Author: The Business Decode
Dr. Sam M. Attia is Chairman & CEO of SMA Group, which includes enterprises in international logistics, SDA (Small Domestic Appliances) manufacturing and distribution, security, and strategic consultancy to major international blue-chip companies across six continents. In 2025 he started his own publishing company with books all under his name. With a medical background, he achieved an MBA with distinction from Kingston University (UK) and a PhD (Summa cum laude) from Columbia (USA). He is a Fellow of the UK Insttue of Directors (FIoD) and a Certified Chartered Management Consultant (CCMC). Over more than fifty years across business and medicine,…
In the competitive realm of financial services, few leaders shine as brightly as Naleni Govender, the Managing Director and Head of Enko Capital South Africa. Her journey from a small town in South Africa to the helm of a leading asset management firm is a testament to her resilience, dedication, and visionary leadership. In this article, we delve into her inspiring story, exploring the key moments that shaped her career, her approach to balancing professional and personal life, and her vision for the future. A Foundation Built on Family and Education Naleni Govender’s journey into the financial services industry began…
The thought of taking a relaxing day off and spending it at the spa to lower the stress levels, has been deemed as an elitist lifestyle. To change this stereotypical outlook and with a view to make spa services available to everyone, Spabreaks.com was started in 2008. Backed by ten years of industry experience in spa and hotel marketing, Abi Wright was sure about the entrepreneurial path she wanted to pursue and was passionate to bring about a change in the society with a distinctive vision. As she founded Spabreaks.com, Abi was prepared to overcome every challenge with determination that…
Coffee is the most popular beverage consumed in the world. Statistics say that more than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. The aroma, the essence and relief it offers in a cup, is mesmerizing, making it an important part of peoples’ day to day life. Doug Williamson, a 24-year-old young Canadian man realized that people needed a place to congregate outside of the local pub. With love for coffee and the people, Doug and his close friend set out on a daunting venture of exploring this flavorsome industry. They started Esquires in 1993, in a small “strip mall” that…
Inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s belief that everyone has the strength to do what they truly believe in, Dr. Lars Olböter, Founder and Managing Owner of b-rightsource, has set out to modernize the IT industry with intelligent, streamlined, and future-ready solutions. He compares a successful IT organization to a Formula 1 engine: every component must be perfectly placed, precisely coordinated, and optimized to deliver maximum performance. In the same way, when people clearly understand their roles and workflows, collaboration improves and productivity accelerates. This philosophy lies at the heart of Dr. Lars’s approach to building digital-first organizations. With a…
The manufacturing industry is looking for a collection of indicators that are open, inclusive, and neutral in order to assess the long-term viability of manufactured goods and processes. As a result of their work, they discovered a large number of stand-alone indicator sets. This has made it more difficult to decipher connected language and choose precise indicators for various areas of sustainability. If people are to thrive, we must learn to mimic nature’s incredibly efficient cradle-to-cradle nutrition flow and metabolic system, which eliminates the concept of waste entirely. To eradicate the concept of waste, products, packaging, and systems must be…
As the Managing Director of GenerationS, Ekaterina Petrova is an experienced professional with more than 15 years of innovation management and innovation consulting services for corporations and government entities. She is a successful entrepreneur who is paving the way and expanding career opportunities for many women. Receiving the status of “Best manager in the field of innovative business” at the first independent award for businesswomen “Charmous” in the year 2017, she completely redesigned the development strategy and relaunched the corporate accelerator GenerationS that became the top and world-known accelerator. She is responsible for the launch of several strategic projects aimed…
Althea Lim, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Gushcloud International, hopes to build the Hollywood of Asia and one day export Asia to the world. Althea enjoys coming up with new ideas and bringing them to reality. She earned a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the National University of Singapore, but instead of going into medical research, she founded The Youth Empire, a privately held youth community and party marketing company, while still in school. She founded The Barnett Group, a social media business, in 2010, which was bought by The Farm Digital, an Australian agency, in 2012. Althea and her co-founder,…
An award-winning Chinese-born Australian, Kristy Guo (Cuilan), is the founder, president, and owner of Signature Global Network PTY. With almost 20 years of logistics experience, she is also an influencer, speaker, and author of the Amazon best-selling book ‘Changemakers.” Kristy is a highly motivated and influential female leader who is renowned for her zeal, optimism, and distinctive personality, which gives people’s lives brightness, power, and vitality. Kristy is a Melbourne resident who is also active in the community as a volunteer and leader, a spiritual life influencer, and an audio book author and speaker for Bookboon Learning. When Kristy was…
The challenges facing leaders today is unprecedented. Old leadership styles are not resonating and too many leaders are still in the mindset that things will return to “normal” post the COVID-19 catastrophe. The gender balance at our most senior of corporate levels and across most facets of decision making has gone backwards and we need to see change. The skills that got us here, the leadership styles we have adopted over the last 50+ years will not create the future we need. Skills traditionally seen as male are still the most highly valued and there are strong and pervasive archetypes…