The 10 Most Inspiring Businesswomen to Watch in 2020

THE
10
MOST
INSPIRING
BUSINESSWOMEN
TO WATCH IN
2020
ANDREA
MANDELBAUM
INSPIRING OTHERS
TO GET AHEAD
+
Vol 06 | Issue 05 | 2020
THE ART OF LEADING
ATTRIBUTES OF
A GOOD LEADER
WOMEN IMPOWER
DYNAMICS OF WOMEN
PARTICIPATION IN THE
EVER- CHANGING
MODERN WORKFORCE

Leading with
Inspiration
n last few months a novel virus known as the
Icoronavirus has transformed into a pandemic and
spread infecting hundreds of thousands of people
around the world and impacting humankind societally.
And while we have yet to see the incalculable impact
that will follow the pandemic—due to state and
nationwide lockdowns, the closure of countless
businesses, social distancing, and/or transition to
remote work for millions across the world—every one
of us has begun to witness its severe impact on the
global economy.
Businesspersons, in specific, are one of the people that
have been greatly affected economically by the
COVID-19 pandemic. From marketing and branding
to technology, healthcare to food industry and in
between, businesses have been forced to continuously
adapt to the changing tides. In this edition, 10
businesswomen share their inspiring stories of how
they are leading business in this era of crisis and
navigating the effects of COVID-19.
In its upcoming edition “The 10 Most Inspiring
Businesswomen to Watch in 2020”, Insights Success
is bringing the journeys of some of these dynamic
who are recognized for successful business ideas,
leadership and entrepreneurship across the world.
The cover features Andrea Mandelbaum CEO of Mc
Luhan, who leads the company with her sterling
marketing strategies and exceptional leadership
qualities. She says “my efforts and objectives are
Editor’s Desk
In moments of success,
Leaders share it with
others and in crisis they
lead them with courage

centered on being a leader in technological
innovation with an additional orientation on high
capacity usage, which represents an unforgettable
useful experience for the client.”
Andrea’s career’s early stages started on 1994.
After graduating, she started working in statistics
for a market research company, while pursuing a
postgraduate degree in Business and Marketing.
On 1996, she found the company Mc Luhan,
which on 2000, she sold to WPP group, and then
worked in the company for three years. Later, on
2003, she reestablished Mc Luhan under a
concept orientated to customer relationship
consultancy based in technology. In the last 10
years she has become a specialized reference in
the region on issues of artiﬁcial intelligence,
consulted by the press and giving conferences.
Let’s unveil such alike, inspiring stories and
interviews of many such passionate leaders in this
special edition and spread a word about their
contribution in making this world a better place.
Also, while ﬂipping the pages, don’t forget to go
through the articles and CXOs written by our in-
house editorial team and industry experts
respectively.
Rohit Chaturvedi

ONTENT
ONTENT
The Art of Leading
Attributes of a Good Leader
26
WOMEN IMPOWER
Dynamics of Women Participation in the Ever-
changing Modern Workforce
52 Zahara Malik
A Proﬁcient of Impact Investing
46
MARNE MARTIN
An Avid Leader Transforming Businesses via
Technology
40 MARINA TOGNETTI
An Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs in Tech
34 LEANN HACKMAN-CARTY
Visioning to Make World a Better Place
30 LAURA GOODRICH
Helping Organizations to Have an Innovative Workforce
22 JOANNA RILEY
Helping Organizations to Boost Recruiting ROI
16
ELLEN VOIE
Creating Gender Diverse Culture in the Transportation
Industry
08 ANDREA MANDELBAUM
Inspiring Others To Get Ahead
38
Articles
Cover
Story

sales@insightssuccess.com
June, 2020
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
Marketing Manager
Technical Head
Technical Specialist Digital Marketing Manager
Research Analyst
Database Management Technology Consultant
Pooja M. Bansal
Managing Editor
Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Rohit Chaturvedi
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Bhushan Ghate
Visualizer
David King
Art & Design Director
Amol Kamble
Associate Designer
Kushagra Gupta
Kshitij S Andy Mitter
John Matthew
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Daniel, Ethan, Vishnu Vardan
Business Development Executives
Anish, Joe, Alan, Omkar
Jacob Smile
Aditya Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive
Prashant Chevale Frank Adams
Circulation Manager
Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes
Asha Bange
Co-designer
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ANDREA
MANDELBAUM
INSPIRING OTHERS TO GET AHEAD
COVERSTORY

Andrea Mandelbaum
CEO of Mc Luhan

s technology has become a synonym of success,
Aevery company craves to acquire and cope up with
it. Mc Luhan is a consulting company that
specializes in customer relationships which are designed to
create the best experience based on AI technology. The
company offers its services in markets such as banking,
insurance, health, government management, retail,
entertainment, mass consumption, telecommunications, and
utilities. The company has experts in each business and for
each product line.
One of the experts is Andrea Mandelbaum, CEO of Mc
Luhan, who leads the company with her sterling marketing
strategies and exceptional leadership qualities. She says “my
efforts and objectives are centered on being a leader in
technological innovation with an additional orientation on
high capacity usage, which represents an unforgettable useful
experience for the client.”
In 1994 Andrea stepped into her professional life after her
graduation when she started working in statistics for a
market research company. This was while pursuing a
postgraduate degree in Business and Marketing. In 1996, she
established the company, Mc Luhan. However, in 2000 she
sold it to the WPP group and then worked in the company for
three years. Later, in 2003, she re-established Mc Luhan
under a concept orientated to customer relationship
consultancy rooted in technology. In the last 10 years, she
has become a specialized reference in the region on issues of
artificial intelligence, consulted by the press, and giving
conferences.
A Team of Experts
“My motto is always being a step forward in innovation and
have a flexible structure so we can adapt to changes quickly,”
says Andrea. Per day, Andrea spends between two to three
hours studying new technologies, usage per segmentation
trends, and behavior in the face of technological tools. Also,
she speaks a lot with the clients so they can tell her their
problems and needs. She asserts “clients lay out their
difficulties to us not knowing how to cope with them and
ignoring if there is a technological tool or not to apply.”
After brainstorming and with the help of a multidisciplinary
team of experts per field, the team at Mc Luhan starts the
design of the product that can solve the needs of the clients
per sector and as per industry. She opines “I value teamwork,
the fact of listening to each other, and the company internal
and external community, as well as the professionals who
can provide knowledge in both, always including them
within the frame of professional respect and honesty.”
Inspiring Work Environment
Andrea opines “It seems to me that the most significant trait
is the fact that we work as women and we do not copy men´s
models to reach for success.” She believes this is something
that has evolved in the last years after the movements and
initiatives of women empowerment. Twenty years ago,
women who managed to make progress made it at the
expense of scarifying their private lives. She adds, during her
professional life, she has always been surrounded by men at
the boards of directors; but, due to her personality, she never
felt fear or insecure about not being at the same level as
them.
70% of the workforce at Mc Luhan, since its inception, has
always been comprised of women. And they have always
been empowered as this feeling has been natural for them no
matter if they were part of the company or not. It is in the
company spirit. There is a great environment of collaboration
and respect among all genres that constitute the company.
The value resides in the people and not in their genre.
Always Ready to Face Challenges
The first obstacle Andrea faced was creating a company
being too young, a woman, and having way too innovative
ideas. However, she was tenacious, and she believed in the
model. The 1996 Latin America was 5 years behind the rest
of the continent when it came to the progress of
technological services. So, she engaged to spread out her
service. She explained what it was all about and clarified the
concept of a 360-degree view of the customer for service.
Political and economic conditions and changes in Latin
America are not easy to surf, but Andrea believes it helped
her on not only being creative with the services the company
supplied but also on how it offered to the customers and how
needs would arise for each market.
For each crisis, Mc Luhan and the team try to find support
solutions rooted in technology for their clients. For example,
under events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the company
developed a service with immediate effect to tackle crisis
caused by absence, suspension of activities, or evacuation of
the customer service team. It also designed a virtual nurse
who activates a care protocol and gives recommendations
when it identifies and pre-diagnoses Coronavirus. This
service made quite an impact as the company launched it
The 10 Most Inspiring Businesswomen to Watch in 2020

“
“My vision is
always being
ahead in
solutions that
cause a change
in the way of
doing things
creating
unique
experiences”.
“

when companies and governments were arranging their
contingency plans. So, the company supplied a solution that
others believed to be impossible.
Empowering Women
For Andrea, women‘s empowerment isn’t new. She has been
using it to fight since she was young. She has always sought
to make an alliance with other women in her company. In
fact, Andrea‘s associate is a woman, and they have been
carrying forward the whole company in perfect balance for
years. Together, they foster talents in the company as well as
in the clients. They have seen women who started from
ground level and are now performing at important company
positions. That gives Andrea deep satisfaction.
Recently, Andrea found herself in an initiative called Woman
in AI (Ipsoft), in which she was invited to be the regional
pioneer in charge to inspire new generations to participate in
STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
This is where Andrea can set the improvement standards and
adapt them to Latin America because only a few women
pursue degrees in STEM. So, she suggests hiring women
from different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology,
HR, marketing, etc. They can study and work within the AI
(Artificial intelligence) environment because the faster they
develop in the business, the better they will be positioned in
the market. In a short period, every device will be deeply
engaged with AI, and the ones better prepared would reach
the best business positions.
However, Andrea believes "we should start from the
beginnings. What did I want to allude to that? I say that very
few little girls between six and twelve years old see
themselves working in STEM since there are almost no
models to follow." So, she believes, it is important to
produce education and motivation at a very early age so they
can approach technology not only as users but also as
developing tools that will follow their own preferences.
Insights on Meritocracy
On meritocracy, Andrea asserts, “I would like to explain its
meaning first. It is the power of merit, the power is
understood as right. This right is given to the deserving
individual. Still, if we want to decide who deserves it
according to the individual efforts, all participants should be
fixed at the same starting point. What usually takes place is
that this point is not located at the same place for everyone,
consequently, the ones launching from a different condition
will spend more time to reach or probably, do not reach the
expected at all.”
She further says “If companies analyze the value only
relying on the individual capacity, we would be ignoring the
surrounding conditions and situations such as genre, social
and economic environment, culture, geographic place, just to
mention some of them. In consequence, defining the
parameters while considering the situation, environment,
capacities, and efforts of the individual plays a key role if we
want to settle when and where someone can reach the
expected. We should use the meritocracy as a motivational
strategy, but the starting point must be fixed before
analyzing.”
Envisioning an Advanced Future
Andrea is now focusing on placing and enhancing Mc
Luhan‘s AI (Artificial intelligence) bots. The team is
currently introducing a new line that allows clients to have
unique experiences through AR (Augmented reality) + VR
(Virtual reality) along with AI (Artificial intelligence). After
COVID-19, lots of shopping habits will change, and the
company will be there offering usage and purchase
experiences so real that one would even feel being physically
inside the store.

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THE
10
MOST
INSPIRING
BUSINESSWOMEN
TO WATCH IN
2020
ANDREA
MANDELBAUM
INSPIRING OTHERS
TO GET AHEAD
+
Vol 06 | Issue 05 | 2020
THE ART OF LEADING
ATTRIBUTES OF
A GOOD LEADER
WOMEN IMPOWER
DYNAMICS OF WOMEN
PARTICIPATION IN THE
EVER- CHANGING
MODERN WORKFORCE

Ellen Voie
Founder
Women In Trucking
Association, Inc.
16 | JUNE 2020 www.insightssuccess.com

tarting a non-profit association is extremely difficult.
STo make matters worse, I started Women In Trucking
in 2007, just before the recession hit the industry. To
overcome this, I had to prove that gender diversity was an
urgent and important goal,” says Ellen Voie. She is the
founder of the non-profit organization, Women In
Trucking Association, Inc. and envisions a more gender-
diverse culture in the transportation industry.
According to Ellen, in the beginning, she would stand in
front of trucking company executives, and they would tell
her that gender diversity wasn’t an issue. Age, ethnicity, or
gender didn’t pose any roadblocks in hiring professional
drivers. However, once she started showing them the
benefits women bring to the industry, they started listening.
She said, “Women have been proven to be safer commercial
drivers because they take fewer risks. Women are often
better with paperwork, customers, and in taking care of
equipment.” Women value their relationship with their
carrier more than men, so this made trucking companies
start to ask the organization to provide more information on
attracting and retaining women as drivers. “We knew we
had to provide the data and so we have focused on research
to understand female commercial drivers better. Once we
had hard data to offer the industry, we became the experts,
and more importantly, the resource,” She added.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between
Insights Success and Ellen Voie:
Kindly take us through your journey to becoming a
proficient leader.
The key to being a great leader is to listen. I listen to our
members when they express their concerns or frustrations
related to being a woman in the trucking industry. Our
members range from CEOs to drivers and technicians, but
regardless of their role, they are still a minority when it
comes to working in the area of the supply chain. When a
driver tells me she has a problem reaching the pedals or
seeing over the dash of the truck, we listen. When a CEO
says to me she feels marginalized in the boardroom filled
with male colleagues, we empathize. Listening to our
members is crucial to our success.
“
JUNE 2020 | 17
www.insightssuccess.com

How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to
entice the target audience?
In addition to listening to our members’ concerns, we look
at ways to make their jobs less challenging and more
rewarding. We also look at ways we can reach beyond our
industry and share our message with those who might not
understand the transportation industry. For example, we
created the Girl Scout patch so girls can learn about the
supply chain and how it pertains to them personally. We
added an activity book that shows how the grain in the field
is shipped to the baker on a truck, from the baker to the
packager on a truck, and so on. We also created a truck
driver doll so children can play with a toy that might lead
them into a career as a driver.
How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the
competition in the market?
Our membership consists of anyone who believes in our
mission. To that point, nearly anyone can join the
association. However, we want to attract people who
believe in the benefits of gender diversity. We really don’t
have any competition in the association arena, as most of
the trucking associations are segregated by types of
transport (tankers, flatbeds, rigging, etc.) or geography
(state associations) or even the size of the company (owner-
operators, small carriers or large carriers.) Our focus is
gender diversity, and we're the only organization with the
mission to support both drivers and management in the
trucking industry.
What are the vital traits that every businesswoman
should possess?
Any businesswoman, especially women in male-dominated
careers, needs to possess a thick skin. We need to forge
ahead with the attitude that we know what we’re doing, and
we’re not going to let anyone stop us. On the positive side,
once we’ve proven ourselves, we are not only accepted, we
are appreciated. Women in male-dominated environments
can and do, show our peers that we are capable.
Have you, in any way, contributed towards the cause of
women empowerment.
Our entire mission is to empower women. Whether they are
drivers, technicians, safety managers, CEOs, or directors,
we offer information and resources to help them identify
and overcome diversity challenges. Every presentation I
give to women (and men) to identify and understand
unconscious bias in hiring, promoting, and recognizing
potential is another step in addressing and, more
importantly, stopping hiring and promoting practices that
inhibit the advancement of women.
What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”?
And how it could bring a change in today's business
arena?
In my experience, women who work in male-dominated
careers have a harder time proving themselves. Many
female drivers have been told to go back home and bake
“we’re the only organization with the mission
to support both drivers and management in the
trucking industry”

bread or take care of babies. However, once you have
confirmed that you can do the job, you gain the respect of
your male peers. Men admire women who succeed in their
environment, for the most part. There are always men who
are intimidated by women who do the same job, but
although those voices seem louder, they are often in the
minority. Men with integrity respect women who can do the
same job.
How do you cope up with capricious technological
trends to boost your personal growth?
Technology is only a tool. Once you recognize that this tool
is something to be used as needed, you can control your
“submission” to it. I don’t allow it to rule my time, and the
silence button is often used. On the flip side, knowing what
applications benefit your productivity can enhance your
personal growth. I have apps that track my steps and my
calorie intake as well as apps to help me in my extensive
travel schedule, but I don’t use apps that distract me from
doing my job.
What are your future endeavors/objectives, and where
do you see yourself in the near future?
I anticipate the Women In Trucking Association to grow in
both geographic regions as well as in our North American
presence. We are currently creating chapters to continue our
work in regional and local areas. We have also created a
driver ambassador who will take a tractor-trailer to trade
shows, schools, and other events to give people a hands-on
experience in learning about the trucking industry.
JUNE 2020 | 19

Joanna
Helping Organiza ons to Boost
Recrui ng ROI

ntrepreneur, advocate, and mentor for diversity in technology are just a few of
EJoanna’s titles. The most important, however, is CEO and Co-founder of
Censia, an AI-powered talent acquisition software. Censia allows talent teams
to add AI to their existing recruiting process to instantly predict which person is most
likely to succeed in any given role and then discovers them among applicants or the
global talent pool. On average, it helps recruiters reduce the time spent on manual
tasks by 90%.
Many factors influenced how Joanna became a leader, one of which was coming from
a family of entrepreneurs. She grew up witnessing the process of creating things, the
struggles of being a change agent, and she can't imagine any other way to live.
During her early career, she had the opportunity to work abroad and meet with
business leaders and government officials around the world. No matter where she went
and who she spoke to, everyone shared the same concern: they felt they couldn't hire
enough capable talent for their companies. Joanna found this shocking and started
researching the topic, only to discover that the talent was there all along, but that there
was no good way to analyze it and that unconscious hiring bias was keeping a lot of
people out of the right jobs. This is where the idea for Censia was born.
Factors that had Huge Impact
Two factors that had a significant impact on Joanna were that she had dyslexia
growing up and that she was a rower. Being dyslexic made her become more
resourceful and learn the value of communicating well and being personable at a very
young age. It also made her realize just how important it is to focus on what people
can bring to the table and what they can’t. Knowing that people have different
strengths and that diversity of talent makes a company stronger from a young age is a
concept that lies at the core of what Censia does.
Rowing, on the other hand, taught Joanna that one needs to bring strong people into
one’s team and align them. If even one person is rowing in another direction, the boat
goes nowhere, and it is the same with a company: if people don’t align on the mission
and goals, the company can’t grow. But if everyone is working towards the same
goals, the desired growth becomes exponential.
An Obsessively Customer-Centric Organization
One thing that motivates all of Censia’s business decisions is that the company is
obsessively customer-centric. Therefore, Censia designs all of its offerings and
optimizations to meet their customer’s needs.
Censia designed its software to be easy to use as a cloud solution or to integrate into
existing systems with the simple of giving talent teams access to the most cutting-edge
AI-powered talent intelligence without any cumbersome migrations, coding
experience, or extensive training. The company wanted to make finding the best talent
for its clients as simple as using Google.
Joanna chose this model because most enterprises have invested heavily in
implementing, setting up, migrating to, and training their staff in enterprise solutions.
These solutions are complex and efficient, so rather than changing and migrating,
Censia gave them the option to extend and enhance what they have.
JUNE 2020 | 23

“
Joanna Riley
Co-founder & CEO
Censia

Listening is the Key
According to Joanna, all leaders need to take a step back,
take an honest look at their company’s results, and listen to
what their customers are saying. That is the most important
thing.
Embracing Vulnerability
What Joanna has found is that women are often afraid to
talk about what they aren’t good at, but understanding what
one is good at and isn’t good at is the key to being
successful. Only when a leader knows her strengths and
weaknesses can she strategically hire others to fill in the
gaps. Many leaders feel as though they can or should do
everything themselves, but Joanna believes this prevents
them from scaling in the long run.
Tackling Roadblocks
Joanna has spent most of my time working as an
entrepreneur, so she has much more experience facing
challenges in that field than she does incorporate business.
Both of her parents were entrepreneurs, and she knew from
a young age that this path will be full of both successes and
failures, but that ultimately, one person can create amazing
things. Joanna’s mom used to produce some of the greatest
movies, and seeing one person orchestrate all that magic
made Joanna realize how powerful one individual can be,
and how much one has to take on in other to accomplish
this. As a child, Joanna’s father read Rudyard Kipling’s
poem “If ” to her at bedtime, and she always felt as though
this describes what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
Joanna also believes that women are more influential than
they realize, and need to own how much influence they
have on the world, even when they are not in a position of
power. When Joanna spoke at the G20 summit, she asked
everyone she met why they wanted to lead a country, and so
many of them said it was because they had a mother or an
aunt in their lives who overcame great adversity.
Future Ready
Joanna and all her team are actively pursuing Censia’s
mission to transform the way people find, hire and nurture
talent by making AI-powered talent intelligence accessible
to companies of all sizes, and to eliminate unconscious
hiring bias for good.
In addition to this, the company has launched ReadyToHire.
This initiative uses artificial intelligence to instantly match
people who have lost their jobs to open roles at companies
with hiring needs. To date, Censia has helped more than 2
million people whose jobs have been lost or are in danger
of being lost connect with companies who are expanding.
“Hire the smartest people
you can and align them so
that everyone is pursuing
the same goal. Focus on
your customer's pain
points and help them
solve their problems in the
most e ective way
possible. If you can do
this, your company will
always succeed."
JUNE 2020 | 25

Participation in the Ever-changing
Modern Workforce
Dynamics of

G
one are the days when women were stereotyped to
a certain set of skills and professions, restricting
them from exploring the world of endless
opportunities. Today, women have announced their arrival
in many fields of the business world. Therefore, it seems
more important than ever before to recognize female
contributions in every profession.
Fighting through biased work culture in favour of male
dominance, women have conquered the unconquered on the
account of their distinct calibre and predilections. In the
times when the world female participation rate is to the
dispiriting levels of around 67% and pay-off rate of about
63%, achievements by women go-getters are praiseworthy.
Listening capabilities is one of the
distinguishing aspects of feminine species as compared to
their male counterparts. Instilling and pursuing ones
thoughts is undoubtedly important for effective working.
But being a better listener is something that can make a
difference as studies show that the customer values and
trusts the firms if they perceive that they are being listened
to by the firms. With inherent caring and affectionate traits,
women outclass men when it comes to understanding
critical demands of the customers.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) - the ability to identify and
manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of
others - is an essential skill when it comes to dealing with a
diverse class of consumers. Women are naturally gifted
with higher EI making them better suited for pressure
situations and avoiding counter-productive decisions while
keeping emotions in check.
Emotional Intelligence encompasses two major dimensions
– awareness of one’s self and awareness of others. Both the
attributes are very much significant for the survival and
success of any organisation. Self-awareness involves being
familiar with trigger points and behavioural traits when put
to the test. This, in turn, helps to modulate impulses
avoiding conclusions which are harmful for the welfare of
business. In addition to self-awareness, an awareness of
others is equally critical in business. Analysing and
decoding non-verbal communication – that amounts to 93%
of the message – eventually benefits in convincing and
converting a lead into a client.
Collaboration, and not the cutthroat competition, is the
modern era’s principle virtue to achieve success. Many
endeavours which seem to be beyond the bounds of
possibility can be attained by combining efforts from
different resources, channels and departments. Further,
collaborating products with consumer experience are
enormously important. It leads to crafting the best solutions
for customer’s pain points and compelling value
propositions that reflect their overall business objectives.
Multiple studies have found that women prefer to work in
teams, while men prefer to work alone. An unfaltering
affinity towards collaboration primes women to garner
success in different fields of business which gives them an
edge over others.
Increased profitability can be a motivating factor for many
firms to hire more pool of female talents as many studies
support the fact. Statistical research shows that Fortune 500
companies with the highest representation of women on
boards financially outperform companies with the lowest
representation of women on boards. Moreover, gender-
diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to
male-dominated teams, and a recent Gallup study found
that gender-diverse business units have higher average
revenue than less diverse business units.
Trust over female leaders is an attribute which needs to be
reciprocated while making the choice. More American
workers perceive female executives as honest and ethical
than male executives. Pew’s “Women and Leadership”
surveyed Americans in 2015 and found that 34% say
women are better at this, while only 3% say men are better
at it (64% say there’s no difference).
While it’s unclear whether this means women are actually
more honest, it’s a subtle reminder of how tangled some
business decisions can be. Leaders are often tasked with
choosing between options that aren’t black and white,
ethically speaking, and the capacity to lead honestly is
important to the entire company’s success and job
satisfaction.
Not to mention, increased job satisfaction and
organizational dedication to cite positive and meaningful
business culture are the added advantages feminine
employees carry to the organisation.
However, the journey is not all merry go round every time.
Hindrances – seen, unseen – are there to check the
unrelenting zeal of women aspirants to thrive in the
industry. These obstructions need to be pointed out and
rectified to create an environment that fuels women
empowerment.
Women Impower
JUNE 2020 | 27

Lack of confidence, according to many experts, is one
prime reason women tend to question themselves and doubt
their worthiness. In order to advance, they must coach their
inner critics.
Out-speak and define what women want professionally if
they want to get succeeded. Too often they don’t know or
rely upon others to define it for them.
“Building relationships with those in positions of
leadership is critical,” Susan Brady, executive vice
president of Linkage Inc. says. “Put down the to-do list long
enough to connect with decision makers across the
organization, and help them understand who you are and
what you bring to the table.”
Women are generally uneasy about asking for what they
want. They must stop thinking about what they need as a
self-serving request. They must develop the courage and
fortitude to stand up and ask for what they want.
While proving value, women tend to overcompensate in
order to demonstrate that they are adding value. Instead
of doing it all alone, change the paradigm and track to
encourage others to take on more responsibility, thus
enabling them to scale and multiply their own impact.
Not to forget, biased work culture and regional
barriers are the crucial obstacles in the road of women
work participation. But, today women are breaking these
shackles and coming out boldly to be a part of economic
processes shouldering their male counterparts.
There has been obvious progress in achieving gender
equality around the world over the past two decades:
more girls are attending school, more women are
working and are being elected to public offices, more
women hold management positions, and the situation
involving women’s legal as well as social rights have
also improved.
However, a great deal still remains to be done to achieve
equal outcomes for women and men. Recognizing
women’s abilities, the values they bring to the
organisation, the transformation they achieve as far as
work environment is concerned, and considering
monetary benefits associated with the female work
participation, corporate sector need to welcome their
emergence with open arms. No future is far where male-
dominated workplaces will be a tale of extinct,
we believe.

Laura Goodrich
Co-founder
GWT Next

void left by post-9/11 panic and selling services of any kind
felt impossible. Laura pondered over this question for what
felt like eons. But, deep within her, she felt called to dig
deeper, to truly understand “what's next.” As soon as she
quieted her mind, the strangest of things happened. I got the
idea to do television and the idea would not leave me. After
that she got the idea to do television and the idea would not
leave her. She thinks “we all have weird, fleeting thoughts;
they often go away as quickly as they come. However, this
idea was not one of those.”
Through a long string of opportunities, Laura broke into the
industry and eventually found a producer to work with. The
team began writing concepts for TV shows. One of them
caught the attention of a network, and the company were
asked to cut a demo.
Joining Hands with a Proficient
Laura’s now business partner, Greg Stiever, an Emmy
Award-winning producer and director, produced the
segment. Long story short: it didn’t work out. But shortly
thereafter, he asked to meet for coffee and share an idea.
Both Laura and Greg immediately got along and began to
build strategies on how to pair their talents.
In fact, this meeting led to their first film together: Seeing
Red Cars. After that, Laura wrote a book by the same name,
which Forbes called a “must-read” for leaders wishing to
accomplish positive change in the workplace. She adds “We
created a few more workplace training films, which were
subtitled and sold internationally.”
Unique offering
GWT Next has a unique processes that address the
Today where uncertainty is the only certain thing,
organizations need their leaders and employees to
be effective with change and innovative in spite of
the obstacles they may face.
Laura Goodrich is a transformation expert and one of the
Top 20 Global Thought Leaders, who provides a designed
process that, combines live or virtual experiences with
micro learning programs. She is the Co-founder of GWT
Next, a company that transforms leaders and employees to
be innovative in the workforce.
In 1994, Laura read an article titled “On the Cutting Edge
of the Digital Age.” It grabbed a hold of her, bringing forth
an epiphany about how the workplace would change in the
coming decades. Industries across the globe would face
unprecedented shifts in their operations: she knew leaders
and employees would struggle.
Laura started off with speaking and training programs that
gave both leaders and employees the tools they needed to
prepare for the future of work. During this time she had
some pretty incredible experiences and eventually was
placed amongst the top 10 executive coaches from an
international organization. From here on out, she was
identified as a global thought leader in the Future of Work,
Change, Emerging Technology, and Culture. These
experiences led to producing transformative processes that
include assessments, coaching, micro learning, specialized
toolkits, and roadmaps that create measurable outcomes.
Challenges Demand Resistance
In 2001, two of Laura’s major clients chose to discontinue
their contracts, and she was at a crossroads. There was a
LAURA
GOODRICH
Helping Organizations to Have an Innovative Workforce
JUNE 2020 | 31

challenges faced by leaders, teams, and organizations in a
change-dynamic environment. Everything can be done
virtually, which includes assessments, team and leader
coaching, micro learning, and accountability tools to track
behavior metrics on an interactive technology platform.
The processes are entirely focused on mind-set, preparing
for the future of work, transformation, and leading teams
remotely. All of this is dependent on the company's research
and keen observations of human behaviour.
First in the Market
For GWT Next, there weren’t many toe-to-toe competitors
in the marketplace when the company started. That may
sound great, but as being one of the first ones to show up, it
had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting. Things were like this
for quite some time. As a result, the company had to create
high-quality processes and products from scratch without
many points of reference.
“But we’re proud of what we’ve done so far” says Laura.
The company’s disciplined approach to researching
emerging technologies, global connectedness, demographic
shifts, and the changing expectations of employees has
allowed it to truly distinguish itself. The goal, from the get-
go, has been to empower leaders and employees to
transform the underlying assumptions of the workplace and
stoke the flames of innovation.
Be Real and Focused
According to Laura, focus on real, solvable challenges.
There is a lot that needs to be fixed and one can’t possibly
get to all of it. She advises to upcoming businesswomen
“Be realistic about what you can do. I’d also recommend
playing to your strengths and partner with those who can
compensate for where you fall short. Once you’ve figured
out your area of focus and have found a good team, be
ready to work harder and longer than you’ve ever
imagined. But despite the pain and difficulty, you should be
finding deep meaning in your work. That’s what gets you
through.”
Overcoming Challenges
Laura asserts “We were very early to market and found
significant challenges in finding the right market and a fit
for our products.” The tipping point was the convergence
of these five things: improved digital platforms, adoption of
those platforms, the right partners, and the arrival of new,
virtual solutions and the necessity of remote work
worldwide that revealed new opportunities for the company.
She further adds “All of these things allowed me to make
good on my passion to empower as many leaders as
possible and truly make a difference.”
“My passion is to
empower as many
leaders as possible
and truly make a
difference.”

Leann
Hackman-Carty
Visioning to Make World a Better Place
eadership, integrity, professionalism and
Lvision are vital traits that every business
women should possess” says Leann
Hackman-Carty, Founder and Principal of
HackmanCarty & Associates. She believes we can
save lives and livelihoods, and is “passionate about
creating a sustainable, disaster-resilient world for
everyone.” As a social entrepreneur, she desires to
make a meaningful global impact.
Leann also a Chief Creative Officer and Channel host
of MYD Global, a YouTube channel dedicated to “all
things disaster-related”, and author of the “Master
Your Disaster” series of preparedness, response and
recovery guidebooks.
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted
between Insights success and Leann Hackman-Carty:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming
a proficient leader.
I have had the privilege of having great leadership
role models during my career. Starting early as a
child- my parents always encouraged me to be
involved at school, as a volunteer, as a leader. I also
had an amazing university professor who challenged
me to better understand my values/background and
how they affected my world view. My first “real” job
after university was working for an Alderman, who
then became Mayor of Calgary. I worked with him
for over a decade, and learned a significant amount
about civic leadership. Since then, I have continued
to seek out leadership roles in both the private and
non-profit sectors. To me, leadership is about having
a big vision on where you want to go- but also
understanding the tactics that it will take to get there.
It is also about being able to inspire others to join
you on the journey, and recognizing that together
you can achieve more.
How do you diversify your organization’s
offerings to entice the target audience?
Understanding who your target audience is, and what
problem you are solving is where it all starts. Instead
of developing a product, and then trying to find a
market for it, a business person should spend the
time clearly defining what the problem is, and then
determining how your solution will help solve the
problem. Don’t sell a solution looking for a problem.
How do you strategize your game plans to tackle
the competition in the market?
To be honest, while it is always good to understand
who your external competition is and what they are
doing; I find it much more energizing and productive
to focus internally on refining my products and
services. I don’t actually spend a lot of time looking
at what others are doing. I want to be the best at what
I do, and sometimes that means paving the way, not
”

Leann Hackman-Carty
Founder & Principal
HackmanCarty & Associates
JUNE 2020 | 35

looking at what others are doing.
As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges
were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did
you overcome them?
We all have challenges we need to overcome. Whether we
are young and people don’t take us seriously; or a woman
overlooked or dismissed when her male colleague is in the
room, we all need to be mindful of how we are perceived
by others, and look to either enhance our assets or mitigate
our liabilities. To me, my response has been to work that
much harder to ensure I know as much as I can, and am as
prepared as I can be. Some things are in our control, others
aren’t. Focus on what you can control.
Have you in any ways contributed towards the cause of
women empowerment.
I had very strong female role models. From my
grandmothers, to my mother, my mother-in law, my aunts,
my sister, my friends, and many of my colleagues. There
were only two girls in our immediate family growing up.
We were both encouraged to pursue our dreams. I never felt
that I was inferior. It was never an issue for me. I just felt I
needed to work hard, be prepared and I would succeed.
However, I know that isn’t the case for every woman. I
guess I have always gravitated towards organizations and
causes that help support and further women's
empowerment. “To those that are given much, much is
expected”. Guess I took that seriously.
While I believe it is important to focus on personal growth,
to be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time doing that right
now. Maybe it is because I have teenagers, run my own
business, run a non-profit, chair a women’s peer advisory
board, host a YouTube channel, and try to keep sane while
doing all of that. I just don’t have a lot of time right now to
sit back and engage in “personal growth”. I consider getting
up every day, and trying to make an impact that day, as my
personal growth plan.
What are your future endeavours/objectives and where
I want to make a difference in the world. I have always had
a bigger vision for what I wanted to do. I am going to
continue to build on my disaster preparedness, response,
recovery and resiliency work as I believe that is where I can
make a significant difference there. I am also always
looking for unique commercial opportunities that I can get
involved in that have the potential to disrupt industries.
“Know where you want to
go, source as many
quality materials and
resources as you can and
then pave your own
unique path.”
“

Attributes
of a Good
Leader

Leadership is about using the
power of a position to
empower a group of people in
order to attain a common goal. A
leader’s task is to implement the plans
that usually look good on paper,
through a delegated team, in a specific
time with an ongoing motion. She/he
may use the traditional method or may
think out of the box. It depends on the
leader as how to do it; the ultimate
motive is to get the job done.
Although, each and every individual
has a different approach on leadership,
some might say it is about setting
examples, some might say it is about
sharing the authority; what matters is,
taking the right decision when it is
most needed.
Leadership varies from one
organization to another. An
organization is a dynamic body and
creates new probabilities every now
and then. And with new probabilities,
come new challenges.
Although, it is impossible to overcome
every challenge, the business
environment has adopted certain
leadership styles for the efficiency of
business:
The Participative Leader
Participative Leadership is the process
of sharing authority with the work
force in order to get optimum
efficiency. The team, after getting
access to certain powers, works
responsibly to accomplish the goals set
by its leader. The shared leadership
also helps in case of any requirement
of change, as the employees adapt
quickly in such environment.
Incidentally, this style of leadership fits
best in a scenario when there is a
limitation of time.
The Transformational Leader
A transformational leader inspires the
team through effective communication
and an intellectual environment.
However, these individuals require
communication grows. Especially,
when it comes to leadership, there is no
scope for lack of communication. A
Leader who fails to develop this skill is
looked up as incompetent, because it is
his job to send the message loud and
clear. Although, it is also important to
listen as it is an integral part of
communication.
Ÿ Integrity
C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing the
right thing, even when no one is
watching.” Be it giving credit to one of
the team members or be it admitting a
mistake, a leader wears integrity as a
badge of honor. They do what is right,
no matter what.
Ÿ Empowerment
As mentioned earlier, Leadership is
about using the power of one’s position
to empower a group of people in order
to attain a common goal. A good leader
shares his authority with the team in
order to get the job done. By doing
this, he shows confidence in the team
and obliged by the gesture, the team
works with full enthusiasm to
accomplish the goal.
Ÿ Decision making
There is risk in decision to making.
Great leaders take great decisions
when the stake is high and it is the
success of those decisions that make
them great. To add up, a good leader
takes right decision at the right time.
In conclusion, a good leader can be
defined by the dynamics of his style in
leadership, the values that he brings to
the organization, the methods he uses
to make the best of the resources, and
the kind of decision he makes in the
given situations. At the end it is about
the attitude of an individual to bring
the change for good.
more detail oriented managers to
successfully implement their strategies.
Transformational Leadership is
considered among the most effective
employees of the organization. One of
the examples of this type of leadership
is when a leader is assigned on a higher
level for effective environment.
The Transactional leader
The transactional leadership, as the
name suggests, enables the leader to
incentivize the team corresponding to
their performance. The team gets
rewarded when it attains the goals and
the Leader has the power to review the
results and act accordingly when the
team fails to do the same. The goals
and the strategy to attain them are
decided by the leader and the team
itself.
The Situational leader
Situational leadership is a theory that
the best leader will adapt to the
required leadership style according to
need of the hour. A Situational leader
may adopt democratic style while
discussion business with senior
executive, but may switch to
transactional at the time of team
review. However every individual has
a natural style of leadership and it may
be difficult to switch roles at a certain
point of time.
Qualities of a good leader
There is an old proverb that says,
“Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed
Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish,
and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” So
is the case with leadership. One of the
basic qualities of a Leader is to pass on
the leadership skills.
Following are some of the qualities of
a good leader:
Ÿ Communication Skills
Communication is the basic
requirement for efficiency in a
business. As the level of hierarchy
elevates, the requirement of
The Art of Leading
JUNE 2020 | 39

MARINA
Tognetti
The passion for entrepreneurship came later on in my career” said Marina as she built first a
successful career by large multinationals, Procter & Gamble, Philips, Sara Lee, The Boston
Consulting Group and eBay; and got an MBA from INSEAD. Marina Tognetti a tech
entrepreneur, who is the founder and CEO of mYngle.com, a global language training platform.
She asserts “It was when working as consultant on a project on internet strategy that I first saw the
potential of internet to disrupt entire industries and change forever the way we buy/sell/interact. I
had to be part of that! That was the driver to start an innovative company as mYngle.”
Combining Excellence and Advancement
According to Marina, in mYngle, the company nurture an obsession for customer satisfaction, and
this is also one of its key strengths. It looks to continuously improve its service. The company does
so by constantly listening to users’ feedback and improving accordingly, as well as leveraging new
technologies at its advantage.
This is also reflected in mYngle’s internal evaluation systems and how it assess job. It constantly
monitor its users’ reactions and try to adjust accordingly, using adapted versions of NPS (Net
Promoter Score), which defines that only excellence counts. The organization’s average lessons’
scores are 4.9/5.0. Results speak for themselves!
An Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs in Tech
“BE THE CHANGE YOU
WISH TO SEE IN
THE WORLD.”
JUNE 2020 | 41
”

Understanding User’s Needs
Marina strongly believes that the key to success is not
constantly comparing with competition, but aligning with
what customers want. Constant focus on customers and
their needs is one of mYngle’s pillars and key strengths.
This is particularly important when one is in an industry
like online education, is in a transition or evolution phase,
where the main challenge is not competition but the
unawareness or inexperience of customers.
Education was (and in large part still is) operating in the old
traditional way, offering learners what is available, not what
they need. But “One size does not fit all.” Marina says “By
understanding the customer and diversifying our offer in
terms of teacher- content- frequency, we can match each
specific need.”
Vital Traits for a Business Woman
“We are living in an era of fast and drastic changes-
technology, volatility of the market, talent development,”
says Marina. This affects the role of a leader, man or
woman, which must be able not only to adapt but also to
ride the positive trends.
For Marina, a business woman must have a strong ’Vision’
to set the direction and anticipate and navigate challenges-
which also means being able to ‘Think out of the box’,
adapt and change to keep the business successful. Marina
further said “she must not be afraid of taking (calculated)
risks in order to anticipate trends and steer the company
also in turbulent waters. Last, but not least, she must be
able to build an organization that is also agile. That
requires developing people that think and not only do
“jobs’’, employees that are entrepreneurs, fostering a
culture of experimentation.”
Learning through Experience
The main challenges were when the company had to ’pivot’
from the initial business model to a completely different
one. Marina says “We had launched mYngle as a
marketplace, something I knew very well from my previous
eBay experience. We thought we got it all: funding, lots of
Awards and PR, a very motivated team. But something in
the business model was not functioning as we expected. We
listened to our customers and they gave us the new
direction, and they gave us the new direction, from an open
marketplace to a quality global online school, from B2C to
B2B. That is the mYngle that you see now.”
Empowering Women
Marina opines “The tech world is still particularly male
dominated: only 5% of tech start-ups are owned by women.
That is why I aim to be a role model for other women in
tech, but an accessible one, trying to give a genuine picture
of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, the ups and downs
that we all have but few want to share”. She added “A
strong leader is not the one without faults, as we all have
faults, but that which is so self-confident to be able to show
her vulnerabilities without being scared that it would
impact her strength.”
Marina regularly presents at international conferences on
the topics of female leadership and entrepreneurship, and
won numerous awards for her role of woman in technology
such as 50 most inspiring women tech leaders in Europe, 50
most inspiring women in Dutch technology sector, Iconic
Women Creating a Better World for All and many others.
Truth and Myth of Meritocracy
Although the tech world might seem to perfectly fit the
meritocracy idea, it is actually not the case when one
compares chances for men and women. For jobs at leading
tech start-ups, most outreach and recruitment take place
through word-of-mouth, alumni referrals and personal
networks, which are predominantly composed of males.
Also, women entrepreneurs are not getting venture-capital
funding at the same rate as men. This despite the fact that
data on returns show venture-backed tech start-ups with
women at the helm outperforms those led by men.
Technological Advancement
Technology should be seen as an opportunity, as it opens
directions that only a few decades ago seemed unattainable.
It allows new businesses that can disrupt entire industries.
‘CHANGE is GOOD’ as it forces improvements and
continuous developments. “I am a business person,”
Marina says “so do not need to be an expert in its
implementation, but I must understand its implication for a
business: how it impacts a company, the customers, the
value chain.”
On Future Endeavours
The future challenge for mYngle will be in keeping
innovating and being ahead while the market moves from
early stage to more mature.
For Marina personally, it will also be time for the idealistic
voice inside to speak, the voice that believes in giving
something back for a better world. She walked this path and
learned a lot. That brought her in a privileged position,
where she can act and implement new ideas that can make a
difference. She can now use her skills to make the world
just a little bit better.
JUNE 2020 | 43

Marne Martin
An Avid Leader Transforming Businesses
via Technology
Marne
In an interview with Insights Success,
Martin President Service Management Global
— of
IFS, emphasizes on her impeccable journey and her
contribution in the evolution of IT sector. Her unique
ideology and methods have helped her to achieve many
milestones in her pathway, creating a better roadmap for her
company to prevail.
Insights Success admire such personalities and takes pride
in featuring Marne in its special edition, “The 10 Most
Inspiring Businesswomen to Watch in 2020”.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a
proficient leader.
Growing up on a ranch and being captain of sports teams
were both great training in my early years. I was very
fortunate in my employment out of college to be able to
lead teams, learn from mentors, and work internationally
over the decades to hone my skills. Working in other
cultures and countries around the world was supremely
enriching to continue guiding the journey of becoming an
effective leader.
Leadership and management skills don’t happen in a
vacuum. It is with experience and peer review that we grow,
regardless if one is naturally talented or not. I have grown a
great deal over the decades, and feel that I am only part way
along the journey. For example, technology skills are
equally critical to being an effective leader, and in how we
partner with businesses embracing digital transformation.
Technology is continually evolving, and we must also
evolve with it on a personal and operational level.
How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to
First step is agreeing what is the target audience, as that
may not be the audience that you have today or that you
think you want. If you look through history, you find
examples of companies that were innovative in their time,
but then the market changed and they didn’t. Likewise,
consumers change generationally and with societal change.
Therefore, a company has to be nimble and adapt to their
target audience not only in the short and long term, but also
move quickly along the way in case that audience does
shifts due to size, distinction, or profitability.
The second step is assessing whether you have the cash and
talent to diversify. Diversifying is easier if a company has
already executed on a focused strategy and has talent that is
scalable, e.g. a foundation already laid with the existing
product or services that can be positioned into a new
business model, sales motion or market. Diversification can

Marne Martin
President Service
Management Global
IFS
JUNE 2020 | 47

Momentum, talent, and customer focus are all key to being
competitive and continuing to win. A successful strategy
has to focus on the customer first. Then, the talent that is
necessary to be successful and differentiate the company
from its peers. Finally, the momentum that can create an
avalanche of demand where customer acquisition and
retention becomes ideally cheaper over time in order to be
able to redeploy funds into ongoing innovation and
differentiation. Without that momentum, cost of customer
acquisition and retention can become very costly and
eliminate the ability to earn profits.
What are the vital traits that every business women
should possess?
The ability to achieve results and work with all sorts of
people is paramount. In these two areas, women in business
need to differentiate themselves even more than their peers
in order to maximize recognition and opportunities of being
promoted. Hard work, resiliency and creativity to find
solutions in tough or complicated times are also critical
traits. Lastly, one needs to be not only a good coach, but
also be coachable.
As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges
were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did
you overcome them?
To some degree, I probably had more challenge launching
my career in the international business scene coming from a
small town in Wyoming than the fact that I am a woman.
Networking and being in the right place at the right is key
regardless of gender. If those connections don’t from from
family or alumni, it can be even more challenging.
For women specifically, there is the balancing act of
demonstrating toughness, leadership, drive and ambition to
levels where you maintain your team’s respect and support
for initiatives you’re leading. Along with these traits,
having a high degree of emotional intelligence is what has
benefitted me, and I suspect every woman that has either
broken the glass ceiling or found a way around it is the
be expensive though, which is why many cash limited or
startup companies are better off focusing on a single
product or service that is excellent and then as momentum,
investment and/or profits allow, diversifying through
organic means or an acquisition.
To diversify an organization’s offerings, look to whether the
company is best served by adding another product or
service, going into a new or different market or geography,
and / or add a new sales motion. All of these are forms of
diversification where the best one or combination needs to
be mapped to what generates the most business value for
your target audience, and the greatest profits or momentum
for the company. Diversification is successful when you can
use it to maximize the returns on the talent, products or
services that you have to sell aligned with a go to market
strategy that is tailored to the customer segment, pricing,
delivery, packaging, sales motion, etc. that can be executed
on. A diversification strategy therefore has to fundamentally
tie into the business plan and strategy you have as a
company, and what your exit strategy is (if applicable).
Diversifying by organic development versus acquisition
also acquire differing degrees of time and money, as well as
risk. I have seen businesses that had great talent and also a
great product simply run out of cash if they tried to
diversify without adequate funding and got over-stretched,
as well as companies that stayed single product / single
customer segment too long and got caught behind the
market.
Diversification is important to the long-term success of
most businesses, but it can’t be done “randomly” where a
company doesn’t understand the market, the target audience
or how to grow profitably. While there are very successful
companies valued highly on the stock market or by their PE
owners that aren’t profitable and continue to find access to
cash, that is always a riskier proposition, especially in times
of fluctuating consumer or business demand and availability
of capital.”
“Hard work, resiliency, creativity and most importantly, the
ability to manage your talent empathetically to get the best
out of people, are the keys to success.”

same. Men may at times be successful without a high
degree of emotional intelligence, but I have personally
never found that to be the case with women who reach the
highest levels of their organizations.
Persistence is also key. One needs to recognize that every
day is a new opportunity to not only prove oneself, but also
enrich and improve those around you. The most successful
leaders are ones that act as “multipliers” in their
organizations. Managers also in many cases need to lean in
and continue advancing the careers of women who want to
raise families or have other care obligations. I chose to
travel and work internationally at times in lieu of child care
or other care obligations, but many women wouldn’t have
made the same choice, and frankly, we need to get to a
point where woman don't have to make the choice. Times
are changing, but there is still change to be made.
women empowerment.
This is a multifaceted question. Do I believe and advocate
that women should be valued and encouraged to be
whatever they want to be – yes. Do I model success and
encourage, hire and promote other women in the workplace
- yes. Could I do more? Most definitely, and that is
something we as women should continue to work towards
- supporting each other.
We need more metrics and alignment all around the world
to focus on what matters. Education and earnings are of
course essential as empowerment is theoretical without
metrics that matter. Empowerment first comes from within
related to confidence and psychology. However, there also
has to be a supportive ecosystem from society, family,
partners, colleagues and those who invest in initiatives. We
need companies that enable women to gain the skills and
competencies required to earn commensurate return for
their skill, talent, and work efforts.
What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”?
And how it could bring a change in today’s business
arena?
Diversity in the workforce is critical to driving unique
success in a business, and diversity can only be achieved if
we look first at meritocracy. Meritocracy has to be the
driving force or else some of your most talented people will
either be left on the sidelines or underutilized. If the person
can add value to your business, your customers, and be
multiplier, you want them! Don’t let a lack of meritocracy
in your organization hold you back, because it will.
One has to keep their eye on the results that matter, as that
is the “through line” when you look to align technology
trends with continued career and personal progression. I
love to read and learn new things. I have always felt that
opportunities present themselves to not only myself, but
anyone who never stops learning and looking for new
challenges. It is also much easier to advocate and encourage
digital transformation to customers and peers when one is
also always looking to learn and embrace new things
oneself.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where
I find great satisfaction in supporting the growth and
success of people and businesses alike. In the near future, I
see myself continuing to lead companies and business units
as my focus, with also the opportunity to sit on more
boards. Also, motivating more women to achieve their
dreams and be successful in STEM careers is near and dear
to my heart.
JUNE 2020 | 49

ZAHARA
MALIK
have always seen my challenges as a learning curve to
Ireally develop and grow. Both communication and
diplomacy are imperative in order to overcome any
challenges,”says Zahara.ZaharaMalikistheCEO&
Co-founder at Grosvenor Capital, an independent business
services company. She is an experienced investment
professional with a demonstrated history of working in the
financial services industry with a focus on Impact Investing,
Deal Origination, Emerging Markets, Sustainable
Development, Value Based Investing, and Government
Relations.
She asserts “my career has never been a simple straight road
(as with many of us) and therefore it was important for me to
ensure I had some professional mentors and soundboards to
help me navigate through any roadblocks. Even to this day,
since we launched the company, I believe in mentorship more
so than ever and I am extremely grateful to those who continue
tosupport meinmyjourney.”
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between
InsightsSuccessandZaharaMalik:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a
proficientleader.
I started my journey with Mosaic, which is a part of HRH
PrinceofWales,PrincesTrustwhichfocusedonthe
A Proficient of Impact Investing
”

importance of mentorship for the youth across the UK.
Having started within the charity sector, purpose and impact
has been at the forefront of my journey, and throughout my
career I was forever searching for ways that purpose and profit
could align beyond philanthropy. Philanthropy still plays a
pivotal role in my journey, however I was looking for models
where global issues went beyond a campaign, a time of year or
to solve a single problem. This is where Impact Investing
bridges people, the planet and profit. My biggest turning point
was in 2012 where I studied my masters at UCL, London and I
ran a campaign with my colleagues where we built a school in
Chittagong, Bangladesh for Jaago Foundation. Following this
I went into understanding the commercial fundraising world
where my focus had primarily been Africa centric in which I
was fortunate to have some great mentors who taught me the
manylayerswithintheinvestmentworld.
How do you diversify your organization's offerings to
We are determined to bridge the gap and shape the impact
investing narrative across the GCC. Impact Investing is a term
that is fairly new to the region but the concept of impact is
embedded in regions principles, we work to build and define
an organisation’s or the investors’ purpose in their investment
mandate and ensure that we support their journey as they
focus on purpose driven investments that do not compromise
theirreturns.
I believe in collaborating and joining forces as and where
possible, particularly in the unprecedented times we are
facing now. I don’t believe that competition should be feared
but especially in the Impact Investing space we are all driven
by creating impact and to support people and the planet, so
where we can come together to simply share thoughts and
work together for the wider purpose we should remain to do
so. My game plan is therefore to support anyone who is on the
missiontodriveimpactinvesting.
What are the vital traits that every business women
should possess?
I would expect it to be the same as a business man, we
should all encompass integrity, professionalism and to have
a strong work ethic.
women empowerment.
I have also been fortunate to be a part of projects including
Girls do Good, A global EdTech movement & social impact
productchangingthewaychildrenlearnhighlightingsome
JUNE 2020 | 53

incredible female role models around the world. Most recently I
also joined the Football for Peace Steering Committee which is
focused on harnessing the power of football globally through
peace and diplomacy. Kash Siddiqi the co-founder of Football
for Peace, alongside FIFA legend Elias Figueroa at the UN with
the late Kofi Annan established the organisation to really drive
the movement of women and football, I am fortunate to now
work withthewiderteamtocontinuetogrow thisglobally.
As your previous question alluded too unfortunately there is still
a differentiation between genders in the professional world. I am
a strong believer in women supporting women, I have been
grateful to have men support me throughout my professional life
and I am determined to ensure we all work together to create a
levelplayingfieldthatisequalanddiverseacrosstheboard.
How do you cope up with capricious technological trends
to boost your personal growth?
I believe we should embrace technology in every way that we
can, with the growth of tech and digitization during the global
pandemic it has become evident that we need to be able to
connect, communicate and sustain both our business models and
professionaldevelopmentusingtechnology.
What are your future endeavours/objectives and where do
you see yourself in the near future?
I have a long way to go and as we are only a year into the journey,
for me at the moment its important to try and continue to shape
the narrative for Impact Investing across the GCC region.
Thought leadership is imperative for our journey and one of my
favourite quotes is, “Day by day, what you choose, what you
think, and what you do is who you become.” Heraclitus,
Philosopher(c.535B.C.-475B.C.)
We hope to stay on the road of impact investing where we can
continue to bridge the world of value-based investing and to add
directly to the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals. I am determined to continue to work with partners and
peersintotoachievethisglobalmission.
“The world of Impact
Investing is still
growing and therefore
the more that we unite
together to achieve
social and
environmental
prosperity we will be
able to leave a long and
lasting impact for our
future generations.”

Zahara Malik
CEO & Co-founder
Grosvenor Capital
JUNE 2020 | 55

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