The 10 best performing ce os to watch in 2020

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BENOIT
BOUCHE A PROFICIENT OF
PHARMACEUTICAL
The
10Best
Performing
CEOsto Watch In
2020
VOL 06 ISSUE 08 2020| |
THE ART OF LEADING
ATTRIBUTES OF A
GOOD LEADER
EXPERT’S OUTLOOK
LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Leading
with
Good
Decisions!
good business is not just a result of hard
Awork and determination, but making the
right decisions by the leader too. Being
decisive, is an important trait that every leader
must possess. The chief executive officer is the
representative as well as the sole leader who is
capable to take organizations to its utter most
heights.
One of the most cherished person, who was also a
pioneer in the success and introduction of
personal computing, Steve Jobs was fond of
quality and how it can affect business. He always
have focused on creating better quality products
in an attempt to entice his consumers as well as
earn their satisfaction with the product. He stands
as a perfect example on how one or a company
must emphasize over better quality and
understands its significance created on
consumers’ experience.
Insights Success understands such leaders’ hectic
journey and appreciates their wholesome
contribution to their respective sectors. And takes
pride in featuring various such leaders in its
special edition, “The 10 Best Performing CEOs
to Watch in 2020.” This issue focuses on some
best performing CEOs out there who have made
a significant mark in the industry.
Editor’s Desk

Here is the cover for the edition, “An inspiring
mission is the most powerful motivation
engine. My team does not wake up in the
morning to grow our EBITDA, they wake up
because what they do during the day
contributes to potentially lifesaving initiatives,”
says Benoit Bouche. He is the CEO of
Nexelis, a leading provider of assay
development and advanced laboratory
testing services in the infectious diseases,
metabolic diseases, and oncology ﬁelds.
Infectious diseases is a core business for
Nexelis and according to Benoit “the COVID-
19 has placed our different labs at the core of
multiple R&D initiatives with an incredible
number of projects initiated in a very short
period of time. I can feel every day the pride of
our scientists to contribute to the effort.”
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.
Bhushan Ghate

08
24
38
50
16
40
20
34
44
56
32

Benoit Bouche
A Proficient of
Pharmaceutical
08 16
Feras El Hajjar
An Ingenious Leader in
Digital Transformation and
Business Management
20
Christopher Carter
Leading a Charge in
SAP Solutions
Gary Olson
Protecting People and
Businesses Through the
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Karsten Boehrs
Revolutionizing Education
and Communication through
Simple Accessible Resources
24 32
Katherine Colombino
An Excellent
Dedicated Professional
34 38 40
Expert’s Outlook
leading by Example
Rob Leslie
Advancing Business
Practices with Digital Identity
Shanaz Ramzi
Bringing Perfection in
PR and Event Management
44 50
Yatin Patel
Elevating Travel Experience
56 28
The Art of Leading
Attributes of a
Good Leader
48
Women Impower
Dynamics of Women
Participation in the Ever-
changing Modern Workforce
Kirsi Ekberg
Redefining the
Meaning of Learning
Articles
CXO
Cover Story
CONTENTSJULY2020

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
Kaustav Roy
Assistant Editors
Jenny Fernandes
Bhushan Ghate
Visualizer
David King
Art & Design Director
Amol Kamble
Associate Designer
Sanket Zirpe
Kshitij S Andy Mitter
John Matthew
Sales Executives
Daniel, Ethan, Vishnu Vardan
Business Development Executives
Anish, Joe, Alan, OmkarJacob 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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COVERSTORY
enoit
OUCHEB
I view politics and lack of
transparency as the main
poisons against eﬃciency
in a corporation.
A Proﬁcient of Pharmaceutical

An inspiring mission is the most powerful
motivation engine. My team does not wake up in
the morning to grow our EBITDA, they wake up
because what they do during the day contributes to
potentially lifesaving initiatives,” says Benoit Bouche.
He is the CEO of Nexelis, a leading provider of assay
development and advanced laboratory testing services in
the infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, and oncology
fields.
Infectious diseases is a core business for Nexelis and
according to Benoit “the COVID-19 has placed our
different labs at the core of multiple R&D initiatives with
an incredible number of projects initiated in a very short
period of time. I can feel every day the pride of our
scientists to contribute to the effort.”
A Proficient and The Company
Benoit has spent over 30 years growing healthcare
businesses and solving fast growth-related issues as an
entrepreneur, investor, advisor, or board member. He has
a dual scientific (PharmD Pharmacy 1984; PhD
Pharmaceutical Sciences/Biotechnology 1986) and
business (Advanced Management Program Harvard
Business School 2002) education. His professional
background enabled him to gain an in-depth knowledge
of all aspects of a healthcare venture stage company and
to know how to favor understanding and collaboration
between scientific and business persons. He joined
NEOMED-LABS in 2017 with the assignment to
transform a vaccine R&D unit that had been spun-off
from GSK in 2015 with 55 people into an immunology-
centric global advanced lab testing services provider. He
led a MBO backed by Ampersand Capital in July 2018,
acquired Pacific Biomarkers, PAIRimmune, and
ImmunXperts since that date and the company now
rebranded as Nexelis has more than quadrupled its size
in two years.
Benoit came on board with the strong conviction that the
concentration in the Contract Research Organization
(“CRO”) market left broad open incredible opportunities
to companies capable of showing superior agility than
multinational CRO giants whose size and overheads are
a handicap for turnaround time optimization purposes.
Commenting what has been done to date, he adds
“Having built an organization working with top 10
global pharmaceutical companies or innovative
“

COVERSTORY
biotechnology companies and partnering with the most
prestigious academic institutions in the world in a few
years is our pride. The foundations are in place to bring
Nexelis to the next level and become the obvious option
in the therapeutic areas the company is targeting”. The
company foresees the outstanding growth trajectory
experienced these last years to not slow down in the
years to come.
An Advanced Analytical Platform
Nexelis is a global immunology centric advanced lab
service provider with three operating sites in North
America (East and West Coast) and Europe (Belgium),
and a strategic partnership in place with Public Health
England, Porton Down, in the UK.
Spun-off from GSK vaccines in 2015, the company has
grown exponentially through organic and inorganic
initiatives, positioning it as a reference advanced lab
services provider in a number of segments including
infectious vaccines, oncology (immunotherapy, gene and
cell therapy), or metabolic diseases. The versatile team
of scientists, working with state of the art technology
platforms, has been instrumental in the development,
qualification, validation, and largescale sample testing of
assays that supported the FDA filing of more than 100
new molecular entities, including blockbuster vaccines
and large molecules.
The company believes “Our name is our vision.” It is
the next generation of contract research organization,
born when companies of global stature agreed to unify
and advance to new levels of dynamic management and
fast-track sophistication. It excels by combining robust
protocols with scientific discipline, human agility and
client partnership in order to answer the most demanding
mission requirements. Nexelis focuses on
ImmunoSciences with a strong reputation for accelerated
results
No doubt that giant CROs are well positioned to capture
mainstream clinical opportunities where global coverage
and logistic capabilities first matter. Niche segments such
as advanced laboratory testing are a totally different
world requiring organizations centered on senior
scientific leaders and aiming at favoring versatility and
ingenuity. The company believes to be one among a
handful of mid-size organizations in a position to build a
world class champion providing highly specialized lab
testing services.
Nexelis built a truly translational scope of services,
aiming at answering all desired and undesired
immunogenicity related scientific questions from the
lead selection stage to phase III.
Nexelis in vitro state-of-the-art analytical platforms
include immunochemistry, cellular immunology, viral

COVERSTORY
and bacterial functional, flow cytometry, Elispot, and
PCR/qPCR platforms.
Applauding for COVID Warriors
“Quoting the name of a super star researcher in
infectiology would be the obvious option. We are seeing
their name every day at Nexelis while our meeting rooms
bear their names,” says Benoit. But there are so many
scientific and business leaders in the infectious field
deserving deepest admiration! And this is just impossible
for him to not think of and applaud all individuals
struggling to improve access to care in developing
countries, Bill Gates obviously being iconic in that
regard.
The most important virtues inculcated by those people
are that real medical progresses are always resulting
from initiatives based on collaborative approaches.
Nexelis is signatory of a public statement from a group
of experts under World Health Organization (WHO)’s
coordination for collaboration on COVID-19 vaccine
development: “we will continue efforts to strengthen the
unprecedented worldwide collaboration, cooperation
and sharing of data already underway. We believe these
efforts will help reduce inefficiencies and duplication of
effort, and we will work tenaciously to increase the
likelihood that one or more safe and effective vaccines
will soon be made available to all”.
The world is convinced that the COVID-19 will have
changed forever the existing paradigm in the struggle
against life threatening illnesses. It will make R&D more
cooperative and require a company such as Nexelis to
change its business model to develop universal assays
endorsed by major institutions accelerating development
programs and easing trials read-out analysis by
regulatory bodies.
Balancing Work and Life
Talking about maintaining balance between work and
life Benoit says, “I am not sure that my beloved wife
with whom I got married almost 40 years ago would tell
that I am maintaining the right balance between my
professional & personal life to be honest.” He has had
the good fortune to be placed in a job which is just
fantastic and must admit that it led him to develop a
rather workaholic attitude. This being said, he adds that “
I would never cope with the level of stress coming with
the job if I was not with her most of time after work time
whether I am in North America or in Europe. To make it
possible, she decided to stop her chiropractor activities
and I am extremely grateful to her
for this because I could not do what I
am doing if she was not on my side.”
Empowering Others
“Likely true for many businesses, but the
CRO business truly is a people business. Not
making my team empowered and accountable
would just be a suicide,” says Benoit. He avows “In
my job as a CEO, what I can make to help them excel
might be two things at the end of the day: remind every
day the global picture and be totally transparent with
them.”
Coping with Advancement
Nexelis is investing millions in new systems and
platforms every year with the aim to maintain state of the
art labs. For Benoit it is not the most important element
in the mix however. “A brilliant scientist is somebody
capable of ingenuity, equip him with an average platform
and he will still do the job,” says Benoit. He further adds
“Buy an incredibly fancy new toy to an average scientist
and one will still very likely get garbage at the end.”
An advice for Upcoming Leaders
Benoit asserts “Keep your ego back to earth, beware
flattery, acknowledge publicly your fallibility and be
totally transparent with your team.” He doesn’t feel
entitled to give a lecture about who a CEO should be or
should not be. The reality of the job and skills required
might also be quite different for a mid-size company
such as Nexelis and for a multinational giant. He added,
“If I was to write the job desc of my successor, but it
might be something I don’t need to do several years in
advance, I would insist on listening and strategic
thinking skills, capacity to form a decision, and
resilience, I believe.”
Visioning to Get Advance
Nexelis management aims at bringing the company to
the next level and further expands its scope of services to
become a one stop shop from the early development
stage to the late clinical stage for companies to whom
desired or undesired immunogenicity is a core topic.
The company’s future resides in its capacity to maintain
an entrepreneurial mindset, focusing on leveraging the
skills of the best scientists in town and invest massively
in the innovative technologies required to stay the
reference CRO in the advanced lab testing segment.

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BENOIT
BOUCHE A PROFICIENT OF
PHARMACEUTICAL
The
10Best
Performing
CEOsto Watch In
2020
VOL 06 ISSUE 08 2020| |
THE ART OF LEADING
ATTRIBUTES OF A
GOOD LEADER
EXPERT’S OUTLOOK
LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Christopher Carter
Founder & CEO
Approyo
16 | JUNE 2020 www.insightssuccess.com

CHRISTOPHER
CARTERLeading a Charge in SAP Solutions
When the focus of attention is on the IT
sector, SAP is considered to be the
most important IT infrastructure that
has always been useful in coping with all the
changes. As technological advancements have
affected every sector effectively, SAP has seen
rapid growth and demand over the last few years.
With this ever-growing technology, it becomes
essential to possess a firm understanding of how it
can be applied adequately.
Meet Christopher Carter, Founder & CEO of
Approyo, who has over three decades of
experience working in the SAP industry. A
confident leader who has always led his company
towards success by creating a clear-sighted vision
and delivering ground-breaking results.
Below are the Highlights of the interview between
Christopher Carter and Insights Success.
Describe your background and, what did you
do before you started, or
came into this business?
I like to say I have always been a technologist. I
went to college with a Commodore Vic20 under
one arm and an Apple 2e under the other. They
were my first computers, and it’s what I learned to
code on. My first code was to make birds fly
across my screen, it was fun and exciting for me.
This is how I got started in computers, what got
me on the road to SAP, and what led me to
owning and creating businesses.
Describe your company and its cutting-edge
franchise services which address all the needs
of your customers.
Approyo is a part of the SAP PartnerEdge
Ecosystem. As a partner of SAP, we provide SAP
software as a service. We provide SAP
consultation, hosting, and managed services, as
well as implementations and migrations onto SAP
platform systems. Approyo is made up of a global
team of SAP experts, who currently manage over
200+ SAP landscapes and have done over 100
migrations for our customers around the globe.
Over the years, we have worked to bring firms
running R/3 up to S/4 1909.
What strategies do you undertake to make
your employees resourceful?
The easiest way to make sure your employees are
most resourceful in the SAP industry is to provide
them with the tools they need to do so. At
Approyo, we provide our employees with access
to any training they desire. If they want to learn a
new platform or get a new certification, who are
we to stop them? We will pay to allow our
employees to grow and succeed. The more
success they experience inside their job, the more
success we will experience as a team. The most
JUNE 2020 | 17www.insightssuccess.com
The 10 Best Performing CEOs to Watch In 2020

important thing is to make sure that your team is ready to
go through an implementation or migration at all times.
What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion,
that every leader should possess?
In my opinion, there are a few. First, be humble, but know
the buck stops with you, so make the decision and go on
with it. Do not second guess yourself. I fully believe that
once you make the decision, you must live with it.
Next, your staff is your lifeline always, you treat them like
gold, and they will treat your company, your clients, and
you, with the respect you show. You get what you give.
Lastly, learn your numbers. You are the leader, so you
should know your data on all customers on a day-to-day
basis, including the ROI, the spending, the revenues, etc.
It’s on you and no one else.
What is your greatest life achievement?
My greatest personal life achievement is the family I’ve
been blessed with, having my two incredible daughters with
my wife. Business-wise, it is that we created the first
virtualized SAP R/3 and S/4 environments for production
usage by real customers. Our team had customers ready for
launch pre-certification and then we held a certified launch
at the SAP Sapphire Now Event. My everyday achievement
I am proud of is that I am able to help and educate
customers around the globe with SAP landscapes.
Where do you see your industry in five years?
I see the industry growing. In five years, it will be 2025,
leaving just two years until the SAP S/4HANA deadline.
With such an important deadline in place, those who are
currently on SAP platforms will be forced to move to the
next biggest and brightest platform. With the success that
SAP has shared over the past year alone, I think that it will
attract more and more companies to join the SAP
community. Our world is run off of business, and successful
businesses have ERP systems in place. Those who have not
implemented one yet will soon realize that having one is
truly the only way to take them to the next level.
What one thing, more than anything else, do you want
to accomplish in your business before you get out?
I want to provide the SAP ecosystem with quality SAP
Managed service and support, allowing the clients to sleep
well at night. Our goal is to help in any way shape or form.
When I leave this planet, I want to have made an impact on
people, and I want them to say that I was able to help them
personally and professionally.
What advice would you like to give to the emerging
entrepreneurs?
Just do it. Find the details of a path you want to go down,
get the motivation, and do it. If you want to grow and, get
going then jump into it, but make sure that you are
passionate and dedicated to your mission. You can do
whatever you put your mind to if you believe that, in the
end, you will get the results you work for.
How do you sustain your entrepreneurial spirit in this
changing technological era?
I love technology, and it allows me and everyone to grow! I
meditate every morning at 6:00 a.m. to get my mind ready. I
spend a lot of time learning about new technology in the
marketplace. I love to learn and I love to share my
knowledge with the world. I’m constantly on the internet,
doing research and learning about new technology, whether
it be about SAP, Artificial Intelligence or Digital
Transformations.
“Take care of your staff
they take care of the
customers, you will
find success.”
&

An Ingenious Leader in Digital Transformation and Business Management
FERAS EL HAJJAR
Feras El Hajjar
Founder & Chairman of Infosysta,
Founder & CEO of App4Legal

Enjoy what you
are doing every
day. Focus on the
positive side.
Digital transformation is vital/crucial for any
business. It has become mandatory for business
leaders to rethink old operating models with the
new one, to become more experimental, and more agile in
the ability to respond to customers and competitors.
Feras El Hajjar, Founder & Chairman of Infosysta, and
Founder & CEO of App4Legal is an exceptional leader
who has managed to make his mark in the business world
with his outstanding performance in IT as well as
management sector.
Usually, the integration of digital technology into all areas
of business results in fundamental changes regarding
business tactics. If done correctly, this can prove much
more beneficial for the company. Infosysta is one of the
leading companies to provide digital transformation
solutions for your business by challenging the status quo
with market-proven strategies.
Moreover, Legal technology is quite essential, as it
particularly provides and aids legal services. Currently,
most of the companies struggle to acclimatize their
practices and are falling behind hence, the rise of legal tech
has considerably influenced the concurrent legal markets.
App4Legal is a provider of best-of-breed Legal Practice
Management Software that provides solutions to keep your
Legal Teams ahead of time with a detailed and organized
approach.
Into the Shoes of Leader
Meet Feras El Hajjar, the Founder & Chairman of Infosysta,
a company specialized in the Digital Transformation in
EMEA and the Founder & CEO of App4Legal a company
specialized in Legal Technology. With more than 18 years
of multi-national experience in the Software industry
including CRM, ERP & HRMS solutions, Feras proved
himself as an expert in Information Systems. Being a
Software Engineer with solid Management and leadership
skills, graduated from Ecole ParisTech in 2002 & Paris
Dauphine (Paris IX) in 2003, has earned years of
experience in multi-national companies in Paris, Singapore,
Dublin, Beirut, Riyadh, Cairo, & Dubai. This solid
experience in the domain of Information Technology, with
the most known solutions in the market, is the success key
to building a sustainable two mature multi-national
companies.
Moreover, he is a permanent speaker at Agile Summits in
the Middle East and a board member of different
organizations including Heriot-Watt University in Dubai,
Industry Advisory Board and also at Atlassian Partners
Board Member in San Francisco.
“Nowadays, it is crucial to align the business with
technology. Follow the right processes and, using the right
tools can be a game-changer when it comes to reaching
objectives, on-time,” adds Feras.
Appreciating the Talent
Feras states that with a clear strategy and communication
plan, employees of his company are involved at the early
stage of strategic decisions and company’s yearly
objectives. Employees are becoming partners of decisions
instead of Task Achievers. Talents are compensated and
accelerating their careers by giving them all the needed
sponsorship to excel.
Overcoming the Volatility in the Markets
Feras states that, he and his team firmly focuses on the on-
going as well as upcoming technology and the market needs
to swiftly overcome any dilemmas. The company helps
people to be agile and how to be more flexible in order to
adapt to changes. It also build quarterly objectives at the
management level and cascade them down to all teams and
employees. He also addresses that the objective may or can

change from a quarter to another and the dynamics of the
market are the main drivers of the company’s objectives.
Eye-opener for Better Life Appraoch
In 2012, Feras resigned from his job as an IT Director in a
multi-national company in Paris to exercise his
entrepreneurship skills and build his first company,
Infosysta from Beirut to become in less than 6 years the
leader in the Middle East in the Agile & Digital
Transformation. Later, he launched a unique solution called
App4Legal, helping lawyers and legal practitioners to
resolve their daily issues with one complete solution to
innovate their legal practice. In 2019, App4Legal became a
leader in GCC and a major player worldwide recognized by
Gartner as a Legal Technology leader.
Advice to Rely On
Feras believes in the word Focus. He advice that, one must
move by small iterations to close milestone by milestone
until one reach its goal. Also suggesting that one must
accept the fact that every individual need to sacrifice some
‘less important’ activities while focusing on the ‘critical and
high’ ones.
He also emphasizes on some of the attributes that every
leader must posses. By quoting, “the Skill to stay macro and
to go micro when needed are the ingredient of a successful
CEO”, he states that Genuine Leadership is showing the
way to others. An excellent communicator who can by a
simple email or a meeting pitch gets actions into efficient
executions.
He also put some light, on why is it necessary to be an
organized person driven by objectives. As he states, an
objective-driven organized person knows where to stop
putting efforts and where to focus.

Gary Olson
Protecting People and Businesses Through
the Use of Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming almost
everything connected to human life, including
employment, economy, communication, public
safety, privacy, security, healthcare, etc.. To make the world
a better place to live and save lives using AI, GT Digital
Ltd., uses Cognitive Intelligence technology that connects
the dots from accessible and available digital information to
help identify potential threats and intention to prevent
events that will protect lives and property.
GT Digital Ltd. is led by Gary Olson, Founder & CEO, a
thought leader, technology designer and strategist in the
media technology industry. Gary designed GT Digital’s
flagship Artificial Intelligence solution MediaMaestro, the
first technology that connects the dots by correlating video
and data to uncover and prevent physical threats.
Firm Foundation
As a serial entrepreneur, Gary started and operated several
successful businesses. Each of these businesses focused on
designing new technology solutions for the media
production industry merging video with data. Gary has been
on the forefront as the broadcast and production industry
transitions to computer-based technology from proprietary
technology.
Gary is one of the industry leaders and has been an
evangelist in the convergence of video and data as media
production and distribution moved to file based and IP
technology. The 2nd Edition of his book "Planning and
Designing the IP Broadcast Facility" was just released after
the success of the First Edition.
The problem our first responders and public safety services
face is preventing horrific and violent attacks on society. To
address this challenge, Gary developed the concept to use
artificial intelligence connecting the dots by correlating
video and data from all available and accessible open
sources. This idea was a natural outgrowth that brought
together all his areas of knowledge and expertise.
Cutting-Edge Services
According to the company, organizations in every industry
are drowning in video and data. These organizations are all
challenged by the overwhelming amount of data collected
that appears in many formats and types coming from
multiple sources. AI tools can help analyze this data and
quickly provide information that allows analysts to discover
solutions.
Gary states, no human can manage or process the
overwhelming amount of digital information, including
video, social media, online, sensors, and other sources
being collected for research and security. There is a need
for artificial intelligence technology to help identify strange
behavior or announced intentions to commit crimes. GT
Digital is the first AI technology that can analyze and
correlate all this data to help professionals prevent violence
and criminal intent. Using Artificial Intelligence to save
lives and protect property is essential today.
What the Future Holds?
Gary knows that AI continues to evolve, and as the tools
and technology improve, AI will be beneficial in all aspects
of society and business services. As science continues to
progress on quantum computing solutions, this will vastly
improve the ability of AI technologies and expand some of
the exact capabilities.
Giving Back to the World
Gary states statistics show that over 75% of mass shootings
are committed by people who spend a lot of energy
announcing their intent long before they commit the act. It
is time to save lives from these mass shootings and acts of
domestic terrorism. He would like to see his technology
help predict to prevent as many of these as possible.
Different Perspective on Technological Advancements
Gary is fortunate that he was raised with an innate sense of
curiosity and wonder. Continually excited about the

“Connecting the
Dots - Predict to
Prevent to
Protect!”
changes in technology he is also a bit of a pragmatist in its application.
He thrives on new challenges and loves figuring out new technology
solutions or "inventing," a solution using components from typically
disassociated sources or industries.
Pave Your Own Way
Gary believes leadership is team building. It’s crucial to any successful
business to have full participation and support from your team. Find
the right people and trust them. It’s more important to have smart
people on your team than have them think you are the most intelligent
person in the room. Another essential rule to remember is everyone
has their style and way of doing things. Different is not wrong, just
because it is not the way you would do it, as long as it gets the same
result. Do not impose your way of doing things on others.
Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean doing everything or knowing
everything. It means surrounding yourself with a team that has the
knowledge and skills that are not your strength. Not everyone is strong
in business or is a financial expert, and sometimes a great technologist
is a horrible manager. Hire others with the skills you lack and allow
them to excel and trust them. Gary says, “If you can’t trust your team,
you brought in the wrong people!”
Gary Olson
Founder & CEO

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

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.

Technological innovations take time to enter the
growing market. For an entrepreneur, monitoring
and providing the best user experience is a quest
that can’t be achieved over night. Open conservations about
setting goals and defining timelines for the product
development, paves a creative way towards success.
Besides, learning, adapting, and improving are the keys for
becoming a successful CEO of an organization.
One such agile personality, having a focused vision to
achieve his goals is Karsten Boehrs. While helping his
children in studies, Karsten realized that education and
learning processes are continually witnessing changes. His
son’s passion for gaining knowledge through online videos
inspired Karsten tremendously. This advent of technology
in the education sector and its rapid digital transformation
motivated him to become a Co-investor and CEO of
simpleshow.
Karsten started his career working in the logistics and sales
industry. He has an excellent experience of working at
management positions with various multinationals
including Axel Springer and Otto Group for over two
decades. Now, in his role at simpleshow his focus is on the
strategic expansion of the company’s market position
through internationalization and focused technology
development.
About simpleshow
simpleshow is the leading professional explainer video
production with several thousands of videos produced in the
global market. The company with its production team
delivers services essential in creating videos and interactive
eLearning courses for corporate customers in a variety of
different styles and formats. With the mission to provide
simple and effective explanations for everyone and
anytime, the company is developing intelligent solutions for
wide target groups, such as the online DIY video maker
mysimpleshow.com
mysimpleshow.com offers business and enterprise plans
with premium features directed across all small-scale and
large-scale companies. The intelligence behind the
application includes text inputs running through a semantic
analysis, a natural language processing stack, and an
integrated world knowledge database to produce iconic
Revolutionizing Education and
Communication through Simple
Accessible Resources
Karsten Boehrs
CEO & Co-investor
Revolutionizing Education and
Communication through Simple
Accessible Resources
Karsten
Boehrs:
Karsten
Boehrs:

visuals. These are then arranged and animated by an
intelligent layout algorithm resulting in a video, which the
user can individualize, download, and share.
With over offices in ten countries, the company builds on a
universal and scientifically proven methodology that blends
simple messages with visuals that stay in mind. Under
Karsten’s guidance all of the company’s offerings follow
this approach, focusing on five fundamental elements:
Context— An effective explanation ,looks at the topic from
the target group’s perspective, providing a context the
audience can refer to.
Simplification— An effective explanation focuses on the
essentials. This entails reducing the topic to its core
messages and simplifying the language.
Storytelling— An effective explanation is embedded in a
story, as stories help to create identification and are easy to
remember.
Visualization— An effective explanation uses the power of
visuals.
Multisensory— An effective explanation stimulated several
senses.
A Visionary Leader
Karsten’s love for the sports made him an enthusiastic
cyclist as it combines all the qualities and values mandatory
for understanding the roles of a CEO. He believes, the key
enablers for his achievements are passion, perseverance,
strategic thinking, smartly adapting with changes, constant
learning and improvement. With the vision that the people
are the most valuable resources of a company he states “I
always try and develop my corporate family to be the best
they can be”.
An example of his leadership style that focuses on
empowering others, Karsten recalled a meeting in New
York, where he was really impressed meeting a young
freelance creative writer. He kept supporting him
throughout the years that made the writer a confident and a
trusted decision-maker. Today the former concept writer co-
leads the company’s 50 people operations in the US.
Besides, leading and nurturing a smart and loyal team, he
states “We have so much potential to seize opportunities,
tackle challenges, and grow our business”.
Under the leadership of Karsten, his team has created an
online browser-based tool ‘mysimpleshow’. This tool allows
its users to create their own simple explainer videos,
transforming the way people communicate. The company
has integrated AI into this tool, which is referred to as its
‘Explainer Engine’.
Karsten’s entrepreneurial vision is to change the world for
the better. With simpleshow his idea is to revolutionize
communication and learning through simple and accessible
resources.
Catalyzing the Market Change
Karsten’s idea of creating learning and communication
resources is changing day-by-day with the growing
digitalization. simpleshow is investing time and resources
into creating amazing tools, products, and content resources
to catalyze to this evolving change. They are constantly
improving mysimpleshow.com as a software product and
establishing brand awareness to be the go-to DIY explainer
video creation tool.
Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs
Karsten’s advice to new-age entrepreneurs is to stay
focused. Defining the goals with agility will help them to
achieve milestones. In addition to produce a business
model, he adds, “Decide how your product and
methodology will stand out from your competitors and
make those distinctions your unique selling points”.
As simple as
possible, but
as complex
as necessary.

An Excellent Dedicated Professional
ith more than 80 successful implementations and
Wa highly qualified team with more than 20 years
of experience leading the most challenging
projects in the country, Software and Services Consulting
SRL is positioned as the number one partner in Paraguay of
SAP Business One. Confidence, Clarity and Constant
Accompaniment are some of the terms used by its clients to
describe what SSC means to them because in each step the
company takes together, as a team, it looks for ways to help
its clients strengthen their projects and evolve sustainably,
what today makes it differentiate the company from the
competition. One such highly qualified team member is
Katherine Colombino – Chief Executive Officer with a
very clear objective to pull all its energies towards a single
focus: Customer satisfaction.
Strong Knowledge of Business
Katherine completed her education from Asuncion
Polytechnic Faculty and the National University of
Asuncion. She joined Consulmatica SRL as Systems
Development Manager. After 5 years in that position and
having put the system on the market with great success,
Katherine held the position of Support Manager for more
than 6 years, so her orientation was customer satisfaction.
She has incorporated more than 50% of clients as Sales
Manager at Infocenter S.A. actively, she had collaborated
with marketing campaigns and events for SAP
development, conflict resolution, in addition, to support
tasks of definition and development of solutions to specific
problems of the client, always having as focus, excellence
in attention to the customer.
Teaching how to work, how to confront difficulties, skills
that one was learning in her career through the years and
the example itself are her strategies that she tries to make
everyone imitate to the best of their ability. The company
also participated continuously in training courses and
interpersonal skills.
A Glimpse into Katherine’s Journey
Currently, Katherine Colombino is the CEO of SSC -
Software & Services Consulting SRL. She is a specialized
consultant in Sales, Implementation, Development,
Training, and Support of SAP systems, also holds a Degree
in Systems Analysis, Post-degrees in University Didactics
and English Teaching Staff. With extensive experience in
the area of management of Work Teams, Katherine holds
various positions of Headquarters for more than two
decades. Before the opening of SSC SRL, for 4 years, she
was in charge of the Business Unit of SAP Business One in
Infocenter S.A., a Paraguayan partner of SAP and an IT
company with an exemplary track record in the national
market and with more than 20 consultants in different areas.
It is also an SAP Certified Consultant “FI” and “MM”. She
has developed from Market plans, sales, personal
motivation policies among others within the unit and
contributed progress towards the project goal.
Millennial Paradigm
Being informed is essential, and knowledge is necessary to
understand the great changes that are already there and
which SSC faces. Just as it happened with the millennial
paradigm, telework, etc. that break into the lives without
asking permission. The company has to be in constant
change to adapt easily. It works nowadays exclusively with
SAP BUSINESS ONE Systems, and everything that
involves development, deploying, licenses sales, support.

Katherine Colombino
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer

Any company must-have technology, without technology,
the company is going to die. We are in the era of
Technology. You can choose, you are in, or you are out. But
that decision will mark the future of your business.
Strength and Commitment
Katherine Colombino had a car accident, with her father, at
the age of 8 years. The diagnosis was a paralysis in her legs
due to a spinal injury. Although she has to move with
wheelchairs, she had all the same capabilities as any person.
That incident made her stronger, and with a great capacity
to adapt to difficult situations, she also developed her best
in several areas. They have to be strong because leadership
must be something that others have to feel about you. Many
times all is not given by knowledge, but the strength of your
heart and your commitment is transmitted by your voice,
your gestures, your life.
“Inspire the ordinary to become extraordinary. Be resilient.
Set goals and motivate continuously to achieve. Encourage
feedback without judgment. Hire people who align with
your culture and aligned with the goals of the company. Put
the right person in the right role. Get to know your team.
Empower employees to unlock their ‘zone of genius.
‘Remember that leading is an inside job”, says Katherine.
Optimizing Processes in Time
Software and Services Consulting wants its clients to
recognize them as strategic partners to accompany them in
their growth and expansion processes. The company is
highly competent professionals, motivated and aligned with
an internal knowledge management policy and the
development of human capital. It provides commercially
attractive solutions that respond to the real needs of the
customers. Collaborate with the country, generating highly
qualified professionals. Reach the sources (universities,
colleges, companies) and provide their training services.
Education does the country well, produces citizens aware of
their duties and obligations. And above all, first-rate
professionals, without discrimination, “exportable” to any
first world country.
SSC’s greatest value is customer satisfaction, honesty, the
obligation to be the best in the area it chooses, the
company’s commitment to the present and the future of
keeping up to date with the technological areas and
providing first-level knowledge and services.
The limitations in life are
not given by your
physical or situation itself,
they are given by you, if
your mind changes, your
world too.

Leading by Example
Everything starts and stops with you, the founder or
CEO of the business, the person who everyone
looks to when it comes to setting an example. As
the leader of your company, your job is to inspire the people
around you to push themselves and, in turn the company, to
excel in everything they do. To do this, the leader must
show the way by doing it themselves, by walking the walk
and talking the talk.
Warren Bennis was an American scholar and organizational
consultant. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the
contemporary field of leadership studies and is known to
have created the famous quote “Managers are people who
do things right; leaders are people who do the right thing.”
As the leader, you know that keeping your team together,
working towards a common goal, getting them to support
and help each other is your job. If you succeed, they will
succeed; morale will rise and more success will follow.
There’s almost nothing worse for company morale than
leaders who follow the “Do as I say, not as I do”
philosophy. When this happens, the loss of enthusiasm,
energy and goodwill among staff is like watching a tyre
deflate with frustration, cynicism and mistrust replacing any
positivity that previously existed.
No matter what the situation, double standards, where
people do one thing, and then say another is always a recipe
for a disaster. It can be very destructive. If this has ever
happened to you, I am certain the feelings that you
remember are of deep frustration, a sense of disappointment
and total let-down. It can be energy sapping and very hard
to break out of once it has happened.
As a leader you know that you have a responsibility to your
team. They look to you for guidance and strength; it is the
essence of what being a leader is. And a big part of your
responsibility is to lead them with and by your own actions.
So, why is it so important and what happens when you fail
to do this? When you lead by example, it is the creation of
the art of the possible. People can look at you and say,
“Well, if he is willing to do it, then so can I.” When you set
the tone of any activity, you become a source of inspiration
and you make it easy for others to follow you.
This brings me on to Trust. It is the inevitable by-product of
having done your job as a leader well. Trust takes time to
nurture and build. But, when you stay true to your beliefs,
to your core principles and when you keep your word your
staff will know. Consequently, your team will follow your
lead. They will put their trust in you, even when things are
tough in a business. By opening yourself up to your team
and showing them the way, the odds are that they will
follow you anywhere.
Good leaders drive their people forward with energy,
excitement, vision, inspiration and trust. A team without
trust in their leader will see poor productivity, higher
absenteeism and greater staff turnover. Enthusiasm may
disappear and the team may fall apart. The vision you’re
trying so hard to make happen will lose its appeal, all
because your team doesn’t trust you anymore.
Good leadership takes real strength of character and a firm
commitment to do the right thing, at the right time, for the
right reason …..even if it is hard. This means doing what
you say, when you say it. If your team can’t trust you,
you’ll never be great and you wont succeed. It’s like
running a race with your shoelaces tied together. If your
team knows that you’ll also do whatever you expect from
them, they’ll likely work hard to help you achieve your
collective goal.
Great leaders have changed the world because they lived by
their own example. They made accomplishing great things
the norm and not the exception. So, if you ask a colleague
to do something, make sure you are willing to do it
yourself. Make sure you set the example. Look closely at
your own behaviour. Show respect to others and that respect
will be returned. If you want people to listen to all opinions
and points of view, make sure you listen yourself. We were
given two ears and just one mouth for a reason!

Rob Leslie is the Founder and CEO of Sedicii. Rob is a
serial entrepreneur has a successful track record of
establishing and growing businesses to considerable
scale.
Sedicii was founded in 2013 and has won over 15
technology and innovations awards to date including, most
recently, the BBVA Open Innovation “Fintech for Future”
Award. BBVA is the oldest and largest Fintech Innovation
Program in the world and has highlighted Sedicii as “the
start-up with the greatest potential to transform the
financial sector in the next 10 years!” Sedicii has developed
a patented zero knowledge proof protocol to help people
and businesses prove their identities in real-time without
compromising their right to privacy.
Rob is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for his
work on the zero-knowledge proof protocol and has
spoken at Davos on cybersecurity, digital identity and other
technology issues affecting the world’s economies.
Prior to Sedicii he co-founded Kyckr (ASX:KYK) which is
now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and provides
organisational identity services for KYC & AML services to
banks and other regulated financial institutions across the
globe. Rob was also part of the original management team
in Dell Japan that established and grew the business to
almost 300 employees and $300M turnover in its first
4 years.
About the Leader
Rob Leslie
Founder & CEO
Sedicii
Expert’s Outlook

Advancing Business Practices with
Digital Identity
riven, persistent, optimistic, a multi-tasker while at
Dthe same time listening to and being unafraid to ask
for help” says Rob Leslie. For Rob, these are the
vital attributes of a leader. He adds being a leader can be a
very lonely place. However, he opines “the benefits far
outweigh everything else. There is no better feeling in the
world than taking an idea and seeing it blossom into a
successful, vibrant, profitable business.”
Rob is the CEO and founder of Sedicii, a federated, global
identity verification network which enables real-time
identity verification. In 2018, Sedicii won the BBVA Open
Talent / Fintech Award and it was commented that “Sedicii
has the greatest possibility of transforming the financial
sector in the next 10 years”. As a visionary leader, Rob
wants to see this become a reality together with having
enriched the lives of all his company's employees by
leaving a healthy, profitable company before moving onto
his next challenge!!
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted
between Insights Success and Rob Leslie:
Describe your background and what did you do before
you started, or came into this business?
I am an Electronic Engineer by profession having graduated
from Dublin City University (DCU) in Ireland in the
1980's. I'm a serial entrepreneur – Sedicii being my seventh
(7th) start-up company. Prior to Sedicii I was co-founder of
Kyckr which was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange
in 2016. In my earlier professional life I worked in Japan
for 20 years before returning to Ireland where I am
currently based. While in Japan I was part of the initial
management team in Dell Japan that established and grew
the business there to almost 300 employees and $300M
turnover in its first four years. It is now a billion-dollar
business. I was also a partner in a Japanese computer
services company called PTS which was acquired in 2000
by a Singaporean firm as part of their entry into the
Japanese market.
Describe your company and its cutting-edge services
which address all the needs of your customers.
Sedicii is developing a platform to manage digital identity.
We develop software as a service for KYC, AML and for
the identification and authentication of people, vehicles,
products and other physical and virtual goods using our
unique, patented ZKP (Zero Knowledge Proof) protocol.
Sedicii is creating a federated, global identity verification
network which enables real-time identity verification by
certified, trusted identity providers (governments, banks,
telco's, utilities), ensuring that businesses can react quickly
to new government, regulatory and industry demands for
real-time identity verification, authentication and trust
services. Included in our identity network are products
including authentication software, a KYC and Customer
Onboarding solution and a Collaborative AML Monitoring
Platform which we believe is unique in the world as it
assesses both sides of a payment for AML risk compliance.
What strategies do you undertake to make your
employees resourceful?
Sedicii is currently a small team of 15. We have an all-
inclusive strategy holding weekly meetings with the team
which are multi-locational in Belgium, United Kingdom,
the Canary Island of Tenerife and our headquarters in
Waterford in the south-east of Ireland. This is a high-level
meeting where everyone is encouraged, and dare I say,

expected to participate. Ideas are bounced and expanded
upon and the team feel empowered and an integral part of
Sedicii. I believe that the success of a company is
dependent upon its people and I encourage everyone to
share their ideas which in turn drive them to be resourceful.
There's nothing like a feeling of being valued and listened
to, no matter your role in a company, to spur you on to do
better and go the extra mile in my opinion.
What is your greatest life achievement?
The pinnacle of my professional life to date would certainly
be the accolade of being named a World Economic Forum
(WEF) Technology Pioneer and speaking at Davos; the only
software company in Ireland to be afforded this accolade
makes the achievement all the more rewarding. Add to this
the fact that Sedicii has consistently won – year on year –
varying technology awards which now number over 20.
What advice would you like to give to the emerging
entrepreneurs?
Be prepared to listen to advice. Don't be afraid to ask for
help. Refine your thoughts and have good sounding boards
from trusted advisors. Be prepared for good times and
challenging times before you succeed – never give up on
your vision and believe in yourself. Be realistic in terms of
what one person can achieve. Persist. Persevere.
How do you sustain your entrepreneurial spirit in this
changing technological era?
A person's sustainability is a positive attribute rather than
something to be tolerated. Technology is an integral part of
our day-to-day lives, like it or not, it's here to stay. I've been
described as a glass half-full person and believe in
technology and embracing it for the betterment (rather than
the detriment) of everyone. I see our technology as a way
and means to preserve a person's fundamental right to
privacy whilst, at the same time, the absolute need to ensure
that fraud and criminality can be tackled through better
compliance and always up-to-date identity records. This is
for the benefit of the world economy and the protection of
all of us.
“Never lose your
vision and always
believe in yourself.

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

Shanaz Ramzi
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer

Shanaz Ramzi
Bringing Perfection in PR and Event Management
In an interview with Insights Success, Shanaz
Ramzi—Chief Executive Officer of StarLinks
emphasizes on her impeccable journey of gaining a
successful stature in current hectic markets. Her unique
ideologies and methods assisted in achieving many
milestones in her pathway.
Shanaz started her career as a freelance journalist in
1994 and wrote prolifically for various publications, both
local and international, including for their leading
English newspaper Dawn. In 2004, she was hired as
Head of PR and Publications by an upcoming television
network, HUM, and while continuing her writing, she
joined the organization as one of the founding team
members. She stood with them for eleven years, finally
resigning in November 2015 from her position as GM
PR and Publications to start her own PR and event
management company called StarLinks.
A brief on StarLinks
StarLinks PR and Events is basically a PR and event
management company that has a strong CSR component
as well. While the company offers pro bono services for
various charitable institutions, she and her team also try
to involve the company’s clients in CSR activities to
enable them to give back to their country. They believe
in going the extra mile for all their clients and have fast
developed the reputation of under-committing and over-
delivering. Company’s small team of 12 people works
dedicatedly through its head office in Karachi, while it
has linkages in other cities of Pakistan as well, as in
different parts of the world, which have helped StarLinks
to do PR for events in Dubai, London, Houston, Toronto
and Colombo.
Increasing Efficiency
Shanaz and her team holds daily meetings to discuss the
progress of projects/clients on hand and to brainstorm for
future endeavors. She states that daily targets are set by
the entire team and end of the day reports is to be
submitted so there is clarity in how much each has
succeeded in meeting their targets. An increment system
has also been put in place based on the employee’s
productivity, pro-activeness, resourcefulness and
creativity which works wonders to motivate the team to
put in their best. Further she adds that a fixed
commission is also given to those employees that bring
in new clients or projects.
Her traits led Impeccable Achievements
Shanaz strongly feels that every leader, and particularly
one in the PR business, should and must have a cool
head, tons of patience, and the ability to listen, as well as
delegate. Through quoting, “A good leader is one who is
accessible at all times, and who inspires confidence and
respect,” Shanaz implies that the leader should be hands-
on and know their work thoroughly, so that they can’t be
hoodwinked.
Moreover, she also mentions some of her achievements,
yet she often wondered what she considered as her

greatest life achievement – her marriage of forty years to
her childhood sweetheart; her two beautiful children; her
book, Food Prints published by OUP, the first of its kind
in Pakistan; or her two international awards received
soon after establishing her company for Start-up of the
Year, and Best CEO of the World. She states, perhaps, in
retrospect, in a post Covid-19 world it is simply staying
healthy and being in touch with her childhood friends all
across the globe digitally.
Having said that, she would like to add here that there
are two projects that she considers her greatest work
achievement to date, which she would like to specifically
mention. The first is the launch of the biggest mall in
South Asia, LuckyOne Mall, which she and her team
were entrusted with in the very first year of her
company’s existence. It was humbling enough that the
company landed the mammoth project in the face of stiff,
and far more experienced competition, but what was
even more over-whelming was that it landed up
extending its launch activities from three days to thirteen
full days, with her team staying at the mall day and
night, in order to ensure footfall, for most important
shops had not opened up on time.
She also states that the second project was a three-day
international conference for INTBAU Pakistan—
International Network for Traditional Building,
Architecture and Urbanism – that she and her team
carried out last November. With 30 foreign delegates,
five foreign students, and over 250 local participants
taking part in the conference, which provided boarding
and lodging to all the foreigners, as well as to over 60
local delegates in the interior of Sindh – in custom-made,
eco-friendly resorts – as well as in Karachi, the most
challenging part of the event was not the logistics or the
conference itself, but the fact that the president of
Pakistan and his entourage attended the opening day. The
nightmare of meeting the protocol requirements and
security measures made everything else pale into
insignificance, but the fact that the company managed to
pull it off to rave reviews by one and all, was a feat they
are all very proud of.
An advice for Triumph in Tech-oriented World
Shanaz finds her work extremely challenging and the
times we live in constantly evolving, and feels one must
be grateful to this ever-changing technological era. She
states that she is learning something new from her young
colleagues daily, and while there is the occasional time
when she misses the way it used to be, by and large she
is grateful for the changes for it does make connectivity,
gathering information, keeping records and so much
more, a lot easier and quicker. One has to learn to move
with the times, and rather than being daunted by the
head-spinning technology, she find it exhilarating and
exciting.
She also states the fact that there are many emerging
entrepreneurs in their industry as it has been growing
rapidly this past decade, but many of them are one-
person shows with no overheads, no legal standing, and
are not registered as taxpayers. Her advice to all these
youngsters is that there are no short cuts in life – if they
want to truly succeed and make their mark, they need to
go about it the right away, even if it means making a
substantial investment into their business.
“My parting words -- Never fear
competition; help others to
succeed, forge partnerships, and
success will be yours.”

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