Embed, a leading worldwide supplier of point-of-sale and revenue management systems, has been recognised at the 2020 ASEAN CIO50 Awards, among several other accolades.
Embed is celebrating a series of recent awards wins, recognising the company’s leadership team and its innovation during the global pandemic. Firstly, its CTO Andy Welsh has been ranked in the top 15 CTO professionals for the second year in a row, as announced at the 2020 ASEAN CIO50 Awards in a virtual ceremony on 3 December.
These awards are judged on key pillars such as business innovation and leadership and resiliency, highlighting transformational CIOs who have demonstrated these behaviours as well as ensuring continuity during the crisis.
Andy Welsh was ranked at number 11, ahead of giants such as Coca Cola, Deutsche Bank and Johnson & Johnson.
Embed CTO recognised
“This recognition is a validation of the team’s hard work to develop solutions that directly enable the survival of our customers, partners and industry,” says Andy Welsh. “Given the pandemic climate, consumers are pervasively aware and chronically worried about keeping their families COVID-free and safe.
“No one is going to a business they deem unsafe, they need to be reassured with the measures the operator takes to mitigate risk, keeping their employees, consumers and community safe. A simple Google search yields the ongoing research and data supporting the dramatic spike in mobile payments, which is why I’m so proud Embed is the first to go-to-market with The Mobile Wallet.
“The award-winning breakthrough innovation makes Embed the only FEC business solutions provider to partner with Google and Apple to gain compliance approval for Embed’s Mobile Wallet solution, making Embed the only non-banking finance-payment or loyalty-card business and brand card that sits in the mobile wallet! We’re very excited to be the first and only FEC cashless business solution to offer this product.
“And, incredibly proud to give this award-winning innovation away for free to everyone via Embed’s COVID-19 Relief Act simply because low-touch contactless gameplay is exactly what the industry needs most now.”
As operators began to reopen, they were able to use the Mobile Wallet technology to track what games visitors played and when, meaning they were able to track and trace customers in the event of an outbreak.
“I am proud to lead the Technology team, with a shared conviction that is tied to the universal belief in the transformative power of our solutions and the impact on the guest experience. We are committed to leading the evolution of our industry, as it results in everyone winning, the Operators and their Guests. When the Operator thrives, we thrive” adds Andy Welsh.
A leading company
In addition to this, the company’s CEO, Renee Welsh, was named in Women In Tech Review’s list of the Top-50 Women in Tech for 2021. Plys, CIO Review has listed Embed in its Top-10 Most Promising Gaming Tech Solutions Providers and Silicon Review has named it as one of its 50 Leading Companies of the Year 2021.
Renee Welsh has proved her leadership skills during the pandemic, steering Embed through a series of initiatives designed to support the industry and bring people together.
“At Embed, we are proud to be part of this industry and to work alongside all of our friends and partners,” she says. “Throughout this pandemic, we’ve developed and enacted various relief acts, including our COVID-19 Relief Act, the strongest demonstration of our commitment to our industry’s recovery.”
During the crisis, Embed took several innovative actions, for instance, in March it launched #EmbedLIVE, a series of video interviews with industry experts, blog posts and insight white papers. This was followed in April by the creation of its COVID-19 Relief Act, which included giving The Mobile Wallet away for free for one year.
In May, it announced the Embed COVID-19 Resource Center which features free tools, such as professional creative toolkits for successful reopening. Then, in July, the company launched Embed Hygiene Defence, a range of powerful, natural, non-toxic hygiene products.
More awards
Finally, Embed’s CMO, Sara Paz, was named in Industry Era’s list of the 10 Best CMOs of 2020. Paz joined the team in January 2019 and is responsible for the company’s new marketing function and marketing strategy, ‘Transforming the Business of Fun.’
“I’m proud to be part of an Executive team that focused on doing everything within our means to support our industry’s recovery via countless relief acts, including free products, re-opening toolkits, white papers, #EmbedLIVE video series with industry leaders (we shot over 97 segments!), Women@Embed video series, Live Webinars, etc.” says Paz.
“This not only required pivoting our strategy and plans but working around-the-clock in 6-week cycles of innovation (moving faster and working harder than ever before). It was unequivocally an exhausting time, but the conflation of initiatives was a noble occupation of our time, which served to propel us forward, knowing difficult times have the power to bring out the best in people.
“We were inspired by it. We wanted to be part of it. While it was far from business-as-usual, we worked hard to get through it, together. And together, we did.”
Earlier in the year, Embed also celebrated International Women’s Day, with a Cheif Executive team that is made up of 50% women.
“We believe in the value of diversity in our talent pool,” says Paz. “We have a shared commitment to gender parity at all levels of the organization because we believe in the boundless strength (intellectual, cultural and commercial strength) that results from harnessing and realizing the talent capital of gender equality.
“We take great pride in not only being gender-equal but putting an end to gender inequality in our tech sector. This naturally led to the launch of Women@Embed video series, celebrating female trailblazers from a cross-section of industries, sharing their personal stories and professional journey was incredibly rewarding.”
