SONICA ARON: THE MOST ADMIRED WOMEN LEADERS IN BUSINESS 2022

MAY 2022
Sonica Aron
Managing Partner
Changing Peoples' Lives for Better
www.tycoonsuccess.com
SONICA ARON
IN BUSINESS 2022
LEADERS
WOMEN
THE MOST
ADMIRED

Sonica Aron
Changing Peoples'
Lives for Better
Why Do We
Need More
Digital Leader In
The Insurance
Industry?
26
Kaleem & Madeeha
The migrants who
revolutionised the South
Australian businesses
40
08
Cover
Story
CXO

C
O
N
T
E
N
T
S
Lexis Serot
A Thought-Provoking Leader,
Humanitarian, and a Doting
Mother Setting New Benchmarks
28
Manisha Karmarkar
Breaking Glass Ceilings
in the Field of Medicine
34
Yoana Boyanova
Helping Organization
to Make the World a
Better Place
44
Karin Volo
Leading A Novel Training
Firm, Evoloshen Academy
Bringing Joy to the Workplace
20
Kamales Lardi
Moving Businesses into
the Digital Age with
Brainchild Endeavour Lardi
& Partner Consulting
14

Prashant C.
Editor In Chief
Ehsan Jami
Managing Editor
Alexis, Michael
Publishing Control Team
Mary Chars
Visualiser
Stephan Wood
Art And Design Head
Aby K.
Art And Design Assistant
Abhijit Kandalkar
Art And Pictures Editor
Wilson Shan
Business Development Manager
Chris Philip
Marketing Manager
Maria, Wilson, Martina, Alex, Kevin
Business Development Executive
Jacob Smile
Technical Head
Alina Sege
Assistant Technical Head
Assistan Digital Marketing Manager
Jennifer Parker
Digital Marketing Manager
David King
Earl Lewis
Research Analyst
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Circulation Manager
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W
ith the constant development in the start-
up ecosystem, more and more women are
chasing the entrepreneurial dream and
succeeding in their ventures. Women leadership in
today’s world has been on a rising graph in the recent
years. In this day and age, we can proudly say that
women leadership is not an obscure concept any
longer. Women are in the news every day, ruling all
segments of industry and all facets of life. Successful
women leaders and subject matter experts who have
created a very strong knowledge pool are helping
innovators to shape ideas into reality.
With a set of strengths and professional code of
conduct that women are very well suited for;
organizations are actively seeking women for
leadership roles and female entrepreneurs are starting
businesses at a faster rate than any other time in the
past. Several organizations too are enabling women to
grow and ﬂourish in both their professional and
personal lives, enabling them to thrive on their own
path, based on their own professional and personal
priorities. Their expertise and thought leadership are
fuelling organizations' impressive success. In a country
like India where most of the women aren't encouraged
to think big, there are some who have soared higher
than one would expect from a constrictive setup.
These wonder women are inspiring other ladies to
venture on the path of start-ups through the stories of
their personal struggles and challenges. Our current
edition speaks of such inspiring stories of women
entrepreneurs who are disabling the think-leader-
think-male norm and touching the sky. The number of
female founders shining in our country will only rise,
and we could not be prouder of our women.
Flip the pages and Happy reading…!!
Tycoon Success Magazine
editor@tycoonsuccess.com
Editorial
Desk
IN BUSINESS 2022
LEADERS
WOMEN
THE MOST
ADMIRED

SONICA
SONICA
SONICA
ARON
ARON
ARON
Changing Peoples' Lives for Better
The two most important days in
your life are the day you are born
and the day you nd out why.
– Mark Twain
‘
‘
’
’
Cover Story
The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business 2022

oming from a family of doctors. The youngest of
Cthree siblings, no one in Sonica Aron's family
has studied or practiced business management.
So, this was a completely new world for Sonica. From
having medical discussions at the dinner table as a child
to today where she and her family talk about social
justice, gender expression, awareness about disabilities,
and inclusion.
Sonica is an HR professional with more than 2 decades
of experience. She has completed her graduation
from XLRI Jamshedpur, which is also one of the sought-
after institutes for studying Human Resources in India.
While working at PepsiCo, Sonica was exposed to
diverse roles and geographies. She worked in sales and
sales HR. She worked in a factory. She also worked in a
city as well as in remote areas. This experience
helped her realize, how diverse people viewed
women workforce, worked with, and dealt with
them.
Sonica later went on and gathered experience
from companies like ICI paints, Philips,
Vodafone, and Roche diagnostics. While she
was heading the HR department for Philips
Consumer Lifestyle Business in India, she
decided to take a different path and reshape her
career.
So, come February 2013, Sonica Aron
founded Marching Sheep with the vision of
making a tangible difference to peoples' lives
and careers.
During her 2 decades-long career as an HR
professional, Sonica has seen the narrative of
Diversity Equity and Inclusion evolve. Once
there was a time when the best organizations
were not aware of Vishakha guidelines to now
where organizations are not only working
seriously towards increasing women
participation in the workforce but there are
organizations that are looking at other
dimensions of diversity like Persons with
Disabilities, LGBTQIA+ community as well.
Sonica also believes a lot of organizations have
moved ahead of 'token' efforts like standalone
sessions and are approaching the issue with serious
intent and are taking a holistic approach- through
inclusive policies, processes, driving mindset change,
inclusive leadership, communication, and decision
making.
Making a Tangible Difference in Peoples' Lives
As a consulting organization, Marching Sheep had to
evolve with the evolving times. During the pandemic,
the company had conducted extensive industry
engagement and came up with interventions that were
specific to clients' needs in turbulent times.
The organization has also observed the evolving role of
HR as strategic partners in business recovery, continuity,
and growth. So, Marching Sheep has curated an action

learning-based strategic HR business partnering
certification, and in partnership with FICCI Quality
Forum, has been successfully running programs that
have been attended by HR professionals from different
companies.
In order to stay true to its vision of making a tangible
difference in peoples' lives and careers, Marching Sheep
needs to stay in touch with its client organizations and
people. So, the organization also carries out various non-
commercial campaigns including, Marching with Pride,
where the company engaged with people from the
LGBTQIA+ community to understand their lives and
what would take it to make organizations inclusive for
them. Another Campaign was 21 Marching, where they
met with 21 persons with disabilities to help spread
awareness about the 21 disabilities covered under the
RPWD act 2016.
Marching Sheep provides four main services, which are;
• Diversity Inclusion Strategies and Interventions:
The organization truly believes that inclusive
organizations are much more productive and
Marching Sheep partners with client organisations to
arrive at their inclusion and diversity charters and
strategy through a diversity diagnostic, chart out
executable plans, and also partner with the execution,
drive mindset change, and culture building.
• Human Resource Consulting: Organizations need
their HR strategy, policies, and processes to enable
employees to deliver on the business strategy and
goals. Marching Sheep works closely with its client
organizations in order to streamline the vision,
mission, values, behavioural frameworks, policies,
practices, HR strategy, and socialization, and drive
communication, internal Leadership, managerial
capability to enable the same.
• Bespoke learning interventions: Sonica believes that
the world has significantly changed during the last
two years of the pandemic. As the socio-economic
fabric is slowly evolving, the competencies needed to
succeed at work are also changing. Marching Sheep
work with clients in order to enable individual
contributors, managers, and leaders to succeed by
building the right competencies. The organization
curates each intervention to drive the right behaviours
through the facilitation of insights, reflection, and
practice.
• Health and Wellness Portfolio: Marching Sheep
believes, wellness nowadays includes emotional,
mental, and physical wellbeing. While things like
insurance can take care of the physical part, a massive
awareness and life-skill building are needed to handle
issues like stress, burnout, and anxiety. The best part
is, Marching Sheep enables all the individuals to
become emotionally resilient by identifying their
stress triggers, their own stress responses, and coping
mechanisms and hence more productive, personally,
and professionally. According to Sonica, the company
does this with programs curated after research, and
with the help of clinical psychologists.
The Inception Story
Before founding Marching Sheep in 2013, Sonica used
to be on the other side, as an HR Head. However, her
biggest issue with that was, they would engage a
consultant, carry out an intervention, and incur costs yet
there would be no tangible change post the event. So, she
along with the team drew the blueprint of Marching
Sheep on how they would approach each assignment,
and what they would achieve at the end of the
assignment. For her, leaving a tangible impact is
extremely critical.
The second factor was that she was already the head of
HR position by 2012, and it was the time for Sonica to
evaluate her next steps for herself, in her context. With
her husband's career growing parallelly, two young kids,
and three sets of aging parents and grandparents, Sonica
was seeking a career path, where she could contribute,
and get the satisfaction of making a difference on her
terms.
Marching Sheep has clients across various industries.
The organization has worked with different global
MNCs, and Indian Conglomerates, funded start-ups,
emerging organizations, and large giants. It has worked
in sectors like FMCG, FMCD, manufacturing, power,
and infrastructure, BPO/KPO, IT and ITeS, Financial
sectors.
As a company, Marching Sheep has also successfully
built relationships with clients based on the Quality of its

delivery. Sonica and her team always deliver what
they commit and on time. The Marching Sheep
team spends quite a lot of time understanding
customer pain points and offering a solution that
will eventually solve the real issue.
Tackling Challenges
Sonica faced many challenges while founding
Marching Sheep. The challenges included things
like statutory requirements that are associated
while having her setup. Some decisions like
whether it should be an LLP, LLC, or a company
or a proprietorship were to be made. Making her
website from scratch was a big challenge, being
bootstrapped. She was in a vicious cycle, to hire a
team member or to make revenues to reach a
certain level. Sonica was doing everything from
BD to delivery to invoicing to client management
to paying taxes herself. Doing Business
development did not come naturally to Sonica.
She was quite hesitant about singing her own
praises as a consultant, but that was needed. She
took her time to learn this art. Then came the issue
of managing cash flows. Slowly and steadily she
learned, she hired and grew. Soon the client base
grew, and revenue also got stabilized. However,
challenges like demonetization, implementation of
GST, and the pandemic came and destabilized the
industry.
Every time the industry got destabilized and the client's
focus shifted from HR interventions to business
continuity. Therefore, Sonica and her team had to evolve
each time in order to meet the client's need to stay
relevant, which eventually taught the firm flexibility and
adaptability.
Future Roadmap
Marching Sheep is already a leading DI firm in India.
So, it would like to make its mark globally. The
organization has started acquiring international clients
from 2021 and now it is planning to press the accelerator
pedal this year.
Sonica also added, “We have gone from strength to
strength in the last 8 years. From being a one-woman
army to today being a strong team of passionate HR
professionals, with clients, mentors, allies across
industries and globe.”
She also considers herself lucky to forge strong
partnerships with the clients who have trusted the
company and given them repeated work, partners like
FICCI, and transformance forums who helped the
company carry its message and passion on building
inclusive workplaces, and an inclusive world.

amales Lardi, a Digital Business Transformation
KExpert Thought Leader successfully
contributing top-line growth of businesses,
their operational excellence and capabilities development
through digital transformation. She combines over 21
years of deep cross-industry experience with the
latest digital and technology solutions and is presently
leading Lardi Partner Consulting in the key position of
CEO.
In academics, Kamales did B.Sc. in Computing
Information Systems where she found her interest
in technology, programming, and business strategy.
The inspiring lady began her career at Accenture
(Andersen Consulting back then) after graduating in
1999. Then, she enrolled in MBA at Durham University
Business School in the UK (2003). Kamales worked in
Zurich Insurance for a while, and then at Deloitte
Consulting. In the year 2012, she decided to start her own
consultancy.
Further Kamales shared about her journey, “I became a
parent and found the consultancy business model not
conducive to a balanced lifestyle. This became the premise
for my 'modular consulting' business model, a term that I
coined to combine high-quality solutions with a ﬂexible and
agile delivery model. This approach has resonated well with
many business leaders and has helped my company stand
out in the digital space.”
In addition to consulting, Kamales Lardi is active in
teaching as well and has lectured at several higher
institutions like ZHAW Zurich University of Applied
Sciences, HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences
in Business, and Durham University Business School.
She is the Chairperson of the FORBES Business
Kamales
Lardi
Moving Businesses into the Digital Age with
Brainchild Endeavour Lardi Partner Consulting
The Most Admired Women Leaders in Business 2022 Issue II
MAY 2022 15

Council Women Executives group and a dynamic and
influential speaker.
Lardi Partner Consulting, Transforming Traditional
Business Models
Lardi Partner Consulting GmbH is a boutique
consultancy specializing in digital business transformation
and emerging technologies. We enable organizations to
transform traditional business models, processes, and
operations to meet the needs of the digital economy and
customer experience. We help companies define their
customer's needs and identify the best ways to utilize digital
and emerging technologies across the business value chain
to gain sustainable returns.
The firm provides advisory services to mostly multinational
companies across various industries in Europe, Asia, and
Africa. In addition, over the years they have also advised
SMEs, start-ups, and the public sector.
Kamales's focus on creating value in business enabled by
technology has helped the Lardi Partner Consulting firm
stand out. She often says, 'technology is not a silver bullet
solution, a clear value proposition should drive any
transformation effort'. This approach resonates well with
many business leaders and has helped her stand out in the
digital space.
The Impacts of Covid-19
COVID-19 has shifted mindsets towards greater adoption
of technology and digital platforms. As experts in Digital
Transformation, Kamales and her team have extensive
implementation experience in this space and actively
support companies in driving. They have taken a people-
first approach that focuses on team wellness and prioritizing
clients in their work. This works well as they have strong
personal relationships with their clients and understand
their personal and business challenges. In addition, their
capabilities in business transformation and emerging
technology solutions are exactly what companies need now
to create business continuity and resilience.
From the CEO's Desk
When asked about her views on challenges faced
by women entrepreneurs and advice to overcome them,
Kamales said “I do believe there is still a certain level of
bias, conscious or unconscious, in the field of tech,
entrepreneurship, and business. This could relate to a range
of challenges such as women getting fewer opportunities in
the field, struggling to gain funding, not receiving the
credibility or recognition that they deserve for their work,
or even manifest in the technology solutions being
developed because of the lack of diversity in the
development teams. This challenge should be addressed at
various levels to be effective, including education, support,
and deliberate actions and policies to enhance diversity –
not just across gender but in every area.”
What Fascinates You the Most about Running your own
Business?
“I take an active role in every client engagement that we
deliver. I like working with clients and each company is
unique, bringing new experiences, challenges, and
opportunities. I find this fascinating and exciting. Also, the
best part for me is seeing our solutions and advisory
moving from vision to action, driving transformation in the
company, and delivering real business results. This brings
satisfaction and motivates me to keep doing what I do”,
shared Kamales while disclosing the fascinating part in her
business role.
“By running my own business, I have full control over the
types of projects we do, who we work with, and what kind of
results we can bring. For example, we usually work with
multinational corporations, however, if there is an
interesting project with a small company or start-up, we
could still take it on. I am also excited about exploring new
capabilities and skills. For example, back in 2016, many
clients asked about the impact of blockchain and crypto in
their business. This led me to deep dive into the topic,
including understanding the technology and programming
in this scape and eventually designing and building a
blockchain-based traceability solution for the agriculture
supply chain”, she further added.
Awards and Milestones on the Way
The company has hit the 10-year milestone for the business
this year and they are still going strong. This is a big
achievement considering the competitive market. Lardi
Partner Consulting has been honored with the 2020 Global
Corporate Excellence Award from Business Worldwide
Magazine in the category 'Digital Business Transformation
Firm of the Year'. In addition, Kamales Lardi has received
numerous awards including:
• “Top 10 Global Influencers Thought Leaders in
Digital Transformation” (Thinkers360, 2021)
16 MAY 2022

• The Top 50 Women in Tech - Inﬂuencers to Follow
(2021)
• Top 20 visionaries of the media and technology industry
(Adello Magazine, 2021)
• First-ever Forbes Business Council Women Executives
Chair (2021)
• Women in Fintech Powerlist (2017)
Lardi Partner in The Next Five Years
Lardi Partner Consulting aims to ﬂourish into a globally
recognized brand and expert partner in digital business
transformation in the near future. Also, the team is planning
to work on more technology projects that deliver towards
sustainability and climate change solutions
Advice for Female Entrepreneurs
Don't limit yourself to what others or society or even you
think you should be doing. The possibilities are unlimited,
as long as you are bold and take a leap of faith in yourself.
Build the right capabilities and experience required to
succeed, but remember you do not need to be 100% ready,
leverage teams that can help you build the right capabilities.
MAY 2022 17

S
tanding strong on the sturdy shoulders of a
flourishing businesswoman, a global leader, an
employee engagement expert, and a recognized
HR Influencer, Karin Volo, CEO, Evoloshen Academy
endeavours to guide employees to be empowered,
engaged, and help them reach their full potential.
Evoloshen transforms business through culture. It is the
team of expert trust advisors to CEOs, CHRO's, and top
management teams to help them work strategically on
culture issues.
With over 20 years of experience working with Fortune
500 companies globally, this inspiring leader has insights
on business building, cultural transformation, and high
performance. Aside from becoming an expert in culture,
employee engagement, personal and organizational
development, she is an international bestselling author.
She is also an accomplished inspirational speaker and a
Certified C-IQ™ Coach. Her purpose is bringing joy to
the workplace.
Further Karin apprised “I've had my own company
since 2003 when I started an Executive Search firm
in Sweden. My work has evolved from taking the best
talent out of companies to helping companies keep
their talent through working on their culture. The
catalyst for this change came from writing a book
called Engage! in 2012 which became an international
Karin
Volo
Leading A Novel Training Firm, Evoloshen
Academy Bringing Joy to the Workplace
MAY 2022 21

bestseller. It lead to me speaking on culture, engagement,
trust, and purpose and developing impactful training
programs in these areas.”
Successful Clientele Core Values
Evoloshen Academy works actively with progressive
CEOs and CHROs who understand the value of culture.
They have worked with a number of industries and types
of organizations from fast-growing tech companies,
global consulting firms, manufacturing, private equity,
and governmental agencies to give some examples.
The core is focused on developing and training
employees to be empowered, engaged, and to help them
reach their full potential. They have training programs
such as Ignite Your Trust Factor, am International
Cultural Engagement Specialist certification, and
Discovering Your Purpose.
The deeper they are able to work with their clients, the
stronger the trust and relationships grow. Besides
training, they have expanded to offer coaching and group
masterminding as well. This has developed from their
clients asking the team to support them even more.
Progressing In Entrepreneurship
The absolute key is to know your purpose! Evoloshen
aims to bring joy to the workplace and that is what drives
Karin and her team every day. They know the power of
reaching their full potential and thriving. They share
tools and knowledge that are empowering and help
people understand who they are. As an entrepreneur,
Karin finds it as the complete commitment to a bigger
purpose that will drive her through the challenging times.
It gives inner confidence and commitment to never give
up and to keep going forward no matter what.
From the CEO's Desk
The two biggest challenges I'm looking at currently are
how best to grow my business and to offload many of my
daily tasks and projects. As a leader, I'm evolving and
growing as well. This is why I'm a big believer in
coaching and mentoring! It helps along the way and can
save a lot of time and mistakes.
While talking about the branding strategies of Evoloshen
Academy to stay ahead, Karin said, “We rely a lot on
word of mouth and recommendations. Giving value and
building strong relationships over time builds high levels
of trust. I also have a podcast called The Amazing
Leader Series where I love to showcase progressive
CEOs and leaders who are proving that working with
culture is great for business because they are actually
doing it. This provides a lot of value and inspiration to
leaders. In addition, we have published a number of free
reports on our website that have great value and
information to help support people who want to learn
more about cultural transformation.”
Challenges for Women Entrepreneurs Karin's
Views
She finds it tough to generalize this. She says we all have
our own experiences and journeys we are on. Women
need to support each other and lift each other up as much
as possible. In Karin's view, young women feel pressure
to balance between their personal/family lives and their
professional lives. She has noticed that once kids are
grown, women seem to step into their power. They have
a lot of drive and energy and can really make an impact.
And she always encourages mothers to enjoy their time
with their children because they grow up too quickly! It's
important to enjoy each stage of life and know that the
journey is constantly changing. When you can embrace
the phase of life you are in and truly appreciate it, that
helps to handle the ups and downs that life will bring
your way no matter what. It's a part of the human
experience. So why not enjoy it along the way?
Karin's Daily Routine
“With an ideal day, I normally wake up around 6:30 or
7:00. I like to enjoy my mornings by easing into the day,
working out at home, drinking my daily green smoothie
and walking my dog. My days are always different based
on the projects I'm working on, which I normally have
two to three at a time. It often includes meetings with
clients and/or my team, sometimes preparing for
workshops, writing articles, checking emails, making
videos, working on web pages”, Karin shared when
asked about her daily routine.
Milestones Future Roadmap
Evoloshen has been recognized as one of the Top 10
22 MAY 2022

Organizational Development Companies in Europe by
HR Tech. Karin Volo has also been recognized as a Top
Thought Leader in Trust, named on the Engagement 101
Influencers several years in a row, Top 10 HR
Influencers, and many others.
Evoloshen is on the way to be known globally as the
trusted company to help develop leaders and employees,
create high trust organizations, and the team is working
diligently to transform many lives! Plus, with every
client project, Evoloshen will also contribute to support
education, clean water, or fighting child sex trafficking.
A Piece of Advice for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs
The world needs women
entrepreneurs now more than
ever. Women are naturally
caring and nurturing and the
business world is changing to
be more supportive on a
human-to-human level. Karin
believes that will make it even
easier for women to be
themselves and step into their
power. There is nothing that
can hold female power back
and their time is now!
Turning Solutions towards
Covid-19
Karin said, “Our world has
gone through some severe
trauma in recent times. We
need to come together to heal
and support each other. I
absolutely see a world in the
future where every person can
thrive and reach their full
potential. Our children
deserve this and together we
can solve the problems in our
world. It all comes down to
love. Love is the currency of
business—we want to love our
jobs; we want to Live Our
Values Daily. So, it's time for
us to realize that when we are
united, we become an unstoppable force and we can use
this to create momentum to change the world. We must
have the courage to care for and love one another!”
MAY 2022 23

The insurance industry is working on digital process
optimalisation. They are learning a lot: how can we
develop new business models and special new
service models, to support the needs of clients and to
achieve the “heart of customers”.
For this purpose they use a design thinking approach,
analysing trends and using business model canvas. But
they shouldn't learn only methods, but also how new
technologies like artifical intelligence, blockchain, internet
of things or predective analitics work. This combination is
very important to be „fit for the future“, to be a digital
leader!
Because the digital leaders will be the winner and as you
know “the winner takes it all!” I think, most of our
challenges are coming from the complexity of digital
transformation and the complexity of the insurance
branche. How should we start? Should we start with
processes, products, organisation, clients or employees?
Should we cooperate with a startup or should we be a
startup, as digital insurer or should we found a venture and
invest in startups?I realised, there are so many questions
and also so many ideas developing step by step the digital
insurance DNA for the next generation. As you know,
today, to develop a digital approach, to change your legacy
system, to develop your culture and organisation, to “teach”
your clients to use your apps. It takes time to see the
results and appropriate profits. If you invest into the future,
you need enough ressources (time, money, quality) to
develop a long term perspective. The insurance industry is
only on the starting point of this tranformation journey.
I`ve prepared an “insurance landscape” about the status of
startups and insurance companies/corporate ventures from
the perspective, whether they are cooperation or
compatition.
Why Do We
Need More
Digital Leader In
The Insurance
Industry?
26 MAY 2022

Our exponentional developing
business life required a exponentional
learning developing. The insurance
world was very closed world. From
closed value chain from developing
new insurance products, through sale
the product and in case of demage
regulare the claims.
But the technology is supporting us to
do our process more eﬃcient, quick, to
develop more customer convinience.
Our InTa – Insury Talent Network
supports young (re)insurance
professionals brokers to understand
the new insurance innovation world
and act like a “Champion”.
The insurance industry has the power
to do the right things in the right
direction with understanding the
customers, education talents, develop
the right vision, strategy and company
culture, use the most important
technology. If your „Innovation
House“ ready is, you can do your job
with passion and enthusiasm every
day. Are you ready to understand and
create a great insurance industry
together?
Erika Kr san
Managing Director
MAY 2022 27

28 MAY 2022
Lexis Noel Serot
Founder CEO

path-breaking leader, Lexis
ASerot is driven by a passion
for transforming lives and
providing life-changing experiences.
She is spearheading the motto of
Collaborating, Empowering,
Supporting, and Protecting others
through her organization,
LittleWins.
She is the Founder and a model
leader at a young, rapidly growing
organization. Her vision of
leadership is about setting an
example and leading a unique path to
achieve desired purposes and goals.
The reason I started LittleWins is a
huge part of who I am today. I
wanted to tell my daughter that when
life presented an “at-bat” I swung
like hell. With my daughter, I saw ﬁrsthand how diﬃcult
it was to access the proper care and equipment that
could enable her to reach her fullest potential. Every
detail of LittleWins has been carefully designed, with
compassion, respect, and love for this community.
A Ground-Breaking Leader
Lexis is well versed in the care, therapies, and equipment
that help her daughter – and people with a range of
abilities. She has navigated a frustratingly complex
system that leaves people with disabilities and their
families feeling isolated and alone. Understanding the
need of the hour and being shocked by the disparities
that, limit many people's access to durable medical
equipment, she decided to address this problem by
founding her company.
Based on her experiences, interactions, and an
“unrelenting desire to make a change,” Lexis began
laying the groundwork for LittleWins in 2018. The name
Lexis
Serot
A Thought-Provoking Leader, Humanitarian, and a
Doting Mother Setting New Benchmarks
MAY 2022 29

is personal and relatable to her community because every
progress milestone for a person with disabilities is a little
win for them and their family.
All About LittleWins
One in six children and one in four adults in the U.S.
have a physical, developmental, behavioral, or sensory
impairment. Most can't afford the durable medical
equipment they need or wait months for insurance
companies to approve it.
Lexis believes that access to equipment and supplies
should be simple. The mom of four, including a daughter
who has cerebral palsy, founded LittleWins.com to
connect and support people with disabilities and
individuals who actively work to provide a better quality
of life for others.
LittleWins.com harnesses the power of the community to
help its members buy, sell or donate medical equipment,
get information, and connect with others. Members list
and browse equipment by category and location on the
company's website. They connect directly with buyers
and sellers through the site's app. They share tips,
experiences, and advice on LittleWins' social pages.
“People with disabilities deserve to say, 'there is nothing
I'm not worthy of.' LittleWins goes to bat for every one
of them,” says Lexis.
Since 2018, Lexis has continually adapted the
LittleWins.com website with web and e-commerce
developers. She directs a marketing assistant and
marketing communications agency. She works closely
with her legal and financial advisors. She collaborates
with regional and national organizations that support
people with disabilities. She partners with other
entrepreneurs, who offer products and services to her
community. She created and posts regularly on
LittleWins' online support forum, receiving and
providing feedback to help people with disabilities and
the families that support them live their best lives.
Coming Together for fulfilling a Bigger Purpose
Lexis is a passionate advocate and cheerleader of the
work of national and local organizations that serve
people with disabilities. She works with durable medical
equipment suppliers such as NuMotion to identify used
equipment that can fulfill the needs of LittleWins
community members. She connects regularly with other
entrepreneurs – such as Communikind founder Cimeran
Kapur– and promotes their services on LittleWins.
She joined forces with another woman entrepreneur,
Hotsy Totsy Haus CEO Christi Leonardi, a deaf single
mother, to create LittleWins-branded, natural ingredient
bath bombs, that are now being sold, on the LittleWins
website.
Lexis regularly works with NuMotion, National Seating
Mobility, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and
Clearbrook.org, which empowers adults and children
with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live
their fullest lives possible.
Building a Resourceful Community
Lexis's relentless efforts to build an online community of
people with disabilities have paid huge dividends. More
than 6,000 followers now visit LittleWins.Facebook and
Instagram pages; and 800+ visitors go to the LittleWins
website every week. To date, LittleWins.com's 7,500 +
community members have donated, purchased, or
exchanged more than 200 pieces of equipment. They
also exchange experiences and advice daily on the site's
secure messaging app.
The Team LittleWins “Empowering Communities and
Smashing Stereotypes” Private Facebook Group. Now
400 members strong, the Group, led by Lexis, is a
platform for families and people with disabilities to share
their stories, provide advice and experiences on products
and services and provide mutual encouragement.
After launching LittleWins.com in 2019, Lexis began to
explore how the site could serve her community's needs
beyond durable medical equipment. To build the
LittleWins brand, she launched a line of LittleWins
apparel – beanies, trucker hats, and t-shirts.
The LittleWins blog and podcast feature educational
posts, stories about her clients, inspirational leaders in
the disability movement, interviews with durable
medical equipment and adaptive technology experts, and
more.
30 MAY 2022

Lexis continually mines feedback from the company's
surveys and emails that can inform how it can create (or
support) solutions to common challenges for people with
disabilities. She is preparing to launch a medical supply
subscription box program that will provide people with
disabilities and their families exactly the right supplies
they need, when and how they need them.
Combined, these initiatives are raising awareness of
LittleWins' mutually-supportive community, and the
used durable medical equipment items that are available
on LittleWins.com
The Big Wins of LittleWins
During the past year, Lexis launched two new projects,
with a third about to launch. LittleWins teamed up with
Dine-It-4ward to raise money for the Cerebral Palsy
Foundation.
LittleWins sponsors events that, support services for
people with disabilities, such as the abilities Expo,
Virtual Run/Walk of Clearbrook, a leader in creating
innovative opportunities, services, and support for
people with disabilities; Farm Fresh Food Bank, The
Kids Equipment Network, and front line responders. She
also put together the first-ever music festival to
accommodate people with disabilities this past summer.
She's donated hospital beds to people who needed them
during the start of stay-at-home orders. For this effort,
Lexis took out an ad to reach people who had hospital
beds but no longer needed them. She picked the beds up
from each donor's home, disinfected them, and delivered
them to people who needed them.
Lexis gives virtual shout-outs to companies that actively
support people with disabilities through their product
marketing and hiring practices. She shares stories of
LittleWins community members and their loved ones.
In 2021, Lexis was named a Top 100 Healthcare
Visionaries by the International Forum on Advancements
in Healthcare, previously known as the Smart Health
Conference. She has been asked to be a keynote speaker
at this year's conference, to be held in Dubai. LittleWins
was also awarded honorable mentions, by Fast
Company's 2021 World-Changing Ideas.
Lexis's Ultimate Vision
In addition to her day-to-day leadership of
LittleWins.com and full-time care of her four young
children, Lexis's entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and
relentless pursuit of growth for LittleWins.com are
rooted in her desire to help others. Her deep belief in the
unique service she's created, her ability to tell her
personal story, and her talent for connecting with people
who share her vision and journey.
She believes that community-based models – supportive
online villages like LittleWins – can re-unite everyone to
solve shared challenges, reach common goals, and make
sure everyone has an equal shot at success. Through the
COVID-19 pandemic, she has used the power of online
communication to tell the stories of her customers and
her community.
The Road Ahead
Lexis envisions a world that values people of all abilities
– a world that actively supports their right to the help,
equipment, and services that help them achieve their full
potential. She reckons that everyone's attitudes toward
people with disabilities are improving, she believes -
pointing to companies whose policies and practices
support workplace equality. “But we still have a long
way to go,” she notes. “We must celebrate and tap into
our differences on a much broader level.”
Lexis exemplifies leadership in 2022 – an entrepreneur
in evolution who derives satisfaction from helping others
– and continually finds new ways to serve them a better
and brighter future. She has even launched version 3 of
the LittleWins website at the beginning of this year. This
version update was spearheaded by the community and
what they wanted to see from LittleWins and how it
could be better. The latest update includes a premium
membership which allows members a fixed shipping rate
through FedEx and the ability to print their labels at
home.
MAY 2022 31

Manisha Karmarkar
COO
34 MAY 2022

eet Dr. Manisha Karmarkar, COO, Ruby
MHall Clinic. Having joined the hospital as an
anesthetist, she rose to the ranks and held a
number of key positions. While she continued to be
enjoyclinical work, the leadership team quickly noticed
her intellect and emotional ability to get tangible results.
Although she leads the hospital from the front, she hasn't
forgotten her roots. She is a practicing anesthetist and
even continues her education in the form of degrees from
esteemed educational institutions across the globe.
Since Manisha never planned her role as COO, she
considers herself as an 'accidental COO'. The first time
she got attracted to healthcare leadership was when she
was offered to head the Anaesthesiology Department and
OT services at the hospital. Although she had theoretical
knowledge due to her MBA in Healthcare
Management,its practical knowledge and the belief
senior management had in her that propelled Manisha
forward. She also says, “I believe that nothing substitutes
for hard work and talent. You can't skate your way to the
top and break glass ceilings.”
Achieving Excellence in Hospital Care
Manisha says, “Ruby Hall Clinic has a history of keeping
at the heart of its operations. As an 850-bedded
multidisciplinary institute with three hospitals in Pune,
we have constantly moved towards a true culture of
achieving excellence in-hospital care.” The hospital's
nine NABH and NABL quality accreditations and
certifications in medicine as well as its cGreen OT
certifications are proof of this very notion. As one of the
forerunners in being bestowed with such accreditations,
Manisha and her team's focus on high-quality patient
care speaks volumes in itself.
Additionally, Ruby Hall's super-specialist doctors have a
proven track record of excellence. Going beyond
reputation and word of mouth, the hospital's tertiary care
services are known to have an excellent rate of results.
When it comes to investing in the latest technology or
even promoting organ donation in the country, Ruby Hall
Clinic has the first-mover advantage further
strengthening its position in the healthcare market. Take
Manisha
Karmarkar
Breaking Glass Ceilings in the Field of Medicine
MAY 2022 35

for instance the fact that it has been the first to perform
pioneering robotic surgeries in the city and this number
has now crossed more than 300. Or even the fact that
Ruby Hall has a cutting-edge cancer care facility and an
all-women managed breast care clinic among many other
initiatives.
The Pandemic Changed Many Things
Manisha took the reins in the capacity of the COO at
Ruby Hall Clinic right in the middle of the Covid-19
pandemic. Although she feels it was a big challenge, she
was willing to tackle it head-on. Manisha believes that
coronavirus upended life for one and all and as a leader,
she continued to do everything in her capability to keep
her patients and employees safe while quickly adapting
to changes in the industry. Be ittechnologically advanced
equipment, adopting AI and machine learning, or
pivoting tactics and strategies - the pandemic brought
about changes she never imagined. As a leader, Manisha
had to display business acumen, healthcare expertise,
and forward-thinking all at once. Sure, there may have
been challenging days but what mattered is that she took
it all in her stride and worked to make a difference when
it mattered the most.
Providing Unparalleled Healthcare Experience is the
Target
Professionally, Manisha's goals at the hospital focus on
providing unsurpassed quality, unique technology, and
an unparalleled healthcare experience. She and her team
are working hard to build a more integrated system to
achieve better health, better care, and more joy for those
providing care as well. By harnessing technology, the
entire team of Ruby Hall Clinic is looking to create the
kind of experience around accessible healthcare that is
valuable for people, allows them to achieve health goals
they set for themselves, and to do it in a way that is
affordable to them. And that is what Manisha is most
excited about.
As a hospital, Ruby Hall Clinic has begun to expedite its
expansion strategy by focusing on the rapidly growing
demand for innovative and comprehensive solutions to
support the digital transformation of the healthcare
ecosystem, be it automation, artificial intelligence (AI),
or the Internet of Things (IoT).To be specific, the
hospital has already incorporated a new EMR system, a
successful Lab App actively uses robotics in surgeries,
invested in world-class advanced equipment such as the
Varian Ethos for cancer care, a hybridcath lab, and a
neuro-navigation system amongst others,” she says.
Ruby Hall Clinic's purpose is simple: to build a digitally
enabled healthcare ecosystem where it actively
collaborates across the continuum of care to improve
each patient's health outcomes.
Suggestions for Young Entrepreneurs
When asked for suggestions, Manisha says, “Be
authentic, be genuine and be fearless. Not everyone will
like your true colors, but people will appreciate your
honesty anyway. But showing your true colors means
showing your vulnerabilities, too. Let people know what
gives you strength, what are your weaknesses, but make
sure to turn them into strengths later on.”
She also adds, “No woman has risen to a leadership
position without taking a few risks. It's normal to feel
hesitant about what you don't know and what isn't
familiar. But don't let that fear restrict you from pursuing
a great idea or goal. Be fearless in the attempt of doing
something new or challenging!”
Passion is energy.
Feel the power
that comes from focusing
on what excites you.
‘
‘ ‘
‘
MAY 2022 37

The migrants who
revolutionised the South
Australian businesses
KALEEM
MADEEHA

Madeeha Usman
Managing Director
Kaleem Usman
Managing Director
40 MAY 2022

The fearless couple, who revolutionised the South
Australian Industry. Meet Kaleem Ulah and
Madeeha Usman, the young entrepreneurs of
Adelaide. When Usman, was offered her first role as an
external auditor in PWC, within 20 days of her arrival in
Australia, she was mentoring students of her age. The job
was a well sought position, overseeing the external audits
for a global organisation. While Kaleem, a well-trained
engineer, found his passion in numbers. Being recognised
by the official Institute of Public Accountants for his
extraordinary vigilance and passion for accounting. Kaleem
is known to be the support system for many SMEs. They
are taking the accounting industry by storm. And, if you are
visiting Adelaide, you are sure to be recommended by
many!
This is the story of two most enigmatic leaders, who share
the same vision but believe in bringing a different approach
to the table and giving back to the community.
Going into Business…
In April 2016, Mr Ulah and Mrs Usman decided to start
their own accounting firm. Every night, they would sit in
their garage and brainstorm. Kaleem was quite popularly
known by his Australian friends as Kaleem 'Kal'. And one
night, when Usman was trying to scribble and brainstorm,
she was struck by an idea – And it was The Kalculators.
The Kalculators in two short years was supporting variety
of entities – factory workers to multimillion – dollar
turnover businesses such as pharmacies, retail stores,
construction companies and service providers.
When asked Usman, about the vision she brings,
While, Kaleem's home-made tax form, was hitting a speedy
road to success. Madeeha's business vision towards creating
a sustainable firm became the backbone of the organisation.
“I remember back in the day a client asked me why I was
using my own Word printout. Everyone else was using
computers and there I was with my piece of paper. But
clients liked my resourcefulness, and years later my very
first clients are still with me,” reveals Mr Ulah.
Two short years later, Madeeha and Kaleem were managing
10 offices throughout Adelaide and over 10,000 clients.
The couple owes their success to the fellow migrants. And
believe, a leader must give back to the society to create a
stronger root for the generations to come.
Kaleem and Madeeha have helped countless newcomers
adjust to life in Australia.
“Most of my clients have migrated from other countries.
They don't know any accountants and they don't know
enough about the local laws. So, they need someone who
can teach them and who can speak their own language,”
says Mr Ulah.
“My wife and I thought, 'we have the resources, we have
everything, so let's go and offer international students the
opportunity to learn how to do tax returns',” he explains.
“International students spend a lot of money on their
studies, but finding employment for them, is very hard. The
reason is that students are learning the theory, but lacking
the practical experience,” says Mr Ulah.
“we have hired a professional trainer who trains the
international students on how to use software and how to
execute tax returns in real time. They also observe our
accountants while they are on the job. Slowly we bring
them to a professional level.”
“Once they complete it, we offer the dedicated ones a job in
one of my offices,” he says.
So, eager to grow with their community, the couple allows
international students to develop practical experience with
the aim of easing their integration into the Australian
workforce.
Madeeha, who is known to be the philanthropist by some,
mentors for many, and Tax Lady by her team. Mentors
“Taking a deep dive into the numbers is a not-
so-secret passion for Kaleem and Madeeha, while
finding their real joy in creating opportunities
for the migrants. ey are not just Business
Partners but a lifelong companion”
“Many of my clients are high net worth individuals,
which we define as anyone with over $5 million in
liquid financial assets. ese clients are often either
retired or run successful businesses including
franchises, and managing stock portfolios and estates”
“Everything we do, and the success we have, is due to
our root vision of treating customers with transparency
and equality”
MAY 2022 41

students at the Oxford University, who are working towards
their PHD dream.
Being recognised as one of the most powerful women in the
accounting industry, Madeeha was honoured as an
Ausmumpreneur in 2021. Usman encourages and supports
young mothers to create a life of their own dreams.
Madeeha's mentoring was a compelling one, she always
conveyed the inspirational thought
– “If you fail don't lose hope because as the wise saying
goes, we can't change the direction of the wind but we can
certainly adjust the sales”
Yet being one of the most influential women in business,
you can't just dismiss Madeeha as an accountant. She is also
the author of her recently launched book, “The Women
Changing The World” – A story of her life and other
powerful women, who choose to lead life the harder way –
to set an example for women, who are still doubting their
abilities to build themselves.
As per Madeeha, “This book is not only for women, but to
inspire daughters, and sons, for the generations to come”
“Getting to the top at the expense of another woman is not a
sustainable way to get ahead, and, most importantly, doesn't
help our case. The only way that women will be seen as
equal in business is by making sure that there are more
women accomplishing what they deserve in the workforce,
and that takes encouragement”
“This book is not just stories, but real life journeys,
relatable role models – where women in Australia are
changing the world through entrepreneurialism, education,
conscious living, advocacy and innovation”.
“Game Changers”
Madeeha and Kaleem both used their positions to
encourage the young migrants to pursue their dream. As a
result, The Kalculators earned recognition for “Diversity
Inclusion” in 2021.
Employing over 100 young individuals from various
cultural backgrounds. They believed opportunity is
inclusive to all.
Also, being recognised as a finalist by Xero, a multimillion
cloud accounting organisation. The Kalculators was
recently recognised for its “Consulting service” and as a
“Boutique firm” of 2021.
Creating ability through disability
Working with the clients in disability, they realised the
provided service level suffered for the vulnerable. Even
with the proper funding, many individuals with disabilities
were unable to create an independent lives for themselves.
This is when, Care Assure was born…
Madeeha and Kaleem founded Care Assure - a disability
housing and support provider in South Australia.
As the directors of Care Assure, we are not about making
money; the role requires empathy and value creation. And
working towards value creation is not easy, it is about
constant quality assurance, to ensure your clients are being
treated with care and respect.
Providing disability accommodations all over South
Australia, Care Assure is recognised for the seamless
service experience it provides.
Wielding Soft Power
As directors, it's about more than the sales you do or the
money you create; your clients are your centric value. In the
current times of uncertainity, as organisations we must be
sustainable, realistic and exercise quality control. The day
you start working through hierarchy and consider yourself
as a boss! You start to lose your ground as a leader.
Management should value transparency and respect. Not
just profits or expenditures! Provide your team with the
right resources and respect them for their own individuality.
You will end up having a team of passionate individuals
exceeding expectations.
42 MAY 2022

Yoana Boyanova
Senior Member Of Technical Staff
44 MAY 2022

eet Yoana Boyanova, a Senior Member
Mof Technical Staff at VMware Bulgaria,
VMware's largest RD office in Bulgaria.
Vmware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for
all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise
control. At the heart of everything it does lie the
responsibility and the opportunity to build a sustainable,
equitable, and more secure future for all.
VMware streamlines the journey for its clients to
become digital businesses that deliver a better experience
to its customers and empowers employees to do their
best work. Since its foundation in 1998, VMware's
employees and ecosystem of over 30,000 partners have
stood behind the technology innovations transforming
entire industries—from banking, healthcare, and
government to retail, telecommunications,
manufacturing, and transportation.
Every day, VMware's employees work to solve its
customers' toughest challenges through disruptive
technologies like edge computing, artificial intelligence,
blockchain, machine learning, Kubernetes, and more–to
define the digital foundation that will accelerate the next
wave of innovation.
With almost six years of experience as a Front-End
Developer, Yoana is currently moving into a
managerial role. Prior to joining VMware, Yoana
worked in EPMA Systems. She completed her
bachelor's degree from Sofia University St. Kliment
Ohridski and her master's degree from the New
Bulgarian University. Yoana is also a part of a
non-profit group named 'Women who code”,
which focuses completely on supporting women
in technology.
Currently, Yoana works on a leading Cloud-Service
Delivery Platform which is part of VMware's Multi-
Cloud Program. The organization has a variety of clients
who are mainly service providers, and its product is
critical to their business. For Yoana's team, clients' needs
are always with high priority.
Yoana
Boyanova
Helping Organization to Make the World a Better Place
MAY 2022 45

The Journey towards Leadership
While at school, Yoana was very good at maths, and the
most perspective career then was to be a software
developer. That's how she moved to Sofia from her
hometown to study Information technologies. It was hard
at first and Yoana studied a lot, but only a year and a half
later she got my first job as a junior UI developer.
Meanwhile, she was studying Project Management at the
university and soon realized that management is what
she wanted to do. Later Yoana started working for
VMware, joined Women Who Code, spoke at several
conferences, and she served as a mentor in an academy
and mentor to a girl intern. Yoana was performing well
as a technical team lead for a small team, which helped
her to get recognized, and now she is moving to a
manager position. She hopes this will eventually help her
try something new, which can help her gain a lot of
experience.
Yoana feels the need to align her team goals to the
company's objective and, key results. She says, “We live
in a very dynamic time, and I need to be very agile and
at the same time to step in very fast in my new role.”
Creating a Balanced Industry
Yoana suggests that it is important to show that
everything is possible and the only thing matters are who
you are as a person and what are your skills. She
believes, companies can make more events for diversity
inclusion, take part in various initiatives, organize
internal programs, and more.
She strongly believes, VMware can win the Multi-Cloud
world as the company has the right portfolio and right
people to do that. She is quite excited that she is a part of
a one really big initiative which can bring a lot of
changes to the world right now and she can do a lot with
her work to support it.
Suggestions for Upcoming Entrepreneurs
When we asked Yoana to give some advice to upcoming
leaders/entrepreneurs, which will help them, she says,
“Don't be afraid that you can fail and that it seems it's a
“men's world”. We live in a modern world and anyone
can achieve anything.” She also adds, “If you need some
inspiration or source of strength, you can contact an
already successful woman which can help you to grow.
And yes, there are a lot of successful great women out
there!”
Satisfied Clients
“VMware is the glue that holds our multi-cloud strategy
together. It allows us to share resources, tools, and data
between Amazon, Google, and our own private cloud
environments.”- Salvatore Cassara, CIO, SGB-SMIT
Group
“We deployed VMware SD-WAN Edge devices to extend
the same level of user experience to the home as if our
employees were working onsite.”- Emil Patel, University
of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“Hyundai AutoEver has been focused on application
modernization with VMware Tanzu and heavily invested
in internalized capabilities like DevSecOps and
microservices.”- Jung Sik Suh, CEO, Hyundai AutoEver
Never
give up
– everything
is possible
‘
‘
‘
‘
MAY 2022 47

SONICA ARON: THE MOST ADMIRED WOMEN LEADERS IN BUSINESS 2022

SONICA ARON: THE MOST ADMIRED WOMEN LEADERS IN BUSINESS 2022

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