Category: Cover Story

The current market landscape of Web 3 solutions is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in blockchain technology, decentralized applications, and the growing interest in creating a more open, secure, and user-centric Internet. The Web 3 market landscape is marked by rapid innovation and significant potential to transform various industries. As the technology matures, it will likely lead to more decentralized, transparent, and user-centric internet services. Despite challenges related to scalability, regulation, and user experience, the ongoing investment and growing interest from both consumers and enterprises suggest a promising future for Web 3 solutions.

Located in the Crypto Valley in Switzerland, with a large R&D center for blockchain and DLT in the heart of Vienna Cryptix focuses on a wide range of services and use cases for utilizing Web 3 solutions. From IT and product development through cybersecurity, regulatory, and legal support to marketing and communications, Cryptix is a trusted partner in the world of Web 3.

The inception story

“From a young age, I was always curious about how things worked on the technical side. Whether it was dismantling household gadgets or spending hours on the computer exploring new software, I had a natural inclination toward technology. This curiosity was the seed that eventually grew into a full-blown passion. My formal education in computer science began at the university level, where I got my executive master’s in IT. During this time, I immersed myself in various security architectures and other security frameworks.

What fascinated me most was the potential of security technology to solve real-world problems and make life more secure for people. After graduating, I started my career at a consulting/auditing firm, where I worked on several big audit/security projects. This experience was invaluable as it taught me not only technical skills but also the importance of collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning. I then moved on to my next role, where I had the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing or AI,” says Alexandre Horvath, CISO/DPO.

Leaders are not born they are made

“As a CISO, my primary mission is to ensure the security of our company’s information systems. This involves developing and implementing robust security strategies to protect against a wide range of threats. However, my role extends far beyond just technical oversight.

One of my key responsibilities is to develop a comprehensive security strategy that aligns with our organization’s goals. This involves:

Risk Assessment: Continuously evaluating potential risks and vulnerabilities within our systems and processes.

Policy Development: Creating and enforcing security policies that adhere to industry best practices and regulatory requirements.

Resource Allocation: Ensuring that we have the right tools, technologies, and talent to effectively mitigate risks,” says Alexandre.

The initial challenges

“I wanted to share a significant challenge I faced in my leadership journey as a CISO and how I overcame it. Challenges are an integral part of growth and learning, and I believe that sharing these experiences can offer valuable insights and inspiration. One of the most formidable challenges I encountered was navigating a major security breach at a multinational company. It was a sophisticated cyberattack that compromised sensitive data and posed a significant threat to our organization’s integrity and reputation.”

Meeting the social and ethical responsibilities

In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, it’s essential for companies to not only innovate but also to do so responsibly. As a CISO, I am committed to ensuring that our company meets its social and ethical responsibilities in all aspects of our tech development. Here’s how we prioritize these critical values.

1. Ethical Design and Development

We believe that technology should be developed with a strong ethical foundation. To achieve this, we:

•Adopt Ethical Frameworks: Incorporate ethical guidelines and frameworks in our development processes to ensure our products and services align with our values.

•Diverse and Inclusive Teams: Foster diverse and inclusive teams to bring a wide range of perspectives and reduce biases in our technology.

•Transparent Decision-Making: Maintain transparency in our decision-making processes, ensuring that ethical considerations are part of every stage of development.

2. Data Privacy and Security

Protecting user data is paramount. Our approach includes:

•Robust Security Measures: Implement state-of-the-art security protocols to safeguard data against breaches and unauthorized access.

•Privacy by Design: Integrate privacy features into our products from the outset, ensuring that user data is handled with the utmost care.

•Compliance and Regulation: Adhere to all relevant data protection laws and regulations, such as GDPR, to protect user rights.

3. Social Impact

We strive to create technology that positively impacts society. Our efforts include:

•Community Engagement: Engage with the communities we serve to understand their needs and ensure our technology benefits everyone.

•Accessibility: Design products that are accessible to all, including those with disabilities, to ensure inclusivity.

•Sustainability: Develop eco-friendly technologies and practices to minimize our environmental footprint.

4. Responsible AI and Machine Learning

AI and ML are powerful tools, but they must be used responsibly. We ensure this by:

•Bias Mitigation: Actively work to identify and mitigate biases in our AI models to promote fairness and equality.

•Explainability: Develop AI systems that are transparent and whose decision-making processes can be easily understood.

•Accountability: Establish clear accountability for AI decisions, ensuring that there is always a human in the loop.

5. Ethical Supply Chain

Our commitment to ethical responsibility extends to our supply chain:

•Vendor Standards: Work with vendors and partners who share our commitment to ethical practices and high standards of conduct.

•Fair Labor Practices: Ensure fair labor practices throughout our supply chain, preventing exploitation and promoting worker rights.

•Sustainable Sourcing: Source materials responsibly, prioritizing sustainability and ethical considerations.

Notable Projects

“I’m excited to shine a spotlight on some of the notable projects and initiatives I’ve had the privilege of leading as CISO. These endeavors have not only been professionally rewarding but have also made a tangible impact on our organization and beyond. Let’s delve into some of the highlights:

• Implementation of Advanced Threat Detection Systems
• Development of Secure Collaboration Platforms
• Establishment of Cybersecurity Awareness Programs

Also, I have been nominated for several prestigious awards in 2024, including the Top Global CISO Award by Cyber Defense Magazine and the Forttuna Global Excellence Award for Business Leaders, with more nominations expected to follow,” added Alexandre. Alexandre Horvath will be a featured speaker at Hacker Halted 2024 in Atlanta. Check out the full agenda here.

Conclusion “In the realms of leadership and cybersecurity, there are no final victories, only milestones along the way. Embrace the journey, relish the challenges, and celebrate the victories, knowing that each experience brings new lessons and opportunities for growth. By adopting a mindset of continuous improvement and lifelong learning, leaders and cybersecurity professionals can navigate the ever-changing landscape with confidence and resilience,” concluded, Alexandre Horvath.

• Visit Alexandre Horvath – LinkedIn Profile
• Visit Cryptix AG – Company Website

The backup and recovery industry is evolving rapidly to meet the challenges of increasing data volumes, sophisticated cyber threats, and the need for regulatory compliance. Innovation in cloud-based solutions, automation, and AI are driving the market, while the demand for simplicity and efficiency remains a top priority for businesses. Companies that stay ahead of these trends will be better positioned to protect their data and ensure business continuity in an increasingly digital world.

Asigra has been a pioneer and thought leader in the backup and recovery space for the past 37 years, setting itself apart with industry-leading data and ransomware protection capabilities. “Building on our long history of innovation, we have launched our latest backup platform, SaaSAssure, designed to provide comprehensive backup, recovery and for a variety of SaaS applications. Our mission statement is “Recovery is Everything.” Our core value is “inspiration,” says Eric Simmons, CEO, Asigra.

The Inception Story

Asigra was founded more than 37 years ago by David Farajun, a visionary computer programmer who could not find an adequate solution to back up the code he was developing. That frustration inspired him not only to build a product that met his needs but also to create a company that would evolve alongside changes in cybersecurity. Ultimately, this led to the industry’s first agentless enterprise cloud-based backup and recovery software that also addresses today’s cyber threats.

“Today, David continues to guide our direction, along with a leadership team packed with industry heavy-hitters. Our software has developed to include features like bi-directional malware scanning, CDR, MPA, SaaS Protection, and Validation Restore to verify the integrity of backups, and we are frequently first to market with new advances a product of our perennial commitment to our original vision of technology that constantly iterates to get ahead of new threats.”

Constantly Evolving to Provide Industry-leading Protection

Headquartered in Toronto, Asigra has expanded to include a wider range of tools for data protection through our MSP and VAR partners.

We are constantly and proactively pursuing ways to protect against ransomware attacks and other threats to the backup and recovery of servers, virtual machines, endpoint devices, databases, and SaaS/IaaS-based applications.

Through our Secure Backup Platform and other solutions, we provide ransomware protection, cloud SaaS backup, compliance management, and business continuity support that can prevent catastrophic business impacts.

The differentiating factor

“We are an organization driven by inspiration. In every interaction, we ask ourselves if we are approaching initiatives to inspire. This powerful motivator influences our colleagues in both their contributions to Asigra and in their personal lives.  It also pushes us to seek innovations that extend beyond technology and emphasize the value we deliver to our partners and customers. Inspiration is not always easy, but it elevates our understanding of what truly matters beyond technology, allowing us to connect on a deeper level.”

Staying ahead of the competition

With the rapid adoption of SaaS applications creating today’s SaaS-powered workplace, it is imperative to ensure a company’s entire SaaS footprint is protected. Most SaaS providers follow the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Shared Responsibility Model, which states that businesses are responsible for their data. Businesses need to understand that SaaS providers do not offer backup and recovery services, nor do they guarantee data protection they focus on application availability and data redundancy. The crucial difference is that if a business’s SaaS data is deleted or compromised through accidental deletion, ransomware, or other cyber-attacks, the data is often non-recoverable. To address this gap, Asigra offers SaaSAssure, a cloud-native solution designed to provide backup and recovery services for high-value, business-critical SaaS applications.

Adapting to the changing landscape

Most CIOs prioritize data protection and business resiliency as their top concerns. In response, “we have developed a solution to safeguard the vast amount of critical business data residing in vulnerable SaaS applications. Our platform enables businesses to achieve full protection of sensitive data generated and stored in a multitude of clouds in under 10 minutes.”

Strategies for the future challenge

Asigra is among the few organizations that have developed a multi-tenant platform designed with a partner-first approach. “We currently support over 300 managed service providers globally and are committed to expanding our partner community. Our focus also includes systems integrators who implement and customize SaaS applications for companies, as well as strategic partnerships with SaaS providers and other entities not currently targeted by our competitors, offering significant growth opportunities.”

The initial challenge

“The key challenge is leveraging our time and resources to effectively remain ahead of the competition in this market as the largest players in the business begin to extend their offerings. We will continue to differentiate through our focus on inspiration and bring that level of value and attention to what matters most to the customers we serve. Knowing that a backup admin can sometimes take three weeks to remediate a backup failure simply because they changed the backup location by accident and both proactively addressing this and offering automated or immediate remediation is a massive time saver and risk eliminator. We also continue to expand our strategic partnerships to further differentiate faster. As an example, partnering with an organization that has a solution to identify all the SaaS apps within a business. This helps to prioritize their backup needs and budget. Lastly, our unique integration of backup with cyber security protection continues to evolve alongside the threat landscape.”

Products and services influencing the global scale

“We serve a global market today and one critical element we focus on is working with analysts and industry influencers to help educate the market on the importance of protecting their SaaS data with 3rd party solutions. A second key message is to have SaaS providers extend their APIs to make it possible and easier to back up and restore all the data stored within their applications. Many do not do this effectively today and if they require the end customer to be responsible for the data, they need to enable them to protect all of it effectively.”

International stories success & partnership

“We are partnering with Auvik which is a cloud-based network monitoring tool that offers the ability to discover, monitor, manage and secure SaaS to eliminate shadow IT. Adding backup and recovery is a perfect complement to this offering and vice-versa. Others are in various stages of completion.”

Awards and Recognition

“Throughout our history, Asigra’s technological innovation has been motivated by our experiences with customers. The most impactful have been the stories we have heard from those who come to us when their former backup solution could not restore a clean copy of their data. Those experiences, plus our drive to anticipate and protect against new threats, have led to unique security technology that far surpasses our competitors’ security strategies. And while our customers’ and partners’ feedback is the only validation we need, it does not hurt that we are consistently recognized as an industry-leading platform,” added Simmons.

The future roadmap

The company is evolving into a comprehensive data protection and analysis platform, harnessing the power of AI and machine learning for key use cases. “Initially, we will predict, remediate, and eventually eliminate backup and recovery errors, often caused by human error.  Another critical use case for the injection of AI and ML involves identifying ransomware and other cyber-attacks. Additionally, we will focus heavily on advanced data analytics, enabling organizations to derive valuable insights from aggregated backup data. This approach is simpler and more cost-effective than moving everything into a data lake. Furthermore, we will implement our unique bi-directional antimalware and Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) technologies to enhance protection against ransomware attacks,” concluded Eric Simmons.

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The global advisory firm landscape is characterized by intense competition, with firms continuously innovating and expanding their service offerings to meet the evolving needs of clients in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. TOUGHLOVE is a homegrown advisory firm based out of Dubai, UAE, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “We aim to make business advice accessible to those who do not have the people, capability, capacity, or knowledge to manage this growth or even the time or funds to experiment with theories and best practices. We commit to telling these businesses what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, in a peer-to-peer approach that is driven by co-creating solutions that are market-ready. We recognize that often these assignments leave businesses vulnerable during implementation, and we are prepared to continue partnering with them throughout that phase,” says TOUGHLOVE, Khaled M. Ismail, CEO.

Our Services

TOUGHLOVE offers a modern business advisory service to guide & shape your business. “We recommend agile & scalable solutions for the best business outcomes. We partner with businesses to unlock their potential & deliver creative hands-on solutions without sizeable overhead. We help clients identify blind spots, support them in co-creating solutions, & help them develop internal skills & capabilities to overcome your challenges.”

The differentiating factor

“There is no other advisory firm with this amount of collaborative hands-on experience in the market. At TOUGHLOVE, we tell our clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, so we can effectively help them and their businesses. We have witnessed first-hand the dire need to engage with real-life practitioners who are about developing practical, tailor-made solutions based on their own experiences, as opposed to sharing theoretical best practices. We want businesses to know that there is a different way to get help, and that is the TOUGHLOVE say,” adds Ismail.

Mission and Vision 

We focused on our experience rather than theory to advise our clients, but the trigger is our approach. Straight-talking, jargon-free, and honest approach. We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. You will understand what we recommend to you. So, we do things differently. 

• Sophisticated NOT condescending
• Trustworthy NOT fluffy 
• Inspiring NOT preachy
• Progressive NOT buzzword bingo 
• Ambitious and Driven NOT antagonistic 
• Provocative NOT imposing 
• Confident NOT Arrogant 
• Supportive NOT transactional 
• Direct NOT Blunt

Shaping the business landscape in the Middle East

“TOUGHLOVE partners have acquired most of their learnings from hands-on, real-life experience in prominent leadership positions and by working with, and on some of the region’s more prominent and successful brands and organizations over the past few decades.  As individuals, we have consistently been tasked with challenging and highly demanding agendas in the region that have been pegged as a growth potential for the past couple of decades.  Today, SME and family-owned businesses, which contribute to the vast majority of the economy as well as employment in most countries, must compete with the scale, financial power, and broad expertise of international organizations and brands. We collaborate with them via a straight-talking, tried-and-tested approach that brings real-life, fit-for-purpose solutions that are devoid of theory. Arguably, this formula might not appeal to all, but that’s OK. Growth and progress often require TOUGHLOVE and that is in our DNA. So, those who do seek support and advice will value the journey with us and the results it will enable them to achieve,” elaborated Ismail. 

The success story   

“Over the past two years, we have worked with many local, regional, and international clients taking on a variety of assignments, from refreshing the company’s brand and positioning, assisting clients with their go-to-market strategies, restructuring marketing departments, setting marketing and business strategies, implementing plans, and always working closely with our clients. We have also been asked to take on assignments for developing and shaping internal company cultures and taking on interim CMO positions.”

Why TOUGHLOVE?

“TOUGHLOVE originated from a business insight that traditional consulting models can be improved to better serve the needs of new-age businesses. Sharing this view, our founding partners of senior practitioners joined forces to form a group that offers companies a fresh perspective for solving the problems that we had experienced ourselves. We help companies facing organizational, commercial, and operational challenges that limit their growth and performance,” concluded Ismail. 

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The resume-writing industry has evolved significantly in recent years, adapting to changes in technology, recruitment practices, and job market trends. There here’s been a proliferation of online platforms and services offering resume writing assistance. These range from automated resume builders to professional writing services. Users can choose between DIY options or opt for personalized services from experienced resume writers.

Storyline Resumes is one such company with 24+ years of experience in resume writing company. Storyline has expanded to include 70+ team members who have all embraced Robynn’s storytelling philosophy. “We have successfully delivered over 300,000 resume packages globally, earning recognition as the #1 most searched resume-writing company on LinkedIn. Our mission is simple. It is to empower individuals in their career journey by creating a unique ‘brand’ that helps them to stand out among the competition. Through our personalized interview process to the development of the resume that tells your amazing story, we create narratives that allow hiring managers to see the true value, achievement, and impact you bring to an employer,” says Robynn Storey, Founder, Storyline Resumes.

The Inception Story

“I was tired of the day-to-day drudge of corporate America, wanted to work for myself, and entertained different types of consulting opportunities. I got into resume writing when a friend asked me to help him write his resume for an engineering role, which he landed quickly, and it grew from there,” Robynn Storey. 

Beating the Odds

“At first, it was getting new business. But after a few years, I was handling all the work on my own.  That is when I started growing my team.  I hired a few resume writers and people to conduct the client interviews, and now we have 70 staff.”

Our Services

“We provide resume services for senior-level and executive-level clients – resumes, cover letters, bios, and LinkedIn profiles. We are fully USA based, we have been in business for 24 years, and our staff is comprised of highly educated former business executives who understand industries and functions across the board. We are first and foremost family-friendly, we are 100% remote.  Everyone is free to choose the schedule that works for them.”

The Lady Behind the Curtain

Robynn Storey is an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, widely recognized as the CEO of Storyline Resumes, a prominent company specializing in professional resume writing and career services. With her unwavering dedication to empowering individuals in their job search endeavors, Storey has revolutionized the resume-writing industry and has become a trusted name among professionals worldwide.

Storey’s career journey is a testament to her exceptional expertise in the field. After completing her education in business administration, she embarked on a mission to bridge the gap between job seekers and their dream careers. Recognizing the importance of a compelling resume in the competitive job market, she founded Storyline Resumes with a vision to provide top-notch resume writing services that showcase each client’s unique skills and experiences.

Under Storey’s dynamic leadership, Storyline Resumes has emerged as a premier destination for individuals seeking professional resume assistance. With a keen understanding of industry trends and employer expectations, Storey and her team have crafted thousands of resumes that have opened doors to new opportunities for countless professionals. Her commitment to delivering excellence has earned Storeyline Resumes a reputation for providing tailored, attention-grabbing resumes that effectively highlight the strengths of each client.

Storey’s passion for empowering job seekers extends beyond resume writing. She has spearheaded the development of comprehensive career services at Storeyline Resumes, offering interview coaching, LinkedIn profile optimization, and career counseling to ensure individuals are well-equipped to navigate the competitive job market. Storey believes in a holistic approach to career development, and her dedication to her clients’ success sets Storeyline Resumes apart as a trusted resource for comprehensive career support.

In addition to her role at Storeyline Resumes, Storey is a sought-after speaker and thought leader, frequently sharing her insights and expertise at industry conferences and events. She is known for her dynamic presentations on resume writing, personal branding, and career advancement, captivating audiences with her deep knowledge and engaging speaking style.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Storey is actively involved in philanthropic endeavors aimed at supporting underprivileged individuals in their career journeys. She strongly believes in giving back to the community and actively collaborates with various organizations to provide career development resources to those in need.

Robynn Storey’s remarkable leadership as the CEO of Storeyline Resumes has redefined the resume-writing industry, empowering countless individuals to achieve their career goals. Her commitment to excellence, innovative approach, and dedication to client success make her a true trailblazer in the field. Through her transformative work, Storey has cemented her legacy as a respected authority in professional resume writing and career services, leaving an indelible impact on the lives of job seekers worldwide.

Achievements 

Robynn Storey was honored with the Top Executive Business Writer of 2023 award, as well as a nomination for the Empowered Woman award, by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for her exceptional leadership and dedication. Recognizing her achievements and community contributions, this prestigious award highlights her transition from Human Resources executive to the founder of Storeyline Resumes.  

With over a million followers on LinkedIn, Robynn’s advocacy for job seekers is globally praised. Her success is attributed to perseverance and mentorship, with a commitment to inspiring others through visually appealing, customized resumes at Storeyline Resumes.

• Visit Robynn Storey – LinkedIn Profile
• Visit Storeyline Resumes – #1 Rated Resume Services – Company Website

According to a 2022 report from the Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, investments in public health not only improve the health of society but also advance equity and foster economic and climate resiliency.

As the same organization states, most of the gains in life expectancy achieved in the 20th century resulted from public health advances such as cleaner air and water, improved sanitation and food safety, safer environments and thus fewer injuries, and vaccines to protect against infectious disease.

It is then not a surprise that committed public health advocates like Ana Rita Gonzalez, dedicate their efforts, career and lives to shape public policies worldwide for the benefit of all.

Policy Wisdom, LLC (PW is a public health policy consulting company founded in 2010 with the ambitious goal of playing a role in worldwide public health initiatives.“We provide clients with the strategies, resources, and vision necessary to achieve their public health policy goals. We shape public health policies by working with the full spectrum of individualsfrom policymakers to those who guide their thinkingat governmental and non-governmental organizations and in the private sector,” added Ana Rita Gonzalez, CEO of the company.

The journey towards success

“I am a health policy nerd. I am passionate about the impact of health policy on our lives. I feel that it ensures deep and broad access to health and creates the conditions to keep us healthy and safe.I have always felt that public health and healthcare are most impactful when all stakeholders have a seat at the table, and when they can talk to each other one-on-one, with openness, and without fear. I realized that this was not happening often enough and that the conversations were not always based on shared quality evidence.

I have devoted my life to shaping policies based on evidence in every corner of the world. And doing it with a strong methodological framework and ample participation was a goal and dream. A conversation with my husband around our kitchen counter 14 years ago made it happen. He was the force behind my passion, the one who pushed me to create Policy Wisdom, LLC. Now he shares my passion and we run PW together. Great ideas sometimes have a way of popping up when you least expect them, as they have been secretly brewing in your mind and heart. Policy Wisdom, LLC (PW) was founded in 2010 as a virtual company before remote work was a trend. We wanted to lead from day one and succeeded at it,”elaborated Gonzalez.

Who we are

We are a strategic partner to organizations, companies, and governments, dedicated to advancing public health policies around the world. Supported by a 100% virtual network of more than 40 consultants located on several continents, we have completed more than 600 projects in more than 160 countries to improve the population’s access to health services and products through evidence-based policy shaping. We partner with our clients using evidence-based research and methods to create an achievable strategic path to shape policies that positively impact the health, environment, safety, and development of individuals, communities, and nations.

Beating the odds

“Innovating is always the biggest challenge. Asking people to look at things differently is the challenge I have faced most often. But resolving it always leads to the most satisfaction. For example: creating Policy Wisdom as a virtual company in 2010 when that was unheard of. I overcame this challenge with good arguments, open and frank communication,and outstanding results,” says Ana.

The inspiring journey

“Wanting to do more and in a different way. Wanting to offer work flexibility, access to consultants all over the world, and solutions to clients based on evidence. Generating a safe space where everyone can shine and be the best version of themselves. More selfishly, I wanted to be surrounded by smart people, amazing human beings who care for public health as much as I do. We translated that into our vision, which has remained the same over the years: “to be a benchmark of excellence in health policy and a valued partner in the creation of policies that benefit public health worldwide.”

The work and life balance

“Policy Wisdom works in partnership with our clients to create a thoughtful and actionable strategic path to shape policies that impact the health, environment, safety, and development of individuals, communities, and nations. Through our partnership approach, we pay close attention to clients’ goals and needs.

Time management, team development and empowerment, and proper delegation are key to achieving balance in any situation, especially in a work-life scenario. But most importantly, understanding your true priorities and working around them.”

Success viewed through some case studies

PW has the unique opportunity to work for clients in the government and private sector, as well as with patient/advocacy groups worldwide. “The countrywe were working with needed to address challenges regarding child obesity and a culture of lack of exercise, in which economic incentives did not have much traction. We provided 12 policy recommendations to address this problem, for potential implementation throughout a period of two to three years. Within a year of implementation of the policies, progress was seen. 

Another example is related to vaccines, the most cost-effective public health intervention. In the last 15 years, a vaccine hesitancy movement has emerged, questioning the positive impact of vaccines. Demonstrating the positive impact of a type of vaccine and providing the evidence to governments, advocacy groups, healthcare providers, and citizens, in a way that makes sense for each of these different audiences, allows for this benefit to be available faster through inclusion in immunization calendars, to protect the population against preventable diseases.

Finally, precision medicine is new, and it has incredible potential to create effective treatments and reach more people. We are working on helping develop appropriate policies to expand access to precision medicine,” elaborates Gonzalez.

Women in business, now and in the future

“Our business model has been 100% virtual since day one, 14 years ago. If COVID left us with one positive thing, it is the flexibility of employees, particularly women, to work from home. I also foresee women escalating to roles of leadership in areas formerly dominated by men. I feel we are reaching an extreme situation, with the rich being extremely rich and more people being extremely poor. I think society will start, in the next ten years, to shift toward a more balanced and compassionate world, to avoid self-destruction. I trust most leaders are smart enough to move toward this path.”

Milestone achieved

“I just wrote and launched, with some of our team members, a series of children’s books that can convey the importance of public health policy in impacting health worldwide. The books provide children the opportunity to learn what public health is, what health policy is, and how it impacts their daily lives. A career in public health is something we should be aware of from childhood, like being a doctor, an architect, or a farmer. And understanding the role of health policy in our lives and how we can impact it should be something we grow up knowing and shaping. It is important to avoid being only a recipient and not an active participant in health policymaking and public health.

Athena’s Adventures in Health Policy is a series of 16 books, from pre-school to 12th grade, authored and published by me, and co-authored by other PW team members. Through this series, we hope to educate and make an impact on school students regarding various areas of public health. Eight titles are already available for purchase through Amazon.com. One dollar from each purchase will be donated to Global Health NOW (GHN), an initiative of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, of which I am an alumnus,” quoted Gonzalez.

Advice to the women aspiring to join the business world

“Seek wisdom in every aspect of your life. The more you know, the more you can share. Do not be afraid to do what you love and aspire to do great things. Surround yourself with a wonderful team and inspire them to be better and excel in every role. As a woman, you can bring many typical female traits as assets to your daily work. Traits like compassion, nurturing, affection, cooperation, and expression allow you to be an empathic leader,” concluded Gonzalez.

• Visit Ana Rita Gonzalez – LinkedIn Profile
• Company Website –https://policywisdom.com
• Visit Full Magazine