As part of International Women's week Hannah chats with Meriesha about managing an global business the future of working in the tech industry, convergence and the challenges of running a business!

An operational aficionado Meriesha, is part of the C-Suite responsible for setting the strategic direction of the next generation of communication, connectivity and cloud based products.  

An experienced operational telecom executive with more than 15 years in the field.

She part of the team at Consume Comms in a non-executive Director capacity, alongside her own businesses Caro, Noise Comms, and Mama Bear as well as being part of the management team for several other businesses spanning the communications sector through to food and beverage.

As part of International Women's Week, Hannah chats with Anna Wanczyk, Graphic Designer and Co-organiser of Kerning the Gap, Yorkshire, about freelancing as a creative and the work-life balance.

In her 18 years as a designer, she has worked in-house, for agencies, at agencies (and was head of design at magpie before going solo) and as an independent.

She also co-runs the Yorkshire Chapter of Kerning the Gap. 

Consume Community talks to Anna Brent about good practice for DEI done well, key things to consider and practical applications.

In this episode I chat to Anna about Diversity in the workplace and beyond and considerations for being inclusive . Anna and I met via BIMA when I noticed her work around DEI a topic I’m keen to explore and showcase best practices for. Anna will be talking us through some key considerations and practical applications.  

Anna Brent is the Global Head of Brand & DEI at the independent creative agency Across the Pond and the Co-Director of Community and Culture at Outvertising, the nonprofit organisation that works to make UK advertising and marketing completely LGBTQ+ inclusive. She also volunteers at the Diversity Role Models charity where she talks with students and staff to help schools be more LGBQT+ friendly. 

At Across the Pond she has led the creation of global campaigns from end to end for clients including Google, Xiaomi, Facebook, Expedia and many more. Along with a decade-long track record for creative excellence in her work, Anna works to constantly drive forward positive changes in the industry, output and the wider community by communicating inclusive values at every opportunity. She is a clear and leading voice on diversity that can be found in the pages of Campaign, Clio and The Metro. 

Before she came to Across the Pond, Anna worked for many years in television with all of the major broadcasters and on household names in entertainment such as Come Dine with Me, The Secret Millionaire and Big Brother. 

Anna lives in South London with her wife and two kids. In her limited spare time enjoys a wide range of culture from Ibsen on stage to the Kardashians on the small screen.  

Social Handles

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-brent-456a62142/

Consume Community talks to Asian Leadership Collective, Jasmine Lee

In this episode I’m joined by Jasmine Lee from the Asian Leadership Collective. We talk about why representation in leadership is important for the East and South East Asian community, how Asian Leadership Collective supports this through network, resources, and community. Jasmine shares lots of great signposts to individuals and grassroots organisations making positive contributions for the ESEA community and beyond. 

You’ll also hear about some key things you can do to support ESEA representation in Leadership and how you can be supported. 

We end with some thoughts around the International Women’s Day theme of Embrace Equity; how we can invite conversations around equity and better treatment of those who do not follow within the gender binary with an intersectional approach. 

*The opinions and thoughts I share are my own, I’m also by no means the expert on any of the topics we discussed in the podcasts. I'm trying to facilitate discussion and knowledge sharing from our generous guests. I may well get things wrong from time to time so I invite you to flag anything you feel might be out of place or references to resources I get wrong. Thanks! 

Jasmine is a Digital Content Manager at Asian Leadership Collective. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Harbour Times, an independent news outlet in Hong Kong, and her work has been recognised for pushing innovation in journalism by the Online News Association. She is also the author of Stern Reflections, a book featuring written and photographic observations on the vibrance of life in Ghana, as well as the human and environmental exploitation that affects it.

Resources 

Asian Leadership Collective - https://linktr.ee/asianleadershipcollective 

ALC articles

https://asianleadership.co.uk/2022/05/25/employee-resource-groups-why-east-and-southeast-asian-groups-and-leaders-need-to-be-represented-in-the-workplace/

https://asianleadership.co.uk/2020/12/21/representation-in-leadership-why-what-you-do-matters/

Jasmine Lee -  ⁠https://linktr.ee/whereisjasminelee⁠ 

⁠https://instagram.com/whereisjasminelee⁠

⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@whereisjasminelee⁠

⁠https://instagram.com/eatingesea⁠

#ESEAEats hashtag on instagram

Georgia Ma (Chinese Chippy Girl) - https://linktr.ee/Chinesechippygirl 

ESEA Sisters https://linktr.ee/EseaSisters 

ESEA Voices https://www.instagram.com/eseasianvoices/ 

Explore Disabled - https://instagram.com/exploredisabled

Samantha Sun - https://instagram.com/samantha.ssun

With Loh - https://instagram.com/with_loh

Sounds from the underground podcast ~ Other - Existing outside of the figurative box 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZxWr0ULvhJaE0phqHRfr0?si=8ff3fea1ab07482c

In this episode recorded during the lockdown 2020 we talk about the theme of 'Other' being the minority, different existing outside of a neat box.

Our little trio is made up of female business from different ethnic groups, sectors and working in different setting so we have a vast and varied experience of being 'Other'

We chat about finding our identities as women of colour (Hannah and Meriesha) with multiethnic, bi women in business, women in STEM jobs.

We also talk about how to make positive change, ensuring that people around us have someone who likes and sounds like them to aspire to. Creating leadership and mentoring with more diversity will help create a pipeline of people from more diverse backgrounds.

Our conversation then takes us to talking about learning to be your authentic self, finding your own space and making yourself available to support others to be able to do the same.

"Nothing changes if you don't start the conversation......."

It's been 3 months since our intrepid hosts convened to chat business life, we catch up with Hannah, Meriesha and Laura and they talk through these strange and unprecedented times during covid-19. 

In this episode we'll hear what the ladies have been up to, what have learned about themselves, what are they going to take forward and what's next!  Expect candid chats around what it's been like running a businesses particularly in for Hannah and Laura working in the events and hospitality sectors (aka losing a far chunk of your proposed revenue stream) flipping to focus on new business areas and who's been on a path of self enlightenment or NOT. 

We've got three very different perspectives and experiences of life during the pandemic so strap yourselves in for another session of honest chat between these pals with a broad business focus (sometimes they just go off topic on a little topical rant). 

In this installment we're talking relationships and people in business. A lot of chat about breaking into the classic business networking circuit, finding your own tribe and learning how to manage people

In this episode we chat about our use of Social Media and how we differentiate between work and personal social accounts.  

As always it's an informal chat between pals so please don't repeat anything we say with authority or try and sue us!

Hope you enjoy and if you wanna check out our socials: 

Hannah - https://linktr.ee/HannahNatalieH 

Laura - @laurawelli (Insta/ Twitter) 

Meriesha - https://linktr.ee/riesha 

Welcome to the first episode of 'Sounds from the underground' - nope this is not a girls aloud tribute it’s an alternative look at running a business that’s real talk on business and life none of your polished rose tinted nonsense this is truth bombs from the inside. In this first episode we'll look at business planning and share our experience of starting out in business to where we are now and the role planning has and is playing in that. 

Your hosts on their journey of honesty - 

Hannah-Natalie Hosanee - Consume Comms | Little Yellow Rice Co | Glug | BIMA 

Meriesha Rennalls  - Noise Comms | B4B | Mama Bear 

Laura Wellington - Duke Studios | Revel Jewellery