McCathern’s Post

As we continue celebrating #BlackHistoryMonth, meet Samer Yousif, who recently was named to Venture Forward’s list of Black investors making a big impact in VC. ❓ What do you do at Insight? (Samer) I’m a Senior Associate at Insight Partners, where I co-lead the 20/20 Vision Capital Fund, Insight’s fund of funds strategy investing into underrepresented, emerging managers. We are currently investing from 20/20 Vision Capital Fund II, a $118M vehicle. I oversee several aspects of the 20/20 Vision Capital Fund, including sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management. I work closely with our Sourcing and DGS team members to identify and back the best-emerging managers in venture capital. 🧠 What is one thing you wish you had known when you began your career? (Samer) I took a pretty circuitous route to my current role. After receiving my Masters in Global Policy Studies, I thought that my career would largely focus on politics and policy-making, primarily because I wasn’t aware of other opportunities that married my focus on entrepreneurship and racial equity. I’d push my younger self to focus more on the impact that I wanted to have, rather than a specific role, and then identify opportunities that would let me reach that goal. I also wish I’d understood how non-linear careers are and that I didn’t have to have a long-term career strategy to be successful. I just needed to focus on making the right next step in my career and eventually, I’d end up where I wanted to be.  🤝 Talk about a significant mentorship moment in your life (Samer) I’ve been blessed with incredible mentors and sponsors throughout my career. I absolutely wouldn’t be here without them taking me under their wing and supporting me throughout my career. A mentor of mine, who has become a close friend, was one of the first to vouch for me, adding me to projects and initiatives that would help me learn and network early on in my career. They spoke highly of me to their peers, which gave me legitimacy and credibility, likely before I fully deserved it. And they believed in me, encouraging me to stretch and grow further than I thought I could. That support was and continues to be invaluable to me in my career, and I hope to have a similar impact on those coming after me as well.

Boards of Directors – How Relevant To The Business Is The Board? In 2014, activist investor Starboard Value successfully replaced all 12 directors on the board of Darden Restaurants. The following shows the Darden incumbent board at the time of Starboard's proxy fight, Starboard’s value creation plan initiatives, the Starboard director nominees and the before and after performance (revenue, EBITDA, EBITDA margin and stock price). Note especially the direct relevance of each Starboard nominee to the industry or some aspect of the value creation plan. How often do you see this level of relevance on public company boards?

🚀 Thriving Together: A Journey of Growth and Governance at AHNZ 🚀 Following up on our recent conversation about board positions opening up, we're excited to share more insights into our governance journey and introduce a pivotal figure in our story – our Board Chair, Ant Carter. Seven years ago, AHNZ embarked on a transformative journey by engaging a professional board chair. Ant, with his rich background in the military, large business, and entrepreneurial ventures, brought a new dimension of strategic governance to our team. His approach? A blend of dynamic, flexible structures and a deep focus on culture, strategy, and operational excellence. This philosophy has not only shaped our governance but also fueled our growth and success. Under Ant's leadership, we've embraced a model where culture is at the heart, supported by strategic pillars and operational excellence. This holistic approach has led to remarkable financial health and organisational thriving. The past twelve months have been especially transformative, enhancing our governance and deeply impacting our culture and strategy. As we look to the future, we're mindful of the importance of board succession. We're seeking new members to join our journey – individuals with a heart for growth, a keen financial or legal acumen, and a desire to contribute to a thriving culture. Interested in being a part of our story? Reach out to Joseph Youssef at [email protected] or call 0274944470 to discuss this unique opportunity further. We're looking for good people, first and foremost, those who share our commitment to excellence and community. Dive into the details through the link in our LinkedIn profile and discover how you can contribute to the next chapter of AHNZ. Together, let's create an environment where our team, our culture, and our business flourish. #Leadership #Governance #BoardSuccession #AHNZJourney #ProfessionalGrowth

As someone who has gone through this program and helped lead it, the learning truly never ends. At CapTech, we don't expect it to. This program turned my whole personal DIB journey on its head and I haven't been the same since, truly forever changed. Breaking away from traditional mentorship programs, CapTech’s Reverse Mentorship Program (RMP) allows junior employees to guide senior leaders through thought-provoking discussions centered around the company’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) efforts. Learn more about the program here: https://lnkd.in/eVT7QVG8

🚨 NEW STORE ALERT 🚨 We are so thrilled about creating merchandise for Zargarian Consulting LLC, especially these mugs that emphasize putting more of your heart into projects, and less of losing yourself in the hustle. Zargarian Consulting's emphasis on fostering a culture of collective ownership underscores the importance of teamwork and collaboration, values we wholeheartedly embrace. Their commitment to simplicity as a guiding principle and their courage to stay curious mirrors our own passion for continuous learning and exploration. We are excited to translate all of these core values into inspiring merchandise that reflects the ethos of Zargarian Consulting and celebrates their impactful approach to organizational transformation. Do you have a go-to mug with an inspirational quote? What is it? #printondemand #merch #smallbusiness

Heard this in my first meeting of the day! “Wise man learns from his mistakes, Wiser man learns from the mistakes of others, The one who has all of the answers and who knows everything, is the fool in the room. “ One of the many reasons I love mentoring the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs because if they take the opportunity to learn from the silly things I’ve done they will be better for it. One of my peers in my role before joining Allied Federal Solutions LLC always used a term from the Bible of “Seek Wise Counsel” which I’m getting better at but always have room to grow. In this new role I’m getting to learn from some brilliant corporate officers on how to build culture, build the right team, and how to serve your team. Onward and upward.

🎉 Celebrating 45 years of Lee & Associates! Bill Lee’s vision in 1979 created a unique platform that continues to drive the commercial real estate industry forward. Check out the interview with our founder to hear more about his journey and the future of Lee & Associates. #LeeAssociates #CommercialRealEstate #BillLee #LeeToronto #5YearsExcellence #LeeLetsGo

What a day to be finally announcing this exciting news!! Surrounded by some amazing, driven and inspirational women 🙌 as well as the equally amazing Tim English! After taking some much needed time off after almost 16 years in property and project/asset management, where I worked in almost every role in the private rented sector to then moving over to social housing/temporary accommodation helping to house thousands of venerable people on a nightly basis. And where I fully immersed myself into the industry, learnt, grew, evolved, looked to inspire and make a positive impact, innovate, influence, mentor and lead and it quickly became my passion. This wasnt always easy and in some of the roles was quite challenging and to have my voice heard and my ideas accepted because I was a woman in areas where it was very male dominated but I do love a challenge and it's made me the person I am today 😊 with a huge bag of successes as well as the not so successful outcomes along the way. But, I am proud to have done and been a part of all of it. I am hugely grateful to those who consistently supported me and backed me, whom were a large group of mentors, colleagues, friends and family as well as complete strangers......to you I’d like to say thank you! And now with all those skills, knowledge, experience, ideas and thirst to continue to learn, evolve, innovate, influence and make a positive impact I chose to take a side step in my career and into a new and very exciting role of Learning and Development Project Partner at GBB Coaching & Consultancy So what do they do and what will I be a part of? Well, we aim to deliver behaviour changes for businesses through innovative, blended training programmes and tailored coaching packages. I will be part of a team that been helping premium brands, SMEs and individuals achieve their goals for over 15 years and with combined experiences of over 20 years in the industry. And whose mission since 2008 is to understand and build upon people's strengths. By focusing on what we are already confident and comfortable with, which in turn leads to faster results, better performances and - coincidently - improvements in our weaknesses. As well as promoting genuinely enjoyable working, not only in your business but in our business too. Curious to find out more?.....Then give us a follow or take a look at our website and let us help you achieve your vision and tailor content to be absolutely right for your staff. https://gbbcoaching.co.uk/ We're always open for chat either over TEAMS or coffee and cake! GBB - Good Better Best #internationalswomensday #GBBCoaching #GoodBetterBest #alwayssmiling #enjoyableworking

Taking over a family business – against all odds.  You are confronted with a whole bunch of prejudices, when you step into your father’s and even grandfather's shoes and manage the leadership of a big company like Brinkmann Holding. Let me tell you how I deal with those common biases: ❌ You’re not a born leader. Nobody is born a leader – you have to become one. You have to fail at tasks and grow to understand for yourself what it means to fulfil this role. In addition to that, there’s the social responsibility. You don’t want to disappoint your own family and certainly not your employees who rely on you. I do care sincerely about all of my employees and I’m sensitive to their needs. On the other hand, I’m still open to impulses from my father and my uncle. But I make and have to make my own decisions and my own failures. That’s life. ✨ ❌ You're not up to that amount of work. This is the work-life-balance in a family business: inside the Brinkmann’s world the company is the family, and the family is the company. We talk about the Holding at the breakfast table, at dinner, even at Easter and Christmas. That can sometimes be exhausting and make it harder to regenerate. But it means that the company is at the heart of everything we do. It also says that I have grown up with the Brinkmann Holding and grown into it. For me, work is not just work. 💪 ❌ You're not doing the footsteps justice. Most of all, my task was and still is today, to lead bugatti into a new innovative era while maintaining the old traditions and values. Merging trend and tradition is not an easy thing to accomplish, but I accept this challenge and till this day, I’m glad, that I did not back down. We will continue to follow our new vision and emotionalize our brand – and let our customers experience the new Italian lifestyle in a fresh and vivid way. And so far, we’ve done a hell of a good job. 🚀 What biases did you have to deal with? #familybusiness #bebugatti #wearebugatti

Becoming an Executive Chairman of your firm is difficult and unsuccessful for most who try. In this episode Lance Loveday shares how he leveraged EOS Worldwide into a very successful transition. #agencylife #performancemarketing #growthmindset #privateequity