Janet Jack CEO of the Institute of Accounts and Bookkeepers formerly known as the international association of Bookkeepers, leads with a true abundant mindset and believes there is room in the world for everyone to thrive. She encourages others to shine and bring forward their authentic self, thus promoting diversity and inclusion throughout all business areas. She takes personal pride in developing others and supporting them to find their own path in life.

She has been a support system to the female business owners out there trying hard to establish themselves. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” so by being visible and accessible to all members and placing importance on good communication, and it is possible to lead by example. Unusually, a CEO has run a successful business in the same field as the members, which brings enormous integrity to her leadership.

Janet is inspiring and empowering team members to become great leaders of tomorrow. Janet recognizes individual qualities in others and will guide instead of dictate, and in doing so, this empowers people to become more confident as a person and in their role. This is reinforced by a culture in the organization of being a safe space to problem solve, as a group and as an individual.

Janet believes it is a personal choice to lead a positive or negative life; therefore success in a traditional sense isn’t applicable. To be content and find inner peace is the most significant achievement in life. “Business can be all-consuming and can unquestionably enhance your life but do not forget to live your life, and it is essential not to have a narrow focus on one aspect of your life,” she elucidates. “It would help if you had time for your family and friends because they are your integral support system and can celebrate the milestones with you too.”

According to Janet, one needs to assert their authority at the beginning of a new role to be considered of equal ability to a male leader. However, this can be done positively, and female leaders tend to be more in tune with their instincts which can be a powerful tool. It is also important to bring the team along when implementing any changes, as a leader is only as strong as their weakest link. Identifying team members that need support early in a project is also essential. Armed with this unique mindset, Janet has been taking the company to new heights.

The Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers (IAB) is committed to creating a global community of aspirational, entrepreneurial, highly qualified, and successful bookkeepers, accountants and finance professionals by providing accredited qualifications, support and continuing development from the beginning of a student’s journey and throughout their career. The IAB also offers membership and AML supervision for bookkeepers and accountants in practice.

Janet states, today the most significant trend is the technology and how it continues to change the financial industry. At the IAB, the focus is on future-proofing financial roles because data entry automation has eroded the old model of exchanging time for money. This allows finance professionals to focus on data analysis and empower business owners to make informed decisions. The IAB is now a market leader in AML training and supervision and is highly regarded among the regulatory bodies and its members as being highly effective.

The company is working on raising the bar of financial literacy globally by introducing new qualifications that span all abilities making the industry accessible to all. One way the IAB intends to achieve this is by continuing to work with the government to regulate the financial industry, a long overdue action.

The IAB also honors its sustainability goals and is making progress towards being carbon neutral by the end of 2023. The IAB is working in emerging markets to provide support to organizations and individuals through our qualifications and charitable work. Currently, they have started a project to identify and provide scholarships for disadvantaged young people to get started in a financial career. Janet says, “It is wonderful to find myself in a position where I have an organization that can facilitate the changes I personal hold dear and give back to an industry I have enjoyed”. WL

IAB

Management

Janet Jack
CEO of The Institute of Accounts and Bookkeepers

Description

The Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers is a membership organisation and awarding body providing qualifications in bookkeeping, payroll and finance. Our aim is simple – raising the bar of financial literacy both in the UK and abroad – by creating a global community of aspirational, entrepreneurial, highly-qualified successful bookkeepers, accountants and finance professionals.

Katalina Michael is a high calibre and renowned compliance executive with decades of experience in the banking and financial services sector, who has recently served as Chief of Compliance and Executive Director at BDSwiss.

Throughout her career, Katalina has found that an organisation’s ability to adapt to innovation and change is essential to its success, something that is even more difficult in the investment services industry due to its rapid expansion and stiff competition. “An organisations priority should be to ensure that a strong culture of transparency and compliance permeates the company’s operations” comments Katalina, and adds that: “Once the foundation of sound corporate governance is ensured, the focus shifts on refining these processes and contributing to the company’s long-term goals, such as proactively identifying and addressing potential compliance-related risks while also ensuring adherence to the company’s regulatory policies, before delivering dynamic solutions that meet the organisations’ objectives and their clients’ needs.”

Reflecting on her career journey, Katalina states: “I secured my first role in the financial industry in 1996, and in 1997 when the first AML came into effect I was appointed as one of the very first Compliance Officers on the island. Since then, compliance has become my passion and I went on to acquire a number of industry certifications including the EXIN GDPR Practitioner Certificate and a Certificate in Global Financial Compliance. I am also a member of ACAMS and an associate of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.”

“BDSwiss is a leading financial institution, offering Forex and CFD investment services to more than a million clients worldwide. BDSwiss as a brand was established back in 2012 and has since then been providing award-winning conditions, world-leading platforms, competitive pricing, and optimal execution on more than 250 underlying CFD instruments.”

Talking about her success in her role as an Executive Director Katalina explained that she would always be proactive when it came to strategic decision making: “In my career, I was never one to shy away from responsibility, over the years I assumed a number of different leadership roles and I believe that the most important attribute for a director is to have the dedication and commitment needed to study and understand a company’s products, services and operations in true depth.”

When asked about what she is most proud of when it comes to her personal achievements Katalina explains, “I believe my ultimate achievement is the fact that I was able to raise my four children while building my professional life, despite the hardships of juggling a demanding career and a big family. I continue to do so now, as a grandmother, and value the lessons I’ve learned as a mother in the corporate world.”

As an inspirational woman leader Katalina supports the advancement of women in leadership positions: “Women can be exceptional leaders as they are able to intuitively balance professional and personal leadership skills. Women tend to favour a transformational leadership style that creates positive change in the work environment and beyond. As a woman, being confident in my abilities and what I have to offer allows me to overcome any conscious or unconscious gender biases that I may have come across.” She also adds, “A successful organisation recognises that its people are its most important assets. The focus of any successful business should be vested in creating a nurturing and empowering environment for its employees.”

Katalina’s dedication, commitment and her ability to understand the company’s products, services, and operations, and her instrumental role in the success of the companies she’s worked for and render her exceptional executive and an inspirational leader. IEWL

BDSwiss Group

Management

Katalina Michael
Executive Director/ Compliance, AML,DPO of BDSwiss Group

Description

BDSwiss Group is a leading financial group, offering Forex and CFD investment services to more than a million clients worldwide. BDSwiss as a brand was established back in 2012 and has since then been providing top-class products, a wide range of platforms, competitive pricing and fast execution on more than 250 underlying CFD instruments. BDSwiss complies with a strict regulatory framework and operates its services on a global scale under different entities. With 200+ personnel, BDSwiss Group’s holding company is located in Zug, Switzerland and maintains its operating offices in Berlin, Germany and Limassol, Cyprus.

As the head of business development and marketing, Leslie Haas drives growth in the core business and new markets central to Paragon’s strategy. This includes business initiatives, strategic sales and marketing programs, acquisition targeting activities, and ensuring a pipeline of business opportunities to support growth. When she joined the company almost five years ago, her goal was to work to transition the company from providing engineering services for design and analysis and prototype designs to complete environmental control systems design and production. “We have achieved this goal and experienced over 300% growth in recent years. We have a great team at Paragon and I cannot be prouder of the way they have handled the tremendous growth of the company over the last few years.”

According to Leslie, whenever you are a trailblazer or pioneer in new areas, you will always experience pushback, whether you are a woman or a man. It is human nature. “In my career, I have always been focused on launching new products and/or new programs, so I did experience barriers. Whether it was the launch of the International Space Station in the 90s when I was with Rocketdyne or the worldwide launch of the DVD format when I was with Sony,” she says. “My advantage is that I was tenacious, hard-working, and had a “failure is not an option” mentality which served me well. Currently we are working on NASA’s Artemis program which will put the first woman on the moon, which is indicative of how far we have come in the industry from years past. Today I am no longer the only woman in the room and, in many ways, it is now an advantage to be a woman in the aerospace industry.”

Leslie has worked with, championed, and mentored many women over the years. One is now Chief Procurement Officer for a major pharmaceutical company. Another one is Chief Financial Officer for a prominent non-profit in Phoenix. Several others launched their own businesses. “I also speak to young girls about STEM and its importance. Careers in engineering and science provide a platform for making significant change in our world and are becoming increasingly vital to success in life – and the best part is, these areas are in high demand now, which is very promising,” she explains. “For me, inspiring and empowering women to pursue their dreams and accomplish great goals is more than a “check in the box” – it is personal and it is a calling. To that end – and this is advice I would give to anyone, man or woman – I always try to reinforce the idea that to succeed, you must first not be afraid. If you can get over apprehension, you can channel it into a positive force for action, and you can achieve anything.” Armed with this ideology, she has been taking the company to new heights.

Paragon has been at the forefront of systems designed for extreme sea, air, and space environments for over 28 years. Paragon has a successful history of being involved in the design of every human space vehicle since 1999. Examples include Lockheed Martin’s Orion, SpaceX’s Dragon I and II, and Boeing’s Starliner (CST-100).

Since then, Paragon has grown in personnel, design, analysis, manufacturing, and operational capabilities to support the most current and forward-leaning civil and commercial space programs. Presently, Paragon is working on programs that will send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon. “In 2020, we won to two major back-to-back contracts to achieve this goal—the life support systems for the NASA Gateway HALO program with OEM Northrop Grumman and the Human Lunar Landing System with OEM Dynetics”. Paragon has the Humidity Control Assembly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner which has an upcoming flight later this year. “We designed, manufactured and delivered our patented xRAD radiators for Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Cargo Module. The Dream Chaser spaceplane is a multi-mission space utility vehicle designed to transport crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations such as the International Space Station. We are also working on multiple NASA-funded In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technology development contracts.” IEWL

Amy Duke’s story is no ordinary tale, and she has had to face numerous hardships to culminate into the pioneering leader she is today. Her story starts in Thailand, where she ran a construction business, having her own factory making bricks and building houses. But, in the mid-90s, the world had suffered badly during economic troubles and collapsed, Amy decided to leave her family and move to the UK (she had a notion that for the next six months she could work and save enough money to come back to Thailand and restart her business) but God had other plans for her.

On the flight, she got acquainted with a Thai family who couldn’t speak English and made a deal with them that if they lent her £45 to buy a train ticket to Leeds, then they could come with her. In the UK, she found herself in a different country, language, with no friends or family there to support, but she wasn’t the one to give up and armed with her determination and ability to work hard, she set out on her path towards success.

Amy’s friend had given her an address to check up on a friend, and after a struggle, she reached the place, whose chef directed her towards a Thai restaurant in the Isle of Man, where she worked for the next six months and returned to London. Many miracles happened that have profoundly influenced her life and leadership methodologies during this time. From the Bradford university student who helped Amy with medication to the friend who let her sleep under her roof, every single person whom Amy stumbled across has shaped her into becoming an influential woman.

Amy states, “My heartfelt thanks to the people who have helped me throughout my journey”.

But, Amy had yet so much more to face, where she had nowhere to go or sleep, and one night she found a spot near Thames River to sleep, but soon she was confronted by a group of drunk, unruly men. She ran towards an old Thai lady sitting near her, and she just walked with her for the rest of the way towards the light. That night Amy realized that she was destined to live in the UK and soon got married, but that did not stop her from pursuing her career. She worked hard day and night and tried to save up as much money she could to start a comfortable life, but because of her workaholic nature, her marriage ended, but that did not stop her from pursuing her goal. She had saved enough to start her business with a Thai restaurant, called Amy’s Chiangmai Thai Restaurant, and she became the first Thai lady who had established a successful business on the Isle of Man.

On 27th January 2002, the day of her restaurant’s grand opening, she saw a packed restaurant, which made her realize that she was accomplishing her dreams. She was leading a successful life, running a crowded restaurant, until she stumbled upon the opportunity to participate in a curry competition where more than 200 restaurants were invited. This exposure brought her to the limelight, and now she was soon becoming famous due to her recent win and the food that she was serving customers around the year. Amy’s Thai Restaurant was declared the winner of the National Curry Competition 2003, and she also achieved second place in the North West Region.

During this time, Amy met her second ex-husband, who introduced her to the Aviation industry. By the end of 2002, they had started operations in Manhattan as a recruitment business. “Starting up your own business means that you must have skills, knowledge, experience, all of which didn’t apply to me in running with Manhattan Aviation business,” says Amy. “After a year operating Manhattan, making zero income. My ex-husband and I were discussing that we cannot cope with two businesses at once, therefore we reached the point where we had to decide which business to keep and which to let go. After careful consideration, I reached a decision to leave the restaurant business after the completion of the curry of the year 2003 competition.”

Being a fighter with enthusiasm

In 2004 they changed their business from recruitment to the UK CAA Part 147 aircraft type training approved organization approved by the UK CAA. “To gain the approval the organisation must obtain certification including a Form 4 Post holder for which I have been promoted by the competent authority to hold this post as an accountable manager ever since to present day, and of course with the good help and support from BMI regional in Aberdeen allowing us to all access with all facilities and classrooms, access to the aircraft and so on.” This was a significant change, a massive jump for Amy to move from the kitchen to the airplane. In the beginning, Amy had no idea what they were talking about in the whole program because she now knew aircraft, engines, airframes, to name a few. But, she built a good relationship with BMI, who allowed her to have access to classroom, office, and flight simulator at London Heathrow and Aberdeen (now taken over by BA); during the first five years, her responsibilities to learn more and she was assisted in financial, accounts, attended aviation seminars, aviation conference, air show, and invigilator /examination work.

In 2009 after re-launching the business in 2008 by His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, the year was a challenging year with a significant change yet again, where she had to move back to the Isle of Man. The isle of man is a small self-governing, beautiful country that is not part of the UK and not in the EU; therefore, Amy needed to apply for new approval from the EASA direct to change from the UK CAA to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This year was when she got herself to learn and gather knowledge about the technical expertise required, including maintaining compliance with EASA regulation, rules, procedures how to conduct EASA Part 147 type training, by attending and dealing with all the audits, this was the best learning experience for Amy where she gathered immense support and guidance from her surveyor/competent authority. “I’m originally from Thailand therefore English was not my first language, can you imagine how difficult it was for me to try to speak and understand something new that never been taught in my study. I have learnt it a very hard way from numerous mistakes. I turned it all into the opportunity to get myself to understand, without skills, knowledge or any kind of assistance.”

By this time, Amy knew she was walking the right path. This was a successful business. They were gaining momentum in offering Online Training to all engineers to keep them updated on new technology in the industry. When the CT online training demand increased, Amy expanded the business to meet customer needs and requirements. “In 2012 we gained the GCAA (the General Civil Aviation Authority) and JCARC (Jordanian authority) approvals. Under the GCAA I was given the role of Training manger as well as the Accountable manager and the CEO of the company,” elucidates Amy. “I worked tirelessly, juggling with many roles to cope and deal with those functions, but she strived to fulfill all of them.”

Being a fighter with enthusiasm, strong character, decisiveness, and a hardworking personality, nothing matters to Amy but only work that has driven her business and transformed the organization to be one of the most sought after. “During my business journey I have been confronted with many obstacles, and every obstacle is surmountable. I was lucky I got help and guidance on how to overcome from the right people who helped with all issues. I’m thankful for all of those obstacles thrown it on me so the more obstacles the great my learning curve.” Amy states, “My heartfelt thanks to the people who have helped me throughout my journey, I’m very grateful for all the help and guidance I have received from all of my surveyors who’s standing by me in all situations and many people I knew and in the industry who are behind my success.”

According to Amy, “being a boss, I am working closely with my people by understanding, helping, and guiding and working and showing them to the right direction to resolve all matters, out of work I am easy going and down to earth very friendly with everyone.” She plans to conduct six courses for the customer for the days to come, all classes to commence in the new year. She will also be concentrating on business planning and development where she will develop EASA Part 147 Basic training, expanding EASA Part 147 Type rating training business throughout the world such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, to name a few countries. IEWL

Brenda McChesney is an international health and wellness speaker, author, and entrepreneur. Throughout her career, she has trained thousands of wellness professionals across North America. Prior to starting her business, she spent 20 years in the philanthropy and the non-profit sector, helping to co-found America’s family support movement to ensure children and their parents have the support needed to be safe, stable, and thriving.

In 2018, she founded Ignite Your Zen, a mindful living company dedicated to human flourishing. Shortly after, two additional companies were started Healing Power of Hemp as an affordable solution to hemp health, and Flourish Hemp Health as her platform for education and training. Brenda’s newest hemp company, MediTrina Botanicals, is a farm-to-pharma brand that leverages the full range of beneficial properties hemp has to offer including concentrated cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG, and CBN and terpenes and flavonoids from the hemp plant.

Since entering the hemp health space, Brenda has founded multiple CBD product lines, Flourish Hemp Health Education & Coaching Services; Flourish Hemp-Infused Yoga and Meditation; Flourish AVEDA Wellness – the nation’s first AVEDA and CBD Spa, Salon, and Wellness Studio; Co-founder and co-host of the Evolution to Flourishing podcast – a health and wellness based on innovation and flourishing; Co-founder and co-host of Sliding into Stillness…at Warp Speed! Podcast; and Flourish Hemp-Infused Meditations for the international meditation company Vacation of the Mind. In 2021, she will be publishing two new books, CBD & Me: Daily CBD Tracker and CBD & Me: Guide to Hemp Health, and launching Flourish Hemp Health Education Certification Program.

In June 2021, Brenda will be awarded the ‘Top 100 Healthcare Leaders’ by the International Forum for Advancements of Healthcare for her innovations in mindfulness-based hemp health and wellness.

BRENDA SHARES THE INSPIRATION BEHIND HER COMPANY AND BRAND.

I have always had a love and passion for helping people, it is part of who I am. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur in the Hemp Education space, I was helping lead a national movement to support America’s families. I dedicated 20 years of my life to creating support systems for families to flourish. While assisting America’s families, I became a published author, international wellness speaker, family support coach and master trainer, and expert in the field.

I believed I knew exactly what families needed to flourish until a tragic accident in 2015 left me partially impaired and plagued with from chronic pain, severe sleeplessness, cognitive issues, and emotional imbalance. To put it simply, I was failing to thrive. After three years, three neck procedures, and visits with over 50 different healthcare practitioners, I was introduced to high milligram hemp CBD. On the first night using it, I slept for 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Within one week, I began feeling more emotionally balanced. Within two weeks my pain noticeably decreased, as did my cognitive delays. My brain fog began lifting, my focus returned, and I was slowly returning to the woman, mother, wife, and professional that I had been before my accident.

This experience made me realize that I had glaringly overlooked how chronic pain, sleeplessness, stress, and anxiety impact an entire family’s ability to flourish. Recognizing this, I decided to create an affordable CBD product line and accompanying educational resources for parents and individuals across America. My driver behind this was to both provide quality products and the resources needed for families to have what they need to mindfully integrate hemp health into their overall wellness routine.

HOW BRENDA’S BUSINESSES ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE WELLNESS INDUSTRY

We are in the era of the cannabinoid! Hemp cannabidiol (CBD) as a holistic health resource has sparked a global wellness revolution. As pioneers and innovators in the hemp health movement, we are positioned to help shape the future of hemp health for consumers and professionals across the health, wellness, and beauty industries. Our mindfulness-based approach paired with our commitment to creating educated consumers sets us apart from the competition. From affordable and effective hemp CBD product lines to hemp health education and coaching services, our “education first” approach focuses on helping customers leverage the full range of benefits that hemp health has to offer. IE

Healing Power of Hemp

Management

Brenda McChesney
CEO & Founder

Description

Healing Power of Hemp is a women owned and operated Holistic Hemp Health & Wellness Company located in Aurora, Colorado. Our locally handmade hemp products infuse high milligram CBD grown in glorious Colorado. Our all-natural and organic CBD topicals and digestibles are specifically made with ingredients and essential oils to support your journey toward inner peace and balance for the mind, body, and soul.​

Fabiana Larese, Vice President of Human Resources, Claridge Products, is steadfast in her commitment to creating a culture of respect and collaboration at Claridge. She works tirelessly to ensure a level playing field and that all employees have opportunities for growth and recognition. Her creative approach to human resources management has already made a significant positive impact on the organization; from the simple idea that all new hires should have goals to help measure early performance, to driving new initiatives related to company culture, diversity, and inclusion.

According to Fabiana, there are always going to be barriers, be they purposeful or unintentional. “Ultimately, after so many years in my profession, I’ve realized that one of the barriers is actually me. There are so many emotions tied to questions like ‘where is your career headed?’ and ‘what do you aspire to do?’, that they can actually cloud your judgment,” she says. “Instead of trying so hard to knock down barriers, I found a better way by just walking around them.”

In Fabiana’s opinion, women do not receive enough leadership from other successful professional women or are not encouraged to be leaders. Many capable women are not in positions of leadership because they believe they are incapable of doing so. They don’t believe in their abilities. They don’t regard themselves as leaders and cannot assume or be seen in that capacity since they do not see themselves as such. “More women will view themselves in a leadership position if we all provide encouragement and engagement with women in powerful roles. To all the women aspiring to be leaders, my advice would be to follow your gut, be confident, and don’t apologize for who you are” says Fabiana.

“More women will view themselves in a leadership position if we all provide encouragement and engagement with women in powerful roles. To all the women aspiring to be leaders, my advice would be to follow your gut, be confident, and don’t apologize for who you are ” says Fabiana.”

During her first few years in the HR world, Fabiana worked for a woman who became her role model. Her name was Valorie Davis. She hired Fabiana as a Regional HR Generalist for an insurance holding company. Valorie was the VP of Human Resources, and she was a confident, hardworking, clever, and a strong-willed leader. “For many years, I worked with Valorie and admired her, thinking she was the successful professional leader I aspired to be. She was highly focused on supporting her team members’ goals, whether personal or professional, and simultaneously developing high-quality programs for the company.”

Talking about leadership, Fabiana says it’s challenging to become a leader if you are not seen. “If you’re not visible, put yourself in a position to take the stage. This is something that others can do for you, but it is also something that you can do for yourself.” She adds, “Take a look at the power of social media and how you can actually spread your own message. Make your voice heard.” Armed with these unique ideologies, Fabiana is taking the company to new heights.

Claridge Products was born in 1947 as a solution to lesser quality chalkboards and writing surfaces. The company founder sold chalkboards and believed that new materials and manufacturing processes could create a superior writing surface. His proprietary methods served as the foundation for operations still in use by the company today. Claridge continues to help improve collaboration and visual communication through new offerings such as glass writing surfaces and mobile whiteboards.

Claridge products remain the number one choice of educational facilities throughout North America. 95 percent of learning institutions, from K-12 schools to universities, have Claridge writing surfaces installed in their classrooms. In 2022, they will celebrate their 75th anniversary, which is a remarkable achievement for any business. Their products have been used by NASA, Apple, Google, Microsoft, the NFL, and NBA, among other notable organizations. “We continue to look for innovative ways to help our customers collaborate and share ideas. One of our core mottos is “turn workspaces into idea places,” and that’s one of the biggest ways we can help our customers grow and evolve with the changing times,” says Fabiana. “As offices and schools continue to explore the new normal, we will be there to provide solutions that are both functional and beautiful.” IEWL

Claridge Products

Management

Fabiana Larese
Vice President Human Resources of Claridge Products

Description

Claridge has a proud history of over 73 years crafting the world’s finest writing surfaces for those who value the power of visual communications. We were there after WWII, helping schools get a fresh start in a new era. Our whiteboard and blackboard products were used during the space race to help put men on the moon. Today, Claridge continues to help businesses and schools innovate during the digital age. What can we help you achieve?

Brittany Latson’s 20-year career in guest services, media production, business planning, and science, as well as her well-rounded agency experience, provide an optimal mix for building a successful company and establishing strong client partnerships. As Managing Partner, Account, and Operations of HashtagHealth, Brittany has built a successful, diverse, and inclusive team to support many pivotal campaigns that allow clients to break new ground in expanding into the social realm and developing unique, impactful social campaigns across a wide range of disease states. Brittany structured the company with a focus on a team mentality and vernacular versus a tiered reporting structure.

Brittany has had many career accomplishments, from being the first woman to successfully execute a leadership role in a male-dominated department, where she was known to stand for and fight gracefully for equality. Many extremely successful entertainment industry technicians credit her with providing them with their “first shot” and opportunity when they would otherwise have been overlooked. She has also been instrumental in orchestrating the launch of first-ever digital and social assets for clients—but most importantly, in developing and launching the first and only social media agency focused on health care.

The Balance for a Successful Career

Brittany has also been instrumental in orchestrating the launch of first-ever digital and social assets for clients—but most importantly, in developing and launching the first and only social media agency focused on health care.

One of her life’s biggest accomplishments is being a mom to two beautiful children. She and her husband prioritize a work-life balance to ensure they are successful in their careers while actively engaged and present parents to their toddler son and daughter. She leads by example, showing that it is possible to have a successful corporate-level career while nurturing a mother and living a healthy lifestyle. When she finally opened up about and shared their losses publicly and struggles with fertility, many women and men have reached out privately to connect and share their struggles. Brittany found she had become a voice and a solace for those experiencing pregnancy loss or fertility issues. While this is a small step, Brittany hopes she can be a part of breaking the stigma and lack of awareness about pregnancy loss and fertility issues, hoping to effect a change.

An avid runner, Brittany loves marathons and half-marathons. In fact, for five years, she shared this passion with a local nonprofit, heading a 7-month-long program to train middle schoolers to run marathons. She stepped down to focus on being a mom and hopes to coach again sometime. She remains in contact with, and as a mentor to, many of her runners, who credit her for both career and life inspirations.

The most steadfast advice she can give to the other women leaders and budding entrepreneurs based on her experiences is: “Don’t be afraid to be who you are. Take life’s disappointments as learnings. Grieve, be angry, but get up and continue to try. The toughest times you get through make you stronger. Learn from them; don’t forget; and grow.”

“HashtagHealth is the creative mind behind many impactful awareness campaigns and groups such as ThisIsMBC (more than 5 million impressions); the TruthAboutTC campaign, driving awareness that there is no good cancer, including thyroid cancer; and Know PK Deficiency as well as others”

Building the Company

HashtagHealth is built on the premise of doing work that everyone enjoys and proud of business with integrity. A core principle of the company is that everyone feels valued and knows that the doors for communication are always open with the owners. Behind Brittany’s operational management, HashtagHealth exceeded its 5-year goal in 1.5 years and has grown to comprise a diverse and dynamic team of almost 30 people worldwide. HashtagHealth also has a stellar reputation for integrity and client services, much to the credit of Brittany’s philosophies, organization, and team-building focus.

During her tenure in medical communications and advertising for pharma, Brittany had a strong sense that social media was underutilized by the industry. This led her, in 2015, to cofound HashtagHealth, the first and only social media agency focused exclusively on healthcare. Social media is a science driven by strategy, inspired by creativity, and balanced by business. It is a critical lifeline that allows patients and families to connect—regardless of where in the world they live. Under her management, HashtagHealth continues to grow at a rapid pace providing quality and valued engagement through content and campaigns with a global impact.

While working in pharmaceutical advertising, Brittany felt that a key component was missing: reaching audiences on social media. This led to reconnecting with a former colleague and friend, Kristin Hassan, to spearhead the Pharmaceutical Social Media Division of a social media agency. In 2015, Brittany and Kristin left to launch the first and only social media agency focused exclusively on health care, HashtagHealth. The company’s most important work is to give voice and support to and creating connections among patients and caregivers, using valid resources.

HashtagHealth’s social media is science-driven by strategy, inspired by creativity, and balanced by business executed with integrity. Social media is an incredible resource and tool for connections and information. Brittany believes it is critical to disseminate valid information from credited sources and help patients, caregivers, and health care professionals make connections. The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated and is often cautious about new endeavors such as social media, so it has been a huge honor and accomplishment to help companies pioneer into, and navigate, the world of social media.

Towards the Future

Through its work with pharmaceutical companies, advocacy organizations, health care professionals, patients, and health care brands, HashtagHealth creates engaging, honest campaigns and content that inspire people to connect and share their stories. Some of HashtagHealth’s greatest accomplishments are reflected in the comments or direct messages from patients with rare diseases or their caregivers who are excited to have found a community—a resource for them when they have felt so alone—or being thanked for giving voice to patients with metastatic cancer through creative and artistic outlets to let them be heard and create a beautiful legacy. HashtagHealth is the creative mind behind many impactful awareness campaigns and groups such as #ThisIsMBC (more than 5 million impressions); the #TruthAboutTC campaign, driving awareness that there is no good cancer, including thyroid cancer; and Know PK Deficiency as well as others.

HashtagHealth is rapidly growing and will continue to offer services exclusively in social media for pharmaceutical and health care communications. The team is located throughout the world and will continue to grow. “The company is always keeping an eye on evolving and new platforms; we will offer services within these evolutions based on strategic fit for HashtagHealth’s clients and projects,” says Brittany. IE

Nicole Gray is the Founder and Director of Boxed Community, a virtual coworking platform for remote workers. Being of British and Italian heritage and born in South Africa, she grew up with the understanding of community, diversity and empowerment within these. She is an advocate for the power of people to grow and thrive within a group.

“Boxed Community is a virtual coworking space for creative entrepreneurs. We provide support and development through coaching programmes, ongoing learning programmes, business and personal development support as well as access to fellow members internationally.”

Nicole had always been interested in running her own business. Using her love of fine arts, she’s dabbled in different industries, first starting out printing t-shirts of her own creations, and then freelancing as a makeup artist.

Here she met a number of different creatives all in need of help in managing their craft. She saw an opportunity and created Talent Box, a creative management company, representing all sorts of creative freelancers.

While running Talent Box she was also a founding member of SA Startup Academy in which she self-funded an entrepreneurial mindset management programme for 20 individuals from an under-priveledged area in South Africa. At the same time she initiated and project managed the Urban Youth Festival which was a festival geared around educating the youth about creative entrepreneurship as a feasible career path.

Following this she ventured overseas and took a five month sabbatical in Europe, travelling to nine different countries, soaking up the culture. Her final stop was in London where she joined a coworking company and felt very much at home running a coworking space and an early-stage startup development programme. She always knew she wanted to work with founders and freelancers and this was a great way to do it.

During her time there she felt there to be a lack of ongoing support in the startup scene. Although support programmes existed, they always had a start and finish point following which the freelancer or founder was left alone again, having to find new opportunities to build a network and support system.

Going from incubator programmes to accelerator programmes to coworking spaces ended up with them having to change communities each time the programmes ended, members relocated, or the spaces closed. It’s like changing schools – and at some stage, we just stop making friends for fear of losing them.

After running the coworking space and programme for about two years she started thinking about a more sustainable way of staying connected to fellow founders and freelancers, with a virtual version of a coworking space that could be accessed anywhere in the world, with ongoing business and personal development learning opportunities.

This was the catalyst for the creation of Boxed Community – a virtual coworking and support community with almost daily learning and networking activities around business and personal development.

Nicole started testing the idea of Boxed Community in February 2020 with a group of 30 freelancers and founders from Europe and Africa. She ran a 3 month trial to understand the feasibility of the virtual coworking idea.

During this time she received regular feedback around the offering. After the trial, she took some time to iterate the idea and opened it up to the public in August 2020 with a pre-launch trial.

Boxed Community then officially launched in September 2020 with paying members. She managed from that stage, to have her business expenses covered by her revenue – apart from salaries – which was an incredible feat.

One of Nicole’s biggest achievements has been reaching her one year mark in September 2021 – having started the Boxed Community in the pandemic and having it steadily growing is a testament to her consistent delivery of customer service, great programmes and a true feeling of community, which has been so needed in this time.

A big shift in the startup industry came with the idea of Boxed Community’s coaching membership – most coaching options are pretty expensive investments for the early-stage startup but they have made it accessible to the masses by including it in their Bloom membership option which gives the individual access to coaching every two weeks. This allows for even faster growth for the business and individual without breaking the bank.

Nicole’s long-term goal is to have 150 communities of 150 members in each, all over the world and in a variety of sectors. The priority is that each community will have their own community facilitator. This will allow for a better focus on the individuals within the communities, with the ability to facilitate cross-community engagements too.

In the past two years we have been forced to make a mind shift around the future (and present) situation of work from the physical to the digital realm. Nicole’s concept for virtual coworking is designed to help founders and freelancers enjoy the benefits of real-time engagements, skill-sharing, and networking through focused learning and social activities without having to leave the comfort of your home. IEWL

Boxed Community

Management

Nicole Gray
Founder and Director of Boxed Community

Description

Our methodology not only works for entrepreneurs and freelancers but also for remote businesses, alumni communities, coworking environments and other existing communities who would like to offer sustainable growth to their members, teams or employees. This transfers into higher engagement, which is measured by our outcomes-based surveys and feedback reports.

Sonia Sedler, COO of Keywords Studios, has always prided herself on challenging the status quo and reimagining ways of working in order to develop innovative solutions that not only deliver customer and shareholder value but also address broader industry and community issues. When Sonia first joined Keywords, she was aware of the company’s unique and unparalleled position as the go-to source of technical and creative solutions for the world’s largest game publishers and developers.

Sedler has held numerous leadership positions throughout the course of her 20-year career, the most recent of which was as the worldwide head of managed services and banking initiatives at Diebold Nixdorf. She previously worked for Sutherland Global Services as the managing director for EMEA. Sedler, on the other hand, has worked as a managing director for Accenture and as vice president of European banking for HCL.

Keywords Studios strives to develop world-class capabilities in services for game developers and other interactive content providers. Keywords Studios works side by side with their clients as external development partners, providing access to keyword teams of professionals as and when needed. Art Services, Game Development, Audio Services, Functionality QA, Localization, Localization QA, and Player Support are the seven service lines where keywords have breadth and depth nowadays.

“The designer’s real goal is to enrich the immersive customer experience. That goal is harder to achieve, and it’s damned difficult to measure. But it’s the truth. And pursuing that truth makes your designs smaller, simpler, more focused, and more elegant than they could ever get by strategy counting.”

One of the key reasons Sedler was drawn to Keywords was because she understood that the company’s worldwide breadth and scale had been important in enabling them to present a distinctive solution to their client. Sonia has been able to use her experience with global multi-service operating models, right- shoring centres of excellence and strategic client partnerships to build on Keywords’ excellent performance and construct a stable and sustainable platform for the future since joining the company in January of this year. She is a strong proponent of extended eco-systems, in which companies build value systems that extend beyond their studios and service lines to include both suppliers and customers, resulting in a seamless chain of activity and value that is focused on delivering the best possible gaming experience to the end-user.

Sonia Sedler says, “I was initially intrigued by the enthusiasm and creative genius of the people when I started professional interaction with the media, entertainment, and games business over a decade ago.” I was particularly motivated by the unique manner that games can connect people from all walks of life together, as well as the unlimited chances that this provided to assist people all around the world. My experience of technology as an enabler and a source of competitive advantage has enabled us to expand Keywords into new service lines, delivering through revised operational models and entering new markets. We can establish the optimal platform for our full-service offering by having the market profile to attract and retain the greatest talent from across the world and enabling our enthusiastic and motivated teams to collaborate effectively.

Keywords Studios enables premier content creators and publishers to leverage its experience and capacity across the lifespan of interactive content by serving as their external development partner. As a result, Keywords Studios helps its clients that work in complicated and fast-paced situations stay lean and agile while focusing on producing and monetizing the most engaging experiences. Keywords Studios’ main value add to consumers is being involved earlier in the development cycle, therefore the company is constantly scanning the market, seeing up-and-coming talent, and looking for new acquisitions that can improve its offering.

Sonia Sedler says, “We have recently formed our ESG program, which I am incredibly passionate about, and we have recently started the ambassador program with Women In Games in response to the gender gap in the games workforce today.” I’m ecstatic to have this chance to be a part of the solution and to contribute to the creation of a better planet for the future. Sonia Sedler’s operational excellence across an international footprint and in delivering best-in-class business-critical services to global clients gained from within world-class organizations made her the outstanding COO of the year. IEWL

Keywords Studios

Management

Sonia Sedler
COO of Keywords Studios

Description

Keywords Studios is an international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry and beyond. We bring to life digital content that entertains, connects, challenges and educates people worldwide. Established in 1998, and now with more than 65 facilities in 22 countries strategically located in Asia, the Americas, Australia and Europe, we provide integrated art creation, marketing services, software engineering, testing, localization, audio and customer care services across more than 50 languages and 16 games platforms to a blue-chip client base of more than 950 clients across the globe.