Today, many major pharmaceutical and bioscience companies, as well as dynamic start-ups, are focused on gene therapy, along with venture capital firms and investment banks who are eager to take part in the sector. Gene therapy has advanced to a point where curative and life-changing possibilities are in sight, not to mention the tremendous financial rewards that can come with successful new genetic medicines and technology. Sheila Mikhail, CEO and co-founder of AskBio, saw the transformative potential of gene therapy long before it was an accepted form of business and medicine. She saw the people behind the science differently than most – not as players in a financial transaction, but rather as important figures in medical advances that could create hope for underserved patient populations with rare and incurable diseases. She also applied her business and legal acumen to form innovative collaborations and obtain non-dilutive financing against the headwinds of a skeptical investment community.

“Making history with every genetic advancement “

Sheila began her career as a lawyer and leveraged her knowledge of life sciences intellectual property into a vision for gene therapy to save and change lives. That same vision was shared by AskBio’s scientific co-founders, Jude Samulski, PhD, and Xiao Xiao, PhD. “Millions of children and adults who suffer from severely altered or shortened lives due to genetic disorders may now have a chance to enjoy life to the fullest – without wheelchairs, respirators and millions of dollars spent on the cost of care,” says Sheila.

Jude led the pioneering discoveries for cloning adeno-associated virus (AAV) and how a virus can be used to successfully deliver therapeutic payloads to cells. His work formed the foundation for AAV gene therapy today. Since that time, AskBio’s focus has not only been on developing therapeutics but also the technology and science to ensure safety, efficacy and accessibility. Recombinant AAV (rAAV), while important, is only one part of the picture. “Additional technologies such as self-complementary AAV (scAAV), which we out-licensed for use in recently FDA-approved Zolgensma, and the development of novel capsids, inducible promoters, redosing potential, and high-yield manufacturing processes are also part of the equation,” adds Sheila. “For these reasons, we are a sought-after partner and seen as an industry leader.”

AskBio’s founders also helped create Columbus Children’s Foundation in 2017 to accelerate access to gene therapy for children with ultra-rare diseases. “While there is no true commercial opportunity for these diseases, treatments must be advanced urgently. Barriers to access need to be met head-on to ensure that cures are available and affordable for those who need them most,” explains Sheila.

The strategies that advanced AskBio to a stronger position than many others in the industry are reflected in its wholistic view of gene therapy and enabling technologies. Now almost 20 years in business, its fully-integrated approach that encompasses therapeutic discovery and clinical translation programs, AAV manufacturing, and the broad development of genetic material is proving its value. AskBio has a robust clinical development program and currently licenses its technology and manufacturing methodologies to many of the world’s leading and most innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The key technology that will transform 2020, at least for AskBio, will be the advancement of synthetic inducible promoters to provide precise on/off gene control and flexibility for gene regulation. The company has identified how to control gene expression using natural processes to make AAV gene therapy safer and more effective – essentials to moving gene therapy forward.

AskBio is at the forefront of all the necessary components, which will not only support its own pipeline of gene therapies but also stands to advance an entire industry working to bring potential treatments and cures to those with rare diseases and other genetic disorders. Sheila further noted, “In many respects, gene therapy is in its infancy with the possibilities only beginning to be realized. For that reason, we continue to invest in technologies and expansion that keep us several steps ahead of our peers, but at the same time, we want to see success for every player in the industry who can change the lives of those with genetic diseases.”

AskBio

Management

Sheila Mikhail
CEO and Co-Founder

Description

At Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio), we are making history with every clinical advancement and aspire to turn hope into cures by unraveling new possibilities for genetic medicine. We are headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, a thriving biotechnology hub with over 600 life science companies, and have research and development facilities in Edinburgh, Scotland, and manufacturing in San Sebastian, Spain.

Apex Logistics International Inc., was founded 2001 in Shanghai, China. The start focused on filling a void in needed airfreight capacity, from China to the USA, which was attractive to other freight forwarders who wanted to service its customers through a trusted co-load arrangement. This allowed Apex to expand across of China and connect to the USA, which then opened its American Headquarter in Los Angeles 2003. Over 15 year period, from 2003 to 2018, Apex launched its Ocean, Customs Brokerage, Domestic Trucking, Warehouse Distribution and Trade Services. In addition, Apex invested in Perishable Foods and e-Commerce business. Its charter division increased its operations to well over 500 flights per year. “We pride ourselves on attracting the best & brightest logistics talent in a global market in every facet of our technologically innovative client solutions.” says Elsie Qian, CEO Americas at Apex.

” Apex gained a leading position within the international transportation management of perishable commodities from the U.S. to Asia. “

Unlike many freight forwarders who simply rely on commercial flights as their air freight solution, Apex specializes in value creation by inserting specific and regularly scheduled charters so that its clients can have a stable year round solution. Apex operates over 500 air charters annually, including multiple weekly round trip flights between Wuhan and Chicago, Hong Kong and Chicago and just inaugurated weekly flights between Wuhan and Columbus OH (LCK). The Wuhan-Columbus charter is the first and only direct China to Columbus scheduled service that will increase speed and efficiency for its Asia customers. Apex is a market leader for transportation & Customs clearance of low value e-commerce packages. “We have perfected Customs clearance of low value e-commerce packages providing an end to end solution for e-commerce merchants and e-retailers.” adds Elsie.

The other unique offering from Apex is its specialty in Perishable Shipping. Apex gained a leading position within the international transportation management of perishable commodities from the U.S. to Asia. It is one of only few freight forwarders who has cold chain facilities in all US West Coast, including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The 24×7 operations manage the export of approximately 25,000 air freight metric tons and 500 ocean TEUs per year. All its temperature controlled facilities are TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) with a high-quality x-ray machine.

An example of Apex’s value creation occurred when a client, in the consumer electronics industry, introduced a new product during high peak season shipping. During October – November, traditional retail peak, the shipper found it hard to transport big volume in a short period out of Hong Kong, its regular export hub. Apex was able to ground transfer all cargo to its major gateway in Wuhan and utilized its dedicated charter solutions to successfully export most cargo to the final destination on time. As a young accelerating company, its system is built using cloud technology, allowing Apex to be nimble in aligning with each clients’ technology. Apex Group is heavily focused on how proposed trade regulations are developed & implemented by government agencies via their participation and membership in the CBP Trade Support Network (TSN), various Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) sub committees and international trade organizations.

As E-commerce has exploded for a revolutionary new way of customer fulfillment, Apex is perfectly positioned to maximize the transportation services and this new form of Customs clearance for low value merchandise direct to e-consumers. Next for the company is a focus on expanding in emerging markets and enhancing their trade lines. “When you service the top 25 largest companies in the world, you have confidence in your service and vision. We can’t wait for the next 10 years. Stay tuned.” says Elsie.

Kelly Tomblin’s 30-year history in the energy sector can be defined as driving innovation and transforming companies through initiatives that unleash the human spirit. The focus of the CEO of El Paso Electric is on culture and leadership and taking risks on nontraditional candidates. She says “it isn’t just what we do, but who we are, that drive creativity and success.” She works to create wholesome environments that facilitate authenticity and freedom and talks daily about finding meaning and purpose in the everyday work. She makes sure that El Paso Electric has a compelling Vision that inspires their teams and that they make sure their processes and systems are aligned with that Vison.

“Kelly has had many role models that were appropriate at different times in her career. The founder of INTREN, Loretta Rosenmayer, was a huge role model for Kelly – she always put service before self.”

Kelly as a steadfast leader at El Paso Electric has been inspiring and empowering women entrepreneurs across industries into becoming great leaders with technical know-how. Kelly has written a Guidebook – 100 Days of Doing Power Differently – that helps leaders activate their true power. She has also mentored countless women and helped them develop their own personal roadmaps. Kelly also models risk taking and courageous speaking and has moved to different companies and countries spreading her positivity and idealistic ideology. She bolsters technical know-how by promoting continuous learning and demonstrating how nontechnical women can grasp technical concepts and lead technical companies.

According to Kelly, the first thing that is required to catalyze sustainable change is to listen and understand where the company is now and what has led it to the current state. “While we can always make analogies, every company and situation is unique. We are focused on ESG now and a Unified Framework we believe will promote the next chapter of sustainable change,” she says. “It is always important to find your change agents who are ready to take past experiences – yours and theirs – and learn from it without feeling defensive.” The most important step in leading sustainable change is to build an excited and inspired leadership team, who will in turn help create and synergize that same inspiration throughout the company.

Kelly has had many role models that were appropriate at different times in her career. The founder of INTREN, Loretta Rosenmayer, was a huge role model for Kelly – she always put service before self. Bill Gates – knew when to move on to something else and the work of Simon Sinek always inspires her. Brene Brown and Elizabeth Lesser from Omega are also people she has learned from. These inspirations have shaped Kelly into the pioneering leader she is today leading El Paso Electric towards great heights.

For the days to come El Paso Electric is poised to change the Region’s Energy Landscape through a commitment to cleaner energy, implementation of storage technologies, the use and promotion of electric vehicles, and the movement to a smarter grid. “We are currently building a new efficient power plant to accommodate more renewables. On the customer side, we are working on enhancing the customer experience with more independence and service options,” explains Kelly. “Underneath all that energy transformation is greater information to our customers and to our partners that let them have the energy that fits their needs.” The world is demanding more authentic leaders and the workforce of the future will insist on work that is meaningful. For Kelly, inspiration will be declared to be the foundation for innovation and every leader will have to get comfortable taking more risk on each other. It is this nature of hers that has won her numerous awards and accolades including being named the S&P Platts Global CEO of the Year. “Gone are the days when “bosses” only rate their “subordinates.” Leaders will be “rated” by those they are honored to lead,” says Kelly. IE

El Paso Electric Company

Management

Kelly Tomblin
CEO of El Paso Electric Company

Description

Today, El Paso Electric is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately 384,000 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000 square mile area of the Rio Grande valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico. Its service territory extends from Hatch, New Mexico to Van Horn, Texas and includes two connections to Juarez, Mexico and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s national utility.

Tina Kuhn, President & CEO of CyberCore Technologies (CyberCore), has 35 years of leadership experience with a variety of customers including the Intelligence Community (IC) Agencies; Defense, state and local governments; and international customers (NATO, AUS, and the UK). Her broad areas of expertise include team transformation, strategy development and implementation, organizational transitions, financial improvements, management of profit and revenue, marketing, staffing, budgeting, mentoring, talent acquisition, cybersecurity, and personnel management. She has performed transitions of organizations from low performing to high performing, efficient teams.

“CyberCore specializes in Mission Services and Lifecycle Information Technology (IT) Solutions including the design, buy, build, integrate, test, deliver, installation, training, and maintenance of mission-critical products and systems.”

Named President and CEO of CyberCore in 2016, Tina has grown CyberCore by diversifying the business base and putting in place growth initiatives to extend its influence nationally. When Tina took over CyberCore, approximately 75% of the company was based on one large contract. She took a risk and changed the focus of the company to diversify the business base, both in work type and customer mix. She created and launched CyberCore’s first product, SecurStak—the world’s first off-the-shelf secure, scalable, and cloud-enabled data center built and delivered in 90 days using a certified, secure supply chain.

According to Tina, it’s important to give people a great working environment because happy and engaged employees work hard to uphold the company name, while providing customers the best service possible. Not only is Tina passionate about the work she does in the community, she also takes immense pride in her employees and the demanding work they do each and every day. Tina’s goal is “Making CyberCore the best place to work, getting us to the next level, and consistently thinking of ways to make our company better for our employees!”

CyberCore specializes in Mission Services and Lifecycle Information Technology (IT) Solutions including the design, buy, build, integrate, test, deliver, installation, training, and maintenance of mission-critical products and systems. CyberCore has unique qualifications to protect our customers’ IT supply chain from malicious and tainted products using supply chain risk assessments. CyberCore develops comprehensive risk assessments for the vendors, distributors, and transportation companies they use. CyberCore has procured over $2B in product for a confidential client. This client needed a standardized process for buying, building, delivering, and maintaining equipment, and CyberCore has aided the client in avoiding over $250M of cost by standardizing the devices and creating efficiencies in their processes.

Tina’s current big project with CyberCore is WindRose and its many supply chain threat assessment features. WindRose cuts through the complexity of global IT supply chain threats and vulnerabilities. WindRose provides a full spectrum analysis of all threat vectors. CyberCore’s WindRose follows a comprehensive supply chain focused analysis framework to mine, correlate, and analyze non-cooperative data across our 5 defined threat vectors including: Cyber Attack Surface; Hardware and Software Risk; Financial Risk; Regulatory and Legal History; and Nefarious Associations and Nation State Influences.

CyberCore’s WindRose was recently recognized by the Washington Technology and Defense Systems with a Government Innovation Award as a 2019 Industry Innovator. CyberCore was also listed as Maryland’s #2 Top Cyber Company in 2019 by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Tina has also made it her goal to develop future women leaders in her profession and community. She is a mentor to women in the government contracting community and supports their careers and business growth. She operates a Women in Government Contracting networking event for women of various stages and positions in their career to bring them together. She has been a mentor at the Women In Intelligence Group (WIIG) and has participated in mentoring panels.

As a beauty lover and innovator, Alice Chang identified a need and use for augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in the beauty arena as a way to improve the consumer shopping and product trial experience. She recognized how AR and AI technologies could be used to curb consumer pain points eliminating messy and unhygienic product swatching and replacing them with hyper-realistic virtual try-on experiences that rivaled the physical try-on. She also saw a place for beauty technology to integrate across all touchpoints including mobile, online, and in-store. The emergence of a future “Beauty Tech” category motivated her to be one of the first to launch into the space. Her goal was to develop and provide digital-first solutions to enhance the beauty shopping experience for beauty brands, retailers, and consumers alike. She founded Perfect Corp., the leading beauty tech solutions provider and developer of the award-winning YouCam suite of apps, on the basis of innovation and the intersection technology and beauty. With over 280 brand partners around the globe and 850 million app downloads, it is safe to say that was a game-changing and trailblazing vision.

“Perfect Corp.’s innovative beauty tech solutions combine AR + AI technologies to re-imagine the consumer beauty shopping journey through experiential virtual try-ons that drive conversion.”

As the CEO and founder of Perfect Corp., Alice is an innovator who leads by example. As consumer shopping behavior shifts to contactless, virtual try-on and beauty tech solutions are not only proving a fun and convenient way to shop for beauty, but are now essential to the success of businesses online and offline. Consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of try-before-they-buy shopping experiences, yet as global health concerns spike surrounding COVID-19, physical sampling is quickly being replaced by virtual try-ons. Digital try-on technology has become so accurate that consumers now rely on beauty tech as a way of making the most confident purchase decision possible.

Alice’s ‘Beauty 3.0’ vision is at the root of the unique brand and retail business solutions transforming the consumer beauty shopping experience through experiential product trials that drive conversion. Beauty 3.0 is the supercharged combination of hyper-realistic augmented reality (AR) and machine learning artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The combination of AI + AR unlock a whole new realm of personalized, beauty experiences, that not only show you true-to-life digital beauty trials, but also recommend specific products and styles based on your personal preferences and facial attributes. It’s this unique combination that elevates beauty tech from reactive to proactive. “This powerful technology is at the root of our Skincare Diagnostic which delivers an instant skincare analysis and products recommendations based on your skin health; as well as more integrated services like online Beauty Advisor 1-on-1, which re-imagines the beauty counter experience through an on-demand virtual beauty consultation through your mobile phone,” says Alice. “It’s also the tech that drives our AI foundation shaded finder technology, matching users with their best foundation shade match, and the soon to launch AI Beauty Assistant which helps to recommend styles based on your preferences and attributes.” This powerful beauty tech continues to transform the way consumers shop for beauty, creating more personalized and fulfilling experiences online and offline.

For instance, Neutrogena—a renowned American brand of skin care, hair care and cosmetics—have pioneered the skin tech category with the relaunch of their Skin360 app (powered by YouCam skin tech). The technology eliminated the barrier to entry posed by the need for secondary devices required by their first iteration. This newly relaunched experience delivers a seamless mobile skin analysis for a personalized branded skincare diagnostic directly through a user’s phone.

For the days to come, Skin Tech is a top priority for Alice’s next phase of development. With advancements in AI technologies and mobile camera lens tech, she is just breaking the surface of how technology can be used to benefit the consumer skin health journey. “We have recently expanded our skin health tracking metrics to include 8 common skin conditions including spots, wrinkles, texture, dark circles, hydration, oiliness, redness, and acne,” adds Alice. “With continued advancements in skin health and skin condition tracking, technology can help to match us with personalized skin regimens based on our individual skincare needs and preferences, further building on the personalized, consumer-centric journey across this new AI-powered category.” IE

Perfect Corp

Management

Alice Chang
CEO and founder of Perfect Corp

Description

Perfect Corp. is the world’s leading beauty tech solutions provider transforming the industry by marrying the highest level of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology for a re-imagined consumer shopping experience.

As an 18+ year veteran in the senior living and advertising industries, Jessica is a people person and has had the opportunity to partner with many brilliant and innovative minds and has led many dynamic teams. Yet, this opportunity was different from those in her past.

Jessica’s role with LifeStar Living is the EVP, Sales and Marketing, and the LifeStar Creative, Division President. “For the first time, I’m not simply a consultant sharing best practices and recommendations on what to implement,” she says. “Instead, I am blessed daily with the opportunity to engage with the residents and members we serve at our active living and healthcare communities and to know the work that I’m doing is enhancing their lives.”

The steadfast leader’s passion for this industry is fueled by resident and member stories of family and life achievements, their smiles, and over all gratitude for service to them. This interaction and energy drive Jessica’s passion for innovation and creativity as the Division President of LifeStar Creative. “We are each making a positive difference every single day. We are committed, hardworking, innovative, genuine and trustworthy. We remain confident, yet humble and we have an unquenchable thirst to succeed and evolve.”

“I feel it is important to lead by example. I approach each day with an energy and excitement that is contagious to others.

Jessica currently leads a predominantly female team, and there are a few key principles she reminds them of often; she states:

• We do not have a finger-pointing culture, instead we assume the best of intentions and seek understanding to help lift each other up.

• We have a “fail forward” approach – there will be times we fall, and when we do, we will do so as a team. We identify our missteps and opportunities for learning so we aren’t afraid to try new things and continue to grow and evolve.

• If we are comfortable, we aren’t doing it right – she is constantly pushing her team to think differently, challenge the norm, and reflect on their buying and purchasing decisions and what impacts them daily. If we sit in a comfortable place, we aren’t growing. It is important for us all to be stretched and it is essential in my role as their leader to identify opportunities for growth and to support them on their journey.

I possess a can-do attitude, and this optimism helps the team get through even the hard moments with a solution-oriented mindset,” says Jessica about how she is inspiring people toward becoming great leaders.

“I meet with my team regularly to discuss goals for their career and to further explore their passions.” These can be areas they have expertise in or new areas they’d like to explore. We work together to identify opportunities to pursue and further learning that aligns with their passions. As a female, it’s important to express your dreams and goals because if you aren’t an advocate for your future and success, who will be.

Jessica feels every leader needs to be empathetic. “I was once denied a CEO/President role of an organization because I was told I “feel too much.” That as a CEO it was best to limit the personal relationships with your team because they often interfered with business decisions,” she explains. “I disagreed with the statement, feeling as though people were not widgets and in order to have a strong, engaged team, with a purpose and drive to remain engaged, there has to be personal connections. The team has to feel valued, connected, challenged and also enjoy the individuals they work with daily.”

These relationships certainly can’t get in the way of decisions, but with strong relationships in place and transparency with the team, each business decision has a greater understanding. WL

Laura Owl is the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer for First Nation Procurement Inc. She brings tremendous knowledge with over 22 years of experience in management positions, working with companies and First Nations government and administrations. In 2018 Laura graduated from the prestigious Queens University with her Masters In Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Since graduating, Laura has used her education to do brilliant transformations and has been extremely successful in working with First Nations and companies to implement quality management systems into their operations and has successfully worked with many First Nations and companies to implement ISO 9001 certification.

When Laura began her career in 1999, she was still very young. “Initially, I felt the need to get the work done, learn from others, and often failed to recognize the strengths I was bringing to the companies I worked for,” she says. “Recognizing this, I had to make changes around the work I was doing and most importantly, how I viewed myself and the contributions I was making.” But the most significant barriers Laura has faced as a female leader have been that often the work she was doing was being overshadowed by her male counterparts, and her work never seemed to be fully recognized.

“Looking back, I see both experiences as game changers for me because it helped to build my confidence. Over time, I became more vocal, asked more questions, learned more about the work we were doing and slowly began to build my confidence and in many ways shaped how I conduct business practices of today,” elucidates Laura. “Now I see it as a blessing in disguise because in learning about processes and people, organizational behaviours and transformatory change, it forced me to look at my own work experiences and have since taken on a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to managing people and companies.”

As an indigenous female Chief Operating Officer, Laura is a huge advocate and support system to female business owners trying hard to establish themselves. She understands the challenges of owning and starting a business and how important it is to be surrounded by supportive people. “In supporting female business owners, I have made myself available for reviews of proposals and other pertinent documentation, participated and coordinated workshops around entrepreneurship, networked on behalf of female owned businesses, and have provided ongoing support as they become operational.”

Going forward, Laura says she would love to see more female entrepreneurs emerge, which is an area she would like to continue to focus on. “Additionally, it’s an area I would like to see incorporated into First Nation Procurement Inc.”

Laura has unique talents when it comes to working with people in any workplace, and she is often revered for her abilities to inspire and empower team members. Through ongoing encouragement, mentorship, and confidence-building in the people she works with, Laura is proud that she has and will continue to work with and inspire our great leaders of tomorrow.

As Laura enters her new position as the Chief Operating Officer with First Nation Procurement Inc., she has already identified plans to incorporate internships and employee engagement. She sees First Nation Procurement Inc. as a leader in creating opportunities for Indigenous people everywhere and will be focusing more efforts in this area because we need more leaders!

“While I have gained tremendous experience and developed my skills over the last 22 plus some years, I am remiss to say I have found success. One because traditionally success has been based on two things, objective and subjective success,” she adds. “If I could give any advice for success, I’d say that understanding yourself as a person, and the unique qualities you can bring to any table will set you apart from others. But more importantly, understanding, appreciating, and validating your employees are where the true success happens because people who feel appreciated will do more.”

As Laura enters this new position, employee engagement and satisfaction will be key in understanding how they can drive improvements and opportunities for First Nation Procurements Inc. She has learned a lot of leadership lessons that are unique to being a female leader, but the one that stands out the most can listen to others and make connections with personnel. She sees this as a vital leadership lesson because it builds relationships and promotes an inclusive workplace that gets work done. WL

Fashion for Patrizia Lazzaro, Vice President Global E-commerce, Guess, is a way of being and expressing personality. “If we look at Guess, the Brand is the expression of being sexy, young and adventurous. If we look at Marciano, the Brand is the expression of elegance and sophistication. Fashion is such a fascinating world, with the capability to externalize and show how we feel inside to anyone around us.”

Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes, and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear, and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of January 29, 2022, the Company directly operated 1,068 retail stores in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Company’s partners and distributors operated 563 additional retail stores worldwide. As of January 29, 2022, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide.

Guess’s main strength and creative force are definitely the people, the Guess Family. All the people working in Guess are the engine of the Brand and the Company, starting from Guess’ founders, Paul and Maurice Marciano.

Being in Guess since 2008, Patrizia had the chance and the fortune to be part of several phases of the Company’s transformation, the most visionary one starting in 2019 when Paul Marciano, together with the Global CEO Carlos Alberini, set the strategy for a combination of Brand elevation, product innovation and redesign, digitalization, online boost, and operational flows improvements, investing a lot of time and energy to make all this happen very quickly. Their vision was embraced by the Company as a whole, supporting them with strong commitment and dedication. GUESS was able, under their direction, to elevate the Guess and Marciano brands, develop collections with excellent and fashionable products, redefine the Company’s global e-commerce strategy, and drive efficiencies across the business, delivering meaningful results.

“We can say that the strategy identified and set at the beginning of 2019 was really an extraordinary vision which helped the Company to navigate through Covid-19 during 2020,” says Patrizia. “Even during the pandemic, while many companies decided to reduce or stop investments, Guess continued investing in digital and online, strongly believing in the potential of the Brand and the capability of the Guess team to be able to navigate through this together with success.”

All the above reflects some of the Guess Rules that Paul Marciano has been stating since the Company was founded: Courage, Get Things Done, Be a good teammate; combined with some of his Personal Values, which Patrizia strongly believes in: Belief, Hope, Never Give up and Trust.

According to Patrizia being a woman is a strength: creativity, imagination, organization, empathy, the capacity of thinking outside the box and being multitasking are excellent. “We must have courage, as Paul Marciano always says, trust in ourselves, hope and never give up until we see our dreams coming true,” she adds. “The key is always looking for a place where women are put at the same level of men, where people are evaluated based on soft, hard skills and results, nothing else.”

For the steadfast leader, the best way to empower team members into becoming great leaders of tomorrow is by projecting self-confidence in them, allowing them to appreciate and develop all their strengths, and work on improving their weaknesses, never forgetting their roots (another Paul Marciano’s Personal Value) keeping a level of humility that engender trust.

“I was entrusted by Paul Marciano to run the e-commerce business and his trust gave me the confidence and strength to do my best. This is the kind of environment I want to recreate in my team.” Good leaders are the ones who work with the team and are not on top of the team. Consequently, a leader must be a good teammate, respect and evaluate everybody’s opinion and contribution, and be open to discussion and explanations. She/He has to be assertive yet flexible, with great communications skills. “Last, but not least, our teams are learning by example, so if we are good leaders, they will learn from us.”

For Patrizia, the future holds limitless possibilities, and she wants to keep on developing e-commerce and omnichannel business and scaling it more and more, being always on top of the best-in-class technology and processes; deeply customer-centric, consistently performing the function of a customer champion and fully understanding their motivations and behaviors. WL

Kristie Bender-Carey is the creative driving force behind Bender-Carey Capital’s programs and services. Determined to bring each project to life and a successful close, she is driven to earn a high level of client retention and customer loyalty. Vital to a consistently growing company, Bender-Carey Capital, LLC focuses on providing an optimal level of service for each client while constantly striving to satisfy customers at a higher rate than the industry average. Their goal is to serve as a performance-proven leader in the financial industry. Through the pillars of excellence, distinction, transparency, trust, and honesty, they aim to satisfy their responsibility to their clientele.

As an eager stockbroker for Searson American Express, Kristie entered her career field as an aspiring entrepreneur with a vision for scaling a portion of the capital market. After selling her company, her efforts led her to become the bank president for Midland States Bank. Although a majority of headstrong men surrounded her, Kristie’s mindset was to learn from a challenging environment, be the first at the table, and the last to leave the room.

While the leading force of men has traditionally dominated the financial realm, the “glass ceiling” was something Kristie intended to shatter. “I watched as women in every industry grew stronger, smarter and applied themselves to transform both regulated industries and outdated stereotypes. I considered myself among the ranks of these influential members and I persisted towards taking my spot among the male-dominated ranks of being a female financial leader.”

From someone who has learned first-hand the challenges of beginning a career in a highly regulated industry, Kristie prioritizes offering her insights to female business owners everywhere. “As women in business, we stand stronger together when we combine our learnings and experiences to make better-informed decisions,” she says. “Strategically speaking, if you’ve got a wealth of knowledge that others can learn from, you should feel encouraged to position yourself as a strong influence that can shift the status quo.” Her foundational piece of advice is that failure is inevitable, “You learn from it, but how you get back up and the choices you make after will determine who you will be. Learn from your industry leaders and don’t allow your vision to be compromised by small setbacks.”

Motivating young entrepreneurs, Kristie adds, “go for it and put yourself out there. Your passion is your “why.” Be good at it, and better yet, be the best at it. So often, I come across individuals who can explain what their role is, but struggle to explain why they do it.” Based on the Golden Circle theory, great leaders understand their value proposition, which is how they truly differentiate themselves from others. “As I promote continued education to encourage others to stay on top of new advances in cutting-edge technology, I also strive to educate others on the importance of communicating your “why.” In combination with giving back to the community that supports you, there’s a humbling feeling from being able to learn, do, and teach others.” Armed with a unique mindset, Kristie has taken the company to great heights.

As the financial industry continues to experience disruptions from the modern digital transformation, Kristie and her team will continue scaling operational growth. They envision providing industry-leading capital and cutting-edge products and services. Setting the industry standards exceeding client expectations is their number one priority. “From a personal standpoint, the future is highly opportunistic as more female business owners begin to realize their potential. I’m enthusiastic about being able to contribute my knowledge to help others grow in both a professional and individual manner.”

The company’s mission is to be the nation’s premier commercial real estate middle-market lender by leveraging its deep expertise, robust network of relationships, and the latest technology. Bender-Carey Capital builds long-term client relationships with a results-oriented approach, producing innovative solutions swiftly and efficiently. Kristie and her real estate finance professionals provide creative and tailored solutions for complex financial transactions. Real estate owners needing immediate access to flexible capital can rely on Bender-Carey Capitals’ nationwide lending solutions to ensure success. They seek investment opportunities with economic upside and sound fundamentals, allowing real estate owners to acquire, refinance, or enhance distressed and non-distressed properties.

Bender-Carey Capital actively pursues financing opportunities for commercial real estate assets, including multifamily, industrial, office, hospitality, medical, and retail. Bender-Carey Capital provides solutions during all phases of an assets life cycle, including predevelopment, construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, lease-up and stabilization loans. WL

Fashion for Patrizia Lazzaro, Vice President Global E-commerce, Guess, is a way of being and expressing personality. “If we look at Guess, the Brand is the expression of being sexy, young and adventurous. If we look at Marciano, the Brand is the expression of elegance and sophistication. Fashion is such a fascinating world, with the capability to externalize and show how we feel inside to anyone around us.”

Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes, and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear, and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of January 29, 2022, the Company directly operated 1,068 retail stores in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Company’s partners and distributors operated 563 additional retail stores worldwide. As of January 29, 2022, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide.

Guess’s main strength and creative force are definitely the people, the Guess Family. All the people working in Guess are the engine of the Brand and the Company, starting from Guess’ founders, Paul and Maurice Marciano.

Being in Guess since 2008, Patrizia had the chance and the fortune to be part of several phases of the Company’s transformation, the most visionary one starting in 2019 when Paul Marciano, together with the Global CEO Carlos Alberini, set the strategy for a combination of Brand elevation, product innovation and redesign, digitalization, online boost, and operational flows improvements, investing a lot of time and energy to make all this happen very quickly. Their vision was embraced by the Company as a whole, supporting them with strong commitment and dedication. GUESS was able, under their direction, to elevate the Guess and Marciano brands, develop collections with excellent and fashionable products, redefine the Company’s global e-commerce strategy, and drive efficiencies across the business, delivering meaningful results.

“We can say that the strategy identified and set at the beginning of 2019 was really an extraordinary vision which helped the Company to navigate through Covid-19 during 2020,” says Patrizia. “Even during the pandemic, while many companies decided to reduce or stop investments, Guess continued investing in digital and online, strongly believing in the potential of the Brand and the capability of the Guess team to be able to navigate through this together with success.”

All the above reflects some of the Guess Rules that Paul Marciano has been stating since the Company was founded: Courage, Get Things Done, Be a good teammate; combined with some of his Personal Values, which Patrizia strongly believes in: Belief, Hope, Never Give up and Trust.

According to Patrizia being a woman is a strength: creativity, imagination, organization, empathy, the capacity of thinking outside the box and being multitasking are excellent. “We must have courage, as Paul Marciano always says, trust in ourselves, hope and never give up until we see our dreams coming true,” she adds. “The key is always looking for a place where women are put at the same level of men, where people are evaluated based on soft, hard skills and results, nothing else.”

For the steadfast leader, the best way to empower team members into becoming great leaders of tomorrow is by projecting self-confidence in them, allowing them to appreciate and develop all their strengths, and work on improving their weaknesses, never forgetting their roots (another Paul Marciano’s Personal Value) keeping a level of humility that engender trust.

“I was entrusted by Paul Marciano to run the e-commerce business and his trust gave me the confidence and strength to do my best. This is the kind of environment I want to recreate in my team.” Good leaders are the ones who work with the team and are not on top of the team. Consequently, a leader must be a good teammate, respect and evaluate everybody’s opinion and contribution, and be open to discussion and explanations. She/He has to be assertive yet flexible, with great communications skills. “Last, but not least, our teams are learning by example, so if we are good leaders, they will learn from us.”

For Patrizia, the future holds limitless possibilities, and she wants to keep on developing e-commerce and omnichannel business and scaling it more and more, being always on top of the best-in-class technology and processes; deeply customer-centric, consistently performing the function of a customer champion and fully understanding their motivations and behaviors. WL