With an extraordinary and inspiring professional career, Natalie Collard, CEO of Quartz Group, brings no shortage of first-hand experience to her position as founder and CEO to the forward-thinking, person-focused Quartz Group.

Natalie is a highly-regarded advocate for regional Australia, agriculture, renewable energy, innovation, and, most importantly – women’s leadership. She has held various successful positions throughout her professional career, many of which have been in highly male-dominated industries, that have prepared her for this moment with Quartz Group.

She has had no shortage in her career of taking a seat at the table in industries where that seat isn’t traditionally offered to women and has always strived for balance while doing so. Personally, for Natalie, balance means having a variety of career experiences and having high-impact contributions through multiple avenues. This is visible throughout her colorful experience in sectors ranging from defense and arms control to foreign affairs, agriculture, energy, transport, and infrastructure, and continues into her board director experience.

However, Natalie is now at the point in her career where she defines success differently, and this is what has brought her to be the founder and CEO of Quartz Group. Empowering individuals and companies to function at their maximum potential is what drives her, and building meaningful relationships with people during the process is what sustains her. Harvesting success is not a one size fits all approach for Natalie, and Quartz Group is that force enabling her to push boundaries and transform outcomes for women.

“Having had an expansive career across many – often male dominated – industries, I am fortunate to be able to channel my past experiences into Quartz Group,” she says. “It is rewarding and uplifting to work with a range of inspiring women and men to enable them to achieve their career aspirations, move beyond the barriers that have been holding them back, and create workplaces and teams that are inclusive, inspiring and motivating for others.”

Natalie noticed that women, in particular, gravitate towards Quartz Group’s offering. Throughout her career, she noticed gaps in coaching and mentoring for women. “In some cases, the cost of coaching is too high, the course load is too much to juggle with work and life commitments or the content just misses the mark for what the person needs,” she explains. “With this as my motivator, I built Quartz Group to offer person-specific, time-effective coaching that truly fosters leadership skills and unlocks potential for clients in the way they need it and I’m truly grateful for the women who have trusted me with their professional and person journey to date.”

Natalie reached a point in her career where she began to realize that everything she believed about professional success was the wrong way around despite having attained professional success. She noticed that 18-hour days meant that her health and wellbeing were taking a back seat and her lifestyle was not sustainable long term. “During this realisation, I also wondered if many other women were in the same position I found myself in. I started designing a human-centred approach for building and maintaining career success based on self-worth and self-knowledge, and the results were immediate,” she explains. “This made me wonder why couldn’t I help other women do the same minus the high price tag and adding in the personalisation? When I saw my life transform for the better, turning those areas of suffering into sparks that elevated my career to new heights, it was something I wanted to share with others – hence the inception of Quartz Group.”

According to Natalie, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t apply to individual success and growth. Quartz Group’s tailored approach and mindful intention can deliver customized coaching and toolkits for each client. “This is something I’d like to see more of in the coaching industry,” she says. “I’m proud to be able to work with so many inspiring women and men to transform not only their careers but also their day-to-day lives – building models and methods that suit them to achieve their fullest potential.” IE

Quartz Group

Management

Natalie Collard
CEO of Quartz Group

Description

Quartz Group is an Executive and Leadership Training organisation that specialises in aligning career outcomes to what drives us, not the other way around. We provide tailored and time-efficient professional development services to transform careers, lives, companies, and teams for increased performance.

Although leading the product development efforts for AseptiScope has been extremely rewarding, many other aspects are critical to turning a product concept into a successful business. Kelly Powers, Founder & COO of AseptiScope, considers herself lucky in that she has solid experience in operations with previous jobs at several large corporations. This experience gives her an excellent baseline to craft what the organization must become as they begin their commercial growth phase. “I’m now working with our executive team to develop processes that allow us to service customers at all levels, and position the organization for long-term success.”

Over the last two years, Kelly has focused on organizational preparedness initiatives to secure the strategic vision for AseptiScope and develop a blueprint to guide the company towards maximum productivity. “I’m determined to create an organization that attracts the very best talent, ensures quality processes, and scales our manufacturing and distribution channels to meet our most ambitious sales forecasts.”

It has been both personally and professionally meaningful in Kelly’s career to have formal mentors and role models as a guidepost. As she moved into management and leadership positions, she has, in turn, led women’s initiatives and presided over women’s affinity groups. “I have had aspiring female professionals approach me for individual guidance which has been intensely rewarding. To spend time understanding a young person’s goals and help them advance towards them, and even surpass them is a wonderful thing,” says Kelly. “This process is intensified when a young female executive overcomes issues and challenges that are uniquely common to those with which I’ve also dealt with personally. The bond I share with these young professionals is more profound and rewarding than can be described in an interview.” Armed with this ideology, Kelly has been taking the company to new heights.

With a mission to develop, manufacture, and commercialize novel solutions to address HAI challenges, an innovative medical device company named AseptiScope Inc. was formed. AseptiScope is driven to bring innovative and validated solutions to the market that lower the risk of contamination and infection in healthcare systems.

AseptiScope was founded in 2016 as a private entity by experienced business professionals and clinical experts. Most of their founding team members had previously worked together in various successful healthcare ventures; so it was natural to take an entrepreneurial step.Together, the team identified a significant need in the marketplace and set on a journey to establish a company dedicated to delivering essential, novel infection control solutions for patients and clinicians. Their team built out the organization with critical hires in the ensuing years, moved from product prototyping to commercialization, completed Series A funding, and kicked off their Series B raise.

AseptiScope is catalyzing sustainable change in ways that help nature and society in a fundamentally important way. In consultation with infection control experts, one piece of guidance provided was that they have an opportunity to help the emergence of highly pathogenic organisms by developing their technology through antimicrobial stewardship. “In the world today, we utilize alcohol to clean hands, countertops, door handles, etc. We use pesticides to improve crop yields. We use broad spectrum antibiotics to treat infections when we don’t know the specific bacteria or pathogen,” explains Kelly.

“This practice often is effective at achieving its immediate goal, but dangerous to our environment as it fosters the development of more resistant pathogens to emerge. At AseptiScope, we protect patients from harm by shielding them with a totally clean – or aseptic – barrier.” These barriers are highly effective at doing their job, but they do not foster the development of more virulent bacteria or viruses. This is good antimicrobial stewardship, and it is a form of sustainable change that is not often discussed outside the infection control community. “All AesptiScope products provide clean and effective solutions and we are very proud of our contribution to infection control ”

The company is on the move with requests for a product in scores of hospitals across the United States. 2022 will be a break-out year for AseptiScope as they navigate several growth phases over the next 12 months. IEWL

AseptiScope Inc

Management

Kelly Powers
Founder & Chief Operating Officer of AseptiScope Inc

Description

AseptiScope Inc.®, an innovative medical device company guided by market driven science, was founded in 2016 by clinical market experts and leading clinicians. Our mission is to develop, manufacture and commercialize novel solutions to address the challenges of healthcare associated infection (HAI). The AseptiScope DiskCover System™, launching in 2020, is the first true barrier solution to address the issue of stethoscope contamination. Learn more here:

In France, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities reaches 18 %, while it is 9% for valid people. Since 2005, by law modified in 2018 (5th of September), companies must prove that disabled people represent 6 % of their workforce. They can also outsource some activities to government-accredited companies, called Adapted Enterprises or EA’s.

Founded by the end of 2011, HANDISHARE is an Adapted Enterprise whose Founder and CEO is Patricia Gros Micol. It provides tailored services and integrated business solutions to its clients while helping them comply with the law on disability.

Based on competition analysis and a market trends study, HANDISHARE’s management has identified potential growth areas in terms of product portfolio and lifecycle, geographical reach, and business-specific niche markets. A reflection on the BtoB business model led to the definition of the long-term vision, mission, and values. It clarifies HANDISHARE’s USP and brand positioning while highlighting client segments and partnerships.

Today HANDISHARE enjoys a good reputation among clients (100% are satisfied every year as confirmed through a survey), partners, and various business networks. A structured communication strategy has optimized the budget and enhanced the web presence of the company.

Every year of operation was profitable. Despite the economic and sanitary crisis, thanks to its agility, its innovative approach to business and human resources development, the SWOT analysis confirms the general assessment of its management : HANDISHARE is financially sustainable and well-positioned to succeed on its socially responsible journey.

After a train accident at 17, the day of her high school exams, Patricia Gros Micol was considered a woman with disabilities. Despite that, she had a chance to have a quite normal professional career. From starting her career in 1986 at Procter and Gamble and Black & Decker to recycling wood and vegetable waste to produce compost and firewood, Patricia has garnered immense experience. In 2010, she was dismissed after a change in the company’s organization and decided to create her job. “At this time, I thought about my so-called disability and carried out a survey to understand how people with life accident where able to retrain and learn a new job,” she explains. “And I made the observation that there were few solutions in France. As I had been working on the support functions in all my previous jobs, I noticed that in large corporations, recruitments were steady while at the same time administrative work was sky rocketing!”

This was when Patricia decided to create Handishare to build customized solutions for any client in France and sometimes in foreign countries. “I can say that we paved the way for new professional opportunities for disabled people. Even if we are not that big, I can say that we benefit from a good notoriety and a very good image which is in my opinion more important than being a very big company. Being an example is a way to become one of the tomorrow leaders!”

For Patricia, there have been several role models known for their human role: Mother Theresa or Father Pédro in Madagascar—people without economic objectives. “But I can say that they are real business leaders, with a well-honed commercial and financial sense. If not, how could have they convinced so many countries to help them financially? I think we must stop opposing business and CSR in all the organizations. A human sense makes the large corporations and small companies improve their results! This has become a must, at a time when young people (z generation) desert large corporations in favor of small structures or creation of their own company. Profit is not the only way to succeed in business even if it remains compulsory to finance the growth.” Armed with these qualities, Patricia has been leading her company to great heights.

After the creation of Handishare (2011) and Handishare Interim (2020), Patricia and her team are launching HANDIFORMASHARE (2021), a training organization to raise their clients’ awareness of disability and to help disabled people seeking employment to retrain for a job that is recruiting. “Handiformashare is already Datadock approved and will soon be Qualiopi approved (French law).”

On top of these professional goals, Patricia also launched the MADASHARE project : she realized 2 photo books about Madagascar and sold them. With the benefits, 9 schools have been built and she took some of her employees in August 2019 to Madagascar in order to go and teach pupils in one if these schools. IEWL

HANDISHARE

Management

Patricia Gros Micol
Founder and CEO of HANDISHARE

Description

HANDISHARE, an adapted company , offers in addition a customization of its services, support for its customers in order to guarantee them real added value. HANDISHARE is an innovative adapted company that is part of a niche market , in the field of assistance to business support functions (HR, Purchasing, IT, Accounting management, etc.).

During her tenure as Senior Director of Marketing and Product Management for PGT Innovations, Christy Sackett has restructured the Marketing team that oversees the identities and product portfolios for six of the company’s eight brands into a group that excels at defining and achieving targets. She has fundamentally shifted the team’s focus toward efforts that contribute to the top and bottom line of the business while maintaining a customer-focused approach, and, while doing so, has led the team to become a key driver of the company’s growth strategy.

“Building smarter products by combining strong companies. That’s what we’re doing at PGT Innovations. We’ve brought together eight strong brands to lead the window and door industry.”

Christy is a dynamic leader with a talent for developing and empowering her team members to achieve their highest-level of performance. She has challenged team members at all levels within the department to envision innovative solutions that would better serve the company’s customers. This has resulted in several tremendously impactful contributions, some of which include:

• The elevation of brand awareness for six of the company’s eight industry-leading brands by leveraging data and re-imagining marketing content and customer communication channels.

• The creation of a custom lead generation platform – LeadMatch – which brings consumers directly to the doorstep of PGT Innovations’ dealers. This solution provides a measurable way for PGT Innovations to show their dealers the power of their partnership, as the platform creates visibility of geographic market demand, refines the target audiences, and provides several other impactful tools.

• A 3-year product roadmap, which is tied to revenue and balances market demands. The roadmap is generated using a new level of analytics which ensures that the company can make more informed decisions around investing in new product development and enhancing current product lines.

• Leveraging growth from current product lines to launch the company’s CGI brand into the retail market channel through Lowe’s Home Improvement stores using in-store displays and new training tools.

Christy was also one of the original leaders who established the PGT Innovations Leading Ladies program. “We set out to create a platform for women in our organization to LEARN, ENCOURAGE, CELEBRATE accomplishments, and become ALLIES. Embracing each other through mentorship,” says Christy. “It was amazing to hear the stories and see how open the women were to sharing their goals, challenges, and accomplishments. I have been blessed to have a lifetime of teachers and people who believed in me before I believed in myself. Leaders who pushed me to think differently and rise to new levels. People who allowed me to fail and then persevere. This has allowed me to empower others under my leadership in the same way with PGT Innovations.”

PGT Innovations evolved from the founding company, VinylTech. “As we expanded through new product development and acquisitions, it was only fitting that the name of the company evolved as well. Today, PGT Innovations manufactures and supplies premium windows and doors,” says Christy. “Our highly engineered and technically advanced products can withstand some of the toughest weather conditions on earth and are revolutionizing the way people live by unifying indoor and outdoor living spaces. PGT Innovations creates value through deep customer relationships, understanding the unstated needs of the markets we serve, and a drive to develop category-defining products. The company is also the nation’s largest manufacturer of impact-resistant windows and doors and holds a leadership position in its primary market.

Protection is part of the company’s DNA. It began with the company founders and continues through current leadership. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew to the company’s home state of Florida, PGT Innovations leadership worked alongside Miami-Dade County to develop a new building code that would better protect Florida homes and buildings from severe weather. Since then, we’ve continued to push industry standards through research and technological development that help us engineer better, stronger, more advanced products to keep homes and businesses safer in our communities and beyond. Now, PGT Innovations is the nation’s leading manufacturer of impact-resistant windows & doors. With the increasing activity of hurricanes in the past few years, PGT Innovations’ impact-resistant products have become more important than ever for Florida markets, as well as coastal markets outside of Florida. “When you listen to your customers, provide solutions they didn’t even know they were looking for, and produce the #1 brand of impact-resistant windows and doors in the market, growth happens naturally,” Christy says. “Additionally, PGT Innovations continues to grow through acquisitions by adding companies and product solutions that complement our existing portfolio.”IE

Lucy Mariappa, Chief Information Officer of International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), is a transformational CIO and an innovator driven to find the right solutions to the most complex business challenges, even during a crisis. She is a certified CIO and a global technology leader, who previously worked at industry-leading organizations including SAP and Oracle. Recently International Leadership of Texas, with its CIO Lucy Mariappa, was announced as a 2021 US CIO 100 Award Winner. Lucy joined ILTexas as a brand-new Chief Information Officer (CIO) on March 16, 2020, the first day of the national shutdown. When COVID-19 shut down the nation and schools, ILTexas committed to transitioning to virtual school (VS) within five days. This commitment was set by visionary Founder and Superintendent Eddie Conger, who gathered his cabinet and made it clear that not educating students was not an option. ILTexas is a free, public charter school system serving K-12 students at 20 campuses across Texas.

“Accelerating the digital transformation journey is key to drive the business ahead.”

On her first day, Lucy was charged with leading Technology initiatives to pivot to virtual school, which included – getting devices to every student, providing teachers with technology & training needed to launch classrooms, ensure security and support, all in just five days. On the sixth day, on March 23, 2020, more than 19,500 students and 2250 staff members logged into their new, virtual classrooms, in full uniform, ready to learn. Under Lucy’s direction, the Technology division rolled out innovative solutions every week to make virtual schools successful and to lead the digital transformation initiatives to drive the organization ahead. Lucy credits her awesome Technology division team’s extraordinary efforts, a very supportive Senior Leadership Team, and visionary Superintendent, Eddie Conger, for these successes. She is grateful to the teachers, campus leadership, and staff members of various divisions whose collaboration and teamwork was key in executing these initiatives. In a nutshell, she says “It was truly teamwork makes the dream work. I feel very fortunate to have the honor to serve and support this dream team”.

The ILTexas pandemic response and innovative solutions rolled out by the Technology division under Lucy’s leadership has received national attention and has been featured on several national media publications. Education Secretary Betsy Devos first recognized ILTexas’ efforts in April of 2020 at a White House briefing, and again when she visited ILTexas and praised the efforts and innovative solutions the Technology division was able to deliver to continue education. Madam Secretary said to Lucy “Congratulations on your quick adoption of remote learning. The fact that Texas has looked to you for a platform that others can learn from is a great credit to what you and your team here has done”.

This commitment to ensuring that students continued growth led to an 8 percent growth in student enrollment without opening any new campuses and despite the pandemic challenges. The success of virtual school also helped ILTexas to open ILTexas RCI (Remote Classroom Instruction) to students in the entire state of Texas, even where we did not have physical campus locations, hence helping to penetrate new markets.

“What makes ILTexas different is its philosophy of doing whatever it takes, legally, morally, and ethically, for student success. We are an innovative organization that puts our students, their families, and their needs above all else. Our commitment to student success is what keeps us ahead of the competition,” says Lucy. “Additionally, our Superintendent and team of Chiefs are forward thinkers who refuse to allow challenges to get in the way of successes. As a team, we support one another, while also pushing each other to be better in our careers, and as individuals.” The mission of ILTexas is to prepare students for exceptional leadership roles by emphasizing servant leadership, mastering the English, Spanish, and Chinese languages, and strengthening the mind, body and character.

Lucy has a complete 360-degree view and experience in IT products and solutions – from leading the global product development at technology companies to implementing it as a Consultant for fortune 500 companies, to now using it as a Customer. She also worked in various industries in both the private and public sectors. Having this experience throughout the breadth & depth of Technology helps her in addressing the business needs effectively and quickly.IE

One of the things that stands out about Shannon Wilkinson is her passion for cybersecurity and technology. She is a believer in the saying, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work another day in your life,” and she has found that to be true within the technology industry for herself. The co-founder & CEO of Tego Cyber Inc., Shannon, is also known for fostering an open and collaborative environment that encourages employees to share their ideas for making improvements within the organization and product development. Shannon believes that having an open, inclusive, and diverse organization will result in a better corporate culture but having a wealth of experience and ideas during the product development process helps design better solutions. Shannon feels that it is important to have diversity because the company is not viewing the problems or solutions through the singular lens but rather has varying and unique viewpoints.

“Shannon is a strong proponent and supporter of encouraging young girls and women to look at education and careers in STEM to help solve the skills and vacancy gaps in many of the industries, particularly in cybersecurity.”

According to Shannon, many women in technology and cybersecurity suffer from imposter syndrome, in which women feel like they do not have the skills needed to perform their jobs, or somehow, they are less qualified than other colleagues. “To defeat imposter syndrome, the first step is believing in yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt is credited to have said “no one can make you feel inferior without your permission,” Shannon shared and that is a saying that she has applied throughout her career.

Shannon is a strong proponent and supporter of encouraging young girls and women to look at education and careers in STEM to help solve the skills and vacancy gaps in many of the industries, particularly in cybersecurity. Shannon believes that helping to close the gender gap will assist with closing the skills gap and advocates encouraging young women to look into education and careers in STEM. During the pandemic, she authored “Ripping Off the Hoodie: Encouraging the Next Generation of STEM Girls,” taking a look at the unconscious bias facing girls ranging from the idea that “girls just want to be nurses” to how we as a society still push the ideals of gender roles: girls play with Barbies and boys are astronauts. The book is written to bring awareness to the topics for a better future, the same way she is taking her company to new heights.

Tego Cyber Inc was formed to capitalize on the opportunities within the cyber threat intelligence space and the founding team’s established experience and reputation within the industry. Other solutions in the marketplace often identify potential threats but do not provide specific details needed to counteract the threat, such as its source and type or require the client to go outside their existing tools. The Tego Threat Intelligence Platform (TTIP) changes the process by providing additional critical information within the client’s existing tools, increasing ROI, and saving time when responding to incidents. The initial platform launch will integrate the widely accepted SPLUNK® platform to provide real-time threat intelligence to macro enterprises using SPLUNK® architecture. Planned future developments include developing the TTIP for compatibility with other SIEM systems and platforms.

Real-time updates are essential as threat vectors continually are changing and new threat actors are rising. The TTIP allows an organization to access the threat intelligence they need within their existing cybersecurity tools (SIEMs) and the context needed to make informed decisions when surfaced. Timely, relevant, and up-to-date threat intelligence, with context, is essential for Security Operation Centers (SOCs) and a gap that Tego Cyber Inc is looking to help fill with its TTIP.

Shannon & her team are working towards the TTIP pre-launch and working on their beta testing and commercial release of Tego’s SPLUNK integration. “After our initial launch, we have identified additional targets within the SIEM/SOAR platform space that we plan for future integrations,” says Shannon. “Geographically, right now the company is focused on the US and Canadian markets, but we expect that we will expand into worldwide operations within the next year as timely, relevant cyber threat intelligence is a need everywhere.” IE

Tego Cyber Inc

Management

Shannon Wilkinson
Founder & CEO

Description

Tego Cyber Inc’s mission is to develop innovative, automated cyber threat intelligence (CTI) solutions to help companies respond to the ever-changing threat landscape. — Helping you find the needle in your stack of needles.

Joyce Ngugi is the Director, Finance and Operations for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Africa, a position she has held since 2016. TNC is the world’s largest conservation organization, with a current footprint across 75 countries and territories worldwide.

Harnessing her experience in effecting business continuity and operational efficiency, Joyce has grown the regional business unit’s operations and finance capabilities from a small team into a thriving program running across nine countries. TNC’s business management demands are extensive and rigorous. The innovative systems and expert team that Joyce has put in place and leads are the backbone of the regional program and key to its conservation achievements to date.

A firm believer in carving one’s path through pursuit of knowledge and exploration of one’s fullest potential, Joyce is a formidable force at TNC. As the Director of Finance and Operations for Africa, she provides leadership and technical oversight in mitigating risks and ensuring strategic effectiveness, wearing these multifaceted hats while simultaneously strengthening gender equity by playing an active role in evaluating recruitment processes, employee recognition, succession planning, compensation structures and staff development.

Well respected for her adaptive capacity in managing oftentimes complex and ambiguous situations in a fast-evolving landscape, as a member of TNC’s Africa Region leadership team, Joyce has been instrumental in making bold decisions that champion TNC’s strategies, in meeting the organization’s operational goals and resourcing objectives across the continent.

Joyce has been influential and remains keen in ensuring strategic focus while providing innovative solutions to emerging challenges. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic presented various organizational challenges and unseen situations, she was credited for steering difficult conversations and facilitating vital decision-making processes conclusively.

Inspired leadership

“I draw my inspiration from my parents, especially my mother, who taught me how to be people-centric when relating and working with others. She is a natural pioneer herself, she challenged me to pursue my goals with tenacity, whilst respectfully dissecting cultural parameters, which often pose as barriers towards progress for women. My father is a hard worker and we all learned from him how to show up in workspace and get things done!’ Joyce shares.

Joyce also highlights how she gleans from ordinary women across the globe who strive tirelessly to provide for their families, and from remarkable leaders who through their work positively impact people’s lives, economies, governments, and the environment.

“There are numerous perceptions of what a woman in leadership should look like and how she must navigate the realms of authority. I have often seen this play out on many occasions in my professional journey, however I have been fortunate to tap into the advice and encouragement of many who have inspired and mentored me over the years, which has propelled me to be intentional about how I define and develop my own path in a quest to remain true to my authentic self,” Joyce asserts.

Embracing the opportunity to impact communities

Joyce acknowledges the existence of gender bias in workplaces and is hugely committed to fostering continued dialogue on this inequality. Her career path has presented her with opportunities to support the discourse of women in the workplace, leveraging her experiences of working and living in areas across Africa that are considered high risk for women. Her passion and notable interpersonal skills have propelled her to evolve as a voice for the seemingly voiceless, inspiring her to stand in the front line of supporting women who are keen to explore opportunities for growth.

“Being a part of an organization that has zero-tolerance for gender bias awards me and others the rewarding opportunity of ensuring constant dialogue and developing action plans on prevailing issues,” she says.

“We each have a unique opportunity to contribute towards the welfare of the world we want to live behind. Stepping into my role daily to do my part as part of a wider global team has been truly transformational,” says Joyce.

When asked to share what advice she has for people, particularly women on a quest for professional growth, be it in a corporate setting, or within the communities they serve, Joyce attests to the importance of courageous persistence and the need to press on towards the goal, regardless of how challenging a situation may be and pushing through even in the face of opposition. “Achieving goals requires willpower, flexibility, and determination, attributes to which we all possess if we tap into what lies within,” she concludes. IEWL

As an entrepreneur, wife, and mother to biological twin boys and an adopted daughter, Amy Senior, Founder, Adoption For My Child, has experienced a journey of infertility, birth, disability, loss of children (foster children), and adoption. She is fueled by her passion for understanding the needs and desires of adoptive families, expectant mothers, and professionals. “Each adoption journey is unique. Families experience different emotions during this chapter in their lives, the good, the bad, and the life changing,” says Amy. “Having experienced many of the same emotions on my own journey, I am able to have a deeper connection and understanding of the emotional side of the adoption journey. I will always provide families the support and compassion they need during and after their own adoption.” Amy is continuously working to develop strong connections throughout the adoption industry.

“AdoptionForMyChild.com brings many people from different backgrounds and situation into my life. Some are courageous women facing unplanned pregnancies, who need help and yet they fear being judged by their family and peers. Others are prospective adoptive parents who want to learn more about the adoption process and what types of resources are available for them. We also enjoy networking and building relationships with other adoption entities. Every adoption journey is different!”

Adoption For My Child is a membership community allowing families and expectant mothers to have more control over their adoption journey. Birth/Expectant moms want to choose parent(s) based on important criteria. Traditional adoption networking has fewer opportunities for Birth/Expectant moms to find adoptive parents that fit the criteria in their immediate geographic area. Adoption For My Child’s services enable Birth/Expectant moms to find and connect to home study-approved adoptive families throughout the United States that fit their specific needs.

Adoptive families want to choose which adoption opportunity (available situation) they want to be considered for. Traditional adoption networking is limited, so Amy created the IPS system—Instant Profile Submission system. The IPS system instantly delivers adoptive family profiles, videos, and letters to the requesting professional and the expectant mother considering adoption—within seconds of their instant submission, increasing their likelihood of finding the perfect match.

An available adoption situation write-up is created with all the information provided regarding the adoption situation. The information included: basic information regarding the expectant mother and her pregnancy, criteria she is looking for in a family, estimated cost of the adoption, and any additional information like drug and alcohol exposure and personal health (if available). No identifying information will be released to the adoptive families in the write-up.

“Our members receive situation notifications and can present their adoption profile to expectant mothers that work with different adoption professionals throughout the United States INSTANTLY for consideration,” says Amy. “Allowing adoptive families to connect with an expectant mom FIRST before signing with an agency and/or industry professional.” Once a family has been chosen to be interviewed or matched by the professional, they notify the other families who have applied that the situation has been matched. Adoption For My Child provides nationwide diversity for ALL potential adoptive families.

The company recently launched Key2Connecting.com, a directory to various professionals that can help families unlock their path to parenthood! “We have exciting new courses and resources coming soon! Along with creative and innovative ideas for adoptive families that will be announced later this year.” Being a steadfast, inspirational leader, Amy advises the women entrepreneurs to be confident and believe in their self-worth, which is necessary to achieve their potential.

“Confidence comes from within, from knowing deep down that they’ve got what it takes. Women entrepreneurs must believe in themselves and be willing to stand out in a crowd if they are going to inspire confidence in others,” says Amy. “We hold ourselves back both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should keep pushing forward to get what you want. Taking the initiative pays off. It’s hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.” She adds, “My advice into becoming a great leader of tomorrow—Be you, the entrepreneur and leader you were born to be! There is a reason you have these dreams, and you are the one in control. You don’t need approval from anyone.” IEWL

Jennifer Spano, Director of Marketing of BDx Data Centers, is highly tenured and well-versed in marketing strategy, but more importantly, she’s not afraid to take chances. She is a native of Toronto, Canada, and relocated to Hong Kong in 2015 to advance her career. Before joining BDx, Jennifer held senior-level marketing positions for global technology companies, but she challenged herself when she accepted her current role at BDx. Even though the data center industry was new to her, Jennifer trusted herself to quickly learn the inner workings of the data center space while leaning on her vast marketing experience to do the job well. Jennifer is not afraid to push the boundaries – a quality she applies to her role at BDx.

“Big Data Exchange (BDx) is a Pan Asian data center cluster with sites throughout Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore. Its unique hybrid cloud, connectivity and colocation solutions offer unparalleled security and reliability for the IT infrastructure of its global clientele.”

Within the first year of her joining the data center industry, Jennifer received international recognition as one of the 50 most influential marketers in the world from Data Economy. The data center industry is constantly in motion, and the fact that she received such recognition while still being a newcomer to the sector is an inspiration. Jennifer has learned to trust in her experience as a marketer and apply that to a new industry, which is a testament to her knowledge and ability to inspire other women in technology.

Within BDx, Jennifer spearheaded efforts to celebrate the advancements of women in technology. She created the Women Behind BDx series that highlights the women who work at BDx across social media and on the company blog. Jennifer also created and launched #BDxTheGap on International Women’s Day 2021. This ongoing initiative draws attention to closing the gender gap throughout the data center industry and across the globe. To kick off #BDxTheGap, Jennifer worked with other leaders at BDx and partner companies to pledge their commitment to celebrating women in the field via a viral campaign that spread across several global channels.

Marketing a Global Data Center Company During a Pandemic

BDx was founded in 2019 to meet enterprises’ connectivity and colocation needs across the Asia Pacific region. Helping national and international companies connect to audiences in this critical region continues to be an area of focus for the company. When BDx launched, no one could have foreseen the demand COVID-19 would have on IT infrastructure. Many Asia-Pacific nations, including China, where the earliest cases of the virus were reported, were under lockdown orders, which caused the demand for secure and reliable colocation to skyrocket. This unprecedented situation demonstrated the need for data center companies like BDx to create more connectivity opportunities and remote options for IT leaders. BDx helped many customers navigate through challenging times and has made a difference by enabling enterprises to make connections.

During the height of the lockdown, BDx acquired a data center in Singapore. Jennifer led the efforts to do a virtual launch, complete with a virtual tour of the Singapore data center and talks from BDx leaders positioned worldwide. Virtual events in place of in-person events became a big focus for Jennifer throughout the pandemic. She led the effort to host a virtual roundtable with leaders from BDx, offering insights to IT leaders worldwide on how they moved through the early months of the pandemic. Jennifer also identified additional ways to virtually increase the company’s brand awareness, such as spearheading new and innovative campaigns to deliver BDx’s key strategic propositions to the market.

BDx will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the data center space. As the fastest-growing data center cluster in APAC, BDx is rapidly expanding into other key markets across Asia, where enterprises can benefit from its advanced suite of services and solutions. The company will also open a facility in Nanjing, China, later this year. IE

BDx Data Centers

Management

Jennifer Spano
Director of Marketing

Description

BDx creates a secure hybrid ecosystem with its BDx SoftConnect, BDx Armour, and BDx Single Pane offerings, providing connectivity solutions across Asia. By using BDx automated modules, BDx is able to provide customers with a level of customization that rivals competitors in efficiency and cost, offering them the ability to manage physical racks with the same ease as working in public clouds.

Rebeka Polgar is a Finance Director specializing in helping companies and start-ups effectively use their resources most efficiently. This includes gaining financial control and visibility for the company and helping with new funding and finance options. She assists companies in broadly three categories: young start-ups with a limited budget who need help maximizing every last penny, this includes tax breaks, grants, and preparing for a funding round; start-ups who have received funding and have no effective processes and as a result, start to lose control of money; organizations that have existed for a while and would like to sell, but the books and finances are in a mess.

“Specialising in taking companies with a need for change and giving back control to directors and the board, as well as providing clear visibility on the true view of the company. My experience in finance and commercials, next to owning a start-up, gave me the ability to see the wider picture in every situation and provide advice on appropriate action to drive the business forward.”

Her expertise is in helping organizations such as these gain financial control, maximize the use of funds (including tax breaks and grants), and provide complete financial visibility to allow for proper decision-making. “I have developed my own software tool that integrates with the most common financial solutions to help executives really understand what’s happening in their organization,” says Rebeka. “I typically manage about 3 – 5 customers at any given time with the objective of providing them clear tools, processes and solutions to help them achieve their objectives.”

Rebeka has been inspiring women in her industry and points out that women tend to be more diligent and thorough in achieving what’s needed. Being an immigrant (Hungarian), she put herself through university in the UK, started her financial practice with a specific tech focus, and developed her software tool. “I’m immensely proud of my achievements so far and I’m grateful to the UK for being a place where, through a mix of hard work, vision and a bit of luck, I can enjoy the journey I am on. I am passionate about my work and confident in my ability,” she says. Armed with such an ideology, she has been leading the company to new heights.

“I am currently the finance director for Group CDG. They provide development services to retail, finance and government organisations. I am a financial advisor for Kapital (kapital.global), a startup looking at trade and supply chain data. I am also a financial advisor for 8Cats (8-cats.com) who provide kanban/agile software. They focus particularly in transition management and support.” says Rebeka.

Rebeka realized early on that there is a disconnect between accounts/accounting and the visibility companies need to make clear decisions. She created her software called roots accounting, which helps executives understand what is happening in their business. It extracts data from the accounting tools and industry. It presents it clearly, allowing executives to see where money is being spent and lost within the business every month, without the need for an accountant to tell them. “Currently I have only released it to my current customer base but I plan on making this more generally available in the future,” she says. “I seem to have become specialized in the tech field. I’m not sure how it happened -it certainly wasn’t the plan. I have significant experience working with development and software companies. I understand the challenges and the opportunities, as well as where to look for the problems. Once I even offered my services for free -just on a commission basis based on the money I would save the organization. It was my most profitable engagement to date. The CEO loved my engagement for helping him save money, be more profitable and prepare his company for sale, but regretted not moving towards a fixed price model with myself.”

My role in each of the companies I work with varies a little. In CDG the focus is more on providing clear, functioning guidelines, providing financial visibility and helping the organisation manage its cash. The company had very weak processes which in the past meant that it was haemorrhaging cash, despite providing great services to its customers. My role initially focused on putting in processes, ensuring R&D was properly claimed and making sure we maximised all our tax benefits particularly around VAT. The next phase I am busy with now is how to use the surplus cash and determining which store of value to use to make the best use of resources. In Kapital, my main function is around managing its limited resources and helping them prepare for their first funding round. 8Cats is also slightly different in that we are reviewing our pricing of the software and doing a lot of financial modelling to help the business clearly understand what the burn rate and break-even point is. Each of my roles is very interesting and fulfilling and I couldn’t do them without my small crack team around me.

Rebeka’s next big plan is a common one many organizations face: How do you break the chain of value linked to people? “I have a great team around me but currently the company is a financial consulting service that is based on our learnt personal knowledge. The next upcoming change for us will be when we can effectively distil a part of what we do into a tool which can be used by more organizations then we could physically meet,” says the steadfast leader.IEWL