Cecilia Wong, Executive Vice President – Product & Innovations, HGC Global Communications Limited believes that change is good; she believes in innovation, and that technology will change the world and do good for humanity. She says transforming an organization is not an easy job at all; first, one needs to define what needs to be changed, set a target, then a plan, negotiate for buy-in and resources, and lastly, execute it. Hence one needs to be visionary and set clear targets and direction, and persistency to completion is essential. Detail-oriented in planning but keeping the flexibility to change. “Staying focused and problem solving attitude is a must in all execution. Lastly, I have a strong capability in handling complex contract negotiation with suppliers and external parties, which always try to find the optimal balance and win-win situation.”

Cecilia strongly advises all the leaders to define what they want to achieve and craft out a strategy. “One has to carry out the actions with persistency; adjust along the way to better fit the situation. It doesn’t matter if one is having impediments, failure is not short-term, a long-term success is always awaiting in front of us.” She adds, “One of most important factors, is also be able to explore the potential of team staff and colleagues, and be able to utilize, appreciate and trust their capabilities and work, creating common goals, lead and inspire them along the way.” Armed with this ideology, she has been taking the organization to new heights.

Innovations and Flexibility are the two critical factors of HGC’s key differentiator. Being challenging in the market, HGC provides standardized yet customizable solutions to customers to make sure solutions are 100% fitting into customers’ needs. In 2019, HGC acquired Macroview telecom, one of the most prominent SI in the Hong Kong market, turning HGC into a complete ICT solution provider instead of staying at traditional telecom services.

HGC’s overall digitization strategy is to create a better customer experience. One of the major strategies is digitally enabled products and services:

1. First, their services have already implemented auto-provisioning capabilities such as residential IAD service. This first helps in the provisioning time to market for customers, keeping a better record for customer service, and turning into a lower operational cost to customers. Overall, it’s a customer experience improvement

2. The second strategy is to create a new revenue stream and operational efficiency:

• Their current services have even turned into self-ordered capabilities, such as their software-defined network (SDN) service. Customers can order international connectivity at the portal to be automatically provisioned to the points selected.

• SecurityFirst is another new service launched which enable 12 different security brand/services over a single platform for SOC, proactive monitoring as well as parameters correlation

A fascinating instance to share is the smart IoT solution for property management where would be pretty specific to the Hong Kong environment due to its crowdedness with high environmental standard. The solution assists property management in gathering ambient data to improve customer experience. Typical examples include monitor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) to adjust ventilation and timely dispatch maintenance when detect water leakage. In addition, it also provides Smart Reception and reservation to minimize human contact to ensure its safeness during this Covid period.

HGC Group is continuously expanding the digital transformation to local and international markets for the days to come, and cybersecurity is one of the most prominent considerations during this digital journey. Riding on their full-fledged digital infrastructure, they will continue to invest millions of US dollars in different phases to enhance their capabilities in cybersecurity further.

About HGC Global Communications

HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading fixed-line operator with extensive infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and offers a broad portfolio of products and services. HGC provides other operators with telecoms infrastructure while acting as a service provider to corporations and households alike. HGC is a comprehensive information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider; offerings comprise fully-fledged telecoms, data center, and broadband services to suit local, overseas, corporate, and mass markets.

HGC owns and operates an extensive fiber-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong’s largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and, in parallel, adding on top the latest technologies and developing its infrastructure services and solutions. IEWL

Emily Hewett, Principal & Interior Designer, A Well Dressed Home, LLC, is the creative yet business-minded force behind the company’s unique employee structure and meticulous design processes. When Emily started the business in 2010, her immediate focus was to establish a standardized formula for a design process that would provide a client with the most efficient and impactful experience offered in the industry. “After a few years of developing and enhancing the company’s procedures, the processes were proving successful. I then shifted my focus from client experience to employee opportunity,” says Emily. “After several years of interviewing and hiring employees, it became apparent that residential designers were desperate for an employer that offered more room for personal and professional growth and financial freedom. My goal was to create paths for them to earn just that.”

Emily is a Dallas native, graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, and has over 20 years of experience in the design industry. She takes pride in transforming dated spaces into sophisticated, functional family retreats, with designs recognized for encompassing current trends while remaining polished and timeless. With an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for interior design, Emily had long aspired to start her design venture.

The pioneering leader has fast culminated into a support system for women entrepreneurs and team members over time. Emily has had many female business owners from different industries reach out and ask to “pick my brain” over lunch or coffee. “I have always taken the opportunity to lend my best guidance and advice to other business owners and team leaders and lead them toward success,” explains Emily. “The definition of success is so subjective. Some would say it was when they landed their first client, won their first design award, had their first magazine feature, or met a certain financial goal. Still, the ultimate success for me is observing a happy and fulfilled team that believes in one another and the processes and structure we’ve worked so hard to build together.”

As a female leader, it’s become necessary for Emily to provide growth opportunities that allow females to become what they deem as successful. That might mean being independent and single and traveling the world or a working mom that has the flexibility to be around for more of their kids’ activities. Either way, Emily feels it’s essential for them to have a compensation package and flexibility that allows them to continue to work and live the life they want to live. “Many designers quit their jobs once they have kids because the compensation barely covers the cost of child care, and they have little to no flexibility – I want to change that for those that want to earn their way to that level here at AWDH.”

Armed with this brilliant mindset, Emily is taking AWDH to greater heights. The company aims to provide an approachable, transparent design service and turnkey experience from beginning to end. “Our structured design process ensures utmost efficiency, and allows our team of dedicated Interior Designers to bring beautiful, personalized designs to life.”

Trends come and go, but the thoughtfully designed details and elements that make up a well-dressed home are ageless. Their quietly luxurious interiors balance their context and client needs to stand the test of time.

One of AWDH’s most significant achievements is implementing its unique compensation package. Believe it or not, it’s uncommon for a residential firm to offer compensation beyond salary and PTO. “Here at AWDH, we’ve implemented 401k with a match, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, and profit sharing, and recently, we’ve implemented short term disability, aka maternity leave,” elucidates Emily. “It’s shocking to me that a female-driven industry is known for not offering maternity leave to their employees. We were one of the first residential firms in DFW, if not the first, to offer this type of compensation, and many have started following in our footsteps! We are very proud of that!”

Over the last few years, AWDH has quickly grown from a team of 5 to a team of 18. For the future, Emily’s goal is to start managing each of those employees “up” to prepare them for maximum personal and professional growth within the company. “Due to our growth, our team will move into a brand new showroom in Q4. We will have double the space in a beautiful newly designed office, which we can’t wait to share with our clients!” says Emily. WL

Dr. Tammy Meiron brings rich experience in theory (academic background) and practice; as a leader of established global corporations and technology startups companies, she brings insight and wide-ranged technological knowledge to the incubator management team and its portfolio companies. In addition, Tammy is unique as to her: curiosity and updated knowledge, social and communication skills, high strategic capacity, customer knowledge, team leadership, and training skills, as well as knowledge about project management and meeting deadlines.

Before Dr. Meiron became Fresh-Start Incubator’s CTO, she was the head of the protein department at Sigma Aldrich (later acquired by Merck), producing more than 450 different proteins and enzymes (arriving from tissue culture, fermentation, animal & plant tissues). She has served as a technological leader in various startups such as Amai Proteins, Zero-Egg, AvoMed, AlgaMed, Nutrinia, and more, and has implemented new products for global leading food companies. Dr. Meiron follows a personal vision to promote breakthrough technologies to bring the global food industry sustainable solutions for its immediate and future needs.

“When meeting a woman entrepreneur, especially if she is young, I talk to her as I wish someone had talked to me when I was at that point of time. I would tell her that she is capable and may achieve her dream by carefully defining her goals, and by being able to learn from each failure that she will face – and become an improved version of herself,” says Dr. Meiron. “I would encourage her to connect with inspiring figures and just be attentive to opportunities. If she will be determined and perform in a continuous mode of action, she will find her own way for fulfilment.”

The most influential person for Dr. Meiron is her Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Sam Saguy. His professionality did not affect his warm and giving personality, and she deeply relates to this quality. He always provides educated and practical advice. “I believe that working close with him for 6 years prepared me for the “real world”.” I recall his admirable ability to offer support and encouragement at challenging points in the research process, while firmly confronting me to do a reality-check and zoom-out and try to figure out different perspectives for making a progress. This balance is something I strongly try to apply to any mentorship I give today.” Armed with these ideologies, Dr. Meiron has been taking the incubator to new heights.

One of the major human race’s challenges today is developing technologies to feed the increasing world population in light of the climate crisis and limited land and water resources. The global investments in this field have increased significantly in the past 3-4 years, reaching $173B in 2020 and expected to increase further. Fresh-Start is part of the IIA (Israeli Innovation Authority) incubator’s program, leveraging government funds for supporting and investing in early-stage startups. It is also a part of a larger vision to create an AgriFoodTech cluster, “the foodtech valley,” at the North of Israel, promoting the local economy through internationally oriented ventures.

Fresh Start intended to grow dozens of impactful food tech companies from vision to scale over eight years of franchise and serve as a vehicle for all its strategic and financial partners to initiate and develop FoodTech Innovation. With the best of industry players; Tnuva (the biggest Israeli food company) and Tempo (one of the biggest Israeli beverages companies), and the best of global VCs; OurCrowd (a leading equity crowdfunding platform) and Finistere Ventures (a global AgriFood Venture Capital fund), Fresh-Start is looking to impact the future of food, beverage, and nutrition by introducing breakthrough technologies that comply with the emerging needs of the FoodTech world.

“Our portfolio companies receive ongoing technological and business support, and enjoy the benefits of the incubator’s partners, offering strong industry perspective, access to a full funding cycle, and a massive global network of both professional experts and potential clients,” says Dr. Meiron. “By integrating all of these in the foodtech cluster of the north of Israel, of which Fresh Start is a key part, we are catering to the needs of an additional client – ‘the FoodTech Valley’ partners.” IEWL

FRESH START FoodTech Incubator

Management

Dr Tammy Meiron
CTO of FRESH START FoodTech Incubator

Description

Fresh-Start FoodTech Incubator is part of the IIA incubators program, as well as the evolving AgriFoodtech cluster in the north of Israel. Incubator’s partners form a unique balanced syndicate of strong industrial players and track record financial partners: Tnuva is Israel’s leading dairy and food company, Tempo is a leading beverage company, OurCrowd is one of the largest crowd funding vehicles in the world, and Finistere Ventures is a specialized agrifood tech VC fund. Supported by the added values of each of the partners, Fresh Start is seeking to grow Impact FoodTech Companies from Vision to Scale.

Jody Niemann, VP of People and Culture at Utah Motorsports Campus, has been a pioneer and advocate of women success throughout her life. A former LPGA tour player turned NCAA Division I Women’s Collegiate Coach and single mom of two boys is now currently an inspiring female executive in the motorsport industry.

Jody joined the UMC team in December of 2018. Since then she has been instrumental in providing energy, culture and solution oriented teamwork to the organization. She inspires and motivates others thru her contagious personality, passion and heart.

Raised by determined, strong and high powered parents; Jody learned the importance of accountability, responsibility, hard work and respect at a young age while working the family business and competing in multiple sports. Her passion gravitated to the golf industry and quickly she found herself competing amongst men and women alike. Through competition she learned success is not handed to you but earned based on dedication, knowledge and never giving up. Her parents, mentors and coaches throughout her career has helped her to acquire leadership qualities of collaboration, transparency, and empowerment.

“Being a female in male driven industries is a blast. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Every day there is a challenge to find solutions for operational challenges, company culture disruptions and employee struggles. Every day I am given the opportunity to lead by example and to also learn from those around me. To have the opportunity to support the company success the way I do is fulfilling but to have my children watch my personal and professional success and then engage in learning from me is the biggest success I could have ever dreamed of.”

Utah Motorsports Campus is an event venue providing clients and guests to experience motorsport activities leisurely and competitively. 512 acres of fast fun, entertainment, corporate events, trainings, races, weddings, and so much more.

“I get asked all the time why I went from golf to motorsports. I have two boys who had zero interest in golf and all the passion in the world towards motorsports so I did the unthinkable and transferred into a whole new industry knowing I could make a difference one way or another. The fun part about being at UMC with this team is that they inspire me too.”

Company culture and love for people in general spills out of Jody when you speak with her. She continues to push herself and her knowledge so she continues to grow as an inspiring leader to those around her and to so many women she has had the pleasure of supporting towards their dreams and goals.

“People are amazing. The knowledge and experiences we have in life and what we learn from one another is incredible. I will continue to do my best in leading, coaching and inspiring others. It’s easy to keep myself and my children on track towards goals but to be able to mentor others and see them succeed is awesome. When I joined UMC there was not a company culture established and so to create that together with the team and to see it grow like it has is encouraging. We have lots to improve on still but the strength of our team is in the hearts of our people.”

Keep your eye on Utah Motorsports Campus as the plans and growth sounds exciting. When you visit the 512 acre venue and experience all the fast fun on campus ask to meet Jody Niemann. As crazy as it sounds she makes time for everyone that needs her at UMC. From an employee who wants to talk with her about career pathing to a guest whose expectation is not being met – Jody will be there to find the solution and ensure success is achieved.

If this means she is up all night to ensure she completes her own goals for the day and continues towards her own success – well – “that is what she does” says her children. WL

Bilkey Law prides itself on being proactive and ahead of the curve. This has been modeled by the firm’s senior partner, David Bilkey, K.C., who has taught his team to have an open mind to new approaches and changes in the industry, allowing every team member to stay current and flexible with ever-changing markets. Charlotte Manning, a Partner in the firm, has been following David’s approach and has culminated into a steadfast leader. “We’re constantly thinking ahead to the future and designing new approaches to provide an efficient, economic, but top-tier service for our clients,” she says.

Bilkey Law Corp. is a boutique private insurance litigation firm serving Western Canada. Working with national and multi-national insurance clients, they have built trusted relationships and earned a reputation as an industry leader. The firm’s mission is to provide quality, top-tier legal services. Specialized expertise, diligence, and teamwork are the cornerstones of their practice, which prides itself on delivering consistently excellent results cost effectively. Bilkey Law’s work is dedicated exclusively to insurers, as well as their customers and business partners. They provide expertise in property and liability, bodily injury, subrogation recovery, insurance coverage, as well as specialized areas, including product liability, occupiers liability, E&O, D&O, multiparty construction disputes, recreational and farm property and liability, equine claims, environmental liability, fire origin & cause, and social & commercial host liability.

Charlotte has been a member of the firm since her law school days and never looked back. “David Bilkey, K.C. has been an unbelievable role model and mentor”, she says. “The advice I would give to every young leader is work hard to be the best you can be for you. The rest will come. Also, if an opportunity presents itself that you want, even if it’s scary, go for it.”

Charlotte has inspired and empowered team members to become great leaders of tomorrow. Her motto is always preparation. “Prepare, prepare, and then prepare some more. If you are prepared, chances are you will succeed. But it takes time and effort, there’s no way around that,” she explains. “I always have an eye out for opportunities for others and encourage those around me to take them”.

Originally from Vancouver Island, Charlotte obtained her undergraduate degree in criminology and psychology from Vancouver Island University. Following graduation from VIU, Charlotte worked as an adult probation officer in the Kootenays before attending law school. Since joining Bilkey Law in 2012, Charlotte has enjoyed a diverse insurance litigation practice and has appeared in both provincial and supreme court for insurance-related matters involving coverage, construction disputes/deficiencies, property, and bodily injury claims, as well as subrogation. Charlotte also has a niche practice in equine law.

For Charlotte, the most significant achievement of the firm has been the success of Bilkey Law’s lawyers in providing top tier legal representation to our clients. “We have a strong culture and program built around mentoring and teamwork. We have a collaborative approach that provides both expertise and cost-effective legal services which has turned into success in the industry,” elucidates Charlotte. “Our goals are to continue to provide excellent legal services to our clients, continue to foster and develop the lawyers of the future, and continue to love what we do.” WL

Shelley Van Etten, CEO of WLT Software Enterprises, is the second-generation owner of WLT Software. Shelley’s father, William L. Tiner, wrote a benefits administration and adjudication program in 1978 and founded WLT Software. In 2002, Bill Tiner asked Shelley to come to work with him so he could train her to one day take over the company. Shelley started in Implementation, learning the system from the ground up. In 2004, Bill Tiner promoted Shelley as WLT’s CFO, which brought her finance expertise to the company. In 2006, Bill Tiner retired and sold his company to the three officers of his company. One of the officers was Shelley and the company became WLT Software Enterprises, Inc. In 2010, the previous president and CEO stepped down, and Shelley Van Etten became WLT Software’s president and CEO, titles she still holds today.

Since 1979, WLT Software has been a leading provider of advanced benefits administration and claims adjudication systems for Insurance Companies, Government Employee Plans, TPAs and Self Administered Groups.

Shelley has always been focused on the goals and vision of keeping the company growing and moving forward to meet and exceed Client, Business Partner, and Employee expectations and needs. She makes a point to rise above the daily challenges and instead see the larger picture of what needs to be done, and she provides guidance to the team to get the job done. Being a forward thinker, Shelley believes in not dwelling in the past but learning from it to move the company in the right direction.

“I was taught to run my company with respect and transparency, always listening not just to our Clients’ needs but also empowering my employees to give suggestions and insight into the industry,” says Shelley. “I provide all the managers and staff, including the women leaders, with guidance, empathy, clear directives, and the tools necessary to succeed. I do not look at gender but skills and treat all employees and management equally with respect as well as compensation.” She has learned to keep an open mind and is always willing to adapt and discuss ideas in this fast-moving industry.

What makes Shelley a steadfast leader is assigning set goals and providing instructions and tools to get the job done. “I hold meetings to set goals and help keep the management team on the right path for what needs to be accomplished.” She adds, “I give the teams the opportunity to make decisions and I don’t second guess them. I am always telling my teams that I hired them because I saw the necessary skills for the position but more importantly, I saw their potential for growth within the company to achieve success.”

Practicing an open-door policy for any type of discussion necessary to keep people on track with their goals gives Shelley a chance to show care and empathy when needed, and correction, insight, and suggestions when she sees an employee going off track with their goals. “Most importantly, I fight for my employees and the company to keep us moving forward and on the right path.”

Shelley was 34 years old when she was promoted to an officer position. “I did question myself at times about the decisions I was making. It took me some time to realize that I don’t have to have all the answers and make decisions on my own. I hired intelligent people with different points of view to help me make the right decisions and examine the pros and cons of any decision I make.”

Shelley believes it is important to be a leader, not a boss. “I read a wonderful article a long time ago showing the differences between being a boss and a leader. A boss orders their employees to do things that they would not necessarily do themselves. When a boss makes the wrong decisions, they blame their staff and do not assign any blame to themselves. When the company succeeds, a boss will take all the glory without giving credit to the people who helped achieve that success. I always say: Be a Leader. I will not ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do myself. A leader takes responsibility for mistakes that are made and works with their team to learn from these moments and implement corrective action. A leader shares in all successes and recognize their team’s contributions and celebrates their achievements.”

According to Shelley, to be a leader, one does not always need to be the most intelligent person in the room. Instead, a leader should surround themselves with people wiser than they are, people who can share their experiences and wisdom to provide the necessary information to help make the best decisions to move the company forward. WL

In 2004, when Virginie Druenne was 30, she founded Pyramidale Communication, a Medical Communication Agency. Rare a l’écoute, the second company, was built in 2020 with Cyril Cassard, her associate – for the past seven years. Both companies operate in healthcare and are specialized in oncology and rare diseases. After Virginie completed her education, she spent two years in a small medical agency where she learned the basics of her job. Very quickly, Virginie had the intuition of what to do and where to go and wanted to do it her way with her own vision. “My ideas were different, my way of working too: I wanted to push my strategy, follow my thoughts, take my risks,” says Virginie.

At the very beginning of her own company, difficulties appeared quite quickly because she was a woman: many clients didn’t take her seriously, and she faced a problem of legitimacy in her job. “My advice would be “don’t listen too much to people,” listen to you: learn, look around you, but you have to decide yourself. When you decide to create a company, the key of its longevity, its stability is “to anticipate”: anticipate the trends of the market, anticipate tomorrow,” elucidates Virginie. “I’m 50 now, and the more important thing for me is continuous learning, to keep training myself.”

“We support our clients to bring them a custom digital strategy and help them find the best way to raise awareness on severe medical conditions,” says Virginie. “We decided to pursue our organic growth. We are also thinking about other ideas on the same model as Rare à l’écoute, a beautiful idea: it’s business but we help people.” Virginie and her team bring emotion and integrity to the professional world and continue to be recognized as a specialized medical agency in oncology and rare diseases, with a different strategy and business approach.

For Virginie, the real success is the idea of the second company she founded: Rare à l’écoute, born in 2020. She tried to raise awareness on rare diseases among 1st line physicians for years, but nothing really worked. Then she decided to use podcast media; easy to find, easy to listen to: where you want, when you want. “It’s available on large podcast platforms: Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Deezer, Spotify. It’s short (8 mins) and it stays in your head. It’s a big success, doctors love it and patients too. It was the right time, and that media fit with the time,” explains Virginie. “And the company has undergone rapid growth. Use that kind of media in rare disease was a small revolution…but we did it!”

Rare à l’écoute brings value to a significant public health issue. Thanks to Rare à l’écoute, some patients could be diagnosed and treated much earlier, and their life can change, which would be the definition of success for Virginie.

Virginie and her team continue to work hard around diagnostic wandering with Rare à l’écoute, including treatment access for everyone. This success is the success of a team, carefully chosen. Recruiting is a challenging art: one must look for talent and a personnality fitting with the current team.

“To retain talents, you need to understand their motivation: they want to give sense to their job, feel that what they are doing brings value for the society, you feel it when you work for Rare a l’écoute” says Virginie. “a happy and productive team is a team whose members progress in a secured frame. I think the first thing I can do for my team members is to be well organized: I transmit processes and method for them to best manage their projects. They learn to be responsible and trust each other. My company needs them, they bring value and identity. We are a team, and we are in the same boat. In a company like mine, team members are pushing the limits ever further.” WL

Gentlemen Marketing Agency saw Anaïs Bournonville as a perfect fit for the newly created role of Head of Luxury Division because she previously worked in global operational marketing at LVMH. GMA has long dealt with luxury brands, but it was only later that the company decided to create its own department. And they were on the lookout for the perfect person to lead and expand this exciting new venture. This opportunity marked a turning point in Anaïs Bournonville’s career. She had the opportunity to establish and develop the agency’s Luxury Division, which was responsible for all luxury and premium brands. GMA has already helped more than 20 luxury companies in China, including Hermes, Tod’s and Jacques Lemans. The goal is to transform this division into a distinct internal special unit with its own team of account managers, designers, copywriters, and luxury e-commerce managers. Anaïs Bournonville’s current strategy is to give ambitious marketing programs and sales networks in China and Europe to her clients.

Anaïs Bournonville says “my best tactic is to build key activations and creative campaigns that will reach high interactions with followers and users. I love to share insights and ideas with potential partners. My knowledge and my openness to meaningful discussions are my main promotion tools. If you build a trustful relationship, you not only gain a customer but a partner for life. Your customers are not only clients… they are your business ambassadors.”

““A strong woman in the world of Gentlemen, transforming the luxury division for brands in China. Gentlemen is not only about men, it’s about the fusion of delicacy and strength, it’s about the leading values of professionalism, trust, and honesty.” Anaïs Bournonville’s out-of-the-box thinking has positioned her as a prominent leader.”

GMA is a leading digital marketing firm in China. Its goal is to assist not just large brands in improving their performance, but also small and medium businesses in obtaining the resources they need to achieve their goals in China. GMA serves as the eyes and hands of luxury brands in China, assisting them in entering and scaling up in the world’s most competitive market. The vision of the agency is driven by trust, honesty, and ambition with key differentiators of proactivity and honesty. GMA’s clients highlight the close collaboration they have with it. This is not a random agency providing design and e-commerce support. In China, GMA is the best partner because it treats businesses as if they were their own. And Anaïs Bournonville believes that the appropriate brands are motivated and persuaded by this everyday focus and willingness to always enhance ROI.

The main achievement of Gentlemen Marketing Agency is to become a 360° marketing agency. GMA works on branding, e-reputation, e-commerce, and distribution. Being a Tmall official partner (TP) is a game changer to expand its e-commerce services and achieve even better online sales on the Chinese market. GMA’s most significant achievement this year is the work with Jacques Lemans, a successful brand in the watches industry. Many activations are coming to turn the brand into a successful leader in China.

Anaïs Bournonville says, “I think a career path is made of several key turns made possible by the opportunities we encounter. I had the chance to meet amazing people who believed in my skills and followed me through my ambitions. At the age of 20, I launched my own consulting business. It was both exhilarating and a little scary at the same time. This business enabled me to encounter challenges, improve my business, and meet influential businessmen and businesswomen in France and in Europe. I pursued my career at DAO, working directly with the founder and artistic director Davy Dao who shared his passion and knowledge about fashion and denim. It was a key turning point during which I learned a lot about design, creation, production, and customer service in the boutique. After that, the wonderful persons I met at LVMH and especially at Givenchy helped me to boost my career. I am grateful for the position I was offered at Gentlemen Marketing Agency that allows me to work with many different luxury brands while sharing my creative skills and business knowledge.”

Anaïs Bournonville’s out-of-the-box thinking has positioned her as a prominent leader. IEWL

A decade ago, many enterprise businesses had in-house IT departments, and only small companies outsourced their IT. These days, organizations of all sizes widely recognize the inherent benefits of outsourcing some, if not all of their IT support needs. Consequently, the marketplace for managed IT services has become increasingly crowded with small and independent IT service providers, each competing to attract clients, but with little to offer in terms of real strategic business value. DP Solutions realizes that organizations nationwide need top-notch managed IT services and risk management to remain competitive in their industries. Rather than merely fixing or managing technology, DP Solutions provides a world-class IT services methodology that focuses on building standards and alignment with their clients.

” DP Solutions keeps us up and running. With other providers, we became so accustomed to mundane service that it became expected. We have found DP Solutions to beresponsive, transparent, accessible and very knowledgeable. They have exceeded our expectations. “

DP Solutions is a world-class Managed Services Provider (MSP) with a comprehensive set of products, services, and solutions to help clients achieve their business technology goals. Throughout their 48 year history, they have learned what it takes to be successful and have specifically tailored their services to meet and exceed client expectations. DP Solutions becomes an extension of their client’s organizations, focusing on both short-term objectives and long-term technology initiatives. They provide all the benefits of a fully-staffed IT department for businesses that either don’t have internal IT staff, or for those organizations looking to augment their existing IT staff. DP Solutions works seamlessly with clients to provide 24×7 locally staffed service desk, 24×7 proactive monitoring and management, preventative maintenance, and technology planning sessions.

DP Solutions delivers results and drives outcomes through the consistent implementation of standards and alignment with industry best practices. Each client receives an executive level resource who provides daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly check-ins and reviews to ensure that goals and milestones are being met. The company’s dedicated account management team consistently measures, scores, and reports on the state of their client’s business systems against industry standards and creates clear technology plans and roadmaps to get their IT systems to where they need to be for success.

DP Solutions’ customer care philosophy is built around proactive support and client-centric communication. As one of the company’s clients, Dawn Durden of Asset Strategy Consultants explains, “DP Solutions keeps us up and running. With other providers, we became so accustomed to mundane service that it became expected. We have found DP Solutions to beresponsive, transparent, accessible and very knowledgeable. They have exceeded our expectations.” Dawn continues, “DP Solutions offers consistency in every aspect. From answering questions to installation of hardware, their technicians are consistently adept and professional, and have the patience to take time to explain a subject until it’s understood. The firm leaders stay involved and are ready to meet or speak with you no matter the subject.”

In 2019, DP Solutions will be focusing a tremendous amount of energy on improving their account management and client engagement practices, as well as implementing standards and alignment reporting, technology road mapping, and risk assessment and advisory services as part of their service offering. “As always providing a truly superior client experience is our top priority and we feel that these services will help us earn substantially more business and increase our value to our existing client base,” said Karyn Schell, President of DP Solutions.

Background

Kathy is a 4X technology Founder, CEO and Board Member:

• She has built four technology companies from ideation, scaling up to a combined revenue of $50MM

• Cutting edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, probabilistic modeling and algorithms for big data were core IP for all four companies

• Kathy has worked across all aspects of developing corporate strategy, positioning and vision

• She has defined go-to-market and product market fit for all of her cutting-edge companies

• Kathy completed a merger on her own, without a banker, CFO or COO

• She ran an M&A process to a successful exit

• Kathy integrated two technology companies after a merger (HR, finance, cap table, product, go-to market strategy, tech stacks)

• Kathy has raised $55M in venture capital, putting her in the top % of venture capital raised for a female CEO / Founder(women in the US only get 3% of all available venture capital)

• All 4 of Kathy’s companies have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with data and artificial intelligence

Accomplishments in technology & as a serial entrepreneur

01. Individual past experience and success.

02. Companies past experience and success.

As a serial entrepreneur, Kathy has always pushed the boundaries of establishing companies that are next generation technology.

All her companies sit at the nexus of how data can drive business decisions.  Given how much data has completely transformed the business world, Kathy’s companies are all on the cutting edge of innovation.

Currently, Kathy is CEO of Crux Intelligence, a company pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence by putting AI into the hands of every business user. This is a bold, daring, and transformative vision to execute against.

Developed as a mobile-first platform to provide curated, on-demand insights available anytime, anywhere, Crux Intelligence helps to answer the “why” behind many of the most pressing business questions. Automated and always on, Crux Intelligence delivers agile insights without requiring inputs or queries from the end user. Crux Intelligence leverages natural language processing and natural language generation through sophisticated voice search tools to offer a seamless, high-performance user experience.

Kathy’s 2nd start-up, Qualia, was acquired by ALC in October 2019. As CEO, Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Qualia, Kathy and her team were pioneers of cross-device technology. Qualia was a big-data platform that ingested and processed 1.5 petabytes of data, 100 billion signals, mapped to 600 million devices. ALC, a 35-year-old data company, was one of Qualia’s biggest clients before the acquisition.

Prior to joining Qualia, Kathy was a Founder of Dstillery, a Social Targeting company. At Dstillery, Kathy developed the positioning, strategy and go-to-market blueprint for the company. She successfully took Dstillery to market and drove the company from pre-revenue to $20million in revenue and $100 million. valuation in 2 years.

The Future of Business Intelligence

Establishing a data-driven culture is top of mind for CEOs as they plan their growth strategies for the year. More businesses are expected to lean into AI solutions to revolutionize their analytics strategy in 2022, making it easier for more business stakeholders to act in real time.

There will be major shifts from how enterprise wants to receive business intelligence in 2022 and beyond:

• We have all heard the phrase bandied about “death of the dashboard” but what does this mean in practical terms? This shift will manifest away from the ridged / predefined / highly administered dashboards of today into intelligence that is automated, conversational, and dynamically generated

• To drive more value for enterprise, insights need to be curated to business users VS. a one size fits all

• Embedded intelligence will be an increasing trend, whereby, intelligence is embedded into existing workflows and applications allowing for both pervasiveness and ease-of-use

• AI will continue to play a major role with ability to surface micro-insights anytime & anywhere

• Low-code, no-code data preparation and analytics will provide increased autonomy amongst all stakeholders at enterprise

• Natural Language Data Queries and automatic alerting will make data more accessible and actionable to non-technical business stakeholders

• Explainable AI exposes the results of the solution that can be understood by humans. It contrasts with the concept of the “black box” in machine learning where even its designers cannot explain why an AI arrived at a specific decision.

• The demand for Mobile BI will grow as the need for utility, accessibility and ubiquity will be critical for remote work and beyond

• Data will increasingly be democratized through delivering insights in a more seamless, consumable, intuitive, and agile way

• Self-serve analytics platforms will become the norm, as business users will increasingly demand autonomy

• Specialist platforms that focus on Augmented BI will play an important role in helping to augment and enhance traditional BI platforms

• It will no longer be enough to provide what happened in business, past tense.  To drive material value for enterprise the space must evolve into providing deeper insights into the “why” as a diagnostic. Even further, predicting what will happen with probability scores.  And, last but not least, prescriptive.  The “what should I do about it” is largely missing within today’s current BI landscape

• Acceptance and adoption will increase in 2022 as broader groups of business stakeholders become more comfortable with new ways to experience data and business intelligence

All of these trends are ground-breaking, and, on some level, we are still in the nascent days of this progression in the space.  Approach the implementation of enhanced AI-driven BI with careful planning and preparation. AI-driven BI tools won’t be replacing critical roles in an organization.  Augmented AI will empower individuals to focus on more high-level thinking and strategic work. Organizations that embrace the use of AI-driven BI tools will be best poised to capitalize on their increasing in-house datasets, and expanding remote workforces, to grow in this dynamic business environment. WL