Imagine Collective. Food & Beverage - Brokerage and Consultant Agency’s Post

Dear friends and network, as announced earlier in June, I'm today excited to officially welcome Mille Milehem as the new CEO of Yllw. 👏🏼 It has been an incredible privilege to lead Yllw through an amazing growth journey over the past three years, and I am deeply grateful to our customers, employees, suppliers, and partners for making this possible. To me, you are all Team Yllw! 🤜🏼🤛🏼 Mille brings a wealth of industry experience and leadership skills that I truly admire. I am confident that under his guidance, the team will continue to deliver and accelerate the growth journey ahead. I’m so glad to finally have you on the team Mille! As you know, this is not a good bye moment since I will continue to support Yllw's growth journey from a new role as Chairman of the Board and later this month I will take on a new challenge within NO GA Group as CEO of NO GA Commerce, the Group’s consumer focused business with retail and e-commerce, which includes known brands such as NO GA, Nordiska Galleriet and Länna. I’m curious to get to know all of you talented people! What we have achieved together at Yllw in recent years is unprecedented in the furniture and interior design industry. We have built a dream team of now almost 60 fantastic employees, achieving exponential (and profitable) growth, and laying a strong foundation to drive future expansion. I’m especially proud of several key milestones: - Empowering established salespeople and interior project managers through decentralization and co-ownership, fostering an entrepreneurial spirit, increasing drive, and enabling people to take on more responsibility while sharing in the profits. We now have over 30 co-owners at Yllw, either actively engaged or preparing to begin their journey soon. - The acquisition of Soeco in March 2024, which, combined with Yllw's existing offerings, has positioned us as industry leaders in sustainability. - Achieving triple-digit organic (and profitable) growth, surpassing 40 MEUR in revenue while delivering over 10% in EBITDA. I’m excited to continue this profitable growth journey with Yllw while also getting to know the NO GA Group team as we work together to shape the future of the furniture and interior design industry. FORZA YLLW💛🚀🚀 Andreas

What can you give your team this year? I would argue that one of the biggest gifts that you can give your team is a clear and compelling purpose to accomplish. What are your thoughts? How do you make sure your purpose is defined well?

💫 From London to Iceland: A reflection of Geko's 4 year Journey 💫 On the 29th February, Geko celebrated 4 years since we launched, and we hosted a celebration at Kjarval to mark the occasion. Thank you to everyone who joined us! (photos in the post below) 🥂 In 2016, I moved from London to Iceland with nearly two decades of HR, recruitment and people strategy experience. Like many foreign experts moving to a new country, I was met with challenges in securing a position that matched my expertise. This journey led me to a small tech recruitment agency where on my first day I was shown my desk, no phone, no computer… it felt like I was starting my career all over again... but I dove into the deep end, using it was an opportunity to understand Icelandic working culture and build my personal brand in Iceland. Despite the professional growth, there was a misalignment with my core values and I started to wonder where my career might take me if I found the courage to quit. Then in March 2019 a went through a traumatic experience, when I was assaulted by a stranger. 9 months after this happened, I decided to reevaluate my direction and found the courage to quit the job I was in. I needed to take back some control and ensure that I had time for my journey of navigating the Icelandic justice system, which took many years, and resulted in the perpetrator being sentenced and jailed in 2022. This difficult period, navigating the complexities of the Icelandic justice system, ultimately inspired the creation of Geko, which we launched on the leap year day of 29th February 2020. Geko was not just a business venture; it became a sanctuary for healing, growth, and empowerment amidst the personal challenges I was facing. Launching amidst personal trials and the global upheaval of COVID-19, Geko's story began. The first week after launch we went into the global pandemic, meaning that I had to change the business practices early on. But as I often say, with challenges comes opportunities, and this was one of them! Since our inception, we've partnered with over 100 companies, helping nearly 500 individuals find inspiring careers and shared our knowledge through various workshops and education programmes. In the short (and emotional) speech I made at the party we hosted to mark our 4 year anniversary, I spoke about the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, none of this would be possible if I didn't have amazing people on this journey with me. Thank you! ❤️ Reflecting on the past years, from my initial move to the growth of Geko, fills me with immense pride and gratitude. The journey has been a blend of professional milestones and personal recovery, underscored by the incredible support of those around me. Thank you to every person who has been a part of this journey. Your support and belief in our vision have been invaluable.

At FedEx, we push our creativity delivery out of the box. I’m lucky to work with talented creatives locally and worldwide. Attending Adobe MAX has reinforced my focus on blending innovation with strategy, and I’m excited to bring these insights back ‘in-house’ to align with our values at FedEx: 🤖🧠 Implementing Generative AI: A Dynamic Force with a Human Touch AI is evolving fast, but it’s still people who drive innovation. By taking care of repetitive tasks, AI frees us to focus on what really matters—strategy, creativity, and collaboration—while keeping our brand strong and authentic. 📊🎯 Anticipating and Personalizing Content to Meet Customer Needs: Using data smartly helps us stay one step ahead by predicting what our customers want, so we can tailor our content to meet their needs before they even know they have them. 🎨🚀 Merging Creativity with Business Strategy: Finding the sweet spot between creativity and business goals is critical. Our creative work becomes even more impactful when we understand the bigger picture. 👨🏻💻⚡ Maximizing Productivity by Getting into the Flow: By reducing distractions and creating spaces where people can fully focus, we make it easier for everyone to get into that productive, creative flow where great ideas come to life. Thank you to all the speakers and new friends I met at the conference for inspiring me! Claudia Gill Andrea Fishman Alan Gonzales Julian Mancini Andrea Fishman Michael Gerstein Veronica Campbell Jake Giltsoff William Campbell Jonathan Montalvo Larissa Meek🎨Denise Schnider (Angvick)Alaina OrrJohnny Martinez Everton McLean Regan Mathews Giulio Barresi Daniela Maldonado Emonee LaRussa Liz Rodriguez FedEx Latin America and Caribbean

9 and our time to shine! Humbled and grateful to all whose paths crossed with ours. You’ve played a part in our story and we will be eternally thankful. Here’s to a better and stronger us. 🥂 Amrita Sharma sandeep sivasankaran #AgencyMilestone #CreativeJourney #CreativeSuccess #AgencyLife #YearsOfCreativity #AgencyGrowth #ClientPartnerships #CreativeLeadership #StrongerTogether

As many of you know, Esprit recently filed for bankruptcy, and my journey with the brand has come to an end. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye, but I want to take a moment to reflect on the invaluable lessons I've learned and to express my gratitude. Lessons from ESPRIT’s Journey: Working at ESPRIT taught me invaluable lessons about brand identity, team dynamics, and balancing creativity with business needs. The craftsmanship and care in every piece were inspiring, but I learned that quality alone isn’t enough to stay competitive. Brands must connect with new generations without losing focus on their core audience. What do you stand for? Don’t neglect the people who pay your bills; listen to them. I also saw the importance of a motivated and merit-driven workforce. Promotions based on tenure rather than merit sometimes led to imbalances that affected morale. This taught me the importance of recognizing and rewarding talent to keep teams inspired and cohesive. Beyond skills, I am grateful to have worked with incredible people who made a lasting impact: 1, Negin Darbani – Thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to join the team. Your trust opened the door to this journey, and I’m so grateful. 2. Nicole Lesterhuis – I learned so much about leadership from you—how to care for a team, earn trust, and lead with integrity, even in challenging times. You showed me what it means to be both an effective leader and a kind human being. 3. Irmak Baraş – Your mentorship, life advice, and unbeatable work ethic made a lasting impact. Even in tough times, you stayed focused and got things done. Thank you for always taking the time to listen, support, and guide me. To all my colleagues, I wish you the very best in your journeys ahead. May you find roles that bring you purpose, value your contributions, and reward you well. Thank you, Esprit, for the experiences, the challenges, and the friendships 🙏

Everyone at Recite Me wants to say a HUGE thank you to all of our fantastic clients, partners, and team who have made 2024 a year to remember!🙌 It’s been a pleasure to work with all of you!❤️ ALT text: Slide 1 - Red background with the Recite Me logo and the text '2024 Round Up' in white. Surrounding the text are circular photos featuring events and people, including group photos, exhibition stands, and presentations. Slide 2 - Red background with the text 'Customer Events'. The image features circular photos of events, including a group posing at RECFEST, and Recite Me staff interacting with visitors at exhibition stands. Slide 3 - Red background with the text 'Partner Collaborations'. The image features circular photos showcasing various partnerships: a group at Purple Tuesday, a team posing in front of a Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) banner, and another group of four smiling at a professional event. Slide 4 - Red background with the text 'Lots of Team Fun!'. The image features circular photos from a team lunch for Accessibility to Me, the team wearing football shirts and someone go karting. Slide 5 - Red background with the text 'Events and Networking'. The image features circular photos from an awards ceremony, our panellists from our Accessibility to Me event and presenter at a Newcastle Building Society event. Slide 6 - Text reads 'Here's to an Amazing 2024, we can't Wait for 2025!

Join me in wishing our partner Process Tempo Inc. a happy 8th birthday! Imagine connecting the power of your graph database to all of your enterprise data stores including DataBricks!! AI-guided analytics, and native integration & workflows. This is a dynamite tool for those in the know! #analytics #celebration #graphdatabase #data

Hi My Team, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve embarked on together. Each of you brings unique talents, perspectives, and strengths to our team, and it’s this diversity that fuels our success. In the face of challenges, we have shown resilience and determination. Remember, every obstacle is an opportunity for growth. Let’s embrace these challenges as stepping stones toward our goals. Together, we can turn setbacks into comebacks. I want to encourage each of you to push beyond your comfort zones. Innovation happens when we dare to think differently and take risks. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas—every great achievement starts with a single thought. Let’s continue to support one another. Collaboration is key. When we lift each other up, we create an environment where everyone can thrive. Celebrate each other’s successes, no matter how small they may seem. As we move forward, let’s keep our vision clear and our passion alive. Remember why we started this journey. Let that drive us to achieve even greater heights. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment. Together, we are unstoppable! Let’s make the next chapter of our story the best one yet!

🌟 Big lesson I learned from last year: Having a vision and executing it well doesn't always mean it's the "right" vision. 🌟 Let me explain... In 2023, we focused on: ⭐ Building our brand ⭐ Understanding our community ...primarily through events. And these events were 🔥🔥🔥. They did wonders for our brand and helped me connect with our customers. BUT... Our community now craves more: 1️⃣ More places to find us (more of the RIGHT distribution) 2️⃣ More product variations to fall in love with (announcement on this coming soon) So, this year is all about expanding and innovating. 🚀 Being a solo startup leader means learning on the go. I beat myself up a lot in the past few months for not course-correcting sooner (i.e. changing up distro and product strategy earlier), but I'm learning to just move forward. And don't worry, we're not ditching events. We're just getting smarter about them, partnering with other cool brands when it makes sense. 🤝 (aka First Round's On Me in the vid below). Remember, behind every fabulous event is a whole lot of strategy brewing backstage. 🎭 https://lnkd.in/g_6u3myf