How can you harness your strengths and understand your weaknesses? FYLD’s CEO Shelley Copsey has spent her extensive career figuring out just that and has some great advice for anyone that is hard on themselves about their perceived shortcomings. At FYLD she spends time with junior colleagues, unlocking their potential and expanding their horizons. When she was thinking about her future, Shelley’s dad told her that she should keep her options open. That meant she studied a variety of subjects an...
Aug 07, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 21
When women are asked about their experiences at work, what challenges do they face and what are their significant milestones? Neveen Awad is a Managing Director and Partner at BCG and leads the Women in Technology Initiative in North America. This wide-ranging study surveys a diverse range of women, bringing their career experiences to life through data. When Neveen completed her Computer Science BSc at Yale, she was the only woman to graduate. There have been many other times in her career wher...
Jul 24, 2023•20 min•Season 2Ep. 20
May Habib has been a CEO for the past decade and always knew she wanted to build a company. She currently heads up Writer, an enterprise AI platform, and has an incredible support system that allows her to do her best work and also hang out with her two children. May is truly a global citizen. She was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to Canada when she was little. She went on to study in the USA and has worked across the world. Her parents worked incredibly hard and May recognizes that her w...
Jul 10, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Self-belief is a journey, and there will be bumps in the road. A lack of self-belief is something Professor Margot Gerritsen still experiences sometimes, even after achieving Professor Emeritus status at Stanford. Margot now dedicates her time to running Women in Data Science (WiDS) Margot began her career in computational science over thirty-five years ago, and she predictably found that she was one of the only women in her class at university. Unfortunately, she hasn’t really seen the number o...
Jun 26, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Facing constant challenges can be daunting. How can you welcome them into your life? Shaku Kandan has always chased new challenges. From joining the groundbreaking startup AirAsia X to joining Malaysia Airlines at a difficult time, she’s always seeking out new ways to push herself further. Full Episode Description: Facing constant challenges can be daunting. How can you welcome them into your life? Shaku Kandan has always chased new challenges. From joining the groundbreaking startup AirAsia X t...
Jun 12, 2023•19 min•Season 2Ep. 17
When Suma Nallapati was growing up, she didn’t have many women in STEM that she could look up to. During her extensive career in tech, and in her current role as CIO at Insight, she’s put herself forward, inspiring the next generation of talent and giving women and girls a role model to give them hope. Suma was one of only two women who graduated from her nuclear physics class in her home country of India. When she moved to Colorado, Suma began to build an impressive career in tech. Starting out...
May 29, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 16
How do you use your leadership position to help women thrive? Today on In Her Ellemen t we’re welcoming our first-ever male guest - Christoph Schweizer, CEO of BCG. Christoph is vocal about how leaders have a responsibility to speak out and advocate for women in the workforce. Christoph has worked at BCG for over twenty-five years, rising up through the ranks from a summer internship to become CEO in 2021. Throughout his time at BCG, Christoph has advocated for higher representation of women in ...
May 15, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 15
How can we have the courage to tackle problems that seem insurmountable? Mariana Vasconcelos is the founder of Agrosmart, an agricultural startup that helps farmers use data to become more sustainable and thrive. Mariana grew up in a farming family and decided to try and find solutions for the types of issues that her father faced every day. From there she used her technology and leadership skills to found Agrosmart, a groundbreaking organization that charts a route to a brighter future for farm...
May 01, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 14
How do you carve out a way to follow your passions in your own way? Dr. Erin Young has followed her professional interests across disciplines, and the world. As a Research Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute in the UK, Erin co-leads the Women in Data Science and AI project, examining AI and gender bias. Starting her career officially as a cabaret dancer in school, Erin went on to study classical Greek and Latin at Cambridge University. From there, she moved on to a range of organizations includi...
Apr 17, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 13
How can being part of support groups at work help you advocate for yourself? Kathleen Noreau is Head of Strategic Partnerships in the Consumer, Health & Energy Industries at the World Economic Forum. At The WEF, she co-founded the Women’s Inclusion Network, a group that promotes collective learning opportunities and advocates for its members. Kathleen began her career as a lawyer but realized that she wanted to make a change. After speaking with a career coach, she figured out that she loved...
Apr 03, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 12
How do you get comfortable with taking risks? Kavitha Prasad is VP and GM of Datacenter, AI, and Cloud Execution and Strategy at Intel Corporation. Throughout her career, she's made it her mission to push herself out of her comfort zone, explore new technologies, and above all, grow. Kavitha describes her career as a "jungle gym" where she’s been able to follow her interests and passions. Starting out as a digital design engineer, she went on to work with a wide range of new technologies. From m...
Mar 20, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 11
How do you find your balance? Connie Gao started at BCG as a generalist but transitioned into her Principal of Data Science role because she missed working with tech. Connie is a thoughtful leader who is candid about her work/life boundaries and encourages her team to be clear about their own. Connie joined BCG after completing her Ph.D. at MIT. During her studies, she had the opportunity to learn Python and work with a range of different software. This experience energized her and eventually le...
Mar 06, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Dr. Kate Darling is a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, an ‘anti-disciplinary’ institute that works across technology, media, science, art, and design. Kate has had to work hard to be recognized as an expert in the field of human-robot interaction and now challenges herself to pass on power and opportunity to others whenever she can. Kate began her journey in law school, where she found herself fascinated by the ethical and legal implications of human-robot interaction. She now dedicates ...
Feb 20, 2023•20 min•Season 2Ep. 9
When opportunity comes knocking, will you be ready to grasp it? Isabelle Mauro is the Director General of the GSOA, which is recognized as the representative body for satellite operators globally. Isabelle is a passionate advocate of technological access and inclusion for women and girls around the world. Previously, Isabelle spent seven years at the World Economic Forum or WEF, where she acted as Head of Information, Communications & Technology Industries. In this role, she spent her time a...
Feb 06, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Being different can be challenging, but it also gives you a unique perspective. Farah Ali is VP of Technology Growth Strategy at Electronic Arts, a pioneering video games company. Farah is passionate about diversity in games, both within the workforce and through its characters. Farah is originally from Pakistan and came over to the U.S. to pursue a masters in electrical and electronic engineering. She sees the U.S. as her second home but found adapting to the culture difficult at first. During ...
Jan 23, 2023•24 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Interested in the not-for-profit sector? Isabella De Mattia is the Acting Vice President of Business Operations & Analytics at the International Rescue Committee, an organization set up by Albert Einstien to help people affected by humanitarian crises. Isabella grew up in Italy but has lived and worked all over the world. Isabella has always been hungry to explore new things and find out what her passions are. She’s a life-long learner and spent her time at university trying a number of diff...
Jan 09, 2023•20 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this special holiday episode, we’re taking you back to Season 1 for Andrea Gallego’s conversation with Constance Curtis, Founder of The List. Anyone who has ever dreamt of becoming a tech entrepreneur will ask themselves pivotal questions. How will I raise capital? Where do I recruit talent? What if I don’t know how to code? Constance Curtis founded The List to revolutionize modern dating, driven by her frustration with online dating apps. She shares her founder's journey with us in this epis...
Dec 26, 2022•23 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Dr. Beth Willman is a powerhouse in the astronomy space. In this episode, she discusses how she's navigated the changes in her career, taking her all the way from academia to huge sky-mapping projects. This episode was hosted by Dr. Adi Zolotov, Partner and Associate Director of Data Science at BCG Gamma. In her academic career, Beth is famous for discovering a new class of galaxies, the first of which became known as Willman 1. She’s completed multiple post-doctorial fellowships and professorsh...
Dec 12, 2022•22 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Anjana Susarla is the Professor of Responsible AI at Michigan State University - Eli Broad College of Business. In this episode, she talks about her journey to becoming one of the leaders in her field, her work advocating for more inclusive AI models, and how she successfully juggled family and work during the pandemic. Anjana’s story is truly remarkable. After suffering financial hardship, Anjana’s parents moved her family to a village in rural India, away from their home in Kakinada. She had d...
Nov 28, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Why is it so important to have a seat at the table? Sirisha Kadamalakalva shares how she’s straddled the worlds of investment banking and technology to become DataRobot’s first Chief Strategy Officer. Sirisha began her career in tech as a software engineer at Oracle but decided to pursue a path in investment banking after completing her MBA at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Beginning with a summer internship at Merrill Lynch, she rose through the ranks to become the first a...
Nov 14, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We’re kicking off Season 2 with our new co-host Suchi Srinivasan, an AI and digital expert and Managing Director and Partner at BCG Platinion. In this episode, Suchi takes us on the journey that led her to the top of a field that's straight out of science fiction. Suchi grew up with a dad who worked as an engineer, and vividly remembers the tech he brought home with him from work. After her studies, she went on to work as a software engineer at the former Bell Telephone Laboratories, moving on t...
Oct 31, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We’re back for Season 2 of In Her Ellement , a podcast from BCG! Join AI and digital expert Suchi Srinivasan and product designer Corin Lines for meaningful and vulnerable conversations with women leaders and allies in business, digital, and technology. In Season 2 you can expect more deep dives into the often difficult journey to the top, more demystification of the barriers women face in their careers, and more celebrations of the joy they find in their everyday work. Episode 1 of In Her Ellem...
Oct 31, 2022•2 min
Deciding to move on can be challenging. Andrea Gallego, formerly Managing Director and Partner at BCG Gamma makes her career transitions based on where she can make the most impact. In this episode, we say goodbye to our co-host as she shares a little about her career trajectory. Andrea began her career as a freshman intern at Lehman Brothers, moving on to the Simons Foundation after the bank’s collapse in 2008. She then moved on to senior roles at Booz Allen, McKinsey & Company, and then fi...
Oct 17, 2022•21 min•Ep. 12
What can we do to invite more diverse talent into our field? Astera Schneeweisz, Partner and Director of Engineering, Information Security and Compliance at BCG Digital Ventures thinks that celebrating curiosity, cultivating a kind listening ear, and demystifying your field are critical elements of active allyship. Like many in tech, Astera started their journey by taking things apart and putting them back together. This curiosity led them into the field of cyber security. They began their caree...
Oct 03, 2022•24 min•Ep. 11
How can you succeed in tech if your background is nontraditional? Kalina Nikolova has worked in the advertising industry for over 25 years and now acts as VP of Business Operations & Strategy at Yahoo. In this episode, Kalina talks about her mission to champion a diverse range of talent. How can you succeed in tech if your background is nontraditional? Kalina Nikolova has worked in the advertising industry for over 25 years and now acts as VP of Business Operations & Strategy at Yahoo. I...
Sep 19, 2022•23 min•Ep. 10
How can employers keep talented women engaged for the long haul? In this episode, Debika Bhattacharya, Chief Product Officer at Verizon Business reflects on how her supportive and dynamic company has kept her excited about the telecom industry for over 25 years. As a child, Debika had an aptitude for science and technology. This eventually led her to study electrical engineering and physics at MIT. Beginning her career at Verizon as a frontline engineer, she has risen all the way to the top, kee...
Sep 05, 2022•23 min•Ep. 9
How can you find your unique value add? Sita Sonty shares how she went from being a multilingual translator and diplomat to working for BCG as its Associate Director of Aerospace. In this episode, Sita discusses her unconventional route into science and technology and the challenge of overcoming imposter syndrome. This episode was hosted by Dr. Adi Zolotov, Partner and Associate Director of Data Science at BCG Gamma. Sita began her career as a Career Service Officer at the U.S. State Department....
Aug 22, 2022•24 min•Ep. 8
Kesha Williams, Senior Principal at Slalom, shares how she became an expert across Java, cloud technologies, artificial & machine learning, and AWS. Kesha is a lifelong learner, a passionate mentor, and advocates for more diversity in tech. She firmly believes in paying your experience forward, no matter your seniority or skill level. Since beginning her coding journey in high school, Kesha has gone on to work for Chick-fil-A and Delta Airlines as a Software Engineering Manager and Senior So...
Aug 08, 2022•22 min•Ep. 7
To be a great business leader you have to bring your whole best self to your work. Too often women feel that they need to conceal their emotions to avoid being stereotyped, but empathy is such a critical skill for success. Ashley Grice shares her journey to becoming a leader of purpose & impact at Brighthouse and how to nurture your authentic self. As the CEO and managing director of BCG Brighthouse, Ashley Grice drives purpose, vision and impact storytelling. As a dynamic business leader, A...
Jul 25, 2022•21 min•Ep. 6
Anyone who has ever dreamt of becoming a tech entrepreneur will ask themselves pivotal questions. How will I raise capital? Where do I recruit talent? What if I don’t know how to code? Constance Curtis founded The List to revolutionize modern dating, driven by her frustration with online dating apps. She shares her founder's journey with us in this episode. As a consumer in the online dating space, Constance was fed up with all of the common problems that people experience; online misrepresentat...
Jul 11, 2022•22 min•Ep. 5
