Top 20 Businesswoman Leading the Charge of Successful Business in 2021_compressed

VOL 03 I ISSUE 05 I 2021

Understanding

Leadership

Avid Leaders Who

Have Taken Their

Businesses to the

New Heights

TOP

BUSINESSWOMEN

LEADING THE

CHARGE OF SUCCESSFUL

BUSINESS IN

2021

FEATURING

Rhonda

Vetere

Enabling Profound Business

Outcomes Through Technology

Editor’s Desk

Bringing Down

the Male-

Dominated

Walls

e cannot ignore the fact that the male-

Wdominated industry still exists in the majority of

leadership roles. And, women are often ignored

and taken less seriously in the workplace. Today to be an

efficient leader, women need to stay in contact with industry

experts and be updated with the ongoing technological

needs. Due to the versatile needs of the industry, it is crucial

to take time in adapting to these changes to change the

above-mentioned situation.

Women hold the power to drive change in the world. They

always feel the intend to bring positivity and impact the

business for good. Keeping an environment of supportive

people helps women in business to overcome this

challenge. Having a healthy and a team of believers is also

very important, it helps the leaders to be confident in their

decisions and working. Breaking the pattern by spending

time with family and friends makes the leaders more

creative and energetic. Technology is the future and has

already become a part of our lives. As a leader woman

should never miss this opportunity of entering the field of

innovation.

Women have their own ways of leading the team, they tend

to be more responsible and always lead with empathy.

Soon, in the industry, all the versatile roles will be

represented by women. So, it becomes necessary to be

ready and keep the desire to lead all the sectors of the

industry. Women in business are always ready for

opportunities and challenges coming their way. They are

aware that their role in society and the business is for a

higher purpose. With their leadership and experience, they

can guide other women and the team to build their careers.

Today, women are role-models for other women leaders in

business and other sectors. There are so many success

stories around the world of women successful in

leading and making their mark in the world.

Expanding the knowledge and keeping an everlearning

mindset will help one to grow in the

business. These businesswomen are trying their best

to bring change in the world. On other hand, we as a

society should support diversion-inclusion and

should not be gender biased in the workforce. It is

only if we as a male-dominated workforce keep a

bigger aspect and have wider thinking of promoting

the women in all the strata of the field that will bring

the change at a greater aspect.

Driving these business outcomes globally Insights

Success features such passionate businesswomen, in

its upcoming edition of Top 20 Businesswomen

Leading the Charge of Successful Business in

2021. Featuring this edition is the Cover Story of

Rhonda Vetere - a passionate leader who believes in

giving back in and out of the office. She is the

Executive Vice President and Chief Information

Officer of Herbalife Nutrition. Rhonda is a 2x

author and an avid sports fan. Her latest book is titled

Grit & Grind where one can learn about her

leadership style.

Sourabh More

sourabh@insightssuccess.com

Lastly, while flipping through the pages make sure to

read the CXO standpoints by the industry experts

and the creative articles written by our in-house

editorials.

Let’s begin the journey!

COVER STORY

10

Rhonda

Vetere

Enabling Profound Business

Outcomes Through Technology

ARTICLE

28

Understanding

Leadership

Avid Leaders Who Have Taken Their

Businesses to the New Heights

40

Effective

Workforce

Leveraging the Right

Talent in the Company

18 22 32

36 44 48

C O N T E N T S

18

Dr. Kerstin

Oberprieler

One of the World's Leading

Figures in Behavioural Science

22

Irene

Froehlich

Making an Impact

on Healthcare

32

Kim

Vogel

A Dynamic Business

Executive

36

Marina

Tognetti

Innovative Tech

Entrepreneur

44

Rachel

Andalaft

An Entrepreneur at

the Heart

48

Rebecca

Harrop

Leading the Multiple Role:

Parent, Educator and

Inspirational Tech Professional

Editor-in-Chief

Sumita Sarkar

Managing Editor

Anish Miller

Executive Editor

Sourabh More

Assistant Editors

Jenny Fernandes

Visualizer

David King

Art & Design Director

Asha Bange

Associate Designer

Kushagra Gupta

Co-designer

Kartik Balapurkar

Senior Sales Manager

Kshitij S

Business Development Manager

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

John Matthew

Sales Executives

David, Martin, Sagar

Technical Head

Jacob Smile

Business Development Executives

Steve, Joe, Aidan, Binay

Technical Specialist

Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager

Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive

Amol Wadekar

Research Analyst

Frank Adams

Circulation Manager

Database Management Technology Consultant

Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com

March, 2021

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Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

Featured Person

Amber Manning

CEO

Company Name

Just Cuts Franchising

justcuts.com

Brief

Just CutsTM was founded on one simple idea – that people

want quality style haircuts from a qualified Stylist, at an

affordable price.

Bahar Schmidt

CEO

Eluxit

eluxit.com

Eluxit is an online platform where you can purchase high-end

trips from trusted, vetted travel agents or travelers who are

reselling their non-refundable travel packages.

Carolina Winterliv

Deputy CEO

Card Group

cardgroup.com

Card Group International is a world's leading greeting card and

gift products franchise.

Caroline Gudin

General Manager France

Coty

cotyinc.com

Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with an

iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics,

and skin and body care.

Chiara Pensato

CMO

Cutover

cutover.com

Cutover is the leader in Work Orchestration and Observability,

enabling teams to plan, orchestrate, and analyze complex work

faster, smarter, and with greater visibility.

Christine Beckwith

President & COO

Vision for Success

Coaching and

Consulting

visionyoursuccess.net

As the visionary behind 20 / 20 Vision for Success, Christine

brings her personal and professional philosophy into the firm.

Dr. Kerstin Oberprieler

Co-Founder & Chief

Executive Officer

PentaQuest

pentaquest.io

PentaQuest works with clients to address organisational

cultural and performance challenges through the application of

of sophisticated, intuitive, and elegant product and services.

Gilan El Saadawi

Chief Medical Officer

Irene Froehlich

Chief Communications

Officer

Realyze Intelligence

realyzeintelligence.com

DrFirst

drfirst.com

Realyze Intelligence is backed by one of the largest integrated

health systems in the nation – UPMC. At UPMC, Realyze is

being used for improving patient care, extending analytic

capabilities, and supporting clinical research.

DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and

consulting services that securely connect people at every

touchpoint of care to improve patient outcomes.

Ivanka Janssen

SVP Global Integrated

Supply Chain

Philips

philips.com

Philips India Limited is a subsidiary of Royal Philips of the

Netherlands, a leading health technology company focused on

improving people’s health and enabling better outcomes across

the health continuum

Company Name

Kim Vogel

Director Board

of Directors

Featured Person

TriCo BancShares

tcbk.com

Brief

Tri Counties Bank provides a unique brand of Service With

Solutions® offering a breadth of personal, small business and

commercial banking services to communities throughout

Northern and Central California.

Marina Tognetti

Founder/ CEO

mYngle

myngle.com

mYngle is the pioneer of online language lessons.

Namrita Khandelwal

Founder

Vertara

vertara.net

Vertara is a California based design and fashion accessories

start-up, founded for empowered women, to empower women.

Rachel Andalaft

CEO

Mangifera Analytics &

REA Consult

rea-consult.com

REA Consult comprises of Management and Consulting

professionals committed to building bridges for international

sustainable investments.

Rebecca Harrop

Senior Lecturer in C

ybersecurity

University of

Bedfordshire

beds.ac.uk

University of Bedfordshire is an internationally recognised and

award winning institution with a heritage of quality education

going back more than 100 years.

Regina Lowrie

President & CEO

Dytrix

dytrix.com

Dytrix supports the critical risk management requirement of

Knowing Your Counterparty (KYC).

Rhonda Vetere Executive

Vice President and

Chief Information Officer

Herbalife Nutrition

herbalife.com

Herbalife Nutrition is a global nutrition company.

Sharon Parsons

Associate Director Product

Design/Development

Humana

humana.com

Humana's cultural foundation is aligned to helping members

achieve their best health by delivering personalized, simplified,

whole-person healthcare experiences.

Sherry Graziano

Head of Digital Commerce

Truist

truist.com

SunTrust and BB&T have combined in a historic merger of

equals to create Truist, the sixth largest U.S. bank holding

company.

Zahara Malik

CEO & Co-Founder

Grosvenor Capital

grocap.co

Grosvenor Capital (“GroCap”) headquartered in the UAE, is an

independent business services company.

Rhonda

Vetere

Enabling Profound Business Outcomes

Through Technology

“

Opening up, being transparent, listening,

learning, holding folks accountable with data

and putting myself in others’ shoes. Leading

from every chair on the Team.

“

COVER STORY

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented, winwin,

innovative, decisive, and practical solutions

from business leaders. Driving business outcomes

of an organization is not an easy task. It requires prolific

expertise, comprehension of global business trends,

optimum utilization of technology and the teams or

resources in hand, and so much more. Possessing the

passion to lead, an urge to contribute and servant leadership

are important attributes found within successful business

leaders.

Rhonda Vetere is one such a passionate leader who

believes in giving back in and out of the office. Servant

leadership is in her heart and she enjoys investing on

people’s career and seeing them grow. She is the Executive

Vice President and Chief Information Officer of

Herbalife Nutrition.

Rhonda is a 2x author and is an avid sports fan. Her latest

book is titled Grit & Grind where one can learn about her

leadership style. She is a triathlete, and she was quoted in

Shape Magazine, “Racing is my outlet, it’s not about

competing with others – I’m finding joy.” She is a true

corporate athlete as well. She aims to truly inspire change

and growth within the organizations and people around her.

Purposeful and Conscious

Rhonda’s journey started when she was a little girl with big

dreams and she has worked since the age of 12 while going

to school and this continued while in college working full

time and going to school full time.

From being a lifeguard to working in telecommunications

and across a plethora of industry verticals in her career, she

has always been very purposeful in the areas that she

worked and made conscious career moves and always ran

into the fire to help during crisis management business

times whether it was 9/11, AIG “too big to fail,” Lehman

Brothers collapsing or a financial merger/acquisition(s).

A True Corporate Athlete

Rhonda continues to pursue challenging athletic

achievements because she finds that the training increases

her mental toughness alongside keeping her physically

healthy and helping her to make better decisions.

Over the years, she has completed over 60 half and full

marathons, triathlons, and have completed six 70.3mile

IronMans. Even though she travels 75% of the time, fitness

is an important part of her routine and something she

encourages her team at work to maintain as well. She

strongly believes in being a Corporate Athlete in and out of

the Board Room.

Mission Driven

Rhonda’s goal has always been to be a well-rounded

executive and work with all the industry verticals with

multiple organizational transformations driving business

outcomes. Managing through crises and intense moments

throughout her career has enabled her to pick up nuggets in

what works and what does not, on a global scale.

Rhonda’s mission is to use her experience and leadership to

drive change in the world. She wants to positively impact

IT, businesses, and institutions – and the people they serve.

Prioritizing Learning

Rhonda believes in learning from her industry peers and

thus stays in contact with them regularly. She considers it

important to learn and stay updated about what is going on

in the world and different industry verticals. “The latest and

greatest shiny object in technology often is not the best

answer and taking time to learn is important,” Rhonda

adds.

Evolving Business Solutions

Herbalife Nutrition is a global company that has been

changing people’s lives with great nutrition products and a

proven business opportunity for its independent distributors

since 1980.

Herbalife’s offerings depend on various industry verticals it

caters to, however bottom line is the world has changed

immensely over the year and business offerings will

continue to evolve with the targeted audience whether it is

online, mobile or even more high touch service and having

technology help enable business outcomes even more while

using data insights.

Herbalife offers high-quality, science-backed products, sold

in over 90 countries by entrepreneurial distributors who

Rhonda Vetere,

Executive Vice President

and Chief Information

Ofcer,

Herbalife Nutrition

COVER STORY

provide one-on-one coaching and a supportive community

that inspires their customers to embrace a healthier, more

active lifestyle. Through Herbalife Nutrition’s global

campaign to eradicate hunger, it is committed to bringing

nutrition and education to communities around the world.

Global Emotional Intelligence

Rhonda believes that communication, managing

organizations through change, taking risks and leadership

are key qualities businesswomen should possess. She

considers managing through diverse industry background

and global expertise as pivotal. She prioritizes receptivity,

adaptability, dealing with conflict, and having crucial

conversations.

Mobility is at her forefront – thinking outside of the USA

and having global emotional intelligence is important

according to Rhonda. She likes to take up hard assignments

around the globe.

With over 25+ years of experience and having managed IT

divisions of over 20k+ people across multiple continents,

Rhonda has lived and worked all over the globe with people

from a variety of culture and has managed up to 162

countries, she considers ‘global’ to be her middle name.

Empowering Women through Example

Rhonda’s work energy is focused on digital transformation

and working on developing talent, focused on the next

generation of leaders, succession planning and continuing

to enable business outcomes through technology.

Her plan for the next significant impact on the world

includes two large events: Race Across America, this is a

bike race across America in June 2021 to bring awareness

towards Veterans and those suffering from PTSD in silence.

This Team is made up of industry leaders, Military

personnel, Olympic athletes and more. This race will be

3,070 miles across America. In October 2021, her impact is

focused on running across the Serengeti for young girls’

empowerment through sports and education. This is a 55-

mile run for woman empowerment with armed guards and

doing career fair with them as well.

Breaking through Barriers

Rhonda expresses that being one of the youngest female-

Managing Directors in the financial sector was a barrier for

her breakthrough, and with a proven track record, showing

results and measuring them with the support of male

leaders, she overcame it. She is willing to go to the ends of

the earth to get things done correctly and efficiently

alongside my team.

Servant Leadership

Rhonda believes that nothing is very perfectly balanced.

One of her mottos’ is when you say “no” to something you

are saying “yes” to something else. She learned later in her

career that servant leadership is a priority and needs to be

balanced in the calendar. Everything is scheduled in her life

– often a year in advance. She appreciates opportunities to

speak to students and contribute to professional and

academic advisory boards.

Valuing the Role of a Mentor

Rhonda believes that social media is a distraction for

aspiring leaders, and she suggests to guard against it. She

considers that the next generation of female leaders need to

focus on business outcomes and not get tied into the social

media vortex. She emphasizes on the fact that instant

gratification in one’s career does not happen overnight.

Rhonda considers it important to find a strong role model

and a mentor who has a proven track record. She advises

young leaders to have courage, speak up, take risks, take

hard assignments outside of the US and find a mentor.

&

20

The

Most

SUCCESSFUL

BUSINESSWOMEN

to Watch, 2020

kimberly Khoury

Paving her Way in Sustainability Development

18 | March 2021 www.insightssuccess.com

Top 20 Businesswomen Leading the Charge of Successful Business in 2021

Dr. KERSTIN

OBERPRIELER

One of the World's Leading Figures in Behavioural Science

ot afraid of stepping up and always ready for

Nopportunities - Dr. Kerstin Oberprieler helps,

organizations and employees thrive by unlocking

employee motivation using cutting-edge behavioral science

& gamification. She is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive

Officer at PentaQuest.

An interview conducted between Dr. Kerstin Oberprieler

and Insights Success shows her genuine desire to serve the

clients, PentaQuest, & the world. Below are the highlights

of the interview:

Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a

proficient business leader.

I started PentaQuest with the idea of making work more

fun. My background is in psychology and commerce and I

always had people comment that this was an odd

combination. My response was always “Really? People and

business are the most logical combination in the world”.

Outside of my career I have also represented Australia in

Taekwondo and was always search for ways to hack my

own performance and motivation. So when I came across

the concept of gamification in 2013, it was like a light bulb

went off in my head. I started applying gamification to my

colleagues at the time and became fascinated by this

methodology for bringing about behaviour change in the

workplace. I also began my Ph.D. in workplace

gamification.

It wasn’t long before I had requests from clients to help

them apply this same approach to improve their workplace

experience, and so PentaQuest began.

We now serve clients all over the world, delivering

consulting on gamification and behavioural science as well

as having a Software as a Service platform to give the

power of game mechanics to our clients to help them help

their organisations to thrive.

As a female leader, what has been the most significant

barrier in your career? And how did you overcome it?

One barrier I’ve experienced is being taken less seriously

than my male counterparts. This is incredibly frustrating.

I’ve had male leaders of similar experience to me be

condescending and assume that I know less than they do,

purely because I am a woman. I find other women do not

have this bias upfront.

To overcome this, I surround myself with other women

leaders, especially those whose businesses are bigger, older

or better than mine. I also surround myself with men and

women who believe in me and my business, so that my

circle is fully supportive of me and my endeavours.

Life’s too short to surround yourself with people who block

or hinder you.

How do you balance work and life responsibilities?

It’s easy for your business to take over your whole life

because you are so passionate about it. But it’s important to

understand that work is one part of life and that other areas

need to be cared for in order for work to do well. I’ve come

to appreciate just how important rest is to fuel my energies

for work.

www.insightssuccess.com

March 2021 | 19

Some of the strategies I use include having a set finish time

for work (sometimes hard with international meetings), a

strict rule of no work on Saturdays, and giving plenty of

time to my martial arts practice. I find that when I take a

break from work to focus on exercise, friends and family,

and relaxation, that I come to work with more energy and

creativity.

How do you diversify the company’s offerings to entice

the target audience?

PentaQuest is at the leading edge of organisational cultural

transformation through intuitive and engaging products and

gamification services. We have quickly realized that the

typical manifestation of gamification falls far short of its

potential; companies that are offering gamification products

build these around simple competitions and gimmicks and

have missed the opportunity to build solutions that leverage

big data, social and behavioural sciences, and psychology,

all in a seamless user interface design. Through the

integration of these disciplines, PentaQuest is able to offer

customers unique capabilities and solutions that engage

their employees and shift the culture towards one of high

performance based on innovation, strategic focus, and

agency, and enjoyment.

How do you cope up with capricious technological

trends to boost your personal growth?

Technology is part of modern life and will only become

more ubiquitous. As the leader of a technology-based

business, I embrace new technologies and like to explore

their potential for increasing human potential and higherperforming

workplaces.

What are the vital traits that every business women

should possess?

like women (stereotypically more caring and emotive). This

dichotomy is untrue and harmful of course. But the truth is

that women are still underrepresented in business

leadership. And this is especially so in start ups and

technology business.

So vital traits for business leaders include a clear vision,

determination and grit to achieve this, and a genuine desire

to serve your clients, your team, and the world.

Where are you focusing your energy right now, and

where do you hope to make an impact next?

PentaQuest grew rapidly in 2020 due to the increased

recognition and need to engage staff remotely, and do so in

a human, appreciative and even fun way. So, our focus

currently is on continuing with this momentum. We have a

well-established client base in Australia and the government

sector, and our focus is to grow our reach to ensure that we

support more businesses, and help their teams thrive.

What would be the biggest challenge for the next

generation of women and how can one be a strong role

model for them?

I see so many amazing young women entering the

workforce. My hope is that some of the barriers women

face are fading and the next generation does not need to

deal with these as much. A truly equal workplace may take

a few years or decades yet, unfortunately.

Gender aside, I see the biggest challenge for the next

generation (as well as existing ones) to be that of climate

change. Climate change is the biggest challenge facing us

all and it will affect generations to come.

It’s often debated whether women leaders should act more

like men (stereotypically ruthless and objective) or more


“ Be PASSIONATE

about making a

DIFFERENCE -

DELIGHT the

world!

“

Dr. Kerstin Oberprieler,

Co-Founder &

Chief Executive Officer,

PentaQuest


March 2021 | 21

Irene Froehlich,

Chief Communications

Ofcer, DrFirst



Irene

Froehlich

Making an Impact on Healthcare

Hospitals and physician practices strive to provide

the highest quality of patient care in a fast-paced,

high-pressure environment. By ensuring healthcare

providers have access to other clinicians and information

they need when they need it, Irene Froehlich, Chief

Communications Officer at DrFirst, is uniquely

positioned to help them deliver.

In an interview with Irene Froehlich and Insights Success,

we learn about Irene’s journey as a leader in healthcare and

discover how DrFirst closes the gaps between information

and people so that all sectors in healthcare can create better

outcomes together. Below are the highlights of the

interview:

Please take us through your journey of becoming a

skilled business leader.

When I started my career, my mentor told me to always be

on the lookout for opportunities to solve real problems. He

also told me to look for the strengths in people, not to focus

on their weaknesses. And lastly, to give people the benefit

of the doubt, not to assume malicious intent. Those three

principles have been instrumental in helping me over the

last 21 years working at DrFirst. My responsibilities have

spanned sales, account management, talent acquisition,

corporate culture, marketing, and public relations. Through

the years, my teams have executed a wide variety of

initiatives that have helped bring in top-notch staff, shape

the company’s culture, develop strategies, and established

DrFirst’s brand and reputation.

Steve Jobs had a saying, “A players hire A players, but B

players hire C players, and C players hire D players. The

trickledown effect causes bozo explosions in companies.”

When it comes to building successful teams, I am a firm

believer in bringing in talented people who are better than

yourself in their individual areas of expertise and

empowering them to be proactive, creative, and take

personal responsibility for achieving results.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s important to be able to identify

problems, but many leaders stop there. Good leaders must

be prepared to roll up their sleeves and help solve problems.

Your team respects you more when you are willing to be

part of shouldering the burden, and you are focused on

finding solutions. Doing so also gives you real world

perspective that helps when you look at the bigger picture

and make critical decisions. One thing to note, you won’t

always make the right call, but you have to have confidence

in owning your choices. Be honest when you’re wrong,

learn from your mistakes, and be real with your team. They

will be more willing to take chances, to admit fault, and

grow when they see that it’s OK to “fail fast.” At DrFirst,

we try to convey to our teams that if you have a difficult

choice to make, you will always be supported in your

decision if what you’re doing is morally and ethically right

and is in the best interest of our customers.

Lastly, when you work in a company as innovative and

entrepreneurial as DrFirst, you often find yourself operating

at breakneck speed. Everyone is passionate, driven, and

smart, and sometimes in that type of environment lots of

plates are spinning at the same time. It’s easy to feel

overwhelmed, slighted, and overlooked if you allow

yourself to have that perspective. But, if you give people

the benefit of the doubt and assume the best in others, you’ll

find that we are often aligned in goals, and there’s no reason

for hurt feelings or animosity. Approaching others with that

mindset allows you not to be defensive and inquire from a

place of seeking to understand rather than to accuse. If

something feels out of place or uncomfortable, don’t fall

into the trap of the “Fundamental Attribution Error,”

thinking the other person has a bad attitude or is

intentionally malicious or trying to hurt you or cause


March 2021 | 23

If you can’t explain it

simply, you don’t

understand it well

enough.

-Albert Einstein

frustration. The more insight and empathy I have, the more

trust and goodwill I can have, allowing for a swifter

resolution of issues or difficulties.

How do you cope with fast-changing technological


Being better today than yesterday is an important part of the

DrFirst culture. Being a wife, mom, and career woman, I

am always looking for ways to grow personally and

professionally. There are only so many hours in a day, and I

try not to waste it doing things that are meaningless. For

example, I don’t watch TV or read fictional books because

they prevent me from investing time into my family, my

community, or learning.

Very early in my career, when I was right out of college, I

read that the world’s most successful business people read

three developmental books every month. So, I set a

personal goal to do that. When I was younger, I read these

books the way that the average person reads. Most people

read every page word for word, but the strategy for fitting in

so many books a month is to start by reading a summary of

the book to understand the most important salient

takeaways. Then you skim or speed read through the whole

book and ask yourself whether you need a deeper dive into

the material. If so, then you read it again from cover to

cover. If not, then move on to the next book.



The most significant barrier I faced early in my career had

more to do with my age and maturity than being a woman. I

have always been one of the youngest managers at DrFirst,

and in my youth I had a bit of an attitude and a tendency

toward demanding things be done rather than reaching

agreement through persuasion and collaboration. I assumed

people weren’t taking my ideas seriously because they

thought I was young and inexperienced. Eventually, I

learned that it’s far more powerful to ask questions and lead

people to reach the same conclusion rather than telling them

what to think. As they say, “You can lead a horse to water,

but you can’t make it drink.” By asking thoughtful and

learning questions, with a goal of seeking to understand,

you have a greater chance to influence and let people own

their ideas.

Despite what some might think, expressing vulnerability

and asking for help, clarification, or input can be a sign of

strength and confidence, not weakness. The right questions

are signals of trust — and they can inspire people to trust

you in return. For example, rather than telling your team

about a new opportunity you've identified, ask them, "Do

you see a game-changing opportunity that could create

much more value than we’ve delivered in the past?" A big

yet simple question like this can inspire a burst of

collaboration and creativity across the organization. And if

you consistently demonstrate a question-first mindset,

you’ll help establish an overall culture of curiosity and

learning that will keep your team innovating and

responding to challenges effectively.

I’ll also admit that I had a fiery temper in my youth —and it

certainly didn’t win me any support with the leadership

team. I’ve learned that when you start getting upset, people

get defensive and stop listening, and after a few burns, trust

is lost and is hard to regain. So I’m very intentional about

trying to understand other people’s perspectives, why

decisions are made, what the backstory is, monitoring my

One of the ways I use technology is to passively learn while

I’m doing other things. These days, my free time is limited,

so I subscribe to a book service that provides book ratings

and summaries. I also have switched to listening to Audible

books. This allows me to fit in a workout for my brain and

my body, or close my eyes and relax after a long day.

Typically, I will speed up the pace of the reader, and then

stop and go back when it’s something interesting I want to

listen to more closely.


the information they need when they need it, so they can

provide the best possible patient care. This is more

important now than ever as every corner of the healthcare

industry is immersed in meeting the many challenges of the

coronavirus pandemic.

We are introducing new products and services, including

SM

our Healthiverse Enterprise Suite that allows clients to

achieve better outcomes through the power of synergy than

with separate, stand-alone solutions. One example is

TM

iPrescribe , a free prescription app, which replaces the

doctor’s paper prescription pad. Another is Backline

Telehealth, which allows healthcare staff to securely

communicate with each other, the EMS team, and patients.

We also have products for pharmacists, pharmaceutical

companies, payers, and patients. It’s a galaxy of

information that we are pulling together to create

efficiencies and better patient care.

tone, slowing down my speech, and presenting my thoughts

calmly. Sometimes I fail, and I ask my teams to hold me

accountable so that I can be aware of opportunities to be

better.


I think it’s especially easy for women to fall into the trap of

trying to be perfect (the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the

perfect friend, the perfect employee) and feeling guilty

when they fall short. I used to feel guilty about being hyperfocused

on work rather than being a good cook or spending

time cleaning my house. Guilt about these things is a

useless emotion that can get in the way of personal and

professional growth. I learned to embrace that I can choose

the things I want to excel at and find ways to compensate

for things I don’t enjoy doing. For example, I hired a

housekeeper because, frankly, it’s cheaper than marriage

counseling, and I’d rather spend my time outside of work

relaxing and having quality time with my friends and

family. I also have my groceries delivered because I’d

rather spend $99 a year to have delivery than have to spend

my time searching for things at the store. I’m fortunate to

have a husband who partners with me to run the house and

a daughter who is responsible and also manages her own

chores.

Where are you focusing your energy right now?

th

Last year, I led a rebranding for DrFirst as part of our 20

anniversary, including coining a new word: the

TM

Healthiverse , representing all the stakeholders in the

interconnected healthcare universe. Today, I’m focused on

our efforts to “Unite the Healthiverse” with new technology

products that give healthcare providers and organizations

Of course, the hardships of the pandemic have also affected

our staff. They are inspired to be able to make an impact on

the heroes on the frontlines and have shown tremendous

energy and commitment to DrFirst and our clients. We are

focused on helping DrFirst find new ways to keep our

talented staff engaged and in sync, as so many of us are

working at home and facing unique distractions and

challenges, such as feelings of isolation, working from our

living rooms, and helping children with virtual e-learning.

What advice would you give to the next generation of

women leaders?

There was a time when I didn’t like the term “women

leaders” because I felt that there shouldn’t be a designation.

A leader was a leader. But the truth is that there are real

barriers women face in the journey to leadership. It is

important to share lessons learned with women to create a

chain of successful women in leadership positions. My

advice to women is to not dampen your ambition and to use

your influence to build up and support equality in the

workplace. Integrate your life experiences and leadership

philosophies and use them as a guiding compass. Learn

how to collaborate, empower others, and build real

connections in both your personal and professional lives.

Be driven by a higher purpose, not just collecting a

paycheck or doing enough to get by. Have confidence in

yourself, don’t second guess your decisions. And lastly,

have a grateful heart. Thinking positively, looking for

opportunities to be thankful, and counting your blessings

gives you the mental fortitude and the right attitude to be

strong for yourself, your family, and your team.

For the last 21 years, DrFirst has taken bold steps to disrupt

healthcare with innovation. It has been my privilege to be

part of this team—working together to make a difference in

improving collaboration, make clinical information

accessible, and "Uniting the Healthiverse."


March 2021 | 25

AVID LEADERS Who

BUSINESSES to


Understanding Leadership

o have taken their

the NEW HEIGHTS

Are the words business and enterprise the same? By

the same logic, are businessmen and entrepreneurs,

the same?

In reality it could be as different as a river and an ocean.

Both after all are waterbodies with marine-life which are

important for life’s existence the way we know it. That is

precisely the point where the similarity ends. One has a

flow (never an ebb!), is pliant for most parts, and has water

than can be consumed. The other ebbs and flows, remains

unpredictable for most parts, and cannot be consumed due

to its brackishness.

A business and an enterprise too are the same. They are

meant to provide something to a desired audience against

money. And people strive to keep it that way. Where things

go apart is with respect to an ideology, and the need to

bring about change. Businesses are set ideas that make

money with existing or defined ideas. Entrepreneurships

typically test ideas for their worth, and where found useful,

can bring immense changes.

We present to you four entrepreneur-businessmen who

while changing the world have given the world of business

one central idea. That it makes sense to be different!

Larry Page

Larry Page, short for Lawrence Edward Page is an

American computer scientist and entrepreneur. He and

Sergey Brin were instrumental in creating Google, the most

admired of online search engines, and today also one of the

most popular of websites that provide a range of services

from online payment to everything that an individual may

require to work and perform better. Incidentally, the word

Google is a misspelling of the word "googol" i.e. the

number 1 followed by 100. But today it doesn’t make sense

as Google has gone way beyond 1s and 100s. It reaches

practically every individual on the planet and affects just as

many.

Exactly what did Page do? He built an algorithm to link the

backlink of webpages to an index. Through this index, one

could visit all the attached backlinked websites either

directly or through further links. Today, this index called

Google connects to practically every website and is thus a

motherlode of information.

Google brought Page a significant amount of wealth which

according to Forbes recently is in the range of USD 89.7

billion, making him the 8th-wealthiest person in the world!

Google wasn’t his only magnum-opus. Together with

Sergey Brin, Larry authored a research document called

"The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search

Engine", which is said to be one of the most downloaded

scientific documents ever!

Mark Zuckerberg

The creator of Facebook had all the signs of being a geek

right from early on. He loved computers and programming

so much that his parents arranged for a private tutor! In

some time, the tutor became the taught! It developed to the

stage where he left college in 2004 to pursue his new

creation which later became Facebook. Right then it over a

million users. Speaking of creativity, he developed a

messaging platform in BASIC called ‘Zucknet’ at just 12

which was used by his dentist-father! Facebook had

companies including AOL and Microsoft lining up to buy it

but Mark had other interests. His one-time colleagues

accused him of stealing their idea which went to court. He

fought the same and came out unscathed.

With time Facebook grew in size and capacities so much so

that a decade back, he was the Time Mag’s ‘Person of the

Year’ in 2010 besides Vanity Fair placing him at # 1 in their

list of New Establishment! Year 2013 saw FB register on

the list of Fortune 500 for the first time! Mark all of 28, was

the youngest CEO on the list!


March 2021 | 29

As far back as October 2019, FB's daily active user based

averaged 1.62 billion- a YOY increase of close to 10%. His

current worth as on 31 Jan 2020 was USD 78 billion! A

geek with a big heart, he has signed the 'Giving Pledge'

under which he shall donate a minimum of 50% of his networth

to philanthropy. It’s rumoured that his earnings by the

end of March 2021 could be over USD 100 billion which

th

effectively may make him the 5 richest person in the

world!

Elon Musk

The disrupter who is tearing apart every business idea that

we know of was himself bullied in school. Retreating into

his shell, he sure has come up with ways to bring down the

biggest and baddest of them all.

The co-founder of PayPal (PYPL) and Tesla Motors

(TSLA), founder of SpaceX, and the Boring Company is

doing things the way no-one ever has. Besides thinking

seriously different, he does things as differently, right from

being very ethical at work to working as many as 80 to 120

hours per week with a laser-like sharpness to his vision and

focus. His net-worth as per the Bloomberg Billionaires

Index, is as on Jan 26, 2021 an astounding USD 209 billion

making him the richest person in the world.

A badly bullied child in school, he found respite in

technology and as early as 10, managed to create a piece of

software which he sold locally for a princely sum of USD

500.00! He later moved to Canada, and then the US to

complete his education. A Bachelor of Science in Physics

and another in Economics from Wharton School saw Musk

take to physics as a career. Another one of the ‘leave

education half-way thru’ billionair-entrepreneurs and techgeek,

Musk quit his PhD in applied physics from Stanford

University- in just two days to immerse himself into the

ocean of disruptive entrepreneurship that was unfolding

around him in Silicon Valley! It resulted in the birth of Zip2

that was eventually taken over by AltaVista, reputed search

engine till the early 2000s. Then came X.com which later

morphed as PayPal which was bought by eMay for a

whopping USD 1.5 billion! Next came the jewel in his

crown, Tesla in the year 2004 of which he is the CEO and

main Architect, and which today is the world’s most

popular car brand that threatens all there is in the name of

automobiles! Wanting to go beyond Earth, Musk founded

SpaceX and is quite close to both NASA and USAF when it

comes to designing projectiles and things for the military.

If there’s one thing certain about this man, it is that he

questions everything and every order. And unlike others,

comes up with viable alternatives!

These aren’t the only folks changing the world of business

and the world overall. There are others too. It’s just that

these are among those who have brought unimaginable

changes. In subsequent days, we shall feature more like

them in this space.

Reed Hastings

Reed Hastings, a student of math from Brunswick in Maine

in the US is a Graduate which he did in 1983. He later

served the US Army for a brief period and coming back to

the US went to Stanford for a Master’s degree in computer

science. Beginning 1988, Hastings changed tracks and

became a software developer who went on to found Pure

Software (later the Pure Atria Corp) the one he sold in 1997

for an astronomical sum.

A chance encounter led to the birth of Netflix in its original

avatar in the year 1997. He was charged a huge sum as late

fee for having held back a rented video-cassette. With CDs

and DVDs making a debut, he came up with the idea of

delivering the same by courier and this led to the birth of

Netflix in California in 1997 in its original mail-order

avatar. It first started with DVDs on rent for a week which

subsequently became an unlimited scheme for which lists

could be registered on Netflix’s website.

In time, Hastings partnered with movie studios and

aggressively marketed Netflix’s catalogue that had

practically everything for everyone from films to

documentaries to indies. While this was all going on,

Hastings also launched streaming services that permitted

viewers to accesses movies and TV shoes by downloading

the same on to their gadgets. The year 2011 shall be

remembered for Hastings bad decisions including the

splitting up of Netflix despite which Hastings was

instrumental in Netflix getting into content meant

exclusively for streaming with “House of Cards” in 2013

being the first in the series. In time, streaming services

became so successful that it became synonymous with the

word Netflix leading them into full-length feature films.

These aren’t by any means the only entrepreneurs. There

are others like them and we shall only see more in the

future, some of whom we shall keep featuring in our

articles.




Kim Vogel

A Dynamic Business Executive

Life is not about a perfect plan. No one gets

everything they want and in difficult times it is

important not to give up, but instead, have

faith that you will end up where you are meant to be.

While it is helpful to set goals, life will inevitably

throw curveballs your way. Kim Vogel is the Board

Director at TriCounties Bancshares and former

President and Co-Founder of BaseVenture. Kim

shares how the unexpected lead her on the most

fulfilling career trajectory and to building several

game-changing technology companies.

A Serial Technology Entrepreneur

As a child, Kim Vogel would never have guessed that

technology would lead her to her life-long career.

Kim’s venture into entrepreneurship and innovation

began in the late 1990s as the CFO of Semaphore

Partners, one of the first digital marketing agencies.

Kim was one of the original members of the executive

team that grew the business to become a global

powerhouse with clients like General Motors, Orbitz,

and more. Shortly thereafter Kim joined some of her

team members at mFoundry.

As many start ups do, mFoundry pivoted its business

model until it found its niche in building one of the

first mobile banking software platforms and selling its

service to some of the largest financial institutions in

the world. Kim was one of mFoundry’s initial

executives as she and her team gave birth to mobile

banking and other original payment technologies. This

innovative company helped to redefine the way that

people bank by introducing the then-crazy notion of

banking on a mobile device. mFoundry was the first

company to submit a mobile banking app to the Apple

App Store and one of the earliest to introduce the

ability to deposit a check via a mobile device. Kim

served as CFO of mFoundry for almost a decade,

which grew to become the largest provider in North

America and was later sold to FIS (NYSE: FIS).

Shortly thereafter Kim and her colleague John Pizzi

co-founded Base Venture and started to build out their

next amazing team.

BaseVenture is an innovative force in the alternative

investment and wealth management industries. It is a

cloud-based software company that develops

innovative solutions in the areas of financial reporting,

data visualization, and process management. The

enterprise’s award-winning platform,

“FundManager.io”, helps organizations simplify and

automate how private funds are administered and

managed. By providing users with data intelligence,

reporting, workflow management, and document

storage, “FundManager.io” radically simplifies the

process of fund management and provides a platform

that is intelligent, scalable, affordable, and secure.

It’s All About the Team

The best part of Kim Vogel’s journey has been the

chance to build and nurture great teams. Building

great companies is a team sport and it is not

something one can do very successfully by themself.

Kim constantly tries to create her own, ‘dream team’.

From Behind a Desk to a Seat at the Big Table -

The Board Room

At Harvard Business School, perhaps the most soughtafter

job for Kim was that of a Wall Street investment

banker. While attending, it was hard not to get caught

up in the competitive, fierce, and glamorized portrayal


March 2021 | 33

Kim Vogel

Former President &

Co-Founder

BaseVenture,

Currently Public

Board Member

TriCo BancShares


Expect the

Unexpected

““

of life in banking. But that was just the beginning.

Without realizing it, Kim’s MBA, technology

background, and finance/audit skills, and time serving

as a c-suite executive were solidifying the skills

needed to be a successful board member. What began

as a sparked interest in a business school class quickly

evolved into figuring out Kim’s passion and expertise

as a board director. “I would have never imagined my

years in public accounting as an auditor, work on Wall

Street and operational experience as an executive

were some of the exact skills boards look for,” said

Kim.

It is an unparalleled opportunity to grow as a person

and businesswoman. Kim Vogel’s career progressed

and she became the Chief Financial Officer of several

companies. Each of these companies had a board of

directors, and as CFO, she worked closely with the

board on a regular basis. Kim enjoyed the different

dynamics of the board members, each contributing

something unique to growing our company.

An Experienced Leader Rooted in Mentorship

After graduation, Kim Vogel headed to an investment

bank where she gained invaluable business experience

and, perhaps most importantly, learned to navigate the

crazy hours and become an even harder worker. All in

all, Kim found her path, reached her highest career

goal, and realized her greater purpose – using her

experiences to provide others with guidance on their

own career path.

Kim Vogel makes her personal mission to provide

mentorship to career-minded young girls. She loves to

coach driven young girls and share her three most

important lessons that she learned in navigating her

own career. First, never underestimate the power of

education. Second, find your niche. Third, stay true to

your roots, remember where you started, and above all

else, have faith in your journey.

Transformation Continues to Higher Eduction

Kim Vogel’s key to success is to stay open-minded,

focusing on opening new doors and creating as many

opportunities for herself as possible. She is currently

focused on two primary areas – first and foremost to

make a difference in the world. Kim is channeling her

efforts in higher education as this was the gamechanger

in her career. As a first-generation college

student, the impact of her education has been the root

of her success. She is working intensely to ensure

others have this same opportunity as a former adjunct

professor and most currently as a board trustee for

Saint Mary’s College.

Second, Kim is focused on continuing her

professional career objectives through public board

work. Kim is so drawn to this work as the perfect

trifecta of where she is professionally wanting to

maximize impact, coach others, and still be

challenged.


March 2021 | 35

Marina Tognetti,

Founder and CEO,

mYngle



Marina Tognetti

Innovative Tech Entrepreneur

hange is all around us. Markets keep changing as a

Cresult of fast-paced advancement in technology.

This influences the way business is conducted, for

consumers as well as for companies. This means that to be

successful one must be able to adapt and shift the

perspective, focusing on customer-oriented strategies. But

‘CHANGE is GOOD’ as it forces improvements and

continuous developments. As a business leader, Marina

Tognetti does not think that she needs to be an expert in

everything, but that she should instead understand the

implications of current trends and dynamics, and how

these can impact the company, its customers, the value

chain.

In this era of challenging technologic evolution, the vital

traits of a business woman are similar to that of an

innovative entrepreneur. She must have a strong vision, to

set the direction and anticipate and navigate challenges,

but at the same time be flexible and able to adapt. She

must not be afraid of taking (calculated) risks, in order to

anticipate trends and steer the company in turbulent

waters, building an organization that is agile to respond to

this fast-paced environment. Marina Tognetti is one such

leading tech entrepreneur, Founder of myngle.com, but

the passion for entrepreneurship came later on in her

career.

When Marina graduated from University it was an era

when entrepreneurship was not very common for

academics. She built first a successful career by large

multinationals, Procter & Gamble, Philips, Sara Lee, The

Boston Consulting Group and eBay; living and working

in different Countries, and got an MBA from INSEAD. It

was when working as consultant on a project on internet

strategy that she first saw the potential of internet to

disrupt entire industries and change forever the way one

buys/sells/interacts. She wanted to be part of that!

Delivering Successful Online Training

When mYngle started, it was pioneering, amongst the first

to provide one-to-one teaching of all languages over the

internet. Now COVID has completely changed the world

as everyone knows it, causing major disruption to many

businesses. While many of the traditional offline players

have been challenged by this sudden shift, mYngle was

already in the ‘right place’, leveraging many years of

experience and proven capabilities to deliver successful

online training.

That is where mYngle can make an impact, keeping

ahead in this digital transformation by constantly

innovating and pursuing the best possible quality and

results, educating the market on the difference between

improvised solutions and years of expertise. Online

learning will be an intrinsic part of the new normal, and

mYngle is a part of it.

Leveraging New Technologies

mYngle nurtures an obsession for customer satisfaction,

and this is also one of its key strengths. It looks to

continuously improve its service. It does so by constantly

listening to users’ feedback and improving accordingly, as

well as leveraging new technologies at its advantage. This

is also reflected in mYngle's internal evaluation systems and

how it assesses its job. It constantly monitors its users’

reactions and tries to adjust accordingly, using adapted

versions of NPS (Net Promoter Score), which defines that

only excellence counts. Its average lessons’ scores are

4.8/5.0.

Quality Global Online School

During challenging times, mYngle listened to its customers,

and they gave the new direction, from an open marketplace

to a quality global online school, from B2C to B2B. The

key to success was accepting that change was needed and

not being afraid to question assumptions, truly listening to

its customers.

Prioritizing being Happy and Balanced

Marina knows that the 80 hours’ week cannot hold

forever. That is what many entrepreneurs do, especially at

the beginning or when they go through difficult periods.

But she learned that it is especially in periods of

challenges that one has to find the energy and motivation

to keep on pushing forward. To keep the balance, she

mixes time for mYngle with lots of sports and time for


March 2021 | 37

‘‘

Confidence

comes not

from always

being right,

but from

not fearing

to be wrong.

herself. She knows that being happy and in balance gives

her company the right leader able to drive it in the most

difficult situations.

Exhibiting a Genuine Picture

Marina aims to be a role model for other women in tech,

but an accessible one, trying to give a genuine picture of

what it takes to be an entrepreneur, the ups and downs that

everyone has but only few actually want to share.

Looking Within for Answers

Probably the most important advice Marina gives to an

aspiring entrepreneur is to stop comparing. She says that

the stories one reads about the few that ‘’got it all’’ are

rare exceptions and often not the full truth. She advises to

let that go of that and to let go of trying to imitate types of

leadership one sees around but which doesn't reflect

oneself, and be really true to oneself. She advises future

women entrepreneurs to not look around for answers, but

to look inside.



Effective Workforce

LEVERAGING THE

RIGH TALENT

IN THE COMPANY

People have always been the greatest asset of a

company. Talent Wars will define the winners and

losers in the next decade. If companies only stick to

traditional talent strategies, they’ll lose. After many years as

a corporate leader, I founded WrightNow Solutions 4 years

ago focused on unlocking the future potential of people and

companies enabling rapid growth and success. With that

success and growth comes a need to develop a strategic

plan for talent acquisition, including the importance of

retaining and developing talent. Organizations must have a

talent strategy that delivers on key business objectives and

positively impacts their staff.

This article will exhibit the strategic use of talent and how

to leverage them for maximum influence as it builds a thrust

behind business growth. But first, let’s discuss the

difference between upskilling and reskilling as these two

processes are important in talent development to build a

stronger, more resilient workforce.

Upskilling focuses on learning additional skills or

enhancing existing abilities. Employees are provided

training to learn new skills to advance or improve their

current performance.

Alternatively, reskilling focuses on learning a new set of

skills to enter a different occupation or career path. It is

really helpful in situations where jobs become obsolete due

to technology advancement, outsourcing, or automation,

and it becomes necessary to train loyal employees for new

roles in emerging fields of specialization. Organizations

will win when they prepare their people for “the digital

enterprise”.

Career Development at all Levels

Successful implementation of talent development strategies

depends on the involvement of stakeholders across the

organization. For more strategic, proactive talent decisions

across the organization, career development should be

considered for employees at all levels. Perhaps your

company can create a program to train and move high

potential warehouse workers to the corporate supply chain

org. Maybe your company provides an internal technology

certification program to prepare high potential customer

service reps or other hourly workers to be promoted to the

corporate technology function.

Equally as important is leadership cultivation. It seems to

be a struggle to find and retain top talent. Raising the

emotional and digital IQ of employees is one big step

towards creating a culture where people want to work and

grow. People in leadership roles require consistent learning,

growing, and developing. Digital leaders will need to

master the art of influencing and have the personal power to

really make an impact.

Companies that want to maximize their employees’

professional growth have worked with us to customize their

learning experience to develop visionaries and trailblazers.

Why do Companies Choose to Upskill/Reskill?

In coming years, new roles are expected to be introduced

because of technology advancements, and to remain

competitive, the company must show a strategic response to

changing skill demands.

When considering internal career development vs. new

external talent, a recent study shows that “33% of departing

employee's salary is spent on recruitment efforts and 66% is

spent on the intangible cost of lost productivity and

knowledge. Upskilling/Reskilling costs less than $10,000

per employee.” While there is definitely a need to procure

external talent to gain an outside-in approach to new

innovation at times, there’s a strong business case to invest

in developing internal talent.


March 2021 | 41

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Personal Development Plans: Understanding the

knowledge, skills, and personal traits of each employee

is required to identify specialized skills, competencies,

and interest.

Identify Future Needs: Identifying the capabilities in

existing employees and required skills to meet future

demand.

Credentialing Program: Increase morale and

credibility by offering industry-recognized certifications.

Match Skills to Needs: Place the right talent in the right

roles.

Who should be selected for Upskilling/Reskilling?

Choosing the right employees for the right

upskilling/reskilling talent development programs ensure a

career path for the employee. Also, it increases the

engagement and retention of the employee. With

WrightNow Solutions vast experience in orchestrating

talent development programs, we find these items are key:

Companies that upskill/reskill their workforce have reaped

benefits including, but not limited to:

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Deeper understanding of the company's needs and its

stakeholders

Employee morale boost

Improved employee retention

Increased Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Increased ROI

Upskilling/Reskilling acts as a valuable asset that enables

companies to be responsive to new technological solutions

and innovative business practices.

How to Establish Progressive Talent Development

Programs

Talent development programs are designed to address the

skill gap based on a competency-based approach. These

programs are aimed to evaluate and assess each role's

specific skills and understand the need for skill

development of employees for their new roles. The

following are considered when creating a culture of career

development:

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

The Right Participants: Include people that have an

interest, are motivated, display grit, manage time well,

have learning agility, and possess other characteristics

that are important for your organization.

Experiential Learning: Sessions are designed such that

participants are introduced to real-world situations to

convey learning principles.

Provocative Topics: Growth in mindset and habits are

changed when there is a strong interest from the

learners.

About the Talent Development Firm, WrightNow

Solutions

We, at WrightNow Solutions, provide a purpose-driven

talent strategy that helps organizations attract, equip,

develop, and retain the key talent thriving companies need.

If you’re running an organization and want to win the war

on talent, establishing or enhancing the ability to navigate

through career pathways within the organization is

essential. As talent development improves, business

performance and its ability to meet changing requirements

improve. WrightNow Solutions is here to create unique and

sustainable talent strategies and deliver experiences to

elevate people and companies to their next level of success.

Let’s build this future success Wright Now.




RACHEL

ANDALAFT

An Entrepreneur at the Heart

t’s all about exercising self-reliance and self-motivation

Iin every step of career to climb the ladder of success,

believes Rachel Andalaft, the CEO of Mangifera

Analytics and REA Consult.

Rachel is an engineer and certified finance professional. She

has over a decade of experience in renewable energy

investments. Born in Brazil and based in Germany, she is

dedicated to enabling investments in the renewable energy

sector. She founded REA Consult in 2016, a management

and consulting company working with energy investors. In

response to the company’s success and the exciting reform

taking place in Brazil’s energy sector, Rachel founded

Mangifera Analytics to serve the investment community

with accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information on this

blossoming market.

In an interview with Insights Success, Rachel sheds light on

how she is heading Mangifera Analytics to offer actionable

market intelligence on the Brazilian energy sector.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a

proficient business leader.

During the first decade of my career, I was blessed with

business opportunities that allowed me to expand my

horizons and understand the complexities of international

businesses. However, there was always a voice in my head

telling me that “I could do more”.

Over time this voice grew to a realization that I can do

more, and that slight shift in perspective changed

everything. Not only did I begin to trust in myself, but I

also felt a duty to do more and a duty to motivate the people

around me. I try to motivate everyone I work with to not

compromise when striving for excellence by growing more

aware of themselves, their abilities, and their ambitions.

How do you diversify the company’s offerings to entice

the target audience?

I believe in constant adaptation towards more sustainable

businesses. While this certainly includes sustainability in

the context of social and environmental responsibility, my

view of sustainability in business is much broader. I strive

for sustainable business excellence every day, be it for a

construction company or a bank, by relying on strong

structuring and long-lasting solutions.

What are the vital traits that every business women

should possess?

Self-awareness is the most important characteristic anyone

should cultivate in business. The traditional corporate

structures and communication culture, which used to focus

on feedback as the main inspiration for personal growth, no

longer exist today. Instead, self-awareness has become

paramount to maintaining the edge between oneself and

others, thereby having faith in yourself is crucial.



I have never been more focused on bridging responsible

and profitable investments in the energy sector. As

developed markets mature and emerging markets follow

suit, the challenges of governance and compliance for

sustainable investments have only grown more important.


March 2021 | 45

my personal life. I attempt to keep the habits that count

towards my quality of life, however and wherever they

arise, but I also don’t give up on the habits that bring me

enjoyment.



model for them?

Inclusion and diversification in business had been

increasingly promoted through more networking, more

empathy, and more exposure to “the other”. The events of

2020 have brought about a much-needed acknowledgment

of remote working models, for example, meaning we now

face a new cycle where we will have to rely on our “virtualselves”

much more than before.

The definition and management of this virtual-self will

require a range of soft-skills, that are relatively new to the

business world. Therefore, the openness to see beyond the

virtual-other will now play a bigger role in promoting

diversified talents.

There is nothing more impactful than transferring the

expertise and lessons learned you have learned to your next

opportunity.

A great example is my latest business venture Mangifera

Analytics, a business I launched in late-2020. Mangifera

Analytics is a platform dedicated entirely to mitigating

investors’ reservations and fears about approaching a

vibrant but often challenging emerging market. In this case,

we are talking about the renewable energy sector in Brazil.



Female professionals still face very little diversification in

the business landscape, it is not just a lack of

representativity. As an individual, you want to expand your

connections and learn from as many experiences as

possible.

On one hand, I think that my personal intercultural

background, living between Europe and South America, has

made me aware of and helped me appreciate the vast range

of perspectives the world holds. On the other hand, I

actively and intentionally promote diversification and

inclusion within my own businesses.


I compromise on the “how” but not on the “what”. I have

learned to value flexibility both in business activities and in



There is an overwhelming offer on new stuff every day,

whether you are wasting time by not adopting a new form

of email integration or if your friends are split between

different messaging apps. For technology, the 1950s is prehistory

but even in 2021, I find the Eisenhower Decision

Matrix from that decade continues to prove helpful. Focus

on what is important and don’t dwell when you need to

move on to the (real) next best thing.

“

There is no such

thing as a silver

bullet. Everything

counts.

“


Rachel Andalaft,

CEO,

Mangifera Analytics

& REA Consult


March 2021 | 47

Rebecca Harrop,

Senior Lecturer,

Cybersecurity



Rebecca Harrop

Leading the Multiple Role: Parent,

Educator and Inspirational

Tech Professional

“

Be yourselves. Fearlessly. When (when, not if) you

mess up – own it. It is not a big deal. Don’t agonise

over it or overthink it. Own it, learn from it, let it

go, move on,” says Rebecca Harrop. She has been a key

educator in the UK for more than twenty years; teaching

thousands of people computing skills. She is currently

Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity at the University of

Bedfordshire, Associate Lecturer in Computer

Networking and a Study Advisor with the Open University,

Cisco Networking Academy Manager and – not so long

ago – recipient of ‘Role Model of the Year’ in the Women in

IT Excellence Awards.

In an interview with Insights Success, Rebecca shares her

insights over modern security trends and its changing

aspects, leadership and most importantly how women are

making their way in tech world.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Your opinion as an experienced educator, how have

things changed over the years in Network Security?

I have been doing ‘Cybersecurity’ since back when it was

simply ‘Network Security’. Now it is about twenty different

specialisations and the world is crying out for everyone, and

anyone, capable. Now is a very good time to pursue a

career in IT, Networking and Cybersecurity. There is

something for everyone in these careers – risk assessment,

business management, information security; it is no longer

just technical roles.

I have been a further and higher-level educator for nearly

25 years now, teaching thousands of people of all ages, all

abilities, all backgrounds.


March 2021 | 49

I think this prehistoric vision of the middle-aged white

geek-guy with pens in his top-pocket can still put people off

pursuing careers in Technology. There are still traces of that

stereotype but now there is plenty of room for anyone that

is qualified.

What are the vital traits that every businesswoman

should possess?

I think fearlessness and to realise that making ‘mistakes’ is

how we learn. Not to be frightened of making fools of

ourselves – a little – and to be immediately suspicious of

anyone who calls themselves an ‘expert’. Anyone who

professes to be ‘an expert’ in anything has usually both

underestimated the complexity of the issues and

overestimated their own abilities.

When working in a predominantly male dominated

profession, women also need tenacity and self-confidence;

sharp-wits and a sharp-wit can also help.



Interestingly, overcoming the COVID challenges has paved

a way for new teaching and learning practices. My

experience in remote teaching with the Open University

helped me to efficiently move all my lectures and practical

classes online, so I just buckled up and ran with it; and so,

did the students. We have some valuable teaching insights

that should be built upon when we return to a new normal.

These instances of remote working in a changing landscape

make it globally important that everyone realises we must

take a personal, as well as corporate, responsibility for

Information Security. I think that is where my current

interests lie.



There are issues that I have had to ‘overcome’ to become a

successful Woman in Tech, but the reality is far simpler and

less gritty – nobody ever told me that I couldn’t do it (or if

they did, I never listened) and so I just did. So, have faith in

yourself and don’t ‘worry’ too much. If you find a thing that

you love – just keep with it, regardless.

I worked hard in a pre-dominantly male-oriented arena, but

I knew my stuff and eventually that earned respect from my

peers, regardless of gender. I came to realise that there are a

lot of ‘blaggers’ out there who pretend to know what they

are doing but really, they don’t. Perhaps it is like the geek

equivalent of not knowing if your car-maintenance person

is ripping you off or not until you understand engines.



My mum died of cancer at the start of 2020, a month or so

before the first lockdown and that brings many things into

perspective. Vulnerability and mortality remind us to grab

opportunities where we feel alive and truly ourselves; it can

be the simple things: flying a kite, watching your children,

sharing a coffee and a smile - these are the moments that we

really live for.

It is hard – but you do what you can, whenever you can,

and remember to find the moments, the memories, the love

and laughter, the spaces in-between wherever they present

themselves.



model for them?

Women can, at last, be more outspoken, brave, bold and

clever! This is a good thing, but women can sometimes

think they have to be aggressive or cutthroat to others to

show strength. Not so. We can be brilliant without a need to

bring others down. We do not need to be confrontational

just for the sake of it, nor at someone else’s undeserved

expense. I used to love the saying: ‘Never attribute to

malice that that can equally be explained by stupidity’.

Look after yourself, help others where you can, give the

benefit of your experiences, but it is not your job to chase

them or berate people if they won’t follow - and don’t

assume they are out to get your personally, they may just be

a fool.



Capricious technological trends: blockchain, AI, bitcoin,

data mining, wearables. Use it where it is genuinely useful

to yourself or your clients and not just for the sake of

latching onto a new or emerging tech. And for goodness

sake – think of the consequences of a breach of the data

before deciding if it is worth implementing. Do the

consequences outweigh the convenience? Understand risk.

“

There is an absolute

need for every

person to be

responsible for

Information Security.

Look after data – it is

critically important.

“

Women do not have to act like they ‘think men might’ to

succeed. They can just be themselves. It is simply the skills

and experience that should be the key factor regardless of

gender.


March 2021 | 51

Top 20 Businesswoman Leading the Charge of Successful Business in 2021_compressed

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