7 Questions with leaders of small and medium enterprises

Name: Dinesh Agarwal

Current title: Founder CEO

Current organisation: RecurPost

Dinesh Agarwal is a research scientist turned entrepreneur. He has a Ph.D. in Computer science (Cloud Computing). He started his journey as an entrepreneur when he was a sophomore in school in 2001. He has launched over 30 startups and had one successful exit as well.

Name: Tami Leigh

Current title: CEO/Workplace Therapist

Current organisation: Tami Leigh Consulting

The workplace has a far deeper relevance than earning a paycheque or providing a product or service. As a Partner and VP Operations in an International Recruitment Agency for 20 years, I learned first-hand what works, and what doesn’t, within organizations. I am very much aware of the common patterns of actions and behaviors with their “cause and effect” impact - either positive or negative. Through her successes and challenges both professionally as well as personally, I quickly identify the structural, emotional, psychological and intellectual struggles on each side of an employment situation. My unique, therapeutic approach assists to create solutions for balance, functionality and healthy, productive workplaces.

My hobby is collecting friends, listening to their stories. Being a storyteller, herself, her humorous anecdotes from her experiences and strengths offer hope and solutions. The Calgary area is her home, but growing up in rural Manitoba created her down to earth values. In her roles as mother, entrepreneur, sister, volunteer, horse lover/owner I spend time supporting family, friends and clients. I have to say though, my favorite role ever is being “Nana'' to nine very special young souls.

Name: Rueban Issac

Current title: Director

Current organisation: DelExcel Pharma Private Limited

Dr. Rueban Issac is currently a Director for Business Development at DelExcel Pharma Private Limited. He is currently seeking business opportunities for his organization, that is focussed on contract development and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining DelExcel Pharma, Rueban worked for a Contract Research Organization called GVK Biosciences. At GVK Biosciences, Rueban created service offerings aimed towards supporting drug discovery research in the therapeutic area of Inflammation & Immunology. He was also involved in acquiring new business opportunities, based on the service offerings he created.

Rueban has also had experience working for nonprofits and for the Government of India. He worked at International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, where he headed the resource mobilization group, focussed on raising funds to drive R&D and community engagement activities for the organization.

Rueban has also worked as a scientific consultant to the National Biopharma Mission (An industry-academia collaborative mission for accelerating drug discovery to early development for biopharmaceuticals - Innovate In India (I3) program) of Department of Biotechnology (DBT; Ministry of Science and Technology; Government of India).

Name: Juan-Manuel Lopez-Zafra

Current title: Chief Data Officer

Current organisation: Statpro 2000

My passion and background led me to found Statpro 2000 back in 2007, a boutique, very specialized consulting firm with the aim of helping organizations in the transformation of data into knowledge. I also lecture statistics and decision-making methods in CUNEF, one of the leading business schools in Spain, where I'm also in charge of the MSc in Data Science for Finance, which I helped to found 5 years ago. I earned my PhD in Universidad Complutense back in 1995, where I started my lecturing career. Proud member of Institute of Actuaries, Madrid, and author of two books, "Retorno al patrón oro '', about the gold standard, and "Alquimia. Cómo los datos see están transformando en oro'', about the increasing importance of data in business.
Look for me in the countryside more than in the heart of the city. I love skiing, fishing and hiking.

Name: Monika Gostic

Current title: Dr

Current organisation: Dr Monika Gostic

My name is Monika and I am a Healthy living and Business Strategist. I struggled with weight and health my entire life! My lifestyle affected my weight, my mental health and my social life! I couldn't keep a boyfriend. I couldn't fit into any social group. I was depressed but hid it under excessive laughing. All this affected me on so many levels that I am STILL learning to heal.

Luckily I met a health coach who started me on this wonderful journey 10 years ago. I gained a whole new life and also lost 55lbs. I am now in the best shape of my life, despite having gone through pregnancy, a lot of personal problems and a very demanding job as a scientist.

I struggled through depression, through anxiety, through being a single mum in a foreign country to receiving support from food banks as I couldn't afford to live. I accumulated debt and was getting frequently ill due to stress and its effect on my immune system. Having gone through life experience on so many levels, I fully understand how it it when you are tired, have a lot of obligations and just don't know how to eat and stay healthy, let alone how to start your own business without needing to spend $$$$

I see women struggling to run their business and keep up with their families. I get it - I was one of them! After I have undertaken extensive business training and successfully launched my own business I decided it's time to give back! This is how our team of coaches was born.

Our team helps you really LEARN about nutrition so you never have to worry about yo yo effect ever again! There's no quick fixes to being healthy, but there is a quick start that will help you get into the swing of it. At the same time we teach you how to switch your mindset, we teach you time management AND provide you with business training that is different to what you have experienced so far

Name: Andres E Jimenez

Current title: President and CEO

Current organisation: Americas

Andrés Eugenio Jiménez Montoya has an extensive forty-year record with academic training and research as well as professional public service activities in the fields of Latin American and Latino Studies, US Relations with Cuba and Mexico, and Inter-American cross-border relationships. Jiménez currently directs the UCLA Latin American Social Science Council Program (CLACSO) at the Center for North American Integration and Development (NAID). He also serves as President and CEO of the Americas Partnership, incorporated as a non-profit organization in Mexico and the United States. Previously, he directed for three years the California Program on Opportunity and Equity (CalPOE) and seventeen years the California Policy Research Center (CPRC) both affiliated with the University of California. Under the auspices of CPRC, Jiménez oversaw the Latino Policy Research Program that was founded in 2001, the Mexican-Mexican American Dialogue. He also co-founded in 2000 the California-Mexico Health Initiative that is now the Health Initiative of the Americas.
Jiménez previously coordinated research programs at the Institute of International Studies and the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of California, Berkeley for more than a decade. Born in Los Angeles, California, Jimenez received a BA in politics and Latin American studies from University of California at Santa Cruz and pursued doctoral studies in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley earning a Masters of Arts in Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics, Political Philosophy, and International Relations. He is divorced with one adult daughter and is a descendent of the Tongva or Gabrieleño people, the original settlers of the Los Angeles area.

Name: Anne Bloom

Current title: President/Owner

Current organisation: ALB HR Solutions

ü - A senior human resources executive who is strategic and highly effective in guiding talent, culture, and business operations
ü - Experienced in building strategy, transformation, and growth initiatives
ü - Consummate relationship builder who establishes cultures of inclusivity, diversity, and equity working with business leaders to achieve success and trust
ü - A forward-thinking strategic advisor who minimizes risk and ensures compliance.
ü - A highly influential professional with a high understanding and optimism for change, growth, and challenge

Name: J Rick Cusick

Current title: Managing Partner

Current organisation: CATALYST BRANDS

Entrepreneur, Innovator & Senior Executive with expertise in E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Business Development and All Things Amazon.

Name: George Gordon Roberts III

Current title: Principal

Current organisation: Horizon Multifamily

I completed a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology at Wayne State University in 2005 in which I used genomic techniques which were still quite new at the time to discover how organisms adapt to change. I continued to contribute to several fields including microbiology, physiology, and proteomics. To add balance to my life, I began to transition my focus from empirical research to advanced data analytics so that I would be able to spend evenings with my wife and family. After my two wonderful boys, Lorenzo and Georgino were born in 2007 and 2008, I was motivated more than ever to find a way to break away from the 24-7 grind of a laboratory scientist. By 2013 I was able to land a data scientist position that provided the balance I sought.

In 2016, my sister, brother-in-law and I launched the family construction business. Once having engaged in the rough-and-tumble of entrepreneurship, I was forever changed. Through many other business adventures, I discovered the amazing feeling of being able to help people find safe, clean affordable housing through new construction, hard money lending, private equity investment, and direct ownership of apartments. I was hooked on apartment investing after witnessing an apartment community turn from a mood of despondency to a mood of faith and progress in a matter of months.

I spend much of the Michigan summer sailing Lake Erie with my family. There is nothing like a couple of days of life under sail to erase a week of the 24-hour grind! Like so many of those who are forced to spend a great deal of time away from family, the time apart only serves to focus my energy on spending quality time.

Name: Stephen Cummings

Current title: Managing Partner

Current organisation: Rizolve Partners Inc.

Stephen is a leading advisor and financial expert who works with private Business Owners to drive value and to put in place transformational strategies that position businesses for exit on optimal terms.
He has a successful track record in the Canadian Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry, managing large portfolios of private companies developing growth strategies, executing transformations and achieving numerous liquidity events. He has international credentials being a qualified CPA, CA in Ontario and is an FCA in England and Wales.

Prior to founding Rizolve Partners, a leading strategic business advisory firm to the SME market, Stephen was a leading executive with a top quartile Private Equity firm DRI Capital and a Partner with Lumira Capital, one of Canada’s leading Venture Capital firms. Before applying his skills in private capital, Stephen was the CFO at Harlequin Enterprises, a global publisher, and qualified as a CPA and Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in London, UK.

Stephen is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Genomics and Chairs its audit and Special committees.

He is also a sought after international speaker

Name: Roxi Bahar Hewertson, MPS, ACC

Current title: CEO

Current organisation: Highland Consulting Group, Inc.

Roxi Bahar Hewertson is a leadership expert, Presence-Based® Certified and ICF Credentialed ACC executive coach and organizational development expert with more than three decades of practical experience in the worlds of higher education, business, and nonprofits. She is the CEO of Highland Consulting Group, Inc. and author of two highly-acclaimed books, “HireRight, Fire Right: A Leader’s Guide To Finding And Keeping Your Best People” (Rowman & Littlefield) and “Lead Like it Matters…Because it Does” (McGraw-Hill). With a successful career focused on developing high performing leaders, Roxi is a foremost authority on helping executives and managers create thriving teams and work cultures that achieve stellar results. Her no nonsense, practical, tell-it-like-it-is insights have graced the TEDx stage and been featured by premier media outlets. She holds an MPS from Cornell University where she was Adjunct Faculty and a Senior Administrator. Connect with Roxi online at www.AskRoxi.com and www.HighlandConsultingGroupinc.com.

Name: Lula

Current title: Finance Director

Current organisation: Novo Nordisk

I am a mid aged seasoned finance professional with an MBA and CIMA educational background. I have over 20years experience in banking and Pharmaceuticals industries., with great international experience.