Our Team ...
“Leadership”
Dr. Shahid Yamin
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder
Dr Shahid Yamin has 40 years of diverse experience in business concept development through creative and innovative fusion of technology. He is a leader in product development, market validation and development. He is an expert in opportunities validation and disruption of markets to create higher economic and social value for the society through effective commercialisation.
He has a firm belief that sustainable businesses in the 21st century need to foster on optimising profits by adopting innovative and unique business models that provide high economic, social and community values for the geographic territory in which the business operate.
He has helped clients to create, develop and execute successful start-up businesses in South East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Middle East and MENA regions. He has been advisor to government and industry bodies in the Middle East and MENA regions to stimulate entrepreneurial growth and development within their societies. He has created, developed, and implemented centres for innovation and entrepreneurship capacity building.
He has led the development of scale for successful start-up business by designing innovative strategies that focus on sustainable growth by creating and implementing unique business models that foster global reach.
Through his association with global universities he has led the development of entrepreneurial capacity by training developing young executives to become dynamic business thinkers in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship enabling them to create sustainable businesses across geographic territories.
His extensive experience with large diverse corporations such as BHP, Hoechst, UNIDO, Stone Manganese Marine resulted in the success of the above initiatives. Today, executives trained by Dr. Yamin are successfully leading global business.
Professor Anoop Swarup
Co-Founder
Recipient of Presidential Award, Republic of India (2003) Anoop Swarup is the Founding Vice Chancellor of Jagran Lakecity University, also being the Chairperson, 'Centre for Global Nonkilling' (CGNK), Hawaii with over 36 years of distinguished professional experience in diverse roles as an educationist, poet, peace activist, life scientist, futurist, social entrepreneur, and as civil servant.
He was appointed as United Nations Representative with the UNSC by UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon in 2007. A Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) London and a GEO Reviewer with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (UNEP) that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, he is recipient of Hiroshima Peace Award, Highest Award of Recognition by Soka University, Tokyo, Amrita Devi Bishnoi Medal for environmental consciousness, Citation by the Zoological Society of India in Environmental Sciences and a UNESCAP Hon’ble Mention.
Alumnus of Universities in India and Australia, he holds a Doctorate and four distinguished Masters with First Positions and University Gold Medals in diverse fields that include Management, Finance, Defense & Strategy, and Life Sciences. He has been a Fulbright Visitor to United States (2004), Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow (2002), Ausaid Fellow (2001), recipient of NSTS Scholarship (1971), UGCs JRF (1980), CSIRs SRF (1981).
Amongst his publications notable are 'Aloha' and 'Arcadia' book of poems, 'Give Nonviolence a Chance' released by the former Prime Minister at India International Centre, New Delhi, 'Indian Civilization Through the Millennium', Bio Innovations and Entrepreneurship', 'The World of Money laundering, Commercial frauds & Financial Crimes’ and 'Regional Economic Engagements & Free Trade Agreements' He is Editor at Large of 'Jagran International Journal on Contemporary Research', Chief Editor of ‘International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology’ and Editor ‘Nice Journal of Business’, listed in Cabel’s Directory, USA.
Dr. Chris Sotiropoulos
Director, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Chris Sotiropoulos believes that the fulfilment of human potential is achieved by practicing “αρετή”, a Homeric word loosely translated as “moral virtue delivered through excellence”. This may be delivered through innovation and commercialisation, leveraging premiere international networks that possess exceptional access to markets, corporations, governments, finance and subject matter experts. Αρετή as it is applied using this paradigm, is equally relevant across commerce, pedagogy and humanitarian pathways.
Relevant experience includes:
· Licensing and distribution of healthcare products and services across several market segments into new markets, between listed and private companies in the US, Europe and Asia.
· Started a private nutraceutical company and assisted in the raise of Series AUD$6m from a large Asian corporate investor.
· Expertise in assessing international healthcare products and services, using target end customers / patients, to determine whether the Target Product Profile aligns with the market and revenue expectation.
· Advisory services to support the creation, funding and commercialisation of a start-up company to target a substantial emerging but poorly serviced market in exercise endurance. The competitive advantage was based on the creation of a novel patient delivery mechanism. The commercial path of marketing and revenue generation was defined in both traditional and novel markets.
· Co-owner of a private company that commercialises unique products and services, associated with leveraging unique resourcing and training models to ensure sustainable business growth. The core value of this business, APAC Health, is to accelerate time from identifying unmet need to delivery of successful and market competitive solutions. The illustrative brand is “Great People make Healthy Companies”.
· Completed software and healthcare international licensing agreements over USD$300m in value, liaising with legal, regulatory, global branding experts, customers and supply chain partners such as healthcare professionals, manufacturers, sales and marketing partners, and distributors.
· Obtaining market assessment using National Key Opinion Leaders, for European firms seeking to enter new territories (US/Australia/New Zealand/Singapore/South Korea/Vietnam/India), to capture ‘local’ considerations including factors to ‘switch’ existing product allegiance.
· Global expansion Advisory, Governance and Legal services for a ‘unicorn’ IT firm. Implementation included travel with the leadership to establish and manage governance of corporate entities in Silicon Valley, Singapore, two European countries and successfully follow on negotiation and execution of global deal with a Fortune 20 firm.
He holds a PhD in Molecular Microbiology, a Law Degree and Executive Training at Harvard Business School. He has served on many professional industry boards and charities, taught innovation, corporate strategy and commercialisation to MBA students and industry associations. He is currently authoring books on Ancient Greek Philosophy and the new global paradigms necessary for successful commercialisation.
“Our People”
Mr. James Nixon
Aviation, Media and Operations
James Nixon is a global leader in the field of aviation, media and operations efficiency.
He is an internationally recognized Airbus A380 Captain with extensive experience in high speed decision-making, process design, safety, team-building; and has a deep understanding of media and communication across a range of sectors. He recognises current and emerging trends in aviation, including challenges impacting safety, technology and human resources. With more than 30 years experience in airline operations in Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, James is the highly-regarded author of best selling books, including ‘The Crash Of MH370’ and four other books, a sought after speaker and lecturer.
His deep knowledge of sales, means that clients can rely on him to drive results. His mantra is: “There is no such thing as a good idea … until it is sold.”
Selected experience:
- 30 years experience flying Boeing and Airbus airliners, retiring as an Emirates A380 Captain.
- Redesigned the Business Development processes for a national airline.
- Understands client needs in the private high net worth business aviation market (experience in VVIP A320 Flight Operations Management).
- Provided strategy framework to Top 5 global sovereign airline to re-energise corporate culture.
- Regular speaker at international conferences and universities in the field of competitive advantage, corporate strategy and aviation.
- Advisor to SME in publishing, electronic media, and oil companies for revenue management and operational efficiencies.
- Global thought leader in Smart City infrastructure, developing strategies for regional city expansion.
- Advised regional based niche healthcare company on High Speed Team Building & Decision Making within its geography.
- Current assessor of internationally competitive innovative technologies to solve needs in several market segments, including within global airline industry, across different regions of the world.
- Assists in fund-raising with premiere network of high net worth individuals seeking investment in competitive technologies and global business model.
- Media strategist, advisor and performer, with wide experience in print, radio, podcast, video production and television and web based systems.
- Recipient of multiple awards for Air Safety, including the prestigious “Njam Award” from Emirates.
- Active contributor to charity boards, including advisor to healthcare organisation focussed on treating high-mortality cancers.
- Acclaimed Best-Selling Author of “Sleeping For Pilots and Cabin Crew” and “The Crash Of MH370”, and International speaker, most recently: Asia Pacific Aviation Training Seminar (APATS2018) Singapore - “Sleeping For Cabin Crew”.
Dr. Ria Aerts
Director International Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Empowerment
Dr. Ria Aerts is a specialist in Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with special emphasis on innovation and digitalization, globalization, women entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, family businesses, and circular economy. She has experience working with companies in diverse industries and has worked both in the private and the public sector. She has been involved in these areas as a consultant, advisor, mentor, business owner as well as an award-winning academic researcher and teacher. She is multicultural and multi-language savvy having lived and worked in several countries across 4 continents. She belongs to extensive networks of entrepreneurs, academics, and consultants in Europe, Latin America, the USA, Africa, and Australia.
Selected experience:
- Dr. Ria Aerts’ more than 25 years of consultancy, industry, and academic experience in international entrepreneurship and SMEs has led to policymaking in areas related to business development, business growth, and business survival on local and national policy levels.
- Created an SME platform to enable SMEs to stimulate entrepreneurship for the whole of Latin America by collaborating with several stakeholders, including business research institutes and many governments.
- Advocate for circular economy and social entrepreneurship by helping vulnerable individuals (women, refugees, immigrants) reach their potential using proprietary entrepreneurial programs.
- Contributed to Policy Development for supranational organizations including the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the OECD in the subject matter of transnational harmonizing SMEs, entrepreneurship, and family business management.
- Lead advisor in round tables organized by the IADB on SMEs, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
- Advised traditional business owners on creating additional business income streams by integrating digital entrepreneurship and digital cooperation tool.
- Assessed international policies and programs on SMEs and entrepreneurship and formulated recommendations on best practices.
- Created propriety international strategy programs to enhance growth and facilitate rapid entry of SMEs into global markets. The programs are applicable in diverse industries. The programs distil enterprise, entrepreneur characteristics, environmental factors and changes.
- Experience in market analysis and concept development for the establishment of cooperatives. Collaborated with and was advisor to Cooperatives in Europe and Latin America.
- Co-owner of a cooperative retail platform connecting hundreds of retail stores to millions of customers (individuals and companies) globally by providing patented high-tech features like ShopBuddy™ which is a digital deal provider and built-in price comparison tracking feature.
- Current Mentor and teacher to nascent and established entrepreneurs with special attention to individuals in need of empowerment (women, youth, refugees, and immigrants).
- Taught courses and provided advice on several SME and entrepreneurship subjects to members of supporting organizations (banks, industry federations, and universities) and government officials from Europe, Russia, and China.
- Provided digital fundraising tools to nonprofit organizations and consulted these organizations on the effective and most efficient use of these tools.
- Developed proprietary cognition and customer experience tools to enhance strategic alliances between companies on a national and international level using social media platforms and other digital tools.
- Developed cross cultural assessment frameworks to capture customer and client interaction and provide real time management to execute effective tactical strategies.
- Dr Aerts was awarded a PhD in Business Economics from Belgium’s KU Leuven (ranked as Europe’s most innovative university). Her Masters in Quantitative Analysis developed the ability to conduct data analytics of extreme and large datasets with both sparse or large and complex data structures.
- She is a prolific author of several articles and chapters in books on entrepreneurship, internationalization, family businesses, women entrepreneurship, co-creation of innovations between hospitals and small businesses, digital entrepreneurship, and digital collaboration.
- Dr. Ria Aerts presented several papers at international conferences in Europe, the USA, and Canada. Recently, she was awarded the prize for ‘Best Paper Award’ at the 9th International BAMDE and ECSB conference on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship in Challenging International (Global) Business Environment in Bulgaria for her contribution to digital entrepreneurship, digital collaboration, and women entrepreneurship research.
Mr. Andrew Gavaghan
Head of New Ventures
Mr. Andrew Gavaghan is a global thought leader in reconfiguring living and commercial models enabling individuals and groups to achieve an enrich and fulfilling life. He believes that, “the dreams and aspirations a child should be fulfilled.” A founder of two start-up organizations.
The first, Cassius-Longinus, private equity firm being established which catalyzes capital deployment into multiple regions. Our global network seeks to leverage oversupply of capital to evolve commercial and human systems.
The second start-up, Vis Certo, is a sneaker firm that empowers people to defy their restrictions. Captures cutting edge technology, textiles and to human spirit. Andrew develops philosophies and methodologies to accelerate/promote/sustain across multiple markets and jurisdiction. His extensive knowledge in the financial planning industry, gives him the ability to contextualize unpredictable events, enabling the development of novel solutions for black swan events.
He is a former national and international track & field athlete, competed in national and international sporting events in Australia and Asia. Attained tertiary qualifications in Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning), speaker at international conferences and frequent social and media commentator in business and international affairs.
Selected experience:
- Leadership team member in positioning of globally innovative technologies (e-commerce/retail, EHS, data analytics, fintech) for fund-raising.
- Head of GOC distribution and licensing commercial products.
- Advised in creation of corporate governance compositions comprising board and advisor members from various supply chain elements to facilitate global expansion.
- Advised international companies to develop R&D and manufacturing sites in Australia to leverage government benefits.
- Negotiated and advised on international distribution and licensing transactions.
- Development of proprietary financial modeling and materials for social enterprise and commercial distribution in Australia.
- Advised national IoT on its global social media strategy.
- Conducting competitive intelligence reports for organisation for entry for presence in Australia.
- Undertaking detailed diligence assessments of established and novel technology, fusing those elements into business applications, across different global markets.
- Knowledge of seeking inquisitive and paradigm shifting ways.
- International mentoring company founders and board members.
- Leadership team which created innovative youth global empowerment program.
- Co-developed branding and rollout plan for GOC’s empowerment programs.
- Leadership team which created young career seekers program.
- Led GOC’s sales and marketing strategy for its international trade business on consumer behavior and buying patterns.
- Challenging standardized and static systems while redesigning and remodeling systems with dynamic forms for all GOC people, GOC products and its clients.
- International speaker and social media commentator discussing tinkering with the surrounding environment to enact revitalization of ideas and concepts.
- Speaker at international forums, including digital education summit focusing on digital dynamic curricula design to respond to emerging global needs.
- Speaker at Indian start-up incubator highlighting fitness to accelerating business mindset, as part of India government initiative.
Mr. George Giamadakis
Chief Organisational Motivator
George helps transition B2B companies into a 21st century digitally enabled and connected company. He works with Founders, Boards, Executive and Leadership teams across all key operational business functions in order to integrate sound digital solutions that serve and exceed customer expectations.
George is an experienced marketing professional, who has coached, developed and led cross-generational teams with outstanding success.
He has brought large and small sales and marketing teams together maximising their talent and taking pride in establishing and nurturing meaningful customer relationships.
A driving force who has led steering committees in the development and communication strategy for a company's value proposition aligned to strong values and a positive business culture.
The focus to connect people has enabled a growth orientated digital transformation leader with a verifiable history of driving B2B marketing strategies that deliver brand quality, team performance, efficiency, and increased revenue.
George has worked with, and provided advice to company founders, boards, executives, and leadership teams on cross-generational and reverse mentoring programs, business solutions, process improvements, digital transformation and sustainable profitability.
Mr. Ahmed Tohow
Director East African Affairs
Mr. Ahmed Tohow is a recognised global leader and strategist in East African Affairs.
His passion is to enhance Peace Building and Nation Building capabilities by bringing together international agencies, governments and local communities through education, cultural alignment and business for wealth generation. He has expertise in international trade, including mining and food resources. He has cultivated personal relationships with senior officials in national governments, tribal groups, commercial organisations, key influencers and education institutions. He has over 15 years-experience dealing with civil and security affairs during the civil war in the horn of Africa. He brings to GOC comprehensive expertise and experience in understanding key drivers for nation building, including the importance of strategic peace building initiatives and establishing national and international commerce supply chain pathways.
Selected experience:
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Vice Chair of the Deputy Board of Directors and Co-Founder of the Global Somali Diaspora (‘GSD’), located in London, which provides advocacy for all issues pertinent for the Somali communities in the Diaspora and homeland including, peacebuilding and security and nation-building.
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Mr. Tohow has provided services to international agencies, including UNITAF, UNISOM, Red Cross, UNHCR and IOM in Africa and UNISOM’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia and around Africa during the 1990s.
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Co-Founder of a Somali corporation which holds a mining tenement in the Federal Republic of Somalia. The corporation also promotes business networks and increases trade, investment between Australia and East Africa, exploring collaborative ventures, and global investors requiring strong government and security.
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Co-Founder of the East Africa Security and Policy Forum EASPF, an organisation which, inter alia, facilitates forums that promotes the value of peace, stability and security in East Africa, Mr. Tohow was involved in arranging meetings with key Somali officials to discuss security matters.
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He has collaborated on several pivotal research reports undertaken by leading Australian universities in the subject matter of Resilience to violence in the Somali-Australian community, developing a standardized measure to evaluate Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism, Intersecting peacebuilding and gender in Somalia and more broadly community needs and challenges such as unemployment, peacebuilding, stability, and social wellbeing.
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He was awarded the Ambassador for Peace prize by the Universal Peace Federation Australia in 2018, in recognition of his international activities to promote peace in Somalia and working with the Diaspora.
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He is also the Co-Founder and Secretary of the Australian Somali Chamber of Commerce Inc. The aim of this organisation is to promote and accelerate the growth and development of trade ties between Australia and the Federal Republic of Somalia and also to provide its members with a wide range of services targeted at promoting bilateral trade, investment and joint ventures between the two nations.
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Mr. Ahmed Tohow has been awarded two Masters Degrees, in “Security and Terrorism” and “International Development Studies” from Charles Sturt University and RMIT University in Australia, a Bachelors Degree of Humanities and Social Science (International Development Studies) from La Trobe University, Australia.
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He is also a sought-after international speaker and author of several publications reflecting his deep international understanding of the cultural underpinnings of East Africa and advice on how to successfully navigate this region.
Ms. Darlene Haddad
Director, Human Connectivity and Advancement
Ms. Darlene Haddad is a global thought leader in reconfiguring human cognition practices to enhance organisational objectives in a rapidly changing world. She is a futuristic thinker, concerned with foreseeing changes to human values brought about by technology, such as emerging artificial intelligence. She believes society in general has become smarter on the science of emotions and highly aware of the value of psychological concepts in understanding human behaviour. The world is entering a critical era where transformational leaders, aspiring leaders, managers and professionals need to reset by increasing their output of social, emotional and adaptability intelligence.
Over her career, she has been heavily involved in many complicated, multidisciplinary projects which required a fast track approach, attention to detail, ability to focus clearly under pressure and deliver high performance. In pursuit of her global impact goals, she offers specialized tailored training which build leadership, adaptability, reliance, interpersonal and personal skills to create high performance leaders and professionals. She achieves this by translating the latest neuroscience and psychological research into actionable strategies that drive change success.
Darlene is also an international member of our team and has lived and worked across three continents (North America, the Middle East and Australia). Her expertise has enriched many global Fortune 500 companies (Red Bull, Applebee’s, NSX-Acura, Mercedes Benz, Kuwait National Petroleum Company, Al-Qatami Steel, Equate Petroleum, National Bank of Kuwait, Al-Jazeera Airlines and Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Spa), leading humanitarian organisations (such as The International Red Cross) and directed to nation rebuilding activities post conflict in the Republic of Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Darlene trained as a Psychologist under a Canadian Licensed psychologist and practiced in the field for a decade. Her clientele was international and comprising a broad cross section of society, including adolescents. She provided counselling and management for a variety of conditions, including stress, anxiety, depression, anger issues, personal and interpersonal issues, self-esteem and addiction, using evidence-based individual and group interventions. She was heavily influenced by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy as well as Psychodynamic Therapy, adopting a multi-modal approach to her practice. She regularly trained and conducted workshops in psychology to many professionals and organizations such as the American University of Kuwait.
Darlene is highly educated and has been awarded a Masters in Communications (University of South Australia) and an Honours Degree in Psychological Science (Central Queensland University) and an undergraduate degree in Sociology (Flinders University, South Australia).
Selected experience:
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Conducted comprehensive novel research in the field of Social and Emotional Intelligence (S+EQ), which lead to proprietary methodology to optimize leadership performance. The tools audit a leaders S+EQ, and organisation communication methodologies. A bespoke plan is then established to improve organisation and leadership performance.
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Devised communication strategy for leading global prestige automotive manufacturers which triangulated product, audience and strategy with business objectives.
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Assisted international planning teams of leading Middle East banking institutions to target marketing campaigns by critical assessment of suitable audience and media channels.
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Developed global oil and petroleum companies’ copywriting and marketing campaigns across several digital and traditional marketing formats which lead to increased public and consumer engagement.
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Advised on draft press releases, website and business profile speeches for company leadership in petroleum and information technology companies.
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Created ‘plain language’ documentation to the petroleum and banking industry for more effective sales and marketing campaigns.
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Pitched content and evaluated campaign effectiveness for leading global energy drink organisation, based on key data analytics such as cultural/social trends, customer perception and attitudes.
- Leveraged corporate training materials with proprietary psychology programs and interviews with management to devise novel training courses which.
- enhanced employee communication and conflict resolution skills;
- understand how to manage emotions and criticisms better;
- better personal and interpersonal skills related to an increase in success;
- confidence in building negotiation skills; and
- increased employee motivation.
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Published extensively across many media professional platforms, including the ‘International Herald Tribune,’ ‘Bazaar Magazine’ and ‘Kuwait Times - English Newspaper.’
Dr. Hema Raina
Healthcare, Management
Dr. Hema Raina is an award winning, clinically astute healthcare professional with demonstrated ability to develop collaborative relationships in the scientific and healthcare communities.
High-performance management professional with ~ 20 years of proven track record of product/project management, data analysis, problem – identification and solving proficiencies. Experienced in managing IT operations and implementing on-time solutions. Astute at assessing project needs and orchestrating solutions involving cross-functional teams. Multiple publications in respected scientific journals and presentations at professional conferences.
Selected experience:
- To provides leadership regarding clinical research in relevance to the overall business strategy.
- To ensure effectiveness of global clinical activities through strong collaboration and communication with Clinical Function, Marketing, Research, Technology, Product Development and Business Unit.
- To provide input on strategy and direction of business priorities and development; supporting and administering approved company policies, mission and vision, and clearly communicate these principles to all associates.
- To provide proactive assistance to clients in strategic planning and product development to meet their business goals and to help identify new opportunities with the client base.
- Oversee all client engagements and relationships between our internal teams and Clients.
- Driving measurable growth and improvement for the clients.
Accomplishments
- Care Management Solution Implementation Lead for United Healthcare, one of the biggest insurance payors in the USA. Have successfully implemented in more than 25 states.
- Population Health Care Management SME on Tennessee State’s Health Care Innovation Initiative managing a population of 750,000.
- Care Management SME for the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative at Visiting Nurses of New York.
- Lead the Clinical Innovations division for my organization. The initiative to convert clinical research on care management and clinical best practices to internal clinical guidelines; provide clinical input and review of all the clinical content to ensure clinical relevance and the effort of developing clinical business rules for the organization.
- Liaison between clients, offshore technical teams, client executives and the senior management team.
Our Team ...
“Leadership”
Dr. Shahid Yamin
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder
Dr Shahid Yamin has 40 years of diverse experience in business concept development through creative and innovative fusion of technology. He is a leader in product development, market validation and development. He is an expert in opportunities validation and disruption of markets to create higher economic and social value for the society through effective commercialisation.
He has a firm belief that sustainable businesses in the 21st century need to foster on optimising profits by adopting innovative and unique business models that provide high economic, social and community values for the geographic territory in which the business operate.
He has helped clients to create, develop and execute successful start-up businesses in South East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Middle East and MENA regions. He has been advisor to government and industry bodies in the Middle East and MENA regions to stimulate entrepreneurial growth and development within their societies. He has created, developed, and implemented centres for innovation and entrepreneurship capacity building.
He has led the development of scale for successful start-up business by designing innovative strategies that focus on sustainable growth by creating and implementing unique business models that foster global reach.
Through his association with global universities he has led the development of entrepreneurial capacity by training developing young executives to become dynamic business thinkers in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship enabling them to create sustainable businesses across geographic territories.
His extensive experience with large diverse corporations such as BHP, Hoechst, UNIDO, Stone Manganese Marine resulted in the success of the above initiatives. Today, executives trained by Dr. Yamin are successfully leading global business.
Professor Anoop Swarup
Co-Founder
Recipient of Presidential Award, Republic of India (2003) Anoop Swarup is the Founding Vice Chancellor of Jagran Lakecity University, also being the Chairperson, 'Centre for Global Nonkilling' (CGNK), Hawaii with over 36 years of distinguished professional experience in diverse roles as an educationist, poet, peace activist, life scientist, futurist, social entrepreneur, and as civil servant.
He was appointed as United Nations Representative with the UNSC by UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon in 2007. A Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) London and a GEO Reviewer with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (UNEP) that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, he is recipient of Hiroshima Peace Award, Highest Award of Recognition by Soka University, Tokyo, Amrita Devi Bishnoi Medal for environmental consciousness, Citation by the Zoological Society of India in Environmental Sciences and a UNESCAP Hon’ble Mention.
Alumnus of Universities in India and Australia, he holds a Doctorate and four distinguished Masters with First Positions and University Gold Medals in diverse fields that include Management, Finance, Defense & Strategy, and Life Sciences. He has been a Fulbright Visitor to United States (2004), Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow (2002), Ausaid Fellow (2001), recipient of NSTS Scholarship (1971), UGCs JRF (1980), CSIRs SRF (1981).
Amongst his publications notable are 'Aloha' and 'Arcadia' book of poems, 'Give Nonviolence a Chance' released by the former Prime Minister at India International Centre, New Delhi, 'Indian Civilization Through the Millennium', Bio Innovations and Entrepreneurship', 'The World of Money laundering, Commercial frauds & Financial Crimes’ and 'Regional Economic Engagements & Free Trade Agreements' He is Editor at Large of 'Jagran International Journal on Contemporary Research', Chief Editor of ‘International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology’ and Editor ‘Nice Journal of Business’, listed in Cabel’s Directory, USA.
Dr. Chris Sotiropoulos
Director, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Chris Sotiropoulos believes that the fulfilment of human potential is achieved by practicing “αρετή”, a Homeric word loosely translated as “moral virtue delivered through excellence”. This may be delivered through innovation and commercialisation, leveraging premiere international networks that possess exceptional access to markets, corporations, governments, finance and subject matter experts. Αρετή as it is applied using this paradigm, is equally relevant across commerce, pedagogy and humanitarian pathways.
Relevant experience includes:
· Licensing and distribution of healthcare products and services across several market segments into new markets, between listed and private companies in the US, Europe and Asia.
· Started a private nutraceutical company and assisted in the raise of Series AUD$6m from a large Asian corporate investor.
· Expertise in assessing international healthcare products and services, using target end customers / patients, to determine whether the Target Product Profile aligns with the market and revenue expectation.
· Advisory services to support the creation, funding and commercialisation of a start-up company to target a substantial emerging but poorly serviced market in exercise endurance. The competitive advantage was based on the creation of a novel patient delivery mechanism. The commercial path of marketing and revenue generation was defined in both traditional and novel markets.
· Co-owner of a private company that commercialises unique products and services, associated with leveraging unique resourcing and training models to ensure sustainable business growth. The core value of this business, APAC Health, is to accelerate time from identifying unmet need to delivery of successful and market competitive solutions. The illustrative brand is “Great People make Healthy Companies”.
· Completed software and healthcare international licensing agreements over USD$300m in value, liaising with legal, regulatory, global branding experts, customers and supply chain partners such as healthcare professionals, manufacturers, sales and marketing partners, and distributors.
· Obtaining market assessment using National Key Opinion Leaders, for European firms seeking to enter new territories (US/Australia/New Zealand/Singapore/South Korea/Vietnam/India), to capture ‘local’ considerations including factors to ‘switch’ existing product allegiance.
· Global expansion Advisory, Governance and Legal services for a ‘unicorn’ IT firm. Implementation included travel with the leadership to establish and manage governance of corporate entities in Silicon Valley, Singapore, two European countries and successfully follow on negotiation and execution of global deal with a Fortune 20 firm.
He holds a PhD in Molecular Microbiology, a Law Degree and Executive Training at Harvard Business School. He has served on many professional industry boards and charities, taught innovation, corporate strategy and commercialisation to MBA students and industry associations. He is currently authoring books on Ancient Greek Philosophy and the new global paradigms necessary for successful commercialisation.
“Our People”
Mr. James Nixon
Aviation, Media and Operations
James Nixon is a global leader in the field of aviation, media and operations efficiency.
He is an internationally recognized Airbus A380 Captain with extensive experience in high speed decision-making, process design, safety, team-building; and has a deep understanding of media and communication across a range of sectors. He recognises current and emerging trends in aviation, including challenges impacting safety, technology and human resources. With more than 30 years experience in airline operations in Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, James is the highly-regarded author of best selling books, including ‘The Crash Of MH370’ and four other books, a sought after speaker and lecturer.
His deep knowledge of sales, means that clients can rely on him to drive results. His mantra is: “There is no such thing as a good idea … until it is sold.”
Selected experience:
- 30 years experience flying Boeing and Airbus airliners, retiring as an Emirates A380 Captain.
- Redesigned the Business Development processes for a national airline.
- Understands client needs in the private high net worth business aviation market (experience in VVIP A320 Flight Operations Management).
- Provided strategy framework to Top 5 global sovereign airline to re-energise corporate culture.
- Regular speaker at international conferences and universities in the field of competitive advantage, corporate strategy and aviation.
- Advisor to SME in publishing, electronic media, and oil companies for revenue management and operational efficiencies.
- Global thought leader in Smart City infrastructure, developing strategies for regional city expansion.
- Advised regional based niche healthcare company on High Speed Team Building & Decision Making within its geography.
- Current assessor of internationally competitive innovative technologies to solve needs in several market segments, including within global airline industry, across different regions of the world.
- Assists in fund-raising with premiere network of high net worth individuals seeking investment in competitive technologies and global business model.
- Media strategist, advisor and performer, with wide experience in print, radio, podcast, video production and television and web based systems.
- Recipient of multiple awards for Air Safety, including the prestigious “Njam Award” from Emirates.
- Active contributor to charity boards, including advisor to healthcare organisation focussed on treating high-mortality cancers.
- Acclaimed Best-Selling Author of “Sleeping For Pilots and Cabin Crew” and “The Crash Of MH370”, and International speaker, most recently: Asia Pacific Aviation Training Seminar (APATS2018) Singapore - “Sleeping For Cabin Crew”.
Dr. Ria Aerts
Director International Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Empowerment
Dr. Ria Aerts is a specialist in Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with special emphasis on innovation and digitalization, globalization, women entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, family businesses, and circular economy. She has experience working with companies in diverse industries and has worked both in the private and the public sector. She has been involved in these areas as a consultant, advisor, mentor, business owner as well as an award-winning academic researcher and teacher. She is multicultural and multi-language savvy having lived and worked in several countries across 4 continents. She belongs to extensive networks of entrepreneurs, academics, and consultants in Europe, Latin America, the USA, Africa, and Australia.
Selected experience:
- Dr. Ria Aerts’ more than 25 years of consultancy, industry, and academic experience in international entrepreneurship and SMEs has led to policymaking in areas related to business development, business growth, and business survival on local and national policy levels.
- Created an SME platform to enable SMEs to stimulate entrepreneurship for the whole of Latin America by collaborating with several stakeholders, including business research institutes and many governments.
- Advocate for circular economy and social entrepreneurship by helping vulnerable individuals (women, refugees, immigrants) reach their potential using proprietary entrepreneurial programs.
- Contributed to Policy Development for supranational organizations including the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the OECD in the subject matter of transnational harmonizing SMEs, entrepreneurship, and family business management.
- Lead advisor in round tables organized by the IADB on SMEs, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
- Advised traditional business owners on creating additional business income streams by integrating digital entrepreneurship and digital cooperation tool.
- Assessed international policies and programs on SMEs and entrepreneurship and formulated recommendations on best practices.
- Created propriety international strategy programs to enhance growth and facilitate rapid entry of SMEs into global markets. The programs are applicable in diverse industries. The programs distil enterprise, entrepreneur characteristics, environmental factors and changes.
- Experience in market analysis and concept development for the establishment of cooperatives. Collaborated with and was advisor to Cooperatives in Europe and Latin America.
- Co-owner of a cooperative retail platform connecting hundreds of retail stores to millions of customers (individuals and companies) globally by providing patented high-tech features like ShopBuddy™ which is a digital deal provider and built-in price comparison tracking feature.
- Current Mentor and teacher to nascent and established entrepreneurs with special attention to individuals in need of empowerment (women, youth, refugees, and immigrants).
- Taught courses and provided advice on several SME and entrepreneurship subjects to members of supporting organizations (banks, industry federations, and universities) and government officials from Europe, Russia, and China.
- Provided digital fundraising tools to nonprofit organizations and consulted these organizations on the effective and most efficient use of these tools.
- Developed proprietary cognition and customer experience tools to enhance strategic alliances between companies on a national and international level using social media platforms and other digital tools.
- Developed cross cultural assessment frameworks to capture customer and client interaction and provide real time management to execute effective tactical strategies.
- Dr Aerts was awarded a PhD in Business Economics from Belgium’s KU Leuven (ranked as Europe’s most innovative university). Her Masters in Quantitative Analysis developed the ability to conduct data analytics of extreme and large datasets with both sparse or large and complex data structures.
- She is a prolific author of several articles and chapters in books on entrepreneurship, internationalization, family businesses, women entrepreneurship, co-creation of innovations between hospitals and small businesses, digital entrepreneurship, and digital collaboration.
- Dr. Ria Aerts presented several papers at international conferences in Europe, the USA, and Canada. Recently, she was awarded the prize for ‘Best Paper Award’ at the 9th International BAMDE and ECSB conference on Youth and Women Entrepreneurship in Challenging International (Global) Business Environment in Bulgaria for her contribution to digital entrepreneurship, digital collaboration, and women entrepreneurship research.
Mr. Andrew Gavaghan
Head of New Ventures
Mr. Andrew Gavaghan is a global thought leader in reconfiguring living and commercial models enabling individuals and groups to achieve an enrich and fulfilling life. He believes that, “the dreams and aspirations a child should be fulfilled.” A founder of two start-up organizations.
The first, Cassius-Longinus, private equity firm being established which catalyzes capital deployment into multiple regions. Our global network seeks to leverage oversupply of capital to evolve commercial and human systems.
The second start-up, Vis Certo, is a sneaker firm that empowers people to defy their restrictions. Captures cutting edge technology, textiles and to human spirit. Andrew develops philosophies and methodologies to accelerate/promote/sustain across multiple markets and jurisdiction. His extensive knowledge in the financial planning industry, gives him the ability to contextualize unpredictable events, enabling the development of novel solutions for black swan events.
He is a former national and international track & field athlete, competed in national and international sporting events in Australia and Asia. Attained tertiary qualifications in Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning), speaker at international conferences and frequent social and media commentator in business and international affairs.
Selected experience:
- Leadership team member in positioning of globally innovative technologies (e-commerce/retail, EHS, data analytics, fintech) for fund-raising.
- Head of GOC distribution and licensing commercial products.
- Advised in creation of corporate governance compositions comprising board and advisor members from various supply chain elements to facilitate global expansion.
- Advised international companies to develop R&D and manufacturing sites in Australia to leverage government benefits.
- Negotiated and advised on international distribution and licensing transactions.
- Development of proprietary financial modeling and materials for social enterprise and commercial distribution in Australia.
- Advised national IoT on its global social media strategy.
- Conducting competitive intelligence reports for organisation for entry for presence in Australia.
- Undertaking detailed diligence assessments of established and novel technology, fusing those elements into business applications, across different global markets.
- Knowledge of seeking inquisitive and paradigm shifting ways.
- International mentoring company founders and board members.
- Leadership team which created innovative youth global empowerment program.
- Co-developed branding and rollout plan for GOC’s empowerment programs.
- Leadership team which created young career seekers program.
- Led GOC’s sales and marketing strategy for its international trade business on consumer behavior and buying patterns.
- Challenging standardized and static systems while redesigning and remodeling systems with dynamic forms for all GOC people, GOC products and its clients.
- International speaker and social media commentator discussing tinkering with the surrounding environment to enact revitalization of ideas and concepts.
- Speaker at international forums, including digital education summit focusing on digital dynamic curricula design to respond to emerging global needs.
- Speaker at Indian start-up incubator highlighting fitness to accelerating business mindset, as part of India government initiative.
Mr. George Giamadakis
Chief Organisational Motivator
George helps transition B2B companies into a 21st century digitally enabled and connected company. He works with Founders, Boards, Executive and Leadership teams across all key operational business functions in order to integrate sound digital solutions that serve and exceed customer expectations.
George is an experienced marketing professional, who has coached, developed and led cross-generational teams with outstanding success.
He has brought large and small sales and marketing teams together maximising their talent and taking pride in establishing and nurturing meaningful customer relationships.
A driving force who has led steering committees in the development and communication strategy for a company's value proposition aligned to strong values and a positive business culture.
The focus to connect people has enabled a growth orientated digital transformation leader with a verifiable history of driving B2B marketing strategies that deliver brand quality, team performance, efficiency, and increased revenue.
George has worked with, and provided advice to company founders, boards, executives, and leadership teams on cross-generational and reverse mentoring programs, business solutions, process improvements, digital transformation and sustainable profitability.
Mr. Ahmed Tohow
Director East African Affairs
Mr. Ahmed Tohow is a recognised global leader and strategist in East African Affairs.
His passion is to enhance Peace Building and Nation Building capabilities by bringing together international agencies, governments and local communities through education, cultural alignment and business for wealth generation. He has expertise in international trade, including mining and food resources. He has cultivated personal relationships with senior officials in national governments, tribal groups, commercial organisations, key influencers and education institutions. He has over 15 years-experience dealing with civil and security affairs during the civil war in the horn of Africa. He brings to GOC comprehensive expertise and experience in understanding key drivers for nation building, including the importance of strategic peace building initiatives and establishing national and international commerce supply chain pathways.
Selected experience:
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Vice Chair of the Deputy Board of Directors and Co-Founder of the Global Somali Diaspora (‘GSD’), located in London, which provides advocacy for all issues pertinent for the Somali communities in the Diaspora and homeland including, peacebuilding and security and nation-building.
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Mr. Tohow has provided services to international agencies, including UNITAF, UNISOM, Red Cross, UNHCR and IOM in Africa and UNISOM’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia and around Africa during the 1990s.
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Co-Founder of a Somali corporation which holds a mining tenement in the Federal Republic of Somalia. The corporation also promotes business networks and increases trade, investment between Australia and East Africa, exploring collaborative ventures, and global investors requiring strong government and security.
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Co-Founder of the East Africa Security and Policy Forum EASPF, an organisation which, inter alia, facilitates forums that promotes the value of peace, stability and security in East Africa, Mr. Tohow was involved in arranging meetings with key Somali officials to discuss security matters.
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He has collaborated on several pivotal research reports undertaken by leading Australian universities in the subject matter of Resilience to violence in the Somali-Australian community, developing a standardized measure to evaluate Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism, Intersecting peacebuilding and gender in Somalia and more broadly community needs and challenges such as unemployment, peacebuilding, stability, and social wellbeing.
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He was awarded the Ambassador for Peace prize by the Universal Peace Federation Australia in 2018, in recognition of his international activities to promote peace in Somalia and working with the Diaspora.
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He is also the Co-Founder and Secretary of the Australian Somali Chamber of Commerce Inc. The aim of this organisation is to promote and accelerate the growth and development of trade ties between Australia and the Federal Republic of Somalia and also to provide its members with a wide range of services targeted at promoting bilateral trade, investment and joint ventures between the two nations.
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Mr. Ahmed Tohow has been awarded two Masters Degrees, in “Security and Terrorism” and “International Development Studies” from Charles Sturt University and RMIT University in Australia, a Bachelors Degree of Humanities and Social Science (International Development Studies) from La Trobe University, Australia.
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He is also a sought-after international speaker and author of several publications reflecting his deep international understanding of the cultural underpinnings of East Africa and advice on how to successfully navigate this region.
Ms. Darlene Haddad
Director, Human Connectivity and Advancement
Ms. Darlene Haddad is a global thought leader in reconfiguring human cognition practices to enhance organisational objectives in a rapidly changing world. She is a futuristic thinker, concerned with foreseeing changes to human values brought about by technology, such as emerging artificial intelligence. She believes society in general has become smarter on the science of emotions and highly aware of the value of psychological concepts in understanding human behaviour. The world is entering a critical era where transformational leaders, aspiring leaders, managers and professionals need to reset by increasing their output of social, emotional and adaptability intelligence.
Over her career, she has been heavily involved in many complicated, multidisciplinary projects which required a fast track approach, attention to detail, ability to focus clearly under pressure and deliver high performance. In pursuit of her global impact goals, she offers specialized tailored training which build leadership, adaptability, reliance, interpersonal and personal skills to create high performance leaders and professionals. She achieves this by translating the latest neuroscience and psychological research into actionable strategies that drive change success.
Darlene is also an international member of our team and has lived and worked across three continents (North America, the Middle East and Australia). Her expertise has enriched many global Fortune 500 companies (Red Bull, Applebee’s, NSX-Acura, Mercedes Benz, Kuwait National Petroleum Company, Al-Qatami Steel, Equate Petroleum, National Bank of Kuwait, Al-Jazeera Airlines and Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Spa), leading humanitarian organisations (such as The International Red Cross) and directed to nation rebuilding activities post conflict in the Republic of Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Darlene trained as a Psychologist under a Canadian Licensed psychologist and practiced in the field for a decade. Her clientele was international and comprising a broad cross section of society, including adolescents. She provided counselling and management for a variety of conditions, including stress, anxiety, depression, anger issues, personal and interpersonal issues, self-esteem and addiction, using evidence-based individual and group interventions. She was heavily influenced by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy as well as Psychodynamic Therapy, adopting a multi-modal approach to her practice. She regularly trained and conducted workshops in psychology to many professionals and organizations such as the American University of Kuwait.
Darlene is highly educated and has been awarded a Masters in Communications (University of South Australia) and an Honours Degree in Psychological Science (Central Queensland University) and an undergraduate degree in Sociology (Flinders University, South Australia).
Selected experience:
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Conducted comprehensive novel research in the field of Social and Emotional Intelligence (S+EQ), which lead to proprietary methodology to optimize leadership performance. The tools audit a leaders S+EQ, and organisation communication methodologies. A bespoke plan is then established to improve organisation and leadership performance.
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Devised communication strategy for leading global prestige automotive manufacturers which triangulated product, audience and strategy with business objectives.
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Assisted international planning teams of leading Middle East banking institutions to target marketing campaigns by critical assessment of suitable audience and media channels.
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Developed global oil and petroleum companies’ copywriting and marketing campaigns across several digital and traditional marketing formats which lead to increased public and consumer engagement.
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Advised on draft press releases, website and business profile speeches for company leadership in petroleum and information technology companies.
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Created ‘plain language’ documentation to the petroleum and banking industry for more effective sales and marketing campaigns.
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Pitched content and evaluated campaign effectiveness for leading global energy drink organisation, based on key data analytics such as cultural/social trends, customer perception and attitudes.
- Leveraged corporate training materials with proprietary psychology programs and interviews with management to devise novel training courses which.
- enhanced employee communication and conflict resolution skills;
- understand how to manage emotions and criticisms better;
- better personal and interpersonal skills related to an increase in success;
- confidence in building negotiation skills; and
- increased employee motivation.
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Published extensively across many media professional platforms, including the ‘International Herald Tribune,’ ‘Bazaar Magazine’ and ‘Kuwait Times - English Newspaper.’
Dr. Hema Raina
Healthcare, Management
Dr. Hema Raina is an award winning, clinically astute healthcare professional with demonstrated ability to develop collaborative relationships in the scientific and healthcare communities.
High-performance management professional with ~ 20 years of proven track record of product/project management, data analysis, problem – identification and solving proficiencies. Experienced in managing IT operations and implementing on-time solutions. Astute at assessing project needs and orchestrating solutions involving cross-functional teams. Multiple publications in respected scientific journals and presentations at professional conferences.
Selected experience:
- To provides leadership regarding clinical research in relevance to the overall business strategy.
- To ensure effectiveness of global clinical activities through strong collaboration and communication with Clinical Function, Marketing, Research, Technology, Product Development and Business Unit.
- To provide input on strategy and direction of business priorities and development; supporting and administering approved company policies, mission and vision, and clearly communicate these principles to all associates.
- To provide proactive assistance to clients in strategic planning and product development to meet their business goals and to help identify new opportunities with the client base.
- Oversee all client engagements and relationships between our internal teams and Clients.
- Driving measurable growth and improvement for the clients.
Accomplishments
- Care Management Solution Implementation Lead for United Healthcare, one of the biggest insurance payors in the USA. Have successfully implemented in more than 25 states.
- Population Health Care Management SME on Tennessee State’s Health Care Innovation Initiative managing a population of 750,000.
- Care Management SME for the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative at Visiting Nurses of New York.
- Lead the Clinical Innovations division for my organization. The initiative to convert clinical research on care management and clinical best practices to internal clinical guidelines; provide clinical input and review of all the clinical content to ensure clinical relevance and the effort of developing clinical business rules for the organization.
- Liaison between clients, offshore technical teams, client executives and the senior management team.