7th Annual Women in Global Leadership PHX

This week we held a wonderful, inspiring and special "Women in Global Leadership PHX", the 7th Annual by The Global Chamber.

We featured five great global business speakers, moderated expertly by Diana White, facilitated and organized by Connie Kadansky, hosted by J. Kirby Best and Nicole Hugaboom at Bespoke Manufacturing Company and attended by the global tribe of Phoenix via Global Chamber Phoenix ... with a fashion show and tour.

Thank you Connie for the idea and pulling it all of magnificently. Thank you to the committee who worked on this including Karen Bottesch, Gloria Petersen and Tricia Lehane... with the team at Bespoke Manufacturing Company. For the video, click here.

There were so many favorite parts of the program that included the panel, fashion show with dresses made in the factory, the tour and the post-event connecting. A day later we're all still digesting all the great information information.

There were countless comments by all the speakers that hit home. Particularly resonating were Rangina Hamidi's comments about truth, speaking truth, being strong... and creating change now, RIGHT NOW. Thank you to all the incredible speakers!!

* Rangina Hamidi - Professor of Practice at Thunderbird School of Global Management and Former Education Minister of Afghanistan 🇦🇫 * Tracey Latham - Founder/CEO at Latham Industries, LLC and SBA Small Business Person of the Year (Arizona) * Alexandria Van Haren - Air Service Development Manager at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport * Shamsh Hadi - CEO and Co-founder at ZorroSign, Inc. * Martha Medina - Vice President International Sales at 21st Century HealthCare, Inc.

Read more in the newsletter by ZorroSign HERE.

Speaker Bios

Rangina Hamidi- Professor of Practice at Thunderbird School of Global Management and Former Education Minister of Afghanistan

Rangina Hamidi was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. In 1981, she emigrated to Pakistan and then to the USA in 1988 with her family. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in Religious Studies and Women & Gender. Ms. Hamidi returned to Afghanistan in 2003 and took up residence in Kandahar.

For two decades, Ms. Hamidi worked tirelessly to better the lives of Afghan citizens through development projects, advocacy, and, most importantly, education. Examples of Ms. Hamidi's accomplishments include the establishment of a full value-chain model of an all-women’s social enterprise in Kandahar whose products have reached Europe, the Middle East, Americas as well as other parts of the world. In this endeavor, Ms. Hamidi designed and implemented a holistic and full-environment approach to bring value to Afghan women at each part of the value chain. Ms. Hamidi successfully led the Mezan International School to integrate and implement a world-class and internationally accredited curriculum with a solid foundation of Islamic education, Afghan history, Afghan values, and multi-lingual education.

Most recently, Ms. Hamidi was Minister of Education of Afghanistan, until August 15, 2021. Ms. Hamidi is well versed in child development, educational psychology, educational management, Islamic pedagogy, curriculum, business administration, development in conflict-affected countries, and gender issues from an Islamic perspective. She has contributed to numerous publications and radio programs, including TIMES Asia Magazine, The Globe and Mail, Der Spiegel, Business Week, The Guardian, The Telegraph, NPR, BBC, and Voice of America. Her latest publication is a book that she has co-authored entitled “Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future."

Martha Medina - Vice President International Sales at 21st Century HealthCare

Dr. Martha Medina is Vice President of International Sales at Tempe’s leading manufacturing and distributor of dietary supplements, 21st Century HealthCare, Inc. She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University and a M.B.A. from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico. She has presented her doctoral research in international conferences and has published several journal articles and a book chapter. Dr. Medina has a background in R&D and Quality of consumer goods and dietary supplements and for the last 12 years has developed an extensive base of knowledge and experience in international registration, sales and marketing and logistics of dietary supplements. She has successfully registered and entered markets all around the world, with a concentration in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Her background in Biochemistry, together with her work experience and multilingual and international upbringing have allowed her to establish long-lasting and successful connections for exporting products worldwide.

Tracey Latham - Founder/CEO at Latham Industries and SBA Small Business Person of the Year (Arizona).

Small business owners are known for their resourcefulness, adaptability, and innovative thinking. They have the flexibility to respond quickly to changing market demands, experiment with new ideas, and introduce unique products and services. Their ability to think outside the box and take calculated risks often leads to groundbreaking innovations that fuel economic progress and technological advancements. Tracey Latham, founder and CEO of Latham Industries, is a perfect example of how innovative thinking can create incredible products. Tracey brought over 25 years of industry experience before forming her own business in 2016. Latham Industries is a woman-owned and operated electronics contract manufacturer based in Phoenix specializing in printed circuit board assembly. Her business supports (to name just a few) aerospace, commercial, medical, military, and security markets ranging from startups to large businesses.

Initially, Tracey sought to purchase an existing business. Not finding one that met her qualifications, Tracey launched the company from scratch with state-of-the-art equipment recognizing that some area electronic contract manufacturers were losing business because they were running with technology that was more than a decade old. To ensure Latham Industries stays current, Tracey is a member of the Arizona Technology Council and has secured several industry certifications including ISO 9001 and 13485.

In 2022, Tracey participated in ASU’s SMB Lab program which is a first-of-its-kind initiative connecting Arizona’s small and medium sized businesses with ASU’s faculty and students, business leaders and development professionals. She continues working with ASU providing her guidance and expertise as the owner of a successful small business.

Tracey was recognized as the Arizona Small Business Person of the Year in 2022 by the Small Business Administration and is a two-time recipient of the Arizona Womens Education and Employment Faces of Success award. In her spare time, Tracey gives back to the community in several ways as an active volunteer in a variety of charitable organizations including serving on the boards for Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership (HELP) and the U & Improved Leadership Foundation.

Alexandria (Lexie) Van Haren - Air Service Development Manager at Phoenix Sky Harbor Int'l Airport

Lexie Van Haren has over 20 years of experience in aviation, public relations, government affairs, leadership development, marketing, and tourism.

She recently completed her Executive Master’s of Global Management through Thunderbird School of Global Management. During her studies, she traveled to Washington D.C. and the Middle East for graduate courses in international business and communications as well as government affairs. Her undergraduate degree is in International Business & Marketing.

Ms. Van Haren serves on the International Air Service Steering Committee for Airports Council International as well as on the International Leadership Committee for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council providing guidance on key initiatives and strategies. She is a 5th generation Arizonan, serves on the Board of Directors for the Tempe Tourism Office, and is a graduate of Valley Leadership Ready Together.

As the Air Service Development Manager for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, she manages a portfolio of destinations and airlines to provide the most connected and economical air service for all Arizonans. Phoenix Sky Harbor currently has nonstop service to 142 destinations including 23 international markets, the most on record. The airport has a $38 billion USD yearly economic impact with $3 billion of that from international flights.

Shamsh Hadi - CEO and Co-founder at ZorroSign

Since the earliest days of his career, Shamsh Hadi has championed a paperless life and greater sustainability, especially in the face of new and emerging technologies. With blockchain, he and his team have created a compelling architecture to elevate trust and transparency—facilitating new realms of digital transactions from anywhere around the world.

His company ZorroSign, Inc. uses blockchain for superior privacy and security. Governments, businesses, organizations and individuals across the globe trust ZorroSign to safeguard their digital documents and to provide an immutable chain of custody for their digital transactions. Their data security platform integrates multiple blockchains (Hyperledger Fabric and Provenance Blockchain) for digital signatures, automated compliance, intelligent forms, document storage, patented fraud detection, user authentication and document verification, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) and more.

Shamsh is a lifelong learner and has had the opportunity to be educated in Hong Kong, Singapore, Toronto, Dubai, Vancouver, New York and Boston. He is enrolled in the rigorous YPO/Harvard Presidents’ Program. Shamsh believes we can advance sustainability while advancing technology, and he's always eager to connect with likeminded academic, civic and commercial leaders.

Moderators

Diana White

Executive Director, Moonshot at NACET

Diana White has over 30 years in sales, retail, consumer psychology, and marketing experience as just a few of her skill sets. She established D.E.W. Business Solutions, L.L.C. in 2014 to provide business consulting for small businesses.

In 2017, Diana began working with a technology incubator in Northern Arizona. Diana was the Director of the Coconino County Small Business Development Center under the incubator and worked to develop programming for entrepreneurs. Along with developing curriculum content and facilitating small business workshops through Moonshot at NACET, in 2019, Diana was appointed as C.E.O. of Chandler Innovations, a technology incubator funded by the City of Chandler, Arizona.

Diana obtained a Bachelor of Science in Small Business Administration from Northern Arizona University, holds a green belt in Lean Six Sigma, is a certified Agile Scrum Master, and is a certified PeerSpectives facilitator. She is committed to helping businesses, non-profits, and the community at large. Diana has served on many boards, including the Boys and Girls Club and Habitat for Humanity. Diana serves on the advisory board for Lancaster Leadership, a woman-owned and operated leadership academy, and a board member for Tynkertopia, a STEM-based non-profit for children, the Global Chamber, and the Coconino County Workforce Board. Diana is also the co-host of the show 10 Lessons Learned and leads a coalition for women of color and a guild for entrepreneurs. Diana is an Athena Award nominee and the winner of the Woman of Innovation distinction from the Women’s Foundation of the State of Arizona. Diana also has the distinction of being part of the first all-women-of-color crew to complete an analog research mission in Poland. She splits her time between her residences in Gilbert and Flagstaff, Arizona, where she continues to assist founders in her role as Executive Director of the Moonshot at NACET Flagstaff campus.

Connie Kadansky

President at Exceptional Sales Performance

Connie Kadansky is the President of Exceptional Sales Performance, providing sales coaching in diverse industries. She is a recognized expert in identifying and eliminating Sales Call Reluctance™, the emotional hesitation to prospect and self-promote. Connie's global experience includes training for the Women in Parliament in Rwanda, and through United Nations grants, she facilitated 26 sales and public speaking training events in Trinidad West Indies for multi-national companies. In October 2022 she facilitated sales training for 47 branch managers for ABSA bank in Kenya. Connie has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business, and Forbes. Thousands of sales pros have graduated from her programs, benefitting from increased sales and enriched career satisfaction. Connie is a Master Certified Coach, Positive Intelligence® Certified Mental Fitness Coach and an ORSC trained coach. She is also the advisory board chair for Global Chamber® Phoenix. https://www.exceptionalsales.com/PQforyou

By Yvonne Luker - Global Chamber®

Global Chamber® is a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in over 525 metro regions around the world, connecting member businesses to new opportunities for advancing growth and success. It's the only chamber of commerce in the world operating in hundreds of locations that helps exporting, importing and investing for members to connect through warm introductions to clients, partners, projects and resources.

Global Chamber® has been a registered trademark for Global Chamber LLC since 2014.