Issuu

T H E 1 0 M O ST I N N OVAT IVE B U S I N E S S M I N D S TO F O L LOW I N 2026

DECEMBER 2025

www.cioviews.com

EUSEBIO COTERILLO

Co-Founder/VP Sales identite

Pioneering Simple, Secure, Transformative Digital Identity

Modern Businesses and their Revolutionaries

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Throughout time, there have always been small numbers of individuals whose ideas are far beyond their contemporaries' expectations for what a business could be. Modern Day Innovators do not simply work towards building a successful enterprise, but rather have a vision for the future of commerce as a creative entity that creates value to multiple industries through the creation of "Innovative Business Models." They create new paths forward based upon their experience within their industry and identify areas for disruption when creating or transforming a business into an Innovative Business Model. Many of today's modern innovators have developed companies based on Innovative Business Models or New Businesses and are recognized leaders in the Process of Constructing and Operating an Innovative Business through Creating and Building New Businesses and by creating ecosystems that support and enhance the business development process. The opportunity to see how today's modern entrepreneurs transform their vision into an Ecosystem for business now and in the future is to see the Future of Business as it occurs today. At CIO Views, we honor these empowering leaders by dedicating this issue titled “The 10 Most Innovative Business Minds to Follow in 2026” to them. Featuring as the cover story, we have covered the successful & motivating journey of Eusebio Coterillo, Co-Founder/VP Sales of identite. We have also included the inspiring stories of Aziza Abed, Founder and CEO of Pure Health Dental Partners; Aiden Keegan, CEO of Esquires Coﬀee; Dr. Georges ALE, Chairman & CEO of SDP Project Mnagement; Jessica Blotter, Co-Founder and CEO of Kind Traveler; Lizette Ibarra, CEO and Founder of Latina Chief; Roger Yomba, President & CEO of Dhaxle Inc; Nataliya Wiedemeyer, Founder of Graviteams Management Consultin; Kelly Ruigrok, Founder and CEO of Global Sustainable Enterprise System; and Jane Stevensen, Founding Director of JS Global Advisory. 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.

Eusebio Coterillo

CONTENTS

24. Aziza Abed 28. Aiden Keegan 34. Dr. Georges ALE 38. Jessica Blotter 44. Lizette Ibarra

48.

Roger Yomba

54.

Nataliya Wiedemeyer

58.

Kelly Ruigrok

62.

Jane Stevensen

Co-Founder/VP Sales identite

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COVER STORY

EUSEBIO COTERILLO Pioneering Simple, Secure, Transformative Digital Identity

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Eusebio Coterillo, co-founder of Identité®, is reshaping the world of data security with a bold vision: a password-free, login-free future run by patented Full Duplex Authentication® technology, enabling secure, two-way communication between users and services they wish to access.

Having overcome the challenges of pioneering change and building a company from the ground up, he leads with a focus on helping others, making a positive difference in their lives. Excited about expanding into major markets like Brazil and India, he calls the final quarter “an exciting time of growth and transformation.” Security Made Simple, Trust Ensured For Eusebio, true security must also be simple, especially for users who aren't tech-savvy. As the world increasingly moves online, security and trust form the foundation of digital interaction. “If you can't define who someone really is, everything built on top collapses,” he observes. For decades, online security has come at the cost of user experience. Eusebio advocates for secure authentication methods that don't

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burden the end user. “The end user is always punished - remembering passwords, pins, and CAPTCHA. It's exhausting and insecure,” he laments. Identité's Full Duplex Authentication® is a patented technology that shares authentication responsibility between the user and the service. Instead of the user doing 100 percent of the work, the service must authenticate itself to the user ﬁrst. “That small distinction changes everything - hackers can't intercept both sides,” he explains. Eusebio describes this innovation as deceptively simple but transformative, as it uses encrypted image-number pairs that both the service and the user's registered device must match, making phishing virtually impossible. “Sometimes it's the simplest things that create the

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greatest impact. Like putting wheels on luggage - it made travel effortless. Our technology does the same for online security,” he remarks. This simplicity makes the technology universal, allowing anyone to verify authenticity. “We're not just improving security. We're making the internet safer and more inclusive, giving everyone, everywhere, the confidence to participate in the digital world,” Eusebio affirms. For example, companies like Levertech LTD, in Brasil have been able to leverage NoPass™, our patented PasswordFree© technology, into large scale telecom projects where end user adoption by everyone, regardless of age and IT skill level, for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been key to a project's success.

“He who serves others benets most.” C I O V I E W S

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“Identité delivered a robust solution that enabled us to capture a huge cross section of users that universally found the tool easy to use and used it daily. If users don't incorporate the security tools into their daily routine because they are difcult to use, of what value is the security you are investing in?” - Helder Gaudêncio, Levertech CEO Rethinking Passwords While Driving Innovation Eusebio's passion for data security began long before the internet existed, when “hardware was king and incredibly expensive.” He quickly realized that software was going to be the key to accomplishing almost anything. As the internet emerged, he saw its potential - and its vulnerability. “In the real world, you can see and know someone. Online, you don't have that luxury. For the internet to truly work, you have to trust who's on the other end. Security is the foundation that makes that possible,” he explains. Eusebio's entrepreneurial journey began decades ago, having co-founded several successful companies, including one sold to Hewlett-Packard in 1999 and another focused on digital signatures. When he and his partner started Identité®, he faced a challenge, not of technology but of perception. “The moment you tell someone you're getting rid of their password, they panic. They've relied on it for sixty years - it feels like taking away their locked front door.” Given the resistance to eliminating passwords and the importance of convincing users that security can increase without them, Eusebio points out that passwords were never meant to last this long. “The man who invented the password in the early 1960s thought it was a stopgap. No one imagined we'd still be using it two generations later.” While the idea of eliminating passwords isn't new, Identité® is the ﬁrst to make it both elegant and eﬀective, balancing usability with enterprise-grade security. “Everyone hates passwords, but no one could replace them with something simple, secure, and scalable - until now. A solution that's great for users but hard for businesses to adopt won't work. We built something both sides love,” Eusebio explains.

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“With this implementation, the organization will have a fast and robust authentication method that reinforces the security of its digital environments and web portals, which has greatly reduced operating costs associated with the use of passwords, and strengthens trust in its technological processes”. - Cristian Servin, NetInfo CEO As NetInfo in Paraguay, one of their channel partners noted, the ability to oﬀer secure, modern, password-free access, eliminates one of the main vulnerabilities in digital protection. This technology validates both the user and the system upon login, preventing impersonation, fraud, and unauthorized access, while providing

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an extremely intuitive platform for the end user, signiﬁcantly improving the experience and facilitating system adoption. Identité spent the ﬁrst few years building and proving the technology with a focus on simplicity and security, to make it accessible to users

of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, while changing how people thought about authentication. “We ran two tracks - one focused on development, the other on education,” Eusebio recalls. “We had to show that removing passwords doesn't weaken security - it makes it stronger.”

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Once the technology was seamlessly integrated with platforms like Microsoft Azure and Active Directory and Amazon Web Services (AWS), growth accelerated. “The last three years have exceeded expectations. The market is finally ready for what we've built,” Eusebio declares. “We're the ones who put wheels on luggage we did that for logging in. We've now achieved what was once thought impossible, eliminating the password and the login itself. You can get in without entering anything - and your security actually improves.” For enterprises, this means no more databases full of usernames and passwords to protect. For users, it means effortless access. “Our goal is to make security invisible,” Eusebio reflects. “Not just automatic autonomic.”

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Seamless Technology Integration & AI-Driven Growth

and VPN environments.” But where AI truly shines for Identité is in its ability to personalize outreach sending personalized messages to diﬀerent roles within organizations to resonate eﬀectively.

Along the parallel tracks of technology development and evangelization, what catalyzed the growth of Identité's technology was its integration with various systems like Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Active Directory. It now functions seamlessly across devices - from desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones - and connects with key developer frameworks such as React Networks to ensure compatibility across platforms.

“Before, our marketing approach was more global. Now, thanks to AI, we can develop highly granular campaigns,” Eusebio observes. “We can target a CFO, CEO, CIO, network engineer, or even an end user - each with a message tailored to their speciﬁc challenges and responsibilities.”

“AI has helped us primarily on the marketing side,” Eusebio shares. “On the technology side, we still develop our own tools, though we integrate with popular ecosystems like Microsoft Active Directory, Azure,

This shift has transformed how Identité communicates its value and helped it gain recognition from industry sources and positive feedback from clients. “When someone reads our message now, they

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think, 'These guys get me. They understand my pain points,” Eusebio says. “AI allows us to resonate on a personal level, creating meaningful engagement instead of generic outreach. It's helped us connect faster, smarter, and more effectively.” Leading Through Listening and Empowerment In Eusebio's role as co-founder, no two days are the same. Some mornings start with strategy calls across different time zones - the U.S., Poland, Belarus, Vietnam. Other days are filled with customer meetings, mentoring sessions, or partner discussions. A significant portion of his time is devoted to listening to team members, partners, and customers to align opportunities with execution. “Listening keeps us aligned,” he explains. “The moment you think you're too big to listen, you've started to fall. Humility keeps us grounded.” Eusebio describes Identité's success as rooted in two guiding principles: simplicity and security. “Everything we build must be incredibly simple for the end user and extremely secure for the organization,” he observes. “We want even a retiree checking their social service benefits to log in effortlessly - see 'race car & 489,' the same image should match on their phone then, tap their fingerprint, and they're in. That's the future - making security accessible to everyone. Simplicity and security - those are the cornerstones of everything we do. When you get those right, innovation naturally follows.” Eusebio's greatest achievement with Identité has been the global

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“Our goal is to make security invisible, Not just automatic - autonomic.” recognition they've earned, being named among the Top 10 companies worldwide for innovation and new technology, and being featured in Enterprise Security Magazine as the top solution for Identity and Access Management. The cover story, titled The Authentication Revolution captured what Identité represents - a fundamental shift in how digital trust is built. Beyond industry recognition, Eusebio finds fulfillment in client success and mentoring channel partners to ensure a consistent message and local support for clients. “When customers tell us their user engagement has increased, their e-commerce traffic has doubled, or that people are logging in more often because it's simple and secure - that's the real achievement,” he shares. “If it's easy to log in, people will engage more. Simplicity drives trust, and trust drives growth.” Prioritizing Balance and Personal Well-Being Eusebio highlights his early morning routine of gratitude, meditation, and exercise, emphasizing the importance of balance, nurturing family bonds, and sustaining both physical and spiritual well-being. “I start my day early - usually around 4 or 4:30 a.m. That quiet time is sacred to me. I go through gratitude, meditation, and set my intentions for the day before heading to the gym. Exercise keeps me grounded and sharp,” he shares.

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Outside of work, faith and discipline form the foundation of his equilibrium, helping him stay grounded and centered. “Church every Sunday is non-negotiable - it centers me spiritually and reminds me of what really matters. We often lose sight of balance, chasing work endlessly, but true success comes from equilibrium - nurturing your mind, body, spirit, and relationships,” he observes. The challenge of managing a global company with development teams in different time zones means adapting to multiple time zones and early morning calls. “If I'm leading, I make the sacrifice,” he explains. “I can't expect someone in Vietnam to wake up at 4 a.m. just because it's convenient for me. Leadership means being flexible and respectful of others' time.” Eusebio believes balance isn't something that happens by accident; it's a conscious pursuit. “You have to nurture every part of your life your work, your family and friends, your physical health, and your spirituality,” he reflects. “When you do that, you find harmony, and that harmony sustains everything else.” Driving Innovation and Family Legacy What keeps Eusebio and his team motivated is the positive feedback from clients. “When someone says, 'I never knew it could be this simple,' or tells us their user engagement has

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skyrocketed while password resets have vanished -that's incredibly fulﬁlling. It's real people telling us our technology made their lives easier, and that kind of validation fuels everything we do,” he shares. Eusebio's most rewarding moments are when clients reach out personally to share their experiences. “Sometimes it's just a short message or a phone call - someone saying, 'This is really cool. We love it. We can't imagine going back to passwords again.' That's when you know you're truly making an impact,” he reﬂects. Looking ahead, Identité is preparing for the next frontier of innovation with plans to develop tools for quantum computing that positively impact people's lives. “We're working on our fourth patent and developing

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tools that align with quantum computing,” Eusebio explains. “Quantum is coming, and if you're not preparing for it now, it'll be too late when it arrives. Our focus is to innovate in ways that make a real diﬀerence - if it doesn't help people, we don't pursue it.” On a personal level, family remains at the heart of his motivation. “I have three kids - they're not little anymore, but they'll always be my babies,” he says with a smile. “I started fatherhood later in life, and watching them grow into independent adults has been one of my greatest joys. Now, my focus is on creating a strong future for them and for the generations who'll inherit a fully digital world. If you can't pass something meaningful to the next generation, then what have you really achieved?”

Lead with Impact, Challenge Conventional Thinking As a leader, Eusebio sees his role as situational. “There are times when you have to lead from the front. You pull out the sword, rally the team, and charge. In other moments, leadership is about mentoring, inspiring, and oﬀering fresh perspectives,” he explains. He highlights the importance of perseverance, belief, and equilibrium in leadership, advising aspiring leaders to balance work with personal and spiritual aspects and delegate responsibilities to scale the organization. “You will face failure. It's a given. Nobody just sails through with green lights at every corner. Perseverance is essential,” he insists.

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You will face failure. It's a given. Nobody just sails through with green lights at every corner. Perseverance is essential” Eusebio emphasizes the importance of purpose and the need for leaders to help others and create a positive impact, rather than focusing solely on ﬁnancial gain. “Approach everything with the question: how am I helping this individual? If your focus is on making a positive impact, the money takes care of itself. The driving force has to be improving someone's life,” he advises. He also advocates for challenging conventional thinking, critiquing schooling as a vehicle for indoctrination to produce unquestioning, dutiful workers who follow authority. “Part of my job as a

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leader is to help people open their eyes to alternatives and think beyond the frameworks they've been taught,” he states. Eusebio believes effective leadership combines action, guidance, delegation, and teamwork. “You can't do it all yourself. Find smart people, give them responsibility, and focus on the areas where you're most effective. That's how you scale and build a successful organization. Sometimes you lead by example on the battlefield, and other times you lead by expanding minds and encouraging independent thought. Both are essential,” he reflects.

Conclusion Defining himself as selfless, Eusebio Coterillo's legacy is “to have started a humble company that made a huge difference in people's lives, globally, for generations.” Guided by a commitment to help others and create meaningful impact, his journey reflects inspirational leadership that blends innovation, purpose, and lasting influence.

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Founder and CEO, Pure Health Dental Partners

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AZIZA ABED Make smile your signature accessory - Pure Health Dental Partners!

n the fast-pacing business environment which is swarming with competitors readily attempting to intensify the economies of scale, there is yet no shortage of remarkable ideas, what's missing is the will of executing them before anyone else lays their foundation stone. Such is a momentous journey of Aziza Abed who is the founder and CEO of Pure Health Dental Partners who believes that there is as many fashion definitions of success as much as different colors of light visibly scattered when white light is passed through the prism. She claims that any individual in this universe can achieve the taste of success with anything you desire. These dedicated individuals are often those who have blinded the literal definition of quit from their life or might have abolished it so as to not be a boulder in front of deterring. Aziza believes that the key to success is investing time, energy, dedication, passion, and hard work into your pathway. Success

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is often achieved by those who believe that failure is inevitable even if they sit on the right track without getting run over. The fortune of being surrounded by solidly good people that believed in Aziza's vision and bought into a solid business plan laid the foundation of her commencement of success story. People that had complete faith in my abilities stood by. – she added. The worth of a smile: Every startup requires yellow pages of thick preparation, the building of the business model, forecasting of management plans, and building prototype to just realize, we were not as much good as we thought before commencing but we could be better if we accept the feedback and re-invest to rolling out the better version. Aziza had been in the Dental Service Organization world for more than 20 years and this never-ending experience has had given her a back-

end vision to build her own start-up. However, whatever expertise you hold, even the subject matter expert encounters several pins on the road less taken but Aziza believes that challenges are healthy in multitudes of respects as she was always surrounded by like-minded leaders who have had enlightened her to pursue several methodologies. Aziza has always found her source of valuable lessons through trial and error. Upon reminiscing, she claims that once in the past, she had invested in a practice whose research was backdated and she eventually lost a pile of bucks on it. This gave her a lesson to check and recheck the current data anywhere before investing yourself or your hardearned money. The priceless innovation with regulation: Every business success requires business preparation on a large scale.

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You don't have to be a master tactician per se, but you do need to have a plan in place and sometimes back-ups too. This plan will act as a foundation for everything you want to achieve even if you tend to fail on the pathway and feel like giving up. Pure Health Dental oﬀers patients an array of services at reasonable prices. As stated by Aziza, our dentists have a scope of cosmetic, restorative, oral surgery, endodontics, dentures, partials, and crowns. We have a traveling specialty team that performs Implants, periodontal services, and

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oral surgery services. Our hygienists are all educated on the ADA and AAP Non-Surgical Periodontal Guidelines. They also are skilled with in-oﬃce whitening procedures and preventative therapies. This reﬂects the dedication of resolution to be someone who was going to amount to something without turning back. The array of practices and services, no hours, nor the number of laborers, nor the monetary consideration could deter Aziza from delivering the best she could and yet turning back on it.

Make every detail perfect to the extent of crystal clear water and limit the number of details to perfect just like the foggy pollution in the air. Pure Health Dental Partners takes pride in the standard operating procedures that are installed in place to ensure every oﬃce member follows the Dental Board, CDC, OSHA, HIPAA, and all other regulatory compliance factors. My vision is to continue growing Pure Health Dental to be the leading community dental group in Ohio. – Aziza added.

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ﬂow. In a couple of organizations, her area of implementation was in the nature of clinical and operational foundation that allowed for streamlined processes and scalability. Oral health = Overall health!

The Facevalue of vision: If you have contemplated the vision of your goal, you must have to revisit it in your mind ﬁrst before you actually stand on the commencing line. As mentioned by Aziza, her vision with her institution is to continue to grow in Pure Health Dental and ﬂag it to be one of the leading community dental groups in Ohio. Prior to commencing her own venture, she has had gained the

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expertise as a subject matter expert in two other institutions falling in a similar niche. She had served in DentalOne partners for more than fourteen years as a Regional Clinical Advisor and Senior Leader of Operations. Later on, she was recruited by North American Dental Group and had served for more than three years as a Clinical Director of Operations and Senior Director of Operations wherein her assistance and contributions invited growth from 36 locations to over 100 locations in a

Any form of vision is the art of seeing intangible dreams transforming into an empire whose impact is felt for generations to come and beyond. Upon inquiring about the future goals, Aziza responded that she is looking forward to incorporating digital scanners in every location of her institute and beyond and also create a central in-house lab that will allow for faster delivery of custom lab work for our patients. She is also looking forward to acquiring 3-5 more locations in the near future. Anything beyond this year would be to potentially entertain a merger with a similar group practice to help leverage buying power and team collaboration. Upon reﬂecting her views as a businesswoman, she exclaims that, personally, as a businesswoman, I would like to continue doing education seminars, group training, community service events, educating myself on areas of the business that need further development such as recruiting and marketing and leverage the growth opportunities wherever applicable and possible. In her last pearl of wisdom, she quotes - “Find your passion, make it work for you by listening and learning from others who have done it, never believe you know it all, break down any barriers, work hard and stay focused!”

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CEO, Esquires Coffee

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AIDEN KEEGAN The Best Coﬀee Service Esquires Takes the Lead

offee is the most popular beverage consumed in the world. Statistics say that more than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. The aroma, the essence and relief it offers in a cup, is mesmerizing, making it an important part of peoples' day to day life. Doug Williamson, a 24-year-old young Canadian man realized that people needed a place to congregate outside of the local pub. With love for coffee and the people, Doug and his close friend set out on a daunting venture of exploring this flavorsome industry. They started Esquires in 1993, in a small “strip mall” that has grown to be the leading coffee brand in Canada and New Zealand today. As young, amateurs who had nothing but passion with the power to think out of the box, Doug and his team have an inspiring tale to tell. Passion that Paved the Way Starting their first coffee shop in in a

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small “strip mall”, as we refer to them in Canada, Doug refers to this opportunity as his first lucky break. The small but charming center, comprised of about 30 or so retail businesses, had come under tough times and was in receivership, which worked in favor of Doug's business plan. He grabbed the opportunity embarking a new career path without any experience. Evidently, the first obstacle that would befall them was sustainability in the market without a name. They needed to work doubly hard to stay put in the competitive field. With the presence of the big brands around, Doug and his team worked tirelessly to earn a position and acceptance within the community. They needed to listen to the customers and evolve to serve them and customize their design according to the taste and choice of the local community. Hard work and dedication saw them through, and they gained the trust of and respect of people living in North Delta.

By the 90s they had established Esquires as a leading specialty retail coﬀee brand in western Canada. Name and fame followed as the team kept working relentlessly year after year. More doors of opportunities started opening every year. There was all sorts of pressure, as happens in business, to grow and expand, but they had worked really hard building the chain and did not feel a great deal of urgency to expand for expansion's sake. However, fate had something diﬀerent in store. In 1999, a lovely couple who were franchise experts in UK happened to visit the Vancouver Island store and cite their experience as “We fell immediately and madly in love with their energy, environment, and friendliness. We knew Brits would just adore this brand!” Well, another lucky break in the book of Esquires wrote a new chapter of success and the following years just Saw Doug travelling across UK opening Esquires franchise outlets throughout the country. Today, they

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have more than100 stores, but Doug is very proud to say that Esquires Coffee evolved from that one small store in a small suburb of Vancouver; by showing people that they valued their business more than the big brands. The Essence of Remarkable Services Today, Esquires is a fast charging coffee brand in the U.K. and Ireland with market leading innovation around food and beverage. Today's coffee shop plays a unique role in their social interaction evoking different emotions in people. The Esquires coffee shops offer many other services apart from their refreshing coffee. They are places to meet friends, places to find peace; they are places where business is performed in an ever-increasing manner, they are places to unwind

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after the stresses of a busy day. They function as an extension of homes and businesses, as well as a place to escape them. Whatever the reason for visiting Esquires, every customer enjoys being in a comforting and peaceful environment where they can rely upon exceptional service and delicious food and coffee. Esquires draws on that need by providing a warm and welcoming experience while offering Organic Fair-Trade coffee, along with a range of quality teas and the latest in health focused cold drinks as well as delicious food freshly made in store. This clearly differentiates Esquires and has created a distinct goodwill with our customers who have become enduring and loyal devotees of the brand. The Expansion of the Business with Strategic Planning

developing new products, franchising has given the company different avenues of growth. More specifically, it has helped the company grow by allowing them to utilize the talents and local knowledge of their franchise owners whilst they can focus on building the brand, the supplier network, generating value and improving their systems. Additionally, having franchise owners that challenge them daily to refine their systems for maximum efficiency is a powerful way of growing, which they would not have otherwise. Indeed, franchising has its challenges as well. Assembling a team of like-minded individuals is incredibly important, as is finding qualified franchise owners that share our vision and values. However, franchising has fostered the growth of the company largely with over 100 successful stores today.

From moving into new markets to

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Over the last number of years store growth has been steady and indeed continues to be so and in the more recent past they have also been marrying store growth to in house improvement in proﬁtability through improved food programs and focus on procurement. While the latter does not necessarily bring about growth as such it does drive proﬁtability in store for the people at the coal face, their franchisees.

operational improvements to procurement to franchisee development as well as looking after the balance sheet. In terms of the emotions around this, it is mainly pride in the job being done by the great team, Aiden ﬁnds himself lucky to have a skilled team around him and the 'product' they deliver to their customers, the franchisees.

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Staﬀ are extensively trained to ensure they value all customers and practice a personal service

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Constant innovation to stay ahead of our competitors and strengthen our reputation of always being “the place to be”

The Vision of a Unanimous Team

The Experts Driven by a Vision

The team is passionate about ensuring their customers enjoy their experience at Esquires. They focus on building an emotional connection with the customers, paired with a functional solution to achieve a unique brand attachment and loyalty. Some of their key means of ensuring an exceptional experience in their coﬀee shops are:

Esquires already operates in numerous countries around the globe including Ireland, Canada, China, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Portugal. Franchising at its core, is essentially the leveraging of a good idea or a suite of good ideas and sharing that IP and adapting it for the market you are entering, however, for it to work one key factor must be at the heart of the business, the Franchisee. Without the Franchisee there is no franchising so their wellbeing in the business is the keystone to building any successful franchise. However franchising may change in the future, this tenet ought to remain true and adhered to. Esquires plan is to continue this expansion but in a sustainable way with strategic partners on the ground in these and new locations.

Doug started Esquires at the age of 24 along with his friend while they were still in search of a promising career path. Without any experience to begin an entrepreneurial journey was a challenging task however the suburb of Vancouver known as North Delta, is a land brimming with working professionals, students, and families of all ages, which could have been one of the factors that boosted Doug to take an unnerving step of risk. Taking calculated risks and standing strong despite the challenges has brought Esquires in the lead position today. Aiden Keegan took over from Doug in 2018 and has played a vital role in the strategic growth of the company and having been a major contributor in the growth of the business. “Having been with Esquires, albeit in the Irish and GCC sides of the business since 2004 it sometimes seems to me that I have done little else! However, I did also spend some years in Ireland's biggest indigenous coﬀee chain before joining Esquires and before that in various roles across hospitality.” Says, Aiden. Aiden's roles and responsibilities as the CEO of Esquires are quite varied and cover everything from

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A commitment to third wave coﬀee excellence and the desire to pioneer new innovative espresso beverages that are helping to shape the future of our coﬀee such as our recent Black & Tonic.

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Freshly roasted Organic Fairtrade coﬀee, teas and chocolate served alongside a selection of carefully chosen healthy and freshly prepared in store food.

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Individually designed and immediately recognizable cafes, exhibiting our sustainability commitments, independent character and proudly located in premium locations.

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Comfortable seating and readily accessible internet connections, supported by great music and magazines

The Future of Esquires

Esquires started with soul, passion and love.and today, 25 years later it has made a remarkable impression on the coﬀee industry. With over 100 successful stores, Esquires has taken the lead in the market as one of the best coﬀee brands with the best service. The skilled leadership and knowledgeable team continues to work hard to stay in the lead.

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Chairman & CEO, SDP Project Mnagement

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DR. GEORGES ALE Revolutionizing Africa's Infrastructure Project Management

eorges ALE, a distinguished scholar with an impressive educational background in civil engineering (Ph.D.) and an MBA from INSEAD, has carved a niche for himself in the construction industry over the past 25 years. Having successfully led several large projects and subsidiaries under the umbrella of renowned construction companies like VINCI Construction, VINCI Concessions, and Colas across Africa, the Middle East, and France, Georges's latest achievement is his recent stint as Managing Director of Colas Africa. In a bid to address the dearth of specialized infrastructure project management structures in Africa, Georges launched SDP, a project development company, in 2021. Drawing from his wealth of experience, Georges identiﬁed a gap in the African infrastructure development sector, which inspired him to establish SDP, a one-of-a-kind

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firm that will revolutionize project development in Africa. Stepping into His Entrepreneurial Journey Georges initiated the development of SDP after conducting a SWOT analysis of various stakeholders in Africa's construction industry. The statistics revealed that over 80% of infrastructure projects failed to meet their objectives in terms of quality, cost, and timely delivery. SDP aims to address this issue by reducing failure rates in countries that face significant infrastructure demands but have limited resources. Another key finding was the lack of local capacity in the African construction industry, resulting in a small market share for local companies. Additionally, there is a low percentage of structured projects in the financing landscape in Africa.

To improve this, the private sector needs to play a more significant role, but this requires better legal frameworks, asset protections, and a greater understanding of structured financing mechanisms by local private actors. Georges has encountered numerous challenges throughout his career, including frequent relocations, multiple job transitions, and working in a multicultural environment. However, his greatest challenge to date has been launching SDP in 2021. To pursue this endeavour, he left a comfortable executive role in a large corporation to create a startup dedicated to providing intellectual services in an industry that places a significant emphasis on tangible results. In this capacity, Georges was responsible for structuring the company's offerings, defining an appropriate organizational structure,

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recruiting a diverse team, and providing training in the field of infrastructure project management. Additionally, he was tasked with building a comprehensive database of experts in all areas related to the development and construction of major infrastructure projects, covering all phases, from identification and feasibility studies to technical design, financing, construction, and operation. Overall, Georges faced several challenges while launching SDP, but he was able to successfully overcome them through his hard work and dedication. Leading in Infrastructure Project Management in Africa SDP is a global consulting firm specializing in infrastructure project management. Its team of consultants includes engineers, financial analysts, and lawyers who work together to provide top-notch intellectual services to public and private clients in Africa. SDP offers project management assistance and consulting services in project finance and the implementation of public-private partnerships. SDP's mission is to collaborate with project owners, both public and private, to help them plan, coordinate, and monitor the execution of their projects. Its services can be enhanced to include Project Management Office (PMO), Planning, Piloting, and Coordination, and 360° project audit assignments. It is concerning to note that failure rates for projects in Africa are very high, exceeding 80%, whether it be in managing deadlines, costs, or infrastructure quality. SDP aims to reduce these failure rates for both private industrial project owners and the public sector.

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Additionally, it provides assistance to companies with their restructuring, the transfer of skills, project management, and the implementation of operational procedures. SDP plays a critical role in promoting controlled and sustainable infrastructure development in Africa by prioritizing local capacity building and addressing important issues such as digital technology, climate change, and ethics. Georges envisions SDP becoming a reference ﬁrm in Infrastructure Project Management for Public and Private Clients in Africa by 2030. The company's core values of ethics, competence, benevolence, and exemplary leadership guide all its activities and team management. By adhering to these principles, SDP is well-positioned to achieve its goals and make a meaningful contribution to infrastructure development in Africa. Demonstrating Expertise and Professionalism Georges is delighted that in just over a year, SDP has earned the trust of several companies who approach him for restructuring assignments to improve their operations and

organization. Additionally, these companies have entrusted SDP with managing certain projects in their portfolio. Moreover, governments, industrial, and mining companies have also placed their trust in SDP to help them deﬁne, design, and manage the implementation of their investments. This is a testament to the expertise and professionalism of SDP's team and the quality of services provided. Georges is proud to see his vision for SDP becoming a reality and looks forward to continuing to make a positive impact on infrastructure development in Africa. "Success is the ﬁnal output of a series of failures, we get there by staying in the course and never giving up. Being focused, working hard and leading a good team," says Georges. Solutions to Improve Infrastructure Development Processes Georges recognizes that cost and time overruns have unfortunately become a norm in the construction industry. He believes that analyzing costs can be viewed from two perspectives. Firstly, there are intrinsic costs that are compared to other places in the world, and projected costs taking the same

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ratios outside Africa into account. Typically, construction costs are divided into three main categories: 40% for materials and supplies, 40% for equipment, and 20% for personnel (including workers and supervisors). However, much of the equipment and human resources needed for construction projects are often imported, resulting in significant logistics costs. Therefore, construction projects tend to be more expensive in Africa compared to other regions. Secondly, compared to the already high projected costs, there are cost overruns linked to project management defects that lead to poor coordination and significant time overruns. These issues result in increased costs and delays that are detrimental to the success of projects. It is essential to address these challenges to improve the infrastructure development process in Africa. SDP also recommends the implementation of digital tools to improve project management and reduce costs and time overruns. The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), for example, can allow for better coordination and collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the construction process. SDP also recommends the establishment of proper risk management strategies to identify and mitigate potential risks that may lead to cost and time overruns. Additionally, the establishment of effective contract management mechanisms can help to ensure that all parties involved in a project are held accountable for their actions and that the project is delivered on time and within budget.

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Highlighting Global Efforts to Accelerate Infrastructure Development in Africa According to Georges, there is a growing global awareness in the industry about the urgent need to accelerate infrastructure development in Africa, including the efforts of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) program. Europe has pledged to mobilize $150 billion at the 2021 Europe-Africa summit, and President Joe Biden recently announced a plan to mobilize $600 billion by 2027 for infrastructure development in developing countries at the G7 meeting. Although these are currently only pledges, there is expected to be a significant influx of multilateral funding. This presents both opportunities and challenges, as weak local capacities may struggle with the implementation and management of major projects. The construction sector is expected to remain active and attract international players from around the world, but there is a need to develop local actors. The adoption of digital technology in project implementation will greatly impact the way in which projects are carried out, which is positive news. Supporting for Access to Private Financing Georges highlights the issue of access to financing, particularly the increasing importance of private financing. Improvements are needed in legal frameworks to secure transactions, better feasibility studies, and greater knowledge of structured financing mechanisms by African stakeholders. The construction sector in Africa faces major challenges, some of which Africa should take a leading role in addressing. The volumes of data generated by

construction activities are enormous and currently underutilized. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, and the use of BIM or CIM can help infrastructure managers build large databases useful for new projects. The use of local materials is also a major challenge, and better connections must be established with universities and research centers to strengthen human capital and develop frameworks that align with local technical and environmental realities. Local capacity building in the construction sector must be intensified. Climate issues, including high CO2 emissions from construction, must be addressed. Ethical issues and effective compliance procedures are critical to fighting corruption in the sector, as are issues related to controlling deadlines and costs and more generally managing construction projects. A Symbol of Leadership and Inspiration Georges was honored to receive recognition from the President of the Republic of Niger, who decorated him and elevated him to the rank of Officer in the Order of Merit of Niger. The President mentioned that Georges symbolizes the ideal model of a leader that they wish for the youth of Niger and Africa - successful, unifying, innovative, and committed. This was a proud moment for Georges, and he remains dedicated to Africa, and in particular, his home country of Benin.

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Co-founder and CEO, Kind Traveler

38 | DECEMBER 2025

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JESSICA BLOTTER Pioneering a unique solution to restructure the traveling world

nswering the call of human and animal communities suffering a lot due to lack of resources, Jessica Blotter, Co-founder and CEO of Kind Traveler, acted on kindness and created a platform that empowers travelers to positively impact the communities they visit and at the same time fulfill a greater need and desire that with both the hotels and travelers resonated. Kind Traveler's Give + Get hotel booking model is simple. Travelers get exclusive rates and perks from curated Kind Hotels upon a $10 donation to a locally vetted charity that positively impacts the local community or to a charity of choice. The best part is that 100% of donations go to charity. All Kind Traveler charities are aligned to address the UN Global Goals, working to fight poverty, advance environmental sustainability, or reduce inequality. While travelers

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may donate to any charity, the local charity that addresses challenges in the community visited is always highlighted and is the default charity. To date, Kind Traveler is partnered with 90 charities in 22 countries.

states, “After spending ten years in publishing, working with other magazine startups in fashion and travel, not only did my passion and interest for travel grow, but I was also longing for a deeper purpose in life.”

Stepping into the travel industry

Having worked alongside diﬀerent founders of other startups, the entrepreneurship world was reaching out to Jessica. Moreover, she was even inﬂuenced by her father's entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. So, eventually, the calling connected a deeper purpose in her life, and she decided to listen to her intuition and follow her gut.

Jessica started her career with a master's degree in education as an earth teacher teaching 130 students per day at USCD's Preuss School, a unique charter school serving underserved students. This experience allowed her to explore the side of sustainability. She adds, “It is also what gave me the conﬁdence to spread my wings, take a leap of faith, and explore other careers because I knew I could always return to teaching should I wish.” Later she joined a publishing startup, a lifestyle consumer magazine focused on fashion and travel. She

She expresses, “When my calling for travel, entrepreneurship, and purpose became clear, I started taking steps to immerse myself in as much education and experience as I could. Anything that spoke to me that sparked my deep interest, I would go further in that direction. I started taking classes at UCLA Extension on business plan

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writing as well as travel journalism. Soon after, I secured my own travel column with CBS Los Angeles and began visiting hotels and destinations. I also started volunteering with animal rescue organizations locally. It was through volunteering that I found an immense amount of joy and connectivity.”

Brewing reality in the Kind Traveler concept

She believes that success is the sweet spot where passions, skills, and talent align with the purpose. When this alignment is in place, the person will be best positioned to grow exponentially and be in an organic ﬂow with life. It can take years to ﬁnd this alignment. However, investing in education, volunteering, travel, and self-development are excellent paths to uncover one's path to success.

While visiting the Mayan ruins, the bus stopped at the last spot to reﬁll the supplies. At the moment, ribprotruding dogs approached everyone in the bus begging for food with eyes of despair. As animal rescue volunteers in America, Jessica and her partner simply decided to buy food to feed the dogs. Unintentionally, this action inspired the other travelers to do the same thing. Rather than doing

During a vacation to Belize, witnessing families living in shacks next to polluted swamps and emaciated dogs roaming the streets, Jessica and her partner Sean Krejci, had an experience that changed them.

nothing and living with the sadness of the situation, people acted, and suddenly the moment went from somber to joyful. She states, “We made a choice to help, and it turns out, we weren't alone. The other travelers wanted to help; they just needed a catalyst. The feeling from our small act of kindness stayed with us for a long time, and we wondered how we could use our entrepreneurial skills and passion for travel to make it easy for travelers to make a difference while they travel, and in turn, be filled up with a sense of purpose and happiness from their travels resulting in a more meaningful and memorable vacation.” This sparked the idea of Kind Travelers, and both Jessica and her partner worked hard to blow life into it. Roadblocks are a part of every journey Jessica does not believe in the notion of overnight success and knows that the journey to achieve the end goal can be longer than what a person anticipates in the beginning. It is important to stay determined and resilient while facing the challenges on the way. She stresses the point by adding, “If I didn't 100% whole-heartedly believe in my purpose and vision with Kind Traveler, it would have made it extremely difficult to get up every morning and keep going. If you truly believe in yourself and your vision and have taken the time and due diligence to carve a meaningful path forward, the journey will be worthwhile, regardless of how long it takes.”

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exciting opportunities to create a positive impact.

Leading Kind Traveler to attain a Kinder World Sharing Kind Traveler's vision, she says, “We aim to transform the incredible collective of everyday travelers (the 1.4B travelers who took trips pre-Covid-19) into a ﬁnancial force that furthers the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development.” With the tourism industry having $10 Trillion in GDP, it is the world's largest service industry with the employment of 1 out of 10 people worldwide. Thus, it can create meaningful community impact, advance environmental sustainability and address the world's greatest challenges. Serving as the Board of Directors of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), she is privy to ample knowledge about understanding the greatest challenges of the world and travel industry. She never misses sharing these resources with her team, partners, and stakeholders.

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As the co-founder and CEO of Kind Traveler, Jessica recently graduated from the Blue Startups/Blue Ventures accelerator program that aims to position scalable tech companies to unleash their true potential. Currently, she is looking for the most aligned impact investors with the company's core values of fostering wellbeing, environmental stewardship, and education for scaling Kind Traveler. Additionally, she is also striving hard to lead all business development eﬀorts and making consistent eﬀorts in evolving and growing the sales team to promote kinder traveling around the globe. Taking Kind Traveler Ahead Jessica and the entire team have been concentrating on Kind Traveler 2.0 for the last six months. They are working on updating the app with a more interactive UI/UX for travelers. She is happy to share that the new 2.0 version will have 30 new hotels, charity partners, and many more

She further says, “Kind Traveler 2.0 will launch with many new partners including nine of the and in The Six Senses properties, Wynn Las Vegas & Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, our ﬁrst partner in Switzerland, Cervo Mountain Resort, properties in North Lake TahoeBeaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, Charleston Place, a Belmond Hotel, The Tides Inn, a Chesapeake Bay Resort, along with many other hotels in destinations currently not represented on Kind Traveler. Also, this November, we will be going to Switzerland as Kind Traveler was selected as 1 of 15 startups to participate in the World Tourism Forum Lucerne Innovation Camp and World Tourism Forum in Andermatt, Switzerland.” Inspiring Message for Aspiring Women Leaders Jessica states, “Investing in yourself and believing in yourself will always be the greatest gift and bet you can make in life. Seek out as many educational experiences as possible and never underestimate the power of travel to transform your life and open the door for new opportunities and perspectives.” Moreover, focus on volunteering with diﬀerent charitable organizations. It will make your purpose crystal clear so that you can move further in pursuing the greater good of the planet.

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CEO and Founder, Latina Chief

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LIZETTE IBARRA On a Mission to Assist Companies in their Pursuit of Building Diverse, Equal, and Inclusive Organizations

he diversity of our life, work, and cultural experiences, as well as our individual diﬀerences, drive each of us to view circumstances, opportunities, and challenges through a distinct lens, leading to various ways of thinking and making decisions. Future-proof organizations exhibit a high level of competency in their capacity to capitalize on the advantages that come from this variety of vision, thought, and viewpoint, utilizing this rich array of resources to generate greater innovation and commercial performance. As the CEO and Founder of Latina Chief, Lizette Ibarra is on a mission to close the gender and ethnic leadership gap and assist her clients in building diverse, bold leadership teams. Latina Chief is a retained executive search ﬁrm that values diversity. It holds that having more Hispanics in leadership positions is not only the moral thing to do, but

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also the sensible thing to do and a necessity for business success to promote economic growth. Latinos account for 19.2% of the US population and they are awfully represented in corporate America – only 4.7% of them are part of it. Hispanics are an economic power, with 2.8 trillion dollars in GDP and over 2 trillion in purchasing power. The company's business concept is straightforward: its candidate slates include the most qualiﬁed Latinos and Latinas in each sector. The Road Leading to Entrepreneurship Being a leader or entrepreneur is one of the most challenging and interesting roads one can take. In order to handle the stage where as a mother, she needed a more ﬂexible work schedule, Lizette realized she had to leave her corporate career. She had always believed that if other people could be successful business

owners, she could too. Lizette has never experienced any kind of fear. As a businesswoman, Lizette constantly considers the worst-case scenario before making a signiﬁcant choice. She decides to “go on” if the response reassures her that neither she nor anyone else will perish, and that nobody's integrity will be jeopardized. She asserts, "I have always liked to take the road less traveled and go against the current, because I believe it is there where the real opportunities are. Of course, I cannot say that all my decisions have been correct, I have made many mistakes that have helped me grow and do better next time. I would not change a thing of what I've done in my professional life since everything has given me one of two things: learning or satisfaction." Lizette's favorite deﬁnition of leadership says, "A leader takes people where they would never go

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on their own." (Hanz Finzel). Leadership has nothing to do with you and everything to do with one's impact on those who follow him or her and entrust his or her vision to lead the way. She further adds, "As a leader, you must ensure that your team and people are better off after every interaction with you." An Inspiring Journey towards Success Since she turned 18, Lizette has been a worker. She began working as an English teacher in a kindergarten while still in college. When Lizette graduated, she began to work in the corporate world for two fantastic firms, Eastman Kodak and Johnson & Johnson, in the fields of human resources and talent acquisition. She was given managerial responsibilities at a very young age, and about 8 years later, she decided to enter the field of executive search and management consulting since she needed a more flexible work schedule after the birth of her first child. Lizette has worked for boutiques and global search firms, as well as founded and developed two executive search firms that grew rapidly, both of them founded on women and diversity long before the term became fashionable. She has also had the privilege of serving on the boards of several non-profit organizations, which has been a transformative experience in her professional career. "I've always believed and witnessed firsthand that diversity is an imperative for company growth and for societal equality."- Lizette Every position Lizette has held has been demanding and fulfilling, but she is especially proud of having built

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her first business around exceptional professional women who had left their corporate jobs to become mothers or wives and were turned down by many employers when they wanted to resume their careers because they had been "inactive" for three or four years. Because she experienced that herself, Lizette hired those women, in her organization, who were dealing with similar difficulties. She created a company that provided access to these amazing ladies with impressive backgrounds. She says, "We taught them the search business, and we built a very successful company together." Back then, remote or flexible work was not really an option in many corporations, and Lizette envisioned an organization where women could be women, wives, mothers, professionals, and human beings. She is incredibly proud of that, and now, with Latina Chief, she and her team have assisted many corporations in becoming more diverse and debunked the myth that there is not enough Latino and women leaders available to fill executive positions. Growing as Woman Business Leader For the most part, as a woman, Lizette has found more opportunities than obstacles, but it hasn't been easy. Although organizations have made good strides toward gender equality, most leadership tables are not set to accommodate minority women by default. She says, "We have to find ways to get a seat and find our voice at the table. And it is through my work that I want to help correct that imbalance by bringing more Latinas into leadership roles and empowering more women to believe they can and should have a seat at the table."

When Lizette decided to quit her corporate career to find more balance and then found success as an entrepreneur, she promised herself that she would find a way to help more women climb the ladder to success. Lizette envisions a society in which the capacity for leadership will continue to change in favor of embracing empathy and exemplifying leadership in its broadest sense. ESG regulations will continue to be a key priority for corporations and directors since it is crucial to take into account the regional differences that shape global priorities. Lizette says that the entire business ecosystem will put a lot of pressure on organizations to act ethically and responsibly towards the environment, its social components (employees, suppliers, customers, and the community), and to uphold the highest standards of governance as a result of the acceleration of digitalization. Take on Challenges "When you face a challenge, you have two options: undertake it or walk away. If you walk away, you will very likely regret not knowing the outcome," says Lizette. She further adds that if one undertakes it, then he or she will know for sure. Lizette has faced challenges where she has found herself scared and overwhelmed to death, but in those circumstances, she turned on the volume of her intuition and her internal voice. This is a lesson that she has learned over time and through experience. Lizette has always valued the opinion and advice of the people she trusts, but early in her career, she believes it was more about seeking validation. Now, she quiets the external noise and pays more attention to her internal voice.

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standpoint, Lizette feels her tennis experience has also been very educational. She shares, "I must strategize for every match, study the opponent team, and select the players and positions. It very much resembles the focus I must have every day to deliver the best services to my clients."

As per Lizette, she has always treasured a piece of honest advice, but she also learned to dissect who she can trust, and after receiving input, it is then that she tunes in with her intuition. An Opportunity to Connect with People Success, for Lizette, only has an internal thermometer. She opines, "Success is not measured by your material possessions or how fancy your career or title may be. Success is being at peace, being whole, happy, and fulfilled with who you are. It is knowing that every day, you have done your very best and tried your very best. Success is also knowing that you can make a difference in the lives of others and that you choose to leave a positive mark." She also believes that the nature of her career has led her to interact with hundreds, thousands of people, including candidates, opinion leaders, colleagues, business leaders, and those associated with non-profit organizations. She points out that continuing and nurturing these relationships even after many years in the business is a good thermometer of personal and professional satisfaction. She opines, "The true satisfaction of my work has been having the opportunity to touch the lives of many, many people." Balancing Personal and Professional Life Not many know this about Lizette, but when she was little, she wanted to be a professional tennis player. She recalls, "I did not have the opportunity to learn the sport or even take lessons because back then tennis was not a very accessible sport in my hometown in Mexico."

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Breaking Traditional Norms In the future, Lizette sees herself continuing to debunk the myth that not enough Latino/Hispanic talent is available for executive positions and, at the same time, assisting corporations in becoming more successful and innovative by adding Hispanics to their leadership teams.

So, when she moved to Florida at the age of 40, she decided to grab a racket and take a few lessons. At ﬁrst, Lizette thought it was ridiculous and that she would not be able to play well, but she still wanted to give it a try; “Ever since, tennis has become a passion of mine.” There is nothing there but the court, the opponent, and Lizette's focus on the game, so it is both highly exciting and calming for her. Lizette feels that her love of tennis is her Zen zone, where she does not have to concentrate on anything but the game. It gives her balance and keeps her mind, soul, and body in check. Lizette has been playing the sport for 8 years. She now plays at a competitive level, and she leads adult mixed doubles teams. They have won local, state, and national championships. From a leadership

The Hispanic population is projected to grow 54% by 2027, and Latino GDP is the single fastest-growing GDP worldwide with a striking 2.8 trillion dollars. Corporations lacking Latino leaders are missing opportunities for growth, and according to Lizette, her company, Latina Chief, is there to help them correct that imbalance. Message to Aspiring Businesswomen "Find your passion, what moves you to the core,” Lizette says in her message to aspiring businesswomen. “You shouldn't have to try that hard: your passion might be right in front of your face. Your passion is unique to you, and that's the beauty of it: ﬁnd a niche within a niche and build your dreams around it!”

DECEMBER 2025 | 47

President & CEO, Dhaxle Inc

48 | DECEMBER 2025

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ROGER YOMBA Leveraging Remittances and Project Management Services in Developing Countries

n the past few years, the world has seen rapid growth of the world economy. This growth has been driven due to international trade between countries. To make this growth speedier in upcoming years, it is essential that all countries help each other (specially developed ones to developing ones) in technological developments and put eﬀorts to reduce geographical barriers. Leading by Roger Yomba, Dhaxle Inc. is the Information Technology & Services company that providing an ecosystem to International Workers and immigrants who are funding the projects in developing nations. Roger asserts, “We believe that funds management could be a legitimate extension of our services in the future. For now, we act as a broker who builds the trust, matches up project owners and service providers, and secures project funding and ownership.”

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Dhaxle's technology automates key aspects of the project lifecycle, allowing for a significantly lower price-point and bringing remote project management services within reach of the average International Worker. Defining Success from a Leader's Perspective “The definition of success will most likely depend on the industry and environment of the leader,” says Roger. Considering a business point of view, Roger believes that real success is the ability to satisfy an endlessly growing number of customers (users) with excellent services. He further adds that this could be possible through the resolution of their pain points and the way the services make their life better every day. He opines, “Customer satisfaction is the backbone of corporate health.”

Dhaxle; an Initiative for International Workers The word “Dhaxle” came from mixing two words, Dhara money in Sanskrit and Axle the piece that rotates the wheels and supports the weight of the vehicle. However, in the Somali language, Dhaxle means inheritance. Before becoming a company, Dhaxle is a story the co-founders share with many international workers who send money to their home countries to fund projects or alleviate diﬃcult living conditions for their families and friends. It was founded to resolve the challenges that international workers typically face from both countries of migration and home countries (educational, cultural, economic, etc.). Roger briefs, “Besides establishing a family and career in the adopted country, many are expected to share improved economic status with family members back

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home. Managing an investment project from thousands of miles away with limited ability to travel home for direct supervision is challenging.” Most International Workers incur exorbitant money transfer fees sending funds home and frequently lose part or all of the remitted funds. Then the founding team of Dhaxle decided to offer a viable solution affordable to middle-income immigrant families. Dhaxle's key activities consist: (1) Matching up qualified project owners and vetted service providers

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(2) Providing a project management platform for full visibility into the ﬁnances and milestones (3) Progress tracking with in-person supervision and reporting by local experts (4) Optimizing project planning and execution to reduce cost and timescale up to 30% (5) Securing project ownership and execution with smart contracts (6) De-risking projects by protecting all parties involved via covered engagements.

Rising from Varied Situations “Challenges are what fuels someone or an institution's growth,” says Roger. According to him, without challenge, one will certainly stagnate and decline. Remembering his journey, Roger describes how he has a very humble origin and came from an environment where one out of ﬁve thousand students make it to college. He opines, “Every step of my personal life has been completed against the odds. So, I am familiar with diﬀerent types of challenges. I have a strong determination and an enduring personality; I always

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distinguish myself positively in a healthy professional environment.” Future of Fund Management and Transactions Roger does not doubt that funds management will significantly change with the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies. As governments and agencies that are still reticent will loosen their regulations to consider the use of cryptocurrencies, small and high-net-worth investors will reconsider their relationship with the traditional fund managers in terms of cost structure and level of tolerance to risk, meaning more return on investment to the investors. The alternatives will make it irreversible. Dhaxle will maximize in offering affordable alternative solutions by being ahead in the market needs. Vision to Deliver Flagship Overseas Transaction Services The management at Dhaxle wants to transform the company into a flagship technology that alleviates transaction fees for anyone sending money in developing countries to fund projects. Personally, Roger's goal for the company, “Be that company referred to as an axle that helps to create wealth with transparency and efficiency. Dhaxle should become a verb within the community of immigrants developing projects abroad.” An Achiever with Consistent Career Growth Before Dhaxle, Roger worked as a consultant for investment facilitation companies investing essentially Public-Private Partnerships in Africa, notably MHN Group Corporation and the former CIBS Facilitation Canada.

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He was active as a young leader promoting the African renaissance. He sent a letter to Thabo Mbeki, then vice-president Nelson Mandela, of South Africa to support his call for action. He says, “I was resident to Ivory Coast. When Mbeki became president, he established the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) with his peers.” He further adds, “I was then propelled at the continental level as Regional civil society coordinator for NEPAD.” Then, he was also developing another company called PRAGLYS in the health and nutrition sector to solve a problem facing men at a certain age.

and listen to the news during breakfast and chat with the kids. This is followed by a series of meetings or working sessions online or in person. This includes work on pending ﬁles and coordinates with teams in diﬀerent countries on pending issues.” The evening can be long with a social event and networking or remote working session with team members in a foreign country. His day ends around 2 or 3 am with a Buddhist meditation of 15 to 30 minutes after consulting emails and watching the news cycle.

From there, Roger moved to investment consulting and entrepreneurship. To date, he thinks the Award from NEPAD signed by the African president for his individual personal contribution is the most signiﬁcant. As a manager, Roger was also nominated for the Century Quality Award (Category gold) by the International Commission of the Century Quality Era and the University of Abidjan (CIREJResearch Center for Legal studies) Award in 2003 (Geneva).

Dhaxle started in the USA with a subsidiary in Nigeria. It is currently developing subsidiaries in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire also, it is at initial steps in Mexico and the Philippines. As per Roger, “Our goal is clearly to become a global company serving international workers in major remittance sending countries and major remittance-receiving countries in the coming 10 to 15 years.”

A Problem Solver Roger sees himself as a problem solver. Dhaxle is still a startup, and like any startup, Roger's responsibility includes corporate management and the implementation of the company's strategic objectives. Roger pays great attention to cutting oﬀ the noise around him to reenergize and keep his focus on what really matters.

Future Goals for Dhaxle

Roger's advice to aspiring business leaders “Find something you believe in and can work tirelessly in to oﬀer life-changing solutions to an endless number of people. Do not listen too much the naysayer.” He recalls Vince Lombardi's words, “We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.”

Roger's typical weekday starts with a Buddhist meditation that varies from ﬁfteen minutes to an hour. He describes, “Around 8 o'clock, I read

DECEMBER 2025 | 51

Founder, Graviteams Management Consultin

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NATALIYA WIEDEMEYER Rising by Lifting the Role of Women in the Society

ataliya Wiedemeyer, Founder of Graviteams Management Consulting, is an entrepreneur who gained knowledge and experience from the corporate world and developed a successful organizational consultancy firm. At the beginning of her career, she has offered her expertise at different management consultancies serving clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and also worked as a project manager for a reputed bank in Germany. Graviteams is a Management Consulting firm for future-ready leadership, innovative business models, and engaged teamwork. With a people-centric integrated transformational approach, the firm helps organizations to connect the people through technology and in the spirit which ultimately results in driving their business performance and productivity.

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Imparting new dimensions of performance and productivity The services include leadership and team coaching, advisory projects, corporate workshops, facilitation, speaking engagements, and webinars. Nataliya is a certified brain-based coach and she ensures that her coaching for business leaders and entrepreneurs is aligned with the newest research in neuroscience. Her management consulting services include the systematic process of organizing innovative practices, advising on innovation, strategy, and cultural transformation. Team development imparts tapping into the implicit knowledge and the potential of the people involved and helps them to engage efficiently with each other. Facilitation of effective and productive teamwork, which is the most important driver for success is carried out by structuring and guiding dialogues, meetings, events, decision-

making processes, and other activities using intentional strategies that help groups converse and collaborate more respectfully and productively. Training helps to transfer knowledge within the organization and to enable employees to gain new skills. The company closely involves itself with organizational leadership and helps in influencing the potential of the employees, this integrated approach gives a boost to the creative culture. Large-scale strategic objectives of organizations are broken down into manageable goals that various participant groups can focus on. Importance of “Team” in the Workplace During her tenure with the Banking Sector, Nataliya realized that the success of a company lies in its employees. Complexities of any Organization can be only sorted with an efficient team effort. It's not a oneman show. Strategic decisions and

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their successful execution are possible if dynamic leaders and front-line employees work in collaboration. The synergy between them enhances the success of a plan. Collaboration eﬀort should extend beyond the formal teams within the organization and should include other stakeholders, like suppliers and most importantly, customers. Direct connection with customers is crucial to improve the work eﬃciency of any organization and to reposition it in today's competitive market. We rise by lifting others Nataliya says “As a founder of Graviteams Management Consulting, I feel blessed to help our esteemed clients reach new dimensions of performance and productivity. Through our structured collaborative

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approaches, the companies successfully develop and implement innovative strategies to achieve their goals.” As an entrepreneur, she shoulders responsibilities to build valuable relationships with clients. Interacting and targeting prospective clients, mentors and mentees, potential business partners, networking, and delivering the expected goals. She strongly believes that social media recognition and ﬁnancial success are byproducts and not the ultimate goal of an entrepreneur. According to her ultimate success is achieved if her company can enhance the client's worth in the business. In her own words,” I am not successful, if I have engaged with a team in an organization and I am unable to create a positive impact, can't push them closer to their goals or could not spark a brilliant idea. I get personal

satisfaction if my clients' businesses boom and that's the ultimate goal for me.” But carving the success path is never easy. Nataliya asserts that challenges make you stronger, more resilient, and wiser. Failure and setbacks can teach you important life lessons. The entrepreneurial journey is not a cakewalk but often requires loads of eﬀort, dedication, and commitment. Utilizing her immense knowledge, she believes organizational cultures with dedicated management who engage and empower their workforce can become successful. In today's world, there is rapid advancement in innovation and technology. Thus, it's highly important to keep the human aspect abreast with the technological changes.

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Success happens when eﬀort meets opportunity

limiting beliefs, that businesswomen tend to hold:

She believes in the mindset of abundance and ﬁrmly trusts in the power to interpret circumstances as opportunities instead of seeing things as challenges or defeats. “In the business world, people often have a scarcity mentality. They think business opportunities, market shares, and resources are limited. An abundance mindset refers to the paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody”. According to her both in business and life, one should focus more on creating opportunities and win-win situations.

Not ready – women may decide to forgo a promotion or not take on additional responsibility out of the fear of not performing well enough. In this regard, men have a diﬀerent attitude by being open to growing their skills along with their responsibilities.

Underplay their role in the success - it may cause women discomfort when drawing attention to their successes and taking credit for their accomplishments. This is the wrong time to be humble, as failure to claim credit for own success is failure to claim credit for the hard work and the created value.

Perfectionism. As women, we often juggle a lot – career, children, household. Wanting to be perfect in every dimension creates a lot of mental strain and perfectionism is an unrealistic goal. Letting go of it usually frees so much energy, that we actually can do better – at work and in private.

Life's Philosophy and Advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs In today's modern world, Nataliya feels, that both genders should have opportunities to contribute their best. Success comes to those who thrive and work hard for it. “I feel proud as a woman entrepreneur and leader when I can actually help another woman to see herself as capable, motivated, and worthy of success. I like coaching women entrepreneurs because it gives me the highest return in terms of gratitude and it gives them a very high return too, sometimes lifechanging… Yes, the best recognition is seeing my women mentees and coachees succeed as entrepreneurs,” says Nataliya with pride. Three myths women need to break to become successful entrepreneurs I empower women by coaching them to unlock their power from within. So often it is not about the external circumstances, but about our attitudes and reactions to those, and as women we are often stuck in our heads. Here are some of the more frequent

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Advancing the role of women in society and the economy is the key driver of Big Change In the Middle East promoting and helping women to succeed in leadership, and entrepreneurship are not only important ways to narrow down the gender gap but also opportunities to create powerful eﬀects.

equally represented in leadership teams. Women make half of the population and in many parts of the world, the Middle East is no exception, for higher levels of education and career entry positions, we usually see roughly equal representation of both genders, often even with a slight tilt towards women. But at the higher management levels, many industries and corporate organizations are male-dominated. Along with education, the support system including access to mentorship, sponsorship are the most important factors for success. This region is booming, and the number of jobs and business opportunities is expected to double by 2030. It would be great if many of these would be created and ﬁlled by women so that the region moves closer to gender parity. Future Goals Nataliya is a mother of three and likes reading, sports, and traveling. She constantly polishes her talent and enhances her skillset by connecting with interesting people, listening to podcasts, and attending training programs. Under her leadership, the company has ambitious plans to grow exponentially. Personally, Nataliya will be working towards inspiring more women to advance in leadership and to become successful entrepreneurs. She is all set to procure her ambition and passion for helping organizations to achieve their goals.

I see it as very important and beneﬁcial to any organizational culture to have women and men

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Founder and CEO, Global Sustainable Enterprise System

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KELLY RUIGROK A Global Leader Driving Sustainability in the Supply Chain at a Global Scale

colabeling is an eﬀective industry policy approach for addressing environmental issues without relying on controllable environmental legislation. Eco-labels are a way for businesses to measure performance while simultaneously conveying and promoting a product's environmental credentials. And, critically for governments, these instruments push producers and consumers to adjust their behaviour in the direction of long-term sustainability. Kelly Ruigrok, a dedicated serial entrepreneur, founded the Global Sustainable Enterprise System, the National Sustainability Institute of the Netherlands, and Data for Good. Her enterprises have the same objective, but each has its own ecosystem of stakeholders. The objective is to make the world a better, more transparent, and freer place for children and future generations. She shares, "Anyone can

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do anything, just believe in yourself and ask the right questions in the right places" The Global Sustainable Enterprise System (GSES System) is the most widely used and trusted sustainability rating platform in the world, based on third-party veriﬁed data. GSES Traditional sustainability reporting takes time and money. With an avalanche of complicated information and laws, understanding, measuring, and managing your sustainability performance without assistance is diﬃcult. The Global Sustainable Enterprise System (GSES System®) is a wellknown platform that assists you in assessing, verifying, and certifying your sustainability performance at the process, supply chain, and product

levels. Accurate certified data. The GSES system effortlessly and costeffectively links over 500 eco-labels and sustainability certificates and utilizes globally accepted criteria to analyse sustainability performance holistically. The platform may be used for procurement, asset management, product consumer ratings and corporate governance. A wide range of businesses, including the Province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, Univé, ABN Amro, Jumbo, Heerema Marine Contractors, and many other multinationals and corporate companies, use the GSES System as their safe haven to make data driven decisions. Making her Contribution for Greater Good Kelly's career began with the establishment of the National

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Sustainability Institute in the Netherlands in 2017, which provided a solid methodology framework for the creation of the GSES-System. So far, the recognition she has received has all been extremely fulﬁlling on both a personal and professional level. She shares, "We have a lot of shared ambitions with our clients and partners. By working together we make sustainability accessible and transparent." The team has collaborated with governments and big players in the industry like the World Expo 2020 in Dubai to help make the mega event more

sustainable. And they are now partnering with the US based Blue Planet Alliance to reach out to customers and assist in bridging the knowledge gap that exists between consumers and businesses on sustainability performance. According to Kelly, developing the GSES System was an unusual journey since the team constructed a disruptor in order to revolutionize the greenwashed market. It is the only SaaS platform that connects businesses of all sizes with certifying organizations, guaranteeing that their sustainability

performance is validated and trustworthy. The cornerstone of GSES is guaranteeing trust, and Kelly and her team are working on providing trust throughout the whole supply chain of products and organizations as well as guaranteeing customer trust and transparency between them and the ecommerce site from where they acquire their items. Today, GSES collaborates with over 110 nations and operates in over 70 industries. Leading Together According to Kelly, her inspiration for leading a company came from the collaborations and fruitful connections she made along the way. She says, "It is not about going fast alone, but going as far as we can together." She had a great belief in the environment she gradually created around her, which is now a solid basis for GSES, her team, and its members. The platform was created and is still being updated with the help of expert panels, since the entire team believes in research-based solutions. Kelly's greatest struggle was dealing with those who underestimated her ability as a founder and CEO. Nonetheless, she embraces every obstacle and instructs her employees to do the same, since this is the only way to establish a strong and lasting business. Kelly ﬁnds that keeping her team and herself motivated is easy as they are all aware of the worth of their hard work. "I am privileged to be surrounded by fantastic partners and talented colleagues . Through knowledge sharing and trust we have already made the unthinkable possible together, and we have only

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procurement professionals, for example, to be able to make sustainable choices for the right suppliers and products.” Karin van IJsselmuide | CSR Program Director NEVI "We have adopted a wide-ranging approach to achieving our site-wide sustainability goals, underscoring our bold ambitions with grand action to integrate sustainability into all of our experiences and operations. Our collaboration with GSES System is emblematic of these eﬀorts, supported by the sustainability commitments of our stakeholders as we work together to host one of the most sustainable World Expos in history and create a meaningful, measurable impact beyond the site and our 182-day run."- Dina Storey | World Expo 2020 Dubai

just started. That makes me proud.," Kelly explains.

A World with More Awareness of Eco-Labels

Success for "Kelly"!

As Kelly said previously, the most important plan for GSES in the future is to narrow the knowledge gap in the certiﬁcation and eco-labels, which are both trendy and untrustworthy, as Kelly indicated previously. Thus, helping to spread awareness about the data behind ecolabels and make 1 overarching rating card per product and brand!

According to Kelly, success is frequently judged in hard labour, and although this is somewhat accurate. She emphasizes that success is more than just meeting goals; it is also about ﬁnding answers to social challenges. This is why she established the GSES-System: to address the issue of untrustworthy and opaque ESG ratings and tooling that are now being used.

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"The Netherlands Pavilion's theme of 'Uniting Water, Energy, Food' contributes to more awareness and international cooperation in achieving some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the pavilion, we will be showcasing how working together we can contribute towards achieving some of the SDGs, thereby reducing the footprint too as low as possible. We are delighted that the Dutch company GSES System has developed such sophisticated measurement techniques regarding sustainable impact that help contribute to these important goals".H.E. Lody Embrechts, Ambassador | Kingdom of the Netherlands

What Client Says“The GSES System is very useful for

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Founding Director, JS Global Advisory

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JANE STEVENSEN A Leader With An Unsurpassable Record In Supporting Businesses In Their 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

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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, 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 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

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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 viewedin 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

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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

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, 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

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

Inﬂuencing Change As A Woman In Leadership

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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 involved in all the key decisions and client engagement.

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

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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

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.

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