Steve Dickinson's guest in today's episode is Michel Akoum, President and CEO of Novoferm France. Michel was born in Lebanon, rose from the ranks of R&D engineers in Paris, before quickly moving into export sales and general management. For the last two decades he held senior positions in the field of entrance solutions with two of the industry's leading companies.

Topics covered in the show include:

• The company Novoferm France and its place within the Novoferm Group, and their parent company, Sanwa Holdings
• Advice he would offer to current graduates of his alma mater, the Ecole des Travaux Publics, Paris
• One thing he would do differently during his career at Novoferm
• Michel's leadership style
• Current social, regulatory and technical trends in the French market
• Key lessons learned during a long career

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Steve Dickinson's guest in today's episode is Ali Ihsan Güneş, the co-founder of FGI, an exciting family-owned business based in Sakarya, Turkiye- 125 km east of Istanbul. Together with his brother, Gunay, and other members of the family, he built his business, not once, but twice. His origin story is one of the most traumatic imaginable.

Topics covered in the show include:

• The company FGI, and the markets it serves
• Contrasting styles and roles of the two founders
• Their overall journey into the industry
• The devastating earthquake of 17 August 1999
• Perspectives from Ali's roles as Chairman of the Advisory Board at Sakarya Business School, and Vice President of the Turkish-German Chamber of Commerce
• Trends in social, regulatory and technology - including AI

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