Exclusive Interview Archives

Fred Voccola: Right Place, Right Time

As the world recalibrates after the COVID-19 pandemic and is facing, what could be, another global economic slowdown, you may wonder why Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola is so optimistic. For Voccola, it’s due in large part to his belief that Kaseya is in the right place, at the right time.

Globally, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are making up a larger and larger portion of global economic activity. The continued success of SMBs around the world is attributed to technology and the capabilities it provides them to compete with larger, more established companies. SMBs are investing in technology at a rate never before seen and will continue to do so as the global economy becomes more and more SMB-centric.

Considering that SMBs, by definition, are small and medium-sized, most do not have their own internal IT staff. To take advantage of these technology opportunities, SMBs turn to local IT service providers, often referred to as managed service providers (MSPs), to deliver the IT and security solutions that are required to fully take advantage of the potential of technology for their businesses.

This rapid adoption and investment in technology by SMBs, often called digital transformation, is still in its early stage, and Voccola’s company produces the software kit the MSPs rely on to deliver a safe, scalable, and secure IT experience to the global small and medium-sized business community.

The COVID-19 pandemic completely transformed the ways companies do business, particularly SMBs. Your local restaurant pivoted to online orders, while the gym transitioned to virtual classes, and your physician turned to the use of telehealth visits. Most, if not all, of the changes to business operating norms, were technology-enabled in one way or another.

This change was already well on its way in 2020-but the pandemic accelerated these changes due to the fact that in many instances, they were the only way that these SMBs could function for months, and in some cases, over a year.

Fast forward to fall 2022 and MSPs are more popular than ever. The reason is simple. Most SMBs have a very small or nonexistent internal staff – but still, have the same needs for comprehensive technology services as a 1,000-person company. In fact, approximately 80% of small to medium-sized businesses in the western world engage with MSPs to receive their IT and cybersecurity services. And these MSPs turn to Kaseya.

Kaseya is the leading global provider of unified IT management and security software for MSPs. Through Kaseya, they can deliver IT and security solutions cost-effectively and efficiently to their customers around the world.

Voccola, who joined as Kaseya’s CEO in 2015, had a clear vision for the company from the start: simplify IT for MSPs and solve the main challenges they face – vendor fatigue, lost technician efficiency, limited software utilization, and limited software budgets. Seven years later, his vision is beginning to become a reality with Kaseya’s IT Complete platform, an integrated platform for the overworked and under-appreciated multifunction IT professional.

“We have architected our platform – IT Complete – purposely for MSPs and the unique challenges they face,” Voccola said. “It’s the largest reason we’ve been successful to date.”

The Road to IT Complete

IT Complete is a fully integrated platform of IT management and security solutions that are purpose-built for the unique workflows and challenges that MSPs face while delivering their solutions to small to medium-sized businesses. Pre-Kaseya, the average MSP uses software from 17 different vendors. With most MSPs having less than 20 people in their company, they do not have a dedicated vendor management organization. This is a tremendous administrative burden that IT Complete eliminates.

“With all solutions commercially integrated into one platform, IT Complete provides one solution and one vendor infrastructure to cover the ever-expanding IT and security demands of businesses,” Voccola explains.

For the MSP, the most important aspect of their business is the efficiency of their technicians. The more customers a technician can service in a day, the more successful the MSP is. MSP technicians lose as much as half their working day too tedious manual tasks and research activities due to a lack of technical product integrations from the tens of unintegrated products they are forced to use from as many different vendors. IT Complete’s streamlined workflows between modules woven together increase technician productivity by up to 40%. The platform is also highly intelligent – using the Cooper Intelligence Engine, named after Voccola’s dog Cooper, to proactively guide and direct technicians to ensure they are leveraging all aspects of the solution and maximizing their software investments.

Finally, on average, each module of IT Complete costs 30-40% less than the competitive software solutions for each module cost; in short, Kaseya is saving its MSPs significant dollars that can then go directly to the bottom line of the MSP.

“By providing an integrated platform, we are able to charge less compared to an MSP having to piecemeal together 12 to 20 products from 17 different vendors,” Voccola said. “This can really make a huge impact on a three-person or 100-person MSP. MSPs are then able to invest in other areas of their business and become more competitive.”

Voccola is best known in the space for his successful acquisition of multiple technology companies to continuously build out the IT Complete platform. Under his leadership, Kaseya has experienced tremendous growth and Kaseya’s robust family of brands now includes Datto, Graphus, ID Agent, IT Glue, RapidFire Tools, RocketCyber, Spanning Cloud Apps, and Unitrends.

“Right now, we’re approximately seven years into a journey of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and we’re still only one-third of the way done,” Voccola said. “But at the same time, I don’t know if we’ll ever be done. Technology changes at such a rapid pace; there’s no way to predict the problems people will be facing in another six years, but we are committed to serving our customers through these changes.”

A Lucky Career Break

Voccola initially envisioned a Wall Street career in his early days in university, but quickly shifted his focus to early-stage software companies after successfully starting and selling his first technology company in college.

“I did it (became a software entrepreneur) purely because I couldn’t get hired by Wall Street,” Voccola shared. “I tried and tried, but the Wall Street firms did not like me. I assume I was not ‘Wall Street’ material. However, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me in my professional career because, without realizing it, I jumpstarted my career into what I believe is the greatest industry to be in, software and technology. The software industry is amazing and has been great to me. I love innovation, the constant drive to challenge things and make things better, working with super smart people, and getting to build great, amazing products that add tangible value to customers. To me, the software and tech industry is the ultimate meritocracy; you get rewarded for adding value. I mean, what other industry on the planet could a 20-something-year-old kid with no industry contacts or connections get by and be taken seriously based on his merits, with no concern about, ‘where did you go to school?’ or ‘who do you know?’”

Voccola went on to co-found and serve as the EVP of Sales and Marketing at Identify Software before it was bought by BMC Software (NYSE: BMC). Voccola attributes his time at Identify Software as when he did the bulk of his early professional growth. He would go on to lead various software and internet technology companies in multiple sectors to global success. One of those was Trust Technology Corp, a fintech SaaS platform, which Voccola co-founded and served as president and CEO. Trust was successfully sold to FGI Global. Additionally, Voccola served as president and general manager of Yodle for Brand Networks, which successfully exited to Web.com (NASDAQ: WEB). Prior to that, he served as the president of Nolio, Inc., a DevOps SaaS company that sold to CA Technologies (NYSE: CA).

“At startups, you are solving problems on an hourly basis and constantly must pivot,” Voccola said. “You’re faced with thousands of challenges, so decisions need to be made rapidly and often. A successful tech company needs to constantly adjust and make decisions to stay successful because the status quo changes so often – and I was lucky enough to exercise this muscle early on in my career.”

People Come First

Fast forward to Kaseya, a global powerhouse with over 4,000 employees around the world and billions of dollars in revenue. Voccola credits a huge part of Kaseya’s success to an unwavering approach to customer and employee-centricity. The company has been built around a culture of “making our customers successful.”

“Everything we do is with our customers in mind, everything – we can never forget that customers are what allow us (Kaseyans) to provide for our families and send our children to college and live the lives we are so blessed to live … we only exist because of them,” he added.

Similarly, Voccola believes that people are the company’s most important asset, and often takes risks on employees that other companies may not.

“The best part of leading an organization is the satisfaction that comes from the positive change I get to witness in our employees’ lives,” Voccola said. “I’ve seen people go from directionless jobseekers to purpose-driven leaders, all while building their skills and empowering their peers to grow. That’s what Kaseya is all about.”

One of the initiatives Voccola is most proud of is the company’s Grow Your Own program, which offers mentorship and defines a clear pathway for people to grow within the company. The initiative has seen the rise of many first-time managers and leaders. To date, Kaseya has successfully developed dozens of first-time executives and hundreds of junior executives. People who came into the company at an entry-level role have grown and are now leading large teams.

Leading the Way

Mentorship is something Voccola is passionate about. He can often be seen walking the sales floors at Kaseya speaking with the teams. His personal motto is to leave it better than you found it, in both his professional and personal life. He believes in turning weaknesses into strengths, and steadfast grit to get things done. This philosophy was taught to him by his father, who was a pioneer in the electronic toll collection space and later helped develop in-vehicle navigation. He credits his dad as one of his first mentors, exposing him to a problem-solving mindset and teaching him how creativity can lead to innovations and change people’s lives for the better.

Growth Mindset

SMBs are growing exponentially, and IT and security is increasingly vital to the success of their businesses. Kaseya is expanding aggressively to keep pace with this explosive growth. The company is growing both its global footprint and its human capital. Just this year, Kaseya acquired Datto in June 2022 for $6.2 billion. The acquisition combined Datto’s world-class customer experience and support and Kaseya’s complementary products and strategies that drive innovation and global market development, providing MSPs around the globe with broader and better-integrated solutions. In addition to growth through acquisition, Kaseya has expanded organically in its five centers of excellence located in Miami, Florida; Krakow, Poland; Dundalk, Ireland; Sydney, Australia, and Bangalore, India.

“The fact I get to witness and play a part in this industry growth has been tremendously rewarding,” Voccola said. “I am so lucky and humbled to be able to lead a company like Kaseya with customers as amazing as ours in an industry that is always changing, evolving, and presenting new challenges. I’m looking forward to seeing what is next.”

Given Kaseya’s track record in anticipating the needs of its customers, Voccola is definitely in the right place, at the right time.

Sarmad Ali: Revolutionizing Pakistani Media

Meet Sarmad Ali, the Managing Director of Jang Media Group, Pakistan’s most prominent and fastest-growing media group. With three newspapers, two weekly magazines, five TV channels, and several digital properties, Jang Media Group is the number one media group in the country. Its print flagship brand Daily Jang is the country’s largest newspaper with a 51% readership share while The News is one of Pakistan’s two premiers English dailies. On the other hand, Daily Awaz is the group’s low-price economy newspaper.

In the consumer magazine sector, Jang Group’s two magazines, Akhbar-e-Jahan and MAG, account for nearly 50% of Pakistan’s magazine readership.

Additionally, the group’s broadcast portfolio includes the country’s most popular satellite television network, GEO TV.

Presently GEO TV network is the largest network in Pakistan, comprising five channels; GEO Tez, GEO Entertainment, GEO News, GEO Kahani, and GEO Super.

The Steadfast Leader

Sarmad completed his early education in Pakistan, where he studied at the prestigious Forman Christian College in Lahore. Later, he pursued his Master’s Degree from Villanova University, Pa, USA. Sarmad started his career with the country’s leading advertising agencies, including IAL/Saatchi, where he worked as Director of Client Services from 1987 to 1993 and led the company’s affiliation initiative with Saatchi and Saatchi.

Later in 1994, Sarmad joined Jang Media Group as the Chief Operating Officer of their just launched English daily The News. At that time, Pakistan only had a few English dailies, which failed to resonate well with young readers. While most of the dailies focused on the political and business world, the readers wanted to explore other genres like sports and entertainment and The News catered to their needs. The News was Pakistan’s first national and all-color newspaper. Before its launch, English dailies had specific markets and were primarily published in black and white. When Sarmad joined the group, The News was struggling against the already established players that dominated one or the other metro markets.

Under Sarmad’s leadership, The News soon became one of Pakistan’s two premier English dailies.

In 1997, he took over as the group’s Executive Director of Marketing and Sales, and in 2006 was promoted to the position of Managing Director. Later in 2019, Sarmad was also given the responsibility to lead the Revenue function of the group’s television business, Geo News.

He is credited with revamping the newspaper industry in Pakistan by bringing innovation and new technology to the print media.

Additionally, Sarmad is the President of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and has already served as its Secretary General. At APNS, Sarmad introduced the idea of celebrating national Newspaper Readership Day on the 25th of September every year to encourage youth to develop reading habits. Earlier in 2013 Sarmad had organized the first ever South Asian Media Summit at Islamabad.

He is also the President of the International Advertising Association’s Pakistan chapter and serves on its World Board of Directors. In 2019, Sarmad served as the Chairman of AdAsia 2019 and led the team that conceptualized and executed the prestigious Asian Advertising Congress in Lahore.

Described as of one of Pakistan’s marketing thought leaders, Sarmad has been thrice the President of the Marketing Association of Pakistan. In 1999, he was awarded the coveted Marketing Excellence Award for his contribution in the field of marketing. Ranked amongst Pakistan’s Top 100 Business Leaders, Sarmad received the Asian Brand Leadership Award from the Asian Brand Congress in 2007 and the 50 Most Talented CMOs Award at the World Marketing Summit in 2013. In 2019 the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) bestowed upon him the Special Merit Award in recognition of his services for the advertising industry in the region. In 2021 the Pakistan Advertisers Society presented him with its most prestigious and iconic Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2013, the President of Pakistan had conferred upon Sarmad, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s third highest Civil Award for his contributions towards the newspaper industry.

The Asian Business Environment

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the business environment in Asia is booming. China has been continuously extending its freight rail services to European and Asian markets and trying to reduce freight times on sea significantly. The rapid expansion of freight routes indicates the development of trade between China and other countries. However, it does not only benefit China but the entire region. Case in point China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a project under the Belt & Road Initiative that has opened doors of opportunities for Pakistan.”– states Sarmad.

He also explains that the projects under CPEC, like infrastructure, energy, or transport, have been a constant source of development in the region. It has provided several job opportunities for the local people and has paved the way for many foreign investments and international business cooperation.

Sarmad feels that Asian countries opening borders for each other, supporting in areas of weakness, and offering each other their strengths have put the continent on the map of economic development and have given the status of emerging economies. With countries like China, India, Japan, and Singapore, Asian business environment will continue to drive economic growth in the future.

Picture of the Future

As a multimedia company, Jang Group is already leading in Pakistan’s print, electronic, and digital media space and has earned the status of being an innovator and trendsetter in Pakistan’s media ecosystem. The group aspires to continue its position by strengthening its print, TV, and digital properties. Jang has been organizing Pakistan’s largest education expo for the last decade as a media group. However, the pandemic stopped all the activities, so it moved to organize a virtual expo, which garnered immense appreciation from participants and clients. Now with the declining Covid infections, the offline event has started once again, but Jang Group plans to keep it both virtual and physical to reach a wider set of audience.

Sarmad says, “We have also implemented augmented reality in our newspaper for news headlines. We plan to take it a step further and start augmenting and monetizing our advertisements as well. This will give our clients and us an edge over other newspapers and will help in our revenue generation as well.”

Sarmad and his team have also created a virtual gallery celebrating Pakistan’s 75 years of independence. Since the group’s flagship newspaper, Jang is older than Pakistan; it has a vibrant archive of Pakistan’s history. So, the group plans to launch it in October this year on Jang’s 75th anniversary in Pakistan.

“We will publish the QR code in our newspaper so that our readers can scan and enter a gallery of 75 years of important events in Pakistan through Jang headlines. The gallery will be supported by audio as well as video. So, it’s like walking through news and important events from the pages of our history and listening or watching its details as you move along from one decade in the gallery to another.”– explained Sarmad.

As the leader of the media group, Sarmad understands the importance of digital media in the current day and age and is working to integrate Group’s media platforms to provide audiences with a holistic and seamless experience.

Djoni Herlambang: A Pioneering Leader leading by Example and Innovation

A veteran personality, Djoni Herlambang is the CTO (Chief Technical Officer) and DTO of AEON. He is a transformational leader with rich standing experience, who has steered through all thick and thin conditions and risen in every situation. Leading from the forefront, overcoming challenges, guiding his team, and expanding his business multi-fold, Djoni’s journey is an extraordinary one.

An Outstanding Leader

Strong knowledge of front-end and back-end retail IT systems and processes with more than 35 years of experience in the area. Highly dedicated to working, self-disciplined, customer service-oriented, and possesses strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Affirmed by the existing management to be resourceful, creative, responsible, and, attentive.

Demonstrated ability in managing multi-country, multi-banner, multi-cultural organizations. Experienced in taking over production systems, setting up new systems, infrastructure development, organization, and planning and execution of integration strategies in newly acquired businesses.

Proven track record running profit centre IT organizations in many countries. Regularly executes IT strategies to implement technological advances and initiatives to maintain a technological advantage over competitors.

Djoni’s Professional Timeline

Djoni’s career is spread across more than three decades. In these 30 years, he has successfully donned many roles at various companies and countries and excelled in each of them.

As a leader, Djoni states that experiencing different and multiple cultures and environments during his career journey has helped him grow and develop to become the best version of himself. Additionally, he confirms that the most important trait in a business leader’s career is being humble with customer oriented and fast-responsive mindset.

Completed bachelor of information technology from one of the technical universities in Indonesia
Started in retail operations up to IT manager for 13 years (1984 to 1997) in the Hero Group Indonesia
Move to Hong Kong as IT project manager for 3 years from 1997 to 2000 in Dairy Farm International
Look after regional Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam when working as IT Regional Director in Giant Malaysia for 8 years from 2000 to 2008
In charge as IT regional director in Cold Storage Singapore from 2008 to 2016 before moving back to Indonesia as Operations Support Director in Trans Mart from 2016 to 2018
As group CTO in City Holding Myanmar for 2 years (2018 to 2020) before joining as CTO in AEON Co Malaysia, from 2020 to now

About AEON

Aeon was founded in 1984 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company is listed on Bursa Malaysia under the Main Market.

AEON CO. (M) BHD. (AEON) is a subsidiary company of AEON Co Ltd Japan and operates in retailing and property management services. Retailing includes operations of a chain of superstores and supermarkets selling clothing, food, household goods, and other merchandise. Property management services are engaged in shopping centre operations.

Aeon operates stores under AEON Stores, AEON MALL, AEON BiG, MaxValu Prime, AEON Wellness, Daiso, and Komai-so formats spread across Malaysia. AEON Malaysia operates in more than 40 Malls as the landlord. More than 60 hypermarkets and department stores with more than 100 health and beauty shops and flat price stores.

In Malaysia, AEON is a leading General Merchandise Store cum Supermarket chain, with 34 AEON Stores, 28 AEON Mall, 21 AEON BiG, 9 AEON MaxValu Prime, 65 AEON Wellness, 42 Daiso, and 3 Komai-so across the country.

AEON Co Malaysia is supported by approximately 11,000 employees, 4,000 tenants and business partners, and more than two million AEON Member Plus cardholders.

The company offers online shopping services under myAEON2go and AEON Makan. AEON Group Malaysia aspires to collaborate with all the stakeholders and communities in creating a future of limitless possibilities.

The Meaning of AEON

AEON is a transliteration from a Latin word that means eternity. The name implies the eternal nature of the company as AEON continuously strives to satisfy the ever-changing needs and desires of its customers, guided by the basic philosophy of ‘Customer First.’

The Inspiration behind AEON

Djoni’s aimed to embark on a digital transformation journey in the company within a short period especially during the pandemic period by converting manual operations to digital operations. As the world continues to grow more digitally, this leap and transformation will help AEON grow with leaps and bounds.

Shifting to digital gears has helped AEON stand out among its competitors. The customer and employee digital experience with transparency in all aspects has created a win-win situation.

An Overview of Djoni’s Current Leadership Role

Djoni strategizes, leads, and drives the digital transformation across the group in the following business formats in Malaysia.

Retail format with more than 200 stores from Department stores, Hypermarkets, Supermarket, Health & Beauty, Flat Price stores.
Property business with more than 40 malls and more than 4000 tenants
Multiple eCommerce businesses from Market place e-commerce up to cross-border e-commerce with the rewards program.

Some of his other responsibilities include:

Managing IT infrastructure and system application in multi-cloud platforms across AEON Indonesia and AEON Cambodia as part of ASEAN roles
Planning, executing and handling an annual IT budget of more than 20 million USD across the group of companies
Managing and deploying ERP solutions such as SAP within the group Implementation of Profit Centre Ecosystem Platform across the group from suppliers, business partners, customers, and B2B
E-Payment and E-Wallet solution with Rewards program for more than 2 mill customers
Deploying the latest android devices and system across more than 8000 users in multiple business units
Develop a digital transformation

Getting Future Ready

AEON aims to be the 1st modern retailer that provides a full complete digital experience to their ecosystem. It can be achieved by understanding the customer’s needs and delivering them digitally.

Quantum leap digital transformation should be able to bring profit center IT organizations in the retail industry within a short period.

Destra Consulting Group LLC: Transforming Organizations Across the World

Founded in 1985, Destra Consulting Group LLC , is a strategic business transformation firm working with Fortune 500 clients, start-ups, governments, and educational organizations for over three decades. Destra currently has a team of more than ten associates in the U.S. It also has an affiliate in Australia, where the organization designed large client engagements in Lean/Six Sigma and Change Management for BHP Billiton and Telstra, among other companies.

Destra is best known for its expertise in change management, leadership development, and operational excellence. As an organization, Destra believes that informed, talented, and committed people transform organizations across the world. So, the firm focuses on helping unleash the power of people and organizations by providing the understanding and tools to improve processes, lead change, and accelerate execution.

The Passionate Leader

A management consultant with over two decades of experience, Bette Smith serves as the Principal of Destra Consulting Group LLC. She works with companies undergoing business transformation and does the work of assessment, design, delivery, and evaluation of initiatives for companies and organizations in every industry.

Bette says, “My professional journey is fairly eclectic. The golden thread that runs throughout my career is a focus on organizational learning and support for business success.”

After getting an undergraduate degree in Russian, Bette completed her post-graduate semester in Leningrad, Russia. One of her first jobs afterward was working for a U.S.-based conglomerate, where she managed the launch of their Moscow office. Later she returned to the U.S. to work for a workplace learning program in Denver. At this point of time, Bette got the opportunity to work with several companies, including AT&T, The Denver Post, Samsonite, etc. Then she received an interdisciplinary Master of Social Science degree in Philosophy and Education from the University of Colorado Denver.

Before becoming a partner with Destra, Bette served CQG Inc., as the Vice President of Communications and Director of Organizational Learning, and was the Director of J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities at the University of Colorado Denver. In 2021, Bette became the CEO/Owner of Destra Consulting Group, as her business partner David Hannegan Jr. retired after more than 20 years with the company.

Bette says, “I joined Destra in 2013 – Josef Schroeter (now the Owner of Schroeter Consulting), the CEO of the software company where I worked for 12 years, made an introduction and recommended me to the current partners. It was a life-changing experience; I immediately realized that I could use all of my skills in Organizational Development to help Destra continue its mission to serve as a trusted partner to its clients and support their employees’ growth and development.”

The Greatest Accomplishment

In 2016, Bette and her business partner redesigned Destra’s Accelerating Change and TransitionsTM organizational change model. She was instrumental in moving the organization’s model to a new place; Destra incorporated most of the latest research on change management which included recent work in behavioral change, and feedback collected from the firm’s clients. For all these reasons, the updated model is much better received. Bette feels the most rewarding of all is using this model with Destra’s clients, supporting them in developing internal change capability, and witnessing their success in leading change initiatives irrespective of size.

Bette states, “Transitioning the business to single ownership is also a significant accomplishment. I enjoy the challenges and rewards of operating the business, and I am actively engaging with new colleagues, collaborators, and clients to move Destra forward.”

Although Destra has a global footprint and does most of its work nationally in the U.S., it is also working to build a presence in the greater Indianapolis area as a member of the Indy Chamber.

Key Differentiators

As a consulting firm, Destra values two primary things that separate it from other competitors:

Diversity of Experience: Destra works as easily with small emerging companies as it does with larger, global transnational corporations. This tremendous experience helps the firm quickly understand every client’s challenges and create solutions to meet their evolving needs.

Collaborative Process vs. ‘Expert’: Destra’s approach for consulting is to partner with its client’s leadership and employees throughout the lifecycle of its services. The firm understands that combining its expertise with its clients builds ownership in the effort, fuels greater success, and ultimately transfers knowledge and builds client capabilities.

Picture of the Future

Recently Destra launched Destra Coaching with a few new associates. Experienced in years of coaching and training in change management and process improvement, Bette now provides coaching for individuals and organizations ready to take their leadership to a higher level.

At present, the firm is planning to create a digital platform/application for its Accelerating Change and TransitionsTM model and tools. This would create an added value for the firm’s clients who choose to license and white-label Destra’s I.P.

CSR Consulting: The Maestro of Sustainability

An established personality, Carmelo Santillán Ramos leads CSR Consulting , with his vision for a sustainable future. His expertise in sustainability has made him a consulting icon in Mexico for contributing to the change that the world needs today.

Education Background

He is an Industrial Engineer with three Master’s related to the Implementation of Management Systems, Quality, Environment, Energy, Safety, Health at Work, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Carmelo has completed an Executive Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Barcelona and the EAE Business School and a Doctorate in Sustainability at the Universidad Centro Panamericano de Estudios Superiores (UNICEPES).

He is also an ESG advisor certified by the EFPA (European Financial Planning Association) and a professor at the doctorate/master level and Ph.D. in Sustainability with more than 15 years of experience.

An Overview of Carmelo’s Professional Journey

Carmelo is a proud Founder and Director of the royal consulting firm CSR Consulting-Asesoría de Sustentabilidad y Economía Circular, with its own offices in Monterrey.

With his diligence, he has achieved many honors and fulfilled many leading roles in the sustainability industry. Some of them include:

He has been a teacher of sustainability issues and climate change for five years, providing academic training on these issues.
Recently, he got appointed as the sole prescriber in Mexico for circular economy and sustainability by the MIA (Madrid Investment Attraction) office.
Additionally, Carmelo was one of the guests at the Entrepreneurship Declaration Signing by the Global Honor Entrepreneurship.
He is one of two sustainability influencers for SAP, which is one of the world’s leading producers of business process management software, developing solutions that facilitate efficient data processing and information flow between organizations.
For two years, he was the coordinator of Quality within the Sustainability area, in the corporate of OMA (Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte). In this company, Carmelo implemented Brazilian software for sustainability indicators.
In Banorte corporate, a company born in Monterrey, he was the deputy director of sustainability at the group level for five years.
Carmelo is also a member/advisor to the Technical Council on Climate Change in Nuevo León, in the Nuevo León Agrifood Cluster, and the Environmental Impact Commission in Canaco Monterrey.
He is the President of the Sustainability Committee at the Mexican Association of Investors (AMI), a Partner of Foretica, which is a sustainability and social responsibility organization in Spain.
For four years, he has been a member and mentor of the evaluation committee of the Green Latin America Awards (PLV), which is a sustainability festival that rewards and gives visibility to the best 500 social and environmental projects in Ibero-America.
These last six years, Carmelo has served as synodal, thesis advisor, and professor for master’s and doctoral degrees in 14 subjects at 6 universities to more than a thousand students in Spain, Mexico, and Ecuador. He has given more than 100 presentations in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and Spain. He has also successfully published more than 20 articles in specialized magazines.

The Foundation of CSR Consulting

Carmelo states, “We are going through a critical moment in environmental, social, and economic matters; therefore, industries play a very important role in achieving change for a better world.”

CSR Consulting aims to increase the competitiveness and positioning of companies in sustainability issues. Its mission is to support companies with their Business Sustainability Strategies, providing consulting with personalization attention and the necessary tools to achieve their goals in environmental, social, and corporate governance matters.

CSR’s values include commitment, integrity, efficiency, respect, and service excellence.

About Service Offerings

CSR Consulting offers the creation and implementation of socio-environmental strategies, as well as submission and response diligence to questionnaires in order to obtain recognition and certifications on initiatives such as CDP, SMETA (Sedex), EcoVadis, Socially Responsible Company (ESR) or Dow Jones Sustainability Index, among others. It also prepares diagnoses and sustainability reports and designs KPIs for quality, health, and safety at work, energy, environment, and social responsibility.

The company implements management systems such as ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018, carries out circular economy diagnoses, offsets the GHG emissions emitted, and also prepares sustainability events, and offers training through diplomas or courses, among many other services.

The Wall of Achievements

CSR Consulting’s greatest achievement is to have the opportunity to work with multinational clients and obtain satisfactory results.

Not only this but also one of its other greatest achievements has been that both small and large companies trust them to achieve their goals.

Also, CSR Consulting is glad to have been considered for several awards. Throughout its four years in the market, it has successfully obtained the following awards:

2021 and 2022. Socially Responsible Company (ESR).
2022. The best environmental consultant in the XI Edition of the El Suplemento National Awards.
2022. The third most important environmental consultancy in Mexico according to the Consulting Magazine.
2022. One of the 50 most important consultants in Mexico according to Consulting Magazine. 2022. European Award for Technology and Innovation.
2022. Best Management Consulting Provider-North eastern Mexico Within the Small Business Awards, hosted by Corporate Vision.
In addition, since 2020 it has been a company adhering to the United Nations Global Compact and with zero CO2 emissions.

Standing Tall amongst all Competitors

CSR Consulting offers an excellent service, which is reflected in the achievement of the objectives of its clients in terms of sustainability. The company is certain that all of its clients have improved their strategies on environmental, social, and corporate governance issues. CSR Consulting invites everyone to meet them on their website in the “customers” section.

In addition, it makes the following promise to its clients:

Position them as the center of our activity, to maintain a lasting relationship based on mutual trust.
Promote clear, transparent, and effective communication throughout the consultation process.
Favour the development of practices and policies that adapt to the company’s culture.

Also, CSR Consulting is committed to hiring its associates based on recognition and merit, without regard to any other considerations.

Therefore, CSR Consulting commits to its collaborators to respect diversity and promote equal opportunities, promote practices that contribute to a good work-life balance, and promote a healthy business culture where collaborators can develop organically, through shared values.

The entire team at CSR Consulting is committed to respecting the Human Rights found in the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Declaration of the International Labor Organization on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

It ensures that all its collaborators offer excellent customer service and can lead customers to achieve their goals.

Cherishing a Good Work-Life Balance

CSR Consulting recognizes the importance of the balance between work and personal life. It provides its collaborators with favorable working conditions by having the opportunity to work from home and flexible hours.

Likewise, the company promotes work habits and practices for better performance in the activities carried out.

It promotes the professional and personal growth of its collaborators, as well as the support of basic education through training and professional development programs. In CSR, workers are provided with the option of training on topics such as social responsibility and circular economy, to promote an internal environmental culture.

CSR Consulting has programs for hiring people with disabilities with adequate facilities to work in favorable conditions.

A Promising Future

CSR Consulting is expanding. The company aims to implement its services in Spain by the last quarter of the year.

In Mexico, it is working to implement more services such as the purchase of carbon credits. In addition, it recently began to offer compliance services since it became a part of Becompliance. It also offers services related to the creation of complaint channels, privacy and data protection, and criminal liability, among others.

CSR Consulting is thankful to work together with Becompliance as the company can now offer the services mentioned above in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Spain.

Words of Wisdom

“Environmental strategies are becoming more important in the current and future context; the concern to reduce the social and environmental impact is now vital in any business model”. – Carmelo Santillán

Cyan Security Group: Keeping the Digital World Safe

Meet Frank von Seth, the CEO of cyan AG , a Europe-based, internationally active provider of seamless cybersecurity solutions (cyan Security) and lightweight BSS/OSS platform services (i-new). Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, Frank started his professional career as an Insurance and Risk Consultant with several companies on three continents and five different countries. Before joining cyan, Frank served Aon in Switzerland for over ten years. He started his current position as the CEO of cyan AG and is now leading the company into its future while working on a safer tomorrow for everyone by safeguarding users on their daily digital and connected journey.

cyan Security started its journey as a B2B provider of network security solutions like secure web gateways. Later in the 2010s, the company underwent a business model change as it realized that to protect a large number of users, a B2B2C model, leveraging the far reach of the telcos was necessary. So, the organization expanded its threat intelligence platform, built products specifically for this sector, and quickly signed its first contract with T-Mobile in Austria. Later, in 2018, the company went public in Frankfurt and inked a major contract with Orange Group, a leading telco. Soon many customers followed suit, and cyan Security partnered with T-Mobile in Poland and dtac in Thailand. Last year, with Frank taking the helm at the company, cyan started to focus more on driving customer success. It does this by partnering with its direct customers to provide security and relevant features to the end customer and guides these customers to fully leverage the potential of its solutions in the market.

Safeguarding Lives of Millions

In its cybersecurity segment, cyan Security is currently offering four primary solutions named OnNet Security, OnDevice Security, Child Protection, and CleanPipe DNS. The organization brings all of its products under a B2B2C white label approach to the market, providing clients the opportunity to enhance their product portfolio, protect their subscriber base, and boost their brand while generating additional revenues with its value-added products.

Frank states, “All our solutions have in common that they are built utilizing the DNS, an integral part of the modern internet, and on our threat intelligence platform which screens the internet 24/4 leveraging 200 virtual datacenters worldwide. This results in over 1 trillion data requests processed every month.”

cyan Security uses AI and ML in its 25 proven analysis methods, thereby minimizing the time that users are vulnerable. Its database of more than 300 million entries gets updated continuously, and because cyan Security doesn’t need to push updates to millions of end users, those updates become available almost instantly on the network independent of the device a customer is using – a genuinely unified experience.

Frank believes, from the clients’ perspective, cyan Security’s network-based approach has even more advantages. He says, “The customer does not need to install or update anything – the safety is provided directly by their telecom company. This is a huge advantage as many customers struggle to select and install an appropriate cybersecurity solution. Our solution, hence, has a very efficient and smooth customer journey compared to other solutions where you need to find an app, download, install, pay with a credit card, receive and enter a license key, configure the app on every device, and so on.”

The Catalyst

The pandemic acted as a catalyst for the increased focus on cybersecurity. With the sudden shift to a work-from-home model, companies and individuals realized that vulnerabilities could drastically affect professional and personal lives. Although available, the cybersecurity infrastructure was already on limits before the sudden shift to daily digital life, leaving many doors open to malicious actors. The fact that security needs to be the number one priority in our digital world has become more apparent during the pandemic. There are numerous instances of people operating and managing everything, starting from professional to personal matters in their life, without having the necessary protection in place.

Picture of the Future

For leaders in the connected world, cybersecurity has become a strategic priority. cyan Security provides a cybersecurity platform that is capable to cater to the billions of unprotected internet users worldwide. The solutions built upon this platform are highly scalable and delivered by a team of professionals who carefully analyze the needs of individual markets and customers to best facilitate their needs.

Along with high technological standards, cyan Security’s research and development center helps the firm to constantly be aware of the latest trends. A significant advantage for cyan Security’s partners is that they get a B2B2C white label solution. With this innovative approach, cyan enabled its clients to support and differentiate their brand with highly relevant value-added services by using one of its products under their name.

As an organization, cyan Security aspires to become a guiding star in the world of cybersecurity. Frank says, “We want to be the “seatbelt” of the digital journey of all users and devices. Of course, this is an ambitious goal, but as previously stated, I took on a challenge and am fully committed to this challenge. How do we plan to achieve this? One aspect for example is that we work on expanding our global footprint in the B2B2C business; we already work with multiple partners over different continents and protect hundreds of thousands of end users.”

Also, expanding in untapped markets will be one of the next steps for the organization. Furthermore, it also wants to get closer to end users, having a direct connection. In order to do that, cyan Security is planning to expand its cybersafety offerings into the B2C segment and directly provide its service to individuals.

Nicholas McQuire: Shaping the Future of Cloud and Technology

Meet Nicholas McQuire, a globally recognized thought leader and a former 20+ year technology analyst with a knack for artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and enterprise innovation. Nick presently serves as a Director in Microsoft’s Strategic Missions and Technology Organization, a scale-up innovation hub for Microsoft.

“SMT is the nexus between Microsoft’s research organisation and our solution portfolio with the goal to imagine, develop and scale the next generation of transformative technologies that will fuel the advancement of Microsoft, the future cloud as well as industries, governments, and society.”– says Nick.

Nick is also a startup advisor and a board member with a demonstrated history of advising various C-level executives and enterprise IT professionals on technology innovation. Additionally, he is the judge of the CIO 100 and Next CIO of the year awards, which recognize the most transformational CIOs and the next generation of IT leaders in the U.K each year.

The Primary Motivation

Nick’s primary motivation was the opportunity to work with such a talented and diverse group of people and customers in advanced technology and innovation. Working within Microsoft’s SMT division has made Nick feel like a kid in a candy store, as there are many vital areas that are shaping the future of technology and the cloud, whether in areas like 5G and in empowering telecommunication providers; or in research into scalable and accessible quantum computing, or connecting cloud to the satellites in space.

Nick and his team at Microsoft are incubating businesses that will eventually determine the future of the industry and our beautiful planet.

He says, “I have always loved researching, learning, and advising companies about how businesses apply the technology shifts of the future to help them innovate, change how they work, and succeed in their respective markets, so joining Microsoft to continue this effort is really rewarding.”

Nick started his career as a Senior Analyst in Pyramid Research, Economist Group, then he joined Yankee Group in 2005 as a Program Manager. Later he joined BT Global Services as a Senior Marketing Manager, Insight, Strategy, and Planning. In 2010 Nick started working for IDC as a Vice President, leading the organization’s Enterprise Mobility Strategies and research practice.

In 2013, he joined Gema International AG as the CEO, where he managed the overall strategy and operations of the organization, including overseeing its financial performance, member and partner recruitment, product development, marketing, and geographic extension. In September 2014, Nick joined CCS Insight as a Senior Vice President and rose to the ranks of Chief of Research, Enterprise, where he led the firm’s Enterprise and Artificial intelligence research.

Mission and Vision

Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an edge. The organization’s mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. It believes that technology can and should be a force for good and meaningful innovation and will contribute to a brighter world differently. Microsoft thrives on diverse voices and engages its employees’ and customers’ experiences, strengths, and other points of view to inform, challenge, and stretch its thinking.

Nick says, “We feel that technology is a powerful force for good and are working to foster a sustainable future where everyone has access to the benefits and opportunities created by technology.”

He believes that just as every company today is a software company, every business will soon become an AI business. Microsoft aims to help organizations make this transition, foster innovation, and ultimately succeed in their future cloud technologies.

In addition to that, Microsoft is entirely focused on democratizing access to emerging technologies of the future, empowering developers to innovate, industries to transform, and helping every person in the society for the better.

Preparing for the Future

Nick says, “At Microsoft, we’re deeply invested in the future of the cloud and being at the forefront of the disruptive technologies of tomorrow that will enable broad economic growth with major business and societal advances that ultimately will help create a more prosperous and resilient world.”

The organization believes that innovation is the primary force of any enterprise, but innovation requires prioritization and investment, so it continually invests in helping businesses plan for what’s next. At the same time, the organization understands that gaining a foothold in emerging technologies is difficult for enterprises. So, the organization is entirely committed to bringing the latest technologies to a platform level, helping companies to spend less time worrying about the foundation and more time innovating. Microsoft is now seeking to create a culture of co-innovation which helps customers break through barriers in order to access the needed groundbreaking ideas.

Fai Chan: A Ground-breaking Leader stimulating growth in the Luxury Skincare Segment

A charismatic personality and resourceful leader, Fai Chan is the Founder of Deli Aroma. Founded in 2014, the company brings forth luxury skincare of the highest quality at the most competitive price. Presenting forth Fai’s professional and personal journey.

Early Days

After graduating with a Marketing Degree in Hong Kong, Fai’s career jumpstarted in the US with the American Dream for immigrants to pursue. She started as a homemaker but got involved in community charitable work.

At that time, she worked in a Chinese Christian Community Organization in Dallas as a cashier in the bookstore. She wrote articles for their monthly newspaper. After six months, her boss asked her if she wanted to get promoted to the Manager position.

She was also a member of the International Women’s Club of Dallas Chapter and they offered her a board position. If she took it, she would be the first Chinese to be on board.

Additionally, she was also the secretary of the Ikebana club in Dallas, the Japanese Floral Arrangement Club. Unlike other homemakers, she actively participated in promoting the art and cultural activities of Dallas when she was there.

Then she moved to Jackson MS with her husband’s job relocation. She stayed there for six years and then moved to Austin TX.

Fai successfully finished her aromatherapy or aroma medicine courses and has been actively helping people with aromatherapy. She had more than ten publications while she was a student.

She then went ahead to set up her clinic offering therapeutic work. Somehow, she got invited to speak at research conferences and wrote a few articles on Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer’s Disease, and High blood pressure.

In terms of career, her medical research work gains popularity and got accepted by the mainstream. This motivated her to set up a laboratory for carrying out her original invention both in products and treatment protocols.

Instead of applying for research grants, she independently published her work through marketing and promoted the work that can be monetized through treatments, product innovations, and collaboration with other labs in promoting their innovative products.

In this way, she could do things her way and need not be twisted by her original purpose in satisfying the preconditions set by her sponsors.

About the Clinic – Deli Aroma

Fai has a clinic to provide treatment work through her award-winning treatment protocols through her peer-reviewed conference speech and publications.

She sells her innovative formulations but in safe and effective dosages and usages. To be specific, she chooses her subjects for treatment to participate in a small clinical trial with the hope to provide insights for more research to follow.

Her positioning is more ideas/insights related to other participating research to do the detailing.

Motivation: A Constant Drive

When Fai started her company, she did not aim for heights. In the beginning, she just wanted to make some extra money, however, with time, as she started successfully growing, her vision for the company got clearer.

She further decided to expand her horizons to boost women’s careers, especially those who strike between ends and means.

She also shifted to support Artists who need money to develop their careers. “As I like to say, the light of a match is dim, but a bunch of matches makes the light bright. Something a person starts small and trivial, but with more people joining, the results are different. Without governmental support, what we can do is very limited. I think our government should research more good causes that really can boost our economy in meaningful ways too”, adds Fai.

Thoughts about the Asian Business Environment

The Asian business environment is super promising. One can find 100 reasons why they should invest in a place or not or where to have their headquarters.

Fai measures this by recognizing how eager a place’s/country’s people are willing to spend money. The EU people are not too eager to purchase consumer goods, and that’s why their economic conditions are very stagnant. They talk about environmental friendly which is to minimize wastage. However, without wastage, can an economy grow?

However, in Asia, this is different. People in Asia are more willing to spend, upgrade, or seek pleasure through purchasing. As the economic conditions are improving, their behaviour is more hedonistic, which makes prediction simpler and easier.

A Take on Gender Pay Gap

Fai openly expresses her pragmatic opinion regarding the gender pay gap. People always complain about the gender pay gap but Fai doesn’t think it is created by employers.

She believes the interview performance determines the pay one will get. The interview and work performance determines how much the employers will reward, even with bonuses.

When Fai was working in Hong Kong, she didn’t experience a gender pay gap. While everyone likes to express how passionate he or she has about a job, she thinks showing thoughtfulness, skills, and EQ can give you a better edge in achieving what you want to achieve.

Fai suggests an excellent way of handling the gender pay gap, “There are cases that one asks for the reward system but only finds that he or she is underpaid after they take the job. I think people’s talents and abilities are different. It would be good if you have a middleman to bargain the package for you in a more satisfying way like through a recruitment agency or talent acquisition or headhunter. They have more market information accessible and know what the market wants and is willing to pay. With the middlemen, both sides may feel more accepting and have fewer complaints.”

The Vision

Fai and her company will focus on medical research advancement and bring advanced healing to the community. It includes self-care protocols to be inclusive, apart from treatment protocols done by professionals.

Accelerating an Innovative

Future Currently, Deli Aroma is operating based on the existing theoretical frameworks. The company will be bringing in more inventive frameworks which are more laser-focused to make the treatment prediction more precise.

Recently, it is also targeting more on genetic healing and brought in a new formula to rebuild on Einstein’s relativity formula that is widely used in functional medicine.

Fai thinks their invention is more accurate and can improve conventional medicine treatment results.

From 2023, Deli Aroma will have more to disclose on new treatment frameworks. As Fai envisions, what seems impossible today, technological advancements can bring miraculous treatment results tomorrow. “So, if you are not happy with what the present medical system can provide, a little patience and good communication can bring good results. We compete with time, and many researchers work hard and burn the midnight oil to make this happens”, concludes Fai.

Fai pens Words of Wisdom

Every person has a life value if turned to the monetary value which is the money that he or she can generate in one’s whole life. I like to capitalize on one’s lifelong value in formulating my strategy. That it is not the present value, but makes use of the past, present, and (discounted) future value.

Dong Jin Son: Helping Brands Grow, Innovate, and Transform

Based in Seoul, Korea, Krema Worldwide has created various award-winning ideas to help brands grow, innovate, and transform. With its wide range of strategic and creative talent, Krema derives optimal strategies and crafts globally competitive campaigns.

Having worked with global behemoths like LG Electronics, Samsung Mobiles, Lotte, and Disney Korea, the founder, and CEO, of Krema Worldwide, Son Dong Jin, brings more than two decades of experience with him. Majored in foreign literature, Son joined Korea’s number one advertising agency Cheil Worldwide, where he was assigned to the department of global marketing business. Soon, Son went on numerous business trips across the world and accumulated local marketing insights, and realized that advertising is not just a creative video that appears on the viewer’s screen but it is a solution that solves various concerns of the marketers. At this point of time, Son understood that his role was limited only to large organizations, so he voluntarily left Cheil Worldwide and moved to a three-person startup. Meanwhile, he completed his MBA from a University in Finland and received his doctorate in digital content, which helped him understand clients’ concerns in their broad business activities. Later in May 2009, he founded his own company Krema Worldwide, focusing on providing specialized services for overseas marketing and clients who can utilize the organization’s capabilities while conducting global marketing.

Path Breaking Services

Since its foundation, Krema Worldwide has successfully established itself and proliferated in sales and size in a yearly manner. As a result, Krema received 17 awards in the last five years in various leading international festivals like Cannes, New York, and One Show. The organization was also ranked among the top 10 across multiple ad journals, including Ad Age and Campaign. “This is proof that our company has been recognized worldwide for creativity, which is the core of advertising. Since January 2019, we have also expanded the area of ad agencies to an e-commerce business that encompasses all participants in the marketing ecosystem.”– says Son. He explains the primary goal of his business is to provide A to Z solutions starting from overseas marketing to sales agents for various small and medium-sized companies that have competitive products but lack an international presence. Krema also has a roadmap to build a very competitive e-commerce platform by connecting clients, individual sellers, digital media owners, and financial & trade businesses.

Working as the backbone of the company, Krema’s planning professionals make the most timely, trendy, and accurate marketing results by learning fast trends. They are the strategists, communicators, and do-it-all creatives who deliver flawless project execution from concept to creation. Additionally, the firm uses current technologies like AI, data, and metaverse to internalize all the internal and external resources in the shortest time possible; depending on that; immediate service can be operated. With its agility and mobility, Krema’s business model is much ahead of other professional agencies.

The Asian Business Environment

Son feels growth in Asia will be much more noticeable in the future, especially in Indonesia, which has witnessed a rapid recovery of the advertising market since late 2020. The proportion of digital advertising costs in countries like India and Indonesia stands around the 20% range. However, with the rapid growth rate of 10%, they will soon become the pillars of the global advertising market. As a result, the traditional North American and Western European markets will start decreasing in the future.

He explains that Asian consumers are highly interested in social networks. They know the process of learning information quickly and communicate actively, even in non-face-to-face situations. Additionally, their huge interest in the latest technologies meant they were the first to embrace Metaverse and NFT to grow their businesses. So, marketers need to study diligently and move quickly because of these unique characteristics of Asian consumers. Ad-agency’s flagship products have also changed along with those trends. Even a decade ago, an advertising agency’s primary job was to plan and produce commercial advertisements for a market mainly focused on TVC and print. Now cut to 2022, most of the organization’s products are YouTube-based video advertising or a website for consumer awareness of corporate brands and content to communicate with consumers over various communities. At present, organizations are paying much more attention to AI, metaverse, and OTT platforms.

Future Roadmap

As the founder of his company, Son’s short-term goal is to successfully pivot from the world of digital content to the new area of media. He says, “Global advertising trend is shifting to non-face-to-face, virtual reality after endemic, enabling agencies to propose the most practical and efficient ad packages the clients need. To this end, the company’s professional staff are working hard on R&D every day and night and, at the same time, continue to challenge through constant internal collaboration. In the mid-long term, it is to properly demonstrate the synergy caused by M&A. It is to successfully combine marketing assets based on IPs of ads, movies, and dramas to develop service products for clients that have never existed before.”

Led by Son, Krema recently ran M&A with Asia’s one of the best new media content production companies Dexter Studio. He feels the synergy of M&A is of utmost importance in realizing Krema’s dreams. It’s also much easier to raise investment funds than it used to be. “I strongly believe skilled tech resources combined with our planning resources would greatly increase the chances of achieving business objectives. We’re not going to stop here, but we’re going to expand our reach further as a group specializing in global digital media and content.”– he says.

Few Thoughts

As an industry, advertising is well known for its cutthroat competition. Recently multiple cases of business failure have emerged due to the pandemic. Son says, “But in the meantime, someone is making money out of this red ocean, leading the market, generating demand. I try to keep Dexter Krema (changed company name after M&A last year) listed in that mainstream. Only diligent research and development, maintaining a young and fast organization, and constantly finding newness and collaborating with outside powers make this possible.” This year, Dexter Krema plans to lead the industry by introducing the latest marketing by combining various partners and technologies related to the 4th industrial revolution. “In addition, we will share the fruits of the fast-growing company with all our stakeholders, helping to create a successful future for each employee, not the fundamental goal of sales as mentioned earlier.”– he added.

Marc Starfield: Helping Global Organisations to Deliver Complex and Transformational Initiatives

Meet Marc Starfield, the Group Head of HR Systems and Programs, Vodafone Group, a multinational technology communications company responsible for digitally connecting over 34 million mobile, fixed line, TV customers and organizations of all shapes and sizes. Globally, Vodafone ranks among the top five internet providers. It is also one of the largest operators of submarine data cables.

Vodafone is the largest mobile and fixed network operator in Europe with the largest 5G network. The telecommunication company is also the world’s largest IoT connectivity provider, connecting over a hundred million devices annually.

Marc is an Information Technology, HR Transformation, and Global Program Leader, who has successfully led the strategy and transformation at several leading global organizations, including AstraZeneca, BP, and Barclays. Currently, as the Group Head of HR Systems and Programs of Vodafone, Marc has led the delivery of digital HR transformation for 100,000 employees in more than 26 markets.

The Steadfast Leader

An excellent opportunity to lead a multiyear digital HR transformation program, including innovative applications and a world-first solution to enable consumer-grade AI-powered cloud service for 100,000 employees in over 26 countries, led Marc to join Vodafone in 2018.

Armed with his objective of Employee Experience Excellence, Marc has the privilege of leading a global team implementing a new, simple, and integrated digital experience for the brand’s employees. This program covers the implementation of SuccessFactors functionality, process automation, AI capabilities, and introducing TOBi, Vodafone’s employee chatbot, also the single access point for all its employees to search, find, transact and resolve queries.

The Greatest Achievement

Marc feels his most significant professional achievement is implementing a future-proof, leading HR cloud architecture and technology stack, which is the foundation for a world first integrated AI solution for resourcing, skills, learning experience platform and a new HR organizational construct. However, he also realised that this was not about the technology’s sake; it was about supporting new ways of distributed working and enabling skills for the future, which directly contributes to Vodafone’s corporate vision to become a new generation connectivity digital service provider.

“Skills are the currency of the future, and AI in HR can enable unbiased and democratized opportunities for all, which will be the required response as individual values replace the collective’s for the future’s workforce.”

Marc deems his most significant personal achievement being accepted and completing an MSc at the University of Oxford, which foundations where built on three pillars; his Mom, who as a single parent to three children created the love and space for them to achieve their dreams, a munificent business man who provided a bursary for his first degree, as they could simply not afford or even get a loan to attend university and finally the unwavering faith and encouragement from his wife.

Presently Marc and his team are working to deliver an outstanding and engaging employee experience, which is based on the following foundational rudiments:

Standardise and Simplify: Entirely entrenched in a single, simplified global platform that fully integrates all HR functions, processes, and data, including API services.
Productivity Savings: Provided an engagement platform to drive large simplification and productivity savings via consumer-grade employee experiences.
Innovative Product Roadmap: Targeted innovation in critical areas of the HR processes, specifically Skills Mobility and Talent Marketplace.
AI for HR: Implemented and embedded AI for HR Automation, Digital Assistants, and Machine Learning.
Analytical Capabilities: To deliver multilateral insights and predictive analytics that syndicates multiple sources of data and ensure data driven decision making.
Agility: Establish an agile, demand, governance, and ethics model.

The tagline Marc uses for his team is “Align, Innovate and Value Create”, which is a simple summation of the digital strategy and approach employed by Marc.

Picture of the Future

Marc definitely connects with the Vodafone “Together we can” belief that is aptly summarized by this Vodafone quote, “At Vodafone, we are known for our technology, but the truth is, it is humanity that drives our business forward. With the global pandemic raising so many questions for tech brands, it has highlighted the leading role that we need to play.”

Marc personally connects too and is inspired to continue the transformation to build and implement the ‘Human Spirit of Technology, as an inclusive and growth environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.’

A central part of Vodafone’s strategy is to move from a Telco to Technology Communications Company. Along with technology, people and culture are key enablers in achieving this. Marc believes there are two decisive foundational elements to achieve this.

Attract and retain the best digital skills: Where the culture and HR journeys represent an environment where digital natives feel like they belong.
Grow Skills: The culture of continuous exponential learning and transparency with employees helps them feel empowered.