The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022_compressed.pdf

VOL
02
|
ISSUE
07
|
2022
www.insightssuccess.com
A Fearless Journey of Inspiration
Womanhood
Unlocking the POTENTIAL
of WOMEN for WELFARE
of the WORLD
Door to Success
Leaders that
We Need Today
Ethel J. Davis
The
10Most
Inspiring
W
Leaders
to Follow in 2022

Leading
with
Courage
or the past few years, we are seeing many
Forganizations thrive that have women at the helm.
Such exceptional women leaders make gender
equality look like the norm.
There are a lot of talks on many industries being male-
dominated. The problem doesn't seem to be with too many
men; it is about less number of women in those industries.
However, the scenario is changing. The numbers of women
in the business world are constantly improving, year by
year, month by month, and even day by day. Although a lot
needs to be changed, women are creating an environment
for other women leaders to ﬂourish.
It is true that whenever a woman had an opportunity, she
rose to the occasion and led with talent, courage, and
empathy. Today, many women have set an example of what
exemplary leadership looks like.
There are many reasons that make women great leaders.
Whenever there is a need for some new perspectives,
women bring the same to the table. They work closely with
their team, provide employees with the support they need,
and foster an environment that is productive, dynamic, and
encourages employee engagement. They have a problem-
solving mindset by nature and genuinely care about the
customers' and organization's success. They consider it
important to ask questions: What are your pain points, and
how can they be helpful to address those issues? Moreover,
they always believe in exploring new opportunities by
connecting the dots, and bringing much-needed change.
In this edition, The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to
Follow in 2022, we have brought forward the stories of
Editor’s Desk

some audacious women leaders who are leading by
example and are the torchbearers for others in the
industry
On the cover, we have a fearless leader, Ethel J.
Davis, the CEO of VZD Capital Management, LLC.
Before opening her firm, the VZD Capital
Management, LLC, Ethel worked at American
Century, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab &
Co., Inc., and Paragon Capital Management, LLC.
She had tested her lucks in unfair waters regularly,
which finally led to her termination. Despite her
tremendous sacrifice, and inequitable treatment
resulting in her termination, she takes the positives in
her stride.
You will get to read more such stories of other
businesswomen who are leading with courage.
Alongside, do not forget to read about the CxO
articles by the industry experts and the ingenious
articles written by the in-house editorial team.
Let's start reading! sourabh@insightssuccess.com
Sourabh More

C O V E R
S T O R Y
A R T I C L E S
28 50
08
Door to Success
Leaders that
We Need Today
Womanhood
Unlocking the POTENTIAL of
WOMEN for WELFARE of the WORLD
ETHEL J.
DAVIS
44
The Need for Compassionate Leadership
During a Global Pandemic
Leader s Viewpoint
C X O

14 Arungalai Anbarasu
A Pioneering Trailblazer
with a Unique Perspective
24 Erna Grasz
Empowering Youth to
Architect Their Own Future
52
Sabrina Khan
An Epitome of Hardwork,
Passion and Perseverance
20
Bianca Rangecroft
Putting an End to "I have
Nothing to Wear" Dilemma
32
Jennifer Bassett
Making YOUR Event an
Unequivocal Experience
36 Katerina Trajchevsk
Shifting the Tides of
Workplace Ideologies
46 May Winﬁeld
Guiding YOU through Commercial,
Legal, and Digital Risk with Innovative Strategies
40
Katy Barﬁeld Shifting Tides as the Food Waste Warrior

sales@insightssuccess.com
February, 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
Marketing Manager
Technical Head
Technical Specialist Digital Marketing Manager
Research Analyst
Database Management Technology Consultant
Hitesh Dhamani
Managing Editor
Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Sharad Chitalkar
Assistant Editors
Jenny Fernandes
Kshitij S Peter Collins
John Matthew
Sales Executives
David, Martin, Irfan
Business Development Executives
Steve, Joe, Saurabh
Jacob Smile
Aditya Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive
Amol Wadekar Frank Adams
Circulation Manager
Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes
Visualizer
David King
Art & Design Director
Vishal Pawar
Associate Designer
Shyam Sonawane
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Arungalai Anbarasu
Chief Technology
and Strategy Officer
Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides
solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide.
Baker Hughes
bakerhughes.com
Bianca Rangecroft
Founder & CEO
Whering exists to radically shift the relationship with clothes.
Whering
whering.co.uk
Eileen (Wada) Willett
Co Founder
Cucumber Clothing makes luxurious clothing for everyday.
Cucumber Clothing
cucumberclothing.com
Jennifer Bassett
Founder
Specializing in the creation of exceptional events for private
and corporate clients, Bassett Events designs, plans and
manages every project from conception to execution.
Bassett Events Inc.
bassetteventsinc.com
Katerina Trajchevska
Co-founder
and CEO
Adeva is an award-winning global talent network that connects
organizations with distributed tech talent across the world.
Adeva
adevait.com
Katy Barfield
Founder & CEO
Yume Food Australia
yumefood.com.au
May Winfield
Global Director of
Commercial
Legal and Digital
Risks
Buro Happold is an international, integrated consultancy of
engineers, consultants and advisers, with a presence in 31
locations worldwide, over 70 partners and 1,900 employees.
Buro Happold
burohappold.com
Sabrina Khan
Chief Financial
Officer
Aptorum Group Limited is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company.
Aptorum Group Limited
aptorumgroup.com
Erna Grasz
CEO
Asante Africa
Foundation
asanteafrica.org
Asante Africa Foundation is a social impact organization
educating children and transforming worlds in east Africa.
Ethel J. Davis
CEO & Portfolio
Manager
VZD Capital
Management LLC
vzdcap.com
VZD is a 100 percent African-American, female-owned
registered investment advisory firm.
Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food.
The Most
10
InspiringWomenLeaders
toFollowin2022
Description
Company Name
Featured Person

Cover y
Ethel J. Davis
CEO
VZD Capital Management, LLC

ETHEL J.
DAVIS
We believe in helping people
see themselves in the
future. Sometimes our
mirror gets distorted by
other people's opinions, and
therefore, we do not pursue
the life that God has for us.

ear is the final nail in the coffin of most dreamers.
FMany aspirants dream of a better life, a vision, and a
path of integrity. The ability to break through clouds
of fear and conquer uncertainty in life is – what separates
inspiration from the rest. Ethel J. Davis, CEO of VZD
Capital Management, LLC, learned how to break
invisible handcuffs during college. As an African-American
and a great woman of faith, she was always sure of her
identity. Ethel was proud of her heritage, for her parents and
extended family fueled her acceptance of her ethnicity.
However, she struggled to find her confidence throughout
college, for the peer pressure and parental guidance
weighed heavily on her shoulders. Her initial aspirations of
becoming a journalist remained safe, cozy and narrowed
her vision to remain loyal to the field of choice. She aspired
to be a protégé between Barbara Walters and Oprah
Winfrey. After becoming friends with many wealthy, trust
fund babies, she realized she knew nothing about money.
She familiarized herself by reading "Money" and
"Kiplinger's" magazine, to fuel her interest and thirst for the
capital markets and the financial industry.
When Ethel started learning about various financial
investments, including the stock market, she broke through
the shackles of her past to become a leader within the
finance community. In her passionate awakening, she left
her education in journalism to transition into a stockbroker.
Her faith always helps Ethel find the proper steps to follow
on her career path. When she sought to investigate truth as a
journalist, she found inspiration in James Stowers, Jr. from
Kansas City, Missouri, a pioneer in mutual funds, who went
door-to-door to sell financial products. Today, he is best
known as the founder of the Twentieth Century, aka the
American Century.
A Rich Lessons of Struggles
During her struggling years, Ethel learned several harsh
truths about life. Despite being ambitious, hardworking, and
encompassing great values – she did not receive an open
invitation to become a respected expert by Corporate
America. As her women colleagues told her, "women
should be seen and not heard" similarly, her African-
American status always kept her at bay, far from the head
tables. She applied for many promotions and different roles
only to be overlooked by a white male cohort.
However, she never understood why Corporate America
would not support her human rights. Ethel relied on her
faith to carry her through the most challenging times she
faced. She took her struggles in strides and climbed higher
and higher despite relentless obstacles waiting in her path.
Her efforts led her to a series of life lessons she never
forgets, "Leadership is a journey. Not a destination.”
Before opening her firm, the VZD Capital Management,
LLC, Ethel worked at American Century, Fidelity
Investments, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., and Paragon
Capital Management, LLC. She had tested her lucks in
unfair waters regularly, which finally led to her termination.
Despite her tremendous sacrifice, and inequitable treatment
resulting in her termination, she takes the positives in her
stride. She notes, "Every step of my career ladder enhanced
my leadership skills and team building to become a
business owner building a successful investment firm." She
continues to walk a path led out by her parents to get the
best out of education and experience.
She believes leaders must adapt to an ever-changing world
and can build teams despite differences and obstacles. Ethel
is a Kansas City Influential Women member, the Kansas
City Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business Class
of 2011, Five Star Wealth Manager for seven years, and
appearing in many respected magazines. She admires
trailblazing women who did not have a path to follow but
cut one from their fabric of life.
These individuals, mainly from humble beginnings and
backgrounds, deserve to enjoy a customized investment
approach and close attention to the investment cycles.
An Inspiring Journey of Real Values
Her experience led Ethel to take a
significant leap in the world of
investments. Today, Ethel caters
to wealthy individuals and
multigenerational families
around the world. These
individuals, mainly from
multigenerational
backgrounds, enjoy the
customization approach and
close attention to the
Cover y

firm that my clients trust and respect." VZD's name
received its inspiration from Ethel's parents, Vergie and
Zether Davis. She asserts, "Every client of the firm is a
member of my extended family, and I wish to develop my
legacy among them accordingly.”
Ethel came across many shocks and surprises during her
challenging journey. However, nothing could have prepared
for the unraveling secret that arose in her own home. At
eighteen, Ethel discovered that her parents adopted her.
Despite the tremendous angst and stress that usually follows
such revelation, Ethel, like her resilient nature, took the
experience positively, and she realized what it truly meant.
After digesting that her parents made great sacrifices for her
to have a bright future – what an honor to have two people
(my mother and father) love her without knowing anything
about her DNA. In essence, her primary consideration was
to make her parents proud – which is a lifelong debt that
she strives to repay. She expresses, "The only way for me to
keep their legacy alive is by sticking to principles and
values they cherished.”
Today, her firm VZD continues to lay the groundwork to
offer the same safety, confidence, and peace of mind that an
orphan values above all material treasures.
An Independent Expert Financial Advisory
VZD has put in several excellent financial practices to
achieve this goal. The company does not sell mutual funds,
commission-based investment vehicles, or annuities, and
these plans, as a rule of thumb, often embed conflict of
interest. Hence, Ethel handpicks every vendor and
independent contractor to ensure the most trustworthy
experience for the clients. She is proud to have Ms. Nikisha
L. Johnson as the first candidate in the Executive Mentoring
Program. She also oversees the development of the
company's strategic interests. This includes expanding
VZD's vision to reach new parts of the country and increase
clientele through personal referrals. Ethel shares her notable
achievement as a financial advisory. She says, "We are
honored to serve second and third-generation families due
to becoming a partner with their families.
A Knowledge Approach to Conquer Fear
The company has grown and has climbed to new heights of
success. Mr. Chuck Schwab, the founder of Charles Schwab
Corporation, is the primary custodian for VZD Capital
Management, LLC. Ethel says she would like to begin an
institutional relationship with Fidelity Investments in the
foreseeable future, too.
The 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022
We are invested in you
and helping you build
the legacy you've
worked to create.
investment cycles. Ethel notes that VZD does not believe in
conforming to the cookie-cutter approach or predetermined
models. Her goals concerning her clients are always
transparent. She aims to understand the financial goals,
wealth objectives, standard of living, and tax planning, to
offer them the best solution. VZD also does not sell any
commissioned-based products, contrary to the trend in the
financial field. Her goal for her firm remains very clear.
Ethel says, "I do not wish to build the prominent firm, but a

Charles Schwab and Co., Inc. helps independent advisors to
understand various personalized approaches and mitigate
risks on the horizons to conquer the horizons. Ethel believes
people like Mr. Ned Johnson and Mr. Charles Schwab are
trailblazers and assets at VZD, which have helped millions
of clients achieve their financial freedom and navigated
treacherous waters of investments during an unprecedented
crisis like the pandemic.
Enlightening Upcoming Entrepreneurs
Ethel is a student for, life for she continues to foster a
relationship with her mentors, including but not limited to
Ms. Cleo Brager, Mrs. Karen Herman, Mr. Michael Dayton,
and Mr. Patrick Callaway, to name a few. She would
encourage budding entrepreneurs to remain in the presence
of their mentors throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
Entrepreneurs should never graduate from learning, taking
appropriate risks to grow, and building a faith-based
community to help them along the way.
Ethel advises young entrepreneurs to develop a fearless
mindset in their quest to achieve success. Sometimes, if you
don’t risk anything, you risk even more, for that is why
some people never find the courage or strength to take a
leap of faith or have been co-dependent on a paycheck and
benefits. She has noticed that since the pandemic that more
people are leaving their stable jobs and looking for a greater
meaning in life by transitioning into self-employment. Life
is short, and if you wake up dreading going to work, then
that is the first sign that you are not growing, just going.
We help protect your
assets by working with
other professionals and
finding the most
appropriate advice to
help you build wealth –
brick by brick.

Arung
“
“
We like to obsess
over problems so
that our
customers and
partners don't
have to think
about them.
ven the hardest stones change their shapes when
Efacing the continuous water flow. Similarly,
women's leadership constantly soars, bending the
inadequate difficulties of making balanced decisions,
fostering a culture that benefits everyone. One of many
attributes that make women leaders unique is that they
might perceive business through an eye of a mother; the
way they care, nurture & enable growth then is carried
through with their business acumen. Akin to such distinct
perceptions, Arungalai Anbarasu, a mother of a 7-year-old
daughter (Ada), is passionately keen on promoting STEM
women, making the world a better place.
Apart from being a mother, Arungalai leads as the Chief
Technology and Strategy Officer at Waygate
Technologies (WT), world leader market leader in
industrial inspection solutions and a business that belongs
to the Baker Hughes energy technology company. She
acquired her master's degree in Electrical and Computer
Science working on the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
thesis. Arungalai and her team spearhead Waygate
Technologies' evolution into a Digital Inspection Solutions
(DIS) space. She envisions playing a critical role in the
Arung
February 2022 | 14 | insightssuccess.com

galai Anbarasu
galai Anbarasu
A Pioneering Trailblazer with a Unique Perspective
company's ambition to take energy forward - making it
safer, cleaner, and more efficient for people and the planet.
Sculpting Herself
Curiosity leads to questions, and questions lead to answers.
As a child, Arungalai's curiosity got her thinking about
where we came from, how things are built, and how the
earth was formed, keeping her awake at night. She aspired
to become an astronaut, but unfortunately, her poor eyesight
became an obstacle, never letting her pursue that path.
Thus, she embarked on a path closet to space sailing –
Engineering.
After acquiring her master's degree, Arungalai joined the
renowned conglomerate General Electric (GE) in their
graduate program called Edison Engineering Development
Program. She learned how technology builds and sells
solutions that solve different world problems related to
energy, healthcare, and transportation, Arungalai built on
this experience in multiple roles at GE & Baker Hughes
(BH).
Arungalai operated in finance, strategy, operations,
technology, and business leadership, before landing on her
current role of Chief Technology & Strategy Officer for
Waygate Technologies. She looks at the overarching
business strategy with her team, delivering breakthrough
technology innovation, new business models and digital
transformation. She also led the industrial X-ray and
computed tomography (CT) business in the past few years
at WT.
A Visionary Forward-Looking Partner
Waygate Technologies' purpose is to provide peace of mind
for manufacturers in various major industries by ensuring
safety, quality, and productivity.
Arungalai expresses that WT combines over 125 years of
experience and the heritage of renowned industry names
such as Krautkrämer, phoenix X-ray, Seifert, Everest, and
Agfa NDT with a global DNA and the unmatched precision
of German engineering. Its business offers a broad portfolio
Arungalai Anbarasu
Chief Technology and
Strategy Officer
Waygate Technologies

of award-winning solutions in industrial radiography and
computed tomography (CT), remote visual inspection
(RVI), ultrasound (UT), eddy current, and robotic
inspection. They help customers drive their digital
transformation by applying state-of-the-art data and
analytics to their assets and processes for best-in-class
insights.
Arungalai notes, "Today, several brands in the automotive,
aviation, space exploration, electronics, energy, battery,
and additive industries trust our inspection and testing
solutions. Yet as a consumer, you have probably never
heard of us or of all the industrial inspection that goes into
the car you drove this morning, the flight you took recently;
the cell phone you carry in your pocket, or the computer
you are seeing this article on – and that is the way we want
it." The most successful inspections are the ones you don't
hear about. She continues, "We like to obsess over problems
so that our customers and partners don't have to think
about them.”
Waygate Technologies' industry-leading digital inspection
solution and software platform - InspectionWorks - can
collect data from borescope inspections, cell phone cameras
and written logs, and correlate an asset's health. Further,
building analytics that automatically detects defects while
inspections are in process, saving the customers valuable
time and energy in "reading" inspections.
The company's strong push to drive innovations and deliver
data and insights provide exponential improvements in
productivity and safety to its customers. Waygate
Technologies aims to take the customers from detecting
defects to avoiding them.
The Foundational Pillars
Arungalai states that the parent company Baker Hughes
shares four main values with its employees:
Grow lets the company see the challenge as an opportunity
and learn every day.
Collaborate means inspiring, being inclusive, and bringing
out the best in each other.
Lead implies making, inventing, and performing with
impact.
Most importantly, Care strives to always do the right thing
for its customers, people, and the environment.
A significant and growing feature of its work culture is
diversity; it is committed to an inclusive work environment
with opportunities for people to reach their full potential.
Arungalai wants its workforce to reflect its communities'
global reach and diversity. The company aims to develop a
culture based on merit where talent is nurtured, regardless
of gender, background, age, religion, ethnic origin,
nationality, disability, or sexual orientation.

The Inevitable Future
Arungalai understands that inspections are necessary to cost
today, and the future demands more Accurate, Available,
and Autonomous processes to be the desired value
tomorrow. She envisions inspections to able to:
• Harvest inspection data and turn it into a key enabler to
optimize your asset lifecycle. Imagine bringing "Lab"
technologies to "In-Line" operations… production
plant of the future
• Deliver deeper insights by interlacing siloed
operations… continuous traceability
• Add exponential value to asset fleet by connecting and
optimizing all devices and workflows… data for
planning
• Create virtual loops from design to production to
maintenance; from one generation to the next...
Nothing is wasted
She states that when one thinks about industrial inspections
today – on any market; and at any customer; the data from
inspections today are:
• Fragmented, siloed, and overlooked information.
• Isolated inspection tasks as suppliers not integrated.
• Multi-NDT technologies leading to disconnected
• results.
• Limited process feedback with no actionable insights
from datasets.
• Suboptimal approach to manage NDT costs.
Arungalai will be delighted if customers embrace NDT 4.0
to go from detecting defects to avoiding them altogether.
Soon, industrial inspection will enable customers to drive
innovations.
A Diligent Guidance
Arungalai advises fellow women leaders to create a vision,
develop a plan and execute it with perseverance to achieve
outcomes to benefit the industry and environment while
pushing the boundaries of technology. As the Japanese
proverb suggests, "Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare." Arungalai believes
it's equally important to create a vision and execute it with
perseverance. In her concluding thoughts, she says, "Push
the boundaries of technology, commercial, outcomes within
the boundaries of compliance, ethics, and safety to take the
first steps that will create progress for the others and you.
First times are always tough, but they are the most
fulfilling!”

Bianca Rangecroft
Founder and CEO
Whering

Bianca
Rangecroft
Putting an End to "I have
Nothing to Wear" Dilemma
rom the way we work, communicate, shop, bank to
Fthe way how we relax and entertain ourselves,
digitization has transformed everything. Imagine
your wardrobe getting digitized! This is what exactly
Bianca Rangecroft has brought to the world through her
company Whering. Bianca founded Whering in June 2020
out of a profound desire to democratize the personal styling
landscape and fundamentally change the way we interact
with our clothes (i.e. upend the throwaway culture).
We at Insights Success got into conversation with Bianca to
learn more about her journey and how she is shaping the
future of the fashion industry.
Below are the highlights to the interview:
Brief our audience about your journey as a business
leader until your current position Whering. What
challenges have you overcome to reach where you are
today?
For me the system was broken; the vicious cycle of not
being able to see what you own, impulse buying (never
getting it quite right), and the lack of inspiration in the
styling process meant only one thing, we had to take it
digital and harness the power of machine learning to hyper-
personalize our fashion experience. The journey from there
has been mostly organic; Vogue covered our launch in 8
countries, helping us secure 35k users in less than six
months. We now have 80k users, with downloads increasing
monthly.
My background is totally unrelated to fashion – I studied
History and Politics at SOAS & LSE, then moved into the
business world after doing my Masters at Imperial
(Economics & Management). I worked at Goldman Sachs
from 2017 to 2019 in the firm's Consumer and Investment
Management Division in London. I was lucky enough to
work on the Stichfix IPO and began to delve deep into
consumer buying patterns, how machine learning was being
used to optimize shopping, and above all, the environmental
cost of fashion. This kickstarted in me a whole introspective
journey into my own contribution to this issue and how we
could leverage the data found in our own closet to make the
supply chain greener, but crucially to make the most of
what we already have to get that newness fix and buy to fill
wardrobe gaps (all optimized through AI). Before starting
the company, we conducted over 350 focus groups to
identify key commonalities in the user journey amongst our
key demographic: women in their early twenties and
thirties.
I absolutely loved working in the Consumer and Investment
Management Division at Goldman Sachs - and still manage

my own portfolio (it's my downtime from startup life!). I
covered a lot of retail stocks and worked on two big fashion
tech IPOs (Stichfix and Farfetch) during my time at GS, and
this taught me to deeply understand industry shifts and
growing consumer/behavioral trends and how both these
factors affected nascent technologies. Not only did this
journey provide me with insights into how we could use AI
to personalise our fashion experience but during our process
to sell the equity story we'd often speak to customers to get
a sense of WHY this company was so ground-breaking -
and that's what transformed by relationship to the end user
(as the real source of information for product discovery and
innovation). I felt we fundamentally had to change the way
we interact with our clothes (i.e. upend the throwaway
culture) and thought the timing (by the end of my tenure)
was perfect to bring to life Cher Horrowitz' Clueless
wardrobe app.
Tell us something more about Whering and its mission
and vision.
Whering, the app designed by and created for the next
generation of sustainability-minded and style-conscious
women, paving the way to an ethical wardrobe and an end
to the 'buy-use-dispose' model. The launch of the app
allows users to quickly and easily digitize their entire
wardrobe, resulting in a streamlined, personable, and
accessible online styling tool.
Whering creates a digital wardrobe that allows users to see
everything they own in one place, allowing them to
maximize the potential of their wardrobe. Users will also
receive styling suggestions and personalized product
recommendations that complement the pieces they already
own and love. In turn, this helps users to shop strategically
to fill wardrobe gaps whilst helping to reduce the habit of
unnecessary purchasing, ultimately leading to a more
cohesive and sustainable wardrobe. Whering uses an
intricate style matrix and personality test to create the ideal
styling environment for each customer. The user can then
use these images to create outfits themselves or use the
'Dress Me' function, and Whering's algorithm will provide
outfit suggestions.
At the heart of everything Whering does is a desire to
improve the fashion industry by tackling some of its most
damaging facets. The app aims to revolutionize the way we
shop, style, and dress, and in doing so reduce the carbon
footprint left by fashion consumers globally. In the UK
alone, clothing has the fourth largest environmental impact
after housing, transport, and food. Shockingly, half of the
fast-fashion items we buy as a nation are thrown away in
less than a year. Whering helps users utilize their wardrobes
80% more effectively, meaning consumers are less likely to
turn to fast-fashion options, as our app helps them
maximize their wardrobe's potential. Ultimately, there is no
place for fast fashion in a sustainable future, making
Whering an essential app offering much-needed lifestyle
guidance, allowing users to think more sustainably in this
time of climate upheaval.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the
industry through your expertise in the market.
The 'I have nothing to wear' dilemma is a universal
sensation of being trapped in indecision. In our view, part of
the problem isn't having nothing to wear, but having
nothing new to wear and too many options of cheap clothes
to choose from. We keep buying because we think that just
one more item will unlock our ideal wardrobe – but how
can it do so if we have no accessible inventory of what we
own?
This is why having a digital inventory is so key - to aid our
visual memory. Not only does it allow you to 'shop your
own wardrobe' to get that newness fix, but having an
organised digital wardrobe helps you identify what you
really need and what pieces can unlock a myriad of
combinations. You can also easily track your wears, most
worn items, decide what's worth donating or selling, but
We exist to
radically shift
our relationship
with clothes
(for ourselves
and mama
nature).
“
“

mostly importantly, create different versions of your best
looks from the comfort of your couch (i.e. unleashing your
inner creative). We created Whering for recovering lifestyle
hypocrites like us: millennial women who are excited to
take back ownership of their fashion consumption and the
way they dress. Whering is not just a wardrobe organizer,
it's so much more. We're building a one-stop-shop for all
your fashion needs.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in
almost every sector. How are you leveraging
technological advancements to make your solutions
resourceful?
Our tech is focused on two parts of the value chain that
consumers own: purchasing and utilisation. For purchasing,
I think a big part of the problem is that people don't
understand their style so buy items and wear them just a
couple of times before deciding they no longer like them.
The artificial intelligence we are building will be able to
identify your style, help you maximize what you already
have, and only then suggest sustainable items that we know
you will love and, above all, love to repeat wearing. You
can already use Whering to try before you buy - adding
items into your wardrobe and creating outfits - ensuring you
will get maximum usage out of an item before purchasing.
The app uses an intricate style matrix and personality test to
create the ideal styling environment for each customer. The
user can then use these images to create outfits themselves
or use the 'Dress Me' function, and Whering's algorithm
will provide outfit suggestions.
For utilization, you can already track how many times an
item has been worn in your wardrobe, and soon, Wherers
will be able to get access to a custom dashboard - focused
on useful stats for you to improve your wardrobe's carbon
emissions. What could be better than knowing how much
you wear an item to be able to properly evaluate the value
that your clothes bring to your life?
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run
and what are your future goals for the company?
Our large-scale plans for the Whering app have the
potential to minimize the impact of fast fashion and reduce
clothing waste and pollution on a global scale. As a small
company with big ambitions, we want to inspire others to
aim high. Whering plans to work with partners to further
tackle the fashion industry's waste issues and prevent the
350k tons of clothing that end up in landfills each year in
the UK. Users will find recommendations of where to
mend, repurpose or donate their items, or, as they are
already digitized, sell or rent items through third-party API
integrations. We want to work with big brands like Depop,
Vinted, Selfridges, and other slow fashion figures to grow
our brand and provide the best possible platform for all
sustainable fashion needs.
Our mission is to extend the life cycle of the clothes we
already own (and that are perhaps sitting idle in our
closets). We are hoping to reduce the carbon and water
footprint of consumers by focusing on the two parts of the
value chain that they control: purchasing and utilization.
Through digitization and machine learning, Wherers can
track what they wear and understand their style. We
encourage outfit repeating!
What would be your advice to budding women
entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the industry?
My advice would be to trust your passion and go for it as
soon as you get the urge. My mantra is carpe diem, which
means no time like the present. I believe in seizing the
moment and doing what makes you happy. This mantra
carried me through my decision to leave my job in finance
and focus on doing something I enjoy that has a positive
impact on people and the planet. Life is too short to wait
around for the right time to do something. When you have
an idea and a passion, and you can get together a team of
like-minded and motivated people, the world is your oyster.
It is amazing how far having a great concept and being
open-minded can get you, even with little money to start off
with. As a company, we are proudly ambitious, and this has
favoured us throughout our journey, and we have so much
more to come.

Providing academic support,
life skills training, livelihood
skill development, and
opportunity creation.
Erna Grasz
CEO
Asante Africa Foundation

Empowering Youth to Architect Their Own Future
ErnaGrasz
n today’s world, the importance of education is
Iunparalleled. The better education the younger
generation receives, the more they will contribute to
the development of communities that will assist in shaping
a better tomorrow. However, not every child is fortunate
enough to receive a quality education due to various
circumstances; their potential and talent don’t flourish with
lack of access. After witnessing the situation in rural East
Africa, Erna Grasz co-founded Asante Africa Foundation to
fill this gap.
Asante Africa is rooted in UN Sustainable Development
Goals; it achieves results through interconnected programs
designed to alleviate poverty by fostering the development
of educated and resilient youth. As the CEO of Asante
Africa Foundation, Erna is passionate about the power of
quality education. She understands the challenges in
managing the complex priorities of health, safety, security,
and education, recognizing the fragility and linkage
between education and food and economic stability. Apart
from playing an essential role in assisting the younger
generation with education, she is frequently on the global
stage, promoting executive leadership, innovating education
programs, and promoting sustainable philanthropy versus
charity.
The Journey
A single mother raised Erna in Texas, facing challenging
conditions. Erna learned early in life that education was an
excellent enabler and personal resilience was the key to
thriving in difficult circumstances. Her focused drive led to
her graduating at the top of her class in the man’s world of
Electrical Engineering. Her professional career started at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, leading
innovative teams developing system solutions for the
nation’s greatest technical challenges.
As Erna transitioned to corporate leadership in Silicon
Valley, these skills enabled her to lead diverse teams
through ambiguity and chaos by providing vision, structure,
and purpose to their technical tasks. For Erna, forward
progress is always driven by a greater purpose.
Erna co-founded Asante Africa Foundation after visiting
rural communities lacking access to education in rural East
Africa. She and her two African co-founders were inspired
to pursue that greater purpose: Educating Children.
Mission & Vision
Asante Africa Foundation, a global social impact
organization, is focused on “Educating Children and
Transforming Worlds” through academic support, skill
development, and opportunity creation for youth in rural
East Africa. Erna expresses that education is the first and
most crucial step in emerging from poverty.
Asante Africa takes this a step further in all programs with
locally-led, youth-led, and girl-led programs. Asante
Africa’s young people have a saying: “If it’s about us, it
can’t be without us.” It challenges and drives the motivation
of the foundation’s work - simple, scalable interventions
can provide young people with the tools they need to thrive.
Solutions must be locally led and embraced by the
community. This is the best way to ensure sustainable
impact and gender equity.
Leaving the Mark
As sustainable progress in rural East Africa requires a non-
traditional approach, a top-down solution is not likely to
work in the private and education sectors. Asante Africa
programs are designed to be locally led and implemented to
ensure the solutions address local challenges and are
embraced and sustained by the community. Erna pushes this
even further with youth-led initiatives where students
actively engage in Asante Africa’s “Learn-Do-Teach”
academic programs and embrace Pay-it-Forward principles,
ensuring their efforts have immediate impact on students,

their families, and their community. Youth become
empowered and confident, knowing their ideas can lead to
local solutions to local challenges and ultimately,
sustainable impact.
The efforts of Asante Africa’s programs were recognized
when it received the USAID Young Women Transform
Prize in 2018 for the girl-led Leadership and
Entrepreneurship Program. In 2019, Asante Africa was
recognized as a Top 10 finalist for the Drucker Innovation
Prize for the “Learn-Do-Teach” model. The Obama
Foundation invited Asante Africa to participate in the
Global Summit. In the following year, Asante Africa
received the Bronze Award for Sub-Saharan Education
Innovation.
Shared Values are the Foundation for Change
Having rooted values in an organization is essential as it
plants the seeds from which it will grow from. A set of core
values guides Asante Africa Foundation: Youth and Women
Led, Inclusive Leadership, Pay-it-Forward, Innovation and
Continuous Learning, Partnerships, and Accountability.
These drive all efforts toward sustainable impact while
ensuring transparency and accountability to all
stakeholders. Erna states that these efforts impact Asante
Africa’s youth thriving by learning, doing, and teaching
others. Their parents and communities are involved and
embrace the values of education and Pay-it-Forward
initiatives. The value of education, entrepreneurship
training, and hard work is clear and is spreading to
neighboring schools and communities.
Assistive Technology
Technology is a great enabler, and Erna expresses that
during the pandemic when schools were closed, Asante
Africa sustained education for youth in the most rural
communities by bringing digital content to small learning
groups housed under trees or other community locations.
Modern quality education is increasingly available digitally,
with or without the internet, and the interface engages
students, unlike the memorization of conventional
classroom settings. By embracing digital technology,
African youth will be at the forefront of innovation,
prepared to build peaceful, more vibrant communities and
thrive in the global economy, Erna mentions.
The Next Big Change
Erna expresses that the pandemic taught several valuable
lessons, including why classroom walls do not limit
learning and education. Technology is changing how
knowledge is delivered, and the world is increasingly
connected, enabling the distribution of content and ideas in
real-time. Erna continues that technology is a key
ingredient in conquering the greatest challenges of our
times: Climate change, health, gender equity, and ending
poverty. In her opinion, technology-enabled youth will be
more successful in business, providing for their families,
building local economies, respectfully utilizing resources,
and growing the middle class. Technology brings the world
closer together, spreads ideas, enables local and global
commerce, and enables positive action toward peaceful
collaboration. Asante Africa Foundation is leading that
change in rural East Africa.
Planning Ahead
Asante Africa Foundation aims to impact an additional one
million young people in East Africa by 2025. It plans for its
students, staff, and alumni to be recognized for their
community success and impact. Erna states that women and
youth will lead the programs, and the funding will be more
globally diversified, with almost half of the foundation’s
resources coming from the countries where it operates with
lean operations and strong governance. She says, “These
are all key ingredients of a thriving, sustainable
organization with deep impacts on tomorrow’s leaders.”
Empowering Guidance
No one ever promised life would be easy. Erna’s mother
used to say “If you are striving to be good, it will be hard. If
you are striving to be great, it will be even harder”. Erna
says “Expect difficult times and take it one step at a time,
celebrating the small successes along the journey.
Eventually you will be achieving greatness.” Erna
encourages budding women entrepreneurs to think big and
take calculated risks with the simple philosophy of “Trust
your instincts, intuition, and intellect. Feel the fear and do it
anyway!”
Erna’s work is living proof that big challenges require bold
leaders capable of listening, learning, and acting in the best
interests of those they serve. “The future is being created by
empowered, skilled, and passionate young people. Asante
Africa will continue educating and creating opportunities
for youth determined to architect that bold future for
themselves and their world.” Erna concludes.

Leaders
that We Need
Today
Door to Success

Life is a struggle that revolves around personal
and professional challenges. And, when you
are struggling, seeking advice from genuine
friends always helps you. But instead of following
people and their advice, create your own opportunities
that help you find your own path. Because fate is by
far the greatest mystery of all, and you can never
know where it will take you. But the real question is
there an alternative to all of this? While everyone
speaks about these complicated things, let’s discuss
the solution through this article.
Our lives are connected to technology and social
media, as they play a key role in today’s modern
world. As business leaders, we have to accept the fact
that the vision to bring change in the lives of the
people and transform the world is possible with
technology. But, promoting compassion and well-
being among the people is also equally important.
Understandably, everyone wants to create their
identity and influence the world. But developing
leaders just for the sake of business output and profits
will degrade the quality of the leadership. And, we
don’t want such leaders, especially in tough times like
today.
We want leaders who can get the best out of their
team, which is possible only without the fear of
judgment. It is a great way to lead, discuss, guide, and
help each other in crucial times. A ray of hope is all
people need, and leaders can bring that hope through
these sources. For example, if any employee knows
that he/she does not have to face the issues alone and
there is someone to talk about it, it gives hope to that
person.
Yes, that’s the alternative for a leader – to connect - to
help those who feel down and try to bring the best out
of them. That’s what the leader should be recognized
for, and this is the shift leaders need to bring currently.
As an organization and as people, we should develop
compassion and ethics that reflect our outlook on the
world.
It is only with this approach we can make it possible
to sustain and impact lives for longer, creating a better
world for all. This is a much-needed alternative in
today’s pandemic situation – promoting compassion
and well-being among the people. Now that we have
got the alternative solution for the leaders. The next
question is, how do you recognize that you need help?
Most of us today are too busy making a living. We
exist only within our daily routine, as we are
preoccupied with massive responsibilities in many
aspects of our lives, like academic, financial, career,
household chores, etc. And due to this, it becomes too
late to realize that you are already struggling –
emotionally and mentally. We no longer listen to our
body & mind, and finally, we do not appreciate our
actual/real life.
There appears an absence of self-care. Taking care of
yourself can be overlooked against all the professional
pressures of our life. But it is important to take time to
care about your physical, emotional, spiritual, and
mental health.
Before you extend your compassion and authentic
care for people, you must first practice self-care.
Why? Because you can never give what you do not
have.
Below are things that can help you in practicing self-
care:
Ÿ Start your day doing things you love the most and
boost your mood.
Ÿ Be grateful for things you have, no matter how
small or big it might be.
Ÿ Have sufficient sleep, healthy food, and exercise
regularly
Ÿ Do activities and interactions add value to your life
There are much more things that you can discover
yourself to practice self-care. After following all the
things, you will appreciate your life, even more,
resulting in a healthy work-life balance. With peace of
mind, you will achieve your life goals. You will know
yourself better – see a better version of yourself and
attract positivity in your life.

Jennifer Bassett
CEO
Bassett Events Inc.

Jennifer Basse
Making YOUR Event an
Unequivocal Experience
he soaring demand to have personalized events that
Tdifferentiate from the conventional has led to
seeking event managers who deliver a genuine
high-touch experience. To go above and beyond to curate
an extravagant and memorable event, ensuring a seamless
flow becomes essential. Thus, to make every corporate and
luxury event a truly extraordinary experience, Jennifer
Bassett implies her proficiency in creating sparkling
initiatives for her clients.
As the CEO, Jennifer has dedicated two decades to running
incredible successful event management, primarily working
with premium brands and companies, creating unique and
memorable events. Her expertise in the event management
niche has inspired the upcoming leaders to dedicate
themselves to the pursuit of achieving excellence.
Insights Success caught up with Jennifer and talked about
her journey, understanding the perception behind her
approach that makes her one of the inspiring women leaders
worldwide.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
leader until your current position at Bassett Events Inc.
What challenges you had to overcome to reach where
you are today?
I grew up in a very social environment with my parents
often hosting parties and events, so naturally, my love for
entertaining developed at a very early age. In 1999, I was
working for a company as an event producer, and six
months into my job, they decided to close their doors. At
that time, I decided that I had enough contacts to be able to
go out on my own, so one month after leaving that
company, I started Bassett Events, and the rest, as they say,
is history. Over the course of owning a business, there have
been many challenges. Most recently, the global pandemic.
Our company, like many others in the live entertainment
business, had to pivot and remarket to a smaller event
demographic. We started bare by Bassett, which offers full
event planning for more intimate gatherings. As challenging
as the past two years have been, they have also been
rewarding in that we now have another branch of our
business that we likely never would have had.
industry through your expertise in the market.

We are a boutique company which means when you hire
Bassett Events; you have our attention to every aspect of
the event. Our team is always 100% invested in each event,
and that level of commitment is what sets us apart from the
rest. We don’t view ourselves as a hired vendor. We are an
extension of the organization that has hired us.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that
drives your organization.
We always strive to provide the best experience for our
clients. Our team is incredibly creative and hands-on, and
we are always looking for unique ways to make our events
memorable. We select ‘best in class partners to work with to
ensure that every aspect is managed by the very best and
flawlessly executed.
resourceful?
We use a lot of event planning software to help keep us
organized, whether it’s for registration or mass mailouts to
guests. There have been some amazing advancements in
event planning software over the last two years to help with
the virtual side of event planning as well.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring
to the industry?
We’ve done it all! Small gatherings with upwards of 3000
attendees. We’ve had the honor the work with first-class,
award-winning entertainment and clients. We’ve tackled
both virtual and in-person. We hope to continue to bring
back “fun” into our events. People are ready to party and
entertain; we are all craving human contact. Bassett will be
ready to make it happen!
What, according to you, could be the next big change in
the industry? How is your company preparing to be a
part of that change?
We have just seen a massive shift in how events are being
executed due to the pandemic. Most of our business comes
from working with non-for-profits and charitable
organizations, producing high-end Galas. Because virtual
and hybrid events are becoming more the norm, those
organizations are able to tap into a much broader audience,
which they normally wouldn’t have been able to reach. I
believe we will be seeing more and more organizations
incorporating virtual components into their events.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run,
We hope to continue to grow and expand our international
database. We are already looking ahead to a very promising
2022!
Go for it! It’s an incredibly rewarding profession, and if you
have a passion for it, you will love it. And when you love
what you do, you will be successful.
The art of luxury
event management.
“
“

The modern business world requires an innovative
approach in workplaces; we have witnessed the
change from cubicles to open workplaces; however,
work culture demands another change. With a perception to
bring the following desired change to workspaces,
Katerina Trajchevska co-founded Adeva, enabling
companies to work remotely by creating various solutions
based on years of experience in the field.
As the CEO, Katerina strongly advocates that the future of
work is not about where you work from but what you
deliver. Adeva's efforts hit the nail on the head in the
unprecedented pandemic that allowed businesses to operate
remotely, expand their roots globally, break traditional
methodologies' barriers, implying Adeva's concept of Work
Without Boundaries.
Below are the highlights of the interview.
leader until your current position at the company. What
challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you
are today?
Back when I was starting my career, my country didn't offer
too many opportunities to work on exciting projects. The
outsourcing industry was on the rise, and most of what we
saw were legacy projects and unexciting work. The startup
world was out of reach, together with all the fun challenges
that came with it.
I started freelancing in search of more interesting work and
instantly loved the flexibility it offered. The challenge was,
though, to keep the work supply steady - it was too risky
and unpredictable. That's how Adeva was born. Searching
for ways to improve our own freelancing experience
together with my business partner, we realized that we
could do the same for everyone who wanted the flexibility
of remote work without compromising on the stability of
regular employment.
There were plenty of challenges on the way, especially
because the companies that could provide a more stable
workload were the ones that were more inclined toward the
traditional way of work. Educating enterprises about the
benefits of remote work is a major task. Now with the
pandemic, we faced a massive shift in the industry, which
accelerated the adaptation for many companies and enabled
us to grow much faster.
Enabling work without
boundaries by connecting
organizations with
tech talent across the world.
Katerina
Trajchevska
Shifting the Tides of Workplace Ideologies

Tell us something more about the company and its
mission and vision.
Adeva is a remote tech professionals' network driven by the
purpose of enabling work without boundaries for tech
professionals worldwide. We're passionate advocates for
remote work, and our network is distributed in over 30
countries across the globe.
Using a community-driven approach, we engage some of
the brightest talents in the industry, enabling organizations
to scale their engineering teams fast. By cutting out
unnecessary expenses and minimizing fees, Adeva helps
companies reduce their hiring costs while providing long-
term, remote opportunities for tech talent worldwide.
industry through your expertise in the market?
We've been fully remote for five years, and over the years,
we dealt with most of the challenges companies are faced
with now, having to adapt to the new normal quickly. Our
approach has always been to work out our problems, find a
solution and once we're certain it works, offer it to our
customers to facilitate their work with distributed teams.
Whether it's by educating companies on implementing
strong processes for remote working or providing
infrastructure for easier management of their remote
contractors, we've always used our expertise to enable
companies to work remotely without limiting themselves to
a certain geographic location.
We stand behind the premise that it's never about how much
you work but what you deliver. What value do you create.
That's the main thing we want to pass on to every member
of our community and each one of our clients.
Being a people-driven company, we measure success in the
opportunities we create for people to enjoy life more, to live
the lifestyle they always wanted. For some of our
colleagues, that means to live and work from a different
location every couple of months; for others, to surf or climb
mountain peaks because all they need to do to afford it is
pack their laptop and hit the road. For most of them,
though, it's the flexibility to balance their personal and
professional lives, to spend more time with their families,
or move to a more peaceful location without worrying
about the commute or lack of work opportunities.
Those are the experiences that drive us. Knowing not that
you helped someone make a living, but that you helped
them live the life they want.
resourceful?
Technology is imperative to our ability to grow and serve
our talent and customers. We completely rely on our
platform for achieving that. On one side, we have people
interested in remote jobs who can apply to join regardless
of if they're actively looking for a job or not. On the other
side, clients can easily sign up and post their job
requirements to start the hiring process.
The magic happens in the back office, where we have a
smart search and matching process to find the best fit for a
given position and make an introduction. We're increasingly
automating the repetitive steps of our manual processes to
be able to focus more on creating value for our clients and
our network.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run,
Our mission is to enable work without boundaries for 1
million people by 2030. To support companies and
individuals untap their full potential and remove borders
from work by creating an infrastructure for everyone who
wants to work remotely.
With more and more companies opening up to working
with distributed talent, a completely new set of challenges
will arise dealing with fake identities, the inability to stay
compliant with local laws, the overhead of managing and
paying people across borders. Utilizing our experience and
the obstacles we've overcome to get where we are today, we
aim to solve each of these challenges for companies across
the world and enable more individuals to access
opportunities that never existed before.
The glass can be half full or half empty, depending on how
you look at it. We're far from having a favorable
environment for women entrepreneurs, but just because of
that, there are so many communities and networks that
support women and create opportunities that would be hard
to get otherwise. Make it your strength to use them.

Katy Barfield
Shifting Tides as the Food Waste Warrior
Reducing food waste can significantly lessen stress
on the environment, and several significant
initiatives can assist the food industry by
implementing better procurement. Several organizations
and individuals operate at different levels to find an
alternative way to deal with surplus food. Finding an
innovative solution to deal with the food wastage crisis,
Katy Barfield founded Yume Food Australia, allowing
food manufacturers and primary producers to sell their
quality surplus products to commercial buyers at a discount.
As the CEO, Katy has dedicated her life to this cause,
designing and implementing award-winning solutions to fix
the market imbalances that generate food waste and loss.
Her venture is the first Australian tech platform that allows
the food industry to sell, donate and buy clearance and
excess food.
Insights Success caught up with Katy to understand how
her efforts have disrupted the food industry for good
making her one of the most inspiring women leaders.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
leader until your current position at Yume. What
challenges did you have to overcome to reach where you
are today?
The biggest challenge you face as a startup founder is
money and time or lack of it. You have a plan, but more
often than not, when dealing with innovation, nothing goes
according to that plan. It's a constant interactive process to
find that elusive product-market fit, and when it's
technology-based, it's an expensive process. I've found it
always takes three times the money and four times the time
you thought it would, and you have to dodge mister left
field on a daily basis!
Tell us something more about Yume and its mission and
vision.
Our mission at Yume is to make commercial food waste a
thing of the past. Currently, the commercial sector in
Australia wastes 3.2 million tons of food every year. This is
happening before food even reaches supermarket shelves,
let alone our homes. Yume's vision is to see all good food
getting to where it belongs by connecting clearance and
excess food to other businesses in the food industry and to
those who need it most via food rescue organizations.
industry through your expertise in the market?
Yume has only been able to make an impact on the food
industry by listening to the industry's needs and
collaborating to create technology that is actually of value.
One of the reasons food waste occurs is because of
inefficient processes along the supply chain. By listening to
Yume users, we've been able to find solutions to these
problems. So far, this has seen Yume technology prevent
3.1 million kilograms of food from going to waste.
Food waste is
an unfortunate
reality of supply
chains. Yume is
here to do
something
about it.

Katy Barﬁeld
Founder & CEO
Yume Food Australia

The Yume team is a passionate group of food waste ﬁghters
who are driven by the power of technology in creating a
more sustainable future. We value integrity, grit, boldness,
adaptability, curiosity, and lively foodie discussion!
resourceful?
Innovative technology is who we are here at Yume. The
Yume platform is an ever-changing solution to the issues we
uncover in food manufacturing that are causing food to be
wasted. Our most recent advancement within the platform
was building technology that streamlines how food
manufacturers donate excess food to food rescue
organizations.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring
to the industry?
Ultimately, we believe in the creation of a circular
economy, where nothing produced is wasted. Yume has
already started to facilitate repurposing projects, for
example, the creation of a beer brewed with upcycled cereal
byproducts.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in
the industry? How is your company preparing to be a
part of that change?
The big change happening right now in the food and
beverage industry is that companies are waking up to their
food waste problems. Writing oﬀ stock has been an
ingrained and accepted process for a long time, and leaders
are stopping and asking, "why?". They want to do
something about it. Yume technology is here to support this
shift.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run
Eliminating food waste is one of the most actionable levers
in reducing CO2 emissions. Our planet is at a critical
juncture, and we need to do everything we can to change
how we think about food. Yume's goal is to show all food
manufacturers in Australia how valuable their food is and
why it is so important that it is eaten and not wasted.
The most important thing about doing business for good is
to be surrounded by people who get the vision. They need
to have the passion, integrity, and resilience to disrupt
industries that don't really want to change. You can't do it
alone.

The Need for
Compassionate
Leadership
During a Global
Pandemic
- By Eileen Willet
Co-founder
Cucumber Clothing

wo years ago, when Nancy and I decided to dip our
Ttoes into the world of start-ups, we had absolutely
no idea where it would take us. We were both
mums in mid-life. Between us, we had two dogs, six
children, a strong friendship and what we thought was a
damn good idea. At the time Nancy was involved in the
charitable sector (formerly at Saatchi and Saatchi), and I
was running my own successful accessory brand (having
helped start up Nicole Farhi Menswear). Hindsight is a
great thing, at the time, we thought Cucumber Clothing
would fit into our lives. Instead, it soon became a nine-
headed hydra disguised as a start-up, swallowing up as
much time, energy and passion as we could muster. We can
honestly say we’ve enjoyed the challenges, the highs and
lows and the wonderful people we have met every step of
the way.
Then Covid arrived. Which company can say honestly that
they were prepared for a global pandemic? I would venture,
absolutely none. The past two years have brought us more
intense, demanding, and tough hurdles than we could have
imagined. The flip side is that we have been stretched,
stimulated and forced to be both exacting and flexible all at
the same time.
What has this taught us about leadership? Mainly that
leadership, in particular compassionate leadership, becomes
even more essential in times of deep stress, both
professional and personal, as well as in times of conflicting
demand. The ability to invite opinions and truly listen to
them; the ability to retain high standards, and yet remain
flexible; the ability to sometimes accept that something
cannot be achieved. The ability to be compassionate. These
are all lessons we have learned and taken to heart in these
tumultuous past months.
Broadly speaking, compassionate leadership can be broken
down into four pillars with the consistency of application
and open communication throughout being key (all
definitions taken from merriam-webster.com) :
Listening – to hear something with thoughtful intention
Understanding – to have sympathetic awareness or
tolerance
Empathising – to understand and share the feelings of
another
Helping - the act or an instance of doing or supplying
something to make it easier for another to complete a task,
deal with a problem, etc.
Regular and open communication allows these pillars to be
fully used. Each member of a company then feels able to
safely raise issues that may otherwise remain buried, only
to arise at a later in possibly a much more inconvenient
shape, size and time.
It is no surprise that matters can take a negative turn when
employees feel that compassionate leadership is lacking.
When leadership is reactive, not proactive and issues are
dealt with only after something has gone wrong a cycle of
negativity is created, particularly when issues are raised and
even then, there is no change.
Compassionate leadership ensures a greater likelihood of
creating a productive and harmonious workplace whatever
the external pressures – for example, a global pandemic! -
may be.
Properly using and integrating the above four pillars of
compassionate leadership into a company’s functioning
allows for a collective focus and corresponding collective
responsibility on issues arising in the workplace in
achieving and maintaining goals and targets – a huge win
for any company. This in turn, leads to a workplace where
the collective good is prioritised over individual needs and
reduces friction between both individuals and groups
regardless of status, again an enormous positive when,
especially in times of increased pressures.
Whether an SME or micro business, I believe
compassionate leadership is key to keeping a company
functioning well at any time, and absolutely critical in times
of huge stress. Investing in and ensuring that the simple
pillars of listen, understand, empathise and help are in
place, can make the difference between the survival and
failure of businesses in a bruising world of change.
Two years in and no business can have any real clarity
about what 2022 will bring. The best way to prepare is to
commit to ensuring that your own business is emotionally
robust and prepared for the worst while very much hoping
for the best. With compassionate leadership baked in, it will
have every chance.
Leader’s Viewpoint

May Winfield
Guiding YOU through Commercial,
Legal, and Digital Risk with Innovative Strategies
Many inspiring stories start small but significantly
impact the world when heard. Similarly, women
leaders that make their presence themselves
from the ground up are the ones who inspire an enormous
number of people. Growing up on a small tropical island of
Penang, Malaysia, May Winfield was the only one who had
access to old school computers due to her father's interest in
them. Brought up in a relatively traditional household, she
was strongly encouraged to choose a professional career.
Later, May studied law in Sheffield, England, and then a
post-graduate barrister. She worked as an advocate and
solicitor for two years in Malaysia. Following she managed
to become a lawyer in the South West of England.
Today, May leads as the Global Director of Commercial,
Legal and Digital Risks at Buro Happold. She works
closely with the business worldwide, identifying legal and
digital risks and opportunities. She assists in developing
new technology and digital data products, services, and
offerings across the industry.
Buro Happold is an international, integrated consultancy of
engineers, consultants, and advisers, with a presence in 31
locations worldwide, over 70 partners, and 1,900
employees. Founded in 1976, Buro Happold has built a
world-class reputation for delivering creative, value-led
solutions for an ever-challenging world. As a truly inter-
connected community of experts, it values human wellbeing
curiosity, embraces mutual responsibility, and genuinely
cares about its work's impact and legacy.
A Steady Rise
In 2011, May specialized working in construction insurance
law in London, where the UK Government mandated the
use of 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM), which by
2016 was applied to all government procured construction
projects. This mandate allowed May to combine her
interests with her work; however, she was frequently
advised to drop the interest to focus on money-making
specialisms or endeavors.
May didn't give up and read anything that she could find on
the topic and attended a digital technology conference in
the construction industry, where she would be the only
lawyer in the room and only one of a handful of women.
She learned that the new processes led to new risks and was
eager to help the industry avoid the ticking time bomb. An
opportunity struck in the form of the major contractor,
Carillion, that led May to move in-house to work there,
where her boss encouraged her to research BIM. She ended
up leading on the legal and contractual matters for digital
and technology issues at Carillion, then a £4b company.
After Carillion failed, May was told repeatedly in
interviews and by heads of legal that the digital and
technology aspects of construction were not of any real
assistance to them or her career and was rejected from
several jobs. In the meantime, May wrote one of the first
detailed legal analyses of a contractual framework for this
area of law (cited worldwide). Eventually, Dr. Marzia
Bolpagni, a supportive friend, introduced May to the now
CTO of Buro Happold, Alain Waha.
Leaving a Mark
Buro Happold is in a position to effect real change as it can
work collectively towards an equitable and green recovery,
adapting its business to mitigate climate change and the
biodiversity crisis. It recognizes that the industry must
make substantial, sustained changes to design and create
environments from the building to a regional scale that are
Be bold in your belief.
“
“

May Win eld
Global Director of Commercial,
Legal and Digital Risks
Buro Happold

sustainable and fair. As engineers and consultants, it is
committed to working with clients and partners to better the
industry, cities, and communities.
The Foundational Pillars
Buro Happold is a values-based practice with an inclusive
culture driven by mutual respect and passion for creating:
• Value human wellbeing and are discontented with
limitations, committing to taking this as seriously for
its people as its projects.
• It is a diverse, one-firm culture. When it gets right, it
sings. Internal barriers are always to be overcome
through inclusivity and equity above all else.
• It embraces mutual responsibility. It is easy to default
to individual success. Teams need to share success and
failure in the same way.
• It is more than a business. It cares about the legacy of
our work. It has a responsibility of care as an employer
and influencer in shaping the world.
• Sustainability is intrinsic to the economic and social
impact of its work. Going beyond compliance requires
challenging preconceptions taking extra steps.
• It takes courage to create. Its culture fosters a dynamic
between technology and empathy to gain deeper
insight, unleash imagination, and manage risk.
May mentions that the organization is actively involved
with its local communities wherever it can and makes its
skills, experience, and time available to those in society
most in need, wherever they are located in the world. Its
main program for community involvement is Share Our
Skills (SOS), established in 2014; it enables its employees
to carry out non-fee-paying work during regular work time.
The Technological Leverage
May expresses that technology shouldn't be used purely for
technology's sake; it can enable parties to remove repetitive
tasks or make things much faster and more efficient,
generating more accurate results.
Buro Happold's climate toolkit or dashboard shortens the
time to generate a climate report from one day to ten
minutes; removing barriers and speeds up processes to run
the complex analysis involved – all at the click of a button,
making the data more accessible.
May notes, "Automation is a great tool when applied
sensibly, leading to more time being made available for
designers to make better decisions and produce higher
quality, sustainable designs. Though it can't replace the
years of experience, local knowledge, and precedent in the
areas we work in – as well as the risk mitigation and
liability control provided by the legal team. There is no
single tool that accounts for all those variables, and we
correctly use technological advances to supplement and
enhance our services – rather than replace them."
The Long Haul
May states that while known for its forward-thinking,
technologically advanced ethos and ways of working, Buro
Happold is, in some ways, at the beginning of its whole
digital journey. May feels blessed that the belief and
support of various people have led her to the role she has
today, enabling her to lead the legal risks side of the digital
journey.
May envisions to support Buro Happold to continue to be
thought leaders and recognized talents in the digital and
construction technology space while progressing its strong
vision of sustainability and more equality and diversity
within the industry.
Be Fearless
May advises budding women entrepreneurs not to listen to
the detractors who want you to pursue something more
accessible, more mainstream, or more suited to you. She
says, "Be bold in your belief. However, understand that the
road can be long and is hard; nothing good comes easy,
and it will take personal time – though the balance is
important to make it all worthwhile. It is possible – I have
my career, my side 'hobby' of digital-based conferences,
papers and activities, a 6-year-old child, a patient husband,
and loving friends."
Concluding her thoughts, May asserts, "Research and
consider sensibly what precise direction you should take to
succeed in the way you envision – where is the gap in the
market, where is the knowledge gap, what organizations are
vital to be involved with? Be prepared, in the long journey,
to pivot when needed while keeping your eye on the goal.
My journey as a legal specialist in digital and technology
matters started in 2011, and I build on it every day."

Unlocking the of
POTENTIAL
for
WOMEN WELFARE
of the WORLD

There is a tremendous amount of potential in every
living entity. Untapped potential should be trapped
for the welfare of the world. Where women are
empowered that place flourishes in abundance. Empowered
women leads to the prosperity of families, societies, nations
and the world. Deep down, every person likes to live with
dignity by contributing something to the world according to
one’s capabilities and potential. Therefore, that potential
should be nurtured in everyone and especially in the girls
and women. Nothing can dim the light in every person that
shines from within. All girls and women has to do is to be
aware of their own inner potential and they can contribute
to any field of their choice.
The world is currently going through the unprecedented
times due to the ongoing pandemic. This is certainly
challenging time for many people but some exceptional
women leaders see the positive opportunity even in such
unprecedented time and actually that is the hallmark of
good women leadership. Exceptional women leaders are
always aware and they understand that the unprecedented
times always call for unprecedented actions, innovative,
thoughtful, and win-win solutions. The world may be filled
with lot of negativity due to inevitable challenges and
causes, but exceptional women leaders call upon their inner
light and they use such unprecedented time to develop and
nourish their skillsets so that they can be an instrument of
positive contribution to the world in the coming times. Now
more than ever, women and girls need to call on their inner
light to utilize the toughest times to tune into their
conscience, learn new things by using virtual platforms and
make themselves competent.
In the difficult times of pandemic it is essential for women
leaders to be detached from the negativity around
themselves. Unless and until one is detached from the
negativity, it is very difficult to focus on the positive and to
make the most out of that positive. Exceptional women
leaders prefer to be courageous to confront issues more
diligently and deal with people with empathy and due
consideration. Exceptional women leaders choose to think
deliberately and act on the conclusion of logical, rational,
analytical, systematic, and cognitive-intensive thought
process. That is really the most important part of
exceptional women leadership. Leaders are supposed to
think deliberately and act on the basis of logical conclusion
for delivering the efficient results.
Educating and empowering a girl child creates a ripple
effect and it creates a positive influence in the community.
Empowered women invest time and energy in creating the
stronger next generations. The future leaders of tomorrow
can be more talented, dynamic, and competent to deliver
maximum contribution for the welfare of the world if they
are raised by the empowered women. Empowering women
is beneficial in so many ways and their contribution play a
very important role in creating the genuinely exemplary
future leaders.
Gender equality is beneficial for the whole world.
Promoting gender equality is not just responsibility of
women leaders or women issue but it is a societal issue and
everyone should support in promoting the purpose of
gender equality. United nations is again and again
promoting the empowerment of women. That’s very crucial.
The greater number of women in every field is a sign of
growth and evolved culture. The empowered women are
boon to the world. That is the reason ‘Gender Equality’ is
one of the most important sustainable development goals.
Empowering women is essential for the sustainable
development of the world. Empowered women become
great asset for businesses, families, societies, communities,
nations, and that is ultimately beneficial for whole world.
There are plenty of fields where women have opportunities
and they can contribute immensely. The world is in
desperate need of genuinely exemplary women leaders to
make a difference through businesses, science, research,
technology etc. Women can become the leaders in the field
of businesses, science, research, technology and in any
choice of their field if they are willing to be bold and
courageous enough to pursue their career in such fields
relentlessly. They have the potential to make a difference in
the choice of field they go and therefore women should not
shy away from utilizing their best capabilities and they
should deny the world of their valuable contribution.
Empowered women are the secret weapon of creating a
positive change in the society and the world at large.
Empowering and enhancing women and investing in them
unlocks a tremendous potential for the world. Empowered
women are the most important weapon and resource in the
fight against the global poverty. The untapped resource of
women has the tremendous potential and that should be
recognized by the people in the world especially by the
people who have the opportunity to create awareness
related to this.
The empowered women have the potential to significantly
improve livelihoods, productivity, economic outputs, and
the overall human life itself. The basic longing to live with
dignity, the fundamental desire to have control of one’s
lives and one’s future and to be part of determining the
course of our communities and our nations are very much
universal in the empowered women. These longings burn in
the women and girls, and with these longings they can be a
great dynamic force in the world to be an agent of change
and make a significant contribution for the welfare of the
world with their talents, skills, and abilities and that will
lead to the ultimate welfare of the world.
Womanhood

Sabrina
Khan
An Epitome of
Hardwork, Passion
and Perseverance
chieving excellence in any field requires consistent
Aefforts, diligence, and patience. It is a mark of great
leaders that they stick to the process and eventually
embark on the journey of success. They fight through
challenges with hard work and persistence. They attain
expertise in their field by learning and developing
themselves and help the companies to reach new heights.
One such persistent leader is Sabrina Khan.
Let’s shed some light on her journey and how she is
spearheading Aptorum’s financial objectives.
Sabrina started her career as an auditor, where she was
trained and obtained her Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Title. After that, she worked for a few companies as their
accounting professional focusing on daily financial
operations, IPO, and M&A projects which further helped in
building her technical skills and knowledge. She then
joined Aptorum Group Limited as Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) in 2017 and helped Aptorum Group to
successfully get listed on Nasdaq in December 2018 and as
the first biopharmaceutical company to dual list on
Euronext.
Throughout all these days in her career, Sabrina failed
countless times, but her personality and attitude helped her
a lot in going through all these challenges. She likes to learn
new things and take up challenging tasks as she enjoys the
process and the satisfaction it brings. She believes that
challenges are not beyond our control, and there is always a
solution.
Tackling Unmet Medical Needs with Life-Science
Innovations
Aptorum Group is a UK-based biopharmaceutical company
with a focus on the discovery and development of therapeu-
tic assets for the treatment of a variety of unmet medical
needs, including orphan diseases, infection diseases, and
metabolic diseases. The group focuses on diseases that are
currently largely unmet or do not have effective treatment
available. It believes that patients in these disease areas
often suffer from the lack of choices of (effective) drugs and
are faced with limited therapeutic options available. On this
basis, the company’s product objective is simple – ‘to bring
effective drugs to these patients and tackle these diseases’.

Sabrina Khan
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer
Aptorum Group Limited

Aptorum Group has a strong pipeline of candidates under
development with 4 core assets showing significant
progress:
1) The Rapid Pathogen Identification and Detection
Diagnostics (“RPIDD”) technology, a rapid, accurate, cost-
effective, and untargeted method to identify and detect
existing or emerging unknown pathogens through liquid
biopsy. Such unknown pathogens include DNA/RNA-based
viruses such as coronavirus, antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
fungi, etc.
2) SACT-1, a repurposed drug candidate for treating
neuroblastoma discovered through its Smart-ACT® drug
discovery Platform.
3) ALS-4, a small drug molecule candidate for the treatment
of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
4) NLS-2, a dietary supplement for the relief of menopausal
symptoms.
Making Use of Expertise to Contribute and Save Lives
Sabrina expresses that many people find accounting tedious,
and accountants are only to help companies do book-
keeping, prepare financial reports, and tax filings. She
asserts, “Companies need an accountant to meet certain
regulatory requirements, but no one would ever think
accountants can help to build their business or even the
society.”
After Sabrina left Big 4, she worked for a few healthcare
and biopharmaceutical companies and started building her
network in the industry. She realized accountants can also
make good use of their knowledge and network to help
raising capital and connecting companies for joint ventures
and other collaboration. This can help provide scientists
with sufficient resources to continue their clinical trials and
speed up the drug development process. She is happy to be
part of the team and make use of her expertise to contribute
and save lives.

Strengthening Team to Meet Evolving Needs
Sabrina states that because of COVID, many people are
now more health-conscious and have put more emphasis on
the study of infectious diseases. One of Aptorum Group’s
key development focuses is on infectious disease with the
support of the team from the University of Hong Kong,
which is very famous in the area globally.
Aptorum Group would like to further strengthen the team as
COVID proves that the current pace of medical develop-
ment is far too slow and cannot meet the current needs.
Contributing to Advancement in Global Medical
Development
Talking about the culture, Sabrina mentions that Aptorum is
determined to continue developing therapeutic treatments
with a novel approach in targeting unmet medical needs and
contributing to global medical development. She believes
that there is a need to think quickly and cope with the ever-
changing environment. She always encourages open
discussion and asks her team members to share their views
and suggestions. When encountering any difficulties,
Sabrina usually guides them to get their answers than
providing them a quick solution. She puts, “Getting their
answer is the best way to inspire them to think and build
their commitment to the team and what they do. I want them
to seriously understand why they are doing it that way and
what they are doing instead of blindly taking instruction
from above.”
Developing Different Innovative Approach
We asked Sabrina about the change she would like to bring
to the pharmaceutical industry, to which she says, “I would
like to use Aptorum as an example and inspire the industry
to work together and develop different innovative and novel
approaches in tackling medical needs and stop using
antibiotics because abuse use of antibiotics would cause
drug resistance and even the manufacturing process would
cause environmental pollution.”
Contributing Expertise in Finance
Sabrina would continue to seek different breakthroughs in
her life through Aptorum. She wishes to contribute her
finance expertise to global medical development.
Sabrina advises budding entrepreneurs in the most concise
words, “Everyone, no matter what you do, your back-
ground, it’s the attitude that counts. You can do if you
believe you can.”
“Aptorum aims to become a world-
class player in the
biopharmaceutical industry with
emphasis in science, collaboration,
and entrepreneurship.”

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