www.acquisition-international.com • Issue 8 2023 Next-Generation Retail Solutions Vision Group has become a renowned conglomerate on the world stage thanks to an outlook and mission to deliver best in class, technology-driven solutions that reinvigorate the ever-moving retail landscape. We spoke with Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sweeney on the back of the group’s recognition as the ‘Best Retail IoT Platform 2023 (USA): Vision IoT’ in the Global Excellence programme.
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Contents 4 News 6 Vision Group: Next-Generation Retail Solutions 7 ARC Agricultural and Rural Centre: Changing Students’ Lives Through Agriculture and Animal Care 8 Echelon Health: The Upper Echelons of Healthcare 9 Enchanted Living Of New Mexico Healthcare, Inc.: Most Influential Healthcare CEO 2023 (Albuquerque): Danielle DaCosta 10 Gfi Fintech: Haniza Yon: Transforming Financing Using AI and Advanced Analytics 12 NewHomesMate: Your Helping Hand in Real Estate Purchases 14 Sofia Municipality Privatization and Investment Agency: Foreign Investments CEO of the Year 2023 (Balkans): Maria Alexandrova 15 ICE Cleaning: Making Spaces as Clear as Ice 16 College of Holistic Arts: Most Spiritual Holistic Arts Education Managing Director 2023 (Bay of Plenty): Natalie Currie 17 McDonald Legal Services Pty Ltd: Simply Best in Class for Family & Property Law 18 TOPP KIDS Out Of School Clubs: Play, Grow, Laugh, Learn! 19 Chicago Yacht Works: Best in Class Yacht Services and Solutions 20 Upp. Technologies Ltd: The Only Way is Upp. 22 Geo-Mik Consultants Africa Ltd.: The International Pillar for Geo-Information 24 Chargebacks911: Challenging the Status Quo 26 Digital Realty: Data Driven Transformation: Unlocking AI’s Boundless Potential 28 BlueBlox GmbH: Making International Business Easy 29 Mobile Industrial Robots A/S: Automated Excellence for the European Market 30 Talk Changes: Best One-to-One Counselling & CBT Provider 2023 - North West England 31 Cassiopi: IP Expertise You Can Trust 32 OnCentive: Best Tax Credit Company Marketing Leader 2023 (Alabama): Vanessa Tyndall 33 Hall Constructors: Best Civil Infrastructure Construction CFO (Pacific Northwest): Rieghardt van Enter 34 Victor Consunji Development Corporation: Modern Construction CFO of the Year (Philippines): Ralph van Miert 36 TaxCoach: Supporting Risk Takers 38 Rohlik Group: E-Grocery CFO of the Year 2023 (UK): Vineta Bajaj 40 St Peter’s Spirits: Beverage Manufacturing CFO of the Year 2023: Hassnain Raza 41 Down Royal Racecourse: Best Corporate Hospitality & Entertainment Business Leader 2023 (UK & Ireland): Emma Meehan-McCoy 29 8 32
NEWS This fund supports the Prime Minister’s goal of expanding the British economy through digital infrastructure such as innovative healthcare, smart transportation, and new farming practices, aimed at authorities in the manufacturing, transport, agriculture and public services sectors. London, 1st August – The government has launched a £40 million fund to local and regional authorities to increase 5G innovation and digital connectivity for residents and businesses, set to boost productivity by £159 billion by 2035. The funding will allow towns, cities and rural areas across the UK to take full advantage of the benefits, advancing wireless connectivity while offering a faster delivery of public services and breaking down barriers which hinder the rollout of emerging technologies. Applications which are now open will close on the 10th September 2023 and the winners, who will be announced later in the year, will be a part of the newly created 5G Innovation Regions supported by the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) which will also launch a nationwide campaign Elizabeth Anderson, Interim CEO at Digital Poverty Alliance commented: “It is fantastic to see the government taking action towards providing improved connectivity for all as our world becomes increasingly digital. Those without access miss out on a number of opportunities, from education level to employment and all the way through to retirement age. Services such as online portals to access homework or school resources, job applications and online banking all require digital connectivity, highlighting just a few of the many services that are now accessible online. “ “Currently, 11 million people are experiencing digital poverty in the UK, excluding them from everyday resources or services that many of us take for granted. While it is positive to see the government prioritising digital connectivity, more must be done and businesses, charities and public bodies should come together to tackle affordability and basic digital skills, to ensure online connectivity and digital access is not just a privilege, but a basic necessity made available to all.” The Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, Sir John Whittingdale, said: “Greater adoption of 5G-powered technologies will help deliver more efficient public services, new opportunities for residents and businesses, and a boost for economic growth - and this new fund will give local areas from across the country the opportunity to be at the forefront of Britain’s world-leading 5G revolution. Improving connectivity through a worldclass digital infrastructure is one of the core components of the government’s plans to level up every community in the UK and I encourage local areas to apply and to be ambitious in their vision for reaping the rewards of 5G.” Government launches £40 million fund to unlock 5G benefits across the UK
NEWS Until now, traditional inferencing approaches have been challenged to scale and support LLMs for real-time results and ensure data can be easily used by AI infrastructure. This solution helps customers generate higher quality, faster time-to-value predictions and decisions with their own data. Dell Validated Designs are pre-tested, proven configurations to power GenAI inferencing efforts with Dell infrastructure, such as the Dell PowerEdge XE9680 or PowerEdge R760xa, with a choice of NVIDIA® Tensor Core GPUs, NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, the NVIDIA NeMo™ end-to-end framework and Dell software at its core. Customers can combine this with resilient and scalable unstructured data storage, including Dell PowerScale and Dell ECS storage. The infrastructure is available via Dell APEX, offering customers an on-premises deployment with a cloud consumption and management experience. Services drive faster, more holistic GenAI outcomes Dell Professional Services deliver a broad spectrum of new capabilities to help customers accelerate GenAI adoption to improve their operational efficiency and advance innovation. These services begin with creating a new GenAI strategy that identifies high value use cases and a roadmap to achieve them. Dell also offers full-stack implementation services, based on the Dell Validated Design for GenAI with NVIDIA, and adoption services that apply the platform to specific use cases, such as customer operations or content creation. Once integrated into the business, Dell’s scaling services help improve operations through managed services, training or resident experts. Precision workstations provide secure GenAI development locally on the device As the global leader in workstations,1 Dell Precision workstations allow AI developers and data scientists to develop and fine-tune GenAI models locally before deploying at scale. Precision workstations provide the performance and reliability – with up to four NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation GPUs in a single workstation – to run AI software frameworks 80% faster than the previous generation.2 Built-in AI software, Dell Optimizer, learns and responds to the way people work, improving performance across applications, network connectivity and audio. The latest feature allows mobile workstation users leveraging GenAI models to improve performance for the application in-use while minimising impact to battery runtime. “Our customers are looking to use generative AI in every aspect of their business, from monitoring agent behavior to detecting fraud,” said James Laird, chief operating officer, Intelligent Voice. “Recent advances in AI combined with the power of Dell’s AI solutions allows us to quickly build, test and deploy high-quality models at the speed our customers require.” Dell Technologies Expands AI Offerings to Accelerate Secure Generative AI Initiatives Dell Technologies introduces new offerings to help customers quickly and securely build generative AI (GenAI) models on-premises to accelerate improved outcomes and drive new levels of intelligence. New Dell Generative AI Solutions, expanding upon our May’s Project Helix announcement, span IT infrastructure, PCs and professional services to simplify the adoption of full-stack GenAI with large language models (LLM), meeting organisations wherever they are in their GenAI journey. These solutions help organisations, of all sizes and across industries, securely transform and deliver better outcomes. “Generative AI represents an inflection point that is driving fundamental change in the pace of innovation while improving the customer experience and enabling new ways to work,” Jeff Clarke, vice chairman and cochief operating officer, Dell Technologies, said on a recent investor call. “Customers, big and small, are using their own data and business context to train, fine-tune and inference on Dell infrastructure solutions to incorporate advanced AI into their core business processes effectively and efficiently.” “Generative AI can help every enterprise transform its data into intelligent applications that enable them to solve complex business challenges,” said Manuvir Das, vice president, Enterprise Computing, NVIDIA. “Dell Technologies and NVIDIA are building on our long-standing relationship to enable organisations to harness this capability to better serve their customers, more fully support their employees and fuel innovation across their operations.” With Dell Generative AI Solutions, the breadth of Dell’s portfolio, including Dell Precision workstations, Dell PowerEdge servers, Dell PowerScale scaleout storage, Dell ECS enterprise object storage and a broad set of services, provide the reliable tools to deliver GenAI solutions from desktops to core data centres, edge locations and public clouds. CyberAgent, a major Japanese digital advertising company, selected Dell servers as the key IT infrastructure for its generative AI development and digital advertising. “We decided to select Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers equipped with NVIDIA H100 GPUs, which are optimised for generative AI applications,” said Daisuke Takahashi, solution architect of CIU, CyberAgent. “In addition, we value the ease of use of the Dell iDRAC management tool for secure local and remote server management.” Full-stack GenAI for enterprises The Dell Validated Design for Generative AI with NVIDIA is an inferencing blueprint, jointly engineered with NVIDIA, optimised to speed the deployment of a modular, secure and scalable platform for GenAI in the enterprise. • Dell Generative AI Solutions include a new suite of Dell products and services, in collaboration with NVIDIA, to help businesses gain real-time insights and enable innovation through intelligence • Dell Validated Design for Generative AI with NVIDIA offers pre-tested and proven Dell infrastructure, software and services to power transformative business outcomes with GenAI • Dell Precision workstations, with expanded NVIDIA GPU configurations, help users accelerate GenAI workloads locally on the device
6 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 Next-Generation Retail Solutions Vision Group has become a renowned conglomerate on the world stage thanks to an outlook and mission to deliver best in class, technology-driven solutions that reinvigorate the ever-moving retail landscape. We spoke with Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sweeney on the back of the group’s recognition as the ‘Best Retail IoT Platform 2023 (USA): Vision IoT’ in the Global Excellence programme. Company: Vision Group Contact: Mike Sweeney, Chief Marketing Officer Website: https://visiongroupretail.com/ Digital tools have become a key part of innovative, forward-thinking solutions in today’s business climate. Of course, it’s also a highly competitive space and permeated with empty promises and false starts. It can be difficult to see the signal for all that noise – the solutions that can make a real difference, versus those all-too doomed to reward a poor return on investment. Vision Group has built a reputation around delivering – and exceeding – on all its promises and on all expectations. Gathering together the very best entities in the business, it has positioned itself as the only company that provides an endto-end IOT, AI and image recognition-based solution for its brands, wholesalers and retailers all. Here, Mike begins by offering more insight into its technology and key innovations in this space. “This technology generates vital insights on store layouts, automate retail audits, connect dispersed retail assets, and enables frictionless commerce. Our core values start with Customer First, Integrity, Be Pioneers, Accountability and Grow Together. Our core values guide everything we do without compromise as we have grown. “Our technology is truly remarkable. There are many companies that are trying to break into the AI-image recognition space across retail, however, our technology stands out globally. There is nothing more satisfying than performing in-store, live demos for prospective clients without any preparation and seeing our technology exceed expectations.” With the technology in place, and the solutions clearly next-generation compared to alternative options on the market, all that was left was to make sure that Vision Group’s team was able to match pace. “We continue to build a global team where members share the same definition of success generates a true sense of fulfilment that no amount of revenue and valuation can create. Our “Can-Do” approach to solving our customers problems is key to our teams success. We aim to tackle the hardest problems and if we don’t solve them, which has not been often, always takes our team, technology and relationships to another level,” Mike adds with confidence. But, the group goes further still to ensure that they remain the de facto pacesetters in the market, namely through a drive towards constant smart acquisitions that allow the team to outmanoeuvre any potential competitors – all while bolstering their current solutions in ways that, simply, make sense. “Our acquisition of SMSB, a little over a year ago, accelerates our product content catalogue used for our AI-Image Recognition gives us a proprietary way to drive accuracy and speed. No one in the industry has these two capabilities. In addition, we have leveraged this technology to smart vending and smart shelving use cases. This broadens our ability to support clients across many departments and are focused on driving revenue and reducing costs- critical in today’s hyper ROI driven industry. Moreover, developments in cell phone technology has enabled more adoption from the industry. Our global partnership with Coca-Cola has been incredible for us to test, learn and scale new solutions. The basics are important, however, value will come from addressing specific needs that come with driving more out of their operations.” So, all that’s left is to see where Vision Group continues to move forwards from here. Growth, further acquisitions, and by extension, expansion is certainly on the table, with all signs pointing to increased momentum in the industry, as Mike takes a moment to conclude in his closing comments. “Our goal is to continue to grow. Our opportunity is to expand categories from our core beverage and dairy expertise. I envision a day within the next 5 years where we can operate across every major category in a grocery store or Walmart. This would help us add value to more retailers, wholesalers and brands.” Jun23547
Issue 8 2023, Acquisition International | 7 Changing Students’ Lives Through Agriculture and Animal Care n 2000, Paula started her career as an ICT and business teacher, working at a large secondary school in Manchester. She quickly rose to become head of her department, taking on the responsibility of leading a team of eight professionals. Paula soon noticed a need for the provision of additional support to young people with special educational needs and disabilities. She was inspired to establish ARC in 2009, driven by desire to support students who are falling behind at school but who may eventually like to work in the farming or animal industries. ARC started as a community interest company but soon became a specialist independent school. Thanks to Paula’s hard work, the organisation has grown into a successful trauma informed centre that supports approximately 200 children from eight different local authorities. At ARC, students are given the opportunity to work with a large range of animals such as horses, alpacas, goats, sheep, rabbits, hens, and ducks, gaining hands-on experience in tasks like grooming, holding, and caring for them. Today, the centre is home to over 96 farming animals, employing a number of qualified animal experts to support their care. The ARC team also includes several educational and therapeutic professionals who support the students throughout their time at the centre. The team work to help the children regulate their behaviours and emotions, engaging with their school to organise a comprehensive reintegration package. The centre is proud that all of the young people it has worked with have successfully increased their attendance from as low as 0% to at least 90%. ARC also provides an alternative curriculum, through which it enables children to work towards obtaining qualifications in a large range of Agricultural and Horticultural studies that are useful for the animal and farming industries. The centre is AQA accredited to offer Unit Awards and is equipped with qualified staff who can support them through their studies in these topics. ARC’s staff can also help them learn Functional Skills and GCSE level content in Mathematics, English, Biology, and ICT. The centre will deliver the work that their school has planned for them to ensure that they reach their potential. During a typical week at ARC, students will spend mornings doing handson tasks, working with the animals, and studying for Unit Awards. They will also spend at least two afternoons working with qualified teachers or HTLAs on their numeracy and literacy skills, ranging from entry level up to GCSE standard. Those who are with the centre full time will spend one morning a week at their school, accompanied by ARC’s staff, as part of their re-integration plan. One to one support is also available for those who need it. Working closely with parents and schools, ARC helps students across Manchester to overcome challenges and re-engage with their education. The company has been especially successful with students who present with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, as well as ADHD, ASD, and learning disabilities. As a result of her passion for everything ARC does and her tireless energy to support children with various disabilities and difficulties, Paula Forth has been awarded Most Community-Focused Rural Education Centre Director, North West England, in the Influential Businesswoman Awards 2023. We congratulate Paula on this excellent achievement and look forward to seeing what the future holds for her and her team at ARC. Contact: Paula Forth Company: ARC Agricultural and Rural Centre The Agricultural and Rural Centre (ARC) provides struggling secondary school students with the opportunity to work in animal care and farming. The centre aims to help them regulate their emotions, re-engage with education, and discover an alternative curriculum through which they can gain qualifications in agriculture and horticulture. ARC was founded by Paula Forth, who has been named Most Community-Focused Rural Education Centre Director for her extraordinary work. I May23608
Aug22499 8 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 May23730 The Upper Echelons of Healthcare riven by the mission to innovate in this crucial space, Echelon Health has become the de facto pacesetter. Few competitors and alternative options on the greater healthcare market can keep pace with the results Echelon Health has achieved time and time again. By endeavouring to constantly improve and refine, the company is on a path of its own making, defining best practices. Here, then, we have a company that is a paragon in its field, known for excellence. Kornelija starts by offering more insight into the founding values and mission of Echelon Health. “Our mission is detecting disease at its earliest stage, through the provision of world leading preventative health assessments, enabling our clients to age better and live a long and healthy life c. Our mission hasn’t changed since we started. “We stand out for several reasons. Our approach to health assessment is based on using only the gold standard of detection for every single disease we scan for. We only work with specialist radiologists who are specialists in their field to ensure the results are accurate for our clients. We never compromise on our client experience and we are relentless in our pursuit of offering the best client journey. We only use the latest technology available in the UK.” Utilising the latest technology as standard, the other element in Echelon Health’s success lies in its expert team. As you may be able to imagine, the team is utterly client-centric from the outset, determined to best serve those that require its services. Passionate, and determined to save lives, this team ensures its innovative momentum continues without pause. “One of the biggest undertakings that contributed to this success is our amazing team who always put the client first and fulfilling our purpose of saving lives. Equally, our leadership team helps embolden our team members. The leadership believe that we all have equal voices in the company, all contributions are appreciated and not only taken onboard but also shape the service going forward,” Kornelija adds. Utilising this two-pillared approach, Echelon Health recently undertook the development of a new private suite, so clients can enjoy full privacy throughout their assessments, and also to help maximise their time with us most effectively. Other than that, Echelon Health continues to keep an eye towards the future, as Kornelija concludes by explaining. “We keep a constant eye on the technological advances within the prevention sphere and we always engage without Medical Advisory Committee to assess these new technologies both for efficacy and viability for our clients, so we are always on the cutting edge of meaningful and impactful prevention.” Company Name: Echelon Health Contact Name: Kornelija Dedelaite, Marketing Executive Socials: https://www.instagram.com/echelon.health/ https://www.facebook.com/echelonhealthltd https://www.linkedin.com/company/echelon-health https://twitter.com/EchelonHealth_ Web Address: https://www.echelon.health/ Echelon Health has created a peerless reputation for providing world-class, best-inclass health assessments, with a tested ability to detect up to 92% of the causes of premature deaths in men, and 95% in women. Following the company’s recognition in the 2023 Global Excellence Awards as the Best Preventative Health Assessment Company, we spoke with Marketing Executive Kornelija Dedelaite to find out more. D “We never compromise on our client experience, and we are relentless in our pursuit of offering the best client journey. “
Issue 8 2023, Acquisition International | 9 The Enchanted Living of New Mexico Senior Assisted Living facility is much loved and respected by its residents, and their extended families. It is the recipient of some fantastic feedback, with many relatives eager to point out how caring the staff are, and how it is just the sort of place you want your loved ones to be looked after. The sense of family provided by this incredible living facility is one of the things that comes across in the testimonies, as well as the warm and loving nature that is imparted to all residents. It is little wonder the facility’s much-admired CEO and Administrator has now been recognised with a prestigious award. The Influential Businesswoman Awards has bestowed Most Influential Healthcare CEO 2023 (Albuquerque): Danielle DaCosta. Well done to Danielle, and all the work she is doing to maintain and promote such a wonderful healthcare facility. Company: Enchanted Living Of New Mexico Healthcare, Inc. Web Address: https://www.enchantedlivingnm.com/ Contact Name: Danielle DaCosta Most Influential Healthcare CEO 2023 (Albuquerque): Danielle DaCosta Located in the Enchanted Hills suburb of Rio Rancho, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the appropriately named Enchanted Living of New Mexico Healthcare is a senior assisted living facility. It provides a patient centred model, and is passionate about ensuring its residents are treated like members of the family. It encourages and motivates senior citizens using its services to truly be the best they can be while supporting them both emotionally and physically. It is determined to ensure that it consistently promotes and supports the highest quality of life possible for everyone staying at its delightfully bright and comfortable home space. The services offered at Enchanted Living of New Mexico include respite care facilities, with both short term and long term health care plans available to suit individual needs. Residents are provided with delicious but well-balanced meals, served daily. There are also beverages and snacks readily available throughout the day. Enchanted Living’s caring and fully qualified staff are available to assist with all the activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, toileting, continence care, dressing and walking, plus any other necessary needs for the individual clients they are tending to. Exercise, daily fun and stimulating activities, and holiday parties are also the norm at Enchanted Living. Other living needs attended to encompass hair and nail services, mobile dentistry coordination, private transport coordination, daily housekeeping, removal of rubbish, and all laundry services. Assistance with medication is undertaken whenever required, along with medication coordination. The facility also ensures 24/7 security is present, with use of an automatic emergency call system (ADT) built in. It also has essential 24-hour fire monitoring systems in place. This all goes alongside the highest quality compassion and companionship provision from all staff members. Enchanted Living is a high quality senior assisted living facility based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It strongly believes that everybody deserves to be treated with care and respect, regardless of their age or health needs, and sets a standard to be admired. Enchanted Living Of New Mexico Healthcare, Inc. May23620 “ Everyone wants, needs and deserves to be treated with care and respect, at every age... Give our elders the same love and patience they gave us as children. - Dr Rosemary Da Costa (Jemez Pueblo Elder Conference) “
10 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 Haniza Yon: Transforming Financing Using AI and Advanced Analytics assionate about fairness and high standards in testing, Haniza is an experienced data scientist with a long-standing interest in psychometrics. In 2005, she obtained her PhD in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University. Having worked for a number of internationally renowned institutions, she has led a fulfilling career in psychometrics over the last 25 years. During this time, she is proud to have founded Malaysia’s first psychometric lab at MIMOS Bhd and started the Malaysian Psychometrics Association, of which she is still president. In 2015, Haniza became involved in finance when she discovered that psychometric data was being used to assess creditworthiness in other countries. The credit scoring industry had recently been disrupted by the introduction of novel data collection methods for assessing creditworthiness. Rather than looking at credit history alone, alternative credit scoring analyses other factors like mobile phone usage and psychometric data to determine the likelihood that an individual will repay their loans. With a PhD in measurement and quantitative methods and plenty of experience under her belt, Haniza felt she was qualified to bring an alternative credit scoring system to Malaysia. Having developed a model for assessing individual integrity in the workplace, she extended her research to encompass creditworthiness assessments for businesses. She went on to spend several years studying the repayment behaviour of banks’ enterprise customers to develop a model that could link the personality of a potential borrower to their creditworthiness. With this model, Haniza founded GFI Fintech in 2018 to fill the gap she had identified in the market. The company provides Malaysian financial businesses with a useful alternative credit scoring system that assesses ability and willingness to pay based on three key factors: entrepreneurial potential, financial decision-making, and compliance. Loan applicants complete a short psychometric test to provide lenders with a detailed report about their characteristics and behaviour patterns. To do this, GFI analyses their answers as well as their answering patterns. For example, the time they took to respond to a question can be used to determine if they read it properly. This reveals certain behavioural characteristics in an individual. The test can be completed either in front of the loan officer or remotely, in which case GFI will use facial recognition technology to verify the identity of the applicant. GFI was designed in accordance with the recognised principles of good practice, so it meets the internationally accepted standards of alternative credit scoring. Each application is optimised for use on mobile phones, tablets, and computers, and is easily accessible whenever needed. GFI can calculate a credit rating for an individual, a company, or both by analysing multiple sources. It can be calibrated to the lender’s unique credit risk framework and business model. With a self-learning algorithm, its accuracy is continuously enhanced. Haniza believes that GFI can now predict whether an applicant will default on a loan with more than 90% accuracy. Since it is cloud-based, GFI can easily be deployed. It offers multiple selfservice dashboards, which can be accessed through the internet. This makes it simple and easy to monitor progress. Furthermore, lenders can send customers emails and SMS notifications directly from the dashboard, making customer relationship management much easier. Consumers can benefit from faster loan approval since their credit score and individual analytics are automatically generated following their assessment, enabling lenders to make quicker decisions. With the borrowers themselves being the primary source of data, there is no need to rely on the efficiency of third parties. With its comprehensive risk assessments, GFI allows lenders to better understand the risks they are taking when they provide loans. This will enable them to offer appropriately priced credit to entrepreneurs and consumers without a record of their financial history. This feature will primarily benefit microentrepreneurs, rural producers, women, and young people, providing them with a starting point from which they can build a credit history. GFI also promotes responsible lending practices and reduces overindebtedness by identifying those who will be able to and willing to repay. This will also improve the financial health of consumers and help them to make better financial decisions over time. Supported by an international team of experts that consists of data scientists, technologists, psychometricians, psychologists, test developers, and finance experts, Haniza continues to provide innovative alternative credit scoring solutions to clients in the finance industry. GFI is now available in Bahasa Malaysia, English, and Mandarin, and is tailored to fit different local cultures, norms, and values. Interface in other languages can be readily developed. As a result of her commitment to her work, Haniza Yon has been awarded Most Dedicated Fintech Founder & CEO in the Influential Businesswoman Awards 2023. We congratulate her on this excellent achievement and look forward to seeing what she goes on to accomplish in the years to come. Contact: Haniza Yon Company: Gfi Fintech Web Address: gfi-fintech.com Based in Malaysia, GFI Fintech Sdn Bhd is a data technology company that specialises in providing profiling technology to the finance industry. The company is named after its flagship product, General Financial Insights (GFI), which is a psychometric credit risk assessment system. In 2018, it was founded by CEO and Director Haniza Yon, who has been awarded Most Dedicated Fintech Founder & CEO, Malaysia, in the Influential Businesswoman Awards 2023. P May23157
Haniza Yon: Transforming Financing Using AI and Advanced Analytics
12 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 Your Helping Hand in Real Estate Purchases echnology is changing every industry, allowing businesses to engage with their ideal audience easier than ever. Companies are becoming more client-centric, more aware and reactive to the latest trends and changing client behaviours. Technology is, in many ways, the great equaliser, giving the smallest of companies the tools to enter new markets and expand through success. NewHomesMate has long been considered a paragon on the property market for its purposebuilt marketplace that connects the dots between those that sell the houses, and those that want to buy them. It’s a simple thing, but one that had been overlooked or poorly implemented before the NewHomesMate entered the picture. Since then, and since a timely rebrand from Propertymate.ai, NewHomesMate have cultivated a strong presence in a space that is only too hungry for innovation. For Dan, the company’s creation seemed obvious from the outset, it was just a case of waiting for the right combination of tools to come along to secure long-term viability and saleability for his vision. “We leverage data science to match buyers and builders based on the best potential close after analysing millions of listings and individual buying patterns of hundreds of thousands of homebuyers. “Our team of new homes experts will help you when you are ready to buy a home. We gathered some of the best experts in each area, with a deep understanding of local neighbourhoods and good relations with builders to help you get better terms and options.” Since launching in July 2018, the company has leapt from milestone to milestone with an almost practised ease, moving from its roots in New York City, to Florida, Texas and North Carolina, growing organically where it made sense to expand. Today, NewHomesMate has some 470 reliable builders under its services, with around 30,000 new homes available to view on its site, with no signs of slowing down or stagnating. Indeed, since the COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented surge in online viewings and online-centric processes, NewHomesMate has found its true momentum. For Dan, it was important to be reactive and ahead of the curve, with a foresight to see new trends before they became adopted by the greater landscape. Technology can be unpredictable in that way, but NewHomesMate was – for lack of a better term – ‘in the right place at the right time’ to capitalise on the consequences of the pandemic. Where its competitors were sluggish to respond, and many still struggle to switch to a more digitalfirst format, NewHomesMate was already there, with a rich and developed marketplace ready for perusal. “Ultimately, NewHomesMate is a flexible platform that allows clients and buyers to explore properties using virtual tours or inperson showings. That was important for us from the beginning.” NewHomesMate (previously Propertymate.ai) is a comprehensive marketplace that helps builders sell their new homes faster – going direct to eager buyers. We spoke with Dan Hnatkovskyy, CEO and Co-Founder, following the company’s deserved recognition in the 2023 Global Excellence Awards as the ‘Most Innovative New Construction Homes & Communities Platform’ in the USA. T May23240 From a buyer perspective, it’s easy to see how NewHomesMate has edged out any potential competition in the regions within it operates. Its seamless user interface, clear graphical representations, and simple to use design betrays an obvious client-centric vision. “We wanted it to be easy to use. To work for the buyer entirely from our first hello to holding the keys of your newly built home in your hands. We wanted our buyers to be able to seamlessly learn about new construction homes and communities. To allow them to explore with virtual tours or in-person. All in one platform. At no extra cost. We wanted to build a ‘one stop shop’ for house purchases. Buyers can easily compare builder incentives to see best options. “We also focus on the little things, ensuring we never go dark during the process, and ensure that the buyers have every questioned answered in a timely manner.” Buying a house can be a highly stressful process, so NewHomesMate aims to offer complete peace of mind over the entire timeline of the purchase. It all seems easy and obvious when you put it like that, but that concise, simple mission belies years of hard work and hard-earned experience. All leading to the reputation that the company enjoys today, and – no doubt – years of enduring success moving forwards. For Dan, unsurprisingly, the future remains one of continued innovation “ Our mission is to help everyone turn their new home buying experience into a safe, pleasant and exciting journey. “ “ A home that rocks. A process that’s simple. A team you trust. “
and development as it looks to increase the gap between NewHomesMate and its peers. With all of the above in mind, it should be obvious as to why NewHomesMate has secured recognition in the Global Excellence Awards through its innovative platform that epitomises the very best in industry capabilities. If you’re after a new home and live in New York, Texas, Florida or North Carolina, you can’t get much better than NewHomesMate and its services. Stay tuned, there’s more to come yet from this company as it looks to expand beyond all expectations. Company: NewHomesMate Contact: Dan Hnatkovskyy, CEO and Co-Founder Website: newhomesmate.com E-mail: team@newhomesmate.com
14 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 Foreign Investments CEO of the Year 2023 (Balkans): Maria Alexandrova With the mission to drive Bulgarian’s capital to be an innovative, modern, and green city, Sofia Municipality set up the Sofia Investment Agency, which supports entrepreneurs and start-ups looking to establish businesses in Sofia. Its Executive Director, Maria Hristova, has brought significant growth through the incorporation of her expertise, which has led to her recognition in the Influential Businesswoman Awards 2023. Contact: Maria Hristova Company: Sofia Municipality Privatization and Investment Agency Web Address: www.investsofia.com As a one-stop service for companies, Sofia Investment Agency assists local and international organisations in finding business opportunities, and it provides them with the relevant information and guidance they need. These services are free and personalised to fit the individual needs of existing or emerging companies from a variety of industries. From assessments of the local business climate, connection to key local contacts, and advice on enhancing their business advantages, Sofia Investment Agency enables companies to launch operations quickly and effortlessly. For multinational companies, it translates the local legislation and creates comprehensive benchmark and opportunity analyses for their industry. With 23 universities, over 100,000 students, 63 research centres, and over 20 independent schools, Sofia has an experience and developed recruitment base of individuals with excellent skills and qualifications, especially in the ICT sector and creative industries. Therefore, when setting up in Sofia, organisations have access to a significant number of professionals that can help in their endeavours and elevate their growth. Through taking part in driving the city’s evolution, companies also have access to business-friendly tax rates and low business costs in relation to labour, office spaces, and industrial energy prices. It is a commonly beneficial partnership that brings forward an elevated economy for the locals in Sofia, and companies can imnprove their business through affordable systems. Sofia Investment Agency bridges the gap between organisations and the opportunities that the city offers for entrepreneurs. In the last three years, Maria Hristova’s participation in Sofia Investment Agency has made a significant impact on its mission. She has been able to attract and guide the opening of new offices for the largest Indian company, Tata Group, and the owners of Land Rover and Jaguar. Maria Hristova has 20 years of experience managing hundreds of people, projects, and processes. She shares, “I have known the business environment in Bulgaria well, as well as the academic community. I designed a project to improve dialogue along the business- educationadministration line, for which I sought municipal funding and thanks to which I was offered my current position.” Throughout time, Maria has seen the business sector in Bulgaria evolve and encourage opportunities for career development for women. She has initiated and participated in various programmes and platforms to develop female leadership, entrepreneurship and ecosystems. Maria says, “My advice is for women not to focus on potential problems they may face on account of being women, but to better themselves, to become true experts and to have the confidence that they are such, to work and to enjoy the results that follow naturally. The world is different and together we can make it an even better place.” The positive and loving mindset that Maria carries into all she does has been key to the success in her approaches. The work she has been carrying out through Sofia Investment Agency has recently led her to be awarded Foreign Investments CEO of the Year 2023 (Balkans). In her plans, Maria Hristova is committed to developing innovative industries through working towards holistic change and educational reform while continuing to attract large and international investors to Sofia. Jun23116
Issue 8 2023, Acquisition International | 15 Making Spaces as Clear as Ice CE Cleaning is a cleaning company that has its clients at the heart of everything it does. It partners alongside both individuals and businesses alike, ranging from landlords seeking out efficient mould removal services, to premier league football clubs wanting to get their venues back up to snuff. Despite its young age, ICE Cleaning has managed to cultivate an unparalleled professionalism within the field, which has ultimately led to its fantastic, nationwide reputation. Since its inception, ICE Cleaning has been dedicating itself to exceeding client expectations. It’s renowned for its long list of cleaning services, meaning that, if you can think of it, there’s no doubt that ICE Cleaning will be able to clean it with an intrinsic adeptness that’s utterly uncontested. From chemical spill clean-up, crime scene cleaning, and flood damage restoration, to more complex matters, such as mercury vapour testing, the team proves that there truly is no limit to ICE Cleaning’s capabilities. And, with 24/7, 365 agents on-hand to respond to any manner of cleaning emergency, ICE Cleaning has made its commitment to accessibility incredibly clear. Clients aren’t just a source of revenue for this cleaning company – their wellbeing is ICE Cleaning’s priority, and it’ll do whatever it takes to guarantee satisfaction. Its post-cleaning assistance represents this perfectly – if a client, for any reason, isn’t satisfied, it’ll apply each of its resources to rectify this and deliver results that’re nothing short of exemplary. ICE Cleaning is undoubtedly dedicated to cleaning spaces to the best of its ability, and it goes out of its way to ensure that its staff are trained for every possibility. Its internal training program is simply inspired – it’s what allows ICE Cleaning to consistently guarantee quality through its plethora of highly professional cleaning technicians. This, partnered with its constant awareness of shifts within health and safety regulations, equips it with the tools to carry out each cleaning service as expertly as possible. In addition to the astounding professionalism on display, ICE Cleaning’s track record also serves to exemplify the brilliance of this cleaning company. It holds connections with some of the world’s most reputable and recognisable brands – from Cartier to Nando’s – and has frequently had the chance to prove that it’s a company worth investing in. There’s no other way to detail just how dedicated this collective is to delivering the nation’s most uncontested cleaning services. Whenever new cleaning technologies emerge, ICE Cleaning will be among the first to master it, and if processes change, it wastes no time in adapting. ICE Cleaning is a reputable cleaning company, and it’s incredibly clear to see why. Whether it’s through its impressive repertoire of highly satisfied customers, or its carefully crafted internal structure, ICE Cleaning applies brilliance in everything it does. No job is too big or too small, resulting in a company that’s willing to do whatever it takes to secure safety and cleanliness throughout a range of venues. Every client is treated equally, so customers can be assured that they’ll be receiving five-star service, regardless of the size of their request. The future is certainly bright for ICE Cleaning. Having garnered such an immense amount of success in such a short amount of time, it’s impossible to deny that there’s an intrinsic prowess within the company that’s constantly propelling it forward. Despite its mastery of the field, there are still new objectives to tackle, and ICE Cleaning is at the forefront of adding every new adaptation to its arsenal of talent. We’re proud to present ICE Cleaning with the title of Best Specialist Cleaning Company 2023 – UK, and we can’t wait to see how it continues to provide the UK with star-studded cleaning services in the years to come. Contact: Sophie Rioch Company: ICE Cleaning Web Address: https://www.icecleaning.co.uk/ Since 2019, ICE Cleaning has been providing comprehensive cleaning services throughout a wide range of sectors. Be it industrial, commercial, or domestic spaces, it’s able to deliver more than 40 service lines, all whilst adhering to the utmost quality. Join us as we delve into what ICE Cleaning stands for, and how its passion and dedication has earned it the title of Best Specialist Cleaning Company 2023 - UK. I Jun23240
Aug22499 16 | Acquisition International, Issue 8 2023 Jun23352 Most Spiritual Holistic Arts Education Managing Director 2023 (Bay of Plenty): Natalie Currie orking with professionals such as counsellors, psychologists, doctors, social workers, diversional therapists, childcare workers, and more, the College of Holistic Arts is a private practice set up to help practitioners enhance their skills for the workplace. Its mission is to empower these individuals in their fields by enabling them to help people transfer pain and trauma and learn how to self-regulate. To do this, the college offers a variety of Holistic Wellness and Creative Arts Therapy courses, covering topics such as therapeutic creative arts, the mind-body connection, practical neuroscience, and psychology. The College of Holistic Arts is a growing community with a culture of love, freedom, and connection. With creative tools that support health and wellness, its practitioners are facilitating holistic arts projects, workshops, and courses that empower, uplift, and give hope to humanity. Having owned and ran her own recruitment firm for 20 years, Natalie Curie was inspired to create the College of Holistic Arts in 2020. She came into some money when her grandmother sadly passed away and was able to set up the company. Natalie believes that running the college has been a lot more challenging than the task of managing a recruitment company. She explains, “I have had to heal myself fully to be able to now stand up and be this leader of change, moving people into their heart space and releasing their pain by turning it into gain.” In the field of holistic education, Natalie has faced a number of challenges, but has worked hard to build her strength to overcome them. “I have been knocked around a bit on social media and challenged in my views,” she shares. “It was mainly men attacking my judgement and the odd woman feeling threatened by my work, having paid lots of money through the government system to achieve their qualifications in Arts therapy. I have had to become thick-skinned, understand myself deeply, and not be bothered by others’ judgements.” Looking back on her time in the recruitment industry, Natalie reflects on her experiences as a woman in the past. “As a recruiter in New Zealand, we had many women in leadership roles. The recruitment industry has always had women and we competed evenly against men,” she says. “However, a man did say to me that my success was because of my looks. I guess he did not want to accept that I was as good as he was.” Now, living in a smaller town, Natalie has noticed that not many women feel confident in setting up their own business. She comments, “Through my business, I intend to give them confidence to back their own dreams. I know how capable women are because I have worked with so many in the recruitment and nursing industries.” Since the establishment of the College of Holistic Arts, Natalie has done some amazing work to help people by fostering their mind-body awareness and creative self-expression. “I have achieved massive healings. Trauma is being released in the students to a phenomenal level, just from being around my energy,” she explains. “Heavy childhood wounds are being expressed out of the emotional body, filling them with more hope and love. This is my work. My big heart is transforming others, giving them the strength to go on and face the pain with art, dance, role play, sound, colour, and more.” As a result of the inspiring work she does through the College of Holistic Arts, Natalie Curie has been awarded Most Spiritual Holistic Arts Education Managing Director in the Influential Businesswoman Awards 2023. In the coming months and years, Natalie hopes to bring her work further into the surrounding communities, creating more spaces in which people can experience, heal, and participate in arts. The college will be hosting wellness retreats, presentations on self-healing qigong, and art therapy training, commencing 14th July this year. From August, further workshops will also be available. We congratulate Natalie on her success in the Influential Businesswoman Awards and look forward to seeing what she goes on to accomplish. There are many plans in the pipeline for the College of Holistic Arts so certainly watch this space! Contact: Natalie Currie Company: College of Holistic Arts Web Address: www.coha.co.nz Based in New Zealand, the College of Holistic Arts is a holistic college providing evidence-based, heart-centred conscious learning to produce graduates who go on to become emerging holistic practitioners. The college was created by sole Managing Director Natalie Curie, who strives to support the awakening of creativity and human potential through holistic arts and education. We speak to her here about her career and the establishment of her business. W
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