Hello listeners. Lucky Episode 8; a bit of a summer throwback chat this week. I speak with Jen Mernagh, Investment Director at Aberdeen Standard Investments. We talk about why she was attracted to the finance industry and shares some of her experiences, how the industry is evolving and the day in the life of an Investment Director. It may be historically male dominated but leaders like Jen are changing that! Fascinating stuff Jen and loved your insights. Thank you.

Today we speak with Michael Christensen, EVP at DBSchenker. He has spent the large part of his career in the shipping and logistics industry in various roles, and geographical locations.

Michael is an embodiment of the the global citizen and someone who has continuously honed their area of expertise, whilst having a sense of calm and assurance whilst doing so.

I hope you enjoy listening to his story. Thank you Michael for sharing and I do appreciate the mentoring over the years ;-)

Hello listeners! This week I have the pleasure of speaking to Dan Mahony, a Senior Vice President at Estée Lauder Companies. 

Dan works for an organisation with such a fantastic brand, always innovating and one of the warmest cultures and people I have come across. He  walks us through his long and rewarding career at Estee, his interest in manufacturing, working across different offices, managing teams, stepping into leadership, and what it is like to work at Estee.

Dan, thank you for sharing. Some sage advice and guidance on establishing a career and managing self. Keep on pushing and a pleasure to chat. Really admire the Estee family!

I will be checking your shoes next time we meet ;-)

This week I am very excited to have as my guest an expert in Artificial Intelligence, Ying Zheng, President and Co-Founder of Aifi. 

From her studies in China to working for Apple and Google in the USA, and now (not surprisingly)  running a successful startup based in Silicon Valley to reshape how we shop. 

We discuss how she embarked into this field of expertise, and what it takes to establish a startup, to growing the business and working with some of the world's biggest retailers.

Many people have a skill but are challenged  to make it relevant to others. Ying and her team have taken their deep understanding in vision recognition and applied it to our shopping mission. 

The next time you shop in the near future I can guarantee it will be Ying and her team supporting your frictionless checkout experience.

Thanks for sharing your story Ying and amazed by what you guys are doing. A true inspiration to all us geeks. Go Aifi!

I speak to Mark Hale this week who is the Director of Supply Chain at Wilko, a UK retailer. Mark is always a joy to talk too; down to earth, pragmatic, takes care of his people, and super patient in dealing with challenges. Not to mention he knows retail like nobody's business! 

We talk to him about some of his adventures in this sector, how he got into supply chain and the various boxes he has to move around the world.

Thanks for sharing Mark and let me know when those Evergreen containers arrive - I smell some specials ;-)

This week I had the great pleasure of speaking to Chris Tyas, one of the most experienced global supply chain practitioners I have met. 

Chris has spent 36 years at Nestle in various leadership positions across the globe, culminating in leading their global supply chain function. 

In his ridiculously busy semi-retirement he chairs GS1 in the UK, advises one of the premier supply chain software vendors 09, is a visiting professor and expert at various universities, and most recently worked for the UK government leading and co-ordinating the retail & consumer sectors response to Covid.

Thanks again Chris and keep pushing! 

For our second episode we speak to the infectiously optimistic and resilient Sola Osinoiki, Senior Director at the Prosus Group & Naspers. From Civil Engineering, to Security, to  Consulting, all the while inspiring others across the world with the word of Christianity. 

Sola brings passion to anything he does and makes me wonder if there isn't anything he can't do! We talk about his joy in developing others, the barriers he overcame during his career, and talks about the importance of having a passion outside of work, in his case, Gospel. 

Thank you for your  warm and inspiring reflections Sola, and the joy you bring to others!

We have a wonderful first episode to kick things off where I speak to Lori Bertman, CEO of the Pennington Family Foundation and Co-Founder of the Centre of Disaster Philanthropy. Lori shares how she got into the field, what motivates her, life moments that shaped her thinking, and provides insights into setting up and driving foundations. 

A brave, resilient, powerful woman, giving a fresh and real example of someone making an impact on our world, and changing lives in the process. Thank You Lori!

Oz Ozturk introduces the weekly Coffee & Careers podcast and what you can expect in the upcoming episodes.