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THE 10 MOST ICONIC CEOs OF THE YEAR, 2025
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Gilles Campedel A Visionary Humanitarian Building Global Healthcare Networks & Championing Doctors' Rights
OCTOBER 2025
CEO PRODIE SANTE
e Minds Steering the Modern Enterprise
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n a world characterized by uncertainty and change, a privileged few have risen not just to survive but to build the future. These leaders don't just guide businesses; they restructure industries, redefine expectations, and reimagine what it means to lead in the new era. Their choices echo around the globe, impacting markets, attitudes, and the fabric of innovation itself. It is not only their business sense that makes them different, but their capacity to lead through clarity in the midst of chaos, to inspire during uncertainty, and to move with conviction when others procrastinate. They are proficient in the language of change, but rooted in intention. Their vision runs beyond quarterly reports to one of long-term influence, on people, planet, and progress. With the world transforming towards sustainability, digitalization, and broad-based growth, these leaders are not merely reacting; but they are leading. Their narratives are more about meaning than merely success. Behind the boardrooms and beyond, they are writing the next page of business metamorphosis in quiet confidence. The world might never know they are coming, but it definitely senses the change they bring about. At CIO Views, we honor these empowering leaders by dedicating this issue titled “The 10 Most Iconic CEOs of the Year, 2025” to them. Featuring as the cover story, we have covered the successful & motivating journey Gilles Campedel, CEO of Prodie Sante. We have also included the inspiring stories of John Dowd, CEO of Fiduciary Trust International; Aiden Keegan, CEO of Esquires Coffee; Jennifer Pinasco, CEO of Yosemite Pathology; Darya Yegorina, Founder & CEO of CleverBooks; Chanie Gluck, CEO of 4D Global; David Wachs, CEO of Handwrytten; Marc Rippen, CEO of Alertgy; Natalie Foster, CEO of Inspire Legal Group; and Howard Rosen, CEO of Nova Insights. 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.
Gilles Campedel
CONTENTS
22. John Dowd 26. Aiden Keegan 32. Jennifer Pinasco 36.
Darya Yegorina
42. Chanie Gluck
46.
David Wachs
52.
Marc Rippen
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Natalie Foster
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Howard Rosen
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Gilles Campedel A Visionary Humanitarian Building Global Healthcare Networks & Championing Doctors' Rights
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Gilles Campedel, CEO of Prodie Santé, The Prodie Program NGO, and Taqadum. He holds 2 Master's degrees in Economics and Political Science from France. Based in the UAE, he is fluent in French, English, and Spanish.
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As CEO of Prodie Santé since 1999, Gilles has built a global network of 400,000 healthcare professionals and collaborated with 3,000 hospitals across 50 countries. For over 27 years, Prodie Santé has managed doctor placements across four continents, mobilized medical teams rapidly, and led initiatives like the Prodie Santé Cuban Doctors Alliance, partnering with the U.S. Department
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of State to provide ethical, highquality healthcare worldwide. Since 2021, Gilles has led The Prodie Program NGO with the belief that “well-educated children are a blessing to humanity, and balanced and enlightened individuals are the best gift to offer to the world. It deploys a global life package through three pillars: children's education, parents'
empowerment, and community wellbeing, promoting access to education with humanist principles. TAQADUM (“progress” in Arabic), launched in 2025, is a hub for global healthcare innovation in Abu Dhabi, supporting pioneering companies driving disruptive innovation in healthcare and technology.
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personal life as an extraordinary opportunity, a cultural enrichment, an opening to a world that fosters tolerance, and an act of faith, stepping into the unknown. Life-Guided Leadership Across Continents Gilles describes his leadership style as “non-academic,” with its founding pillar as contributing to the health sector, helping physicians find a balance between professional and personal life. His vision for Prodie Santé is adaptable, guided by circumstances, and the capacity to respond. He ensures Prodie Santé stays flexible to adapt to any new challenge. “For those who know how to listen, life always brings blessings,” he muses. Gilles observes that receiving comes with the responsibility to make the best possible use of those gifts. “When we receive, we put ourselves into the shoes of an alchemist whose duty is to magnify what he received, keeping in mind that some part must be shared or distributed. Prodie Santé is a travel story 27 years later, it's all about narrating our silent contribution to the world,” he explains.
Leading by Example, Driven by Purpose Convinced that every human being deserves access to healthcare everywhere, anytime, Gilles expanded Prodie Santé internationally, seeking new projects and ideas, and never taking “no” for an answer. His work has meaning, and he derives happiness from it. He likens everything to a game of constant communication and interaction
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between two borderless worlds personal and professional - one feeding off the other. “Creativity isn't confined to the corporate world. It also benefits private life, helping you grow, mature, and understand your own existence. It's a never-ending, fascinating story,” he reflects. For Gilles entrepreneurship is a state of mind, a way of interpreting the world, bringing an international dimension to one's professional and
With the creation of Prodie Santé, Gilles did not know that years later he would create one of the widest medical community in the world, that he would be contacted by thousands of Cuban doctors asking for his help, that the U.S. State Department would consider a direct form of collaboration with him, that he would create healthcare access programs, that he would fight for the defense of endangered healthcare systems and that he would launch various projects such as a philanthropic contribution to bring a tangible response to human
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being vital needs (“The Prodie Program”)…
attends unexpected meetings on equally unexpected subjects.
“Our work engraves itself into something much bigger” , he says.
“What I hear, read, or see inspires me. From the moment I get an inspiration, I write and try to find a way to concretize the idea. I find concrete
“We work hard to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare. Our actions show that we can favorably impact the lives of many individuals without being a State or a billionaire,” he reflects. Prodie Santé works independently of any government or country, with the financial and decisive means to implement programs on a universal scale, with offices in Spain, Singapore, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.
solutions to unexpected situations as soon as I can. My pillars are responsiveness, boldness, and embodiment. It's all about creativity with this amazing sensation that you make the first track ever in a specific field,” he shares.
“When history meets the fairy tale, we give life to what we say and demonstrate, nobility and respect. Our work becomes something much bigger. This is my way to lead teams and projects,” he elaborates. Driven by Inspired Action and Impact Gilles remains open to taking inspired action on new ideas while also taking care of day-to-day work and managing urgent matters. He hates meetings, but makes himself fully available to any possibilities, is attentive to team members, and
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Gilles surrounds himself with exceptional and brilliant people, and his team at Prodie Santé possesses a blend of professional skills combined with “humanistic interpersonal skills” so that everyone finds a path for professional and personal growth. These principles align with a dynamic, effective, commercial approach, grounded in a fair balance of power – a win-winwin model. He also thrives on the
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constant adrenaline rush, adventure, and surprises of the diversity of the solutions they offer and the audiences they serve. “It's difficult to recruit people who understand the subtle balance between the social and professional 'game' which must be magnificently executed, and with purely humanistic values. Generally, people oppose the two and manifest one or
the other,” Gilles observes. “In my opinion, this is a mistake. The two go hand in hand and combine perfectly when you know how to stay focused and not abandon the basic principles of loyalty, and individual responsibility.” Adapting to Legal Challenges in Healthcare Gilles recalls a major setback in
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April 2023, when a French law abruptly ended Prodie Santé's collaboration with all French public hospitals, cutting off over 20 years of service to nearly 400 facilities. “I'll let you imagine the brutal consequences of the loss of a valuable service for healthcare facilities and the loss of financial resources for Prodie Santé,” he states. The day after, Prodie Santé launched three major initiatives: strengthening its presence in French private clinics, running awareness campaigns - two of which garnered nearly one million views in days and filing a legal action with the Council of State, supported by three lawyers.
Gilles explains that Prodie Santé was established in a pure spirit of service, to serve a profession that is essential to life and well-being: healthcare professionals. As an intermediary between doctors and healthcare facilities, it found a way of doing things that penalizes neither, with operations based on a win-win-win approach. Thanks to the presence of essential personnel, Prodie Santé enables hospitals or clinics to operate, helps doctors access clear, serious, and ethical employment opportunities (temporary or permanent assignments), and allows patients to receive the care they need. In return, they are paid by the facility for the service they provide on a very costeffective basis.
mindset and needs of healthcare professionals and hospitals. They have drafted several projects, such as the "Program for the Generalization of Access to Healthcare," aimed at countries wishing to implement universal health coverage in a given territory. While universal healthcare access represents a significant societal advancement in any country, serving as a cornerstone for the consolidation of citizenship, many nations face a shortage of healthcare professionals, hindering the development of healthcare facilities and public health systems. Implementing a universal healthcare access program that increases the number of healthcare providers (doctors, surgeons, and paramedics) to meet the World Health Organization's standard per country can alleviate the pressure on national health systems.
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“Focusing on the private sector allowed us to offer the full range of our services to new healthcare facilities and thus offset a significant portion of the losses,” Gilles explains. The company's communications reinforced its role as a defender of physicians' interests, uniting the medical community while staying true to its long-held values of ethics, loyalty, and honoring commitments - a strategy Gilles calls “a winning approach over the long term.”
Building Trust Through Ethics and Service
By the end of 2024, the Council of State recognized Prodie Santé's legal arguments, resulting in a law change effective October 1, 2025. “This ordeal was a tremendous opportunity to unite the medical community and our own internal teams in a fight against a law perceived as both unfair and illegal,” Gilles reflects, adding that the challenge also opened new markets and services, proving that Prodie Santé is “a phoenix that naturally responds to the flow of life.”
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“We've always remained true to our ethics, and the service we provide daily is of genuine public benefit. Furthermore, we adapt our rates to the financial capabilities of the regions in which we operate. Our fees in the French market differ from those we charge in Vietnam, for example. We recruit on a pro bono basis for NGOs requesting our services (such as Doctors Without Borders). During the COVID-19 pandemic, we graciously offered our Alliance of Cuban Doctors to more than 50 governments around the world,” Gilles shares.
Several challenges, such as doctor shortages, uneven specialist distribution, and urban concentration, create major
Driving Innovation in Global Healthcare Access
With 27 years of experience working with healthcare institutions in 50 countries, Prodie Santé's team has a transnational and global view of the
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healthcare disparities that are worsened by retirements and migration. Past government measures, both punitive and incentivizing, have been largely ineffective. Gilles notes that addressing this requires a deep understanding of the medical profession and its operational dynamics. “This is why some countries are seeking our help to implement a large-scale management plan for the recruitment, deployment, and mobility of medical human resources in large cities and remote areas. Accompanied by high-level practitioners, we also participate in discussions on the future of the healthcare profession with the arrival of AI. Topics combining technology and philosophy,” he shares. Gaining Global Recognition Through Ethical Advocacy for Cuban Doctors One of the most transformative initiatives for Prodie Santé's global impact was the creation of The Prodie Santé Cuban Doctors Alliance in 2020. This helped thousands of Cuban doctors and nurses facing harsh conditions and human rights abuses gain access to ethical medical missions compliant with international labor standards. Prodie Santé helps them intervene in any country in the world and share their expertise in dignified and ethical conditions. “We're witnessing a historic moment where the United Nations and the world's most powerful countries, including the European Union and the United States, are pushing to end the modern slavery of Cuban practitioners,” Gilles observes. In
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Conclusion Gilles Campedel's approach to leadership blends awareness, ethical conduct, and personal accountability. Through initiatives like Prodie Santé, the Cuban Doctors Alliance, Taqadum, and The Prodie Program, his contributions demonstrate how responsible action can create lasting impact and improve lives worldwide.
2024, the U.S. Department of State contacted him to learn about Prodie Santé's ethical approach towards Cuban exiled doctors. This massive achievement inspired the creation of the Prodie Program, their NGO initiative in Niger that brings access to healthcare, drinking water, nutrition, housing, education, social integration, and individual responsibility. Resilience Through Reality, Ethics, and Responsibility Gilles believes in seeing things for what they are - accepting reality as it unfolds before our eyes, not the selective retention of what suits us, which results in a foundation built on sand. “Agreeing to face reality head-on, without sugarcoating it, is the first step to true awareness - the breeding ground for constructive evolution. It represents a noble legacy to be passed on to future generations. I decode every situation as a game that offers a path to follow. This path is all you need in life,” he affirms.
To young leaders in the healthcare industry, Gilles recommends a strong and noble code of conduct to ensure healthcare access anywhere, at any time. His advice: Reflect on the ethical integration of AI, an increasingly essential tool, being mindful that it's not a conscious, human entity. Enrich yourself and fully utilize its potential without losing your soul. Used wisely, technology can work wonders. Misused, it will destroy lives. Victory should never come at the expense of others. The goal is human flourishing, not subjugation. Individual accountability is key. Be vigilant and responsible. Don't shirk your obligations. Failing to act or not speaking out makes us responsible for unfortunate situations with dramatic consequences. Taking responsibility is your greatest gift to humanity. Empowerment is the only way to exercise civic participation within a community.
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Success for me is when we have created a working environment where the team feels like the strategic plan is all theirs, that they have license to stretch themselves, and we are having fun. It is also about executing a strategy smartly understanding where the linkages are ahead of time and avoiding duplication,” says John Dowd.
John Dowd A Proven Wealth Management Executive with Broad Experience
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John is the Chief Executive Officer, a member of the Board of Directors, and chairs the Management and Operating Committees at Fiduciary Trust International. He has more than 30 years of experience in wealth management and is a frequent speaker on wealth management topics. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust in 2016, he served as executive vice president and senior managing director for Wells Fargo Wealth Management, where he oversaw the Northeast region. John's previous positions also included serving as head of wealth management for The Bank of New York. He received his B.A. from Guilford College and his M.B.A. from Columbia University. John serves on the advisory board of the UHNW Institute, and on the boards of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Montclair Art Museum, and North Capital Investment Technology, Inc. John credits his success with beginning his career in an entry-level position, and working his way up, taking on as many “dirty jobs” as possible. This gave him a ground-eye view of where improvements could be made by leveraging technology, changing workflow, etc. Since he had a real hands-on perspective, it also gave him the confidence that he could lead the business to a better place. So, over time, John confidently asked for more and more responsibility. John thinks he and his team have done a good job of marrying the solid and tried and true elements of a 90-yearold trust company—stability, integrity, dedication, focus—with some of the more modern elements today's wealth management clients expect—speed, digital delivery, sustainable investing, access to alternatives and coinvestments. Along the way, he believes the company's core values have remained unchanged—it is client-centric, objective, and independent, no short cuts — and there is a deep appreciation for the technical and specialized skills its people bring to the table. John asserts, “Together that creates our unique culture that keeps clients and our advisors here on average for 20 years.”
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CEO Fiduciary Trust International
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Fiduciary Trust International Fiduciary Trust International was founded in New York in 1931 as a specialized trust company. Its aim was to eliminate the conflicts inherent in other wealth management models
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that were prevalent at the time (and still exist today). The company provides investment management, trust and estate, tax, and planning services to high-net-worth (HNW) clients around the world. John asserts, “Our specialists work in dedicated
teams from offices across the US.” The company has over $90 billion in client assets under its care and has been part of the Franklin Templeton family of companies since 2001.
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Project Snow Lion For John, his proudest moment was seeing the entire firm engaged in the firm's strategic reboot, Project Snow Lion. He recalls, “This was a grassroots project designed to improve the client experience, the advisor experience, and our competitive positioning. There have been other satisfying industry recognitions — A Barron's article on doubling the size of Fiduciary within 5 years (we did it in 4), the Family Wealth Report Awards for Excellence in Family Wealth Counseling and Independent Fiduciary/Trust Services— but Project Snow Lion was great to see from ideation to execution to now reaping the benefits.” Work-Life Balance John organizes his time daily around four key activities: Ÿ Thought Leadership — Staying up-to-date on markets, the industry, technology, and trends Ÿ Operating the Business — Managing the P&L, product performance, and product development Ÿ The Client Experience — Meeting with clients and helping with new business, and client retention Ÿ The Advisor Experience — Meeting with our teams and communicating strategy, and direction “Some days one of the areas gets a little more attention than others, but I try to keep the discipline,” says John.
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As per John, maintaining the balance is hard and has gotten harder with COVID. The team tries to have meeting moratoriums, such as around the holidays, to avoid creepage. It does try and mix its business with social activities. The company hosts employee engagement events regularly. John tries to be himself and be accessible. He says, “What helps, though, is that I love what I do, the people I work with, and the stories around each of our clients. Like Buffett says, it's important to pick a job where you can skip to work every morning, which I feel I do. That makes for an interesting visual as I am very tall at 6'7.” Keeping Up With The Changes “Innovation is prized in the company,” says John. He stays up at night thinking about new trends, client needs, and demand. He adds that a good example is the work Fiduciary is doing with digital assets. As per John, with the advance of blockchain technology, forwardthinking asset managers like its parent, Franklin Templeton, are looking for illiquid assets they can tokenize, and trade globally 24/7. HNW clients, in turn, will be investing in these assets because of
their potentially higher return profile. “It's why Fiduciary is working towards offering digital custody services, and this is the driving force behind our recent investment in North Capital.” John also stays abreast of the changes happening in the industry by staying close to the “disrupters.” Fiduciary invests in fintech start-ups, and John has served on two of their boards. John would like to make Fiduciary Trust International the unequivocal gold standard, globally, for wealth management. He says, “We have such great people, products, and culture that it is very achievable.” For aspiring business minds, John would just say how lucky they are to be alive in this time of such dramatic technological innovation. He states, “It will be fascinating to see the solutions that technology will bring to our clients in the future.”
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Coffee 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.
Aiden Keegan The Best Coffee Service Esquires Takes the Lead
Passion that Paved the Way Starting their first coffee shop in in a 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
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CEO Esquires Coffee
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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 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
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 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;
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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
From moving into new markets to 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.
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However, franchising has fostered the growth of the company largely with over 100 successful stores today. 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. The Experts Driven by a Vision 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.
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Aiden's roles and responsibilities as the CEO of Esquires are quite varied and cover everything from 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. The Vision of a Unanimous Team 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: Ÿ 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. Ÿ Freshly roasted Organic Fairtrade coffee, teas and chocolate served alongside a selection of carefully chosen healthy and freshly prepared in store food. Ÿ Individually designed and immediately recognizable cafes, exhibiting our sustainability commitments, independent character and proudly located in premium locations.
Ÿ Staff are extensively trained to ensure they value all customers and practice a personal service Ÿ Constant innovation to stay ahead of our competitors and strengthen our reputation of always being “the place to be” The Future of Esquires 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. 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.
Ÿ Comfortable seating and readily accessible internet connections, supported by great music and magazines
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Typically, growing the financial value of any business is the definition of success. However, some leaders have a unique way of defining it. Jennifer Pinasco, CEO of Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology, defines success by getting answers to questions like, “Did we compromise anything to get here? Who did we help? How did we respond to failures? What culture have we created by our behavior? Have we provided something of value, something needed? How did we treat people? What did we learn?” She states that the underbelly of that success, the core of the foundation, the stability, and the strength of that success depends heavily on the goodness of the answers to these questions. Journey to success
Jennifer Pinasco Providing Compassionate, Quality Focused Pathology services at Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology
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Jennifer always had a passion for pathology and wanted to help people. To progress in her career, she started expanding her academic base. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master in Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix. Before joining forces with Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology, she worked for an Internal Medicine practice where she was on the path to becoming a nurse. Along the way, she began to see herself as an ambassador between the patients who need care and physicians who provided it. She wanted to create a balance between the two sides of the healthcare spectrum: Providers and Patients. In 1996, she joined Yosemite Pathology's RCM Team. Backing up her skills and academic knowledge, she progressed her way up to become the CEO of the company. Crossing the roadblocks on the way In the early stages of her career, Jennifer faced many challenges along the way. Thus began her personal mantra of “Challenge Accepted” and she began to build a team of experts around her and the organization to face these challenges head on. She expresses, “I learned how you treat people matters, and you don't always have to be the one with the answer, so seek wisdom from others. Relationships, knowledge, and trust are not the values that everyone
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CEO Yosemite Pathology
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upholds, so when you encounter those who don't, consider deeply what's at risk by doing business with them.” Providing better facilities for everyone at Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology They are a physician owned practice with an advanced anatomic pathology laboratory that is CLIA certified and fully accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Their Board-Certified pathologists service hospitals and outpatient practices with a broad range of specialties in both anatomic and clinical pathology, supplemented by targeted subspecialty training.
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These comprehensive specialties enable the delivery of solutions that answer the needs of our clients, allowing our physician and hospital partners to advance patient care and health management in the communities we serve. Our Core Values are Quality, Compassion, Integrity and Innovation. Innovation is crucial to grow, adapt and better serve our patients but our employees need to feel connected to it first. By harnessing the power of the latest technologies, providing clear direction and giving proper space for all the personnel to grow individually, that's when magic happens and the team becomes unstoppable. She stresses the point by stating, “Innovation is one of the core values
that we as an organization focus on nurturing and cultivating. We were able to bring on Covid testing in just ten days due to the space we give to our teams to innovate and create solutions.” She believes focusing on their employees and their client's needs is more critical than paying attention to their competitors. She mentions, “When our eyes are on our clients, we are able to identify areas of opportunities where we can provide solutions to help them and add value to their practice and ultimately improving patient care.” Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology was also recently certified as a Great Place To Work by its employees which is
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simply a testament of the Shareholders and Leadership focus on creating an open inclusive compassionate quality driven environment in which our employees can thrive. Redefining anatomic pathology at Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology Jennifer states, “I think our organization is unique in that we have been very intentional about investing in and developing an infrastructure that fully supports our pathologist's needs and those of our clients while creating a nurturing environment for our employees. Whether it be analytics, interfaces, accreditation, logistics, or compliance, we offer a full suite of concierge services to both our pathologists and clients internally and externally, driven by seeking quality solutions for optimum patient care. She mentions, “In the last decade, we have greatly expanded the range and depth of our services and have become a premier provider of
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anatomic pathology services in Northern and Central California.” Life as the CEO of Yosemite Pathology | Precision Pathology Wearing the hat of the CEO of the company, she is responsible for giving the proper strategic direction, creating a vision for success, and developing an exceptional team to get them there. She feels her role is to be an open genuine balanced leader who strives to sustain stability while pursuing new ventures. While fueling the growth of the group, she knows when to take breaks and let the body re-energize for the next challenges. To keep her body fit, she indulges in yoga and meditation. They allow her to de-stress and unravel the day. She also loves to travel which allows her mind to expand her awareness and keep it fresh and open for new ideas for the growth of the group.
continue our expansion interstate and intrastate by acquiring small physician group practices that are also providing quality pathology services to their communities.” For this, the leaders have to be transparent, agile and empowering by helping the next generation in line. They are developing a career path program in pathology for the youth to expose them to this profession and the critical role pathology leaders play in healthcare. She expresses, “Pathology Leadership awareness starts with those of us practicing it, and we need to begin sharing more with one another, learning from each other and combining our strengths for best practices going forward.” She aims at steering the group into continuing their M&A business line, expanding their test menu, and participating in clinical trials.
Future prospects of the company Jennifer adds, “Our vision is to
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Success has a different meaning for each person: for some, it's a monetary achievement, and for some, it's making a difference. For Darya Yegorina, CEO of CleverBooks, success means making a difference along with the achievements of the company. CleverBooks operates in the education field. “Education has an impact on people's lives in the long run. When CleverBooks makes things happen, it makes a difference within our company's mission and vision, that's the success we want as a team and that's the feeling of winning with the difference we all have in mind,” she states. Leading a company to success is not an easy road to take
Darya Yegorina Redefining The Educational Industry With Innovative Computer Technology
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The foundation for CleverBooks was Darya's own story of learning at school. She says that when she was at school, she had books around her to learn from and teachers who directed mainly to the books. Then technology kicked in and it took time to learn and adapt. “Today, kids have a lot of learning opportunities, and educators have way more tools for teaching. This is truly inspiring - to deliver technology that can help teach and learn with ease, excitement, and inspiration for lifetime learning,” she further adds. Augmented Reality for education is already a challenge from several perspectives: technology adoption by users and technology application on pedagogy and methodology. These are the main roadblocks that CleverBooks has on the strategic roadmap. They talk to their customers and improve their experience with Augmented classrooms, their flagship product. “Our customers help us a lot to overcome the challenges,” exclaims Darya. CleverBooks - Its Growth & Success While Contributing To Redefining The Educational Industry CleverBooks, a company based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, delivers STEM solutions for K12 using Augmented Reality for meta-skills development and future-ready support. Augmented Classroom (ARC) is the only digital platform for K-12 that brings together 3 main pillars in the EdTech space: explore, create and collaborate in the multiplayer augmented environment. Their values are equality, responsibility, caring about their planet, and straightforwardness. As stated on their website, CleverBooks
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empower kids of ages 5 to 12 years in finding a purpose and sustaining motivation in what they're learning through an interactive discovery and fun experience. Since 2016 CleverBooks helps educators and
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parents to increase kids' engagement in class, inspire learning at home, spark their curiosity and imagination. They have always strived to bridge the gap between digital natives and digital immigrants.
CleverBooks makes a difference by combining Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence and marrying them with traditional pedagogy, thanks to the innovative spirit in their team. “Innovation is the DNA we all
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have at CleverBooks, this is part of our culture – to create an environment where everyone can contribute their ideas to make a difference,” states Darya. There is a strong element of R&D and CleverBooks does this continuously from both academic and technological business perspectives. They are creative and collaboration is the key for them even when it comes to like-minded competitors.
project of European Digital Innovation Challenge 2020, Reimagine Education Gold prize winner 2021, and multiple awards connected to e-learning, curricula application, and pedagogical relevance. Leadership & Responsibilities
Our only plan for the future is to impact the education system, create new possibilities for teaching and learning and support innovation spirit in kids globally, one kid at a time. They are present in different countries around the world and the objective is to continue organic growth.
Darya states that her main responsibilities are leadership, inspiration, and empowerment of the team. “Motivation comes from inside,” she states. Her team is motivated with the zeal of changing the world of education and that is within their company's mission. That is what motivates the team to serve their customers with their best.
Augmented Classroom won the GESAwards in 2020, the winning
Being a professional speaker of 20+ global events yearly, Darya uses the
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power of creativity and innovation to inspire future leaders and build fair business advantages through teamwork and state of art strategy for results-driven companies. Her key strengths are Technology and digital transformation, strategic product management, and growth. Her focus areas are people, performance, productivity & profitability.
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Chanie Gluck, the CEO of 4D Global is a growth-oriented entrepreneur and healthcare leader who comes from a family of entrepreneurs and considers herself to be blessed for the same. She comes from a family of entrepeners and has been watching her family members grow their businesses since she was a child. Her father entered entrepreneurship at a later point in his life when Chanie was a teenager. “I was able to observe the difference between entrepeners that own a job and those that create a scaleable business. I decided to create a scalable organization,” Chanie states. She had the idea to start her billing company at age 18. She entered the healthcare industry as her first job by joining a medical practice in Brooklyn, NY as a medical billing specialist directly after high school. At the age of 24, she started her own healthcare billing and coding business.
Chanie Gluck A Dynamic Entrepreneur Determined To Grow And Impact Positive Change In The Healthcare Industry
A brief about 4D Global and Chanie's leadership 4D Global is an Indian-based medical billing staffing company servicing U.S. medical billing companies, healthcare software companies, hospitals and medical centers. They help Healthcare Companies scale their business easily and increase profitability by leveraging a global workforce. They apply their medical billing expertise and exceed clients' expectations in delivery, performance, and accuracy. Chanie launched 4D in 2015 and since then the business has grown tremendously. Today, she has over 400 full-time employees. “I vowed to treat her staff with respect, we would focus on company culture and make it a happy and enjoyable place to work. We would celebrate birthdays, weddings, births, and holidays,” she notes. Chanie aims for 4D Global to be the place where Indians will want to work; the good ones will stay and advance within the company, and they provide great opportunities for growth and advancement. Chanie proudly states that they have been able to do all of that and more. Roadblocks help you learn valuable lessons to grow and become successful Chanie's definition of success is having the confidence, freedom, and capability to make decisions independent of
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CEO 4D Global
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what others are saying and doing. Her success and the success of her team are determined by her ability to trust herself and empower her team to make the best decisions that are rooted in the company's core values. She also believes that it is not the challenge itself that makes you stronger. “I've learned that my response to those challenges - how clearly I think, how composed I am when I respond and being able to see the glass half full - is what is most critical,” she says. One of the biggest challenges of Chanie's professional life was when she tried to start her first BPO in India. She recruited a few employees and asked a colleague that had an office in Chennai to rent their office space. She hired the people and went back to the US. The office owner handed her a ridiculous contract that her attorney advised her not to sign. He then took her people and started his own BPO with her core group of employees. “I was too trusting and took his word instead of having a signed agreement. The experience taught me to get everything in writing before doing business with anyone,” she states. Chanie's contribution in redefining the healthcare industry Chanie claims that the way to redefine the healthcare industry is to destigmatize offshoring and show the human side of a global workforce.
autocratic work standards in India, they aim to plant seeds of integrity and innovation.
Chanie's journey towards becoming a successful healthcare leader
The culture in 4D Global's Indian office is just as strong, if not stronger, as their culture in the US. By creating a culture where every person gets a say, where their employees can build careers, and introducing a democratic working style in predominantly
“I am always delighted with the innovative methods and diligent studying our team does to make an impact for our clients. We have innovation days where employees are encouraged to present their best ideas. Ideas are rewarded and encouraged,” explains Chanie.
The beginning of Chanie's career was marked by a strong desire to lead a lifestyle of freedom and impact. She notes three important professional milestones before her time at 4D Global:
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Ÿ From 18-24 years old I became a medical billing specialist directly out of high school. I focused on specialty billing including Cardiology, Neurology, GI, Dermatology, Podiatry, Hematology/Oncology, Gynecology, Pulmonary, and Internal Medicine. I learned everything I could learn about the medical billing industry. Ÿ When I was 24, I founded 4D Medical a Medical Billing company I ran and owned the company for 13 years. I sold 4D Medical and founded 4D Global in 2015. Ÿ In 2009 I was a Managing Director for a medical billing division within a larger company. My primary responsibility was to set up and establish a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) in Chennai, India, which I completed in a few months. During that experience, I fell for the people and culture in Chennai. When Chanie started 4D Global, she shared that she wanted to build a healthcare company that was worthy of the Inc 5000 list. This summer they learned that they ranked in the list, making them the 72nd largest business in Arizona and number 125 in healthcare services. “This is a journey partially realized and the most rewarding recognition for me and the whole 4D Global team,” she exclaims.
clients and ensure a profitability model that propels our Great Place to Work culture,” explains Chanie She further states that the beauty of her role is that there is not just one regular day at work. She could be attending conferences and industry events one week, visiting the Chennai office the next, interviewing people on her Growing Global and Leaders in Medical Billing Podcast, and networking with other thought leaders in the space in between. Chanie loves the variety in her work and enjoys hiring others to fill her blind spots, and weaknesses, or otherwise, take her out of her zone of genius. She reads a ton, listens to podcasts, hosts her own podcasts, and is constantly working on herself to be a better person and Leader. Staying motivated and maintaining a healthy work-life balance Chanie is happily married and has four children, so balance is something she strives for each day. The way she maintains a healthy balance is by taking care of herself. When she feels run down, she rests. When she needs a break, she works out, listens to music or gets together with friends. “When I care for myself, I can care for my immediate family and those entrusted to my care in a business setting,” she states.
Core responsibilities as the Founder and CEO of 4D Global
Chanie is a planner and schedules everything on her calendar, even the time she spends with her kids is on her calendar. This way she can make sure that she doesn't neglect the most important relationships in her life.
“My responsibilities as the founder and CEO of 4D Global are twofold: create a culture that can deliver highquality work consistently for our
The way she keeps everyone motivated to deliver the highest quality services is by treating them with care and respect. “I listen not
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just to hear, but to understand, then respond in kind. I also listen to myself and assess my needs to make sure I stay connected to what is most important,” she says. Plans for the future success of 4D Global The plan for 4D Global is to build client relationships for decades. They will expand their impact and humanize the dedicated and highly qualified team members in India. Their goal is to provide jobs to 10,000 employees in India. Chanie's personal goal as a healthcare leader is to advocate for their offshored resources and deliver a working environment that is fair and invigorating to their staff and thus invigorating and rewarding to their clients. The message Chanie wishes to relay to aspiring business leaders is this: the answer is within you. Simply embrace a growth mindset, take risks, treat your people well and keep going. There will always be challenges and how you deal with those challenges will determine your success.
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Success resides in accomplishing the set goals and aims for higher heights. Being a solid believer of this notion, David Wachs, CEO of Handwrytten, is steering the ship in the right direction. Besides financial metrics, he is focusing on building a team, positive work culture, phenomenal products with a raving user base, and solving a business need. Journey to success David's career as an entrepreneur began when he was four years old. He states, “I used to fill my older brother's toy wagon full of candy and go door to door selling it. In high school, I started my first true company, Macrologic Solutions, a computer builder and retailer. “
David Wachs Backing up the art of letter writing with Handwrytten
He went to the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied computer science, engineering, and economics at Wharton. He worked in consulting, investment banking, and briefly in venture capital. In 2004, he founded Cellit, a leading mobile messaging company that sent millions of messages a day on behalf of leading retailers. The company was also an early player in building mobile websites and apps. After selling this company, he wanted to thank his employees and clients for their business, faith, and trust in him. He adds, “I did this by sending them handwritten cards, as I knew how personal and powerful handwritten notes could be. Soon, however, my hand cramped, I ran out of stamps, or I screwed up the note and hand to start all over. I knew there had to be a better way, so I started Handwrytten.” Today, people are inundated with electronic communication. The average office worker receives 140 emails a day and spends nearly 25% of their day just managing their inbox. On top of emails, people battle with text messages, Twitter, Slack, and all other electronic messaging. Conversely, The average American only receives between 1 and 3 handwritten pieces of mail a month. This is why oldfashioned handwritten notes really stand out. Not only do
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CEO Handwrytten
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they get opened 300% more frequently than printed mail, but they get read. Handwrytten lets you send real handwritten notes, written in ballpoint pen, from your computer automatically. He states, “We integrate with major platforms, such as Salesforce, Zapier, Integromat, Shopify, and Hubspot, to automate the process too.” Getting stronger with challenges When they started the company, they used off-the-shelf handwriting machines called “Autopens.” They quickly realized the technology was not sufficient for our needs, the output quality was not realistic, and the company supporting the machines was not responsive to their needs. As such, they had no choice but to design their own handwriting robots. David mentions, “This process took over three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but we now have a robot that is better than the old autopen in every way. Most importantly, the writing quality is near perfect and much more realistic than our old machine. We can also build them for less than we could buy the other machine. We now have nearly 120 custom-built robots and build more as we grow.”
David states, “Our point of difference is the scale and speed of our writing, the authenticity of the writing product, and the quality of the stationery. We offer integrations for Shopify, Salesforce, Hubspot, Integromat, and Zapier. We have a full API that allows complete custom integration into our clients' systems as well.”
Setting the standards with Handwrytten Based on custom-built, proprietary technology, Handwrytten is the onestop for handwritten notes. While on the client-facing side, they have a dedicated website to send orders either at once or uploading spreadsheets in bulk. They are also available on an iPhone app, an
Filling colors in the art of handwritten notes with Handwrytten Handwrytten offers the writing of handwritten notes on custom stationery. All notes can be in written envelopes and stamped with real stamps.
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Android app, APIs, Zapier “Zaps,” Integromate Integration, Shopify plugins, Hubspot plugin, and a robust Salesforce integration. Moreover, even the internal team has personalized software for translating notes to robot commands and the robots themselves. David also shares, “We also have robust quality assurance technology that leverages computer vision and machine learning to ensure the right note gets in the right envelope. This speeds QA and decreases our already de minimis error rate.” Being the oldest provider of robotically-written handwritten notes in the world, they strive to uplift the standard for high-quality writing, turnaround time, price, and integration options. He also shares his goals, “We wish to reignite the use of handwritten notes in the business. We are still in the nascent stage of that, while we send about 10,000 pieces a day. I would like Handwrytten to open additional facilities in the United States and eventually around the globe.” Managing Personal and Professional Fronts Being the CEO of Handwrytten, his crucial time goes into advertising the company's services via writing different articles and blog posts, speaking at virtual conferences, and being on podcasts. Not just this, he has also taken the responsibility to complete the SEO and SEM of Handwrytten ahead so that the company reaches new heights without any hassle. Further, he says, “I still oversee the technology of the company and
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manage the programmers and engineers. A substantial amount of time is spent writing specifications for the developers, reviewing the latest designs and builds of applications, and planning out new features and integrations to add as well as improving the robots.” Lastly, he also sits in sales pitches, and implementation calls for any necessary assistance required. For David, balancing work and his personal life is essential, especially because he has his own family now including, a wife and two small kids. Thus, he always tries to be present at dinner every night with the family and attend his children's sporting activities whenever they come. He then catches up to work later on emails. Even the work environment is no less than a fun family. He shares, “We have weekly team meetings that both provide updates to the team as well as try to keep the team motivated through activities. I try to praise
employees publicly and criticize employees privately.” Promising Future plans As per David, Handwrytten is treading the path of growth and success with developing more robots and integrations into partner systems. Owing to their remarkable innovation, they are about to witness a 65-100% growth rate which is a great achievement for him. On a personal note, he is planning to get more involved in the business community in Phoenix, Arizona. He aims to start mentoring teenagers interested in getting into engineering and serve as a resource to our local economic development council. His advice for upcoming entrepreneurs is: Always get in over your head and never give up!
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Climbing the ladder of success is not easy. One has to cross several hurdles while finding the next step to climb up. Marc Ripper, CEO of Alertgy, realized that only hard work, conviction, and resilience could create a difference between the two extremes. There is no substitute for making mistakes along the way and, most importantly, learning from them. He expresses, “Success in life is refining your failures because they are the constant in business and life in general. But one has to have fun along the way because it's all about the journey. If one can't cry about it, one has to have the ability to laugh about it.” Journey to success
Marc Rippen Providing life-saving aid to diabetic patients with Alertgy
Prior to Alertgy, Marc handled different roles that allowed him to gain valuable experience and several arrows to his quiver. He pivoted to the healthcare industry because of a personal tragedy. He found his wife nearly slipping into a diabetic coma and became unresponsive due to being in a prolonged low blood sugar state. No doubt, he managed to normalize the condition, but this incident sparked a fire in his mind. To protect his wife in the future and help others tackling the same situation, he took the matter into his own hands and marked the dawn of Alertgy. Fighting diabetes with Alertgy Alertgy provides the first non-invasive wearable continuous glucose monitor and alert system to measure the true blood glucose. It sets people with diabetes free from thinking about taking glucose measurements by allowing for fully automated, continuous monitoring with pre-set alerts for low or high glucose levels, as set by the user. The medical device and diagnostic industry are constantly growing and changing, with new technologies being introduced to the market all the time. Marc adds, “We are entering a new era of medicine that will be significantly impacted by the incredible growth and breakthroughs in wearables, cloud-based IoT sensor systems, application of AI 10, and digital health. Our vision
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is to provide a product and service to save and improve the quality of life for diabetics and help those that are borderline diabetics from becoming diabetic.” Tunneling through every challenge on the way
Initially, they had to determine the correct placement of their device to maximize their accuracy and reliability over a long-term period. After this was established, they have focused on sensor development in order to get the highest quality data and stability within their device.
In the initial phase of growth, the team encountered some roadblocks.
Marc mentions, “It is an everevolving process inside our research
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and development team. We will continue to improve our device to deliver the highest quality product to our customers when we begin manufacturing.” Then COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything at a global level. However, Marc and his team smartly tackled the pandemic.
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Everyone has learned that COVID 19 forced us to change the way we live, communicate, consume, and do business. Nowhere is this more evident than in healthcare. From the healthcare provider perspective, digitization of services has come to the forefront through the use of IoT, wearable diagnostic devices, and enhanced use of AI. The advent of telehealth with a focus on prevention is the real game-changer. Marc states, “We feel that Alertgy is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the post-COVID-19 world. Our product DeepGluco is perfectly positioned at the crossroads of digital health, wearable diagnostics, IoT, and AI that can save the lives of millions of patients and, more importantly, help control the onset of diabetes among billions of people worldwide. “ Deploying smart strategies during the pandemic to push forward Rather than fighting COVID-19, the team took advantage of the change. The diabetes monitoring industry is behind the curve and is ripe to implement Alertgy's technology to address a major unmet need in the mature market, a non-invasive, costeffective digitally-enabled continuous blood glucose monitor and alert system. Millions of diabetics throughout the world need an easier and simpler way to manage and monitor their blood sugar without the pain and hassle that today's products bring. In the future, they believe they can reach new industries and customers by applying our patented technology to many other forms of diagnostics.
trials. The team feels that their technology continues to garner a lot of attention among the investors. Marc states, “We were asked by NIH to submit a proposal to develop a device to allow for detection of Covid virus as this has been identified as a potential application for Alertgy technology. Alertgy can become a leader in diabetes care and diagnostics and monitoring for a plethora of diseases and ailments such as COVID 19.” Life as the CEO of the company Taking the onus of the CEO of the company, Marc handles several responsibilities. He adds, “I am responsible for finding each person's strengths, helping them achieve their professional and personal goals, and providing the vision that is needed to move the company in the best direction. “ On top of this, he is responsible to his investors for ensuring a reasonable return on their investment and providing the hundreds of millions of diabetics a system that will greatly enhance their quality of life and reduce the worry for their loved ones. Achieving work-life integration Marc values his family as he gets his constant dose of motivation from them. While spreading the roots of the company, he makes sure that he makes ample time for his family. He
loves to spend time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Sometimes, he likes to travel on his own to refresh his mind and body and get ready for the upcoming challenges. Future plans for Alertgy Marc mentions, “We have a unique ability with our technology to significantly affect the lives of over 90% of the 420 million diabetics in the world population with a way to manage their disease easily and effectively.” The team provides them with an effortless means to measure their blood glucose continuously without the need for invasive and expensive systems. They will be pursuing an alert and surveillance application approval for this from the FDA. Given that 1/3 of the world's entire population are borderline diabetics, Marc believes that Alertgy can help them better manage their lifestyles to keep them from becoming diabetic. He expresses, “In the future, there is no limit to what our technology can provide in the way of monitoring and diagnostics. Published research indicates that our technology has the potential to track other metabolites and cellular markers within the body for other diseases that could pave the way for Alertgy to be a premier leader in diagnostic technology.”
They focused on raising funding for their further development and clinical
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Co- Founder of Inspire Legal Group, Natalie Foster is a former business manager at Barclays Bank who transitioned into the legal industry to work in business development. The Group includes Inspire Legal Academy, which will give lawyers and other legal professionals the skills they need to benefit from the world of blockchain, smart contracts, and legal engineering, as well as Inspire Crypto, a company that will help develop products that enable property transactions to proceed via blockchain, are other ventures she has established. She says, It's our intention to inspire lawyers to see that there are many different things they can do in practise and to find new ways of delivering legal services. We are a group of colleagues where everyone has a stake in the success of the business." Inspire Legal Group
Natalie Foster Leading Innovation in the Legal Sector by Founding Advance Virtual Law Firm
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The innovative virtual law firm from Inspire Legal Group, formerly Foster Clay, aims to give lawyers the tools they need to start their own practises and related businesses, such as technology solutions. Inspire Legal Group currently employs 23 lawyers as consultants who are building their practises with complete back-office assistance. They aim to double the number of consultants by the end of 2022. They work with paralegals, licenced conveyancers, solicitors, and legal entrepreneurs who require a support network to develop their own tech products, and are enouraging other lawyers, at all levels to “join the movement” [one of the Group's taglines] . 11 people are currently employed by Inspire in Scarborough to help the lawyers. Early Background Natalie comes from a business, finance, and lending background. She started a law degree when she had her children, and she is still pursuing her SQE and LLM because being a solicitor would be sacrilege to her. She sees herself as a business leader who develops a team and garners support to bring about change. She works in the legal industry and is aware of the significant obstacles that must be removed before law and procedure can be applied to technology. Although the Law Commission is doing
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blockchain in the legal sector, such as security and speed, are just a few of the difficulties Natalie mentions. Consultants who are in their own right entrepreneurial and have project ideas of their own can join the firm to have the support of reserved legal activity insurance when they require it. Under the firm's ABS (alternative business structure), they can offer niche services to their clients, retaining the majority of their fees. She asserts, "We've created personal brand workshops, lead gen support, and back office administration to support them. But what we're doing goes beyond being part of a “firm”, it's being part of a community. I don't want to be in competition with highstreet firms, we are not. I want to offer a different way of functioning in the sector by removing the issues many artists face when transferring property and support the legal sector in the journey to using block chain technology. This is what Inspire Legal Groupis doing. " Responsibilities at Inspire Legal Group fantastic work in this area, a comprehensive solution is required. Inspire Legal Group and Vleppo (a Danish Blockchain Technology company) have forged a new alliance. She says, "We have the means to do what others are only consulting on at this stage. Being asked by Vleppo to work with them over other larger firms has been an honour and I cannot wait to let the public know what it is we have planned." Leading Legal Group In the first lockdown, Inspire Legal Group was created. After hearing
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Boris on the TV say that the public were not permitted anywhere, Natalie sat in her bedroom with her laptop and felt a sudden wave of freedom being taken away from her. She knew that many lawyers lawyers would find it difficult to function alone at home. She had resigned from her previous partnership position in order to start a business that would "survive the times then flourish." The objective was to establish a business that supported Web 3 and was entirely operationally digital. Regulatory compliance, lawyers' education in terms of understanding and buy-in, and the ultimate consumer client's need to be aware of the advantages of
As CEO, Natalie is responsible for the strategy, progress, and implementation of all projects within the group and ensures the relevant leaders have all the tools they need to undertake the roles the firm expects them to work with. Moreover, hers job is to build the brand of the group and ensure people know she is here to listen to new ideas and be non-conformist. She states, "Not anarchy, this is a different thing. People think that disruption is an uncomfortable place to be. It isn't if you have the education, support, and direction of leaders. That's what I do."
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Sharing the Significance of Challenges Natalie quotes Hamilton, "Talk less, smile more." She finds that this saying, although simple, encapsulates the changes she has made to develop and bounce back after trusting in the wrong things and learning from failure. She asserts, "We all fail. We are all allowed one mess up. If we learn from it, it has not been a waste of time and energy." Natalie states that one should partner with people that share his or her values and ethics. She adds, "Distance, background, sector, and all kinds of things can be a little obstacle in this digital age, but a gap in ethics or integrity can mess with the balance of a team. When implementing change, there are constant dynamics and relationship changes. These need to be managed and respected, and if one party isn't working as hard as the rest, it causes upset in the ranks." She has learnt from this and selects her partners based on attitude and conduct over anything these days. She thanks the challenges she has faced for allowing her to realise her value to others at darker times, and suggests that you always have something to offer. In and Out of Work Natalie fits her work in “a little and often” around the needs of her two small children. Her hobbies are supporting her daughter in her dancing and she is often sat at the back of a hall or theatre emailing the HQ team. Natalie shares that Inspire Legal Group has great respect for family. It has to be this way. Her team misss nothing. She says, "If we support
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employees' personal journeys as well as their professional ones, the loyalty you receive and buy-in is unparalleled. The perception by some is that this is a weakness, it isn't." Achieving all the Dreams Natalie admits that while she feels content with what she has accomplished so far, she is unsure of her plans for the next 40 years. She thinks, "We are all working through life in chapters. We do not need pigeonholing, and so what I do now might be different from what I do in 10 years, but whatever it is, I will always love being in business, providing opportunities for others to develop and building success from the ground up." She further adds, "Hard work doesn't have to be a painful slog. If you have an amazing team and good, smart processes, you can do anything. For me, the process has been everything. I'm lucky to have a strong board who does not allow me to veer off. Energy is not enough, you need strategy and reasoning." Why are you doing this? is something Natalie asks herself regularly. She finds dreams are subjective. She initially started simply wanting to be able to take a holiday, knowing the team and business were sustainable. She asserts, "Trust gets you there, and now I want to see that the projects we have are successful and we deliver the change the legal sector so desperately needs. Ask me again next year!" Key to Success
She initially intended to go to law school, become licenced as a solicitor, and eventually join a partnership. This changed when she observed the extraordinary operational challenges that partners and lawyers in general face, which prevent them from working on future strategy but, more importantly, fire fight daily with outdated views of how people should handle requests and restrict their opportunities for access to justice. "Success to me now is to influence and construct positive change wherever possible using the gifts and control you have at your disposal," says Natalie. For her, this is a strong network of partners who support her vision for a web3 solution for the legal industry. That is client-focused, justice-focused, and complaintdriven, and it gives lawyers and the regulator confidence to proceed without fear. Future of Inspire Legal Group Natalie's goals for the future include expansion, senior leadership, and a focus on the areas where clients currently lack access to justice. Also included are litigation, business, and corporate, as well as crypto asset tracking. She says, "Anyone who isn't getting where they need to be in the corporate pyramid and knows they have a value, talk to us. We set lawyers up to practise in their own way with their own clients and educate them in tech so they remain relevant, supportive of their clients' needs, and multi-skilled in an everchanging landscape."
Natalie has not experienced conventional or even convenient success. If anything, it has disrupted the market more than anything else because she entered the market with a critically constructive perspective.
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We've all heard the expression “born leader.” The phrase implies that the qualities that make a good leader are innate. Certain traits indeed tend to be innate—such as charisma, humility, and a sense of humour. Key leadership qualities to be successful can be learned and improved over time, such as effective communication, goal-setting, and strategic thinking. Every successful leader has a unique definition of success. Howard Rosen, CEO of Nova Insights states that fulfilling your mission, not just because of the nay-sayers but perhaps by being pushed by them, to create business good, societal good, and personal good. In the end, we all leave a legacy of one sort or another, good, bad or somewhere in between. “I think that if we are going to be here for 70 – 80 years, why not make the best of it and for others who follow,' he says.
Howard Rosen
Challenges are an excellent opportunity for growth Challenges force you to tap into your creativity to come up with ways to overcome them. They make you stronger. When obstacles stand in your way, you need to consider them as opportunities to find creative solutions to surmount them. Howard believes that the more an idea receives pushback, the more likely you are on to something. The hardest part is moving forward against that, learning to trust your instincts on where to push and where to listen. Nova Insights In Redefining The Healthcare Space
An Experienced Change Management Leader Reforming The Healthcare Industry With Unique Perspectives On Patient Engagement
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Having built a health innovation company starting in the early days of the HealthIT evolution, Howard is using that experience, advising and consulting on innovation strategy, HealthIT, and engagement. A Schulich MBA with two decades as a film & television producer before HealthIT, Howard brought a unique perspective to patient engagement. Great healthcare systems should transform the way we think and feel about our well-being. Nova Insights is a new venture, being Howard's 3rd venture throughout his career (the first being a film & television producer and the second was as a healthIT inventor) all of which have laid the groundwork for what he is doing now. He says it can be best described as Humanizing Digital Transformation. With his
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CEO Nova Insights
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experience of what worked and didn't, implementing Health IT, though always part of the tech DNA, he has harked back to his first career incorporating that by helping companies to see the human side of technology, how to take into account the whole eco-system of customers both internal and external to the organization or health system. All as supported in a McKinsey report where they noted only 25% of digital transformation is considered a success and only 4% - 11% in health. Howard's Career Path And The Best Recognition He Received As A Leader Educated as an MBA, Howard started his career as a producer of film & television. At one point, when he had two productions simultaneously (one involving education on Diabetes and another doing promotions for mobile devices), in 2005, he learned that a disease like Type II Diabetes was preventable but all the available solutions pushed people away from its management. This got him thinking what was needed was a means that can be tied to people's lifestyles while engaging them. Thus when Howard started working on the promotion campaign for the cell phone, learning how in the future the phones can have programs such as tell us the weather (remember this was 2005), late one night it dawned on him that perhaps cell phones could be that lifestyle device that can be the means and the link between disease, health management and peoples daily life. Since then, it developed into a cloudbased solution called LifeWIRE, and Howard has since been awarded 6 patents and many honours. “The wildest recognition, aside from the patents, was perhaps being chosen as a Rockefeller Foundation Top 100
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Next Century Innovator,” he exclaims. Yet, Howard states that he has not yet achieved all that he has dreamed of. Life Before Nova Insights As the CEO and Founder of Nova Insights, Howard defines himself to be a tenacious and quixotic person. Before Nova Insights, but after a career in film & TV, he was CEO/Founder of LifeWIRE, taking the company from a solopreneur to a company operating in US & Canada with clients in both the public and private sectors, military and civilian sectors. Plans For The Future Of The Company Nova Insight is on a trajectory, upward and forwards. “I believe that the best health service can be provided where there are insights and paths that lead to patients gaining access and care on their terms and where they allow clinicians, providers, and care workers to work
at their best level and not be led to be satisfied to just be good enough,” says Howard. Maintaining A Balance In Personal And Professional Life Howard states that he tries to maintain a balance in his life by engaging in outside activities during the course of any given day such as playing the guitar, and walking his dog while also encouraging everyone else to find a way to break from the trance of work to allow the mind to rest and process His one message to aspiring leaders is that the more an idea receives pushback, be certain that the more likely you are on to something. The hardest part is moving forward against that, learning to trust your instincts on both where to push and where to listen.
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