Sharon Gai

The world is shifting at speeds that are now faster than ever. From ChatGPT displacing thousands of jobs to cashless societies and digital currencies, we live in what Sharon calls a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertain, Complicated, Ambiguous) time.
This is when businesses must adapt to a newer way of thinking. Sharon provides a fresh take as someone who has worked
in the top companies of the US and China. She has led teams from Gen X to Gen Z, across various diverse backgrounds
and types of companies. Apart from being a DEI speaker where she coined the term “Culture Fluid”, she uses the same agile methodology in a business setting, opening companies and projects that has beat competitors and disrupted industries. Culture Fluid shows how businesses can be agile to fit the changing tides for a VUCA time ahead. Sharon uses first-hand experience and actionable insights to present a compelling vision of the future world and leaves the audience with tools and an approach to develop a strategy to succeed in the shifting landscape of the 21st century tech-driven and digital economy.

In this keynote, you will learn:
• The key macro-trends that is disrupting our world today
• An overview of what your industry will look like in the near and distant future
• Five key strategies today’s most successful players are adopting to prepare for tomorrow
• How to evolve into a more agile and disruptive competitor
• Tools and a process for developing concrete ideas for a strategy and approaches that could disrupt the industry

The rapid growth of e-commerce, fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming the retail landscape,
impacting various aspects of the industry. AI is revolutionizing personalization and customer experience through tailored product recommendations and improved customer service. It streamlines inventory management and optimizes supply chain
processes while enhancing cybersecurity and fraud prevention. Additionally, AI plays a crucial role in payment processing,
pricing strategies, visual search, social media marketing, sentiment analysis, content generation, and the integration of
virtual and augmented reality technologies. By understanding these AI-driven developments, senior executives in large
retail and e-commerce businesses can prepare their organizations to thrive and remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven retail landscape.

In this keynote, you will learn:
• Trends in AI that will improving customer experience and foster loyalty
• AI-driven tools, leading to cost savings and increased efficiency
• Frameworks to think about other technologies that disrupt the retail industry
• Clarity and direction on immersive and interactive shopping experiences, setting businesses apart from competitors

In Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book, Antifragile, he spoke of three mythological creatures. The Roman myth of Damocles describes a fragile situation: a single horse hair suspends a sword over Damocles' head - shocks will have catastrophic results. The legend of the Phoenix describes a mythical bird that rises from the ashes after its destruction. The phoenix is robust because it returns to its original state after a shock. Finally, the myth of the Hydra describes a multi-headed serpent with a special power: each time a head is cut off, two grow back in its place. The Hydra is antifragile because shocks make it stronger.

Ever been in a situation where you feel like the world seems to be plotting against you? You’ve lost control? And feel rising anxiety? What seemed like one thing wrong might end up seeming like everything’s wrong. Learn how to adjust your mindset in this hour long workshop on How to Build Resilience in Chaos. Learn the difference between internal and external locus of control and recognize which situations are ones that we can influence, and which ones we can’t. Resilience is the ability to withstand, recover, and bounce back in the midst of stress, chaos, and ever-changing situations. Being resilient is especially important in today's VUCA world. VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. where everyone is worn down, uncertain about the future, reactive, and short-tempered. The good news is that resiliency is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. In fact, to be an effective leader today, this is an essential skill for career success.

This workshop provides specific, practical frameworks and tools for boosting mental toughness in fast-paced, difficult, ever-changing, and ambiguous situations.
• Tools used to cope with ongoing stress so it doesn't affect your personal life or health
• Keeping yourself and your team motivated for the long road of change initiatives and shifting priorities
• Instead of fearing change, learning how to embrace change
• Remaining poised under pressure: how to instantly calm yourself and others from frustration or anger

So there is EQ and IQ, but ever heard of CQ? CQ stands for cultural intelligence and is the ability for someone to navigate
different cultures, whether at work, at home or generally in society. If you’ve moved countries, been an expat, been on an
exchange, learned a new language or just travelled abroad, most likely you’ve been met with some sort of cultural shake-up. Being culture fluid enables us to traverse between cultures more easily by being more empathetic to those from another culture, a skill that is more and more needed in an increasingly globalized world. In this 60 minute workshop, Sharon will take the audience through her journey of growing up as an immigrant, and then returning to her birth country to work for the largest local internet company. She shares stories of workplace microaggressions she has experienced in both places and what she did in each instance. Open discussions will follow where participants can also share their stories and the group is given the chance to assess what are the best courses of action to take in the future. She ends the presentation by showcasing how she answers the question of – where are you from.

• Learn how to be the bridge in a team with different cultures
• Cultural intelligence and its importance in the workplace
• How to take advantage of diverse cultures in teams