female leader Archives - Page 5 of 6

Mia Perdomo – Latin America’s Warrior for Women

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features Colombian founder, Mia Perdomo. She and her co-founder have built a business fighting for equality for women at work across Latin America.

Mia trained as a psychologist but always thought of herself as a feminist. In 2014, Mia attended a four month long leadership program at a US university, and had what she describes as a ‘life changing experience’. It was here that she realised she could be an entrepreneur and deliver social change.

She teamed up with fellow course participant, Peruvian, Andrea de la Piedra, and together they launched Aequales, a business focused on closing the gender gap in Latin America. They started by offering diversity consulting services to businesses in Peru and Colombia.

But when business wasn’t as good as they hoped, Mia and her co-founder were forced to get creative.

And they did!

In this episode you’ll learn:

How the idea they came up with totally changed the prospects for their business, without losing its mission
Why Mia is so passionate about being a ‘for-profit’ business with a social cause
How she and her co-founder have navigated building a profitable multi-country Latin American business and …
The astounding way some companies treat female job candidates

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the passionate and determined Mia Perdomo.

Useful Links

Ellen Broad – Her Surprising Path to Big Data…

November 3, 2020November 13, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features a woman who never dreamt she’d end up working in a high tech environment. In fact, Ellen Broad imagined she would be a lawyer or librarian when she was younger.

However this tech exec and academic is now a Senior Fellow at the 3A Institute at the Australian National University. The Institute is a multi-disciplinary department created to help humans prepare for, and navigate, a world that will be forever altered by AI-powered ‘cyber-physical systems’.

A little bit more about Ellen, she trained as a lawyer (more about that in our conversation) and she’s worked in data-related roles in the Hague and in the UK, including being an expert adviser to the UK Secretary of State on Data, and head of Policy for the UK’s Open Data Institute.

Not only that, but Ellen has also written an award winning book on AI and its impact on humans called ‘Made By Humans’.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Ellen navigated moving countries, and finding work, without having any network in her new home-base
How she’s found her voice to speak up against gender bias
What it’s like working in a truly diverse team – hint it’s not always easy
Why she’s using social media a lot less these days, and
Where she thinks technology will go in the next five years.

Enjoy this episode with the unassuming and very smart Ellen Broad.

Links

3A Institute website

Ellen Broad’s website

Ellen’s Book – Made by Humans

Griffith Review Article – Computer Says No

Resources Recommended by Ellen

Coded Bias Documentary

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

PAIR Program with Google

The Coding Train – Daniel Shiffman

Interview

Sophia Athas – 20-Something Founder and Creative Trendsetter

October 20, 2020October 21, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

We’re excited to introduce you to the youngest woman we’ve had on the show to date. But age isn’t the reason we’re happy for you to meet 27 year old Sophia Athas.

Sophia is the self-taught, entrepreneurial founder of a thriving new-age creative agency called Hatrik House.

Sophia’s business started out simply as a creative outlet and side hustle for when she was studying law at university. In the years that followed, Sophia realised she had the makings of a business as her work on social media attracted attention and turned her into a brand influencer in her own right.

Hatrik House has now grown to become a fully fledged agency focusing on social media and content with a talented team of women helping service a whole host of brands.

And full disclosure here, we were so impressed with Hatrik’s work when we saw one of their clients on Instagram, we hired her ourselves about two years ago!

In that time we’ve watched as Sophia’s business has grown and admired how she continues to navigate all the challenges that come with leading a fast growing business as a young woman.

In this episode you’ll hear:

Sophia’s experiences of being taken seriously (or not) as a female boss in her 20’s
What she believes have been the most important factors in running her business
How she thinks COVID will affect both digital and real-life experiences going forward
And, her advice if you’re thinking of setting up a side hustle.

Without further ado, here’s our conversation with the composed and creative Sophia Athas.

Links

Sophia on Instagram

Hatrik House website

Hatrik House on Instagram

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Advice on Starting your Idea

September 29, 2020
by Claire

This week’s Future Proof Me mini episode shares some great advice if you’re contemplating starting your own business or side hustle.

We were so inspired by social enterprise founder Navyn Salem when we had her on the show a year or so ago. She told us how, when she had the idea to set up a social enterprise to tackle malnutrition in children in developing countries, everyone told her it couldn’t be done.

She decided she would prove the naysayers wrong and, today, her organisation Edesia has made an incredible impact and transformed 12 million children’s lives in 54 countries.

In this mini episode, Navyn shares advice about how to get started and how to approach the many problems any founder is sure to encounter.

Navyn really is the ‘real deal’ and if you like this mini episode be sure to listen back to our full conversation with her here.

Useful Links:

Edesia Website

Navyn on Instagram

Link to the full ‘Don’t Stop Us Now!’ episode with Navyn Salem

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Is Fear Holding You Back?

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020
by Claire

This week’s future-proofing mini episode is all about how to take action even when you feel unsure, nervous or afraid.

The advice and observations of one of our earliest guests, investment banker and Chair of numerous tech startups, Lindley Edwards, is really valuable on this topic. Particularly in this time of COVID, learning how to manage our fears, nerves and worries is an important skill.

It’s a skill we all need to continue to practise because it’s completely normal for all of us to feel fear at times, if not often, at work. But fear can hold us back from growing and learning if we don’t practise taking action despite some nerves or fear.

Lindley has a great way of contextualising this very human experience which we think you’ll find really helpful. You are not alone.

Enjoy this mini episode ….

Links

Listen to our full interview with Lindley Edwards

Interview

Debbie Millman – Brave Heart, Big Life

September 8, 2020
by Claire

We have such a treat for you this week with the truly multi-talented and globally respected Debbie Millman.

Debbie is a designer, author, educator, artist, brand expert and host of one of the world’s longest running and highly respected podcasts, Design Matters.

Named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and one of the most influential designers working today by Graphic Design USA, Debbie has also written six books, her artwork has been exhibited in numerous galleries, and she co-founded the world’s first Masters in Branding.

She’s also one of the most authentic and thoughtful people we’ve met.

From difficult and traumatic beginnings, Debbie has gone on to have a stellar career.

She was President of Sterling Brands for 20 years and grew the company from 15 people to 150 before selling the business. She’s created many many iconic household brands that you see in stores today, including for Haagen-Dazs, Burger King, 7Up, and Star Wars merchandise.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How the worst day of Debbie’s life ended up being probably the most important day of her life,
Why she feels branding is one of the most significant disciplines in our culture and lives today,
Her advice about developing self esteem; and
What’s she’s learnt from over 500 podcast interviews with some incredible guests.

Enjoy this episode with the insightful and inspiring Debbie Millman

Useful Links

https://www.debbiemillman.com/

Debbie’s TED talk – How Symbols and Brands Shape our Humanity

Society 6 Debbie Millman – various designs by Debbie that you can buy

How to Build Your Personal Brand – A Course with Debbie Millman

The Art of the Story – Creating Visual Narratives

Debbie’s reading list

Futurists Debbie mentions:

Faith Popcorn

William Gordon’s books

Photography credit: John Madere Photography

Interview

Julia Paige – The Stories We Tell Ourselves

August 11, 2020
by Claire

Join us this week for a fascinating conversation with Uber’s global head of Social Impact, Julia Paige. This mum of triplets has so much wisdom to share, particularly about resilience and the stories we tell ourselves.

Julia’s had an amazing career including working as Chief of Staff for Maria Shriver (the first lady of California who was married to Governor Schwarzenegger) for numerous years. She’s also held senior marketing and global roles at Google and now Uber.

Julia is a passionate believer in the power of the narratives we create in our lives and how having the right narrative can help us be more resilient and cope better with disappointments and failures.

In this episode you’ll learn:

When and how Julia found out she was having triplets
How she manages juggling work and a young family
What she thinks her super-power is
And why we all have to learn to tell ourselves stories that serve us.

So if you’re in the need for a dose of positivity and inspiration, then this is the episode for you.

Useful Links

Uber’s Social Impact work

Julia on LinkedIn

Interview

Brianne West – Running the World’s most Sustainable Cosmetics…

July 28, 2020
by Claire

Our guest on the podcast this week is Brianne West, the New Zealander serial entrepreneur and founder of global sustainable cosmetics company, Ethique.

Brianne has a bold and pioneering mission, to rid the world of single-use plastics. She started Ethique to replace all those bottled products we use in our bathrooms, from shampoos to moisturisers, with solid bars of concentrated product.

We’ve been so impressed with the degree of sustainability and ethical practices that Brianne has baked into her business, from sourcing her products directly from around the globe, to being a B Corp, to donating 20% of profits to charitable causes. It really is a business that walks the talk.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Brianne displayed the entrepreneurial gene very early
How she’s funded Ethique with two very successful crowdfunding campaigns, as well as what it takes to crowdfund successfully
What Brianne does to manage her anxiety; and
How Huffington Post and Britney Spears changed everything for her business overnight!

We hope you come away as inspired by this conversation as we were. It’s a real demonstration of what’s possible when a business decides to make a reasonable profit whilst also caring for planet and people.

Finally, a quick request from us, if you enjoy our podcast and have yet to rate or review us on your listening platform of choice, we’d so appreciate it if you would. This is a passion project for us and it would really make a positive difference.

Interesting Links

Ethique Website

Brianne on Instagram

Interview

Hayley Markham – The Unflappable Entrepreneur

July 14, 2020July 14, 2020
by Claire

Our guest this week is one of the co-founders of an international venture all about teaching the younger generation to code.

Hayley Markham is co-founder and COO of Code Camp, which to date has reached 90,000 children with their holiday and after school camps, and online programs, in Australia and also the UK.

Hayley co-founded Code Camp seven years ago and as you’ll hear this hard working pragmatist and efficiency queen got started in the business when her third child was just two weeks old! Little did she know what she was getting herself into then but there’s no doubting Hayley is an unflappable master at juggling life and building a startup.

Code Camp was named one of Smart Company’s top three, fastest growing businesses in Australia in 2018 with 510% revenue growth. It was also nominated as a Deloitte ‘Fast 50 Rising Star’ in 2019 and Hayley herself is a recent winner of Australian Mumpreneur of the Year.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Hayley found her forte and niche in people leadership and operations after years of trial and error in different jobs not knowing what she wanted to do,
The career advice she has for others who aren’t sure what their dream role looks like,
How Code Camp overcame the challenges involved with scaling the business,
And the one thing Hayley credits with helping her juggle running a business and having a busy family life.

So if you’re looking for inspiration on how to tackle the challenges and juggles in your life, then you’ll love this episode with the unflappable and humble Hayley Markham.

Useful Links

CodeCamp website

Hayley on LinkedIn

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – How an Innovator Stays Creative

July 7, 2020
by Claire

Welcome to this week’s mini Future Proof Me episode all about how to stay creative in a busy world.

We loved the advice that serial Canadian entrepreneur and founder, Vicki Saunders shared with us when we spoke to her last year.

Vicki is CEO and Founder of SheEO. SheEO is an international network of women who support, finance and celebrate female innovators who run ventures solving important world problems.

As a serial entrepreneur and true original thinker, Vicki has learnt she needs to create space for ideas to flow. As you’ll hear in this episode, she’s very conscious of ensuring she has a routine and practices that give her that space and stimulus despite facing, as we all do, the demands of a hectic busy work life and all the usual stresses we all experience.

You’ll hear how Vicki carves out time in her schedule to consume a wide variety of different topics in order to fuel her creative thinking, and you’ll hear how she’s found meditating makes a big difference.

If you’re struggling to have fresh ideas or see old problems from new perspectives, then this mini episode is just what you need!

Links of interest

Our full interview with Vicki

SheEO website