G. Scott Paterson is a Toronto-based technology and media venture capitalist who has been active for 28 years in the investment banking industry. 

Paterson received his start in the investment industry in 1985 at Dominion Securities Pitfield working at the firm as a retail broker, he quickly ranked #1 in commissions of all the brokers with three years or less of service at the Firm.

Paterson was later on invited to the then recently formed Midland Walwyn where he cut his teeth as a senior investment banker for four years, where he focussed on banking technology and media companies, becoming the firm’s most productive banker (as measured by fees generated). 

Paterson was later on recruited to Yorkton Securities where he led the firm’s transformation from a mining- focussed brokerage firm to Canada’s leading technology investment bank focused on technology, internet, biotechnology and film & television. 

He has also served as CEO of Yorkton Securities for 3 years. 

Paterson now focuses his attention on his Philanthropic endeavors, and Board & leadership roles at FutureVault, Symbility Solutions, Lionsgate Entertainment and The QYOU.

On today’s episode we’ll have a very interesting conversation about what makes a company successful.

Key Takeaways. 

• The key indicators of a healthy and prosperous organization. 
• How passion makes it easier to deal with work related obstacles. 
• Vision as a key theme in business success. 
• Evaluating a business idea based on the organization’s rhythm and culture. 
• Why having an operating partner is great for decision making. 
• The two factors that qualify an idea as an ideal idea; the right management team to enable pivoting and an individual to attract other investors. 

Connect with G. Scott Paterson

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gscottpaterson/  

Nabila Salem has a wealth of leadership experience in professional services, tech recruitment, and marketing. She is also passionate about equality, diversity, and inclusion. 

She is currently on the Board of Tenth Revolution Group, an award-winning, multi-brand specialist global technology business tackling the cloud skills gap by assigning and creating talent.  

Nabila is also President of Revolent, where she is responsible for creating cloud talent that can thrive in niche technology markets (specializing in Salesforce, AWS, and Microsoft).

Nabila was recognized in Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 List 2019 and is on the Women’s Advisory Board in the IT NY Summit Series.

Listen to this inspiring and educational episode as Nabila shares tools for strategic talent development through mentorship.

Key Takeaways

• What it means to be a great mentor.
• How to attract and retain women in the tech space via mentorship programs. 
• Tips on how to get the most out of a mentorship program. 
• Why organizational mentorship requires synergy between the mentor and mentee. 
• Why having a mentor or coach in organizations leads to increased retention.

Connect with Nabila

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nabila1/  

Website – https://www.revolentgroup.com/  

Twitter – https://twitter.com/NabilaSalem1  

As the Co-Founder and CEO of Voices.com, where he oversees finance, operations, and technology, David Ciccarelli has, over the last decade, with the help of his team, grown Voices from the ground up to become the leader in the voice-over industry. 

More recently, he has led the charge through Voices’ transition from a voice-over platform to a creative services marketplace, newly adding translation, audio production, and music composition to the services they offer. 

David is also responsible for setting the vision, executing the growth strategy, creating a vibrant culture, and managing the company daily. He is frequently published in outlets such as The Globe & Mail, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal.

Join us on the podcast today as David and I talk about the rise and state of remote working and freelancing. 

Key Takeaways

• How the pandemic has created massive opportunities for skilled freelancers worldwide. 
• Why businesses are embracing freelancers more than ever before.
• Tips for a five-star freelancing career. How to be organized, agile and effective in order to stay relevant and in demand. 
• How the freelance marketplace can conserve the trusted intermediary between buyer and seller.
• How organizations can invite external parties as a way to boost speed and efficiency. 

Connect with  David Ciccarelli

Linkedin –    https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidciccarelli/ 

Website –    https://www.voices.com/company/leadership/david-ciccarelli 

Twitter –      https://twitter.com/davidciccarelli 

Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/davidciccarelli 

Building better businesses is what lights Irial O’Farrell’s fire.  

Irial is fascinated with what undermines business performance and is energized by figuring out how to change dynamics to unleash better performance.  She has a knack for surfacing unhelpful performance patterns and designing solutions that deliver real change within organizations.

With over 20 years of experience in building high-performance leaders and teams, Irial has concluded that all businesses require; a clear strategy, organizational structure fit for future purpose, a culture that enables the company, and a deep Capability to lead and manage the business.

Join us on the podcast today as Irial and I converse about performance management or, as Irial prefers, performance development.

Key Takeaways

• Employee development. How to train and equip your team members so that they’re ready for more senior roles. 
• The purpose of organizational performance reviews. 
• The importance of clearly mapping every role within an organization. 
• The metrics involved in team evaluation and how leaders can measure the overall output.
• The missing link between job description and task execution. 
• The skills that managers should employ to ensure that performance development is met throughout the year alongside all its expectations. 
• Employing different benchmarks to evaluate your team members rather than comparing them with each other. 
• The three takeaways people should keep in mind when it comes to performance development.

Connect with  Irial O’Farrell

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/irialofarrell/

Website – https://www.evolutionconsulting.ie/home/ 

Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/irialofarrellbooks/ 

Twitter –    https://twitter.com/evolution_ary

Valeria is a passionate scientist and entrepreneur working on applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning to biotechnology, medicine and agriculture. 

She’s the co-founder and CEO of two companies. Fermata, an AgTech company focused on development of AI-based solutions for precise plant monitoring in greenhouses, and also Smartomica; a biotech start-up developing AI-based solutions for personalized medicine.

Leading teams of data scientists and researchers,  Valeria’s main aim is the development of products that improve the quality of human lives. She develops disruptive technologies that bring value to industries by making science a product.

Join us today as Valeria and I discuss disruptive technologies.

Key Takeaways

• How organizations can consistently adapt to the ever-changing world of tech. 
• Why it’s important for startups to plan and budget for the research and integration of new technology. 
• Why creatives and inventors of disruptive technology fit better in small startups as compared to larger organizations. 
• The inevitability of disruptive tech and its adoption by giant companies worldwide. 
• Challenges facing the intersection of business and technology. 
• How to transform skepticism and failure into innovation and success. 
• How to find and partner with investors. 
• Insightful tidbits for anyone working with disruptive tech. 

Connect with Valeria. 

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeria-kogan-a843b766/ 

Smartomica – https://www.smartomica.com/ 

Fermata – https://fermata.tech/ 

Sara Allwood is the director of design and marketing at Difuzed. She’s a dynamic leader with more than 15 years of experience in the fashion and lifestyle markets. She has a proven track record of building and transforming brands by implementing sustainable strategies. Sara can translate visionary ideas into compelling and commercial strategies and campaigns. She has the vision of a futurist, the craft of a designer, and the curiosity of a scientist. She’s a natural and engaging communicator with a talent for building strong teams, with an inspirational leadership style that enhances team performance and drives business results. Listen in as Sara, and I discuss ways to overcome challenges as a woman in male-dominated industries.

Key Takeaways. 

• How development plans can support women in taking ownership of their career strategy.
• Why calculated risk-taking is critical to uncovering new opportunities.
• Tips for creating a teamwork environment that promotes unity and diversity. 
• The top 3 things to focus on to elevate women in the workplace. 

Connect with Sara

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-allwood-57291615/ 

Twitter – https://twitter.com/saraoakleyorell  

Klaus Labecki loves processes and innovation.  

He’s an external idea manager, and supports small and medium-sized companies in ensuring that ideas from the minds of their employees enrich their company as innovations.

Klaus has worked for banks and international asset managers for over 20 years. As a process specialist and project manager, he has analyzed dozens of innovative ideas during this time and brought new processes and products into the world. This also includes the successful establishment of an internal idea management system.

In today’s episode, Klaus shared strategies for increasing corporate innovation by leading a strong system for generating and managing new ideas internally.

Key Takeaways. 

• Why companies need a formal idea management process. 
• Strategies to create an environment that promotes the flow of ideas.
• How to evaluate and incorporate new ideas. 
• The critical role that leadership plays in idea management. 
• Why employees crave an idea management system. 

Connect with Klaus

Website – https://klaus-labecki.com/ 

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaus-labecki-16436683/ 

He brings over 20 years of experience in the hi-tech industry across marketing, product management, business development, and partnerships.

Shashi is a former marketing leader at Cisco, where he led worldwide product and solutions marketing teams for several multi-billion dollar portfolios spanning data center, cloud, security, and enterprise networking. From 2011-13 he also led Cisco’s $15B+ combined switching portfolio. In addition, he was instrumental in launching the company’s SDN strategy and ramping up its application-centric infrastructure (ACI) offering. Additionally, Shashi was the CMO for Quali, a VC-backed firm focused on Cloud and DevOps automation.

Currently, he serves on the advisory board of The Fabric – an early-stage VC firm, 8VC-backed Ushur and Frontdesk.ai  Shashi is a frequent industry speaker, blogger, and columnist for Forbes and Money Inc.

In our interview today, Shahi shares the technological challenges and solutions of a hybrid workforce.

Shashi Kiran is the Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka Networks, responsible for Aryaka’s global marketing, product management, and technology partnerships. 

He brings over 20 years of experience in the hi-tech industry across marketing, product management, business development, and partnerships.

Shashi is a former marketing leader at Cisco, where he led worldwide product and solutions marketing teams for several multi-billion dollar portfolios spanning data center, cloud, security, and enterprise networking. From 2011-13 he also led Cisco’s $15B+ combined switching portfolio. In addition, he was instrumental in launching the company’s SDN strategy and ramping up its application-centric infrastructure (ACI) offering. Additionally, Shashi was the CMO for Quali, a VC-backed firm focused on Cloud and DevOps automation.

Currently, he serves on the advisory board of The Fabric – an early-stage VC firm, 8VC-backed Ushur and Frontdesk.ai  Shashi is a frequent industry speaker, blogger, and columnist for Forbes and Money Inc.

In our interview today, Shashi shares the technological challenges and solutions of a hybrid workforce.

Key Takeaways. 

• Change management as a strategy to facilitate productivity within a hybrid workforce. 

• Making an organization’s network and infrastructure more agile is good for workflow.

• How to ensure flawless connectivity in a global network.

• Investing in and supporting different modes of communication within an organization. 

• Ensuring remote workers can easily and effectively connect or interact socially. 

Connect with Shashi

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/skiran/  

Twitter – https://twitter.com/netkiran 

 

Uncovering Profit Drivers Through Market Listening

Linda Fisk is a multi-award-winning leader, keynote speaker, author, and university professor dedicated to amplifying and extending the success of other high-caliber business leaders. 

She is the CEO and Founder of LeadHERship Global, a community of unstoppable women enhancing their leadership blueprint and embracing their power to be the best version of themselves- in work and life. 

Linda has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Clinical Psychology. She has written extensively on the subjects of social comparison, depression and anxiety, subjective well-being, and personality theory, with a focus on relating scientific research to commonly understood concepts. 

Currently, Linda is interested in influence, persuasion, and negotiation psychology.

In our interview today, Linda and I discuss and share tips on driving profitability in your business, alongside great market listening techniques. 

Key takeaways

• Why companies need to keep track, measure, and report on profitability. 
• Pricing your products and services based on current market insights. 
• Finding out what differentiates your organization from other competitors. 
• Redesigning your business as a means of earning higher profits. 
• How to identify and work with other companies as a means of providing/obtaining referrals. 

Connect with Linda

Website – https://leadhershipglobal.com/   

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindafisk/   

Twitter – https://twitter.com/fisk_linda  

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/leadhershipglobal/  Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/linda.fisk