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Sam Ashraf: The Meaning of Winning

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When I flew to Mexico City, I knew that I would meet amazing people. I didn’t expect, however, to reconnect with one of these people, a young man committed to social impact, less than a month later in Cairo. How is this possible in today’s fast-moving and ever-changing world? The answer is Hult Prize, the world’s largest social impact movement.

MCJudges? I was in Mexico City for 1 of 15 Hult Prize regional finals. Inspired by the culture in Mexico, I not only attended the regional competition, but I participated as one of the 9 esteemed judges. As I sat in the judge’s room, Abe and his co-founder blew us away with his idea to Harness the Power of Energy to Transform lives. Their idea utilized a patented technology to pull water from the air and provide it as an essential resource to refugees.

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Sounds simple? Well, it wasn’t, and perhaps that’s why Sam’s team didn’t win, despite going through the regional competition in Mexico as a finalist. Slightly disappointed, the judges and I rallied around Sam, and urged him not to give up. “We love your idea,” we said. “Keep going, but take with you a few tips, recommendations, and introductions. Consider them and come back to us.”

The full impact of our words might not have occurred to Sam. An open and intelligent listener, he went on to compete in the first ever Hult Prize Egypt National program on June 1st, where we met again. I was a keynote in Egypt, and traveled there from Montreal days after losing my father in NYC. Why would you make such a big trip while in mourning? I explained that my father would want me to follow through on my commitments. He would also say that you get your energy from people – and from inspiring youth to lead a life of impact.

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At the start of the Egypt nationals, I was invited to share an inspirational speech with the competitors. Sam was in the room, surrounded by young Egyptian competitors, many of whom are now committed members of the social impact movement I love. His mother, Gihan Salib, was also in the room.

The program took place during Ramadan, and our sunset dinner was unique, all of us breaking the fast together. As I walked into the open air dining room at the American University in Cairo, I saw a woman my age smiling up at me. I knew that we had to share dinner together. It was Sam’s mother, who said, “You have changed my son’s life by believing in him when he lost in Mexico City. You lifted his spirit and inspired him to move forward. You have to believe he is one of many people whose lives you have changed for the good.”

Unfortunately, Sam lost in Egypt too, but he was not as concerned. We spent the following day together touring the Pyramids (his first time there too), riding camels, shopping for local gifts, and sharing our vision for life and the future.

Camel Egypt_HoldingRock

Egypt_SSCamel For those who are reading this, life has many twists and turns. Losing can mean winning. And sometimes winning takes on an entirely new meaning. I now have a friend for life who inspires me, and Sam has a new journey, one that will be my joy and privilege to guide, and to share in his successes. This is only the beginning of a very long road together. How amazing is that?

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Sam and interview him about his experience in the competition. Here is a little bit more of his story:

Tell me about your Hult Prize Idea and how you got funding to travel to Mexico City.

Me and my team had initially dabbled with multiple ideas from ones involving disciplines of aquaponics to others that were intended to enhance public transportation efficiency. After spending quite some time brainstorming, we decided to settle with the business idea that we viewed to be most feasible, profitable, and fit to this year’s Hult Prize challenge, harnessing the power of energy. The idea was simple. We had developed an approved schematic flow diagram of a device that was to be installed in off-grid areas to generate water and electricity from atmospheric humidity for distribution to energy- and water-destitute areas. The plan was to develop many units of this device to be rented out or sold to construction companies who carry out off-grid construction projects and use the profit to develop similar units for refugee camps in the Middle East and other off-grid communities in Africa. Refugees receive little power and water supply. Accordingly, the refugee camps of Azraq and Zaatari in Jordan were our intended pilot. As for how we were funded, we first sought support from our university. Seeing as there is no formally dedicated department for such cases at our university, I took it upon myself to meet with the president of the university. He was not easy to reach, so I had to set an appointment multiple times but only ended up meeting with his secretary. When a “no” was received, we decided to go to the department of student activities where I suggested that we could use Hult Prize@GUC as an active working group (AWG) to raise the money (since raising money as students who don’t belong to an AWG is prohibited on campus). That, too, was met with refusal. Fortunately, we worked in parallel in search of funds outside the university by seeking support from companies who listened to the idea. Finally, we managed to get one construction company to fund the trip and accommodation after pitching our idea.

What happened in Mexico and what obstacles did you have to overcome?

Obtaining the funds needed to get to Mexico was the biggest obstacle. Arriving in Mexico City on March 15th marked the endpoint to 30 hours of travel time from Cairo. Direct flights were not available, and even if they were they would have been too expensive. That said, we experienced one other hurdle when we got there. While rehearsing for our presentation for one final time, we were surprised to find out that our Powerpoint file was corrupt and wouldn’t open. Consequently, we had to refurbish our presentation from the data we already had at the expense of missing orientation day on the 16th after having contacted Hult Prize volunteers informing them of what had happened. Fortunately, we had enough time and were able to pull an all-nighter for competition day!

What were the judges like? Can you share some stories about your interactions with them?

After pitching in the final venue (we were the last team of 6 to pitch) and after the judges’ deliberation, we managed to talk about half the judges. As one might expect, they were extremely critical as needed. If I could describe them additionally in one word, it would be constructive. We sought advice from them on what we needed to improve and received the most insight from Colonel Eric Rojo, Sheryl, Andrea from Protrash, and Mrs. Mariuz Calvet from the Mexican bank Banorte. Additionally, I got to share a very stimulating, thought-provoking, futuristic conversation with Ahmad Ashkar, the CEO of Hult Prize, about new and upcoming technologies while on our 10 minute bus ride from the Chapultepec castle (the only castle in South America)!

After leaving Mexico, what did you do to prepare for the Egypt Nationals?

After leaving Mexico, I broke down our tasks into milestones. With a rough business model ready, I worked on further development of the business plan while assigning the task of developing of a prototype to a team member. These would be the first two milestones. I also reached out to several NGOs for partnership. They were intrigued by our idea and shared our vision of energy sustainability and impact. I also outsourced a video editor to help create a video about AquaElectro’s endeavours for the Wild Card application.

How has this experience changed your life?

Hult Prize has been an amazing journey. After coming across a small on-campus booth by chance and applying because why not, I never thought I would end up in Mexico City integrating me and my team as part of the global change. Although competing and being runners-up was all part of a wild adrenaline rush, I am more proud of helping propagate the impact the foundation has on the world at large. I’ve gotten to know so many great people, organizers and competitors alike, with a common desire to change the world for the better and a fiery, youthful spirit. The connections I gained the past 6 months have been a priceless addition to my network of people! Moreover, one of the most prominent features of the community is multiculturalism, an environment in which I found myself thriving.

What are your next steps in your life’s journey?

I am currently applying for graduate studies abroad in molecular medicine or a related field, and I envision being heavily immersed in the biotechnology and genomics industries. I hope to work for companies like Johnson & Johnson or Genentech, which are like the pioneering tech companies of the biotechnology sector. The market is currently thriving, and I predict more and more disruptive products coming to market that will change our perception of diseases like cancer to say the least. After gaining enough experience in the industry, I hope to start my own biotechnology startup company with a primary goal of developing and commercializing medical solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that are otherwise difficult to deal with.

What can I and others like me do to help the youth lead lives of impact?

I believe meeting Sheryl for the first time in Mexico City was one of the early moments of impact for me. I’m already inspired by the blogs she writes and by the fact that she is making her dad proud continuing to inspire young people like myself with her positive spirit! Uplifting is the word I would use to describe Sheryl and other agents of change at Hult Prize. With blogs like this and new expansions to the foundation (like the council), I think the influence will be not only far-reaching but also exponential from year to year. It’s amazing to see how this reach has grown over five times compared to 2017.

Is there anything else you want to share?

Yes! The Hult Prize experience has truly contributed to my personal growth intellectually and socially. It reinforces the growth mindset I choose to adopt and for that I’m sincerely grateful. It’s also an honor of mine to be featured in your blog and I want to express many many thanks to you for considering me!

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The Beginning of the Journey

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Name: Maysoun Ibrahim

Origin: Palestine

Year: 2018

Hult Prize Challenge: Harnessing the power of energy to transform the lives of 10 million people.

I recently interviewed Maysoun Ibrahim, a judge in the 2018 Hult Prize competition. She just finished the first ever Hult Prize National Finals in Ramallah, and I had the opportunity to learn about her amazing story and her experience in the competition.

Quote: “Not making it through the competition is not the end of the journey; it is only the start of the birth of persevered entrepreneurs.”

How did you hear about Hult Prize?

From Social Media.

I was contacted by its management team to participate as a judge in the first national program in Palestine. Afterwards, I looked for information about the prize and was impressed by what is written about it on social media.

Why is Hult Prize important to your Country?

The Hult Prize provides promising opportunities to youth in Palestine to introduce change to their communities through social services and businesses by turning their social and development ideas into reality. At the national level, participating in the 2018 Hult Prize for the first time gives Palestine a valuable international exposure that sheds light on the innovative potentials of Palestinians in creating solutions that respond to the national developmental needs. The winner national teams, from West Bank and Gaza, will be visiting the Hult Prize Castle in the United Kingdom during July for a period of eight weeks during which they will enrich their knowledge and acquire new skills needed to plan for their solutions, develop adequate business strategies and implement their solutions accordingly. It is important to mention that the winning team of the US$1M will be present during the final ceremony planned to be held at the United Nations in New York. During this ceremony, the winning team will be exposed to the global ecosystem aimed at implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global, regional and national levels.

You have an interesting international background. How did your experience prepare you to be a judge?

My national and international professional experience widened my horizons, enriched my knowledge. It strengthened my skills and empowered me with skills that are transferable to my workplace, such as leadership, team building and negotiation. It exposed me to different cultures and backgrounds needed for one to understand the differences in contexts and the relative importance of initiatives and solutions accordingly. All of this, added to my education, previous involvement in major activities related to government, Academia, private sector and/ or the civil society added to my continuous willing to step out of my comfort zone to learn and grow at the personal and professional levels prepared me to be a judge.

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After a full day with the other judges, what did you learn?

I admired the passion and thirst of the young entrepreneurs to develop their societies and foster change in their communities. The students from all participating universities in Palestine, from both the West Bank and Gaza, were notably innovative in providing sustainable solutions to harnessing the power of energy, which is the 2018 Hult Prize theme. It was heartwarming to see that, despite the hard-living conditions and instability in Palestine, the young generation still has the dedication to change the World for the better and make Palestine a better place to live in.

What impressed you most about the competition?

At the level of the students, what impressed me the most is their enthusiasm, maturity and dedication as they came up with well-defined ideas that are ready for implementation. Actually, selected ideas did not even need further details. They were only lacking the funding opportunity to proceed with the actual implementation. At the level of the prize management, I was impressed by the decision made to exceptionally consider two teams for the prize, one from the West Bank and another from Gaza given the special case of Palestine. This enabled two teams to win the national prize and spend eight weeks in the Hult Prize Castle in the UK.

Did you learn anything new about student competitors?

Most of the students’ competitors are international ones. Some students were clever enough and studied their competitors well, learnt from them how to get better at what they are doing and then proposed an innovative solution that can compete other existing ones.

What advice to you have for the student teams that didn’t make it through the competition?

Not winning does not mean losing in this case. All teams competed and listened to each other and to the comments of the judges. This by itself should be rewarding as the students can build on the comments provided, detail their projects and submit them again to the competition. So, in summary, not making it through the competition is not the end of the journey; it is only the start of the birth of persevered entrepreneurs.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?

It was a fruitful experience being a judge at the Hult Prize National Finals in Palestine. I was honored to meet the management of the prize, different judges and students. I also got re-assured of the potential of the Palestinian people and have my hopes high that the young generation will introduce positive change to our beloved Palestine.

From Individual Career Planning to CSR, it’s Not Who You Know, but How Well You Relate that Matters!

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“A business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders.”

This is how I defined corporate social responsibility when I presented to a group of global executives at the 2018 Corporate Responsibility Summit in May 2018. After touring the Houston Food Bank to see how it serves local communities through food distribution, we settled in the auditorium of the facility to kick off the summit with a series of speakers who focused on serving communities through corporate social impact.

One of the speakers was Dennis Kennedy, Founder and Chair of the National Diversity Council (NDC), which houses the Corporate Social Responsibility Council. I met Dennis when I was at Dell EMC, where over a decade ago I founded and was President of the Women’s Leadership Forum on the West Coast. I partnered with Dennis and his team as they were relaunching NDC in Silicon Valley, by hosting their initial programs. I left EMC (now Dell Technologies), and brought my relationship with Dennis to Capgemini as I transitioned to a new role. They are an active partner, and a joint sponsor for CSR. Isn’t it amazing how relationships start with a helping hand and continue to grow into corporate sponsorships?

When I left Capgemini I wasn’t looking for a job. I was a partner with a $1billion business, working with amazing people at a French multinational. But the Executive Director of The Linux Foundation offered me an amazing opportunity to join him as the Chief of Staff. With my passions so close to building communities of innovation, I couldn’t resist! After a year, another CEO reached out to me – Ahmad Ashkar, Founder and CEO of the Hult Prize Foundation. He and I have worked with each other for over 6 years. When were together again in San Francisco this spring, he looked at me and simply said, “Sheryl, what are you doing? Join me and follow a life of passion, impact and innovation. Lead the Hult Prize Council full time and drive global change as part of the world’s greatest millennial movement.”

That brings us right back to where we are. With my strong ongoing relationship with Capgemini (especially Yvonne Harris and Jean-Claude Violler), I was invited to keynote at the NDC Corporate Responsibility Summit 4th annual conference in Houston. This lesson is for everyone: every relationship you develop has the ability to impact you, your brand, and your reputation. You may leave an organization for another one, but what you leave behind is your legacy. Respect them, and the people with whom you work. It only brings you closer when you leave and creates positive bonds for future collaboration.

These very relationships gave me the incredible opportunity to speak about corporate social responsibility, an essential topic in business today and one of my deepest passions. Throughout my work with the Hult Prize competition, I have worked with countless millennials and have seen their drive to make impact through for-profit, for-good business. As explained by Mario Molteni, a business professor at Milan’s Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in a Morning Future article on CSR, “Sustainability should be one of the skills [of all successful business men and women], not a specialisation.” The challenge of the 2018 Hult Prize competition could not emphasize this better – urging students to create scalable enterprises that harness the power of energy to transform lives because there is a market for sustainable products and business. And millennials are driving that demand.

In my presentation at the CSR summit, I identified several business approaches that are characteristic of socially responsible and sustainable enterprises. From connecting and serving neglected markets to looking into and shaping the future, these types of business approaches affect the willingness of millenials to interact with companies as customers or employees. In her article, “Millennials Driving Brands to Practice Socially Responsible Marketing,” Sarah Landrum echoes what I have witnessed during my work with millennials: “Millennials prefer to do business with corporations and brands with pro-social messages, sustainable manufacturing methods and ethical business standards.” Brands are no longer associated with empty marketing – millennials are active and even suspicious consumers, analyzing the messages that companies put out, searching for the greater impact that businesses have in a social context.

I ended my presentation at the summit with a call to action. I urged the leaders at the conference to build CSR initiatives, engage customers and partners, and share via social media. These actions are necessary steps in promoting corporate social responsibility. Leaders need to make CSR initiatives an integral part of their business, rather than a side project. And they must use the tools of social media to connect with consumers. Kelsey Chong articulates this necessity in her article, “Millennials and the Rising Demand for Corporate Social Responsibility,” arguing, “If a business slacks on properly maintaining its social media profile, it will soon fall victim to critical millennials who have noticed a lack in response, engagement, and interaction.” I have the chance to work with amazing millennials who drive this movement. By caring deeply about the brands and companies they do business with, this generation has turned the importance of CSR into visible action, creating enterprises like those in the Hult Prize that are for-good, for-profit, and a tool for reshaping the future.

During the Hult Prize Finals and Awards Dinner 2017 on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, at the United Nations headquarters. (Mark Von Holden/Hult Prize Foundation via AP Images)

Aurelion: Going Global from Tunisia

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I had the opportunity to interview Ghofrane Baaziz, from the University of Tunis Business School. Her story is amazing- she competed in and won the Campus Challenge in 2017, with teammates Sarah Saadi, Wafa Kouni, and Baha Gritly. The 2017 challenge was her favorite, and her team name was Eirene, named after the goddess of peace in honor of the challenge being about refugees. The team’s goal that year was to provide a virtual financial services platform for refugees to allow them to perform financial transactions, getting paid easily and securely. She has been involved in at least three regional events and was even asked to lead the Tunisia National event.

Ghofrane’s story shows an important lesson- you don’t have to win the Prize to be a winner.

Team: Aurelion

Origin: University of Tunis

Year: 2018

Hult Prize Challenge: Harnessing the power of energy to transform the lives of 10 million people.

Objective: Our idea consisted of providing access to better air conditioning systems in Central African hospitals while empowering working women. San Francisco Team hp2018

How did you get involved with Hult Prize?

Freshman year of college, that is, last year, although I was a business student, I did not know a thing about entrepreneurship let alone social entrepreneurship. I was just starting business school, not even sure if I made the right choice, but there it was, a pink sign on the school entrance that says “Hult Prize on-campus event applications are open!”. I didn’t know what that was, but it looked cool, and I was planning on doing a lot of extracurricular activities so that seemed like a nice start. I told three friends of mine and we decided to participate! Soon after, we’d learn so many things about ideation, starting a business, building a business model, etc. Little did we know that we would be the event winners and soon be heading to London for the regional finals! (I’ll get to that experience on the next question)

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Fast forward a year later, 2018, I decide not to participate, but to organize the event in my school. I took care of the media department and appeared on more than 12 media platforms including national television to talk about the Hult Prize! on 2017, only 4 Tunisian universities hosted a HP event, 2018, the number jumped to 19 universities! I’d like to believe it was thanks to us! I even toured many Tunisian universities in different regions of the country to introduce them to the Hult Prize and talk about my experience as a regional finalist!

After the on-campus event ended, I decided to apply to the wildcard because why not! We ended up getting accepted and headed to San Francisco for my second regional two years in a row! Coming back to Tunis, I was also the media director and host for the Tunis regional that took place a week after SFs finals! That was my 3rd regional event in just two years of college! I believe I made a record!

My final involvement with Hult was the Tunisia National Event which I also helped organize.

How has this experience changed you?

I can’t put in words how much Hult has changed me. In each regional, I made new friends, real friends, a Japanese friend I made in London even visited me from Tokyo and we spent this spring break together touring Tunisia! Hult helped shape me into the woman I am today. I now know what it takes to be a social entrepreneur, what it takes to start your own business, I know how to network, how to pitch my idea and most importantly, I got to know and discover a new part of me. hult spirit.jpg

What were the judges, mentors and advisors like?

Everyone involved with Hult was extremely helpful. We were offered help from so many people. Judges in our on campus event last year offered to help us prepare for the regionals after we won, we had great mentors and advisors who supported us along the way.

Did anyone stand out?

Definitely! Last year’s event, a judge [Youssef Fennira, CEO of Tunisian startup CORP] liked our idea so much that he invited us to his office and with whom I’m personally still in touch with. He sponsored our trip to London, offered us support, and he still recommends me for other opportunities and even offered me a job at his company! SF Tunis .jpeg nationals bootcamp.jpg

During the 2018 hp, Julie Abrams definitely stood out! She was so cheerful and came to talk to us after we lost. We really appreciated that.

What advice do I have for other people?

Join the movement! I have been to so many similar events and competitions, nothing was like the hult prize. The Hult spirit and atmosphere is incomparable! You never know what kind of amazing friends you’d meet, whether it’s a local competition, national or regional! It’s never a dull moment with the Hult Prize! So participate, I promise you you’ll learn so many things about yourself and about social good. You’d enjoy every part of making an impact and making a difference in the world!

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Global Summit of Women – Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age

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Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age

In late 2015 I received information about the Global Summit of Women (GSW) from a colleague at Capgemini. Although I’ve been involved with organizations that support advancement and development of women professionals for many years, I’d never heard of this one before. My first reaction was I needed to be more aware of international programs like this.

Seeking more information and a better understanding of the potential of this organization I checked out the website and was very impressed. The breadth of geographical areas represented and the backgrounds of participants were unbelievable. Not only did I want to attend but I identified a panel on addressing the skills gap in the digital age, where I knew I could make a contribution. I immediately reached out to Irene Natividad, President of Global Summit of Women to introduce myself and offer my service. I wound up attending the 2016 Summit, served as a panelist, and came away forever changed.

Wonderful welcome as you arrive at the Global Summit of Women

Writing about the experience hardly conveys the impact it had on me. At least this blog will provide an idea of how meaningful this annual event is and hopefully encourage more of you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a truly global environment of friendship and support.

Each year the Summit is held on a different continent. Brazil hosted the 25^th anniversary program in 2015. In 2016 the location was Warsaw, Poland. In 2017 it will convene in Tokyo, Japan. Over 1200 women from 95 different countries participated. The purpose was well described in Irene’s welcoming letter:

“The Summit’s goal of providing a global forum in which exchanges of effective strategies forged by women in all three sectors of society- government, business or civil society- continues to be timely and much needed.“

“The 2016 theme- Women- Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age– spotlights women’s influence in creating stronger economies in this era of new technologies.”

Speakers at the opening ceremony included:

Beata Szudlo, Prime Minister of Poland

Dnag Th Ngox Thinh, VP of Vietnam

Laimdota Straujuma, Former Prime Minister of Latvia

Honored to meet Atifete Jahjaga, Former President of Kosovo.

The two days of the Summit start with a few plenary sessions in the morning followed by breakout sessions featuring 3 different tracks: Leadership Development, Entrepreneurship, and Issues. One of the plenary sessions on the first day was a Male CEO Forum- Defining an Equitable Workplace. Moderated by Lisa Kassenaar, Editor of Global Diversity for Bloomberg News, the panelists were:

Manfred Bischoff, Chair of the Board, Daimler (Germany)
Michel Khalaf, Presdient, EMEA Metlife (UAE)
Alastair Teare, CEO, Deloitte Central Europe (U.K.)
Marco Vilaa, President-Technip, Region EMIA (Italy)
Slawomir Sikora, CEO, Citi Handlowy (Poland)

The insights these world leaders shared displayed their commitment to working across countries and boundaries of diverse thinking.

As I shared earlier, I was a panelist for one of the Issues breakout sessions: Bringing More Women Into Tech Careers in the Digital Age. The topic resonated with me as it’s an issue I’ve been working on for years and was looking forward to sharing my perspective with my fellow panelists, Claudine Schmuck, Founder of Global Contact (France) and Katarzyna Majewska, Head of Operations & Technology, Citi Handlowy (Poland). Our moderator Gloria Lorenzo, Senior Director of Software Development for Oracle in Spain, was a master at brining our ideas alive on the stage. Gloria described the panel as follows:

“I learned a lot from three women on my panel. Sheryl Chamberlain, share her experience at Capgemini and her role as Head of Hult Prize Foundation Council. Claudine Schmuck, shared the results of her investigation through Global Contact plus some of the initiatives she is supporting in France and Katarzyna Majewska and her work in a big company like CIO Group and the challenges she has to find good IT girls. All women shared the same goal, to bring more women to STEM. During a short conversation we learned a lot and got very good tips to progress in our own work or to even to progress together. It was a unique opportunity to connect all the work done in different fields”

For me, the perspectives each of us brought to the discussion where inspiring, but more importantly the audience agreed to take action as we returned to our day jobs, at home in our respective countries.

There was a lot of content to absorb in just a few short days. I wish sessions had been recorded since the breakout format meant we were always missing what was happening in the other breakout rooms. But, then the Summit was about so much more than the meetings. It was an opportunity to connect with a remarkable group of women coming from wildly different backgrounds, all committed to make the world a better place by working together.

One of my new ‘sisters’ is Claudia Freed, CEO & President of EAL Green. EAL stands for Empower Access to Learning. In other words- it provides scholarships. The “Green” refers to how they get the money. They collect excess inventory from major companies (which otherwise would go into landfill), providing sorely needed equipment and supplies to universities at little or no cost, and providing scholarships for students in need. Claudine’s been doing this for over 20 years. This Summit was her second. What made it worth her while to attend?

“I believe it has been an important milestone in my career to be committed to participate in these and other global-scale purpose- driven networking convenings. I want to help improve the world.

“….the most important takeaway is the re-affirmation that relationships take time and that they are invaluable asset not easily replaced with technology or digital communication.”

In 2017 the Global Summit for Women will be held in Japan May 11-13. I already have it on my calendar. I hope to see some of you there.

Boldness & Creativity, Drivers of Success For Women

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In recognition of my passion for supporting and promoting the advancement of women in business and technology, and of my leadership role in this capacity within our firm, I was asked by Isabelle Roux-Chenu Founder Women@Capgemini and Group General Counsel to organize an event that would present a panel of women leaders discussing the importance of making bold choices to achieve success in business. It was an honor to be asked to do this and the event was held at Capgemini’s corporate headquarters in Tilsitt, Paris on July 7, 2015. Isabelle was the host and together we moderated the panel discussion. The panelists were successful women executives and leaders representing diverse cultural, generational, and professional backgrounds and experiences. They were:

Hélène Barnekow, CEO Sweden at TeliaSonera

Nutan Wozencroft, Chief Financial Officer at UNESCO

Katherine Corich, Global CEO & Founder of Sysdoc Group

Aurélie Sykes-Darmon founding member of WoMen’Up

Each panelist was asked to discuss the challenges she has faced in her professional and personal journey and the bold actions she sometimes needed to take to address those challenges. The result was a fascinating discussion filled with useful and practical insights, some commonalities, and a mutual understanding of each woman’s unique path.

Challenges across cultures and generations

Hélène explained her perspective on the power and impact of more diverse teams. She stated that “in today’s digital world anything can be replicated. To differentiate yourself in the market companies need to ensure they have leadership teams with diverse perspectives thereby instilling fertile ground to drive innovation solutions, cultivating collaboration, and delivering new levels of success”. Recently promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to CEO of TeliaSonera Sweden, Hélène discussed some of the bold steps she has taken to transform her teams by including more women and requiring that at least one woman be included on every short list when recruiting managers. Now, as CEO, she can ensure her vision is implemented more broadly across the organization.

Nutan shared her experience of cultural and social obstacles as a woman of Indian origin born in Austria and educated in England. She chose to follow an unconventional career path with the intent to broaden her skills, beginning as a trainee accountant at a medium-sized firm to gain experience in many types of enterprises and different areas of finance. Frequently finding herself to be the only female and the only ethnic minority in the room, Nutan realized that it was important to define her own working style. Following a long stint as a Financial Controller of a large international charity, she worked as a consultant focusing on strategic planning and change management, impacting countries like Malawi, Kenya, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and South Africa.

When Katherine started working, she found very few role models to provide guidance. About the time she was starting her own business, she decided she wanted to get a pilot’s license. She was told that women couldn’t be pilots. [This was at a time when women did not become pilots.] Rather than give in to that view, she used her own money to learn what it takes to manage a plane and what is required for being a great pilot ultimately becoming a licensed commercial pilot. Key to both: a structure that enabled the pilot to systematically make sure the plane was in good flying condition and all appropriate steps were done prior to takeoff. Katherine used that sense of order to convince her boss to improve their risk management procedures at the London Stock Exchange. She went on to create her own consulting firm – Sysdoc Group, which now has a consultant reach in over 72 countries. Katherine brought that kind of orderliness to her business, implementing policies that provided guidance and creating a healthy environment to empower her employees. She finds these practices are in line with the younger generation’s expectations and are in fact attracting more male employees.

Aurélie shared her thoughts from the point of view of a young woman working as a consultant in the television industry and an active member of WoMen’Up. WoMen’Up is an organization that deals with gender balance issues within the corporate world from the point of view of “Gen Y” or “Millennials” – the generation of people born in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Based on a survey titled “What do men think?” taken by WoMen’Up in partnership with the consulting group Mazars, she explained that “Millennials” have long been exposed to gender balance issues and are thus much more favorably included to having women in the corporate world and working with diverse teams.

Closing the discussion, Katherine reminded all women to know their personal and professional worth and to negotiate their careers with confidence based on this knowledge. And Nutan added: “It was interesting to see that, despite our different backgrounds and cultures, we (as women leaders) upheld common principles. I feel strongly that as women in position of influence we must think about the policies and management ethos that we promote and whether they limit access. Being a role model is good, but we really need women leaders that advance the cause for ordinary women.”

The question for senior women leaders is- What can you do to support other women to be successful in whatever they choose to do? As for male leaders- What can you do to raise awareness of and reduce subtle biases that hinder advancement of women in your organization and elsewhere? In case you’d like some guidance, here are some useful resources:

NCWIT’s pamphlet, Male Advocates & Allies: Promoting Gender Diversity in Technology Workplaces– which is applicable outside of technology
Men Advocating for Real Change [MARC], sponsored by Catalyst.

Shape Your Mobile & Cloud Strategy Join Me @VMworld Barcelona

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VMworld Europe will bring together individuals and entities from 92 different nations to share and compare the latest in virtualization technology developments, innovations, solutions, and directions. Since technology adoption varies from country to country, it will be interesting to learn how the adoption and implementation of VMware technology and products affects organizations virtualization data center transformation strategies and their journey to the hybrid cloud.

This is my 10^th VMworld all of them in fabulous cities including San Francisco, Cannes, and Copenhagen. This spring I joined Capgemini from EMC to lead our partnership with the EMC Federation of companies; EMC II, VMware, Pivotal, and RSA. Moving from a product company to a services organization has been a big change for me, a good one for all, and one that brings trusted relationships and a shared vision for what is possible for our partnership and customers.

VMworld is an important event for Capgemini’s collaboration with VMware. There are three major strategic initiatives for our partnership: 1. Software defined data center (SDDC) with Service Integration, 2. SAP Hana on vSphere, and 3. Enterprise Mobility (AirWatch). A few key points about these strategic initiatives and the impact to our partnership and customers from Patrick Nicolet Capgemini CEO Infrastructure Services and Group Board Member:

Patrick Nicolet Capgemini CEO Infrastructure Services and Group Board Member @VMorld San Francisco 2014

Software Defined Data Center – Service Integration

Service Integration helps clients remove the complexity of IT transformation through the aggregation of services orchestration and management capabilities. In 2013, Capgemini established our services integration partnership with VMware through the executive sponsorship of Pat Gelsinger (VMware CEO) and Patrick Nicolet (Capgemini CEO Infrastructure Services and Group Board Member). Both are visionaries and committed to co-innovation, having had the forethought to develop our first offering, Services Integration founded on VMware’s ITBM technology and Capgemini customer knowledge and intimacy. This offering resulted in Capgemini receiving 2 awards this year: VMware’s Consulting and Integration Partner of the Year, and Hybrid Cloud Innovation joint award with one of our clients at vForum in Paris on June 4 2014.

Harish Rao Capgemini Infrastructure Services CTO discusses managing enabling servces orchestration @VMworld 2014

SAP Hana on vSphere

In May of 2014, as part of Pat Gelsinger’s keynote presentation at EMC World, Patrick Nicolet announced another level of our partnership: a three-way go to market play with VMware and SAP for the deployment of Hana in highly virtualized environments. In June, in recognition of its outstanding contributions as an SAP partner, Capgemini received a 2014 SAP® Pinnacle award as the SAP HANA® Adoption Partner of the Year. SAP Pinnacle awards are presented annually to the top SAP partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnership with SAP and driving customer success.

Cindy Borgman Capgemini VP Infrastructure Services Global Operations, SAP Business discusses partnership with SAP and VMware and the value for customers

Enterprise Mobility with AirWatch

Building on a foundation of earlier successes, on September 9th Capgemini and VMware announced the expansion of our strategic partnership centered around enterprise mobility management and end-user computing, More specifically, the partnership allows us to leverage AirWatch’s Enterprise Managed Mobility solution as we bundle it with our Mobile Solutions service offerings. At VMworld Barcelona you will have a chance to hear from Fernando Alaverz, Capgemini Senior Vice President and Head of the Mobile Solutions Global Service Line. Fernando has said, “For Capgemini, the bigger picture includes positioning its mobile divisions around the internet of things and corresponding data and analytics, which he called “the next big thing.” So don’t miss Fernando’s keynote at VMworld on Wednesday, October 16th at 16:30.

Now in its third consecutive year in Barcelona, VMworld offers an attractive venue to bring together diverse cultures for sharing, comparing, and collaboration. Barcelona is a city rich in culture and history, offering a picturesque waterfront site to stimulate minds and imaginations alike.

Join me and the leadership team of Capgemini in Barcelona where we are once again proud and honored to be a VMworld CIP (Consulting & Integration Partner) Platinum sponsor.

Learn more about disruptions and innovations with partners in this video with Lanny Cohen, Capgemini Corporate Chief Technology Officer.

Getting Back In The Game

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I believe that women represent a tremendous, untapped resource that has produced and will continue to yield huge returns for organizations and the communities they support. Through the power of women’s entrepreneurial activity, we create growth and prosperity while driving solutions for business and social problems. We, in partnership with men, are now a driving force of entrepreneurial growth and leading real, fundamental economic change that is reshaping the world. That’s why I said YES, when Johanna Wise invited me to be the morning keynote at the inaugural Connect•Work•Thrive Conference.

Sheryl Chamberlain and Johanna Wise Connect Work Thrive Conference Founder

Sheryl Chamberlain and Johanna Wise Founder of Refresh Your Career: Connect Work Thrive

“The goal of the conference is to provide job seekers, who are returning to work after a career break or looking to make a career change, with practical tools and advice to better market themselves in the fast-changing Bay Area marketplace,” said Refresh Your Career: Connect•Work•Thrive Founder Johanna Wise. The conference target audience is men, women and employers.

I was joined by fellow keynote speaker Vivian Steir Rabin CoFounder iLaunch who said “The longer you’re away from work, the more you need to determine whether your interests and skills have changed. For those who weren’t terribly happy in their jobs before they took a break, this is all the more important. For those people, the break is a gift.” Vivian is the co-author of the acclaimed career reentry strategy book Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work and the co-founder of career reentry programming company iRelaunch. iRelaunch’s signature product is the iRelaunch Return to Work Conference, which has attracted nearly 3,000 attendees across the US and in London. After attending Vivian’s workshop it was clear Vivian inspired Johanna, me and all the lives she touches.

Vivian Steir Rabin Co-Founder iRelaunch

Feedback from Brenda Bernstein, Founder and Senior Editor and event speaker, “My favorite moment of the day was in my Traversing the Resume Gap workshop. I put a section of one of the participant’s resumes up on the screen and asked for feedback from the group on how he could better leverage his experience as a “stay-at-home dad.” The feedback and suggestions from the group were amazing! Spot-on and exactly what was needed. This exchange was a testament to the quality of the attendees. I hope they are able to continue to support each other into the future!” Brenda Bernstein is the Author of the Best-Selling e-book, How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile… and 18 Mistakes to Avoid

Brenda Bernstein Author

Participant at Sara Ellis Conant session titled Having it All: Combining a Meaningful Career with the Relationships You Desire said, “I loved your workshop yesterday on “Having it All”. The presentation really resonated with me as a working mother with a beautiful six and two year old and constantly feeling torn between two worlds. I am not usually a tactile/visual type of person but I am planning on filling a jar with my priorities (rocks and pebbles) and putting it in my home as a reminder to listen to my heart and also to bring me back when things get out of balance.”

Sara Ellis Conant

Before speaking at the program Karen Burke, Director of Connect•Work•Thrive Public Relations interviewed me about my personal brand and qualities employers are looking for in their job candidates, why collaboration is key to a successful and fulfilling work, life, and the focus of my upcoming keynote entitled, “Burnish Your Brand – Using Your Best Talents More Often”.

Sheryl Chamberlain Interview with CWT (Connect Work Thrive)

CWT: What do you hope will be your presentation’s key takeaways for conference attendees?

A: There are many ways to be a successful leader in the world. By giving examples of leaders, some of whom are not well-known [have not had the spotlight focused on them] who achieved success by executing against their vision, I hope to inspire audience members that they too can make a career doing something they love. Essentially, burnishing, or polishing, your brand will provide the path for you to be more successful more often. I also want to encourage attendees to use their success to help the next generation of leaders and innovators.

CWT: What is a “personal brand?” Are there any specific “brand” qualities employers are looking for when hiring candidates in today’s job market?

A: My brand is being an agent of change. In every situation, I think creatively to develop new solutions to problems and, at the same time, engage leaders from every level in the organization as partners in the plan. To do this, I combine business acumen and process to execute on strategic initiatives while fostering trust and building partnerships. I routinely involve myself in multiple work streams while staying focused on my individual objectives and delivering results. A big part of my brand is providing support and development opportunities for members of my team and my partners, and recognizing them for their contributions.

Today organizations are looking for individuals who are not afraid to challenge the status quo, but understand they must be part of the solution. While it is important to have a social media footprint, it must be one that adds value to you and your organization. I would add, learning on the job is acceptable as long as you have positive energy and fresh ideas.

CWT: In the past, you have talked about the importance of collaboration and developing a community to achieve success in both work and personal life. Why is this important?

A: My good friend Kare Anderson, Emmy Award Winning Journalist and Forbes columnist is committed to building a world that is better together, one of our shared passions. When we live a life where we work together with and for each other in our work, personal interests, and social life, we will live better, more impactful lives. Results can be achieved in three ways:

Sheryl Chamberlain and Kare Anderson

1) Use our best talents more often

2) Grow your circle of friendships

3) Be part of something larger than ourselves while recognizing the possibility and power of unintentional allies.

CWT: As a successful corporate executive at EMC Corporation, what gets you most excited about coming to work every day?

A: I get up every day, knowing I have two jobs: 1. Identify new opportunities for creating local and global communities of leadership and innovation and 2. Lead Industry Standards and Open Source Strategy in my role within the Office of the CTO. Together these two passions give me the energy and drive to come to work for EMC every day.

CWT: Can you name some men and women who have inspired you throughout your career?

A: I am surrounded by amazing executives at EMC, VMware and VCE many of whom have held out their hand of support freely. They include Pat Gelsinger, VMware CEO; Frank Hauck, VCE President; Joel Schwartz, EMC SVP; Dan Campbell, EMC SVP; Helene Barnekow, EMC SVP. But when I consider the work I have done in the community, there are two people that stand out: Rayona Sharpnack, Founder & President Institute for Women’s Leadership and Linda Alepin Founder and CEO Global Women’s Leadership Network and 2013 Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award Winner Both of these women have committed their lives to changing the world and have created leadership programs to train and support women to achieve ground breaking results.

Linda Alepin, Eleanor Roosevelt Award Winner

Linda Alepin, Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award Winner

This past week I had an opportunity to reflect on the power of this conference, and impact on the employers and attendees. Employers which included EMC Corporation, Stanford Graduate School, Bain & Company, Yale Silicon Valley Club, and Gleam had an opportunity to share successful back-to-work approaches in today’s job market while networking with on-site with local firms. Additionally, Pam Fox Rollin delivered a session called “Onboarding Executives: Grasping The Opportunity to More Senior Teams Forward”. Pam an Executive Coach, IdeaShape regularly facilitates senior leadership team workshops shared tips from her book 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role.

Johanna met her goal to provide job seekers, who are returning to work after a career break with practical tools to better market themselves in the fast-changing Bay Area marketplace. But most important attendees had an opportunity to:

Assess personal skills and determine applicable careers
Address the gap years on a resume and during job interviews
Determine necessary job search resources and how to leverage them to get a job
Maintain confidence during job search and dress for success
Identify and reach powerful job networks

Employers attending Pam Fox Rollin’s session

I look forward to staying connected to this community led by Johanna Wise, while helping men and women get back into the game, finding employment, and refreshing their career.

You can learn more about this Johanna Wise and Connect Work Thrive by going to these links: In The News, About Connect Work Thrive, Sponsors, CWT on Facebook .

Cricket Flour Power Wins 2013 Hult Prize

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President Bill Clinton

The Hult Prize competition is a challenge to business school students from around the world to develop a feasible plan to solve a global problem while creating a viable, scalable business at the same time. Endorsed by President Clinton’s Global Initiative, the program is founded on an endowment for an annual million-dollar prize, which is used by the winning team to launch their new social enterprise. Equally important, all of the finalists receive a full one-year membership into the Clinton Global Initiative and support from its members to continue to develop their social business ideas.

Hult Prize CGI Award Dinner

The Hult competition has taken on huge social issues – education, housing and the water crisis. Through crowdsourcing, training, mentorship, and funding, the competition seeks to launch the next wave of social entrepreneurs. This year, student teams were selected from over 11,000 applicants representing 350 colleges and universities to pitch their innovative social ventures for solving the Global Food Crisis at one of five Regional Final events. Teams were then selected to participate in regional finals held in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Shanghai, and online. Six of these teams then won the right to attend the Hult Prize Accelerator for startups and then pitch their social business ideas to President Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York City.

The world’s largest student competition for social good chose the global food crisis because while the world produces enough food to feed everyone, more than 1/3 is lost or wasted. While this is not a new problem and is believed to be the world’s most solvable challenge, still today 25% of the children in the world are hungry.

Hult Founder and CEO of the Hult, Prize Ahmad Ashkar

CEO and Founder of the Hult, Prize Ahmad Ashkar, explained why feeding the world was slected as the this year’s issue in his FOX News interview. “Food is the easiest challenge to solve in the world. It is really a concept of distribution.” According to Ashkar, the world produces enough food to feed all of its inhabitants and the key is to figure out how to shorten supply chains, make food more efficient, bring costs down and make it accessible to those living in the urban slum. Listen to the full interview on Fox News.

Students Hult Prize Boston Finals

As a judge in the Boston Finals, I was fortunate to be interviewed by Living on Earth’s Managing Producer, Helen Palmer. We met at the reception, where Helen said “ There were no crickets to eat – but I did find one of the judges. Sheryl Chamberlain works for the EMC Corporation, and she said it had been hard to choose a winner.” Here is an excerpt from that interview that was played on NPR this summer.

CHAMBERLAIN: That was the hardest part. It was listening to these amazing young people that have creative ideas and new ways of solving this problem that we’re looking at, making sure we can feed the world. It’s so hard to decide who should come first and make a decision.

PALMER: In the end, Chamberlain said, all the judges agreed on the McGill team and their small cricket farms in the slums.

CHAMBERLAIN: So the idea of taking crickets and using them for a food source going forward, farming those crickets, eating them whole, looking at different ways to use them, because they give protein in a different way that we have not considered before. So it’s really innovative and watch out – there’ll be crickets flying around your town, and we’ll be grabbing them and using them for sustainable food. Listen to Helen Palmer’s entire interview

Peter R. Russell, Director of Corporate Relations, Hult Business School, Akanksha Hazari 2011 Hult Prize Winner & Phillip Hult Co-CEO, EF Education First

Impressed by my role as a judge at the Boston Regionals, Peter R. Russell, Director of Corporate Relations, Hult Business School, North America invited me to attend the Hult Prize Global Finals and Awards Dinner on September 23, 2013, where President Bill Clinton was the host at the opening event of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York. The six finalists teams pitched their start-ups, in front of a world-class audience of political leaders, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and media luminaries. President Clinton and Muhammad Yunus along with Steve Andrews, CEO of Solar Aid, Erathrin Cousin, CEO of the World Food Program, Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Desh Deshpande, Chairman of the Deshpande Foundation, Kathy Calvin, CEO of the United Nations Foundation, and Premal Shah, Paypal co-founder and President and co-founder of Kiva, judged and selected the winner of the 2013 Hult Prize. The award of 1 Million USD to be used by the winning team as start-up funding, was donated by Swedish entrepreneur Bertil Hult and his family. The winning team was from Canada’s McGill University, a Boston Regional Final, who was featured in the following day’s plenary session.

Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and 2013 Hult Prize Finals Judge

Here is an overview of the winning solution in the team’s own words:

Apsire learned through research during the summer that food insecurity is not an issue of lack of food. The vast majority in urban slums do not go hungry. But they lack access to affordable nutrition. Many suffer from malnourishment and nutrient deficiencies despite being overweight or obese. Therefore, the problem of food security in urban slums is not one of food being expensive per se, but of nutritious food being unavailable or overpriced compared to cheaper, less nutritious offerings. While insects might not seem a common meal for Westerners, a new plan is being proposed by students from Montreal’s McGill University wherein edible insects can be produced at an industrial scale to provide nourishment for folks

Aspire, Hult Prize 2013 winning team from Canada's McGill University with President Clinton

Aspire, Hult Prize 2013 winning team from Canada’s McGill University with President Bill Clinton

Our disruptive social enterprise, Aspire, aims to improve access to edible insects worldwide. We develop and distribute affordable and sustainable insect farming technologies for countries with established histories of entomophagy, or insect-consumption. Our farming solutions stabilize the supply of edible insects year-round, drastically improving and expanding the economic ecosystem surrounding insect consumption in the regions serviced. Not only do our durable farming units create income stability for rural farmers, they have a wider social impact by lowering the price of edible insects. This is central to our mission of increasing access to highly nutritious edible insects amongst the poorest, and therefore neediest, members of society.

Hélène Barnekow EMC Senior Vice President, Worldwide Field & Partner Marketing and Sheryl Chamberlain

For next year’s challenge, President Bill Clinton asks teams to build sustainable and scalable social enterprises to address non-communicable disease in slums. I can only hope I will once again be asked to join my fellow esteemed judges at the 2014 Boston Regionals. I would look forward to witnessing the innovative proposals for addressing President Clinton’s challenge.

Learn more: Bugs as an edible food source. Winner’s Blog, Clinton’s Global Initiative CGI and 2014 Hult Prize Challenge prize/2014-challenge/

President Bill Clinton and Sheryl Chamberlain at 2011RSA Conference

VMworld 2013 – The Journey Begins

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The energy is high as we start the trek to VMworld. New and old VMworld team members spring up ready for action, jumping on planes, kicking out blogs, posting on Facebook, tweeting their plans (and speaking slots) and gearing up for another vOdgeball match. And, most important, the EMC VMworld Party moved from a local restaurant to Ghirardelli Square. Woo – Hoo!

EMC Party at Ghirardelli Square

It seems like yesterday when Chad Sakac began the journey to build an army of vSpecialists, evangelists in their own right, focused on delivering the message of “Why EMC for VMware”. As Chad’s partners, we worked hand in hand with Rod Gilbert, John Theberge, Wade O’Harrow, Matt Conway, Kara Banosian, Travis Grant, and a host of global leaders to build a best in class, technology alliance, reporting to Frank Hauck, then EMC EVP and VMware executive sponsor. Years later many of us have moved on to new leadership roles, Chad leading EMC’s WW Systems Engineering organization, me EMC’s open source strategy and Frank Hauck becoming President of VCE. But our roots are strong as we start the journey this weekend to VMworld, some of us as vSpecialists Alumni.

EMC is #1 for VMware

This year, I have a new partner, Ed Walsh a former vSpecialist who recently joined EMC’s Office of the CTO. Consider the possibilities when you put two vSpecialists in the CTO office. With a shared passion for doing something completely different, delivering measurable results, and building new communities of partnership we are getting ready to launch the first ever VMworld CTO Roundtable.

Our guest speaker will be John Roese, EMC CTO. Additionally I will moderate a panel of experts featuring Scott Lowe VMware and former vSpecialist, Robin Ren, CTO EMC XtremeIO and Andrew Aitken, Founder Open Source Think Tank, and GM Olliance Consulting, a division Black Duck, who will talk about Storage defined networking trends, the experiences of a serial entrepreneur and Open Source strategy, respectively.

VMworld Panel

Join us as we get on the road to VMworld and join me as we look for vSpecialists, and my next blog exploring where they are now in their leadership journey. See you at VMWorld and on the trolley car to Ghirardelli Square.

vSpecialists

Innovation Station

Perspectives on Innovation in Life, the World and in Business

Tag Archives: innovation

Sam Ashraf: The Meaning of Winning

The Beginning of the Journey

Aurelion: Going Global from Tunisia

Boldness & Creativity, Drivers of Success For Women

Getting Back In The Game

Cricket Flour Power Wins 2013 Hult Prize

VMworld 2013 – The Journey Begins