Content Warning: This podcast includes some references to gender based violence and sexual assault.

Astrid is currently working as a Director at Oda, an online grocery store that now is aiming to take over the world. She has 20 years' experience as a Director and C-level Leader in the Startup and Scale-up space. She is a true champion for change and specialise in diverse and inclusive leadership strategies and building equitable and inclusive workplace eco-systems. She recently joined the board of the NGO Humans for Humans and on her spare time to she is dedicating herself to mentoring and mental health advocacy.

We talk about her upbringing with foster siblings and kids with different needs, how we both have had the opposite sex as leaders all our career and how that has formed us, her lived experience as a survivor of sexual assault and discrimination, how giving back to others can heal our wounds, why she kept quite for decades, asking ourselves if its better to shut up or speak out, the new world of digital abuse, how we can create healing online communities and how we need to encourage people to talk about the difficult stuff. We share our common struggle of daring to stand in our own authentic voice. And ending on an advice to all of us: Put your money where it matters.

The first time I saw Lars Erik Lund sharing brutally honest about his mental health and depression on Facebook, I knew then that he would be a leader that would make a difference for many peoples lives going forward.

I have since had the pleasure to share the mike with him several times and every time he continue to inspire me with his radical openness and they way he break down stigma around mental health.

Lars Erik Lund is Executive Vice President for strategy and sustainability at Veidekke and has received several awards for his openness around mental health.

In this weeks episode we talk about the things we love: from new beginnings, thinking outside the box to doing good because thats the right thing to do. We also discuss how mental health and concrete can be sexy, why sharing is a must and not an option, the hardships of living with depression, the good and bad with diagnosis, why we need to broaden the term normal, how we need to make talking less sensitive and ending up on some newfound love for bikes and lycra.

I have been look forward to share this episode with all of you, so you can get to know the man behind the myth.

Are you brave enough to empathise with Andrew Tate, is the question this weeks videocast Pellegrino Riccardi ends on.

Pell is an author and recently released his new book "Drowning Quietly: Memoir of a mans shortcomings". He is also an award-winning motivational speaker, who has excited and delighted audiences all over the world. In Scandinavia he is known as our top cross cultural expert. To me hes been a long time mentor and friend since I started my public speaking career. Where he early on gave me an advice which really stuck with me.

We talk about our shortcomings, failing as parents, the society of facades, how authenticity is closely linked to regenerativity, the importance of seasons also in moods, being aware of our effect on others, the importance of fixing our own home first, what annoys the hell out of us, how we all lie about caring about the climate, Trump and Andrew, how hurt people hurt people, the importance of empathy, how to deal with bad relationship with our fathers and why we need more sincerity and love in the world.

You also get to know the kick ass presentation tip he gave me when I started to speak in public many years ago.

Wish you all a lot of love and a great watch or listen!

Last time I met todays guest was when she invited me to speak infront of the extended global leadership team of Red Cross and challenged me to share my personal story being gay with leaders from many countries where its illegal to be me. I must admit I was a bit scared.

Catrhine Foss Stene is the founder of Skapr a management consultancy company. She is also the leader of the jury of Norways largest ranking of young leadership talents by E24. I know her as a digital enthusiast and change facilitator.

We talk about how getting a grandchild made her rethink work and decide to found her own company, the importance of a supporting partner, how we can push boundaries with dialogue, the magic of digital tools for great collaboration, the most important skills for successful leadership in the future and a lot of great tips working with teams all over the world.

This is a lady with true global impact, wish you all a great listen!

Kicking off the new year with a person that is a true role model in being him/herself unapologetically. I met Torben last time in 2017. I knew him then only as Torben. Today he/her identifies as both Torben and Cathrine Dyhr-Nielsen.

This is the first time I meet him/her after coming out as a trans person, and I didn't know who would show up as my guest in this episode. Would it be Torben or Cathrine?

He/she is a recruitment advisor focusing on getting people who are left outside the job market, to get in again. He/she is also founded Inclusify a company aiming to help companies take advantage of their diversity and become more inclusive.

We talk about the life long journey of becoming our true authentic selves, we try to answer the questions around being trans that you might not dare to ask, that apathy is worse than doing wrong, how we all have a responsibility to not become too sensitive and our common dream for a world where there is no longer any wish to fit in.

I have really been looking forward to share this impactful story with you all. This felt like a fairytale of the world we dream of and leaves me with a lot of hope for the future.

Let 2023 be the year where we all dare to show up as our true, brilliant and authentic selves. Unapologetically!

I first met the truly inspiring Chisom Udeze 4 years ago. We recently connected again after Covid, when I was lucky enough to be invited to facilitate a panel at her amazing conference Diversify Nordics Summit, this fall.

Since I first met her, she has been a women that truly inspires me with her story, how she makes other people feel and how she put actions behind her dreams. She is a 3 times impact founder and European Commission expert . She is working relentlessly to make our society more diverse and inclusive for all.

We talk about how our childhoods have programmed us to act, how it is growing up with no security net, our inspiring mothers who make the impossible happen, about the importance of listening to our own voices, the journey from grass to grace, how people who dont believe in us has made us even better, about systemic discrimination and homophobia, on getting rid of cancel-culture, the responsibility we all have to speak up when we can and that we need to accept that the work for a better society never will be done.

I left this conversation wiser and wanting to learn more, so we might need to invite her back.

Berta Lende Røed is an inspiring and successful CEO and founder of Fuelbox, which is a global organisation that believes that great conversations will heal the world. I first got to know her when she invited me to a breakfast at our home through social media. She has since then definitely become a sister from another mister, she is an inspiring business leader and after this episode apparently also a rapper. Maybe we got a new jingle for the podcast right here?  

Poornima Luthra is a well known TedX speaker, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, an author of now three books and a strong activist for equality for all. She strongly believes in the power of positive change and influence through education. I have had the pleasure to contribute to her books and working together on several occasions and look forward to dig a bit deeper in what she think is the solutions for a more regenerative future.