Exclusive Interview Archives

Dr. Aspi N. Patel: A Steadfast Leader Pioneering Innovation

Dr. Aspi N. Patel is an accomplished leader with over three decades of international experience leading various technical, manufacturing, and tech marketing functions in the global textile, chemical, and flooring markets, building products, filtration, and aerospace industries. He has held leadership positions in organizations like GE, DuPont, and Invista and is the present CTO of Aditya Birla Group Mumbai. During his three-decade-long career, Dr. Patel has demonstrated his ability to lead and mentor cross-functional teams with the responsibility of research, development, and commercialization of new products, processes, operations, quality, and customer technical services.

He has developed a reputation for excellence while dealing with various stakeholders thanks to his ability to lead and mentor international cross-functional teams with responsibility for technological development and commercialization of new products, processes, engineering, and manufacturing. Dr. Patel is proficient in developing technology, vision, and strategy, recognizing emerging industry trends, and identifying competitive threats and acquisition opportunities.

Dr. Patel has received several awards and accolades during his long and illustrious career. In 2015, he received the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Leader; most recently, in 2019, he received the prestigious Aditya Birla Group’s Leader of Leaders Award for his immense contributions to shaping the organization’s technology strategies and for the lasting impact of his leadership.

The Leading Textile Manufacturer

Grasim Industries Limited, a flagship company of the global conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, ranks amongst the top publicly listed companies in India. Established in 1947, Grasim started its journey as a textile manufacturer in India. Now, it has evolved into a leading diversified player with a presence across several sectors. It is a leading global producer of Viscose Stape Fibre and Viscose Filament Yarn, the largest Chlor-Alkali, Epoxy, Linen Yarn, and Fabrics in India.

Recently a team of fiber experts at Birla Cellulose, a unit of Grasim Industries Limited and Australia-based leading research and development company, Nanollose, has filed a joint patent application for a high-tenacity lyocell fiber made from bacterial cellulose.

The patent application, titled ‘High Tenacity Lyocell Fibres From Bacterial Cellulose and Method of Preparation,’ represents a significant advancement over Nanollose’s previous viscose versions of nullarbor™ and nufolium™.

“It is potentially a path-breaking innovation that can replace some of the current MMCF feedstock with microbial biomass developed from food and agricultural waste. Birla Cellulose filed a joint patent with Nanollose, where we successfully converted microbial biomass to a high-tenacity lyocell fiber. We are now exploring pathways to scale up this technology from food and agriwaste streams,“- said Dr. Patel.

Pioneering Environmental Control Technologies

Birla Cellulose’s approach involves the development of innovative solutions to increase circularity, resource efficiency and minimize environmental footprint. For example, Birla Cellulose’s work on chemical recovery from waste streams has led to the development of a new membrane distillation process that can use up to 50% less energy than the existing process, which has a significant impact on lowering GHG emissions. There is also a new process in development for recovering low-concentration zinc from waste streams and recycling it back into the process. Over the past few years, the organization’s intense focus on recycling has reduced chemical consumption by an annualized rate of 5% to 7%.

Birla Cellulose is the first manmade cellulosic fiber (MMCF) producer to have achieved Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) in the viscose and lyocell process. Although MMCF manufacturing is water-intensive, Birla Cellulose has become a global leader regarding the lowest water consumption per ton of cellulosic fiber. At one of its plants, Birla Cellulose recently completed a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) project that essentially eliminated all liquid discharge. This is an entirely new development, as no existing ZLD technology was available to treat viscose and lyocell effluent along with high organic and inorganic content, dissolved solids, and hardness. Birla Cellulose has also developed and commercialized the process in a way that the salts extracted from ZLD are of sufficient purity for reuse in industrial applications.

Building a Sustainable World

Grasim and Birla Cellulose’s business strategy and organizational culture are both fundamentally based on sustainability. They have a long-term commitment to building a sustainable business that is in line with their sustainability model, which is based on identifying risks and opportunities, mitigating risks, inclusive growth of all their stakeholders, building transparency in the process, and public disclosure of commitments.

Future Aspirations

As a global conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group is governed by a robust set of unifying values with a vision of creating value for all stakeholders. The organization seeks to be a leader in the industries it serves, with a focus on the following;

Excellence in Quality
Sustainability across the value chain – Implementing measures to continuously improve consumption ratios, reduce water usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
Customer centricity- Understanding customer expectations and obligations to convert them into meaningful long-term partnerships for shared benefits and goals.
Responsible governance- Creating sustainable employment, stimulating economic growth, and creating positive value for all our stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, surrounding communities, and society at large.

“In today’s globally connected world, new ideas and innovations come from all corners of the world at a continually accelerating pace. Scientists and engineers need to be open and flexible in absorbing new knowledge and learning to apply it in different ways to develop new products and more efficient processes. I believe in Edison’s motto of not inventing or developing things that won’t sell since “sale is proof of utility and utility is a success,”– said Dr. Patel.

Joanne de Guzman Rico: A Marketing Trailblazer to look out for in 2023 Despite many challenges, this marketer built and turned-around brands from zero to hero

Meet Joanne de Guzman Rico, the Head of Marketing at Salma Rehabilitation Hospital, which is part of SEHA – the largest network of government medical facilities in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

A Story of an Empowered Woman

Joanne de Guzman Rico is a story of an empowered woman who is rising above adversity. From humble beginnings in Manila, she has gone a long way from her first job to now a truly inspiring global professional.

A consistent A-student, Joanne believes that having a strong academic foundation will serve as a springboard to success. Armed with resilience, grit, and ambition, she did not let poverty define her future so she studied very hard to earn scholarships. Her mother’s and family’s sacrifices became her inspiration and her drive to achieve more. She dedicated all her time and effort to complete each school year with academic and special awards so she could maintain her scholarship and help finance her education. In 1999, she graduated Valedictorian with 7 other academic, extracurricular, and special awards. She then took Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in the University of the Philippines – Diliman, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Right after graduation, she joined Globe Telecom where she started her career as a Sales Administrative Associate, then later as a Customer Service Associate. While working at Globe, she received awards and special recognition from the company. In 2005, she joined Ministop Philippines as a Franchise Marketing Officer – her first break in Marketing. Despite not having a formal education in the field of Marketing, she won the Rookie of the Year Award on her 6th month in Ministop. On her 7th month, and only at age 23 then, she was handpicked by top management and was promoted to Advertising and Promotions Manager, where she headed a 7-person team and managed the main brand with a chain of over 250 stores. Joanne was mentored by one of the Philippine’s business tycoons, and was trained at Ministop’s Head Quarters in Tokyo, Japan so she could learn, replicate, and implement the core brand strategy in the local business arena.

In 2009, Al-Ahli Hospital – the largest private premium hospital in Doha, Qatar, took Joanne and later appointed her as the organization’s Marketing Executive. She was the first Filipino woman to officially breakthrough the space of healthcare marketing in Qatar.

In 2012, Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE took Joanne as part of its pioneer team, where her main task was to introduce the brand in the emirate and grow its market share in the capital, within the country, and within the region. In the inception and growth stages of Burjeel, Joanne single-handedly managed all marketing campaigns of the brand across all platforms. She was awarded Burjeel Star Employee in 2013 and was recognized as Burjeel Star during Burjeel’s 2nd Annual Day in 2014. In 2015, Joanne was promoted to Senior Marketing Executive and a year later, she became the Assistant Marketing Manager of the brand, where she managed the PR communications and corporate events verticals of the brand.

In April 2018, Joanne joined NMC Healthcare – the largest private healthcare company in the UAE. NMC acquired Bareen International Hospital, which has been on negative profitability for 3 years since it started its operations. In less than a year after Joanne joined the company as the Marketing and Sales Manager, Bareen started growing patient volume and began gaining profits. As a result, the hospital expanded by adding more clinics, doctors, and beds to capture the continuous rise of patient footfall in its outpatient and inpatient departments. Joanne became the first Filipino woman in the leadership team of Bareen and played a significant role in the milestone that became a feather on the hat of both Bareen and NMC. Due to this breakthrough, NMC stepped up business expansion plans, acquired more medical centers in Abu Dhabi and winged each of them under Bareen Management team – which is now grouped as a cluster. In less than two years, Bareen Cluster has grown from managing one to eight medical facilities. In the same speed, Joanne was promoted to Head of Marketing and Sales of the cluster. She spearheaded functions related to Marketing and Business Development – from brand positioning to increasing brand awareness and growing brand loyalty to the facility, from increasing footfall to generating revenue and raising profitability for each medical facility.

In August 2022, Salma Rehabilitation Hospital under SEHA, took Joanne and posted her as Head of Marketing.

An Advocate of Children’s Right to Education

Joanne’s greatest dream is to serve, give back, and be an instrument of change in the community. Having experienced it herself, she has a strong personal advocacy on the right of children to access education, especially the underprivileged segment. She has been a resilient sponsor of World Vision Philippines for 17 years and has been supporting many children together with their families and their communities in depressed areas of her home country. While working at Ministop Philippines, she launched the World Vision Coin Bank campaign across all Ministop stores. She opened doors to introduce World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Program to JG Summit employees and Ministop franchisees. Her commitment towards the cause prompted her to be one of the pro bono organizers of the event and to host the program. Currently, Joanne is one of the ambassadors and spokespersons of World Vision Philippines overseas.

In order to inspire other Filipino women to rise to the challenge no matter the circumstance and break glass ceilings, Joanne wrote a book chapter about her journey which was published in Disrupt 4.0 Filipina Women: BEING – The Fourth Book on Leadership by the Foundation for Filipina Women’s Network. The book was launched at the Gremio Literario in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2022.

Awards and Accolades

During her 18-year career, Joanne has received numerous awards and recognitions for her accomplishments. In 2017, she was recognized and awarded as the Marketing and Advertising Professional of the Year by The Filipino Times, a glitterati red-carpet event held in honor of exemplary Filipinos overseas. In 2018, Joanne was one of the nominees for the Search for Huwarang OFW, organized by 700 Club Asia through one of the biggest TV networks in the Philippines: GMA 7. In 2020, she was named as one of the Thought Leaders in Illustrado’s 300 Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf, Legacy Edition. In 2021, Joanne was recognized as one of the Most Influential Filipina Women in the WorldTM by a US-based non-profit organization, Foundation for Filipina Women’s Network. She was the only awardee from the Middle East during that year. In 2022, she received an award for Outstanding Leadership during the Health 2.0 Conference in Dubai, UAE.

Joanne’s journey in large, multicultural organizations was and is not a walk in the park. The struggles are real and are most of the time, daunting. Breaking stereotypes of nationality and gender roles in the workplace is still an existing unspoken issue. Bringing with her core values such as faith, hard work, dedication, passion, and resilience, Joanne rose to the challenge, and trail-blazed with pride and confidence in the international arena.

ICL South America: Creating a Sustainable Future

Meet Gustavo Vasques, the CEO of ICL South America, a pioneer in specialty minerals with a focus on cutting-edge and long-lasting approaches to plant nutrition, animal nutrition, and the provision of raw materials for the fertilizer industry. ICL’s distinctive combination of natural resources, personnel, and technological innovation applied to the particular requirements in countries where it conducts business impacts the growth of production and food quality, permits sustainability in agriculture and industry, and aids in environmental protection.

Born in São Paulo City, Gustavo has a degree in Business Administration, with an MBA in Business Administration from the Business School São Paulo and extension courses at the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management and Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management. From November 2017 to 2021, Gustavo presided over the South American operations of Compass Minerals, where he was responsible for aligning and developing the company’s businesses – agriculture, plant nutrition and physiology, animal nutrition, water treatment, and chemicals for industrial processes – in Brazil and other places. With the acquisition by ICL in the same year, Gustavo eventually became the company’s CEO in South America.

A True Global Leader

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, ICL(Israel Chemicals Companhia) is a global leader leveraging its unique resources and technological capabilities to develop impactful and sustainable plant nutrition and physiology solutions. With more than 12,500 employees worldwide, 38 production sites in 13 countries, and 24 Research and Development Centers including 3 in Brazil. In 2021, ICL reached revenues of approximately US$ 6.95 billion globally.

Currently, the company controls ICL, Aminoagro, Dimicron, and Maximus in South America. Its agricultural business portfolio now includes enhanced efficiency and gradual release fertilizers, soil and foliar micronutrients, secondary macronutrients, seed regulation, treatment and supplementation, soil and spray conditioners, adjuvants, and products for animal nutrition and industry.

Tackling Society’s Primary Challenges

“ICL understands that, in order to advance effectively, quickly, and towards society’s main challenges, it needs to work beyond the company’s walls, that is, in partnership with universities, academia, entrepreneurs, and startups. This world of agtechs is full of brilliant minds who are developing a series of projects that, associated with our efforts, can collaborate a lot so that we can achieve our challenges,”– said Gustavo

ICL’s obsession with innovation led to the introduction of the “ICL Planet Hub,” which is a platform that links these bright minds to think about the future. ICL has been leveraging this partnership to interact with entrepreneurs in Brazil and throughout the world through the Brazilian Agtech Garage, situated in Piracicaba, a city in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo. Still, from a Global point of view, ICL has two exceptional companies: Agmatix and Growers, which provide solutions in the digital field.

“When we combine startups with established companies, we have a positive combination of structure, capital, proximity to the market, and capillarity with entrepreneurs and good projects and scientists. So, the main way to connect to the objectives and challenges companies have been trying to solve is to present projects and purposes for this target audience. In our case, we have a platform to receive this information and contacts from the agri-techs with which we will relate to connecting our objectives and the projects of these entrepreneurs,”– Gustavo stated.

Tools Transforming the Agritech Industry

There are several tools aimed at digital agriculture to capture and process data in a much better way. Since agriculture is a very technological segment, rural producers make countless daily decisions regarding technologies and their positioning. On the other hand are the researchers and the academia, who generate information daily. Data to connect these two environments in an increasingly less empirical way is extremely essential. So, satellites, artificial intelligence, machine learning, drones, and rapid diagnostic tools are necessary for this direction.

Tackling the Pandemic

COVID caused impacts of different natures, including digital acceleration on farms. Not as a replacement for human presence in the field but as a process and communication facilitator. So, in that period, ICL witnessed an acceleration in the digitization of agriculture. Another important point is that in a pandemic period, perceptions regarding the quality of life and health gained other proportions, which are entirely linked to what we eat, that is, also opening new paths and opportunities for agtechs.

Awards and Accolades

ICL has been intensively dedicated to corporate governance, innovation, and sustainability. In addition to increasing the productivity of the field, ICL has received the More Integrity Seal (an award from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply to agribusiness companies for good integrity practices) from the Ministry of Agriculture for four consecutive years. It was also recognized as one of the most innovative companies in agribusiness by the Valor Inovação prize for two successive years and as one of the 5 Best Agro Companies in Brazil by EXAME Business Review.

“When we talk about increased productivity, we are very proud to see our customers standing out in national contests with soy and corn crops and quality in coffee.”– said Gustavo

Looking at the Future

ICL invests 52 million USD yearly, with innovation at the forefront. With three research centers in Brazil and 24 research centers worldwide, ICL aspires to bring satisfaction to its customers while being linked to a sustainability agenda. Annually, ICL brings new technologies and services and reinforces its commitment to continue in this direction.

“We see ICL growing with our customers and the communities we are in, following our commitment to innovation, pioneering responsibility, and sustainability. We will be active members of this agriculture and society of the future,”– stated Gustavo.

Andrew Stotter Brooks: A Global Leader with a Human Vision

Meet Andrew Stotter Brooks, the Vice President of Learning and Development for Etihad Airways, an international airline based in Abu-Dhabi, providing service to hundreds of destinations in 74 countries. As the Vice President of Learning and Development, Etihad Aviation Group, Andrew leads the creation of innovative, leading-edge learning solutions to support the development, growth and performance of Etihad’s incredible employees.

Andrew started his career in a small hotel in Dorset and learned the Art of Service in a variety of hotels on the south coast of England. In 1985 he joined Berni Inns, where he was tasked with the daily operational running of restaurants and Public Houses with Grand metropolitan in London. In 1987, he moved to Bass Hotels as an Operations Director and handled the daily operation of three small Hotels on the Southeast coast of the UK in 1992, Andrew joined the London YMCA as Hostel Manager, where he ran a multi-unit operation with over 200 bedrooms, restaurants, a children’s activity center, and a gym with a large after-school service and outreach programs for the broader community around London. In September 1995, Andrew joined TGI Fridays in Leicester Square, Central London.

In 1998, he joined Pinnacle Health Clubs now Nuffield Health as a Training/Recruitment Manager, responsible for the training department’s conception, creation and leadership development strategies. In 2003, Andrew joined Hilton Hotels Corporation and looked after the development of 16,000 team members across the 8 Hilton Brands in the UK and Ireland with a primary focus on Performance Management, Guest Service and Leadership Development. After serving Hilton for more than seven years, Andrew joined Carnival Australia, where he worked in partnership with the Regional HR Directors and the People and the Performance teams to provide specialist training and development advice and support to the South Pacific fleet. In 2011, Andrew joined Kout Food Group and it’s family of brands including Pizza Hut and Burger King in Kuwait in 2011 as Head of Learning and Development then in 2013 joined M.H. Alshaya Co. as Head of Learning and Development, where he was responsible for providing field education and development to thousands of leaders and team Members across the MENA region — supporting and developing learning and human capital for over 90 world class retail and restaurant brands, including Starbucks, the Body Shop, Harvey Nichols, H&M, Muji, the Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs and Foot Locker in 19 Countries, ultimately joining Etihad Aviation Group as Vice President Learning and Development in August 2019.

Tackling the Pandemic

Six months into his role and with growing numbers of coronavirus cases and travel bans around the globe, Andrew formed an online community to share knowledge and daily updates that connected teams around his network to keep communication human. Thousands of employees joined to listen to and enjoy, regular updates from fascinating people and famous guests. Daily video recordings of conversations quickly morphed into a weekly podcast.

“We’ve competed 135 episodes of the World Class Wednesday Webinar (WCWW); it’s been a fascinating and insightful journey. We’ve had an amazing time thanks to all of the incredible and brilliant guests that have joined us.”– he explained.

Advice for future talent

“It’s difficult to avoid hard work. But aspiring leaders should also think about their legacy and the value they add to the people they lead. Never underestimate the importance of understanding what the person in front of you needs, keep it human. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. People will never forget how you make them feel. All humans need four things from each other. Respect, Acknowledgment, to be Heard and ultimately Remembered.”

“Never underestimate the power of strong eye contact and a smile. Two, focus on a genuine, warm welcome. Three, a friendly offer of assistance, How can I help you today? What do you need from me? Four, follow up with additional offers of help and a personal introduction, for example ‘my name is Andrew if you ever need anything from me just ask! Finally offer a fond and sincere farewell.

ALPI Associates: Transforming Strategies and Solutions to Sustainable Results

Led by Snehal Shah, ALPI Associates assist organizations in doing factual projects with strategic alliances that correctly make the best use of their time, talent, and budget. With decades of customer service excellence in providing Turnkey and Up-Gradation solutions in high-impact industry sectors, ALPI Associates continues to make significant strides in many parts of the world. ALPI Associates can manage its clients’ projects from concept to creation and help to bring projects back on track that are falling behind schedule or losing steam.

Based in Ahmedabad, Gujrat, ALPI Associates has worked on projects worldwide in accordance with the requirements of the modern world. It strongly focuses on production efficiency, legal compliance, environmental balancing, economy and energy efficiency.

The Farsighted Leader

Snehal Shah, CEO of ALPI, is a multifaceted and successful leader with over three decades of expertise in pharmaceutical engineering, including conceptualization, design, manufacture, utility, process, filtration, aseptic filling, and high-speed packaging equipment with installation to commissioning. He has managed projects and engineering at multiple production plants for organizations and brings a high-level management approach in planning, implementation, and operation.

Innovative Services

ALPI Associates is led by an idealistic management and powered by a team of highly proficient engineers and associate management professionals. The team’s experience and skill set ensure quality adherence at every stage while delivering economical and sustainable designs within the stipulated schedule. This customer-centric approach with the highest level of professionalism has made ALPI a much more demanding organization.

Currently, the organization offer services like

Projects & Project Management
MEPF & HVAC
Engineering and Documentation
2D-3D Design and Drawing
Statistical Analysis
Procurement Assistance

Biodegradable Moulded Fibre (Tableware)

“We at ALPI Associates are a company with associates of having more than 90 Years of Collective Experience in API & Pharmaceutical, Nutraceutical, Perfume & Aerosol, Food & Beverages, Healthcare, Cosmetics (Colour & Personal Care), Decoration (Lacquering, Coating, Metallizing, Printing), Biodegradable Moulded Fibre (Tableware), FMCG & allied industries…”– said Snehal

Assisting Clients

Under Snehal’s leadership, ALPI Associates has evolved into a multi-product, professional and committed organization with a clear focus on providing value-based solutions for its customers. ALPI’s associate team guides its clients through its solution and work with them to offer an optimal product for their need. With its ethos of keeping customers first, ALPI’s associate team guides its clients through its solution and work with them to provide an optimal product for their need.

A dedicated Project Team supports ALPI’s clients and coordinates with them throughout the procurement lifecycle till commissioning. The Project Team also assists clients with much-needed technical understanding and logistics support to ensure a smooth and timely project implementation.

Adding to that, a committed, technically qualified, and principal certified team of engineers provides installation, commissioning, validation, and startup services for all the equipment, which ALPI’s clients can procure under the organization’s Procurement Assistance Service.

“Our essential purpose is Concept to Creation & provides exceptional leadership to transform strategies and solutions to sustainable results. We are dedicated to uncompromising integrity and continuous improvement. Through our dedicated and talented family of professional associates, ALPI Associates provides unmatched quality, caring, and value to our clients,”– explained Snehal.

Mission and Vision

ALPI’s mission is to focus on Concept to Creation and provide exceptional leadership to transform strategies and solutions to sustainable results. Dedicated to uncompromising integrity and continuous improvement, ALPI Associates offer unmatched quality and value to its clients through its dedicated and talented family of professional associates.

Helping Canadians Know the Distant Past and Recent History

Meet Sylvain Bélanger, the Senior Director General, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Data Officer for Library and Archives Canada (LAC), which serves as the guardian of Canada’s distant past and recent history. As the CIO, Sylvain is responsible for leading and supporting LAC’s digital business operations and all aspects of preservation for access of digital and analog collections and digital transformation activities.

Sylvain started his journey at LAC in 2005 as the Chief of Staff to the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. He has also been the Corporate Secretary and Director of Collections Management. He oversaw the business side of digital before 2021 for six years as Director General of the Digital Operations and Preservation Branch. Sylvain was the driving force behind the creation of LAC’s Vision for 2030 during the first two years of the pandemic. Prior to joining LAC, Sylvain worked in several public safety agencies, private sector companies, and the Canadian Forces.

“LAC was a newly created organization from the merger of the national library and national archives. At the time, I saw an opportunity to apply the experience I had gained from my time in public safety and national defense, as well as my education in leadership, to a very different kind of organization that had a history dating to the 1800s, yet was also one of the newest organizations in the government of Canada following the merger of the two organizations,”– Sylvain remembered.

Presently Sylvain serves as the Vice-President of DPI Canada. This volunteer not-for-profit organization promotes the development of public sector professionals and the effective application of IM/IT in the Government of Canada and other public sector jurisdictions. Along with other positions, he has previously held the positions of Vice Chair and Treasurer of the International Internet Preservation Consortium, and is a a member of the IFLA Section on Information Technology.

A Unique Organization

Library and Archives Canada, more commonly known as LAC, is a federal government institution that was created in 2004 by merging the National Library and the National Archives.LAC’s unique collection now contains over 20 million books published in various languages, over 250 linear kilometers of government and private textual records, over three million architectural drawings, plans, and maps, 30 million photographic images, including prints, negatives, slides, and digital photos, more than 90,000 films, more than 550,000 hours of audio and video recordings, over 425,000 works of art, approximately 550,000 items constituting the most extensive collection of Canadian sheet music in the world, and national newspapers from across Canada, from dailies to student and community newspapers.

A Strong Team Culture

LAC has a strong professional culture of experts in the library and archival fields, conservation, information management, mass digitization, as well as digital and analog preservation. Under Sylvain’s leadership, the team has coalesced around its vision and the new digital structure. The key has been creating the proper environment for professional growth, aligning working practices across the lines of business, and having clearly defined purposes and goals that they review and emphasize regularly.

A Socially Responsible Organization

As a federal government institution, LAC always considers its impact on communities and its environmental and social responsibilities. For example, LAC’s new Gatineau 2 storage facility project is a sustainable building with objectives aligned to meet the Government of Canada’s priorities to invest in sustainable federal infrastructure and Canadian culture. It is the first Net Zero Carbon archival center in the Americas. LAC also delivers programs and projects related to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation experiences. This includes funding to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation organizations throughout Canada to identify, digitize and preserve the Indigenous language and culture recordings, and build digitization and preservation capacity in their communities.

Current Market Trends

Sylvain believes change is inevitable to meet the constantly evolving needs of Canadians. For LAC, this involves enhancing its digital capabilities and gradually altering its in-person and online services to enable Canadians to access their national history from any location. The organization released its Vision 2030 in the spring of 2022, outlining the course for the following eight years and beyond.

Vision 2030: Discover. Understand. Connect. -specifies where LAC wants to go, what it wants to achieve, and how it will get there. The concept is entirely based on inviting users to discover the collections, refining diverse voices, interacting with the community, partnering with the world, supporting Canadians, and preserving their cultural legacy.

Looking at the Future

LAC is committed to using its collections to communicate a range of Canadian cultures and experiences through the most diverse stories, and access will play a pivotal role in this.

“As CIO, I can say that collaboration across LAC, our efforts to modernize and replace our legacy technologies and infrastructure, as well as our work with our colleagues across government, the private and non-profit sectors, and key international partners will be the catalyst for change, continuous improvement, and success for us. My team is building a roadmap that emphasizes our unique needs as Canada’s premiere documentary heritage institution while looking at enterprise-wide solutions with colleagues within the government where it is the most efficient and effective way to deliver our services,”– explained Sylvain.

Leading the Charge Against Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a form of present-day slavery involving the illegal transport of humans by force or deception for sexual exploitation, labor, or other activities that help others benefit financially. Traffickers deceive men, women, and children from every corner of the world and force them into several exploitative situations every day.

Worldwide, one in four human trafficking victims are children. However, in several poorer regions of Africa, they make up the majority of trafficked persons. Women, on the other hand, make up two-thirds of the world’s human trafficking victims. It is estimated that as many as 1,000,000 people are being trafficked each year globally.

One of the most effective ways to identify a trafficker or a criminal network is to follow the financial trail they have left behind. With proper training and guidance, financial institutions and a few non-financial businesses can identify illicit finance related to human trafficking and report potential cases. Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII) is one such organization assisting Financial Institutions, Money Services Businesses, and Cryptocurrency Exchanges with implementing Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection programs within their Compliance, AML (Anti Money Laundering), CTF (Counter Terrorist Financing, Sanctions Screening, KYC (Know Your Customer) Onboarding, and Risk & Fraud departments. ATII provides them with typologies, training, and assistance with integration in their daily process and procedures.

ATII also provides the necessary training to several law enforcement agencies in advanced concepts like Digital Forensics, Blockchain Forensics, Darkweb Intelligence, Open-Source Intelligence, and various other investigative techniques.

A Veteran Leader

With over two decades of experience in the technology industry, Larry Cameron is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII) and an OSINT Investigator for the National Child Protection Task Force.

Larry says, “I was already in the Child Protection field prior to joining the company. It just made sense to be doing it with other like-minded individuals. Anyone with a different thought process is not in it for the right reasons and should re-evaluate their career path.”

He is also a certified Digital Evidence Investigator, Mobile Device Investigator, Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator, Triage Investigator, CipherTrace Certified Examiner, and holds over 50 other Industry, IT, and Security certifications.

Larry started his career in Electronic Data Systems and worked on several contracts, including MCI/Worldcom, Hewlett Packard, and Bank of America. Then he moved on to work for Research in Motion (RIM), 2011 Canada Games, and then to Data Center, Cloud Computing (IaaS & SaaS), Consulting, Forensics, and Virtual CISO engagements. Besides serving Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative as CISO, he also serves as the Blockchain Forensics lead for the National Child Protection Task Force, a Computer Forensics Professor at St. Lawrence College, and Head of Cyber Security for the Cyber Rights Organization at the United Nations.

Larry is a trainer at Interpol for several of their operations, including WEKA II, which rescued 700 victims and arrested over 300 perpetrators. He co-founded the Anti-Human Trafficking Cryptocurrency Consortium to foster a collaborative relationship with companies that generally see themselves as competitors like Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Bitcoin ATMs, and Blockchain Forensics & Analytics companies, as well as local, state, federal, and international law enforcement.

Team Culture

Being a non-profit, ATII promotes innovation and creates new approaches to combat human trafficking and protect the vulnerable. Many of its members have been or know someone affected by these heinous crimes at some point in their life. Everyone at ATII supports each other, the public, and law enforcement, with quite a few volunteers who want to help with investigations, projects, or operations.

Few Thoughts About CSR

ATII’s mission is: We help financial institutions promote corporate social responsibility through increasing awareness, facilitating intelligence integration & technology advancement, and encouraging strategic data collaboration – to combat human trafficking. The whole organization if formed around CSR – it’s in our DNA. Our job is to make it easy, safe, and verifiable for financial institutions to level up their CSR policies and procedures. Without actively practicing corporate social responsibility, businesses are less inclined to put people and planet first.

Working for an Equal World

In the future, ATII will create new tools, curate new data, and train law enforcement. The non-profit aims to build its Fusion Center to provide quick incident response on high-priority cases and find digital breadcrumbs that can help solve cases. It will also develop courses through a grant to train the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces. This will give them more advanced knowledge to investigate and respond to these crimes quickly.

Creating Opportunities through Innovation

Meet Samit Chakravarty, the Chief Technology and Information Officer at One Point One Solutions, a market leader in business process management (BPM). Samit’s propensity for innovation has brought several technical developments to life. He oversees all technology needs for the business, including the network, customized CRM, and in-house dialer. Additionally, Samit has taken up the virtualization of all company assets to provide consistent and scalable software services delivery, business intelligence, and security systems.

“I am passionate about technology, innovation, and big challenging tasks on my to-do list, and I believe in pushing the boundaries of customer experience by leveraging tech innovations. One Point One Solutions’ vision to upscale customer experience each day with technology has been inspiring; to be part of this vision & grow together has been the driving factor,”– explained Samit.

Incepted in 2006, One Point One Solutions offer technology, accounting, skill development, and analytical solutions that help businesses build better capabilities and enable them to achieve seamless growth. It serves various industries, including Telecom and Broadcasting, Retail and E-Commerce, Consumer Durables & FMCG, Banking and Finance, Travel, Hospitality, and Insurance. The organization has five service centers across Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Gurgaon, Indore, and Bangalore, with over 5,500 seats per shift basis. One Point One Solutions also offers customer care, lead generation, content management, voice analytics, accounts payable and receivable, SME Management, predictive analytics, Chatbots, IVR, voice analytics, and E-mail management.

One Point One got listed in 2017 and currently boasts more than 40 leading clientele across several sectors. Recently it has also entered into a strategic partnership with Bahwan CyberTek (BCT) to target potential clients in the MENA region and other international geographies.

Standing Apart

One Point One’s team of more than 5,500 young and dynamic professionals is led by industry veterans with decades of experience across various sectors and verticals. This enables the company to provide solutions across industries that support and deliver realistic requirements with a great combination of people and technology. One Point One exposes itself to several different market segments, which allows it to help clients achieve increased market share, improved sales, and higher CSAT while reducing the cost of acquisition. The organisation’s contextual knowledge across industries has enabled it to implement best practices and deliver better value to its clients.

Employee Wellbeing

Samit and his team at One Point One believe employees are the true assets of an organisation, and skilled, motivated, empowered employees drive better results. Thus, One Point One strives to bring out the best in them and help align their long-term personal goals with the organization’s strategic objectives. It overhauled its performance enhancement process to provide them with augmented learning and development opportunities.

“Our employees continue to get hands-on experience in emerging technologies as they are part of our work streams. We also help them upskill or reskill in using new technologies through various training programmes. We believe these efforts will help them to upscale themselves and the organisation,”– explained Samit

Looking at the Future

“We pride ourselves as an organisation that is extremely sensitive to our clients’ goals and strives to achieve and sail through these trying times with agility and adaptability,”- said Samit. One Point One’s cognitive assets, coupled with operational excellence, have been able to map the journey in the business operations with precise segmentation. By harnessing the power of technology adaptation like Artificial Intelligence, Omni channel solutions at all touchpoints, Social Media governance, Cloud system and communication, Unified communication, Hyper automated systems, etc., One Point One optimizes product development for its clients and helps them lead on the curve of innovation. With the help of AI, the organisation can accelerate growth & achieve better results in client’s project delivery by including RPA (Robotic Process Automation), Chatbots, etc.

Lito German: Bringing Filipino Brands to the Middle-East

SandBox Middle East is the largest Filipino-owned import and distribution company for grocery items in the entire Gulf region. It is the exclusive distributor of several legacy brands like Delimondo, Arce Dairy, B Coffee, and Frabelle Snacks, as well as upcoming Philippine brands like Plantation Prime, Pacquiao Coffee, and GreenFood.

At the same time, SandBox is the marketing and distribution partner of PDLT Global, the largest and oldest telecommunications company in the Philippines, for its proprietary platform named BayaDIRECT. This service allows Filipino expats living in the UAE to directly pay for their Philippine-based bills, mobile subscriptions and purchase e-gifts and vouchers for their families back home – all in the convenience of strategically located payment centers across the Emirates.

The Steadfast Leader

Since childhood, SandBox Middle East CEO Lito German was always fascinated with Marketing thanks to the influence of his father, a renowned spin doctor and advertising guru. So, as Lito grew up, it was no surprise that he pursued a career in Public Relations and Marketing.

I started in the family business for the practical reason that my parents insisted that they get their money’s worth after paying for my education”, he says with a smile.

“I had taken this as a given anyway, as I had spent a lot of my free time during my university days hanging out at my father’s PR and Marketing agency, being a casual observer and learning the ropes”, he explains.

Eventually, Lito jumped from the agency side and from working for the family business, to the client side after receiving an offer to join the BMW subsidiary in the Philippines as its Marketing and Communications Director. This step spearheaded Lito’s 15 year-long career in the automotive industry.

“Through the years, I was privileged to work across continents for the world’s leading car brands such as BMW, Toyota and Lexus. It was a magical ride”, Lito recalls.

Later in early 2021, Lito made another leap of faith by joining SandBox Middle East, a Dubai-based import and distribution company primarily focusing on various food and grocery items from the Philippines.

“For me, the main challenge of any CEO is being able to jump into different positions seamlessly and authentically, depending on what’s required by the moment. These days, I find myself switching from being a cheerleader to being a coach, from being a referee to being the squad captain. I stand in front of my team when there’s trouble ahead, beside them when there’s work to be done, and behind them when there’s praise and acknowledgment due,” Lito says.

A Fundamentally Different Organization

“We are not just traders we’re brand builders,” Lito emphasizes. As a Filipino owned and operated organization, we care about the brands we carry–more so because we grew up with most of them,”explains Lito. He adds that he was surprised to find that most of the importers and distributors of Philippine-made products in the Middle East have little or no connection at all to his country. “Most of the time, they view our country’s products as mere commodities to sell at the highest possible margin,” he says.

As opposed to that, Lito explains that SandBox Middle East carefully curates brands that they distribute, in order to present the very best products that the Philippines has to offer to a wider audience. This is the reason why his organization invests heavily in marketing efforts to create appreciation for Philippine products beyond its captive audience of Filipino expats.

A Breakthrough Year

Lito feels that 2022 has been a breakthrough year for the company. Not only has SandBox widened its product range by adding several brands like Plantation Prime and Veega, it likewise expanded its sales channels by reaching out to new markets across the Gulf region. A major milestone this year was also achieved with the launch of the BayaDIRECT payment platform, in partnership with PDLT Global.

“2022 strengthened our belief that we have what it takes not only to perform, but even to lead in the Big League,” Lito added.

Getting Ready for the Future

SandBox Middle East continues to aggressively expand to several markets across the Gulf region as evidenced by its recent start of operations in Qatar and Bahrain. At the same time, the company is diversifying beyond its offerings of processed food and grocery items by launching more BayaDIRECT payment centers across the entire Middle East through strategic partnerships with money exchange and remittance companies.

Additionally, it is launching specialty retail stores that offer direct B2C sales of its top-selling products, while serving as BayaDIRECT payment centers. SandBox Middle East intends to initially set up its stores in the UAE starting at the end of 2022, with the mid-term goal of establishing its retail chain across the entire GCC region.

Unleashing the Power of Technology

Prasad G Palla is a technology executive bringing new business strategies to life through the application of people and technology. With over two decades of experience in technology at leading global enterprises and early-stage companies, Prasad now serves as the Chief Technical Officer at Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd , which is India’s largest used auto platform business organizing the market by demand and supply. Presently Mahindra First Choice has the largest pan-India used car retailing network and several fast-growing partnerships to procure used vehicles efficiently.

Since the start of his career, Prasad has led several digital transformation initiatives across multiple companies to leverage technology for new solutions and enable data-driven decision-making. He has also managed technology teams across 8 different countries and set up a 200+ engineering team in India, which consistently ranked among the most motivated teams in multiple internal surveys, with a lesser attrition rate than the industry standard.

Prasad started his career with i2 Technologies and went on to serve several other companies like Microsoft corporation, Talisma, Ocwen Financial Solutions, Informatica, Avagmah, and QS Quacquarelli Symonds. He played a key role in the core company leadership at Informatica, Avagmah, and QS. In 2013, he moved back from the U.S. to India to establish Quark Science and Technologies, a science education company to provide world-class science education at affordable prices for lower-middle-class Indian students. However, after spending two years on his venture, Prasad moved back to the technology sector and joined Avagmah as its CTO.

Currently, at Mahindra First Choice, Prasad is a part of the management committee and the group-level Technology Leadership team for the 19 billion Mahindra Group of Companies.

“Mahindra is one of the most respected brands in India and has the highest levels of trust and integrity as part of the work ethic. I relish working in such an environment,”- he said. “This company is at an inflection point and has started a journey to leverage technology to become the dominant player in the market. This is an exciting opportunity for me as the CTO of the organization.”

Over the years, Prasad and the products he managed have received several awards, including, SIIA CODiE Award, Startup 50 best technology award, Informatica R&D Innovation Prize, Informatica Cloud- Excellence Award, Informatica Cloud- Extreme customer focus award, Informatica R&D labs award, Truss Award etc.

Serving the Growing Automotive Sector of India

Mahindra First Choice Wheels is one of the key companies of the Mahindra Group, which is a $19 billion conglomerate. It operates in after-market services of the automotive sector and is mainly focused on the used car industry, which is a largely unorganized sector in India, with a market size of around $23 billion.

Mahindra First Choice is working on organizing the used car market by aggregating demand and supply by leveraging technology.

Currently, it has the largest pan- India used car retailing network, large and fast-growing partnerships to procure used vehicles efficiently, and the major share of the enterprise solutions market for banks, NBFCs, OEMs, and insurance companies.

Mahindra First Choice now offers various services, including used car sales and procurement, E-commerce for new and used vehicles, support for launching electric vehicles, yard management solutions, auto inspections, an auction portal for sales and procurement of vehicles, India Blue Book, and Carandbike, a major Autoportal in India.

Creating a Sustainable Model

Currently valued at $23 billion, the used car market in India is projected to grow at double the rate at a CAGR of 19.5% till FY 2026-2027. Key factors contributing to this massive growth in the next few years are the rising middle class and the growing youth population. This massive growth in the used car market has prompted multiple organizations to enter the sector. However, the primary issue with the used car market in the country is the lack of organized players. The unorganized and Semi Organized participants take up nearly 45% of the total market share, and Consumer to Consumer sales take up 35%, leaving only 15% market share for the organized sector, which often leads to a highly supply-constrained market. This also means there are no set standards for vehicle inspection, and the price of a car gets determined in an ad-hoc manner with little or no clarity. In most cases, buyers are robbed of the satisfaction and excitement of getting a fully certified car with a detailed inspection.

So, Mahindra First Choice strives to transform the used car landscape in India by making transactions simple, efficient, transparent, and equitable.

“Most of our competitors do not have a good revenue model and rely on investor money to scale operations and become profitable. This might not be a sustainable model in the current macroeconomic environment,”- explained Prasad. “Mahindra first choice has multiple businesses that are generating revenues and can create an organic growth engine for the company to grow in a reliable and organic way. It is also backed by Mahindra, which inherently adds trust to the customers.”

Looking at the Future

Mahindra First Choice aspires to become the most customer-centric auto tech company. As the CTO of the organization, Prasad is working on creating a series of digital transformation steps to integrate the islands of technologies and operations and create an efficient suite of applications, built technology platforms that allow for agility for operations and automate a lot of repetitive tasks, standardize the data definitions and build a data platform for data-driven decision making at every stage, and develop the teams into agile and self-managed squads to speed up development.