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E U R O P E ’ S 1 0 M O S T I M PA C T F U L M A N A G I N G D I R E C T O R S P OWE R I N G B U S I N E S S I N 2 0 2 5

DECEMBER 2025

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CLAUS ROSE Managing Director

Safe Steps 24

A F O R M E R M I L I TA RY O F F I C E R T R A N S F O R M I N G C O R P O R AT E C U LT U R E

Stewards of Europe's Business Future

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Through visionary leadership and unrelenting operational excellence, Europe is reshaping how global businesses are managed and operated. Managing directors today are not just holding jobs; they are creating ecosystems where innovation and resilience will become part of our daily lives. The decisions made by managing directors extend far beyond the walls of business; they affect economies, industries, and change the perspective of the modern stakeholder. As the global marketplace evolves, managing directors are providing the proper leadership and guidance to their organisations as they pursue sustainable growth, while at the same time remaining aware of the importance of agility and purpose. They are re-evaluating the traditional ways of doing business and embracing technologies that enable greater efficiency in all areas of their organisations and promoting a culture that empowers their teams to succeed. Unique to the current group of managing directors is their ability to look through the long-term lens of what is needed for success and combine that with action that produces measurable results for stakeholders. At CIO Views, we honor these empowering leaders by dedicating this issue titled “Europe's 10 Most Impactful Managing Directors Powering Business in 2025” to them. Featuring as the cover story, we have covered the successful & motivating journey of Claus Rose, Managing Director of Safe Steps 24. We have also included the inspiring stories of Jens Mittendorf, Managing Director of DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS GmbH; Belton Flournoy, Managing Director of Protiviti; Jane Stevensen, Founding Director of JS Global; Sasa Marinkovic, Managing Director of PEOPLE FOCUS doo; Maria José Amich, Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA Católica; Laetitia Cailleteau, Managing Director of Accenture; Vincent Schoeters, Managing Partner at Legile; Ekaterina Petrova, Managing Director of GenerationS; and Dennis Lundquist, Managing Director of QAP legal. CIO Views is a business magazine that mainly focuses on business leaders, their journey, views on current economic states, and all other relevant subjects that refer to the business world. Our goal is to be a leading source of information dedicated to providing our readers with detailed perspectives and views of successful business leaders who are transforming the business outlook and redefining their goals. With exclusive editions on various industries like software, education, healthcare, technology, real estate, and many more, CIO Views is driven to promote excellence in the world of business. Happy Reading!

Mousmi

Mousmi N.

COVER STORY

10.

Claus Rose

CONTENTS

22. Jens Mittendorf 26. Belton Flournoy 32. Jane Stevensen 36.

Sasa Marinkovic

42. Maria José Amich

46.

Laetitia Cailleteau

52.

Vincent Schoeters

56.

Ekaterina Petrova

62.

Dennis Lundquist

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CLAUS ROSE A F O R M E R M I L I TA RY O F F I C E R T R A N S F O R M I N G C O R P O R AT E C U LT U R E

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Managing Director

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Safe Steps 24

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Claus Rose, Managing Director at Safe Steps 24, is a changemaker who has built multiple organizations and programs from the ground up. His professional journey spans military service, global EHS leadership, and cultural transformation work. Over the years, Claus's innovative spirit and understanding of leadership, EHS, and human behavior have helped transform corporate culture and in uence the people he works with. In 2020, before anyone thought such an innovation was possible, he pioneered an AI model to validate data with no human intervention, a breakthrough that earned him a prestigious leadership award.

“Most organizations believe they have a safety or quality problem. In reality, they have a leadership perception problem.” Many senior leaders I work with do not lack commitment. They lack clarity. Incident rates look acceptable on paper. Audits are passed. KPIs are green and yet, something feels oﬀ. Decisions are increasingly reactive. Teams wait for instructions instead of taking ownership. Weak signals are noticed too late – often only after customers, regulators or insurers raise questions. This is the moment most organizations realize: the issue is not, quality or EHS. It is leadership perception. Claus now helps organizations tackle the cultural challenges that most leaders struggle to solve, especially those related to building a culture infused with performance, quality, and safety. He also transforms leaders, making them capable of driving the organization's culture change, through his motto; “Create a self-driven and high performing organization”. Together with renowned professionals, built the Safe Steps 24 “Trinity” model, to concur the likelihood of culture transformation failure in any organization. This will be explained further in the article. Stepping Into the EHS Field Claus didn't plan his current career path. “It was circumstance,” he says. Prior to stepping into the ﬁeld of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS), he had his own business, which focused on risk management for building construction projects. Then, he met someone from Siemens. They discussed the growing

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need for people who understood risk management, especially as legislation was changing. That person inquired if Claus would be interested in taking a role at Siemens. Claus found the oﬀer interesting. “Because I had no idea what I was signing up for,” he says. “I also didn't have a formal background in that space apart from what I had learned during my years in the armed forces.” Claus liked the idea of building something from scratch, which in this case meant building an organization from the ground up. But ﬁrst, he had to learn all about the trade. Claus explains that if he didn't understand the baseline of what he was asking people to do, he wouldn't have gained the credibility he needed as a leader. According to him, he has always set aside time to learn the trade and craftmanship of any organization he has worked in. Claus served at Siemens for more than a decade, rising through the ranks to become Head of Occupational

Health & Safety (VP), Siemens AG. He moved to GE and later to GE Vernova, where he held the position of Senior Executive of EHS Separation Management Oﬃcer. Claus joined Safe Steps 24 in November 2024. Never the One to Give Up Claus attributes his Managing Director position at Safe Steps 24 to “being in the right place at the right time” and a “bit of luck.” Over the years, he has learned never to give up or accept “no” for an answer. For him, one of his biggest achievements is being part of developing the Global Wind Organization (GWO). He says that the idea came from the fact that wind turbine technicians received diﬀerent types of training depending on the company they worked for and the country they were operating in. The goal was to create a uniform approach. At the time, everyone said that would never happen. Today, GWO is leading the

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market in the industry, with twenty different standards in the marketplace. “That story showcases the way I work,” Claus says. “I don't take 'no' for an answer. Such an answer only sparks my eagerness to show people they were wrong.” And Claus's officer training and education have provided him with a solid foundation, which has made him the exemplary leader he is today. He believes that soft skills, communication, perseverance, team building, innovation, and the willingness to guide an organization into new territory define a leader more than products, technical knowledge, or past experience. He also believes that no one is ever too old to learn something new. “I went to Siemens with no formal EHS background or training, but I took this on alongside my role,” Claus says. “I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to build an EHS structure from the ground up, which gave me the time to learn as I went.” This proved to be a valuable learning experience.

Cultural Transformation Most organizations do not fail because they lack initiatives. They fail because leadership behavior does not change fast enough. In the meantime, weak signals turn into incidents. Frustration turns into fatigue. And complexity slowly erodes performance. Numerous studies show that most organizations fail, and according to Claus, the “scary part” is that this has not changed in over a decade. “We are still trying to do exactly what we did yesterday, and expecting a different outcome,” he says. “Our quest has been digging into that research and then figuring out exactly what is hindering the organization from doing that,” he adds. Three main factors are surfacing as a result of this digging. One of the factors is inadequate change management. Claus explains that leaders generally do not understand how to drive change because they have never been taught how to do that, and more importantly, they have never undergone a significant change themselves.

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The second factor is the lack of understanding of the organization's inherent culture. This means that not everyone within the organization shares the same understanding of that culture. They develop their own subculture, and that subculture is what keeps a particular team working together. “If someone from the top tries to lay an umbrella over them and say, 'Here is what you are going to do tomorrow,' that is not going to happen,” Claus says. He explains that to ensure cultural transformation, leaders need to understand that one size does not fit all. They have to give people the freedom to choose how they achieve their goals. According to Claus, the goals may differ from one location to another, but as long as everyone meets at the end of the tunnel, the way they get there doesn´t matter. And the third factor is that people talk about tone from the top or tone from the frontline. “The reality is that you need both,” Claus points out. People working on the frontline have a different perspective on how they want things to be done than the people at the top. These two sets of people have to meet and adjust, and according to Claus, it also means a program may change hundreds of times before reaching a point that will work across of an organization. However, people neither have the skill set nor the willingness to spend the time or put in the effort it takes. Culture change cannot happen overnight, Claus says. It requires plenty of time to drive it. Claus also points out that if leaders are never going to undergo change themselves, they will not be capable of driving others to a cultural transformation. “That is what we are trying to do with Safe Steps 24,” he adds. They have created the “Trinity” model that combines all these elements to focus on leadership development, personal well-being, and cultural transformation. This set us aside from others, as they often only touch one element in the trinity.

A Proven Methodology SafeSteps24 is a QEHS leadership consulting and training company dedicated to helping companies create safer work environments and cultivate strong leadership within their teams. It was founded because organizations consistently attempt to deliver commercial success in a culture of performance, quality, and safety. However, very few succeed, as McKinsey notes that over 70% of transformations fail despite the enormous resources thrown at them. Claus says that Safe Steps 24 has developed a methodology proven to create sustainable results, which result in commercial success, hidden cost savings, and a significant reduction in fatalities and severe injuries. The methodology is called the “Trinity Model”. He points out that for a company, when they combined EHS(Q) leadership enhancement, digitalization, and skills improvement, the results were astounding in the first year itself. Its serious injury and fatality cases reduced by 85 percent, recordable events dropped by 21 percent, the Injury and Illness Rate fell by 21 percent, and Potential Severe Events decreased by 57 percent. Claus points out that there was also a sevenday reduction in days away from work compared to year before, resulting in a hidden cost saving of approximately $5 million. In addition to that, there was cost avoidance for fewer injuries with absence, which amounted to an additional hidden cost saving of approximately $6.8 million. “This was through Leadership alignment, data-driven KPI´s, strong operational processes, and continuous improvement feedback loops,” he adds. Introducing the Safe Steps 24 “Trinity” model, a systematic approach to give leaders more time with less effort, to transform a Safety Leadership Culture within a business. 1. Behavior drives culture

If you are leading a complex organization today, you are expected to deliver ﬂawless performance in an environment that is anything but stable. You are asked to reduce incidents, improve quality, protect people and control costs – at the same time. Most programs address one of these dimensions in isolation. That is exactly why they fail.

2. Data reveals blind spots 3. Health sustains performance “Our approach brings together three fundamental elements backed by several very simple principles which start with a simple fact: you cannot expect to

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lead others on a journey of change unless you can manage and lead yourself on your own journey,” Claus highlights. Their principles include: Ÿ A person cannot change an organization until they have embraced signiﬁcant change for themselves Ÿ A person who leads must be able to hold up a mirror and look unﬂinchingly in the mirror to see their own traits around personal health, wellbeing, strengths, and their own development areas The program designed by them provides the vehicle to embrace personal change, since a healthy leader is a successful leader able to speak with true authority in change, beyond process, IT, and policies.

Creating a Masterclass for Leaders Claus and his team are finalizing a Masterclass to support leaders, senior or young, or talented people aspiring to step into the safety leadership arena. In just 6 months you will gain the skills to drive significant impact to mitigate quality, environmental, health, and safety problems. Claus explains that if an organization is struggling with quality or EHS issues, it will likely also struggle to make money. The critical question is not whether transformation is needed. The question is how long organizations can afford to wait. Every quarter without behavioral change increases operational risk. Not visibly but systematically.

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Quality- and EHS-related problems lead to customer complaints and/or authorities intervening in business operations. So, while this is not what leaders are normally measured on, but on ﬁnancial results, shareholder value, and customer satisfaction, these elements become critical to any organization. “When you focus on them and make sure you get them right,” Claus says, “you also put yourself in a position to earn money. This is what we solve with the Masterclass.” Currently, they are working on the ﬁnal details. “One of the things that makes what we do unique is that we do not use people with similar backgrounds to develop the Masterclass. I have a sports scientist and

psychologist, a machine learning and AI expert, a Lean expert, and business transformation coaches from complex organizations like nuclear energy, oil and gas,” Claus says. The program is being designed to be limited, with each class capped at 20 people. Claus explains that this ensures their team has enough time to work with participants, and participants have suﬃcient time to interact with and learn from one another. This creates a valuable learning opportunity as well as creates harmony among the group, according to him.

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The Legacy! Claus wants his legacy to be the employees and leaders he has trained who remember what they learned through their interactions with him. “If I can help people prosper, that makes me proud,” he says.

Setting an Impossible Challenge Claus believes in the saying that one is never too old to learn new tricks. According to him, it is important that leaders stay vigilant and pay attention to what is happening around them. “Because if they don't,” he says, “they will fall behind the curve.” The diﬀerence is not intensity, it is integration, hence the “Trinity” model.

example, they created AI. Claus helped develop an AI and machine learning tool that no one thought was possible. “We made it possible,” he says. “That is what drives me: setting a challenge everyone thinks is impossible and then ﬁnding a solution to mitigate it,” Claus points out. And that is exactly what they are trying to do right now.

“One thing is certain,” Claus adds. “Humans are the ones who create the wonders of the world.” For

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JENS MITTENDORF A Journey from Navy Diver to Medical Systems Leader

n the ever-evolving landscape of medical systems, few leaders stand out as prominently as Jens Mittendorf, the Managing Director of DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS GMBH. His journey from a Navy diver to a leading figure in the medical industry is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and visionary leadership. This article delves into his inspiring story, exploring the milestones, challenges, and philosophies that have shaped his career and the growth of DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS. Jens's story is not just about professional success but also about personal growth and the relentless pursuit of excellence. A Serendipitous Start in the Medical Field Jens Mittendorf's entry into the medical field was serendipitous. "The start in the medical field happened by accident," he recalls.

After a diving accident during his service as a navy diver, Jens was no longer able to continue in that role. The Navy offered him an opportunity to be trained as a medic, marking his first foray into the medical sector. This unexpected turn of events laid the foundation for his future career. It was a pivotal moment that redirected his path and ignited a passion for the medical field that would define his professional life.

appreciation for individual strengths, helped Jens develop a leadership proﬁle that values transparency and straightforward communication. This approach has been instrumental in building a cohesive and motivated team at DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS, a company he founded 22 years ago. His military background instilled a sense of duty and precision that he carries into his business practices.

Military Discipline Shaping Leadership

From One-Man Show to Global Enterprise

Jens's experiences in the German Navy and Bundeswehr Central Hospital signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced his leadership style. "The military is a hierarchical but transparent, strong result-based organization," he explains.

The journey to becoming the Managing Director of DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS was marked by several key milestones. Jens founded the company with just 5,000 Euros, starting as a one-man show. "I had little knowledge about the market from my former jobs, but as a managing director, I was absolutely green," he admits. However, his

The discipline and structure of the military, combined with an

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Managing Director, DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS GmbH

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military skills, determination, and a bit of luck helped him grow with his tasks. Today, DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS is a thriving enterprise with a global footprint. His story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of seizing opportunities as they arise. Diverse Responsibilities of a Managing Director As the Managing Director, Jens's role is multifaceted. "Like a facility manager, you have some day-to-day tasks, but you never know what's up next," he says. His responsibilities include strategic development of new markets and products, ensuring the ﬁnancial stability of the company, and overseeing a diverse range of operations, from development and quality assurance to CNC manufacturing. This variety keeps his role dynamic and challenging, requiring constant adaptation and forward-thinking. Jens thrives in this environment, ﬁnding motivation in the ever-changing landscape of the medical systems industry. Striking a Balance Between Work and Life Maintaining a balance between professional responsibilities and personal life is crucial for Jens. He engages in team sports, particularly handball, and takes short breaks with extended weekends to relax and stay focused. His involvement with the German National Guard also helps him stay grounded and connected to his roots. "Always remember your roots and values," he emphasizes.

This balance is essential for his wellbeing and effectiveness as a leader. It allows him to recharge and bring fresh perspectives to his work. Jens believes that a well-rounded life contributes to a more productive and fulfilling career. Overcoming Challenges and Celebrating Successes Reflecting on his career, Jens considers his transition from a navy diver to a leader in the medical

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industry as one of his greatest successes. "The plan was to stay as a lifetime soldier, but sometimes things change," he notes. Adapting to a completely different field and achieving success in it was a significant challenge, but one that he accomplished with determination and hard work. Today, he leads a successful SME with over 40 employees. His journey is a powerful reminder that challenges can be stepping stones to greater

achievements and that resilience is key to overcoming obstacles. Staying Ahead in a Competitive Industry To keep DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS at the forefront of innovation, Jens emphasizes the importance of staying informed about industry trends. "You have to speak with innovative clinics and doctors to get the best information for new trends and treatments," he explains. The company also collaborates with local medical universities and regularly hosts students for their master's theses, ensuring they remain on the cutting edge of medical advancements. This proactive approach to innovation helps DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS stay competitive and responsive to the evolving needs of the medical field. Jens's commitment to continuous learning and adaptation is a cornerstone of the company's success. Inspiring Future Generations in the Medical Field Jens is keenly aware of the impact his work has on future generations in the medical field. He acknowledges that while younger generations are welleducated, the drive to accomplish tasks may not be as pronounced as it was in his generation. "I fear that we will be stuck behind our capabilities," he says, particularly for SMEs that lack the resources of larger enterprises. Jens hopes his profile can inspire younger professionals to strive for success, showing that determination and hard work can lead to significant achievements. He believes that by setting a positive example, he can

encourage the next generation to pursue their goals with passion and dedication. A Leadership Philosophy Rooted in Action Jens's leadership philosophy is encapsulated in his credo: "Success is written with three letters! ACT!" He believes in being fair, transparent, energetic, and driving processes and projects forward. He also stresses the importance of teaching younger generations the value of strong principles and positive thinking. "Belief in values is something that keeps you strong and positive," Jens asserts. This philosophy not only guides his actions but also shapes the culture at DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS, fostering an environment where employees are motivated to excel and innovate. Guidance for Aspiring Leaders For those aspiring to lead in the medical systems industry, Jens oﬀers valuable advice: "Give trust to your people, lead them, and encourage them to learn and make experiences." Jens believes that positive leadership fosters a productive atmosphere and teamwork, ultimately freeing up time for leaders to focus on other tasks. By empowering his team, Jens creates a supportive environment where individuals can grow and contribute to the company's success. His approach underscores the importance of trust and collaboration in achieving organizational goals. Achievements Under Jens's Leadership Under Jens's leadership, DEHAS

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MEDICAL SYSTEMS has achieved remarkable milestones. From its humble beginnings as a one-man show, the company now enjoys global recognition for its products. Jens has consistently invested in personnel, infrastructure, and machinery, ensuring continuous growth and innovation. The company has achieved MDR readiness and FDA clearance for most of its products and has several new innovative products in the pipeline. "We currently have invested into two own facilities in Germany to grow further," Jens highlights. These achievements reﬂect his strategic vision and commitment to excellence, positioning DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS as a leader in the medical industry. Conclusion Jens Mittendorf's journey is a compelling narrative of resilience, adaptability, and visionary leadership. His experiences, from the Navy to leading a successful medical systems company, oﬀer valuable insights and inspiration for aspiring leaders. Through his transparent and disciplined approach, Jens has built a strong foundation for DEHAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS, ensuring its continued growth and success in the ever-evolving medical industry. His story serves as a powerful example of how dedication, strategic thinking, and a commitment to values can drive both personal and professional success.

BELTON FLOURNOY A Leader In Technology Consulting Practice While Paving The Way For Minorities To Be More Inclusive

oal setting is important, it inspires and motivates you. People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. Belton Flournoy, a director with Protiviti - a global consulting firm, knew he wanted Information Technology to be his second major right from his first IT class and he credits his professor at the time, Dr Monika Ayda, for the same. Belton realised that he rarely saw people who looked like him in business and he then told himself that he wanted to be the first openly gay, Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company. “To be honest, I don't think anyone knows where they 'want to be.' If you asked me 20 years ago, I knew I wanted to be actively driving change, but was unsure of what that looked

like,” he says. Now, as a director with Protiviti, he states that he truly enjoys helping his clients to solve their complex problems—especially the ones that leverage the newest concepts and technologies. Self-Belief And Hard Work Will Always Earn You Success Belton remembers wanting to work at Protiviti after seeing it in BusinessWeek's '50 Best Places to Launch a Career,' combined with the travel opportunities oﬀered by a consulting career. “With Protiviti, I have been able to work in Milwaukee, Seattle, Chicago and now London, as well as having travelled to over 19 countries, including Brazil, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. I also found myself at Protiviti,” he exclaims.

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As an adult, he struggled with his identity, even going back into the closet when he relocated to the U.K. Over the past 10 years, he has been able to ﬁnd his authentic self, and that is thanks in large part to Protiviti, which has a great culture that exists no matter where in the world you work. “Success is not important at all—ﬁnding a passion that drives you is,” states Belton. One quote that has stood out for him his entire life was said by Booker T. Washington: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” Belton says that he loves this because it helps him to always look at a challenge as the next rung to

Managing Director, Protiviti

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achieve success, rather than something to drag him down. A Set-Back Is Not The End, It Is Success In Progress Failure has been the single biggest driving force behind Belton's professional journey. “I ended up having to take time away from university due to finances, which was the first time in my life I felt lost. I returned a few years later with a fiery passion to succeed, which led me to get almost all A's after my return and receive offers from three top global organisations upon my graduation,” he explains. That passion has continued well into his professional career. Belton agrees setbacks should be viewed as a learning opportunity. He has been doing improv for several years now and he never envisaged the impact it would have on his public speaking ability. “The course taught us to stop focusing on what you cannot control (failures/setbacks) and focus on what you can, which is your ability to do better the next time,” he further adds. Even a personal setback, if viewed in the right way, can make a stronger person. “I've had my fair share of challenges,” he says. But only one stands out and relates to him personally. Belton had just completed a project at a global financial services company and was invited to meet with their head of change. Right before he walked into the room his client told him, “Don't let him know you are gay.” Belton responded with “I will not, as that has nothing to do with my delivery.” He soon realised that his sexuality is just as important as the colour of his skin, or the fact that he is from Texas. “Hiding it does

not make me stronger, it eats away at my ability to be my authentic self at work… I recognise the value and importance of developing an inclusive workforce, and of being a leader who makes people feel empowered and able to be themselves in the workplace, which leads to greater productivity,” he explains. Protiviti And Its Services Protiviti is a global consulting firm that delivers strategic insights to help business leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti provides clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit through its network of more than 85 offices in over 25 countries. Right now, it is facing what it likes to call the 'perform storm' of external and internal drivers that can act as both challenges and opportunities for businesses. These factors include globalisation, digitalisation, evolving regulation, increased cyber-security

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requirements and ever-changing business models. Protiviti works by balancing risk with opportunity to provide business solutions that enable its clients to realise the potential inherent in their business. Protiviti's culture makes it different from its competitors. Their CEO, Joe Tarantino, is a strong leader who empowers everyone in Protiviti to work together to serve clients in exceptional ways. “Our culture is a strong asset and competitive differentiator that shapes our daily activities. We focus on building strong and lasting relationships with our clients and we are proud that so many have become long-time trusted partners,” says Belton. Vision For Protiviti Protiviti believes in finding innovative ways of providing value to its clients and has trained all its global staff on design thinking concepts. This allows them to work alongside their clients, embedding innovative concepts into their capabilities to

deliver lasting change and value. One example is VISION by Protiviti, which is an exciting new global content resource exploring big, transformational topics that will alter business over the next decade and beyond. Through VISION, Protiviti aims to spark new conversations in boardrooms and the C-suite and provide a platform for innovative ideas to surface.

issues and discuss the state of our business. We then discuss speciﬁc client strategies, ranging from

levels and providing transparency into some of the challenges faced by people of colour,” he says.

how to deﬁne and implement a structured digital identity programme, to more targeted discussions related to deﬁning segregation of duties framework or automating processes in a user access lifecycle,” Belton explains.

Work-Life Balance

Organisations are also continually looking to improve their business models, improve the experiences of their customers and automate their business processes. To achieve these goals, ﬁrms are now looking for partners who think outside the box to provide tailored ways to solve the challenges. Based on their deep expertise, innovative approaches and wide experience across industries and geographies, Protiviti sees itself becoming a trusted partner for many of them.

Besides his client work, Belton is a very active participant in Protiviti's grassroots-driven employee network groups, including its proPride LGBT+ and proCulture ethnic minority groups. He's also a leader for Technology Community 4 Racial Equality (TC4RE), a group of leading U.K. technology organisations dedicated to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace, of which Protiviti is a founding member. Belton is extremely happy to have helped develop the 'Protiviti culture' during his time in the oﬃce.

They are also excited by many of the latest technology developments, including process mining, identity analytics and quantum computing, and plan to help their clients become more eﬀective and eﬃcient through the adoption of these new technologies. Roles And Responsibilities As A Director With Protiviti Belton says that in his day job, he is a director with a global management risk consultancy. He focuses on identity & access management and cyber security and leads a team of security experts who provide their clients with strategic technology solutions. “A typical day starts with a team meeting where we cover any critical

The pandemic presented Protiviti with numerous challenges, and Belton exclaims that he is pleased to say they've been able to give their people the support and care they needed, including providing additional benefits and work schedule flexibility. Together, their culture of putting their people first and making sure they're empowered to achieve their goals has meant that as a firm they've stayed strong and focused. “Protiviti also supports my diversity, equity and inclusion efforts outside the firm, such as my work with The Inclusion Initiative (TII) at the London School of Economics where I am an Advisory Board Member and with TLC lions where I act as an inclusion advocate, frequently speaking with organisations about the need to maintain focus on ethnic growth at all

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The work-life balance culture is one of the best things about Protiviti. Belton loves telling people to go to LinkedIn and search their hashtag #livingprotiviti for an independent view into their inclusive and supportive culture. Protiviti's leaders and managers work to ensure their people know they are valued and respected, and if they do ever feel overwhelmed, Protiviti offers a variety of programs and benefits to help, including flexible working, part-time working, sabbaticals and other mental health services. “We've been listed seven years in a row as one of Fortune's '100 Best Companies to Work For' and there's a variety of reasons why we continue to receive this and many similar accolades, including our work/life balance,” he further explains. A message Belton has for his younger self is: Don't stress yourself out about every failure—instead, focus on what went wrong and realise it will only make you stronger. And his message for aspiring leaders is “when you start doubting your abilities—stop and let your boss do that. The imposter syndrome will only drag you down. Oh, and we all suffer from it.”

JANE STEVENSEN A Leader With An Unsurpassable Record In Supporting Businesses In heir Sustainability Journey

uccess is different for everyone. Whether it's achieving accomplishments in building a thriving business, academic prowess, public recognition, financial gain, bringing up a family, playing a musical instrument, cooking something delicious, whatever form it takes, for Jane Stevensen, Founding Director of JS Global Advisory, success comes from following a passion and striving to make a difference – and not just for her individually but for the people and the issues that matter to her. Leading A Company To Success Is Not An Easy Road To Take Jane's career has taken her from the

world of international oil & gas exploration to advising global organisations on environmental risk and opportunity, governance, climate strategy, and engagement across the whole spectrum of ESG. Jane's working environment has ranged from the oil rigs of the North Sea, the rare Jarrah Forest of Western Australia, the rainforest of Papua New Guinea, to the Apennine Mountain home of the European Brown bear. Many of these places comprise fragile ecosystems with enormous environmental challenges, which led her ultimately to set up her own business. Working in such beautiful and extraordinary locations, and with her underlying love of the natural world,

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a passion since Jane was a small child, led her to a clear understanding that the planet is a stakeholder in all operational activity, and through the amazing people she met and the teams she led, developed her belief that business has the potential to be a real force for good. “My journey has taken me through a route encompassing international business, commerce, academia, and the third sector. I have gained insight and experience from the oil & gas industry, academic institutions, management consultancy, ﬁnancial services, and inﬂuential climate NGOs, eventually leading me to set up JS Global Advisory in 2018”. After a long career in the commercial world, Jane grasped the opportunity to spend time in the NGO sector for

Founding Director, JS Global

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four years leading up to that point in 2018. Jane was able to draw on over 20 years of experience in senior roles with leading organisations, building on expertise in creating global engagement programs and developing sustainability-driven strategies. She gained extensive international speaking experience as chair, moderator, and panellist at global events including the UN Climate Conferences most recently at COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2021, at the annual World Economic Forum meetings, the UNCTAD World Investment Forum meetings, the UN Environment Programme, New York Climate Week, and the Global Sustainable Innovation Forum events. Jane is also an advisor to a global consortium on planetary re-greening and re-balancing the carbon budget. This group is comprised of senior business leaders, high net worth individuals, academics, and policy experts, working towards developing a new framework for understanding climate change, and addressing six action areas for implementation. Challenges Make You Stronger When Jane started her career in the Oil industry, there were very few women in the professional world she was inhabiting, and being the lone woman was something she became very used to. There were many occasions when that could have been diﬃcult, but she states she has a deﬁnite “glass-half-full” approach to life and has always loved a challenge. “My years in the Oil industry provided me with the opportunity to build real resilience and strength – when working on location there's no HR department to ask questions of, and no time to ask them anyway –

you have to deal with the situation as it arises. I believe that, as a woman in those situations, the combination of professionalism and clear understanding of the requirements of the working environment, together with a strong degree of empathy and understanding creates a powerful recipe for success,” she explains. Jane's decision to move from the commercial world to the non-proﬁt third sector could be viewed in some ways as a roadblocking moment in a successful corporate career, but she would call it a major milestone, and a decision that in many ways was a leap of faith. She viewed this as an unprecedented opportunity to work with people whose passion for the planet resonated with her own, without the pressure of shareholder returns, and by doing so she was able to eﬀectively contribute towards achieving the critical changes the world needs in addressing climate change. JS Global Advisory And Its Services

Engagement programs, sustainability strategy, TCFD advisory – implementing the recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and ESG services – providing a full service Environmental, Social, and Governance advisory capability. Staying Abreast In A Competitive Industry The JS Global clientele ranges from global FTSE 250 companies to small independents. Climate change and the need for a sustainable business strategy affect every business and everyone in it. From the initial launch of JS Global, Jane has built strong relationships with other major advisory organisations, and they now have working partnerships with several firms including one of the WPP Group of communications agencies, one of the world's topranking global energy, research and data firms, and a highly respected and influential London and New Yorkbased financial communications and reputation management consultancy.

JS Global Advisory works across sectors and brings particular knowledge, insight, expertise, and understanding of the natural resources and energy industries – often called the “hard-to-abate” sectors. Their approach to sustainability consulting and climate change strategy and engagement is built on a unique understanding of the diverse perspectives that influence the way governments, businesses and financial market participants address the megatrends affecting our planet and society.

The vision of JS Global in the next ﬁve years is to be able to provide the toolkit for businesses, regardless of sector or size, to address both the risks and opportunities of climate change and be part of the global solution. Moreover, they want to be able to inspire organizations to believe they really can do it and radically increase ambition to achieve much greater targets than they thought possible.

The key areas of focus for clients consist of:

“Part of being successful for me is being able to contribute to a wider community and give time, insight,

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Inﬂuencing Change As A Woman In Leadership

and support to younger people. Mentoring, supporting and listening, passing on knowledge and understanding is an essential part of how I live my life,” says Jane. She is a mentor for two fantastic initiatives supporting young women – 'INSEAD IW50' and 'Inspiring the Future'. She completed her MBA at INSEAD, the international business school headquartered in Fontainebleau, France, and jumped at the chance to be a mentor on their IW50 program, established in 2017 on the 50th anniversary of women joining the MBA program. Inspiring the Future is an incredible UK-based charity that matches volunteer mentors with schools, to give the students opportunities to hear from people from across the professional world and boost their motivation, attainment and prospects. The programme is particularly targeted on working with schools in underprivileged communities to inspire the future generation. Jane's Life Before JS Global Advisory Before establishing the JS Global Advisory business, Jane was combining the challenges of working life with family life. She was building her career, and became a Director of a major Environmental Management Consultancy when she was expecting her ﬁrst child, and continued to work - sometimes part-time - as her family grew. She took some time out from the business world when her three sons were small, went into academia for a while as a Course Director for the University of Cambridge, becoming involved in the development of CISL, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Throughout all of this, her family has been the most

important part of the equation. “To be able to do this requires a huge amount of planning and prioritisation, a lot of help and back-up, and right at the top of the list, it's vital to keep hold of your sense of humour!” The start of Jane's career was dominated by travel and adventure. Joining the international oil industry opened up a world of new and exciting environments, and a need to be self-sufficient and able to think on your feet. Plus the occasional frisson of danger and no idea how things were going to turn out. She declares that she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Jane states, “Since establishing JS Global Advisory, it is enormously gratifying - and rather humbling - to find myself regularly invited to speak and participate at major world events, most recently for example at COP26, and recognised as a voice to be listened to, addressing the climatechange-related challenges the world faces,” She has spent almost all of her working life focused on this. “To see so much engagement now with these complex issues from business, industry, governments and institutions alike – although we have an enormous challenge ahead of us to address global warming – is incredible,” she adds. Balance In Personal And Professional Life As Founding Director, Jane, who defines herself as an Optimist, says that the business reflects her style and approach. She is collaborative, she likes to listen to all viewpoints, and determine the facts, but also the nuances and opinions of all the parties involved. The business is now a partnership, and her co-directors are

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involved in all the key decisions and client engagement. As the world is beginning to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, our ways of working are starting to go through another period of change as we begin to get back into oﬃces and public spaces. Jane is an early riser, a lark not an owl. The morning is spent checking the emails, working on client pitches, and responding to requests. She has a daily morning Zoom call with her senior business partner where they touch base on what's needed for the day, review new opportunities, discuss the current projects, and generally catch up. She takes a break and if she can she gets out into the fresh air and takes her dog for a walk. Then back to her desk for the afternoon, often with client calls and reviews. Jane enjoys cooking, and dinner is usually around her kitchen table with whoever is at home from her family. She is looking forward to getting back to the theatre and opera which she loves, and supporting the arts again. Work-life balance is always a real challenge, and although the pandemic has been devastating for the world in many ways, Jane thinks it has shown us new ways to work and create a more realistic and healthier approach to managing our time. Spending unnecessary hours travelling is something we should be avoiding – for our health and well-being, and it reduces our carbon footprint so it's good for the planet too. Jane claims to be a perfectionist, and second-best simply doesn't cut it for her.

SASA MARINKOVIC A Buoyant and Successfully Entrepreneur Focused On Building Strong and Inclusive Business Teams

usiness Development Specialist, Saša Marinković has more than 20 years of experience as Managing Director in five-plus companies in Serbia and Romania. Saša is an expert in establishing foreign companies in the fields such as IT, Real Estate, Agriculture, Sports, and leading the sectors of HR, administration, and finance. He is the Owner & CEO of PEOPLE FOCUS doo; a company that mostly focuses on the IT and software industries, but their work reaches beyond just that, enabling them to help clients make a mark in whatever industry they might be in. PEOPLE FOCUS and its growth under Saša's exclusive leadership PEOPLE FOCUS is still a young start-up company, founded in August

of 2021. Even though they are such a young company, they managed to be recognized as a good IT recruitment company in a short time, with additional support that can be a very good business development partner for any company combined with big experience and young professionals from diﬀerent educational backgrounds. As a recruiting company, PEOPLE FOCUS is more focused on clients from the DACH region, because of Saša's Austrian background and as a German native speaker, but they are also dealing with clients from other countries like France and Britain. Their main focus is to work with clients with whom they have a good mutual understanding and good communication. “This makes our life

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easier and all sides are more satisﬁed. Connecting good and right people with good companies is our passion,” states Saša. Success is the ability to do what you love and while maintaining balance in life If you are in a position of choosing the clients you want to work with, your team, the partners, all the people you cooperate with and also have your time under control to do most of the things you like without having the feeling that you are working at all, then you may say you have become a successful leader in your area of expertise, and Saša proudly says, “I am lucky I am almost at this point in my career.”

Managing Director, PEOPLE FOCUS doo

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In this situation, you will also have a good work-life balance. Therefore, everyone should focus more on people and choose the right people to work with. In order for Saša to select a person he looks for 3 traits: 1. to have great energy and passion for what they do and to be a trustworthy person. 2. to be a proven professional in the area she/he is involved in or that she/he has the potential to be one of the best in their area of expertise and to be interested in expanding their knowledge when needed. 3. to be capable to teach others and also be taught, for sharing knowledge is the highest form of creative connection on the road to sustainable mutual success. Challenges make you wiser and help you grow Saša claims that his whole life has been accompanied by great challenges, starting from his birth. He believes that challenges, even if they make our work more diﬃcult, are necessary elements of individual growth and bring out our true potential. In today's environment the earlier you start to cope with challenges the better you are capable to deal with new challenges. “I would like to point out a major challenge I faced when I was 27 years old. It was the end of 1999 and I had just moved from Vienna to Serbia. I started almost from scratch (with no contacts in Serbia) to deal with big challenges and to do business development for diﬀerent businesses in parallel,” says Saša.

One of the specific challenges he focused particularly on was solving a lack of talent in the IT industry. To expand the IT talent pool, he supported innovative solutions created by startups. The three most successful ones specialized in conducting IT specialization and requalification training and developing an online tool for testing job candidates. This has become one of the best apps in the world in this category where People Focus is also a Sales representative. Achievements and recognition received as a talent acquisition leader Saša has a great passion in playing key roles in assembling winning teams for various projects where he connects and brings together people from different fields. He had that chance in his previous work experience where he developed and led multiple successful projects from different fields in parallel at the same time, but most of all he had a passion in somehow bringing people together from Serbia and the region and connecting them to Austria, where the end result was successful and everyone was satisfied, which was not an easy task but he states it was so fulfilling for he finds inspiration in creating a win-win situation. The importance of a team is best described by Steve Jobs who used to say – Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people. And that is something I always have in my mind. Personally, Saša finds gratitude and satisfaction in occasions when the employees or people that he worked with on a project told him that they liked to come to work because of the

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people in the team, that this was the key factor that motivates them to work where they have found a mutual purpose a friendly environment to grow that moves them way beyond the monthly paycheck. “As a leader there is a need to create a good team which is capable of organizing and reorganizing themselves for different things that pop up in a working day in order to achieve success in any field, and when that is achieved, then there is no better recognition for me than knowing I have assembled a functioning “self-sustaining” team that didn't fail,” states Saša. It is like in sports teams. As a leader you have to select the right people and put them together but you have to do this often smoothly, and sometimes you will choose the wrong people, it happens and it is normal, but you have to react very fast and choose the right ones for every position you need in your team, then you need to also give your team time to adapt and to learn to work together. “As a leader your main task and goal is to be the team support in reaching the defined goals,” he says. Life before and after becoming CEO of PEOPLE FOCUS Born in Vienna, Saša lived and worked in Vienna until the end of 1999, when he moved to Serbia. He started his career in Vienna in 1994 with part-time jobs, for instance, Hewlett Packard in the credit & finance department for Eastern Europe. Also, for over three years, he worked as a technical support team lead at Netway, one of the first Internet Providers in Austria (founded by Raiffeisen Group). In 2000 Saša accepted a job offer to move to Serbia to re-establish an

Austrian company, Teletrader Beograd, in which he remained a managing director for the next 21 years. Teletrader was one of the first IT companies in Serbia that he developed from its inception to a business that now employs over 150 employees. He also managed another smaller IT company, a subsidiary of SUPERFUND for over 15 years. He was also the representative for Sports Sponsoring of the Austrian investment fund SUPERFUND in Serbia. Another domain of Saša's expertise was agriculture business development. Two companies he established and managed for more than ten years in this domain were Bio Farma d.o.o. in Serbia (Organic Production) and Agrimir în Timișoara, Romania. Another complex challenge was from 2017 to 2021 where he ran a complete engineering reconstruction project of an 800m2 office space (two floors), the undertaking of Teletrader Real Estate. Saša, who defines himself as a 'people-oriented' person states that his passion is playing a key role in selecting the right people for every project, connecting people and therefore supporting businesses to reach their goals. To create a winwin-win situation.

legal work and ending with sales or ﬁnding good clients. He is consistent with what he does and the way he does it. Focused on building teams and making people he works with feel valued, included, and motivated in their work. Plans for the future of PEOPLE FOCUS The future plan for PEOPLE FOCUS is to become the No. 1 company in Serbia and the surrounding region in the IT recruitment area and in becoming a long-term partner for companies from German speaking countries like Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Saša states that he has achieved most of the dreams he put on paper when he was 23, but not all of them. “There are a few more I would like to fulﬁll, hopefully, by this time next year to accompany my 50th birthday celebration,” he exclaims. Staying motivated to maintain a balance in life “Focus on working with the right people (in a company that has an understanding for work-life balance) gives you a chance to be successful in this mission to maintain balance in your personal and professional life,” says Saša. If you treat every employee as a

Saša's motto is a saying that you don't build a business – you build people. And then people build the business. As owner and CEO of PEOPLE FOCUS Saša's responsibilities include a wide range of tasks focused on managing the company's overall operations and resources. Starting with ﬁnances, administration and

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human being with the respect and acknowledgment they deserve while also apologizing for any mistakes made and allowing your employees to be open with you and express their opinions freely on a regular basis, then you will have your employees motivated. Also, to offer customized benefits for your team, the company needs to focus on what is important for the employee and not be only focused on what other companies are doing, i.e. to customize benefits with the personal needs of employees. Each and every company needs a different approach with their employees depending on both the company and the employee needs and capacities. “I can personally say I am mostly motivated when my clients and employees are equally satisfied in reaching the mutual goals,” Saša states. Saša's message to aspiring entrepreneurs is: you should always be fully focused on your goals and should always find the time to find the right people that you can count on. A good team and partners you can trust give you peace and mind space to concentrate fully on business and private matters. If you make a mistake in choosing the wrong people you can still do the right things eventually, but you will lose a lot of energy, opportunities and more. So be wise in your choices.

MARIA JOSÉ AMICH The Lisbon MBA Católica: Committed to Developing Students' Full Potential to Become Principled Global Leaders

he most popular sort of business education remains top MBA programs. According to statistics by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), MBA programs account for two-thirds of all business school admissions. The MBA's capacity to adapt to changing corporate environments is one of the reasons it has stayed so popular throughout the years. By adapting to new technology and changing corporate needs, MBA programs have maintained their status as signiﬁcant career boosters. The Lisbon MBA Católica | Nova is cooperation between two prominent European business schools situated in Portugal: Católica-Lisbon and Nova SBE. It began in 2007, and then in

2009, it partnered with MIT Sloan School of Management, a relationship that has grown stronger since then. The Lisbon MBA offers students a unique blend of a challenging academic component, a "learning by doing" educational method, a truly international orientation, and a unique component in leadership qualities development. Given that its MBA is situated in Lisbon, a diverse and dynamic European centre, with an immersion program at MIT Sloan in Boston, a globally famous start-up hotspot. The MBA program at the institute helps students become inventive thinkers and innovators with an entrepreneurial and forwardthinking attitude, ready to make a significant effect on business and society.

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The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova has been consistently recognized as one of the top MBAs in the world by the prestigious Financial Times ranking, and belongs to the selective club of <1% of MBAs in the world with the Triple Crown Accreditation (AACSB; Equis; AMBA) The Executive; Maria José Amich Maria José Amich's role as Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA is to continue working to improve the institute's competitiveness, unique positioning of the programs, and international reach by collaborating with deans of the schools, academic directors, and all stakeholders (faculty, alumni, students, and partner companies) to foster long-term and sustainable relationships. She states,

Executive Director, The Lisbon MBA Católica

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"Our goal is to continue attracting the best talent to our programs with the integrity and the open-innovative mindset that identifies us, investing in fostering diversity in all criteria and boosting the prestige of The Lisbon MBA in the international academic landscape, reflected in our growing position in the rankings." The Lisbon MBA Católica | Nova The Lisbon MBA offers two MBA programs: Ÿ International MBA- An intensive 12-month full-time program aimed at high-potential professionals with an average of 8 years of experience (minimum of 3), who want to accelerate or change their careers through a unique transformational experience in the development of management and leadership skills. Ÿ Executive MBA is a 22-month part-time program, aimed at more senior professionals, with an average of 13 years of experience (minimum of 5), who wish to progress to top management positions in their organizations or change careers, with minimum disruption to their professional and personal life. Both programs feature an immersion program at MIT Sloan: the International MBA lasts one month and the Executive MBA lasts one week, with both focused on entre(intra)-preneurship, digital business transformation, and technological innovation. According to Maria, the Lisbon MBA is constantly updating its curriculum to incorporate the latest business trends, guaranteeing that students gain

the management technical abilities and behavioral competencies that firms, and organizations in general, want in their managers and leaders. She states, "We offer high levels of employability, sector change, and salary increase of 90% after 3 months of completing the MBA and salary increase of close to 80% after 3 years of having completed the program (source: FT Global MBA 2021 Ranking)." Finally, despite the pandemic's impact over the last two years, executive management programs have grown in popularity, with the institute receiving an increasing number of domestic and international applications as more companies, entrepreneurs, nomad business people, and investors from around the world consider Portugal as a place to live and work. Redefining Business Education The management of the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova is looking for more than just strong CVs. It is committed to quality and diversity. It seeks out future global leaders who can have a substantial effect on business and society with a wide range of abilities, accomplishments, and goals, and who

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embrace the institution's values of honesty, cooperation, excellence, innovation, and sustainability. "People who have a high degree of self-awareness, can do introspection, and identify exactly their areas of improvement are open to change, to innovation, and to being challenged outside of their boundaries," explains Maria. To be able to adapt to the requirements of a global, everchanging corporate environment, the Lisbon MBA emphasizes diversity, inclusivity, and a culture of integrity. It has more than 20 nationalities represented in its programs, with 60% of full-time MBA international students coming from a variety of professional and academic backgrounds, including engineering, medicine, law, management, economics, and social sciences, and working in a variety of business sectors. The educators at the Lisbon MBA are always on the lookout for applicants who can bring a variety of experiences and views to the table, and who can inspire others with fresh ways of thinking, new models of analysis, and new solutions and

techniques to improve collective learning. Furthermore, the faculty is made up of professors who are a mix of academics and practitioners with extensive international experience, bringing not only the results of their original research but also real-world business experience to the classroom, contributing to a global perspective on business management. Keeping Innovation at the Front The management of the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova places a high priority on creativity and innovation, and believes that training managers and leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset, who can turn ideas into business models and generate creative solutions, is critical. In this regard, its long-standing partnership with MIT Sloan is evidence of this curricular focus, as the internationally acclaimed Professor Bill Aulet's entrepreneurship course (Disciplined Entrepreneurship) is part of the MIT immersion program for its students, which is supplemented by subjects focused on technological innovation management and digital business models. Students can also take courses in Big Data & Data Analytics, Artiﬁcial Intelligence, Business Transformation, and Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures, among other subjects. In all degrees, the institutions' action learning component – learning by doing – is particularly strong. Students in the International MBA program have the option of completing an in-company assignment, participating in an international consulting project that takes our students to diﬀerent geographies, being a part of the

Lisbon MBA Entrepreneurship Hub's accelerator program, for those students who want to turn their business idea into a viable business project, or participating in an ESG consulting initiative, for those students who want to broaden their knowledge in this key business d All students in colleges' Executive MBA programs work in groups to complete a business project and a business simulation, which allows them to put what they've learned throughout the program in marketing, commercial, finance, operations, organization, and human resources, as well as behavioral skills, into practice in order to excel in their teamwork as high individual and collective contributors for high performance. It's also worth mentioning the alumni community's vitality, which just inaugurated the Entrepreneurship Chapter, with monthly seminars and a start-up context, in collaboration with the world-renowned Web Summit, which takes place in Lisbon every year. The winner of the context, who might be a Lisbon MBA alum or current student, will receive a booth at the Web Summit. Rooting with Core Values By offering students with a unique learning experience in an entrepreneurial and international setting, the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova is devoted to helping students reach their full potential as global, principled leaders who contribute to a better society. As a result, it has a value proposition based on five elements: Truly Global MBA experience, outstanding Action Learning, a Holistic approach, combining the

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learning and development of hard and "deep transferable" skills, a Meaningful Career Advancement, contributing to its students' finding and pursuing their life and career purpose, and finally, the city: Lisbon, the place to learn, live, and grow. Within these five strategic pillars, the institute is constantly renovating its proposal, by incorporating new projects, new expertise, and new partnerships that allow it to continue innovating and strengthening its unique value proposition. Comprehensive, Custom-Oriented MBA Program In terms of goals, the management seeks to improve the Lisbon MBA's status as a European and international reference for MBA programs. As previously stated, the Financial Times has named the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova as one of the greatest MBAs in the world, and it has been ranked #1 in international experience for several years. It was also named one of the best MBA programs in the world by The Economist for the first time in 2021. Maria asserts, "As we look for candidates who are open and eager to challenge themselves, at the Lisbon MBA we need to set the example by permanently questioning how we do things and how we can do them better." Being a part of the world's finest MBA program makes the participant extremely proud, but it also comes with a great deal of responsibility to stay one step ahead in every aspect, including academics, but also in the way it recruits, communicates, and offers career services and customoriented program support.

LAETITIA CAILLETEAU A Progressive Leader Delivering Robust And Innovative Technology Solutions

ll of us are constantly driven by the desire to succeed. However, success is a relative term, because what you may consider 'successful', may not fit someone else's definition. Laetitia Cailleteau, states that success for her is about making the world a better place, working as one with clients, communities, and her teams. Creating impact and being a change agent are essential elements of her definition of success. Staying balanced and grounded across all her roles - mother of three, wife, and daughter is an important aspect of her successful journey. Laetitia is the Managing Director, DATA & AI Europe Lead, and the Global Lead for Conversational AI for Accenture. She believes that the toughest part these days for many of us is to be in the now, to ride that

crest and enjoy it. “I work hard at being present in the moment. But I've always got my eye on the future. I'm always thinking of ways to lead my teams to have that greater impact, to master the transformations required to better serve our clients,” she says. Leading A Company To Success With Courage And A Leap Of Faith The consulting industry, by default, always pushes you to the edge of a world of possibilities driving transformation and change. “The depth and breadth of the impact are exciting, especially in a company like Accenture that covers all industries and facets of transformation,” she states. She strongly believes in the fact what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. “The biggest roadblocks are

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the ones we learn from most, forcing deep reﬂection, causing us to question things, reassess and change course. It's hard to pinpoint speciﬁc roadblocks,” she explains. Laetitia's job is all about pushing the boundaries of what's possible so perseverance, rethinking, and evolution are key. There are precious few templates around how to be a woman and mother in such a demanding leadership role in tech. It requires vast stores of energy. And it requires constant awareness of the cultural stereotypes that must be resisted. “I can see meaningful progress in the industry but it's not happening quickly enough. The key is to grow your support networks with people who believe in you, who give you energy. And you must never stop believing in yourself,” she states.

Managing Director, Accenture

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The Services Of Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with cutting-edge capabilities in digital, cloud, and security. Their mix of specialist skills and experience is, truly, unparalleled. They've got 674,000 people working across more than 40 industries. They oﬀer services in Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations, and Interactive, all powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. “Without hesitation, I can say our people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, giving their best to clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, our people, our shareholders, partners, and communities,” exclaims Laetitia. Vision For A Bright Future Laetitia believes that we have entered the 4th industrial revolution and that signiﬁcant and accelerated change will power the world. She wants to be at the forefront of this movement - a shaper of a better future rather than a passive actor. She loves this quote by Churchill: If you don't take change by the hand, it will take you by the throat. She strongly claims that Accenture is the best place to work and that's not only her biased opinion, the market agrees. It has an inspirational ethos and mantra: 'Let there be change'. Change is the only constant and it is what unites them all to be the best at what they do.

Julie Sweet, their CEO, is spearheading their transformation, and Laetitia exclaims that being on this journey with her is very exciting. The organization is about living a purpose. “How we infuse the crossroads of technology and human capability to deliver diﬀerentiated value to our clients is made possible only through the individuals here,” she says. She believes that their talented people are what will carry them forward to even greater success. She also believes they must keep investing in a diverse employee base, as the diversity of thought and experience is what will allow Accenture to thrive in an evolving society. She is committed to creating a vibrant and engaging community to help shape the paths of people, allowing them to see how important they are for the company's future.

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Women Empowerment & Representation Women represent more than half of the global population. They tend to be superstars at emotional intelligence, mastering versatility, and balancing various demands and needs. A society without the right level of women empowerment is a society that tends to be more divisive, power-hungry, and reactive, always firefighting. “We are essential in bringing more balance, openness, and harmony to our roles and we do it proactively – fact surveys and statistics tend to overlook,” says Laetitia. Laetitia surrounds herself with a very diverse team in terms of gender, religion, social background, disabilities, age, and sexual orientation. She states that she knows her teammates well. “I know what they can bring at work but also what motivates them outside of the office. I

also make time to see how junior staffers and new hires are getting on in my division. I recently created what I call #nofilter sessions for the 3,500 people aligned to Data & AI,” she adds. She invites all of them to book 20 minutes with her to discuss anything they like. Authenticity is key in these sessions and Laetitia openly shares her struggles and her coping strategies. She creates a safe space for people to open up, to show her their true selves, and let her help them navigate the workplace. A recurring topic for working mothers is how to manage the guilt . She helps them find their ways and power in what others may see as quirks or vulnerabilities. The ultimate recognition for Laetitia is the feedback she receives from members of her team and their clients. “It's often unexpected, coming out of the blue, and it's always appreciated. Knowing you're making a positive difference is such a great reward,” she exclaims. Responsibilities As Managing Director Laetitia, who defines herself as a visionary, is the lead for Accenture's Data & AI business for Europe, which means she's responsible for ensuring its strategic growth. Data is a key enabler for business growth and having the opportunity to lead the charge in this space is a phenomenal opportunity. “I would say my days are far from regular. That's why I enjoy my work. Oscillating between client requests and the business the piece of work we're doing, means wearing multiple hats and constant multitasking. Every day is exciting,” she states. Laetitia

thrives on the challenge of staying on top of market trends, innovating, and delivering leading-edge value to their clients is always on top of her mind. Balance In Personal And Professional Life Laetitia claims to be a very driven person and she is passionate about what she does. When she sets a goal for herself, she achieves it. That said, she states that she can't do it on her own. She has a fabulous support system. Her family understands the demands she places on herself and gives her the space to operate. Similarly, she recognizes that getting the balance right for herself and them requires the right dynamic. They create a good space to thrive as a whole. Secondly, she surrounds herself with very smart, capable individuals. They are people she trusts, people who challenge her, people who are better than her, people who complement her and each other. Laetitia tries to create an environment for them to ﬂourish. They create a north star and vision of what they would like to achieve as a business and consistently celebrate their successes. Giving teams autonomy and recognition sparks productivity and collaboration. It fosters growth and helps achieve shared objectives. “It's also not always about work; we have great programs encouraging wellbeing. People are not just a set of professional skills. We consider the whole person,” she says. In addition, Accenture provides a world of possibilities for reinvention. It's a great place for someone to deﬁne their space and their interest and drive their ambitions for growth.

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Laetitia states that when her team grows and is successful, so does the business. They strive to thrive together and that's how they keep raising the bar. Pearls Of Wisdom For Her Younger Self & Aspiring Businesswomen “I would give my younger self the gift of having more hope. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. We are all humans, even the people at the very top of the career ladder. They are there because of their choices, their focus, their sacriﬁces, their hard work,” says Laetitia, “Where you come from may give you an advantage but it is not deﬁning who you are. I'm proof of that, the proud daughter of a single teen mum,” she further adds. She now has a fantastic mix of international experience, she's made a wonderful family, and she's achieved things that amaze her every day. Laetitia believes in herself, in her abilities, and took opportunities that she created or that presented themselves. Her message for aspiring businesswomen is - don't compromise on your values and interests. These become your framework and guide to reaching your level of success. “In the end, what matters is to be passionate about what you're doing. Stop proving yourself and keep improving yourself; do it because it matters to you. The rewards and recognition will follow,” she adds.

VINCENT SCHOETERS A Hardworking Leader Determined To Make Legislation Accessible Through Smarter Use Of Technology

s a legal professional and inspiring leader, Vincent Schoeters, Managing Partner at LEGILE, aims to change the legal industry by providing alternative, smart and more agile ways to do legal work. Vincent hopes to inspire the next gen of legal professionals, his team members, stakeholders, clients and even their biggest critics to work smarter. Vincent's idea of success is dual: - Make legislation accessible by means of technology; and - Help future legal professionals embrace the technological progress in legal and compliance services.

By doing so, he believes that access to legal support will eventually become a commodity. The beginning of Vincent's professional journey For more than 10 years, Vincent was an M&A lawyer at one of the leading firms in the Benelux. In the last years of his private practice, he was increasingly involved in digitalization projects in order to organize his own practice more efficiently (e.g., for onboarding new clients) and also increase the client's experience by creating a platform which grants them interconnected insights in their digital files but also empowers them in terms of document management, legal entity

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management, and document automation. “This might have been the start with Legile and now we see that it grows bigger by changing the way legal services are and will be delivered,” Vincent says. Valuable lessons Vincent has learned and implemented as an entrepreneur Schoeters notices that: “There are three dominating problems faced by legal counsels and compliance oﬃcers Ÿ The need to accommodate various factors that aﬀect the business

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European firms, specifically smaller ones, already weakened by the COVID-19 crisis, are struggling today to recover since the Ukraine war began, with the inflation estimation ratcheting up. My question here: who knows what the future holds? The reality is ever-changing, and each episode brings different challenges that demand certain agility in adapting new solutions Ÿ The higher complexity of the regulatory framework; (specifically in companies with a data-driven business model and/or businesses whose core activities process a lot of (personal) data)

The solution? As a legal counsel myself, with a decade of experience within the Big 4 consultancy groups in the market, I saw in the traditional out-sourcing legal services, a onedimensional vision that does not fit all business models. An agile management methodology is called for to stay ahead of the increasing demand and accommodate changes in the operations of the teams accordingly. And that's how the idea of LEGILE sparked to life. It represents the perfect fusion between Agile Methodologies and Legal workflows, offering: 1. Staffing and interim management

I consider that compliance is a journey with different pitstops. The first, and hardest being when the business implements a new regulation. At this stage, legal counsels and compliance officers have to do their own homework to understand the regulation and its requirements and apply it within the context of the business's industry. The second pitstop, although not as burdensome as the first, consists of maintaining this level of compliance, which may involve investing in new technologies, staying ahead of the regulative updates, and staying on the safe side of regulatory inspections. Of course, outsourcing your compliance work would be ideal, but is it really an option for small and micro businesses? Ÿ Lack of resources; Without sufficient funds and resources, accommodating various factors of the market, or attaining high levels of compliance will seem like an impossible task.

2. Outsourcing of certain legal/compliance work streams (such as privacy management, procurement contract automation and management); and 3. Automation (whether tailored end-to-end legal process design/automation or implementation of oﬀ-the-shelf tooling).” An agile management methodology is called for to stay ahead of the increasing demand and accommodate changes in the operations of the teams accordingly. And that's how the idea of LEGILE sparked to life. It represents the perfect fusion between Agile Methodologies and Legal workﬂows Schoeters, alongside a multidisciplinary team of legal experts, curated a solution for each of these mentioned issues which he prefers to address as 'opportunities to enhance their legal and compliance operations':

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1.Spikes in workload can be covered by their legal staffing and interim management solutions, 2.Workflows the legal/compliance team doesn't feel a fit with or lacks expertise in, can be outsourced and taken care of by means of their different managed service modules (such as DPOaaS, Contract Management aaS, Legal team on demand); and 3.Processes that are repetitive, represent a certain volume of work, and require too much manual interventions, can be automated by their development or implementation teams. Employee Testimony Legal Engineer Lennert Govaerts, working on a legal digital transformation project for one of the leading healthcare groups in the region states that “Our work revolves around helping the legal department get up-to-speed with other business units of the company, and technology goes a long way helping us achieve that result. However, as the needs of the business keep changing, implementing agile methodologies in the way we operate promotes the continuous iteration of development and testing throughout the software development lifecycle of the project.” Responsibilities as Managing Partner at LEGILE Vincent is the founder and managing partner at LEGILE. His scope of work includes maintaining positive client relationships and driving the business development aspects of the company. “It is the thrill of creating new business opportunities every day that

makes me love what I do. In my opinion, a managing partner's top priority should be to shape and inspire: Ÿ By shape, I mean to identify the business's true potential and bring it to life by strategically shaping the vision of the company in a way that answers the market's top needs and ensuring excellence in all client interactions. Ÿ By inspire, I mean to employ innovative technology and bring signiﬁcant thought leadership to consult on complicated issues in order to get the best-in-class outcome.” Schoeters' vision is to make the legislation accessible through technology, and LEGILE is doing just that. make the legislation accessible through technology The growth of LEGILE under Vincent's leadership LEGILE was launched exactly 2 months before the ﬁrst lockdown in Belgium. “You can imagine that this was not the most preferable economic climate, but nonetheless we succeeded in quickly adapting to the new ways of collaboration 'from home',” says Schoeters. “As an upscale, we try to give every team member (and not only management) his/her own skin in the game, allowing them to have the freedom to run their own projects and come up with new ideas to better serve their clients. We stay away from micro-management by stimulating our employees' entrepreneurial spirit. By doing so we guide them to lead by

their own personal values to create trustworthy and timeless bonds with clients, and that's what LEGILE is all about!” Vincent adds that he sincerely trusts that everyone has good ideas and those ideas simply need to be discovered. “We stay away from micromanagement by stimulating our employees' entrepreneurial spirit. By doing so we guide them to lead by their own personal values to create trustworthy and timeless bonds with clients, and that's what LEGILE is all about!” Maintaining a work-life balance as a legal professional “I love my job, however, I also prioritise family moments, and that's why I am committed to providing an environment that endorses a healthy work-life balance for me and my employees”, states Schoeters. Vincent adds that the best way to achieve a balance at work and personal life and boost productivity levels is by enjoying both equally. “and that is what we aim to achieve!” “I believe that the development of a company lies within the collective development of the team!” “If we can make work time more enjoyable, we will do it! And that's why we attribute a great deal of importance to employee selfdevelopment and ﬂexible working hours. We thought out a system that encourages each employee in developing his/her soft skills, culture and well-being. Ÿ Small example: LEGILE organizes yearly trips and monthly team events that aim to reinforce

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team bonds and increase communication and motivation. They also encourage their employees ﬁnancially to take up self-development courses and participate in conferences that can boost their expertise, and hence, the expertise of LEGILE. “I believe that the development of a company lies within the collective development of the team!” Future plans for LEGILE Schoeters strongly feels that LEGILE is just at the beginning of something bigger. “I am conﬁdent that by collaborating with us, legal professionals will become masters of their daily practice (again), by creating more time for strategic and intellectually triggering work instead of repetitive low-value tasks.” Apart from that, he says that they want to create more awareness and inspire young professionals enabling them to integrate technology into their future practices. “However, the above still requires some 'evangelism work',” states Schoeters. Schedule your call with LEGILE today and start accelerating your legal & compliance operations!

EKATERINA PETROVA An Innovative and Motivating Businesswoman Leading a Successful Innovation Development and Consulting Platform in Russia

s the Managing Director of GenerationS Corporate Innovation Development Platform, Ekaterina Petrova is an experienced professional with more than 15 years of innovation management and innovation consulting services for corporations and government entities. She is a successful entrepreneur who is paving the way and expanding career opportunities for many women. Receiving the status of “Best manager in the ﬁeld of innovative business” at the ﬁrst independent award for businesswomen “Charmous” in the year 2017, she completely redesigned the development strategy and relaunched the corporate accelerator GenerationS that became the top and

world-known accelerator. She is responsible for the launch of several strategic projects aimed at the development of the innovation ecosystem of Russia in partnership with development institutions and major Russian corporations as well as international. In 2020 Ekaterina became a Bronze winner of Stevie Awards for Women in business, one of the world's premier business awards, in the category “Most Innovative Woman of the Year – business services”.

success with your decisions and right actions. Being a part of a company, one can't achieve success without your team. “It's important to make workflow and communications processes as transparent as possible, to motivate and inspire. It is always important that people you are working with clearly understand and strive to achieve results together, launch new projects, or follow the same direction together. There is a huge difference between a leader and a boss. I prefer the first one,” she says.

Every person has their own “ingredients” for success

She further states that the most important thing is not to be afraid while going through diﬃculties. She believes all leaders face this problem occasionally. “You start thinking how you can recharge your batteries and

For Ekaterina, success means setting goals and achieving them. It's crucial not to be afraid and pave a road to

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Managing Partner, GenerationS

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bring back the spark. But for me, not giving up is the only way to turn difficulties into opportunities. The more work experience I get the more I learn to adapt and be flexible,” she states. Ekaterina's inspiration to take the leap of faith in her field of work Ekaterina states that there have been several things that have affected her decision to get into the field of innovation management and consulting services. One was the opportunity to bring some change into this world. Innovations are about that. It allows us to do something new and solve global challenges the world faces. You need to be up-to-date and follow modern trends, to understand how to respond to the challenges. There are and there will be so many fields for improvement. It's like a non-stop activity and a never-ending source of inspiration. Valuable lessons Ekaterina learned throughout her successful professional journey Finding balance is a serious problem for women in top positions. But it is not the only one. Fighting to be perceived and heard is another challenge for women in business. You can develop innovation strategies, and new directions, form a team of professionals, set goals, and achieve them, but sometimes even that is not enough. “There were moments in my life when I had to repeatedly prove that I was doing the right thing and leading the team in the right direction. Not everyone can hear you the first time, so I learned how to be patient. It's a good skill in business and life in general,” she states. Ekaterina believes that another

stereotype that has passed from life to work is that women are the weaker gender and as a result, are unlikely to succeed. She states that in such a situation, you have to show your personality, and clearly formulate tasks. Defending your position with intelligence and the right arguments is important.

technological directions to implement innovations, and developing innovative strategies for their partners that include a long-term plan of innovation initiatives with key metrics.

GenerationS: Its services and growth under Ekaterina's successful leadership

GenerationS' vision is simple – they are trying to find some points of intersection between the market and the main business activities their company has. They are trying to offer new innovative tools and mechanisms through these points of intersection that will improve or strengthen certain processes. They are trying to get business process holders interested and motivate them to work with innovations because innovations can significantly improve some processes.

GenerationS is like a baby to Ekaterina. She feels like GenerationS has always been with her. She used to work for some state companies, but she counts the start of her professional growth from the moment GenerationS was launched. “We are going through a teenage stage where we are trying to understand who we are and who we want to become in the future, what path to follow, what goals to set, identify market needs and our potential clients – to make a service that is in high demand,” she explains smilingly. In the last two years, they have been working hard on trying to adapt to the changes that shook the world of business tremendously; that is an ongoing process. GenerationS was launched in 2013 and went a long way from being just an accelerator to a fully functioning independent platform offering different innovation services to companies – Russian and international (e.g. Michelin, Unilever, PepsiCo, Airbus, Enel Group, Ferring). Considering the current world's situation they are focusing a lot on innovation market research by defining strategic areas for companies' growth, innovation audits, strategic sessions that help to identify strategic

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The culture of integrity and innovation in GenerationS

Corporate innovation development platforms, accelerators, and incubators represent support networks in the innovation ecosystem. Therefore, they are aware of the best international market practices and try to share them with their partners in Russia, showing how some processes can be optimized and improved, and how to come up with new types of business and solve global challenges. The future of GenerationS Ekaterina aims for GenerationS to become a global international project. She does not think that the current economic situation can somehow aﬀect these goals. GenerationS might become the right basis for building any processes in general related to the development of the economy of more than one country, because they can build a cluster-based innovative economy of

any country, understanding what methods, methodologies, and fundamentals must be used to achieve success. Uncertainty is difficult, but it is what makes one stronger and allows thinking and acting faster resulting in being a step ahead. Women empowerment and thriving as a woman in this competitive industry Women entrepreneurs represent about one in three growth-oriented entrepreneurs active in the world today (According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor). It is more difficult for women to take leadership positions in Russia than in Europe or the USA. It's fair to say that success doesn't have a gender. Besides gender, there is another issue that sometimes women face. Age bias is a common problem as well. “You can be bursting with ideas, but your initiatives are not always perceived positively. People around you may think that due to your young age you are unable to fully assess the risks and think over the strategy correctly. This attitude is often confusing, so it's important to show strength in character,” states Ekaterina. In rapidly growing startups, a leadership position can be obtained quickly. The key is quality is the ability to move the process forward, quickly solve problems, and look for different ways to achieve goals. In this segment, some women become top managers by the age of 25. However, in large companies, everything is a little different: positions of a high level are usually reached by the age of 40 because it is important that you have experience and understanding of how to build processes, and how to manage people and tasks.

Recognition received by Ekaterina as an inspiring businesswoman “The biggest recognition for me as a businesswoman was at the moment when I realized that our project grew from a small one into an integrated platform that is well known among Russian companies (we've worked with key market players) and among our international partners (by connecting Russian startups with international markets),” Ekaterina exclaims proudly. Through the years their platform has proved itself professionally and productively, by bringing real value. For example, she recently had a conversation and she got a response stating“ we don't want to ask about what GenerationS is, what Ekaterina Petrova and her team did in the past because GenerationS is a reliable brand. And it does not require any additional words because GenerationS equals the quality of work in innovation.” Responsibilities as the Managing Director of GenerationS Ekaterina always thought that the director of innovation is the person who has to build a very transparent innovative process of working with a product/service, the process of integrating some innovative solutions into a company, working with clients, etc. But, in their company (RVC Management Company LLC), GenerationS is equal to a small business in which she has to act not only as the director of innovation but also as the general director of all those processes that occur. Her usual day begins with operational activities and pushing through various tasks. This requires a lot of meetings

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with the team because she believes it is very important to give feedback, get feedback, and process requests that come. “Well, of course, a large percentage of my day is occupied by communicating with clients. Communication and clarification of processes is the ultimate key to success,” she explains. Motivating herself and her team with work-life balance The stereotype that you can't have both – family and a successful career in society has been fought for a long time. “Happy family, career, and other life milestones and achievements depend only on you. It's in your power to find and maintain a worklife balance prioritizing one thing over another. Yes, sometimes this is not easy, but it is possible if you know how much time should be given to the family for the sake of harmony within and to maintain a healthy relationship and environment. At work, you have to constantly keep many tasks in your head, and the solution most often required is to stay here and now,” states Ekaterina. You need to set your priorities and build a system in which you can live comfortably One type of motivation is financial and the other one is non-financial motivation where there is a desire to create something worthwhile together, which, drives them as a team, because they believe in what they are doing. Ekaterina says, “We are motivated by the fact that we are each other's support, we get out of different difficult situations, and set clear goals for ourselves on what to do next.”

DENNIS LUNDQUIST A Business-Driven Lawyer Helping Start-Ups And Scale-Ups Grow & Push Through Legal Barriers

s a forward-thinking business lawyer, Dennis Lundquist has a pragmatic approach to all things business and is a strong believer in the need for change and progress within the legal industry. Dennis has a background in legal tech giving him experience in the challenges (and importance) of trying to implement legal methods and workﬂows to technology- and/or sales-driven companies. Dennis Lundquist is Managing Director and Partner at Qap Legal, a boutique law ﬁrm for the movers and shakers, the dealmakers, and the entrepreneurs of Stockholm's startup and scaleup scene, a business which Dennis very proud of. Qap Legal has established a clear M&A focus and

has managed to grow its public M&A engagement substantially. The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it Success is achieving jointly established goals together. Dennis believes that success is continuing growth and evolvement under the theory that 1,00^365 still just equals 1,00 whilst 1,01^365 equals 31,18. Progress in its purest form. He says that success itself is not the end game, but rather a result of living by the above standards. Dennis also strongly believes that challenges do make you stronger. Without failure, there can be no success and each mistake and setback

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provide an opportunity for growth. Personally, he experienced challenges in pushing through barriers of age, hierarchy, and tradition in the legal industry, but it taught him that people who fear change and development and put themselves first often end up on the losing side. The beginning and the successful journey of Dennis' career in the legal industry Dennis' career took off when his current partner Niklas Bergman took him in as a junior associate straight out of university and showed him that there is an alternative to the stiffness and sluggishness of the traditional, legal industry. Today, he has grown

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professionally and holds the position of Managing Director and Partner. As a leader, Dennis tries to focus 3040% of his time on operations, business development, public relations, sales, and knowledge management. The remaining 60-70% of his time is spent on their clients and coaching their associates in client-related matters. He always tries to go beyond the legal side of things and understand what the clients at Qap Legal do and why. “My life pre-Qap Legal was mainly spent in an international M&A and corporate group at Eversheds Sutherland, which, granted, gave me a lot of legal and professional experience that I beneﬁt from even today, but at the same time reduced me to a small cog in a piece of large machinery and gave me a poor worklife balance,” states Dennis.

Dennis notes that the best recognition he has received as a leader cannot be pinned down to a single moment but in the constant development and growth of the associates and other employees at Qap Legal telling him that they are doing something right. Plans for the growth and future of Qap Legal The plan for Qap Legal is to keep disrupting a traditional legal industry and become the go-to M&A firm in Sweden for startups and scaleups. Dennis' goal is to build Qap Legal into an autonomous body that lives its own life and thrives on the growth of its employees. “I rarely reflect on the past and when I do it's to take a moment and appreciate all that we as a firm have accomplished. Instead, I focus on the future and what we have yet to

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achieve. Dreams need to be forwardlooking, otherwise, what's the point?” explains Dennis. Personally, he is looking to improve and develop in his role as an advisor by constantly increasing his knowledge, improving his work methods, and providing more and more value to the one on the receiving end of such advice. He is especially interested in elevanting his experience in corporate governance by taking on board assignments and being part of advisory boards in early-stage companies. Trying a maintain a work-life balance as a legal professional “I always try to look up from time to time to see the bigger picture and maintain my focus on what's important,” says Dennis who now have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old at

home that help him keep that focus in the best possible way. He also has a ﬁancée who is very supportive of what they are trying to achieve with Qap Legal. “Family is the best way to keep yourself grounded and focused. For professional support, I regularly see a professional business coach to help me improve my leadership skills and work eﬃciency,” he states. According to Dennis, employees that develop and grow remain motivated. He also believes that motivated leaders create motivated employees. “Growth comes from throwing them out in the deep end but letting them know that there is a lifeline if they need it. Having a relaxed and fun workspace also helps!” he exclaims. Dennis' message to aspiring lawyers is: Ÿ to look beyond the traditional routes and hierarchies of the legal industry and understand that clients are looking for lawyers that understand their business. Ÿ focus on mastering the transition from theory to practice. Ÿ start building your network from day one. Ÿ don't pick a job, pick a boss.

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