The Worldly Marketer Podcast

Ivan Smolnikov is an entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience in linguistic technologies and services. Currently, he is the CEO of Smartcat.ai, a cloud ecosystem that makes it easy for companies and translators to connect and collaborate.

With a strong background in applied sciences, Ivan began his entrepreneurial journey in 2004, when he co-founded his first language services company. Focused on high-quality, technology-intensive translation and localization, ABBYY Language Services now has more than 2,500 corporate clients worldwide, including many Top-100 Global Brands and Fortune 500 companies. ABBYY LS is a part of the ABBYY Group, which is a leading global software developer for the language services industry.

In 2013, Ivan founded Smartcat.ai and in 2016, it received backing from a venture fund to support its quick growth. In his role as Smartcat's CEO, Ivan is focused on building a next-generation platform for translation automation that enables an effective relationship between the key participants of today's translation market: freelance translators, translation agencies, and translation service buyers.

Links:

• ai website
• Smartcat on LinkedIn
• Smartcat on Facebook
• Smartcat on YouTube
• Smartcat on Twitter
• Smartcat Blog
• Ivan's blog on Medium
• Ivan on LinkedIn
• Ivan on Facebook
• Ivan on Twitter

Miguel Sepulveda is the Global Localization Manager at King Digital Entertainment, a social gaming company probably best known for its 2012 smash hit Candy Crush Saga. Today, King is one of the world's biggest mobile-game developers. Headquartered in London, it has offices around the globe, more than 200 game titles to its name, and over 400 million monthly active users.

With his background in computer engineering, quality assurance, human resources and project management, Miguel has been working in the localization industry since 1995, when he joined Lionbridge Technologies as a Software Tester. After working on the language vendor side for a number of years, Miguel joined King in 2014. In his current role, he drives a team of localization professionals, who translate and culturally adapt digital games in up to 24 different languages for players on every continent.

In addition to his work at King, Miguel is on the Advisory Board for the Games Round Table of the LocWorld conference series, and he writes a blog about localization issues called Yo Localizo. He's also an active member of Toastmasters. And yes, he does play video games in his spare time.

Links:

• King Digital Entertainment website
• King on LinkedIn
• King on Facebook
• King on YouTube
• King on Twitter
• Activation Blizzard website
• Activation Blizzard on Twitter
• Miguel's blog: Yo Localizo
• Miguel on LinkedIn
• Miguel on Twitter
• LocWorld conference website

Gregor Rosulnik is part of a young, dynamic generation of Slovenian entrepreneurs. With a background in economics, business management and international marketing, he founded the Translation Agency GORR in 2013.

Today, GORR is on its way to becoming one of the key language services providers in the Western Balkan region, and it works with a number of important clients, both locally and internationally. Headquartered just outside Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, the agency covers all European language pairs, but it specializes in Slovenian and the Western Balkan languages, which include Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian.

I first met Gregor at a Localization World conference (LocWorld34) in June 2017, and he impressed me with his positive energy, his outgoing personality and his entrepreneurial attitude. Catch his insights into the Slovenian and Western Balkan markets, which cover a relatively small geographic area, yet comprise a high diversity of languages and cultures.

Links:

• GORR website
• GORR on LinkedIn
• GORR on Facebook
• GORR on Twitter
• Gregor on LinkedIn

Jessica Rathke is a marketing expert, a public speaker, and the CEO of Localisation Sales & Marketing, a consulting firm that she founded in 2011. From her base in London, U.K., she provides sales consulting and training to translation companies, helping them achieve their revenue objectives. To date, she has trained hundreds of sales professionals from over 41 countries.

With a strong background in foreign affairs, German studies and marketing, Jessica first entered the language industry in 1998, when she took on the role of business development manager for ALPNET, a US-based company that was acquired by SDL. From there, she went on to work with a number of leading language services providers, including Rubric, Oxford Conversis, and Jonkers.

Besides running her own consultancy, Jessica is an active member of Women in Localization, and recently became the U.K. Chapter Manager for the association. In her spare time, she's also an avid competitive masters swimmer, and regularly competes at the international level.

Catch Jessica's insights into the best ways for startups and SMEs to go about choosing the right translation and localization vendor for their particular needs.

Links:

• Localisation Sales & Marketing website
• Jessica on LinkedIn
• Jessica on Twitter

Christiane Bark is the Localisation Manager at busuu, a digital platform that enhances and transforms the way people learn languages. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, busuu's mission is to change the global language learning industry through the use technology. So far, it has over 70 million users and offers 12 different languages to study.

A native of Germany, Christiane is fluently bilingual and has a solid background in translation. She has been living and working in London since 2011, and joined the team at busuu in 2015.

Christiane is a self-described localization enthusiast, and she is passionate about making great content available to as many people as possible. I first met her at a recent Localization World conference (LocWorld34) in Barcelona, where she was one of the presenters on a panel called "Hacking the Localization Thinking Into Startups".

Catch Christiane's insights into what it takes to build a multilingual platform, and why maintenance costs need to be factored into the localization budget.

Links:

• busuu website
• busuu blog
• busuu on YouTube
• busuu on Facebook
• busuu on Twitter
• Christiane on LinkedIn

Lori Thicke is a serial entrepreneur, a humanitarian, and the CEO of Lexcelera, a company that provides translation services to global companies. A native of Canada, she founded her first company when she was just 12 years old, and her next one while she was still in high school.

In 1986, after receiving her Master's degree from the University of British Columbia, Lori moved to Paris, France. Convinced that high-quality translation would be a game changer in the translation and localization industry, she founded Eurotexte, which was later renamed Lexcelera.

For over 30 years now, Lexcelera and its subsidiary company, LexWorks, have been helping clients grow international revenues, decrease time to global markets, and increase customer satisfaction. The company is now a leading provider of translation services, with offices in Paris, London, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, and Singapore.

In addition to her business ventures, Lori is the Founder of Translators without Borders (TWB), the world's largest humanitarian translation organization. Since 1993, TWB has been providing translation support to other organizations including Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health, Oxfam, and Wikipedia.

Lori is passionate about corporate social responsibility, and she is a frequent speaker on how translation and technology can work together to take down language barriers. Her vision is for everyone in the world to be able to access the information they need, no matter what language they speak.

Links:

• Lexcelera website
• Lexcelera on LinkedIn
• Lexcelera on Facebook
• LexWorks website
• LexWorks on LinkedIn
• LexWorks on Facebook
• Translators without Borders website
• Translators without Borders on LinkedIn
• Translators without Borders on YouTube
• Translators without Borders on Facebook
• Translators without Borders on Instagram
• Translators without Borders on Twitter
• Lori's blog
• Lori on LinkedIn
• Lori on Twitter

Patrick Kelly is the Chief Commercial Officer at Vistatec, one of the world's leading localization services providers. In his role as CCO, he is responsible for the commercial viability of the company's business solutions.

With a background in IT, Pat began his career in software development at Lotus. He then went on to become the Localization Manager at GeCAP, a localization company based in Germany. When GeCAP was eventually acquired Bowne Global Solution in 1997, he became one of the founding members of Vistatec.

Today, the Vistatec is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and has offices in Mountain View, California. For two decades now, it has been supporting some of the world's most iconic brands, helping them to optimize their global commercial potential. As the Vistatec celebrates its 20th anniversary, it's a perfect opportunity to chat with one of the company's original co-founders.

Pat has some great insights into what it takes to grow a global brand in the Digital Age, and how a new generation of tools is keeping up with the need for agile content localization.

Links:

• Vistatec website
• Vistatec on LinkedIn
• Vistatec on Facebook
• Vistatec on Twitter
• Think Global Forum website
• Think Global Forum on Twitter
• Episode TWM 043 w/ Michele Smith
• Pat Kelly on LinkedIn
• Pat Kelly on Twitter

Allison McDougall is the Vice President of Emerging Business at Lionbridge Technologies, one of the world's largest language services providers. She is an experienced global business strategist, a cross-cultural sales leader, and an innovative "disrupter".

With a passion for languages and a strong background in marketing, Allison has been working in the language and localization industry since 1998, when she became Director of Globalization Solutions at SDL, another leading language services company.

After almost two decades in the industry, Allison is committed to helping others achieve their career goals as well. In 2015, she established a higher-education scholarship for an undergraduate student majoring in international language at her alma mater, the University of Illinois.

In January 2017, Allison took on the role of Chair of Women in Localization, a leading professional organization where she has been a Board Member since 2013. In her new role, she is leading the organization's efforts to foster the advancement of women in the localization industry, and to promote their professional development, networking, and continuous education.

With 11 chapters worldwide and counting, Women in Localization presents an interesting case study: it's not a nonprofit looking to go global, but rather, an organization already growing globally and now aiming for nonprofit status. And who better to lead the way than Allison, with her decades of experience in international business, marketing and the localization industry?

Links:

• ​Women in Localization website
• Women in Localization on LinkedIn
• Women in Localization on Facebook
• Women in Localization on Twitter
• Lionbridge website
• Lionbridge on LinkedIn
• Lionbridge on Facebook
• Lionbridge on Twitter
• Allison on LinkedIn
• Allison on Twitter

Josh Steimle is the CEO of MWI, a global digital marketing agency that he founded in 1999, when he was still a college student. In 2013, Josh moved from Salt Lake City to Hong Kong to open his agency's first international office. Today, MWI has offices in the United States, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and more on the way.

Besides running his agency, Josh is a TEDx speaker and a frequent keynote speaker at marketing and business events. He is the author of Chief Marketing Officers at Work, which was recognized by Success magazine as one of the "5 Best Business Books of 2016". He is also a regular contributor to publications such as Mashable, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur magazine.

As of last year, 2016, Josh has taken on the role of organizer for the China Marketing Summit, which is the largest marketing conference in China. It has been called a "must-attend conference for anyone interested in marketing to Chinese audiences" by Forbes magazine.

Among his many accolades, Josh was named by Forbes magazine as one of "25 Marketing Influencers To Watch In 2017", he is listed on Entrepreneur magazine's "50 Inspirational Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017", and he was ranked the "7th Most Influential CMO in the World" by Richtopia. Through his new project called Influencer Inc., he now coaches other individuals to become influencers through their writing, speaking, and marketing.

Links:

• MWI website
• MWI on LinkedIn
• MWI on Facebook
• MWI on Twitter
• China Marketing Summit website
• China Marketing Summit on LinkedIn
• China Marketing Summit on Facebook
• China Marketing Summit on YouTube
• China Marketing Summit on Twitter
• Josh's book on Amazon
• Josh's website
• Josh's articles and interviews
• Josh on LinkedIn
• Josh on Facebook
• Josh on YouTube
• Josh on Twitter

Dorota Pawlak is a language services professional who specializes in Polish. She is the owner of DP Translation Services and, more recently, of a consultancy called Polish Localisation.

As a translator and localizer, Dorota focuses on the cultural adaptation of digital products such as websites, mobile apps, and software. She runs online courses on localization and intercultural communication, and she is also the author of two blogs.

In addition to her client work, Dorota enjoys sharing her experience by speaking at industry events. In fact, in 2015, she co-founded All-round Translation Events, a series of small-scale events and workshops where translators can meet and learn more about topics that go beyond their core translation skills.

Dorota's mission is to helps businesses, organizations and individuals to communicate successfully with their partners and customers across cultures and borders.

Links:

• DP Translation Services website
• DP Translation Services on Facebook
• Polish Localisation website
• Polish Localisation on LinkedIn
• Polish Localisation on Facebook
• Polish Localisation on Instagram
• Polish Localisation on Twitter
• All-round Translator Events website
• All-round Translator Events on LinkedIn
• All-round Translator Events on Facebook
• All-round Translator Events on Twitter
• Dorota on LinkedIn
• Dorota on Twitter