DR. RAMAN ATTRI
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DR. RAMAN ATTRI
FATIMA HASAN CALLAHAN
SUDHARIKA GOGNA
DR. RAMAN ATTRI
We are complex human beings who play many roles in our personal, spiritual, professional, and social lives. Thus, any transformation, at work or in personal life, can't happen by focusing on just one particular dimension. True transformation involves aligning, synchronizing, integrating, and creating resonance among multiple dimensions of our personality to achieve meaningful goals without having to change ourselves.
Changing people's lives through accelerated learning is one such expert's global goal. Dr. Raman Attri is a futuristic learning educator, corporate learning leader, inspiring speaker, a proli ic author, and the founder of Get There Faster.
As a transformational leader he believes in helping people to speed up the integration process. He adds, “In my training and coaching sessions on the 'science of speed', I encourage leaders to aim for true transformation.” He believes the ultimate way to speed up the path to excellence is to leverage all dimensions of the personality and create resonance among them.
Dr. Raman has also been recognized in the Brainz's Global 500 leaders of 2021 alongside stellar leaders like Oprah Winfrey, Jay Shetty, Jim Kwik, and Gary Vaynerchuk, to name a few.
THE IRONY OF LIFE
During his early years, Dr. Raman faced many physical and mental hardships due to his disability.
“When I was six months old, I contracted the polio virus that left me permanently disabled,” he recollects. Later on, he could go to school, because of heavy prosthetics. But at the same time, it alienated him from others and made him feel slow-paced in life.
Dr. Raman yearned to ind ways to attain “speed” and ironically, he found it in his “shortcomings.” Due to immobility, he got contained to his room, away from any social interactions or play time with kids of his age. He shares, “ I leveraged that advantage of having lots of distraction-free time and started reading a lot of books, whatever I could afford to get at that time.” This led him to master concepts and subjects beyond his age.
Soon, this became a differentiating factor that nurtured his curiosity to become a scientist. After bagging his engineering degree at the age of 21, he was hired as a scientist the following year. He was living the most enviable dream.
As years passed, Dr. Raman cracked the code of learning faster and realized that being a learning and training leader was his niche. “I was fortunate enough to be entrusted
WHEN WE LEVERAGE ALL DIMENSIONS OF OUR PERSONALITY AND CREATE RESONANCE AMONG THEM, WE SPEED UP OUR PATH TO EXCELLENCE MANIFOLD.
with leading an international Hall of the Fame training center for a $60bn Fortune 500 corporation,” he mentions.
Subsequently, he earned over 100 international educational degrees and credentials. Afterwards, he went for intensive research for over ten years and earned two doctorates in the learning domain. Additionally, he also wrote 20 multi-genre books alongside.
Eventually, Dr. Raman mastered his authority on speed and losing “speed” in his personal life made him seek it elsewhere, and that journey transformed him. Today, he is known for his impeccable promise to shorten time to mastery by 50%.
GET THERE FASTER
Dr. Raman's programs are meant for common people who want to
progress forward, faster. He did this by offering his premium services after two decades of formal scienti ic research. “I built knowhow of proven and tested strategies for individuals and organizations on context-basis, which is an important competitive factor in the contemporary world,” he says.
Dr. Raman calls it the “Get there faster” system —a system that helps people achieve their goals
including learning faster in professional settings, mastering a new job or skill quickly, shortening leadership path or achieving more in lesser or same time.
“I want to disseminate my know-how to a larger population of businesses and executives,” he shares. He does this by scheduling calls with interested individuals and guiding them in setting quanti iable expectations. Then, based on the needs, he suggests choices like group mentoring (for 12 months in 50 group sessions) or 1:1 individual coaching (for 6-12 months in 12 personalized sessions).
Dr. Raman says, “These worldclass training programs, coaching, and mentoring come with a fair money-back promise to speed up their path by 2x, cut up to about 50% time from their journeys and achieve 200% improvement in the same or less time.” Subsequently, at the end of the program a re lection session is conducted that prepares individuals to scale to grander heights.
WINNING AT HIS MULTIFACETED LIFE
From being an author to being a researcher to becoming a proli ic global leader, Dr. Raman's leadership journey has been inspiring to say the least. In his words, his journey was about seeking the state of 'resonance,' where all the dimensions start vibrating at the same frequency to amplify the success. He adds, “When I
mastered the art of learning better and faster, I decided to share this knowledge with others.”
However, the biggest cloud of doubt that was looming over him was — “will my methods work equally well for others?”
That is when he resorted to a deeper level of research to understand the science of learning better and faster. While he found several research studies on this topic, not all of those translated well enough for a commoner to use those methods. To resolve this, Dr. Raman transformed all his indings to a practical knowhow guide.
Moreover, this knowledge also helped him learn the art of leadership faster. He explains that it was his research that is the core reason for him to becoming a proli ic leader, author, scientist, and speaker at an international level. Dr. Raman is always bubbling with ideas to make others' lives better. He also has an interesting take on work-life balance as he feels the relevance of it is no longer applicable in today's circumstances.
Instead, he believes now is the time to explore how we could integrate these separate worlds or dimensions and dedicate time to each of these “equally” to complete our overall existence. That's how he strives for collective excellence. This guiding philosophy not only helps him achieve
resonance in his simple worklife balance but also helps him accomplish more in less time. For instance, he says, “I have written 20 books, delivered hundreds of keynotes, got over 100 media features, and earned several degrees while being a full-time corporate management leader.”
On a typical day, Dr. Raman handles operations at the Hall of Fame training center, working with teams distributed across Singapore, the US, Israel, India, Taiwan, and other places in Asia. His evenings and weekends are taken to serve the “Get there Faster” movement, write books, and impart coaching or training with zeal and focus. On the social side, he enjoys spending time with his lovely kid and family.
BUILDING RESILIENCE IN FAILURES
For Dr. Raman, his biggest lessons were from his personal challenges rather than his professional challenges. But when he overcame these challenges, it became a differentiator to be successful in the professional world.
Being born in an impoverished family and facing social challenges like isolation, teasing, bullying, and alienation from others, there seemed to be almost no light at the end of the tunnel. “When nothing positive happened to my life, I decided to use the negativity that surrounded me. I leveraged my weaknesses or limitations as my x-factors,” he asserts.
LIVING MY LIFE IN SCARCITIES, I BELIEVE ONE SHOULD OFFER THEIR WISDOM TO THOSE WHO EITHER DIRELY NEED IT OR ARE TRULY HUNGRY FOR IT BECAUSE ONLY THEY WILL KNOW ITS TRUE VALUE.
FEATURED STORY
One important lesson that Dr. Raman holds close to him is that “there are always leverages among limitations or failures — be it your failed business, your incomplete projects, your inancial losses, or your rejected ideas.” He continues, “At irst, those might seem like unbreakable walls of limitation but if you look closely, you will realize that not every wall needs to be broken down. Most will have windows too, which would let you see and reach the world beyond the walls.”
When questioned about the things Dr. Raman would do in a unique way while looking back, he shares three things that he would do differently.
First, he would choose a career that involved learning, teaching, training, and writing. “If I could, I would cut-short many years from my journey by avoiding going for engineering or other scienti ic domains which weren't my niche,” he adds.
Second, though he had imparted his indings in the form of books, he would have still chosen to opt for speaking about it early in his career rather than waiting for it to culminate, which would have opened many doors for him sooner.
Third, he would focus on the relationships he had with people rather than technologies, tools, systems, models. He says, “I missed paying attention to choosing the right people and
building a good network. If you want to have a successful career, it cannot be achieved in isolation.”
SHARING THE SINGLE BIGGEST TRUTH
In a fast-paced world, motivation is not the only factor to keep you going. There are other variables like clarity, caliber, and candor that are rare attributes to adapt.
During Dr. Raman's journey, he learned a brutal truth of life. He believes in an unpredictable world like that of business, a sense of inspiration, external motivation, and willpower are short-lived. As an entrepreneur, you should focus on gaining twodimensional clarity.
The irst dimension is getting clarity about your “Why” drives, which are your emotional or heart-felt reasons, frustrations, complaints, or experiences that push you to do what you want to do.
The second dimension is getting clarity about your “What for” motives, which pulls you towards a purpose or outcome that you hope to achieve. This is what quanti ies those tangibles of achieving something you planned to do.
He adds, “Balancing both dimensions are vital, and mastering them will ensure unimaginable speed towards success.” His advice for emerging and aspiring leaders would be to search for that two-dimensional
clarity and make it as your superpower in the VUCA world.
FAST-TRACKING FUTURISTIC GOALS
Dr. Raman has experienced both the best and the worst side of education, learning, training, and professional development. He points out that our system of training in schools, colleges, universities, and even in organizations does not prepare us fast enough to face life.
There are millions of people who need good professional development. They need to learn faster and progress faster. While some of them can afford expensive mentoring programs, the underprivileged ones get no guidance on speeding up the progress.
This is where he draws inspiration from his life. Having lived in scarcity, he believes one should offer their wisdom to those who either direly need it or are truly hungry for it because only they will know its true value.
As a result, Dr. Raman has decided to expand “Get There Faster” coaching, training, and mentoring programs to serve those who have big dreams but not big means.
LOSING “SPEED” IN MY PERSONAL LIFE MADE ME SEEK IT ELSEWHERE, AND THAT JOURNEY HAS TRANSFORMED ME INTO WHO I AM TODAY.
Author & Realtor
Community Choice Realty
JASON GELIOS
THE PIONEERING REALTOR
What according to you makes one a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?
For me, being a transformational leader means knowing who you are and what you stand for. In real estate, I'm known for providing value to others irst without any expectations. Those who interact with me learn that they can count on me as a source of value and a solution provider to their needs. When you go out into the world leading in this way, you set a good example that people feed off of.
Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as a leader that you can remember?
Throughout middle school I developed major behavioral issues and could not keep my impulses at bay. I would disrupt classes and often get suspended. My behavior led me to repeat the 6th grade. This brings me to my earliest memory of being a leader because I had decided to try out for the 8th grade basketball team to help curb my enthusiasm. Many had said that I should join the team because I was tall for my age. While I was not a very good player, making this decision on my own de ined what a leader has to do-to go against the grain in hopes for a positive outcome. Fast forward to the moment where I had grown tired of where I was in life, I had to become my own
leader to change the path I was on for a better future. Little did I know that others were watching what I was doing and gaining inspiration from my actions.
What prompted your interest and subsequently your foray into the real estate industry?
I was introduced to the mortgage industry through a family member who said that I would be great at sales. Some years earlier I had met my wife and was inspired by her commitment to her goals of wanting to become a nurse. I watched her study for tests as we spent hours in libraries. That was when I decided that enough is enough. It was time to pursue my own goals and to design a life that best suited me. I decided to take the plunge to become a professional sales person. Something inside me didn't want to be where I was. I certainly did not want to continue making the lower income that I was making in those jobs. That was the point in my life where I decided to change direction and reinvent myself. Once I made that decision I never looked back.
What is the approach followed by you in order to ensure optimal client satisfaction through your services?
I approach others as a value provider meaning I only focus on what problem(s) I need to solve for them so that they can be successful. Whether it's a home buyer
looking for their next home, a home seller wanting the most money for their property, or even a colleague asking me for advice, I provide them value irst without expectations so they can ind success.
Talk to us about your book Think Like a REALTOR®. Why would you recommend someone to must read the book?
My goal in writing this book was and still is to educate people on the real estate process with tips driven by real world experience which could save someone thousands of dollars. I've always had a love for books as far back as I can remember so it was a no brainer to share my expertise in the form of a book. It's been my experience that people don't seek real estate advice until they absolutely need it. The goal of this book is to provide real estate education in a medium that is easy to understand and digest.
I recommend anyone looking to buy or sell residential real estate to get a copy of this book to avoid the expensive mistakes that could happen in real estate. I also recommend real estate agents get a copy to learn valuable lessons that they may not have known prior to reading this book.
What has the journey been like for Jason Gelios over the years? Looking back, what would you have done differently?
I would say my biggest regret is not getting started in real estate earlier in my life. When I began in this industry, I was married with kids and working to be an active igure in their lives. It was challenging to learn a whole new industry and put in the time to excel at it. This is why I educate my children on the importance of building a life irst before taking the plunge in other areas such as marriage or deciding to have children. It would have been much easier for me to hustle and achieve success faster without other obligations. A part of me does feel that these moments and challenges de ined who I am today so maybe I wouldn't be the same person had I not gone through those times.
What has been the biggest roadblock during your journey? What has been your biggest learning?
I would say the biggest roadblock during my journey has been the lack of time. I'm someone who has many things going on at once, so it can be challenging to get everything done to my satisfaction. This is why I'm always juggling time management between work and personal activities to be sure that I am paying attention to both. I also learned early on that there is no balanced time management. I've learned that sometimes things will get out of balance, and we have to acknowledge this and move forward.
What would be your advice for aspiring and emerging business leaders in the real estate market?
I feel that real estate leaders need to adapt further to the ever-changing role of a real estate agent. I've seen many of ices providing the same formula to all agents without really looking at how the professional can excel their own way. The real estate leaders that will succeed going forward will be the ones who adapt to the real estate agents needs by showing them how to build their own brand and get business on their own. Figuring out different ways to get in front of those who want or need to buy or sell a home. Real estate leaders should learn what the individual agent is good at and build their training around those things.
Finally, what does the future look like for you, both professionally and personally?
I'm continuing to build my brand and business by offering my expertise through leading news outlets and platforms. I'm also working on my second book, which is my passion project, about how we can change our life for the better and live a life that is on our own terms. My overall focus is to continue being a value provider in my space.
An Exceptional Trailblazer
FATIMA HASAN CALLAHAN
Atransformational leader is someone who actively works to inspire, encourage, and motivate their team. This is accomplished through setting positive examples, establishing a strong sense of community and culture, and providing teams with ownership and independence in the workplace.
Fatima Hasan Callahan is a pioneering example in transformational leadership. She is also the Managing Director of Blue Line Security Solutions, a womanowned and minority-owned company. As a leader, Fatima appreciates feedback and constructive criticism and is willing to lead her organization sel lessly.
She also holds a very clear vision for the future. In her own words, she shares, “I value feedback and collaboration because everyone has a voice and perspective that may differ from mine. I enjoy learning
from others and gaining new facets of knowledge.”
EARLY ENTREPRENEURIAL INKLINGS
Fatima was exposed to business from her younger years as she was always curious to know more. Her inquisitive nature gave her opportunities to explore her parents' food manufacturing company, which is still operating in Harvey, Illinois. Moreover, she spent a lot of time reading and enjoying novels and manga. Her other interests also included riding dirt bikes, training in martial arts, and playing lacrosse. “I also still love to play video games and spend time with my friends and pets. My guilty pleasure is Pokémon,” she quickly adds.
But it was during her sophomore years, Fatima had a pivotal moment in her life. Her father was involved in an accident, was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, and as a
result was operated on in an emergency surgery. This was the time when she decided to start going to school part-time to further focus on her career and her family business. Fatima shares, “I sustained full operations for several months until my father recovered and returned to work. This time in my life was incredibly impactful because I became a leader in my family.”
LEVERAGING HER UNIQUENESS
Today, Blue Line Security Solutions stands tall as a reputed womanowned and minority-owned company. However, the concept of Blue Line Security Solutions came up rather randomly in a conversation. Fatima shares, “We bounced ideas back and forth and took that time as almost an impromptu creative brainstorming session.”
She adds, “I think we all knew deep down that we were in a unique
MANAGING DIRECTOR
position to make a positive impact. Our intention from the start was to always focus on the highest quality standards when it comes to service and professionalism.” This motivated her to place a rigorous focus on training, team building, communication, uniforms, technology, and attention to detail.
As a relatively young company, Blue Line has grown tremendously over the last several years, and its premium services toward the clients and staff have only snowballed. Moreover, Fatima inds herself fortunate enough to work with highly talented individuals who have decades of combined experience in law enforcement, business management, legal and regulatory compliance, and private security.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs do whatever it takes to ensure their businesses succeed. Fatima shares, “I am grateful for my mother and father because they are the ones who taught me this lesson from a young age. As such, I have enjoyed experiencing the growth of Blue Line and have illed in many roles over the years.”
Initially, her string of responsibilities included handling the marketing strategy with her business partner, creating the irst website, overseeing the re-designs, among other things. But now, Fatima also travels for meetings and interviews many prospective candidates during job fairs, and provides counsel to her accounting department, security teams, and essentially does anything else needed to keep the business running and growing.
Invariably, Fatima is all praises for her business partner, Jack Harris, as he played an integral role in Blue Line's success. She also describes him as “a natural leader and an essential part of the company's sales, operations, team building, and other important decisions.”
BALANCING THE SEE-SAW OF WORK AND LIFE
Over the years, Fatima faced de inite challenges related to the darker side of business. But dedication, perseverance, and sacri ice made her ride worthwhile.
Sharing about her work-life balance, Fatima actively tries to improve it in healthy ways by setting up the right habits and systems. Moreover, she's learned that organization and time management are critical and it's important to take one thing at a time and prioritize yourself. Another crucial factor is also establishing a team you can trust and depend on.
Fatima also learned how to work from anywhere as almost everything is accessible digitally. She shares, “I utilize Google calendar for extensive planning and scheduling. I use alarms and reminders on my phone, which keep me on track. My husband also instinctively knows when it's time to pull me away from my computer on those late work nights!”
Looking back at her journey, she asserts that she would not change anything signi icantly except for starting to invest earlier and cherishing being in the present moment more. This has led her to practice gratitude in each aspect of her life. In her own words, “We all
experience ups and downs, and even though we can't stop the waves, we can learn how to surf. I've learned not to ight the tide, but to ride it.”
BLUE LINE'S BEAMING FUTURE
Fatima feels Blue Lines' future is beaming with progress, success and new opportunities. Her goal is to bring her company across the Midwest and beyond. She adds, “We are excited to see where the next several years will take us, but we are enjoying the journey and grinding for now. When the team has some downtime, we are like a big family and really let our goofy sides out.”
She's excited to continue developing stronger relationships with her team and working toward her collective vision for Blue Line. “We are currently in the process of implementing new software that will holistically revamp our operations. In addition, we will soon be offering some completely new services to our clients. It's an exciting time, and we truly do have so much fun.”
In all honesty, Fatima shares, “there is no better feeling than working with your team and experiencing the rewards of your efforts. At Blue Line Security, we will always continue to dedicate ourselves to our clients, staff, and communities.”
HER REFLECTIVE ADVICE
Fatima holds the importance of time close to her heart and soul and shares, “Time is precious. If you have an idea, a goal, a dream, pursue it! Work toward your goals by establishing meaningful systems and habits. Set yourself up for long-term success, and don't be afraid to start small.”
She believes that everyone is a unique asset, and you should always invest in yourself. While consistency is the key that can unlock reasonable
actions to meet your timelines, she says, “always hold yourself accountable and surround yourself with the right people to make you unstoppable.”
Fatima also believes that while everyone is on an endless chase to earn pro its, never prioritize it over the needs of your clients and staff. Take a second to enjoy the present moment because life seems to pass by faster as you get older.
THE STALWART DUO SETTING STANDARDS OF SUCCESS
Hana Boruchov
Leo Gabovich
HANA BORUCHOV
Taking control of your
own personal development and growth is crucial in today's competitive environment, given the changes that occur in business environments, markets, and industries. Personal and professional development gives you a competitive edge in a crowded workforce, helping you differentiate yourself and stand out differently in the world. Whether it be attaining better presentation skills, learning to communicate effectively, improving your leadership approach,, or even helping discover hidden strengths within yourself, personal and professional development is essential.
For Hana Boruchov, Founding Partner at Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates, her personal and professional growth helped her become the pioneer that she is today. Although she claims to be
never a leader to start with, her will to lead by example on a daily basis and inding solutions to the problems at hand resulted in her leading a prominent law irm.
Nestled in the heart of Manhattan, NYC, Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates, P.C. is a full-service boutique domestic and international tax controversy, immigration, and commercial law irm. The irm is a renowned name for handling law cases related to tax litigation, FBAR compliance, trust fund recovery penalties, individual and corporate audits, voluntary disclosures, installment agreements, 1031 exchanges, contract negotiation, offers in compromise, entity formation, seizures, business immigration services, and much more.
A PROGRESSIVE START
Hana grew up in a bilingual, multicultural household and lived across several countries. She spent her childhood on three different continents attending three elementary schools and three other high schools. Hana's educational front was primarily distinguished as she was the irst female to get a bachelor's degree on either side of her family and the irst person to get a graduate degree.
While she never envisioned herself to become a leader, she always did what she believed was necessary and right.
DOING RIGHT BY EVERYONE
Hana had a career prior to joining the legal space and did not start college until later in her life. What persuaded her to become an attorney was her
interest in the notion of justice and fairness. She says, "I wanted to make a difference in the world, and I believed that a law degree would be the right way to help me accomplish my goals."
However, years later, when Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates commenced its operations, the whole world was ighting the peak phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the time when headlines spoke of employees getting laid off, and dark clouds loomed over many industries.
Additionally, during this time, Hana was pregnant with her irst child and knew she had to take signi icant risks to make a better life for her daughter and herself. At the same time, she also knew that people out in the world needed her help.
And now, as the Partner, she is proud of the irm's 'white-glove' service that makes sure she and her associates' best abilities,
compassion, and understanding are available to the clients when they need it the most. Alongside the esteemed services, Hana also makes sure to give each and every client individualized service. "We strongly believe in communication and give our clients the peace of mind they deserve."
OVERCOMING PERSONAL CHALLENGES
Hana overcame her professional challenges by offering esteemed services and looking after the people that needed help. However, there was a signi icant hurdle that restricted her growth personally on the personal side of things.
She explains, “With an infant and running a law irm, I have found it a little challenging to sort out my work-life balance. I believe both are important and iguring out a solution that leaves you with personal and professional
satisfaction has been a steep learning curve for me.”
Having a good work-life balance is also what she advises emerging leaders in the legal industry to work on. This delicate balance reminds her of one of the quotes by Nelson Mandela — “It always seems impossible until it's done.”
For the future, this is exactly what Hana envisions to achievea perfect work-life balance. “I plan to ind that work-life balance and to continue to grow both professionally and personally.”
Hana's professional journey has shown us that good things happen when you put others ahead of yourself and set your own interests and desires to grow. And her career proves this is true not only for attorneys but for anyone looking for success in any ield.
OUTSTANDING RECOGNITIONS
According to Hana, a transformational leader is one that has gone through a transformation themselves and uses their understanding through their development to assist others. Through personal growth she went through her own phase of transformation, one which ultimately led her to become a renowned name and win multiple accolades.
Hana is an honoree of Superlawyer's Rising Star Award for 2019 & 2020, Outstanding Women in Law Award for 2020, Top Attorney in America Award for 2020, Diversity in Business Award for 2020, Avvo Clients' Choice Award for 2019, and was named the 40 Under 40 by Long Island Business News. Moreover, she is also recognized for being an exceptional speaker and author.
Hana Boruchov, Founding Partner Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates, P. C
By de inition, a business is
simply an organization designed to provide goods and services to consumers. However, by itself, it can't achieve anything unless people are working on it. Hence, no matter how excellent a service a business offers, having great employees keep customers coming back and the business growing.
Leo Gabovich, Founding Partner at Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates, P. C, also carries the same sentiment and believes that a transformational leader not only enhances his own business or the industry but values and lifts the employees that complement the same vision.
Being a Founding Partner at the irm, Leo primarily focuses on the cases pertaining to New York State and Federal tax controversy and compliance matters. He leads the irm with his prior experience of innerworkings of the state
LEO GABOVICH
department and the years he served before the IRS in representing his clients for a range of matters.
LEARNING THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST
When asked about his mindset of leading the irm, Leo hints that even though his irm is relatively small and early in the industry, everything is kept transparent with the employees. He truly understands the signi icance people bring in towards building an empire. This is something that he had experienced when he was in Middle School, although in a small capacity.
In the 7th grade, Leo was part of an extracurricular writing program that produced a monthly journal for the school. He spent a year in the program, which included poems and prose, and vied and successfully secured enough votes from the other members to become the Prose Editor. “I really enjoyed writing stories and had quite a
few fans of them in my school, but I recall the effort it took to get the other members of the journal to feel con ident enough in me to select me as their prose editor,” recalls Leo.
It was the moment he realized the power people hold when it comes to taking a leader to the heights of success.
FORAY INTO THE LEGAL SPACE
Leo's footsteps into the legal world can be called a wonder that happened by chance. While pursuing his inance degree, he was in the honors program and was required to take a Business Honors Law prerequisite class during those college years. It was when Leo loved every aspect of that class and instantly fell in love with law. “I found the cases interesting and engaging and the application of the law fascinating.” However, he had already selected and was partway through completing it at this point in his college career.
Leo Gabovich, Founding Partner Boruchov, Gabovich & Associates, P. C
Years down the line, Leo became a colleague of Hana Boruchov in one of their corporate stints, and realized that they both were perfect partners when it came to working together. They it well together and quickly helped each other when necessary. “We were taking clients from inception through completion of a matter and could always rely on each other when the other needed help,” says Leo. He continues, “This strong partnership helped lead us to strike out on our own and start our own irm.”
While going out on their own seemed like a good idea, it was far from easy. It was the biggest roadblock and scary initiative for Leo to start a irm by himself. “There is so much work that goes into starting a business, and even more so a law irm with the extra layer of regulations and compliance,” he details. However, he was grateful that Hana was standing right beside him and how they got to share the journey together.
Consequently, his early school
memory of becoming a Prose Editor and support from Hana to stand his irm in the later years cemented his understanding of relying on others to reach collective growth. He asserts, “I've been raised and taught to always rely on myself professionally, but I've found that by being open and willing to receive help from others, together you can achieve so much more.”
This trust and openness are also why both Leo and Hana are proud of the irm's 'White-glove' services. In Leo's own words, “The white-glove personal service and empathy we provide to our customers make us stand out. When someone walks through our door, they know they can rely on us to be understanding of their situation but to have the experience and knowledge necessary to get them the best possible outcome.”
The irm makes it a priority to achieve optimal client satisfaction through transparency and availability.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST
Leo has also made it upfront to set realistic outcomes and not just best-case scenarios. This combination of setting realistic but reasonable expectations along with the willingness to work with the clients has positioned the company to achieve great heights..
A PROMISING LOOKOUT
Leo envisions his future to be bright for both his professional and personal sides. He feels blessed to have a wonderful wife who drives him every day to do better. They are also looking to start their family real soon.
On the professional side of things, keeping faith and trust in his employees, Leo has set his eyes on his irm to grow leaps and bounds in the coming years. They will be moving into a larger of ice space and soon require hiring more associates.
It has been a long journey for Leo to have reached the point where he stands today. He has spent many years working for the government, large corporations, and big and small irms alike. However, he never felt satisfaction in any of those works, until he started his own irm. And this is something he wants young aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs in the legal space to remember.
He says, “Never be afraid to take risks and always learn. We are innately in a profession that requires research and analysis on a daily basis. You should apply the same drive and effort you use to get your work done into your own professional development.”
Sudharika Gogna Inspiring and Leading Global Change
Transformational leaders encourage, inspire, and motivate
employees to innovate and create change. The change that will help shape the future of the company. They are the leaders that accomplish great things by setting an example. They are open-minded, deeply committed, and always lead with humility
Sudharika Gogna is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in driving intentional transformations. As the Director of Operational Excellence, she is involved in leading process excellence teams, enhancing process improvements, global operations, management consulting, and program management. Moreover, her high-velocity ideas and concrete execution continue to add immense value to multi-million-dollar global companies.
In her professional journey, she has had the opportunity to work with some of the best leaders. She says, “ I always try to imbibe those learnings in my leadership style. As a leader, I feel successful when I help others feel successful.” Sudharika is a visionary thrilled by a desire to experiment and as a leader, she has seen her visions come to life.
Additionally, her chief impact is through her sense of what could be, the excitement about working with different people, or an interesting mix of people, technologies, projects, and ideas. “I ind joy in the process of turning chaos into simplicity and bringing that into my leadership style all the time,” she asserts.
A BEAUTIFUL CONCOCTION OF TWO CULTURES
Sudharika grew up in India in a small city that had a very large in luence on her life. The vibrancy of the place along with its diversity, education, and comfortable quality of life shaped her childhood.
She belongs to a thick middle-class family where her independent mother held her and her brother to high standards of discipline and responsibility. She recalls, “My mom was a single mother raising two kids and many of my early leadership lessons came from seeing her manage all her roles so ef iciently. She was a mom, a working individual, and a caregiver all at the same time.”
She also grew up heavily in luenced by sports like basketball where her earliest memory as a leader was as the school captain of her team. She learned to lead a team by combining everyone's individual skills to win many games and championships.
Growing up in India, she believes she has experienced it all — the cultural diversity and its charm. It taught her compassion, embracing differences, and cultivating a passion for culture. After spending the irst half of her life in India studying and working, it was work that bought her to the United States; it was here that she started to build her life and family.
HER KNACK FOR CREATIVE INITIATIVES
Sudharika's role as a Director of Operational Excellence is multidimensional. Being a Lean Six
Sigma practitioner she typically uses the DMAIC (De ine, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) mindset to drive a consistent approach.
It includes building operational resilience, including in-process design, organizational change, and collaborating on product priorities. She also designs and leads complex global initiatives for both operations and go-to-market teams, and works as a key product owner and stakeholder by collaborating with product and design teams.
This ensures the teams build the right products for users and customers. In addition, she brings the ability to build strategies from the ground up and implement them, while passing along the knowledge of their operations to the right people.
There are many methodologies in the market for problem-solving approaches. As a company scales and starts to enter new markets, it creates more sophisticated products or services that will inevitably create more complexity. This is the starting point in understanding why and how things happen before they become increasingly complex.
Sudharika shares, “I try to keep things simple and focus on the essentials. I typically follow a process where you irst understand the situation and the challenge I am trying to solve. Once the situation is clear, I bring the focus to de ining the problem.”
Keeping things clear and crisp is Sudharika's mantra . She believes it's important to ind a root cause of
a problem, develop alternative solutions, and then test the solution. She adds, “Always pilot your solutions and test for repeatability.” This helps her to implement the solution and evaluate the outcome.
CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET
Being an industry veteran, thought leader, advisor to executives, a lean six sigma master black belt among many others roles, Sudharika believes that there is no perfect de inition of work-life balance.
She feels the pandemic has, especially, blurred the lines between work and life, and iguring out that balance has gotten trickier. Additionally, being remote has created an environment of multitasking, distractions, and overworking.
To combat burnout, Sudharika follows this advice in life: “Being a mom, a wife, a leader, a mentor, a daughter, a friend you end up wearing multiple hats with multiple balls in the air. You need to know which balls are glass and which are rubber. You will understand that work is most of the time a rubber ball which when falls bounce back, however, family and health are the glass balls which will shatter if you drop it.” The understanding of this concept helps her strive for a balance in life.
She has a realistic schedule and not a perfect one. Some days she ends up focussing more on work and other days are reserved for her family and herself.
HER UPCOMING DIVERSE PLANS
Sudharika has achieved many milestones in her career but she still has the fascination to create better things.
She is thrilled about the future as she would continue to focus on supply chain optimization, design and transform processes, implement advanced technology and build strong strategies. She is also passionate about working within businesses to transform them from the inside out.
Sudharika loves being on the east coast, and spending time with her family. Her future also involves executing key strategies and eventually, starting on her own.
HER CONSISTENT BREAKTHROUGHS
Sudharika's journey, personally and professionally, has been riveting. Growing up in two different cultures and across two continents has shaped her into an amicable global leader.
She recollects, “I started my professional journey out of college working with GE and spent years implementing business strategies, as well as leading and managing a high performing team to solve the supply chain inef iciencies.”
With over 20 years of experience in management consulting, organization strategy, and design and implementation of large-scale enterprise transformation and innovation programs, she has gained expertise within the supply chain, operations, and inance processes in various industries
including GE Aviation, Genpact, Brook ield Asset Management, Cognizant, and Flexport.
Furthermore, she has led operational excellence programs to drive business value, implemented digital strategies to enhance manual processes, and built methodologies to bolster strategic initiatives. Along her journey, she has grown immensely and thoroughly enjoys the work that she does. She believes that her background in working across different cultures and places has made her resilient and adaptive.
Looking back, Sudharika is proud of her accomplishments and where she stands today. But if she had to do something differently, she would have disciplined herself earlier and built intentional downtime, to regenerate the energy. “It is equally important to need down-time as much as we need our show-time,”
she adds.
HER LIFE'S PHILOSOPHY
Sudharika's life resonates with one of her favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt, 'One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.'
Hence, her advice to emerging and aspiring women leaders would be to believe in yourself and your potential. “Keep the vision, know the difference between a manager and a leader. In the end, trust your talents, work hard, enjoy the journey and celebrate your successes. And ind a mentor,” she concludes.
MOONSHINE IN A BOTTLE
Ataste of tradition with a tweak from science. This is how one
can de ine Saint Luna. The one-of-a-kind beverage is a modernized version of the once popular staple drink, 'Moonshine.' It came to the United States with the Scotch-Irish descendants who fought valiantly during the years of the Revolution. But after enjoying decades of popularity, it encountered some serious legalthreatsandwassidelined.
Brewersalwayslookforinspiration.DavidSukwasalsolookingforitto create a brand that would be premium and much-coveted by the elites. And, he stumbled upon this idea of modernizing 'Moonshine.' He fused his innovations with a century-old practice, which is now creating ripples in the country. He shared his story with Exeleon, while discussinghisventure,SaintLuna.
What does a brand mean to you? What makes Saint Luna a stand out brand?
A brand is meant to evoke a statement or feeling. The best brands have a true, and unique identity that serve a purpose, and I think that is why Saint Luna stands out. We are premium, but gritty, accessible and true to who we are.
What prompted the inception of Saint Luna?
I had the idea several years ago to create a modernized version of moonshine, something elevated and more craft. You typically don't see moonshine in higher-end restaurants or craft cocktail bars, and I thought I had an opportunity to penetrate that space. The name Saint Luna is translated to Saint Moon and is an ethereal feeling of luxury.
What is the process that goes into ine-tuning the taste and appearance of the product?
We use a charred oak to ilter Saint Luna, helping to remove impurities but also leaving Saint Luna with a hint of smoky lavor. The mash is where good alcohol starts. We use high grade molasses and locally sourced rye in our mash, creating an exceptionally balanced and smooth spirit when distilled. We use de-ionized water to proof our spirit, ensuring each step of the process is quality controlled.
What has the journey been like for the company since its inception?
It's taken a while to build the right contacts to help build and scale the way I want to and has been an incredible learning experience. I do believe having partners in the industry early on, particularly those with distributor relationships, would have helped us scale faster. Even though we are unique and craft cocktail-forward, the hardest part is getting distributors to notice our spirit.
What has been your role in steering the company ahead?
As the founder, the overall vision of Saint Luna is something I think about daily, but we are a start-up, so it doesn't just stop there. Having the vision is one thing, but then it's the execution, the non-stop selling, networking and looking for ways to move Saint Luna forward, all the while trying to keep costs covered. The irony is, my only experience in the cocktail world is drinking them. But, with inspiration and passion, one can learn anything.
How does Saint Luna ensure offering a memorable experience with every sip?
It's the versatility of Saint Luna that is quite memorable. You have a 50%, overproof spirit that is so smooth it can be sipped on ice but can also be mixed into just about any craft cocktail.
What has been the biggest challenge for the company thus far?
The biggest challenge has been scaling distribution quickly and doing it on a start-up budget. Each State has its own legal requirements, its own distributors, and trying to get noticed amongst a sea of much bigger brands with a lot more money to spend, has been challenging. But I'm a irm believer that we have an exceptional spirit, very unique and groundbreaking.
What is the future roadmap for the company?
Saint Luna will continue to expand into States outside of New York and Tennessee, which is currently where we have distribution. We are actively talking to a number of partners to help us expand Nationwide. At some point, I'd also love to bring unique infusions to market.
