. This is such a fascinating area because, while cloud computing has been around and is available for researchers in higher education, the use of the cloud to accelerate time to science and science to scholarship is becoming more pervasive for all types of research. The cloud is a game-changer for researchers. It can transform their research because what may not have been possible before is possible now. New research questions can be asked. New science can be explored. The possibilities are endless.

Ideas at Work

Dr. Hortman’s role at Microsoft was envisioned to support faculty in their pursuits of teaching, research, and scholarship. She joined Microsoft to build a bridge. Coming from academia, these are her colleagues, and her friends, that are now her customers, and it was important for her to make sure to approach them as such.

Driving strategy along with connecting with customers positions Dr. Hortman to give faculty and researchers a voice within Microsoft. During her tenure, she launched a new approach to the Microsoft Academic Research Community Advisory Board that created a more intimate group of researchers and leaders in the research community who were willing to lean in and truly advise Microsoft on how we could better support this community. As Microsoft works to truly show up for research and accelerate time to science and science to scholarship, Dr. Hortman has a trusted group of advisors she consults with to ensure they are working in the right direction for the academic community.

Taking on Challenges

Dr. Hortman faced challenges as a female in various predominately male fields. From Architecture to big tech and even advanced degrees, she has been one of the few females in those spaces. She has learned how to find her voice and speak up to share another perspective or challenge the status quo. It was incredibly challenging but amazingly liberating. This is where her passion for disruption started. “Your voice is your strongest asset and can use it for driving your personal and professional mission forward,’ she asserts.

Dr. Hortman’s father often told her from a very young age, “if you aren’t having fun, don’t do it”. She has lived by these words in her personal and professional life. “Fun is in the challenges you work to overcome, it’s in the successes you find, it’s in the relationships you build,” she says.

Leveraging Technology

Technology is only as good as the human using it. Dr. Hortman believes technology can never replace a human, but a human using technology can. That is important to remember as the world is quickly changing around us, and we can easily become irrelevant tomorrow with the advancement of technology. Staying current on technology, even if it isn’t directly relevant to one’s role, is imperative as technology is becoming more pervasive across all disciplines.

Dr. Hortman is excited about working with disruptive technologies. “Working in the space of early adoption and emerging capabilities can put you on the bleeding edge. Sometimes you’re successful in your bleeding edge innovations, many times not. While you might be more comfortable in the middle or even at the end of the innovation curve, we must educate ourselves on what is already here and what is coming so we can better anticipate change,” she says.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hortman has used technology as a catalyst to create opportunities to accelerate her ideas, design innovations and processes, and support her in pushing boundaries. She has worked alongside a team to create a wellness PowerApp that scaled to a 30,000+ employee enterprise and created automated workflows for my team so they never had to worry about backup on taking days off.

She has seen amazing people leverage technology to transform education and research in innovative ways. “I’ve seen how cloud technologies can truly transform research in ways she never thought possible. Putting advanced technology in the hands of some of the smartest people in the world, academic researchers, we are seeing bleeding-edge research come to life and answer some of the toughest research questions ever asked. Technology didn’t do the research. Technology didn’t push through boundaries. Researchers empowered with advanced technologies did,” she asserts.

Rewarding Moments

For Dr. Hortman, more than accolades, it has always been important to seek out how she could have an impact. While there have been awards along the way, it’s the stories of impact behind the awards that really stick with her.

Dr. Hortman has impacted higher education by sharing her best practices and research with colleagues. She has delivered keynotes at industry conferences where she presented over 40 peer-reviewed sessions. She was also part of a group that created a novel, international, peer-reviewed journal for faculty to share their innovations in teaching and learning in higher education. She earned a Hero Award in her first year at Microsoft for bringing the faculty voice to all they do at Microsoft. She was nominated to be part of a leadership development program at Microsoft.

While professional impacts are important, personal pursuits of impact are equally as important for Dr. Hortman. After having conversations with colleagues across Microsoft, she discovered there wasn’t proactive communication for higher education faculty. She aimed to change that with a LinkedIn newsletter called “On Track with MicrosoftEDU” where she highlights a colleague in academia, shares timely resources and brings together all the Microsoft opportunities and events for faculty. Finally, she recently completed the Disney “Dopey” Challenge, which consists of a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon completed in consecutive days. “This is the second time I’ve completed this running challenge, once before I had my two children and now once after. It was amazing to see my kids hold up signs of encouragement like ‘My mom is awesome!’ and “Run, mommy, run!” she exclaims.

On the Cards

Dr. Hortman’s goal is to showcase Microsoft’s value in technology across all roles in higher education, and by expanding its market to end-users across campus, innovative opportunities can be discovered throughout the institution. She truly believes in Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. Growth at Microsoft in higher education means empowering every student, every faculty member, and every administrator with the tools so they can excel in their respective roles and contribute to the overall success of their institution.

Expanding the research enterprise and research excellence are areas of interest across all higher education because while the advancement of knowledge is important, it is equally important to grow funding sources for higher education. With only 2.57% of institutions having R1 (very high research activity) classification in the U.S., there are 4,383 other institutions that are striving to grow their research enterprises (per 2021 data of the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education). Dr. Hortman’s goal is to bring Microsoft alongside to support 100% of the institutions who want to grow their research enterprise by transforming research infrastructure to expand options for faculty’s research initiatives, foster a culture of research where the institution can strive to move to or retain R1 classification, and build a vision for leading innovation and discovery that will drive economic growth and development in their communities and regions.

Words for the Next Gen Disruptors

“As the world around us is changing constantly, Dr. Hortman would challenge the next generation, in any organization or domain, to disrupt or be disrupted. Change is constant so it is important to be agile in one’s work and approaches.

As higher education moves into the next decade, the transformation will need to be considered in higher education from admissions processes to communicating and collaborating with individuals and teams. Leaders can inspire and influence transformation all while providing stability during change. Thus, transformational leaders can create a clear and inspiring vision that they can effectively communicate to others while also being focused on the growth and development of individuals on their teams. If the disruption of COVID-19 has taught the next generation of higher education leaders anything, it is that they can overcome very challenging times and come out on the other side stronger for themselves, their team, and the students they serve. Those are the leaders of tomorrow that I am excited about leaning into transformation for all of higher education,” concludes Dr. Hortman.

Graeme M. Keith -Graeme M. Keith III: Carrying a Legacy

Posted on by theciotimes

The Keith Corporation (TKC) is a full-service commercial real estate firm, serving clients in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It was founded by Graeme Keith Sr. and Graeme “Greg” Keith Jr. in 1989. Today, Graeme M. Keith III leads several divisions of the company and is also a part of the Executive Leadership team. TKC’s mission is to deliver the highest level of quality, service, commitment, and excellence to its clients. The firm’s vast client portfolio includes multinational Fortune 500 corporations, top-rated hospitals, Department of Defense contractors, industrial giants, and high-growth startups. The firm is a progressive commercial real estate firm and credits employees for its success as it remains focused on the future. 

Staying Relevant through 3 decades

Graeme M. Keith III believes that the longevity of TKC is attributable to adaptation, but also to the firm’s family-oriented culture. They have many employees who have been with them for over 25 years and the median length of employment is 10+ years. Graeme feels extremely fortunate to have, and is very intentional about maintaining, such an incredibly tight-knit and family-oriented culture. That culture leads to fierce loyalty and long-term personal and professional relationships and fulfillment. This also results in a natural progression to mentorship opportunities where the newer employees build relationships with some of the more seasoned employees which ends up creating a powerful cycle and stronger bond. “We believe our people are our single greatest asset and there would be no success without them, so we try to invest heavily in them and create an environment where they are fulfilled personally and professionally,” says Graeme.

Further, he says, regardless of the industry and the company culture, to stay relevant and thrive, you must adapt. There are plenty of companies that had great cultures that ultimately ended up becoming extinct because they didn’t adapt. We are constantly trying to “skate where the puck is going, not where it is” which leads to a lot of lively and creative discussions internally. The simplest example of this is that TKC originally started as a single-tenant, net lease build-to-suit developer focused on the Industrial sector. Soon thereafter, they had opportunities for expansion into retail followed by office, healthcare and, most recently, airplane hangars. 

“While we are always trying to grow and evolve, one of the non-negotiables is always providing excellent customer service to our clients. In order to provide that level of service, we are always trying to stay on the cutting edge of optimization technology, as well as industry best practices. Our key stakeholders not only assess the competitive landscape and see where we are deficient compared to our competitors, but those stakeholders also double down on where we set the standard,” says Graeme. 

A Leader par Excellence

Graeme M. Keith, III graduated from The McCallie School, Wake Forest University and Charleston School of Law and is a licensed attorney in South Carolina. In his 11 years at The Keith Corporation, he has completed well over $500 million in deals. He has started and runs several other companies, including MedChat, LLC, and Flux Capital, LLC and he has a stealth start-up that is democratizing access to the financial sector, helping consumers to be more well-informed. Health and Wellness have always been very important to Graeme and he has competed in several half and full IRONMAN triathlons, XTERRA World Championships and won countless mud runs and adventure races across the United States.

All of the companies Graeme is involved in have a very similar philosophy: he tries to be the weakest link on the team. He explains, “If I am the weakest link, I feel like we’re going to have a very competitive team. I learned this when I was competing in mud runs and adventure races across the country and the same philosophy goes for business as well… This is a Biblical philosophy. In Proverbs 27:17 it says: ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’ If you want to be faster, train with faster athletes. If you want to be smarter, spend time with smarter people. If you want to be more successful, surround yourself with people who are more successful than yourself.”

Graeme always tries to surround himself with the best: At The Keith Corp., he works alongside an incredible team of dealmakers, project managers, accountants, administrative professionals, etc. At MedChat, he works with an amazing team of developers and engineers, as well as very talented sales, implementation, and customer success teams. This is the same at the other companies he’s involved in. The common theme at all of these organizations is that he tries to ensure he is one of the weakest members of the team.

“One of the greatest misconceptions about leadership is that it’s the Leader who drives the results, but in my opinion, it’s the exact opposite. The Leader may chart the course, but it’s the team who is most responsible for the outcomes. As a Leader, I simply try to find the most talented people and put them in positions where they can succeed,” says Graeme.

Exceeding Client Expectations

What TKC does is not super-unique, but how they do it is a hyper-focused commitment to customer service. Everything they do is client-driven; they always aim to provide the highest level of service and quality to their clients in a straightforward manner. Tthere have been a lot of changes over the last 33 years, but TKC’s commitment to its clients has not changed and will not change as long as there is a Keith at the helm. 

Client service looks different for every client: some want weekly updates and status reports, and others just want the keys when the building is finished. The team at TKC first tries to understand the most important items for its customers and then tailors its program around those hot button items. Those can range from cost-conscious value engineering exercises to aesthetics-driven design to ensuring flat floors for automation technology or building controls and security. 

In addition to tailoring its program to clients, Graeme and his team always try to under-promise and over-deliver by completing the projects on time and at, or under, budget. “If we do not feel like we can do a project in a first-class manner, we will let our clients know. It does not happen often, but we have passed on a handful of projects because we did not feel like we were positioned to perform at the level our clients expect from us,” shares Graeme.

Aside from the customer service piece, TKC also leverages a plethora of different software programs to add value to its clients’ processes. These range from mapping programs to demographics subscriptions to utilizing geofencing technologies to help understand and predict consumer behaviors that are relevant to our clients. 

As a result of its culture, Graeme feels that TKC is fortunate to have many employees who have been with the firm for decades. This makes continuity of service much easier and builds a predictable and scalable business for their clients. “A huge part of our success and relevance is the team that we have. We believe in hiring the best, most qualified people, giving them the tools they need to be successful, providing a great working environment, and giving them the autonomy to perform their job without micromanagement,” asserts Graeme.

Advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs:

Graeme advises them saying:

1) Keep your head down and focus on your end goal. Despite what you may see on social media, there are no shortcuts to success, and 

2) Thomas Paine said: “Character, unlike money, is much easier kept than recovered.” Your reputation and character should never be put on the line. An easy way to determine this in a bright-line test is to think about someone you admire and look up to. Then think of the behavior in question to accomplish the goal you’re seeking to accomplish – would you be proud or ashamed if the person you admire found out about how you acted to accomplish that goal? Your character and reputation are precious and no amount of success is worth risking them.

Assessing the Future

From a personal standpoint, Graeme has a long list of goals he would like to achieve. They run the gamut from hiking the entire Appalachian Trail to seeing Mavericks or Jaws (big wave surfing spots) from the water to driving 200mph in a car and making someone’s lifelong dream come true. He would like to start ticking off some more of those goals over the next few years.

From a professional standpoint, he loves innovating and creating and believes there will be a handful of new and exciting companies over the coming years. He thinks the web3 movement has the potential of being the most disruptive movement since the creation of the internet and hopes to be involved in that space in a meaningful way. He also believes the blockchain and web3 movements have the potential to play a huge role in the future of commercial real estate. At TKC, he has created a digital leadership task force to evaluate what we think that might look like in the future and consider how it could bring value to their clients as well as their internal shareholders.

While he does not have any immediate plans to enter into any new sectors, the entrepreneurial nature of his company means he is always evaluating new opportunities and business lines. “I believe the largest gaps in our service offerings are currently in the multi-family residential and storage sectors. I do not expect us to make a move into either of those sectors this cycle, but believe there are opportunities there that could make sense for us down the road,” concludes Graeme.

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KEVIN STEER -Redifing FinTech and InsurTech to create a smarter world’

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THE INCEPTION OF 121ADVISOR

After graduating from Cambridge University in 1978, Kevin commenced his Schlumberger journey and worked there for five years. There, he witnessed the mind-boggling evolution of the IT sector and made his mind pursue Masters in Computing from Imperial College.

Artificial intelligence had made its mark on Kevin’s mind. As a CEO and a ‘technology person’, Kevin had always strived to look at new solutions to continue evolving the business. What was interesting was that he worked for an Artificial Intelligence Company in 1986, and that piqued his interest in AI. 121Advisor started researching on AI solutions and the team implemented 24×7 multi-lingual Chatbots, Robo Advisors for lifestyle financial planning, as well as implementing Predictive Analytics solutions for predicting new products to buy, lapsation of policies & fraudulent claims; which are integrated with RPA solutions to trigger workflows to notify the relevant people.

With his passion growing, he moved to Malaysia to turn his ideas into services and implement solutions on banking and insurance. He targeted China, India, and other Asian countries to expand the horizons for his business.

During this period, he honed his skills and gained valuable experience. In 2010, Kevin set up 121 Advisory to develop smart FinTech and InsurTech solutions with the vision of simplifying technology and creating a new dimension into the financial and insurance sector.

He aims to develop a unique knowledge portal named u12know in multi-lingual translations and share with all the customers in Asia Pacific countries and then move to Europe and the US. The company is currently collaborating with several banks and insurers.

PORTFOLIO OF SERVICES PROVIDED

The company has a diverse portfolio that offers a multitude of services.

  • Predictive Analytics with Machine Learning
  • Multi-lingual Chatbot for Financial, Insurance & Takaful (FITbot)

Multi-lingual Robo Advisor and a chatbot that utilizes hybrid trees and natural language processing (NLP) to engage with customers to offer a more personalized customer experience and generate more referrals.

  • Web Portal Solution for Sales & Servicing (WebPoS)

Multi-lingual mobile responsive website and portal solution to enable clients to experience a unified personalized digital experience where content, sales, marketing, and work management are consolidated instead of siloed.

  • Referral Management & Marketing Automation (ReMMA)

Used by banks to effectively and efficiently auto-assign leads, track, and manage lead referrals and conversions based on user-defined workflows. Marketing automation results in personalized content delivery targeted campaigns and engagement.

  • Sales Activity Mobile App (SAMA)

Allows agents to effectively plan and manage sales activity to ensure all leads and prospects are addressed. Managers can monitor real-time to render assistance where necessary.

  • Online Sales Solutions

They have implemented an online sales solution, for customers to buy online.

  • Community & E-worksite Marketing & Distribution (CeMD)

Community portal solution allows organizations to engage with members of their community to nurture trust and create advocates thereby improving customer retention. Recently launched u12know knowledge portal.

  • Customer Service Portal
    The Customer Self Service Portal is an on-demand access point enabling the customer to view their insurance/takaful account, anywhere and anytime. This enables the policyholders to view their policies and certificate details via a simple internet connection. The portal provides a safe avenue for customers to update their personal information, pay the premium, switch funds, print documents, update beneficiary details, request policy changes and engage in filing claims and processing, which traditionally would take weeks to be executed due to siloed lines of business. Providing a portal for your customers with the convenience of self-servicing, customers can enjoy the freedom of doing what’s convenient for them when they want anywhere.
  • Takaful & Insurance Mobility Made Simple (TIMMS)
    A cross-platform mobile point of sales solution allowing agents to identify client financial needs via Customer Fact Find, recommend products, make presentations, generate quotes and e-submit applications, in a regulatory compliant process. Solutions for IOS, Android & Windows.
  • Enterprise Product Configurator (EPC)

Reduces the time to market for insurance and takaful products. Built to rapidly set up product rates, illustrations, validation engine as well as an automated testing module allows quick product deployment.

  • Multi-channel Distribution Management Solution (McDMS)

For general agencies, IFAs, brokers, Agency Leader Corporations (ALCs) simplify operations by consolidating their diverse requirements. With built-in performance management and compensation computation, their clients have seen improved sales with reduced administration costs.

THE COMPANY IN THE YEARS TO COME

With Kevin’s astounding ideas and a passion to change the AI sector, the 121Advisor has recently launched a knowledge portal www.u12know.com  in Malaysia in September 2020, where they are actively onboarding users.
121Advisor will be signing up with several banks, insurers, takaful operators, unit trust companies & will-writing services to offer their services online.

They aim to improve the financial literacy and personal wellness for southeast Asian millennials, by providing an online community portal known as u12know.com, where community members can self-educate on various financial and wellness topics, seek opinions & professional advice from community members & Independent Financial Advisors and finally purchase products or services if they so choose. This will be rolled out to multiple countries in South East Asia with multi-lingual translations for each country.

The portal consists of 3 components:

a.    Providing Financial Advice for each lifestyle (e.g. cost of getting married, how much to have a child, child education, medical & critical illness planning).

b.    My Business providing advice on corporate loans, employee benefits, product liability, director protection.

c.    Health & Wellness providing health calculators with a ‘Total Health Score’ to assess a person’s wellness (healthy, unhealthy, at risk).

121Advisor has grown to 20+ companies, and they are growing further. They plan to expand to Singapore and Indonesia. They plan to grow the u12know in APAC countries, and they plan to expand to the USA & Europe.

KEVIN AS A LEADING LIGHT FOR HIS TEAM

With his experience and understanding, Kevin acts as an outstanding leader and mentor. He realises the importance of making the environment comfortable for his colleagues. He recognises their ideas and inputs and constantly motivates them to think and innovate.

He handles the mobile and web development teams and leads them with precision and utmost dedication. A strong believer in quality, Kevin has an efficient management system. He discusses all the elements with the whole squad regularly and focuses on achieving daily milestones.

With the organisation under his supervision, the company has taken up several projects and delivered compelling results.

Quanda Francis : Viktor E Frankl, Austrian neurologist, Holocaust Survivor

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Meet the Woman who wants to become the fiduciary and trustee of one of the most complex retirement systems in the United States with roughly $252 billion in invested assets to date.“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” –

Viktor E Frankl, Austrian neurologist, Holocaust Survivor

Every day we wake up, we are presented with choices in our life. From small to big, these choices and decisions determine where we are headed. Of course, there are times when we cannot control the circumstances. There are times when everything seems to be moving downhill. There are times when we would rather have different choices than the ones we are presented with. 

Even in such adverse situations, we do have choices. We can either succumb to the situation, flowing with the time and letting it take us wherever it wants; Or we can choose to focus our energy on changing the circumstance from adverse to favorable. When we are young, we are full of optimism. The adrenalin that flows inside makes us think that we can achieve almost anything. However, when decisions lead to unfavorable outcomes, what do we do?

At 17, Quanda Francis found herself at the threshold of motherhood. For a young woman, whose family lived at a housing project and moved due to gun violence, this was not a moment to rejoice. She had to leave her high school and her future, was very depressing. However, she was determined to not be a victim of her circumstances.

How does your company uphold its uniqueness and individuality?

I believe the uniqueness of my company comes from my coaching principles and PR hacks. For example, I formulated my acronym – B. E. P. I. C. – which helped me overcome moments of weakness to this day. I teach this method to my mentees so they can find their confidence and their inner voice to carry them through their journey. At the end of the day, my company’s primary goal is to carve an avenue for women in this male-dominated world continuously. I have stood firm on that goal and stayed committed to not only providing resources to educate women further but also to give them the tools and skills needed to become competent professionals. It is also important to me to not only educate but inspire. As a result, I have utilized my network over the years to give solid examples of what could happen with hard work, persistence, and dedication. Today, I am known as the millennial PR strategist, a media mogul, and a branding maven.

Kindly mention some of the notable recognitions and accreditations received by your organization.

The first honorable accomplishment that I cherish is becoming the first female Entrepreneur and businesswoman in my family. I am an official member of the Forbes Business Council and Chairwoman of WMW Lounge in New York. I am also one of the latest members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, the editor and chief of my lifestyle magazine, and a celebrated keynote speaker. However, out of all of my accomplishments and accolades, my most outstanding achievement is helping women create their own space and succeed in their entrepreneurship journey. I started the podcast “What Makes a Woman.”, and have penned multiple columns for various prestigious outlets such as Entrepreneur, and have appeared on notable platforms such as Forbes, Huffington Post, INC and more. More recently, I mentor girls from orphanages by providing them the necessary resources to educate them on the art of entrepreneurship. I feel that if I reach back and help future generations, the cycle will continue, and I have made my mark on this world.

The pandemic turned the tables for every sector of the economy, telling us something about your market and its scope for growth.

Covid-19 has changed the structure of business for everyone. Thankfully, my team and I could adopt more technology and create a digital avenue that allows us to reach a bigger audience and develop more effective and profitable services for these times. We were able to pivot my platform during a pandemic and carve out a new way to reach women on the one latest and aggressively growing apps, Clubhouse. The idea and overwhelming response from the platform motivated me to start a virtual public relations academy, Zavo PR Academy, which transforms professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives from being unknown to becoming unrecognizable by teaching proper industry strategies for boosting personal brands. The academy also uses a specific method to help magnify and monetize a message, how to find your unique voice, and how to develop an authority in your niche. As a result, we were able to broaden my audience and help more women create a better life for themselves and their families without losing any of our team members.

Where do you see your organization in the years to come?

Going forward, my organization and I plan to take my brand and mission to the next level. Zavo Media Group is becoming a global company by establishing offices in Paris and Dubai in the Spring of 2022. We will capitalize on technology so we can reach an even larger audience and help more women tap into their unique voice and story to share with the world. I plan to continue to educate and inspire those who know that there is more to life than doing the bare minimum and those that want to live instead of merely existing. Overall, I will remain persistent in creating more avenues and preparing the next generation of successful entrepreneurs for their greatness. I love the idea of giving voice to the voiceless, and I love the idea of storytelling and the power behind someone’s message. As a result, I plan to continue creating a brand that is aligned with the things that I am extremely passionate about.

Entrepreneurship is an art, what is your take on that?

I agree that entrepreneurship is an art because this journey is not for everyone. It takes a skillful and passionate person to understand the balance of talent, dedication, and the need for patience to trust the process of birthing a dream. Most people give up because of the dark and narrow roads of entrepreneurship, mainly because there are no guarantees, no safety nets, and no one or nothing to fall back on. Everything rests on the entrepreneur’s shoulders, and not everyone can bear that amount of weight. For example, before I started my company, I was a college dropout and a single mom at age 20. I knew I wanted more so I decided to learn for myself the art of storytelling and how to get it out to the public. I wanted to share my story with the world so others can learn from my experience and become inspired. When PR initially piqued my interest, I had no knowledge of the industry, but I decided to partner with a firm in NYC under one condition: I would introduce new clients from my family’s restaurant, and in return, they will let me shadow and learn everything there is to know about PR. I gave myself a year, and during that year, it was nothing but hard work, grit, and determination. By the end of the year, I learned the ins and outs of PR and hired a mentor to teach me the business aspect, and started my journey. With only $5000 and a spirit of determination, I started my bootstrap startup company in 2017 without any partners to assist.

I want to encourage people not to quit on themselves and to trust the process. Every task, every mistake, every pitfall, and every move is pushing you closer and closer to your dream, and you will see that one day, it was worth it.

Tough Decisions Need Tougher Mindset

Quanda has leveraged adversity and disadvantage to forge excellence and prosperity most of her adult life. She is now a visionary, directly impacted leader, entrepreneur, accountant, data scientist, consultant, community organizer, youth advocate, Ph.D. candidate, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sykes Capital Management and candidate for New York State Comptroller. She earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University. However, her success has not come easily but she never let her hardships define her.

She has derived inspiration from the challenges faced during childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, family and friends and accomplishments. In fact, these experiences have served to inspire her. These incidents inspired her desire to level the playing field and become the “best” version of herself. She lives her life by the C.O.D.E, her code, which is an acronym that stands for (Choices, Ownership Determination and Empowerment). “I want to quickly explain why I live my life by this acronym C.O.D.E. CHOICES – “I truly believe that I am a product of my choices and I take OWNERSHIP of my actions. Determination enabled me to overcome tremendous adversity and I utilize this determination as a tool for encouragement as I push into spaces that were not created for me. I have a sense of Empowerment  that gives me direction and purpose” explains Quanda. 

Holding her Ground

Throughout her career, Quanda has pushed into spaces that were not created for her, or women in particular.Data science and accounting are heavily numeric and generally have significantly more males/men working in those areas. Making her way into those boardrooms wasn’t easy, but she persevered. “Coming to the realization that I did not have to gain acceptance through the portal of “male validation” was a challenge that I faced. However, I now reject the premise that men dominate the world,” says Quanda.

She previously held positions with the New York City Police Department and the U.S. Small Business Administration. As a workforce development architect, creating replicable systems and infrastructure that will maximize the potential of all people, especially those who have been historically marginalized has been very important to her throughout her career. This is one of the reasons she established her firm, Sykes Capital Management. It is a strategically positioned company that specializes in education analytics, financial literacy, business advisory services, and workforce development. It offers a wide range of consulting services to serve a variety of businesses and clients. Whether a small, local business or a multinational corporation, Sykes helps businesses reach new levels of success. “Workforce development has become an integral part of everything we do. We intend to employ an Education Agenda that ensures that every student is exposed to coding as part of their elementary school education. Our plans for education aim to implement modern digital technology more efficiently and effectively in learning, teaching, research,” shares Quanda.

Creating the Next-Gen Workforce

Quanda believes that the economy and society needs a workforce different from what was required in the past. The market demands more today and there must be new ways to train the next generation to ensure they have adequate digital skills to contribute to a technologically driven economy. How do we prepare students to assume the challenges in a depressed economy? What should be the de-facto competencies (beyond standardized tests) students should possess that will ease their transition from high school to college?”

These are just a few questions that Quanda seeks to address through Sykes’ initiative, the Pledge. The first of its kind, it intends to be at the forefront of revolutionizing K-12 Education and workforce development. Through this initiative, Sykes intends to develop and offer 100,000 paid internships each year to youth from marginalized communities to ensure the next generation has the skills they need to contribute to a 21st-century economy. In doing so, Quanda and her team propose to create replicable systems and the necessary infrastructure needed to maximize the potential of the next generation of leaders in every major city around the world. 

Inspiring the Team and Adjusting to the New Normal

Inspiring people is achieved when you embody the attributes and display the behaviors/actions that you espouse for others. Nelson Mandela once said, “I never lose, I either win or I learn” and this is how Quanda lives her consciously embodied life and encourages others to do the same. The company’s leadership apparatus is fully engaged and supportive, possessing the right balance between optimism and realism. As a result, she has cultivated a forward-thinking, inclusive, and performance-oriented business culture. The leadership team takes ownership of their choices. Quanda has clearly defined what success means in a team-oriented environment. It means making progress towards the collective goals and understanding how anatomy affects decision-making that can positively or negatively influence business outcomes. 

Talking about the new normal Quanda agrees that the pandemic has accelerated the work-from-home (remote) option. The challenge, she feels, is to use the work modality that benefits the organization, customers, stakeholders, and the worker himself/herself. However, her leadership and management philosophy is that no one plan exists in isolation. Every plan is directly or indirectly connected to every other plan to improve efficiency and maximize impact. Consequently, education, health & safety, housing, law enforcement, workforce development, etc., are elements of a larger goal and plan that will help re-establishes a new normal. 

What’s next for the Woman Helping to Change the World and Make an Impact

As a former candidate for Mayor of New York City, Quanda made history as the first African American woman to run for Mayor of New York City in a general election as the nominee of a political party that she established. She was named Global Women in Banking and Finance 2020 Global Community Development Honoré on the continent of Africa and received the 2021 Madam C.J. Walker Global Citizen Award. As the workforce development architect of the pledge, her team was able to get 100,000 summer jobs allocated to the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program which represents a community investment of over USD $226 Million. I intend to be on the forefront of revolutionizing K-12 Education by utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify student learning styles and offer personalized education plans with the goal of improving educational outcomes and lastly, “embark on this historic run for New York State Comptroller and shatter yet another glass ceiling” says Quanda.

A Word for the Women Entrepreneurs

As a woman making history on many fronts, Quanda urges women entrepreneurs to never give up! Inspiration can be derived from the challenges one faces during their lifetime. These challenges must be taken as opportunities to find one’s calling, leave your mark and make an impact.Her advice to women entrepreneurs is to reject all notions, messages, and practices that undermine women’s ascension. 

“Refuse to be your own naysayer, adversary, and enemy. Show up for people and allow people to show up for you. Cultivate the right relationships with other professionals as networking is important and essential. It is never too early to start identifying prospective mentors and sponsors. There has been a tendency to view both mentors and sponsors interchangeably, but the role of a sponsor and the role of a mentor is uniquely different. A mentor is someone you can go to for advice and guidance and a sponsor is someone that will advocate for you to get opportunities when you are not in the room. Develop relationships with people you admire and if you do not have access to them, read about them,” shares Quanda. 

Rohit nanda

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The business was set up in 2019. We recognised that Small and Medium businesses were really struggling to grow and often through no fault of their own. The founder or CEO was busy fire fighting and was working in the business rather than on the business.

Rohit Nanda is the Founder & CEO of the business and is instrumental in delivering value and serving the broader SME community. He has a knack for seeing the bigger picture, to visualise, propose and implement pragmatic & realistic solutions that adds immediate income to the bottom line.

Rohit realised that he had developed quite a diverse range of skills from 25 years of working in businesses of all sizes ranging from start-ups, to scaleups to some of the biggest companies in the world.

Rohit felt that the SME sector were under-served and given their importance to the local, national and international economies, it was imperative that something was done and hence in late 2019, Palgrave Consulting was born.

  • What are the aims, ideals, values that guide you?

We as an organisation believe in serving authentically and with integrity while still providing real business value. Our aim and vision are to lift up and support 1 million small and medium size businesses globally. To accomplish we focus less on theory and more on action. 

We’re very selective as to the type of client that we work with but they all share a growth mindset and a hunger to shift from their current situation.

  • Enlighten us about the services you offer to society?

We offer a range of services including 1:1 consulting or coaching; group coaching programs and e-learning courses. Our goal is to make our services accessible to as many business owners as possible.

Given the impact of the pandemic on so many businesses, we have made a decision to offer complimentary business assessments to help find ANY small or medium business between £20,000 to £50,000 in additional revenue in less than 45 minutes. We even provide a comprehensive report covering some areas that the business owner can immediately begin to implement in their business to start generating the additional revenue.

  • How does your company uphold its uniqueness and individuality?

Trust, service and authenticity are at the core of our business.  Our ideals and vision are so important but so to is achieving results. We’re committed to making a difference and are so confident in our service that we offer a money back guarantee for our 1:1 coaching clients.

  • Do you think you have heralded a change in the market, if so how?

Business owners need support and so we’re on a mission to remove the stigma around asking for help or advice. It’s time to bring to the market, business advisors who have both experience and knowledge and make a real difference to the SME sector globally.

  • Kindly mention some of the notable recognitions and accreditations received by your organisation.

Rohit has won numerous awards particularly when he worked in the Fintech space. He was included in a list celebrating the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech between 2015 – 2019 compiled by Diversity UK and KPMG.

  • How did you respond to the uncertainty concerning the pandemic? How has the pandemic changed your sector?

Businesses now more than ever need our support and our services. The need to find income quickly is a priority for many businesses. In our particular business, the pandemic has provided opportunities to extend our reach globally as we’re now working over Zoom rather than having to meet face to face.

  • What is your advice to new and budding entrepreneurs today?

Be passionate about what you do, find a mentor or a business advisor that can help you, when you’re starting find a client, offer an incredible service and then repeat.

Remember, that it’s not going to be easy but working for yourself can be so fulfilling if you have the right support network around you, remain focused and take time out to look after your own wellbeing. 

Sadie St Lawrence

Posted on by theciotimes

Women in Data started with a need for community and a vision for a more inclusive future. At the time I was in my second year of my master’s in data science, and I was also working full time as an analytics engineer. I noticed there was only one other woman in my master’s program along with only one female teacher. This didn’t make any sense to me since data science was coined “The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century” by Harvard Business.  Therefore, seeing so few women represented in the early days of this new career path, I knew there was a problem that needed to be quickly solved. With very few resources, I decided to host a networking event in my local city in Sacramento, California as an effort to connect my community and rally behind a cause.

A few minutes before the first meeting the RSVP started to drop until finally, I was left with only one person RSVP’d, yet no one was there at the start of the meeting. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I felt like a crazy person for starting something new, and the one thing I wanted to do which was create community, did not exist. However, I decided to wait 15 minutes just in case the one last person who had RSVP’d decided to show up. Much to my avail, within the next 15 minutes not only did the last RSVP show up, but she also brought two other people with her. Without that one person showing up and her willingness to bring two friends, it’s hard to say if Women in Data would have never been born.

  • What are the products/services you offer to your customers?

Today Women in Data offers a variety of programs and services that support our members by helping them get their first job or advance in a data career. We do this through our three pillars of awareness, education, and advancement. Within each of these pillars we have a variety of programs, for awareness we host weekly global webinars, monthly networking events and local chapter events. In our education pillar, we host study groups, career track programs through DataCamp, and our residency program. Finally, through our advancement pillar, we support our members through life coaching, mentorship, and hiring support.

  • Kindly mention some of the notable recognitions and accreditations received by your organisation?

Women in Data was name the #1 Community for Women in Tech and AI in 2021 by The Good AI.

  • The pandemic has changed the global economy, consumer behaviour has altered significantly. What are challenges/obstacles you faced along the way?

If anything, the pandemic has only accelerated our growth and need for our services. In 2019 we had a strategy to create more of an online presence community, so when the pandemic hit we were well positioned to change. In addition, since everyone was connecting virtually it allowed for greater connection between our chapters across the globe. The only challenge we now face is finding a time zone that is optimal for everyone.

However, the true growth in the pandemic came from the need for people to shift to a more technical career that is pandemic resilient. Women were most effected by COVID in the workplace with nearly 1.8 million women having dropped out of the workforce according to Politico. Now we are seeing even a larger number of individuals looking to quit their job or change careers.  Given that we provide programs and service to support individuals enter their first data career, we have the opportunity to meet at big need.

  • As a woman, how important do you think it is to find a balance between your life at home and the one at work?

Personally, I feel it is essential for every individual to find balance in their life regardless of gender. I also tend to not think of it as work/life balance and rather just life balance since the lines between work and life get more blurred every day. Finding what makes you truly happy, living by your values, and giving to others is what makes life so meaningful and is the only way to achieve lasting success.

  • We live in a world that is dominated by masculinity. What is your advice to women entrepreneurs across the world?

Get clear on who you are, what you want out of life, and focus on being the best version of yourself every day. There will also be people we can compare ourselves too, but at the end of the day it’s all about being your authentic self and living out your personal mission.

Virgilia Virjoghe -VV Global Partners

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I founded my company VV Global Partners at the end of 2020 after identifying a big void in the market in the way Branding strategies were implemented on a Micro- and Macro-level. We are taking a holistic approach by implementing our 3 Step-Brand Accelerator Method integrating: consumer-centric Selling Strategies with a Story-telling Branding approach and revenue-generating Strategic Partnerships. After over a decade working and winning awards with world-renowned brands like Versace, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dolce & Gabbana I learned that exceptional branding strategies only work in creating success when aligned perfectly with a profitable business model. I am a ‘number’-person first before bringing my creativity into the mix when it comes to my consulting services.

The strategic brand management services we are offering are specifically designed and customized based on the industry the respective company is operating in, their size, location, number of operating years, profitability, consumer base, ability to scale and so on. We offer our services to a variety of industries with a focus on the luxury sector: Beauty, Medical and Aesthetics, Fashion, Real Estate, Hospitality. Less typical for most branding agencies we are starting by analysing the business and operational model of each brand we are working with: we identify what changes can be implemented in that category and then proceed with creating branding strategies that can enhance and complement beautifully the existing business model. These two pillars have to be perfectly aligned in order for profitability to take place. We also analyse in detail the respective industry on a global and local scale. By identifying the competitive advantage of our client’s businesses and capitalizing on it we are able to truly make an impact.

Digitalization and the omni-channel approach have changed significantly the way the relationship brand-consumer operates. The power has shifted from brands into the hands of the consumers: with a click of a button they can dismiss a brand they no longer resonate with you and buy from a competitor. Now more than ever brands are required to builds a belief-system and have a story that impacts people’s lives. Consumers no longer buy a product because they like it. They buy into the idea of a strong DNA aligned with a long-term vision that can challenge the status-quo and build communities around it.

Like most entrepreneurs who started a new business during pandemic I was faced with big challenges: most potential clients saw their businesses temporarily closed or simply shut down so the lack of budget usually allocated to branding and marketing was obvious. Based on my experience as a published author(my book The Quest to the American Dream and about 35 articles in luxury magazines) I am well versed in interviewing high profile, unique individuals. So I found a way to promote my work by creating an IG Live Series titled initially Authentically Bold Highlighting Personal brands I feel passionate about. That allowed me to reach audiences organically and offer an educational and entertaining channel and it ended up attracting clients as well.

The secret to my success is curiosity: I read a lot(books, magazines, newspapers) and spend an extensive amount of time on various social media platforms(LinkedIn, Instagram, Clubhouse). I love to delegate to my team but most importantly I prefer to rely on myself 24/7/365 on staying informed. I study the tech and finance world as much as I study what happens within the industries I am directly working with: Aesthetics, Medical, Fashion, Real Estate. My list of favourites includes: Finance gurus Ray Dalio and Warren Buffet, Sports sensation Michael Jordan, game changers Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Tom Ford, Donatella Versace and so on. It’s important to understand what happens on a global scale with powerful brands and personal brands in a variety of industries in order to create success with my consulting services.

As a woman, balancing work and personal life and living in a big city like New York is certainly not easy. But then again being a woman in today’s world –  and the song This is a Man’s World by James Brown comes to mind – is not an easy task. Being constantly objectified and scrutinized based on what we should or could do is a constant challenge. Being highly fashionable and slightly eccentric with my views I am being underestimated many times but it doesn’t bother me: being very strong I can totally handle it. Having lived and studied in three countries (Romania, Germany, USA) and being fluent in four languages I tend to see the world through a versatile lens. However, to be very transparent: since starting entrepreneurship after over a decade in the corporate world I feel that overall I received more support from men than women. As sad as it may sound I found that many fellow women entrepreneurs did not offer their support as often.

The way I look at things is rather neutral: whether we are a woman or a man attempting Excellence personally or professionally we will be challenged one way or another. Success and failures go hand in hand but what matters is staying focused on our path, strong in our convictions and working with brilliant, inspirational people. Building our own Power circles as a support system will enhance the quality of our life and work. Champions are not born: they consistently work towards attaining the highest level of Greatness and inner Fulfilment. The path to Excellence is not always paved with Glory but is certainly incentivizing and I passionately love the challenges along the way.

Walter Sciacca -A Serial Entrepreneur

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Evolution is critical to growth and survival. Adapting itself to changing times and tides is crucial, whether for a creature, species, society, or business. Those who refuse to change, become obsolete and eventually extinct.

Without letting go of their original, unique idea, services, or products, businesses must find ways to incorporate the demands of the current trends, technology, and customer requirement. Today, we present the story of a leader, who has always tried to have an inspired vision when it comes to creating business trends instead of following them. This has eventually led him to create innovative development and business models. He is, Walter Sciacca. A brand, a reference point, and an unrivaled leader.

From the Beginning

At the age of 25, Walter founded his first company for the organization of circuit events, computerizing all the organizational steps and therefore being the first company in the world to use such a system. He changed the way in which events are organized and managed. Everything was born from a passion for motorsport and IT, to which organization and management were added. The aim was to innovate and create new trends without following existing ones.

As with other well-known companies in the world, everything started in a garage, inside a small racetrack in the south of Italy, where Walter transformed the garage into an office. His business grew exponentially and achieved a six-figure turnover in its second year. Over the years, he has organized over 1500 events in several racetracks in Italy, in other European countries, and even in other continents, winning over the most important brands of Automotive and Motorsport for the organization of their events.

A well-calculated shift

Walter didn’t want to keep himself limited to the events. So he decided to shift his field of action to management consulting. This was the time when some international racetracks called him directly for a consultant role, initially for the organization of their events and then as a consultant. He was entrusted with implementing ideas to improve racetrack management, setting up a new business model to increase their turnover, profits, the quality of their events and competitions, and thus their national and international prestige.

One of these many consultancies turned into an important role, as he was nominated CEO and Managing Director of the Imola Circuit – Enzo and Dino Ferrari, one of the world’s most important and historical racetracks. His mission here was “time-based”. He was entrusted with the difficult task of boosting the fortunes of a historical racetrack that was heading towards financial decline. He became the creator of the facility’s sporting and economic revival, managing to triple, in his first year of management, the turnover and laying the foundations for the return of the Formula 1 World Championship, an event which then materialized in 2020, after a 14-year absence.

In just two years, Walter achieved all the objectives he was given, and then left the role a year ahead of his mandate, to work on the countless consultancy requests that he had received in the meantime. He subsequently worked in managerial consultancy and the creation of new racetracks or the improvement in how existing ones are managed. In 2020 he founded his eighth and current company, Sciacca International Projects, based in Milan.

The clients of Sciacca International Projects are governments, worldwide investment funds, multinational construction companies, project developers with high economic and technological impact, as well as individual industries and entrepreneurs who, alone or as a group, want to finance and carry out private or commercial projects.

What makes Sciacca Different?

In one word: energy. The energy to transform. The energy to create something new and exciting. Sciacca believes that “traditional” racetracks must change their business models, and they must carry out a real change in direction for the future, over the next 10/20 years. Walter himself developed a paradigm change that allows the concept of a racetrack to change, a structure that increasingly meets the needs of an elite audience, with the solution to obtain benefits in terms of profitability where there are loss-making balance sheets. The sports facility, in this newly developed model, takes on the importance of a business opportunity, with a particular emphasis on efficiency.

Hence the transformation of a sports facility – racetrack – to a real estate operation.A radical change in planning is needed to be able to sustain operations with positive outcomes.

There are two types of projects that Sciacca Projects will present directly to clients: the first is aimed at an elite client: luxury villas that will have a private racetrack, as well as other activities and services.

The second is aimed at a wider audience: a traditional racetrack, and therefore able to host national and international events, but only in appearance, as they are designed to host a whole range of activities that have never been held in a “racetrack” before.

Then they are working on a project that concerns a completely innovative Automotive Mall; a project to build the world’s first completely covered racetrack. They are also working on a project to build the world’s biggest virtual reality and simulators park.

Dealing with Predicament

As a leader, Walter comes across situations every other day when he needs to take tough calls. There also are moments when decisions aren’t as simple as they seem with emotions overriding rational choices. On dealing with such situations, Walter feels whatever condition leads to an altered emotional state, it’s important to know that those who manage to defuse their emotions ‘win’. Experience alone isn’t enough to defuse your emotions, but specific training courses that help you to learn how to manage your own emotions in the most extreme situations also help. “I’ve had the privilege of participating in training courses with the most well-known professionals in applied psychology regarding problem-solving, negotiation, persuasion, knowing how to manage mental traps, active listening, strategic communication, and so on. You need a lot of commitment and continuous learning because in life you either learn or you stop,” shares Walter.

He also feels that most leaders tend to take too much pressure on themselves and find it hard to delegate important or even everyday decisions. On a personal note, he finds micromanagement too restrictive and detrimental to the business and prefers efficient management. His style is horizontal, not vertical or pyramid management, and likes to inform everybody of the business plans. He likes to encourage and reward when the circumstances require so.

“I’ve always said: “if things go well it’s everyone’s merit, but if things go badly, it’s all my fault! It doesn’t matter who’s made the mistake, it’ll be my fault.”

In general, forms of communication are fundamental on all levels, you have to be able to create authentic relationships with true interests, you need to be empathetic, you have to be able to understand others as psychological aspects are important,” says Walter.

He feels leaders should be more empathetic. They have to look at things from different angles and ask themselves what they would do if they were in the other person’s shoes. They need to give people who haven’t got experience a chance and help them to grow professionally with the awareness that they’re working and can make errors, and therefore leaders have to be ready to resolve possible errors, making those who make them see them as a lesson in what not to do, and explaining how to do it better. It isn’t a punishment, but instructions for the future.

Leaders have to indicate the objectives and ask the employees how they intend to reach them, without imposing their way of working straight away. “Sometimes you’ll be surprised and you’ll discover that this objective can be reached in different ways, some of them quicker and cheaper than others, so always listen without interrupting,” shares Walter.

He continues, “Then ask for advice and decide whether to give guidelines or let them do it by themselves. The new recruits that I put in the teams are those who must freely express their ideas, so I like to delegate and I do it continuously. You have to trust young people and at the same time, those who already have years of experience, without creating competition but rather constructive challenges.”

So what other qualities make a Leader?

Being able to listen to understand and not just to hear;

Being able to communicate efficiently and empathetically; and 

Being able to defuse emotions in tense situations in order to manage relationships empathetically and with emotional intelligence. 

The above are the first three that come to Walter’s mind, but obviously, there are many others: empathy, being able to resolve conflicts, knowing how to inspire, knowing how to motivate, being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes, knowing how to look at things from different angles, driving your own team without giving off the impression that you’re commanding them, just driving them, flexibly managing time, modesty, curiosity, the drive to learn and improve, passion, resilience, perseverance, recognizing merits, delegating, encouraging, motivating and being a “psychologist”. This is because one mustn’t think that others will do what they, the entrepreneurs or managers, are willing to do. Emotional intelligence and empathy are fundamental for one’s own team and with clients. “You need to do a bit of soul searching, and when needed, make difficult decisions and have the strength and determination to continue defusing emotions and activating rationality, but always with tact and respect. Raising your voice doesn’t work, punishing errors is another error. Naturally, a good leader must have a vision, he must see where others can’t see yet, and take the whole team with them without leaving anyone behind,” explains Walter. 

Rewarding Moments

Hundreds of press articles around the world have been dedicated to Walter, as well as acknowledgments and prizes. The one he cherishes the most was in 2012, the same year his daughter Vittoria was born. “In October that year, I was awarded an honorary degree in Economics and Commerce with a Ph.D. It was a great surprise for me, but throughout my life, I’ve never paid attention to prizes or acknowledgments because, for me, the best one of all is the satisfaction of our clients, as the success of our business is down to them,” reminisces Walter.

As for the young entrepreneurs who look up to leaders like him, Walter feels that while it’s good to have passion when they start, it mustn’t blind them. Passion must be balanced with rationality and analysis because so many professionals have gone bankrupt following their passion. 

He shares that it’s important to continue learning and one has to travel a lot to see for themselves how others are developing. While one shouldn’t blatantly copy others, one must take hints on how to do things differently and better. “It’s important to never stop updating your knowledge, participating in training courses, conferences, and how useful it can be for continued growth because you never stop learning. You must be resourceful but humble at the same time. Above all, never give up, you need to try and try again until you achieve your desired goal. Don’t be scared to make mistakes and learn from them. In conclusion, I’d recommend being patient and proactive at the same time” advises Walter.

Living with the New Normal

The pandemic has impacted every sector bringing about either sudden change or a fast-pacing ongoing change process. When asked how has it impacted his company and its growth plans, Walter says, “The dreams I had in my drawer I’ve realised them all, now I’m working on the ones I have in the wardrobe and then there are the dreams I have inside the warehouse and it’s a very, very big warehouse.”

He believes that the future lies in the fragmentation and sectorisation of the target audience, in a market where the ability to evolve is the key to success. The recipe for success calls for a fundamental and not at all expected ingredient. It’s the vision, the ability to “see” in advance the evolution of the market in which you work, and to achieve it, you have to be real “visionaries”, able to keep project ideas in your ‘warehouse of dreams’, thought up even 5 or 10 years earlier and destined to become reality in the coming years, where the only limit is to have no limits.

The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t created problems for Sciacca, regarding its future objectives and projects. It’s certainly accelerated some processes, especially in the IT sector which has already reached incredible levels of development. The IT sector has always been a strong point of the businesses Walter has established and Sciacca was already way ahead of the competition. This advantage has proven to be successful because, with minimal effort, they obtained the maximum result. They are able to bring the clients’ projects to life through virtual reality and augmented reality. This is a huge advantage as they can see the project as if it already existed and appreciate its qualities in a “real but virtual” way. “My company has developed projects that won’t be revealed for another 3 or 5 years, and others will be carried out within the next 10 years. These projects satisfy investors and their clients for a long time and in the meantime, I’m already thinking about the next decade, because as I’ve said before, being able to evolve is the key to success but only if you can look towards the future,” concludes Walter Sciacca. 

Hayden Merryn

Posted on by theciotimes

After working in marketing for over a decade on the national and global scale in some of the most competitive industries including: automotive, sports, and cosmetics HVH Media & Marketing was born.

She has worked with and developed campaigns with some of the world’s largest influencers, played an instrumental role in evolving several start-up companies into seven figure businesses within the first six months, developed a cosmetics brand for Amazon beauty, and collectively garnered over a billion campaign content views.

Her passion is her business, her role as a mother, and empowering other women to invest in themselves and their dreams!

  • Tell us something about the outset story of your organisation.

Any time that someone takes a risk and launches their own business there is always some foundational reason behind all of it.

Well, for me I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit.  I was a leader, innovator, and a competitor.  At a young age I always found ways to utilize the power of social media, marketing, and PR to propel myself forward in the business world.

After some extreme devastation in my personal and professional life, I was forced to rebuild myself.  It is in our lowest moments that we realize the gravity and blessing that starting over can mean for a motivated person. Starting over wasn’t the death of who I used to be, but the reformation of myself into something much greater.

My business came as a result of this.  I re-launched HVH Media & Marketing and then shortly after I launched Twenty-One North after with Co-Founder, Christina Elmen.  Both became profitable and did what large agencies were unwilling to do; whatever it takes! 

As a newer agency, we were selective with who we chose to work so that we could promise dedication to each client who chose us.  We wanted to make sure that we believed in each and every brand that we worked on and with this passion, we were able to thrive!

  • What motivates and inspires you as a young entrepreneur?

There is something so thrilling about knowing that every single day is full of uncapped opportunity and all you have to do is go and find it.  I also think another motivator for me is knowing that everything I do is truly for myself and my businesses.  I think when I used to work for other people, the reward came from getting praise for doing a good job, I never knew how much more rewarding self-praise would be.

It’s also such an incredible feeling to truly help your clients to grow and become profitable.  I have amazing personal relationships with all of the wonderful people who choose my agencies and they know that we give it our all!

Entrepreneurship is scary and there are plenty of times where you have moments of self-doubt, but seeing the results, is such an overwhelmingly cool feeling.  Being self-made is a super-power that no one can take from you.  Metaphorically building something from the dirt with your bare hands is not for everyone, but those who do it are irrevocably changed for the better, as a result.

  • How does your company uphold its uniqueness and individuality?

I think the way that my companies uphold their uniqueness and individuality is through our tenacity and willingness to take risk.  I’ve always been the type of leader that encourages my employees to think outside of the box and to play to their strengths by honing in on the skills they enjoy working on most.

Instead of forcing an overly regimented office structure with strict rules and micro-management, I hire incredible people, give them the freedom to be great, and let them do that however they choose.

My team works hard, they are all remarkable and brilliant, and they all keep an open-mind to doing things different than our competitors.  It’s why we get results!

  • Kindly mention some of the notable recognitions and accreditations received by your organisation.

Both HVH Media & Marketing and Twenty-One North have been listed as Top Marketing and PR Agencies by Expertise.com and we’ve been featured on Entrepreneurial magazine covers as recognition for being movers and shakers in our industry.  The awards will continue to come as we continue on our same trajectory!

  • The pandemic turned the tables for every sector of the economy, tell us something about your market and its scope for growth.

We were very blessed to help clients stay afloat during a devastating time.  We saw pivots to e-commerce and virtual experiences that were game-changing for helping businesses to continue to push sales and brand awareness at a time where we were no longer to physically service or sell to consumers. 

I think this pandemic really set true marketers apart from the “fad marketers” because it really pushed all of us out of our comfort zones of creativity and strategy.  We had to do something that hadn’t been done before, while our client’s businesses were on the line.  The stakes were high and we didn’t fail! 

  • Where do you see your organisation in the years to come?

I see our businesses growing into recognizable industry names that are home to so many diverse brands and people.  We will also continue to give back and empower women and women-powered organizations because at our core our values have always been about women uplifting other women.

  • Entrepreneurship is an art, what is your take on that?

If art is defined as the expression or application of human creativity through skill, then entrepreneurship is absolutely an art and marketing and PR is my medium of choice.  I will continue to paint the world with creative strategy, mold the clays of my industry with my unique approach to marketing, color my industry with innovation and revolutionary ideas, and permanently ink my mark in the sphere of marketing and business.

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