Business Chief USA December 2019

Building a digital strategy around advocacy banking 

HHH USA 

EDITION 

DECEMBER 2019 

www.businesschief.com 

BUILDING 

TECHNOLOGY, 

TEAMS AND TRUST 

Championing diversity 

through eWOW 

Rashim Mogha, Global Head of 

Education Products, on her passion 

for encouraging women into tech 

City Focus 

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FOREWORD 

W 

elcome to the December 

edition of Business Chief USA! 

This month’s cover features 

Rashim Mogha, Global Head of 

Education Products, Automation 

Anywhere, discussing how the 

company is leading the way within 

the tech industry by employing more 

women to achieve greater diversity 

in the sector. 

Other leaders that feature in the 

magazine include Chris White, 

Deputy CISO at Interpublic Group 

who discusses talent shortages 

within the technology industry, 

automation solutions and how to 

ensure cybersecurity still allows 

for creative freedom. In addition, 

Gerardo Suárez Napolitano, 

CEO of Tuenti Ecuador, reflects on 

the evolving telecommunications 

industry as well as the company’s 

rapid growth and 100% digital 

offering. Thomas Novak, AVP of 

Digital Banking, Visions FCU, 

discusses the benefits of digital 

transformation within the 

organisation to become true 

advocates for its members. 

In our leadership feature, we speak 

with Ganeshan Venkateshwaran, 

President of Trianz, to discuss 

upcoming digital transformation 

trends within the IT service 

management industry. 

This month’s City Focus takes a 

closer look at the history and culture 

of Phoenix, Arizona and its adoption 

of autonomous vehicles. In addition, 

our Top 10 ranks the wealthiest 

individuals in the United States. 

Do you have a story to share? Please 

do not hesitate to get in touch and you 

could be featured in our next issue. 

Enjoy the read! 

Georgia Wilson 

georgia.wilson@bizclikmedia.com 

03 

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PUBLISHED BY

CONTENTS 

14 

Rashim Mogha is championing 

diversity through eWOW 

40 

28 

Trianz: 

digitally transforming 

technology solutions 

DATA ANALYTICS 

FOR GOOD – THE 

NEXT FRONTIER

48 

Talent retention: 

why traditional 

methods are 

no longer 

enough 

56 

64 

City Focus 

PHOENIX 

Evolving the journey: 

putting your carbon 

footprint at the top 

of the agenda 

72

CONTENTS 

88 

Interpublic Group 

102 

Tuenti Ecuador

116 

Visions Federal 

Credit Union 

130 

RANDALL 

Construction

144 

PepsiCo 

158 

WSIB 

178 

Meridian 

Credit Union

194 

KUBRA 

224 

eStruxture 

208 

DRA Global

14 

DECEMBER 2019

Automation Anywhere: 

Rashim Mogha is 

championing diversity 

through eWOW 

WRITTEN BY 

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS 

PRODUCED BY 

CRAIG KILLINGBACK 

15 


AUTOMATION ANYWHERE 

Rashim Mogha, Founder of 

eWOW and Global Head 

of Education Products, 

Automation Anywhere, is 

leading the way in bringing 

more women into the tech 

industry and shares 

how we can too 

16 

R 

ashim Mogha is clearly the woman to 

watch. eWOW (empowered Women of 

the World) founder and the The Global 

Head of Education Products, Automation Anywhere 

University, best-selling author, keynote speaker and 

equality influencer has just been awarded Woman 

of the Year 2019. This is the third award Mogha has 

won in 2019 alone, having also been recognised as a 

Woman of Influence for Silicon Valley, and winning 

the Women Empowerment: Game Changer Award 

for her eWOW initiative, which empowers women to 

be successful, and for her career achievements. “I’ve 

had the privilege of working at the forefront of cuttingedge 

technology throughout my career,” says Mogha, 

a veteran of companies like VMware, AWS and Oracle. 

“I led the education program for AWS, including bootcamps 

at re:Invent, annual AWS conference where 

we trained over 8,000 people during a three-day 

event.” AWS provided Mogha with an opportunity 

to create education solutions that can function in 


17 

“Say yes to every opportunity 

and, as you climb the ladder, 

don’t forget to give back” 

— 

Rashim Mogha, 

Founder of eWOW and Global Head of Education 

Products, Automation Anywhere 



18 

“When you really look 

at it, robotic process 

automation (RPA) is 

going to drive how 

business is done and 

what the future of 

work is in the era of 

the fourth industrial 

revolution” 

— 

Rashim Mogha, 

Founder of eWOW and 

Global Head of Education Products, 

Automation Anywhere 

real-time as well as to scale them out. 

At Oracle, Mogha built the enablement 

strategy for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 

from the ground up. “Coming to 

Automation Anywhere was a natural 

progression as I had the necessary 

knowledge of how to build products for 

startup environment, and then to scale 

them out. That’s what my role involves 

right now at Automation Anywhere.” 

Her main responsibility is developing 

education products to help accomplish 

Automation Anywhere’s March to Million 

mission of educating a million individuals 

on developing and using robotic process 

automation and prepare for the jobs of 

the future. “This goal was very appealing 

to me because when you really look at 

it, robotic process automation (RPA) is 

going to drive how business is done and 

what the future of work is in the era of the 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘RASHIM MOGHA, AUTOMATION ANYWHERE | 

WOMEN TRANSFORMING TECHNOLOGY 2019’ 

19 

fourth industrial revolution.” She asserts 

the need for upskilling and reskilling to 

maintain momentum in this ever-evolving 

industry, confident that knowledge of 

RPA will soon be a prerequisite for jobs 

of future just like word processors and 

office productivity tools. Mogha is also 

passionate about leadership and has 

been recognised as a Top 100 keynote 

speaker by databird and a Top 20 

thought leaders by Thinkers 360. She 

says “Launching eWOW in 2018 was a 

natural progression. Having held leadership 

roles at VMware, AWS, and Oracle, 

it was now my turn to give back and 

empower more women to join and stay 

in the tech industry.” 

AUTOMATION ANYWHERE UNIVERSITY 

“Businesses are missing out on creating 

compelling global solutions by not having 

diversity at decision-making levels, 

as considerations for women are time 

and time again missed,” says Mogha. 

“For example, the health app released 

by Apple in 2015 did not incorporate or 

take into account women’s reproductive 

cycles, and facial recognition algorithms 

have a success rate of only 33% on 

darker-skinned women, as opposed 



20 

to 99% for white men. The creators of 

the solutions were only thinking of one 

gender; 49% of the population (men) 

cannot create solutions for 100% of the 

world’s population.” It is for this reason 

that Mogha says it is essential to bring 

diversity of thought in the tech industry in 

order to create equal solutions and drive 

the industry forward. 

The March to Millions initiative is 

helping in opening up opportunities 

for everyone and so far has delivered 

500,000 RPA trainings to business 

analysts, developers, program managers, 

partners, and students. The program is 

gaining momentum with its 65 authorised 

training partners across 300+ 

academic institutions. Mogha shares 

that Automation Anywhere’s Enterprise 

A2019 platform offers capabilities to 

enterprises of all sizes, including: an intuitive 

web-based interface that simplifies 

bot development; a cloud-native platform 

that offers customers RPA-as-a-Service 

from the cloud with reduced cost and 

“near-infinite” scalability; AI capabilities 

to integrate third-party solutions and 

natural language processing; and new 

Attended Automation 2.0, allowing 

greater collaboration between humans 

and bots across teams and workflows. 

Automation Anywhere University’s 

education products play a key role in 

upskilling the citizen developers on 


Automation Anywhere’s Enterprise 

A2019 platform. Origin Learning and 

Newgen are strategic training development 

partners ,working with Automation 

Anywhere University to create its education 

products. “These training partners 

have been instrumental in helping us 

develop educational products for our 

global audience. Our trainings are free, 

engaging and localized, making it easy 

for anyone to learn how to develop and 

use bots to eliminate the mundane and 

focus on being creative. With Automation 

Rashim Mogha 

EXECUTIVE PROFILE 

Anywhere University, we are making 

opportunities available to everybody,” 

affirms Mogha. She shares a phrase 

often said by Mihir Shukla, CEO of 

Automation Anywhere: “Talent is equally 

distributed. Opportunities are not.” 

EWOW: LEADING BY EXAMPLE 

“The eWOW initiative is my way of giving 

back to the community. It is an initiative to 

empower women to be successful, whatever 

the definition of success is for them,” 

says Mogha. 

21 

Mogha is a thought leader and women in tech evangelist. A keynote 

speaker and #1 Amazon best-selling author of “Fast-Track Your Leadership 

Career” Rashim speaks at conferences around the world, inspiring women 

and girls to further their career in technology. Her extensive career 

portfolio includes leadership roles in companies such as Oracle, Amazon 

Web Services (AWS), and VMware where she built high-performing teams 

to support over US$2bn businesses. Her thought leadership innovation 

and women in technology have appeared in publications such as Forbes 

and ATD and platforms like Linkedin Learning. With a goal to empower 

leaders in 2018, she founded eWOW: Empowered Women of the World. 

eWOW is an intellectual platform designed to help women with their 

technical and leadership skills to be successful and thrive. Rashim is a 

recipient of ’Women Empowerment: Game Changer, Woman of the Year 

and Silicon Valley Woman of Influence’ awards. 


ENTERPRISE

2003 

Year founded 

1,500,000+ 

bots and counting 

1,750+ 

Number of 

employees 

In September 2018, Mogha released 

her book on leadership, Fast-Track Your 

Leadership Career: A definitive template 

for advancing your career, which 

became an Amazon Bestseller within 11 

hours of release. “I had goosebumps! It 

took me a little while to realise the level 

of impact this was having on people, but 

many women and men leaders began 

to reach out, requesting to continue the 

conversation around empowerment.” 

In November 2018, she launched the 

eWOW initiative: Empowered Women 

of the World, designed to provide 

women with the framework to be successful 

at the workplace. “At eWOW, 

we believe that every woman is a leader 

in her own way – all she needs is an 

intellectual platform that can help her 

navigate the path.” The eWOW platform 

offers Alexa skills, podcasts, various 

online and in-person events, and leadership 

workshops. 

The eWOW podcast has an audience 

in over 31 countries. “It’s about empowering 

women, wherever they are, 

in their journey to leadership. The 

eWOW initiative is well on its way 

COMPANY FACTS 

• Facial recognition 

algorithms have a success 

rate of only 33% for 

darker-skinned women, 

as opposed to 99% 

for white men 

• The March to Millions 

initiative is helping 

providing opportunities to 

everyone and Automation 

Anywhere University has 

delivered 500,000 RPA 

trainings to business 

analysts, developers, 

program managers, 

partners, and students. 

23 



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25 

to reaching out and empowering 

100,000 women globally.” 

“10 years ago, women were expected 

to act like men to a certain extent to 

be successful in a leadership role, as 

most of their peers were men,” reflects 

Mogha. “Today, women can own their 

narrative, bring their whole self to work 

and become empathetic leaders without 

having to pretend to be one of the 

men in the room.” Mogha believes that 

while women have more confidence 

to speak up within these leadership 

environments than ever before, 

we are nowhere close to equality. 

“49% of the 

population (men) 

cannot create 

solutions for 100% 

of the world’s 

population” 

— 

Rashim Mogha, 

Founder of eWOW and 

Global Head of Education Products, 

Automation Anywhere 



26 


BRIGHTER FUTURES 

Looking to the future, Mogha has one 

main piece of advice to others looking to 

move forward in their careers. “Say yes 

to every opportunity and, as you climb 

the ladder, don’t forget to give back.” To 

companies, she suggests: “If you want 

this world to be an equal place and help 

solve world problems, make sure that 

you are truly bringing diversity and inclusion 

into your workforce and into your 

thought processes, as opposed to just 

thinking of it as a token or a box that you 

need to check.” 

Mogha concludes: “The future is 

bright for women in tech; there has 

been an inspiring growth in the number 

of women attending tech events and 

many companies are also starting to 

realise build programs to bring and 

retain women in the workforce.” As the 

tech industry continues to embark on 

diversity and inclusion initiatives, there 

is no doubt that Rashim Mogha will be 

at the forefront of this drive, continuing 

to inspire women to challenge bias and 

push themselves to be empathetic and 

forward-thinking leaders who create 

solutions for real world problems. 

27 


LEADERSHIP 

28 

Trianz: 

digitally 

transforming 

technology 

solutions 

Ganeshan Venkateshwaran, 

President at Trianz, 

discusses upcoming digital 

transformation trends 

WRITTEN BY GEORGIA WILSON 



29

LEADERSHIP 

30 

With almost 20 years’ experience within IT 

consulting and services, Ganeshan 

Venkateshwaran, President at Trianz, 

understands the rapid pace at which his industry 

can evolve, driven by new and innovative 

technologies. He believes that, when it comes 

to the technology industry, “a key disruptor is 

the pace at which core businesses are getting 

disrupted. This, he says, means that the need 

for technologies to deliver faster, better and 

connected outcomes has never been greater 

in order to stay ahead. 

“As early as 2013, Trianz Founder and Chairman 

Sri Manchala sensed new paradigms taking shape 

and spent serious time with clients understanding 

how it impacted theam,” says Venkateshwaran. 

Before digital transformation became fashionable, 

he explains, Sri and the senior leadership team 

applied themselves to create the right portfolio 

required for multidisciplinary collaboration. 

“When we saw digital disruption coming, we 

consciously transitioned out from any legacy 

footprints we had, investing not only in creating 

digital assets but also training and transforming 

our core assets, our people.” 



31

LEADERSHIP 

32 

“A key disruptor is 

the pace at which 

core businesses are 

getting disrupted, 

which demands the 

need for technologies 

to deliver faster, 

better and connected 

outcomes” 

— 


President, Trianz 

In terms of that transformation, 

Venkateshwaran has seen multiple 

technologies drive digital disruption 

in the sector. These, he adds, include 

Concierto.cloud, an integrated cloud 

and infrastructure operations 

management platform, to provide 

a unified and holistic view of IT 

operations, spanning infrastructure 

and applications; Arxway, a bastion 

host server that connects an 

organisation’s VPNs to AWS Cloud’s 

EC2 instances, enabling enhanced 

security and authorised user access 

from anywhere; Trianz Marketing Data 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘IMPROVE CUSTOMER & EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCES WITH FASTER, 

EFFICIENT APPLICATION PERFORMANCE MONITORING’ 

33 

Lake Solution, a unified repository for 

all customer data, combining internal 

and external sources to produce data 

marts in an analytical consumable 

format; and Trianz IoT Platform, the 

management layer Underlying IoT, 

which has the capability to visualise 

device topology and rule chain analysis 

for predefined actionable patterns. 

Cloud in particular is becoming 

increasingly important to companies 

worldwide, he states. For example, 

he explains how businesses of all 

sizes are increasing their investment 

in public cloud, taking a balanced 

approach that enables them to opt 

for a ‘multi-cloud’ strategy. The 

development of hybrid cloud solutions 

and innovations in containerisation 

“marks the next phase of cloud 

adoption”, he adds. 

With the continuous increase in 

cloud and analytical technology 

driving mainstream businesses, 

Venkateshwaran discusses in more 

detail how Trianz works to leverage 

innovations such as chatbots (natural 

language processing), connected clouds 


LEADERSHIP 

34 

(public, private, hybrid), blockchain, 

artificial intelligence, machine learning, 

AIOps platforms, digital twins, 

serverless computing, DevOps 

assembly lines and microservices. 

“Our digital transformation includes 

building a machine learning algorithm 

to classify legal documents for a 

leading law firm, leveraging Azure 

Cognitive services,” he explains. 

“We are also developing a chatbot that 

can retrieve data in conversional ways 

for insurers; building a network 

management system (NMS) solution 

based on an open source IoT platform, 

to monitor and manage patented BPL 

devices; an AIOps product, that 

ingests system services and 

application logs that uses predictive 

algorithms in an event management 

framework; and developing deep 

competency in areas of Modern data 

stacks and driving certification around 

Azure, GCP, Talend, Snowflake looker 

and AppDynamics. 

“At Trianz, our ‘Innovation Labs’ are 

hotspots where new platform features 

and capabilities are evaluated and 

tested for specific use cases,” 

comments Venkateshwaran. 

“We have 

carefully crafted 

an ecosystem 

engineered 

around our 

focus on digital 

evolution” 

— 




“The company is constantly evaluating 

next generation technologies and 

developing POCs/Prototypes that 

enable technology based disruption.” 

In addition to its current projects in 

progress, Trianz has launched Trasers, 

“a syndicated, benchmarking and 

custom research service based on 

the world’s largest study in digital 

transformations, spanning over 5,000 

companies across 17 industries.” 

The service aims to allow business 

leaders to develop visions, strategies 

and roadmaps with data driven 

insights for digital solutions. 

Venkateshwaran also highlights 

the importance of crafting the right 

service model strategy, alongside the 

right technology partnerships and 

the right culture, when it comes to 

multidisciplinary collaboration. If 

companies do this, he states, it can 

help to keep both themselves and 

their clients ahead of the digital 

transformation curve. “By investing 

in digital workplace technology” he 

adds, “we can provide operational 

efficiencies to our global workforce, to 

optimise synergies through seamless 

communication and collaboration. 

35 


LEADERSHIP 

36 

“When we saw digital 

disruption coming, 

we consciously 

transitioned out from 

any legacy footprints 

we had, investing not 

only in creating digital 

assets but we trained 

and transformed our 

core assets, our people” 

— 



LEADING THE DIGITAL 

TRANSFORMATION RACE 

Founded in 2001, Trianz has been 

solving critical challenges faced by 

business leaders through perspectives 

backed by experience and research 

for nearly two decades. Says 

Venkateshwaran: “we have positioned 

ourselves as next-generation leaders 

in digital transformation engagements.” 

Trianz delivers to its clients business 

and technology roadmaps, business 

readiness and organisational adoption 

for strategic initiatives, as well as 

technology services ranging from 

platform selection and technology 


architecture, all the way through to 

solution implementations. “These 

services aim to facilitate, orchestrate and 

simplify the uphill task of evolving digitally 

and contextualise interactions with 

clients to personalise their experiences. 

To reflect this commitment, our business 

theme is ‘Digital Evolution Simplified’. 

“We have carefully crafted an 

ecosystem engineered around our 

focus on digital evolution,” continues 

Venkateshwaran “we are committed 

to enabling business and technology 

leaders to drive transformations through 

simple, yet effective, techniques.” 

Venkateshwaran believes Trianz’s 

strengths are, its “exclusive focus on 

digital transformation, unbiased insights, 

global scale, values and culture.” 

Over these years, Trianz has 

expanded its footprint to multiple global 

locations, with over 2,500 successful 

client partnerships and engagements 

with Fortune 1000 and emerging 

organisations in multiple industries. 

37 


COVERING EVERY ANGLE 

IN THE DIGITAL AGE 

The Business Chief platforms offer 

insight on the trends influencing 

C and V-level executives, telling the 

stories that matter 

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HAVE YOU SEEN OUR OTHER TITLES?

TECHNOLOGY 

40 


DATA ANALYTICS 

FOR GOOD – THE NEXT 

FRONTIER 

41 

David González, Head of Big Data 

and Advanced Analytics for Vodafone 

Business, on the opportunity to use 

big data for social good 

WRITTEN BY DAVID GONZÁLEZ 


TECHNOLOGY 

42 

I 

n 2018, data visualisation company 

DOMO predicted that by 2020, 

1.7MB of data will be created every 

second for every person on earth. 

The new year is now only one month 

away, and this explosion of data is 

showing no sign of slowing down. 

As digitalisation becomes the norm 

across more industries and IoT adoption 

continues, even more data will be 

generated. Industries like healthcare and 

manufacturing have been turning data 

into insights that drive improvements 

to customer service, processes and 

products. Outside of these use cases, 

could this data driven approach also 

be applied to tackle social challenges? 

MOVING BEYOND THE ENTERPRISE 

It would be short-sighted to assume 

that data analytics can only be 

relevant within the enterprise. Improved 

connectivity and advances in 

IoT are creating vast volumes of data. 

As more people interact with these 

connected devices, the data generated 

will increase exponentially to 

represent every aspect of society. 

This will enable us to gain a better 

understanding of how processes work 

across myriad areas of modern life, 

granting us the ability to then use 

those insights to address existing and 

future problems. Aggregated and 

anonymised large-scale data has 

the potential to generate immense 

positive social impact. 

For example, managing the aftermath 

of natural disasters can consume 

resources when time is precious. 

Planning aid in advance is key, and data 

analytics can be used to inform a plan 

to assist those in need. Governments 


43 

and NGOs need to know where the 

impacted people are, in which direction 

they are moving and how the environment 

is changing. Only then can they 

respond effectively and efficiently 

to the effects of the disaster. 

In a similar way, data analytics can 

be applied to protect public health by 

predicting the spread of a pandemic. 

Accurate predictions allow authorities 

to put measures in place which 

mitigate the effects and control the 

incidence of new cases. 

“Improved 

connectivity 

and advances 

in IoT is 

creating 

vast volumes 

of data” 

— 

David González, 

Head of Big Data and Advanced 

Analytics for Vodafone Business 


TECHNOLOGY 

44 

“Unlocking the 

full potential 

of data will 

require a 

concerted 

effort between 

different 

organisations” 

— 




CLOSER TO HOME 

Data can make a difference on a global 

scale, but what about in urban centres? 

Today, 55% of the world’s population 

lives in such an environment. This 

proportion is expected to increase to 

68% by 2050. That’s another 2.5bn 

people dwelling in urban areas. This 

increase will place significant demands 

on infrastructure, retailers, banks, 

healthcare systems and educational 

institutions. In addition, preventing 

crime will also be a top priority. There is 

the potential for huge social impact, 

improving the management of cities 

and the quality of life for citizens. 

For example, data collected by law 

enforcement can improve safety by 

better predicting crime spots and 

implementing measures such as 

improved lighting or CCTV. 

Preparing for this scenario begins 

now, and it starts with understanding 

the movement of people. Governments 

and businesses alike can use 

this information to make significant 

decisions. In transport, for example, 

it can inform where to build bridges 

and footpaths or place electric 

car charging points. 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘WHAT COULD 5G DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS?’ 

45 

The success of these initiatives relies 

on accurate insight into the needs 

and habits of urban populations. This 

must start with democratising access 

to population data intelligence, in 

a secure and anonymised way that 

protects the privacy of future citizens. 

KEEPING DATA PRIVATE 

The main concern about widespread 

data collection is data privacy; many 

high-profile companies have come 

under scrutiny for their use of customer 

data. However, it becomes more 

concerning when it is related to 

sensitive information, such as individual 

location or health status. Where will 

this data be stored and how will it be 

collected? Who will ultimately be 

responsible for keeping it safe from 

malicious actors? How can citizens 

be assured that their data will be 

anonymised and only be used for the 

stated purpose? The answers to these 

questions will affect the extent of the 

public’s support. Transparency in 

communicating with the public will 

be critical to the success of any data 

analytics initiatives, even if the purpose 

is for good. 


TECHNOLOGY 

46 

WORKING TOGETHER TO KEEP DATA SAFE 

Unlocking the full potential of data will 

require a concerted effort between 

different organisations. Those who 

collect the data must work together 

to ensure the insights are used by the 

most appropriate organisations who 

are able to effect change. 

Vodafone is part of a wider alliance – 

the GSMA’s Big Data for Social Good 

initiative – where mobile operators 

share insights with NGOs to build 

an ecosystem that supports timely 

planning and response. Location 

intelligence – where location-based 

“The increasing 

digitisation of 

industries 

provides the best 

opportunity for 

data to be mined 

for social good” 

— 





insights are used to solve problems 

and identify new opportunities – plays 

a role here, building a safer, more 

sustainable world. 

The increasing digitisation of 

industries provides the best opportunity 

for data to be mined for social 

good, as a positive ‘side effect’ of 

collection. In addition to making 

services more efficient, streamlined 

and personalised, the same data can 

be used to predict how populations 

move and react. As urban areas grow, 

these insights will be critical to 

informing how the safety and health 

of citizens will be managed. It is 

important that the right decisions are 

made now, regarding data collection 

and analytics. Only then will we 

be prepared to tackle the social 

challenges of the future. 

47 


PEOPLE 

48 

Talent retention: 

why traditional 

methods are 

no longer 

enough 

Business Chief 

meets with Jen 

Scherler Gormley, 

HR Lead (UK), Cisco 

to discuss strategies 

to retain, source and 

develop talent 




49

PEOPLE 

50 

Currently in the UK, 43% of employers 

feel it has become more difficult to fill 

job vacancies over the last 12 months, 

with 31% seeing salary increases of more than 

2% being used as an incentive for recruitment 

and retention of talent. 

When it comes to recruitment and talent 

retention, Jen Scherler Gormley, HR Lead 

(UK), Cisco, believes that the flatline approach 

of annual appraisals and ratings for objectives 

and development simply isn’t enough. 

Performance ratings disenfranchise a large 

proportion of employees, creating year—long 

labels regardless of a person’s change in 

performance over the next 12 months at a 

company. “For us, recruitment and talent 

management is about empowering people to 

be their best selves, as well as bringing everyone 

together to create an environment where 

individuals and teams can thrive. Five years 

ago, we revived our performance management 

processes by ditching annual appraisals and 

ratings.” Gormley further comments that the 

organisation’s move to eliminate annual 

appraisals from its talent strategy in 2015 has 

yielded positive results for its talent retention, 

seeing higher engagement from existing 

employees, as well as providing a strong 

differentiator for attracting new talent. 


51 

Being ‘conscious’ is an important 

part of workplace culture, states 

Gormley. With 59% of UK workers 

looking to move jobs as a result of 

being undervalued, having no career 

progression and having unsupportive 

managers. With this in mind, it is 

important to focus on three key 

entwined areas: environment, the 

unique characteristics of the organisation 

and the specific experience of 

individuals, in order to manage and 

lead a positive culture. To incorporate 

this into its organisation, Cisco has 


PEOPLE 

52 

implemented a digital platform that 

enables weekly connections in relation 

to what support is required and what 

individuals loved and loathed about the 

week, to aid its elimination of annual 

appraisals. “We call this ‘check-in’,” says 

Gormley. “It has been adopted at all levels 

of the organisation – including our CEO 

and executive leadership team – providing 

important information to drive a different 

kind of conversation with team members 

providing greater regularity, as well as 

allowing in—the—moment redirection 

of work, support and continuous 

coaching. Performance is ultimately 

personal to each individual and it is 

important that continuous conversations 

take place between employees 

and their leaders.” 

According to Gormley, a workplace’s 

culture should be built on a foundation 

of accountability, empowerment and the 

freedom to speak out to achieve goals 

within an organisation. Transparency 

and empowerment is a driving force to 

build trust, within an organisation and 

is a key element of ensuring that talent is 

retained and thriving. 

“Fundamentally, inclusion is 

a bridge to connect diverse 

perspectives, providing a platform 

for new ideas and inspiring 

innovation” 

— 

Jen Scherler Gormley, 



CLICK TO WATCH: ‘WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION AT CISCO WITH WEBEX TEAMS’ 

53 

When looking to source talent, 

Gormley highlights the importance 

of combining human connection 

with innovation to not only develop 

employees, but also the business. 

Industries are continuously changing 

and adapting, and organisations 

shouldn’t shy away from utilising 

multiple forms of employment such as 

apprenticeship programmes, alongside 

traditional employment methods, 

as well as utilising transferable skills. 

“There is no one answer to this, but 

we’ve found that the human connection 

intertwined with innovation, is 

fundamental to building and maintaining 

a culture of continuous learning as 

well as attracting talent that aligns 

with our values.” 

Inclusion and diversity is essential 

to innovation. When sourcing, maintaining 

and retaining talent, it is key to 

ensure an organisation is inclusive. 

“We have found that certain language 

used in job profiles could dissuade 

female talent from applying. Therefore, 

we have implemented a tool that 

analyses the language in our job 

descriptions to ensure that we are 

attractive to a diverse pool of potential 


PEOPLE 

54 

applicants. In addition, every year, we 

take part in Girls in ICT Day to encourage 

a higher percentage of girls to become 

a part of the industry by utilising technology 

to communicate with and support 

girls across the globe,” says Gormley. 

“Fundamentally, inclusion is a bridge 

to connect diverse perspectives, 

providing a platform for new ideas 

and inspiring innovation.” 

Internal changes within a company 

can put a strain on organisations. 

With this in mind, Gormley believes it is 

important to maintain frequent communication 

between leaders and team 

members to ensure that workplace 

“We have found that 

certain language 

used in job profiles 

could dissuade 

female talent 

from applying” 

— 

Jen Scherler Gormley, 


culture doesn’t get left behind in the 

process. Companies should instead 

utilise internal changes to enhance 

communication and manage talent. 

“We care a lot about our culture. We 

are driving for an environment where 

healthy conversations happen 

between individuals and teams, where 

no one is isolated and each person 

feels able to proactively support their 

colleagues,” says Gormely, who feels 

its implementation at Cisco provides a 

level of transparency she has not seen 


55 

in other companies, resulting in greater 

engagement from employees to actively 

participate in conversations regarding 

experience and individual growth. 

Ultimately, when it comes to talent 

retention, traditional methods are no 

longer enough to encourage employees 

to stay with a company for the long 

term. Companies need to be more conscious 

of their employees by maintaining 

human connection and communication, 

in order to drive accountability, 

empowerment and freedom within 

an organisation. As a result of 

incorporating these foundations, 

organisations should see an increase 

in innovation and inclusion, as well 

as experiencing greater engagement 

when it comes to individual growth 

and performance. 


SUSTAINABILITY 

56 

Evolving the journey: 

putting your carbon 

footprint at the top of 

the agenda 

David Griffiths, Senior Product Marketing 

& Strategy Manager at retail supply 

chain Adjuno, looks at reduction of carbon 

footprints in the retail industry 

WRITTEN BY DAVID GRIFFITHS 



57


58 

Consumers are thrilled by the 

speed and flexibility of e-commerce. 

But the proliferation of 

new retail channels and choices 

is changing their purchasing behaviour, 

and ultimately, that’s taking its toll on the 

environment. With next-day, same-day 

and one-hour delivery options starting 

to be commonplace with many retailers, 

consumers are fast becoming used 

to getting their chosen product not just 

quickly, but almost instantly. 

At the same time, consumers are 

placing greater emphasis on the sustainability 

efforts of their favourite retailers. 

In fact, a third of consumers are 

now choosing to buy from brands they 

believe are doing social or environmental 

good. That’s a large proportion of the 

customer base that a retailer risks losing 

if they don’t meet this expectation. 

The good news is that retailers across 

the world are recognising this and 

starting to step up with commitments to 

address the sustainable agenda. But are 

they doing enough? 

With the battle moving to the supply 

chain and concerns growing around air 


59 

pollution and greenhouse gases, brands 

now have a responsibility to reduce their 

carbon emission levels and drive the 

creation of the green supply chain. 

INDEPENDENTS VS RETAIL GIANTS 

Independent retailers are currently 

rising above the competition when 

it comes to low carbon emissions. 

Transport is the second highest emitter 

of greenhouse gases, therefore 

the independents who have shorter 

product journeys will naturally have a 

smaller carbon footprint. It isn’t as easy 

“A third of consumers 

are now choosing 

to buy from brands 

they believe are 

doing social or 

environmental good” 

— 

David Griffiths 

Senior Product Marketing & 

Strategy Manager, Adjuno 



60 

“Brands now have 

a responsibility 

to reduce their 

carbon emission 

levels ” 

— 




for the retail giants. With longer journeys, 

more players in the supply chain 

and bigger product ranges to contend 

with, retail giants have a harder time of 

reducing their carbon footprint. But it 

certainly is possible. 

Packaging should be at the top of 

every retailer’s list when it comes to 

making strides towards sustainability. 

A strategic approach to transit packaging 

that optimises carton, pallet 

and container fill will not only reduce 

packaging costs, with higher standards 

enforced, but it will also decrease shipping 

costs as a result of better container 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘SUPPLY CHAIN SOFTWARE – ADJUNO SCM SOLUTIONS’ 

61 

utilisation, with less empty space being 

shipped. Not only does this reduce 

the number of journeys that need to 

be made, but it will also enable more 

efficient use of DC space. Ultimately 

though, a strategic approach to packaging 

reduces waste and therefore 

improves the carbon footprint, putting 

retail giants one step closer to meeting 

their sustainability goals. 

Many large retailers have already 

seen success in this area too, with 

effective changes to their packaging 

compliance resulting in huge reductions 

in the number of different packaging 

types used, and consequently the 

reduction in the amount of containers 

and DC space required. The retailers 

that are serious about reducing their 

carbon footprint have the tools at their 

disposal to make it happen, with simple 

changes making a world of difference 

to carbon-conscious consumers. 

SHOUTING ABOUT SUCCESS 

At the start of this year, Aldi claimed 

it was the first grocer in the UK to be 

carbon-neutral, detailing that it had 

cut greenhouse gas emissions per 

square metre of sales floor space by 



62 

53% since 2012. That’s a big statement 

to make, but it shows Aldi’s 

commitment to making changes that 

have resulted in extremely positive 

outcomes. The fact is that changes 

are being made, but few retailers 

are shouting about their behind-thescenes 

success, leaving the issue 

of reducing carbon footprint still far 

lower than it should be on the retail 

agenda. The lack of visibility for consumers 

is weakening the message 

and hindering their ability to trust the 

brand, so whilst retailers must ensure 

that first and foremost they are making 

sustainable changes for the right 

reasons, they also need to make sure 

they are letting consumers know 

what is really happening. 

Simple changes to packaging will 

show consumers that the retailer is 

making an effort, for example, if a 

retailer can confidently say in its marketing 

materials that all items from 

one brand are being shipped into 

the store using 50% less packaging, 

every carbon-conscious consumer 

would know that steps are being 

taken and be more likely to buy from 

the retailer as a result. 


“Simple changes 

to packaging will 

show consumers 

that the retailer is 

making an effort” 

— 




63 

MAKING A CHANGE 

The potential is huge, but retailers 

must realise that the smallest changes 

can have the biggest impact. What’s 

important is for retailers to make these 

changes and then shout about it from 

the rooftops, moving carbon footprint 

to the top of the agenda and creating 

an ecosystem of retailers working towards 

a common goal to turn sustainability 

from talk to action. 


Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona, a hub 

of industry, culture and innovation, 

and the best place in the world to see 

what a future filled with self-driving 

cars might look like 

PHOE 

CITY FOCUS | PHOENIX 

64 

City Focus 

PHOE 

WRITTEN BY HARRY MENEAR 


NIX 

65 

NIX 



66 

Known to its 1.6mn residents as the ‘Valley of 

the Sun,’ Phoenix, Arizona is the fifth most 

populous city in the US and the only state 

capital that is home to more than a million people. 

First settled in 1867, it was incorporated as a city in 

1881 and became the capital of the Arizona Territory 

in 1889. Phoenix was originally an agricultural community, 

with an economy that remained centered 

around cotton, cattle, citrus, copper and its desert 

climate for decades before the arrival of tech 

companies in the wake of the Second World War. 

Today, the Phoenix Metropolitan Area has a GDP 

in excess of US$243bn, and a per capita GDP of 

approximately $44,500, although its 4.2% unemployment 

rate is higher than the national average 

of 3.9%. Despite this, however, its economy was the 

third-fastest growing in the nation last year, powered 

by healthy performance in financial and business 

services, healthcare and manufacturing sectors. 

The largest company to call Phoenix home is 

national pet goods and supplies retailer PetSmart, 

which chalked up more than $5.3bn in revenue last 

year. Its largest private sector employer is Walmart, 

which has more than 30,000 workers across the 

state, many of whom work at the company’s supercenters, 

discount stores, neighborhood markets, 

Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers in Phoenix itself. 


1.626mn 

Population of 

Phoenix, Arizona 

1881 

Year founded 

Nearest Airport 

5km 

Phoenix Sky Harbor 

International 

67 



68 

“It’s pretty 

trippy when 

you see the 

fact that the 

car is driving 

itself ” 

— 

Nicole Collins, 

Waymo One rider 

While coastal cities like New 

York, Boston, Los Angeles and San 

Francisco have more prominent 

reputations for startup economies 

and being proving grounds for industry-disrupting 

innovations like food 

delivery rovers, Postmates and Uber, 

Phoenix has for the last year been 

home to the first steps of an even 

more important journey. Exactly one 

year ago, in December 2018, Google 

spinoff company Waymo launched a 

limited trial service of its self-driving 

taxi service in the city. 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘INSIDE THE CITY WHERE WAYMO TESTS SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES’ 


HOW WE GOT HERE 

In 2004, the US Department of 

Defense (DoD) hosted a competition. 

It took the form of a 142-mile-long 

obstacle course, designed to test the 

abilities of autonomous vehicles. Only 

one of the vehicles that entered made 

it more than seven miles. Undeterred, 

the DoD repeated the competition the 

following year. Five teams completed 

the grueling course in 2005, with the 

entry from the Stanford Engineering 

Department doing it in the shortest 

amount of time and winning a $2mn 

prize. That team was led by computer 

scientist Sebastian Thrun. 

Two years later, Thrun was hired 

by Google to head up its fledgling 

driverless car programme, Google X, 

which has since spun off into Alphabet 

subsidiary Waymo. Thrun left Google 

in 2014 to pursue executive roles at 

his own education and electronic 

aviation companies, but Waymo is 

now among the leading companies 

bringing autonomous vehicles to the 

point of commercial viability. The 

company says that it has tested its 

vehicles in over 25 cities across six 

states, but the largest concentration 

of miles driven have been in the 

suburbs of Phoenix. 

69 



70 

WAYMO ONE 

Operational for a year now, the Waymo 

One service operates in four neighbourhoods 

across the city: Chandler, 

Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert. A vetted 

group of around 1,000 local residents 

can use the company’s app to hail a 

ride from its growing fleet of autonomous 

vehicles, as well as give direct 

feedback on the service. 

“It’s pretty trippy when you see the 

fact that the car is driving itself,” said 

Waymo One rider Nicole Collins in 

an interview with CNBC. “It’s great 

to be a part of history, for my kids to 

experience - my daughter actually 

liked it a lot.” 

Riders with access to the Waymo 

One app can summon one of its 600 

vehicles 24/7 and use them to travel 

anywhere in the limited area that the 

company’s fleet has mapped. The 

operational area is restricted because 

Waymo’s fleet is only autonomous 

in these pre-mapped areas, and the 

safety of its vehicles is largely dependent 

on the extensive pre-existing knowledge 

they have of an area’s roads and obstacles. 

In October, Waymo announced 

that its vehicles had begun the process 


of mapping out some streets in Los 

Angeles, as part of the process of 

determining whether the service is 

ready to take on one of the most 

congested urban transport environments 

in the country. 

Waymo has also partnered with 

ride-hailing company Lyft, making 10 

of its Phoenix vehicles publicly available 

through its platform. Also, in October, 

Waymo sent an email to its Waymo 

One customers, informing them of plans 

to remove the safety drivers that have 

so far been a necessary presence in all 

unmanned vehicles, ready to take the 

wheel in case of a malfunction or error. 

As today’s cities become the smart 

urban environments of the future, 

places like Phoenix are offering 

remarkable insight into the solutions 

that may define the technological 

utopias of tomorrow. 

71 


TOP 10 

72 


Wealthiest 

individuals in 

the US 

73 

Business Chief USA takes a closer 

look at the wealthiest individuals in 

the United States. 



TOP 10 

74 

10 

Rob Walton 

$53bn 

Rob Walton, aged 74, is the eldest son of Sam Walton, the founder of 

Walmart – he joined Walmart in 1969. During his time at the company 

he held a number of roles including: Senior Vice President, Corporate 

Secretary, General Counsel and Vice Chairman, before taking over 

as Walmart’s Chairman in 1992 following his father’s death. In 2015, 

Walton retired and was replaced by his son in law Greg Penner. 

Today, Walton and his siblings own half of Walmart’s stock. 


75 

09 

Alice Walton 

$53.1bn 

Alice Walton, 70, is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. 

She briefly worked as a buyer at Walmart but did not take part in 

the day-to-day operations of the business, instead becoming an 

art curator. In 2011, Walton opened the Crystal Bridges Museum 

of American Art featuring Andy Warhol, Norman Rockell and Mark 

Rothko. Walton and her siblings own half of Walmart’s stock. 


TOP 10 

77 

08 

Jim Walton 

$53.4bn 

At 71, Jim Walton is the youngest son of Sam Walton, the founder 

of Walmart. Walton sat on the board of directors for Walmart until 

2016, when his son Steuart took over. He and his siblings own half of 

Walmart’s stock. Today, Walton is the head of regional bank, Arvest 

Bank Group (which he has a 44% stake in) and works with his sister 

Alice on a programme to issue US$300mn in bonds to help charter 

schools invest in facilities. 


TOP 10 

78 

07 

Sergey Brin 

$53.9bn 

Self-made billionaire, Sergey Brin, aged 46, is the president of Alphabet, 

the parent company of multiple subsidiaries such as Google, Verily 

and Waymo. Brin created a search engine alongside Larry Page, 

listing results based on the popularity of the page. Brin and Page 

called it ‘Google’ after the mathematical term ‘googol’, referring to 

the number one followed by 100 zeros, and reflecting their mission 

to organise the vast amount of information available on the internet. 


79 

06 

Larry Page 

$55.9bn 

Self-made billionaire, Larry Page is the co-founder of Google and 

current CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google following a 

restructure in 2015. In addition to his work with Alphabet and Google, 

Page is the founder of Planetary Resources, a space exploration 

company, and is funding “flying car” startups Kitty Hawk and Opener. 


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the impossible 

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With the latest in AI technologies, you can engage your customers 

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TOP 10 

Zuckerberg and US Secretary 

of State John Kerry, 2016 81 

05 

Mark Zuckerberg 

$68.3bn 

One of the world’s youngest billionaires, Zuckerberg, aged 35, 

co-founded social networking site Facebook in 2004. The site was 

made for Harvard University students to match student names with 

photos. In 2005, Accel invested $12.7 million into Facebook, opening 

the site up to other colleges, high schools and international schools. 

In 2012 Facebook became public, with its first initial public offering 

(IPO) raising US$16bn – the biggest in IPO history. 


TOP 10 

82 

04 

Larry Ellison 

$68.7bn 

Self-made billionaire Larry Ellison, aged 75, cofounded software 

firm Oracle in 1977, building database-management systems for the 

CIA. Oracle has grown through steady acquisition of software companies 

such as PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, Sun Microsystems and 

Netsuite. In 2014, Ellison stepped down as CEO. However, he is still 

on the Board of Directors and is Chief Technology Officer at Oracle. 


Buffett meets with President Barack Obama 

at the White House in July 2011 83 

03 

Warren Buffett 

$81.7bn 

Warren Buffett, aged 89, is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire 

Hathaway, an American multinational conglomerate holding company 

that owns 60 companies including: Geico, Duracell and Dairy 

Queen. In 1956 Buffett formed Buffett Partnership Ltd, becoming 

a millionaire through identifying undervalued companies, including 

Berkshire Hathaway. Following a significant investment in Coca-Cola 

Buffett became the director of the company. 


TOP 10 

84 

02 

Bill Gates 

$105.5bn 

Self-made billionaire Bill Gates, aged 63, is 

the co-founder of American multinational 

technology company, Microsoft, alongside 

Paul Allen in 1975. Gates met Allen in 1968 

when he was just 13 years old, the two 

bonding over their love for computers. In 

1970, Gates and Allen developed a traffic 

monitoring software for Seattle, making 

US$20,000. Gates wanted to pursue a 

business career but was encouraged to 

go to Harvard University, studying law. In 

1975, Gates dropped out of university to 

establish Microsoft with Allen; their first 

product was BASIC software that ran on 

Altair computers. Paul Allen left the company 

in 1983 after being diagnosed with 

Hodgkin’s Disease. In 2014, Gates stepped 

down as Chairman of the company, focusing 

on his joint foundation with his wife 

Melinda French – The Bill and Melinda 

Gates Foundation – which he has donated 

US$35.8bn worth of Microsoft stock to. 

0000 

YEAR 

FOUNDED 

$0.0bn 

REVENUE 

IN XXXXXXXXX 

DOLLARS 

0,000 

NUMBER OF 

EMPLOYEES 

Altair 8800 Computer 


Steve Jobs and Gates at D: All Things Digital in 2007 85 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘INSIDE BILL’S BRAIN – PART 1’ 


TOP 10 

86 

Bezos giving NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver (fourth from left) 

a tour of Blue Origin’s crew capsule in 2011. 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘AMAZON CEO JEFF BEZOS AND BROTHER MARK GIVE A RARE 

INTERVIEW ABOUT GROWING UP AND SECRETS TO SUCCESS’ 


0000 

YEAR 

FOUNDED 

01 

$0.0bn 

REVENUE 

IN XXXXXXXXX 

DOLLARS 

0,000 

NUMBER OF 

EMPLOYEES 

Jeff Bezos with Secretary 

of Defense Ash Carter 

Jeff Bezos 

$108.2bn 

Self-made billionaire Jeff Bezos, aged 

55, is the founder and current CEO of 

Amazon. The American multinational 

technology company was founded by 

Bezos in 1994, working out of his garage 

in Seattle, Washington selling books. In 

2005, Amazon added auctions to the 

site and began selling multiple hardware, 

electrical and apparel products, as well as 

CDs and books. By 2014, it had launched 

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon 

Kindles, Amazon Studios and Amazon 

Alexa. Jeff Bezos has a Bachelor of Arts 

and a Bachelor of Science from Princeton 

University. As well as being the founder 

and CEO of Amazon, Bezos founded Blue 

Origin in 2000 to manufacture aerospace 

technology and provide sub-orbital 

spaceflight services. In 2013 he became 

the owner of the Washington Post. 

87 


88 

IPG: building 

technology, 

teams and trust 

WRITTEN BY 

HARRY MENEAR 

PRODUCED BY 

MIKE SADR 



89

INTERPUBLIC GROUP 

Chris White, Deputy CISO at Interpublic 

Group, talks about the talent shortage, 

automation, and how to ensure that 

cybersecurity is an enabler of creative 

freedom and business operations 

90 

W 

e live in an era of unsurpassed connectivity. 

The ongoing digital transformation of the 

global business landscape is bringing 

everything from robotic process automation (RPA) 

to artificial intelligence (AI) out of the pages of science 

fiction and into the homes and workplaces of billions 

of people. Nearly every person walks around with a 

rectangle of glass, plastic and silicon in their pocket 

that can access nearly the sum of human knowledge, 

and possesses about 100,000 times the computing 

power of the thinking machines that put man on 

the Moon. In seconds, we can convey information, 

opinions and our innermost thoughts to an audience 

of millions. We can share memes using a refrigerator 

now. Never before has information, interaction and 

human connection been so readily available, but this 

new world is not without its challenges. 

“What I don’t think a lot of people understand is 

that every single person that owns a smartphone, 

tablet, smart watch, even a smart fridge, is under 

attack, every minute of every day,” explains Chris 

White, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at 

Interpublic Group (IPG). 

Below: IPG Chairman and 

CEO Michael Roth and 

Chief Diversity & Inclusion 

Officer Heide Gardner 


91 

1961 

Year founded 

$9.7bn 

Revenue in dollars 

(2018) 

54,000 

Number of 

employees 



92 

“Every single 

person that owns 

a smartphone, 

tablet, smart 

watch, even a 

smart fridge, 

is under attack, 

every minute 

of every day” 

— 

Chris White, 

Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, 

Interpublic Group (IPG) 

“There is a global war going on in 

cyberspace. There are criminal elements, 

state-sponsored elements – that classic 

idea of the kid in the hoodie in his 

mom’s basement doesn’t even scrape 

the surface.” Far from attempting to 

instill mass panic, White’s tone is one 

of reassurance. “Inevitably people 

hear that and say ‘well now I’m afraid 

to go outside’, so to speak. What do 

we do now? The answer is just to 

behave normally. There’s no sense in 

becoming a doomsday prepper, living 

in a bunker with the phone lines cut, 

because all the companies that make 

and support everything you do at home 

and for work, they understand that 

cybersecurity is critical to doing business. 

That’s why they have guys like 

me who are doing our absolute best 

to protect you.” 

White’s career in cybersecurity 

started in the US Air Force, working as 

a signals intelligence operative around 

the dawn of the internet. Over the 

course of a 30 year career on the front 

lines of cybersecurity, he has developed 

a wide breadth of experience in 

security automation and telecommunications. 

He took on his current 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘IPG HOSTS INAUGURAL – FASTFW: AN IPG INNOVATION SUMMIT’ 

93 

role at Interpublic Group in April 2019, 

working to support and execute the 

security vision of IPG’s CISO, Patricia 

Hinerman, who moved over from her 

role of Corporate CIO in March. 

Interpublic Group is one of the 

foremost advertising and marketing 

holding companies in the world. With 

offices across the globe, the company 

employs more than 54,000 people 

specialising in advertising, digital 

marketing, communications planning, 

media and public relations. “Because 

IPG is a holding company, my job 

is to provide IT services, including 

cybersecurity, to our portfolio of companies, 

which all operate in a culture 

of consensus. I’m responsible for 

more than 100,000 endpoints, tens of 

thousands of users across hundreds 

of companies supporting thousands 

of downstream clients. My security 

team is 30 people,” White explains. 

Along with Hinerman, White and his 

team are facing up to the challenges 

before them and executing an intelligent, 

modern cybersecurity strategy 

that balances the challenges of a constantly 

evolving threat landscape with 

the unique demands of IPG. 



94 

Across global companies, operational 

functions and departments are 

transforming their operations to ensure 

they not only perform those functions 

but also enable, support and add value 

to the enterprise as a whole. As IPG, a 

business fueled by creatives working in 

the world’s best advertising agencies, 

this is vitally important. “We’re ensuring 

that we’re never, ever ‘the office of no,’” 

says White. “IPG has a creative culture. 

The people here are working on how 

to make the next great Superbowl 

commercial, how to really support their 

clients with a marketing campaign 

that’s intelligent, appealing – all those 

things. The upshot is that I can’t just 

mandate that people use particular 

tools or software. I need to enhance 

my agency’s function, and that means 

creating an environment that is secure, 

but also not restrictive to the creative 

process.” Constantly finding the solutions 

that provide security, without restricting 

freedom or disrupting operations is 

a core element of White’s role. 

Even as businesses’ operations 

become increasingly digital, the 


industry-wide emphasis on the human 

element is only growing more pronounced, 

something made even more 

apparent by demand for security personnel 

that outstrips the current supply. 

“There’s a dire need for cybersecurity 

professionals. If you can hire them, it’s 

hard to hang onto them,” says White. 

“I have to find the talent that’s right for 

me in my environment, in my culture, 

and work with them to give them the 

things that they need to get their job 

done the way they want to do it. I have 

to think of creative methodologies.” 

In addition to a shrinking pool of cybersecurity 

professionals, the amount of 

data that a modern team handles is 

growing exponentially, something that 

is transforming the way teams like the 

one at IPG function. “The talent shortage 

combined with this data increase 

means there’s no way that you can 

follow traditional security practices 

of identifying a problem, sounding an 

alert, prioritizing it through as critical, 

high, medium or low, and then tackling 

it,” he says. “If you do that, you’re going 

to get buried in data.” The answer, in 95 

Chris White 


Chris White is a 30 year cyber professional. 

He spent 25 years working inside and with the 

DoD on the design, deployment and operation 

of cyber offensive and defensive platforms. 

He then spent four years working for EY supporting 

clients across the media & technology, retailing, 

and manufacturing verticals to establish and 

operate their security functions. He currently 

serves as the Deputy CISO/Director of Security 

Operations for Interpublic Group. When not 

defending the enterprise he likes to ride 

motorcycles, play guitar, and enjoy life. 


Interpublic Group Adds 

Business Value to its 

Companies Through Security 

Proofpoint protects users and delivers 

unmatched insight for continuously maturing 

security effectiveness. 

THE COMPANY 

Interpublic Group (IPG) is a premier global advertising and marketing 

services enterprise. Its companies specialize in advertising, digital marketing, 

communications, media, and public relations—creating customized 

marketing programs for clients of all sizes. IPG support its agencies with 

a range of services, including IT and cybersecurity services. But reducing risk 

and protecting users across a large and complex global federated enterprise 

is a tall order. Proofpoint plays an integral role in the security team’s success. 

THE CHALLENGE 

IPG and its companies deliver award-winning campaigns for many of 

today’s world-leading brands. Marketing and advertising strategies, creative 

work, and brand equity can represent billions of dollars of corporate value 

to each client. Security is important to win agency clients; therefore, it’s 

essential for IPG to protect its companies and employees in order to attract 

new agencies. 

“Our mission is reducing business risk,” said Chris White, director of 

security operations and deputy chief information security officer for IPG. 

“That’s not easy with massive scope and complexity. We can’t possibly 

hire enough cybersecurity experts—they simply don’t exist—so we must 

find other methods to achieve our goals.” 

The IPG security team manages more than 100 agency tenants in 

Microsoft Azure-based Office 365 email. Among tenants, there are huge 

differences in office size, ownership and work style. The goal is to move 

the hundreds of IPG companies to Office 365, but meanwhile, the team 

needs a way to defend multiple email platforms against crimeware, email 

fraud, imposters, and nonstop phishing campaigns. 

“I knew Proofpoint could arm us with the tools and information that enable 

us to defend our companies and give us the data, automated capabilities, 

and vendor expertise we needed,” said White. “We chose Proofpoint as our 

primary tool to support security for one of our most critical business systems.”

THE SOLUTION 

Building on strength 

The IPG team built its defenses on Proofpoint Email 

Protection. With multi-layer threat protection and analysis, 

it defends IPG employees against spam, bulk email, 

malware and viruses. It also evolves impostor email and 

phishing attacks. And by using Proofpoint Targeted 

Attack Protection (TAP), the IPG team can detect, analyze 

and block advanced threats delivered through malicious 

attachments and URLs before they reach employees. 

TAP also detects polymorphic malware, weaponized 

documents, and credential theft attacks across cloud 

and premises-based email systems. 

For example, IPG exchanges email with its companies, 

and each company also exchanges email with external 

clients. Once, a client’s email was co-opted by a threat 

actor who inserted a malicious URL—unbeknownst to 

the client. Proofpoint detected and blocked the email, 

which enabled IPG to provide the agency’s client with 

the important data needed for remediation. 

“Proofpoint enables us to add value to our companies,” 

said White. “In turn, they can demonstrate security 

assurance to their clients. Proofpoint supports our 

trusted relationships, which are critical to delivering 

great work.” 

Besides detecting advanced threats, the IPG team 

can automatically remove them from mailboxes with 

Proofpoint Threat Response Auto-Pull (TRAP). This 

automation has been a game-changer for IPG. White’s 

team plans to extend Proofpoint Threat Response 

automation to other use cases, such as automatically 

isolating endpoints or correlating data with other 

security controls. 

“There will always be more threat and attack data 

than security analysts,” said White. “With Proofpoint 

Threat Response, we can automatically enable 

protections further down the kill chain. This is 

extraordinarily beneficial.” 

Maturing front-line defenses 

Knowledgeable employees are powerful front-line 

defenses. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training with 

PhishAlarm makes it easy for IPG users to report 

phishing emails. PhishAlarm Analyzer ranks reported 

emails in real time by their threat potential, which saves 

time for the security team. The Proofpoint Attack Index 

within the TAP Dashboard provides data on IPG’s most 

attacked people. And it gives them instant visibility into 

these targeted users and the threats that attack them. 

With this insight, White’s team can track changes in the 

attack landscape over time, as well as improvements in 

user awareness. 

“We can measure how well users recognize phishing 

attacks and if they take action when they see something 

suspicious,” said White. “Having users report suspicious 

emails is a huge step forward in security maturity.” 

THE RESULTS 

Proofpoint enables the team to focus its time on 

“true positive” alerts and issues with potentially high 

impact. Now they’re spending their time on the 

security measures that matter most to their enterprise 

and its companies. 

LEARN MORE 

For more information visit proofpoint.com 

“By improving our companies’ security, we provide a distinct 

benefit to their businesses and their clients. Proofpoint enables us 

to bring more value to these relationships and plays a key role 

in making us attractive to new agencies.” 

Chris White 

Director Of Security Operations and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer 

Interpublic Group


98 

addition to careful cultivation of an 

existing security team, is to harness 

cutting edge automation technology. 

“You have to apply automation to help 

direct people’s brains to where they 

need to be focused. This is one of the 

reasons why I am very excited about 

our new companies, Acxiom and 

Kinesso. When IPG acquired one of 

the world’s leading data solution companies 

in 2018, it afforded my team the 

chance to partner with the incredible 

expertise they have around the understanding 

and use of data to support 

automation,” says White, “because the 

most important tool in your toolbox is 

people. Period.” 

In a world of talent shortages and 

increased digitalisation, expert help is 

an essential commodity for White. 

“I couldn’t do my job without having 

supportive partners,” he says, “and I 

use the word partner intentionally. 

A partner is someone you trust implicitly 

and who is going to do what is right for 

you. A good partner in business brings 

new insight and new ways of thinking 

about what you do.” Early thinking 

about cybersecurity methodology 

centred around the maintenance and 


“I couldn’t do my 

job without having 

supportive partners” 

— 

Chris White, 



development of an effective firewall. 

Then, in the 2000s, applications added 

an additional dimension. “Not only do 

I have to have the network protected, 

but every application needs its own 

individual defense in-depth stack,” 

says White. “Proofpoint exposed me 

to a new dimension of thinking – a 

whole new axis. We need to be thinking 

about identity as a third dimension 

that needs its own levels of protection.” 

Today, as digital identity becomes more 

dispersed, both inside and outside the 

enterprise – across a host of different 

applications – IPG is working to protect 

its employees’ identities beyond the 

standard provided by normal identity 

access management solutions. “That’s 

something that Proofpoint brings to 

the table, because digital identity is 

99 



100 

IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth opens the 

annual IPG Breakfast in Cannes at Cannes Lions 

Festival 2019 

“Proofpoint 

exposed me to 

a new dimension 

of thinking – a 

whole new axis” 

— 

Chris White, 



primarily controlled through email, and 

they showed us how to harness our 

data to start protecting the identities of 

our users more effectively,” says White. 

Reflecting on the first few months 

at IPG, White and Hinerman are still 

putting their stamp on the department 

and the team. “With both of us being 

new to the role, I think our short-tomedium 

term goal is to ensure that 

our agencies are confident in us to 

do the job that they’ve asked us to 

do, and that comes through in good 

production results that are based 


101 

upon good data analysis, and that’s 

impactful,” he explains. Looking forward 

to the new year, the IPG team 

has internally branded 2020 The Year 

of Data Quality. In both the short and 

long term, though, the most important 

thing that White is working to build 

is trust. “I need to increase services 

efficiently, build trust, and continue to 

make IPG’s operations more secure 

without incurring a cost to its ability to 

do business. I’m really very grateful to 

IPG for this chance. I never, ever, in my 

life thought I would be deputy CISO 

for a Fortune 300 company. Never. Not 

five years earlier I was working with 

the Department of Defense, and then 

15 years before that I got out of the Air 

Force as a lower-level enlisted member. 

This is kind of like being a kid, hitting a 

home run and all of a sudden I’m playing 

in the Major Leagues.” 


102 


TUENTI ECUADOR: 

SIMPLE, DIGITAL, 

AGILE 

WRITTEN BY 

HARRY MENEAR 

PRODUCED BY 

GLEN WHITE 

103 


TUENTI ECUADOR 


CEO of Tuenti Ecuador, 

reflects upon the Telefonica 

offshoot’s rapid growth, 

100% digital offerings 

and agile methodology 

104 

T 

he global business landscape is being 

continually shaped and reshaped by 

evolving customer demand. In the telecommunications 

space, the rise of social media 

and digital communication is provoking radical 

shifts in the way that operators approach new 

and existing markets. 

Tuenti came into being in 2006 as a social networking 

service targeting young people in Spain. 

Between 2009 and 2012, it attracted more than 

15mn registered users, becoming known as the 

Spanish Facebook. Seeking new markets and 

customers, the company has transformed its 

offering over the past decade, now operating as 

a private brand which operates as an independent 

business unit of multinational telecom giant 

Telefónica. The firm offers mobile telephone services 

accessible anywhere on any device with 

the strong digital operation. 



105


106 

The Tuenti brand entered the 

Ecuadorian market in 2015, sponsored 

by José Manuel Casas, Telefónica 

Ecuador’s Executive President, with the 

goal of capturing the millennial and and 

centennial market through a roster of 

simple, affordable plans as an alternative 

to traditional mobile carriers. “We 

started out with a plan to reach 500,000 

customers in five years. Four and a 

half years into that plan, we have more 

than 900,000,” says Gerardo Suárez 

Napolitano, CEO of Tuenti Ecuador. 

We sat down with Suárez Napolitano 

to discuss the strategies behind Tuenti 

Ecuador’s dramatic growth, and the 

company’s vision for the future. 

“When we were starting out with 

Tuenti Ecuador, we wondered if it was 

possible to create a new telco brand 

that was different from what millennials 

and centennials were accustomed to in 

Ecuador,” recalls Suárez Napolitano. “To 

accomplish this, we thoroughly investigated 

what was positive and negative 

2015 

Year founded 

$36mn 

Revenue in US dollars 

27 

Number of 

employees 

9% 

Share of market in telco 

prepaid segment 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘RECARGA BANCO GUAYAQUIL — STAR WARS’ 

107 

about these users’ experiences. We 

became obsessed with their wants and 

needs. From those inputs we created 

the Tuenti experience, which is the sum 

of an attractive commercial offering and 

a very simple product to use.” Tuenti´s 

team operates in accordance with three 

central rules for creating a superior 

telecommunications product: be data 

centric, be pro client and keep it simple. 

“Our target demographic wants data, 

so that’s at the heart of everything we 

offer. We also value our loyal customers 

as much as we value our new ones, so 

long—term Tuenti customers will always 

have access to the same great offerings 

we present to our newest customers. 

Lastly, we don’t do small print or hidden 

conditions; our offering is so simple that 

our customers will always understand, 

remember, and hopefully love it,” says 

Suárez Napolitano. “When we designed 

the product we dedicated a lot of time 

to constantly achieving innovations that 

make the experience easier and easier.” 

At the heart of Tuenti Ecuador’s success 

is a dedication to agility, simplicity 

and a constant focus on improving the 

product. “Our User Experience (UX) is 

at the heart of everything we do.” The 



simplicity of Tuenti Ecuador’s digital 

products also affords the company 

the opportunity for laser focus on the 

intricacies of its offering. “Although the 

products we offer may be simple, when 

we change and improve those projects 

— offering new integrations, promotions, 

etc — we work through those changes 

in great detail, investing time in test 

environments and, in many cases, we 

integrate the developments in phases to 

ensure the best possible results,” Suárez 

Napolitano explains. 

The company eschews a physical 

presence, instead embracing a 100% 

digital offering delivered through channels 

such as Facebook, Twitter, Web 

Chat and the Tuenti Chat App. “We 

know that the best customer service 

is the customer service that doesn’t 

happen because the client doesn’t 

need it, so we make it as easy as possible 

for them to find the answers to their 

problems without having to pick up 

the phone. We don’t have any physical 

care centres,” says Suárez Napolitano. 

Learn More 

Find out how businesses like 

yours are growing on Facebook. 

Cisneros Interactive is a Facebook Authorized Sales Partner for Bolivia, 

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, 

Puerto Rico and Uruguay helping brands in those countries to take 

advantage of Facebook’s marketing platform for real business results. 

LEARN MORE

“WE STARTED OUT WITH A PLAN 

TO REACH 500,000 CUSTOMERS 

IN FIVE YEARS. FOUR AND A HALF 

YEARS INTO THAT PLAN, WE HAVE 

MORE THAN 900,000” 

— 


CEO, Tuenti Ecuador 

109 


Gerardo Suárez Napolitano 

Suárez Napolitano is an executive with over 25 years’ experience 

in several commercial assignments in Latin America. He worked in 

massive consumer products companies such as Procter & Gamble 

in Venezuela and Argentina, and Empresas Polar in Venezuela. 

His last 15 years has been spent working in telecommunication 

business in the hand of Telefónica as a Commercial Director in 

Venezuela, Sales Director of Telesp in Brazil and Commercial VP 

in Ecuador. In October 2014, he was appointed as Tuenti 

Ecuador’s CEO and launched the brand in June 2015 as 

separate business unit of Telefónica. Suárez Napolitano is 

an Industrial Engineer from UCAB — Venezuela, Finance 

Magister from Unimet — Venezuela and Telecom 

Business Master from Catalunya University in Spain. 



110 

“MEETING AND EXCEEDING THE 

GOALS OF OUR BUSINESS PLAN 

HAS BEEN DUE TO THE AMAZING 

WORK OF OUR TEAM” 

— 





111


“LESS POWERPOINT, 

MORE ACTION” 

— 



112 


“Instead, we have an omnichannel customer 

service offering supported by our 

own proprietary chat bot that allows us 

to optimise our service and increase 

customer satisfaction.” As a result, Tuenti 

Ecuador has been recognised as having 

the best digital customer service record 

in the market, reaching 72% of NPS (Net 

Promoted Score), Internally, the company 

has achieved a 60% level of automation 

regarding customer service. 

Agility and innovation are impossible, 

however, without deep, meaningful 

understanding of the target market. 

Súarez Napolitano prides his team 

on being young, diverse and creative. 

“Meeting and exceeding the goals of 

our business plan has been due to the 

amazing work of our team,” he says. “To 

create this team, we sought to integrate 

a diverse mixture of talents, incorporate 

a large percentage of millennials into the 

company, hire people with experience 

inside and outside the telco sector, as 

well as people from different geographies 

of the country, and ensure an 

even mix of genders.” This small and 

diverse team has been essential to Tuenti 

Ecuador adopting a successful digital 

strategy, with the agility to evolve and 

113 



114 

suit the needs of a market based on clear 

understanding of consumer demand. 

This agile methodology is not restricted 

to the company’s internal operations. 

Suárez Napolitano explains that, through 

Tuenti Ecuador’s relationships — all of 

which are based on a commitment to 

maximising agility — with a growing 

network of close partners, the company 

has dramatically improved the quality 

of its offering and reduced delivery 

times across its supply chain. 

Tuenti Ecuador has become the 

preferred brand for millennials and 

centennials in the telco industry. The 

company’s brand communication and 

media strategy are based on awareness, 

consideration, performance and loyalty. 

Continuously, the firm creates campaigns 

with direct collaboration 

from Facebook Creative Shop and 

Google Excellence, who guide them 

in the best practices of creative 

execution and media. 


115 

Looking to the future, Suárez 

Napolitano sees Ecuador as a place 

of limitless potential. “In 2020, there 

are three key areas we will be pursuing: 

ensuring that the Tuenti team continues 

to operate with the same passion, humility 

and individualistic spirit that has seen 

us change and grow to become the 

preferred brand for the country’s young 

people; expand the capabilities — and 

therefore the user base — of our digital 

platforms; and develop new business 

avenues that aligns with and expands our 

current offering,” he enthuses, adding 

that Tuenti Ecuador is a business that celebrates 

success, takes risks, learns from 

its failures, and constantly innovates. He 

laughs, adding one final thought: “Less 

PowerPoint, more action.” 


Visions Federal 

Credit Union: 

116 

becoming financial 

advocates 

WRITTEN BY 

GEORGIA WILSON 

PRODUCED BY 

SHIRIN SADR 



117

VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 

Thomas Novak, AVP of Digital 

Banking, Visions FCU, discusses 

how digital transformation can 

help the business become true 

advocates for its members 

118 

T 

homas P. Novak has been in the banking 

industry for close to 14 years. He began 

his career at PNC Bank in New Jersey in 

2006, before moving to M&T Bank in New York in 

2010. Today, he is Assistant Vice President (AVP) 

of Digital Banking at Visions Federal Credit Union 

(FCU), a member-owned credit union dedicated to 

community advocacy. 

According to Novak, who joined the business in 

2011, Visions FCU involved in multiple volunteering, 

fundraising, donation/sponsorship initiatives and 

scholarship programs for the local communities it 

serves. It is an approach, he says, that sees the business 

“woven into the fabric of the local communities 

that we serve”. 

“Our digital strategy is focused around the term 

advocacy banking. Like a healthcare advocate for 

physical well-being, we want to support, guide and 

advise our members at every step of their journey 

regarding their financial well-being,” Novak continues. 

“We want to help our members across every 

aspect of their financial lives to become financially 

independent.” It is a vision that is driven across the 


119 

1966 

Year founded 

$24mn 

Revenue in US 

dollars 

650 

Number of 

employees 



120 

organization from the top down, says 

Novak. For example, over the last seven 

years – following the appointment of 

Ty Muse as President/CEO – a fresh 

perspective has spread throughout 

the business, driven by several cultural 

changes. “Our CEO and executive 

leadership team travel to our three 

operating states – New York, New 

Jersey and Pennsylvania – to hold Town 

Hall Meetings for members, local community 

groups and Visions employees, 

giving them the space to voice opinions 

and generate new ideas,” he says. 

Alongside these cultural changes, 

technology innovation at Visions FCU 

has also been viewed with a fresh 

approach, with Novak stating that the 

business has “moved away from simply 

caring about operational efficiency, 

to innovation and efficiency through 

advanced technologies.” 

Novak’s core role at Visions FCU is 

centered around digital transformation, 

which he calls a “central tenet for 

our success”. He adds that “delivering 

a top tier member experience has 

become an increasing trend across 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘NEW HQ GRAND OPENING’ 

121 

“We’re always 

looking for more 

ways to achieve 

better results for 

our members, 

communities and 

employees” 

— 

Thomas Novak 

AVP of Digital Banking, Visions Federal Credit Union 



122 

“Instead of casting 

a wide net and 

carrying out a manual 

process, we want 

to utilize AI to have 

more precision and 

accuracy for catching 

potential fraud” 

— 

Thomas Novak 


the entire banking industry and, for 

Visions FCU, it’s our communities, 

members and employees that are 

really the driving force behind our 

digital transformation journey.” Since 

embarking on that journey, Visions 

FCU has developed a ‘member experience 

department’ to drive innovative 

changes to better serve the company’s 

members. Working with this department, 

Novak’s digital team has focused 

on four key pillars of digital memberfacing 

technology: online banking, 

mobile banking, account opening and 


consumer lending. “We knew we had to 

get the basics right, then we can build 

a more sophisticated technology ecosystem 

on top,” he explains. As of 2018, 

Visions FCU successfully implemented 

the four pillars, providing members with 

“a connected and unified experience 

with no drop-off points”. 

To apply for a loan from Visions FCU, 

customers can use five core channels; 

online, mobile, in-branch, contact 

center and indirect lending. Two years 

ago, Novak and his team created a 

multi-channel solution for consumer 

lending that unifies the process for 

employees and members. This, according 

to Novak, resulted in an additional 

US$60mn in loan volume within the first 

year. Putting members first, he believes, 

has made the process easier and more 

convenient. Vision FCU’s online and 

mobile banking is directly powered by 

Q2ebanking. “As we strove to create 

a single platform for online and mobile 

banking, Q2ebanking was the key component, 

becoming a critical partner of 

Visions FCU,” says Novak, who is now 

partnering again with Q2ebanking to 123 

Thomas Novak 


As the head of Digital at Visions FCU, Thomas P. Novak is the leader 

of the digital strategy and digital transformation. He is 

responsible for many SaaS based member facing technology 

platforms and led the charge on their digital banking 

conversion (online and mobile) at Visions FCU. He believes 

in partnering with members to become their financial 

advocate while providing relevant and convenient digital 

solutions to empower their journey to becoming financially 

independent. Working for the past 14 years with banks 

and Visions FCU in various roles, he has a unique 

perspective on how to approach business challenges 

with a global mindset. 


What does it mean to 

innovate in banking? 

It’s simple. Listen to customers’ needs and meet 

their expectations. 

SWBC can help your financial institution by 

providing an integrated payment processing 

platform to power debt repayment, account 

origination, and fee collection transactions. We’re 

making payment processing powerful, safe, and 

simple for you and your customers. 

Include SWBC Payments on 

your innovation journey today. 

VISIT SWBC PAYMENTS

create innovative solutions for bill pay 

and money movement. In addition to 

Q2ebanking, Visions has also entered 

into a new partnership with SWBC to 

streamline the company’s payments 

infrastructure creating a safe, secure 

and consistent platform for its members. 

Supporting the member in a way 

that is optimal to their lifestyle is of 

paramount importance to Visions FCU. 

In addition to payments, Novak is 

focusing on bolstering Visions FCU’s 

“Delivering a top tier 

member experience 

across every channel has 

become an increasing 

trend across the entire 

banking industry and 

for Visions, it’s our 

communities, members 

and employees that 

are really the driving 

force behind digital 

transformation journey” 

— 

Thomas Novak 

AVP of Digital Banking, 

Visions Federal Credit Union 

overall digital systems to support 

ongoing business needs. For instance, 

through the implementation of more 

sophisticated technology, such as 

machine learning, he explains that 

Visions FCU currently utilizes a digital 

marketing tool powered by machine 

learning for personalized marketing 

within digital banking, noting that “we 

have datasets that we are working on 

with our fintech partner, Micronotes, to 

determine the probability of someone 

benefitting from a certain product or 

piece of educational content. If there 

is a high propensity, then we communicate 

with the member within digital 

banking through a conversational note 

to see if they wish to move forward.” He 

highlights that, every time a campaign 

is run, the result is more targeted 

and provides stronger insights. Most 

recently, a certificate campaign helped 

to yield over US$4.3mn in deposits. 

With regards to other technologies, 

Novak highlights work in the Business 

Performance Department exploring 

robotic process automation (RPA): 

“Business Performance is in the early 

stages of utilizing RPA within our card 

servicing department to reduce the 


125


Are they leaving 

you behind? 

Or will you be 

a part of their 

financial journey? 

To become the companion your 

account holders need throughout 

their lifelong financial journeys, 

your FI needs a partner who can 

help you provide better experiences 

and more relevant services. 

Be a part of the journey. 

Learn how. Visit us at 

q2ebanking.com/journey

127 

repetitive, low value tasks that some 

employees endure in order to facilitate 

an increase in the amount of high value 

work produced,” he says. “RPA isn’t 

being used to replace employees, it’s 

to complement and enhance what they 

are currently doing so that their focus 

can be transferred to our members 

and high value projects.” In addition, he 

ultimately hopes to utilize automation 

for the entire mortgage process: “Our 

SVP/CMEO and VP/CLO in conjunction 

with the Digital Dept. want to transform 

the entire process, making it end-toend. 

We not only want to simplify the 

front-end for Union users, but transform 

the manual processes in the back office 

following the submission of a successful 

application to be more efficient overall.” 

Naturally, with any implementation 

of new technologies comes a greater 

focus on cybersecurity. For Novak, 

Visions FCU’s cybersecurity maturity 

is one of its key strengths. “Whenever 

we look to develop internally, we do 

so through a secure development 

lifecycle,” he explains. To combat 

cyber-crime, Visions FCU’s efforts 

include education on how the business 

interacts with them, educating 



128 

its employees on phishing, providing 

sophisticated multi-factor authentication 

for digital banking access, as well 

as notifications to alert members of 

login attempts to digital banking. In 

recent months, Visions FCU has also 

created a separate risk department 

that leverages knowledge and experience 

from various areas to create 

improved transparency for employees 

and members regarding fraud 

mitigation. In addition to this, Novak 

is currently researching with multiple 

business units, innovative solutions 

to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) for 

fraud mitigation and detection, noting 

“We don’t just want 

to be the best 

credit union; we 

want to be the best 

financial services 

provider and 

advocate to those 

we serve” 

— 

Thomas Novak 


that “instead of casting a wide net and 

carrying out a manual process, we want 

to utilize AI to have more precision and 

accuracy for catching potential fraud”. 

Looking to the future, Visions 

intends on utilizing an AI chatbot solution 

and natural language processing 

in member-facing technology that can 

learn various dialects and slang terms, 

providing an extra convenience layer 

for members for a 24/7 service offering. 

In addition to this, Novak wants to 

build a financial ‘health score’ for the 


129 

company’s members, stating that 

“we believe a person’s financial health 

is integral to other parts of their life”. 

With this in mind, Novak discusses 

the creation of a platform that helps 

members better understand how their 

funds are being utilized, “underpinning 

this would be AI, data analytics and an 

elegant UI and UX”. 

Reflecting on the business, Novak 

believes that Visions FCU’s biggest 

strengths are its commitment to people 

and openness to leveraging technology 

to solve real business problems, as well 

as its financial strength that helps it 

propel its initiatives and innovative technology. 

“We’re always looking for more 

ways to achieve better results for our 

members, communities and employees. 

We don’t just want to be the best credit 

union; we want to be the best financial 

services provider and advocate to 

those we serve.” 


130 


RANDALL: 

construction 

the right way 

131 

WRITTEN BY 

DAN BRIGHTMORE 

PRODUCED BY 

TOM VENTURO 


RANDALL CONSTRUCTION 

RANDALL Construction is cementing 

its position as the leading self-perform 

in Florida by investing in innovative 

market disrupting products across an 

impressive portfolio of business units 

132 

T 

he genesis of RANDALL Construction 

lies in a full-service plumbing company 

launched in Orlando, Florida back in 1986. 

“We started the business out of my apartment,” 

recalls Jeff Condello, President & CEO. RANDALL’s 

portfolio of business units has grown to include 

everything from electrical and engineering to BIM 

and fabrication. “The more complex a job, the 

greater value we bring,” pledges Condello. “We like 

to partner with construction managers and owners 

who value a well-managed, professional contractor 

for their specific solutions.” 

It was the acquisition of Seminole Sheet Metal in 

2010 that elevated RANDALL’s offering and triggered 

a period of extreme growth, positioning the 

business as both a major mechanical and plumbing 

company, as well as the largest sheet metal company 

for construction in Florida. “It was the largest 

non-union metal manufacturer in Florida,” remembers 

Condello. “Today, we’ve more than doubled the size 



133


134 

“The more complex a job, 

the more value we bring. 

We like to partner with 

construction managers 

and owners who value 

a well-managed, 

professional contractor 

for their specific 

solutions” 

— 

Jeff Condello, 

President & CEO, RANDALL Construction 

of the manufacturing facility to 20 acres. 

We used the acquisition to enable us 

to offer in-house fabrication and grow 

our mechanical plumbing group. The 

reason for that growth is our aim to be 

a one-stop shop and provide value to 

our customers by working out of the 

same facilities to ensure our costs can 

be competitive in any market. Our ability 

to self-perform most of the work on a 

construction site has future-proofed our 

business model.” 

During the last recession, Condello 

explains the company took advantage 

of the struggling economy and was 

able to expand the RANDALL family. 

“Companies were shutting down,” he 

recalls. “We were able to take on many 

good people and fund new and innovative 

branches of our business. That’s 

how we started our concrete tilt wall 

company, which is now among the largest 

contractors of its type in Florida.” 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘RANDALL ENGINEERED PRECAST’ 

135 

Innovation is key to RANDALL 

enhancing its capabilities as a specialty 

contractor. “We aim to provide 

solid, state-of-the-art service to make 

projects more efficient for our clients,” 

maintains Matt Reinders, Vice President 

of RANDALL. “Because we self-perform, 

we can control our job sites 

– especially with the mechanical 

plumbing, electrical, and fire protection 

all in one unit. We can deploy 

prefabricated solutions with ease, use 

BIM models for more accuracy and 

provide one point of contact for communication 

which makes it easier for 

the general contractor. Through our 

design-build process, we offer a full 

turnkey service that ensures everything 

is coordinated via a unified 

approach resulting in greater efficiency.” 

By employing a vertically 

integrated offsite construction 

approach, RANDALL can reduce 

labor on site by up to 50%. “Bringing 

a prefab mentality to each project is 

the perfect solution to meet the challenges 

of today’s tight market with 

its labor shortages,” adds Reinders. 

“We’re tooled to be that subcontractor 

in the marketplace.” 


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As part of its strategy, RANDALL 

has invested in BIM technology to aid 

its approach to pre-construction processes, 

providing General Contractors 

and project partners the capability to 

see what’s happening in real-time when 

work on site begins. With 360-degree 

cameras on the job sites, the ability 

to deploy drones – and with most of 

its workforce connected with mobile 

devices – technology in the field is 

aiding collaboration by keeping all 

disciplines across a project connected. 

Reinders believes RANDALL’s commitment 

to technology makes it an 

attractive company to work for. “You’re 

not going to find another contractor that 

does approximately 70% of a total project 

in-house and self-performed; from 

site work, tilt walls and precast to architectural, 

metal work and MEP-FP. Our 

innovative mindset is a differentiator. 

We’re taking that to the next level with 

our modern approach to modular construction, 

using prefabrication to push 

the possibilities to make construction 

sites safer and cleaner while producing 

less waste.” 

Located in the heart of America’s 

theme park industry, RANDALL has 

137 

1986 

Year founded 

100,000 

Square feet fabrication 

facility in Florida 

1,300 

Number of 

employees 



formed partnerships with themedentertainment 

companies like Disney, 

Universal and Sea World to name a few. 

“People like working with RANDALL,” 

says Reinders proudly. “We have the 

resources, strength, safety progamme 

and the reputation. No matter how difficult, 

RANDALL is the go-to player in 

the South East marketplace that will 

exceed expectations and get the job 

done. Our business model is controlled 

and our planned growth is strategic, 

which minimises the challenges most 

other companies in our industry face.” 

RANDALL has found success with 

a diverse range of state-of-the-art 

projects including a bio science laboratory 

at a UF Research & Academic 

Facility, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts 

Center in Orlando, several airport projects, 

Cabana Bay Resort for Universal, 

themed metal work for both Star Wars 

attractions in Anaheim and Orlando, 

and The Land of Pandora for Disney. 

138 

Jeff Condello 


Jeffrey S. Condello is an entrepreneur. Looking to break into the 

construction space, Condello worked for a plumber in Philadelphia, 

as his apprentice to learn the plumbing trade, before 

breaking away to begin his own company in 1980. 

Shortly after, the Condellos moved to Central Florida 

and Randall Mechanical Inc. was born in 1986. Under 

Condello’s leadership, and with the full support of his 

wife, Debra, and his two children (who now work for 

the company), Chris and Danny, this once just-aplumbing 

company has grown into the largest 

self-performing subcontracting firm in Florida. 

Condello famously shares words to live 

by as he encourages his employees to 

“do the right thing, every time.”

Sustainability is another important 

area of focus for RANDALL as the firm 

aims to identify ways it can lessen its 

carbon footprint. Thanks to an offsite, 

modular approach to construction, 

significant progress is being made. 

For example, “engineered precast 

combines a two and half-inch thick 

concrete wall with a steel-stud panel 

and is a much lighter product, when 

compared to the traditional thickness of 

brick or concrete walls reducing the 

“We aim to provide 

a solid, state-ofthe-art 

service 

to make projects 

easier for our 

clients” 

— 

Matt Reinders, 

Vice President of RANDALL Construction 

Matt Reinders 


139 

Previously an Operations Director at Balfour Beatty, where 

he worked on major construction projects for more than 

20 years, Matt Reinders brings a wealth of experience 

to his role at RANDALL. During a decade of service 

at the company, he has helped oversee a period of 

sustained growth that has seen the specialty 

contractor develop its 10 self-performing business 

units to offer a one-stop shop for its clients. “We can 

do it all in house, it’s a big advantage that gives us 

control,” confirms Reinders, who is focused on 

meeting the challenges ahead. “Our aim is to 

achieve growth with our founding principal 

of finding solid leadership candidates to help 

RANDALL thrive.” 


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amount of natural resources (water, 

sand etc) required,” explains Jessica 

Allen, RANDALL Brand Manager. “In 

turn, this makes a building’s foundations 

smaller. Lighter precast products further 

reduce the number of loads to be 

transported by large emission-producing 

trucks.” RANDALL’s approach is 

also helping owners and developers 

qualify for LEED green building credits, 

promoting greenier solutions across 

the construction industry. “In our precast 

yard, we recycle and reuse 

waste concrete,” adds Reinders. 

“Broken down concrete from one 


project can be recycled as fill for another.” 

RANDALL is actively seeking suppliers 

who can enhance this eco-friendly 

approach. For example, the company 

has teamed up with Kingspan as one 

of its few manufacturer distributors 

for the KoolDuct product. Kingspan’s 

KoolDuct System has a phenolic core 

and is a pre-assembled, pre-insulated 

duct system for HVAC installations that 

is 70% lighter than alternatives available 

and much greenier as it uses 

fewer materials. 

Reinders sees a growing trend for 

prefabrication and modular solutions 

across the construction industry leaving 

RANDALL well-placed to take 

advantage of emerging requirements 

for MEP and fire protection systems, 

which it can deliver in-house. “We’re 

also moving towards offsite pod construction 

for bathrooms and kitchens 

at our facility,” he adds. “They can be 

put on a truck, delivered to site and 

craned into position.” Ultimately, 

RANDALL is able to increase the 

141 

COMPANY FACTS 

RANDALL is very familiar with 

virtual design construction 

(VDC) concepts, protocols and 

implementation, including 

Building Information Modeling 

(BIM). Utilising BIM is beneficial 

for its team to analyse physical 

building changes and improve 

overall building, design and 

structural changes as the 

project proceeds on schedule. 

RANDALL has the expert 

personnel to fully engage and 

implement BIM, activating its 

many benefits, including: 

• Building prototypes and 

analysed best options 

• Predictive logistics conflicts 

• Build faster, smarter, 

more cost effective 

• Reduces risks 

• Controls cash flow 

• Eliminates unnecessary costs 

• Optimises scheduled activities, 

reduces construction time 

• Finds, fixes errors before they 

become expensive mistakes 



142 

“Our innovative mindset 

is a differentiator” 

— 

Matt Reinders, 

Vice President, RANDALL Construction 


projects’ speed to market, reduce risks 

and provide much needed alternatives 

to the traditional, antiquated methods 

of construction. 

Condello affirms RANDALL is always 

looking to improve. “We always ask our 

people: ‘what are the problems in the 

construction industry?’. It’s always been 

done the same way for many years.” he 

laments. “A lot of companies aren’t happy 

with where they are and what they’re 

doing. The solution? Think differently 

and find better ways to achieve your 

goals. We do this by partnering with 

our manufacturer relationships and discovering 

new approaches to projects 

through the progress they are making 

with materials and technologies. We do 

facility tours and apply those learnings 

at RANDALL, both in the field and in our 

own workshop.” Under Condello’s watchful 

stewardship, the RANDALL family 

will continue to evolve, looking to redefine 

‘the right way’ to achieve the best 

construction solutions. 

143 


144 

PEPSICO LATAM: 

DRIVING INNOVATIVE 

SUPPLY CHAIN 

OPERATIONS IN A 

HIGH PERFORMANCE 

MARKET 

WRITTEN 

BY 

MARCUS LAWRENCE 

PRODUCED BY 

DENITRA PRICE 



145

PEPSICO 

PEPSICO LATAM HAS BEEN 

UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT SUPPLY 

CHAIN TRANSFORMATION AS THE 

COMPANY AT LARGE CONTINUES 

TO STREAMLINE AND OPTIMIZE THE 

EFFICIENCY OF ITS OPERATIONS 

146 

P 

epsiCo’s portfolio of evocative household 

names has a foothold in every major 

market around the world, and delivering 

those products to consumers in the most effective 

manner possible has become a company-wide 

strategic imperative. For PepsiCo’s operations 

in Latin America (LATAM), the centralization of 

procurement has been an ongoing endeavor for 

the past several years and the transformation is 

reaping dividends. As a key region for PepsiCo’s 

wider balance sheet, optimization of procurement 

and logistics in the region stands to have a significant 

impact on success at large. The procurement 

function is, in effect, essential to the company’s 

wider growth strategy. When new CEO, Ramon 

Laguarta, came in last year, there was a refinement 

in the company’s vision focused on how PepsiCo 

can become the leader in convenience food and 

beverages by winning with purpose rather than 

just performing – and this mentality is central to 

the company’s supply chain transformation. 


$64.6bn 

Approximate 

revenue 

1898 

Year founded 

250,000+ 

Number of employees 

worldwide 

147 


PEPSICO 

148 

“THE FIRM’S STRONG 

PARTNERSHIP 

MANAGEMENT 

IS TIED INTO THE 

SUCCESS OF 

ITS NEW FLEET 

MANAGEMENT 

CAPABILITIES” 

With its LATAM operations accounting 

for around 11% of PepsiCo’s global 

revenues, optimizing supply chain and 

procurement operations in the region 

is essential for continued growth at 

both a national and global level. 

Leveraging relationships with suppliers 

worldwide is key, along with the 

capacity to negotiate on a global scale 

whilst simultaneously servicing and 

supporting local markets. In 2012, 

previous CEO Indra Nooyi set a goal 

of securing $1.5bn in cost savings 

through streamlining and incrementally 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘PEPSICO SUPPORTS RECYCLING IN LATIN AMERICA 

WITH INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS’ 

149 

upgrading the company’s productivity, 

citing the firm’s positive performance 

in the five volatile preceding years 

for world economies. “Our goal is to 

continue on that earnings trajectory 

over the next five to 10 years, fully 

recognizing that we need to make 

changes to the way we operate to 

address the challenges identified in the 

review process,” said Nooyi in a press 

statement at the time. “2012 will be 

a transition year, in which we will be 

taking the appropriate steps to build 

a stronger, more successful company 

going forward.” Latin America, as a 

region, has been vital to the realization 

of this ambitious goal. By combining 

procurement and operations, both 

delivering more cost-effective ways 

of purchasing and enabling the supply 

chain with new technologies – such 

as the new fleet management system 

– quarterly productivity has been 

enhanced significantly both on a local 

and wider level. 

Partnerships have been particularly 

crucial to the cost-saving strategy, as 

more effective relationships can yield 

higher quality solutions at cheaper 

rates. Not only that, but the complex 


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and to the changing customer requirements. Therefore, we 

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design the necessary transformation, to stay competitive and to 

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For all our products and mobility solutions, we aspire to minimize 

environmental impact along the entire life cycle – from raw 

material extraction until end-of-life disposal – in order to keep 

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Compliance with environmental regulations, standards and 

voluntary commitments is a basic prerequisite of our actions. 

Facing the task of shaping mobility in a cleaner, safer and 

more efficient way with our vehicles and services, Volkswagen 

Commercial Vehicles, too, just like the other brands of the 

Volkswagen Group, is committed to the target of the Paris Summit 

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the future and is our technology carrier for autonomous driving. 

In the end, working together responsibly in all areas of the 

organization, developing and involving enthusiastic and talented 

employees, and working together as one team with the best 

partners of the industry are the crucial things that enable us to 

live up to our promise: we transport success. 

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153 

nature of Latin America’s established 

and varied markets necessitates 

a high degree of expertise on the 

business side to initiate and maintain 

such relationships. Every country 

has its particularities, so having the 

necessary talent and capability 

to connect with the correct partners, 

provide the right efficiencies and 

scale relative to different countries 

is essential for PepsiCo’s delivery 

of its supply chain objectives. 

PepsiCo proactively and regularly 

assesses its partners and ensures it 

is leveraging the most cost-effective 

source locations. The aforementioned 

regional and intra-regional quirks are 

similarly vital to consider when it 

comes to both partner selection and 

the application of innovative technological 

solutions. Driverless vehicles, 

for example, are not currently viable in 

places like Sao Paolo and Lima due to 

both infrastructural and technological 

limitations. However, these limitations 

have not prevented the company from 

establishing a new fleet management 

solution in the region replete with 

benefits to productivity, efficiency, 

logistics, sustainability, driver safety 


PEPSICO 

154 

and more. Focusing on safety and 

making sure hard braking, hard 

cornering, inefficient acceleration 

and so forth are reduced has reaped 

myriad benefits, improving the 

employee experience along with wider 

ranging results. Beyond safety, the new 

fleet management system has a much 

broader reach: the platform pilot is 

seeing a reduction of 10% in both 

idling and travel distance, significantly 

reducing fuel consumption and 

greenhouse gas emissions. The 

implications for enhanced sustainability 

are a particular boon as consumers 

around the globe become more 

conscious of the environmental 

impacts of the products they buy. 

The firm’s strong partnership 

management is tied into the success of 

its new fleet management capabilities, 

too. Leveraging key relationships with 

expert fleet managers to augment 

its ability to build and deploy 

customized systems has 

enabled PepsiCo to boost 

efficiency, automatic 

dispatching, roadside assistance, 

and more. These efforts have 

resulted in a 90% reduction in 

“IT’S CLEAR THAT 

THE POTENT 

INTEGRATION OF 

TECHNOLOGIES 

AND BLENDING OF 

THEIR CAPABILITIES 

HAS BEEN KEY TO 

PEPSICO LATAM’S 

SUCCESS” 



155

PEPSICO 

156 


associated administrative work, 

enabling employees to focus on 

more fulfilling value-added activities. 

No single technological solution or 

platform is responsible for or capable 

of securing such successes, however, 

it’s clear that the potent integration 

of technologies and blending of their 

capabilities has been key to PepsiCo 

LATAM’s success. The transport 

management system is tied into the 

telematics system, the last mile system, 

the route planning systems and so 

on, enabling the best qualities of 

each solution to be available in the 

same place. 

Taking a broader view of business 

operations, growth of the company 

at a global level, and the focus on a 

clear strategic vision are collectively 

bringing PepsiCo ever further forward 

as an example of procurement and 

supply chain operations done right. 

157 


158 

Seamless customer 

journeys and 

digital readiness 

WRITTEN BY 

MARCUS LAWRENCE 

PRODUCED BY 

JAKE MEGEARY 



159

WSIB 

Samantha Liscio, Chief 

Technology and Innovation 

Officer, Ontario’s Workplace 

Safety and Insurance Board, 

discusses the organisation’s 

digital transformation and 

its drive to enable seamless 

customer experiences 

160 

I 

n Ontario, Canada, workers benefit from 

legislation compelling their employers 

to provide workplace insurance. This 

strategy necessitates a provider for that cover 

and Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance 

Board (WSIB) is that very organisation. While 

many companies view digital transformation as a 

means to keep up to date with the times or gain a 

measure against the competition, such compulsions 

are not so clear for state-mandated entities; 

if the organisation is essential, one might wonder 

why that organisation would prioritise exhaustive 

modernisation and the heavy investment and strategic 

challenges of shifting operations to digitised 

solutions that it entails. Samantha Liscio, Chief 

Technology and Innovation Officer at WSIB, dismisses 

such notions. The focus, she says, has to 

be on making the customer experience seamless, 

straightforward, and easy, irrespective of whether 

employers have the option to change insurer. “Our 


The digiHUB is located at WSIB’s head office. It is a workspace for all things digital, featuring an 

open layout that encourages employees to come together and collaborate 161 

1914 

Year founded 

CA$4.4bn 

Revenue in Canadian 

dollars 

4,000 

Number of 

employees 


WSIB 

162 

“Our CEO affirms that 

our goal here is to be 

the insurer of choice. 

Even as a monopoly, 

if our customer had 

a choice they should 

pick us, and he’s very 

vocal about that” 

— 

Samantha Liscio 

Chief Transformation and 

Innovation Officer, WSIB 

CEO affirms that our goal here is to be 

the insurer of choice,” she says. “Even 

as a monopoly, if our customer had a 

choice they should pick us, and he’s 

very vocal about that.” 

This obligation is driven by the 

services and solutions that customers 

have come to expect from the 

modern world, where vital information 

and operations can be accessed and 

actioned through apps that define 

and enable sleek, optimised customer 

journeys. “We still have competition 

on customer expectations, and 

WSIB has a lab at Kitchener’s innovation hub Communitech – employees can collaborate and 

leverage other communal creative environments 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘WE’RE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO DELIVER BETTER SERVICE’ 

163 

we feel that very keenly these days 

when people can go online and bank 

or purchase airline tickets with one 

click,” explains Liscio. “It makes an 

imperative for us to be able to provide 

services like that to them, because 

when our clients come to us they’re 

injured or they’re ill and they expect 

that the great work that we do to help 

them get better and return to work 

isn’t overshadowed by how difficult it 

is to deal with us. They don’t want to 

be worrying about mailing or faxing 

information to us, they don’t want to 

have to call to figure out their claim 

status, and they want the WSIB to be 

easy and straightforward and available. 

That really is what’s driving digital 

transformation for us.” 

With this focus on the customer, 

WSIB has identified the processes 

which define the customer journey 

and performed a series of ethnographic 

studies into the needs and 

expectations of its customer base. By 

then taking staff through each facet of 

that journey, the areas of convolution 

and friction become clear. Addressing 

these areas of frustration, Liscio says, 

will enable the digital transformation 


WSIB 

166 

“With a clear focus 

on what our 

customers want, IT 

can foster 

discussions around 

the art of the 

possible in using 

digital tools 

to enable 

transformation” 

— 




to precipitate the correct changes for 

the organisation as a whole. “Getting 

staff to think from an outside in kind 

of focus, and getting that customer 

experience right, drives other values 

too. We track public value as a key 

measure and part of our strategic 

metrics reporting, and if we get the 

customer piece right, our public value 

and trust measures change for the 

better as well. With a clear focus on 

what our customers want, IT can 

foster discussions around the art of 

the possible in using digital tools to 

enable transformation. IT can show 

the business what modern technology 

and modern software can bring 

in terms of enablement and meeting 

those customer needs, effectively 

orchestrating and architecting for the 

future in a scalable, efficient, and 

sustainable way.” 

While Liscio believes that some traditional 

access channels will remain 

in place to serve the less digitallyenabled, 

removing reliance on paper 

is a fundamental piece of the transformation. 

Claims related documents 


Located in WSIB’s head office at Simcoe Place, the digital factory represents its commitment as an 

organisation to develop solutions for the people it serves, improve its processes, upgrade its systems, 

and enable employees to provide the services that customers need with the least amount of effort. 

WSIB’s digital factory is both a physical space and a way of working 

167 



As Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at the WSIB, 

Samantha is responsible for digital transformation, 

leveraging technology and customer experience to 

streamline processes, provide value and modernise the 

business. She ensures IT operational excellence, 

directs innovation and drives the highest possible 

value from technology assets and investments. 

Samantha has over 20 years of experience in IT 

leadership roles. In previous positions in both the 

public service and private industry, she led the 

design and implementation of large-scale digital 

transformative initiatives. 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘PETE’S RETURN-TO-WORK STORY’ 

169 

can now be uploaded directly from a 

laptop or mobile phone and delivered 

to the organisation digitally, significantly 

decreasing the lead times for 

postage and processing of faxes that 

traditionally hinder the expedition of 

claims processes. This customerfacing 

element permeates through 

the organisation as part of what Liscio 

calls WSIB’s biggest transformation 

endeavour in its 105-year history: the 

core services modernisation programme. 

“It’s essentially doing three 

things,” she explains. “It’s getting rid of 

paper and becoming digital at source, 

because if you’re handling digital 

information it fundamentally changes 

the business processes, rationalising 

those business processes in line with 

customer journeys and then finally 

deploying the enabling technology 

using agile methods that can be sustainable 

in the long term. Doing all 

three of those together is key so this 

isn’t just a technology project, even 

though a big component of that is 

replacing and upgrading our core system 

of record.” 

This is where key partner Guidewire 

comes in, providing a suite of 


WSIB 

170 

PARTNERS 

Wipro 

“Providing continuous 

improvement enhancement 

and on-going defect fixes has 

been a vital component in 

maintaining performance and 

stability in our core system. 

Wipro have helped the WSIB 

rollout system enhancements 

that have reduced the number 

of clicks from our core system 

users by more than 50%” 

IBM 

“We’ve just partnered with IBM 

to do our managed hosting and 

cloud services, and they’re 

helping us understand how we 

can be better use data and 

analytics in our data centres 

so that we can automate the 

repetitive server administration 

tasks and drive efficiencies 

as we plan and orchestrate 

cloud services” 



Innovation officer 

WSIB’s leaders come together frequently 

to talk about its modernization journey 

and plan for next steps 


digitally-enabled insurance tools to 

facilitate rapid claims registration, 

administration and return-to-work 

processes. “A ‘quick win’ for us has 

been the digital document upload tool 

that we launched last year, and its 

connectivity to Guidewire,” enthuses 

Liscio, adding that the organisation’s 

time to market has been cut drastically 

through using the digital factory 

to drive development. “In the past, it 

took years to launch WSIB products, 

but this one was 16 weeks from inception 

to launch. In 2018, we received 

more than 2.3mn pieces of paper 

either by mail or by fax and we’re cutting 

a lot of that through the digital 

upload tool; it now has more daily 

uploads than the total documents 

we receive in paper. They come in 

and they go into the Guidewire backend 

system instantaneously. It also 

removes some of the call volume that 

we have from people asking if we 

have received their postal or fax documents, 

removing all of the barriers to 

good and fast customer service.” 

To remove the barriers to its own 

transformational success, WSIB has 

also partnered with IT and business 

171 


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on its mission

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘DOUG’S RETURN-TO-WORK STORY’ 

173 

services consultancy Avenai to introduce 

a new, digitally-empowered 

organisational framework. “Previously 

there were silos of IT operations and 

solutions delivery; it didn’t work well 

together. When a major project was 

finished and the development work 

was done, it kind of got thrown over 

the fence to operations to manage 

and maintain it. If there were defects 

that needed to be worked through 

with problem management, that work 

was difficult to assign and there was 

finger pointing between operations 

and delivery as to who should do 

it,” Liscio explains. “Avenai helped 

us do a current state assessment of 

how our legacy model was impeding 

our progress and then suggested an 

industry standard IT operating model 

that was much more client focused, 

with delivery verticals leveraging agile 

and DevOps methods and supported 

by horizontal IT shared services functions. 

We’ve moved our entire 300+ 

person IT organisation into that new 

functional model, and have started to 

change behaviours at the leadership 

level by agreeing on a set of values 

that we aspire to. At its heart, it’s 


WSIB 

An employee uses WSIB’s new best-in-class 

phone system, Genesys 

about being customer focused, collaborative, 

demonstrating clear value 

to the business and moving from a 

project to a product focus. Avenai was 

very helpful in helping us help shift 

the organisational culture, applying 

specific behavioural performance 

objectives, and helping us bring the 

necessary leadership, values, and 

culture piece into the change management 

approach during the deployment 

of the new model.” 

Change management, the Everest 

of all digital transformations, has thus 

“In the past, it took 

years to launch 

WSIB products, but 

for the digital 

upload tool it was 

16 weeks from 

inception to launch” 

— 





175 

been enabled by this structural revolution 

to WSIB’s IT operations and the 

associated change in culture across 

the IT organisation. The success of its 

new digital products, and the ability to 

automate repetitive tasks and expand 

the capacity for employees’ additional 

value-added activities, is facilitated 

by this newly-enabled readiness. An 

example that Liscio offers regarding 

automation is in the straight-through 

processing of medical expenses 

claims that it enables. “More than 

70% of the claims that we have involve 

simple reimbursement for medical 

costs. Those can be processed automatically 

in the Guidewire solution, 

based on WSIB business rules, and 

we can take advantage of the automation 

potential within the software 

itself. This straight-through processing 

means that claims processing 

times are dramatically improved and 

staff with high skills and expertise 

can spend their valuable time on the 

complex claims that require human 

decisions.” As a result, a claims 

process that could have taken a full 


WSIB 

176 

“It’s about 

being customer 

focused, 

collaborative, 

demonstrating 

clear value to 

the business 

and having the 

IT leaders 

model those 

behaviours by 

building 

commitments 

into their 

performance 

objective 

directly” 

— 





payment cycle to deliver has become 

instantaneous, and the benefit for 

customers speaks for itself. 

In the age of digital transformation, 

customer centricity and operational 

preparedness are characteristics 

that separate the winners from the 

chasers, and this is no less certain 

for companies whose offering is 

mandated by local authorities. These 

qualities resonate through the entirety 

of Liscio’s strategic endeavours. “For 

digital transformation to succeed, IT 

can’t be the order taker to the business 

to execute on individual priorities, 

it needs to demonstrate clear value 

that’s aligned to the customer, it needs 

to do these things while keeping the 

engines running and the plumbing 

working, all in a safe and secure and 

sustainable way,” she asserts. “It’s 

about looking at things foundationally, 

assessing the key pieces that we 

need to have in place to truly transform 

how we do our business, and 

leveraging the expertise of key partners 

that will help us get that right.” 

177 


178 

MCU: putting 

members at the 

heart of digital 

transformation 

WRITTEN BY 

OLLIE MULKERRINS 



179

MERIDIAN CREDIT UNION 

David Baldarelli, SVP for Meridian 

Credit Union, keeps member 

quality of life and security at the 

heart of digital transformation 

180 

A 

s a credit union, Meridian (MCU) is 100% 

owned by its Members: their interests are 

first. Profits are returned to them not in 

dividend payments, but in the form of innovative 

products, technology and services along with a 

focus on community and overall member well-being. 

“We’re ruthlessly focused on our members and 

employees, we’re really all about focusing on 

wellbeing: financial, physical and mental,” says 

David Baldarelli, SVP, Digital & Analytics and 

COO, motusbank. 

Baldarelli led the campaign to develop motusbank, 

a subsidiary of Meridian. It took four years of 

heavy lifting – both technology build and regulatory 

approvals – before motus launched in April 2019. 

The name Motus is Latin for new movement, 

representing disruption and rebellion, an idea 

MCU wants motusbank to embody, with a new 

movement in banking. This new movement is 

putting customer welfare and a sustainable 

relationship between the platform and its 

members at the forefront of its development. 


181 

2005 

Year founded 

2,000 

Approximate number 

of employees 



182 

“The legacy 

way of doing 

things is 

no longer 

accepted” 

— 

David Baldarelli, 

SVP, Digital & Analytics and COO, 

MotusBank for Meridian Credit Union (MCU) 

MCU is aware that modern cultural 

shifts have left consumers expecting 

more from their financial services. 

“So Financial Institutions in Canada are 

now being compared to the likes of 

Google, Amazon, Apple, Uber, because 

this is who they’re using for their day to 

day,” says Baldarelli. “They’re expecting 

the same from financial companies. 

The legacy way of doing things is no 

longer accepted.” 

The financial sector has been forced 

to adapt and evolve to changing 

demands from consumers, as younger 

generations requiring more immediate 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘MOTUSBANK: OUR STORY’ 183 

access to their finances enter the 

market. “Three or four years ago, 

digital didn’t contribute much at all to 

the overall new membership growth,” 

explains Baldarelli. “When you fast 

forward to today, digital is the number 

one new member acquisition channel 

across all of our districts.” 

The launch of motusbank has 

realised a surge in new membership for 

MCU. As new members benefit from a 

holistic approach towards banking with 

a company that doesn’t assume the 

needs of its users but rather approaches 

them for the sort of change they want 

to see as members. “One of the 

biggest things is to never assume that 

you have the answer,” says Baldarelli. 

“It’s important to listen to what your 

members are saying, to spend time in 

operations, the contact center and 

branches as well as obtaining a holistic 

understanding of the business.” 

Specifically on digital member 

experience, MCU worked closely with 

TELUS Financial Solutions. Keith 

Nugara says: “Through collaboration 

with Meridian, we aligned on its digital 


TELUS Financial Solutions 

A partner to help you grow. 

We empower financial institutions. Our experience 

and agility are rooted in nearly three decades of close 

collaboration with Canadian financial communities. It’s 

what has allowed us to provide financial institutions with 

robust technology solutions that are designed to digitize 

and streamline processes and help businesses gain a 

competitive edge in the industry. Let us help you too. 

To learn more, visit telus.com/financial-solutions 

AST2756-11-2019

185 


David Balderelli 

As Chief Operating Officer of Motus Bank, 

David oversees and executes go-to-market 

strategies and is responsible for delivering 

against the bank business plan. He is 

responsible for overseeing the strategy, 

management and execution of Digital 

Banking and Analytics strategy for both the 

credit union and the bank. This includes a 

strong focus on driving a superior digital 

member experience, operational efficiencies, 

and member engagement and growth. 



IDVisionTM 

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and Motus Bank benefit from our IDVision ® solution 

which enables accelerated digital identity management. 

Our advanced analytics and new data assets help lead 

to greater accuracy which promotes safer lending and 

a frictionless customer experience. 

© 2019 TransUnion Canada, Inc. All Rights Reserved | 19-476718 

Visit: transunion.ca/idvision 

Equifax ® is helping financial institutions 

with their digital transformation 

efforts by offering onboarding and 

authentication services. 

Ultimately, it is about creating a superior 

digital experience and facilitating financial 

well-being. 

1.855.233.9226 • equifax.ca 

© Equifax Canada Co., 2019. All rights reserved. All marks appearing herein are trademarks 

or registered trademarks owned or licensed by Equifax Canada Co. No part of this document 

may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, 

or translated into any language in any form by means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, 

for any purpose, without the prior written consent of Equifax Canada Co. 

NOVEMBER 2019

member experience and national 

strategy, resulting in Meridian’s use 

of TELUS Financial Solutions robust 

technologies that are designed to 

streamline processes and aided 

Meridian to gain a competitive edge by 

focusing on its member digital journeys. 

Through this collaboration, our 

customers will continue to benefit 

from our respective strengths including 

strategic and targeted payment 

solutions that enable electronic 

payment, digital data collection and 

more efficient analytics.” 

Balderalli adds: “Member journey is 

a critical piece of our digital national 

strategy. Our partnership with TELUS 

Financial Solutions enabled us to 

provide members with enhanced 

digital financial services coast to coast, 

streamline internal processes and 

focus on growing our business.” 

Demand has led to company 

branches becoming more interconnected 

through technology such as 

cloud services, making it much easier 

to share and process data across 

multiple platforms. This comes with its 

own risks though, as cyber security 

threats continue to adapt at a comparable 

pace and networks present more 

points of entry. Working with MX and 

Personetics, MCU has developed AI 

analytics to process mass data more 

187 



188 

“We’re three to four times 

where we thought we 

would be in terms of new 

members and balances” 

— 

David Baldarelli, 

SVP, Digital & Analytics and COO, 

MotusBank for Meridian Credit Union (MCU) 



189


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NOVEMBER 2019

efficiently, making it possible to identify 

and adapt to potential threats across 

a much larger data sample. “We are 

going to have the ability to analyze 

hundreds of thousands of members’ 

data and transactions, running it 

through an artificial intelligence engine 

and coming out with valuable, relevant 

and meaningful insights which will help 

them improve their financial wellbeing.” 

MCU has built its own proprietary 

digital and analytics platform, allowing 

them to process member data within 

their own network and leverage the 

rapid up-scaling required to keep up 

with modern security challenges and 

the influx of new members. One such 

partner was SAS. “We brought in SAS 

to the organization and it’s really 

allowed us to take our analytics to the 

next level. We’ve started building 

logistic regression models, and neural 

network models that basically help us 

with identifying credit risk, product 

propensities and helping us segment 

our members.” 

191 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘WORKING AT MOTUSBANK’ 



192 


Motusbank has given MCU a reliable 

and innovative National platform to 

growth its membership and enhance 

its brand. Baldarelli explains the 

initiative has seen “great success! So 

far, we’ve seen tremendous growth 

with motusbank. We’re three to four 

times where we thought we would be in 

terms of new members and balances.” 

This success has put MCU in good 

stead for the future, but it won’t be 

without its challenges. “Competition is 

a big thing on our radar. Especially with 

the likes of the Facebooks, Googles 

and Amazons. From an economic 

perspective, we’ve had a really good 

run over the past 10 years, but we think 

those good times won’t be there 

forever. Finally, our capital is precious. 

Making sure that we’re leveraging our 

capital in the right way and optimizing it 

to ensure we’re getting the most bang 

for our buck is important to us.” 

193 


194 

KUBRA: 

information 

security and 

customer 

experience 

WRITTEN BY 

SHANNON LEWIS 

PRODUCED BY 

JAKE MEGEARY 



195

KUBRA 

We speak to Tushar Chandgothia, 

Vice President of Information Security 

and Risk Management at KUBRA, 

about how businesses can provide 

customers with the service they want 

while keeping digitally safe 

196 

K 

UBRA was originally founded in 1992 

as a bill printing service provider. Clients 

looking to outsource printing, from 

statements to invoices, turned to KUBRA. As the 

company expanded, so did its interests. From 

printing, KUBRA moved into billing and payments, 

which itself moved from the analogue to the digital. 

Today, KUBRA provides digital and software 

services to over 365 clients and their customers. 

Tushar Chandgothia has been Vice President 

of Information Security and Risk Management at 

KUBRA for over three years. His background is 

primarily with other service providers. “I make sure, 

from an executive standpoint, that there is someone 

to be held accountable for data security,” he says. 

KUBRA processes 1.5bn transactions every year, 

ranging from printed invoices to bank statement, 

text messages. “We collect a lot of personallyidentifiable 

information,” says Chandgothia. 

“We need to make sure that the systems that actually 

host that data on behalf of our clients are secure. 

At the end of the day what we want to do is maintain 

customer trust and reliability in our services.” 



197

KUBRA 

198 

“At the end of 

the day what 

we want to do 

is maintain 

customer trust 

and reliability 

in our services” 

— 

Tushar Chandgothia, 


and Risk Management, KUBRA 

A shift in mentality between generations 

has forced KUBRA to re-evaluate 

how it provides services. Gen X, Y, 

and Z are looking for easy, frictionless 

interactions. “They ask a question and 

expect a reply within minutes.” 

In response, KUBRA developed artificial 

intelligence-based solutions to efficiently 

respond to client messages. With new 

technology comes both convenience 

and complication. KUBRA’s applications 

are made up of over 600 different 

components, flavours or sub-applications. 

To avoid vulnerabilities in new 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘KUBRA EXPERIENCE BETTER’ 

199 

code, KUBRA engages in a shift-left 

mentality. KUBRA’s development and 

implementation team, made up of over 

150 people, centres around creating 

and testing new code. Every piece of 

billing and payments code at KUBRA 

is passed through a security tool that 

highlights potential security vulnerabilities. 

“When the developer is tinkering with 

new functionalities, they find out about 

the vulnerability early and it’s fixed 

before it is released into the market,” 

he says. For additional security testing 

in its billing and payments applications, 

one of KUBRA’s partners, Cobalt Labs 

work as hired hackers, trying to break 

into applications and find vulnerabilities 

that KUBRA can then adjust for. 

When it comes to ensuring a balance 

between functionality and security, 

Chandgothia says it is important to 

always be on the lookout for the next 

great thing. “We want to be at the forefront 

of payments,” he says. “That’s the 

strategy that has driven us in the last 

few years.” Services such as Forrester 

and Gartner help him compare 

vendors, ensuring any technologies 

KUBRA replaces will only be made 

better. “We are continuously evaluating 


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“While secure 

delivery of new 

products is 

something we will 

always do, there 

is no compromise 

on security” 

— 




what makes the most sense from a 

business perspective, where we have 

the most flexibility, where we can allow 

the client to provide for themselves 

rather than having us be in the middle. 

How can we help them help themselves 

to meet their expectations?” 

To focus on process building, KUBRA 

co-sources its security technology 

from some of the best security vendors. 

“We focus on making solutions that 

are great when it comes to billing 

and payments,” he says. “When it 

comes to security, we’re looking for 

201 


Tushar Chandgothia 

Tushar Chandgothia is the Vice President of Information 

Security and Risk Management at KUBRA, a customer 

experience management solutions provider to some of the 

largest utility, insurance and government entities across 

North America. Chandgothia has over 16 years of experience 

in information security, IT audit, and risk management 

functions in technology, financial, media, and healthcare 

sectors. As the first Information Security Vice 

President at KUBRA, he is working along with his 

team to strengthen the first line of defence and 

mature the cybersecurity and technology risk 

management practice by embedding security 

controls in KUBRA’s billing and payment solutions. 


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203 

a relationship where the partner’s core 

business is to provide that. Rather 

than managing it all in house, we find 

someone for whom security tech is 

their bread and butter.” Finding the 

correct technology is about economising. 

“We try to solve five problems 

with one piece of technology,” he 

says. This mentality has led KUBRA 

into a partnership with FireMon. It 

had the most seamless integration 

when it came to its firewalls and the 

additional service of real-time review 

of security rules and the capability to 

automate certain processes. Another 

way KUBRA has opted for security in 

technology is through the tokenisation 

of data, which allows the company to 

reduce the footprint of actual credit 

card numbers in its environment by 

registering these as different values. 

This reduces risk since, if the card 

numbers are tokenised, it means that 

no client card numbers would be 

exposed if the system were compromised. 

When searching for partners 

to do this, stacked functionality was 

once again key. The provider KUBRA 


KUBRA 

COMPANY FACTS 

• Today, KUBRA provides 

digital and software 

services to 365 clients 

and their customers. 

• KUBRA processes 

1.5 billion transactions 

in a year 

• KUBRA’s applications are 

made up of over 600 

sub-applications. 

204 


chose to work with offers stateless 

tokenisation, which removes the usual 

database of tokens, making the data 

even more secure. It is also speedy, 

able to tokenise over a million credit 

card numbers an hour. 

Internal methodology is as important 

to information security as having the 

right technology in place at KUBRA. 

Chandgothia has seen major changes 

in the security team since he joined in 

2016. “We have proper pillars now. We 

centralised a lot of the preventative 

controls. We don’t want to be just in 

the detection game, we want to control 

the first line of defence, hands-on.” 

The change, from a client standpoint, 

has been seamless. “I think for the 

most part we use common sense. 

It’s what we call a Defence-in-Depth 

approach.” It allows adaptability. 

Clients who are switching to KUBRA 

from a less-secure position can ask to 

reduce security restrictions temporarily 

for an initial adjustment period. 

KUBRA’s security infrastructure is 

multi-layered, so the company has the 

flexibility to do this without compromising 

safety. Legal security restrictions, such 

as the California Consumer Privacy Act 

205 


KUBRA 

206 

“This legislation has 

allowed us to 

promote a security 

culture. If someone 

wants to push back, 

we have a regulation 

behind us” 

— 




(CCPA) or General Data Regulation 

Protection (GDPR) have been helpful 

to KUBRA in maintaining its high standards. 

“This legislation has allowed us to 

promote a security culture. If someone 

wants to push back, we have a regulation 

behind us. We’ve never seen it as 

something that has stopped our business,” 

says Chandgothia. 

Looking forward, KUBRA is interested 

in becoming an omni-channel provider. 

“We want to be involved in every 

facet where client communication is 


1992 

Year founded 

500 

Number of 

employees 

207 

involved.” Chandgothia says. Securitywise, 

KUBRA is looking to develop 

a zero-trust environment, in which 

neither external nor internal users 

have unlimited access to information. 

A 10-year exercise, it has been implemented 

in parts. So far, KUBRA has 

segmented its production environment, 

where all personally identifiable data 

is kept, from its user environment and 

also segmented its credit card data 

environment in production from other 

non-card services. Technologically, 

KUBRA is looking into adopting 

machine learning, artificial intelligence, 

and cloud computing, allowing clients 

to further self-serve. “While secure 

delivery of new products is something 

we will always do, there is no compromise 

on security. 


208 

DRA GLOBAL: 

HELPING MINING 

COMPANIES REALISE 

THE BIG PICTURE 

FOR THEIR PROJECTS 

WRITTEN BY 

DAN BRIGHTMORE 

PRODUCED BY 

RICHARD DEANE 



209

DRA GLOBAL 

DRA GLOBAL IS DELIVERING 

INNOVATION TO THE 

MINING SITE, TURNING 

UNDERPERFORMING PROJECTS 

INTO OUTSTANDING ONES 

210 

D 

RA Global (DRA) is a diversified global 

engineering, project delivery and operations 

management group. Founded 

in 1984, its impressive track record spans over 

three decades. With expertise in the areas of 

project development, mining, mineral processing, 

plant optimisation, operations & maintenance 

and related water, energy, and infrastructure 

requirements, the company successfully delivers 

comprehensive solutions to the resources sector. 

DRA has detailed design and construction at 

its core but also supports major innovations to 

drive cost savings at the PEA (Predicted Energy 

Assessment) level while focused on guiding these 

projects through to construction. 

Brent Hilscher, DRA’s Director of Process for 

Western Canada, was brought in to broaden the 

company’s global footprint and start its Vancouver 

office. Expanding DRA’s impressive array of 

services, Hilscher brings expertise in ore sorting, 

floatation, grinding and extraction. “Typically, when 

you look at a block model, there won’t be huge 



211

DRA GLOBAL 

212 

COMPANY FACTS 

• 4,300 staff worldwide 

• 4,500+ projects 

completed globally 

• 3 decades of experience 

“EVERY ROCK IS SCANNED 

INDIVIDUALLY WITH 

TECHNOLOGY CAPABLE OF 

ANALYSING EACH PARTICLE 

TO TELL YOU WHAT’S ORE 

AND WHAT’S WASTE” 

— 

Brent Hilscher, 

Director of Process, Western Canada, 

DRA Global 

variability in the grade of the deposit and 

every block looks like it’s 100% ore,” he 

explains. “But, when you take that block 

and you crush it, you normally find that 

half of the rocks that leave your gyratory 

are waste rocks. Extraction is a 

resource and cost intensive process, 

so, there’s a lot of potential to take that 

crushed material and reject a certain 

amount, allowing us to boost mill feed 

grade while using less power and water.” 

DRA employs many distinct technologies 

for bulk and particle sorting. 

For bulk sorting prompt gamma neutron 

activation analysis (PGNAA) is one 

of the most common, where the ore 

is scanned and exposed to neutrons. 

Gamma rays are re-admitted from the 

ore with specific signatures a result 

of the atoms contacted which can, 

for example, reveal how much copper 

is in the ore on the conveyor. “Particle 

sorting is where I probably spend most 

of my time,” adds Hilscher. “Every rock 

is scanned individually with technology 

capable of analysing each particle to 

tell you what’s ore and what’s waste.” 

During this process, a variety 

of sensor methods are used to 

improve efficiency. “Dual energy 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘DRA GLOBAL OVERVIEW’ 

213 

x-ray transmission (XRT) looks at 

the density of particles and does so 

by compensating for the size of the 

rock using two energy levels of x-ray,” 

explains Hilscher. “The technology has 

advanced to the point where we can 

look at the density profile of a block 

rather than the average density of the 

rock and use that characteristic profile 

to tell the difference between ore and 

waste.” DRA also deploys XRF, which 

provides a profile of the heavier elements 

and can detect copper, lead, 

zinc, titanium, zirconium and more to 

help determine the ore’s value. “If it’s a 

gold ore, it could be that the estimated 

gold value is determined based on iron, 

titanium, and zirconium, things you 

might not often think of being associated 

with gold,” adds Hilscher. “It could 

also be that the waste has a certain 

quantity of things that the ore does not, 

so you could create reverse correlations 

with the XRF.” Other techniques 

include the use of lasers which assess 

the brightness of the rock and its 

translucent characteristics. However, 

not all approaches are fruitful. Hilscher 

has worked on more than 40 major 

projects, where his team have had little 


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DRA GLOBAL 

216 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘BRENT HILSCHER FOR DRA GLOBAL’ 

success with electromagnetic sensors, 

and admits that “you want to keep an 

open mind but some techniques work 

better for certain ore types, so it’s 

important to match the right analysis 

approach to the specific site”. 

Allied to the practical dynamics of 

the sorting process, Hilscher believes 

ore sorting economics are crucial. 

“Building an economic model for every 

project tells us what the optimum 

operating conditions are going to be. 

A key metric is profit recovery. 

Normally, metal recovery is a driving 

metric for operations where, for example, 

we’ll look at how much gold or copper 

is recovered at the end of the process. 

When we do ore sorting, we’ll often 

throw away 5% or more of the valuable 

minerals, so we developed a metric to 

learn the actual value of what’s being 

lost where the operating costs for 

the extraction and tailings facilities 

are incorporated into that recovery 

number. Discarding a low-grade rock 

would have a positive impact on profit 

recovery, which rewards us for throwing 

away rocks we’re losing money on.” 


Preparing an economic model for 

each project helps DRA build the best 

algorithm to support the second phase 

of testing with a bulk sample. “The economic 

model is able to show us the best 

sorter operating conditions,” confirms 

Hilscher. “We can see the best upgrade 

ratio for the ore sorter to be running at, 

so that once we get into the large-scale 

test, we’ve got the correct algorithm 

and operating setpoints for the deposit.” 

That test work and algorithm supports 

the economic model, allowing 

DRA to more accurately define a 

payback period for a specific project. 

“For Brownfield projects we’re usually 

targeting a payback of six months,” 

says Hilscher. “That seems to be what 

mining companies are looking for 

these days and it’s certainly achievable 

for a lot of these ore sorting projects. For 

Greenfield, it’s even easier because 

your CAPEX is so much lower. For 

example, for a single sorter Brownfield 

system, it might cost $5mn to install a 

200 tonne per hour system, but with 

the ore sorting equipment incorporated 

into your design at the beginning of 

217 

Brent Hilscher 


Brent Hilscher has 20 years’ experience in 

mining and mineral processing. He has 

operated and supervised mineral processing 

plants, published papers, patented technologies, 

and been a speaker at over a dozen conferences 

and universities in Canada and around the 

world. Brent has led design and construction 

projects for Teck, Goldcorp, New Gold, Barrick, 

Xstrata, Agnico Eagle, and many others. 

He won the CMP Bill Moore Award for technical 

excellence in 2013, and served as an officer 

in the Canadian Armed Forces. 


STEINERT KSS Multi-Sensor 

Sorting Systems 

Save on Energy Costs and 

Improve Process Efficiencies 

High-throughput sorting of Industrial 

minerals, ores, and precious gemstones 

Depending on particle size range, the 

STEINERT KSS can process up to 150 tons 

per hour. Adjusting machine sensitivity and 

accept/reject cut-off grade provides the 

flexibility to boost high upgrade ratios or 

maximum recoveries. 

Coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, 

mineral sands, precious gemstones, 

non-ferrous metal ores, manganese 

ore, aluminum, ferro-chrome, 

industrial minerals... 

These are just a few of the valued 

resources the STEINERT KSS 

system helps recover, sort, and 

separate. The system utilizes an 

array of ore-processing sensor 

technology combinations, including: 

X-ray transmission (XRT); X-ray 

fluorescence (XRF); induction; 

optical-color and 3D laser. 

Focusing on pre-concentration adds 

previously uneconomic zones to ore 

and mineral reserves, and improves 

the effectiveness of ore blending 

management programs. Processing 

low-grade stockpiles, even waste 

dumps, and selective upgrading 

generates value from previously 

uneconomic material. This leads to 

reduced tailings, less environmental 

impact, reduced milling energy 

requirements — all which add value 

to the life of the operation. 

STEINERT US 

285 Shorland Drive 

Walton, KY 41094 

1.800.595.4014 

SteinertUS.com 

sales@SteinertUS.com 

The STEINERT test center in Walton, KY, 

provides real-world, real-time tests of 

our many sorting solutions for today’s 

ore-processing needs. We welcome the 

opportunity to discuss your specialized 

application requirements.

“METALLURGISTS TEND TO BE 

WORRIED ABOUT RECOVERY. 

GEOLOGISTS ARE CONCERNED 

ABOUT OUNCES AND POUNDS 

IN THE GROUND. MINING 

GUYS ARE FOCUSED ON 

TONNES, WHILE CEOS ARE 

COUNTING THE DOLLARS. I’VE 

FOUND THAT THE ECONOMIC 

MODEL DOES A GREAT JOB OF 

BRINGING ALL THOSE PEOPLE 

TOGETHER AND HELPING 

Hilscher worked on a silver mine 12 

months from closure due to constantly 

declining grades. Ore sorting was 

investigated to get the grades back up. 

“We did the test programme, we got the 

samples and discovered that nine out 

of 10 of their rocks were below cut-off 

grade,” explains Hilscher. “But one out 

of 10 of their rocks was extremely valuable. 

So, it was a very easy sort. We 

could have used XRF, XRT, laser, any 

one of those would have worked, so 

THEM SEE THE BIG PICTURE” 

we scanned the rock with a conservative 

approach only throwing away 60% 219 

of the rock to begin with. We eventually 

achieved double the feed grade, 

— 



with over 95% silver recovery.” 

DRA Global 

DRA has worked for many years to 

construction, the cost can be halved.” 

In greenfield designs there is also an 

opportunity to reduce project capital 

while maintaining or increasing designed 

production. Hilscher notes that instead 

of spending $100mn on a new mill, a 

smaller mill with sorters could produce 

the same product for $70-80mn. 

“Spending a little more on your ore sorting 

system up front can lead to a clear 

win for the overall project,” he confirms. 

develop approaches to dense media 

separation (DMS) that use fluids of 

suitable density so that the minerals 

lighter than the fluid float and those 

that are denser sink. Hilscher’s team 

is also developing conservation technologies 

to meet the changing needs 

of the sector. “Ore sorting is just part 

of our tool kit for project revitalisation. 

DMS coarse particle recovery, 

modular construction and many others 

are looked at for each new project. 


DRA GLOBAL 

Bel Air Bauxite 

220 

In 2017 DRA Global was 

awarded the contract for the 

development of a port facility 

and associated infrastructure 

for the export of bauxite, by 

Alufer Mining in Guinea. The 

Alufer Bel Air Mine project was 

DRA’s first causeway 

development, which expanded 

the company’s exposure within 

the marine environment. Bel 

Air was expected to have an 

initial production rate of 5.5 

million tonnes per annum and 

included a 22.5km haul road 

running over eight river 

crossings, an export facility 

with the ROM tip that feeds a 

6500-tonne live capacity 

stockpile, and a causeway 

extending 1.4km into the 

Atlantic Ocean, where a barge 

load out berth was constructed. 

The scope included all the 

necessary infrastructure to 

operate the facility: 

construction camp, wellfields, 

power generation, offices, 

laboratory, workshop and 

a bailey bridge across the 

Koundinde 

Work on the project 

commenced in January 2017 

and was completed in August 

2018 before commercial 

production was achieved within 

the first six months of 

operation. Alufer is on target to 

reach its annual production 

rate of 5.5 million wet tonnes by 

the end of 2019. DRA Global’s 

extensive material handling, 

earthworks and infrastructure 

design capabilities have 

contributed significantly to 

the success of the project. 


221 

Hydrofloat is a new coarse particle 

recovery flotation technology, which 

we’ve started installing for clients,” he 

confirms. “It uses the slurry current to 

assist in the flotation of exceptionally 

coarse particles.” 

Hilscher notes that mining has historically 

been hesitant to innovate but 

the adoption of ore sorting technologies 

into the mainstream has proved 

the exception because the results 

are so dramatic. “It comes down to 

education,” he says. “We need to make 

mining professionals aware of the 

benefits from emerging technologies, 

so they can test solutions in their own 

operations.” The solutions DRA offer 

leverage the company’s relationships 

with key tech partners including 

Tomra, Steinert, Eriez, Scantech, 

Rados, Minesense and others. 

Safety is a hot topic in the industry 

today. Given the tragic impact of 

recent dam failures in Brazil, Hilscher 

is particularly interested in developing 

DRA’s services to provide alternative 

tailings solutions. “We’ve done a lot 

of work on dry stack tailings, which is 

becoming a more popular option for 

plants,” he says. “Even within dry stack 


DRA GLOBAL 

222 

designs, there are optimisation opportunities. 

Instead of sending all the 

tailings sand to a filter plant, you may 

have a two-stage cyclone plant first. 

The coarsest fraction is used for roads 

and earthworks, the fine fraction goes 

to the existing tailings pond (or co-disposal 

piles), and the mid-size material 

is filtered. This compromise reduces 

tailings pond sizes by two thirds while 

also removing most of the fines and 

clays that are so difficult to filter. 

“Of course, sensor sorting, DMS, and 

coarse particle flotation all have a tailings 

pond benefit because if you can 

“BUILDING AN ECONOMIC 

MODEL FOR EVERY 

PROJECT TELLS US 

WHAT THE OPTIMUM 

OPERATING CONDITIONS 

ARE GOING TO BE” 

— 



DRA Global 

take those worthless rocks and keep 

them coarse you are able to put them 

in a waste pile or road bed. That’s a 

direct reduction to your tailings pond 

size. The pond dam won’t need to be 

expanded as often, and that tends to 

make them much safer,” he adds. 

Hilscher believes that in order to 

drive innovation, all metrics and 

operational concerns need to be 

addressed. It’s a weighty issue where 

he argues a balance must be struck. 

“Metallurgists tend to be worried about 

recovery. Geologists are concerned 


1984 

Year founded 

4,300 

Number of 

employees 

223 

about ounces and pounds in the 

ground. Mining guys are focused on 

tonnes, while CEOs are counting the 

dollars,” he muses. “I’ve found that 

the economic model does a great job 

of bringing all those people together 

and helping them see the big picture. 

How do the ounces, tonnes, and 

recovery feed into making a deposit 

as economical as possible? What can 

we do to reduce the environmental 

impact and also make the mine more 

profitable? With ore sorting, and other 

preconcentration techniques, we can 

achieve all of these goals simultaneously. 

We can drive growth, while making 

tailings ponds smaller, use less water, 

less energy, and produce less CO2. 

All of this simply by rejecting the 

worthless rock earlier in the process. 

It’s the future for sustainable mining 

and something we’re really excited 

about at DRA Global.” 


224 


State-ofthe-art 

data 

centers 

in Canada 

225 

WRITTEN BY 

WILLIAM SMITH 

PRODUCED BY 

TOM VENTURO 

canada.businesschief.com 


ESTRUXTURE 

Todd Coleman, eStruxture’s 

President and CEO, 

explains how the company 

is leveraging its knowledge 

of the Canadian market 

for data center excellence 

226 

C 

anada’s eStruxture provides carrier and 

cloud neutral data center service across 

the country. The company is 

experiencing rapid growth – this year alone, it 

acquired its first facility in Calgary and its second 

in Vancouver, as well as upgrading existing facilities 

in Montreal and Vancouver. 

Behind the company’s success is its keen attention 

to the specificities of the Canadian market, as Todd 

Coleman, President and CEO, explains: “What sets 

us apart from other data center providers is our 

100% focus on the Canadian region, our ability to 

serve a multitude of markets and our willingness 

and ability to pre-deploy capacity to enable our 

customers to quickly deploy, even up to multiple 

mega-watts, in our state-of-the-art facilities. 

We are Canadian owned and headquartered, and 

focus entirely on our region. Our mindset is not 

diluted with other out-of-region markets; we know 

how to get things done in the markets in which we 

operate, we believe in local customer touch at the 


227 

2017 

Year founded 

60 

Number of 

employees 


ESTRUXTURE 

228 

“Our goal has 

always been 

to become the 

leading data 

center provider 

in Canada” 

— 

Todd Coleman, 


eStruxture 

market level and, as data sovereignty 

and foreign ownership issues increase, 

we are very sensitive to the Canadian 

regulatory landscape and how that 

may impact our customers.” 

eStruxture’s portfolio of data centers 

may be growing, but expansion is 

always carefully and responsibly 

considered. “We have a unique set of 

requirements that we look for in target 

acquisitions particularly around the 

facilities, requiring Tier III, concurrently 

maintainable architecture, redundancy 

across the electrical and mechanical 

systems, access to incremental utility 


CLICK TO WATCH: ‘ESTRUXTURE SHARES BIG NEWS AT TEX NYC 2019’ 

229 

power, close proximity to fiber networks 

and massively scalable power distribution 

within the facility up to 30kW per 

rack,” says Coleman. “The Calgary 

acquisition checked all of our boxes 

on the technical requirements and 

included highly skilled employees and 

an expanded customer base. With this 

acquisition, eStruxture has positioned 

itself as the largest carrier-neutral data 

center provider in the market.” 

The company is also constructing 

brand new, state-of-the-art facilities in 

Montreal and Vancouver. The former, 

MTL-2, is situated in a repurposed 

building, formerly a Montreal Gazette 

printing facility. “We are confident that 

this facility is the most scalable, stateof-the-art 

carrier-neutral facility in 

Quebec – and quite likely all of Canada,” 

says Coleman. “We considered every 

detail of the design, architecture, 

equipment selection and operating 

model to enable us to serve our retail 

and wholesale customers in ways that 

are unique to the Canadian data center 

industry. The facility was designed 

around the fundamental tenet of high 

scalability, efficiency and sustainability, 

which translates to 30MW of 


ESTRUXTURE 

230 

immediately available, hydro-electric 

power; utilisation of free-cooling up 

to 8 months a year; a power utilisation 

efficiency that is designed for sub-1.2 

at load; the latest lithium battery, UPS 

technology; scalable and flexible power 

configurations that support up to 30kW 

per cabinet and 2N redundancy; and 

pre-deployed and built-out capacity 

that allows us to deploy a multi-megawatt 

customer in less than 90 days.” 

The latter, Vancouver facility is being 

developed to take advantage of the 

underserved data center market in 

the area. “We announced earlier this 

year the development of a new, 55,000 

square feet, 10MW data center in 

Burnaby, just on the edge of the City 

of Vancouver. This facility is being 

designed and architected around the 

basis of design we have developed for 

our MTL-2 facility with focus on scale, 

flexibility, efficiency and sustainability. 

We are confident that this state-ofthe-art 

facility will be a game changer 

for the Vancouver market offering 

substantial expansion capabilities for 

our retail and wholesale customers 


231 

Todd Coleman 


Todd Coleman is the President and CEO of eStruxture. 

Todd brings more than 25 years’ experience in the IT, 

data center and telecommunications industries. 

Most recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer and 

co-founder of Cologix. Todd has also held several 

senior positions at Level 3 Communications, 

a global telecommunications company, including 

Senior Vice President of Data Centers, Senior Vice 

President of Media Operations and President of 

Level 3 Communications Europe. Todd holds 

a juris doctorate and a bachelor’s degree 

in computer information systems. 


ESTRUXTURE 

232 

“What sets us 

apart from other 

data center 

providers is 

our 100% focus 

on the Canadian 

market” 

— 

Todd Coleman, 


eStruxture 



233

ESTRUXTURE 

with dedicated fiber access to our 

VAN-1 facility as well as the downtown 

Vancouver carrier hotel.” 

eStruxture ensures that a focus on 

sustainability is built into its facilities 

from the earliest design stage. “From 

a design perspective, our engineers 

work to design and develop the most 

energy efficient data center possible,” 

says Coleman. “We are constantly 

challenging to drive to the highest 

efficiency possible. Additionally, the 

customer IT and server equipment 

produces a significant amount of 

First lithium-ion battery cabinet 

designed by data center experts for 

data center users. 

Cut your total cost of ownership with the Vertiv HPL lithium-ion 

battery system, a high-power energy solution with best-in-class footprint, 

serviceability and user experience. 

Smaller, lighter and lasting up to four times longer than VRLA counterparts, 

the newset generation of lithium-ion batteries pay for themselves in a few 

years. The Vertiv HPL battery cabinet features safe and reliable lithium-ion 

battery modules and redundant battery management system architecture 

with internal power supply. These features and the cabinet’s seamless 

integration with Vertiv UPS units and monitoring systems make it ideal for 

new deployments or as replacement for lead-acid alternatives. Plus, its userfriendly 

display leads to a best-in-class user experience. 

Visit Vertiv.com/HPL

“Our engineers 

work to design 

and develop 

the most 

energy efficient 

data center 

possible” 

— 

Todd Coleman, 


eStruxture 

235 

CLICK TO WATCH: ‘ESTRUXTURE: PTC’19 EDGE CAPABLE DATA CENTERS’ 


ESTRUXTURE 

COMPANY FACTS 

• Constructing facilities in 

Montreal and Vancouver 

• In the last year, has 

acquired data centers in 

Calgary and Vancouver 

236 

heat that we strive to re-use through 

heat exchangers, either in our own 

building through uses like heating 

our office space and/or by providing 

it to other adjacent buildings or businesses.” 

It’s also about making sure 

facilities run as efficiently as possible, 

with ramifications from both a business 

and sustainability perspective. “A traditional 

data center has total energy 

expenditure for cooling alone of 50% 

or more of critical IT load – sometimes 

significantly higher. In eStruxture’s 

case, we were able to achieve a yearly 

average power saving of about 70% 

through the use of air flow management, 

CFD analysis and air side economisers, 

allowing us to benefit from the lower 

ambient temperatures in Canada that 

enable us to achieve up to eight months 

per year of free cooling.” 


eStruxture is confident in the path 

it is taking, while keeping an eye on 

upcoming industry trends such as 

edge computing. “With new technologies 

like AI and autonomous vehicles 

rapidly gaining traction, companies are 

beginning to need much more powerful 

and local compute, storage and networking 

resources than most current 

data center providers are used to 

deploying,” says Coleman. “As a result, 

interest in facilities located outside of 

traditional Tier 1 data center markets 

will continue to surge. 

“Our goal has always been to become 

the leading data center provider in 

Canada, and we will continue to strive 

for that superlative,” he adds. “We will 

continue to expand, both into new markets 

and within our existing markets, and we 

will continue to be sure our customers 

have state-of-the-art technology at their 

fingertips all while receiving white glove 

customer service.” 

237

Business Chief USA December 2019

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