Alena Darcy may have worked on campaigns with Karlie Kloss, negotiated deals for Troye Sivan to perform, managed a red carpet with Natalie Portman, and organised too many fashion runways to count, but if you were to ask her which The Devil Wears Prada character she would've been in the former part of her career, she would've told you she was more Anne Hathaway and less Meryl "that's all" Steep.

After building up a PR career working for some of the biggest Australian and international brands, Alena, like so many others, found herself newly pregnant, and made redundant as the world grappled with this little thing called COVID.

Fast forward to today, and the mother of two's career and return to work journey has taken different shades. She's worked for herself, she's studied a post grad in psychology, she's now The Iconic's PR manager and she's learned a thing or two about the highs and lows of making work, work along the way.

Here, we talk the whiplash of working in a fast paced industry and the vulnerability that comes with trying to stay relevant, the ways in which motherhood has enriched her leadership skills, and how she's navigated working for herself, working for a company that moves at the speed of culture and studying alongside motherhood.

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This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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