Featuring alumni from the Women of the Future Programme and Awards, which recognises distinctive, innovative individuals in their fields. Previous winner Kim Rowell speaks to guests about their careers, big breaks, successes, failures and inspirations.
Episodes
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Julie Brown is Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Burberry, having joined the company from Smith & Nephew, where she was Group CFO from 2013 – 2017.
Julie has spent the majority of her career to date at AstraZeneca; working with them for a total of 25 years, undertaking 11 different roles in 4 countries, across 3 continents.
With a great many strings to her bow, Julie is also a Non‑Executive Director and Audit Chair of Roche Holding Limited and sits on the Business Advisory Board to the Mayor of London.
A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountancy and the Institute of Tax, after qualifying with KPMG, alongside this Julie is also one of the founding ambassadors of the Prince’s Trust ‘Women Supporting Women’ initiative, is a Patron of Oxford Women in Business, and a much-valued judge for the Women of the Future programme.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Susie Hills is joint CEO and co-founder of management consultancy Halpin Partnership.
Described as ‘an insightful consultant and a big thinker’, Susie is a very talented fundraiser and advises higher education institutions in this capacity.
Susie was chosen as one of 2019’s 'Kindness and Leadership 50 Leading Lights' by the Women of the Future Programme, showcased in the Financial Times and supported by Unilever. The awards recognise the contribution of kind leaders to business, the economy and society.
Susie is also the founder of the brand-spanking new virtual kindness event ‘Kindfest’ being held on World Kindness Day this year, 13th November.
The event provides a platform for a star-studded line-up of speakers, all coming together to share their collective wisdom, energy and ideas about how kindness can create a more hopeful and resilient world.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
For more information on Kindfest 2020 please visit: www.teamkind.org.uk
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Doctor Chern Ein Oon has served as an Associate Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia since 2013.
Skilled in cancer research, drug discovery and molecular oncology, Chern has been the recipient of numerous accolades during her career for her work on novel molecular therapeutics in cancer; they include the Exiqon Young Scientist Award, as well as being selected to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany where she received the L’Oreal-Unesci For Women in Science National Fellowship research grant for her work in the field of cancer research.
Chern earned her PhD in oncology at the University of Oxford and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
She was the recipient of the Women of the Future Award South East Asia in the Science, Technology and Digital category in 2018.
Kim and Chern spoke about her refreshing approach to her prestigious career and the numerous challenges she’s faced in the juggle of being both a mum and career woman whilst trying to excel in her chosen field, particularly during a pandemic.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Oct 09, 2020
Friday Oct 09, 2020
After studying English Literature at Durham University, conductor Tori Longdon took a circuitous route into music having seriously considered a career in law and starting out as an assistant speech therapist.
Achieving a distinction for her MA in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, amongst many commitments Tori has in her working life, she conducts the Covent Garden Choir and acts as an adjudicator for programmes such as ‘Songs of Praise’ and Gareth Malone’s ‘The Choir’.
During lockdown, Tori co-founded the ‘Stay at Home Choir’, a digital platform that has allowed classical artists to connect with music lovers all around the world.
Kim and Tori spoke about the lack of female role models in her profession, addressed her ‘harsh judge’ persona, as well as the need for constructive criticism and the serendipitous moment when a friend applied for a job on her behalf.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Hailing from what she describes as a ‘typical Filipino family’ - Lucille Dejito still lives and works on the island of Cebu in the Philippines.
Studying at a Catholic school, Lucille took early inspiration from Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, and after passing the bar began working for the International Justice Mission as a staff attorney.
Having worked at the company for nearly a decade, Lucille now leads a team of investigators, social workers and lawyers who work with local authorities to combat online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.
Lucille was the recipient of the Women of the Future Southeast Asia Award in the Professions category in 2020.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Sep 11, 2020
Friday Sep 11, 2020
Sonali Shah is a freelance broadcaster best known for being one of the faces of BBC Events, BBC Sport and Escape to the Country, and before that, a long-serving presenter of Newsround.
Sonali began her professional broadcasting career in BBC Radio soon after graduating from university and went on to produce and present news and business programmes on the World Service and Radio 5 live.
Known for her roles in the BBC’s coverage of many marquee live events over recent years including the Queen's 90th birthday, the Royal Wedding, the Lord Mayor’s Show, Wimbledon and the London Marathon; Sonali honed her skills during a five-year stint on the BAFTA award-winning Newsround including presenting from the Beijing Olympics and filming special reports from Haiti and Afghanistan.
Away from the camera, Sonali is an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and the British Asian Trust and regularly supports Great Ormond Street Hospital and Barnardo’s.
She was shortlisted for a Women of the Future Award in the Arts, Media and Culture category in 2012.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Aug 28, 2020
Friday Aug 28, 2020
If you search out her Twitter biography, it reads: ‘Deborah Bowman, Professor of Medical Ethics at St George's University, navigating cancer, slow runner, often in theatres, always carrying a book, mostly suffering from enthusiasm’ - which in the mere two times I’ve met her, I would say, sums her up well, but only if limited to a character count.
Cultivating a strong work ethic from a young age and gaining an impressive 15 O-levels, Deborah’s values and relationships-led approach to life has seen her excel in many arenas including research, writing, broadcasting, on theatre boards and contributing to both charitable and private sector companies.
Amongst many topics covered in this podcast, we speak about her bird phobia, taking up the cello later in life, Mind Media and Women of the Future Awards, the cancer diagnosis that flawed her and how in her life it’s always been ‘kindness, no exceptions’.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Aug 14, 2020
Friday Aug 14, 2020
Created in 2009 in the aftermath of a recession, Stylist magazine intended to buck the trend and set out to treat women and their prospective readership intelligently. Over a decade later when many other publications have come and gone, Stylist remains at the top of its game, and so does Editor-in-Chief Lisa Smosarski.
From her first job as a junior writer at Bliss magazine via roles at EMAP and Bauer, Lisa has ably navigated the publication through culture shifts, social activism, global movements and not to mention a world-wide pandemic.
In an interview that covers everything from her obsession with ‘Press Gang’ to having Hillary and Chelsea Clinton guest edit her magazine, in Lisa’s own words: “Sometimes you’ve just got to go for it”.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Growing up in Smethwick as one of five children, Balvinder Sidhu was keen to use education to get ahead in life following the death of her father when she was just 8 years old.
Hailing from a strict Punjabi family, Balvinder had to act as a carer for both her mum and sister from a young age, and was delighted to become the first in her family to go to university to study Psychology.
After volunteering at a local radio station, Balvinder managed a refuge for victims of domestic violence, before returning to her journalism ‘pipe dream’ and studying for a post graduate diploma in journalism at Birmingham City University, a course that was sponsored by ITV, and the company became her long-term employers shortly afterwards.
2018 was a stellar year for Balvinder, seeing her gain three national awards - the Royal Television Society’s Journalist of the Year, the Asian Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year and the Asian Women of Achievement Award, part of the Women of the Future Programme in the Media category.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Nimco Ali OBE, is a British Somali feminist and social activist.
In 2010, along with psychotherapist Leyla Hussein, Nimco founded Daughters of Eve, a non-profit organisation established to help young women and girls, with a focus on providing education and raising awareness on female genital mutilation (FGM). Nimco underwent the procedure herself when she was just seven years old and later suffered health complications which led her to undergo reconstructive surgery.
In 2019 Nimco co-founded The Five Foundation, the Global Partnership to End FGM, with Brendan Wynne. The non-profit works to raise the issue of FGM on the international agenda and re-grant funding to grassroots organisations working to end FGM.
Nimco was shortlisted for a Women of the Future Award in 2015 in the Community Spirits category.
-------
For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk