Leanne Bonner-Cooke MBE: The Smart Tech Entrepreneur Innovating Rebate Management Solutions

A rebate is a retrospective financial payment that is used as an incentive to drive sales growth without reducing the quoted price by offering a discount. Rebate management is the process of recording the rebate rules and analyzing the results, that is applied to a customer or product (usually called a trade agreement). Each purchase or sale is then tracked against the trade agreement so an accrual can be made, which then gets claimed or paid. Proper rebate management can be a headache for any business, regardless of the scale of their rebate programs. Rebates can be prone to high-value errors creating unnecessary risks to the business and the customers. Transparency and trackability of the end-to-end rebate process and historical data are required.

e-bate, one such software solution led by Leanne Bonner-Cooke MBE, Founder and CEO makes this complex task of rebate management safe, simple, and responsible by providing a platform that enables customers to easily manage and control multiple rebate agreements more efficiently.

e-bate is an end-to-end ROI-driven SaaS solution for 'Intelligent Rebate Management'. e-bate enables customers to improve their rebate process and make informed commercial decisions, which in turn optimize profit margins and improve supply chain relationships.

Meet The Successful Entrepreneur

Leanne Bonner-Cooke MBE is the Founder and CEO of e-bate Limited. With a passion for business transformation using innovative software, e-bate Limited was Leanne's brainchild after seeing the potential for the solution across multiple industries globally.

Prior to launching e-bate, Leanne was the founder and CEO for Evolve-IT Consulting Ltd, software development and consulting business. With a strong and determined drive for business improvements through technology, Leanne was awarded an MBE for services to women in business in 2018 as part of the New Year Honours list. With over 20 years of experience in senior roles in the technology sector, Leanne has also been awarded the title of Businesswoman of the Year, in 2015 and 2017 and has successfully brought business software and services to corporate customers on a global scale.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Resilience 

Leanne started her career as an accountant and then moved into technology in the '90s. She had a corporate career holding various senior positions until 2007 when she established her first business. The following experiences triggered her journey as a leader.

• Leanne's accountancy background was a great foundation for becoming a successful leader because through this background she became very aware of financial planning and management. This has helped her to run successful businesses and create a strategy that is achievable and sustainable to deliver financial plans. This also meant that when seeking investment for e-bate, Leanne was confident in presenting and understanding the numbers.

• From a young age and also in her corporate career, Leanne could spot a good leader from a bad one; Leaders that set clear objectives, gave relevant training and supported career succession were the good ones, that those to which she gave her best performance. However, there were people who micromanaged and stifled her creativity which only made her lose her mojo and move on.

• Leanne is not the only leader in her business, she gives her leadership team the ability to lead and have the autonomy to do it 'their way'. As long as they all have a clear objective and are on the same trajectory, how everyone gets there is up to the individual.

• We are all human and will naturally make mistakes. It is important to support those that make mistakes, help them understand the lessons that can be learned, and move forward. Leanne says, "If we didn't make mistakes we wouldn't learn".

• It is important to respect individuals who are different. Leanne expressed that people should trust and respect their team. Individually we are people, together we are a strong team, said Leanne.

• She built up a lot of resilience in her corporate career, having worked in male-dominated sectors and functions. This has allowed her to continue when the going gets tough both professionally and personally.

• Diversity and Inclusion is an important aspect. She has seen too many times the same stereotype thinking that has continued in the business world for decades, with little or no innovation. But employing a good cross-section of people changes the team dynamics for the better. Leanne says, "I am not detailed and make quick decisions; therefore, I need my team to be more considered and analytical". Having a diverse team helps the company to be more innovative and subjective in its approach.

Challenges in a Male-Dominated Society 

A major challenge for Leanne was believing in her own self when others around her were not supportive. She said that when she first set up her own business she had lots of doubters, however, this just made her even more determined. "I believe it's important to put one's stake in the sand and take her own journey, navigating the obstacles along the way for herself", she expressed. At some points, she also experienced line managers trying to hold her back as they didn't want her to progress faster than them. In those cases, she took another path. There came a time when she hit the glass ceiling in her corporate career, and both inside and outside the organization she struggled to get the functional head role that she wanted. This motivated her to start her first business. Raising investment was also a challenge. Only 8% of all VC money goes to female founders, and on top of that, the majority are based in the city of London. Through the experiences faced by her throughout her career and as a business owner, she is passionate about gaining parity in the regions and is incredibly supportive of female entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders.

Fair, Firm, and Insightful: Vital Attributes for Every Leader

According to Leanne; qualities like vision, determination, resilience, coaching and encouraging the team, passion, commitment, decisiveness must be possessed by every transformational leader. "My mantra is fair, firm, and demanding", she said.

Leveraging Market Research for Innovation

Innovative products are the result of a clear understanding of the market, with insights gained from good market research. It is important to ensure and identify pain points and key benefits of the innovative product or service for prospects and customers.

Driving Change with Disruptive Technologies

Leanne believes that disruptive technologies are doing two things:

• Improving the process for efficiency gains

• Using data to drive quicker and more intelligent decisions.

Leanne says, "|The role of a leader has changed in the transformational world, it is now about inspiring workers to embrace change at a fast pace while remaining agile in the approach."

Further, on advising emerging leaders, she says, "You have got this! Play to your strengths, be creative, continue to listen and learn and find yourself a good mentor."

Number One Global SaaS Solution

Leanne says, "I see e-bate being a key player in achieving its vision of being the number one global SaaS solution for intelligent rebate management, through assisting our customers on their digital transformation journey". The software industry will continue to grow as we change the way we work and continue to adopt disruptive technologies, She adds.