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VO L . X X V I N O. V I § 2 M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 2 0 28 Danielle Ripich Former president / University of New England What she is doing today: I'm currently retired and serving in a number of volunteer boards. Key lessons learned as a manager: e saying goes, "Managing is doing things right. And leadership is doing the right things." I've learned the importance of focusing on both for ultimate success. Advice to Maine's next generation of business leaders: Maine is a unique business environment that will only become more valu- able in the future. Respect and value the people and place and they will be there for you. What's next: e serious business of protecting our climate and our oceans must be what's next for all our endeavors. 2016 Joshua Davis CEO / Gelato Fiasco What he is doing today: CEO of Gelato Fiasco, which has 25 employees. Key lessons learned as a manager: As a startup brand in a com- petitive category, pivoting and changing constantly to improve our chances of success has become our norm. I feel like I've worked at a series of different companies during the course of growing this single business because we have continually evolved in response to our market. Truly learning to embrace radical change has been so important to me in the last few years. Being able to adapt and implement change is always difficult and probably even more so for a founder-led company, as I have a special relationship with the company. Being aware that the founder relationship could alter my perception of the company's situation has been another crucial lesson. Lastly, learning to keep a broader perspective of what you can be grateful for every single day has made some of the worst days of the last few years bearable — and even great — once I took a mindful moment to reflect on what I can feel gratitude for. Advice to Maine's next generation of business leaders: I recom- mend that anyone pursuing a big dream take a moment right now to decide that they will become truly relentless in their pursuit of their dream and will not ever, ever give up. Decide today that you'll be the one to shut the lights off on the way out if it doesn't work. It's very freeing to decide to stick with something until you either win, lose or draw because it allows you to channel all of your energy into making it work instead of weighing the ifs/'shoulds/coulds/buts. What's next: is business has so much potential and we feel like we're just getting started. We've learned from every mistake — and we've made plenty. Right now we're just trying to pour gas on the things that are working and level up to make this the best year yet. Danielle Ripich, former president of University of New England, oversaw a major period of growth at the university. FILE PHOTO Joshua Davis, CEO of Gelato Fiasco, has overseen the transition from a niche product to a supermarket brand. FILE PHOTO The saying goes, 'Managing is doing things right. And leadership is doing the right things.' I've learned the importance of focusing on both for ultimate success. – Danielle Ripich