We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What does it look like to pivot while staying true to your purpose?

For Nilou Salehi, it meant putting her professorship role at UC Berkeley on pause to co-found Across AI, a startup built on her human-centered AI research. 

Now Co-CEO, Nilou is exploring how AI is reshaping not just the tools we use, but the teams that build them. Her approach blends academic rigor with startup agility, always grounded in real human needs.

This episode is part of our Builders mini series, where we talk with founders, product managers, and digital leaders about what drives their passion for building.

You’ll hear Nilou reflect on the leap from academia to entrepreneurship, how AI is changing organizational life, and why the future belongs to flexible teams with shared intent.

1:19 Transitioning from Academia to Startup Life

5:04 The Role of UX Research in AI Product Development

7:23 Balancing Grit and Flexibility in Career Choices

8:42 High-Level vs. Low-Level Goals

14:17 New Challenges Facing AI Product Builders in 2025

15:44 Upskilling and the Future of Work with AI

18:57 Human-Centered Design and Organizational Change

20:36 Reflections

Links:

Nilou Salehi on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We’ll be back soon with a new episode. In the meantime, enjoy this throwback conversation with Elise Smith, Co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs. Earlier this month, Praxis Labs was acquired—marking a major milestone in the company’s journey. This episode offers a look at the vision and values that helped get it there.

What makes a great manager in today’s workplace? And how can AI help companies develop better leaders?

Elise Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, a startup using AI-powered immersive learning to train leaders at some of the world’s biggest companies. In this episode, Elise shares how her time at IBM Watson influenced her career, what she’s learned about effective leadership in today’s workplace, and her perspective on the evolving future of DEI initiatives. 

02:25 Kamila’s Mindset Shift with Praxis Labs

04:12 Adapting Leadership Training for the Modern Workplace

07:14 Navigating Generational Shifts

09:42 Green Flags for Job Seekers

11:14 People Don’t Leave Companies, They Leave Managers

13:58 The Future of DEI Work

18:32 Finding the Right Co-Founder

22:10 Reflections

Links:

Elise Smith on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What do you do when the data doesn’t give you a clear answer—but the decision can’t wait?

For Angela Morgenstern, that moment came early in her tenure at Netflix. It offered a clear window into the company’s feedback culture firsthand and ultimately changed not only how she leads at work, but how she makes decisions in her personal life as well. 

Angela is a media and tech executive, founder, and advisor. She most recently served as VP of Product Content Innovation at Netflix. In this latest installment of our Builders series, Angela shares how feedback fuels creativity, how she was captivated by media at a young age, and what excites her about the future of AI in community building and play. 

01:39 When You Only Have 50% of the Data

02:17 Feedback and Decision-Making

05:41 A Media Career That Started in Childhood

09:04 Building AI for Entertainment and Fun

13:04 AI and Content Creation

15:48 Data Informed vs Data Driven

20:18 Reflections

Links:

Angela Morgenstern on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What do you do when a dream opportunity arrives at an inopportune time?

For Miki Tsusaka, it called for some tough conversations with the people she trusted most.

This episode is part of our Builders mini series, where we talk with founders, product managers, and digital leaders about what drives their passion for building.

Miki is now the president of Microsoft Japan, where she’s leading AI adoption and digital transformation across industries. Before joining Microsoft, she spent over three decades at BCG, rising from associate to global CMO.

In this episode, Miki shares how she’s bringing lessons from her consulting career into leading a major tech organization, and how growing up with strong women role models shaped her approach to work and life. She also offers a grounded take on AI: why using it well requires a willingness to build new muscles over time.

01:50 A Dream Job Offer

04:15 Solving Language Barriers With AI

05:56 Women in Tech Leading AI Adoption

09:56 The 70-20-10 Rule

11:50 A Family of Educators 

15:09 Blind Spots and Finding Commonality

17:10 Buying Cookies for The Bake Sale

19:15 Reflections

Links:

Miki Tsusaka on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

BCG Report: Women Leaders in Tech Are Paving the Way in GenAI

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What do you do when your job drops you into the center of a global financial crisis?

That’s where Sophia Bantanidis found herself – helping craft post-crisis banking reforms at the UK’s financial regulator. The experience shaped how she thinks about risk, regulation, and building more resilient systems.

Today, Sophia works at Citi’s thought leadership division, where she explores the forces transforming financial services, from disruptive tech to global market shifts. In this episode, Sophia talks about her career journey, how AI could reshape compensation models, and why it’s so important to vet any job – especially your first one.

01:31 Writing Rules for Executive Pay During the 2008 Crisis

06:24 Early Aspirations and a Diverse Upbringing

09:36 A Terrible Day One At Work

11:53 Vet Potential Jobs and Built a Network

16:41 From the Frontlines: AI and Compensation

20:33 Reflections

Links:

Sophia Bantanidis on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Mayowa Jolayemi on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Mayowa Jolayemi is a second-year Associate at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she focuses primarily on projects related to education, economic growth, and workforce development. She earned her B.A. in Economics from Harvard University, concentrating her academic work on economic development in West Africa, particularly in education and women's workforce empowerment. 

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What can ancient Greek myths teach us about modern leadership?

Kirsten Rulf has spent her career at the intersection of tech, policy, and public service.

In this episode, Kirsten shares how she found clarity in moments of uncertainty, why AI presents a major opportunity for the public good, and what it was like helping shape the EU’s landmark tech legislation.

Kirsten is a Partner and Associate Director at BCG. Before joining BCG, she advised German Chancellor Angela Merkel and served as head of digital policy in the German government, playing a key role in negotiating Europe’s AI and data laws. 

[1:26] A Big Win, Then The Hard Work Follows

[05:21] Potential of AI in Public Sector

[08:56] Roots In Ovid’s Metamorphosis

[12:09] From Journalism to CyberSecurity

[14:14] A Phone Call from Angela Merkel

[13:48] Navigating Career Changes and Mentorship

[19:23] “Hope is not a strategy”

[22:16] Reflections

Links:

Kirsten Rulf on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

What happens when you bring startup lessons into the C-suite?

This episode kicks off our mini series called Builders, where we talk with founders, product managers, and digital leaders about what drives their passion for building.

In this episode, we speak with Karen Stroup, Chief Digital Officer at WEX. Karen leads the digital strategy behind WEX’s payment solutions, which support sectors like fleet management, healthcare, and travel. She opens up about her leadership style, why she’s optimistic about Gen Z’s approach to work, and how a formative startup experience shaped her career path.

[01:41] AI Solutions to Longstanding Challenges

[5:30] 99 out of 100 Hours to Define a Problem

[9:47] Finding Your Leadership Style

[12:37] “The Coach Wants to Win a State Championship”

[13:37] Pivoting to A Startup

[17:05] Motherhood, then a Promotion

[18:47] The Gen Z Approach

[21:33] Reflections

Links:

Karen Stroup on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Abril Villarreal Garcia on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Abril Villarreal Garcia is a first-year associate at BCG where she has done projects in Private Equity, Climate & Sustainability and Social Impact. She grew up in Monterrey, Mexico and lived for a few years in the Houston area. She studied International Politics at Georgetown University with a focus on culture. She is passionate about pursuing a career that gives her financial independence and stability while also making an impact.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

Pritha Mehra is the Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of the U.S. Postal Service, where she leads the digital transformation of a network that delivers more mail than any other postal service in the world.

In this episode, Pritha shares with co-host Suchi Srinivasan how the USPS adopts cutting-edge technologies while staying true to its public mission. Pritha also explains why her colleagues call her “anti-complexity,” and how simplicity is often the key to scaling innovation.

[01:21] The True Scale of the USPS

[02:02] Anti-Complexity Approach

[04:08] Encouraging Adoption of New Tech

[06:07] AI at the USPS

[08:28] Creating a Culture of Curiosity

[12:14] Job Hopping Internally

[15:10] Want a Promotion? Speak Up

[19:47] Pritha’s Crowning Moment

[22:39] Reflections

Links:

Pritha Mehra on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Abril Villarreal Garcia on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Abril Villarreal Garcia is a first-year associate at BCG where she has done projects in Private Equity, Climate & Sustainability and Social Impact. She grew up in Monterrey, Mexico and lived for a few years in the Houston area. She studied International Politics at Georgetown University with a focus on culture. She is passionate about pursuing a career that gives her financial independence and stability while also making an impact.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

How do today’s business leaders balance performance with empathy in a changing world?

Leagh Turner is the CEO of Coupa, a business spend management platform that manages trillions in spending for thousands of customers. 

In this episode, Leagh shares her perspective on where enterprise software and AI are headed next. She talks about leading through geopolitical uncertainty, how she’s driving innovation at Coupa, and why diversity, empathy, and humor matter just as much as results. She also shares how having a performance scorecard has shaped her career.  

[01:54] The Future of AI and SaaS

[04:50] Impact of Geopolitics on Business

[07:52] How AI is transforming the job market

[11:12] Human Elements in Leadership

[15:12] Diversity and “Spiky” People

[23:06] Hard Work and Keeping Score

[26:10] Reflections

Links:

Leagh Turner On LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with a voice memo describing your In Your Ellement moment. We might feature your story in an upcoming episode!

***

Could open source be the key to building trustworthy AI?

Nithya is Director of Amazon’s Open Source Program Office and also Chair of the Linux Foundation. With more than 30 years of experience in enterprise software, she’s helped shape how businesses approach open source across the tech industry.

In this episode, we talk about the growing importance of open source in AI development, what motivates companies like Amazon to open source their tools, and how these decisions impact innovation. Nithya also shares a personal story about the role of CEO of the family—and what that taught her about leadership.

[01:26] The Evolution of Open Source

[03:52] Amazon’s Commitment to Open Source

[09:04] Open Source, Trust, and AI

[13:05] The Role of Dads

[18:49] CEO of the Family

[25:13] Reflections

Links:

Nithya Ruff on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.