Technology is entering a new chapter that’s being driven by flows of information and data, changes that are reshaping value chains. As technologies develop over the next decade, to remain relevant, companies and professionals will have to be agile in adapting their skills to meet the challenges of the latest tech, innovations and tools.
Understanding that it’s essential for company owners to remain current with the latest technology, Apis Training AB has not only identified the skills gaps in the mobile industry but is leading the way by providing innovative technology training for mobile operators, equipment suppliers, service providers and regulators. And, guiding this business into the future is CEO and President of Apis Training AB, Mache Ozeran.
“Our world-class tech training puts us at the forefront of influencing change every single day and we hope to continue doing it (just on a larger scale) well into the future,” says Mache.
The Foremost Trait of a Leader is Confidence
Mache says that he is a natural-born leader. “I realised at a young age that I had an instinctive ability to bring people together and lead them in achieving a collective goal, whether it was in the classroom, amongst friends or on the football field.”
Not only was he confident in his ability to lead but he was also positive that one day he would head up a large corporation. “I made it my mission to work towards realising that goal,” Mache says.
So, when the opportunity arose to take over as the CEO of Apis, Mache says he didn’t think twice. “I knew I could make a difference. Having been in sales and having worked closely with our customers, I knew our unique selling points well. I was also acutely aware of where the gaps were and how I could make a difference. I knew that digital learning was the way of the future and for a forward-thinking business like ours, we needed to move from the traditional classroom environment to online learning,” he says.
Striving to Make His Own Way
Mache was raised in a family of entrepreneurs and was expected to follow in his family’s footsteps. But he had a very different idea for his life. Mache wanted to claim his independence and make his own mark on the world.
Mache moved to Stockholm to explore this vision and worked as a consultant in the recruitment industry whilst completing his degree. After he qualified, the company promoted him to Consultant Manager with a full team of people reporting to him. He was the youngest person to ever achieve this role in the organisation.
“This was the beginning of my career. It was here that I learnt that great leaders are not always people with years and years of experience. Great leaders are advocates for their team, are prepared to make decisions, and are ready to take responsibility,” he explains.
Taking Strength from Challenges
Facing challenges in both your personal and professional life is inevitable. It’s just how life works. But some challenges impact your life so completely that they reframe your perceptions and your life trajectory. For Mache, this challenge was losing his child. His daughter was born prematurely at six months and sadly passed away only four months later.
When Mache recalls this time in his life, he remembers being cooped up in the hospital, day in and day out, with very little hope. It made him see life very differently. “It gave me perspective, taught me to appreciate the little things, but most of all it made me realise that business decisions are seldom ‘life or death’; almost every business challenge is solvable,” he says. “As such, I rarely, if ever, focus on the challenges, I focus on the goal and the solutions that will help us to achieve those goals.”
Adding New Skills is Essential
Modern technology has unlocked massive opportunities for businesses across the world. At the same time, this development is also constantly creating skills gaps. According to Mache, in the current fast-paced world, skill sets can become obsolete in just a few years, so staying relevant for both businesses and their people is a challenge that has to be met.
Apis Training AB appreciates these pressures and has created a business model to ensure that mobile telecom businesses and the people working in these companies have the training required to generate value and unleash stable, perpetual growth.
“Our world-class tech training not only helps combat skills gaps but also helps our customers to get up to speed, quickly. From 2G to 5G, general datacom/IP to cloud, virtualization and SDN to NFV, Open Source to Radio Networking Planning; our course portfolio covers all this. Plus, our courses are based on the latest GSMA, 3GPP, ETSI, and IETF standards,” Mache explains.
Becoming Efficient by Adding Innovation
Mache agrees that training is an integral part of any business. It helps enhance employee skills and keeps professionals up to date with the latest developments while also helping them acquire new skills. The traditional learning delivery setup however involved mostly face-to-face, instructor-led classroom training. This meant that instructors had to travel around the world to engage with their learners, which took time, money and required multiple external dependencies.
When Mache took the wheel at Apis Training AB, he recognised the power of the internet and mobile technologies and began transitioning traditional learning to e-learning and mobile learning.
Mache understood the potential of this new global learning channel – it’s ability to train anyone, anywhere, at any time. Setting up Apis Training AB as a progressive leader in online learning, Mache was confident that this platform would deliver training that was easier to implement, would have fewer external dependencies, would be more cost-effective and most of all, would be scalable.
“My job has been to cast this vision and share it in a way that ignites the team to make the vision a reality. I have been deliberate about removing obstacles, freeing up resources, and empowering the team to get us to where we need to be,” says Mache.
Ahead of the Present
According to Mache, mobile telecom service providers need to be at the forefront of technology to remain competitive. To ensure that service providers can achieve this, the team at Apis Training AB has to be “tech-perts” themselves. The team is therefore constantly exploring, learning and engaging with the new technologies that could become a disruption in the future. Furthermore, Apis Training AB delivers its training as per users’ expectations: high-tech content delivered in an innovative and high-tech format. “Anything less, would make us seem like a farce,” says Mache.
Responsibilities as CEO and President of Apis Training AB
Mache is responsible for the overall success of Apis Training AB and his duties include making major decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of the business as well as acting as the point of contact between the board and the rest of the business. The majority of his workday is taken up by meetings and emails, not unlike any other CEO.
Mache is however, deeply committed to keeping his people focused and motivated and that’s why he has a strong focus on ensuring that Apis Training AB offers its employees flexibility and the opportunity to be part of a multinational, multiethnic and multigenerational company. Operating in more than 80 countries around the world, the team can work from home or an office and are not bound by the clock. Mache explains this approach: “We don’t believe in clock-watching, but rather measure their success on output.”
Deliberate and Disciplined with Time
To achieve a balance between work and personal life, Mache participates in other activities as well. He plays football twice a week and also makes time for his two kids; a baby girl and a 4-year boy. He says, “My children have this wonderful ability to re-energise me, and my best moments are spent with them.”
Influence and Success
Mache believes that in any organisation, a leader’s success is not defined by sales or revenue. He says, “Whilst these are vital aspects of business, a true reflection of a leader’s success is their ability to influence and help people grow.” For Mache, success is about implementing innovations (be it a new product or service) and improvements that will unlock mutual growth for both Apis Training AB as well as its clients. Mache defines true success in making a meaningful difference in people’s lives and he believes that through the training provided by Apis Training AB, he is helping people and company’s gain a massive competitive advantage through which they will be able to harness growth both now and into the future.
