Author: CIO Business Leaders

ndondo , a technology partner of choice for many organizations in Africa, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026. When David Nkwanyana founded it in 2006, he had no business experience and no funding. Despite these handicaps, David built ndondo into Africa’s leading provider of Data solutions and services, known for its excellence and innovation. Today, as the CEO, he is steering it toward greater accomplishments and a listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Guided by the principle in Colossians 3:23, 24: “Work so hard as if you are doing it for God himself,” David believes that just as God would never…

Change rarely makes noise at first. Sometimes, it looks like a platform quietly reconciling cash flow. Or a founder sketching product flows at midnight while his team coordinates across multiple time zones. That’s the kind of change Anas Qudah is building. With over 20 years of experience in finance and executive roles, he has lived through bottlenecks, seen missed opportunities, and decided to build something better. That “something” is UPFRONT, a fintech company purpose-built to unburden SMBs in a high-pressure region by simplifying the messy, manual world of financial operations. And in doing so, he’s not just serving clients. He’s…

Andrew Nickoletos’s key strengths are his ability to listen, simplify complex financial concepts, and look beyond the numbers. This is why, as a Financial Advisor at Precision Wealth Solutions, he is able to empower clients to clearly define their financial goals, make informed decisions, and feel confident about their financial future. His guidance and clear communication help clients gain peace of mind. Andrew considers his greatest reward to be that every day, he gets to help people sleep better at night. “Knowing that every client who walks through our doors is being taken care of with intention and integrity is…

Leslie Garth, Senior Director of Solution Success at Teleperformance, is an accomplished industrial engineer who has held leadership positions at several Fortune 500 firms across a variety of industries. She has 30 years of experience, with her most recent work being in the automotive sector, helping customers and clients. She has Credentials of Readiness (CORe) and Business Analytics certifications from Harvard Business School, as well as Six Sigma Black Belt certifications from Integral Concepts. Leslie has extensive expertise leading change in the manufacturing, technology, quality, cost-cutting, automation of inspections, and process improvement fields both locally and globally with team members…

Many people claim they wish to launch a business. They claim to have lofty aspirations. They claim to want it above all else. However, they won’t commit to their company or their ideas when it’s time to put some money on the line. Simply put, they won’t make a commitment to achieving their goals. As a result, people become frustrated and hurt when they find they aren’t progressing. Five years later, they find themselves in the same position, whining about the same issues and wishing they had started sooner. What distinguishes those whose dreams come true from those whose do…

John Martin, CEO and Co-founder of Young Black Leadership Alliance (YBLA), has one vision – to develop young Black men and women into positive leaders in their community now and in the future. This “Blessed” leader, as he describes himself, is on a mission to create young Black leaders who will be a force of change in the world. The Visionary John has an interesting story to describe his inspiration to start YBLA. While watching his favorite team play football, his wife Tammy asked him, “What are you passionate about?” The obvious answer at that moment was, “this game.” But…

Bernie Lawrence is a seasoned transactional attorney and the principal of B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, PC, a legal practice specializing in entertainment, copyrights and trademarks, new media, and corporate law. Throughout her career, she has been able to carve out a niche for herself by representing multi-platinum selling music producers who have composed hits for notable hip-hop artists such as Lil’ Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, 50 Cent, and P. Diddy, as well as R&B and pop artists such as Usher, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Beyoncé, and Rihanna, to name a few. Music business executives, music production firms, independent…

Defining success is defining a goal and that goal looks different for everyone. Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis, President & CEO of Executive Women’s Success Institute (EXWSI), also says that the definition of success is different for everybody. “Whatever success means to you, getting in the right mindset and having the right attitude will help you to get there,” she asserts. Personally, for her being successful is the ability to be articulate. She expects her message to be compelling and she must be able to share with the people she serves or speaks to. After all, that is what Executive Women’s…

In the United States, family and domestic violence is a common problem. According to a report, nearly 10 million people get affected every year due to domestic violence; one in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. Lovern J. Gordon is the Founder of Love Life Now Foundation, Inc. (LLN), a non-profit organization that promotes year-round awareness around domestic violence (DV). Lovern says “this issue is near and dear to my heart”. She herself a two-time survivor of abuse: a child witness to it growing up on the island of Trinidad where her father brutally abused her mother and as a young adult…

It has been 50 years since the process known as “email” was developed. According to studies, email is still the preferred mode of communication for 74% of all internet adults, and 95% of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking up to 20 times per day. 58% of individuals surveyed said they check their email first thing in the morning. It’s exciting to see how long email has been around. It’s also worth noting that, after 50 years, regular email has stayed substantially unchanged. We’ve all experienced being swamped with email messages, when short attention spans reign…