Tara Fennessy: EVER PASSIONATE LEADER, ACCELERATING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR BUSINESS GROWTH SINCE 1995

The art of leaving everyone you speak with, inspired and confident to walk through their battles towards their goals and vision, is rarely possessed. UK-based Tara Fennessy, Managing Director of Leadership Skills Training, is a Leadership Master Coach and Award-winning Trainer who specialises in helping leaders elevate their impact, influence, and leadership skills to unprecedented levels that accelerate business results, build stakeholder relationships, and enhance personal and professional reputation.

Tara Fennessy, the lady behind many businesses’ and leaders’ growth, is an Author, Trainer, Speaker, Facilitator & Consultant. Kick-starting her career as a coach and consultant, Tara became Managing Director of Leadership Skills Training Limited in 2001 with a vision of “Best Bespoke Global Leadership Training and Coaching Consultancy’. In this two-decade-long journey, Tara has provided training and coaching to organisations globally and gained ample experience that helped her in taking LST to a higher altitude globally, virtually and digitally.

Tara Fennessy has shown her potential as an empowered business woman and her contribution to the business world has been an inspiration for everyone. As the Managing Director, she manages the business from a strategic level as well as being a lead coach and leadership trainer to the clients. Her book the Leadership WOW Factor -3 Secrets to Elevate your Impact, Influence and Career earned her ‘Best International Leadership Coach’ in 2019.

“My ethos is that when leaders know their message and can be their message, transformation happens at all levels for individuals and organisations. Our strap-line ‘Helping leaders have the WOW factor’ -is the philosophy we are committed to delivering to our clients!” says Tara Fennessy.

She loves to speak to organisations and leaders looking to become their best version and future-proof leadership skills and influence across the business. She is ardent and passionate about leadership development and the value it brings to organisations, teams and individuals, both culturally and commercially.

POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY TO ACCELERATE GROWTH

Leadership Skills Training is an award-winning global expert leadership training, coaching, and consultancy provider to senior leaders and teams within large and medium organisations. The firm that was established 35 years back, is at the forefront of the leadership development industry and recognised as one of the most experienced consultancies. Here are the three major offerings by the firm:

Training:

Leadership Skills Training is at the forefront of the training industry. Here, their delivery methodology is embedded with personality and punch – giving clients a better understanding of their new best and how to lead with impact in their roles and environment. The whole team of LST is highly experienced and skilled in leadership qualities, which are passed on to the clients through immersive learning and delivery to create fearless leaders who have the energy, self-belief and clarity of thought to engage, enthuse and inspire that cascade into every future interaction.

Coaching:

The leadership and impact coaching experts at LST, whether they are consulting, coaching, mentoring, or training, can tailor all or any one element of the WOW Wheel to suit your organisation’s needs. In the past five years alone, the team has coached over 2,000 senior professionals across major global corporations from professional services firms to manufacturers and retailers, giving us unprecedented insight into what matters most for businesses and their leadership.

Consultancy:

Leaders drive culture, culture drives behaviour, behaviour drives performance and performance drives results. Created for leaders and their teams, the consulting service starts you on the journey to becoming future-fit to lead your business in this changing world with the future in mind. The team aims to unleash the power of the collective, leverage strengths whilst drawing in customers, colleagues, and communities.

THE BUSINESS SUCCESS

For Tara Fennessy, success is about making a difference! She says, “There’s nothing better than seeing the results my clients achieve when they trust themselves and in turn others trust them. What’s more, I am really proud that the legacy of my clients’ time with me not only enables them to lead effectively but helps them to do the same with future leaders.”

As a leadership and communication consultant, she actively works with leaders to help them know their message and be their message, so they build credibility and trust for themselves and the organisations they represent. She is passionate about inspiring self-confidence and self-belief in people through their ability to lead with clarity, confidence, and courage, and this is how Tara Fennessy sees her progress.

THE CLIENT PORTFOLIO & SUCCESS MANTRA

The clientele includes Tesco, Ernst & Young, PWC, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Cabinet Office, Accenture, JCB, Lacoste and many other renowned brands. The impressive client portfolio is testimony to the vast experience Tara Fennessy can bring to every project and the results they can achieve. Many of their clients acknowledge what impresses them the most is how the team bring fresh new energy into their methodology, conveying personality and punch into leadership development- they facilitate them to elevate their impact, influence, and leadership skills to accelerate business and personal objectives, and ultimately empower the clients to have the ‘wow’ factor.

Leadership Skills Training works with clients on a totally customised approach to provide their best leadership development experience. No training is prescribed, although of course there are common themes. Key for the team- and what makes them so successful – is that they ensure the impact is measurable through a change of thinking, feeling, and action, with a direct result across the three key pillars: clarity, confidence, and courage.

JEWELS IN THE CROWN

AI’s 2019 Leading Adviser Awards Leading Leadership Training and Coaching Consultancy of the Year
AI’s Global “Best of the Best in Training & HR 2017
Business Excellence 2018 Award “Training Consultancy Firm of the Year

Antonis Gavrielides: Far-Sighted Business Leader Antonis Gavrielides is Successfully Spearheading the Eurofast International Ltd

With over 15 years of extensive experience in leadership and management, Antonis Gavrielides is the Deputy CEO of Eurofast International Ltd. He has demonstrated leadership strengths and a proven ability to manage multiple responsibilities in a fast-paced environment with critical deadlines. Mr Gavrielides has been working at Eurofast for the past 11 years, initially as the Group Internal Auditor from the Cyprus office (HQ), subsequently as the Country Manager and currently as Director responsible for the General management of the office in Greece and the Payroll and Employment Division for the whole Group.

Antonis Gavrielides is highly motivated and fully committed with strong project management and analytical skills. He is well-organised and works well independently as well as collaboratively in a team spirit. He is also well-versed in strategy and has a proven ability to implement practical and innovative solutions to problems.

Eurofast International: Creating Historical Presence in the Global Market

Eurofast International Ltd is a Regional Business Advisory Organisation employing local adviser’s in 23 cities in the emerging markets of South-East Europe & the Middle East (SEEME). The team of advisors is capable of efficiently addressing all client needs in one single meeting, using one single language for all the countries in the region. Eurofast’s main services are 1) Tax & Transfer Pricing, 2) Payroll & Employment, 3) Accounting & Compliance, and 4) Advisory & Corporate.

The clientele includes multinational companies and organizations which are very demanding. To ensure the unbreakable faith of their clients the team always tries to be one step ahead of them. They identify the problem, and they implement innovative instant solutions. What’s essential for them is the client to realize that they do not see him as a temporary source of money, but they aim to create a bond that will last in time.

Eurofast has over 42 years of historical presence in the global market, counting numerous awards and accolades. Most recently, for 2021, the awards “Top 10 Payroll Provider of the Year” by CioLook and “Transfer Pricing Advisory Firm in South Europe” by Corporate INTL Magazine, were received.

Shortly, Eurofast is planning to enter a new era, combining the experience of the past with the expertise of the present to create a more challenging and innovative approach. During the pandemic, the Eurofast team faced many challenges, which they have proudly overcome. New ways to communicate the services and approaching the clients were invented. The future holds plan on expanding the Group portfolio using new technologies and growing their professional family with new talents in new jurisdictions.

The Inspiration behind the Initiation

In the early stages of his career, Antonis Gavrielides said he did not have a precise idea of what he wanted to do professionally. The most important for him was to educate himself because he truly believes that any type of knowledge gives you the chance to develop yourself.

Following the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mr. Gavrielides was not afraid to take the risk and he started to work hard in his field. He realized that for him work is like a project. He wants to create something and after the finalization and the assurance that everything is working well, he seeks for a new challenge, a new project which will give him the opportunity to learn something new and advance himself and his skills.

Hiccups on the Way

The primary challenges that Antonis Gavrielides and his team had when the company grew were not to be disoriented from their vision and to choose colleagues who can understand it and are able to suggest ways to progress towards the primary goal it. Another ongoing challenge is to maintain the high quality of services they provide in different countries, cultures, and mentalities as Eurofast is a multinational organisation and they aim hard to be the top choice of their clients and the number one Cypriot company.

From the Deputy CEO’s Desk

“All of us who want to see this industry evolving must be supporters of a fair play competition. Furthermore, we must lead our employees, appreciate their skills and efforts, and promote equality for everyone. In addition, cooperation between companies and why not even between competitors could create a new more balanced industry”, asserted Antonis Gavrielides when asked about his views contributing to a more balanced & equal industry.

He further said, “My parents always encouraged me and supported me to make my own decisions by relying on my own strength, and allowed me to fulfil my dreams. My career mentors and especially Mr. Christodoulos Damianou, owner of Eurofast Group, gave me the opportunity to grow and develop my skills as he trusted my ideas since day one and gave me the honour to evolve and contribute to the development of a such an outstanding organisation. Last but not least, I believe in the power of luck and the good timing that followed me during my professional years and worked as a support system for my success.”

A Day in Antonis’s Life

Antonis’s day begins at 08:00 a.m. in the morning. Preparation of the daily routine and at 08:30 a.m. in the office. Meetings, calls, teleconferences, urgent matters, brainstorming, and discussion with colleagues till 05:30 p.m. After work, he gets to have some time for himself. He usually spends time at the gym, which works as stress-relieving. Antonis Gavrielides enjoys cooking for friends and shares a laugh along with a good glass of wine. The night routine always includes preparation for the next day and some good night’s sleep.

Favourite Book

Since Antonis Gavrielides is a food lover, he enjoys reading cooking books or stories of people whose occupation is cooking. A book that he recently read and really inspired him was ‘Kitchen Confidential’ by Antony Bourdain. He is fascinated by the combination of products that appear unmatched and turn out to be amazing results. He believes the same applies for the industry since it requires everyone to combine and adjust to different cultures, different people, and different legislations so as to achieve a positive outcome.

Favourite Quote

“Our Aspirations are our Possibilities” by Victorian English poet Robert Browning. It truly reflects my belief that high expectations always precede high achievement and when you want something a lot, aim for hard work and life will reward you openly.

Rodrigo Martins: Catering Corporate Legal Solutions for The Dynamic Wealth Management World

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyonf measure.

Quoting Marianne Williamson, this is the thought of Rodrigo Alonso Martins, Head of International Taxation and Wealth Planning at Ronaldo Martins & Advogados.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1981 but also with Spanish Citizenship, Rodrigo Martins is married and the father of two lovely girls. After high school, he started both Economic Sciences and Law Universities.

Before graduation Rodrigo Martins was involved with Tax Practice, initially focusing on Corporate Tax Planning, and afterward developing and directing the Wealth Planning Practice as part of the Tax Planning dedicated to Individual Investors.

Further, Rodrigo Martins shared, “I stayed with my Law Firm until February 2011 when I was invited and offered a Latam Wealth Planner position by HSBC Private Bank, initially starting the position in Geneva, Switzerland and then transferred back to Brazil 2013 where I remained until June 2015. After the termination of my relationship with HSBC in 2015, I went back to my Law Firm and in July 2015 I founded our Multi-Family Office – Ripol Alliance Global Wealth Strategies – in Miami where I became the CEO and Head of Wealth Planning.”

Since its inception, Ripol Alliance has been offering a more complete and holistic approach to Wealth Management or sort to say Wealth Planning integrated with the financial side as well as the legal and
succession planning to the services developed to clients.

A Glimpse of the Multi-Family Firm

RONALDO MARTINS & Advogados offers Corporate Legal Services on a multitude of Practices, but all businesses are driven to the benefit of the clients and their economic performance and efficiency. They also offer the Wealth, Succession, and Tax Planning for Individual Investors clients of the Law Firm integrated to their Multi-Family Office – Ripol Alliance Global Wealth Strategies – where all the Wealth, Succession, and International Tax Planning is centralized and added to the Wealth Management.

The clientele varies from big multinational companies, foreign companies establishing a business in Brazil through advisory, local companies in Brazil seeking assistance in navigating through the most efficient way on the Brazilian legal system, Brazilian Companies desiring to expand their businesses and operation to other countries in special the USA and Private Clients seeking for advisory on wealth, succession, and tax matters both locally in Brazil but also internationally.

On asked about the secret behind the client’s unbreakable faith Rodrigo Martins said, “Trust comes from us knowing and speaking the same business language as our clients. In addition to that, we take our time to understand our client’s needs and concerns to facilitate an indication of the best and most appropriate legal solutions for their cases. Finally, we are always innovating on the digital frameworks bringing to our client’s ways to not only keep closer contact with our professionals but with relevant information about their cases and works we are developing for them. Therefore, we can create such a close relationship whereby we become natural members of our client’s life and business, adding value always to their interests.”

Hurdles on the Way & The Secret Sauce

The biggest challenge is to maintain the corporate values and principles despite any challenges a business may face or faced and never let the level or quality of the professionals and know how to drop from the highest standards we set back in the foundation of our Law Firm.

Rodrigo Martins says that learning and developing skills is the biggest secret behind the success and experience at a certain point in time, and being patient as to the eager to achieve success, because if done in a rush, may cause for a professional not to be ready to face the most demanding challenges.

Also, by understanding and accepting that the learning and growth curves are continuous, no one should think that once you get to a certain professional stage you are done because if you fall out of these continuous curves, sooner or later, you will fall and fail.

Building a Balanced and Equal Industry

According to Rodrigo Martins, that is achieved by “Providing equal chances to all, rewarding based on competence and results – meritocracy – and providing a more humane working relationship with your employees and clients.”

At the current moment, a lot of businesses focus on economical results and growth but at a cost which is the quality of the relationships established during the action and the quality of personal life as an owner, director, or of any employee.

Therefore, by seeking this more humane side of all the relations, companies can set a higher tone of productivity and commitment of their own team and a stronger and more faithful relationship with its clients.

A Day in Rodrigo’s Life

The routine starts with the early wake-up, checking the first e-mails and messages of the day, then dressing up for work, have breakfast with family, kids go to school, provide breakfast for dog, focus on work directly until lunchtime, take a break to have lunch and check nonwork-related subjects, return to the work routine and focus until around 7:00 pm to focus on family, preparing dog dinner, enjoying some quality time with family, then going to the gym three times a week during the night, get back home, go for a walk with the dog, give a lovely good night for the kids and put them to bed, take the last shower, watch Netflix with wife and then go to sleep.

Favourite Book: Rich Dad Poor Dad

Future Goals

Rodrigo Martins Alonso Martins is focusing on providing the clients a new digital experience in legal management with a new Legal Digital Platform.

This is just one more of the initiatives focused on the level of services the team provides to clients – the highest available – to facilitate to clients the understanding of the legal matters on the daily management and strategic decisions to help their companies succeed on their goals.

They are also further developing their asset management platform on their Multi-Family Office aiming to provide clients even broader access to different financial products and solutions which benefit their personal assets portfolio, possibly their business, and the risk diversification.

Feathers in the Cap

Lawyer Monthly – Legal Awards 2018 – Awarded to Rodrigo Martins Alonso Martins/Ripol Alliance Global Wealth Strategies – Business Families Solicitor of the Year USA.

Acquisition International – 2019 Global Excellence Awards – Awarded to Ripol Alliance Global Wealth Strategies – Most Outstanding Multi-Family Office 2019 – Florida, and

US Business News – Legal Elite Awards 2020 – Awarded to Ripol Alliance Global Wealth Strategies – Best in Legal Equity Protection Consulting – Florida.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

Hard work sees no difference between genders. No woman should let be put down or inferior. If their professional goals are their top priority at a certain time of their life or even their entire life, they should face the challenges as humans and forget about the difference in gender. They should focus on their capabilities aiming to excel as much as possible, develop a strong and concrete business plan and a review routine to check on the accomplishments of the business plan, and unite a capable team to support them on the business development.

American Battery Solutions, An Endeavour by Subhash Dhar to Deliver Advanced Battery Solutions

Founded in 2019, led by an experienced business leader with about four decades of accumulated wisdom, Subhash Dhar, American Battery Solutions is engaged in developing, designing, and manufacturing complete Li-Ion battery systems for the electrification of vehicles and industrial equipment including stationary storage applications.

Since its inception, Mr Dhar has been spearheading the firm as the Chairman & CEO. Under his thoughtful and innovative leadership, the firm has emerged as a prominent leader in manufacturing advanced battery systems. Earlier, he was the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Energy Power Systems from January 2011 to April 2017 and CEO of XALT Energy, a leading manufacturer of Li-Ion batteries from January 2014 to April 2017.

Previously, Mr Dhar served as the Chairman & CEO of Envia Systems, a Bay Area company engaged in developing advanced Li-Ion battery technology. Prior to that, he was the founding President of ECD-Ovonic Battery Company during 1982 through 2003, where he developed and commercialized Nickel Metal hydride
battery which today’s hybrid electric vehicles on a global basis & which became the backbone of the Prius hybrid cars in the late ’90s. He set up business alliances and manufacturing operations in Japan, China, Europe, and the US. He also served as the President of Ovonic Fuel Cell Company where he developed a novel regenerative low-cost fuel cell.

Mr Dhar has also served as Vice-Chairman of EnerDel and President of its parent Ener1 Inc; CEO of Eletra Hybrid Bus; a company based in Brazil. He also served as the CEO of PlasmaDrive, a company engaged in the development of novel combustion technology.

He has also been involved in many aspects of alternative and advanced technology including hydrogen generation, hydrogen storage, and Fuel Cells. Subhash Dhar is a co-inventor of over 40 US patents and has
co-authored more than 45 technical papers and delivered dozens of invited keynote addresses at numerous global energy and automotive conferences. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Curtis Instruments for 15 years.

He has a master’s in engineering management and Chemical Engineering from the University of Detroit and Institute of Technology, India.

A GLIMPSE OF AMERICAN BATTERY SOLUTIONS

As a leading industrial and commercial electric vehicle battery manufacturer in the USA, ABS produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries with automotive quality DNA and with the power of experience.

Their customers are part of the electrification industry primarily in the industrial, commercial, and other related markets including bus and commercial vehicle manufacturers. The team at ABS has collectively, helped launch some of the industry’s most well-known programs with OEM’s like General Motors, Fiat
Chrysler, BMW, Daimler-Mercedes, and others. Their mission is to create a cleaner future by leading the
transition from fossil fuel based propulsion to electric power trains as well as grid connected energy storage
systems.

“Building a team from scratch was one of the biggest challenges. We continue to build a world-class team; people are the most critical and valuable assets that we have as a company” shared Subash Dhar while talking about the hurdles of early days.

storage solutions provider. Mr Dhar is working every day with ABS’s highly skilled and talented team members. He looks forward to continuing to build a culture of camaraderie and balancing good work/life for everyone in the company.

FROM THE CEO’S DESK

The Inspiration behind the Initiation
Mr Dhar apprised, “I have always been interested in clean energy, electrification of vehicles and have worked in clean-tech since 1981. My philosophy is to leave this world in better condition than we inherited it from our predecessors which can be achieved through science, technology, and human partnerships.”

The “Secret Sauce”

Having the conviction in making the world a better place and working with an extremely talented group of people and staying focused on the mission to improve the quality of life through science and technology.

Suggestions to Create a More Balanced and Equal Industry
Define your mission and goals and identify critical paths to achieve them. Develop and nurture teams and provide them with the necessary tools, guidance, and encouragement to help them achieve those goals. Also, being a good listener is important.

FAVOURITE BOOK

Churchill Walking with Destiny biography by Andrew Roberts. Churchill inspires with his leadership qualities and how he manages through tough and adverse challenges. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson about science, culture, and how the modern-day science world has evolved.

FEATHERS IN THE CAP

30 most influential companies of the year – CIO Bulletin 2020
Top 10 EV solutions providers – Autotech Outlook
The World’s Fastest-Growing Companies in 2021 – American Registry
Several recognitions by industry trade organizations and academic institutions.
Inventor of over 45 US Patents
Authored over 45 technical papers

WORDS OF WISDOM

Don’t take no for an answer, fight every step of the way, treat everyone fairly and encourage team building, education, equality, and fairness. There have been many successful women leaders, and there is a need to continue to cultivate and support that growth.

Stuart Noland: Offering Knowledge-Driven Innovative Finance Solutions with Nolands Capital

Stuart Noland, a specialist financial professional and an alumnus of Oxford University are the Founder and CEO of Nolands Capital a full-service Deal Advisory, Transactional Services, and Advisory firm.

A Charted Accountant with over 10 years of experience, Stuart Noland has earned expertise in various areas of finance and business. Over the years, he has contributed to different fields of Business Management, Finance, Audit, and Consulting.

He has worked at KPMG, an audit & advisory firm, and Bain & Co, the management consulting company. Stuart became a Chartered Accountant CA(SA) in 2014; he completed a Finance Master’s Degree at the University of Cape Town in 2015 and did MBA at the University of Oxford the next year.

MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY & SERVICE PORTFOLIO

As a corporate finance house, Nolands Capital specialises in helping clients and their business achieve their goals across short, medium, and long-term horizons. There are 3 areas of specialisation:

Mergers & Acquisitions
Transaction Services
Management Consulting

On both buy and sell-side transactions, clients are fully supported, end-to-end. They provide auxiliary services such as business valuations, financial modelling/forecasting, and due diligence.

In addition, they also provide related consulting services around post-merger integration, business reorganisation/optimisation, and incentives development.

Because of its excellent services and expert team, Nolands Capital has been honoured with the Acquisition International Leading Corporate Finance & Management Consultant of the Year 2021.

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE INITIATION

Stuart always wanted to work in an industry that was dynamic and ever-changing and that provided a good variety of projects and opportunities across a broad range of industries and geographies. An occupation that was exciting, challenging, and fast-paced.

The finance industry allows him to work closely with clients, learning more about their business, and thinking out the box to come up with innovative solutions to address challenges. Each day looks and feels slightly different from the previous one, regardless of how many years you have under your belt.

According to him, a finance career also equips you with the ability to transition into many different roles over time either operational/financial/ or strategic. It provides flexibility and helps you develop very transferable and monetizable skills. It also allows you to travel the world and work in many different locations.

CRAFTING LOYAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

The clientele includes medium to large SMEs situated in and around sub-Saharan Africa, predominantly South Africa. The Nolands slogan has always been around Relationships and Solutions. They develop close relationships with clients and get to know them on a personal level in order to better understand their priorities, needs, and objectives. They also let the quality of our work speak for itself in developing innovative, and fit-for-purpose solutions that are designed with the future in mind.

“We offer holistic solutions to our clients, that not only accommodate our skill sets, but also the skills and expertise of the entire broader Nolands firm across all three key service pillars: Audit, Advisory, and Law. We don’t work FOR or AT our clients, but rather work closely WITH them in a mutual partnership to develop and execute solutions. Our existing clients consistently ask us: “where can you help us”, rather than “I need help with this” and that is a critical distinction” says Stuart.

GETTING OVER THE ENTREPRENEURIAL HUMPS

The business was started in March 2019, and it was hit by COVID and lockdowns barely a year after launch. This unprecedented disruption encouraged, or even demanded, a high degree of agility and responsiveness in the way it operates.

“We were determined that the challenges presented by the pandemic could not be seen in any way by the team as some sort of reigning in of our ambition. Instead, the systems we put in place have become an in-built strength that has improved efficiencies as well as the speed of decision making, response, and delivery. Ultimately, we are a business that was specifically designed to operate in a pandemic, rather than one that adjusted to it”, said Stuart while talking about the major challenges he has had to face.

“As a relatively young division offering a completely different skill set to the rest of the Nolands Firm, our primary challenge was threefold:
• Educate both the existing firm personnel and potential clients as to the types of services and value we can offer our clients
• Convince new clients to trust a relatively new outfit with a mandate of such a personal nature regarding the acquisition/disposal of their life’s work (their business).
• Lastly, we had to find the right mix of individuals with the same cultures, values, mindset, and ability to build a high performing and cohesive team in order to service the ever-increasing workload from clients”, he further added.

THE “SECRET SAUCE”

Stuart Noland got to where he is today by focusing on his goals, putting in the hard yards, and not taking any shortcuts along the way. He spent a long time (over 10 years) focusing on his tertiary studies and building a
solid foundation from which to build a career. He initially took jobs that would provide him with the best exposure and learning opportunities, rather than the best short-term remuneration. Stuart worked in a
number of cities around the world in order to gain exposure to different cultures and ways of working. Besides, he was fortunate enough to have a family that gave him great guidance in terms of thinking of how to structure and build a career from an early age.

NOLANDS CAPITAL, THEN AND NOW

The firm has consistently outperformed expectations during the first 3 years of operations thanks to the incredible effort from the team and support from the loyal clients.

“We are looking forward to continuing to identify and work with fantastic clients and form long-term relationships that facilitate mutual success and enable us to grow alongside the clients we currently serve. We are very excited to continue to grow the team, both nationally in SA and abroad, and continue to advance our capabilities in key areas that are of importance to our clients. We are planning to provide the infrastructure and auxiliary services to assist the overall Nolands firm to grow in other areas of business by delivering holistic solutions to our clients across all key service pillars: Audit, Advisory & Law”, says Stuart.

Words of Wisdom

There are no shortcuts to success. Start with the end in mind and be willing to put in the hard yards to build the right foundation for long-term future success.

Dr Wolf Vierich & The Vitala Group : Delivering Tailor Made Finance Solution

The journey for the Vitala Group of Companies started in 1983 as the brainchild of Dr. Wolfgang Vierich, the Founder & Group Chairman. He is equipped with years of experience from his successful career since the year 1967. In his German air force military career in the USA he passed out as the highest ranked “Foreign Outgoing Officer” of any US Military Academy, USA.

He was legal and economic advisor to six Heads of State, and he led economic nationalization programmes in Tanzania, Iran, Jordan, and Qatar during the 1970s – 1980s. He was also Regional General Manager of the UK Inchcape Group’s Middle East operations, and Holiday Inn International Hotels’ Director of Projects Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

A graduate from two West German Hotel Management Schools, his educational curriculum was complemented at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and the University of Austin, Texas, majoring in International Trade Law and Contract Law, obtaining his JD and Ph.D., followed by studies in International Project Management at the European Centre of Management in Brussels, and in Executive Management at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Afterwards, he obtained an MBA from the University of Munich, Germany.

Dr. Vierich also lectures, speaks, and has published worldwide on subjects covering Law, Management and global tourism industry trends, and project finance. He has worked and consulted on numerous Government programmes and campaigns in Japan and the USA. He was chosen by President Reagan as the Chair of the Commission on the American Outdoors. He was also Chair of the State of Florida Crime Prevention Program and, as a result, he was appointed as a Distinguished Visitor of the City of Miami.

For his global achievements in the international tourism industry, he was Knighted by the German Government in 2010.

He has been honoured as “CEO of the Year 2021” by CEO Today Magazine, and his Vitala Group of Companies was appointed as the “Most Outstanding Leisure & Tourism Group 2021 UK”

He is a:

FELLOW

IH Institute of Hospitality
IM Institute of Management
CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing
TS Tourism Society, UK

VISITING FELLOW:

Bournemouth University, UK, (1990-96)

MEMBER:

WWA World Waterpark Association
RoSPA Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (1988-2004)
IAAPA International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions
MCB Editorial Board, Contemporary Journal of Hospitality Management, MCB University Press
JWA Honorary Member, Japan Waterpark Association
ALAPA Founder & Honorary Member, Asociación Latino Americana de Parques Acuáticos
LATAG Latin American Trade Advisory Group, (1992-1998)
TEA Themed Entertainment Association, USA
ULI International Council, Urban Land Institute, USA
IALEI International Association for the Leisure & Entertainment Industry, USA
Editorial Board, Aquatics International, USA,
World Safety Council, USA, (1993-95)
Russian Association of Joint Ventures, International Consortia & Organisations, (1986-90)
ALES Associate Member, Association of Leisure & Equipment Suppliers, UK
IRETO Board of Experts

KNIGHTHOOD: Knight of Gastronomy, Germany
LIFE MEMBER: WLRA World Leisure & Recreation Association
CHAIRMAN: World Waterpark Association International Advisory Board (1988-2000)
GUARDIAN: Hospitality Action Benevolent Association, UK
COUNCIL MEMBER: The Gerson Lehrman Group

ADVISOR:

International Advisor, Asociación Latino Americana de Parques Acuáticos (ALAPA) 1982
UK Department of Trade & Industry “Opportunity Japan” Campaign, (1990- 1994)
AIIS, American International Immigration Services
International Advisor, Russian Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, (RAAPA)

COMMISSION CHAIRMAN

US President Reagan’s Commission to Report on the American Outdoors (1986-87)
Florida State Government’s Tourist Crime Prevention Program, (1992-1995)

The VITALA Group of Companies

The VITALA Group of Companies is now operating in its 38th year and has been active in over 153 countries since its inception.
The Group is best known as global Project Finance providers, developers, managers, and consultants to the leisure, tourism, and themed entertainment industry. It provides additional related services for many other industries.
They also specialise in global project financing and the formation of financing syndicates covering start-up and ongoing projects, the provision of Private Placement Memorandum and related documentation for project verification, as well as Merger and Acquisition services.
The Group’s commercial activities cover investment, consultancy, and management services for all types of industries worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECT FINANCE SERVICES OFFERED:

Equity / debt funding
Project start-ups
Partnerships
Project loans
Project Management
Investigation
Private placement memorandum
Feasibility study assignments
Loan syndication
Operational audits
Project acquisitions
Project mergers
Project buy-outs/ buy-ins

There are no up-front fees or any other hidden fees for Project Financing. The company only charges a success fee.

“Since 1983, The Vitala Group has been raising project finance. We receive numerous applications for all types of project financing and, as we do not act as finance brokers, we recommend the most appropriate source for a project’s evaluation. Project financing is based on the merits and risk aspects of the project rather than on security and corporate considerations. With global development projects completed in over 153 countries since 1983, we specialise in financing projects from inception right through to operation. This includes project finance, acquisitions, mergers, buy-outs, and joint ventures”, Dr Vierich further shared.

Favourite Book : “The Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela.

Challenges on the Way & Plans for Reaching the Next Milestones

The demand for international project finance over US$ 10.0 million per project was steady in 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic had no measurable effect on that. Dr Wolf Vierich commenced real estate project finance in the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. All the 10
global offices functioned throughout the Covid-19 crisis, because of the vast number of ongoing international
projects we deal with. There have been project delays caused by the various restrictions and quarantine measures imposed globally. This has affected mainly operators but not developers since, in most cases, project development requires some years to complete.

“The provision of competent and ethical management is as important to us as our responsibility to achieve
financial profit targets for our shareholders and investors. We must operate profitably to meet our ongoing obligations to employees and sponsors alike. To hire, train and motivate the best employees available in the market; to promote them first before engaging outside personnel; to treat staff respectfully and award them fairly and develop our personnel to act as good citizens of the community – remains our constant mission. Preferably to deal with projects which will positively impact communities, with real measurable results. We
seek to advance those who endeavour to contribute to our business and society, regardless of their background, origin, religion, race, political beliefs, or aspirations. To provide excellence and to succeed through satisfied customers and clients is to meet our highest goal”, said Dr Vierich while talking about his
future plans.

Christiana Kouppi : Unleashing Unparalleled Legal Expertise in the Law Industry with Vrikis & Kouppi LLC

An experienced high calibre seasoned lawyer, an eternal optimist, and a cheerful persona, Christiana Kouppi joined Vrikis & Kouppi LLC in 2017. She has over 10 years of experience in top-tier firms in both Australia and Cyprus, acting for a wide range of clients over the years and working with entrepreneurs helping them set up and manage successful businesses, and offering elite guidance in Corporate Finance, Intellectual Property, Property Acquisition, Restructuring to name a few.

Christiana ventured out on her legal educational journey at La Trobe in Melbourne Australia and after 5 fantastic years, she combined her two passions and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of
Business, majoring in Finance and Management. She then continued and became a Member of the Society of
Estate and Trust Practitioners and qualified with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Whilst still in Australia, Christiana always enjoyed an active role with the Victorian Women Lawyers Association and contributed articles for their in-house magazine Portia.

“I suppose that growing up and working in Australia and Cyprus has given me a fondness for the outdoors and the beach and I am a firm believer in maintaining a healthy work-life balance while also giving back to the community one is part of and enjoys. Giving back to others is an ethic that I hold dear and have always sought to apply throughout my life and legal career, endeavouring to pass this on to newcomers to our profession, and to encourage them to also do the same”, Christiana further apprised.

STANDING OUT FROM THE CLUTTER

Established in 2015, Vrikis & Kouppi LLC (‘the Firm’) today provides legal services to people from Cyprus and across the world. They have two offices, one in Limassol and one in Nicosia and with over 30 years of collective experience, they offer the sharpest legal minds providing confident and incisive legal advice with a real desire to change the legal landscape in Cyprus. Their priority is to provide the highest possible standard of legal service and to maintain the best quality at every point of client and service provider interaction.

The Firm practices in all fields of Cyprus law, with a strong focus in the areas of:
Company and Commercial Law
Family and Trust Law, Taxation Law
Banking and Finance
Immigration
Mergers and Acquisitions
Litigation
Property Law & Tenancy Matters
Administrative Law
Secretarial services and company incorporations
Employment law

“We are happy to assist on any matter and we always make ourselves available to our clients to offer them support and advice where needed. We serve some of the world’s preeminent corporations with a full bureau law service and we are recognised for our industry focus in key sectors” Christiana shared while talking about her clients.

“We are committed to demonstrating support to our clients and we understand this intuitively, many firms would tend to believe that focusing on the practice areas seems to make sense, however ultimately, you are offering a service to a client and behind that service is a person. Maintaining personal relationships with our clients is key to us understanding their needs. This personal development is imperative to us and yields the best results possible”, she further added.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AS A LEADER

Christiana Kouppi and the Firm share the same challenges as the majority of companies. The present times are in constant flux and the world is in constant change, obviously, COVID has affected everyone to some degree and the evolving needs of the clients keeps Vrikis & Kouppi LLC on their toes, but the team delight in this and have always prided themselves in their ability to respond to change in an instant.

The trends that the VK team has recognised recently however have centred around the need for faster turnaround times in all deliverables and more challenging working structures, and seeing this early on they have been at the forefront of developments that are effectively allowing them to stay ahead to meet the demands of a more complex, faster changing, inter-connected world.

A DAY IN CHRISTIANA KOUPPI’S LIFE

Christiana shared, “Every morning before I get out of bed, I map out a plan of my day in my head. In the office, I have a coffee meeting with the teams to discuss their plan and priorities for the day and then begin. After work, my favourite part of my evening is hitting a Zumba class. With a day job that is so much dependent on articulation, I find a great release from dancing, I truly believe it is the language for the soul when a person can just completely switch off the left side brain and engage one’s more creative artistic right side, with also the added benefit of being able to squeeze in a workout! As I spend most of my week on the phone or in meetings or in front of a computer, my personal time is spent away from all that, weekends are for the outdoors, preferably with a nice glass of wine and enjoying anything that doesn’t need a plug!”

FUTURE ROADMAP

Vrikis & Kouppi LLC has a determined vision of becoming the leading indigenous law firm in Cyprus by conducting its business in a way that is consistent with their values, where they have something of value to offer, and where their endeavour can make a difference.

Here, people are at the core of what they do and they are committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining the most talented professionals, while at the same time offering continued legal education, defending equality, and encouraging enterprise focused activities that will allow them to make a positive difference in the local communities in which they operate.

AWARDS AND MILESTONES

Vrikis & Kouppi LLC has been honoured with many awards, like:

Corporate Tax Law Firm of the year in Cyprus 2017 – Corporate International
2018 Leading Commercial Law adviser of the Year, Cyprus – Acquisition International
2018 Corporate & Commercial Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus – Acquisition International
Recommended Law Firm 2019 – Corporate Tax Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus – Global Law Experts
Recommended Attorney 2019 George Vrikis – Global Law Experts
Global Excellence Award for Christiana Kouppi – Most Influential Women in Business Transactions Law 2019 – by Acquisition International
Listed on Legal500

A PIECE OF ADVICE FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS

“Feto Forte – Nasaun Forte” “Strong Women, Strong Nation”. When women find a voice and assume leadership roles in the community, the entire community, and by extension the nation, benefits”. Christiana shared.

It is certainly challenging for female entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and aspirations and put their dreams onto an action plan as they are faced with so many difficulties however I am a firm believer that if you always work with honesty and passion, whilst having the common sense and aspiration to move forward, you will surely excel.

Matthew Kolinski : Entrepreneur and Strategic Partner, Helping Entrepreneurs in Staffing and Recruiting via Comprehensive Solutions for Back-office Management

After running a traditional staffing and recruiting firm for 4 years, Matthew Kolinski realized that there is an operational advantage of large staffing firms compared to start-up staffing firms and he wanted to level the
playing field. He took his experience of running the back-office operations for his own firm and used it as the foundational stone of USA Staffing Services in the year 2010 as a Back Office Partner for entrepreneurs in the staffing and recruiting space. Since its inception, the firm has been helping entrepreneurs with the back-office operation of their staffing firms and allows them to focus on nurturing customer relationships and increasing sales to drive revenue. Matthew Reports that “I wanted to level the playing field for my friends who were offering better recruiting services by giving them the same services of a “corporate” back office but at a reasonable price”.

The man behind this brand, Matthew Kolinski an entrepreneur, physician, and thought leader. He started his first business at the age of 16 and throughout the last 20 years has had most of his impact in the Human Capital Management arena. Specifically, he has been in Staffing and Recruiting for over 15 years and he has invested in HR technology platforms to improve employee satisfaction within certain industries.

Mr Kolinski recently released his book in May 2020 called “Work-Passion-Live Balance: Finding Fulfilment Through Zones of Efficiency” because he wanted to take his experience of improving his life satisfaction and share it with the world.

“I have wanted to write about my experiences for several years because I want to bring hope and enlightenment to those who are going through struggles. Life satisfaction is more than a feeling, it is a method of approaching life that brings more happiness and satisfaction. The philosophy that I created called Work-Passion-Life Balance is an approach to utilizing relationships in your life to maximize your own life. The most important relationship is the relationship with yourself which I focus on throughout the book”, Matthew further shared.

As part of Matthew’s passion of being an entrepreneur himself, he is actively involved as the President of the Local Tampa chapter of the global organization called Entrepreneur’s Organization which has 16,000 members worldwide.

About the Company & Service Portfolio

USA Staffing Services, LLC created the Authorized Dealer Program which is a back-office platform other staffing firms. It is an operational partner that runs the back-office operations that focuses on staffing firms who are doing less than $5MM in payroll per year. The owners of the staffing firms are typically entrepreneurs who are growing the business and need operational assistance to grow. They provide the payroll processing, workers compensation, payroll funding, AR management, and all responsibilities regarding compliance for payroll taxes.

Clientele

For USA Staffing Services, the main clientele includes those entrepreneurs who are starting up recruiting and staffing firms. Typically, the operational workforce overhead associated with starting up a staffing firm is significant and costs more than the profit they make, however with the Authorized Dealer Program via USA Staffing, it becomes reasonable for staffing firms to grow quickly to $5MM in payroll before needing to bring on a team of operational support. At the level of about $5MM in payroll, it is reasonable to add internal staff to continue the growth or they can stick with the company’s service as they continue to grow.

From the CEO’s Desk

“Our challenges with growth have been similar to other businesses in the industry including brand management and meeting client needs. For all staffing firms, Cash flow and Workers Compensation are the two vital components for sustainability and it is challenging for new businesses to develop stable solutions early in their business. Volume in terms of increased payroll processing and invoicing solves both of these issues and now that we are larger, we take measures to ensure our Authorized Dealer Partners have the same leverage we have when it comes to pricing and solutions”, said Matthew while talking about the challenges he suffered in the early days of business.

“I have been an entrepreneur and businessman from an early age, but it wasn’t until 2015 that I identified myself as an entrepreneur. This help came from members of the Entrepreneurs Organization that I met while I attended the INC 500 conference in 2015. When I was a child, my parents pushed me to be better in terms of grades, athletics, and focus on achieving goals and I am thankful for their impact on my work ethic”, he shared when asked about the inspiration behind his entrepreneurial journey.

Suggestion for Companies to Create a more Balanced and Equal Industry

Matthew recommends that all staffing firms take these two pieces of advice:

Pick an industry to specialize in and diversify your clients (not diversify your speciality)
Obtain 50% of your take-home revenue from Direct Hire Placements (Perm recruiting) and 50% from Temporary Staffing Placements.

Daily Routine

“I wake up typically around 6:45 am because my daughter wakes up. I have 2 kids (1 and 3 years old). I spend the first hour of the day with my family and I enjoy playing and cooking breakfast. I drop off my daughter at school and head to the office at 9 AM for our team’s daily huddle and check-in. Mornings are typically reserved for follow-up and working on pricing/projects/situational solutions. The afternoons are typically reserved for meetings and follow-ups. I try to be home by 5 PM daily for dinner with the family and then the kids are in bed between 7-7:30. I spend time with my wife for the rest of the evening”, asserted Mr Kolinski.

Favourite Books
• No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings
• How To Lead by David Rubenstein
• Great by Choice by Jim Collins
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Road Ahead

Over the past 11 years, USA Staffing has worked with over 400 entrepreneurs in the staffing industry and provided opportunities and solutions to grow their business. Their products and services are improving on a weekly basis and they believe they are the best back-office solution for staffing firms in the market today. Now, Matthew and his team look forward to continuing to talk with entrepreneurs and business owners who want to grow their businesses.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

The world needs more female entrepreneurs because of the innovation and solutions that they can bring to the economy. The approach to business takes confidence in yourself to know that you have a solution that others need and secondly it is important to build a team who will support you as you grow. In my experience
the Business world significantly benefits every time we increase diversity in the board room and leadership teams.

Ali Zaidi: An Ardent and Compassionate New-Age Problem Solver at Revolutionizing the Healthcare Insurance Industry with Aafiya

Established in 2013, Steered by an expert professional, Ali Zaidi, General Manager, Aafiya is a specialized integrated service provider for healthcare management. Bearing the name which stands for “good health”, Aafiya was started with the mission to facilitate comprehensive health insurance services of high-quality standards to all the sectors of the population.

While the stakeholders were considering making health insurance mandatory in UAE, it was vital to support the insurance companies to manage and facilitate a smooth claim process and take care of entire operations- That’s when Aafiya came into the picture to provide comprehensive health insurance services.

Health Insurance became mandatory in 2014 and Aafiya came next year. It is the hub that connects insurance companies, policyholders, and health care providers. While it has a basic role to work as an administrator, it understands the need to facilitate cashless service at the time of medical necessity.

The team is committed to patient safety and emerges as a trustworthy healthcare facilitator in the region. In a very short period, it has carved its niche in the third-party administrator (TPA) sector and has been recognized as a specialized integrated service provider for healthcare management.

LEADING WITH TECHNOLOGY

Machine Learning can review large volumes of data and discover specific trends without any human intervention. For instance, a human can process 200-300 claims but when it comes to ML it can scale up to 10,000 claims per day
Through its algorithms, Machine Learning technology gains experience and keeps improving in its accuracy and efficiency. Currently, the accuracy of the data ranges between 30-40%, however, with the incorporation of ML the accuracy can range from 92-95%.
Lastly, it helps reduce operational costs.

In this way, Aafiya aims at providing faster, better, tailor-made, and data-driven services to its clients which includes Insurance Companies as well as the insured members

HARNESSING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF DIGITALIZATION

The rising need and importance of AI make it pretty clear that the need for digitalization and AI go hand in hand. In recent years global insurance has seen the rising importance of technology across the supply chain of Insurance. This has more commonly been referred to as insurance, this trend provides for both threats to and opportunities for incumbents and newcomers alike.

Technology and new data sources are changing the economy and society fundamentally, and promise to transform the insurance industry as well. Digitalization is changing the role of insurance, from pure risk protection towards predicting and preventing risks. The risks insurers cover and the ways they underwrite, distribute, and manage claims are also changing. Hence, there is a need to keep abreast with these demanding times and changes around the world to provide services more efficiently. Aafiya aims at developing its internal software with further advanced technologies being used around the world for minimizing risks, controlling losses at the same time providing quick and efficient services to the insured members.

THE “SECRET SAUCE” BEHIND SUCCESS

“Nothing worthwhile comes easy, continuous hard work is the only way to get results that last”- Steve Jobs

Success for Ali Zaidi combines efforts of helping the company to achieve its larger goals and enhancing employee engagement and spurring their commitment to greater growth. He believes hard work is the most important aspect of becoming successful.

Without being willing to work hard and put everything into what you are doing, success is nearly impossible. As a leader, Mr Zaidi wants his team to feel capable of achieving their goals as well as the company’s objective, so he can make it a priority to personally help them meet their individualized milestones.

THE BIGGEST FAILURES & LEARNING

“I would not term it as a failure, however, there were several obstacles and challenges which I have faced throughout my professional journey. It’s the time and passion for your work that helps you resolve problems. With all the years of experience, I have learned to always be prepared for obstacles and always have an alternate plan in place in case the first plan fails“, Ali Zaidi proudly shared, recollecting his early day’s hurdles and learning from them.

INNOVATIONS ON THE WAY

Ali Zaidi aims to make Aafiya a globally recognized brand, his step towards the same is complete digitalization of all processes happening in and around the organization. His long-term vision is to make Aafiya a global brand in healthcare management and he believes innovation is the key to achieving this goal. For sustainable growth and creating a niche in the market, Mr. Zaidi would want Aafiya to become the market leader in terms of achieving the following.

FROM THE VISIONARY’S DESK

The Best Advice Ever Received

“I recently met someone at an award ceremony, while we were having a general conversation, he said something that touched my heart, he said, “if things happened according to your wish, it’s good, but it doesn’t, it’s even better because if the plan is not as per you, it’s as per the divine force and he will always think good about you, so believe in it”, shared Mr Zaidi.

Leadership Style & Skills

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams.

While sharing his thoughts on leadership, Mr Zaidi said “A leader is a leader when has a supportive team. For me, leadership skills would be keeping complete transparency and letting my colleagues easily approach me without any hesitation. By truly believing and trying to action this quote.”

THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Ali Zaidi’s greatest accomplishment would be building and growing Aafiya from a mere start-up to making it amongst the top 5 TPA’s in highly competitive marketing. The second would be, conceptualizing Dahab, premium membership for our privileged clients.

THE FUTURE ROADMAP OF AAFIYA

An important factor around which most of Aafiya’s service delivery options are focused is technology. The effectiveness of technologically advanced solutions through digital means increases due to their far-reaching impact on the users. There has been a hype around the term, ‘Machine Learning’ with Insurers turning to ML as it helps in predicting customers’ needs and helps companies to make better decisions.

Ahead of its time, Aafiya has decided as a part of its strategic plan for the year 2021 to invest and develop in Machine Learning technology – it’s a powerful tool that holds the potential to revolutionize the entire gamut of business. It is the first one in the TPA industry to implement ML in these services.

William Johnson: The Business Leader Endeavouring to Address the Challenge of Plastic Waste with The ToPo® Company

William Johnson, a living example of classic entrepreneurial spirit that pivoted a common man to start a unique venture, The ToPo® Company to resolve one of the serious concerns of today’s generation- plastic waste. It was back in 2011 when Dr Johnson started the journey towards converting plastic bottle caps into a collectable toy.

The annual consumption of plastic bottles is set to top two trillion by 2021, according to a Guardian report from 2017, a large percentage of which will end up in the sea or landfill. British inventor William Johnson has found an ingenious solution for avoiding plastic waste: ToPo. The single-use plastic item is the Beverage Industry’s Achilles Heel and a major concern of the Plastic Industry and Consumer World today. ToPo® Is designed to help answer this serious concern by converting a Single-Use plastic closure into a continual-use, collectable and educational construction toy that can eventually be recycled.

Therefore ToPo® is a screw-top closure that has a second life as a collectable toy, not to be discarded. Each bottle cap, which can be either circular or square, has two sets of male and female connectors. These link together to make 2D models and can snap together vertically to also make 3D models. The toy helps to educate children and make them aware of the environment and thus Stop Plastic Waste -sToPollution® which is causing so much current and potential damage. Its inventor, Dr William Johnson, has over 100 patents, including the World’s first trainer with an integrated pedometer and film coatings for visual displays.

“We created a plastic bottle screw top that converts, after its original use, into a ‘collectable’ toy that is both
fun and educational, in which children can construct, (Lego-like) any number of different structures, and play both word games and numerical puzzles or make messages and thus stopping the “throwing away” element. The ToPos are fully recyclable,” Dr Johnson explains. ToPo® has granted Patents both in the USA and the EU.

More About the Visionary

An accomplished professional, Willy Johnson is an internationally acclaimed inventor of extraordinary vision who throughout his life has toiled to fashion dreams into reality. He embodies that persistent, inquisitive spirit that animated his Victorian predecessors, and like them, he fizzes with ideas that seem to grow in number as he grows older. William Johnson is a visionary with self-belief, a positive mindset, and how to make things work attitude, admirable work ethic. His brainchild ToPo® is rooted in the inner desire to do more and more, a classic trait of an entrepreneur.

No doubt in the few moments that he has been listening to this citation he has already thought of a way to replace the Public Orator with an articulate computer, although the market for that may be somewhat limited! Inventing, of course, is a serious business, despite the stereotypical image of the bumbling inventor with which we are all familiar. We can all produce our lists of the discoveries and innovations that have changed and improved the quality of our lives. But William Johnson would be the first to admit that the image contains at least a grain of truth for he is a confessed maverick and misfit, eccentric and unconventional. Travelling with him along the road to discovery is not for the faint-hearted. He knows that dissatisfaction is important to the inventor: there must be grit in the oyster, a constant niggling desire to improve things, and a stubborn refusal to accept ‘no’ for an answer. William Johnson has heard that answer many times from potential backers and has still come back for more, pressing on with his work in the face of the daunting setbacks that dog all pioneers.

Feathers in the Cap

Gamechangers Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Biotech & Medtech Awards 2020: Packaging Company of The Year UK
Acquisition International Global Excellence Awards 2020: Award for Innovation in Sustainable Packaging Solutions USA – Reducing Plastic Waste One Screw-Top Twist At A Time
The plastic industries award winner for consumer product of the year 2019
Innovation in Sustainable Waste Solutions 2020: British inventor, Willy Johnson, tells Corporate LiveWire how he developed ToPo – an innovative multi-purpose bottle top that doubles up as a collectable toy.
‘Global screw-top saviour’ – FMCG CEO magazine February 2020
M&A Today, Global Awards – Bottle Top Designer of the Year 2020
Finance Monthly Game Changers Awards 2020
2019 CEO Today USA Awards
2019 Pharmaceutical Manufacturingand Packing Awards Success Story
2019 Pharmaceutical Manufacturingand Packing Awards