I am delighted to be joined today Merle Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Kinneir Dufort, a world leading user-centred innovation and product development consultancy. She has 20 years’ experience in launching life-changing products and services globally for businesses such as Roche, AstraZeneca, Unilever, Coca Cola and Raspberry Pi. Merle sits on the board of Kerning the Gap, currently rolling out a national UK programme focused on equality in design leadership, and the Design Business Association (DBA), as well as partnering with STEM organisations Teen Tech and the Big Bang, delivering diversity in the next generation of innovators, designers and engineers.

PowerWomen Speak with Merle Hall

A monthly podcast about what it takes to be successful as a woman in business. We will be sharing career tips and tricks from our network of inspiring women leaders and discuss what needs to be done to address the gender problem in business. You can  order our PowerWomenSpeak research by Dr. Jackie Hatton from our website www.powerwomen.org.uk

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Joanna Jensen is the founder of the UK’s number one baby and child personal care brand, Childs Farm, having created the brand in 2010 as a result of her own daughter's sensitive and eczema prone skin.  In March 2022, Jensen sold Childs Farm for £40m to PZ Cussons Plc Jensen is a keen supporter of other female entrepreneurs.  She is a mentor to a number of British SMEs through Imperial College’s mentoring programme and is a leading advocate of supporting female founded businesses.  She works on the advisory board of Buy Women Built (BWB) driving awareness of female founded brands to UK consumers and investors.   Joanna is also a Sustainability advisor to The British Beauty Council. Childs Farm is the market leader in sustainability, and recently became a certified B Corp.

PowerWomen Speak with Joanna Jensen

 Today we welcome Ruba Borno VP, Worldwide Channels & Alliances for Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, Ruba leads the AWS Partner Organization (APO), a global team responsible for recruiting, enabling, buying and selling with over 100,000 companies in more than 150 countries. Ruba also leads AWS Marketplace where AWS partners can sell their services and solutions to customers.  Prior to joining AWS, Ruba held several leadership positions over the course of her six-year tenure with Cisco, a leader in IP-based networking technologies: Vice President, Growth Initiatives and Chief of Staff to the CEO; Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Managed Services (2018-2020); and SVP and General Manager of Cisco’s Global Customer Experience (CX) Centers (2020-2021)  Before Cisco, Ruba was a principal with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and a leader in BCG’s Technology, Media, & Telecommunications, and People & Organization practices. She is a member of The Forum of Young Global Leaders, an organization that seeks to drive public-private cooperation in the global public interest in alignment with the World Economic Forum. She also previously served on the Board of Directors at Experian.  Ruba holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

PowerWomen Speak with Ruba Borno

Ann Cairns started her career as a research scientist and was the first woman to work offshore with British Gas. She moved into investment banking in her 30’s and rose up the ranks in Citibank – ExCo Citi Global Transaction Bank, CEO of ABN Amro Transaction Bank, CEO of Lehmann Holdings and was responsible for the restructuring (with Alvarez & Marsel).  After 15 years at Citi, she enjoyed a number of senior roles at other financial institutions before finishing her executive career as Executive Vice Chair at Mastercard.   Ann believes that women should rise to the top of the corporate world in equal numbers to men and has chaired both the 30% Club and the Financial Alliance for Women. She was also the Chair ICE Clear Europe prior to her current boards.  Today Ann is Chair of 2 commercial boards - CAB Payments and TMF, and 2 non-profits Moving Ahead (mentorship) and Stock MS, and the board of Lightrock, a PE Impact investor.

PowerWomen Speak with Ann Cairns

   Lisa is Co-Head of Global Banking Coverage, alongside Gerry Keefe, responsible for a multi-billion- dollar business delivering tailored financial solutions to Corporate and Institutional clients worldwide through a comprehensive suite of services including liquidity and cash management, trade services, lending and structured finance. In addition, Lisa has global responsibility for the Institutional Client Group (ICG) and regional responsibility for Global Banking Europe. Lisa joined HSBC in June 2021 from Wells Fargo where she served as Executive Vice President and Head of International. Over a 15-year career at Wells, Lisa was also Co-Head of Corporate & Investment Banking, head of both the Financial Institutions and Industrials groups, and the London-based CEO of Wells Fargo Securities International Limited, responsible for leading investment banking and capital markets activities in EMEA. Lisa has over 30 years of institutional sales and marketing experience, and joined Wells Fargo through the predecessor firm, Wachovia, in 2005. Lisa spent eight years with Morgan Stanley Inc., where she was a director in leveraged finance, and was also the high-yield product manager for generalist sales. She also held roles at Toronto Dominion Securities and Salomon Brothers (now Citigroup). Lisa has been recognised as one of Financial News’ Top Twenty Most Influential in Investment Banking. Lisa earned her B.A. in economics and graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and participated in executive education programs at Harvard Business School.   

PowerWomen Speak with Lisa McGeough

Katherine Ainley is the CEO of Ericsson UK and Ireland, working alongside major mobile network operators and service providers to create world leading mobile networks and game-changing technology for millions of subscribers and enterprise partners. She is also a member of the leadership team for Ericsson Europe and Latin America.  Katherine joined Ericsson in February 2021 from BT where she held a number of senior executive positions for more than 10 years, including the roles of Managing Director of Ventures in Enterprise and CEO of Tikit, a then wholly owned subsidiary of BT. Her career has also included management and consultant roles with Lloyds TSB and Ernst & Young in transformation and customer experience.  Responsible for a team of more than 2,500 employees across the UK and Ireland, Katherine is leading Ericsson’s vision for 5G technology and deployment in the UK, focusing on supporting the business growth of network operators through continuous technology and product performance, enabling digitisation across new industries and delivering world-class connectivity for consumers.  Originally from Wigan in the North West but now living in South East London, Katherine has studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She has two young daughters and is a passionate supporter of Diversity and Inclusion programmes at Ericsson. 

PowerWomen Speak with Merle Hall

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