7 Questions on Leadership
Claire Chandler
Name: Claire Chandler
Title: President
Organisation: Talent Boost
Claire Chandler’s core belief is that leaders shape cultures, and stronger cultures drive greater success. She specializes in aligning HR and business leaders so they can deliver strategic outcomes… both now and in the future. Leveraging nearly 30 years of experience in people leadership, human resources, and business ownership, Claire helps leadership teams work together more effectively in less time, with less cultural resistance, to accelerate business growth.
Claire’s services include thought partnership, leadership retreat facilitation, performance acceleration, executive and cohort coaching, strategic planning, organizational assessment and design, team dynamics and alignment, management team due diligence, and M&A integration and onboarding. Her clients include BASF, CSL Behring, Covance/LabCorp, Point32Health, Chick-fil-A, Blue Phoenix Group, Eco Recovery Solutions, and Nimbus Group.
Claire gets results because she’s easy to work with, cuts through the corporate clutter, and has a simple, proven approach to help leaders become culture builders.
One client sums up Claire perfectly: “Claire is always calm in a crisis, always finds creative ways to solve problems, and is always professional—but only when it’s necessary.”
Claire holds a certificate in strategic HR leadership from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, a master’s degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University. She has appeared as a guest on more than 100 podcasts, is the author of several books on leadership and business strategy, and is a contributing writer for Forbes.
Clay Risher
Name: Clay Risher
Title: Managing Director - Business Development
Organisation: TrueNorth Capital Partners LLC
Clay Risher is the Director of Originations and New Business Development for a boutique investment bank located in Stamford, CT, USA, called True North Capital Partners. Clay is also an award-winning author and journalist. He published his first novel in 2011 called Flash Point and regularly contributes to REIT.com where he writes a bi-monthly column called "Capital Markets".
Clive Smallman
Name: Clive Smallman
Title: Mentor | Author | Speaker
Organisation: Professor Clive Smallman
Clive is an expert in personal and professional development and in developing business models for growth. Building on science, best-practice and 10,000-plus hours of professional development, he is passionate about helping people to develop a deep understanding of their personal and professional situation and the position of their business. From that deep understanding comes the opportunity to grow.
Building clear, realistic and meaningful objectives provides the foundation for the development of templates that plot the way forward. Clive’s experience as a professional project manager and CEO informs his ability to walk alongside clients as they execute their plans. His experience as an educator and trainer equips him to expertly guide their professional development. His experience of running successful businesses and as a professional director means his clients can rely on pragmatic business-oriented advice.
Dan Cahill
Name: Dan Cahill
Title: Franchisor Jim’s Mowing Northern & Eastern Australia
Organisation: Jim’s Mowing
I began my Journey by becoming a franchisee with Jim’s Mowing,
I learn’t to mow lawns with great quality,
I then learnt how to mow a lot of lawns with great quality!
I started creating mowing rounds that earn’t $3500 per week and employed people to complete the mowing rounds by teaching them how to mow a lot of lawns with great quality.
I employed 6 people to look after my 6 mowing rounds and trained them all to be just as good as myself. My business was earning over $20,000 per week revenue.
I saved all my money and eventually bought a share of Jim’s Mowing as a Franchisor.
I first bought the Queensland South region which cost me roughly half a million and came with 52 franchisees.
It’s been 18 months since then,
I have since bought 4 other regions around Australia and named the combined 5 regions “Northern & Eastern Australia”.
I now have over 150+ franchisees that I am the franchisor for.
Dan Cahill
Dani Dawoodson Razmgah
Name: Dani Dawoodson Razmgah
Title: Head of Infrastructure Services, External Collaboration and Information
Organisation: Bolagsverket, Swedish Companies Registration Office
Currently serving as the Head of Infrastructure Services, External Collaboration and Information at Bolagsverket in Sweden, I am spearheading the digital transformation of the agency. My eclectic background ranges from being the GD of a fintech company, holding senior leadership positions in several government agencies, to years of hands-on experience as an executive management consultant and leadership developer.
The industries I've graced with my presence include government agencies, municipalities, banking and finance, and more. My diverse career journey has been guided by a clear thread: turning dysfunction into optimum performance. Regardless of the industry or role, my mission has been to ensure that what doesn't work is made not just good, but often the best.
In the chaos of the evolving business landscape, I am a steadfast beacon of transformation, committed to ensuring that organizations are not just surviving, but thriving in the digital age.
Daniel Melendez
Name: Daniel Melendez
Title: CEO
Organisation: E-Best Choice
I am obsessed with helping leaders like you solve big, complex problems quickly and effectively. With my background as a fighter pilot and experience in identifying high-value targets and achieving strategic results, I have developed a unique approach to problem-solving that involves:
1. Breaking the boundaries of your mind,
2. Discovering your hidden capabilities,
3. Solving the real problem, and
4. Executing your continuous learning plan.
I am on a mission to help and inspire warrior leaders like you to solve problems, in a team environment, before impacting your business. I want to share the knowledge and insights I have gained with you, so you can save time and avoid the pitfalls many others have encountered.
The following are my five (5) key skills:
1. Strategic thinking: Ability to develop and implement innovative supply chain solutions supporting the organization's strategic goals. Capable of analyzing complex data, identifying critical areas for improvement, and creating action plans that deliver measurable results in the long term.
2. Leadership and management: Experience leading and directing teams, as well as the ability to coordinate and harmonize people and processes.
3. Collaboration Mindset: Ability to work effectively with other departments and functions, including sales, marketing, finance, and operations, to ensure alignment of goals and priorities. Capable of building and maintaining solid relationships with suppliers, customers, and partners.
4. Quality and process improvement: Experience with implementing and utilizing tools such as the Balanced Scorecard and ISO 9001, and ISO 17025 standards to improve performance and efficiency and ensure compliance.
5. Flight operations, supply chain, and logistics: Ability to understand flight and logistics operations' complex and interdependent nature and how they impact overall business performance. Familiar with the latest industry technologies and best practices for optimizing supply chain processes, including suppliers and inventory management, transportation planning, safety and compliance, and warehouse operations.
David Dunning
Name: David Dunning
Title: Founder
Organisation: Various
David is the founder and Chairman of CPS limited, a UK based Microsoft Partner.
He has also founded the Core P3M Data Club - a community interest company which has created the Business Integrated Governance Model.
David is also the co founder of Deepteam - a consulting company based on associates with specialisms from strategy to corporate governance, change, information technology,, portfolio, programme and product management, and busienss support.
David has a family with 2 sons and a cat.
David J Harrison
Name: David J Harrison
Title: President and Founder
Organisation: Harrison TDM
Association Board Director and privately operated public mass transit General Manager. Successful at increasing profits and membership (individuals and businesses) and implementing effective turnarounds. B2B and B2i sales and support. In addition, I have consistently developed strategies and managed teams that turned failing programs around and maintained multi-cycle contracts across several states. As an Association Board Director, I have served on various governing boards, including the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) national board and the Georgia state board of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.
(ALS). In addition, I excel at defining an organization's mission, vision, and purpose while ensuring that these values are internally applied from top to bottom and back up again. Finally, I love helping people & firms be their best! I have also worked with local, municipal, county, state, and federal government agencies and stakeholders to successfully refine laws, policies, and regulations consistent with an organization's needs and the communities they serve. These activities have been performed through service on local planning commissions and direct work with various levels of legislative staff, from elected officials to line staff experts, to craft appropriate language.
As a General Manager, I have direct experience procuring and managing contracts from concept to operating programs in federal, state, local, and private sectors. My achievements have included advocating for, designing, and implementing technical solutions to keep people doing their best: working with others. I have always tried to operate as a Servant Leader. With experience spanning over 30 years in both Non-Profit and Private Profit corporations and government contracting at the Local, State, and National levels, I am also an experienced General Manager and Sales/Marketing Professional.
I have actively managed the pipeline from prospecting through bidding and securing profitable contracts with net revenue generation of over $2MM each, including multiple operations in several states. Additionally, I have taken privately operated public mass transit projects from concept and startup through mature processes while building teams to run them. David is an avid photographer and graphics artist. His portfolio includes over 30,000 images. Published works have been used in textbooks, non-profit organization marketing materials, newspapers, and trade association publications. In short, a well-rounded ENTJ.
David Obonyo
Name: David Obonyo
Title: General Manager- Health
Organisation: BRITAM INSURANCE
David Obonyo is the General Manager of Britam Health, a leading provider of health insurance and wellness solutions in Kenya. He has over 15 years of experience in the Insurance sector, spanning health financing, health systems strengthening, and health policy. He is passionate about improving access to quality and affordable health care in the region. David has an MSc in Management from USIU, Bsc. in Statistics, and is a chartered insurer from Chartered Insurance Institute in the UK.
He is a certified coach and mentor, who enjoys supporting young professionals and entrepreneurs to achieve their personal and professional goals. He is married and blessed with 2 beautiful children
Davit Kikvidze
Name: Davit Kikvidze
Title: Chairman of Supervisory Board
Organisation: Fintech Association of Georgia
My name is Davit Kikvidze and I am the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Fintech Association of Georgia, Assistant Professor of Management.
I hold master's degree in project management from The George Washington University and Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Master’s in Macroeconomics as well. I’m Experienced Management Professional, with a demonstrated history of working in different business and nongovernmental sectors. Various Successful projects in Construction, Web Development, Agricultural, Start UP Organization Development and etc.