Amber Donovan-Stevens

I am a writer based in Norwich, specialising in writing for business and financial technology.

University of Alabama at Birmingham: VP and CIO Dr. Curtis Carver Jr. transforms the experience of higher education with digital innovation

Empowering greatness in others is at the heart of every technical solution the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has made, and this could not be more evident from the technology transformation that has taken place over the past four years under the leadership of Dr. Curt Carver. It is no surprise that the University of Alabama at Birmingham was keen to enlist Carver to spearhead IT operations with his impressive career history and dedication to student and staff wellbeing. Carver previou

Zoetis’ A.L.P.H.A. Initiative: creating sustainability in Africa

Tetiana Miroshnychenko started with Zoetis in December 2018 in a new position specifically created in order for her to lead the A.L.P.H.A initiative. Before she took this role, Miroshnychenko had begun her career in Ukraine, gaining experience in a variety of areas such as business development, marketing and commercial aspects of human pharma. She headed the Ukraine office before relocating to UK and Belgium to undertake global roles. Her extensive knowledge of the developing markets, experience

How OpenSooq is transforming the classified advert market with AI

How OpenSooq is transforming the classified advert market with AI OpenSooq is the largest classified application and web platform in the Middle East and North Africa, serving 19 countries. Ramzi Alqrainy has learned a lot since he has started with the company in 2013 as a Data Engineer with a team of five people. Today, OpenSooq has more than 200 employees. Alqrainy heads a team of 41 people who are responsible for quality control, business intervention and APP, as well as application support f

Top 10 wealthiest individuals

Business Chief takes a look at the top 10 richest individuals in Europe, based on the November 2019 real time reports from Forbes’ World’s Billionaires. Vagit Alekperov is one of the richest billionaires both in Russia and Europe. The self-made billionaire was originally a Caspian Sea oil rig worker, working his way up through the industry until he founded Lukoil in 1991. Today it is the third largest company in Russia. He is quoted: “I have devoted my whole life to work. I have no friends and

The evolution of staff training

Business Chief catches up with Martyn Bridges, Director of Technical Communication and Product Management, Worcester Bosch, to discuss the evolution of its training centre Martyn Bridges is the Director of Technical Communication and Product Management at Worcester Bosch, the leading manufacturer of boilers in the UK and subsidiary of Robert Bosch. In an exclusive Q&A with Business Chief, Bridges provides insight into the development of Worcester Bosch’s training centre, which started from the

No longer ‘just’ a mediabrand

Caroline Foster-Kenny, CEO EMEA at IPG Mediabrands, shares how digital culture has transformed IPG Mediabrands as well as the wider media industry. I understand that you’ve been with IPG Mediabrands for three years. Could you tell me a little bit about how you came to be CEO EMEA and your main responsibilities in this role? I joined IPG Mediabrands after spending many years at WPP. I had a wonderful time so leaving was hard, but I needed a fresh challenge. As global brands were – and still are

From Habbo to Holvi: AJ Suominen on leadership and diversity

From Habbo to Holvi: AJ Suominen on leadership and diversity As BBVA-backed digital banking service Holvi continues to build momentum, we catch up with its CEO, Antti-Jussi (AJ) Suominen, who shares his insight on how to build sustainable diversity in business. Creating the foundations for diversity and inclusion is an essential component to building a forward-thinking company that seeks to create lasting solutions for its customers. Entrepreneur Antti-Jussi (AJ) Suominen, CEO, Holvi, has work

Startup spotlight: Paybase is democratising payments

Business Chief Europe catches up with the CEO of Paybase, Anna Tsyupko, who tells us what differentiates the UK fintech from its competitors. 2020 has already kicked off to an exciting start in the European fintech industry, with N26’s exit from the UK market, Mastercard’s first European Cyber Resilience Centre and Curve’s expansion to the US. As a number of European fintechs move to consolidate their position in the continent, we catch up with Anna Tsyupko, CEO of the UK financial service Payb

City focus: Amsterdam

As Amsterdam competes for London’s title as tech capital, Business Chief shares the biggest 2019 conferences that make the city a thriving technological hub. For many, when Amsterdam is mentioned, one thinks of its 13th-century architecture overlooking the canals, its culturally diverse museums, and controversial nightlife. Yet not only does Netherlands’ capital have a rich cultural heritage, but it is also a thriving technology hotspot. With a population of 821,752, and the majority of Amster

City Focus: Brussels

Business Chief takes a look at the world’s second most cosmopolitan city, ‘The Capital of Europe’, Brussels Belgium’s capital Brussels is the largest municipality and the historical centre of the Brussels-Capital region. This is a city that has earned the title “The Capital of Europe'' or “The Heart of Europe” for its rich melting pot of industries and strong connectivity to the rest of the continent. It signifies international collaboration, dating back to The Treaty of Brussels, the founding

PayByPhone’s unique business model is driving the UK to a greener future

PayByPhone’s unique business model is driving the UK to a greener future Jonny Combe, UK CEO of cashless parking payment provider PayByPhone, talks about his Meters for Trees Initiative, Europe expansion and the simplification of travel. PayByPhone is pioneering sustainability initiatives in the UK. With its cashless payments and seamless customer interface, the parking app’s unique business strategy positions it as a key player in the emergence of the UK as a smart city hub. Business Chief ca

Top 10 Biggest solar parks in the world

The largest solar park in the world is Tengger Desert Solar Park. Tengger Desert is located in Zhongwei, Ningxia, and covers 36,700 km2, and has been the largest park in the world since 2016. In China, the park is known as “The Great Wall of Solar”, generating over 1.5GW of power. While it has held this position for the last three years, it could very soon be outranked by the expansions planned by other parks such as Kurnool, Detong and Bhadla.

Top 10 greenest countries

Ireland is currently halfway to meeting its set target of 16% of all of its energy needs by 2020, as outlined in the Renewable Energy Directive 2009. It also has a target of producing 42.5% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. According to Eirgrid, it already has 32%. The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment reported that to date, Ireland has a wind capacity of 2,851 MW. Ireland’s 2020 target was divided into sectors, with 12% of renewable energy attributin

Top 10 CEOs in Europe

Business Chief ranks the top 10 CEOs in Europe according to company revenue, with reference to Statista and Forbes’ 2019 Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies Jean-Laurent Bonnafé is the CEO of French banking group BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank. Before joining the company in 1993 as an investment banker, he studied engineering at the École Polytechnique and the École des Mine. He became CEO in 2011 and remains widely credited for the successful acquisitions of Paribas

SocialChorus on the evolution of the workplace

SocialChorus on the evolution of the workplace Cyrus Gilbert-Rolfe, EMEA MD SocialChorus, shares his insight into how the workplace has changed and diversified over the last decade. The digital economy has expanded boundaries and driven a fundamental shift in the nature of business meaning the 9-5 work life has changed dramatically. It’s almost unrecognisable. The World Bank recently published its World Development Report for 2019 on The Changing Nature of Work - a study of how work is changi

Shahar Markovitch on El Al Israel Airlines ‘digital transformation into a ‘Smart Airline’

EL AL is Israel's national airline boasting close to 6mn customers a year and US$2bn in annual revenue. Before joining EL AL as the airline's Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shahar Markovitch was the Chief Digital Officer of Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest banks. Prior to that he was a partner of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, and as such brings experience of shaping the digital strategy of organisations all over the world. A little over a year ago, Markovitch brought this

Le Royal Monceau: offering international dynamic culinary experiences

From the outside, Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris hotel appears to embody a classic French elegance. With its grand architecture from 1928, the five-star Parisian hotel reopened in 2010, following a complete redesign from Philip Stark. Though understated, upon closer inspection, designs reminiscent of famous historic guests from all over the world have been incorporated into the aesthetic of the hotel. Starting in hospitality at the age of 15, Sylvain Greiner completed his formal education with

FinTech profile: daVinci Payments enters the UK

As explosive growth in cross-border, virtual and physical payments continues, daVinci’s move overseas is a natural extension of the growth the company is experiencing. To catch us up on the company’s latest news, as well as its recent expansion into the UK, is Rodney Mason, daVinci Payments CRO. Hi Rodney. Could you tell me a little bit about daVinci Payments in your own words? daVinci is a disruptor in payments that blends art and science to deliver virtual and physical prepaid payments aroun

Tencent’s evolution into the payment industry

Tencent’s understanding of its wide customer base has allowed its successful transformation into the payment market, changing the ways in which transactions are carried out in Asia forever. The multi-conglomerate Tencent has moved across industries since its creation in 1998. Originally a platform that created online multiplayer games such as League of Legends, it moved into the instant messenger service, QQ. According to the Senior Product Director of Tencent, Wendy Sun, who spoke at Money 20/

Top 10 FinTech Unicorns

One in 20 adults in the UK carry Monzo’s hot-coral-coloured card in their wallet, and with over 55,000 individuals signing up every week, this number is only set to increase. Monzo achieved unicorn status in 2018, following an £85mn fundraising round from US venture capital investors. The digital-only bank has disrupted the payment space with its commitment to helping customers be smarter with money. A particularly interesting feature of Monzo is that it has a block feature for gambling, which w
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