3 min read January 2024 — In an interview with Invest:, Giselle Cheminand, president and CEO of GCI Worldwide Corporation, talked about how fast-paced change has created a demand for skill sets that enable leaders to be adaptable. She also talked about how the company supports the leaders it serves by listening to them and helping them plan and strategize. She added that making sure that candidates are a good fit for a company’s culture can improve recruitment and retention costs.
What are the most important highlights of GCI Worldwide for the past year?
Our company develops leadership programs to serve C-suite members and high-level companies. The COVID-19 pandemic opened a door of opportunities for us to figure what is next and we switched to virtual programs. Our clients are starting to request live experiences for our leadership programs, so we are now moving to hybrid experiences in which we serve some of our clients virtually but we also create live experiences for them.
How have corporate relocations to Broward County influenced the demand for GCI Worldwide Corporation’s services?
In the leadership development business, the more challenges our clients have, the higher their demand for our services. As they are entering a new market, or exploring to launch new products and services, they need help with strategies from experts like us. Executives report to a board and serve employees, but they cannot have discussions of some of the issues they face with either group. Therefore, they come to us because we can understand their challenges, strategize solutions with them, and help them create successful action plans. Leaders come to us because they face new challenges daily, so we are constantly expanding. Coaching is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. because leaders more than ever understand that business is a team sport.
How are the needs for executive coaching changing because of the growth of the business community?
The ability to deal with change is a skill that leaders are looking to develop. Leading change is one of the most important areas where they need support. They want to be adaptable and effective in their response to situations. In the past leaders would make plans for five to ten years ahead and implement those plans, but the evolution of technology including artificial intelligence has changed the pace of business and demands on their agility in responses to challenges. Our clients are experiencing change after change coming at them at a pace that they are not used to, which is why our clients want to be able to be fast on the response, both in dealing with technology and leading their organizations successfully. As more companies get formed and grow in our community, and deal with these changes, more we are called to support them.
How does GCI Worldwide Corporation help companies hire, promote, and develop their talent?
We focus on culture. A lot of leaders focus solely on the achievement of high performance, but they forget that culture is the source of creating that high level team that can produce outstanding results. We have found that many leaders think that they have a successful corporate culture but many of their employees have diverse opinions about what their leadership believes about the culture. We assess how people fit a company’s culture, how they belong there, and whether they have the skill sets to join a particular role. If they have, we assess their skills and behavior and map a plan to develop them to the next level. Figuring this out is important because hiring requires financial investment but dealing with turnover requires an even higher disbursement of capital. We help companies understand how to navigate through this process, so they can develop high performing teams.
How would you describe the current situation of Broward County’s talent pool?
Broward County has incredible leaders that are highly talented and committed to investing in the future. Many leaders we support are not only focused on their companies being successful but also on creating a space where the community as a whole can be successful. Something else that makes Broward County stand out is the fact that we, as leaders, want to work together for the betterment of the greater good.
How is GCI Worldwide Corporation involved with supporting the local community?
We started a program called “Extraordinary Women Leading Change” that focuses on elevating gender inclusion. We want men and women to work together and women to be more present in higher leadership roles and given more opportunities but in partnership with men. Since the beginning of that program, we have supported the PACE Center for Girls and provided mentorship and financial support for the underprivileged girls that the centers serve. We also created the EWLC Leadership Summit for Girls where we bring leaders from different backgrounds and industries to mentor them and help them find jobs so that they can grow. In addition, we have supported St Jude Hospital, the American Heart Association, MADD, among many other organizations that make an impact in the community.
Are there any new regulations or laws that you are looking out for due to their potential impact on your client portfolio?
We serve some highly regulated industries such as banking, real estate and healthcare. We are paying attention to how artificial intelligence will be regulated because it could have a profound impact on business operations and every aspect of life.
Where do you see GCI Worldwide Corporation headed in the next two to three years?
We will continue leading change and helping our clients to evolve. We learned from The Florida Chamber that millions of people will be migrating to the state, including to South Florida. We will be paying attention to aspects like housing and the way that new technologies will impact us. We will continue to adapt to the changes and the challenges the growth brings while supporting our clients to lead change in their own business. The continuous change demands that leaders improve and become better leaders, which will help us grow and expand our programs. We will continue creating new leadership development programs to supply the needs our clients have.
For more information, visit:
