Europe is a culturally rich and diverse region with enormous potential to innovate. While there are challenges, I believe we can overcome them with some joined-up thinking, both on the part of the EU and its respective governments and by leaders in European industry. There are many steps the EU can take to enhance and foster a culture of innovation. By speeding up processes across the jurisdictions, we can facilitate start-ups and provide fertile ground for growth and development. The key to our success is vision and cooperation.

The good news is that an important initiative kicked off in the spring of 2021 led by a collaboration between Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Education, Culture and Media and the EU Unicorns Group, comprising founders and CEOs of 35 ventures going global from Europe. Immedis, the leader in consolidated global payroll solutions, is honoured to be included among this impressive group of entrepreneurs and business leaders from fast-growth companies such as BlaBlaCar, Bolt, Cabify, Klarna, Zalando and Booking.com. In the inaugural meeting of the EU Unicorns Group, Mariya Gabriel succinctly encapsulated the main objective of the collaborative venture in the following comment, “We need European Unicorns to pave the way towards Europe’s sustainable and resilient recovery, accelerate the green and digital transitions, and ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty.”

The EU Commissioner and the EU Unicorns Group outlined the challenges and opportunities in a report entitled “Next Innovation EU: EU Unicorns call on Europe and its Leaders.” The group has reconvened several times over the summer to discuss solutions for ensuring Europe’s technological sovereignty. Following are some of the key objectives and proposals covered in the report and in various stages of ideation and development to provide a roadmap for EU business leaders and policy makers to address these concerns.

Technology is the catalyst
Technology is entering a new accelerated phase in its development, and COVID-19 has highlighted some stark realities: Chiefly, the influx to the market of non-EU funded competition is endangering Europe’s global industrial position. Europe needs to dramatically push its digital innovation to compete and have a stake in the digital agenda globally. The current paradigm places inordinate technological and financial control on companies based in the US and Asia. Their deep pockets give them free rein to buy out start-ups and market disruptors before they properly emerge, thus squashing competitors on sight. To add to this powerful dynamic, those same interests have easy access to the global talent pool and can scale easily. Europe’s influence is waning, putting jobs and cyber-security at risk.

Europe working together is the best chance for success
To offset this imbalance, a strong Europe-wide shift is required. The EU needs to adopt a singular, unified approach to create an ecosystem that fosters unfettered innovation through inviting talent and investment without the red tape that has previously hindered progress. Europe-wide cooperation between public and private sectors is vital, as is an investment in research and development and education and skills to grow a new generation of innovators. Some countries are showing leadership: Estonia introduced Digital Nomad Visas, which speed up that country’s access to a global talent pool; Malta provides enlightened legal frameworks which facilitate distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), and Portugal’s universities are actively developing courses geared towards deep tech initiatives. But individual countries and companies cannot take on the challenges of growth and innovation alone. A Europe-wide level playing field is required, wherein networks and relationships are developed across jurisdictions, between start-ups, established companies, investors, the academy, policy and decision-makers, and the populace at large. This requires intervention from Europe. It will begin with vital policy changes and implementation, and if embraced by innovation economy leaders throughout Europe, it could truly alter the landscape for digital innovation.

At the EU level, leaders and policymakers need to deeply comprehend the possibilities of scientific, engineering, and technological innovation. To keep up with competitors in developing software, hardware, deep and green tech, Europe needs a dedicated EU ‘Sovereign Tech Fund’ to protect Europe’s economic and strategic interests. Currently, the typical funding models, while adequate in the initial stages, release capital too slowly at critical later stages of development. Reform is required to protect homegrown industries from stagnating at crucial growth periods or being bought up by competing non-EU companies. More effective public-private partnerships must be cultivated, with user-friendly public procurement processes which incentivise rather than stall start-ups.

Europe must invest in green transformation to achieve established climate and energy targets. The role of start-ups will be key to the transition to an environmentally sustainable economy. A ‘Green Tech Fund’ would draw substantial investment from public and private sectors to facilitate green tech innovation, which tends to be capital intensive and take longer to come to market or return a profit.

Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), such as the breakthrough BioNTech mRNA-based vaccine, illustrate the value of investment in deep tech. To take a leadership role, Europe needs to scale up the framework and funding for IPCEI. Tying in with this is the necessity to attract and maintain talented and highly skilled workers. To this end, the European Blue Card program was created over a decade ago, which facilitates a mobile labour force, but it needs reform, as some qualifying criteria are outdated and the speed of labour mobility requirements has shifted in the last decade. An ‘EU Blue Card 2.0’ would allow Europe to welcome top talent from a global pool expediently.

Finally, as Europe is a culturally and linguistically diverse region, creating a network of regional innovation hubs, or ‘Small Valleys,’ would contribute vitally to creating a unified and coherent innovative culture through the linking of universities, business, and the public sector. ‘Small Valleys’ would encourage the sharing of ideas across multiple disciplines, thus fostering continuous innovation. When it comes to product testing, the EU is a single market more in name than in practice. It is weighed down with restrictions and regulations in different countries, thus slowing down companies’ development from idea to market. The concept of Pan-EU Sandboxes would unify the EU by providing a framework for companies located in the EU to test products and ideas at greater speed. This would vastly improve the process of innovation, development of products or services, market testing, and production in game-changing ways.

What can you do?
It’s also important to remember that you don’t need to belong to the EU Unicorns group to support this effort. Companies of all types and sizes can commit to the EU vision of green tech by setting sustainability goals for their organisation. A commitment to sustainability presents so many opportunities for the future of our climate, global and local communities and for business growth across every industry. The path to sustainability can start small and grow from incremental changes.

At Immedis we know we have a lot to do, but we’ve started sustainability initiatives that are mapped closely to our company values. This year we are taking a hard look at the sustainability of our business operations. From this assessment we’ll produce a sustainability report which we’ll use for goal setting. These efforts will help us be a more efficient, effective and sustainable business which will also contribute to building a more sustainable future in the communities where we operate.

Immedis is part of Clune Tech, a collection of global companies that deliver focus driven, digitized solutions to simplify the complexity of global business. Sustainability is a shared value among the companies within the Group. CluneTech recently acquired an emerging startup called Gradguide. The company pairs graduates with mentors and tech companies to help them make the transition from college into the tech industry. Gradguide’s continued growth and success will create opportunities for leading and emerging companies to find and acquire top talent coming right out of college. It’s yet another example of leaders and leading companies joining forces to create long term solutions to business problems and challenges, including the need to support emerging companies and business growth in the EU.

Much of it comes down to a well-worn but powerful statement that applies here and to many challenges – Think globally, act locally. That’s how the EU Unicorns group got its start. Government and business leaders gathered to discuss the global technology industry and the future prospects for the EU. Now we’re bringing our ideas to life to create positive change for the EU and in our own businesses and communities.

As leaders, we can all contribute to the culture of innovation through thought leadership, disseminating ideas, and demonstrating practical, detailed pathways to make a positive and lasting impact that’s beneficial to business while also fostering innovation and sustainable growth.

About Ruairi Kelleher

Ruairi Kelleher is CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Immedis, the global leader in consolidated global payroll solutions. Ruairi is responsible for the corporate direction, strategy, and M&A activity at Immedis, enabling the senior leadership team to drive innovation in international payroll and tax services through Immedis’ cloud-based solution.

It takes talent, commitment and unparalleled training to succeed as a high-performance athlete. And it takes exactly the same for employees to become highly adept, competition-beating performers. This is a fact that has not gone unnoticed by top employers. With all eyes on Tokyo this summer, savvy business leaders are not watching the athletes, but instead paying close attention to the strategies of their coaches. These are the top 5 strategies that, come autumn, the same business leaders will be replicating in their own companies.

1) Going for gold
Top athletes have a laser-focus on their next goal, whether that’s a new world record, a medal or competition victory. When they lack motivation or focus, it’s this goal (and a clear understanding of how their training programme will push them towards achieving it) that inspires the athlete to get back into the pool, the saddle or the gym.

Successful leaders understand the importance of setting individual goals for each of their employees, as well as the collective goals shared by the organisation as a whole. When asked, employers should be able to confidently list their current professional targets, explain how their progress towards them is being tracked, and why their own goals matter to the ‘bigger picture’ success of the company. By celebrating the achievement of employees’ targets, employers reinforce their value, encouraging the rest of the team to aim higher.

2) Training quality over quantity
Malcolm Gladwell’s much-debated ‘10,000 hour rule’ states that a human must spend this much time (as a minimum) in practice before they have truly ‘mastered’ a skill. However, although Olympians most likely exceed this time commitment, their coaches understand that the quality of the training is what really matters.

It’s not enough just to go through the motions of practice. In order to make progress and to push the mind and body towards their full potential, the practice must be as close to ‘real life’ as possible, progress must be closely tracked, and the methods must be regularly assessed for impact and improved on. No detail of the athlete and their performance can be overlooked: all elements are equally important in the pursuit of victory.

Olympic coaches are not shy about stretching their budgets to ensure that their athletes have the best resources for training, and that’s because they understand that their investment will pay dividends when the tournament rolls around. Top employers are similarly willing to invest in the tools and solutions that will enhance the quality of their employees’ training experience.

3) Immersive preparation
When it comes to selecting tools and solutions, immersive reality tech is increasingly the ‘weapon of choice’ for elite coaches in the sporting and the business world.

Virtual and Mixed reality simulations can be incredibly impactful training tools, both for mental preparedness and for physical skills. For example, Olympic skiers and cyclers use VR simulations to ‘practice’ traversing specific race courses and ‘experience’ the race-day atmosphere, all whilst remaining in their own homes. By the time race day rolls around, the athlete knows exactly what to expect around every corner, how to pace themselves, and how to deal with any number of potential outcomes.

Similarly, employees can learn new skills and develop confidence remotely when they have access to VR training tools. An oil-rig engineer could practice a tricky repair job in a risk-free virtual environment, thus dramatically reducing the chance of error when they’re performing the same task out at sea. Or, a sales rep could practice their pitch in front of a virtual audience, interacting with an AI-generated human who could then deliver objective feedback on their soft skills and overall performance.

By exactly virtually creating difficult-to-replicate environments, immersive technologies can deliver the edge that separates the sporting and the professional winners from the runners up.

4) Guided by data
It might seem obvious to state that athletes and employers should both be paying attention to – and be guided by – their data. But what does this actually mean?

For athletes, it means tracking and recording every possible metric of their performance, and continually seeking to improve the statistics. A runner will not only be tracking their finish time, but also their stride length, posture angles, split times, heart rate, oxygen saturation, recovery speed and much more.

It’s equally possible for this incredibly detailed-oriented approach to training to be applied to employee training. With the right technologies, performance in training exercises can be measured along hundreds of different axes – from speed of response to facial expression. Employees can then take executive control (and be held accountable for) their own progress, with any subjectivity from third-party assessors removed from the equation.

5) Mental wellbeing as a priority
When Team USA gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to protect her own mental wellbeing, her actions exemplified the growing focus on mental health in the world of elite sport.

An expanding body of research has proven a clear link between psychological wellbeing and sporting success, mirroring evidence of a correlation between mental health and workplace performance.

In response, the highest-performing Olympic athletes’ now receive comprehensive mental wellbeing training in parallel to their athletic training. This includes learning how to handle failure, how to overcome mental blocks, how to deal with nerves and anxieties and how to improve focus.

These exact skills also have immense value in the toolkit of the average employee. The following sentence might be difficult for some employers to hear, but it’s one of the most important takeaway messages from this piece. If you’re not investing in mental wellbeing training and in practical schemes to support mental wellbeing, your talent development strategy is fundamentally unsustainable.

Not everyone can stand on an Olympic podium. But everyone can learn something from the people who know what it takes to get there. If you want your team to replicate the success of top coaches and top employers, now is the moment to start by embedding these proven strategies into your training.

Just months later, like millions of others, he found himself adjusting to the impact of lockdown, remote working and priorities that had shifted dramatically due to the pandemic.  Managing the unfolding impact on the wellbeing of people placed under immense personal pressure while still trying to deliver on work-related objectives and targets became not only a social responsibility necessity but also a business critical requirement.

Those familiar with roles that are focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa will recognise the reality that face-to-face contact is key to understanding diverse groups of employees, customers and partners, and their approach to work, and wider culture. For business leaders in these diverse regions frequent travel was a recognised requirement, playing a huge role in successfully supporting team members, expanding business relationships and driving growth of the company.

As he recalls, “Before the pandemic, I had been fully focused on the process of getting to know my colleagues in person. I took perhaps 50 flights in just months and stayed in 30 hotels. In the process I got to meet a lot of people, shake a lot of hands, share a lot of dinners and begin to build relationships.”

Less than 18 months later, however, and the world is in a very different position. Indeed, Fanizzi’s experiences since the arrival of COVID-19 are a microcosm of what has changed about work-related contact and networking in the remote environment. “Generally speaking, I would normally meet at least 150 new people in my network per year – in the last 12 months, I have met less than 20 new solid contacts. That the impact of lockdown fundamentally changed nearly every aspect of how I worked for my whole career and we had to quickly learn from our experiences and mistakes in order to emerge as a healthy team.”

Isolation Issues
In common with many leaders, Fanizzi has seen the impact of the pandemic from wide ranging perspectives. “From a pure business performance point of view, the team have performed extremely well and we haven’t seen, for instance, any issues relating to productivity as a result of people working from home,” he said. “What’s less certain, however, is whether isolation is making creativity more of a challenge and whether being physically together is simply a better environment to help people push ideas around and think outside the box.”

Then there’s the huge and complex problems relating to personal wellbeing and mental health. As Fanizzi has witnessed, the ubiquitous stress experienced over the last 14 months has created unique challenges. “While almost everyone is lucky enough to have friends, family and a job which offer a foundation for happiness, when all three of these things are challenged together, the strain is immense and most of us have no previous experience to draw on.”

As a result, he believes employers now have a greater responsibility than ever before to respond effectively to mental health challenges, despite the uncertainty that still exists for teams that work together despite living in countries at different stages of the recovery process.

“As a collection of nations facing these challenges, no-one has yet fully understood the reality of what has happened as a result of COVID-19 at work or at home. We still don’t know its full consequences for mental health, but it’s essential that employers and their teams focus on positive, effective initiatives such as Employee Resource Groups to take action on specific topics and support people who need it because of challenges to mental health. Here at Commvault we believe employees must be able to bring their ‘full selves’ to work and that’s why we offer spaces for employees to share the same energy they have for our business with the energy and passion they have for things that matter to them.

He also sees diversity and inclusion as continuing to play a fundamental role in the ability of businesses and their teams to focus on wellbeing: “If you’re not a diverse or inclusive business, then by definition, you are not reflective of society or fair to everyone. This impacts happiness and productivity, despite the fact that inclusion is often a matter of very practical and specific actions that every company can put in place to help people stay well.  For me this means promoting inclusion and diversity as a leader in very practical ways such as my personal promotion of CV WIT with our International Day symposium where we openly discussed ways to increase women in leadership through the EMEA region.”

The evolving nature of remote work
So what happens next? What lessons can organisations take from our collective experiences of the pandemic to improve wellbeing on a permanent basis?

As Fanizzi explains, the approach he took to managing, developing and nurturing his remote team has evolved throughout the pandemic. “When you are running a business, interaction is filled with formal and informal moments, most of which were suddenly replaced by businesses all over the world with Zoom calls. While the technology has been incredibly useful, the problem is that a reliance on video eliminates informality almost entirely. I soon realised that this was something we had to change if we were to safeguard the wellbeing of our team.”

By replacing the paradox of ‘planned informality’ with more spontaneous calls and conversations, Fanizzi and his team were able to recapture a sense of what isolation had taken away. This was no easy task, and required a series of important changes to be made to the format of everyday communication to help put people at ease.

This included removing the need to have video running, so colleagues would not worry about their setting should a call arrive that wasn’t in the diary. “I was determined that people should understand we can work around the distractions that are inevitable at home, whether it’s kids, pets or any of the other issues employers shouldn’t be asking people to control.”

“Initially, some of my team were surprised about these informal discussions, especially when they weren’t asked to focus on reports or numbers,” said Fanizzi. “But that was key – I had to draw a distinction between calls which were focused on business and others that were focused on how people were doing, what might be going on in their lives or to give them the opportunity to share any difficulties they might be having.”

Even before the pandemic, 30 percent of Commvault employees were already working remotely. “Looking ahead,” Fanizzi says, “We want to be completely flexible, and will offer a hybrid environment so they can come into the office setting when they need to. We also have assessed the differentiated needs that each role, seniority and personal situation requires within the company to offer flexibility and growth for all employees to maximise their career journey and future of work at Commvault.

This means specific approaches for different people – seniorr people are generally more independent, for instance, but we will still offer a development place for young talent to meet, learn and share the environment with others and in time, get back to normality.”

Put these things together and Fanizzi sees the future of work gradually becoming more clearly defined. “Our working lives must be flexible, sustainable, fair, without differences, and with diversity and inclusion providing a foundation for a positive shared future,” he says. “Personally, I try to make a small and modest contribution and share these values that matter to me as a leader and ensure they are reflected in the business. This is a process that helps me challenge myself and ensure my team benefits from these most difficult experiences.”

By September last year, the number of commitments to reach net zero emissions from local governments and businesses had roughly doubled, according to the UN.

This increase was driven in part by the Paris agreement, an international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 parties in 2015 to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

This has in turn led to unprecedented interest in carbon removal as a strategy to reduce the concentration of CO2 to complement ambitious emission reduction goals. It is this interest that Antti Vihavainen, co-founder of Puro.earth, the world’s first voluntary marketplace for verified CO2 removals, hopes will create a huge voluntary market for carbon removal credits to fund whole industries that lock away more CO2 than they emit.

Speaking about the initial idea for the business, Vihavainen recalls “It had been clear for a long time that global emission reduction efforts are not sufficient to curb the rise of CO2 concentration, and the situation was worsening year upon year.”

“We urgently need to start removing vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and lock it away for the long-term, in order to stand a chance of keeping within 1.5 degrees of global warming.”

Vihavainen had observed that emerging industries such as biochar production, production of wooden building elements, and the production of carbonated building elements, were sequestering significant amounts of carbon for at least 50 years – in some cases, centuries. Yet, these operations were under-utilised and therefore underdeveloped.

A workable model to scale up these businesses so that they could increase production of carbon net negative materials, and therefore remove carbon from the atmosphere, was missing.

Vihavainen pitched the idea to leading Nordic energy company Fortum, who brought on board the expertise of the then Innovation Manager, Marianne Tikkanen, and the competence of the trading desk to help devise a business model that would work.

The internal startup worked to create a coalition of 22 innovative organisations with experts from six countries, to device the governance, methodologies and rules for a B2B marketplace and most importantly, to create the very first carbon removal credit, the CORC (CO2 Removal Certificate).
The coalition also helped develop a rigorous verification process to ensure all carbon removal suppliers were legitimate, and deliver genuinely carbon net-negative benefits. Following a pilot phase during which the 22 companies tested the platform, the very first carbon credit transactions were made on Puro.earth in May 2019.

Since then, the company has attracted the attention of several global customers pursuing net zero and climate change strategies, among them reinsurance company Swiss Re and Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, both of which have publicly announced carbon removal via Puro.earth as a key part of their climate change and net zero strategies.

Joining them as a customer earlier this year was Microsoft, which one year ago announced its climate ‘moonshot’: an ambition to become carbon negative by 2030, and to remove from the environment all the carbon that Microsoft has emitted since the company was founded in 1975 by 2050.

Puro.earth will provide a portfolio of verified carbon dioxide removal tonnage to Microsoft from three suppliers on its platform, Carbofex, ECHO2 and Carbon Cycle, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through production of biochar, allowing carbon to be stored in soil for hundreds of years, while also helping to restore degraded soils and improving agricultural productivity.

According to Vihavainen, “Biochar is a methodology that offers huge potential for carbon removal, not least because it has so many commercial uses at potentially industrial volumes – for example, you might use it as a greenhouse additive, in soil regeneration or in wastewater treatment, all the while locking away carbon in a solid and stable form for potentially thousands of years. Our customers really recognise the value of this methodology in particular, and we’ve seen demand for biochar CORCs skyrocket in the past year.”

But there are many other solutions, dozens have already contacted Puro.earth to apply to the marketplace. Even though there is uncertainty with the more innovative solutions, if they are based on science-based principles like measured quantification (and not modelling), rigorous third party verification practices based on credible data trails, and laboratory and field testing of the permanence of carbon sequestration, the risks can be managed.

By the beginning of May 2021, Puro.earth has facilitated carbon removals trade with credits representing 66,000 tonnes of CO2 removals sold at a weighted average price of €47.

One of the key issues facing the carbon removal market is a constrained supply: there aren’t currently enough trusted, verified suppliers to meet the demand for carbon removal credits. “Despite the severe economic impacts of the pandemic, a huge number of companies have recently made science-based commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2030 and they will need carbon removal”, comments Vihavainen.

Puro.earth is addressing this issue by allowing buyers to make multi-year pre-purchase agreements with suppliers. These are future purchase contracts that enable a corporate to secure a supply of robustly verified negative emissions. “In our experience, suppliers with ongoing production can grow the volume of carbon removals by an average of 30% per year,” notes Vihavainen, “and the price of their negative emissions decreases by approximately 12% per year. It’s necessary that companies create a long-term portfolio of carbon removals to reach carbon net zero.”

“As seen in the global tech industry, demand drives innovation, and there are many brilliant businesses in our space working hard to meet anticipated demand. All of this is encouraging, but as the world is starting to realise, we are in a hurry to control the climate crisis. While the motors are gearing up, this is a nascent industry and much more volume is needed.”

Looking ahead, Puro.earth is planning to continue adding more verified methodologies as they emerge. The company recently launched the first-of-its-kind Geologically Stored Carbon methodology, allowing suppliers that capture and store carbon as a direct injection of CO2 into deep geological formations, as well as into oil and gas reservoirs, to access the marketplace if they pass the verification process. Its ambition is to create $300bn global market for carbon removal to address global warming by removing 10 gigatons of CO2 a year by 2050.

Importantly, for Puro.earth scaling up the industry has to be a joint effort. “No one can remove 10 gigatons alone, so our goal is to build an ecosystem with the help of corporations and investors to speed things up. We need to create the network effects needed to grow the entire market. We need advanced commitments for CORCs that will allow carbon removal operations to start new facilities and grow existing ones. We are running out of time, so we have to act now.”

With over 20 years’ management experience in the software and business support sectors, Gordon Wilson has witnessed a period of great change in the industry. The recent exponential growth of digital technology has driven a shift in expectations about what technology can, and should deliver. Wilson believes that his company and the wider technology sector have the power to transform people’s lives by allowing them to do business more effectively and efficiently.

“I am passionate about how technology can improve the business outcomes for our customers and positively impact the lives of the millions of people our customers serve every day. As a business we bring experience of working across multiple sectors to illustrate and best overcome the key challenges facing these sectors.” Advanced is currently the UK’s third largest software and services company with a turnover in excess of £300m. With 2,600 employees globally, it provides solutions for over 25,000 customers in business management; finance; spend management; field service management; human capital; legal; health and social care; charities and not-for-profits; education; professional services; and sports, venues and events.

Recognising the importance of ESG
Advanced was already demonstrating an impressive growth trajectory when Wilson was appointed in September 2015 following its acquisition by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in March of that year. The change necessitated a new leadership team headed by a strong and inspiring individual to steer the business to the next level of success. Wilson undertook an ambitious task, propelling a fundamental transformation with a determined four-pillar programme of reorganisation, rebranding, relocation and restructuring.

Part of the role in steering Advanced’s business development and growth is understanding that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are no longer seen as slightly radical ideas and have become part of mainstream business culture and a key factor in winning new business and the overall value of a business. Consumers are demanding more of business and expect high standards in ESG, so for Wilson, it makes good business sense to make sure that Advanced is aligned with these.”

The way a business approaches and handles ESG issues is a barometer for the way it does business generally

“ESG is about how business interacts with society and the world at large. Our impact in these areas is part of our responsibility to our employees, customers, suppliers, investors and the planet as a whole. Being profitable and doing business in an ethical way are two sides of the same coin. Economic success allows us to provide jobs and opportunities for more people, internally and externally with our suppliers and customers. Considering ESG issues and how to incorporate them into our business strategy is the same as looking at any other ways to improve efficiency and productivity– it yields positive results.”

“The way a business approaches and handles ESG issues is a barometer for the way it does business generally. It is seen as evidence of a good reputation, meaning investors will see a good investment opportunity, suppliers will want to work with you because they know they will get paid, and customers want to give you their business because they are confident they will get the levels of service and goods that they expect. They feel better about spending money with businesses that demonstrate an ethical position. It can positively impact access to capital and even the regulatory attention the organisation attracts.”

Wilson points to instances where an apparent failure to prioritise ESG has led to consumers ‘punishing’ the brand, such as in the aftermath of the misleading Volkswagen diesel engine claims, and concerns about the working practices of various low cost retailers.

A changed world
Policymakers and national governments are grappling with the challenges of rebooting economies, post-Covid, in environmentally-friendly ways. The EU is offering a €750bn relief package dedicated to climate projects while in the US, while the Biden administration is considering routes to reversing Trump’s anti-ESG policies, including re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement.

“Governments are not in a position to tackle these issues in isolation and people are looking to business to lead the charge on change. They will vote with their feet and are more likely than ever to scrutinise supply chains and the way in which organisations interact with their employees. As such, a commitment to ESG issues makes good business sense as well as being the right thing to do. I want us to be in a position where we are constantly assessing our progress in this area and never standing still, always pushing to be better and to do more.”

Advanced is currently undertaking an ESG maturity survey within the business to establish a baseline starting position, focusing on three areas – protecting the planet; inclusivity; and social and community empowerment. Wilson and his senior management team have used these to set out the following initiatives to drive Advanced’s ESG agenda forward.

The human resources team has taken a new approach to recruitment without CVs, that identifies personal potential and suitability instead of focusing on specific experience and qualifications. This approach is already bearing fruit and is enriching the company’s talent pool and developing leaders for the future.

Advanced is committed to a robust and dynamic diversity and inclusion strategy and has invited all employees to volunteer themselves as a diversity leader. Policy is guided by specific working groups, represented by people in all sectors of the business and include Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ Team Rainbow, Women’s Network and Disability Inclusion Network.

Inspired by its work around the gender pay gap that has helped to identify areas for improvement, Advanced has now initiated a diversity pay gap report – considerably more complex as there is a lot of intersectionality between factors, such as gender and race, or socio-economic background, sexuality and gender. Wilson admits the project goes above and beyond the legal requirement to report on gender alone and hopes that other organisations will follow Advanced’s example.

We share ideas, measure performance, identify and implement opportunities and integrate ESG best policies.

“Progression towards being a more equitable and inclusive organisation reaps benefits for our business in a number of ways. We have access to a far wider talent pool than previously as many people who might have been excluded because of geographical, social or personal reasons can now be valuable members of our teams. We promote a flexible approach to working practises, supporting those who need to work remotely to do so and being committed to rewarding quality over quantity. Managers will recognise and promote talent based upon actual achievement, rather than those who are seen to be the last to leave the office every evening.” Flexibility and commitment to D&I makes the business a far more attractive employer for prospective talent too, giving them the advantage in recruiting and retaining outstanding individuals. “Ultimately if people don’t feel fully welcomed and valued for who they are, and see others like themselves represented in the workplace, they can’t bring their best selves to work. I and my entire management team live and promote this philosophy every day.”

Ensuring ESG success by tracking progress
Advanced is tackling its carbon footprint with its own in-house analysis tool. “We have developed a track-and-trace-type app that helps us compare our carbon impact a year ago with where we are now, and in the future, for example with the number of commutes made by employees, energy use or recycling. It’s still early days but once we’ve completed our analysis the board will use this to set targets for the future.”

Transparency within the entire supply chain is key to building a good reputation. Just as a consumer ordering a product online cannot distinguish between delays in the supply chain and the online retailer, so too in business. Advanced is making sure that it is working with suppliers who not only provide a consistently good service, but do so in a socially responsible manner. “Our customers should be able to expect that the same high ethical standards are upheld at every stage of bringing our products and services to their door.”

Wilson’s experience is in demand and he is frequently called upon to contribute guidance and leadership support through outside organisations. He is a member of the board of directors for techUK and a member of the South East Council for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), where he collaborates with other members about the best ways to address current challenges, specifically those around technology, innovation and skills.

When Advanced was acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in March 2015, it necessitated the engagement of a new leadership team headed by Wilson. Advanced is therefore also part of the Vista Sustainability Leadership Council, one of the largest global ESG bodies made up of more than 80 business leaders. Under his stewardship, Advanced has made eleven strategically important business acquisitions, including Science Warehouse in 2018 (Procurement); Oyez Professional Services (Legal Forms), Kirona (Field Service), Modern Systems (Application Modernisation) and Careworks (Social Care Case Management) in 2019; and Tikit (Legal Practice Management),Mitrefinch (Time & Attendance, Access Control, Payroll) and Clear Review (Continuous Performance Management) in 2020.

With Wilson at the helm guiding Advanced’s ESG strategy, he is charting a course not just towards a fair and equitable organisation that benefits all, but towards continued success.

So when the pandemic hit last year, the organisation found itself well-prepared for what was to come. Anyone prone to observe in recent years that we live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world has had their belief confirmed in spades in the past 12 months.

Some organisations were better prepared for a period of extreme volatility and uncertainty than others. One of those that rolled with the COVID-19 punch was beauty products specialist L’Oréal. The company was able to pivot many of its manufacturing operations in 150 countries to produce millions of units of hand sanitiser for free distribution to medical staff in the first wave of the pandemic and still return to sales growth in the second half of the year.

According to Global VP, Health and Safety, Malcolm Staves, L’Oréal’s Operations Division (Manufacturing and Distribution) had forearmed itself in recent years by considering what would make it agile and resilient to change like shocks or market changes. “In 2014 we flipped the idea of VUCA to try and create positivity,” he explains. “We decided to prioritise Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Ambition.”

The understanding and clarity goals were pursued through a Group initiative titled Simplicity, which resulted on the streamlining of the company’s health and safety initiatives and fitted them in eight thematic pillars. The pillars comprise the elements of a sound safety management system, from strategy through training and employee engagement to reporting and audit.

“We wanted to show people on one page and in simple terms an overview of the system,” says Staves. “One that would make sense to senior management.”

Some procedures that stem from this central structure apply universally to L’Oréal’s global workforce. These include the LIFE (Life-changing Injury or Fatality Event) programme, launched in 2017 to set controls for the work activities that pose the most serious risks to life and limb, such as driving or working with electricity or at height. These directives are not open to interpretation, says Staves: “If you are talking about somebody’s life, you don’t leave it open to discussion.”

Other programmes are tailored to different levels in the organisation. Line managers are trained in the MESUR system (Measuring Effectively Safety Using Recognition and Readjustment) which prompts them to maintain a pattern of safety conversations with their teams, and to ask open-ended questions such as “What could happen unexpectedly?”

Many of the tools in the pared-down suite developed by Staves to translate the health and safety pillars into day-to-day operation are available to environment, health and safety directors in the Zone and country organisations to use selectively according to the state of maturity of the safety culture in their activities.

This maturity is assessed on a continuum which Staves summarises as “risk assessment, excellence and beyond,” which starts with simple regulatory compliance and risk management, steps up to a higher level of risk anticipation and control, and ends with a state of interdependence – the “beyond” part – in which all employees actively engage in keeping themselves and their colleagues healthy and safe. “We are all individually on our own journey towards interdependence,’ Staves says, “and all at different stages. If you try to deploy a programme when the culture is not ready, our experience tells us it will fail.”

Avoiding initiative overload and ensuring consistent but tailored application of policies across the organisation has paid dividends for L’Oréal: over 75 percent of the group’s sites have recorded zero lost-time accidents per year in the past years.

But the greatest value of the simplified, deeply embedded, health and safety system was the way it allowed the organisation to lean into the volatility of the past 12 months, embracing new work streams within weeks while ensuring more than 88,000 employees were COVID safe.

In 2001, Ali Boumediene founded Bomare Company and proceeded to devote all of his ambition to make it a byword in the electronics industry. Today, Bomare Company has a share capital of 1,023 Billion DZD, built by hard work and perseverance, which are the fundamental assets of a young and dynamic company. Bomare Company now aims to become more than just an established name in the electronics industry, by strengthening its strategic position in the European and African market.

Bomare Company has worked hard to meet its customers’ requirements by offering them products that have a quality fully compliant with current standards and through innovative platforms with adapted content. That is the reason why customer satisfaction remains a priority for the company, something that the team works tirelessly to improve upon through constant review.

Bomare Company has also implemented a human resources development strategy to raise the skill level of its employees via regular training and providing motivation and encouragement in their careers. A company often succeeds or fails on the quality of its employees and one of the central tenets of Bomare Company is to prioritise the success and wellbeing of its staff.

Employee commitment

Following on from this, the success that the company has enjoyed is the result of the devotion to, and the sincere commitment and passion of, its 620 employees. The undeniable asset of Bomare Company is its young, dynamic, well-educated and qualified team. From its inception, the company has always strongly supported gender equality at work, and a pleasant work environment has always been a key priority.

A brand that branches out

The electronic products manufactured by Bomare Company are commercialised under the trademark ‘Stream System’, a brand that was registered in 2003 and whose main products are:

• Televisions
• Digital interactive displays
• Cameras
• Interactive whiteboards
• Video walls

The company works across a diverse number of fields which include consumer electronics products, hardware and software solutions for B2B, industrial subcontracting, the manufacture and engineering of electronic main boards, after sales services and also applications and platform development.

Streamlining success

Bomare Company has a factory located in Birtouta (Algiers), which extends over 15000m² and which is organised into three production units.

The team works across not just these production units, but the company also has dedicated staff working in after-sales service, four distribution platforms that service the whole of Algeria, and also international after-sales service in Spain, Portugal and Italy with plans to include Germany.

These production units are broken down into three separate areas:

1 – SMT PRODUCTION UNIT

The SMT Production Unit is composed of different production lines: In terms of equipment, Bomare Company is still positioned among the leaders. The Algerian company has new equipment capable of producing all types of MPCBs for different sectors, including: broadcasting, telecommunications, medical equipment, mobile phones, and computers, to name a few. The SMT production unit contains two High Volume SMT Lines equipped with a line manager and full traceability modules. Bomare Company uses equipment from worldwide leaders in their respective fields including Universal Instruments, ASM DEK and Saki.

The SMT Production Unit is composed of a number of different production lines:

• Two high speed/high volume SMT lines composed of Universal Instruments insertion machines with 398000 CPH and which are capable of inserting components from 01005 minimum to 30 x 30 x 6 maximum, as well as professional quality control equipment  – AOI and 3D SPI from Saki.
• Two function test lines.
• One manual insertion line (DIP) with wave soldering process.
• The acquisition of an X-ray inspection machine is being finalised.

2 – TV ASSEMBLY UNIT

Three assembly lines for TVs from 19 to 86 inches and different technologies (LED, DLED and OLED)

3 – SMARTPHONES PRODUCTION UNIT

Two fully equipped smartphone and tablet assembly lines with ROHD and SCHWARZ RF test equipment contained in an ISO6 clean room.

The mark of quality

Bomare Company has been committed to ensuring operational standards are met and to this end its products comply with EU standards for health, safety, and environmental protection, including ISO 9001 certification for quality management, RoHS, and a EUR1 Goods movement certificate.

In 2019, WTC Algeria Awarded Bomare Company as The Best Exporter of the year and was given additional recognition by the London Stock Exchange Group for Best Performing African Companies in the same year.

The export challenge

Bomare Company was the first Algerian exporter of electronic products to Europe.

As one of the leading manufacturers of Electronic devices in Algeria, Bomare Company has been exporting its products since 2015 to many European and African countries and aims to develop its network globally.

In line with this, Bomare Company actively participates in fairs and exhibitions. The IFA Messe Berlin (Germany) is one of the key events in which the company has been taking part since 2011. Bomare Company has marked its presence by exhibiting all of its knowledge in terms of innovation and technology.

Bomare Company made its very first foray into exports back in 2007, under a rather rigid and austere regulatory climate that was not particularly favourable to international trade. It succeeded in exporting initially to Spain.

2016 marked a decisive turning point in the history of Bomare Company, as a 50 million USD agreement was signed with its Spanish distributor for a period of 5 years to promote and distribute the Stream System products in Spain and Portugal. This first success was the first step in conquering the European market and the beginning of the company’s prosperity.

The following year, Bomare Company set its sights on the African market, considering it a high potential emerging market, and subsequently concluded an agreement to export its smartphones to South Africa and signed a $4 million dollar contract per year to export its products to the Gabonese market.

Following on from this, the company went in search of new markets. In 2019, Bomare Company exported its Stream System products to Italy, which are distributed over a large network including more than 2000 points of sale through 16 distribution centres.

In October of that year, Bomare Company was invited by Carrefour to take part in the Carrefour Tech event which groups together all of the actors in the consumer electronic industry. Bomare Company secured its presence by training 120 sales representatives and product managers in several different outlets of Carrefour spread across Italy on Stream System products.

In 2020, the company signed a partnership agreement with LGE for the export of LGE products, manufactured in Algeria by Bomare Company, to the European market.

The future

Bomare Company’s top priority moving forward is to guarantee its customers’ satisfaction with a commitment to providing world-leading after-sales services in all the territories where its products are commercialised and it has plans to build on its success in this arena.

Currently, Bomare Company is negotiating export contracts to the German market and the establishment of an after-sales service in Germany.

By 2025, Bomare Company aims to increase its turnover to $3.5bn with a 65,000m² factory, which will produce 7.5 million televisions and 90% of its production will be intended for export. Bomare Company will contribute to the creation of an ecosystem of at least 1000 startups by achieving such a goal.

The continued development and success of Bomare Company is a testament to the founding philosophy of Ali Boumediene – that of determination and perseverance, and is buoyed by the enduring principles by which the company continues to move forward in 2021, with a strong focus on making its employees indispensable.

Over the past few years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-led investing has grown exponentially. In fact, the value of ESG-driven assets almost doubled over four years, and more than tripled over eight years, to hit $40.5trn in 2020.

Driving that growth has been the belief among investors that ESG investments provide a win-win scenario where they can help save the planet while netting positive returns. And, to a large extent, that’s held true. A 2020 study found that 60 percent of sustainable funds outperformed the market over 10 years.

Despite such results, there are some who believe that the win-win scenario offered by ESG is a fallacy. Financial Times’ US Editor Robert Armstrong, for instance, argues that “win-win arguments promoting both bigger profits and better social returns are illogical.”

Just how valid is this counter-argument? And should it impact the decision-making of anyone wanting to take an ESG-led approach to investing?

The case against win-win
According to Armstrong, the illogic of the win-win argument can be explained by the fact that the argument rests on two fallacies. The first is that the time horizon which individual investors operate over doesn’t match that at which social good and financial interests must converge. Nor, he argues, is this convergence within the scope of any corporation’s planning horizon.

The second is that “a wicked or ‘anti-ESG’ portfolio perfectly well might offer the best available return.” Even as ESG portfolios become more de rigueur, Armstrong suggests, an ‘anti-ESG’ portfolio might provide better value because the assets in it can be bought more cheaply.

Others have pointed out that there may be an ESG bubble forming. That’s because many ESG companies, particularly those in the environmental space, are loss-making and yet their share prices keep rising.

The problem with the logic behind the first fallacy is that it presumes that the point at which social good and financial interests must converge is some point in the future. It’s not. Despite considerable reductions in local and international travel thanks to COVID-19, 2020 was still the hottest year in history. A 2020 report by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, meanwhile, found that globally, air pollution has a $2.9trn economic cost, equating to 3.3 percent of the world’s GDP. How much more money should be left on the table before social good and financial interests converge?

The trouble with the second argument is that it ignores the societal pressure and consumer shifts could force companies that are ‘anti-ESG’ now to change their policies or even pressure them out of existence. Of course, certain ‘anti-ESG’ companies could thrive and outperform in this scenario, but as a whole, the risk could warrant the discount.

The arguments for a bubble can be similarly disproven. Those suggesting that we’re in the midst of an ESG bubble ignore the fact that ESG-focused companies are likely to lead the post-COVID recovery. In the wake of the pandemic (and the clean skies that accompanied cities locking down), people have realised that business cannot carry on as usual.

As people, corporations, and countries look to improve their environmental and sustainability credentials, they will flock to the companies that allow them to do so. The last of these entities is particularly important. Can it really be a bubble if governments are pushing companies to become more ESG-compliant because doing so is the best hope for the planet?

The right companies under the right guidance
None of that, of course, is to say that every ESG-focused company is guaranteed to succeed. Even with all the right policies in place, a company can still make products that don’t resonate with changing consumer wants and needs.

It’s therefore imperative that investors choose funds with experience and a strong record when it comes to backing fundamentally strong ESG companies. Additionally, they should steer clear of only relying on ESG funds that invest in listed companies.

Private equity funds, for example, are often capable of identifying companies which have a potentially strong proposition and are more focused on taking a hands-on approach to their success. Without the vagaries of the stock market to deal with, they can take a long-term approach which benefits both the companies in its portfolio and its investors.

Embracing ESG’s reality
The growth of ESG over the past few years, therefore, isn’t a sign of misguided investors taken in by a fallacy. Nor is it, as some have suggested, the early signs of a bubble. The most investor-friendly companies going forward will be the ones that lead the way when it comes to ESG.

And that’s not because they’re simply giving the investors what they want. It’s because, fundamentally, ESG principles are what makes a good company. By serving the environment, looking after the social good, and exercising good governance, they’re setting themselves up for long-term success (so long as they’re producing products that consumers genuinely want).

Sceptics who think that the ESG win-win scenario is a fallacy would do well to remember that.

Over the last decade, the BVI has established itself as a major international financial centre. In doing so it has increasingly played an integral role in the global economy as a key facilitator with BVI incorporated companies, frequently used for cross border investment and joint ventures.

Much of this success rests on the BVI’s social and political stability, as well as important incentives such as tax neutrality, an agile corporate framework and low administrative costs. All of these factors come together to provide businesses with the most optimal environment for growth. Nevertheless, it is arguably the BVI’s track record of compliance with international standards and the strong reputation of its financial services that truly elevates the jurisdiction above other competitors.

Over the years the BVI has carefully protected and cultivated this reputation; enhancing its own regulatory measures while actively engaging in open dialogue and collaboration with international standard-setting bodies to bolster its regime. In many ways, regulations are a moving target and ever-evolving in response to new risks or emerging products such as cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. As a result, the landscape is getting more complex, but in the face of shifting global regulations, the BVI has retained its agility and adaptability, keeping track of changes and ensuring compliance.

This innate agility has stood the BVI in good stead over the years and has consistently helped the jurisdiction to bounce-back from severe disruptions, like the annual hurricane season or the global pandemic. The centre’s role in high-profile and high-value transactions continued to be strong despite the impact of COVID-19.

Throughout 2020, the BVI’s financial services firms were involved in a number of significant deals with firms having acted on over $5bn of global transactions, from Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and Bond issuances to complex debt restructurings:

Large takeover
For example, BVI law firm Conyers successfully advised its long-standing client AquaVenture Holdings Limited (NYSE: WAAS), a leading provider of sustainable Water-as-a-Service® solutions listed on the New York Stock Exchange, on its $1.1bn acquisition by Culligan, a global consumer water services company. The deal was one of the largest takeovers of a publicly-listed BVI company by transaction value. This merger was made all the more remarkable given it was carried out as the BVI underwent 24/7 curfew in a bid to quell COVID-19 – a true testament to the efficiency of the BVI Registry of Corporate Affairs and all those involved.

SPACs and IPOs
While Ogier, another firm based in the BVI, was involved in some notable IPO work, including advising Kismet Acquisition One Corp on its $250m placement, which was one of the highest valued BVI Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) IPOs in the last five years. Ogier also acted as BVI counsel on the $138m NASDAQ IPO of East Stone Acquisition Corp., which closed February 24, 2020. East Stone, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, intends to focus on potential businesses combination targets operating in the fintech sector in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions.

Additional capital
Local BVI firm Harneys was active on a number of capital markets deals, including a ground-breaking Brazilian IPO with Harneys acting as BVI counsel to Aura Minerals in respect of its IPO on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. The proceeds raised R$790.1m, generating additional capital for the multi-national mining company that owns and operates gold and copper mines in Honduras, Brazil and Mexico. At the end of the year, Harneys acted as BVI counsel on the listing of C&D Property Management Group, a BVI incorporated company providing property development, real estate management and investment services.

Exchangeable bonds
The BVI’s close links to Asia continued throughout the year. Harneys represented CP Foods Capital Limited on its $275m bond issuance and listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange. CP Foods Capital Limited is a newly incorporated British Virgin Islands subsidiary of Thai-listed Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited. Harneys delivered BVI advice on the issuance of exchangeable bonds due 2025 exchangeable into shares in Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited. The Charoen Pokphand Group is one of the world’s largest conglomerates, headquartered in Thailand and with eight business lines covering 13 business groups, as well as investments in 21 different countries and an estimated $63bn annual revenue.

These are just some examples of leading, cross-border deals that illustrate the expertise and nature of the BVI’s financial services sector. For many international businesses, the BVI is a natural choice owing to its reputation as a business-friendly environment with a mature common law framework and expert legal and professional services. Nevertheless, perhaps the biggest driver of the BVI’s popularity is its compliance with international standards and having a strong regulatory regime.

The BVI has a long history of engaging with international standard-setting organisations, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Egmont Group and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and cooperating on matters such as beneficial ownership. Though standards on this issue currently vary, the BVI has sought to enhance its existing regime and passed the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act in 2017. This requires companies to identify and provide details of the ultimate beneficial owners which is then held on a secure and encrypted database accessible to the BVI’s autonomous law enforcement agency the Financial Investigation Agency (FIA).

Today, BVI FIA shares information with more than 200 countries around the world and most recently it played a significant role in helping the UK’s National Crime Agency to successfully secure the UK’s first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) in 2018.

New financial products
Another way the BVI is investing in its regulatory regime is by encouraging innovation in the space. In August last year it launched its Fintech Regulatory Sandbox for fintech businesses to conduct live-testing, identify areas for improvement and assess whether a new financial product or service complies with legal and regulatory requirements. As well as being an effective light-touch regulatory regime, such initiatives are helping to drive innovation, and contributing towards the development of a strong and entrepreneurial talent pool.

By most measures, 2020 was a transformative year, a period in which the global economy was brought to a near standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet in a challenging year and in a fiercely competitive global market, the British Virgin Islands has continued to thrive.  BVI firms and representatives across the BVI financial services industry have demonstrated incredible agility and resourcefulness. These attributes are unique to the BVI and will help ensure it continues to be a competitive and globally recognised financial centre.

When Ari Assuied founded Cafeyn back in 2006, the tech start-up scene looked quite different to what it is today, and terms such as series A and series B were not so commonly used. The idea of accessing newspapers and magazines via digital means or through anything other than print, was fairly radical too.

But radical ideas can spark entirely new categories. The idea behind what is now Cafeyn originally came to Ari while on holiday in New York in his mid-20s, where he was unable to access his favourite French sports newspaper, L’Equipe, when not in his native country.

Being an avid reader, Ari was quite disappointed. “It seemed crazy I wasn’t able to access my favourite newspaper merely because I was in a different country. In that moment, I idealised an efficient way of homing newspapers and magazines.”

With a masters degree in finance under his belt, a passion for the press industry, and working experience in investment banking in the TMT space, Ari had a strong combination of ingredients needed to equip him to begin the Cafeyn journey.

Untapped market potential
It’s hard to imagine a world now not surrounded by digital technology – without the iPhone or media giants such as GAFA dominating the digital landscape. We take digital access for granted, but this wasn’t always the case.

Following his lightbulb moment on holiday, he worked hard to seek answers and find out what was already out there. “I started to look at other thriving services such as iTunes and wondered why there wasn’t a similar model available for newspapers.”

It was clear, the technology revolution was in no way slowing down, and if the publishing sector didn’t move with the times, it would inevitably be left behind. “I thought to myself that if there wasn’t an iTunes like service available for newspapers and magazines, then I would need to build it myself.”

Many people don’t realise the publishing industry is over seven times larger than the music industry so the opportunity for further digitalisation in publishing is significant

Though it’s fair to say Ari may be reaping the rewards of hard work now, having the conviction to spot an untapped market and pursue it with determination wasn’t easy. Ari’s journey with Cafeyn has been difficult at times but of course without the struggle would not be where it is today.

Looking back Ari said; “You definitely question yourself and what you’re trying to achieve in those early days, without it already existing somewhere.” Having the foresight to predict the information streaming category was an area worth building his career around took huge courage and risk.

Over the coming years, the acceleration of the internet meant that the digitalisation of the information streaming category and the opportunities within this area needed to be seized immediately. Luckily Ari was ahead of the curve having spotted this opportunity before the internet took off and put things into plain view.

Ari said of other people tapping into new and emerging trends, “To discover an untapped market I would recommend paying attention to emerging trends in adjacent industries and comparing this to what is changing in your industry. Read market prediction articles, read not only business press but also consumer press, monitor Google Trends if it helps you but be persistent and keep reading and learning.”

Maintain a strong vision
As much of a start-up cliche as it may seem, Cafeyn was born out of Ari’s garage, which then transitioned into a small office in the suburbs of Paris, with three developers all tightly packed in the same room.

From day one, Ari ensured Cafeyn was consumer focused, his mantra was that the platform should first and foremost be dedicated to its users, with everything outside of user experience coming afterwards.

Ari was particularly obsessive over the technological platform of the product. “One of the main appeals of a physical magazine is the feel factor – magazines to some are as much of a household ornament as they are an informative material.”

This user friendly experience and ensuring the platform had a thoroughly well designed platform was of paramount importance when Cafeyn was in its infancy. “To this day design and aesthetics help to set us apart from competitor brands.”

His vision has definitely paid off. Cafeyn continues to grow 40 percent year-on-year and has expanded its team significantly from 50 in 2018, expecting the overall headcount to surpass 170 this year.

“If you have a strong vision then you need to believe in your product and stop at nothing to pursue it.” he told European CEO.

Leading with conviction
Having been raised and surrounded by a family of entrepreneurs, he built an entrepreneurial energy into his core – an 18 hour working day was not just acceptable to Ari but the norm. This meant not only having an idea, but having the conviction to follow it through.

Ari is honest, in that being a young entrepreneur with an unfamiliar idea in a huge industry with multiple players wasn’t easy at the start. “During the late 90s and early 21st century the circulation of print newspapers was at its height. Celebrity culture and tabloid journalism meant papers sold well and were quite literally flying off the shelves.”

Developing relationships with major publishers and convincing them then how he could add value for their business with his service was a constant struggle. “Just like any relationship, it takes time to foster a connection and although you shouldn’t have to, proving yourself to someone in business is necessary.”

This meant that when Ari originally approached publishers with the idea of digitising their content and aggregating it into a single platform, he was met with amusement and more often than not, disinterest.

“You have to be prepared for bad news coming at you every day. There are long periods of time when it feels like even making a small amount of progress is unachievable. You deal with troubling and problematic situations each day and find a way to overcome them. But in order to succeed, as much as it’s an overused phrase, it’s really all about persevering and never giving up.”

Ari would argue the industry hasn’t been quick enough to keep up with the digital transformation. When he began his journey the challenge was to convince many publishers his business was worthwhile considering, but as his success increased the conversation with some publishers shifted to seeing Cafeyn as a potential threat to their traditional business models. “Managing change with publisher relationships and bringing them with me on the digital journey has been a consistent thread throughout the Cafeyn growth and continues to this day.”

Persevering and being confident with your own profile, Ari says, is a skill in itself. And eventually the relationships with French publishers began to develop and things started to move for Cafeyn.

Enter Google, Netflix and Spotify.

Where next?
The entertainment and music sectors have seen an exponential acceleration in digital adoption over the last 10 years, with 89 percent of people across the globe listening to on-demand streams, and in 2019, there were more than 850 million online video subscriptions globally.

The rise of digital streaming ultimately came at an important time for Cafeyn and helped cement its business model firmly within the publishing category. This rapid expansion of streaming services in other categories helped publishers to think differently about consumers and their media consumption habits and future expectations as they saw video and music being rapidly disrupted.

Ari told European CEO, “Things have changed so much that now as development and growth largely only exists on the digital side of the publishing industry. Many people don’t realise the publishing industry is over seven times larger than the music industry so the opportunity for further digitalisation in publishing is significant.” The global press and magazine industry is estimated to be worth $145bn, according to a PwC Digital Market Outlook Report (2018-2022), compared to $20bn for recorded music.

Clearly a huge opportunity for streaming services in publishing if they can achieve similar penetration that Netflix and Spotify have achieved in their respective categories. Today, publishing is still largely driven by a physical print model which represents over 85 percent of the market, according to the same PwC Digital Market report. To put this into perspective, this would be similar to physical CDs & Records still taking up 85 percent of the music market and 15 percent made up by streaming services such as Spotify & Apple Music – a pretty archaic idea to imagine about now.

Ari says, “We’ve never wanted to compete with print directly but instead to offer a complimentary service and a new revenue stream for publishers. At the same time our overarching aim has been to give consumers an easier way of accessing the content they like to read wherever and whenever in the world they may be. This runs through everything we do.”

Clearly the access to content issue that set Ari on his journey in New York continues to drive his ambition to this day and reflects his perseverance. Fifteen years later after he founded Cafeyn, now aged 42, Ari has built a successful business and empire in Cafeyn.

As a final word on his journey with Cafeyn, Ari told European CEO; “My main advice to someone who is eager to take advantage of an area that they believe in, but has been somewhat undiscovered, is to see problems not as roadblocks but as sources of new ideas.”

As of today, Cafeyn hosts over 2,500 magazine and newspaper titles, with more than two million active users. It has both built and bought content platforms to support its growth and international expansion.

This ability to maintain a strong vision, identify an untapped market, along with having the conviction to pursue it has meant that Cafeyn has gone on to achieve success, aided moreover with the driving force of Ari’s entrepreneurial spirit and consistent vision.

The business has seen significant change over the years, but Ari’s vision has always remained the same.

“Be certain in yourself. If you want to change the world with your business then of course this involves a degree of risk – but that is often worth taking.”

The exceptional circumstances of spring 2020 have brought any organisation, whether public, semi-public or private, to look for new practices to ensure the safety of people and maintain effective operations in these uncertain times, overshadowed by the current pandemic. It is evident that the need for safer and more versatile environments will increase in the future. Spaces need to be used in a variety of ways and also, the furniture solutions are expected to provide opportunities for new forms of collaboration and joint innovation, as well as social distancing.

Environmentally friendly choices lead the way to sustainable solutions
Since 1928, ISKU has designed and manufactured furniture and offered services and comprehensive interior solutions for learning, working and health care facilities, as well as for all public spaces and leisure time facilities.

“Our goal is to always ensure responsible production and the safety of our solutions. For us, responsibility is actions and it is in our company DNA. We are an active developer of environmentally friendly production and sustainable solutions. Fostering a circular economy mindset and honouring our environment, we consider carefully the lifecycle of our products. Responsibility is our guiding principle covering everything from our suppliers and partners, material selection and design to the manufacturing processes and logistics,‘ says Arto Tiitinen, CEO of ISKU.

Developing our quality and lifecycle thinking, we emphasise the origin of materials, energy consumption during production, the use of chemicals, and the volume of waste generated during the entire production and consumption chain up until the recycling of products at the end of their lifecycle. We prefer environmentally sustainable materials sourced locally and use the surplus material from the production of one product as the raw material for another. This is, for example, how our Kivikko seat was created. In our novel space-in-space solution ISKU Nook, green lifecycle meets pedagogical sustainability. Both products have been awarded as the Best Sustainable/Eco-friendly product in the prestigious GESS Education awards.

It is often said that for a family business a quarter lasts 25 years. I believe this is particularly true with regards to sustainability: by its very nature, a family business builds its operations for future generations and does not compromise on sustainability for the sake of short-term profits

Our products are safely manufactured and safe to use. Our quality, environmental management and safety systems have been certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards. We are also the only industrial company in the Finnish furniture sector that uses a PEFC Chain of Custody system to track the origin of used timber. A number of our products have also been awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. We minimise the indoor air emissions of products through precise selection of materials. ISKU’s Still and Step+ are the world’s first office chairs with M1 classification. The M1 classification proves that the products’ emissions into indoor air are demonstrably low. All foam plastic used by ISKU is CertiPUR certified. The certificate indicates that the materials have been tested and do not exceed the limit values for chemicals that are hazardous to health or the environment.

In the surface treatment of wood, we use water-based and solvent-free surface treatment agents. For chroming purposes, we utilise the more environmentally-friendly plating process. Used upholstery fabrics do not contain harmful substances and are individually tested, nor do the plastic parts of our products include phthalates. Our packaging materials are recyclable and overall more than 99 percent of waste generated at ISKU factories can be recycled as material or energy. In our purchases, we prefer Finnish, environmentally-friendly materials.

In addition, as part of our investment program in Lahti, a wide range of factors related to energy and material efficiency have been developed. A very efficient geothermal heat pump system has been installed, which handles both the heating and cooling of our buildings. A solar panel system has been installed on the roof, and the electricity from there is used for cooling. 3,000 light bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs. We work systematically to investigate and minimise our environmental impact and reduce our carbon footprint.

Social responsibility is the key to successful domestic and worldwide collaboration
We have centralised all our production in the city of Lahti, Finland. Today, the ISKU factory is one of the most modern production facilities in the European furniture industry and has become a benchmark for responsible production operations. Throughout our supply chain we create employment for thousands of Finns and purchase 80 percent of our services and materials from Finland. In addition to the extensive domestic sales and service network, our own international sales units along with worldwide collaboration is the backbone of our global operations. In 2021, we will bring our innovative sustainability-based thinking to the World Expo in Dubai, UEA as ISKU is a key partner of the Finnish Pavilion, “Snow Cape”, providing the furniture solutions to the Pavilion’s VIP and conference areas.

Since 2015, we have invested over €30m in modernising the factory, production process and its systems and logistics, as well as work ergonomics and the overall wellbeing of our personnel. By ensuring good working conditions, creating jobs and acting globally in a responsible manner, we carry out corporate social responsibility and long-term sustainability. In our code of conduct, we commit to following all laws and regulations associated with our activities in all the countries where we operate.

Fighting infections with antimicrobial furniture
Exceptional circumstances, such as the current worldwide pandemic, urge us to constantly find innovative and sustainable solutions for even safer and healthier environments. Advances in material science play a significant role in ​indoor hygiene management; the cleaner the space, the lower the risk of contamination and an infection. So how can we keep fostering productivity, interaction and collaboration in a time when physical distancing and good hygiene measures are extremely important? In addition to space-in-space solutions, screens and working remotely, we can fight infections with a combination of good hand hygiene practice, regular cleaning cycles and the use of antimicrobial surfaces. ISKU+ furniture collection is the world’s first antimicrobial furniture solution that contributes to a cleaner environment. We consider the antimicrobial furniture solutions as a new furniture revolution leading to enhanced well-being and growing productivity. As the right furniture choices contribute to the health and well-being of all users, our antimicrobial solutions create value in all public and shared spaces.

To make the invisible efficacy of antimicrobial surfaces more visible, we’ve conducted various research in cooperation with partner companies, universities and other institutions. To name some highlights of the results: in a health care environment, an antimicrobial doctor’s table stood out with 81 percent less bacteria compared to the non-antimicrobial one. In a research school, significantly reduced microbe amounts were discovered in the antimicrobial classroom. Within the test period, short-term absenteeism also reduced by 52 percent compared to the conventional classroom. In an open plan office space, the testing period resulted in 92.7 percent difference in total bacterial counts on average between non-antimicrobial and antimicrobial products.

Antimicrobial options are available for the whole collection of our standard products. For our customers, the key benefits of antimicrobial solutions can be seen in reduced absenteeism and increased safety and well-being, providing an opportunity to make the furniture finance itself.

“The furniture offers a long-term solution because the antimicrobial properties are not affected by cleaning or use. The furniture is also adaptable and easy to maintain and wash, and it withstands disinfectants. Not only is the furniture functional and safe but it also looks and feels good – a pleasant environment contributes to quicker recovery,” explains Kari Soljamo, ISKU’s development manager.

The recently renovated Kuuhankavesi school in Hankasalmi, Finland is a very familiar learning environment for the ISKU CEO, Arto Tiitinen from his early school years. ISKU provided the renewed school with antimicrobial furniture solutions which ensures that the school is a safe and healthy place to study and work.

Today’s tax departments continually look for ways to streamline their operations and reduce audit risk. That focus is not just on the sales side of the business, but on the procurement side as well.

Regardless of whether you’re using your ERP system or implementing a new procurement platform, managing tax in the procure-to-pay process requires constant collaboration between tax, IT, procurement, and accounts payable teams. Without this partnership, it will significantly increase audit risk and inefficiencies within AP.

The manual process of tax research and updating financial systems can strain in-house tax and IT resources, and lead to tax errors. Even when these systems are updated with the latest tax content, their native tax functionality is usually not granular enough for today’s complex tax landscape.

At the same time, tax coding decisions on purchase orders and supplier invoices are being made in the AP department instead of the tax department; and all this is happening at a time when tax authorities are increasing audit activity.

Integrating a tax engine automates sales, use, and value-added tax determination to improve the accuracy of taxes paid and accrued. It uses rules-based calculations instead of human decisions. It applies the same tax logic across the procure-to-pay process: at the requisition and purchase order stage, and at the invoice reconciliation and approval stage.

Adding a tax engine for your procurement process brings benefits across tax, IT, and purchasing. It reduces the burden and cost of continuous in-house tax research, since tax content is maintained by the tax engine provider. There’s less IT support needed to implement tax changes, since this can be managed by the tax specialists themselves. It improves tax accuracy since the functionality is more robust than native ERP or procurement systems.

You can introduce consistent tax coding for reliable, repeatable accounts payable process, where tax own tax decisions. And you can integrate a single tax engine to all your financial systems across sales and purchasing, for centralisation and scalability.

Add a tax engine to your procurement process today to improve tax accuracy, reduce IT support, increase efficiency, increase scalability, and improve audit performance.

Today’s multinational businesses face constant changes that affect global tax determination. Not just the ongoing regulatory changes, but business changes: including market expansion, M&A, new financial systems, and new product offerings.

With these constant changes, the process of manual tax research and updating every financial system can be a significant cause of VAT error, and a strain on in-house tax and IT. Even if the tax content is up-to-date, the native functionality in these systems often doesn’t meet the needs of a complex multinational, leaving them exposed at audit time.

Adding a tax engine to your ERP and financial systems improves your VAT process in multiple ways. A tax engine takes away the burden and cost of continuous in-house tax research, since tax content is maintained by the tax engine provider. Adding a tax engine improves VAT determination accuracy, since more relevant data elements are considered than in a native ERP calculation.

With a tax engine, there’s less IT support needed to implement VAT changes, since this can be managed by the tax specialists themselves. Using a tax engine, you can introduce consistent tax coding for a reliable, repeatable accounts payable process. You can conduct adequate real-time reporting, since the tax engine ensures VAT is calculated accurately the first time. A tax engine centralises your VAT controls, allowing for a more agile tax organisation that can scale quickly with business growth.

Adding a tax engine can reduce the overall cost of global VAT management. Integrating a tax engine with your financial systems is essential to stay ahead in today’s tax landscape. You’ll improve your end-to-end VAT processes, making it more efficient, agile, and scalable.

Managing tax across Europe has become increasingly complex: with new VAT regulations, migrating to the cloud, multiple financial systems, faster data speeds, and urgent reporting deadlines.

For companies with cross-border supply chains, ensuring consistent VAT treatment across all legs of transaction requires tedious manipulation of data in the ERP system. The process is manual, error-prone, and usually requires significant support from IT.

Errors in the interpretation of which data is relevant for VAT determination can mean errors in VAT payments and accruals which affect the bottom line.

Vertex offers a visualisation tool to streamline chain flow data mapping for improved VAT determination. Using the chain flow accelerator, the user can map data inside SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA to Vertex VAT fields – and perform an interpretation of the data before it’s sent to the Vertex tax engine for VAT determination.

To perform this data mapping, Vertex offers a unique visualisation tool to streamline the data mapping and improve accuracy. Tax professionals can use the tool without IT intervention, connecting up to 80 data elements and documents in a chain, to ensure consistent VAT treatment across the transaction.

The streamlined chain flow data mapping is not only available in S/4HANA, but also in ECC. SAP customers who implement the tool now in ECC can streamline their migration to S/4HANA, since the VAT data mapping can be easily transferred.

Add the Vertex Chain Flow Accelerator to SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA today – to improve VAT accuracy and spend less time recouping VAT overpayments, reduce IT support, increase tax department efficiency, and improve audit performance.

Just five minutes speaking with Martin Flick, CEO of Olive Communications, and his clear passion for people soon becomes apparent.

Named as one of LDC’s Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2020 and having tripled the turnover of cloud communications company Olive to £32m in just a few years, Flick is a firm believer that success comes from investing in people – your staff, your customers and the wider community.

It’s an ethos that works. Flick is a respected people person with a passion for leadership, loyally supported by his senior leadership team – many of whom have been with him for over a decade. “With the support of the team I feel we can achieve anything and overcome any challenge.”

Having come from what could be described as a disadvantaged background, growing up in a London inner-city area and with no formal education, Flick has faced his fair share of societal and discriminatory challenges.

At 16, he walked away from the chance of a scholarship in the RAF to work in retail, a sector that afforded him early exposure to the concept of commission. He quickly identified the opportunity in the burgeoning communications sector, in particular, fax machines and following a highly successful career in office equipment sales, he spotted – as an early adopter – the emerging opportunity for growth in the business-to-business mobile sector as a highly proliferate market. “At that time, as mobile was still very new, and most businesspeople would buy mobiles from the few retailers that were popping up, I and my soon-to-be business partner and lifelong friend, Paul Butler, knew how the market would boom and realised that mobile was going to change the way we live and work forever.

But getting from that point to where he is today, hasn’t been easy.

“I was brought up in a single parent family, on a Lambeth housing estate and left school at 15 without qualifications. I thought I had it tough. But for young people today it is much harder than back then to break out and overcome the societal barriers that exist in today’s world.”

A self-starter and now running a team of 130 people from incredibly varied backgrounds, Flick is driven by a passion for diversity and a desire to provide people with opportunities. “Like me, many of the Olive team have fought adversity of some kind to be successful in their own right. We pride ourselves in having such a diverse and ethnically balanced team all of whom are committed and highly talented.”

Since joining Olive as CEO in 2013, Flick has pivoted the business from a mobile phone company to one of the UK’s fastest growing and most progressive managed cloud communications providers, forging partnerships with world players including Vodafone, Mitel and soon, Google Cloud.

In his first three years, turnover tripled to £32m, followed by a seismic shift of product mix more recently. The workforce has grown from 40 to 150, and the company has expanded nationally and at a global level. Headquartered in the UK in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Olive now has offices in Glasgow in Scotland and Brisbane in Australia.

Cloud revenues have grown by 81% and its SaaS business has added hundreds of new customers in just three years, with the company boasting an enviable client list including Yorkshire Building Society, Laithwaite’s Wine, Countrywide, British Red Cross and Kennedy’s Law.

“The pandemic has affected and challenged nearly every business in some way but some more than others. Luckily at Olive, we’re not one dimensional, our cloud technology spans across telephony, mobile and contact centres for SMEs and Enterprise. That enabled us to pivot during the pandemic.

During the start of the pandemic, Olive released Connect4Teams, a suite of services to help organisations swiftly shift their workforce to remote working by offering direct routing, PBX integration, secure voice recording and contact centre capabilities – accessible from any location.

“We’ve seen how limited access to effective remote working tools and technology can bring on further stress and anxiety to employees trying to work from home against the backdrop of family and work commitments. Meanwhile companies were under enormous pressure to install months’ worth of technology in just days. So, through Connect4Teams we offered a fast and simple solution to an immediate problem.”

But with success comes social responsibility, says Flick. “Companies that have managed to pivot and do well during these challenging times have a responsibility to support and give back to the parts of society that are most affected.”

In November, Olive formed a long-term corporate partnership with XLP, a London based youth charity dedicated to creating positive futures for disadvantaged young people through education, mentoring, sport and the arts.

A cause close to Martin’s heart and aligned with his mission to ensure people are given opportunities, XLP help over 4500 young people a year living in inner-city areas of London who struggle daily with issues like family breakdown, unemployment, education failure or gang violence.

“Trying to get the break young people need to succeed today is tougher than ever, especially when you come from a deprived area. This hasn’t been helped by the pandemic which has had an even greater impact on those from underprivileged backgrounds, trying to deal with restricted movement, reduced social interaction in clubs and classes, and with “online” learning much harder to access for those already lacking resources and technology.”

As well as annual monetary donations, fundraising and donation of technology equipment, the Olive team will also be giving up their time to volunteer and train as mentors in support of the young people XLP work with.

“Throughout all the tragedy and uncertainty of COVID-19 there’s been significant moments of unity within society to combat this virus together, with ever greater acts of human kindness and appreciation for one another. I was really proud of the team’s enthusiasm to support XLP, many of who are coping with their own struggles with the pandemic. Without causes like XLP, the next generation of young people could so easily be overlooked without the right support.”

Flick’s ethos of putting people first has also been evident throughout the pandemic among his own workforce. “Leadership has been tested to the limit during the COVID-19 pandemic, with leaders having to make tough choices that they wouldn’t have foreseen at the start of the year. But companies that come out stronger will be those leaders that show empathy and emotional intelligence, who did what they could to take care of their workforce as much and for as long as possible.”

Virtual staff rooms, online personal training, financial advice line extended to wider family members, virtual cognitive behaviour therapy and bereavement counselling are just some of the employee services Olive offers for solidarity and support.

“Around 40 staff took advantage of the personal training and collectively lost 70kg. Those with children have access to an online kid’s club and a parents’ home schooling support group. We also run coffee mornings, lunch and learn sessions, and Friday cocktail happy hours to maintain our company togetherness.”

“The challenge for CEOs is balancing the need for sensitivity towards those that have been tragically affected by Covid such as the death of loved one or a partner’s losing their job, against maintaining a positive “digital” workplace that continues to motivate during these tricky times. This was especially the case for Olive with many of our staff working relentlessly during the pandemic to fast track projects to mobilise client workforces to ensure business continuity.”

“Giving back to society – whether that’s your employees or wider community – goes a long way. Your employees will not only truly appreciate the personal attention and support you’ve shown them during tough times, but you’ll come out the other side of the pandemic with a more united and loyal workforce that can grow your business when the time is right.”

As baseball great Yogi Berra once said, “The problem with the future is that it ain’t what it used to be.” And the future world of the CEO will be very different from the one in which most CEOs have learnt their current leadership skills. Before the pandemic, the converging trends of technology, diversity and Gen Y were already disrupting the industrial age way of working. Now, the pandemic is further accelerating our journey into a different paradigm. A paradigm which some have referred to as the social age.

In this social age of business, trust, not power, will be the glue that holds us all together. As Stephen Covey commented in his recent article, ‘The New Role of Trust in the Pandemic’ – ‘Leaders today should be deliberately extending trust to their teams, because the currency of trust is the single most important asset they have…Trust is baseline humanity and we need it to solve our problems.’ So as we make this transition from the industrial age to the social age, leaders will need to unpick the old habits of power and learn new habits of trust, because only trust can provide the level of psychological safety that the modern stakeholder demands.

In my own research on trust at Aston Business School, I interviewed over 70 CEOs and surveyed over 500 board-level leaders. What this research revealed was that the biggest single factor in building a high trust culture was the behaviour of the CEO and the senior leadership team. More worrying, it also revealed the average CEO believes they are 29% more trustworthy than do the people they lead. I refer to this difference as the ‘authenticity gap’ – the risk that we think we are part of the solution, while those we lead believe we are part of the problem.

Trust, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Why does this matter? It matters because the final finding of my research was that over 80% of board leaders think a high trust culture is critical to attracting and retaining the top talent, building customer loyalty and achieving sustainable bottom-line performance.

Many of the CEOs I coach understand that the currency of their leadership is shifting from power to trust. The next question they ask is ‘how do I ‘DO’ trust?’. How do busy leaders break down this abstract, emotive word into a set of practical, tangible behaviours? Thankfully, I can now share with them an academically verified model of trust that consists of nine distinct habits grouped under three pillars. This model, arising directly from the research at Aston, is shown in the diagram.

Based on this model, the means of calculating the trustworthiness of your leadership, your team or your brand is shown in the formula;

‘Trustworthiness = ability x integrity x benevolence’

When I share this formula with the CEOs I coach, most instinctively understand the need for the six habits of ability and integrity, but few have a grasp of this word ‘benevolence,’ which means wishing well for others. Benevolence is human care, compassion and kindness. In the old world of power, benevolence was a nice-to-have. In the new world of trust, benevolence is the must-have differentiator that renews our licence to lead.

The three habits of benevolence are evangelise, be brave, be kind. These three habits are particularly important as CEOs look to satisfy the demands from investors to address Environmental, Societal and Governance concerns.

CEOs need to evangelise a vision for their businesses that goes beyond the single bottom line of profit and embraces the trip bottom line of profit, people and planet. They need to show kindness to recognise the needs of a diverse and inclusive world. For example, leaders now need to respond to the mental health needs of their employees in a way that would have seemed unimaginable 10 years ago. Finally, CEOs are required to be morally brave to speak out on issues of social justice. Whether it be the #metoo movement, Black Lives Matter or the recognition of the LGBT+ community, CEOs must have a voice on topics that would have previously been ‘off-limits.’

So are you one of these future CEOs? Do you have the will to renew your licence to lead in a world where trust not power is the currency of leadership? Can you do benevolence, alongside ability and integrity? If the answer to these questions is an emphatic ‘yes’, then you will be glad that the future ain’t what it used to be. You will be glad because, in the social age, you have found yourself in exactly the right place at precisely the right time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how dependent modern society is on effective digital solutions and data centres are the backbone of this digital infrastructure. The global data centre industry is blooming, but at the same time the concern for industry’s CO2 footprint has risen to the top of the agenda. The cloud providers of the world do not only require more data capacity, they demand green data capacity. This is where Green Mountain and Norway comes into the picture.

How has Green Mountain become so successful?
Ten years ago, we were a tiny organisation, in a non-existent industry in Norway, with a hole in the mountain where we wanted to build a data centre. Nevertheless, we managed to build a state-of-the-art facility and communicate our value proposition internationally. We have been one of the drivers behind the growth of the DC industry in Norway and we still give advice to newcomers in the industry. I also believe that the important technical groundwork we did in the early days, our focus on quality and standards, has paid off as we have experienced a massive growth.

What are the benefits of choosing Green Mountain as your data centre supplier?
Norway’s surplus of renewable energy at Europe’s lowest prices, the authorities’ beneficial framework conditions, and the realisation of several new fibre cable projects, form a strong value proposition. Sustainability is a key decision criterion for our clients and together with our focus on quality, we have built a strong reputation of reliability.

What is your company’s greatest asset?
Undoubtedly, the people. At Green Mountain, we have always emphasised getting the right people to do the right job. Their qualifications are important, but even more crucial is their ability to cooperate and develop together with the rest of the team. In this business, there are always new things to learn, innovate, and discover and we are dependent on the contribution and ideas from each and every member of our team. Sometimes we choose to improve incrementally in specific areas, other times we take greater innovative leaps. I believe we have built systems and a methodology to support this development, but we must remember that in the end it is always people who makes things happen.

How is Green Mountain tackling the challenges that face the industry?
The top three main concerns in the industry globally are:

• The concern for the environmental footprint of the industry.
• Power availability
• Skills shortage

However, in Norway we are blessed with abundant renewable hydropower and a robust grid, so we can basically cross the two first items off the list. Yes, there are still ways to improve energy efficiency and waste-heat re-use, but compared to the rest of the world, Norwegian data centres are the world’s greenest.

When it comes to skill shortage, we have yet another benefit. The Norwegian workforce is very tech-driven because of our extensive oil and gas industry. Now, as this industry is declining, we see a workforce of highly competent technical personnel and engineers shift to more sustainable industries – like data centres.

What’s next for Green Mountain?
Soon, we will open our third data centre facility outside the capital of Norway, and we are still growing at our original two sites. Furthermore, we have forecasted a growth of up to 200 MW within the next five years, so we are continuously exploring new sites for development. With clients like Volkswagen Group, MasterCard and international cloud providers, we have earned credibility in the business.

And with more and more clients focusing on sustainability, establishing in Norway makes sense from both an environmental and business point of view.

The pandemic has fundamentally challenged assumptions, business plans and our views of business risks, rewards and opportunities. The impact of a health crisis that threatens to become the worst economic depression since World War Two is making boards of corporate directors nervous.

Some boards are embracing the challenge while others are uncomfortable as their cosy pre-retirement plan of serving on boards has just become far riskier and demanding than they ever expected. The assumptions around risks are being challenged in unforeseen ways.

The really good boards with high performing CEOs and managers have trusted management. These boards have stayed out of operational issues; using the time and opportunity created by COVID to focus on strategy and risk while assisting their CEOs with wise counsel and support

Yet, even before COVID, PWC’s 2018 CEO Success Study showed that “turnover among CEOs at the world’s 2,500 largest companies soared to a record 17.5% in 2018.” Now in a post-COVID world CEOs are under greater scrutiny than ever as boards grapple with gaining the best return for the risk being taken with the company’s capital, and in a world of increased uncertainty, changed opportunities, disruptive events and new technology. Some businesses will thrive in the new world while some will not – boards need to have confidence that CEOs can understand, respond and lead in times of change.

It is crucial that CEOs build a strong and healthy relationship with their board so they can manage their board during turbulent times, to achieve alignment and success. In this article, European CEO outlines its top five tips to help CEOs gain the best from their board in these different times.

Create clear expectations
The relationship between the board and the CEO is based on trust and respect. Take the time to talk with the board to ensure that you and your board have the same expectations. What will success and good performance look like in these different times?  Clarify assumptions and recognise that clear, mutually agreed expectations between board and CEO are a recipe for success just as assumption and guess work may lead to disaster.

Work on a ‘no surprises’ basis
Surprises should be reserved for infatuated lovers and children; they have no place in the boardroom let alone in an effective relationship between the board and the CEO. Work on a ‘no surprises’ basis with your board. Be accountable for working this way and hold your board accountable for reciprocating the trust.

Be willing to field and to ask the tough questions
In a world of change and disruption you must be able to challenge and be seen to challenge assumptions and ask the tough questions about the business, its strategy and performance. CEOs need to be the leading light and, if you as leader of the company aren’t demonstrating leadership by asking those hard-hitting questions of the business, then fully expect the board to be asking them of you and questioning your leadership.

It’s all about the people 
Our initial response to the COVID crisis was around the safety of our staff, customers and stakeholders. The initial focus on physical wellbeing has broadened to address the negative impact that this crisis is having on the mental health and wellbeing of our people. The COVID crisis has shown that some CEOs are guiding lights while some are simply lights. Think about your people, the strength of your top team. Think about the need to generate confidence and credibility with the board that you and your team have the bench strength to win in a world of different opportunities. Businesses are generating and destroying trust with the way they respond to COVID and work with their people.  Mistakes made at this time will sear the culture of organisations and trust in boards and CEOs. Trust, honesty and openness through clear and regular communication with your board is critical.

Don’t waste a crisis
Necessity is the mother of invention. The need to move fast and break things in order to adapt and respond to a health and economic shock has heightened the pace of innovation. Successful CEOs have demonstrated a willingness to cut through inertia and make changes that will enable their businesses to move from survival to thriving in a different world. Think about what’s working well and what is no longer working. Bring you board on the journey of the changes to people, processes, tools and technology that will enable your business to thrive under your leadership.

It’s a commonly held belief that career success and a happy family life don’t come hand-in-hand. To prosper in business, a person has to sacrifice evenings with family and drop domestic responsibilities – or so goes the narrative that’s still heavily prevalent narrative within the corporate world.

But this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that, when employees achieve a healthy balance between work and home, their professional life benefits.

A family-friendly work culture also benefits companies themselves. For one thing, respecting and supporting employees’ right to spend time with their families is a powerful retention tool. But it can also make employees more engaged and productive. Research conducted by the International Centre for Work Family at IESE Business School has found that people in family-friendly work environments perform up to 19 percent better than those who aren’t.

For many employers, this year’s work-from-home experiment has demonstrated the importance of allowing employees to dedicate more time to family life. Some are adapting as a result. The German company Siemens is allowing employees to work from home for up to three days a week and, according to research by the Ifo economic institute, just over half of German companies want to follow its lead. Clearly, a growing number of companies are taking this moment to improve their employees’ work-life balance. European CEO outlines five ways businesses can build a more family-friendly work environment moving forward.

Flexible working
As the Siemens example suggests, the coronavirus pandemic has prompted many employers to consider permanently adopting remote working practices. Studies suggest that many workers would support this. Communications consultancy the Gorssman Group has found that almost half of US employees surveyed said they wanted to continue working from home after the pandemic.

Remote working and flexible working hours could benefit parents in a number of ways, allowing them to spend more time with young children, fulfil more family obligations and also reduce childcare costs. Flexible working can be especially beneficial to women, who still end up taking on the brunt of domestic responsibilities in many families. The 2014 Corporate Leadership Council report found that workplace flexibility increased women’s career aspirations by almost 30 percent.

Switching off an “always-on” culture
However, employers should proceed with caution before embracing a flexible working culture. The pandemic has revealed that working from home can push employees to work longer hours, which in turn can increase the risk of stress and burnout. Technology is, of course, partly to blame here; according to the 2020 Modern Families Index, 47 percent of working parents believe that technology has blurred the boundaries between work and home.

There are a number of ways that companies can help their employees establish more of a work-life balance. One method could be using a business communication platform like Slack for work-related messages, instead of a more casual messaging platform like WhatsApp, to give employees the option of “switching off” once the working day is finished.

Elderly care programme
Many countries’ populations are ageing rapidly and this means an increasing proportion of employees will be faced with caring for elderly relatives at some point during their careers. This experience can be both time-consuming and emotionally draining for workers.

While the issue may seem like a very personal one, it can have a significant bearing on a person’s professional life. MetLife estimates that elderly care costs companies $34bn a year due to absenteeism and lost productivity.

By supporting employees through an elderly care programme, companies could lessen the burden of looking after older relatives. Depending on what seems appropriate, the programme could offer information about elderly care services, geriatric assessments or workplace support groups.

Paternity leave
When it comes to work-life balance, the discussion tends to focus on women and how they can benefit from devoting more time to family. But it’s just as important that men enjoy this benefit as well.

The rate of men taking paternity leave has rapidly increased over the last few decades. Last year, the European Parliament announced the establishment of 10-day minimum paternity leave across the EU.

Firms should consider implementing longer and more robust paternity leave programmes to meet the needs of fathers-to-be. At Netflix, new fathers can take up to one year of paid parental leave. Meanwhile, Facebook gives fathers four months’ leave that can be taken in instalments in the first year of the child’s life.

Childcare
When it comes to childcare, few companies offer much by way of support. According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Employee Benefits 2019 survey, only 4 percent offer a subsidised child-care centre or programme for their employees.

Childcare has proven particularly difficult to arrange during the pandemic, when many nurseries have had to close their doors temporarily, leaving parents to cope on their own. Employers are well-[ositioned to step in to fill the vacuum, and some already have. Google, for example, extended its paid family caregiver leave policy by eight weeks in the wake of the pandemic.

Other forms of support employers can offer include discounts on childcare-related products such as car seats, toys, games and educational material. Employers could also allow a portion of employees’ salaries to go towards a car, additional holiday or other benefits.

Groups in the travel industry have called on governments to re-examine current travel rules in order to bring much-needed economic relief to the battered sector. In a letter dated 17 September, the industry groups urged governments to end quarantine requirements and adopt coordinated restrictions and testing instead.

The letter was signed by more than 20 trade bodies, representing over 5,000 companies and millions of employees working across the travel industry. According to Reuters, the letter pressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to urgently resolve the “chaotic situation” unfolding in the world’s travel sector.

With coronavirus cases on the rise, many governments are continuing to add countries to their 14-day quarantine lists. Recently, Ireland moved to quarantine arrivals from Italy and Greece. Tourism figures argue that moves like are stymieing the industry’s chances of recovery. Ryanair cut its capacity by 20 percent for September and October, citing the increase in travel restrictions and the negative impact this had on bookings.

Earlier this month, the EU executive proposed a common “traffic light” system to coordinate travel restrictions among EU states.

Travel industry bodies believe this system must be put into effect to protect jobs and ensure the survival of companies. “Failure to fully implement the Commission’s proposal would kill any chances of a potential recovery,” the travel industry bodies wrote in the letter.

International travel bans and a steep drop in visitors have made the travel industry one of the hardest-hit sectors of the pandemic.

According to a recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the European countries that are expected to see the biggest revenue losses due to COVID-19 are the UK, Germany, France and Italy. France, for instance, is set to lose €48bn in revenue by the end of the year and could lose two million jobs.