Exige International's Leadership Series

Today's episode features the amazing Debbie Watkins, co-founder and CEO of Lucy, a mobile banking and money management solution for women in Singapore. Lucy provides a mobile application designed to provide entrepreneurial women with the tools to make life easier. Debbie spoke about the challenges she has seen with female entrepreneurs in this space and what we can learn from developing countries.Debbie Watkins https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-watkins/Lucy https://www.welucy.com/ Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/Jugaad Innovation by Jaideep Prabhu, Navi Radjou, and Simone Ahuja Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are joined today by the amazing Virginia Klausmeier, founder and CEO of Sylvatex, a company whose technology replaces costly and carbon intensive practices with efficient and climate friendly manufacturing techniques. Virginia shared some great insights into the transition to clean energy, investment and her own founding story. Virginia Klausmeier https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-klausmeier-2a34ab9/Sylvatex https://sylvatex.com/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is our pleasure to welcome Elsie Amoako, CEO and Founder of Mommy Monitor, a social enterprise which offers customized maternal health support and education in a culturally sensitive way. Elsie founded this business to help combat issues in pre-natal and post-natal care - designing a solution to help mothers and people who give birth to access culturally aware and sensitive health care professional and resources. This was an amazing discussion where Elsie shared her journey from academic research to founding her business and the challenges and opportunities she has faced since then.Elsie Amoako https://www.linkedin.com/in/elsieamoako/Mommy Monitor https://www.mommymonitor.ca/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we welcome the amazing Laura-Marie Töpfer who is a Partner at Extantia Capital. Extantia Capital is a Venture Capital firm which specifically invests in the decarbonisation space and climate tech. There has been so much research and articles published in the past couple of years talking about how female-led companies have very limited investment from the VC community, and Laura-Marie shares her insights into what this means and her thoughts about the lack of female talent in the VC area.Laure Marie Töpfer https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-laura-marie-toepfer/Extantia Capital https://extantia.com/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is the awesome Kristine Beese, CEO and Founder of Untangle Money, a company that is looking to empower women by providing financial management which is tailored specifically for them. In this episode, we speak about her entrepreneurship journey so far and how Untangle Money was started, as well as the financial disadvantage which women face.Kristine Beese https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinebeese/Untangle Money https://www.untangle.money/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode features the Co-Founder and CEO of Sav, Purvi Munot. Sav is a fintech company which aims to making saving more fun and less stressful - the application they have developed helps to make saving convenient and lucrative through gamified rewards, in order to help change the perception of saving. Purvi was an awesome guest and shared her experiences of founding Sav and the hiring the right talent in the tech space.Purvi Munot https://www.linkedin.com/in/purvi-munot/Sav https://sav.money/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcoming the amazing entrepreneur Danika Kelly to today's episode. Danika is a Co-founder and CEO of My Normative, the only health tracking app available in North America which incorporates female-specific metrics. In this discussion, we speak about why her and her co-founder Renee started this business, how they work together, and life as a female entrepreneur.Danika Kelly https://www.linkedin.com/in/danika-kelly-wellness/My Normative https://mynormative.ca/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we welcome the amazing Caroline Bedford, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of EDII, an innovation, education and development company helping talent within the FS and insurance markets. Caroline not only shares her insights into building a business and founding EDII, but also speaks about the power of generalists, innovation across the industry and what makes a great leader.Caroline Bedford https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bedford-a0225212/EDII https://edii.group/The Rise of the Generalist https://youtu.be/ftAmGzKmj3sSamantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode, we welcome the amazing Annalee Bloomfield, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sustain.Life. Founded along with 2 former Walmart executives and an ESG expert, Sustain.Life provides comprehensive sustainability software that can be used across a business to embed sustainability into the day-to-day working of the company. Annalee gave some real insight into co-founding the business, building talent in the business and leadership.Annalee Bloomfield https://www.linkedin.com/in/annalee-bloomfield-37aa009/Sustain.Life https://www.sustain.life/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we are welcoming the extraordinary Chaeyoung Shin to the podcast, the Founder and CEO of NAMUH. A chemical and biomolecular engineer from UC Berkeley who, along with her cofounders have developed amazing technology which can bring the ingredients and nutritional composition of formula milk closer to the gold-standard of breast-milk. This is a space which has not innovated in around 30 years, even though the technology is available and, as Chaeyoung says herself, the science is not that complicated.I am huge admirer of Chaeyoung's spirit and intelligence and am happy to share her story with you today.Chaeyoung Shin https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaeyoung-shin-a82504100/NAMUH https://www.wearenamuh.com/Project Breast Milk https://wearenamuh.com/pages/sign-upSamantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Breast-Feeding Awareness Month and to start the month right, we have an amazing guest speaking with us - Kate Torgersen, Founder and CEO of Milk Stork. At the moment, the World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding your child for up to 2 years or more, which can present a real challenge, in particular for working mothers. And in particular in the US, where paid maternity leave is discretionary for companies. Milk Stork is the world's first breast milk shipping company. Helping working mothers transport their milk back to their babies when on business trips. This means the babies get the best nutrition and the mothers experience less stress and hassle. In this chat we speak about why companies were crying out for this kind of solution and how it has affected working women. Kate Torgersen https://www.linkedin.com/in/katetorgersen/Milk Stork https://www.milkstork.com/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we are welcoming the amazing Katie Kool-Wray to the podcast, who is an extraordinary leader and a great human being. She has very recently retired after 27 years at Proctor & Gamble, most recently as the CEO of their Tide Cleaners brand, which was almost a start-up within the wider P&G organisation which she successfully grew over the years. Since I met Katie I have been inspired by her honesty, energy, purpose, and openness. In this conversation we speak about mentoring and coaching and having courageous conversations.Katie Kool-Wray https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-kool-wray-01647311/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we welcome the wonderful Tatiana Okhotina, who is an award-winning Chief Financial Officer working for Azimo, which is a digital money transfer network. She joined Azimo it’s infancy and she grew the finance function practically from scratch, into a multicultural remote team. She is a thoughtful and intelligent person who gives some amazing insights into leading a diverse team, mentoring and coaching and authenticity as a leader.Tatiana Okhotina https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatiana-okhotina-799b1856/ Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another wonderful guest on this weeks podcast - Samrah Kazmi. Samrah is a Fintech Founder, an award-winning risk executive and the founder of an organisation called Women in Sustainable Innovation. She is a wonderful speaker and influencer in the fintech and regtech space, and an avid supporter of women in the sustainability industry. It was a really insightful conversation and it was a pleasure to have Samrah as a guest.In today's show we discuss the Women in Sustainable Innovation community, the differences she’s seen between industries and a bit about greenwashing.Samrah Kazmi https://www.linkedin.com/in/samrahkazmi/Women in Sustainable Innovation https://www.womeninsustainableinnovation.com/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's my pleasure to welcome Hélène Stanway to the episode. She lends her expertise in a variety of contexts including an advisor, consultant, non-exec director, founder and so much more. She specialises in emerging technologies in the insurance industry and has a long history in corporations like XL Caitlin and then AXA XL in operations and then innovation, and was the co-founder of their risk innovation incubator, Cube. She is wonderful human being and I found this conversation so valuable.Today we discuss Hélène's thoughts on having the confidence to put yourself out there, being an authentic leader and mentoring.Hélène Stanway https://www.linkedin.com/in/h%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne-stanway/SENSE Consortium https://www.senseconsortium.com/EDII https://edii.group/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode features the extraordinary Mirela Dimofte, whose attitude and spirit inspire me everyday. Mirela is Head of Enablement Centre of Excellence in Group Digital and Technology at Swiss Re and is a purpose-driven and authentic person who I could happily chat with all day.Today we discuss Mirela's thoughts on feminism, equality, leadership values and mentorship, and wellbeing.Mirela Dimofte https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirela-dimofte-7711095/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is my absolutely pleasure to have Steph Muchai on today's episode. Steph is the Director of Partnerships at the International Lawyers Project which is an amazing company that provide pro bono legal expertise anywhere in the world, to bring about economic justice.Steph is a mission-led leader, with a strong desire to help other people - someone who believes that anything is possible for anyone.Steph Muchai https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmuchai/International Lawyers Project https://www.internationallawyersproject.org/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode feature one of my favourite human beings, Saadhvi Khullar (aka Saads). Saads is the New Propositions Delivery Director at Swiss Re, a unit which focuses on innovative digital solutions for the insurance world. But much more then that - she is a rare talent with a good soul. She is one of the kindest, most inspiring individuals I have the pleasure of knowingToday we discuss Saads' thoughts on leadership and mentorship, taking a leap of faith in work and imposter syndrome.Saadhvi Khullar https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadhvi-khullar/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s my privilege to speak with Saadia Savory in this episode. Saadia is a Vice President of the Casualty Practice at Aspen Bermuda. She has been in the insurance and reinsurance world for around 15 years, particularly in underwriting, working with Fortune 1000 companies in the US as well as Bermuda. Saadia was awarded the Bermuda Rising Star award in Reinsurance and ILS in 2017, a well-deserved accolade, having known her for a little while now. She is a kind and generous human being and it was brilliant to speak with her.Saadia Savory https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadia-savory-msc-hons-57208861/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is my privilege to share this interview with Lilia Stoyanov, Founder and CEO of Transformify, which is a company which is really changing the way companies can hire, manage, and pay remote teams, contingent workforce and freelancers, and for the employees, it helps people – particularly disenfranchised groups – access work when they might not ordinarily been able to.Lily is an award-winning entrepreneur, a Professor at Zigurat Business School of Innovation and Technology, a successful angel investor and a really wonderful human being.Lily Stoyanov https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilia-stoyanov-fcca-41972b14/Samantha Smart https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthasmart1/Exige International https://www.exigeinternational.com/Exige International LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/exige-international/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.