Behind The CEO

Meet Inès Leonarduzzi from France, the CEO and Founder of Digital for the Planet, which aims to develop digital sustainability and inclusive economy through durable and low-carbon technology. She coined the term “digital ecology” and works along with researchers and scientific experts to bridge sustainability and digitalisation.Named by Forbes as one of the 92 women who are disrupting technology in France, Inès also organizes personal development masterclasses through her initiative ‘Preserve Experience’, available here: preserve-experience.comIn conversation with Inès, we discussed her Algerian and Italian roots, the multiple identities sharing her, her childhood in Northern France and her ambition to foster ecology in the digital sector.

Meet Adelaide Damoah RWA FRSA from the UK, a painter and performance artist of Ghanaian descent who uses her body as a “living paintbrush”, the starting point for much of her work. Through arts, she addresses feminism, colonialism, religion and spirituality.

As a descendant of Ghanaian parents, Adelaide Damoah has always had a particular interest in colonial history and knew that eventually she would explore the relationship between Ghana and Britain in her work. In 2016, she traveled to Ghana looking for old photographs of her family  from the colonial era: it was at this time that she found a very powerful image of her maternal great grandmother which was taken in 1920, when Ghana was the British Gold Coast.

In conversation with Adelaide, we discussed her relationship with her body and how she uses arts to discuss feminism, colonialism, racism and identities.

Meet Sara Lou from Belgium, a YouTuber and Digital Marketing Strategist. Along with her two sisters, she is part of the “Molem Sisters” collective from Molenbeek, which aims to share positive narratives from this Brussels municipality.

In 2019, she did the cover of the song ‘Balance ton quoi’ by Belgian singer Angèle, echoing the #MeToo Movement, to denounce the Islamophobia experienced by veiled women, such as cyber-harassment or discrimination in hiring. The video quickly created a buzz, exceeding 800.000 views. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xs-EkCW7Ik

In conversation with Sara-Lou, we explored the different roles she covers as a full-time Mother, a part-time Entrepreneur and Youtuber.

Meet inspiring Fatima Zaman, peace activist and advocate at the Kofi Annan Foundation.

After witnessing the London 7/7 Bombings, Fatima has dedicated her activism toward building peace, security and overcoming extreme violence in conflict. Having served as an Official to the UK Government, her work involved advising Government Ministers and the late 7th Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.

In conversation with Fatima, we discussed her work to enhance and uphold human rights, her commitment to deliver justice and her achievements, including being named as the UK’s Asian Woman of Achievement and being invited to the Inaugural Class of Obama Scholars, at the behest of President Obama and Michelle Obama.

Meet Giada Zhang from Italy, a female CEO at the head of a family business called Mulan. At only 23 years old, Giada is a successful entrepreneur and she was recognised a Forbes 30 under 30. Her company is the first to distribute oriental food prepared in Italy to a large scale in supermarkets and restaurants.

In conversation with Giada, she recalled her childhood in Italy, what it means to be an immigrant daughter, as her parents moved from China to Italy, and how she turned her diversity into a strength: today she is winning the heart of Italians through food and cultural exchange. We hope that her success at such a young age will inspire many more young women to dare leadership and entrepreneurship.

Meet Rebecca Korang from Germany, a performing artist, dancer and choreographer based in Berlin.

Together with theatre maker Grace Holme, she initiated a community dance theatre project called 'Utopia Now Theater'. Since 2019 Rebecca Korang is curating the art exhibition at African Food Festival Berlin, aiming to build a growing network among artists from Africa and the African Diaspora in Berlin and beyond. She is also working between Berlin and Accra, Ghana, for artistic research and a long term project that deals with plastic-recycling and creative exchange.    

In conversation with Rebecca, she explained her constant quest for identity that reflects her performance art, she recalled her travel back to Ghana to find her roots and the difficulty in feeling German and being perceived as such as a black woman.

Meet Evin Incir from Sweden, a newly elected Member of the European Parliament. Kurdish descent, she recalled her early years in Sweden, growing up in a suburb of the city of Gothenburg and engaging in politics at a very young age. Becoming an MEP at the 2019 European Elections was for Evin a dream that came true. She has since been serving on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.    

In conversation with Evin, we discussed her career, the current challenges that the European Union faces in light with the pandemic crisis and the need for more solidarity in Europe.  

Meet the mind behind a million visitors website, Hanan Challouki from Belgium!

She is the managing partner of the creative agency Allyens and the original founder of the online platform Mvslim.com.

Focused on inclusive communication, she spends her time developing strategies and campaigns for companies like Brussels Airport, BNP Paribas and Unilever. She's also listed as one of the Forbes 30 under 30 for her innovative thinking.

In conversation with Hanan, we recalled her childhood in Anvers and the whole journey of Mvslim.com, that started from a student idea and became so big that she decided to sell it a month ago in order to focus on her next steps.

Meet Gena-mour Barrett from the UK, a journalist and Editorial Creative Manager at Netflix UK, where she curates the Netflix IX interview series.

As a freelancer, she has bylines at Elle, The Guardian, Refinery 29 and BBC Newsbeat. She was listed as one of 2019’s 30 Under 30 for Media and Marketing in Europe by Forbes and she was a recipient of the 2018 Roxane Gay fellowship for a woman of colour writing fiction with Jack Jones Literary Arts.  

In conversation with Gena-mour, we dived into her personal story, her childhood in South London, the lessons learnt and her passion for writing. We also discussed humour and satire on Media, representation and diversity on the entertainment industry and, of course, Europe and her views on Brexit.

Meet Linh Lan Dao, a French TV Journalist for Franceinfo télévision.

She works at the fact-checking TV program “Vrai ou Fake” and she uses arts to explain the news on the Youtube channel “Draw my news”. Following the broadcast of a TV show by two French humorists Kev Adams and Gad Elmaleh, she denounced prejudice and racism targeting Asians in a video that made 2.5 million views.

She is committed against anti-Asian racism and she has been particularly vocal since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, shading the light on anti-Asian discriminations, verifying news and tweeting with the hashtag #Imnotavirus.

We discussed about her passion for journalism and drawing, the importance to giving a voice to Asian communities living in France and representation on Media.