In this edition of, “Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021” we have published innovative leaders from different backgrounds who have pushed their boundaries, have thought out of the box, and have come up with innovative ways to improve the businesses and their offerings
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Innovative business leaders making a difference 2021 compressed
1. Joe Fisher
CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE, GOODS AND
ENERGY ARE BEING TRANSPORTED
INNOVATIVE
BUSINESS
LEADERS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
2021
+
Sustaining
Entrepreneurial
Spirit Without
Being Complacent
Enterpreneur
Ecosystem
VOL 02 ISSUE 03 2021
| |
2.
3.
4. Thinking Out
of the Box to
Provide Most
Innovative
Solutions
eadership is not just about position, but it is about
Lmaking a positive contribution in the lives of others
by coming up with some innovative ideas and
solutions to the challenges in the industry. Leadership is
more about service and contribution and less about titles
and position. Today, leaders need to be aware of all the
issues in the industry and need to be part of the solutions to
the issues in the industry. It is important for leaders to be in
harmony with the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals.
Leaders need to be able to tap the power of talents, skills,
abilities, and resources to be part of the solutions. Leaders
need to have the ability to think deliberately and act on the
conclusion of logical thought to come up with innovative
solutions. It is important for leaders to be logical, analytical,
and rational in their business approach. Leaders need to
ensure innovative approach but that should also be ethical.
Leaders should think from the sustainable development
point of view. The leaders should come up with solutions
that are not damaging to the environment.
To be a successful business leader requires lot of self-
discipline, patience, determination, enthusiasm, hard work,
and resilience. One needs competence, sufficient research
skills and innovative approach to be a business leader who
can make positive difference in the lives of people. To be an
effective leader one needs to have crystal clear vision and
goal-oriented strategy to make a difference in the industry.
To make a sustainable and tangible difference in the
industry one is working for requires adaptation and
implementation of innovative technology that can improve
the quality of solutions in the business world.
To be a great leader, one needs to be a great follower of
another good leader. Only good follower who has taken
Editor’s Desk
5. sufficient training and guidance from a good leader
can be a good leader. Many of the world’s most
popular companies have some very smart people at
the helm. What is more important for the leaders is,
whether they are running a start-up or overseeing an
already established brand, they need to be innovative
to keep the company fresh and exciting. Those who
can grasp the potential of new technology at a rapid
pace and are quick enough to implement that latest
innovative technology into their businesses are the
leaders who can be ahead in making a difference in
the industry.
In this edition of, “Innovative Business Leaders
Making a Difference, 2021” we have published
innovative leaders from different backgrounds who
have pushed their boundaries, have thought out of
the box, and they have come up with innovative
ways to improve the businesses and their offerings.
Take a look at the innovative contribution of these
leaders to the industry.
sourabh@insightssuccess.com
Sourabh More
6. Joe
Fisher
CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE, GOODS AND
ENERGY ARE BEING TRANSPORTED
Leaders Insight
What A Teach Ceo Can
Teach Your Business
About Digital
40
Enterpreneur
Ecosystem
Sustaining Entrepreneurial
Spirit Without Being
Complacent
28
08
7. Arun
K. Singh
An Epitome
of Visionary
Leadership
16
Ellen
Voie
A True Inspiration
For Emerging
Woman
Entrepreneurs
20
Paul
Lammers
A Result- Driven
Biopharmaceutical
Executive
34
Ran
Rachlin
A Visionary
Tech Proficient
44
Rob
Leslie
Protecting
The Privacy
Of The Person
48
Walter
Paley
An Expert Of
Marketing
And Organizational
Communication
52
Neil
Sinclair
An Expert In
Counter-Terrorism
& Financial Crime
30
Mark
Rippen
A Highly- Skilled
Visionary Leader
24
8. Brief
Company Name
Triumvira
triumvira.com
Paul Lammers
President & Chief
Executive Officer
Triumvira Immunologics, Inc. (“Triumvira”) is an
immunotherapy company co-founded in 2015 with the vision
of developing novel T cell therapies that are safer and more
efficacious than current cancer treatments.
Ilantus Technologies
ilantus.com
Arun K. Singh
CEO
Ilantus Technologies specializes in the Identity and Access
Management domain.
Neil Sinclair
National Cyber Lead
Police Digital
Security Centre
police-cpi.co.uk
A police-owned organisation that works on behalf of the Police
Service throughout the UK to deliver a wide range of crime
prevention and police demand reduction initiatives.
Marc E. Rippen
President & Founder
Alertgy
alertgy.com
Alertgy has recently been founded by a small team of
innovators that have collaborated on challenging technical
programs over the years, specifically to address the highly
desired ability to measure blood sugar levels with an external
wearable sensor device.
Sedicii Innovations
Limited
sedicii.com
Rob Leslie
CEO & Founder
Sedicii provides identity and security solutions to prevent
financial crime.
Ran Rachlin
Co-founder, CEO
Ubertesters
ubertesters.com
Ubertesters is a crowd-based, complete mobile apps/web
testing solution provider.
Ellen Voie
President, CEO
Women in Trucking
womenintrucking.org
Founded in 2007, the Women In Trucking Association is a non-
profit organization with the mission to encourage the
employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their
accomplishments, and minimize obstacles faced by women
working in the industry.
Joe Fisher
Co-founder & CEO
Lithium Werks
lithiumwerks.com
Using patented technology, Lithium Werks focuses on long-
term partnerships with its clients to provide powerful,
inherently safe and reliable battery systems.
Walter Paley
VP of Communications
SafeLogic
SafeLogic.com
SafeLogic provides CryptoComply, a family of drop-in
encryption modules, and RapidCert, the service that accelerates
the FIPS 140 validation process and delivers a certificate in
your name in less than 8 weeks with no additional effort or
interaction with a lab.
Mr. Max Ng
Associate Director
Founded in 2000, AsiaPay is a premier digital payment solution
and technology vendor in Asia, strives to bring advanced,
secure, integrated, and cost-effective digital payment
processing solutions and services to banks and e-businesses
around the world.
AsiaPay
asiapay.com
Featured Person
12. fter spending more than three decades in the
Abattery industry, Joe Fisher along with Christian
Ringvold founded Lithium Werks in 2017 to
enable the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean
renewables, such as solar and wind power. The goal was to
create a sustainable, modern life by providing safe, reliable
and mobile energy solutions. Realizing the growth potential
in the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) market, due to its
outstanding performance, safety, and cycle life, the pair set
out to bring industry expertise and the right technology
together. Lithium Werks provides safe, reliable and mobile
energy solutions through energy storage and transportation.
Currently, Joe serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the
company. He has envisioned and executed the management
buyouts of the assets of Valence Technology, Inc. and the
Industrial Division of A123 Systems, creating a $50m
revenue global company while amassing a patent portfolio
of over 400 patents including a world-leading portfolio of
lithium iron phosphate batteries, as well as several other
game changing cathode materials, cell designs and battery
management systems. Not only this, but he has also been
instrumental in raising $25m in new capital to fund the
acquisitions and position the company for both fast organic
and inorganic growth, leveraging many global contacts,
relationships, and experience in the industry. He has held
various senior management positions in leading companies,
and has overseen a range of restructuring and growth
initiatives in this fast-changing sector.
I believe in the three
T's: Technology,
Team and Timing.
One needs to have
all three in place
and then provide
clear goals and
support.
“
“
13. Considering the proficiency and persistent efforts of Joe in
revolutionizing the portable power vertical, CIO Look
recognizes him as one of the “Innovative Business Leaders
Making a Difference, 2021”. Let's find out more about his
entrepreneurial journey in an exclusive interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
I have been fortunate to have an interesting international
career that has prepared me for the current opportunity with
Lithium Werks. I started my career in finance and
controllership with Union Carbide, then a multinational in
the Dow Jones Industrial Index. I then moved into general
management with international assignments as country
managers in South Africa, Argentina, and Spain. And then
had the unique opportunity within Energizer to set up two
new global businesses within the corporation – one being in
specialty batteries and the other in rechargeable batteries.
Both allowed me to travel extensively in Japan, Korea, and
China as well as all continents of the world, making
extensive and long-lasting friendships and contacts and
experiences.
Finally, I took a leap of faith and set up my own consulting
business, which led me to oversee several turnarounds of
battery companies, and ultimately led to the founding of
Lithium Werks leveraging all the previous experiences and
to manage a buyout of the A123 Industrial division, and
then followed up with a leverage buyout of Valence
Technology.
Describe the company and its extensive energy solutions
which address all the needs of its customers.
Lithium Werks is a global lithium battery company focused
on providing portable power solutions to help in the move
away from fossil fuels to the clean energy transition. Our
product portfolio includes cells to battery modules to large
battery systems.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
I was particularly inspired by my grandfather, who only had
an eighth-grade education, but went onto build a successful
tire and service station business in a small mid-western
town. He always focused on honesty, ethics, and excellent
customer service.
What have you learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship and mentoring in your three-decade
experience in the battery industry?
Treat people the way you expect to be treated. Also, I have
learned not to give up; do not be discouraged. If it was
going to be easy, other people would have done it before
you. Plus, the battery industry is not like the semiconductor
business, but is one of many small, incremental
improvements, not like Moore's Law.
How do you achieve work-life balance?
I must admit this is one thing that I have struggled to do
over the years. First, I do not consider what I am doing to
be work because I enjoy what I do. I always try to put my
family first and am fortunate to have a very supportive wife
who was willing to give up her successful career to be
willing to move over twenty times in 40 years of work.
14. We want to enable
the transition from
fossil fuels to clean
energy by providing
reliable energy
storage.
“
“
15. Several of these were international assignments. We just
celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary, so she has helped
make it possible.
How do you cope up with capricious technological
trends to boost your personal growth?
I am constantly keeping abreast of many industry
newsletters, and daily Google updates of competitors,
suppliers and new technology developments and attend
conferences. I often wonder how we did things so
effectively before we had the internet. But we used the
telephone, telex, and fax machines, as well as just had face
to face meetings. Just good old-fashioned communication.
What values are important to you as a business leader?
I put a real importance on honesty, truthfulness, and open
communication. I like to manage by walking around, which
has been difficult the last year with the global pandemic.
But we use Microsoft Teams meetings and Zoom calls.
Innovation, setting clear goals, and follow-up is also
important.
What would you tell emerging business leaders who are
just starting to work?
Do not be afraid to ask questions to your supervisor.
Volunteer for the tough assignments. Get a mentor. Be
willing to go the extra mile. And set goals and work toward
them.
What would you like them to know?
It will be a lot of tough work. It will not always be easy.
There will be defeats, but do not give up. The sun will shine
again. And learn from your mistakes. Just do not make the
same one twice.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where
do you see yourself in the near future?
We are in the middle of a major fundraising within Lithium
Werks. It is my goal to help enable the global move away
from fossil fuels and to drive towards clean energy and to
leverage our core technologies into better, long-lasting, and
safe products.
16.
17. kimberly Khoury
Paving her Way in Sustainability Development
&
&
The
20
BUSINESSWOMEN
to Watch, 2020
SUCCESSFUL
Most
18. Arun K. Singh
An Epitome of Visionary Leadership
he professional journey of Arun K. Singh aptly
Texemplifies visionary leadership.
Arun started his career as a cryptographer and security
research professional. Later, he moved onto building and
driving cybersecurity businesses for multiple global
organizations. He started his professional journey in India
and worked for HCL & Infosys Technologies. He created a
focused group to drive innovative solutions for HIPAA
compliance at Infosys and published many research papers.
After Infosys, he worked for about 10 years at Wipro
Technologies and developed many cybersecurity services
under the theme of Applied Innovation. Wipro won multiple
awards, including “Global Product Excellence” from Info
Security Product Guide, for innovative services and
established a strong global brand in cybersecurity. His
success at Wipro got attention from Accenture, and he
joined them as Managing Director and Global Lead for
Managed Security Services (MSS). At Accenture, he started
the MSS business from scratch and collaborated with
Accenture Technology Labs to develop cutting edge MSS
solutions such as data-driven cyber defense, active
authentication, deception networks, and integrated cyber
risk platform. Working with Accenture labs was an
enriching experience where he was able to combine the
power of East and West to deliver innovative solutions to
clients globally.
Arun joined EY LLP in 2016 as Americas Risk Advisory
Leader and Partner to build a new line of business on
“Cybersecurity-as-a-Service” (CaaS). His work also
involved building the business case for this new business
and obtaining funding from the Advisory Investment
Committee. He worked with EY’s global teams to select
and implement the right technologies to create innovative
services. CaaS solutions covered Digital Identity, Data
Protection, Threat Detection & Response and Threat
Exposure Management. These innovative solutions
leveraged Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning,
Robotic Process Automation, Threat Intelligence, and
Security Analytics tools to cover IT, OT & cloud
environments.
Last year, Arun decided to take the next level of challenge
in his career and joined Ilantus Technologies as CEO and
Board Member. He is currently accelerating growth for this
company based on innovations in solution offerings.
Source of Inspiration
Arun says that he was fortunate to learn from many world-
class inspiring leaders. At Wipro, he drew a lot of
inspiration from Mr. Girish Paranjape (CEO) on his
leadership style. He was fortunate to have Mr. Andrew
Wilson, CIO as his mentor at Accenture who inspired him a
lot in managing diverse teams. At EY, he was thoroughly
impressed by Mr. John Latham, Global Client Service
Partner for his client centricity for innovation and growth.
His current Chairman, Mr. Binod, inspires him through his
passion and dedication.
Making IAM an Exhilarating Experience
Ilantus Technologies is a leader in the Identity & Access
Management domain, backed by over two decades of
16 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
20. extensive experience and deep insight gained from
thousands of IAM implementations for some of the biggest
brands in the world--including Fortune 500 companies.
Ilantus’ Compact Identity product is uniquely positioned to
present a cloud-native, risk-aware, all-in-one Converged
IAM solution that is built on the Zero-trust framework to
provide Identity centric holistic cybersecurity solution to
clients. Ilantus’ Compact Identity is known for innovation
and simplicity. It is well recognized by leading industry
analysts like Gartner and KuppingerCole.
Maintaining a Better Work-life Balance
Arun’s formula for work-life balance is based on
maintaining a strict work discipline, setting boundaries for
himself, and prioritizing critical tasks. He believes that
work time and personal time should not be mixed together
for better results. He has always focused on aligning his
work with his passion which reduces unnecessary stress and
enables a better balance.
It's all about Having Strong Leadership
When asked about Arun’s take on entrepreneurship, he
mentions entrepreneurial skills are essential for all leaders
to define their vision, to take the right amount of risk, and to
drive innovation that enables them to stay ahead of the
competition. Business success cannot be achieved without
having strong leadership coaching and development skills.
Besides, Arun is also of the opinion that mentoring is not
focused on a specific skill, but it is more about overall
development--where mentor and mentee share their
personal experiences to seek advice or test new ideas.
18 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
21. Arun advises emerging leaders to understand the power of
networking and to practice it in their work lives. He also
emphasizes on the importance of emotional quotient (EQ),
the ability to understand, empathize, and connect with the
people around them. According to him, a high EQ is not
only essential to become a great leader but also an effective
team player to drive innovation.
Aiming to be a Purpose-Driven, Transformative Leader
In order to stay ahead of the curve, Arun always keeps
himself updated with capricious technological trends. He
learns a lot from client discussions and real-life problems in
their environment. He keeps up with current and future
technology trends through his membership in the Forbes
Technology Council and Gartner’s TechCEO program.
Apart from this, analysts’ conversations, CEO roundtables,
panel discussions, and security conferences are other
sources for him to gain technical insights.
Arun mentions that his future endeavour is to become a
purpose-driven, transformative leader. In the near future, he
would like to be part of the Board of Directors for multiple
technology companies and work with investment firms to
support cybersecurity start-ups.
Every day, I wake
up with a passion
to encourage
every person to
dream big and
relentlessly
pursue it.
“
“
19
|
www.insightssuccess.com FEBRUARY 2021
22. Ellen
Voie
ntrepreneurship has become a viable means of
Eeconomic self-sufficiency and nowadays many
women are choosing an enterprise connected to
transportation to be part of their career aspirations. One
such inspiring business woman is Ellen Voie, Founder,
President and CEO of Women In Trucking Association.
Through her work and leadership skills, Ellen is breaking
the barriers of occupational segregation and encouraging
the employment of women in the trucking industry,
promoting their accomplishments, and minimizing
obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.
Focused on the transportation and logistics industry,
Women In Trucking Association is a non-profit organization
with over 5,000 members in ten countries. The goal is
simply to increase the percentage of women in the trucking
industry. It represents the women who design, build, sell,
own, fix and drive trucks. The company asserts “We are
very proud that fifteen percent of our members are men who
believe in our mission. We're not FOR women as much as
we are ABOUT women.”
In an interview with Insights Success, Ellen described her
journey, challenges, success, and how she became an
inspiration for millions of women.
Below are the highlights of interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
Since childhood I have always challenged myself, both in
learning new things and in pushing myself beyond my
comfort zone. I've never stopped the quest to learn and to
experience new things. I participated in sports and took
industrial arts class in high school. I was trained in Traffic
and Transportation Management, which gave me the skills
to later manage my own consulting firm while I raised my
family. I later earned my credentials as a Certified
Association Executive (CAE) and accepted a position as the
Executive Director of a non-profit organization called
“Trucker Buddy International.” I ran that program for six
years before I accepted a position at a large midwestern
carrier as Manager of Retention and Recruiting Programs.
That was in 2007 when the Women In Trucking Association
was formed. I copied a lot from a female pilot's
organization but tapped into the people who supported this
mission. I had a great team who shared my passion, and we
put together a fantastic staff, board and support group. Here
we are, nearly fourteen years later, with a success story I
could never have imagined.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
There are many woman who I admire for their tenacity and
aspirations that drive their success. We've found at Women
In Trucking Association that mentorship is extremely
important. To have someone to help you manoeuvre
through challenges, steer you away from mistakes and to
A True Inspiration for Emerging
Woman Entrepreneurs
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
20 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
24. help you work through problems is invaluable. I have had man
mentors, and I have mentored others. There are many women in
leadership roles willing to take on a mentee, but we don't need
to limit our mentors to women. In fact, men can often elevate us
in our careers through their networks. Gender shouldn't be an
issue when you're looking for a mentor.
What have you learned about leadership, entrepreneurship
and mentoring?
The trucking industry is very interested in creating a more diverse
environment and is actively seeking women to fill roles in safety,
dispatch, leadership and as professional drivers. An advanced degree
is always helpful, but not required to be successful in transportation.
Technical skills are valued, and a safety director, mechanic and
dispatcher can find great careers without earning graduate degrees.
I believe that humility and compassion are crucial to success. No one
wants to be around someone who takes credit for others' work, who
doesn't acknowledge the input of others and who wants to be the center
of attention. Success is about raising those around you instead of
elevating yourself.
A positive attitude will bring more people to you as a leader. It's very
hard to be around someone who keeps looking backward with remorse
and looking forward with despair. In order to motivate, we need to be
focused on bringing our teams with us to success.
22 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
25. How do you achieve work-life balance?
Since my children are grown and I am single, I can tell you that I don't have a great work life balance. However, my job
allows me to travel and visit other countries, so I take time to enjoy these sights. If there is anything that allows me to find
balance it would be my daily walk. I walk four miles each day and listen to books on tape, or music, as my mood dictates.
How do you cope up with capricious technological trends to boost your personal growth?
Technology is only a tool. Once you recognize that this tool is something to be used as needed, you can
control your “submission” to it. I don't allow it to rule my time, and the silence button is used often.
On the flip side, knowing what applications benefit your productivity can enhance your personal
growth. I have apps that track my steps and my calorie intake as well as apps to help me in
my extensive travel schedule, but I don't use apps that distract me from doing my job.
What would you tell emerging business leaders who are just starting to
work? What would you like them to know?
My advice for budding entrepreneurs is to truly determine what you can bring
to your industry, your community or your social network. You have
something to contribute to empower others, but you need to identify what
that skill, talent or passion is and stay true to your mission. Don't get
side-tracked by others who want you to accommodate their goals.
Write it down and read it back daily if not more often. Stay focused.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you
see yourself in the near future?
As the founder of the organization, I have been the face and the
voice since its inception. Now, we are in a transitional phase to
bring on my successor. We recently hired a vice president who
will eventually assume my role as President and CEO. This will
be a shift in our identity in the coming years. Retirement is in
my future!
Living by self-imposed
expectations sets an
example for others to
raise themselves to the
same level.
“
23
|
www.insightssuccess.com FEBRUARY 2021
27. Marc Rippen
A Highly-Skilled Visionary Leader
People having diabetes are at risk for health
difficulties like blindness, kidney failure,
increased risk of heart attacks, and non-
traumatic lower-limb amputations. In addition to the
human costs, there are economic ones as well. Marc
Rippen, Chief Executive Officer of Alertgy Inc.
addresses this issue by solving it with real time, on
demand blood glucose monitoring devices.
Marc Rippen is blessed with a proven ability for out-
of- the-box thinking. This is combined with a very
broad education and experience base that has provided
his clients and employers truly unique and sometimes
paradigm-shifting solutions to their problems.
Marc is experienced in raising venture and angel
capital, strategic planning/sales management, business
capture, and execution management. These skills have
allowed him to support the transition of technology
from the lab into a startup business, and then to a
publicly traded corporation.
In business development, Marc holds a demonstrated
ability to close and execute on intangible high-risk
research and development programs, as well as on
contracts to develop and deliver very complex
analytical instrumentation and engineering systems.
An Interview conducted between Marc Rippen and
Insights Success addresses to eliminate these barriers
on a daily basis. Below are the highlights of the
interview:
Describe the company and its extensive
solutions/services which address all the needs of its
customers.
Alertgy provides the first non-invasive wearable
continuous glucose monitor and alert system to
measure the true blood glucose. It sets diabetics free
from having to think about taking glucose
measurements by allowing for fully automated,
continuous monitoring with pre-set alerts for low or
high glucose levels, as set by the user.
The medical device and diagnostic industry are
constantly growing and changing, with new
technologies being introduced to the market all the
time. We are entering a new era of medicine that will
be significantly impacted by the incredible growth and
breakthroughs in wearables, cloud-based IoT sensor
systems, application of AI 10, and digital health.
How do you cope up with capricious technological
trends to boost your personal growth?
I embrace change. I take each challenge as an
opportunity to learn something new and to better my
ability to accomplish both Alertgy’s and my personal
goals. The end result is meeting milestones by
working smarter.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from
other business leaders? Tell us about someone who
has inspired you.
I draw inspiration from Elon Musk who has
recognized major human needs and met them using
technology. He is a visionary leader who understands
that success is driven by failure. We learn from our
mistakes more than anything else. He has brought to
life electric cars and is making space travel more
practical.
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
25
|
www.insightssuccess.com FEBRUARY 2021
28. What have you learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship, and mentoring?
Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from your failures. Do
not give up, think outside the box, look at life as if
you were a sailor dependent on the wind - if you have
to change course, do so and you will get to your
destination and perhaps learn something along the
way.
In business, it’s always best to create win-win
situations where all parties truly benefit from the
relationship. It’s important to take the time to help
those you mentor to meet challenges that will enhance
their abilities and allow them to be successful in
achieving their goals.
How do you achieve work-life balance?
I set aside time for family, friends, and myself so that I
can recharge by getting out and doing things together
in a COVID-safe manner.
What would you tell emerging business leaders
who are just starting to work? What would you
like them to know?
Do something that you are passionate about, enjoy the
pursuit of your dreams. If you can do something you
like to meet your customers’ needs and make them
successful while supporting the goals of your
business, then you are blessed.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and
where do you see yourself in the near future?
Currently, we are focused on first bringing our device
to over 90% of the diabetic population made up of
non-insulin dependent hyperglycemic Type 2
diabetics. By numbers, this represents over 400
million people around the world - our goal is to easily
and effectively alert them if their glucose levels are
too high or low. Most importantly, we aim to drive
compliance and get them to measure their blood
glucose continuously without the need for invasive
and expensive systems.
Alertgy will be pursuing an alert and surveillance
application for FDA approval. Given that 1/3 of the
world’s entire population is borderline diabetics and
we can help them better manage their lifestyles by
keeping them from becoming diabetic. In the future,
there is no limit to what our technology can provide in
the way of monitoring and diagnostics. Published
research indicates that our technology has the
potential to track other metabolites and cellular
markers within the body that could pave the way for
Alertgy to be a premier leader in diagnostic
technology.
FORTUNE
Favors the
BOLD
… Virgil
“
Marc Rippen
CEO
Alertgy Inc.
26 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
31. Entrepreneurial spirit is crucial not just for starting
the business, but it is also important for leading an
established brand more successfully by
implementing the innovative ideas with the aim of
improving efficiency of the businesses, improving profits
and availing competitive advantage in the industry.
Entrepreneurship is about calculated risk-taking, essential
for growing businesses that are at the potential risk of
losing the start-up approach through the gradual course of
improved infrastructure, process and control, along with
increased efficiency and capability.
Organizations need to have properly tuned, predictable
organizational systems that assist existing clients and
technology. This does not mean that they should stop
innovating and using creativity. Business leaders need to
sustain their innovative and creative spirit so as to
continuously evolve in the offering of their solutions.
Business leaders need to embrace the potential of latest
technologies to improve the quality of their solutions.
Sustaining innovative and entrepreneurial spirit is essential
for leaders without being complacent. If leaders are
complacent in adapting the latest technologies, then they
may be at the risk of losing the game in the ever-changing
world.
In the tough, ultra-competitive enterprise business market
of today, success in business needs innovation, fresh ideas,
and implementation of advanced technologies. There is a
risk of being stuck, stagnancy and failure if innovative
thinking is not embraced. Therefore, it is essential for the
leaders to have innovative thinking. Business leaders need
to be sharp enough to grab the potential business
opportunities most diligently. Business leaders can’t afford
to be complacent if they want to make a tangible difference
in the industry.
Leaders must not be overwhelmed by conventional thinking
and the status quo and initial success. To sustain the initial
success, they need to go on innovating and implementing
latest technologies to come up with the most innovative and
advanced solutions. It is important for leaders to be
creative, innovative, and analytical in their approach. This
creativity needs to be embraced even if businesses face
internal resistance, since new ideas may render existing
skills redundant or require new ways of alignment and
working.
Entrepreneurs may not get everything it right the very first
time, but they need to use every experience as a learning
experience, keep learning from mistakes and come up with
more advanced strategy and thought process to be part of
the solutions. Learning experiences help one to be sharper
and more clever next time. Experimentation is essential.
Leaders should ensure that they are guided by successful
mentors. It is always advantageous to have the right people
around the corner. This helps the leaders to avoid mistakes
and take right actions for right reasons.
Business leaders need to see every isolated event in context
of the larger picture. They need to be more logical,
thoughtful, creative, innovative, smart, analytical, and
rational to build most innovative solutions. Leaders need to
have the open-minded approach to learn from each other
and implement latest technologies in their organization to
improve what they have to offer to the world. Best
opportunities come most rarely, and business leaders need
to be clever, alert, and sharp enough to grab the wonderful
opportunities most diligently. Business leaders need to build
a strong team that is skilled enough to deliver the positive
results along with the improved efficiency.
Business leaders need to lead by being most exemplary so
as to inspire the employees in the organization. As leaders,
so are the followers. Therefore, it is essential for the leaders
to set the right tone for their team so that they contribute
with utmost efficiency for the cause of organization.
Employees need to be empowered and feel secure so that
they can contribute more effectively. Encouraging creativity
and innovative spirit among the employees is certainly
fruitful for the organization. Leaders need to set the vision
and direction and must create an inspiring and productive
work environment. There needs to be a systematic,
organized, and conscious cultivation of innovative spirit in
the team members to come up with more advanced
solutions.
Competitive approach helps one to avail edge over others.
Leaders should foster the competitive spirit in their team so
that they are not complacent in being more skilled so as to
deliver the most advanced solutions. Leaders should utilize
the talents, resources, skills and abilities in their team to be
part of the solutions to the challenges in the industry. This
will certainly create profit both for the organization,
employees, and the clients. Ensuring the all-round success
of everyone is the most important task of leaders.
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Enterpreneur Ecosystem
32. NEIL SINCLAIR
An Expert in Counter-terrorism & Financial Crime
ybercrime is one of the fastest-growing threats to
Cbusinesses. Additionally, 40% of businesses do not
take any action to identify these cybersecurity
risks. What can be done in such a situation? Neil Sinclair
the National Cyber Lead at Police Digital Security
Centre comes to our rescue. Neil has worked in UK
counter-terrorism policing for over thirty years and has
been involved in many of the Metropolitan Police’s biggest
Terrorist Operations.
An Interview conducted between Neil Sinclair and Insights
Success answers why he was considered as a key member
of the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit and is
now a major influencer for cyber security. Below are the
highlights of the interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
Once a reputation begins to precede you, it becomes a case
of spreading the word through as many channels as
possible. Where the Police Digital Security Centre’s
mission is concerned, this means encouraging small
businesses to take simple cybersecurity seriously and, in my
case, emphasizing that it does not have to be an expensive
part of the business plan but that investment now, before
becoming a victim of a cyber breach, is money well-spent,
even though there is no obvious ROI.
The hardest part for me as the Cyber Lead at Police DSC is
encouraging businesses to invest in our digital awareness
and resilience programmes, and for vendors to appreciate
the merit of our Providers accreditation.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
What a difficult question! I think Dr. Ian Levy OBE of the
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was a great
inspiration in the beginning. He was billed as the “Rock
Star” of cyber security and his very down-to-earth and
accessible form of delivery did influence me. But the
cybersecurity sector is huge and there are a number of
people trying to do the right thing, and some do put it
across very well. I think I now take a little bit from a
number of people. The key, as in anything, is to listen and
cut the filling from the good stuff. I base my delivery,
whether to my Police DSC colleagues, my peers, or a wider
audience, on keeping it simple, straightforward and, I hope,
memorable.
Describe the company and its extensive
solutions/services which address all the needs of its
customers.
The Police Digital Security Centre is a not-for-profit
company that is part of the wider security-focused Police
Crime Prevention Initiatives. Police DSC is a small outfit
but with a national reach. We work very closely with the
UK Police forces and follow the National Cyber Security
Centre’s (NCSC) guidance. Our unique selling point is that
we actually go out to the High Streets and physically
interact with small businesses (SME) that otherwise would
not be aware of their digital risk or not know how to tackle
it.
Of course, during the pandemic, we quickly and
successfully moved this to online delivery but we are
itching to get back to the real world! We offer a very
simple, non-technical assurance for every business so that
they can have some confidence that they are taking the right
steps to be safe online, and have something that has
resonance with customers and the supply chain – police
backed endorsement. This is our Digitally Aware &
Digitally Resilient schemes.
At the other end of the landscape, we offer a Digital
Providers and a Digital Innovators certification. We have
partnered with the world-renowned BSI (British Standards
Institution) to provide cybersecurity vendors with a
certification that demonstrates to potential customers that
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
30 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
35. the vendor is reputable, trustworthy and that their products
have achieved a demonstrable level of “doing what it says
on the box”. In the long-term, I expect this to greatly
empower the wider cybersecurity message and go a long
way to joining up to ends of a fairly disconnected
landscape.
What have you learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship, and mentoring?
When mentoring, my knowledge and experiences do have a
far greater value than I think it does (this is probably true
for anyone who has stepped out from a career in
Government law enforcement and intelligence services).
People do want to listen and there really is no need to
embellish anything.
From an entrepreneurial standpoint (which I honestly don’t
consider myself to be) I do think it is vitally important to
consider whether you have the drive and financial
awareness to pursue the dream. I talk about this elsewhere.
And leadership? Make sure you know your own people. It
can surprise you who has extraordinary talent in unexpected
fields, often way beyond their pay grade. But just because
someone is brilliant at, for example, writing programmes
doesn’t mean they’ll be able to sell it!
How do you cope up with capricious technological
trends to boost your personal growth?
It has been a good learning experience. Technology is
undoubtedly fast-moving and we are ever more aware of
the unimaginable becoming reality in our field. But what I
have seen is that the vast majority of businesses are still at
the start of the cybersecurity journey. So talk of digital
transformation, AI, even threat intelligence, is way down
the list, not only of priorities but of awareness. The vast
majority of businesses employ a tiny number of personnel
and most are struggling to come to terms with two-factor
authentication and installing adequate anti-virus.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where
do you see yourself in the near future?
I would like to see Police DSC make a significant impact on
our target audience. I want to see more businesses
demonstrating that they are doing the “right thing” where
cybersecurity is concerned and an assured platform for
security vendors. I would hope that my profile will continue
to grow as I think it is inextricably linked to the Police
DSC’s growth.
Delivering
something
people need is
far harder than
delivering
something
people want.
The satisfaction
from doing good
outweighs
everything else.
“
“
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36. PAUL
LAMMERS
A Results-driven Biopharmaceutical Executive
In leadership, it is difficult often to be daring, difficult to
be willing to take on that potential risk to the business.
You have to weigh pros and cons, mostly based on
available information of data, but sometimes it still comes
down to following your gut. Having such an astute
approach and shrewd leadership qualities is Paul
Lammers, the President & CEO of Triumvira
Immunologics. Let’s find more about his exclusive journey
in an Interview conducted between Paul Lammers and
Insights Success.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
I was fortunate relatively early in my career to become a
member of the management team at a company with
numerous products on the market, as well as with about 1,100
employees in the US. Therefore, I got a lot of exposure to
business and people management issues, and as always, you
learn most from the things that do not go that well.
Furthermore, I quickly realized that in pharma and biotech,
“innovation is an imperative”, that you continuously have to
evolve as a company but also as an industry professional and
as apeoplemanager.
Describe the company and its extensive
solutions/services which address all the needs of its
customers.
We are an engineered T cell therapy company focused on
bringing new therapeutic modalities to cancer patients. Our
technology, which will enter its first clinical testing in Q2 of
2021, is well- differentiated from other engineered T cell
approaches, and we hope, will offer clinical efficacy and a
good safety profile in patients who have progressed already
on other types of cancer therapies. We are building a broad
pipeline of different cell therapy products, all based on our
proprietaryTAC (T-CellAntigenCoupler)technology.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
I have learned from every one of the different President and/or
CEOs that I have reported to over the course of my career
before I became a CEO myself. One was a phenomenal
businessman but a horrible people manager; some were
incredible micro-managers, which I have learned to
absolutely hate, so I refuse to do that in my own team, which
truly helps build a stronger team by showing that you trust
people to get the work done without constantly looking over
their shoulders. Ultimately, you have to develop your own
approach on how you feel would be best to manage your
business andyour people.
What have you learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship, and mentoring?
As a CEO you sometimes have to make a tough executive
decision, knowing full well that some people in the
organization might not be pleased with it. But that creates a
situation where mentoring becomes important as well, to
make people understand why you had to make that difficult
decision. Furthermore, mentoring people can happen in one-
on-one situations or meetings, but even in larger group
meetings.
Professional development, as well as personal development,
are extremely important to create and maintain a workforce
that is up to the task in an ever-changing biotech environment.
Personally, I do not mind taking a calculated risk, but I try to
avoid taking a stupid risk. But as mentioned earlier,
34 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
37. Dr. Paul Lammers,
President & CEO,
Triumvira Immunologics
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
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38. “innovation is an imperative” in biotech, and that means,
willingtobeentrepreneurial.
How do you achieve work-life balance?
I have learned over the years, to not try and take on too many
tasks at the same time. Hiring a great team, and trusting that
great team, allows me to delegate tasks, knowing that the team
is equipped to take those tasks on themselves. However, it
took me several years to develop this type of trust, afraid that
people might blame me should there be an error in planning or
executionofaplan.
How do you cope with capricious technological trends to
boost your personal growth?
Versatility and flexibility are very useful traits to have when
one is involved in drug development. Murphy’s Law will
apply to most drug development programs, and bizarre,
unplanned events might occur which might be head-
scratching when first discovered, but then, it is critical to
swiftly assess and analyze the situation and come up with a
plan on how to be tackle or handle. This makes you grow as a
professional and as a person, as “calmness under stress” is
whatagoodleadershould show.
What would you tell emerging business leaders who are
just starting to work? What would you like them to
know?
“Be a sponge”, i.e., learn as much as you can about your
business, learn from the people you work with and/or for. Be
open to new ideas, not just from your Management Team
members but also from anyone lower in the organization. Be
open to criticism, whether about the business or about
yourself, whether from outside the organization or from
within.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where
do you see yourself in the near future?
People work in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry
because ultimately, they want to make a difference in a
patient’s life, especially, in the life of patients facing a serious
or even life-threatening disease. As a biotech company
developing a therapeutic for cancer, it really starts to count
when you actually can start treating patients in a clinical trial
setting. But it takes years, a team, patience, lots of money, and
a healthy dose of good luck before you finally get to enroll the
first patient in that clinical trial. Therefore, for me, the key
near term objective is starting our first clinical trial in Q2 of
this year, not just a major milestone for the company, for the
team,butalsofor mepersonally.
Whatever you can
do, or dream you
can do, begin it.
Boldness has
genius, power, and
magic in it. Begin it
now.” - Johan
Wolfgang Goethe.
“
36 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
42. Pam Bateson is an expert coach and
mentor in business, training others to
Masters level qualifications and
supervising coaches. She has worked
within the NHS , retail, hotels,
construction, media, agencies, education
and public sector. She specialises in
Coaching, Mentoring, Employee
Engagement, Change Management,
Learning and Development and
Organisational Design. She has worked
with all levels in organisations from
graduates to the CEO/VC. She has
designed change programmes that
connect projects, outcomes, training and
coaching. The performance outcomes
have been outstanding. She is the
founder of Zinnia Consulting and co-
founder of Thrive Partners.
About the Author
40 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
43. am Bateson set up Thrive
PPartners, an on-demand
coaching company, three
years ago. In this article, she
shares her point of view on how
important humans are in a more
digital world, what she’s learned
as a tech CEO, and what this
means when you’re looking to
use tech in a way that’s both
disruptive and works for
customers.
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Leaders Insights
44. In October 2015, I gave up a successful
career as a management consultant and
coach to set up Thrive Partners. Lots of
people thought I was crazy. I was
approaching 50, with two children still
at home. But for the decade running up
to that decision, I’d been thinking
about a better way to deliver coaching
– supported by digital, to share more
widely the coaching tools I’d used to
help clients for many years.
This was the business I set out to build
three years ago. Today, we’re working
with 25 clients on five continents –
delivering our own brand of on-
demand coaching, backed with insights
for the whole business. The learning
curve has been steep – particularly for
someone who, by their own
confession, didn’t have a lot of
experience in learning technology. So
here, I wanted to share some of the
things we’ve learned – and what it
might mean for your business.
Dream big
I didn’t really set out to build a
business that would be considered
disruptive, but my background as a
lean engineer and coach did mean that
we ripped up the rulebook when it
came to the coaching industry. We
scrapped the idea that you needed to
meet face to face, and that sessions had
to last an hour, or even two hours. And
we made it a lot easier for people to
access a coach to answer the questions
they had there and then – increasing
access so people could chat to an
expert within an hour.
Working with my co-founder, we then
rebuilt the industry by asking the
biggest questions we could imaging.
What if we could make coaching
available to whole organisations? What
if we could get listening as valued as
speaking? And what if we could help
organisations learn as quickly as
individuals?
I found these questions irresistible: I
wanted to do for coaching what Uber
had done for getting a taxi, Netflix had
done for home entertainment, and
The whole-system insights we
produced has helped to make sales
processes smoother, improved
communications and created more
opportunities for people to learn.
Keep it human
With suicide being the biggest killer of
men under 45, loneliness sweeping
through developed economies in
epidemic proportions and a third of all
young people suffering from anxiety, I
strongly believe that we have a duty to
keep talking to each other as a society.
We believe that keeping the art of
conversation alive in this digital age is
essential; only humans can master
creativity, empathy, humour and
imagination in a way that’s compelling.
Information is everywhere, so we’re
using technology differently – to offer
real human experiences at scale, at any
time of the day, whenever our clients
need a conversation, for everything
you can’t Google.
And what of the future? Curiously,
even the structures of artificial
intelligence and machine learning look
set to mimic human patterns. It’s still
early days, but leaders in this space
talk of ‘deep learning’ with AI – by
layering up different tools that connect
in the same way as our brain’s neural
networks.
And so, the next three years?
My recent experiences have led us to
ask even bigger questions than we did
to begin with – which I suspect will
lead to our next irresistible set of
adventures! What if we could
transform learning management
systems into learning ecosystems?
What if any community of learners
could connect with any community of
teachers? And what if a better
understanding of outcomes from
learning could help both individuals,
organisations and society to thrive?
I for one believe there are exciting
times ahead.
Tinder had done for dating. It’s these
big dreams that have galvanised our
success in the last few years – and
which has set us in the right direction
for the future.
Build for modern users
Despite big dreams, we’ve also made
our fair share of mistakes! A lot of
them mistakes happened when we took
our attention away from our end
customers. It sounds obvious to see it
there on the page. But it can be easy to
lose sight of the customers that matter
most, especially when, as a tech CEO,
sometime we get preoccupied with a
shiny piece of new technology.
So, what to consider first when it
comes to users? The main thing to bear
in mind is that they expect experiences
that are easy and fast to access – a shift
brought about by what we call the
‘Amazon Prime Mindset.’ In this era,
clunky user experiences reduce the
chances of uptake of services. In short,
if your technology can’t match or
exceed the quality of digital experience
people get in their everyday lives, then
you’ll need to go back to the drawing
board.
Create wins for the many
So, if users come first – who else can
we harness the power of technology
for?
Our answer? Everyone else in the
system.
Early on in the development our
MyThrive platform, we realised that
delivering digitally would enable us to
do more than just scale and facilitate
coaching in global organisations; it
would also mean we could spot trends
and patterns within communities of
users, in organisations or society at
large. Just as carefully listening has a
powerful and transformative role in
one-to-one coaching conversations,
carefully listening to and analysing
anonymised version of the
conversations we host has a powerful
and transformative role within whole
organisations.
42 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
47. We help our clients sleep better knowing they
can launch their digital product with
confidence, convinced it was well tested by
real users, in their actual target market and it's bug-
free” says Ran Rachlin, CEO and Co-founder of
Ubertesters.
Ubertesters is a global provider of a comprehensive,
cloud-based, process management tool for mobile
applications beta testing projects. Ran asserts “I'm really
proud that I was able to build Ubertesters from the
“ground up” and to create a culture of excellence.”
Ran started the company by defining a clear vision for
the company's goal and purpose. The vision was well
communicated to all employees so that they feel part of
the vision and not just focused on their daily tasks.
In an interview with Insights Success, Ran exemplified
about his journey, and how he became a strategic global
business leader.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
I'm proud to have massive global experience, managing
and leading new initiatives from inception to
implementation and significant sales as well as managing
large global organizations in different countries. Before
starting Ubertesters I held several high-profile
management roles in several large companies. I also hold
an MBA degree with honors.
My travels around the world and the fact that I lived for
more than a decade in a different country shaped my
cross-cultural experience. Also, holding managerial roles
in large global corporations gave me the essential
experience to manage global teams in different parts of
the world, as well as international clients.
Another major step was the ability to successfully storm
the global economic crisis of 2008 while leading my
organization to “safe-harbor”. This thought me how to
make sure organizations survive an economic downturn.
Describe the company and its extensive
solutions/services which address all the needs of its
customers.
Ubertesters offers a complete software testing solution
for digital products to help organizations beta test their
digital products prior to launching it. The complete
solution includes: (1) a SaaS product - a comprehensive
platform to manage the mobile beta testing process and
teams; (2) a crowdsourced testing service of global
testers for hire with devices (using the 'power of the
crowd') for most flexible and cost effective global testing
under real-life conditions; and (3) offshore outsourcing
services of QA experts based in the company's East
European facilities.
Thus, any organization in a need for beta testing can find
the right solution with Ubertesters to help them launch
their product with confidence.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
Richard Branson's amazing leadership style of taking
care of employees first and only then the customers. His
vision that “If you take care of your employees, your
employees will take care of your customers” has
revolutionized the business world and allowed him to
create an amazing organization. Further, his willingness
to take major risks as well as he doesn't necessarily see
failure as a bad thing, but rather as the foundation for
success – makes him a true inspiration in my view.
The most inspiring quote I've ever heard was “The way
to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” by Walt
Disney. I have this quote framed on my desk and I
believe it was one of the first things I told myself just
before starting Ubertesters.
How do you achieve work-life balance?
To achieve good work-life balance I focus on two main
things – time management and setting boundaries. Since
my daily workout is extremely important for me, I get up
early and spend the first 1.5 hours of the day, each day,
for my workout. It can be a 10K run, or a gym workout,
but it's part of my calendar. When I get to work I set
daily priorities, create a schedule, and try to eliminate
“
Innovative Business Leaders Making a Difference, 2021
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48. distractions. Then, when I finally get home, I
try to keep my laptop, mobile device and
other “interruptions” shut down to allow me
to spend some quality time with family and
friends.
How do you cope up with capricious
technological trends to boost your personal
growth?
David Cronenberg, a Canadian film director,
once said: “I see technology as being an
extension of the human body” and I fully
agree with his quote and can see that
technology is more integrated than ever in our
lives. Therefore, I try hard to keep up with
technological trends. I do it first by
embracing web content. I do it through blogs,
podcasts, forums, resources from trusted
businesses, or a simple query on a search
engine. Further, I follow Industry Social
Media accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter) of companies and individuals that are
considered true innovators. Lastly, I make
time for online training and virtual events and
webinars. All these measures allow me to stay
informed about the latest technologies and for
me to boost my personal and professional
growth.
What would you tell emerging business
leaders who are just starting to work?
What would you like them to know?
Emerging business leaders should have the
ability to act based on the inner vision they
have. Many people wake up every day with
new ideas and have no ability to create
something out of it. The true innovative
leader will apply solutions where others fail
and will see the vision becomes a reality and
success.
The 2nd most important thing is the ability to
delegate and allow others in the team to thrive
and excel. One person can't do it all himself, thus, must build a
great team around you and allow them to contribute.
Lastly, leaders must have commitment and passion and being able
to inspire others and communicate their vision effectively.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you
see yourself in the near future?
In the next few years I see myself continue to develop my
company, Ubertesters, and make sure it continues to grow through
creativity, invention and innovation. We will continue to put the
'voice of the customer' in the center, listen to our customer's needs
and add new exciting services to our portfolio.
Then, in a few years from now, I'm really hoping I could build a
new company to find a product that will help humanity by
improving the quality of life and life longevity. After all, I strongly
believe in what Henry Ford said once: “To do more for the world
than the world does for you, that is success.”
Don't wish for it, work
hard for it and make
sure to stay away from
your comfort zone
during the process.
“
“
46 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
49.
50. Rob Leslie
Being a successful business leader takes a lot of self-
discipline, determination and hard work. One needs
patience, perseverance, and persistence to be a good
business leader. To be an effective leader one needs to have
vision and goal-oriented approach to make a difference in
the industry. Rob Leslie is one such visionary and goal-
oriented business leader. He is the CEO and Founder of
Sedicii. Rob Leslie’s vision for Sedicii is to make
technology a safer, more efficient, and risk-free place for
everyone who uses the internet. In tandem, through the
global federated identity platform businesses can be more
cost effective, respected and trusted using Sedicii’s services.
Rob did not set out to be a serial entrepreneur or an
innovator – it happened organically for him.
As a child growing-up Rob wanted to be an engineer or a
pilot. He chose the former route and graduated as an
Electronic Engineer in the early 1980s from Dublin City
University (DCU), Ireland. Following graduation, he
moved to Japan where he worked for 20 years, firstly with
established Japanese companies and subsequently became
part of the initial management team to launch Dell into the
Japanese market and as part of the team grew the business
in its first four years from zero to 300 employees and a
turnover of $300m.
Then Rob’s real entrepreneurial journey began as a Partner
in PTS Japan. After five years, having achieved a valuation
of $33m at exit, he returned to Ireland. In 2007, he co-
founded Kyckr (ASX:KYK) now listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange. In 2013, while still working at Kyckr, he
founded Sedicii and remained in dual roles until 2016 when
he relinquished his role at Kyckr and moved to concentrate
all his energies with Sedicii. Using a novel cryptographic
protocol known as a zero knowledge proof (ZKP), Sedicii is
creating the Kriptan Network to facilitate the verification of
identity data without the need to expose the underlying
data, thereby protecting the privacy of the person.
Strong Privacy Features
Sedicii is building a global federated identity platform that
has strong privacy features at its core. It is being deployed
by Governments, financial institutions, telcos, and national
utility service providers to verify, in real-time, a person’s
identity without either party divulging their information to
the other party, and while being GDPR compliant. This is
achieved using Sedicii’s patented Zero Knowledge Proof
(ZKP) protocol which is at the heart of its KYC, KYB and
AML services.
Sedicii has won multiple industry awards for its Zero
Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology, most notably its
recognition from The World Economic Forum as a
Technology Pioneer. Using Sedicii’s services, customers
and service providers receive transaction information in
real-time which makes organizations more efficient, cost-
effective, reliable and decreases the threat of fraud, theft,
misappropriation, and impersonation and heightens
confidence in the service providers.
Inspired by Great Leaders
There are several business leaders who are on Rob’s bucket
list to meet. Barack Obama the 44th President of the United
States is one. Obama’s charismatic leadership skills and
“can do” no nonsense attitude to life, building trust and
problem solving are very appealing to Rob. Having spent
20 years in Japan another person that Rob greatly admires
and draws inspiration from his book “Made in Japan” is
Sony Corporation’s founder Akio Morita. Morita’s words
ring true to Rob when he said: “I then realized that having a
unique technology and being able to make unique products
/ services are not enough to keep a business going. You
have to sell the product / service and to do that you have to
show the potential buyer the real value of what you are
selling”, for all Rob’s six start-up businesses but especially
Sedicii with its state-of-the art ZKP component.
Responsible Leadership
The truth is Rob does not – or certainly didn’t - have a good
work life balance prior to Covid 19. Pre 2020, he probably
travelled 40 weeks of the year. However, with the
restrictions he has found a better balance and when he can
he plays tennis and enjoys walking. In a perverse way, his
work – life balance is better since March 2020 than it was
for many years. In his defence, being an entrepreneur and
running a start-up business means that you have people
dependent on you for their livelihoods and this is a
responsibility, which Rob takes extremely seriously.
Certainly, the past 12 months have made him realize that
when success happens you need to take the time to enjoy it.
Protecting the Privacy of the Person
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52. Recognizing Importance of Mentor
Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare you are
preparing to fail”. In Rob’s experience this is certainly true
when starting up a new business venture. Research and
preparation are paramount before one starts a new business
thereby giving the enterprise a better chance in succeeding.
So, Rob would advise anyone with a good business idea to
do a lot of research before commencing; have a good – but
realistic – business plan. Initially, it may be a one-person
business, so Rob suggests to not be afraid to ask for help.
He advises to seek out a trusted mentor and other
entrepreneurs in one’s sector and learn from their
challenges. He suggests using one’s resources wisely. He
advises to refine one’s plan as business grows, revisit one’s
finances, hire help for the best return at a given stage in
one’s business. He asks to expect and take setbacks as
challenges to improve and fine-tune one’s product or
service. And most importantly, when success happens, he
advises to take the time to review and enjoy the fruits of
one’s hard work.
Minding the Welfare of Stakeholders
Currently, Sedicii is a multi-locational company of 14
employees based in Ireland, Belgium, Canary Islands and
United Kingdom. Its headquarters are in Waterford Ireland
with development and finance at base, innovation and
strategy is located in the U.K. and software development is
divided between Belgium and Tenerife in the Canary
Islands. Being a diverse group, the welfare of its employees
is paramount in these Covid-19 pandemic times. So,
looking after staff, continuing to find Governments, national
agencies, and financial institutions to join its federated
network are its important objectives. Other objectives of
Sedicii are: Growing the company to scale and of course
rewarding its investors for their belief in what the company
is achieving and making the BBVA Fintech Awards
prediction by the former Head of Open Innovation, Marisol
Menendez, the reality of “Sedicii being the start up with the
greatest potential to transform the financial sector in the
next 10 years.”
“Sedicii’s mission is to build
the global federated
identity platform which will
give internet users back
their basic human right to
privacy – that is a legacy
worth working towards.”
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53.
54. Walter Paley,
VP of Communica ons
SafeLogic
52 | FEBRUARY 2021 www.insightssuccess.com
55. Walter Paley
An Expert of Marketing and Organizational Communication
he role of a Communication Leader in an
Torganization comprises multiple jobs such as
corporate communications, leadership
communications, reputation management, internal
communications, and counselling top administrators in
decision-making processes. The job profile is closely
connected with C-suite executives, and accountable in
driving the overall business success.
Meet Walter Paley, VP of Communications for
SafeLogic. He is responsible for strategy, content,
marketing, and outreach. His prior experience included
several start-ups and companies in growth stages, including
Nukona (acquired by Symantec) and Bitzer (acquired by
Oracle).
In an interview with Insights Success, Walter disclosed his
journey, challenges and what he learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship and mentoring.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming an
innovative business leader.
I took a non-traditional path, to be sure. My parents did not
earn degrees and were entrepreneurs, so that combination of
nature and nurture led me to blaze my own trail to college
at UC San Diego and found myself doing things differently
than my peers - front-loading my course load, nearly
reaching graduation in just three years, trying to life-hack
before that term existed!
That mindset, avoiding the “way it’s always been done”,
served me well as I helped several startup companies get off
the ground with marketing and awareness campaigns that
diverged from the norm. When I joined Ray Potter for the
branding and launch of SafeLogic, it was a great fit and I’m
happy to still be here today.
Describe the company and its extensive
solutions/services which address all the needs of its
customers.
SafeLogic addresses the hurdle of FIPS 140 validation for
encryption. It is a compliance initiative mandated by the
U.S. federal government and carries relevance in many
other verticals, including finance, healthcare, and utilities.
SafeLogic simplifies and accelerates the process by
providing cryptographic modules that have already satisfied
all testing requirements, so customers can inherit our
capabilities and certification in less than 8 weeks, instead of
doing it from scratch over 18+ long and painful months!
What have you learned about leadership,
entrepreneurship and mentoring?
I gravitate towards reading books about, or - even better -
memoirs written by notable leaders and entrepreneurs. My
hope is always to get just one significant take-away. More
would be a bonus, but I aim to drill down to one major
point.
For example, Phil “Buck” Knight’s ‘Shoe Dog’ memoir
about the early days of Nike was surprisingly candid about
his failure to communicate with one of his most valuable
allies. Knight allowed his colleague’s enthusiasm to wilt by
not responding with encouragement, even when specifically
prompted. It’s difficult to build a company, and it’s even
more difficult when you’re alienating even the most
energetic teammates. Collaboration and communication are
crucial to growth, and while Knight succeeded despite this
mistake, I strive to avoid it altogether.
Have you drawn professional inspiration from other
business leaders? Tell us about someone who has
inspired you.
I recently dove into Edward Burns’ book ‘Independent Ed’.
He’s not a classic entrepreneur, as you would recognize him
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56. from acting in movies such as ‘Confidence’ and ‘Saving
Private Ryan’, but I found his point of view as a director
and independent filmmaker to be extremely compelling.
Burns walks the narrow and difficult path of an artist,
balancing creativity with commercialization. He was
willing to scrape by, shooting short films in his free time,
just so he could explore the artistry… but it’s a lot easier
when you have the financial backing to make it your full-
time job to write and create. He operates in a vastly
different world from mine, but I found it very inspiring and
found many parallels.
How do you achieve work-life balance?
The old adage that one works to live, not lives to work. It is
not easy to remember that a commitment to excellence
extends to family, friends, and self, but it’s important to be
opportunistic and take advantage of any time you can take.
Personally, I find it extremely energizing to capture daylight
hours, so a walk-through nature with my family in the
afternoon between work calls really fires me up to finish the
day strong.
What would you tell emerging business leaders who are
just starting to work? What would you like them to
know?
Emerging leaders and students finishing their degrees
should seek to know themselves. Recognizing your own
strengths will be a huge advantage when you’re identifying
the next steps in your career, whether it’s weighing offers
from a huge corporation against a small boutique firm or
different types of roles and responsibilities. Finding the
right fit to challenge yourself and grow is not easy, so take
the time to learn about where you thrive.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where
do you see yourself in the near future?
I would like to understand international markets at a
sophisticated level, in the context of pursuing ways to open
new opportunities. The cultural differences are much more
than just a language barrier, but I believe that with more
exposure, I will find ways to strategically integrate
solutions across international borders.
“Never too soon,
never too far.
Every idea and
concept should
be considered on
its own merit.”
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