Janice L. Quigg Minimizing conflicts is the foolproof way to maximize profits Over time, we realize the power of persistence. It’s about fighting for what you believe in, unwavering in your convictions, and not taking rejection as an answer. It’s about being bold in the face of adversity to drive forward even when it feels nearly impossible. One example of such a personality is Janice L. Quigg, Executive VP/General Counsel, who is a construction lawyer with 22 years of golden experience. Throughout her legal career, she has devoted her complete self to teaching others uncovering the sources of conflict and handling them confidently. When we see a well-established business firm, we often don’t recognize all that goes behind in making it successful. The existence of conflicts in the workplace can cause stress which results in killing productivity. Janice at the Dependable Group of Companies helps businesses resolve these conflicts amicably and thus increase their customer satisfaction Daunting to most lawyers, construction law is an extremely technical area of law. Although the construction industry is highly male-dominated, Janice has made a mark and continues to inspire millions of aspiring female lawyers. In addition, she feels utterly delighted to have spoken at conferences for the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and other construction industry conferences. The Story of a Charismatic Lawyer  We are all constantly fighting battles, but have you ever been at peace while fighting for others? As a free-spirited person, Janice has always been brave enough to stand for herself. She had felt very driven to opt for a legal career, even as a child. At age twelve, she knew that she wanted to be a lawyer. Her undergraduate degree in Criminology and Sociology reinforced this dream and interest in law. When she applied to law school, it was extremely difficult to gain entry due to the increased competition, with approximately 3000 applicants for 250 seats. But she had her goals clear and took intentional steps to move forward. Soon after, she was accepted to a prestigious law school and graduated in the domain from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Janice has further learned Leadership Coaching Strategies at Harvard as well as Division of Continuing Education Professional Development Programs. Her positive approach towards hard work and a desire to help people prosper in life certainly offered her a plethora of growth opportunities. What Janice has in Store for her Clients?  For Janice, her clients are above anything else. With constant dedication, she is proud to be known as an exceptional lawyer who has never had a case go to trial. She offers businesses more cohesive and productive teams, less sick time, higher retention, and better innovation. Her parties benefit by moving from entrenched to common interests, thus improving the likelihood of success. In her entire legal career, Janice has been praised for her professionalism, humility, persistence, and high-flying behavior, which has enabled her to be an extraordinary leader in the business & commercial law industry. She thinks that great leaders view conflict resolution as a strategic advantage that engages employees, creating an open environment where great ideas flourish. Janice Quigg educates firms to not just resolve conflict, but to embrace it, harnessing their dynamic energy to serve their organization’s prominent goals. Many of her clients, after undergoing a bunch of changes in their functioning, have seen a visible peak in their productiveness and customer satisfaction. Driven to break down barriers in the construction law industry, Janice is confident to make a difference with her well-polished skills and expertise.   Awards & Achievements – Unimaginably Inspirational  A life-long learner, Janice Quigg has proved to be disciplined and achieved the balance many of us struggle to attain in life. She believes in sharing her experience with others to guide and help them realize their true potential. To make it possible, Janice became a TEDx speaker, which focused on the construction industry and all of the positive ripples it makes in the local community and globally. Then, she completed her mediation training at Harvard and developed a leadership model: L.E.A.D. Janice is glad to offer leadership courses to the business community which has always been received with great enthusiasm. She has also been a member of the Global Speakers Federation and Women Speakers Association.  Besides, she is now in-house counsel and newly appointed Vice President of the Dependable Group of Companies, which is a mechanical, electrical, and HVAC contracting firm. The firm specializes in the service of high voltage systems, heating, plumbing, energy management, and much more. Now that her role has expanded from legal counsel to leadership training & development, Janice is keen to see the company climb up the ladder of success and reach a significant level, along the side of its president, Rajesh Ahuja. Talking about her future plans, she is motivated to undertake new projects at the Dependable Group, while striving to improve their corporate culture. Apart from this, Janice is the proud CEO of Janice Quigg International Inc. which offers personal development courses, leadership training, and workshops to the corporate world. As Jack Certified Canfield Trainer, she intends to help business owners by giving them the tools to not just resolve conflict but embrace it as a positive and profitable force in their business.  This top lawyer, coach, and author is among the top 100 Canadian Professionals and 10 Most Admired Business Women 2021. In addition, she has grabbed her position in the 10 Most Admired Women Leaders in Business 2021. A true leader that she is, Janice is setting an example for dreaming big and believing in yourself.  Always looking for new challenges, over the last few years, Janice has expanded her intellectual activities to not only cover one field of research like before but to take on multiple spheres of activities. The award-winning author has co-written two books, one with Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one with Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Airlines/Records. She has been honored with Editor’s

Shyamal Kumar Shyamal Kumar in  “THE TRAILBLAZERS: CEO’s” of Influence 2022 SHYAMAL KUMAR Shyamal Kumar is a data networking product leader, and a visionary in the technology business of today. He has led several platforms spanning data center, enterprise, and service provider networks. Shyamal is extremely passionate about embracing SDN and cloud technologies to bring simplicity and performance to data networks. Together with his team, he has brought to the market world-class SD-WAN products. Under his supreme guidance and supervision, Lavelle Networks has built some of the world’s largest SD-WAN rollouts in digital transformation projects in a record time of weeks. Shyamal is a graduate of BITS, Pilani and has been in the data networking space for the last 18 years leading products at Tata Elxsi, Juniper Networks, Inkra Networks, Telsima Communications, Riverstone Networks, NetContinuum and Versa Networks, among other companies. He is one of those few individuals whose strive for excellence has no bounds. He is a seeker and learner and empowers everyone around him to seek and learn. THE DAWN OF SHYAMAL’S CAREER Shyamal chose software over many other career options because he fell in love with the whole process of building great software and technology applications. Shyamal always knew that software and technology would play an extremely important role in shaping the future. While twenty years back it was a much smaller industry, today as we can see, the software has taken over every aspect of our lives. He is zealous and bullish on the road ahead in software, especially in the age of cloud and SaaS, where physical infrastructure no longer limits the power of the software we can build and serve. Shyamal was tempted to continue working for other global major corporations and just manage a large software product or team. But the opportunity to disrupt in the home market, and the vision to enable enterprises across India with the best networking technology possible, kept him and his team awake on many nights, and they decided that they will charter this unchartered path, from 2015 till today and achieve greatness. Although it has been seven years of building their company, their drive remains as focused today as it was back then. In fact, with the recent transformational partnership with Airtel, they are now getting ready to serve thousands of customers, growing rapidly using the foundation of their current 100+ customers. He has been working with software technology since 2000–when he saw the first start-up team at Net Continuum. It changed everything he had known before. He saw a small team of skilled, committed engineers take on huge industry giants and realized the power of a few people who believe in a cause and vision. He has been in half a dozen start-ups since then, and finally building his own now. In between, he has also spent time building the Juniper MX platform, which is a world-leading network solution today across all markets. He is fortunate to work with networking and the Internet, and he truly believes that after the fire, the wheel, electricity, the telephone, and the computer, the next big invention of mankind is simply–IP networks & The Internet. HIS IDEALS AND GOALS The most important goal for him is to excel in his God-given abilities. Shyamal believes that all of us are blessed with certain strengths, whether people can explain it via DNA, life influences, education influences, social influences. He feels that it doesn’t matter how we get our strengths, what matters is what we do with them. As an individual and a professional, Shyamal strives to be the best version of himself every single day. Not the best version of someone else, but the best version of himself. The next important goal in his life is to have integrity and honesty in all his relationships personal and professional. Integrity in everything we do. He feels that everyone can make mistakes, stumble like everyone else does in life, but he cherishes the ability to identify his mistake, and take the corrective actions–whether it means apologizing, changing a habit, or getting help from a coach for long-term improvements. HIS SOURCE OF INSPIRATION Shyamal is most inspired by leaders who have selflessly devoted themselves to the cause and vision of their lives. There is no single person who comes to his mind. He follows the lives of several leaders who have shown him how we can make a difference in our life. He deeply trusts his faith in God, and Shyamal believes that He is always his eternal inspiration to help him move forward despite any challenge life throws at him. With this faith and belief, he moves forward every day. HIS ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF WORLD LEADERS Shyamal believes that the most important thing is to seek excellence. Your business, company or product is a way for you to become better at what you do or were born to do. The end goal is to become the best person who can build that business to its fullest potential. He urges the youth to benchmark against themselves so that they are not disappointed by near term challenges, ups and downs, or how the world would measure them. The world will keep changing its standards depending on the trend of the day, but they should not change the standards that they use for themselves. He asks them to be accountable to themselves, and take growth seriously. Shyamal says “In today’s world, it might not be possible to have perfect work-life balance, but always be aware of your priorities so that you can use your time well. I put my faith, then my health, then my family, my profession, and then my friends and personal pursuits in that order of priority. So, when I am pressed for time, I know where to compromise and where to focus and deliver. Time is limited, and your life’s mission comes with an expiry date, so spend your time well.” Seek excellence, and spend your time well–these are the two main things he would advise younger people to aspire for. HIS GREATEST STRENGTH His greatest strength is the ability to

Nikhil Paul Nikhil Paul: An Exceptionally Astute Tech Leader  Scrutinizing different industries, we keep a keen eye on outperforming ventures as well as their respective leaders. And this time also, we came across a remarkable company that is being propelled towards greater heights by its CTIO. Yes, it is none other than 6D Technologies. Being the Chief Technology and Information Officer of the company, Nikhil Paul always strives to run the business efficiently. He supervises the tech policies and aligns the company’s functionality as per the envisioned model. He is in charge of creating, implementing, managing, and assessing the company’s technological resources for the new advancement in Telcom industry and roadmaps. He constantly makes strides to assess both immediate and long-term requirements while employing cash to make investments that help the company achieve its objectives. In a virtual interaction with our team, he shed light on his overall journey, job responsibilities and vision for 6D Technologies. The Career Trajectory In 2000, Nikhil Paul started working for a company as a software engineer. He joined to a start-up with a 20-person team in 2006 after gaining five years of experience working for two of the largest MNCs in India and internationally spanning banking domains and establishing Core Banking products. The product organisation now includes 1800+ team members that are deployed throughout 80+ countries, 120+ clients, and 3BN+ end subscribers. He has been involved with 6D technologies since 2006 while serving as the organization’s CTIO at the moment. Throughout his career, people couldn’t help but notice his mettle, commitment, hard work and passion for technology to persevere his set goals. Company Overview 6D Technologies is a tech-focused company created by ambitious technocrats, was incorporated in 2002. With clients in more than 80 nations on six continents, 6D is a multinational company with an Indian DNA. We have a motivated group of experts with a wealth of real-time, highly available, and scalable platform engineering experience. As a pro-active technology partner, 6D collaborates with its clients to comprehend market trends and corporate goals in order to create the solutions necessary for success in a constantly shifting environment. The organisation is basically directed towards the functioning of the telecommunications industry. The telecommunications industry is rapidly evolving. It applies to all corporate functions that have undergone digital transformation. The fundamental transformation that the telecoms industry, and operators in particular, are going through is redefining themselves from being merely enablers of communications services to being digital value creators. Any telco no longer has the option of surviving solely on the sale of voice or data services. All major markets are stepping up their 5G deployment efforts as they recognise it as one of the biggest telecom transitions in history. There will be more to telecom than just increased speed and bandwidth. With nearly everything connected thanks to 5G, intelligence and computing power will increase. Powered by its dynamic innovations and R&D, 6D Technologies provides an entire stack of necessary solutions to support a person’s journey. Apart from Telecommunications, they also provide solutions to Enterprise, Governance and Digital Financial Solutions. The Guiding Principle When asked what motivated him to become a tech leader, Nikhil responded that since the beginning he always knew that he wanted to create products and inventions that would benefit society as a whole and make it possible for us all to nurture a better social system. And he strongly felt that banking and the communication space were two of such influential domains. Hence, his goal has always been to improve these environments through developing and innovating the way businesses function in the present scenario. Dodging The Obstacles No journey to success is a cakewalk. One has to cross the hard roads. For Nikhil, leaving a stable career to start a business was a challenging task. Taking over product delivery, and developing innovations that add value in the telecommunications sector was a tedious task due to its high competitiveness. In India, the growth of the service sector predominated between 2003 and 2006, with very few businesses concentrating on product creation and development. So, as an Indian firm producing products, innovating, and spending in R & D, persuading their partners and customers was a difficult barrier to expand through. But today, Nikhil can proudly say that they have progressed a lot from that time and that they are true product organisations. It has been crucial in bringing this culture within the company and instilling an entrepreneurial skill in the engineers, but with time every fell into place owing to their holistic approach. Proud Accomplishments Nikhil is proud to convey that he has become recipient of many accolades and awards. Observing his overall journey, we could say that he is a born leader for sure who has definitely created a huge magnitude across his targeted industries and inspired many people towards their path to success. This is something that has been observed by several publications and media houses as well and brought Nikhil under the showlight. A few of the noteworthy ones are- ●       “Top 10 inspiring CIOs of 2022” by one of the leading media groups in India. ●       He also received “Hybrid Cloud Champion Award for 2022”. ●        He has bagged the “CIO of the year 2022” award by Outlook Business Magazine.  ●       Received the “CXO TECH EXCELLENCE AWARD 2022”. ●       Awarded “Business Leadership Award for CIO of the Year 2022” by Economic Times group and Feather Touch. Leadership Views For Nikhil, Lao Tzu’s famous leadership quotes speaks the most, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” As a tech leader, Nikhil always believes in the power of innovation. He asserts innovation combined with passion becomes dynamite. He inspires people to love their jobs as this is the secret to creating wonders. He explains, “You encounter various obstacles daily in this trip. Some are very difficult, sometimes depressing, you are smacked very hard, while other times

Tai Esteban Sunnanon Tai Esteban Sunnanon: A Technology Virtuoso Underlining Major Tech Innovations, Trends, and Future> Technology is revolutionizing virtually every aspect of our world. The advancements and innovations in technology are bringing forth a new reality that is pushing the limits of even our social fabric.   Technology trends and innovations offer customers a taste of new tech-enabled environments, processes, products, services, and more. It is bridging the gaps between the digital and physical world and blending real-time patterns and techniques.   Be it AI, VR & AR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality), Metaverse, cloud, 5G, machine learning, robotics, Web3, cybersecurity, and other tech expansions, the trends in tech are changing how we live our daily lives (whether we want it to or not!). How we capitalize on them falls, in large part, to tech and industry leaders.    Innovators like Tai Esteban Sunnanon, a Global Social Entrepreneur, and Tech Executive are at the helm of this tech transformation and are accelerating technology innovation. Guided by his drive for innovation and passion for  tech serving a bigger social purpose, Tai’s journey highlights unique experiences, challenges, and more. Setting examples for future tech leaders and entrepreneurs, he shares his insights related to technology global innovations, giving us a holistic tech picture.    Becoming a Tech Innovator   For the past 20 years, Tai has been fascinated by improving business processes and by the grand possibilities of technology. After running a few companies, then studying and teaching at Harvard University, he started his own consulting company. And now, he is engaged in tech innovation with the U.S. Department of Defense. He gets to both research and apply technology on a day-to-day basis and dream big of the future possibilities for the tech industry and its positive impacts in society.    Overcoming IT Challenges   The IT industry is evolving at a pace that is hard to keep up with, so one has to have a solid ground game for reviewing and digesting important information very quickly. Tai grew up before there was the internet and AI was just a pipe dream. Then, information was highly centralized , with just a few key players in the industry who were leading experts.    Today, everyone is experiencing a new world order by which information is relayed just as quickly as technology is evolving. It’s hard to overcome that.    That said, Tai has been a tech innovator for a long time now. He has extensively written about technology innovation and has come to trust a few key sources written by industry analysts. Tai adds, “I’d like to think I’ve become one of them myself!”   The Future of Technology   Tai is fascinated about the current-term (2023), near-term (< 2040), and long-term (> 2040) state of play on AI, the Internet of Everything (IoE), robotics, automation, quantum computing, cybersecurity, fintech, and blockchain.    And, he is equally fascinated by how these technologies could take both the private sector and society to new heights. In the current term, he thinks about improving business processes and outcomes. But, thinking 10+ years out, he likes to think big, focused primarily on the human benefits from technology.    Tai’s long-standing tech experience gives him a deep understanding of tech trends. He gives us a sneak peek at how to expand our horizons to keep up with existing times and also bring a transformative change.   In the current term, we must become hyper experts, enabling our business to:  Optimize IT systems for greater reliability through Digital Immune Systems, Applied Observation, and TRiSM (AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management) to improve data-driven decisions and maintain the value integrity of AI systems in production.  Accelerate vertical offerings by utilizing Industry Cloud Platforms, Platform Engineering, and Wireless Value Realization to increase the pace of product delivery and enable connectivity everywhere. Pioneer business model change, reinventing engagement with employees and customers and accelerating strategies through the adoption of Super apps, Adaptive AI, and the Metaverse.   In the near term, I’m interested in: Internet equity. Only around half the world’s population is connected to the internet. There are many reasons for this, including economic and social reasons, but for some, the internet just isn’t accessible because they have no connection. Google is slowly trying to solve the problem of helium balloons beaming the internet to inaccessible areas. And companies like Hiber have taken a different approach by launching their network of shoebox-sized microsatellites into low Earth orbit, which wakes up a modem plugged into your computer or device when it flies over and delivers your data. Their satellites orbit the Earth 16 times a day and are already being used by organizations like The British Antarctic Survey to provide internet access to the very extremes of our planet. Energy storage in bricks. Scientists have found a way to store energy in the red bricks that are used to build houses. Researchers led by Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, US, have developed a method that can turn cheap and widely available building material into “smart bricks” that can store energy like a battery. Although the research is still in the proof-of-concept stage, the scientists claim that walls made of these bricks could store ample amounts of energy to power a home.    In the long term, I’m looking forward to: Chip-based artificial neurons. Researchers have found a way to attach human-like neurons onto silicon chips that will mimic the electrical properties of a real neuron. If this application becomes a success, this can treat heart failure and even Alzheimer’s. This could also equate to a new type of programmable organism that has multiple human benefits.  Bionic eyes. In January 2021, surgeons from Israel implanted the world’s first artificial cornea into a blind 78-year-old man. After the surgery, the man was able to read and recognize family members as the implant is capable of fusing with human tissue. Imagine the tech capabilities of a bionic eye beyond just sight?!   Establishing a Suitable Corporate Culture  

 Ken Ehrhart Brief us about your outset story of your career. My life and career has really followed the development of digital computing and the successive waves of innovation that have transformed technology.  I grew up and began my career working in my family’s small business, a burglar and fire alarm company.  There we started with purely analogue circuits, relays and switches, in the 1970s; advanced to solid state circuits in the 80s; and finally to fully programmable embedded computers in the early 90s.  In 1996, I became the Director of Research for a Forbes-backed investor newsletter focused on technology.  I became a venture capitalist in the year 2000.  Throughout, I have been focused on understanding the trends and innovations that are shaping technology.  That ultimately led, in 2016, to my founding Paracosma as an AR/VR Solutions Provider focused on the current transition from 2D to 3D computing.  Interestingly, one of my earliest passions was art, and now over half of Paracosma’s hundred plus employees are 3D artists.  Together we are blending art and technology in amazing ways.  The experience is really a culmination of a life-long journey and is incredibly fulfilling.  In Japanese, it could be considered my Ikigai. What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional? As an individual, I hope “to leave the World a better place because I have lived in it”.   I expect that led to the parallel Paracosma statement that “Our Mission is to make Reality better through Augmented and Virtual Reality.”  Other personal values that I hope would translate into company culture, as well, include Open Mindedness; Curiosity/Education; Empathy/Tolerance; Health/Fitness; Nature/Environment.  Travel, Exploration, Adventure; Multicultural and Cross-cultural Experiences; Education, Work and Life Opportunities have all given me the chance to pursue my passion in life.  And, my entire career has been globally focused. Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field? How I compare, I will leave for others to judge.  But, just as we blend art and technology at Paracosma, I think throughout my career as a VC, I have done well integrating large amounts of information derived from many diverse disciplines and sectors and thinking about the whole in often very unique and innovative ways.  Please tell us about your organisation. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey? I am involved with several organizations.  In 2004, I cofounded have since then been a General Partner with SunBridge Partners, a VC firm that specializes in bringing global enterprise SAAS leaders to Japan.  At SunBridge Partners, I cofounded Concur Japan, Marketo Japan, Demandware Japan, and Kyriba Japan.  All have been very successful in Japan and led to great outcomes for our investors.  I am also a cofounder of TalentA, a SunBridge Partners’ company in Tokyo, that focuses on distributing global HR and talent management solutions in Japan, such as HireVue, Monday.com, Explorance, Fuel50 and others.  I am Founder and CEO of Paracosma. And, I have had a very rewarding time founding AlpineEarth, a citizen-science nonprofit focused on Alpine areas, and working with various other non-profit organizations. How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges? On a personal level, I went from flying over a quarter million miles a year, and living and working in three countries, to being grounded, mostly in one.  Ironically, my experience being a remote worker due to travel helped prepare me for being a stationary remote worker.  On a professional level, Paracosma made an immediate commitment to not layoff any employees during the pandemic.  We not only fulfilled that commitment to our employees, but we are now growing aggressively again. Luckily, as an AR/VR company, Paracosma was also able to implement virtual meetings, offices, and live event venues, both to support our own Paracosma employees and for client companies. Who in your life inspires you the most? There are so many great artists, scientists, and scholars that have lived throughout history, I don’t think I could ever lack for inspiration. But, on a rather personal note, I came to know Nick Clinch well through my work with the American Alpine Club Library, and I must admit he left an indelible impression on me.  He has been called the greatest American expedition leader and successfully led the only American first ascent of an 8,000m peak, the first ascent of the tallest mountain in Antarctica, and other expeditions. He certainly shared, by example and in many hours-long talks, many great lessons on leadership. But, I would say my children and family are what inspire me, each day, to do the best that I can. Love provides the most meaning to life. What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people? My advice, for budding business people, entrepreneurs, and my own children would be to pursue your passion.  As a VC, I have heard thousands of pitches.  It is always possible to tell if someone is passionate about their own pitch.  If you are just chasing money or a perceived opportunity that will be clear.  If you are driven by sincere passion, then investors, partners, customers, employees and your family will all understand that you will do everything necessary to succeed and your passion will be infectious. You may still fail, perhaps even because your passion blinded you to reality, but at least you will have a better than average chance of success and a better than average chance at happiness, and you won’t regret not trying to realise your dream.