Lux and Friends

I couldn't be happier to kick off a new season, this time live from Dubai, of Lux & Friends podcast, with an exceptional guest whose story is nothing short of a fairytale in the Luxury Industry. Like all fairytales, Amedeo Scognamiglio's life and journey are filled with surprises, miracles, unexpected twists, extreme joy, and profound sadness. Amedeo and his childhood friend, partner, and later business partner Roberto Faraone Mennella left Italy in the late 90's to pursue their dream of living together in NY and creating something remarkable. Amedeo began expanding his family's 150-year-old Cameos business in the US, while Roberto opted to study at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. After Roberto graduated, he faced a crucial decision: either join a company with years of apprenticeship ahead before having creative freedom or establish their own venture with Amedeo. They chose the latter, and soon after, the fine jewelry brand Faraone Mennella was born. Despite the grand dream, they had only $10,000, just enough to craft their first "mesmerizing" (to say it with those who saw it)  collection. "What could possibly go wrong?" they wondered. The jewelry was breathtaking, the plan was set (to be featured at Bergdorf Goodman), and they were driven to succeed. However, the 9/11 struck, shattering their hopes along with the towers. Yet, one fateful night, Amedeo received a call that achanged their lives forever. Sarah Jessica Parker, the star of Sex and the City, requested a Cameo for the show. The rest is history. Within months, Faraone Mennella emerged as the most sought-after designer jewelry brand in the US. The media couldn't get enough of them, and the roster of celebrities and UHNWI adorned in their jewels is too lengthy to enumerate. An American dream was realized. "The Italian boys" succeeded in NY, but tragedy loomed ahead. Roberto passed away in 2020, yet his dream lives on, carried forward by Amedeo in his memory. Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, settle in comfortably, and tune in to this episode of the podcast. It will evoke laughter, tears, dreams, and renewed hope.

The focus of this episode of Lux and Friends is Permanent Reinvention, the one thing we (individuals and organizations)all need. That we all somehow do, and that we all fear.In nature, change is inevitable. Organisms either change or die.And yet, the human brain is resistant to change despite all evidence would suggest it is vital to one’s survival.My guest of today is Aidan McCullen, author of the best-selling book Undistruptable, A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life.Aidan’s career is a manifesto for change and reinvention.A former professional rugby player the Irish National team, he is the host of the Innovation Show, a world class podcast featuring some of the world’s leading thought leaders, and a corporate consultant and change maker/ Aidan McCullen’s speciality is to help people and organization see the blind spots that prevent their growth, and their transformation.Aidan says “you cannot innovate unless you develop a mindset of permanent reinvention. A mindset that fosters psychological safety, that celebrates mistakes and looks at change as the most natural, inevitable thing in life”. This episode is dense with wisdom, best practices, and methodologies that will help you transform yourself and your business to meet the challenges of an increasingly VUCA world.You will enjoy listening to this interview with Aidan McCullen because he’s a superb storyteller and stories, as you certainly know, speak to the brain and the heart of people.Enjoy!

The title of this episode is Art and Business, Music and Luxury and to discuss such a variety of topics, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing a true artist and a businessman, Vincent Corver.Vincent is an acclaimed concert pianist and music composer, as well as an ambassador for Steinway & Sons, the most prestigious manufacturer of the finest musical instrument, the piano.With Vincent, I have discussed the intersection between art and luxury, what creativity can do in business, and the present state of art of both the music and the luxury industries.Listening to this podcast, you’ll get to know an inspiring musician, and a fine thinker. You’ll learn that virtuosity, alone, whatever your field of specialization is, won’t take you as far as you wish, for you have to gain a wider perspective.You’ll also learn that creativity and business can and should go hand in hand, except you may need to reframe both concepts in order to fully grasp the idea.Enjoy this episode of Lux and Friends, and once you’ve finished listening to it, go check Vincent Corver’s music. You’ll love it!

This episode of the podcast is about Emotional Intelligence, a term popularized in the 90’s by the psychologist Daniel Goleman and, ever since, the corporate world has embraced it. Or so they say.In fact, that type of intelligence that makes individuals and groups of people aware of their emotions, and the emotions of others, is as rare as desirable.In a time when efficiency, productivity and market domination have become the standard definition of success, we need to go beyond Emotional Intelligence, as per the current state of adoption.My guest today is Michele Nevarez, a corporate advisor to Fortune 500 companies and the author of the book Beyond Emotional Intelligence, A Guide to Accessing Your Full Potential.Michele’s body of work is remarkable, and extremely comprehensive. From psychology to neuroscience, from biology to spirituality, it takes a 360 degrees approach to understand how emotions play into our lives. And once we understand them, we can finally set strategies to leverage emotions to become better human beings, and ultimately, better societies. 

Today’s podcast is all about bringing humanity back to business!It is about putting customers back into the center of your business model Data alone can’t help you understand and empathize with your customers.” says my guest Janelle Estes, co-author of the newly released book User Tested.“No amount of data will take you inside your customers’’ heads, help you see the world through their eyes, or let you experience what it’s really like to be your customer. Only human insight from real people can do that.”Listening to this episode, you’ll learn tested methodologies to trigger that type of customer feedback that makes your new products, collections, or campaigns in line with their expectations and perhaps beyond them.You’ll hear Janelle share success stories, and a few failures, and as you’ll listen, you’ll figure how your company can start today to finally hear your customers’ voice.THE BOOKUser Tested gives both individual contributors and executives an approachable, pragmatic playbook for stepping beyond standard business metrics and infusing real human insight into every business decision, design, and experience.In this book, you’ll:Learn how businesses became obsessed with data—but disconnected from their customers—and why that’s not sustainableGet the basics about how to capture human insight through user testing, including how to find the right people, ask the right questions, and make sense of and act on all the insights you uncoverDive into a detailed playbook that shares real-world examples of how you can collect and scale human insight across the teams in your organization—from marketing to product, and beyondLearn how to evangelize the power of human insight throughout your organization, so every department can create a culture of customer empathy and share a firsthand understanding of customer needsFind out how companies like Microsoft, AAA Club Alliance, HelloFresh, and Notre Dame’s IDEA Center solidly connect with and elicit meaningful feedback from customers in friendlier, faster, and more direct waysPerfect for any industry, User Tested: How the World's Top Companies Use Human Insight to Create Great Experiences was co-authored by the chief insights officer and the CEO of UserTesting—a SaaS company fundamentally changing the way both B2B and consumer brands find out what real people think and feel. The book reflects the authors’ commitment to helping you position the customer squarely in the center of your business model by weaving their true voices throughout your company’s decision making.

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Hallam, a financial expert and author of many books of which “The Millionnaire expat”is at the center of our conversation.Yet, you don’t have to be an expat, nor a millionaire to benefit from listening to this podcast, from which you’ll learn, as a starter, that some of the most reputable insurance companies in the world sell retirement plans that will leave you broke. Andrew will tell you who they are, and what you can do to avoid those traps.You’ll also learn that in order to grow your capital over time, you won’t need a complex and time-consuming investment plan.He spends on average 1 hour per year to balance his portfolio of low-cost index fund s and as a result he beat most actively managed funds, that come with astronomic fees.We also touched on the current status of the global markets, and Andrew’s perspective is refreshing and somehow reassuring. There is a lot to learn and enjoy here…..Have a listenMILLIONAIRE EXPATBuild your strongest-ever portfolio from anywhere in the worldNow in its third edition, Millionaire Expat is the world’s most trusted, bestselling guide for expat investors.  It shows readers how to protect themselves from financial sharks and build effective portfolios that maximize profits and tax efficiency. This updated guide includes model portfolios of ETFs or index funds.  It recommends subtle differences for investors based on nationality, while explaining why all-in-one portfolio funds are even simpler and more profitable than individual ETFs.  Millionaire Expat also provides investment models for socially responsible funds.Best of all, this book is specific.  Author Andrew Hallam doesn’t just offer theory.  He shows you exactly what to buy and where to buy it from.  He explains how much you should sell each year, upon retirement, and discusses repatriation: showing how different countries deal with the taxation of portfolios that were built abroad. And if you’re looking for a hands-free approach, Millionaire Expat offers something for you as well:  lists of roboadvisors and full-service financial firms that offer guidance and build portfolios of ETFs and index funds.But what if you started investing late and can’t afford to retire? In that case, Andrew Hallam has you covered.  He profiles several low-cost countries that are popular with expats.  He explains what countries are great for Global Nomads and for retirees looking for tax breaks, safety, solid health care systems and a low-cost, enjoyable standard of living.Millionaire Expat (3rd edition) is an entertaining guide, showing readers how to maximize their money and their life satisfaction based on simple, smart investing and their choice of retirement destination.Author Andrew Hallam was a high school teacher who built a million-dollar portfolio―on a teacher's salary. He knows how everyday people can achieve success in the market. In Millionaire Expat, he tailors his best advice to the unique needs of those living overseas to give you the targeted, real-world guidance you need.SHOW LESS

Our journey in the world of NFTs continues and in today’s podcast, I have the pleasure of interviewing Seoyoung Kim the Author of NFT for Dummies.Seoyoung Kim is an Associate Professor of Finance and Business Analytics at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, where she teaches Financial Management, Financial Engineering, and FinTech.As the financial markets are plummeting all over the world, and the crypto and blockchain sectors make no exception, professor Kim's expertise in innovative financial instruments will help you gain some clarity.Listening to this episode of Lux and Friends you’ll learn that to understand NFT you have to, first and foremost, understand cryptocurrencies and the mother of them all, Bitcoin.You will also gain a perspective to see beyond digital art. You’ll learn that NFTs are contracts on top of a ledger. Public and sometimes decentralized. If these words sound too technical and perhaps boring beware….for they are revolutionary.

The title of this podcast is Neuroscience at Work, and I had the immense pleasure of interviewing, for the second time, Dr. Helena Boschi, an organisational psychologist, a neuroscience expert and the author of the unmissable book Why we do what we do.This conversation with Dr. Boschi is a fascinating journey into our brain. Listening to it, you will understand what attracts people to luxury and what drives buying decisions at large.You will learn how your brain copes with the information overflow we all experience today, and how sleep contributes to your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your brain.You’ll discover why human beings hate being wrong, and what are the consequences in real life.If you work in a company that has introduced personality tests in their hiring process, you will discover how they may affect the environment and the company culture.This, and much more, awaits you in the minutes that follow.Enjoy!

Today’s podcast is about innovation, the innovation that can and should come from within a corporation.Yes, Contrary to popular beliefs, large corporations are better off than startups at winning the innovation game, or so says my guest, Andrew Binns.Andrew is the co-author of the best-selling book, The corporate explorer, and a strategic advisor to Fortune 500 companies.Listening to this interview, you will learn there is a breed of managers, that are the corporate explorers, who have the vision and the courage to challenge the status quo, and bring the disruptive change large corporations need to keep striving, and sometimes surviving.They are as innovative and effective as the startup entrepreneurs the press love to portray as the queens and kings of innovation, and they are also different.Corporate explorers must disrupts business models, while harmonizing ideas and resources.They must pursue new opportunities, while making sure the existing business, and the people running it, don’t feel threatened.It’s not an easy job, but someone must do it, and that person may be you.

The topic of today’s podcast is NFTs, non fungible tokens.Whether you think they are just a jpeg file people exchange for millions of dollars, or the next generation of contracts, whether you think they are the ultimate cultural phenomenon, a great investment or just a scam, you can’t ignore NFTs anymore, for they are changing the very idea of digital property.To set the record straight and help you, dear listener, understand NFTs well, I’ve interviewed QuHarrison Terry, a formed digital art dealer, an entrepreneur, television host and advisor to billionaire and crypto enthusiast Mark Cuban. QuHarrison is also the co-author of the book The NFT Handbook and if you listen carefully to the conversation that follows you’ll know more about NFTs than pretty much everyone you know.We’ll address uses cases, the underlying technology, but also the traps to avoid, and the cultural elements of NFTs.

The title of today’s podcast is Rethinking Luxury Fashion.I had the pleasure of sitting with Thomaï Serdari, the director of the Fashion & Luxury Mba at the Leonard Stern School Of Business, at the New York university and the conversation that follows will open your eyes.You’ll learn that luxury is a universal certainty, that fashion is a cultural phenomenon before it is an industrial, or simply an aesthetical one.You will see through the strategies the most successful luxury brands in the world deploy to win their loyal fans, and you’ll get the tools to rewrite future of luxury fashion.

Our guest, Kelly Khan, is a professional soprano singer. She takes us through her daily singing exercises. Breathing & diction are core and benefit non singers.Why is improving one's voice valuable to all of us?Why are singing techniques useful for non singers?How to exercise and train our voice every day?Why can't we hear our own real voice?Why can't we trust our own ears?What do we need to know about our vocal chords?In this episode of Lux & Friends, Kelly explains to us how training our voice is not only fundamental for singers but also for non singers. Improving one's voice not only helps build our self-confidence but also strengthens our breathing and our posture. Singing is Kelly's passion; as a child she was singing in a church choir before deciding to make it her profession and go through the academic studies. She spends 3 hours a day singing but also exercising diction in a variety of languages, French, Italian, Russian. French remains her favourite and most challenging language as it allows her to best 'gather' her voice. She sings for us an extract of Debussy and also shows us how to deeply breathe, warm up and cool down our voice. Daily exercises include humming, ice chewing and lip trails. She still practices the techniques taught by Nino Tagliareni 'Cantar Parlando' or 'Singing when Talking'. Our voice is our most powerful tool to communicate our message clearly. Let's use it. Let's exercise!

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO WIN THE BATTLE OF CONTENT?You want to know the answers to key questions:Who will win the fierce battle of content? Which brands will be the kinds of content? What is too much content kills content? What can be defined as innovative content?Our guest, Julien Lévy, was head of global brand & digital communication at Firmenich. Now a brand strategic advisor, he gives us his tips to win the content battle.In this episode of Lux & Friends, Julien gives us 4 key tips: 1. Be more interesting than interested, the audience should learn something 2. Be authentic, he says 'there is nothing more beautiful than reality'. Brands have to tell us a story while showing their humanity, even their own imperfection.3. Talk about values, don't oversell. 4. Surprise and yet be consistent with the brand DNA. The ‘Naturals Together’ campaign he designed, art directed and produced for Firmenich, took perfumers all around the world to the field to meet the farmers growing ingredients, with no acting, just being 'natural'. He picks 2 brands, AirBnN and Red bull for brand communication quality. Constant change and AI is the rule of the game and pushes for better creative content. He has 3 heroes; Homère, the first storyteller tackling the challenge of being a human; Steve Jobs, for having understood the idea of the higher purpose and his wife, both a nurse and mother. In conclusion, he is quite optimistic about the future. Great content is ahead of us.

Stop worrying about money. Financial Literacy with Michael GilmoreIn this episode of Lux  and Friends, Michael Gilmore tells us why he has embarked on such an ambitious mission, teaching the world the power of money. He wants to improve life for humanity at large by removing poverty and giving financial freedom to people. To achieve his goal, he writes books and gives lectures. His financial literacy teaching method is simple, his 'freedom formula' or '7 dollar millionaire' principle is easily accessible for a teenager. He relentlessly focuses on the process, on explaining how to take the right financial decisions in terms of savings and investments. It works! He is happiest when chasing new learnings and he shares with us his happy mission's new initiative, MAIA or a very special kind of 'Money Awards'. Spread the good word!  You will learn:What is Michael Gilmore 's financial freedom formula?Does a 'google search' alternative for 'finances' exist?  How can I reach financial literacy and freedom?Does the formula work in the current VUCA times?What does the title '7 dollar millionaire' stand for?How can I make the right investment decisions?Why is learning the power of money a life essential?

The subject of today’s podcast is the importance of building strong and meaningful relationships at work and in life.Easier said than done, you may say, for human beings are complex machines and all wired differently.There is always a Problem A and a Problem B in every relationship, says my guest of today Paul Cowan, the author of the book “ “Connecting with Clients: For stronger, more rewarding and longer-lasting client relationships”Problem A is the task at hand, the very issue or subject which needs to be addressed with a particular client whereas Problem B is the relationship or even better, the client’s experience of the relationship.To focus entirely on problem A, on the delivery of a product or a service,on the output neglecting to invest time and resources in the relationship so as to enhance the customer experience of the delivery, is a mistake.And relationship is such a dynamic concept which first and foremost requires commitment and an understanding of what makes human beings connect and trust each other.Paul Cowan is a psychotherapist,  and also a successful entrepreneur in the fields of marketing and advertising. He runs CRS Customer Relationship Consultancy, a global firm which helps businesses strengthen the relationships with their clientele, and in the incredibly informative and inspiring interview that follows you will learn strategies that will help you grow your business, and also principles like the Ego State, the Jahary window, like Already Listening that will make you think about the way you and other people make decisions and communicate.And then you’ll be inspired to nurture and grow your relationships with your clients, stakeholders, and the people around you.

The title of today’s podcast is GO LIVE AND SELL.The sales education arena is a crowded one, and inevitably so because…..think about it although many companies and individuals don’t really like to use the word sales to describe what they do, most of the time nothing really happens in business until a sale is made.And so, the world is getting increasingly populated by people who write, talk, teach and preach about sales.Some of them are extremely good, others are neglectable, and only a few are great, and managed to change with their work the way we all sell.Today, I have the great pleasure to interview one of the greats, the King of Sales, the author of over 17 books, including the all time classic The Sales Bible, Jeffrey Gitomer,  a household name in the industry who keeps innovating and inspiring millions of business people across the globe.Jeffrey joins me today to discuss his newly released book titled “GO LIVE, turn virtual connections in paying customers” and without further ado I welcome him to the show for you to learn how to leverage technology to grow your business

The subject of today’s podcast is Digital Transformation, one of the hottest, if not the hottest topics in today’s corporate world and to address it,and understand the various conceptual and practical implications of Digital Transformation,  I’ve chosen to speak with the co-author of a very detailed and well structured book titled “ The Digital Transformer’s Dilemma. How to energize your core business, while building disruptive products and services.”With my guest Markus Schmidt, I will try to understand how companies can plan and execute strategies to reinforce their core business in the digital age, what Markus calls the S Curve one, and contextually give life to brand new products, services, and perhaps business models, what Markus refers to as the S Curve two, to ensure survival and relevance of their business in the future.We’ll talk about technology, philosophy, leadership, people and communication, in a conversation which aims at giving you the information you need to transform your business digitally, while leveraging its precious legacy.

The topic of today’s podcast is Business Transformation, a trip into the future with one of the world’s leading futurists, Peter Fisk.Corporate leaders, says Peter, spend way too much time thinking about the past, looking at past performance, trying to replicate what made their company successful forgetting that the future is complex, unpredictable, fast coming, and there to be created.What if they’d choose to spend their time imagining, inventing their future instead?In this interview, Peter and I will discuss the content of his latest book titled Business Recoded: Have the Courage to Create a Better Future for Yourself and Your Business, which is a comprehensive guide to business transformation full of data, case histories, and an array of 7 shifts, and 49 codes you can use to transform your business and make it relevant for years to come.From embracing megatrends, like an Aging world, Booming asia, Cognitive technologies, Dense living, and Eco-renewal, to understanding the strategic role network businesses do play in today’s economy, this interview will provide you with knowledge and inspiration.You will hear stories of courageous leaders who disrupted entire industries, and by getting to know their journey, you will discover not only the strategies which made them succeed, but also the traits of their leadership…..and because the world has changed, and is still changing so fast, so does leadership.My guest Peter Fisk is also the author of many more best sell”ing books such as: “Gamechangers” Marketing Genius“ “People Planet Profit”, ”Customer Genius“,  “Business “Genius “Creative Genius”.He is an expert consultant to Fortune 500 Companies in four continents, and a speaker with the rare ability to make his audience see a future full of opportunities, which may not necessarily resemble their past.

The topic of today’s podcast is HOW TO SELL A BUSINESS, AND GET THE MOST OUT OF IT so, if you’re a business owner, an entrepreneur, or if you’re planning to start a business sooner than later, you don’t want to miss the precious advise my guest John Warrillow, the author of the newly released book which we will discuss today, titled The Art of Selling Your Business will share in this comprehensive interview.But if you’re an employee, and entrepreneurship is not in your agenda, you may find value in this episode too.You see, businesses are creatures, and as such they evolve constantly, they go through ups and downs, and they change hands.Understanding the various life cycles of a business, including the ones that may lead to a change of ownership, can help you gain a wider understanding of your industry, of the economy as a whole, and plan your future accordingly.My guest  John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a software tool for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. John is also the author of the best-selling books Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best business books of 2011 and of The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry. John is the  host of Built to Sell Radio, ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s 10 best podcasts for business owners and a speaker whose engaging style and the array of case histories will entertain you, inform you, and make you think……. 

The topic of today’s podcast is Virtual Sales Meetings, as if our lives were not filled enough with virtual events…..and yet there is much to gain from leveraging the opportunity to meet new and old customers online that I wanted to know more about it, and share with you, my dearest listeners, the world’s best practices.Let’s start from saying that, if you and your business are not equipped yet to engage in virtual business development activities, well, the clock is ticking and you have to quickly adapt to it.An increasing number of clients are already willing to meet you virtually and the good news is that you can do it creatively, at scale, and without necessarily losing the human elements, that beautiful ability to build rapport, which made you successful in the past.The virtual space is where you can meet new and old customers from the comfort of both your houses, the place where you can invite colleagues, stakeholders, and endorsers to help you deliver more value, it's a way to increase efficiency, minimize downtime, and stop polluting the world.In fact, corporate travelling is both an alarming source of co2 emissions, and the cause so many professionals around the world suffer severe consequences of stress.I am delighted to discuss the subject with Mante Kvedare, Partner at Implement Consulting Group and the co-Author of the book “The Virtual Sales Handbook”. For the last 10 years, Mante has been supporting leading international organisations in commercial transformations; both as a trusted advisor to the C-suite, and leading sales and marketing teams hands-on.During the last year alone, she has coached over 1000 global commercial managers on how to navigate and reap the commercial benefits of our newly fully virtual world, and so who better than her would help us succeed in our Virtual Sales Meetings?