The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business, 2020

PRECIOUS
MAYES
The People's Leader in Healthcare
The Most Admired
WOMEN LEADERS
in Business
2020
11
SHEPRENEUR
Maternity time to
bring out break the
entrepreneur in you
EXPERT’S VIEW
What will the world of
commerce be like after
the covid 19 crisis?

Women
Entrepreneurs
Transforming the
Industry
e are living in an era of fast and drastic
Wchanges in technology, the volatility of the
market, and talent development. This
influences the role of an entrepreneur, man, or woman.
However, the tech world is still male dominated with
only five percent of tech start-ups owned by women.
Men admire women who flourish in their
environment. But there are also men who fear women
who do the same job, although those voices seem
louder, they are often in the minority. Women in male-
dominated environments can and do show their peers
what they are capable of.
Leadership, honesty, professionalism, and vision are
vital traits that every businesswoman should possess.
A businesswoman must have a strong perception to set
the direction, anticipate, and navigate challenges. She
needs to ’Think out of the box’, adapt, and change to
keep the business successful. She must not be afraid
of taking risks in order to anticipate trends and steer
the organization through turbulent waters. Last, but
not the least, she must be able to build a company that
is also brisk.
The ability to achieve results and work with all sorts
of people is of supreme importance. Women in
business need to transform themselves even more in
order to maximize recognition and opportunities for
being promoted. Hard work, flexibility, and creativity
to find solutions in resilient or complicated times are
also important traits.
Lastly, we need organizations that enable women to
gain these skills and competencies required to earn an
Editor’s Desk

equal return for their skill, talent, and work
efforts. Whether they are drivers, technicians,
safety managers, CEOs, or directors, we must
offer information and resources to help them
identify and overcome diversity challenges.
One such brave soul and an impeccable
businesswoman is Precious Mayes, an avid and
decisive healthcare leader who impeccably
contributed to the evolution in this sector. She is
President, and CEO of Pacifica Hospital of
the Valley and her unique ideology and methods
have helped her to meet countless personal
milestones as well as her company’s pathway.
Hence, Insights Success emphasizes her journey
with its exciting edition “The Most Admired
Women Leaders in Business”.
Also, while flipping the pages, do not forget to
run through the articles and CXOs written by
our in-house editorial team and the industry
experts respectively.
Have a Good Read!
rohit.chaturvedi@insightssuccess.com

PRECIOUS MAYES
The People’s Leader
in Healthcare
COVER STORY
10
Expert’s View
What will the world of
commerce be like after
the covid 19 crisis?
Shepreneur
Maternity time to bring out
break the entrepreneur in you
28 40
article

18
32
44
22
36
48
Cydni Tetro
Redeﬁnng the customary
way of doing business
Jennifer Breen
Making home happen through
temporary housing services
Margaret Graziano
Creating a High-Performance
Organizational Culture
to Boost Businesses
Dr. Giovanna Brasﬁeld
You may call her
“A Woman on the Rise”
Karin Lohitnavy
A Passion Driven Leader
Tracy Hernandez
Exemplifying Collaborative
Leadership

sales@insightssuccess.com
November, 2020
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
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Research Analyst
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Managing Editor
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Assistant Editors
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Visualizer
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Associate Designer
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Kshitij S Peter Collins
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Business Development Executives
Steve, Joe, Aidan, Sanket
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Brief
Company Name
Richemele International
Consultants
richemeleinternati
onal.com
Sarah Richson
CEO
Richemele is an International Consulting Firm which creates
delightful, non-obtrusive, business and personal growth
solutions.
FORGEDX
forgedx.com
Cydni Tetro
CEO
IdeaCloud software and services brings complex technology to
life from a single cloud-based platform.
Precious Velvet Mayes
CEO
PHV Pacifica Hospital
pacificahospital.com
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley is a safety net hospital. The
hospital is situated in north San Fernando Valley and provides
service to patients as far as 400+ miles away.
Karin Lohitnavy
Founder & CEO
Midas PR
midaspr.co.uk
Midas is an award-winning communications agency working at
the heart of the arts, culture, and heritage sectors. We transform
brands with brilliantly bold ideas.
Microsoft
microsoft.com
Sudha Mahajan
Product leadership
Designed to help companies/people achieve more with
innovative Office apps, intelligent cloud services, and world-
class security.
Stephanie Zullig
CEO
MindScale GmbH
mindscale.ch
MindScale was founded to shape a successful future for
companies in the digital age and to create sustainable added
value.
Giovanna Brasfield
Vice President of
Diversity and Inclusion
Flatiron Construction
Corp
flatironcorp.com
Flatiron develops innovative solutions to build critical
infrastructure and landmark projects.
Jennifer Breen
President and Founder
Suite Home Corporate
Housing
suitehomechicago.com
The company strives everyday to provide a high-quality
housing experience and has always been to set up beautiful
apartments in fantastic buildings that are both comfortable and
functional.
Tracy Hernandez
Founding CEO
BizFed
bizfed.org
BizFed is helping to create a robust economy that grows jobs.
Margaret Graziano
CEO
KeenAlignment is a collaborative group of highly successful
Management Consulting Professionals with a collective
commitment to transform and elevate all that is possible for a
world at work.
KeenAlignment
keenalignment.com
Featured Person

PRECIOUS MAYES
The People’s Leader
in Healthcare
"Strategize, Plan it with Collaboration -
Communicate it - Execute it
COVER STORY

Meet Precious Mayes, President, and CEO of Pacifica
Hospital of the Valley, an avid and decisive healthcare leader
who impeccably contributed to the evolution in this sector. Her
unique ideology and methods have helped her to meet
countless personal milestones as well as
her company’s pathway.
Insights Success admires such leaders and takes pride in
featuring Precious in its special edition, “The Most
Admired Women Leaders in Business 2020.” The issue
focuses on some outstanding women, who have attained a
greater stature in their respective sectors.
Journey behind Precious’s Success
As a healthcare leader and entrepreneur, Precious’s journey
has been very diverse and robust with opportunities and
experiences in a variety of industries. Since the start of her
career, she has always explored the impossible and with the
philosophy of anything is possible. She states that another
key internal driver is passion and with that personal passion
to color outside the lines. Her personal mantra has led her
naturally to a path of ongoing creativity and development of
business opportunities. “Cultivating a team of people who
can lead with the same mantra is key to any success and
business growth” says Precious.
While expanding the business, Precious states selecting the
right people and organizations to partner with is critical to
any business relationship and success. Precious has
experienced that the best business you do is the business
you don’t do. Having a mutual understanding of
expectations and deliverables along with the consistency of
communication solidifies progression and growth.
Below are the highlights of the interview between Precious
and Insights Success
How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the
competition in the market?
The foundation of strategizing is obtaining data on the
different elements within the market. With this data, a
market analysis is turnkey for developing a strategic
marketing plan to promote growth with referral sources,
community relations/outreach and strategizing to raise the
bar within the market. Leading a team with action planning
to drive results is the force to positive outcomes. How you
choose to strategize your growth and longevity can plan a
vital role in your success as an organization.
What are the vital traits that every business women
should possess?
Through my experience and observations, a businesswoman
in this progressive time should naturally portray confidence,
strength, integrity, and core values. Taking risks when
making tough decisions in any situation, can also build
upon any opportunity. Another vital trait for
businesswomen is to not be fearful of standing your ground
while upholding your core values and priorities. It’s
important to remain confident and poised even if you are
the last or only voice left in the room.
As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges
were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did
you overcome them?
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley is a safety net hospital. With
that being said, we face challenges with timely funding by
the state. Our hospital is in north San Fernando Valley and
provides service to patients as far as 400+ miles away. The
need in our immediate and distant communities is high, so
we have been able to manage through our financial
limitations by adding new service lines and diversifying our
portfolio with the various Managed Care Organizations and
IPA groups. With the pandemic experience since February
of this year, in response to the Governor’s call to action
during the initial COVID-19 surge, I decided to pivot our
available beds and transitioning these available beds/units
to care for intensive care, acute and subacute level COVID-
19 patients. Additionally, we added new service lines to
support the needs of the community.
Another strategy that is still effective during challenging
times, is developing and maintaining relationships with the
highest level of state/federal legislation and local officials to
voice the needs of healthcare providers and constituents as
well as asking for their support in time of need. One of my
key elements is to never be afraid to ask for help.

Overcoming obstacles are not considered obstacles,
but more as challenges to be managed through. As
mentioned previously, anything impossible is
possible.
Have you in any ways contributed towards the
cause of women empowerment.
As a leader in various industry settings, I have
always offered mentorship and coaching to women
in the business world. My ministry and mission is to
empower as many women from diverse cultures and
backgrounds. My passion is to offer support and
mentorship by investing in women who have a drive
and passion who may not have the
resources/expertise to grow their business. As the
owner of different businesses, I have selected
women of need and growth to join our teams. I
consider this type of businesswoman a future
SheMogul.
How do you cope up with capricious
technological trends to boost your personal
growth?
Technology can be a legitimate and powerful way
to advance your personal development and growth.
However it needs to be done right.
Most people gravitate towards trends in technology
without understanding what the final outcome will
bring them.
Technology is a tool , most people miss the end
goal and result of what that might be. Building a
bridge between your goals and the technology
landscape can support personal growth in an
everchanging environment . Ask yourself these
questions , What are you trying to achieve, what are
some of the positive habits you are trying to
maintain , that could be optimized . What is the
most empowering way you could use technology
right now ?. Make sure it promotes your personal
and professional growth . Technology can advance
your personal development in phenomenal ways if
you use it strategical to enhance and enable positive
habits.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and
where do you see yourself in the near future?
Future plans include continued mentoring of
aspiring women in business and to grow the existing
business and create a deep-rooted healthcare system
that cares for the inner city and the Medi-Cal
population to deliver “MAYO” or “Stanford” level
of care for the Inner cities and vulnerable
populations. This includes opening additional
inner-city hospital services in southern California.
“Every day is a “Gift”, you are not
guaranteed tomorrow.”
The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business 2020

kimberly Khoury
Paving her Way in Sustainability Development
The
20
BUSINESSWOMEN
to Watch, 2020
SUCCESSFUL
Most

18 | November 2020 www.insightssuccess.com

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Dr. GIOVANNA
BRASFIELD
You may call her “A Woman on the Rise”
Dr. Giovanna Braseld
Vice President

Nothing can dim the light that
shines from within.
eet Dr. Giovanna Brasfield a.k.a. Dr. G, the
MVice President of Diversity & Inclusion for
Flatiron Construction and LINXS JV
Inclusivity Manager. “Dr. G” serves as the Senior Supplier
Diversity and Community Inclusion Officer for Flatiron
Construction as the Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion
and also serves as the Inclusivity Manager for LINXS JV
on the Los Angeles World Airport's Automated People
Mover (APM) project.
She assists the Southwest District Manager and the Division
Manager in meeting contractual requirements on current
projects and upcoming project pursuits that engage women,
diverse businesses, local workforce, and youth engagement.
Dr. Brasfield is a true advocate, leader, and change agent
within construction who is passionate about inclusion of
others within construction and construction-related trades.
Dr. Brasfield has been named the 2020 Mujer del Ano by
the Regional Hispanic Institute as part of the Regional
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, by construction industry
bloggers as one of the “2020, and also the 2019 Top 50
Construction Influencers” across the United States, by the
Los Angeles Business Journal as a finalist for the Rising
Star Award, by DemoChicks as an “Epic Women”, CNBC's
Workforce Executive Council Member, the Associated
General Contractors (AGC) of California's Diversity and
Inclusivity's Expert Task Force, and by Diversity
Professional Magazine as a “Game Changer”.
Moreover, she has an extensive background and experience
in marketing, research, business development, and
community involvement through her engagement in
educational issues, program management, capacity
building, construction & transportation concerns, economic
development and social issues. Her unique ideas and
methods has helped her to achieve many milestones for her
as well as for the organization.
Insights Success admire such leaders takes pride in
featuring such leader in its special edition, “The Most
Admired Women Leaders in Business 2020”
Into the Shoes of Leader
Dr. G states that for her, becoming proficient leader in the
construction industry for diversity and inclusion has
required focused, hard work over many years. “It's not been
easy, but it's been rewarding,” says her. In her journey, she
has sought to constantly develop herself within the male-
dominated industry of construction. She also states that she
has always focused on understanding the role of diversity
and inclusion to help aid awareness, remove barriers for the
traditionally underserved and build a foundation for internal
and external program development.
“Perspective is everything,” quotes Dr. G.
She doesn't see roadblocks or challenges as hindrances, but
as obstacles to overcome and to learn from. In business, as
well as in construction, she has overcame many challenging
situations and has learned that success comes from having
the right perspective, understanding policies, remaining
open to differences in thought and being able to take
feedback from others. When dealing with an obstacle, she
does not consider it as the end of the road, but states that
more so as an opportunity to create her own new
opportunity whenever possible.
Moreover, Dr. G states that there are few women in the
construction industry. But through diversity and inclusion
initiatives, she has been able to mentor other women and
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November 2020

collaborate with organizations that focus on women
empowerment and equality. At Flatiron's LINXS joint
venture project, Dr. G has created an employee resource
group called the LINXS Women's Leadership Network. She
is also focusing on inclusion initiatives as part of Flatiron's
growth model an essential component of its business
resource group for Flatiron's Diversity & Inclusion Growth
Group.
Solutions to Rely On
To strengthen Flatiron's diversity and inclusion offerings,
Dr. G seeks to listen, engage, include, and assess. “With
programs such as these, success requires involvement from
everyone. Diversity and inclusion is most effective in a
collaborative, team environment where the focus is an all-
inclusive model.” This generates positive results for
everyone; especially in the areas of contract commitments
and compliance.”, she states. Dr. G is honored to serve as a
diversity and inclusion executive for Flatiron, and to work
with company's Diversity & Inclusivity Growth Group,
project teams, clients and community resources to
strategically implement, monitor and oversee inclusion
programs. A key goal for Dr. G is to maximize inclusion
drawn from the communities surrounding a project for
youth, workforce and local firms. In her position, Dr. G
works with teams to serve as a conduit of change, to ensure
multiple diversity and inclusion initiatives are implemented
and aligned with Flatiron's mission and core values, as well
as create a long term impacts for internal and external
stakeholders.
Whereas, in the case of its LINXS Joint Venture (JV)
project at Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA), Dr. G works
with the team to interpret contract commitments, implement
the Inclusivity & Workforce Development Plan, assess
potential points of noncompliance, resolve issues and
ensure a diversification of Flatiron's and LINXS JV's
offerings. This requires ongoing relationships with multiple
people with expertise in areas such as contracts,
construction, designing, quality and labor compliance.
When asked about the competition, she states that like
Flatiron, other companies are reinforcing their
commitments to diversity and inclusion—and it's critical
and essential. In her case, the company is developing a
multi-faceted plan that it believes will engage employees,
clients, stakeholders, communities and youth. She has come
to realize that it is important to be proactive and to achieve
even marginal gains. So, she spends time in important
initial steps by listening, brainstorming, looking at data and
applying what she has learn. Then she tries to align multiple
teams within the organization that will be impacted by the
outcome to ensure overall buy-in to the effort.
Embracing Technology
Dr. Giovanna learned to adapt, be flexible and be open to
using evolving technology and thereby enhance her
personal growth. This has been especially important in the
current challenging pandemic environment. Life as she
knew it has changed, but her responsibilities and
commitments remains. Like so many others in business, she
has become proficient in streaming meeting platforms like
Zoom, GoToMeetings, WebEx and other technologies to

conduct day-to-day business with subcontractors, project
teams and employees. In addition, she states that currently
she relies heavily on electronic newsletters, project
websites, emails, LinkedIn and Instagram to share project
milestones and critical information with external
stakeholders. “How we conduct business is changing daily,
and I am reminded that we must be open to new
innovations. As an industry, we have created a new normal
that, I believe, will boost personal growth for all,” says Dr.
Giovanna.
A Glimpse into the Future
She states that there is a lot of opportunity and potential for
change related to removing barriers, creating equality and
driving action; ways in which inclusion can make and be
the diﬀerence. With the current state of the world, the role
of diversity leaders is essential to help create cohesion and
solidarity with creating equity. She sees herself as being
among those at the forefront of helping Flatiron lead
change, implement actions, strengthen internal and external
equity and enhance inclusion throughout the business.
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November 2020

Expert’s View
29
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November 2020

Making Home Happen
Through Temporary Housing Services
JENNIFER
Breen
“Do not overthink it. Gather the facts and put together a
business plan, and when ready, go for it,” says Jennifer
Breen on advising emerging women entrepreneurs. She
states “I was nervous to sign that first lease, but the
moment it was done, my anxiety over starting Suite
Home was over, and my excitement over establishing my
brand began. Jennifer started Suite Home with an exit
strategy in place, which she did not do with her first firm.
She opines “If you have that exit strategy in place, it
gives you a goal to work towards, even though you may
divert from that original plan. Women are planners, and
looking ahead is in our bones. Do not think of it as
negative, and embrace having an exit strategy as a
positive approach to your future.”
Jennifer Breen opened Suite Home Chicago in 2005 after
years of being a vendor for the temporary housing
industry. She set up a company bank account and her
first apartment in the popular River North neighborhood
of downtown Chicago, and the company was born.
Having an operations background, the set up and design
of the apartments was incredibly important. She asserts
“we have always strived to provide a more homelike,
rather than corporate, feeling when you stay with Suite
Home.” The customer response to the company’s initial
apartments was phenomenal and within the first year, it
was operating about 50 apartments. In the past 15 years,
the company has continued to grow into the Chicago
suburbs and into Wisconsin, operating up to 700+
apartments during its peak seasons. Suite Home Chicago
also expanded and began to assist its Chicago-based
clients with their domestic and global needs, and began
the rebrand to “Suite Home” this past year to widen its
reach.
Services as per Requirement
Suite Home’s clients’ needs drive its decisions on where
the company establishes apartment inventory or maybe
secure exclusive relationships with apartment
communities. The company maintains close relationships
with property management companies and prides itself in
its close partnerships which allow securing inventory
when needed for the clientele.
Suite Home offers temporary housing in high-rises
downtown, and apartment complexes throughout the
suburbs and Wisconsin, and it has even been known to
rent private homes or AirBnBs to accommodate its
guests, and ensures a positive service. The company
believes “It is that concierge, solve-it-all relationships
that our clients want, and we strive to meet.” Suite
Home also has strong partner relationships with vetted
corporate housing companies throughout the world that

Suite Home wants to be your most
trusted resource for temporary
housing, with solutions for our
clientele throughout the world.
“
“
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November 2020

operate similar to the company, where it can rent their
apartments and provide a streamlined experience to
the guest in those markets outside the Midwest.
Lead with Compassion and Commitment
Jennifer looks to fellow businesswomen within and
outside her industry on a regular basis for inspiration
and strength. She finds that the most successful
businesswomen are passionate and resilient with an
innate work ethic that allows them to forge through
any situation. They are willing to listen to others,
reflect, and adapt to challenges or opportunities in
front of them, and she often finds that once they are
ready for change, they boldly charge towards it
without looking back. She states “I am inspired by
their never give up attitude, and their commitment to
compassionate leadership.”
Understanding the Emotion
Jennifer was actually relocated several times as a
child due to her dad’s job. The family caters to the
relocation and moving industry, and she thinks she is
well positioned to empathize and understand Suite
Home’s client needs as they move between cities or
travel for extended periods of time. She also thinks
that is why she is so firmly planted herself in Chicago.
Jennifer has lived here 20 years now, and originally
named her company “Suite Home Chicago” after her
beloved city. She says “I love having firm roots now
and all five of my children were born and have been
raised here. When you are moved to new locales, you
have to learn to adapt and thrive in a new
environment. I use those skills now to embrace change
and try new things, even if it is to start a new business
venture.”
Challenges in Housing Industry
The hardest part of starting Suite Home was hands
down the amount of capital and cash flow it takes to
operate a corporate housing company. Downtown
rents are not cheap, and one is often on the hook for
12 month leases, even though the client leases are
month-to-month. If one does not carefully manage the
exposure and vacancy, one can easily end up in the
red. To sign leases, one also needs business credit
which can take 2-3 years to establish. Jennifer had to
personally co-sign leases to get Suite Home started
and that is daunting to know that her personal

financial credit is impacted as she started the company. The temporary housing industry
is considered to be a very risky business, so Jennifer was unable to secure a line of credit
when she started, and the entire financial backing of the company was on her.
Future After the Pandemic
Suite Home had its strongest year in 2019, and it was looking to an even better year in
2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed all of that. Much of the business &
entertainment travel has stopped, and the company is working on managing its vacancy
to reduce the losses. The company will have this momentary blip and work on its
rebrand and marketing so that Suite Home emerges as a leader in its industry
when it overcomes this setback. The company states “We are using this
time to firmly distinguish our apartments and service versus all of
the aggregators and vacation rentals out there, such as
Booking.com or AirBnB.” There is no need to use these
middleman services and corporate and individual
clientele should look for reputable temporary
housing companies that can ensure a streamlined
experience, stringent cleaning standards and
strict security guidelines for their apartments.
“I am determined to grown our brand’s
reach,” says Jennifer.
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November 2020

Karin Lohitnavy
Founder

A Passion Driven Leader
Karin
Lohitna
vy
With the abundance of high-quality organizations,
it is paramount to make yours stand out. Public
relations (PR) strategies effectively
communicate your business model as well as its credibility
to the public. With over 15 years of public relations
experience, you could call Karin Lohitnavy, Founder of
Midas PR Group an expert in the field. Whatever the
industry, or niche audience, Midas PR always has a unique
plan for you. Under Karin’s leadership, a team of
enthusiastic executives leave their long-lasting Midas Touch
on the brand they work beside.
Preceding Wisdom, Succeeding Journey
Karin attributes her quick-wit and proactive mindset to her
plethora of experiences over many countries. Holding a
degree in Social and Political Sciences from the prestigious
University of Strasbourg, and having worked in
Luxembourg the founder of Midas PR synergises her
theoretical and valuable experience which, then helped lay
a foundation in Thailand. Throughout her experience, Karin
understood that in comparison to other business
communication strategies, the Return of Investment (ROI)
on Public Relations activities were more ambiguous. Thus,
in 2007, Karin’s vision of a PR company that delivers
measurable results came true in the form of Midas PR.
With an almost clairvoyant understanding of trends, Karin
actively works to understand the social and political
atmosphere as well. Though already fluent in 8 languages,
the polyglot did not yet speak Thai upon arrival in Thailand.
However, Karin rose to and succeeded at the challenge of
building business and personal relations in a new country
and a different language. Being receptive to foreign cultures
and customs helped Karin develop meaningful relationships
with colleagues and clients from all nations. She also met
her husband Tony, who is Thai. Together, they navigated
through the obstacles that non-BOI companies faced. He
always had her back and further supported Karin by
positioning her at the forefront of Midas PR, and himself as
the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Variegating Solutions
Midas PR’s success over the past 13 years shows a
consistent winning streak. The storytelling approach that
Karin’s team applies to help their clients maximize media
coverage and raise awareness through public relations
always deliver tangible results. She always thinks out of the
box to create unique communication strategies, and
encourages her team to do the same. She has solutions for
almost everything from corporate positioning or keeping
the buzz going around your brand.
Chearanee Chittasevi, former editor in Chief of
Cosmopolitan Magazine and Callum Laing, with whom she
co-founded Bangkok Young Professionals, inspired her and
helped her build a strong network. People call Karin a
Master Connector because of her vast contact base and her
ability to use her international panache. For those who have
met Karin, it would not be a surprise that such a positive,
confident and passionate individual runs a successful PR
agency.
Word of Advice for Women Entrepreneurs
Karin always approaches life with a quote from Hannibal in
mind, “Aut inveniam viam aut faciam”, which translates to
“I shall either find a way or make one.” In addition to
37
|
November 2020

having goals, it is vital to create a productive and plausible
plan to achieve them. Karin intends to expand her company
on a large scale, meaning a bigger team and more clients.
To ensure that the Midas PR team stays fully equipped to
provide clients with the best work, Karin encourages them
to attend relevant workshops. She also makes sure to do
this, herself.
Karin heartily wants to tell all the women entrepreneurs that
believe in themselves and not compromise on their value.
Success comes from within you. Find a support system of
like-minded people who will push you to be the best
version of yourself. Following and doing what you love is
paramount when setting up a new business--it demands
your passion and lots of energy. So, prioritize your health
and maintain a balanced life. Never forget that a healthy
mind lives in a healthy body.
A leader is best when
people barely know
he exists, when his
work is done, his aim
fullled, they will say:
we did it ourselves.
“
“

Time to
bring out
the Entrepreneur in You
Maternity
Break
M
otherhood! It isn’t easy to define this word. Many believe that it is a latent emotion,a part
of being a woman,that blossoms when a female conceives. For most of the women around
the globe,motherhood means love,bliss,an extension of their personality,and a
commitment towards a life that is a part of their identity. However,more often than not,it also means
a period to their professional ambitions.
How many times have you seen a young,ambitious,fiercely competitive woman give up all of it just
so she can concentrate on her little bundle of joy? Truth is that this has become so common that its
often taken as the most natural way to move forward for women and dubbed as an unwritten social
norm.
But there are a few things above social norms like change and a woman’s will power. So with time,
women themselves have changed,and delicately balancing their personal and professional life,they
are changing the social norms. And if you are wondering where do they draw this strength to
transform into super-women,the answer lies in them being a mother.
Writers,philosophers,even religious scriptures speak about the strength and capacity of a mother –
how they discover their hidden virtues while making a human being that will contribute to society in
years to come. These qualities are akin to entrepreneurs who seek to add value to society through a
new idea,service,or product. It took time,but women have finally realized that they are not just
sitting at home during maternity break and raising a child,but also nurturing their inner
entrepreneur. And when the time is ripe,they emerge out of their break as Mompreneurs.

Shepreneur
41
|
November 2020

UNDERSTANDING A MOM
AND AN ENTREPRENEUR
Starting a family is one of the
biggest decisions one can take
and so is starting a business
venture on their own. Both the
decisions require one to be
ready for the unknown that lies
ahead. Yes,many self-help
books tell you what pregnancy,
parenthood,and
entrepreneurship are like. But
the best way to understand
them is to be one and
experience it yourself. For,
nothing can beat the joy of
listening to your own child’s cry
or laugh and watching your
business grow.
THE MIRRORED FEELINGS
Be it motherhood or
entrepreneurship,it all starts
with an idea. In the first case,the
idea is to procreate a life and in
the other,the idea is to bring to
life a service or product –
something they can call their
own.
Once the idea or child is
conceived,it is followed by a
period of anxiety,and a whole lot
of preparation. In both cases,
you first have to ready yourself
mentally and physically. There
will be endless sleepless nights,
feeling of I can’t do this,advice
from all corners,a juggling of
your daily routine,and your
new-found object of
concentration,with each day,
springing a new surprise.
As you progress further in
pregnancy and
entrepreneurship,there settles
an ease with your new status.
You are now more comfortable
in your skin of being pregnant
with a child or an idea. You now
feel more in control of your
thought process and things
around you. You are now sure
about the people that are going
to be with you on the journey
ahead. You now have a plan on
how to bring the child or the
idea to life.
Then arrives the day when the
preparation transforms into
fruition. You now lay your hands
on the life or product you have
created. And then starts a new
kind of struggle altogether. Now
starts the phase when your child
or business must be taken care
of,at all moments,for it to
flourish. Welcome to
Motherhood!
MOM-SKILLS THAT WILL SEE
YOU THROUGH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
By now you know how closely
knit motherhood and
entrepreneurship are. Now
when you enter the next phase,
you need some basic skills that
will help you keep going
towards the end goal. You must
have read in several books and
heard from many successful
entrepreneurs about key
attributes or skills that an
entrepreneur must possess to
be called a successful one. Being
a mother naturally enhances
those skills in you and that’s
how you emerge as a
mompreneur.
Here are the skills that will help
to see you through:
A lot of patience!
Patience –
Raising a kid or company
requires patience. They don’t
grow to their potential in a day,it
takes years. And those years are
filled with days of joy,sorrow,
rewards,guilts and almost every
other emotion one can think of.
Patience is what sees us through
in all those days.
As a mother or
Multitasking –
the head of the company you
have to wear multiple hats. A

mother also plays the role of a
teacher,chef,doctor,friend,etc.
all embodied into one human.
The same is with a business
owner. You start your company
as a one-woman army,slowly
bringing in people on board as
you delegate the jobs you were
handling all alone. Even when
there are enough people to run
the company,you still need to be
there for the company and
everyone else,because after all,
it’s your baby and no one can
take care of it better than you
do.
Have
People Management –
you ever tried arguing with a
toddler? If yes,you know what I
mean by people management. If
no,well,it’s time you took up the
challenge! Managing a child’s
mood swings,and demands
fuelled by friends and the
internet,and their daily needs
keep parents on their toes at all
the time. At work too,an
entrepreneur has to deal with
different kinds of people all the
time. The workforce comprises
of people who are at different
levels of people spectrum and
you,as their leader,have to
make sure that they work
together smoothly,for the
company’s greater goals.
Time
Time Management –
here is money in true sense.
Mothers prefer being an
entrepreneur rather than an
employee because they can
work in tandem with their
child's routine. As an
entrepreneur,one knows how
crucial it is to deliver the
promises to the clients and so is
with motherhood. Every
deliverable needs to be on time
whether that be a parent-
teacher meet or signing off a
deal with a client.
Several other skills like finance
management,efficient
communication,balancing
change,etc. are all a part of the
journey for both,a mother and
an entrepreneur.
EMBRACING THE
MATERNITY BREAK
The past decade has seen a
surge in the number of
Entrepreneurs. Women today
are uncompromising when it
comes to their
personal(maternal) as well as
professional life. They know
they can do what they have set
their heart on. All they need is
an opportunity and a positive
outlook. So,the next time you
hear someone going on a
maternity break,chances are it
won’t be just a baby they are
making!
43
|
November 2020

Margaret
Graziano
Contributing to
social good through
aligning people with
business purpose
and strategy while
shaping intentional,
healthy and high-
performance
workplace culture.
Creating a
High-Performance
Organizational Culture
to Boost Businesses
“

Resiliency, Review, Re-calibrate are the three R(s)
required in leadership. Resiliency to manage the
hurdles of being a business leader, the ability to
review - to regularly check in with yourself and evaluate
how you’re doing and finally, to recalibrate - to shift when
needed. Leading with these leadership traits Margaret
Graziano asserts “I take myself through this process on a
small scale weekly and then on a major scale annually so
that I’m clear on what I want to say yes to in the coming
year and that I’m operating in alignment with my values.”
She is the Founder of KeenAlignment, a company which
empowers mission-driven organizations to accomplish their
vision through aligning people, purpose and strategy.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between
Insights Success and Margaret Graziano:
Give a brief overview of your background and your role
in KeenAlignment.
I began my career as a single mom, with a high school
education, working in a straight commission recruiting role.
After rising to a top performer in the company, I started my
own recruiting business and sold it in 2008. Throughout this
time period, I dedicated 20 hours per week to volunteer
opportunities in the human potential industry and after ten
years, I knew that helping people live extraordinary lives by
transforming the world of work was my calling.
Unfortunately, my own limited thinking kept me from
believing I could actually pursue that passion. So, when I
entered into a business relationship with someone who was
not in alignment with my values, it came as no shock that
the business fell apart.
At rock bottom, I no longer had anything to lose by
pursuing my dream. Today, I work with business leaders to
create intentional cultures that even they are inspired to be a
part of. We help them articulate the difference they’re
committed to making and define the values they want to
operate by. As a result, we’ve enabled more than 50
businesses and over 350 leaders to become conscious
stewards of their teams and their organization’s mission.
How do you diversify your solutions that appeal to your
target audience?
Our cultural transformation model is based on the
organization’s constraints and our solutions are modularized
so different components can be arranged according to each
organization’s unique strengths, values and strategic
objectives. By the end of our time together, our customer’s
mission is alive and actionable throughout the organization.
Our customers experience reduced operating expenses,
increased employee retention, improved employee
contribution and performance, improved customer
experience, revenue growth, and more.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every
businesswoman should possess.
Ÿ Know your “why.” Why are you in the role as a woman
leader? What’s important to you? What difference are
you making? It’s crucial to be deeply connected to what
your values are, who you are in life, and what you’re
committed to.
Ÿ Connection - understand your team, what they need,
what’s important to them and how they contribute to
your business. I call this “systems thinking.” It’s the
ability to see what needs to be accomplished in each role
to move your business forward.
Ÿ Relationship management - Women don’t give
themselves enough opportunities to build and nurture
relationships with other professional women and we
need to do a better job of this. It’s vital to spend time
with people at the same level of commitment in the
world and who share your values. When that happens,
we’re all going to accomplish much more, faster.
Ÿ Self-care - Self-care is directly related to neuroplasticity.
And the five elements of neuroplasticity are sleep,
exercise, nutrition, novelty and mindfulness. Tending to
these elements boosts your energy, stamina and
resilience, which are critical to success.
Ÿ The three R’s - Resiliency, Review, Recalibrate.
Resiliency to manage hurdles, to regularly review and
evaluate how you’re doing and finally, to recalibrate or
shift when needed. I take myself through this process on
a small scale weekly and then on a major scale annually
so that I’m clear on what I want to say yes to in the
coming year and that I’m operating in alignment with
my values.
45
|
November 2020

What were the past experiences,
achievements or lessons that shaped
Margaret's journey?
Making and learning from my mistakes
is a theme weaved through all of my
life experiences - from marrying
someone to please my mother and
staying in that unhealthy marriage for
longer than I should have, to not
holding people accountable and
tolerating a lack of performance in my
recruiting firm, to partnering with a
person who was philosophically
misaligned with how I wanted to
operate my company - those
adversities and challenges where I
didn’t honor my intuition and wisdom,
forced me to build resilience, learn
from my mistakes and reshape how I
moved forward in my life.
What were some of the primal
challenges and roadblocks that
Margaret Graziano faced during the
initial phase of her journey?
My primal challenges are deeply
rooted in questions like: “Am I good
enough? Do I have what it takes?” It
has quieted down through my own
personal development work, however
early on, it dominated my thinking. I
spent far too much time, money and
effort trying not to be who I was. Now,
I accept my strengths, weaknesses, and
lessons and continue moving forward
grounded in who I am and what I am
committed to contributing in this
world.
Where does Margaret Graziano see
herself in the near future and how
will you catalyze the change?
I see myself leading an organization
for social good. I see myself
continuing to enroll and train people in
the power of transforming workplace
culture by shifting how humans think,
react to that thinking, and therefore treat each other. My future is about the
integration of people, business priorities and liberating structures that shape a
constructive, intentional culture and enable people to experience fulfillment
through their work. I see myself shaping KeenAlignment as a company for
social good, meaning that we exist to serve the world in being a better place.
We enable and empower business leaders to integrate people, culture and
strategy and we promise to do it though living and modeling Conscious
Capitalism business practices. I plan to catalyze this by staying on track,
working with a powerhouse coach and a team of folks that are strong in
everything that I am not.
What is your advice for emerging women entrepreneurs?
Connect to your “why” at a visceral level. Define your values - what you value
as a woman leader and what that looks like in the day to day. Find a mentor
who’s been where you want to go; a mentor who can give you advice and
counsel or sit and quietly listen and support. Hire a coach for a specific time
period who operates in an abundance paradigm, has a track record for enabling
others to accomplish results, has a specific coaching model, is a great questioner
and inspires you to tap into your internal genius.

TRACY HERNANDEZ
Exemplifying Collaborative Leadership
As they say it’s never too late, similarly it’s never
too early to start as well. Tracy Hernandez
aptly exemplifies this statement. Tracy is the
Founding Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles
County Business Federation (BizFed). But, this is not
how it all started.
Left No Stones Unturned
A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, Tracy began her career
while still in high school at the Times- News. She had
drawn her inspiration from her parents. Her dad was an
entrepreneur and a college instructor, and her mom was a
nurse and a civic- and community-active woman. They
both were leaders and believed in giving back to the
community. Tracy’s dad always taught her that she
should be trained into diverse career paths, so that in
case the economy fell out of one side or the other, she
could pivot quickly with training to another way of
earning a living. This made Tracy, at a young age in high
school, take classes and pursue career in advertising and
journalism and architecture.
While being on the high school newspaper, she secured a
job at her local daily newspaper, the Times-News. She
started at the very bottom in the job that was available in
the advertising department and was involved in
photography and designing ad layout. This became a
life-changing career path for Tracy as she realized that
she loved the newspaper business. She loved the
immediacy of every single night going to press with a
brand new product that was created from scratch.
Thereon, she proceeded to take on every possible job she
could do in the newspaper business. She applied for job
openings that came up, whether she was qualified or not
to expand her knowledge and expertise that she could
learn quickly while she finished her high school. She
went to college in the same town, College of Southern
Idaho to study architecture. At the same time, she was
getting promoted at the newspaper, doing several
different jobs that gave her creative, technical, sales and
people leadership skills. When she came to that
crossroad to pivot-- to transfer to university to finish a
degree in architecture, she got offered a management job
at the newspaper. In this crossroad of choosing one path,
she chose the newspaper path.
Achieving Glorious Milestones
Being a very young woman in the newspaper business
was unique and dynamic for Tracy. She kept on applying
skills to learn, to train, to observe, to implement, to be
relentless, to pursue excellence and achieve goals no
matter what it took. She even became a manager and ad
director at a very young age for a group of business
newspapers that published in Salt Lake, Phoenix, and
San Francisco. At the age of 23, she was running a
newspaper company at St. Louis. At the ripe old age of
26, she became the first CEO of 5 different newspapers
Tracy Hernandez enjoying time with her family

Tracy Hernandez, Founding
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
BizFed
Tracy Hernandez advocates
for a strong economy with
California Governor Newsom
49
|
November 2020

and earned a president’s role in suburban Philadelphia.
Later on, she along with her team took one private,
closed corporation to a public entity.
In 2003, Tracy served as the first female publisher of the
Los Angeles Daily News in the paper’s nearly 100-year
history. As a 20-year veteran of the newspaper business,
she has held chief executive positions in a variety of
major markets across the country, including over a
decade with the Journal Register Company of Trenton,
New Jersey, where she served as Publisher and CEO of
four award-winning newspapers in Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, and Massachusetts. She also formerly owned and
operated a group of newspapers and websites in Walla
Walla, Washington.
An Industry Veteran
Currently, she founded and is running a Los Angeles
County Business Federation (BizFed LA) and the first
franchise style expansion unit, the Central Valley
Business Federation (BizFed CV). It is a nonprofit,
massive grassroots alliance of 200 top business networks
that counts among its more than 450,000 employers from
a diverse demographic, industry sector, and geographic
array of small and large companies with over 4 million
employees in Southern California.
The bold action, timely intelligence sharing, and massive
power in numbers is changing the way business owners
get civically active. Getting those who naturally compete
with one another for market share, brand, customers and
income does not come easily. It’s through diligent
grassroots empowerment through the organizing of
existing chambers of commerce, trade groups, ethnic
business associations, and business improvement
districts that creates a force multiplier effect. In turn the
voice of business tis strengthened to intersect with
government at every level to advance a shared agenda
critical for economic vitality.
Tracy Hernandez leads LA County business and elected official leaders in celebrating BizFed’s 10th Anniversary

BizFed works to advocate for positive public policy,
legislation, manageable regulations, taxes and fees, and
foster business owner civic and community engagement
so our economy thrives for all. To round out it’s
opportunity for impact she also founded a charitable arm,
BizFed Institute and political action arm, BizFed PAC.
All aspects of knowledge gathering from disparate
partners with a loud voice to break through the clutter,
combined with supporting candidates with jobs creation
as their focus, the policy and law making world is
transformed.
In addition, Tracy is also serving as the President of
IMPOWER Group, Inc., a business advisory company
specializing in startups or strategic transition utilizing
unlikely partnerships to achieve greater impact. Along
with being an entrepreneur, she also wears the hats of a
mother and a wife.
Giving back to the Community
Tracy is consistently striving to make a difference in her
family, her community, and the economy. To bring a
change, she deals with the job creators and the
government elected officials that have tremendous
amount of impact on how our economy works. Her
alliance is working on providing more jobs, so that
people can excel, and support their own families, and
their communities can thrive. It works a lot in anti-
poverty and equity engagement so that it can lift all those
that are homeless and poor. In a nutshell, she will always
look to make a difference on a big scale.
Enlightening Businesswomen
According to Tracy, every businesswoman should have
determination, creativity, a quick learning approach,
ability to articulate their vision clearly, and should
inspire those around to achieve the plan. Secondly,
every businesswoman needs to be competitive and
understand the conditions around them and then have
skills to create ideas, to lead people, and to achieve
goals.
On overcoming roadblocks, she advises that “Whatever
the roadblocks are, whatever the negative voices are, just
don’t give them too much credence. Don’t worry about it.
Just go on. Keep doing what you know is the right thing
to get done.”
Tracy Hernandez stands for job creation and transportation solutions with Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti
51
|
November 2020

The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business, 2020

The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business, 2020

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