When Women Win (Rana Nawas)

Michaela is a Canadian Millennial and a LinkedIn expert, having written dozens of articles that have received millions of reads. Her LinkedIn journey started in March 2016 when an article that she wrote about landing her dream job went viral. Over the past decade, Michaela has managed the online presence of more than 100 high-profile brands and built her own personal brand to over 140,000 followers on LinkedIn.

Michaela was one of the first people on LinkedIn to openly discuss mental health, self-esteem, and reporting harassment in the workplace. After her father passed away, she started a discussion around bereavement and how it affects your career. When she launched a video campaign on LinkedIn called #letsgethonest, encouraging professionals to share a challenge that they’ve had to overcome in their career – the campaign reached over 26 million LinkedIn users.

Whilst our conversation mainly revolved around how to extract the most value from the LinkedIn platform, we talked about a number of other things too: from Michaela’s experience getting fired for reporting sexual harassment to self-confidence to dealing with rejection. I asked Michaela whether Millennials deserve the rap they’ve been given as entitled and needy – and I found her responses eye-opening. I have two favorite quotes from this episode: “people don’t owe you a job” and “a career is a relationship”.

We recorded this show while Michaela was in Dubai, speaking at a CIPD Middle East conference – so a huge thanks to Charlotte and the CIPD team for making this episode possible.

If you'd like to get in touch with Michaela, you can find her on LinkedIn (obviously!) and Instagram. You'll also find a bunch of free goodies on her website. 

Please remember to subscribe to the podcast, tap a rating or write a review! Thank you.

Linda was named one of TIME’s “Innovators for the 21st century” and “the Entrepreneur Whisperer”.

Linda Rottenberg is an expert on entrepreneurship and leadership. For years she was known as "La Chica Loca” (the crazy girl) for insisting that high-impact entrepreneurs exist in emerging and developing markets. And in 2014, she published her best-selling book, Crazy is a Compliment.

As co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda has led the global entrepreneurship movement for over two decades. With 60 offices
spanning the world, Endeavor rigorously selects, mentors, and invests in high-impact entrepreneurs leading the fastest growing companies in underserved markets. Today, 1800 Endeavor Entrepreneurs generate over $15B in annual revenues and produce more than 2 million jobs.

We had a high-octane discussion about what it takes to scale up your business: from markets to talent to mentors to equity. Linda shared a number of powerful strategies that work for Endeavor entrepreneurs, from having a “start-up prenup” to executing “minivations” to leveraging economic downturns to stalking! And finally, we discussed what it means to be a great leader.

My favorite quotes included: "When economies turn down, entrepreneurs turn up", and "Stalking is an under-rated start-up strategy"! And Linda made two book recommendations: "Blitzscaling" by Reid Hoffman and "Manhattan Beach" by Jennifer Egan.

If you would like to follow Linda, you can find her on Twitter or at endeavor.org. You can also get her book Crazy is a Compliment, and listen to her episode on Masters of Scale.        

Afra Atiq was named Best Performer for 2015-16 by Rooftop Rhythms, and won the 2017 ADMAF Creativity Awards. She proudly gives back to her community through mentorships and workshops with Untitled Chapters (a thriving hub for Emirati women writers). As a scholar, Afra has recently been published in the International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences and conducted social research pertaining to literature and education.

During our conversation we discussed the challenges of public speaking and practical tips to overcome them (spoiler alert: "winging it" doesn't work). We looked at the creative process and how living in a cultural melting pot like Dubai can feed it. Afra shared why everyone's unique story counts, and must be told in your authentic voice.

We finish this episode with a live studio performance of one of Afra's favourite poems.

If you would like to follow Afra Atiq on social media, you can do so on Twitter @a_afra and Instagram @afraatiq.

Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

We focused on two things: the Egyptian entrepreneurial scene and entrepreneurship in general. Dina shared advice for entrepreneurs but also for people like you and I who may one day become angel investors - how to do it and what to look out for. I always ask seed investors who come on When Women Win about what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur - they all say the same two things... listen on!

My favorite quote of the episode was “I can only love the numbers when they reflect a story.”

You can find Dina El-Shenoufy on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month - so sign up now!

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Today’s show is about cultivating resilience. But before we get into Najla’s own path of navigating social norms and obstacles, we talk about her unusual job. 

Najla is the CEO of Sheraa, a government entity that has been tasked to turn a cultural city into a bustling entrepreneurship hub. We discussed why Sharjah has chosen this strategy and what the critical elements are to create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Culture plays a huge role here, at a micro and macro level, as does the word “failure”.

We talked about the different needs that entrepreneurs have at various stages of their journey, and how that translates into programs at Sheraa (by the way, these are all free of charge). Finally, Najla shared her story of how she got onto the board of a bank, an entertaining and eye-opening mix of head, heart and hustle.

Prior to joining Sheraa, Najla had worked at the Khalifa Fund and McKinsey and Company’s New York office, primarily serving clients across the financial institutions sector. Her experience also includes roles within PwC and Shell. Najla is a board member of United Arab Bank, where she also chairs the Board Audit Committee and is a member of the Board Risk Committee. She is Vice-Chairperson of Young Arab Leaders and a fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Leadership Initiative. Najla holds an MBA from Stanford University.

To find out more about Najla and to get in touch, follow her on Twitter and at Sheraa.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe, rate & review the show! You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

When Apple invited me to do a live podcast in their Dubai Mall store for International Women’s Day, I immediately thought of bringing Sharene and Morrad on the show. I love that this couple defies numerous stereotypes, and that their values seemed aligned with those of Apple: innovation and execution.

This husband and wife team have together started and sold multiple businesses from the US to Dubai to Malaysia… All while raising 6 children. 

Sharene Lee is a Singaporean Chinese who I KNOW is always smiling under her niqab. She had founded and sold 2 businesses in Los Angeles and Paris before her 25th birthday.

Morrad Irsane is French Algerian. Having been raised in a family of 13 children, buying and selling second-hand has always been a way of life; so much so that Morrad’s illiterate mother built a thriving business on this trade, and eventually was able to afford a 13-bedroom house in Algeria. Inspired by his mother’s entrepreneurship journey, Morrad modeled their latest business venture on his mother’s – but made it digital.

In 2014, Sharene and Morrad cofounded Melltoo, a secondhand e-commerce platform that connects buyers and sellers and focuses on a triple bottom line: people, planet and profit.

We discussed a variety of things: from Morrad’s hand-me-downs to his mother’s entrepreneurial success. I asked about the couple’s coffee shop in a dodgy part of Los Angeles, how they furnished it for free and used the Los Angeles Police Dept as a marketing tool! We talked about exiting businesses at the right price. I asked about their large family and I loved Sharene’s tip that the best tool for a better life is “lower expectations”! Finally, the pair disagreed on entrepreneurship, whether it is a learned skill or something you are born with. What do you think?

If you would like to learn more, please head to the Melltoo website.

This episode was recorded live in the Dubai Mall Apple Store as a Today @ Apple event, so you may hear babies, mobile phones or sound chops from time to time! A huge thank you to Lubna, Rob and the Apple team for hosting us.

Finally, please remember wherever you are to subscribe to the podcast, and do rate and review it when you can. Thank you!

Viktoriya Tigipko is a hugely successful venture capitalist from the Ukraine. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of TA Ventures, an international early-stage VC fund primarily focusing on Transportation and Digital Health.

A Tech Crunch report put TA Ventures in the top 4 of European funds – they currently have 135 investments in their portfolio and have already had 45 exits. Viktoriya also founded iClub, an angel investing network, and started Code Club UA, an initiative that uses gamification to train young children to code. Viktoriya is also President of the Odesa International Film Festival, and Chair of the Ukrainian Film Academy.

We started off with facts and figures: the % of female VC partners and female entrepreneurs in the world, the funding and the valuation gaps, and the fact that start-ups which include women founders vastly outperform those with all-male founder teams. Viktoriya shared practical tips and advice on how people can approach angel investing – especially if you don’t have the time or skills (like me!). And finally we talked about rebuilding the Ukrainian film industry from the ground up.

I found it amazing that the domestic industry was completely wiped out due to political circumstances and is now going through a renaissance.

This is the first ever When Women Win interview done live on stage, in front of hundreds of people, and it happened at Naseba’s 2018 Women in Leadership Economic Forum in Dubai. A huge thank you to Naseba and the WIL Forum for making this possible.

If you would like to follow Viktoriya you can find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Farah & I talked about investing in yourself, taking risks, losing it all, cultivating grit and rebuilding from scratch. Farah shared how working in the male-dominated world of Middle Eastern finance fueled her desire to help more women rise to leadership positions.

My favorite quote of the episode was, “I learned to lose everything and then find a way to rebuild.”

You can find Farah at https://poweroftara.net/tara-team/.

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Would you like detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? To join our free AMA? Head to our website and sign up for our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Friends - this episode is for people who have felt intimidated or excluded by Blockchain conversations and want to understand its basics. We then get into Leanne and her entrepreneurial journey.

My favorite quote of the episode was one that captured a huge advantage of the Blockchain: “In future, you’ll be able to check social media posts & news articles and know whether it is fake news”. 

I also loved Leanne's take on start-ups: “we don’t like [to talk about mythical] unicorns but we like to talk about zebras”. 

You can find Leanne on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Two big thank you's today!

To the Council for Australian-Arab Relations - thank you so much for your grant that has contributed to the sustainability of When Women Win, and supported our growth in Australia.

To Trademutt Studios in Brisbane - thanks for recording Leanne at 8am!

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quote was “Before I became a refugee, I was not a sporty person!”

If you would like to learn more about Marie-Christine's work and / or support her organization “Safe Refuge Rwanda”, do feel free to email her at: saferefugerwanda@gmail.com

A huge thank you to naseba and their 2019 Women in Leadership Economic Forum for making this interview possible.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Seta Tutundjian is the Director of Programs at the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), a non-profit joint venture between the UAE Govt and the Islamic Development Bank. She had spent 15 years working with USAID in Jordan, strengthening institutions and working on policy reform. During her last 4 years at ICBA, Seta has focused on breeding crops in the world’s most challenging environments.

I was shocked to learn how few crops are being farmed commercially relative to the huge variety of palatable species available on our planet: do you know that of a possible 30,000 palatable species, we cultivate only 150 crops? And 60% of our collective diet comes form just 4 crops? This limited diet has led to a lot of health problems, simultaneously obesity and malnutrition. We also discussed "super-crops" and the facts why quinoa is a winner.

The world's soil is becoming more and more saline, and this is a huge challenge for agriculture. Two thousand hectares of arable land is being lost daily to salinity! We talked about how the poorest 1 billion people on the planet live in “marginal” environments, and how their lack of good soil or water limits their ability to farm their way out of poverty – and hunger.

My favorite quote was: “It is not just about food security but also nutrient security”.

If you would like to learn more from Seta, you can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter. To learn more about ICBA’s ground-breaking work, visit their website: https://www.biosaline.org/

While you’re here, please remember to subscribe to the podcast. We would really appreciate your feedback and a simple tap on the stars to leave us a rating. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn @rananawas.

Reshma Saujani committed her first act of bravery at the age of 33 when she ran for political office in New York. She lost – badly. Instead of being defeated by it, she was set free… she discovered her bravery muscle and started to exercise it more. For example, she set up an NGO about coding when she knew nothing about start-ups – or coding. Girls Who Code is a US non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like. Reshma’s TED talk, "Teach girls, bravery not perfection," has more than four million views and sparked a national conversation about how we’re raising our girls. This led her to write her 3^rd book "Brave, Not Perfect"

During our chat we discussed society’s impact on girls and what we could do differently. I asked Reshma for practical tools on how we ourselves could be braver. In fact, this was a great follow-on to the last When Women Win episode with Najla Al Midfa, which explored resilience: how can you build resilience unless you’re allowed to fail?

And finally, we talked about coding and how it cultivates bravery in girls and gives them permission to be less than perfect.

To find out more about Reshma and purchase her book, head over to reshmasaujani.com

While you're here, please remember to subscribe to the podcast and do take a minute to rate or review it. Thank you.

Mona Ataya founded Mumzworld in 2011 to fill a void for mothers that she herself faced twice: firstly while preparing to become a mother of twins and couldn't find local resources, and then later in trying to buy her children quality, affordable toys. Prior to Mumzworld, Mona co-founded Bayt, the first online search engine for jobs in the Middle East. Mona actually started out in the corporate world and spent 10 years working for FMCG giants Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

We discussed Mona's career drivers and how her desire for social impact shaped her path. We talked about lessons from the corporate world like resourcefulness and accountability. We addressed the challenges of e-commerce and how to overcome them, and how to build a company culture that is ìcustomer obsessedî. I asked about support and coping mechanisms - because none of this can be easy! Finally, we discussed what to look for in investors, given her experience raising 5 rounds of funding for Mumzworld. (Hint: it ain't just the money!)

This episode was extra-special as it was recorded in a Careem! For international listeners, Careem is the Middle East's leading ride-hailing app. So yes: this was my first ever WWW interview in a taxi - and we had loads of fun. A big thank you to Careem for making it happen. You can find them at www.careem.com or @CareemUAE on Twitter.

If you would like to follow Mona Ataya you can find her through Mumzworld.com or @Mumzworld on Twitter and Instagram.

We discussed Zélika’s passion for art and how she built a business to boost Latin America’s art industry, despite facing hundreds of "no"s. Zélika stressed the importance of patience and focus, and talked about how to build credibility as a young woman. Though Covid has thrown a wrench in her plans, she’s excited by the opportunity to innovate the fair and keep growing in new ways.

My favorite quote of the episode was: “Everything is negotiable. Everything.”

You can find Zélika at https://zsonamaco.com.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to our website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Elizabeth MacBride is a freelance writer, editor and media consultant. She is an entrepreneur who writes about entrepreneurs and her expertise lie in business, finance and technology. Elizabeth's clients include Abigail Disney and Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

We had a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from entrepreneurship in Gaza's fisherwoman to actionable tips for investing your wealth. We discussed how to be a good interviewer, the power of vulnerability and how it changes with age. I asked about women in business generally, but also specifically in media - we ended up "taking breasts to work!" We briefly touched on Elizabeth's blog on Forbes.com and the business of guns in the USA. And I asked her about coping mechanisms as a single parent and breadwinner.

During our conversation we referenced...

Elizabeth's Blog on Forbes
www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride

Article on Gaza's Fisherwoman
www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2016/08/29/how-the-courageous-fisherwoman-of-gaza-is-building-a-business-in-the-blockaded-seaport

Gaza Technology Hub
gazaskygeeks.com

You can follow Elizabeth MacBride on Twitter @editoremacb or www.elizabethmacbride.com

Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Noor Sweid started her professional life as a strategy consultant in biotech and pharma; she then moved back to Dubai where she joined her family business, Depa, an interior contracting company. She helped grow it from $60M in revenue to $600M over 8 years. When it became the biggest such company in the world, Noor led its IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

In parallel, Noor founded ZenYoga, the first yoga and pilates studio in the MENA region. It grew to become the largest chain of wellness studios in the Middle East and was sold to a private equity firm. Noor currently owns and runs Global Ventures, a Dubai-based, growth-stage VC firm that invests in emerging markets.

I was curious to know, given these very different life & work experiences: what were the big lessons learned? It kept coming back to just one: you need a good story. Whether you’re building a yoga business or selling a contracting firm, people need to understand and believe in your vision. I also asked Noor why and how she does what she does. My favorite quote of the episode is “Good enough should be the bar” - am delighted that Noor shares my distaste for perfection. You’ll have to listen for more context – and loads of book recommendations.

In 2018, Noor was named by Forbes as one of the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech, and she received the Arab Woman Award for Finance. She has been named in the Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women list three times. Noor is Chairperson of the Middle East Venture Capital Association, was on the Founding Board of Endeavor UAE, and serves as a Director for MIT Sloan, TechWadi, and The Grooming Company.

By the way, some funky stuff happened with the studio’s recording system this time, so today we are literally going to get right into it!

If you'd like to reach Noor, you can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe, rate and review the podcast. Thank you!

If you've ever wondered how billionaires manage their wealth or how a family office operates, this is the show for you!

Ida Beerhalter leads IOME, a Riyadh-based private investment partnership of women principals from the Gulf region. She also serves as member of the Board of Trustees, advisor, and expert with various for-profit and not-for-profit organizations around the globe, including Astia USA, Omnia Strategy UK, Sauti Kuu Foundation Germany & Kenia, and First Light Trust UK. She also manages her own investment portfolio and is a member of Astia Angels. Beerhalter was awarded the TIAW World of Difference Award in 2015.

In this episode we talked about boards and steps you can take to joining one. We also discussed impact investing and supporting women-owned businesses through angel investing.

We also talked about how a "family office" operates.

A huge thank you to Naseba and the Global WIL Economic Forum 2017 for making this interview possible.

My favorite quotes of the episode were: 

• “We gain nothing from anxiety… And a smile opens more doors than a shout”
• "I saw what real tragedy is, and I saw how people who have nothing can be generous and kind and supportive to each other… I learn from them”

I'd also like to flag the call to action: the IMF is looking to hire women from the MENA Region with a strong background in economic policy. To quote Kristalina: "Don't be shy; please apply!" Do it, do it, do it!!!

You can find Kristalina on Twitter and LinkedIn.

A huge thank you to the 2020 Global Women's Forum Dubai – where this episode was recorded.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Dr. Obama is ​also ​a published author, having released her memoir “And Then Life Happens” in both German and English.

We talked about sustainable economic growth, supporting children holistically from the age of 4 to 25, dispelling the victim mentality and redefining the notion of poverty. We also discussed a strategy for everyday people who want to engage in philanthropy, and touched on Auma’s famous brother only a tiny bit.​

​If you would like to learn more about the Sauti Kuu Foundation or make a donation, please go to www.sautikuufoundation.org 

A huge thanks to Naseba and the Global WIL Economic Forum for making this interview possible.

Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My two favorite quotes were:

• “Who do you think you are, you’re just a drop in the ocean…”. Her reply: “what is the ocean but millions of drops?”
• “Reading for fun is so important…. For the development of cognitive skills, for the imagination, for learning about other people, so that you’re more empathetic and better at communication”

You can find Rana at her website https://welovereading.org/ or on Twitter as @Prof_RanaDajani or @welovereading. And this is Rana’s book Five Scarves: Doing the Impossible - If We Can Reverse Cell Fate, Why Can't We Redefine Success?

A huge thank you to the 2020 Dubai Women’s Forum, where this episode was recorded.

The podcast I mentioned that outlines how everyone can support health workers during the COVID19 pandemic is this episode by Tim Ferriss.

Finally, the business I mentioned in Segment U is Qidz. Lots of ideas on how to amuse your children at home – only after you’ve done lots of reading… of course!

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quote of the episode was “Psychological safety is not at odds with having tough conversations – it is what allows us to have tough conversations."

You can find Amy on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to our website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Have you ever thought about setting up a business with your husband? Seeing them all day at work, and every evening at home… What about doing that for 15 years?

Bosslady Sophie Le Ray has done just that. Sophie is an entrepreneur and an experienced business facilitator. In 2002 she co-founded Naseba, a business facilitation company specializing in emerging markets. Sophie is the founder of the Global WIL Economic Forum a platform that promotes women's economic empowerment. She also co-authored a book called "Game Changers: How Women in The Arab World are Changing the Rules and Shaping the Future".

During our chat, we explored her path as an entrepreneur and discussed how to mix business with marriage. I learned more about the Women In Leadership Forum, its background and intention - and why she is taking it to Saudi Arabia in December. Sophie also shared her plans for the future - once your business is a success and is running itself, what do you do?!

Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

What did we talk about? The 3 major transitions in a working couple’s life and how to navigate them. This episode is FULL of practical advice.

My favorite quote was “Desire doesn’t come when you’re sat next to someone and they’re in their pyjamas with their laptop on their knee!"

You can find out more about Jennifer and her work at her website: https://www.jpetriglieri.com/. or head here to watch Jennifer's recent TED talk on the subject.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to our website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

What did we talk about? Failure, success & alignment. We talked about getting help when you need it - from a therapist, friend or mentor, and Mariate gave advice on networking and job hunting – listen closely for that 2x2 matrix tool… Finally, we discussed her uncomfortable reality of starting a new job right at the beginning of COVID - and she shared some practical tips on leading a remote team that you’ve never met!

My favorite quote of the episode was “The worst enemy of an entrepreneur is a good salary!"

You can find Maria Teresa Arnal on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to our website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month - so sign up now!

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Diversity training does not work. So what do we do to overcome unconscious biases that keep women out of leadership roles across society? We have to change everyday processes in order to circumvent bias. Simple steps - big impact.

Bosslady Iris Bohnet is Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and is the Director of the Women & Public Policy Program at Harvard University. A behavioral economist, she has literally written the book on de-biasing how we live, learn and work. What Works: Gender Equality By Design, a 2016 Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year and 800-CEO Business Book of the Year, provides decision-makers with scientific insights on how to redesign organizations, school and society.

During our conversation, Professor Bohnet deconstructed the unique challenges that women face in the corporate world and talked about process improvements that have been proven to yield positive results. She also gave tactical advice on how to communicate in a way that acknowledges and overcomes unconcious biases.

Whether you are a female employee trying to understand the world around you or a CEO serious about gender equality, this episode has some gems for you.

What did we discuss?

Literature, discrimination and emotional intelligence. Elif & I talked about why storytelling matters in the fight for just and equality. And Elif shared some tips on how YOU can become a writer, as everyone has a story to tell.

My favorite quote of the episode was, “When we travel into someone else's truth, it connects us with our fellow human beings and makes us realize that the truth can change.”

You can find Elif on Instagram @shafakelif and at her website.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month, so sign up now!

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thanks a million!

Rana

Hatoon Kadi is a Saudi Arabian comedienne, best known for her YouTube show Noon Alniswa, where she has over 355,000 subscribers. Hatoon uses satire to present social phenomena from a woman's perspective, and is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Perfectly bilingual in Arabic and English, she also teaches Research Methodology at a private university. Hatoon started her career as IT support – that person you call if you’re computer gives you blue screen of death, or your hard drive self-combusts. Cables and mouses were not her end game and she pursued her PhD in social science & information systems.

Hatoon was inspired to start creating content while she was doing her PhD, when she realized that there were plenty of Saudi Arabian internet comedians, but almost no women at the time. We had a high-energy discussion about her path, going from IT personnel to YouTube comedy. We talked about how Hatoon’s career prior to freelance comedy instilled in her habits that have served her well professionally. We talked about the messages we receive as children and why they should be revisited. We covered cyber-bullying, the imposter syndrome and self-worth. Hatoon also shared practical tips on content creation.

My two favorite quotes of the episode are: “Knowledge is nothing without sharing it”. And “It’s brave to quit if things are not working”.

Hatoon recommended books by two Egyptian authors: Youssef El Sibai and Mustafa Mahmoud - as well as the work of Elizabeth Gilbert.

To see Hatoon in action, head to her YouTube channel Noon Alniswa. If you'd like to get in touch with Hatoon, you can find her @hatoonkadi on Twitter and Instagram.

Wherever you are, please remember to subscribe to the podcast - and if available, please tap a rating or write a review. Thank you!

Manale focuses on the large transformation of Middle East governmental institutions, in particular the defence and education sectors. She also drives A.T. Kearney’s diversity and inclusion initiative for the Middle East, and heads the firm’s sustainability (social, economic and environmental) efforts in the region.

Manale is an engineer by training and had a full professional career as a fintech entrepreneur before moving into the consulting industry.

We talked about the workforce of the future – what are those skills we have to develop in ourselves and our children to be “future-proofed”. We discussed the impact this is having on education, and what the upcoming educational trends are from Finland to the UK to Singapore. I asked Manale about what A.T. Kearney is doing to retain women and she talked about their innovative, all-encompassing DIAL program (DIAL for diversity, inclusion, apprenticeship, leadership) and how they are holding leadership accountable for its implementation. Finally, we talked about what Governments can do to help move the needle.

When you hear the letters "KSA" - that’s short for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is known in business speak!

Manale’s book recommendation was “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera.

If you’d like to reach Manale, you can find her on LinkedIn.

While you’re here, please remember to subscribe, rate and review the podcast – thank you!

Lily Kandalaft is the founder of Malaak Mama & Baby Care, the UAE’s first maternity focused childcare agency providing prenatal classes, maternity nurses, babysitters, sleep trainers, breastfeeding support as well as other pre- and postnatal services to support families in the UAE. A passionate supporter of working moms, Lily tries to be for others what she needed herself.

In our conversation Lily shared valuable lessons she learned in the corporate world that have served her well in entrepreneurship. We also talked about the challenges on her journey as an entrepreneur: the burden of constant decision-making, how she’s had to give up on the myth of perfection to be kinder to herself and how she’s learned to say no. Lily has found that managing people and various stakeholder interests becomes both more difficult and important as a small business owner.

For people who see a gap in the market and want to start their own business, Lily's advice is “just do it.” She also talks about the value of starting out as a side hustle before committing fully to your passion enterprise. She also reveals how she's managed to And she credits maintining her sanity through this journey to the support of mentors, role models and sympathetic friends.

If you would like to know more about Malaak you can visit www.malaakme.com or find them on Facebook (@malaakuae) and Instagram (@malaakbabycare)

On the 100th episode of When Women Win, Rebecca and I talked about designing your life according to your passions.` Rebecca also shared the inspiration behind her new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage and Success. I love the structure of the book: 21 rules we should all break if we want to achieve success. We dived into 7 of them, so you have another 14 to discover in the book!

My favorite quote of the episode was, “Never not use your womanhood to your advantage.”

You can learn more about Rebecca by checking out rebeccaminkoff.com. Her book Fearless drops on June 15th, and if you pre-order it now at readfearless.com, you'll receive 7 bonus goodies!

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month - so sign up now!

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Welcome to Season 2 of When Women Win Podcast!

Before we dive in, I would like to take a moment and acknowledge you for making When Women Win the number 1 podcast in the Middle East. To all of you who subscribed and listened to the podcast, to all who reviewed and shared it... A million thanks.

For the opening episode of Season 2 we are fortunate to have an international powerhouse in the world of marketing. Beth Comstock spent 25 years at GE where she led efforts to accelerate new growth and was named GE’s first Chief Marketing Officer in 2003. Beth served as President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal, from 2006-08, overseeing ad revenue and the company's digital efforts, including the early formation of Hulu. She is a corporate director of Nike and has been named to both the Fortune and Forbes lists of the World's Most Powerful women.  

We discussed Beth’s new book, Imagine It Forward. We covered many aspects of innovation – how entrepreneurs approach it, how entrepreneurial people within a corporation can innovate and disrupt, and how the corporation can encourage and support them. We explored the personal and professional price that disruptors might pay as organisations resist change. Beth gave practical tips for introverts like herself – introverts who wish to lead, as well as tips for managers of introverts. We touched on the problems that have rocked GE and talked about gatekeepers versus goalkeepers and how they can shape your job choices.

My favorite quotes are:

“No is not yet"

"You cannot mitigate risk, you have to navigate it.”

Beth recommended three books:

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

Management Principles by Peter Drucker. “Without a customer there is no business”

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker 

If you would like to follow Beth on social media you can find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @bethcomstock. Her book, Imagine It Forward, is available in stores and online.

This episode is for people who want to learn more about investing cheaply, and those interested in entrepreneurship.

My favorite quote was “You only incur the loss when you pull out of the market”.

You can find Nadine on LinkedIn or at www.sarwa.co

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

This show is about women in space, in science and in history. It’s only becoming mainstream knowledge now that there were many women involved in global space programs in the 1960s. As part of the Mercury 13, Wally Funk was one of the pioneering women of space travel who often outperformed male astronaut candidates in tests of endurance. But just one week before the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. Politics and prejudice meant Wally never flew into space. Undeterred, she went on to become an accomplished pilot and America's first female aviation safety inspector.

Today’s guest, Sue Nelson, is a physicist who has authored a book about Wally Funk and her colleagues of Mercury 13. You’ll be shocked when you hear what they went through just to take the tests - from being divorced by their husbands to losing their jobs, these ladies pursued space and science at immense personal cost. Sue wrote this book to bring their stories, experiences and learnings to a broad audience, in the hope of inspiring girls to pursue their dreams in science, and ensuring that the huge sacrifices and contributions that female aviators have made do not get left out of history books.

Sue Nelson is an award-winning science journalist and broadcaster, formerly a BBC science correspondent and Radio 4 presenter. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Sue Nelson was a guest author of this year's edition, where she talked about her new book Wally Funk's Race For Space. Gift it widely!

While you're here, please do subscribe to the podcast, tap a rating or write a review! Thank you.

My favorite quotes of the episode were Kristin's take on:

• Hiring: “Look for people who know what to do when they don’t know what to do”
• How to support the advancement other women: “When a woman’s name comes up who’s amazing, you just say “oh my God, that Kristin, she really needs a bigger job”. Then stop. The seed’s been planted.”

You can find Kristin on Twitter and Instagram.

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Would you like detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! And When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

We talked about Myrna's interest in art, how it was born and what it has taught her about history. We discussed Dubai's young art scene, how it came about and why it's grown so fast. She also gave an interesting perspective on the word pairs: writer vs journalist, collector vs patron. I asked Myrna how to buy art , which for many people is a really intimidating process.

Finally, Myrna gave us the scoop on Art Dubai 2018, which is happening March 21-24. Lots of exciting new things are planned this year so be sure to get your tickets online at www.artdubai.ae.

You can find Myrna on Instagram as @myrnaayad or reach her through Art Dubai. And please do feel free to tap the Art Dubai team and website to get smarter on art all throughout the year - they are highly approachable people!

We discussed the challenges Hoda faced throughout her corporate career, and in particular her original doubts about taking on her latest role as the Managing Director of SAP Egypt. Hoda was apprehensive at first because she was leaving a highly profitable business unit to lead a much less successful one – it did not feel like progress. We talked about how Hoda rose to the occasion, listened to her team and turned this challenge into a massive opportunity.

You can find Hoda Mansour on LinkedIn at Hoda Mansour | LinkedIn

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Rana

What did we discuss? How to persevere through life’s most challenging moments. Ibtihaj talked about her evolution as an athlete - why she picked the sport of fencing and what it was like competing and medalling at the 2016 Rio Olympics. We discussed the physical, mental and emotional adversity she’s had to overcome as a Black and Muslim and female athlete, and Ibtihaj talked about how her faith and her support network helped her through it all.

You can find Ibtihaj at her website: https://www.ibtihajmuhammad.com

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? To receive a free invitation to my next Ask Me Anything hour? Head to the When Women Win website and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you're on iTunes, could you spare a moment to write a review?

Thanks so much for being here,

Rana

Haben Girma is the first deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law School. She advocates for equal access to information for people with disabilities, and because of this work she has been honored by President Obama, President Clinton and many others.

In this short episode we talked about her own journey with disability and the support network that has helped her grow and excel in various aspects of life, from advocacy to salsa to surfing. We also discussed the enormous market opportunity that people with disabilities presents: at 1.3B, people with disabilities are the world’s largest minority. Imagine the impact if we could include and harness diversity that created solutions for such a vast market. Haben educated me on “situational disability”: eg when a mother carrying a child has only one arm available, in that moment she is disabled - so solutions for disabilities can apply far and wide.

We talked about the great technological things happening around communicating with people who are blind and / or deaf, and also got Haben’s wish list to improve the experience!

If you would like to get in touch with Haben or learn more about her work, please visit www.habengirma.com or find her on Instagram @habengirma

A huge thanks to Naseba and the Global WIL Economic Forum for making this interview possible.

Jeffery Tobias Halter is a thought-leader on how companies can recruit, retain and advance women in the workplace. He is the President of YWomen, a consulting firm focused on engaging men in women’s leadership issues. Prior to creating YWomen, Jeffery spent over 20 years in various sales roles at the Coca Cola Company, and was later appointed their Director of Diversity Strategy.

We had a deep discussion about what male allies and advocates can do to support women in the workplace. We talked about the four barriers that men face in demonstrating their support and how they can be overcome. We explored the business case for gender parity, metrics to drive accountability, and male gender fatigue. Jeffery highlighted some actions that CEOs can take immediately to improve diversity at their companies, and he shared two free tools that can be used to gender sensitize ourselves, our leadership and our organisations.

Jeffery is author of two books, Why Women and Selling to Men, Selling to Women. He writes for numerous business publications and is a two-time TEDx speaker.

You can find out more about Jeffery’s work on LinkedIn, Twitter and his website.

While you’re here, please do subscribe to the podcast and tap out a rating! You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn @rananawas.

Today’s special guest is one of CNN’s most experienced journalists. She anchors HALA GORANI TONIGHT, a show that brings viewers into the heart of CNN's International operation and immerses them in the latest stories of the day. In addition to her anchoring duties, Hala often goes into the field to report on major breaking news stories like the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon in 2014 and the 2012 Egyptian Elections.

We had a wide ranging discussion about careers, politics, and social norms. We talked about how CNN has managed to keep Hala for 20 years... We discussed unconscious bias in women, where it comes from and how to overcome it. We compared Europe’s bloody path to peace to the Middle East’s current conflicts. We touched on the (non) impact of the Arab Spring. We even made time for tips on interviewing.

I loved every second of our high-energy conversation, but if I had to choose my favorite part, it would be something Hala mentioned closer to the end, when I asked Hala what advice she would give her 18-year old self. It amazes me how many women would say the exact same thing.

If you would like to follow Hala you can find her on Twitter @HalaGorani, or Instagram @hgorani. and of course also on CNN. She also serves as her dog’s PR agent and you can follow Louis on Instagram @louis_lately.

We got into Karen's life story and her fascinating journey to this point. She also shared some great advice for anyone interested in growing their social media presence. As a result, this episode is a little longer than usual.

Karen is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle influencer whose followers are mostly women aged 18-34 located in the USA, UAE and KSA. She has worked with numerous, diverse brands including Dior Beauty, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Jo Malone and Cadillac. Karen is busy! She has a husband, three children under the age of four and a hectic work travel schedule. Karen is a big believer that women can “do it all” and is a passionate cheerleader of women everywhere.

We had an animated chat about all things “influencer”: I asked Karen what she does on a daily basis and how she maintains a balance between glitz and reality. We talked about the recent reveal of her skin condition and how her followers reacted to it. We discussed how Karen became one of the region’s biggest influencers and how she curates her digital content. The burden of scrutiny also came up – including the need for thick skin! Finally, Karen gave us some tips on how to take strong photographs and how to build one’s following on Instagram.

My favorite quote was: “you can grow horizontally or vertically”. I think it’s applicable in many different contexts.

You can find Karen Wazen on Instagram @karenwazenb and YouTube.

Cheryl Strayed is the award-winning author of Wild, the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon.

Cheryl has written several New York Times bestsellers and her books have been translated into forty languages around the world. Her memoir Wild chronicled her 1,100 mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, the despair that drove her to it, the challenges she faced along the way and the profound reset that ensued. Cheryl's essays have been published in too many publications to list including the Washington Post and Vogue. Until recently, she ran a podcast called Dear Sugars, inspired by her popular advice column Dear Sugar.

We talked about the experiences that shaped Cheryl, from her unusual rural childhood to her mother’s untimely death. Cheryl shared what she learnt from giving advice to people on both her podcast and column, and how we all “bear the unbearable”. We discussed the power of acceptance and the difference between loneliness and aloneness. A surprise Mother’s Day treat came up too! Cheryl explained her writing process, the difficulties of starting a new piece and her devotion to her craft.

Cheryl has been profoundly influenced by numerous women, from her mother to female writers from all over the world. A book she read recently that she would recommend is: Educated by Tara Westover.

You can find Cheryl at www.cherylstrayed.com or follow her on Instagram

I'd love to hear what you think of this format and content... Could you send a message through the website or via my LinkedIn?

Thank you!

Welcome to episode 2 of the Rewind, as we count down to the launch of Season 4 on Jan 4th.

There are many reasons that this is one of the world's favorite podcasts: we talked about confidence, authenticity, stereotype threat and self-promotion. We explored faith, being human and how to move on after the loss of a loved one.

You can find Boz on Instagram @badassboz.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Rana

Catriona demystified artificial intelligence, making it easy to understand for someone like me, who has no background in AI. We examined ethical AI, how machines are set to change the world, and her role in ensuring diversity and inclusion is programmed into the future. Catriona shared how the trauma she faced as a child shaped her as a businesswoman, and how mindfulness has helped her get through life’s greatest obstacles. The Heroine’s Journey is a 7-part journey that all women take, and Catriona invites you to find out where you are on that journey.

My favorite quote of the episode was, “Everyone was telling me “that’s impossible” - but everything inside of me was telling me that it is possible.”

You can find Catriona on LinkedIn and Twitter @catrionawallace.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month - so sign up now!

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Parkour is "the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing."

Amal Murad spent her childhood barefoot, jumping up walls, climbing trees and running around outdoors. She didn’t realise at the time that she was in training to become the first female Emirati to coach and compete in parkour. After university, Amal got a design job that had her sitting at a desk for twelve hours a day. In her mid-twenties she started to attend a local parkour group run by her cousin - she was one of the oldest members and the only woman there.

Amal went on to become heavily involved in parkour, eventually giving up her steady government job and associated benefits for this passion. She is sponsored by Nike and now trains and runs parkour groups for local women in Dubai.

We talked about the opposition Amal faced when she gave up her stable job for parkour, and how challenging it has been to strike a balance between personal interest and societal expectations. We spoke about stereotypes in Arabic society with respect to marriage, work and hobbies. Amal recounts that while her father has been her biggest ally, others around were highly vocal that her unusual hobby would result in no man wanting to marry her. We discussed how social media has its own idealistic pressures and how she deals with cyber-bullying. We talked about how a major injury helped her become a better coach as well as a better partner. And finally, Amal, who is seven months pregnant, gives listeners some tips and advice for exercising while pregnant.  

You can find Amal (aka Leap of Hope) on her instagram page.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe to, rate and review the podcast. Thank you!

Welcome to episode 3 of the Rewind, as we count down to the launch of Season 4 on Jan 4th.

During our conversation, Lily shared valuable lessons she learned in the corporate world that have served her well in entrepreneurship, as well as how she has navigated challenges along her journey - not least of them, Covid.

While this is a Rewind episode, Lily kindly provided an update last week on how things are going in a Covid world. I was curious because 100% of her business was in-person contact with medical staff... Listen on for her learnings and silver linings!

If you would like to know more about Lily you can find her on LinkedIn . You can also find her business Malaak at www.malaakme.com 

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quote of the episode was “Actions speak louder than words, but results speak louder than actions".

You can find Helena on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Helen McGuire launched Hopscotch in March 2016 whilst seven months pregnant with a mission to enable professional women to play a part in the workplace in the Middle East, no matter what their personal commitments. The company now employs a strong team across its three tenets of Work, Learn and Connect; has grown a community of over 50,000 women in the region and works with multinationals to SMEs in order to spearhead initiatives, skills sessions, events and training for women and companies.

Helen is also a lead member of the UN Women’s Empowerment Taskforce in the UAE, speaks regularly at Forums regionally and internationally, and is a mum of two.

On this episode we talked about Helen's journey from the world of entertainment to media to starting her own business in the UAE. Her insights on knowing when its time to move are super interesting.

From there we transitioned into talking about Hopscotch, the first women’s empowerment platform in the MENA region to launch an offering purely for female professionals looking for careers support through work, skills and networking. We talked about what how women who have been out of the workforce can hit the ground running. From there we moved onto the support women need at all levels - at work and at home. We also discussed what companies can do to better serve their male and female employees.

You can find more about Helen and Hopscotch on Instagram @hopscotch_me and https://hopscotch.work

Ghizlan Guenez is the Founder and CEO of The Modist, the world's first global e-commerce platform where luxury fashion brands are curated for women who dress modestly. The need to empower women through choice of attire stemmed from Ghizlan's own needs: working 14 years in private equity, she had to dress conservatively for years, but often struggled to find clothing that was also fashionable and contemporary. A market estimated at $260B. Enter The Modist.

Originally from Algeria, Ghizlan lived most of her life in Dubai and the Middle East and holds first-class degree from the London School of Economics. While in private equity, she cultivated expertise in emerging markets. In 2018, The Business of Fashion, the leading digital authority on the global fashion industry, named Guenez one of the 500 people who are “shaping the global fashion industry”.

We talked about lessons from the corporate world, living your big crazy dream and how to switch off when overwhelmed. We discussed the true business case for modest fashion and how it fits into our daily lives. Hint: choice, purpose, empowerment.

If you're on Instagram, you can follow Ghizlan here, and The Modist too.

While you're here, grateful if you'd subscribe, rate and review the show. Thank you!

My favorite quote of the episode was "I always used to think that if someone asked you to do something, your answer was either a yes or a no..."

You can find Deborah at her website deborahmkolb.com and on LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Subscribing to our podcast will notify you when new episodes drop. And if you happen to be on iOS, a rating & review would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you,

Rana

Maysa Jalbout is the founding CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education - a landmark philanthropic initiative with a budget of $1 billion and an ambitious goal of educating 15,000 youth within 10 years. Forbes recognized her as one of the 100 most powerful businesswomen in the Arab world in 2016 and 2017.

In her capacity as Non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, Jalbout's extensive regional and international experience has also allowed her to produce highly visible research and thought leadership strategies in several fields of education.

In this episode we tackled several big questions around education. Everything from whether higher education is necessary, how education is out of step with employment needs, refugee access to education, and the gender gap in science subjects.

Maysa also shared how as CEO of one of the largest education foundations in the world she is transforming education in the region.

If you would like to get in touch with Maysa or learn more about her work, please visit http://www.alghurairfoundation.org/en

For detailed show notes and book recommendations, please head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn. Please send us feedback and guest recommendations!

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast?

Thank you!

Rana

Lina Khalifeh has more than 17 years experience practicing martial arts like Taekwondo, Kick-boxing, Kung Fu & Boxing. She is a 3Dan black belt in Taekwondo and has represented Jordan in many international tournaments.

Appalled by violence against women, especially domestic violence, Lina decided to train women in self-defense. She started in her parents' basement, and in 2012 set up her first SheFighter training studio, the Middle East's first self-defense studio to empower women both mentally and physically. Lina is also an international businesswoman and is growing the SheFighter brand globally.

In this episode we discussed how training can make women more confident and better able to defend themselves against violence. Reaction time is critical! Lina also mentioned a couple of specific things to do when faced with an attacker: target the throat or groin. If you want people to help you catch a fleeing culprit, shout "He's a thief!” It was interesting but not surprising to learn that gender discrimination and sexual harassment exist in the word of martial arts - we talked about speaking up "even if your voice is shaking".

We covered the online abuse that Lina and SheFighter are receiving from the patriarchy due to the powerful social impact of her work, and how to react to that bullying. We also talked about her personal ability to switch off from the daily intensity - as an introvert, she prefers to recharge alone through individual sports like swimming or running.

One must point out that self-defense training is relevant to men as well as women, boys as well as girls.

If you would like to get in touch with Lina or learn more about her work, please visit www.shefighter.com or find her on Instagram @shefighter.

A huge thank you to Naseba and the WIL Economic Forum for making this interview possible.

So what did we talk about? Value alignment, purposefulness and being discerning about where you work. We also discussed key leadership traits such as introspection and reflection, and Bola gave practical tips for carving out your own path.

You can learn more about Bola and connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month, so sign up now!

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quote of the episode was “you’re in year 1, I’m in year 35 – if at year 35 I don’t have the success that I do, then I’ve failed.”

Too often we compare our results with those of someone who's been on the journey for much longer!

You can find Norma on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quote of the episode was “It’s common – it’s not normal”.

You can find Bernadette at her website or on Instagram.

The business highlighted on this episode is Women @Work, a company that helps corporate find the right female talent, and helps women get back into the workforce.

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To get notified of the release of Bernadette’s book – and for other top tips & free livestreams – subscribe to the When Women Win newsletter at whenwomenwinpodcast.com.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

The When Women Win Podcast has featured over 40 boss ladies and we've covered everything about them and their lives. In this episode, however, we are going to do something different.

I've asked someone very special to take over the podcast: Hala Gorani. Hala needs no introduction - she is the legendary anchor on CNN, where she has her own nightly news show, Hala Gorani Tonight. She was also the final guest on Season 1 of When Women Win.

And on this episode, Hala will be interviewing... ME. 

A little about me in the third person: Rana Nawas is a keynote speaker, strategic advisor and host of the very podcast you're listening to. She left the corporate world after 17 years to pursue her passion of helping women shine.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and I look forward to seeing all of you in 2019!

Find out more about Hala and follow her on Twitter @HalaGorani,  Instagram @hgorani, and CNN.

Find out more about Rana and follow her on Instagram @rananawas, LinkedIn, and on her website rananawas.com

For more information about the podcast, please visit whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Kristy is responsible for executing Ellevate Network’s mission to close the gender achievement gap in business by providing professional women with a global community to lean on and learn from. Kristy is also host of the Ellevate Podcast.

We dived deep into the power of networking – and how to network effectively. Your tribe, your squad! We discussed the concept of a personal brand and how important it is to cultivate one intentionally, noting that one’s brand must change over time. I asked Kristy about recent guests on the very popular Ellevate Podcast and what we can expect to learn at Mobilize Women, the 2018 Ellevate Summit which will be held on June 21st. Finally we closed with some personal questions and I was surprised to find a fellow Nancy Drew fan!

One of the many insights Kristy shared was that "all leaders have different traits – different narratives, different identities. So how do you start to cultivate what your identity is?"

Please forgive the sirens – the podcast was recorded in New York City!

To find out more about Kristy, follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram @kristyawallace and Twitter @kristysisko

The Mobilizing the Power of Women takes place on June 21. While the event is sold out, you can follow it and watch for FREE on ellevatenetwork.com.

What did we talk about? We talked about the dance that we do at work every day - having fun and also taking difficult decisions; being a committed professional while also being a full-time mom, wife and daughter. We discussed networking, confidence and not settling for the status quo.

You can find Silvia on LinkedIn.

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Would you like a free invite to join When Women Win's monthly Ask Me Anything session? Head to our website and sign up for our monthly newsletter for details. While at the website, you can find show notes & transcripts for back episodes, or just send us some love! 

To stay up to date on all things women in business, find Rana on Instagram and LinkedIn. 

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

This episode is packed full of actionable tips and truth bombs. Marshall has coached over 150 major CEOs, is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers and has decades of experience helping men and women win.

Marshall is the first male guest on When Women Win! He has recently co-written with Sally Helgesen an incredibly powerful book called "How Women Rise", which breaks down the 12 habits holding professional women back in the workplace.

While structural and systemic changes must be made to the workplace to give women equal opportunity to rise, this book rather focuses on things that a woman herself can control to make herself more effective. I was blown away by the insights and I recommend the book highly to all women, dads of daughters, HR managers, and CEOs out there.

It was also a humbling experience to be coached on air, during my own interview. In the end I was hit with a well-deserved fine (charitable contribution) for starting too many sentences with "but" and "no". I really want to thank Marshall for this eye-opening experience.

Here's a few of the insights and quotes from our chat:

"When men and women get an offer, men negotiate - women say thank you."

"Don't fall into the trap of being indispensable."

"The average woman leader gets better 360 feedback than the average male leader."

"Don't worship the corporate God."

"Don't be ashamed to need help."

To further upgrade your skills head over to www.marshallgoldsmith.com where Marshall makes all his material available for free. You can also find Marshall on LinkedIn where he has over 1 million followers.

A big thank you to Naseba, Moustafa Hamwi and Right Selection for making this episode possible.

I talked to Sebnem about leading a culturally diverse team – and doing it remotely. We discussed how to flex your leadership style to ensure that all your employees feel like they’re treated with respect. We also talked about the importance of leading by example, how to handle disappointments that inevitably arise while doing business, and how to shift your work energy towards what really matters. Sebnem encouraged us to do it with an enterprising mentality and a positive attitude.

You can learn more about Sebnem on LinkedIn.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox. Newsletter subscribers also get invited to 1 free AMA (Ask Me Anything) session per month - so sign up now!

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message via Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

During our conversation, we discussed Maysoun's attitude towards diversity, which includes looking well beyond gender, to age, expertise, ethnicity and also ability. I was keen to learn how she went about hiring a lady with a disability onto her team and what the impact on the organization was. We talked about the biggest challenge she faced in life, and how she overcame it. And we also discussed the many exciting people-facing jobs that exist for women who study science subjects.

I enjoyed listening to hearing Maysoun's tips for women in the corporate world... Know your strengths and weaknesses; be courageous; accept or even seek change; network; self-promote; ask for what you want; own your trajectory; build a strong support system - among others. But my two favourites were these: when she gets manterrupted, she interrupts right back (politely)! And the ultimate life hack that I have found useful in my own career/ life: it is OK to not be OK... It is OK to not be perfect.

If you would like to follow up with Maysoun, you can find her on LinkedIn or check out Roche Diagnostics.

As a lover of history, I was delighted to catch up with Nicola at this year's Emirates Literature Festival. We talked about the Tudor period in general, and then dived deeper into various pivotal characters of the era... Did you know that Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for 13 days and then executed at the age of 17? Shocking stuff.

Nicola’s first book, Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey, was published in 2016 after five years of research.

Her more recent book, Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, is the first biography of the extraordinary and scandalous Tudor lady. Lettice Knollys was Queen Elizabeth's cousin and she went on to marry the love of Elizabeth's life, Robert Dudley. In secret. What happened next surprised me...

You can find Dr. Nicola Tallis on Twitter and at https://nicolatallis.com/

While you're here please remember to subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it. Thank you!

My favorite quote of the episode was “Don't be a lady in waiting!”

You can find Ann on Twitter as @AnnMCairns and LinkedIn @AnnCairns.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to subscribe to, rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Ozge Akbulut is a real life Dr. Who – scientist, academic and entrepreneur. A Harvard and MIT engineering graduate, Ozge uses her research and experience to build businesses that solve global problems. For example, as 1 in 8 women globally will get breast cancer - Ozge has built a company called Surgitate that makes breast models to train surgeons in mastectomy. When she realised how much manufacturing cement pollutes the environment, she sought out ways to improve that and create sustainable solutions.

In this episode we talked about being super-nerds, doing scientific research that improves lives and starting a business with the right partners and backers. So if you have a background in science, academia or entrepreneurship - or an interest in solving big global problems and instilling that curiosity in others - this episode is for you!

We also touched on gender parity at Turkey’s Sabanci University... About 50% of the material science students are women; and even more impressive is the gender split of the university teaching faculty: 50% female! One of the highest in Europe.

If you would like to get in touch with Ozge or learn more about her work, please visit www.ozgeakbulut.com or find her on Twitter @matist_ozge.

A huge thank you to Naseba for making this interview possible.

My favorite quote of the episode was: “What’s interesting about success is, when it’s perceived it often manifests.” And Elissa's book recommendation was The Greater Freedom by Alya Mooro.

You can find Elissa on Twitter and Instagram

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

My favorite quotes of the episode were:

• “I didn’t let anyone tell me I had to change my vision to be successful.”
• “A leader inspires the team, but also allows her team to inspire her.”

You can find Dominique Crenn here on Instagram, and her restaurant website is: https://www.ateliercrenn.com/

I also highly recommend you check out Chef’s Table, a Netflix documentary about the world’s biggest chefs. Season 2, episode 3 is on Dominique Crenn – and her food philosophy.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Since leaving her native Ireland, Dawn Metcalfe has worked in seven countries including China and Japan, and now calls Dubai her home. Known for her straight-talking truth-telling and powerful insights, Dawn has worked with leaders around the world to change their perspective, their behavior and their impact on others. Dawn’s inspiration behind the book was being hired on eight different occasions to tell an employee that they smelt bad!

We discussed how to approach difficult conversations in every day circumstances, such as a corporate employee wanting to give a peer feedback, or an entrepreneur disagreeing with your business partner. This episode is essential listening for CEOs who want to create a culture of “speaking up” (spoiler alert: this is linked to a culture of “being heard”).

Dawn draws from extensive research and neuroscience techniques to explain human communication behavior and how to combat instincts that hold us back. We talked about how to resolve conflict and affect change no matter what your culture, background or experience.

We also discussed Dawn’s journey and the challenges she has overcome to get to this point – from threats of physical violence by her teenage students to managing a chronic disease.

My favorite quote was: “Being nice is not the same as being kind”.

You can find @TeamHardTalk on all social media platforms, follow Dawn Metcalfe on LinkedIn or Twitter @PDSiDXB, or email Dawn at dawn@hardtalk.info. You can order the HardTalk Handbook online at noon.com and jamalon.com.

As we count down to the launch of Season 4 on Jan 4th, we are running a When Women Win "Rewind" to your favorite past episodes. This is the first of three Rewind episodes...

During our chat, we discussed how to set goals correctly and how grit helped Caroline overcome bulimia at the age of 22. We defined happiness and I learned the happiest people are the people who wake up to hard goals – people who have “ikigai”, a Japanese word that means “reason for being”.

You can find Caroline on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to the When Women Win website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

What would you like to get out of When Women Win? Drop me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn – I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Rana

A small, personal decision can sometimes change the world. When 23-year old Nibhaya was gang-raped on a moving bus in Delhi, film-maker Vibha decided to make a documentary about rape in India. Nothing had prepared her for the heart-wrenching stories she was about to hear or the everyday heroes she was about to meet. And then the film took on a life of its own, growing into a national movement and cultural beacon that has united millions of people from all corners of India. The people's message was clear: it is time to break the silence and shift the shame from the victim to the perpetrator.

Bosslady Vibha is an award-winning film director & producer. A former business reporter for CNBC, Vibha studied Journalism and Broadcasting at Boston University and New York University. Vibha’s films have been aired on HBO and Lifetime TV in the United States. Her latest film "Daughters of Mother India" is the winner of the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues, awarded by President of India. This is the highest honour in Indian Films. The film has also been named the Most Awarded Social Campaign in the World.

This episode is about one woman who acted on her passion and used her platform to combat a rampant social problem. We discussed the value of changing just one person at a time and its multiplier effect. We talked about society's view on rape and how it is evolving. We discussed the hugely important role that the Delhi police force played in the making of the film - and its dissemination afterwards. We discussed how "Daughters of Mother India" turned into a national movement... and what happens next.

My favorite quote of the episode is right at the end, so listen on for it... Here are two other quotes whose juxtaposition I loved:

• “That kind of loyalty, you get from managing with love”
• “Any decision that I make has never been at the cost of the P&L”

You can find Nisreen on LinkedIn. PLEASE do reach out to her if you have any questions on IVF, adoption or surrogacy.

The Marketing business I mentioned in Segment U is http://www.itaniandcompany.com/

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

What did we talk about? We talked mostly about the business process, like how to achieve consistent growth, and how to navigate challenges along the way. We discussed the difference between starting up and scaling up, responding to customer feedback, building the right team, being a mompreneur and of course we touched on nutritional advice.

My favorite quote of the episode was Nathalie’s advice on balancing work and family: “Whenever you’re at work, try to be at work; whenever you’re with the kids, try to be with the kids.”

You can find Nathalie at https://www.rightbite.com/

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? To join our free monthly AMA? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

23 years old and running a booming online business... How do you go from zero business knowledge to manufacturing a garment to marketing with zero $s to converting into sales on Amazon.com?

Bosslady Tatiana Buree started her business, Luxx Health, at the age of 20. She iterated her product offering as she learned from the market and finally settled on waist trainers, a very niche product.

During our conversation, Tatiana talked about her motivation behind setting up the business, the challenges she faces as a seller on Amazon.com, and how to market in a crowded place - using no money. We discussed the power of social media like Instagram and YouTube, and also talked about practical business issues like the beauty of outsourcing. I loved Tatiana’s biggest learning: focus on adding value to the marketplace.

Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Would you kindly take half a minute to support our work by subscribing to, rating & reviewing the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

A working mum, Amira felt like there were not enough hours in the day - and grocery shopping was the last thing she wanted to do in her precious time. So she built an online platform to order groceries in bulk.

Prior to starting BulkWhiz, Amira had 25 years’ experience in leadership, strategy, operations and marketing across a variety of sectors - having worked at Yahoo, Pepsico and Booz Allen. Most recently she was the Head of Brand for Facebook Middle East & North Africa. Amira is a Harvard Business School Graduate and sits on the board of Tech Wadi in Silicon Valley.

We discussed Amira’s diverse experiences in the corporate world and how they prepared her for entrepreneurship. She busted a myth about the average age of entrepreneurs! We talked about why Amira decided to leave a cool, stable corporate job to create BulkWhiz and the hurdles she faced in doing it. We got her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and an explanation of “the moment of truth” for your product. We discussed various challenges women face in the workplace and the expectations placed on all of us. Finally, we touched on Amira’s creative writing and what makes her happy.

My favourite quote was when Amira shared a famous saying in the advertising world. “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half”. The quote is attributed to John Wanamaker, considered by many to be the father of modern advertising.

Amira's book recommendation was The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, something for me to add to my fiction to-read list.

You can find Amira on her Instagram page and find BulkWhiz here. For those of you interested in learning more about the entrepreneurial journey, this is the Harvard Business School Case Study on BulkWhiz.

While you're here, remember to leave us a rating with a simple tap on the stars, and subscribe to the podcast.

Caroline Miller is one of the world’s leading experts on the science of goal setting and grit. She’s spent more than 30 years helping individuals, leaders and companies to cultivate grit to achieve their goals and find personal and professional success. Caroline is the author of six books, including Getting Grit and Creating Your Best Life. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC and CNN.

During our chat we discussed the two kinds of goals – learning goals and performance goals – and how grit helped Caroline overcome bulimia at the age of 22. We talked about the value of humility, hope and optimism. We defined happiness and I learned the happiest people are the people who wake up to hard goals – people who have “ikigai”, a Japanese word that means “reason for being”. I was delighted to hear that only half of grit and happiness are hard-wired – the rest we can develop. Caroline mentioned “job-crafting”, a way to find your purpose in whatever role you have. We also got into women bullying other women, and how important it is that women support each other through “active constructive responding” and push each other forward.

At the end of the episode, Caroline makes specific recommendations to build your tribe and help others thrive: for example, find two women you know and share their success stories on two social media platforms #share222; or list 5-6 people you know who are givers and set up a monthly meeting to share goals and hold each other accountable to them (in a kind way!)

To take the free VIA Character Survey that Caroline mentioned, head to https://www.viacharacter.org/www/

You can find Caroline on LinkedIn and Instagram.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe to, rate and review the podcast. Thank you!

My favorite quote of the episode was “The seed doesn’t see the petal….” You'll have to listen for context!

You can find Arlan on Twitter and Instagram @arlanwashere.

A huge thank you to the 2019 Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival – where this episode was recorded on the Main Stage in front of a live audience.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to whenwomenwinpodcast.com or go straight to our web contact form.

Let’s get social! When Women Win is @whenwomenwinpodcast on Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn.

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help us tremendously. Thank you!

Rana

Isobel Abuhoul left Cambridge for Dubai in 1968 and has been here ever since. In 1975, Isobel set up Al Ittehad Private School and Magrudy's bookshop - both of which are still thriving today. In 2008 Isobel founded the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the Arab Worldís largest celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people of all ages together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and reading. The festival won the Best Festival title at the Middle East Event Awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

In this episode we explored Isobel's "why?", what drove her to establish one enterprise after another. Isobel walked me through some of the challenges she faced and what tools she used to overcome them - the value of her network came up a couple of times. We also discussed how she has managed to keep her enterprises alive 40 years on, in the face of fierce competition - by putting herself in the shoes of a demanding and impatient customer! Finally, Isobel gave us a sneak preview of the upcoming Emirates Lit Fest - I've bought tickets to 6 sessions and I cannot wait to attend!

The 2018 Emirates Literature Festival is running March 1-10. Tickets are available online at emirateslitfest.com, but do hurry up as the sessions are selling out fast. You can also get in touch with and follow Isobel on Twitter @UmmMansour

Welcome to episode 60, the final episode of Season 2.

Bozoma Saint John is the Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor, a global leader in entertainment, sports and fashion with a portfolio of companies including WME, IMG, and UFC. Before joining Endeavor, Saint John served as Chief Brand Officer at Uber, Head of Global Consumer Marketing at Apple Music & iTunes and Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo. While at PepsiCo, where she signed their first ever deal with Beyonce.

Boz was inducted into Billboard’s Women in Music Hall of Fame in 2018, and the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement in 2014. She was recognized on The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100 list in 2018 and as Billboard’s Executive of the Year in 2016. Boz has also been featured on the cover of Adweek as “one of the most exciting personalities in advertising” and on many lists like Fortune’s Most Influential CMOs.

During our chat, we discussed meta themes like confidence and how to develop it, the importance of cultivating your personal brand and how to do it, the reality of stereotype threat and how to handle it, and the value of practicing all sorts of different behaviors, from speaking up to switching off. I love how Boz is evolving her own personal brand to move from “success to significance”. We talked about faith, stage fright, pop-culture and her big, crazy dream. 

There were so many fantastic quotes I could share here, but I’ll limit myself to two: “It’s not self-promotion if you’re adding to the conversation” and “I’m really brilliant, but I don’t have to be brilliant in every meeting”!

Boz’s book recommendation is Elaine Welteroth’s More than Enough. 

If you'd like to follow Badass Boz you can find her on Twitter and Instagram.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe, rate and review the show. Thank you!

My formal bio!

Rana Nawas is a corporate veteran turned speaker and podcaster, on a mission to help women win. She does this through inspiring keynotes, strategic advisory and her podcast, When Women Win - a show where female role models from diverse backgrounds share inspirational stories and practical tools for success.

Rana spent 17 years in the corporate world, at McKinsey & Company's London Office, the Dubai Government, and GE Capital in a variety of strategy and sales roles. Whilst at GE, she co-led the Women’s Network for the Middle East, Africa & Turkey and led the charge in rewriting policies and helping women rise. Rana has been featured on CNN and in Vogue Arabia; her articles have been published in Forbes, GQ and many others.

Rana is also a full-time mother, wife, daughter, sister, meal planner & wannabe athlete. 

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I'd love to hear what you think of the format and content of this 5-minute episode... Could you send a message through https://whenwomenwinpodcast.com? Or via my LinkedIn and Instagram @rananawas?

Thank you!

Rana

My guest on today’s show was ranked by the Financial Times as one of the Top 5 “Global Champions of Women in Business” in 2017 and 2018.

Rana Ghandour Salhab is the Talent and Communications partner at Deloitte, Middle East, covering 16 countries in the region and with numerous responsibilities, from building strategies in the field of human capital to overseeing Deloitte ME’s media, communications and CSR activity. Rana also advises governments across the Middle East on gender equality laws and practices, and serves on the advisory boards of multiple organizations such as Reach Mentoring and the 30% Club.

We talked about the skills of tomorrow and how artificial intelligence will not take away all our jobs. We explored the pros and cons of having choice, and Rana's perspectives reassured us that very few decisions are actually momentous and have life-long impact. We also discussed confidence, risk-taking and the imposter syndrome – this is actually a great follow-on from the last episode, how we raise boys to be brave and girls to be perfect. Finally, Rana shared her thoughts on what corporations and governments could do to help women thrive and deliver.

To find out more about Rana or get in touch with her, head over to her LinkedIn profile.

Thank you for listening to this episode. While you’re here, remember to like and subscribe.

Hi Everyone,

This is an unusual episode... I wanted to reconnect with you because it has been way too long since COVID cramped our style! When Women Win is coming back with a vengeance, and I think it's our most important season yet because of the crazy "shecession" we're in that is burning women out.

During this short episode, I mention some entities:

• Elaa Beirut provides free online mental healthcare to people in Lebanon suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).
• On October 18th, I'll be doing a mentoring session for Ellevate Dubai and ANYONE in the world can sign up here.

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Want detailed show notes? A list of book recommendations? To send us some love? To nominate a guest? Head to our website. While there, you can also sign up to our newsletter that – just once a month – sends behind the scenes goodies to your inbox.

Have you found us on social media yet? Pick your poison: Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn?

If you’re on iTunes, would you kindly take half a minute to rate & review the podcast? It would help tremendously.

Thank you,

Rana

Donna Benton started the Entertainer in Dubai in 2001 after identifying a market gap in both providing consumers with dining incentives and enabling restaurants to reach new customers. Starting with just $3,000 Donna built the business alone from the ground up, from set-up legalities to eventually selling half the company to Abraaj, a private equity firm. Today, the Entertainer offers 38 products across 15 countries, and has over 10,000 merchant partners globally.

We talked about the challenges starting up - and it wasn't just the usual ones: for example, Donna had to educate consumers who thought her product was too good to be true, and there must be a catch! We discussed her international expansion, and how it started with a chance conversation. I asked Donna what traits she thought entrepreneurs must have to succeed and she listed loads of them: thick skin to accept rejection; passion to put in the long hours; drive to beat the loneliness; a zest for learning; and the ability to lead by example.

In selling half her company, it was critical to find the right partner who shared her vision for the future, involving international growth and going digital. And finally, we talked about how important it is for women to have financial independence.

You can follow Donna Benton on Instagram, and the Entertainer app can be downloaded from app stores on Android and iOS for various countries around the world.

Sally Helgesen is a best-selling author, speaker and women leadership expert.

Over the last 30 years she has worked with women leaders to recognize and act on their greatest strengths. Her most recent book, How Women Rise, became the top-selling title in its field within only a week of publication.

In this episode Sally shared a lot of valuable insights on the impediments preventing women from moving up and the behaviours and steps women need to take. We talked about several of the key habits from her book as well as dealing with different expectations, self-promotion, and how the businesses of today and tomorrow can greatly benefit from including women in leadership.

We recorded this episode live on stage as part of the Emirates Literature Festival.

If you'd like to get in touch with Sally, you can find her on LinkedIn and her book is available on Amazon or any bookstore who know what's good for them.

As always, remember to subscribe to the podcast, tap a rating or write a review. Thanks!

A talented speaker herself and a trainer of public speakers, Saana’s core business is managing over 200 speakers globally and matching them to the right events. Her clients include Ericsson, Spotify, and Del Monte as well as numerous royals and dignitaries.

Trained by international journalists and media experts from CNBC and MBC amongst others, Saana has undertaken public speaking assignments in Europe on leadership and leading Generation Y. She was recognized as one of Sweden’s 101 Super talents in 2012, and a “Top 30 Under 30 influencers” in 2015. Her speaking engagements have covered audience sizes up to 1000 people, all across Europe and the Middle East.

During our chat, we discussed Saana’s entrepreneurial journey, what drove her from “Female Economist of the Year” to building a business, and what obstacles she’s faced along the way. We talked about the art and science of public speaking, and got loads of practical tips on how to get better at it, including some limits! We even discussed how CEOs use speakers strategically in their companies… in fact, this episode is another good one for CEOs looking at messaging! Finally, we talked about gender equality and how to get there, with a focus on her home country of Sweden, a leader in the world of gender parity.

If you are a CEO keen to improve messaging internally and leverage speakers to do it – this episode is for you. If you are a corporate professional keen to sharpen your speaking skills, this episode is for you. If you are an entrepreneur like Saana - or want to become an entrepreneur - this episode is for you.

You can find out more about MENA Speakers on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. To get in touch with Saana, follow her on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Claude Silver is the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia the advertising company co-founded by Gary Vaynerchuk in 2009. Prior to joining GaryVee, Claude spent 20 years in the top tiers of the advertising world, working for Publicis and J Walter Thompson, building global brand strategies for Fortune 50 companies. Her current role is to connect with every employee at Vayner Media, inspire, mentor and lead the team, and infuse the company with empathy.

We started our chat with Claude's move from advertising strategy to becoming the heart of the VaynerMedia. She told me about the differences and similarities between different generations and how she hires and retains top talent in a company in which 85% of the people are millennials. Claude talked about why "cultural fit" has become less relevant in employing new people and how working actively towards inclusion through "cultural addition" inspires and retains talent. We touched on the way Claude tackles those employees that need to be let go, and we explored career architecture, the increasingly fast-paced world we live in, and the opportunities this opens up. 

This show was recorded live in Sharjah so there is a little background noise. 

You can learn more about Claude on her website, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

No personality has just one dimension - or even two. People are fascinating concoctions of multiple experiences... And such is today's guest.
 
Her Royal Highness Princess Tessy of Luxembourg has extensive experience in formal and informal diplomacy. She spent five years in the military, a portion of which was as a peace-keeper in Kosovo. Tessy passionately promotes a number of causes including human rights, women’s rights and global health. In January 2017, she received the 'Woman of the Decade Award' from the Women Economic Forum for her work in women empowerment, security and peace.

We discussed the role of the military and that of the United Nations. We explored formal and informal education. We talked about parenting and the value of exposing one's children to diversity at a young age. Finally, HRH Tessy provided some actionable tools for busy people in the world who want to find different ways to give back to society.
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​A huge thank you to Naseba and the Global WIL ​Economic Forum 2017 for making this interview possible.

What did we talk about? Inspiration, resilience, and boundaries that need breaking. As a teenager in Lebanon, Nadine saw how access to quality healthcare changed people's lives. While Proximie started out as an experiment to create positive impact, it has become a global company that epitomizes “the future of surgery.” Nadine discussed her solution-based thinking processes and how that mindset helped her become an entrepreneur.

You can connect with Nadine on LinkedIn and check out the Proximie website here.

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Thank you,

Rana

Sikhism is a Punjabi (Indian) religion that goes back some 500 years, and as a devotional singer/ songwriter Manika's goal is to modernize the context and of the old religious texts so that young Sikhs all over the world can connect to and benefit from their messages.

Manika won the 2016 Sikh Award for Sikhs in Entertainment and has amassed over 10,000,000 views on YouTube. Manika's other passion is her philanthropic work. She tirelessly campaigns for the eradication of poverty in rural Punjab via her work with the organisation Kirtan for Causes. All profits from sales of her albums and live concerts are donated directly to the charity, which supports the education of disadvantaged youth via sponsorship schemes. Manika personally sponsors and educates 200 children.

In 2015 she gave a sold-out concert at London's prestigious Union Chapel and she has been invited to sing in Gurdwaras around the world. Manika has been featured on the BBC Radio, ABC Australia and more.

We talked about the reality of life in Punjab including farmer suicide and cervical cancer; we talked about what drives her personally and professionally, her difficulty as a misfit child and how that has become a source of strength, how important it is to love and look after oneself. Arranged marriage. Her upcoming book. My favourite line of the interview was "A child gives birth to a mother – and he gave birth to a strong one."

To find out more about Manika, please visit her website www.manikamusic.com. You can find her on Instagram @manika.kaur and Twitter @manikakaur

To make a direct donation to her charity, please visit www.educatetosave.com

Rozan Ahmed is a “multi-potentialite” – someone who has multiple passions and takes pride in working across all of them, rather than having a single track. She is known affectionately as “Renaissance Woman” and her vision is to solve world problems through a combination of entrepreneurial, philanthropic and curatorial activity. Rozan is a champion of the arts for social exchange, youth development, and mental well-being, and believes that local creativity is the currency which will spur Africa’s return to economic growth and continental pride.

We discussed Rozan’s diverse experiences such as her most recent project, the Magic Drive, which builds confidence in orphans by conducting fashion shows at their orphanages; how she used art and culture to disseminate the mandate of the UN; and her creation of Saudi Arabia’s first ever female super hero, Latifa. We talked about the impact of the Gulf War and how becoming a refugee affected her family. Finally, we got some practical tips on how to explore the African continent.

My favorite quote was "the transformation was instant".

To find out more about Rozan please visit her on Instagram or check out her website.

A huge thank you to Naseba and the 2018 Dubai Women in Leadership Economic Forum for making this interview possible.

And finally... we are running When Women Win’s first-ever give-away! You can win an original copy of Latifa, the first Saudi super heroine comic. All you have to do to enter the competition is leave a review for When Women Win on iTunes – and DM me a picture of it @rananawas. My producer will randomly pick one lucky winner on Christmas Day, at 12noon Dubai time. Good luck!