Fearless Women Podcast By Janice McDonald (Janice McDonald)

Dr. Wendy Cukier is one of Canada's leading experts in disruptive technologies, innovation processes, and diversity. She has written more than 200 papers on technology, innovation, and management - and is co-author of the bestseller: Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Java to Jurassic Park.

Stephen Brown is the President of FUSE. 

He shares insights about personal branding, entrepreneurship and so, so much more~

Fran Gagnon is the CEO of ADGA Group, a company that offers world-class technology in defense, security, and enterprise computing. Fran is also a champion of women’s leadership in Canada.

Eli Fathi is CEO of MindBridge Ai

Numerous studies have found that the large majority of women in Canada and elsewhere have been adversely affected by the pandemic, with the majority of those women concerned about their ability to progress in their careers. My next guest is Pamela Jeffery, Founder of Women's Executive Network, and The Prosperity Project - a new organization for women. She has an impressive career and is a visionary. She magically seems to create exactly what is needed for women in Canada.

An inspiring message from Pamela Jeffery at 23:02 min in "I have something on my desk that I'm looking at this very moment. And it reads, what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? And that has led me to create the Women's Executive Network, and most recently create The Prosperity Project. We can't afford to fail as a country when it comes to keeping women in the work force. We can't afford to fail as a country not having flexibility provided to working parents. We need our economy to recover as much as possible."

The Fearless Women Podcast

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Sarah Richardson is an entrepreneur, designer, tv host and author

Happy New Year! 2021 we have been waiting for you. As you begin to make your New Year's resolutions I have the perfect guest to help you with your nutrition goals. My guest today is Abby Langer, a food and nutrition expert, and the author of Good Food, Bad Diet. She's going to talk about the negative effects of diet culture, and how to gain a healthy relationship with food -and still lose weight!

At 6:47 you'll hear Abby explain the massive issue that's plaguing people's relationship with food. "This is the first thing I get people to do. So, if someone sits down with me and wants to lose weight, and I can see that they have sort of a negative relationship with food and their body. I ask them, how often do you say negative things to yourself about food and about your body? And, invariably they'll say, ya know I don't say it that often... once or twice a day. And so, what I get the person to do is, I get them to really make an effort to recognize each and every time they say something either out loud to themselves, or in their head, about their body that's negative. And almost a hundred percent of the time they'll come back and they'll say - I say these things to myself ALL DAY LONG!"

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Zahra Al-Harazi is the Co-founder of Skillit

Sharon Zohar is the visionary behind The Big Push. She’s a disruptor and innovator who wants to take women entrepreneurs from Seed to Series A.

Paulina Cameron is a triple-threat: CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, bestselling author of Canada 150 Women: Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries, and a mother – among her many other accomplishments.

Shannon Pestun is the Director of Women’s Entrepreneurship at ATB Financial.

Angela Mondou is President and CEO of ITAC: Information Technology Association of Canada.

We are all in serious need of inspiration, as we continue through this challenging time. My guest today is the definition of fearless - Lia Grimanis, Founder and CEO of Up With Women - an organization that gives women and children inspiration and strategies for rebuilding their lives after homelessness.  

Lia has many remarkable feats to her name. Financial Post Magazine listed her as one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful women, and in 2012 Chatelaine named her one of the 2012 Women of the Year. And yes, she has Guinness World Records!  

At 17:08min hear Lia recount the incredible story of pulling her charity from the brink of bankruptcy " I was staring down the last 5 thousand dollars in my bank account, and I was joking with the shelters that they might want to make room for me - I might become homeless again. And at that point, I was giving a talk for the international women form. Wendy Freeman, the CEO of CTV news was in the audience, we were talking about Up With Women - she said, I want to put you on TV. I said, well great! I'm about to go bankrupt, I would like to break a Guinness World Record on live TV, and then I was going to sell the exposure for sponsorship - cause if I couldn't get grants, I knew I could sell stuff. On my 42 birthday, I broke my first Guinness World Record on Live TV, and within a matter of weeks we had raised almost 40 thousand dollars, and we were back in business."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

As we’ve stayed closer to home these past two years, whether looking out the window or going for walks, we’re keenly aware of our surroundings and the important role design and architecture play in our enjoyment of spaces.

I am delighted to welcome someone who is actively seeking new opportunities to improve and create world-class architecture and design. She’s an impressive leader who has wide-ranging experience within global leadership, sales, marketing and operations. We met when she was a tech exec at a cyber security company and I was training one of her teams.  

Let me tell you about Isabella Alveberg. She is the CEO of Snøhetta. It’s an integrated design practice of architecture, landscape, interiors, furniture, graphic and brand design, with offices all over the world including the home office of Oslo, Norway.  

Listen until 12:07 to hear Isabella talk about the best piece of advice she received.  

"The best piece of advice that I ever got, that I didn't wish I knew earlier, cause I was told that pretty early. But I wish I'd listened to that advice. Is really listen more than you speak. I did have a tendency to, uh, you know, to overcompensate and kind of push my ideas forward. And I think as, at least as I get older and take on more, you know, top-level of management positions.

I think it's really a good practice to ask for advice. You know, surround yourself with people that are a whole lot smarter than yourself. One of my New Year's resolutions with this year is really to actively seek dialogue, not just conversation, but dialogue to really, truly understand the other person and their point of view.

And then, in the end, I have to make the hard decisions. But again, I wish that they not only told me to listen more than I spoke but actually, I had listened to that piece of advice."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

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Snøhetta

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

My guest this week is Jackie Danchek. Jackie is Head of Corporate and eCommerce Dealing for North America at International Fintech Company, OFX.  

According to Jackie, the finance and tech industries have always had many obstacles for women looking to make their way into a leadership position. She says, Although it’s a step toward breaking down barriers into the Wall Street - boy’s club, the recent news of Jane Fraser’s appointment to CEO at Citigroup is only a small victory. Jackie has many insights to share from her career as an expert and leader in the complex high stakes area of finance, that is international currency exchange - where she helps businesses move money across borders. She’s going to tell us more about being in finance and tech and so much more. .  

Hear Jackie recall her thoughts about the 2016 election at 23:06min  

"I can remember... I mean the election in 2016 was a real turning point in my life. And, I was angry, I was sad. I can remember going to the polls that day, with my cousin, we were both so excited, we were like, this is the day we've been waiting for, that a women's going to be President. I'm so proud that I'm voting in this election. And then, it just all came crashing down and went the other way, and at the time it felt like, oh my gosh, how did this happen. Her book being titled "What Happened" is so appropriate, - that's exactly what I was saying. And I think that was kind of the point in my life where I was like, ok, just because I'm a women in finance that doesn't mean that I need to be held back."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

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Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Victoria Pelletier is a VP and Senior Partner at IBM.

An excerpt from the first section of my new book: DARE.

Fearless: Girls With Dreams, Women With Vision is available now!

JP Gladu is President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Anna Tudela - is a Board Member, Exective, and Consultant

Catherine Tait is President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada

Brittany Forsyth is Shopify's Chief Talent Officer.

My guest today is Catherine Cano - Founder and CEO of Canovision. So much has happened in her career since she joined me on show back in 2019, when she was the CEO of CPAC.

In this episode Catherine talks  about leadership in times of crisis, through her experiences as a fearless COO of a large global organization. We also discuss what the future of work needs to look like, as more people are vaccinated around the world, and slowly some countries are beginning to open up. It's great to think about the lessons learned so far from these challenging times.

At 6:02 min in, hear Catherine Cano share the experience of Covid 19 becoming a global pandemic.

"Ya, I'd been actually traveling for three weeks, and landing in Burkina Faso, a little small country in the west of the continent. They took our temperature, and gave us hand sanitizer. And it was funny for me  because I had just spoken to the headquarter in Paris, where things were good, ya know, we had one or two cases... there was no sense of emergency. And then suddenly in those countries they were actually careful, preventive. So it told me that  their instincts were right, And so, I came back to Paris and decided to create what we call a crisis cell."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Jennifer Stewart is President and CEO of Syntax Strategic and a regular commentator on CBC, CTV, and 1310 News.

My guest today is an inspiring person who has had tremendous success. Joel Primus is an author, speaker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, serial entrepreneur, and a man behind a premium underwear company Naked. Joel co-founded Kosan Travel , which launched one of the most successful Kickstarter apparel products of all time — reaching over $1M in sales in 30 days. He appeared on CBC’s hit show Dragon’s Den, was one of the inaugural BCBusiness 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs, and is also the author of a brand new book, Getting Naked.- The Bare Necessities of Entrepreneurship and Start Ups.

Here Joel tell the story of a massive stumbling block his company overcame at 11:42 min in.

"We got this order from Holt Renfrew, and I'm like, oh my gosh we're gonna be huge! Ya know fast forward, I get a call and somebody's like - I now know why you call the underwear naked, because it doesn't stay on when you were it.  And I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, it falls right off. And obviously the feeling where your heart goes into your stomach - and sure enough, we had not design the product correctly for a number of the size categories, and the underwear just shot right off. - ya know, our waistband less theory had failed, and I had to retract 19,000 pairs of underwear I had to figure out how to turn the business around with this thing, and like, failure asks you the question - do you wanna keep going?"

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

My fearless expert today is Leah Guy. She has appeared on hundreds of top media outlets for her deep knowledge on meditation, the mind-body connection, energy medicine and emotional and spiritual healing. We need this now!

Leah has a new book out,  Overcoming Toxic Emotions, A Practical Guide to Building Better Relationships with Yourself and Others.  This book is for anyone wanting to have healthier and happier relationships… so everyone! She has more than two decades of experience in private practice, where she helps people transform their lives .. very excited for our conversation today.

At 20:47min hear Leah's advice for anyone frustrated in their spiritual journey.

"It's frustrating - and I know it's frustrating because, I too, have tried a million different therapies and techniques and teachers and so forth, and it can be frustrating that we feel - even in the world of holistic wellness - we feel everything so separate, ya know, and there's so much to offer. So,  I would just say to anyone  to use your discernment and your best judgement with, the teacher, the author, the platform - what ever you choose, and make sure that it feels authentic and good, because a lot of people say a lot of words... and a lot of it is kinda spiritual bypassing, if I may. So, we have to be careful for that because are we just looking for, ya know, a daily little pep talk, or are we looking for substance? And, those two things are quite different"

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada
 

Welcome to the show Leah!

I have an incredible guest to share with you today! She is on a mission to end energy poverty globally. She's designed a modular battery powered generator. It is her response to the loud, noxious, combustion engine generators that currently dominate the market.

I'm talking about Growing Greener Innovations President, Connie Stacey. And her job just got a little easier. She is the 2021 winner of the Pitch For The Purse program from The Forum - which included a $50,000 dollar prize. We'll talk about that and much more.

At 10:30min in, Connie recounts her Pitch For The Purse!

Janice "You pitched in front of an audience of almost 2 thousand viewers, and ultimately won the 50 thousand dollar purse. Tell us about that experience?"

Connie "Ya know I think the very last thing I ended up saying, was on a questions, they asked me... why you, why now? And I said, well, I believe what we have built is truly the cell phone of power. And like the cell phone brought communication to every corner of the world, we're gonna bring energy" - mic drop

The Fearless Women Podcast

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The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Adrienne Rivera is a Spiritual Business Coach who specializes in teaching healers and coaches how to grow their businesses online. She started her coaching journey as an online fitness + mindset coach, grew it to a 6 figure business, and discovered her passion and talent for business coaching. Adrienne focuses on helping her clients find alignment with their business on a soul level with breathwork. She is the founder of Breath of Gold--a breathwork company that hosts weekly breathwork and also trains breathwork facilitators.

Listen until 7:46 to hear Adrienne talk about finding peace within. 

“With my story of overcoming the eating disorder, I used to feel like food was that thing to fill the void, or food was that thing to give me pleasure. Or even you know dating and relationships was the thing to give me pleasure and shopping or buying new things was the thing to give me pleasure and novelty. When really everything is within ourselves and that is a lesson that comes through almost every single time I do breathwork and it’s a reminder because I think our human selves often forget that it’s all within us.”

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

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https://www.adriennerivera.com/

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Export Development Canada

Dr. Vardit Ravitsky is a Professor of Bioethics at the University of Montreal and at Harvard Medical School. She is Immediate Past-President and currently Vice-President of the International Association of Bioethics. She is the Director of Ethics and Health at the Center for Research on Ethics and holds a Research-Creation Chair on the Re-appropriation of Maternity. She is a 2020 Fellow of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and chaired the Foundation’s COVID-19 Impact Committee. She is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and of the Hastings Center. 

Listen until 27:27 to hear Vardit talk about growing up and her early curiosity.  

“I grew up in Jerusalem in a very homogeneous orthodox Jewish community. I didn't speak English or French. I could only speak Hebrew. The first time I left the country I was 13, so I had very little exposure to otherness, and I think already at that early age, I was tremendously curious about diversity. How do people live in other countries, other culture, what is it like to speak another language?

What are other people's norms and values and how are they different? I was drawn to diversity before I even knew what it was, or before I could put any content into it.”

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

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Jacie deHoop is a Co-Founder of The Gist Sports

Dr. Jasmine Mah is a physician and researcher who is passionate about healthcare for older adults. She holds an MD from the University of Ottawa, an MSc from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Dalhousie University.

Jasmine’s research on social vulnerability, frailty and aging has been nationally recognized as a recipient of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholarship, Killam Scholarship, and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Award. Among her honours, she is the elected co-chair of the Canadian Resident Geriatrics Interest Group and winner of Dalhousie University’s Three Minute Thesis Competition. She is also the co-founder of Let Science Connect, a social enterprise bridging academia to society through effective science communication.

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

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Shereen Benzvy Miller is the Assistant Deputy Minister at Shared Services Canada, Next Generation HR and Pay

Ash Ivory is Head of Product at Outfit.io

Nicole Verkindt: OMX Founder & CEO

Rola Dagher is the President and CEO of Cisco Canada

I’m excited to welcome this weeks guest, Claire Haidar. Claire is Co-founder and CEO of WNDYR and Pattyrn: two companies focused on shaping the world of work, through AI-driven data analysis of how and where teams work. Pattyrn is transforming organizations to work in ways that were inconceivable a mere few years ago.  

Claire is also a Board member of UNICEF, talkSTEM and AccelerateHer - organizations that are making a monumental impact in working environments around the world, for humanity at large. We have so much to talk about!

At 8:36 hear Clair Haidar describe the girl that grew into the woman she is today!

"My little daugher recently called me an "earthotologist" - she literally made the word up in the moment, and she couldn't have been more accurate. Like, if you go back to my 9... 10 year old self, than I am the epitome of an "earthotologist." I hated wearing clothes. I had a fish pond in the back garden, and a huge huge avocado pear tree. And, I used to spend every waking hour, that I could, under this tree and in this fish pond. And I would climb this tree as high as I possible could to see how strong the branches were before they would start cracking."

Check out the book Claire Haidar references: Out of Many 1

Check out the book - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

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Pattyrn

WNDYR

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Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

We need inspiration now more than ever… and I’m excited to introduce you to my next guest. Global citizen and inspiring leader, she has a fascinating story to tell of her life so far.

Welcome to the show, Renée McGowan!  

Let me tell you a little more from Renée’s very impressive bio.

Based in Dubai, Renée is Mercer’s President, Asia Middle East & Africa (AMEA), leading Mercer’s business across 18 markets in this fast-growing, dynamic region. She is also Chairperson of Mercer in Japan, Executive Director on Mercer boards in China and Hong Kong, and Marsh McLennan’s Country Corporate Officer for Hong Kong.

She has helmed businesses in Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, New York, Singapore and Sydney. She is also a regular speaker at major international forums and a contributor to international media, including WEF, The New York Times, The South China Morning Post and CNBC. And won tons of awards including the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal by the Australian Government for delivering humanitarian services overseas.

Listen till 9:02 to hear Renée talk about one of the hardest but most impactful times in her life when she was an exchange student.  

“You know you’re a teenager you think you’re invisible. But I think it still takes an element of being fearless to make that decision as a teenager to throw yourself into a local town. In central Java, not knowing a word of Indonesian, living with a local family and attending a local school for twelve months. And noting that it was the early nineties, so it was pre-internet. Snail mail took weeks or months, phone calls didn’t work just because of the nature of infrastructure there. So it was probably the hardest period of my life but looking back on it now, probably the most impactful thing I did in my life as well.”

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Well, My fearless listeners, these remain challenging times and our resilience continues to be tested … and tested. Sometimes, It can feel like we’re swimming in an ocean of uncertainty. The future is uncertain but what if I told you you can turn that uncertainty into a competitive advantage? 

My next guest, Ursula Eysin has answers on how to do this. She’s a creative strategist who helps, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and governments do precisely that. To turn uncertainty into an advantage using the scenario thinking method. She’s the CEO and founder of Red Swan Vienna and will help us imagine and create our future. I love the sound of that.

Listen till 11:44 to hear Ursula talk about why people don’t like uncertainty and where that feeling comes from.

“No one likes uncertainty. People hate uncertainty. But actually, we have this basic human uncertainty, which already starts with do other people like me. And that sounds very trivial, but actually, our psychology did not really change in the last thousands of years. So when we were not liked by the group, by the others, in a tribe or in the caves, there was actually a question of life and death.

So we still do have this reaction. So this is our basic uncertainty and it's actually quite frightening. So I would not try to tell people just, uh, give up on certainty because I know we need, in some places, we need some kind of certainty. We need to feel safe.”

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

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Sandra Henderson is a Regional President of BMO Private Wealth

Mark Sutcliffe is an Entrepreneur, Author and Business Coach

Difficult conversations, encountering the media,  making effective presentations, and leadership in crisis. -my next guest is an expert in all of these. Laura Peck, from Transform Leaders, started her career in Canada working as a Political Assistant on Parliament Hill, and as a Broadcaster for TV and radio with the CBC.

She’s well know as a leader who trains and coaches CEOs, Deputy Ministers, Ministers, and C-Suite Executives in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and has been doing so for over 30 years! 

Laura Peck is going to share insights from her impressive career and offer practical tips on putting your best foot forward.

At 15:05 hear Laura share am important part of who she is

"My earliest memories were, I wanted to have a career. My whole life I wanted to have a career, and that was a little bit different than some of the other people, however, even if somebody tried to, ya know, take me down a peg - or something like that, I just had this inner thing. I'm a third generation career woman also - my mother,  her mother, that helped me a lot. But also, ya know,  I'm willing to  be accepting of other people, role modeling - I sought out mentors at the time, and I have done mentoring myself."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

My guest today is Nathalie Des Rosiers - the Principal of Massey College, at the University of Toronto. She is a former member of the Provincial Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier, and prior to entering politics, was the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Common law sector at the University of Ottawa (2013-2016). More recently, Nathalie was selected as a 2020 mentor with the prestigious Trudeau Foundation.

In addition to these impressive roles - and many more that we discuss in the interview, she has received the Order of Canada, and the Order of Ontario!

At 17:13 hear Nathalie Des Rosiers share some important wisdom about applying ourselves

"I applied to many jobs that I did not get, I call that the back of the CV... ya know the front of the CV is all the great things... you need to have applied to others things that you can't get. And you can't get a front of the CV unless you have a back of the CV. So, you apply, you get an interview... or not, but when you get interviewed you learn from that process... but I remember the first time that I applied to something that was a little bit beyond my reach... it's because a guy in my class had applied for this, and I thought, if he applied... why shouldn't I? It was my sense of... he has confidence, why don't I? And then pushed myself a little bit to do it."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

The Honorable Mary Ng is Canadian Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion.

When she made partner in her law firm, it was her happiest day. It was also a day of profound sadness and loss. Katherine Cooligan is a specialist in family law and Regional Managing Partner at BLG in Ottawa. She also a champion of women leaders and dedicated volunteer. Katherine’s recent TedX talk was Tackling Fear and Unleashing Your Full Potential and she received a standing ovation.

Kristine McGinn is the Chief Operating Officer of Assurance Health Care

Grow Global - Clare Beckton & Janice McDonald 

Diane Scott is the Chair and CEO of JMCC Group

Amber Mac is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, regular business host for Fast Company, CNN, CTV, and many more media outlets. Amber was recently named one of DMZ’s 30 inspirational women making a difference in tech.

Henrietta Southam - Founder and CEO of Henrietta Southam Design

Dr. Natalie Rens is the CEO and Founder at Astreia

Dr. Ailish Campbell is Chief Trade Commissioner of Canada, leading a cross-Canada team of over 400 and an international team of over 1000 trade commissioners in over 160 offices around the world.

I'm excited to introduce you to someone making the world a better place…this time through her creativity with pen and paper. Today, I’m joined by award-winning Canadian author Ashley Spires, who has just recently released a children's book called The Most Magnificent Idea. It's the sequel to The Most Magnificent Thing. It's also being adapted into a television series called Millie Magnificent. 

Listen until 01:58 to hear Ashley talk about the inspiration for her first book!

“ I tried to change the beginning, the middle of the end, the plot, all the bits and nothing was working, and I did the most dignified thing I could think of, which was laid down on the floor and cried and wanted to quit because I realized that's a very important part of the creative process. I also realized it's something that we all feel, we all feel like this, especially children.

So once I came out of that very undignified moment of falling apart and quitting, Figuring my career plateaued. I realized that that was the story. That was the story I needed to tell”

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

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Madame Kareen Rispal is the French Ambassador to Canada. She holds a Master’s degree in Law and is an alumnus of the Institut d’études politiques and the École nationale d’administration. She joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986. Since then, she has had an award-winning global career including recognition as an Officer of the National Order of Merit, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and Chevalier of the Order of Agricultural Merit. She is also a gender equality champion.

I have a fascinating fearless expert to share with you. Christina Erteszek is the author of a new book The First Lady of Underfashions. As the daughter of founders of an innovative lingerie business: The Olga Company, Christina shares this memoir with excerpts from her parents’ Jan and Olga's private papers — a true family saga! 

Her parent’s story is inspiring. Jan and Olga escaped from World War II Europe and arrived in the US with just a few dollars. They turned their paltry savings into a multi-million-dollar fashion business. That's an interesting enough story, but there is so much more to it!

At 14:17 min in, hear Christina Erteszek share an insight into her father's fashion process

"My Father said his favorite thing to do was to go to the sales  table, because he always liked to look at what didn't sale - why didn't it work? Maybe it had a great idea, but it was also in a colour that was not attractive, so that good idea could not be discovered. So, it's exploring , it's like when you take a hike and you look for that heart rock... and if you keep on looking you find it."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Mary Taggart is the Editor in Chief of Ottawa At Home Magazine

Françoise Lyon is President & Managing Partner of DGC Capital, President of International Women's Forum Canada, Chair of the National Gallery of Canada, and President of the Association of Québec Women in Finance.

This weeks guest has a bio that's so impressive, and she continues to dazzle - it's Kirstine Stewart! If her name sounds familiar it might be because she is a high profile media executive and author of the bestselling book: Our Turn.  

She is currently the Head of Shaping the Future of Media at the World Economic Forum. She was formerly the Head of English language services at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Vice-President of Media at Twitter, and President and Chief Revenue Officer of TribalScale...to name a few.

Kirstine is married to the Honourable Zaib Shaikh, the former star of Little Mosque on the Prairie, and the current consul general of Canada in Los Angeles.

At hear 17:35 Kirstine Stewart share a story about the right way to handle a sales deal.

"One of my earliest sales opportunities was to sell The Raccoons to Saudi Arabian television. They were willing to buy it site unseen, the BBC had just bought it, France 2 had just bought it, it was selling wildly globally, and it's a kids show - so should be relatively safe. But when I warned them that, ya know, given that they're a Muslim country, and that some of the main characters were pigs.... that they shouldn't be buying the same site unseen. That might want to consider that before doing so. I could have in that pitch made that sale immediately, but it was not the right deal to close. They said thank you very much, they did not buy the show, they came back later and bought a whole lotta other content afterwards anyways. So understanding what you client or audience needs is so important, and the authenticity means you're giving them what they need and what they want - and exactly that."

Check out Kirstine Stewart's book! - Our Turn

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

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The World Economic Forum

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Export Development Canada

Teresa Marques is President and CEO of Rideau Hall Foundation

My fearless friends I'm excited to introduce you to another remarkable person who is breaking barriers and soaring higher. 

Today’s guest is the unstoppable Brenda Allen. She is the Chief People Officer at De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. Rugged. Reliable. Canadian. That’s De Havilland. The company has a passionate team of innovators based at their facilities in Canada and a global network of support via their seasoned experts, De Havilland proudly carries on its tradition as a leader in aviation since 1928. Brenda Allen has had a fascinating career in many different industries before her current role so she has a unique perspective and tons of practical wisdom. 

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Julie Cafley is the Executive Vice-President of Programs and Partnerships for Public Policy Forum

Stephanie Wolfe is the Founder of Wolfe Collective Wealth

These are challenging times so I’m happy to continue to spotlight inspiring people making the world a better place.

My fearless friends, I am excited to introduce someone whose career has a long impressive bio that she continues to add to and is defined by so many firsts. The Honourable Senator Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin. The book about her life called She Dared to Succeed by Fred Langan, is available everywhere including Amazon. Grab your copy today!

Check out the book! - She Dared to Succeed: A Biography of the Honourable Marie-P. Charette-Poulin

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

My guest today joins us from Washington DC! She has many accolades in her very impressive career. She wears tons of hats, including: COO, author, mentor, founder, speaker, and passionate advocate. It's Laxmi Parthasarathy,  Chief Operating Officer of Global Press.  

She leads global operations across each Global Press brand, spearheads the global expansion strategy to build new bureaus, and develops new partnership strategies to bolster the organization's reach and long-term sustainability. Over her career, she has led initiatives at the intersection of media and development in Canada, India, Rwanda, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and the UK. And that’s just a small sampling of her many achievements!  

At 17:59 Laxmi shares a story about her humble beginnings into the business world

"Ya know, when I was 10 I was doing all sorts of strange things. I started a leaf raking crew - is what we called it. I would gather everybody on our street and we'd start racking leaves and be so excited when we got five dollars. I'm not sure I knew what I was doing back then, but it was a fun way to be with friends and try to gather people together. and do something productive"

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Ambassador Isabelle Hudon is the Canadian Ambassador to France

I am so excited to welcome my guest today! A few words from a long list to describe her: trailblazer, changemaker, and inspirer.  

I’m talking about Emily Mills, who has been recognized by WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women, and Ryerson University’s Alumni Achievement Awards - to name a few.  

Emily has brought women from the "How She Hustles" community to meet former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, and hosted a roundtable with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - to highlight a few. Emily founded "How She Hustles" in 2010 - and since then, she has created one of Canada’s leading social networks for diverse professional women – from entrepreneurs who are making their mark in the start-up ecosystem, to corporate professionals who are changing the leadership landscape.  

Hear Emily share a beautiful message of gratitude at 29:23min.

"I've had some amazing things happen, some of them you mentioned - of course our time lines don't tell the whole story, our digital bios don't tell the whole story... but if I look at the sum of my life, I am so grateful. Man, there have been so many things, even the things that were hard as hell. I feel like my steps were divinely ordered. And I don't say that with arrogance, but with the utmost humility. Like, my life was designed for a reason - all of our lives  were designed for a reason. And I guess I just feel even more aware of that - now more than ever."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Kim Furlong is CEO at the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Deborah Rosati is a change-maker, champion, and advocate for women. She’s the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board, a leading member-based company that connects, promotes and empowers women to corporate boards.

So, are the Olympic Games on your mind? I absolutely love watching them!

I went with my family to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and it was so memorable. In a few weeks, Paris will be transformed! The Games will open with a flotilla of athletes floating down the river - that same river that will be a venue for open-water swimming events. It’s going to be incredible and my next guest has the Olympic Games very much on her mind.

It's a pleasure to welcome Dr. Karen MacNeill to the show today. She is a part of the incredible team behind Team Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer. A Mental Performance Consultant, Psychologist, and speaker, she helps athletes, leaders and organizations unleash their highest potential so they shine when it matters most. She has worked with athletes competing at the last 5 Olympic games and competed herself at the international level for over a decade. Her career includes so many accolades and tons of recognition, so you know we have so much to talk about.

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

MacNeill Performance

My guest today knows how to win!  Jen Boyd is an inspiring coach that I wish I had the chance to be coached by in my earlier days - but I’ve never played rugby, only watched it.

Coach Jen Boyd’s rugby career stretches over three decades during which time she played club, provincial, and Canadian national level rugby. For the 2017 season, Boyd was made a full time coach with the University of Ottawa, making her the first full time female rugby head coach in Canada!

At 11:13 min in Coach Boyd shares what she wishes she knew earlier

"The power of empathetic listening - really listening to understand. I didn't do that till probably my 40's -cause I though it was about me, and leadership, mentorship, coaching, teaching - it's not about you. It's about everyone else, and that has been my greatest learning. I wish I knew that sooner. I wish someone would have told me to listen more..."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Very excited to have another fearless expert to share with you today. From Canada, the impressive Eleanor Beaton who is the Founder of SafiMedia, an education & coaching company for women entrepreneurs. She’s on a mission is to double the number of women entrepreneurs who scale past $1M in revenue by 2030! If anybody can do it she can make this happen. She’s also the host of the Power + Presence + Position podcast so you know we will have a ton to talk about today!

At 4:02 min, hear Eleanor share her views on "lifestyle" business stigma

"Because, ya know, Silicon Valley culture has really dominated the conversations around what it means to be a successful entrepreneur, what happens is that so many of the businesses, that many women start - consulting based businesses  - service based businesses , are written off as a "lifestyle" business. The challenge to me is in terms of how scalable  is defined, and the idea that a scalable business is a net value to society business."

Follow Eleanor Beaton's social, to be inspired daily!

https://www.instagram.com/eleanorbeaton/

https://www.youtube.com/eleanorbeaton

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorbeaton/

https://twitter.com/eleanorbeaton

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

I'm so excited to welcome entrepreneur extraordinaire Anna Crowe. She is Founder and CEO of Crowe PR , an Amazon bestselling author and adjunct Marketing Professor at University of San Diego. She has numerous awards and achievements in her fascinating career, and I’m excited to get her insights on what’s she learned from working with iconic brands in New York, LA and San Diego, and so much more.

Hear what Anne wished she knew earlier at 23:22 min, "Well, this is gonna sound a little woo-woo, but I honestly wish I trusted the Universe more... earlier in life. Sometimes things don't work out as you intended, and you get disappointed, right, or you have a hard time dealing with it, or keeping your belief. But, I find that time and time again the Universe shows you the reason why something didn't work out. So, letting go of something when it didn't work out, sooner, not dwelling on it, and believing that something better - or different, is meant to be, or is intended for you, and it's right around the corner.... it's kind of like that old classic song ""Que Sera Sera "" what will be will be, right."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Joanne Stanley is the Executive Director for WCT

Catherine Cano is a multitalented leader: CEO, journalist, democracy champion, and the visionary behind the influential Route 338 project. Now she’s the administrator (COO) of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) in Paris, France. It has 84 States and governments (including 26 observers) across the five continents. • IOF's community : 1,5 billion people which is 16% of the world's population.

An excerpt from a section of my new book: SERVE.

Fearless: Girls With Dreams, Women With Vision is available now!

Jenna Sudds is Ottawa's Deputy Mayor and a City Councillor

Rita S. Karakas is the Managing Partner at RSK Associates

Paul Wells is the Senior Writer at Maclean's magazine

Jennifer Cooke is the Corporate Lead for Women in Trade at EDC

Susan St. Amand is the Founder and President of Sirius Financial Services

Lisa Kimmel  is Chair & CEO, Canada & Latin America, at Edelman.

Debbie Weinstein is a Co-Founder & Partner at LaBarge Weinstein LLP

Jennifer Harper is Founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty. She shares insights into her entrepreneurial journey, being on Dragon’s Den, raising money and finding investors, overcoming addiction, being a role model and so much more!

Vicki Saunders is on a crusade to change the world. She isn’t interested in half measures – she wants a whole new way to fund, support, and celebrate women entrepreneurs. She’s the visionary behind SheEO, a Toronto-based non-profit aimed at funding women entrepreneurs, with a goal to raise $1 Billion in interest-free loans.

Solange Tuyishime is the President and CEO of Elevate International

Welcome to the  Fearless Women Podcast. Season Three!  

My guest today is Lisa LaFlamme, an important and trusted voice in Canada. She’s the Chief Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News.  

She has an impressive career, and has covered many international events and conflicts, such as: the September 11th attacks , the War in Iraq, the Arab Spring in Cairo, and Hurricane Katrina.  

She has also covered every Canadian Federal election since 1997, and every Olympic Games since 2006. She covered the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, and the royal weddings of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle.  

Hear Lisa talk about why she covers these important events at 23:45min

"On the ground, when you're doing these things, and you're driving through these cities...and check points.. and there's insurgents behind every cover in your brain, but you think, I am on my way to a school right now to interview a bunch of girls who are brave enough to go to school under these circumstances, so I  am brave enough to go to their school and talk to them, so that Canadians can see... there is hope, even in Afghanistan at it's darkest Taliban days - there is hope."

Michelle McBane is the Managing Director at StandUp Ventures

My impressive guest today is Fatima Zaidi. She  is the CEO and Co-Founder of Quill Inc. - the world’s first one-stop marketplace, where podcasters can find pre-vetted expert freelancers! She is also the owner of the Listen In Conference, held in LA, that supports brands moving into podcasting.

Fatima is a member of the National Speakers Bureau,  a  commentator for BNN Bloomberg,. and a  contributor to The Globe and Mail.  She has won two Top 30 under 30 awards, the Young Professional of the Year by Notable Life, and one of Flare Magazine’s Top 100 Women. See? Impressive!

At 19:02 hear Fatima  share her current thoughts on the pandemic

"Oh my goodness, everything is bugging me right now, I'd love to ya know, see my family again.... I cannot wait to walk down an isle and hear those magical words this is your captain speaking...lol. I think when all of this is over I'm gonna do a reverse quarantine, which mean, I'm not going home - ever! I think about all the plans that I used to turn down before all of this, and regret it , and I'll longfully... willfully  think about those days, summer patio days and days at the cottage, but I would say right now I'm more or less feeling very grateful that this is almost over. I'm glad that all my friends and family are all healthy. That I think is the most important thing."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Visio

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

It’s a new year!  My guest today is Maria Teresa Hernandez, She’s Vice President of Sales & Brand Partnerships at Mirriad.com -  the leading in-content advertising solution company that brands like Lego, Dyson, Heineken, Deliveroo, Universal and so many more trust. Maria Teresa is responsible for the company’s overall US growth – driving business across brand and content partners, and something I love - she partners and empowers minority content owners and creators. She’s going to tell us about that and so much more.

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision
 

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

mirriad.com
 

Leslie Woo is the Chief Planning Officer for METROLINX

Janice McDonald presents Inspiring Conversations for the Unafraid. Hear from trailblazers in business, arts and culture, government and more!

Valerie Fox is the Chief Innovation Consultant at The Pivotal Point

Annie Marsolais is Chief Marketing Officer at Business Development Bank of Canada. She oversees BDC's brand strategy and positioning, marketing, advertising, public relations, social media, as well as client experience and social entrepreneurship across the country.

Jackie King is Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a recognized national business leader and champion of women.

An excerpt from a section of my new book: GROW.

Fearless: Girls With Dreams, Women With Vision is available now!

 Hey everybody!

A big shout out to our listeners from all around the globe including: USA, UK, Canada, Norway, Australia, France - and so many more countries…hello!

Love having you join us. I’m thinking about you and hope you’re doing alright out there. We need inspiration now more than ever!

So, On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of women across all aspects of society  and, at the same time, recognize hurdles still remain  to achieve gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.  

The theme of breaking the bias reminds us we still have a way to go and my fearless guest today has an impressive bio as a tech trailblazer Jennifer Jackson, is the first woman to lead Accenture’s technology business in Canada and passionate advocate for mental health - an interest we share.  

Let me tell you a little more about her.

Jennifer Jackson is a Senior Executive at Accenture and runs the Canadian Technology and Cloud First business. Jennifer has worked across multiple industries but has focused on Retail the last 10 years. Jennifer has a passion for Mental Health and is the executive sponsor for the Mental Health Employee Resource Group. We have lots to talk about … welcome to the show Jennifer Jackson.

Listen until 23:41 to hear what Jennifer is most excited about when it comes to the future of technology.  

"We, right now, are exploring a lot about the Metaverse, and how that will re-shape how we interact with each other. How businesses interact with their customers. How we can even do things, like, bring therapy right to people who may not have access through the Metaverse, and, so, I think that's going to completely change the way we as human beings work, and really spend time with each other. So, that I'm really excited about."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Snøhetta

I have an exciting Fearless guest for you today. Let me tell you all about this inspiring leader. Lauren Kelly is Chief Marketing Officer at ThoughtExchange. Prior to her current role, she held senior executive positions at PepsiCo, Dell, and Irvine Company. She's been recognized as a rising leader by numerous organizations including: the California Diversity Council, Internet Marketing Association - and that's just some of her accolades.

She has a passion for disruptive tech, global branding and go-to-market innovation. And, Lauren's attended the prestigious Harvard University - where I was on the Women’s Leadership Board - Harvard Kennedy School WAPPP . We'll talk about that and so much more!

At 22:23 hear Lauren talk about what she wishes she'd known earlier

"I wish I had known earlier that , there wasn't a single prescribed career path. I would say, I sent a few years trying to mold my own career moves and plan around the backgrounds of others. And that's not a bad approach at the beginning, but it has it's pitfalls... If you're looking at someone who's already made it to maybe, a place more senior and more advanced than you, their information is  ten, to fifteen, to twenty years old - in terms of how they got there. So, you're modeling yourself after an older model, and presuming  that what you're destined to do is entirely similar to what they're destined to do, and that what the world needs in the future , is what it needed in the past."

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

One thing the last two years have reminded us of is how important the arts are to our enjoyment of life and our sanity as the pandemic has lingered. We love escaping into movies.

I am so excited to welcome a creative whirlwind and triple threat to the show today. Stacey Gregg is an accomplished screenwriter, playwright, and director, and she is going to talk to us about her feature-length directorial debut called Here Before. It’s a psychological thriller starring Andrea Riseborough, coming out in February 2022. It's a Rooks Nest and BBC Film.  

Listen till 09:57 to hear Stacey talk about how her lived experiences influence her filmmaking.

"I grew up in a very working-class family in Belfast and you know, I didn't come from an artsy background or a professional background. I was also queer and knew from quite a young age, and I think that... Sounds almost a bit like a cliche to say it, but I think that outsider's perspective or feeling like I was always seeing things a bit sideways it very early on makes you very, I think quite empathic, you know, and you're always seeking to connect with people and find things in common.

I mean, I don't know quite how those things connect directly to the filmmaker I am. Except that I guess coming at things sideways, valuing voices that sometimes have been on the margins, understanding that solidarity is very important and we need to raise everyone up, not just ourselves or causes that feel like they only directly affect us."

Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision

The Fearless Women Podcast

fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com

The Beacon Agency

Rooks Nest Entertainment 

Here Before IMDb

Sponsors:

BDC

Lockheed Martin

Export Development Canada

Anna Lambert is Director of Talent Acquisition at Shopify, and co-creator of The Guild, a new and casual organization for SMEs to come together and learn from each other. She shares many funny stories from her youth and powerful insights into the successful culture at the already iconic Shopify.

Karen Greve Young is Futurpreneur Canada CEO. Futurpreneur Canada is the only national, non-profit organization providing resources, financing and mentoring to aspiring business owners aged 18-39.

Catherine Clark is the President of Catherine Clark Communications Inc.