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 Jul 03, 2020
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Describing herself as ‘Principal and Senior Plate-Spinner’ at the critically acclaimed winery Chêne Bleu located in the Rhone Valley, Southern France; Nicole Sierra-Rolet manages the link between the business and the outside world.
The daughter of a food critic and wine collector, as part of her truly intercontinental upbringing, as a child Nicole attended French lycées in New York and Milan, also spending time in Germany, Spain and Brazil.
Having started her professional life in international politics, finance and think-tanks, Nicole ‘re-engineered’ her professional goals and battled to overcome her inherent shyness to become a wine professional.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday Jun 05, 2020
Friday Jun 05, 2020
*PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded before recent tragic events in America.*
Jess Phillips is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley since the 2015 general election.
Currently Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, Jess was also a candidate for Leader of the Labour Party in the 2020 leadership election; no surprise perhaps, hailing from a ‘politically active’ family and proclaiming her childhood ambition was to become Prime Minister.
Citing it as ‘the single most important job she ever had’, before her career in politics, Jess was employed at Women’s Aid, a charity whose aim is to end domestic violence against women and children, working her way up to become Business Development Manager.
Famed for speaking her mind and an author of two books – ‘Everywoman, One Woman's Truth About Speaking the Truth’ and‘Truth to Power: 7 Ways to Call Time on B.S’ - in response to the murder of her friend Labour MP Jo Cox, in June 2016, Jess stated it "makes me want to fight harder".
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Monday May 25, 2020
Monday May 25, 2020
Rachel and Laura Beattie grew up in the suburbs of Manchester.
Keen to marry-up her two loves of Maths and Art, and closely influenced by their seamstress Nana Theresa, Rachel came up with the idea for Careaux when she was just 14-years-old, jotting down the idea in her beloved Harry Potter notebook.
Having always loved clothes, Rachel could clearly remember moments in her life by what she and others were wearing, how special the clothes made her feel and how each outfit was carefully constructed to tell a story.
Created as luxury, ethical fashion, Careaux garments contain a hidden zip to enable the wearer to mix and match their clothes for different style and size combinations.
Developing their brand to be all about equality and diversity, the pair want Careaux clothes to be representative of this.
As well as being Young Ambassadors for the Prince's Trust and shortlisted in the Entrepreneur Category at the Women of the Future Awards in 2019, Laura and Rachel have also recently launched their ‘Closer Through Kindness’ Campaign, intending to bring people closer together during the Coronavirus pandemic.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Friday May 08, 2020
Friday May 08, 2020
Danielle Brown MBE is a Paralympic Gold Medallist and law graduate, who now works as a keynote speaker specialising in performance mindset and inclusion.
Suffering from a complex regional pain syndrome in her feet, Danielle won gold medals at both the Beijing and London Paralympic Games. She has also won medals shooting in the able-bodied category, including another gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
With the intention of ‘inspiring and empowering people to unlock their own potential, overcome adversity and achieve more’, her recently published children's self-development book ‘Be Your Best Self’, is a collaboration with Nathan Kai, who was 7 years’ old at the time of writing and determined to reach his full potential.
Danielle was the recipient of the Women of the Future Award in the Sports category in 2016.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
It’s hard to find enough superlatives to describe the force of nature that is Fatima Zaman.
A Muslim woman of British-Bengali descent, Fatima is a next-generation counter-extremist.
Growing up in Tower Hamlets, she was just 13 years-old when she witnessed the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London; during which her school doubled-up as a evacuation centre for the injured and dying.
Citing it as an event that completely shaped her personal narrative; after graduating Fatima was recruited by Ghanian diplomat Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, to join his Foundation in 2016.
As part of her work Fatima leads a programme called Extremely Together. The campaign aims to counter violent extremism in local communities both in the UK and globally, as well as inspiring and engaging the next generation of leaders.
She also spent a year as scholar in residence with former President of the United States Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at their Foundation in the United States.
Fatima is due to head-up the Under 30 UK delegation to the G20 this year, focussing on global citizenship and multiculturalism for young people.
In addition, she has the accolade of being the youngest recipient of the Asian Women of Achievement Chairman’s Award.
Please note, our interview was recorded before the Coronavirus outbreak.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
For more information on the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, please visit: www.awaawards.com
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
Cherie Blair CBE QC is a British barrister, lecturer and writer. She is married to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, a mother of 4, proud grandmother and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.
At the World Economic Forum this year the Foundation, which has already directly supported over 160,000 women across more than 100 lower and middle income countries since its inception in 2008, launched a new campaign to transform the lives of 100,000 more women.
Intending to do this over the next three years through the Foundation’s technology and training offer, the Foundation will work in countries including Nigeria, Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam to continue to contribute to the global movement to achieve economic gender equality and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The Campaign has won high profile backing from influential figures including Hillary Rodham Clinton, who describes "advancing the rights, opportunities and full participation of women and girls" as "the great unfinished business of the 21st Century".
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
For more information on the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, please visit: www.cherieblairfoundation.org
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Gillian Charlesworth is Group CEO of BRE - the Building Research Establishment, which is a centre of building science in the UK.
Over a career that has taken her from the civil service, via the Institute of Chartered Accountants, to spending most of the 90s in the food and drink industry - having trained as a chef as Prue Leith's School of Food and Wine - Gillian went back to 'the desk' as she calls it and put her newly acquired knowledge to good use as Head of Commercial and European Affairs at the Wine and Spirit Trade Association before joining the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2004.
Gillian was named on the inaugural 'Kindness and Leadership 50 Leading Lights' list in 2018 and has proudly offered her services as a judge for both the Women of the Future and Asian Women Awards.
Armed with hard earned ambition, confidence, self-motivation and assertiveness she's been in her current role at BRE since May 2019.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Amy Durrant is a freelance conceptual creative director and copywriter, who has worked in advertising, media and technology for nearly a decade.
Having spent her youth in Essex writing stories for her Beanie Babies as well having her sci-fi novel 'Prisms' published when she was just 18, Amy went on to study Journalism at Sheffield University.
Starting a music magazine with a close friend she travelled the world reporting on gigs and festivals, but realising this wasn't where her heart lay transitioned into storytelling for design and technology.
Moving into advertising and working on accounts as varied as Nintendo and the Teenage Cancer Trust, she has been able to excellently demonstrate how creativity and technology can come together.
Amy was shortlisted for a Women of the Future Award in the Media category in 2017 and has worked as an Ambassador for the Programme ever since.
An LGBTQ+ role model for Stonewall, this is also the first time that she has spoken about her cancer diagnosis as a child.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Sean Tompkins is Global CEO of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and previously Director of financial services company, Prudential.
As part of his role at RICS he's been awarded honorary doctorates by Heriot-Watt and Amity University, accompanied UK Prime Ministers on trade missions, and addressed political leaders at the United Nations on furthering Sustainable Development Goals.
When it comes to the Women of the Future; a chance meeting with founder Pinky Lilani at his daughter’s school, saw Sean being instrumental in the addition of the new ‘Real Estate, Infrastructure and Construction’ category to their Awards in 2014.
In 2018 Sean was named on the ’50 Leading Lights’ list, a campaign showcasing leaders building a new status quo and impacting others through kindness.
He was also recognised in this year's 'Agents of Change' list of male UK business leaders who have excelled in promoting the role of women in the workplace. Handpicked by diversity trailblazers from across British culture, business and social advocacy organisations, Sean has been recognised for his leadership in both championing women at RICS and advocacy for greater female representation in the Chartered Surveying Profession around the world.
The first man to feature - Kim and Sean spoke about his Kent upbringing and the inspirational English teacher who encouraged him into a career in the City, evolving the concept of flexibility within his workforce, as well as Sean’s continuing efforts to improve female representation within the chartered surveying industry.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
Jules Chappell OBE is a communications specialist.
After graduating university in 2003, Jules joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was posted to Baghdad as a member of the coalition's governance team after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime – she was appointed an OBE the following year in recognition of her services.
In 2008 Jules became the UK’s youngest ambassador to Guatemala, and non-resident ambassador to El Salvador and Honduras at the age of 31. During her time in Guatemala, she made issues surrounding domestic violence in the country a key part of her mission.
In 2013, Jules won a Women of the Future Award in the Community Spirits category.
She is currently a Managing Director at London and Partners.
Kim and Jules spoke about bringing out her competitive edge in training for the England Lacrosse team with her German Shepherd in Ethiopia, the inspiration she derives from her husband and 4 year-old twins, newfound passion for immersive story-telling and how combining resilience with humanity has always been a huge part of work.
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For more information on the Women of the Future Programme and initiatives, please visit: www.womenofthefuture.co.uk