Episode 2

Description: In order to deliver and sustain high performance and real measurable change, we always need to start with what is happening from within and in particular inside our minds. Entrepreneurs and business leaders must be able to effectively handle stress, have clarity of mind, focus, energy and social emotional intelligence. It is these inner competencies and skills that are some of the best investments we can make in our lives and our businesses. Hear all about an integrated approach that blends inquiry-based learning with self-motivation to develop compassionate, independent thinkers. Let us explore a new set of powerful tools and inner technologies that can help us optimize our performance and improve our well-being while keeping up with the demands of our increasingly complex world. All critically important to succeed in the future, so get a front row seat on the opportunities surrounding these challenges.

I am one of the owners of PPT Preturi Pentru Tine - a discount fashion retailer company, based on best price-quality ratio, which operates more than 180 own outlets, reaching a total of over 1000 employees in Romania and Moldova. We sell mainly women, men and children clothes and shoes, sourced and bought from China, Turkey, Bangladesh, Romania, Italy, Poland and Hungary. I enjoy discussions about innovation in retail and ecommerce. I am a certified Non-Executive Director, INSEAD IDP-C '17 (International Directors Programme - Corporate Governance). I hold an Executive MBA from WU Executive Academy (Vienna University of Economics and Business), an Engineer degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Bachelor degree in Economic Informatics. I am currently following Owner/President Management (OPM56) program at Harvard Business School. I currently live in Bucharest, Romania. I am married and I have 2 kids.

Richard Joannides is the founder of Verita International Education Group with established schools in Athens and Bucharest. With over 200 teachers and 800 students, Verita is one of the most progressive, innovative state of the art school in the region. Richard is the Director of Social Emotional Learning program at Verita partnering up with Emory University to educate the hearts and minds of children. Richard is a resourceful entrepreneur and visionary with an outreach in multiple companies in diverse industries. In 1992, he founded Sunmedair Group, of one of the first and largest Travel Management Companies in Romania with over 54 million EUR annual turnover and over 100 employees. In 2004, Richard was the founding member of Vision Holdings Ltd, a Real Estate Group, specialized in developing commercial offices. He successfully invested, developed, built, leased and sold several commercial offices for/to multinational companies including BRD in Banking, AIG in Insurance and Teleperformance in the Telemarketing industry. Born and raised in Greece, Richard graduated from LMU in Los Angeles, California with a (BA) in History and attended The Queen's College, Oxford with a scholarship studying Philosophy. He is married with three sons.