Category: Business Spotlight

man touching a bag on table

This Sporting Life!

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Sportswear is an industry that is rapidly growing, with new ways of making clothes transforming this sector into one which is immensely popular across a host of ages. Establishing a business here is by no means easy, but that’s precisely what Adam Franks of Legacy Sportswear has managed. Now named Most Influential Sportswear CEO 2023 – UK, we thought it time to catch up with Adam and uncover some of the secrets of his success.

When looking at the world of clothing, it’s clear that sportswear has taken on new importance over the last few years. Customers are looking for products that make them look good, feel comfortable and offer a practicality that they often struggle to find from other manufacturers. Sportswear also encompasses celebrity culture, serving customers who want to match icons of the sector. The success of Legacy Sportswear comes from serving both of these needs.

Through Legacy, which sells gym and lifestyle wear and The Locker Room, which allows professional sports clubs and fans to purchase team wear, custom-made jerseys, and official merchandise, Adams Franks has been able to build the team at Legacy Sportswear to new heights of success. This thriving family business achieves because it maintains a closeness at all times that ensures constant support throughout the development of any project.

Adam Franks was a professional sportsman, focused on the world of ice hockey. “I’ve had the opportunity to share the locker room with some incredible leaders on and off the ice, including coaches, captains, and players,” he says with a smile. The discipline of working in this environment with a strong team proved to be the perfect training ground for Adam’s future entrepreneurial success. Not content with playing to the best of his ability, he watched those who led and began to unpick what set them apart.

This part of Adam’s career saw him and his team go on to win the league, playoffs, and playoff finals, but key to this success was not just raw talent. “Effective, clear communication was essential,” Adam explains. “I learned early on that being an individual doesn’t win you games and that everyone has a role to play in creating something bigger, and when everyone plays their part, good things happen.”

The founding of Legacy built on this incredible success, with Adam applying what he had seen to the business of sportswear. “My role as CEO at Legacy consists primarily of working with professional clubs to bring them on board, as well as collaborating with Legacy and working very closely with the development team to help improve the fabrics designs we work with,” Adam tells us. “The majority of the team is made up of athletes or ex-athletes.” Such awareness of the sector has given Adam and his team an incredible boost when compared to the competition. Not only do they know the market, but they know how rapidly it can change over time.

Adam has worked hard to ensure that every member of the team is empowered to make decisions and knows that they have the support of their peers. “Installing that team mentality early on in the business was critical to our early growth and success because it laid the groundwork for how Legacy would grow and what type of clients and employees we would attract,” he explains. For Adam, Legacy is more than just a business that creates sportswear. “I knew that when I started Legacy I wanted it to mean something to our community and to the staff that work there because I wanted them to represent, shop, and most importantly be proud of Legacy.”

The idea of community is one which seeps into every part of the business model that Adam has created. The firm was created during the 2012 Olympic Games, hosted in London. “I had a few friends representing Team GB, so we had them try and test our kit and provide honest feedback,” he tells us. “Each time we made the changes they requested until they were happy, and we knew if professional athletes were happy, our kit would be perfect for our store!” Such care to ensure that those who perform at the highest level of the sporting hierarchy has been key to securing success for the Legacy Sportswear team.

While making sportswear that even the best athletes can work with is important, so too is the need to keep an eye on the future. “We have invested heavily in working with sustainable fabrics for the brand,” Adam tells us, “creating collections that include leggings and bras made from bamboo, hoodies made from recycled polyester and organic cotton. We’ve also begun to produce more items in the UK to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Since opening the doors of Legacy Sportswear, Adam has committed to understanding the basics of each part of his business as far as possible. “To be a good CEO, I believe you should spend at least 3 months in every area of the business, including web development, dispatch, clothing development, creative, and photography to help understand how it works, what issues it faces, and how we can solve them faster,” he tells us. This depth of understanding has ensured that Legacy Sportswear can be as reactive as it needs to be in a challenging market.

The market for sportswear is one which you simultaneously have to seek out, and be sought for. Sports fans can find Legacy Sportswear through their e-commerce, with social media driving a great deal of traffic. Team wear, however, is typically sold through word-of-mouth and clubs seeing our brand on professional sports teams on television as well as at most ice rinks when we have pop-ups. Because Adam understands every part of how the business works, he can adapt to suit the individual markets that he is serving.

One of the challenges that Adam has managed to overcome over the last couple of years has been clothing production oversees. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the factory the team used closed. Fortunately, there was plenty of stock in storage but it did lead to a major change for the business. “Legacy Sportswear was re-invented from top to bottom,” Adam explains. “We looked at suppliers, production, and how we could cut costs. I decided we had no choice but to move to on-site production. This proved to be very beneficial for Legacy because it kept costs down and our work almost tripled as the time frame shrank.”

Because so much is now done in house, it’s easy for the team at Legacy Sportswear to match up precisely to what their clients expect. “Legacy’s in-house design team will create the collection using our cuts, the club’s colours, and heritage to create a team wear collection to be proud of,” Adam tells us. “Our team will then create an e-commerce store for the club, which is housed on our team wear section of our Legacy webpage, so customers and fans can order clothing quickly and easily from the club, and we will provide a quick and easy service for their fans using our print on demand methods.” Aiming items directly at a fanbase is what Legacy Sportswear excels at, primarily because each member of the team comes from a sporting background themselves.

Looking ahead, Adam plans to take significant steps to become a one-stop shop for all of the team’s needs, including those of its players, coaches, and fans. “The most exciting part will be phase three of this plan,” Adam says,  “where kit designer teams will be able to login and design their own kits online, with colours, and personalise them with numbers and names.” Until then, he and the Legacy Sportswear team will continue to develop new products such as the recently released high-quality fabric for ice hockey jerseys and socks, which is now in production. The team have also created a new website for the brand and an easier user experience journey so that ordering for clubs, teams, and the brand is super speedy and effective.

Growth is no easy achievement, but Adam has proven determined to make it a reality. We celebrate his tremendous success and look forward to what Legacy Sportswear manages to achieve in the weeks and months yet to come.

In the meantime, the company will be bringing excitement to Camberley town centre from Monday 15th May after winning the first four-month spot at The Pop-Up Club located on 27 Obelisk Way.

“We’re excited to bring our brand values to life with the launch of our opportunity in The Pop-Up Club,” Adam comments. “We believe that our values of quality, sustainability, and customer service are what sets us apart from our competitors. We’re looking forward to showcasing our products and expertise to the people of Camberley.”

For business enquiries, contact Adam Franks from Legacy Sportswear via email – [email protected] or on their website – www.legacysportswear.co.uk

man and woman speaking together in front of audience

Media Moguls Secure Success

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

The media and advertising ecosystem is one which depends on data to thrive, and that information is precisely what the team at Kantar IBOPE Media. Led by Antonio Wanderley, the business has become a major part of how leading businesses work. Now named Most Influential CEO 2023 – LATAM (Marketing Data & Analytics) in the Most Influential CEO Awards 2023, we take a closer look at precisely how he has brought about such enviable success.

The media industry is one which is constantly changing, and staying ahead relies on being able to predict precisely what the market demands as early on as possible. The team at Kantar IBOPE Media, under the leadership of Antonio Wanderley, have managed to secure a prominent position thanks to a digital transformation in 2014. As CMO, Antonio was able to reinvigorate Kantar IBOPE Media for a whole new generation leading a merger with the leading global company (Kantar Media) to form Kantar IBOPE Media.

Kantar IBOPE Media focuses on the needs of media producers as well as sellers and buyers of advertising. If a company has a touchpoint with media and advertising, they will want the impressive services of Antonio and his team. The team’s data is a vital part of informing all advertising trading transactions the length and breadth of Latin America.

Antonio’s style of leadership has seen him establish a remit that covers not only Latin America, but Spain, Asia and Africa too. Having such reach has meant that his leadership methods have been forced to change when compared to the smaller responsibilities he once held. “I have more and more shifted into more horizontal structures,” he tells us. “We focused on creating and empowering leadership teams, rather than individual leaders. These teams are held accountable for delivering against a small number of high-impact OKRs.” This approach to the sector has worked well indeed creating a business model which is always moving forward but always testing itself to ensure the best path possible.

Key to this success, therefore, is finding the right talent to achieve exceptional results and managing their performances successfully. “To assure focus and consistency, we create management principles that guide our team’s decision-making and behavior. These principles are reviewed and updated annually during our planning process.,” he explains. “these include being impatient with internally focused decisions, putting clients above politics, and holding everyone accountable for delivering to clients, not just their own part of the process..” That everyone is empowered to deliver with such care and attention is why Antonio and his team have been able to secure such tremendous success so far.

Needless to say, however, that the growth of the media landscape has forced Antonio to adjust swiftly to meet changing demands.“It is always very hard to change while winning,” Antonio says wryly, “Developing and solidifying a culture of proactively disrupting ourselves is a major task. This means being willing to challenge the status quo and make changes ahead of the curve.” Needless to say that Antonio and his team have managed to establish their attitude as disrupters at precisely the right time.

Change is hard, but if companies do not change then they will become irrelevant in the rapidly changing world in which we live. “I believe many companies are talking about digital transformation,” he says, “but few companies take any serious steps towards it, and only a handful of those have been successful at it!” In a world where forms of broadcasting have been usurped by streaming, professionally produced content by user generated content and linear mass advertising by targeting, change is vital.

None of this even considers one of the biggest forces for change in the 21st Century, namely the blockchain and AI. The instability of the world today is why the team focuses so much on being experts at adaptation. It means that Kantar IBOPE Media will thrive beyond the limits of what media companies currently demand. “We managed to change,” says Antonio, “and we were able to take an approach which is scalable and could benefit our clients too.”

Despite all this talk of change, however, it’s clear that Antonio does, in fact, value those aspects which will never waver despite the state of the markets. This include, frankly, the incredible team which he has managed to build around him and which has been able to secure such amazing success for Kantar IBOPE Media. “It’s seems counter intuitive but I have focused on what’s constant and not what’s changing,” he says. “I feel most people do the opposite.” In an era where automation is playing a bigger and bigger role, his aim has been to humanise his approach to leadership and interpersonal connections in order to support clients.

One of the key aspects where Antonio has been able to provide incredible support has been through the development and empowerment of a diverse talent base that can bring vital new perspectives to the table.  Kantar IBOPE Media is not just a large media empire that stagnates, but one which depends on a unique set of skills and creativity that will unlock growth for many years to come.

Looking ahead, it’s clear that  Kantar IBOPE Media has a great future ahead. The team have been able to take Brazil to the global forefront of media measurement. “It’s arguably the most developed market globally in terms on media currency data,” Antonio tells us. “In the immediate future, our focus is to scale this solution to the next LATAM markets such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru as well as to other continents. Spain and Vietnam should be the next markets that Kantar IBOPE Media aims to penetrate.

We can see that Antonio is an immensely responsible leader, pushing his business to adapt constantly while also supporting his team to thrive in a traditional manner. People come first at all times at Kantar IBOPE Media, and that’s why the team has been able to secure such tremendous growth over the years.

For business enquiries, contact Antonio Wanderley from Kantar IBOPE Media via email – [email protected], on Twitter – @antoniowand, or on their website – https://kantaribopemedia.com/

man smiling for camera

Making eCommerce Flow

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Aizad Hussain is the CEO of Sprint Logistics and has been at the helm of the company for 18 years. Before his current role, he was the CEO of Transworld, the business that preceded Sprint Logistics. Below, we profile his team and his leadership style as he is recognised as the Most Influential eCommerce Logistics Solutions CEO 2023 – UK.

Sprint Logistics is a company that specialises in facilitating the e-commerce process by handling the physical aspects of shipping. It provides inbound freight, storage, kitting, picking, packing, and shipping for hundreds of thousands of parcels annually. It works with a diverse customer base across the UK and Europe, offering efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality solutions for direct-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and marketing fulfilment marketplaces.

Sprint Logistics is committed to providing an excellent customer experience, reflected in the core values of being fast, flexible, innovative, and passionate about serving its clients. The company prides itself on offering value-added solutions to complex challenges and is dedicated to delivering the best possible service to its customers.

Essentially, Sprint Logistics is a reliable and customer-focused logistics company that aims to make e-commerce flow by providing seamless and efficient solutions for its clients.

Before his time at Transworld and Sprint Logistics, Aizad served as a young Group Managing Director of NTL:home, now known as VirginMedia. Before that, he worked as a Senior Associate at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking division.

Throughout his career, Aizad has gained extensive experience in product development, sales, marketing, deal-making, and finance. He has used this experience to shape Sprint Logistics into the successful logistics company that it is today.

As CEO, Aizad is responsible for overseeing the company’s strategic direction, ensuring that the company stays at the forefront of the industry, and maintaining the company’s core values. He has been instrumental in driving Sprint Logistics’ growth and expansion, as well as in developing its unique technology platforms, such as BOLT.

Under his leadership, Sprint Logistics has become a leading logistics provider, serving hundreds of thousands of parcels annually across the UK and Europe. Aizad Hussain’s vision and leadership have been crucial in establishing the company’s reputation for efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and excellent customer service.

The staff at Sprint Logistics play a critical role in the company’s success. As a logistics company that strongly emphasises delivering excellent customer experiences, the employees are the key to achieving this goal.

Sprint Logistics’ teams are dedicated to providing fast, flexible, innovative, and passionate solutions to complex challenges. They have a wealth of industry experience, enabling them to handle a range of issues that may arise during the e-commerce process. The company strongly emphasises hiring and retaining the best talent and investing in their development, training, and career progression.

The staff’s commitment to delivering high-quality services is evident in Sprint Logistics’ investment in technology and infrastructure. It has developed its bespoke warehouse management and shipping platforms so they are designed to meet the needs of modern multi-channel environments. The team has played a crucial role in developing, implementing, and maintaining these platforms.

Furthermore, Sprint Logistics’ staff operate out of 250,000 sq. ft of warehouses across the UK and EU, which require efficient and organised management to ensure that goods are stored, handled, and shipped correctly. Therefore, the employees’ experience, skills, and attention to detail are essential in ensuring that the company meets its clients’ needs and maintains high customer satisfaction.

Their skills, experience, dedication, and commitment to delivering high-quality services are crucial in providing excellent customer experiences and maintaining the company’s reputation as a reliable and efficient logistics partner.

Regarding what is ahead for the company, Sprint Logistics has ambitious plans for the future, with a primary goal of completing the rollout of their cloud-based WMS, BOLT – Business Operations and Logistics Technology. The company has invested several millions of pounds in developing this platform, which launched in April 2022.

Once fully rolled out, BOLT will provide Sprint Logistics with the most outstanding functionality and operational flexibility to manage all seven facilities through a single platform. The company believes its technology is unique and will be a significant source of competitive advantage over time.

In addition to the BOLT rollout, Sprint Logistics will continue to focus on providing excellent customer experiences through their efficient and cost-effective logistics services. The company plans to expand its client base further, working with both new entrepreneurs and established businesses across various industries in the UK and Europe.

Finally, Sprint Logistics will maintain its commitment to its core values of being fast, flexible, innovative, and passionate to serve and provide solutions to complex challenges. The company will continue to invest in its staff, technology, and infrastructure to remain at the forefront of the e-commerce logistics industry, providing its clients with the highest level of service and support. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sprint Logistics.

For business enquiries, contact Aizad Hussain from Sprint Logistics on their website – sprintlogistics.com

luxury white sofas in sitting room

Perfect by Design

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

For over 20 years, Iain Johnson has been sharing his strategies and vision for architecture, marine and interior design with the industry. And, through his brilliant leadership and incredible insight into how to best navigate this juggernaut of an industry, Iain has been able to establish a name for himself as a man whose ambition knows no bounds. With three brands all operating alongside Allect Design Group, Iain has accomplished his goal of redefining luxury, and has already transitioned to paving the way towards design perfection. We explore how Iain manages these brands, alongside Allect Design Group, and how he’s been able to expertly cultivate a portfolio of unparalleled luxury.

CEO of both Allect Design Group and Rigby & Rigby, Iain Johnson has proven again and again that he is a man of incredible prowess and has a superb eye for the finer things in life. With his wealth of expertise, and years of leadership experience, he’s been able to share his visions with clients across the globe, assisting each and every one in constructing a project that is both personalised and positively lavish. No matter the space, Allect Design Group, Rigby & Rigby, Helen Green, and Lawson Robb are able to outfit it with the true definition of luxury.

Of course, each brand has its own unique style, whilst still maintaining Allect Design Group’s aspiration to design liveable luxury spaces that are functional and timeless for its clients. As such, it works in tandem with these three brands to promote their identities and oversee the creative development of each project they may undertake. This keen insight, and expert understanding of every crucial detail that goes into the design process, is what’s enabled Allect Design Group to create exceptional residences of the utmost quality and style.

In addition to the stunning interiors that Allect Design Group is able to design for its clients, Iain ensures that, above all else, your individual intentions for your property are fully catered to. With such a star-studded range of brands under its watch, Allect Design Group has every tool necessary to envelop you in luxury, and will work in collaboration with its clients to suit their every need. Throughout the entire process, you will be the one approving every step, all so your vision, partnered with Allect Design Group’s expert design team’s skillsets, can become a tangible reality.

And, with Iain’s vast expanse of design experience, you’ll never find yourself stuck for ideas. As the CEO of Rigby & Rigby, Iain has already garnered a fantastic reputation. Rigby & Rigby, one of the brands that assisted in founding Allect Design Group, is a London-based designer that offers a holistic approach to design. It believes that clients deserve to be able to utilise their dream properties the moment the building process is complete and designs its projects accordingly.

Clients can be certain that, upon completion, their new space will be outfitted with every necessary measure to ensure a comfortable, luxurious living space that’ll transport you to a brand-new way of life. Its aim is to create the most exceptional properties in the world, and this goal is accomplished with each project it completes. None of which would be possible without Iain’s fantastic leadership and impressive imagination.

However, if you’re wanting to experiment with colour and boldness, Lawson Robb, another of Allect Design Group’s three founding members, will be able to implement a vast array of shapes, colours and decorative details in order to produce results unlike anything ever seen before. And, under Iain’s watchful eye, you’ll be whisked into a design that is both sleek and eye-catching. Nothing will be able to compare to the vivid and contemporary ideas that the team will be able to produce for you, and you’ll have a clear understanding of any materials, quirky shapes and organic textures that Lawson Robb may utilise throughout the design process. If you can imagine it, Iain can oversee the entire project to ensure you’re getting exactly what you want.

Though Allect Design Group and its brands operate internationally, on a variety of interiors, what if you’re wanting a property that adheres to traditional British elegance? The final brand that unites the trinity of Allect Design Group’s founding members, Helen Green, specialises in comprehensive luxury interior designs that focuses on combining British architecture with modern luxury. It’s synonymous with creating multi-layered interiors, with its residences each adopting a personal approach that’ll have you feeling as in control as the design team is. And, with personalised levels of service offered to private clients, Helen Green, alongside Allect Design Group, is able to put the ‘personal’ in ‘personal space’.

Iain Johnson truly is a remarkable man, with both a knack for interior design, and a mastery of customer service. Each client he works with will feel as valued as the next, and such a service lends itself to Iain’s most recent award title of Most Influential International Interior Design Group CEO of the Year 2023 – London. Iain’s prowess in the field is second to none within London, and his definition of luxury will match yours, regardless of your request.

From properties to yachts, Iain has a keen awareness of how to establish a lavish design that caters to your every desire and will do so with intense passion. Above all else, Iain’s dedication to his clients’ experiences is what allows him to truly enrich their journeys, and Allect Design Group acts as a fantastic conduit for his devotion to the craft. If it’s a luxury interior that you’re looking for, born from the mind of a man who has you at the forefront of the creative process, there’s no person better for the job than Iain. He’ll ensure you exit the process with a property that’s unlike any other in the world and will do so with an unrivalled devotion to your satisfaction. Perfection has never been so easy to achieve.

For business enquiries, contact Iain Johnson from Allect Design Group on their website – https://allect.com/

Consulting for Grown Ups

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Change and Transformation affects every organisation. All change is ‘Business Change,’ irrespective of whether it’s enabled by technology, the people side of change, or regulatory requirement. However, this does not mean every organisation keeps the required resource and capability in-house to deliver their change and transformation successfully.

Project One is a leading, independent, business transformation consultancy, led by CEO James O’Sullivan, who this month has been named the ‘Most Influential Business Transformation CEO of the Year 2023 – London’. Celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2023, Project One is a challenger brand to the traditional large-scale global consultancies, with an operating model that focuses only on leading change and transformation delivery.

In this feature, we learn more about the consulting industry and how organisations benefit from partnering with boutique consultancies like Project One to make real change happen and make a real difference to their businesses and their customers.

Consulting is an industry that follows the oscillations of the global macro-economic conditions. In 2018 and 2019, the industry was impacted by the non-committal nature of the Brexit negotiations, as organisations slowed their change agenda until they had clarity around whether the UK were leaving the EU trading block. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 impacted the industry as some organisations closed their doors, whilst others ran slower than planned with their change agenda as they negotiated the pandemic.

The impact to consultancies of such events is both positive and negative, simply by the nature of what they do for a living and the service they provide their customers, in both good times and bad. Established in 1998, Project One has 25 years of experience in observing the continuous oscillations that come with the industry. There have been significant technology developments in the last two decades, and the role of Project One is to support their customers in remaining relevant and competitive.

Chances are, if you’re a business of any significant size, you’ve encountered the need to change or transform. Every industry is constantly changing, adapting, and adopting to new developments in products, services and underlying technology solutions. The need to transform your business to suit these emerging demands can become complex and requires a clear shared vision.

Aligning all aspects of your business towards much-needed change can feel challenging. Project One looks to address this issue by making what appears complex, more simple. Large-scale, global organisations such as AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, IAG, Rolls-Royce, Unilever and VMO2, to name a few, trust Project One to help them change and transform their business.

Dedicated to making change and transformation delivery as simple as possible for their customers, Project One approaches change from the Boardroom down, building long-term, trusted relationships with their C-Suite customers. A key differentiator for Project One is that every consultant has significant change leadership experience to work at this senior level. The benefit to their customers is that they can draw on the combined experience of what is likely the largest team of change leaders in the UK, bringing this added value to every conversation.

James commented, “No person is an island, and no consultancy can be a success based on the critical few. The beating heart of Project One is our people, they are our business asset, and our continued success and growth is based upon the ‘power of the team.’ Whilst we all have our own individual roles to play, accountabilities and responsibilities to deliver upon and live up to, the collective power that we bring to bear for our customers through our collaboration is tantamount to our success and that of our customers.”

One aspect that makes Project One stand out in a competitive market is their experienced CEO, James. After working in the business change industry for nearly 30 years, he has an unwavering passion for finding a solution to complex business problems and is most at home when sat with his customers, in front of a whiteboard with a pen in his hand.

James continues to build and grow the reputation of this award-winning business, earned over the past 25 years. Taking and blending an innovative approach, alongside respecting the heritage, ensures that his team remains happy, productive and celebrate successes along the way.

Different to larger consultancies, this is consulting for grown-ups. His consulting team has no traditional performance management, balance scorecards or sales targets, just a pure focus on their customers’ change delivery agenda. This enables an astounding rate of productivity that’ll serve his customers well during their business change and transformation.

One long standing customer, Global CIO, said, “Having a small team from Project One in our business creates a community of excellence. They’re all a certain standard of capability, drawing on their experience to join the dots. This is why I repeatedly choose Project One.”

Above all else, Project One sticks to their values and has done since 1998, making the complex simple is what Project One truly excels at to stand out amongst the rest. Transforming your business doesn’t need to be complicated or intimidating, and Project One will be there to support you.

Thanks to their incredible CEO, Project One has become something truly special. With James O’Sullivan’s fantastic leadership skills and dedication to his customer’s satisfaction, Project One is a brilliant company to work alongside. No matter your challenge, or your change and transformation agenda, no transformation partner will be better for you than Project One. After all, with an award-winning CEO at the helm, there isn’t much that Project One can’t do.

For business enquiries, contact Hayley Saich from Project One via email – [email protected], LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/ project-one-ltd or on their website – https://projectone.com

James O'Sullivan
plants growing in room with purple light

The Vertical Future of Agriculture

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Our world is facing a crisis within the farming industry. Crops are becoming more of a challenge to successfully cultivate. With an increase in pesticides and harmful genetic modifications being applied to a worryingly high percentage of ‘natural’ produce, it’s getting ever more difficult to determine whether what we’re eating is any good for us anymore. However, thanks to Jamie Burrows’ vertical farming company, Vertical Future, sustainability and quality of produce is guaranteed. But what is vertical farming, and what are its benefits? We learn more about this new frontier as Vertical Future wins Most Influential AgriTech CEO of the Year 2023 – England.

With over 15 years of experience in the way we can work in tandem with our ecosystem to maximise its potential, all whilst helping it to thrive, CEO and Founder of Vertical Future, Jamie Burrows, has recently become a pioneer for a change in the way we, as a population, approach farming entirely. With the vast expansion of cityscapes across the globe in recent years, the land upon which farms can be built is steadily starting to dwindle. As a result, there’s becoming less and less space in which to nurture naturally grown crops. However, vertical farming aims to tackle this issue at the root and has developed a system that is truly revolutionary.

Combining agriculture and technology seems like a conflicting goal to pursue. However, Jamie spotted an opportunity to partner the two, all to employ a farming system that could flourish beyond anything anyone had seen before. Now, with 6 vertical farms established in the UK alone, and plans to go global, Vertical Future has been able to completely transform the way we grow our produce. Since vertical farming can be constructed within compact, limited spaces, it paves the way for crops to be grown and distributed, even within the city.

As such, Jamie founded Vertical Future with one core aim – to utilise both the power of technology and ingenuity to create a better method of farming that could, in theory, tackle climate change and the deterioration of the population’s overall health. Our wellbeing is influenced by what we eat – it’s what contributes to whether or not we’re adhering to a healthy diet. If we eat products that are bathed in pesticides and have been genetically modified, the ‘natural’ aspect of farming completely falls apart, and we could suffer as a result. However, Vertical Future looks to promote a farming industry that can do nothing but benefit both us and our planet.

Additionally, having studied at a PhD level, and as someone who holds an immense passion for his craft, Jamie has proven that he is definitely the man to serve as the spearhead for this drastic, much-needed change within the UK. Agriculture is such a fragile industry that every person relies on to survive, and innovation is mandatory to help us progress as our society advances. This is why the brilliant minds at Vertical Future have devised a system that operates alongside its hardware to ensure a seamless growing experience. DIANA is a Software as a Service (SaaS) capable of managing a myriad of services within Vertical Future’s vertical farms. With its intuitive design allowing for increased control over the growing process, all through the use of thousands of efficiently designed sensors, DIANA is a ground-breaking software that pushes the boundaries of what defines ‘technology’.

Vertical Future has already managed to emphasise a solid blueprint for any others looking to make the switch to vertical farming and is eager to help nurture those who share its passion for change. It strives to spread its ambition, providing revolutionary products and services to any who wish to be a part of the future of farming. And with such a diverse team complied of engineers, plant scientists, operators and software engineers, you can guarantee you’ll be in the hands of true experts, each as aligned with Vertical Future’s views for our progression as Jamie is.

Jamie’s aspirations towards the future of farming are second to none. He’s been able to utilise a fantastic and inspiring method of farming, one that’s able to directly compete with the traditional farming methods that’ve been established for centuries. Astonishingly, he managed to accomplish such a feat in only seven years, with Vertical Future’s inception taking place during 2016. Over those seven years, Jamie has revolutionised farming within the UK, and is still tirelessly guiding our agriculture towards a new age today. With connections within the USA, Europe, Singapore and Southeast Asia, Jamie has become a global spokesman for what vertical farming can do for our planet, as well as us as a species.

As a holder of the UK’s ‘Future50’ title, as well as the winner of the PETA Faming Awards 2023, alongside many more, Jamie has established Vertical Future as an impressive alternative to traditional farming. Through utilising our boundless technological advancements, he’s created something truly special in Vertical Future. It acts as a promise to the world that farming can become wholly natural again, and that we should combine our strengths in technology to help this happen. As a result, not only will our crops and produce be able to return to their former glory, but our planet may stand a chance at recovering from the damage that global crop production has caused. Our progression starts with vertical farming, and Vertical Future will be at the forefront of change for the foreseeable future.

For business enquiries, contact Jamie Burrows from Vertical Future on their website – https://verticalfuture.com/

Man with arms crossed looking at camera smiling

#MakeItalyGreen

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Italy is making huge moves towards a sustainable future, and there’s someone driving the Green Movement in a way that both inspires us and leaves us in awe. With a central role at E.ON Italy, CEO Frank Meyer has created a pivotal point for Italy’s society and economy. Here we learn more about Frank’s mission, and E.ON’s green impact, as he wins Most Influential Energy CEO 2023 – Italy from CEO Monthly.

In recent years, the Green Movement of Italy has become more than an extremely popular topic – it has become a living, breathing reality. Thanks to a more green leadership within the Italian institutions, the country has rapidly begun to alter the way it generates and consumes energy. This has led Italy to prioritise the battle against climate change by acting in a more sustainable way.

For CEO of E.ON Italy, Frank Meyer, this is a wonderful development for the country – and for his career.

Before working with E.ON Italy, Frank was responsible for turning a decline in revenue around for Vodaphone. He “introduced new approaches and solutions to transform it to a growing business again,” and this resulted in a 3% growth during his time with the business.

It was his sheer commitment to innovating the business’ structure that led it to success and expansion. This includes constructing relationships that would stand the test of time – forming bonds between team members as well as between company and customer.

He informs us, “Purpose plays a huge factor in our psychological wellbeing.” By providing this strong sense of purpose to his team, Frank ensures each of them feels heard as well as being aware of their impact on the world. He says, “You as an employee need to feel that you are making a difference, we make people feel part of the process, everyone can be part of the design of the new strategy.”

“I love the power of people and what they can do if they follow purpose.”

By believing in people, Frank has built an empire of an enterprise. He encourages each person to “access their full potential and feel fulfilled,” so that they can go home every day feeling part of something bigger than themselves.

By growing in his role, his organic advancement has resulted in creating a greater impact on society not simply for Italy, but for the rest of the world. The globe looks towards more eco-friendly options as we all take part in the fight against climate change, and E.ON is leading the way to a brighter, greener future.

Frank firmly understands the importance of community and belonging. His work to introduce new ways of producing and consuming green energy is at the forefront of the ground-breaking industry, and we’re all looking to businesses like E.ON for pioneering concepts that ultimately guide us to positive results.

Five years ago, E.ON Italy carried out around 500 installations in comparison to its now 35,000 installations in photovoltaic business. Frank worked hard to deliver, and his work has paid off exponentially – all by utilising his skillset, bringing people together, and supporting the entire company throughout personal and professional development.

Frank believes that you can make any challenge an opportunity and, with a sharp focus on logistics, he procures technologies for knowledge and understanding. Building the Future Energy Home (FEH) and E-Mobility business, Frank is preparing the Italian market to become entirely green. Creating a feeling of belonging, E.ON Italy’s Green Movement is a community effort.

As part of a community, Italy now has solutions such as energy sharing via generators within homes and schools. It is this unified state that is producing results for the country, whilst motivating the rest of the world to be more environmentally conscious.

Now, Frank has won Most Influential Energy CEO 2023 – Italy. His future with E.ON looks incredible as he dedicates his full attention and care to its overall mission. He consistently supports the company’s team, ensuring each member feels seen and heard, and uses his innovation to tremendously improve the movement across Italy.

Frank’s ambition is to continue improving the energy solutions in Italy to #MakeItalyGreen. You can find out more about Frank via E.ON’s website below. We want to wish Frank a huge congratulations as he gains his new title from CEO Monthly – leading such a lifechanging movement is no small feat, and we can’t wait to see where his passion and drive takes him, and the globe, next.

For business enquiries, contact Frank Meyer from E.ON Italia on their website – www.eon-energia.com

Dr Hitendra Wadhwa at CBRE Symposium

Leadership Expert Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa Delivers Keynote at CBRE Capital Markets Investor Symposium 2023

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Mentora Institute, a New York-headquartered global leadership development and organizational transformation group, is pleased to announce that Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa, the Institute’s Founder and President, delivered the opening keynote address at the CBRE Capital Markets Investor Symposium 2023.

During the keynote titled ‘Cultivating Resilience’, Dr. Wadhwa reframed what it means to be resilient and shared six principles – using adversity; anticipating or mitigating risks; knowing when to fight; knowing when to move on; reframing adversity; and learning and turning – and three practices – re[1]center yourself, untwist your thinking, and adopt a fast-fail mindset – that organizations in the real estate capital markets can implement to build resilient teams.

The symposium which took place last week from March 14 th to the 17th in Scottsdale, Arizona, was attended by CBRE’s Capital Market executives and clients. It included some of the industry’s most influential leaders, such as Miriam Wheeler, Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, and Andrea Drasites, Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone.

Additionally, Dr. Wadhwa delivered a training session titled ‘The Anatomy of Great Leadership’, during which he talked about how leadership can be re-architected from the ‘inside out’ and provided insights into the ‘Inner Mastery, Outer Impact’ principles that underlie his unique approach to leadership development and performance acceleration. This unique, ‘inside out’ approach to leadership acceleration focuses on implementing simple actions in an authentic and agile way to achieve inner shifts in the individual which then naturally catalyze outer shifts in their behavior.

The symposium, which focused on the key trends shaping commercial real estate amid the market’s present challenges and dramatic evolution, benefited from the inclusion of Dr. Wadhwa’s high-level and practical insights on the pressing topic of how to build inspiring leaders and resilient teams in the real estate industry today.

In his opening keynote, Dr. Wadhwa highlighted that good leadership in the real estate capital markets is more important than ever as the number of challenges of increasing complexity, including an uncertain economic environment and the need to balance seemingly competing objectives such as ESG and growth, are creating new demands for sector leaders. Moreover, drawing from the latest scientific findings in neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and studies of great changemakers and movements in history, Dr. Wadhwa explained how real estate leaders can achieve inner shifts in their behavior and reach a high-performance state to improve decision-making, collaboration and innovation.

Similarly, in the ‘Cultivating Resilience’ keynote, Dr. Wadhwa provided in-depth insights into the importance of developing resilient teams in real estate capital markets, explored the key attributes of resilient teams, and reframed resilience as the cultivation of the behaviors and mindsets that allow teams to thrive even though they may be facing uncertainty, as opposed to simply rebounding from setbacks.

Kevin Aussef, Chief Operating Officer at CBRE Global Capital Markets, said: “We are delighted to have had Dr. Wadhwa speak at this year’s Investor Symposium. Dr. Wadhwa shared very powerful insights and inspiration on the importance of leadership and resilience at a time in which the real estate capital markets are undergoing a period of uncertainty and the office is evolving to support organizations as new ways of working are established. He gave our audience many valuable practices they can use to strengthen performance among themselves and their team. The discussions he catalyzed at the symposium were of great value for all our guests.”

Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa, Founder and President of Mentora Institute, said: “It was a privilege to have spoken to a very distinguished audience at the CBRE Investor Symposium 2023 at such an important time for the real estate capital markets. From economic uncertainty to changing working and purchasing patterns, the sector is facing an unprecedented number of challenges that are affecting demand and investment in commercial real estate and making having resilient teams and exemplary leaders more important than ever. Against this backdrop, I was delighted to have spoken about how leadership can be developed, and resilience can be cultivated to help teams unleash their problem-solving potential and navigate adverse conditions.”

Dr Hitendra Wadhwa
Portrait of multi-ethnic businesswomen together

E2E Female 100 list Announced in Association with, The Independent

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

E2E, in association with The Independent and in partnership with IWG plc as the strategic founding partner, has today announced its Female 100 list which identifies the 100 fastest-growing female-led or founded businesses in the UK through their growth rate of employees over the past three years from data gathered by Experian and Go Live Data.

 

Identifying businesses from a host of sectors, the league tables highlight the incredible work achieved by females throughout the UK. The E2E Female 100 will launch on 17th March 2023 and will be celebrated at the House of Commons, with a dinner for the 100 companies featured, accompanied by some of the UK’s top business leaders. 

 

Featured in the list and demonstrating extraordinary employee growth are: Darina Garland, Co-Founder, Ooni who has seen a 95% increase, Michelle McCabe, Founder, The Tipsy Vegan who has seen a 136% increase and Louise Hill, Founder, Co-Founder & COO, GoHenry who has seen a 38% increase. You can view the full list,  here from the 17th.

 

The E2E Female 100 forms part of The E2E 100, a significant initiative designed through the publication of six league tables, coupled with large-scale reception for each launch and a series of associated content. Each celebratory launch dinner will be held at the Houses of Parliament, kindly supported by Lord Bilimoria CBE, DL, Founding Board Director, E2E. This has been created to showcase the very best UK companies that are excelling, experiencing consistent growth, and presenting disruptive business strategies that are creating an impact not just in their own sector, but also on a nationwide, and in some cases, a global scale.  

 

Featuring talent from around the UK, the list showcases the diverse range of businesses women are founding and the huge successes they are having despite battling an uncertain and post-pandemic economy.

 

Speaking about the list, Shalini Khemka CBE, founder of E2E says: “To see so many extraordinary multigenerational women in the top 100 from a host of innovative sectors is a testament to the amazing work so many women are achieving, daily. From vegan kitchens to finance and leadership, the diverse range of businesses which have not only been founded survived or thrived during the pandemic is incredible. Each and every person on this list should be extremely proud of what they have achieved and will continue to achieve in the years to come.”

 

Assistant Editor of the Independent, Caroline Gammell said: “We’re delighted to be featuring such an exceptional group of women who are powerhouses in their own individual sectors and who have seen exceptional growth over the past three years. The E2E Female 100, in association with The Independent, gives us the chance to showcase the amazing female talent around the UK and to inspire the next generation of female entrepreneurs, who are a much-needed part of our future economy. We can’t wait to see what they do next and are looking forward to championing female leaders for many more years to come.”

 

Lord Bilimoria CBE, DL said: “I have been a founding Board Member of E2E and under the leadership of Shalini Khemka CBE, seen it flourish into the go to ecosystem to support Founders, Business Leaders, and Investors. We have worked on several initiatives together to highlight the issues faced by business founders within the UK and to provide services that address the core challenges. Since the launch of E2E in 2011, Shalini and her team have built an exceptional platform for entrepreneurs to meet, learn, raise investment, and access corporate support. I am thrilled that E2E has launched the E2E 100, beginning with The Female 100 as it showcases the fastest growing female led companies by employee growth, from all over the UK. I was reading an article from Reuters recently which highlighted that women now make up 40% of boards at the top UK companies for the first time in history and that the number of female CEOs is also rising. This is highly encouraging however we are still far from parity.”

 

Richard Morris, UK Chief Executive of IWG plc, observed:“IWG has been a partner of E2E for over 7 years and has experienced the outstanding support and platform they provide to the UK SME sector. The quality of their community, from their Members to speakers is unparalleled in my view. During our longstanding partnership, we have expanded the flexible working and service office packages offered to their members on preferred rates and we are proud of the value that we are bringing together to UK entrepreneurship.”

 

The tracks are independently compiled by Go Live Data and Experian according to specific criteria and official data. Each track is supported by our strategic founding partner, IWG plc and our partners Adia PR, Cisco, Go Live Data, Virtuoso Legal and Experian.

UK Web Design Agency, Create Designs Explosive Growth During COVID

Posted on | by root

Create Designs, a web design and digital marketing agency based in the UK, has been able to achieve explosive growth during the COVID pandemic and in the face of an impending recession. Despite the economic challenges brought about by the pandemic, Create has been able to carve out a niche in the industry and provide top-notch services to its clients. According to James Thurlow-Craig, the Managing Director of Create Designs, the key to the agency’s success lies in its ability to be adaptable and innovative in the face of changing circumstances.

Adapting to Changing Circumstances

One of the main reasons for Create Designs’ success during the pandemic has been its ability to adapt to changing circumstances. As Thurlow-Craig notes, “The pandemic has been a challenging time for many businesses, but we’ve been able to adapt and pivot our services to meet the changing needs of our clients.” This flexibility has enabled Create Designs to provide a range of services, including website design, digital marketing, and SEO, that have helped its clients stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Investing in Talent

Another factor that has contributed to Create Designs’ success is its investment in talent. As Thurlow-Craig explains, “We believe that our people are our biggest asset, and we’ve invested heavily in recruiting and retaining the best talent in the industry.” This investment has paid off, as Create Designs has been able to attract top-notch designers, developers, and marketers who are committed to delivering exceptional results for their clients.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

Finally, Create Designs has been able to stay ahead of the curve by embracing the latest trends and technologies in the industry. As Thurlow-Craig notes, “We’re always looking for ways to improve our services and stay ahead of the competition. Whether it’s adopting new technologies or embracing the latest design trends, we’re committed to providing our clients with the best possible service.” This commitment to innovation has helped Create Designs stay at the forefront of the industry and maintain its competitive edge.

Advice for Agencies Looking to Grow

For agencies looking to grow, Thurlow-Craig, advises a focus on delivering exceptional service and building a strong team. He emphasises that it is all about delivering results for clients and consistently providing them with high-quality service that exceeds their expectations.

He also stresses the importance of investing in talent, stating that a company’s people are its biggest asset. He recommends attracting and retaining the best talent in the industry to build a strong team that is dedicated to achieving exceptional results for clients.

To achieve growth, Thurlow-Craig suggests that agencies should focus on building a strong reputation by delivering consistent, high-quality results. By consistently exceeding client expectations, agencies can develop a strong reputation that will attract new business and help them grow.

In addition, Thurlow-Craig advises agencies to stay ahead of the competition by embracing new technologies and design trends. By being innovative and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, agencies can continue to provide their clients with the best possible service and maintain their competitive edge in the market.

Overall, the key to growing an agency is to focus on delivering exceptional service, building a strong team, and staying ahead of the curve. By doing so, agencies can establish a strong reputation and attract new business, even in the face of challenging economic circumstances like those posed by the COVID pandemic and the impending recession.

entrepreneur business owner ceo portrait at the creative design office

Why Being an Entrepreneur is More than Owning Your Own Business

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

There has been a rapid rise globally in the number of people who have stepped away from employment and set out on their entrepreneurial journey.  Roger James Hamilton explores the entrepreneurial mindset.

In the US the number of new business applications has doubled over the past decade.  In the UK new businesses increased by 14%, even in an economic downturn.

There’s an argument that says the pandemic has pushed more people into starting their own business as they were forced to work from home or made redundant.  However, becoming an entrepreneur is more than just a little side-hustle – even if that has been the starting point for many people.

It’s not a secret that there’s a high failure rate for new businesses.  The figures report that around 60% of new businesses don’t make it past year three.  And that’s down to how a new business owner thinks and, subsequently, the strategy they follow.

 

Think like an entrepreneur

The first step to an entrepreneur’s mindset is to identify and understand your strengths, your passions, personal barriers, and what you really want to do to achieve long-term contentment and financial freedom.  To be a successful entrepreneur, the first step is to discover your inner genius, that spark, that will ignite the passion for success.  Profiling tools will help you with this.  They will give you invaluable information to start work on your business plan. 

Entrepreneurial thinking combines the practical with the creative.  While it’s essential to think about finance, marketing and individual responsibilities, true entrepreneurial thinking includes a vision of what the future looks like and how that can be achieved. 

Entrepreneurs have flexible thinking and are open to collaboration and innovation.  They have a vision, but they are ready to adapt and adjust to the circumstances in which they find themselves.  The businesses that diversified and thrived through the pandemic are a testament to that.  Social entrepreneurship has evolved to promote social change, alongside financial achievement.

 

Life-long learning elevates the outcomes

One of the defining factors of an entrepreneur is a thirst for knowledge.  An entrepreneur is always learning.  There is a saying ‘Stop learning; stop earning’ and for an entrepreneur that goes double. 

In Society 5.0 technology plays a huge part in delivering learning, and with the emerging metaverse, EdTech has generated virtually unlimited opportunities to access knowledge. 

E-learning has enabled entrepreneurs to join global communities and access people, ideas, best practices and learning worldwide.  This has united people with that entrepreneurial gene and allowed them to realise their true potential.

However, technology isn’t the only source of learning, entrepreneurs also learn from the people around them, their competitors, their customers and expert coaches and mentors.  Even here, technology has provided easier access to people who can guide and advise that would previously have been incredibly difficult.

An entrepreneur has an open mind and is eager to fill it with the knowledge that will have a positive impact on their route to success.  The global community has created the massive potential to change our world through the creative thinking, knowledge bank, and shared learning of entrepreneurs.

 

About the Author

Roger James Hamilton is a New York Times bestselling author and Founder and CEO of Genius Group (NYSEAM: GNS), a multi-million dollar group of companies, headquartered in Singapore, which currently includes companies such as GeniusU, Entrepreneurs Institute, Entrepreneur Resorts, Education Angels, E-Squared Education, Property Investors Network and the University of Antelope Valley., Genius Group has an acquisition plan to add in further acquisitions in 2022 to the Group. GeniusU is an Edtech company and platform providing over 4 million students and users with personalised learning paths and a platform used by partners to share their learning through customized learning journeys. GeniusU attracts 7,500 new students to join GeniusU each week, starting with the entrepreneur quiz to identify their path to wealth and find their next step to take right now. Genius Education Angels and E-Squared Education provide education courses for young people from 0 to 25 years old. Entrepreneurs Institute, Property Investors Network and the University of Antelope Valley provide adult training courses for 25 to 100 years old, and Entrepreneur Resorts is a market-leading group of entrepreneur-focused luxury resorts and lodges, beach clubs and city co-working hubs, offering business leaders professional educational retreats in exotic destinations around the world. Entrepreneur Resorts holds destinations in Singapore, Bali and South Africa and soon the U.S., and has license holders launching properties in the UK, U.S. and Greece. Entrepreneur Resorts will be expanding this year by adding on further properties and license holders. Roger is also the creator of Wealth Dynamics, Talent Dynamics and Impact Dynamics profiling tools, used by millions of entrepreneurs to find and follow their flow.

 

About Genius Group

Genius Group is a world leading entrepreneur Edtech and education group, with a mission to disrupt the current education model with a student-centered, life-long learning curriculum that prepares students with the leadership, entrepreneurial and life skills to succeed in today’s market. The group has over 2.9 million students in 200 countries, ranging from ages 0 to 100. The group includes four pre-IPO companies (the “Pre-IPO Group”), and four companies that were acquired at the time of or shortly after the IPO (the “IPO Acquisitions”).

The entrepreneur education system of our Pre-IPO Group has been delivered virtually and in-person, in multiple languages, locally and globally mainly via the Pre-IPO Group’s AI-powered, personalized GeniusU Edtech platform to adults seeking to grow their entrepreneur and leadership skills.

The Pre-IPO Group includes Genius Group, GeniusU, Entrepreneurs Institute and Entrepreneur Resorts. This group of entrepreneur education companies has grown through organic growth and acquisitions, with a focus on adding value to each company through GeniusU, which is being developed to provide AI-driven personal recommendations and guidance for each student. The Pre-IPO Group is now expanding its education system to age groups beyond its current adult audience, to children and young adults. The four IPO Acquisitions are the first step towards this. They include: Education Angels, which provides early learning in New Zealand for children from 0-5 years old; E-Square, which provides primary and secondary school education in South Africa; University of Antelope Valley, which provides vocational certifications and university degrees in California, USA; and Property Investors Network, which provides property investment courses and events in England, UK, and Revealed Films Inc., which launches docu-series covering topics such as wealth building, health and nutrition, medical issues, religion, and political matters in Utah, USA.

Genius Group’s plan is to combine the education programs of the IPO Acquisitions with its current education programs and Edtech platform as part of one lifelong learning system, and it has selected these acquisitions because they already share aspects of the Genius curriculum and its focus on entrepreneur education.

https://www.geniusgroup.net/

Roger James Hamilton
glasses laying on table next to laptop

Power to the People!

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Established by female entrepreneur, Arjodita Mustali, Vigàn Group (Vigàn) represents a group of outsourcing companies based in Albania. We speak to Arjodita to find out more about her passion for her country and empowering the people who live there, as she is named in the CEO of the Year Awards 2022.

Arjodita Mustali has created several platforms for the emancipation of the Albanian youth and society in order to develop the national capacities of the state. The services offered by Arjodita to improve this situation are multifaceted, but what can be considered as a breakthrough innovation is the promotion of young people towards technological initiatives, start-ups, and orientation towards the BPO industry in Albania.

One of these platforms is Vigàn Group – a fast-growing consulting business development company headquartered in Tirana, which provides strategic giving for complex projects through cultural innovation and social innovation.

Established as result of all the intensive hard work and collected experience from talented and passionate people, the group has launched several businesses in and outside the country of Albania, creating jobs and equal opportunities for all people.

Vigàn Group aims to promote the country at a national and international level by including Albania in the most prestigious world business circles. It has its primary activity operating in Albania, with subsidiaries in Balkan Region Kosovo and branches in the USA, Switzerland, Africa, and Tanzania.

“Vigàn Group has changed the business mentality and mindset in Albania, by being forward thinking and innovative and applying the best worldwide business models,” explains Arjodita, the firm’s CEO and Co-Founder. “Our secret is trusting and nurturing the human potential while acknowledging it as our most treasured talent paves the road to a healthy company mindset. Persisting on our core values, such as resilience, innovation, customer loyalty, and integrity supports the growth of this mentality from company-centred to culturally accepted.”

Vigàn’s primary competence is strategic giving that helps its partners design and implement complex projects with impact. Through cultural innovation and social innovation, two different approaches mixed together, Vigàn Group consults the process of design and implementation of the projects or programmes that its partners are looking for.

“Vigàn thinks in the future and designs with results in mind,” continues Arjodita. “The word “vigàn” was chosen based on the idea of ​​being big and powerful, like a giant. We aim to make any partner feel like a part of the group.”

As well as establishing and running Vigàn Group, Arjodita is one of the first entrepreneurs who has a concrete impact on the growth of new start-up business initiatives, new technologies, and the development of the BPO industry in Albania.

As a serial entrepreneur, business coach and developer, start-up mentor, public speaker, and co-author, Arjodita has mostly mentored young people in a continuous professional cycle in the fields of sales, management, brokering, and leadership, enabling the successful realisation of the 23 start-ups developing their business in Albania and abroad.

“My motto is that success comes as a result of passion and determination to stay true to one’s beliefs and dreams,” she elaborates. “As a company, we follow the idea that we want to make any partner feel like a part of us. We like to consider our clients as our extended family.”

Elaborating on the role that she plays, at Vigàn Group in particular, Arjodita tells us that she is a huge advocate of empowering entrepreneurs, women, and youth in making more self-conscious choices that not only benefit them professionally, but also the industry, the economy, and the country, leading by example.

Arjodita is the author of the “The Female Leaders of Tomorrow” a biographical piece, which conveys a message to youth about personal growth and motivation to achieve set goals. She is also in the process of publishing a series of books in business development and entrepreneurship.

This is in addition to being the CEO and Co-Founder of Vigàn Investment, a holding company that invests in businesses and start-ups, providing services and solutions in the business services industry. Since 2020, Arjodita is the President of ABLS Albania, representing Albanian businesses that operate in BPO, R&D, ITO, and Shared Services, and has been contributing to the business services industry for more than 14 years, focusing mostly on technology and innovation.

As a company that is constantly in the process of improving itself and the services it provides, Vigàn Group is always looking for the latest innovative strategies to apply, and continues evolving and growing to bring the best for the team and the clients. This is something which is reflected in Arjodita’s approach to personal growth and development, too.

“I am in constant need to change and develop myself, as well as my environment and my business, workplace, the environment that surrounds me, and my team,” she enthuses. “I strongly believe that creating a healthy and happy place for all will make an enormous impact on the outcome results for our partners and clients as well.”

Obviously, the world changed a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic and, of course, it affected businesses all over the world, as well. Arjodita comments on how it changed her mindset on how to collaborate and build the future.

“At that time, we realised that our society is so fragile but, at the same time, we came out stronger as we defeated that world crisis,” she says, passionately. “It made me deeply understand that human interaction is irreplaceable and the job trend is changing, fast going towards digitisation in every business field.”

Recently, as recognition for her commitment, dedication, and hard work, Arjodita was named CEO of the Year 2022 – Tirana, Albania in the CEO of the Year Awards. She is extremely grateful and humbled to have received such a prestigious accolade.

Looking to a post-Covid future, Arjodita has great plans ahead which she wishes to execute.

“My real passion is to be a motivational speaker and a business coach,” she shares. “I find an immense pleasure when I help people in many aspects to find their way, to achieve their personal and professional goals, to understand themselves and what they would like to do with their future. Of course my field is specialised in business coaching but life is so much more that they can effectuate each other.”

For business enquiries, contact Arjodita Mustali from Vigan Group on their website – https://vigangroup.com/