Welcome to Episode One of Series Five; you are listening to The Dangerous Women Collective, hosted by Sophy Norris.

The launch guest of this Series is the mightyvAlev Scott, a writer whose journalism has graced The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian, and New Statesman. Following her Turkish heritage, Alev became a journalist in Istanbul, where she covered politics and cultural change, which culminated in a ban from Turkey in 2017.

After this seismic change, Alev found a new life in marriage and motherhood, but the call of investigative reporting never left her. An abundance of breast milk was the initial inspiration for her latest book Cash Cow.

In Cash Cow, published 26 February 2026, Alev lifts the lid on the booming global fertility market—egg freezing, surrogacy, breastmilk—and the complex web of profits, ethics, and human stories behind it. Her reporting blends undercover work with first‑hand accounts, bringing us close to a surrogate of twelve children, an international embryo courier, and the people who profit—and pay the price—from this industry.

Alev and Sophy explore what it takes to tell these stories with honesty, courage, and nuance, and what motherhood, career, and risk Alev must navigate in the pursuit of truth. Highlights include:

• The bravery and naivety of youth when it comes to breaking barriers and exploring new territory

• Ottoman Odyssey - Amazon

In the Series 4 Finale, Sophy Norris speaks to a true trailblazer, a woman unafraid to work in the worlds seen as typically male: politics, rugby and the great British pub.

Emma McClarkin is the current Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BPPA), a role she has had since 2019. A passionate beer and pub lover, Emma is the voice for the beer and pub sector, leading them through the pandemic and interfacing with Government and stakeholders to secure vital grant support and economic stimulus to aid the Sector's recovery.

Before joining the BBPA, Emma served as a Member of the European Parliament for 10 years and as a true beer lover, she also served as Vice President of the European Parliament Beer Club. Before that, she was the Government Relations Executive for the RFU.

Outside of work, Emma is a big fan of music and sport, closely following rugby, football, and cricket – as well as watching them in her local pub!

In this Episode, Sophy and Emma discuss:

• The importance of grabbing the opportunities in front of you and being open to them at all times

• The Rest Is Entertainment | The Rest Is Entertainment

In this, our penultimate Episode of Series 4, our host Sophy Norris speaks to the, quite simply, inspirational Ama Frimpong: self-confessed tinkerer, creator, engineer, fixer, representor and mother (plus so much we have missed out).

Ama is Head of Product Development at 52 North Health, where she leads development across the company’s portfolio of healthcare solutions, including Neutrocheck® developed to help cancer patients avoid sepsis. She is also a multi-award-winning biomedical engineer, named the 2022 Young Woman Engineer of the Year by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering (Inventors and Innovators). With expertise spanning medical device development and global health innovation, Ama has contributed to the design, safety, and commercialisation of technologies addressing critical gaps in healthcare.

She is also an active advocate for diversity in STEM, herself growing up between the UK and Ghana (where her parents were born), working with organisations such as the IET, Women’s Engineering Society, and Bridges for Enterprise to support and equip the next generation of innovators. And she has achieved all this by the age of 35, and as the mother of two young girls.

Always passionate about creating and building things, and in the medical profession (her mother was a nurse), Ama has brilliantly combined these loves, and works tirelessly to spread this word to other women (and men) of colour – letting them know engineering is a dynamic and viable pathway.

Sophy and Ama cover so much in this Episode including being the child of immigrants, raising her own children, a relentless persuit of career goals, representation, and leaning in (and out) of the village she has created around her family. Highlights include:

1. The power and problems of growing up in two very different countries

• Patricia Obo-Nai - LinkedIn

Our first podcast of 2026 is a candid conversation about being a woman in a highly corporate environment and the importance of sharing our life experiences so that we can all learn from them.

In this Episode our host Sophy Norris speaks to former lawyer and GC, and now first-time author, Natalie Abou-Alwan.

Natalie is a London-based lawyer with over 25 years of experience across leading City and Wall Street firms, multi-national giants such as JPMorgan, Chase Bank and BP p.l.c., as well as smaller businesses. She is recognised in the Legal500 GC Powerlist as a Rising Star. She is a respected voice in the international energy sector, and beyond her legal work, Natalie has served as a charity trustee and adviser, and actively mentors professionals across a diverse range of backgrounds.

Natalie also has a passion for arts and creativity in all their forms, a passion which has recently been realised in the publication of her first book – How to Navigate Your Career Like a Legend. More than a book, it is a companion to anyone seeking to make their mark in the corporate world, peppered with practical advice, stories from Natalie’s own career and her own illustrations.

This fascinating conversation covers:

• Being fuelled by negative feedback and experience, and why learning from challenging times is so impactful

• Home - lollipop mentoring

In this week's episode, our host Sophy Norris speaks to a woman on the frontline of AI; someone who has deliberately crafted her own career whilst raising a family and battling a few of her own "demons". Claire Roberts is an inclusive AI campaigner and Co-Founder of Full Fathom Five, an AI consulting and training firm dedicated to helping organisations design ethical, people-centred AI strategies and develop confident, inclusive AI leaders.

A founding member of the UKAI Women in AI, Claire is a passionate advocate for women & diversity in technology and AI, most recently speaking at the UKAI parliamentary roundtable on Tackling Misogyny in AI. With over 25 years’ experience leading transformation across FTSE 100 companies, Claire brings a unique perspective on how to embed AI responsibly within complex organisations. Her work focuses on shaping cultures that empower women and underrepresented groups to lead technological change, ensuring that the future of AI is both ethical and equitable.

Alongside a deep dive into ethical AI, gender bias and personal responsibility, we also discuss Claire's own career trajectory, which happened despite not having a degree (her words, not ours), an educational shoulder chip which drove her to "hack" her way upwards, being a working mum and the importance of cognitively balanced teams in fostering innovation.

Specifics include:

• How a lack of something and a chip on a shoulder can become a transformational driving force: the ultimate motivation

• Ethical and Responsible AI Use - Prompt Library

Today, our host Sophy Norris is speaking to Georgia Ware, the Co-Founder and CEO of climate tech start-up HotGreenSolutions. Georgia is taking on the world of industrial heat (which contributes a staggering 20% to CO2 emissions) through her impressive blend of entrepreneurialism, innovation, storytelling and gritty determination.

HotGreen is an industrial heat pump start-up that is outcompeting steam boilers with a green heat solution. She became passionate about industrial heat, and its enormous climate impact while in her previous role as the Head of Growth and Partnerships at Hexxcell, a hybrid-AI software company focused on optimising the maintenance processes for industrial heat transfer equipment.

Georgia and her business partner have just secured £1.2 million in seed funding, which will help the business kick-start its mission of making industrial heat solutions affordable for all, as well as reducing emissions. And hearing her tell her story, and making the seemingly unsexy world of industrial heat, SEXY, it becomes clear just how driven she is, and why investors have invested.

In our conversation, we discuss the world of start-ups, engineering, climate change, what it means to be dangerous, and why operating in a man's world can be a brilliant secret weapon. She shows a new way of doing business and the importance of innovation and new solutions in a rapidly transforming world.

Sophy and Georgia discuss:

• Helping solve climate change solutions, but tackling the affordability of, and emissions created by, industrial heat (which is responsible for more than the emissions created by the transportation industry or the US and India combined!)

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In this Episode, our host Sophy Norris speaks to Bobby Davis, who is most definitely a zig, not zag type of woman. Bobby is a coach and a champion of change. She works with individuals and teams to help them get unstuck, breathe a little easier, and step into who they want to be.

She has over 27 years of experience in organisational development, business transformation, and leadership. Her background spans the British Army, non-profits, professional services, and private equity-owned hotel groups. She’s worked within C-suite teams, led major people-focused transformation programmes, and built cultures where coaching and honest conversations drive real change. Bobby isn’t your typical executive coach. She’s a Chief, or even MisChief, Ripple Maker, stirring up just enough disruption to help people and teams shift what’s stuck, see new possibilities, and create lasting change.

Bobby also finds time (don’t all Dangerous Women) to speak on conference platforms and, through her podcast More than a Lumpy Jumper, to share her leadership stories (the good, the bad, and the downright ugly). And she is not done there, Bobby is also a school governor for two primary schools and is a proud member of the Military Wives Choir.

So, as you might imagine, we cover a lot in this Episode. where we cover Bobby's move from the military into the corporate world, to starting her own business. What great organisational culture looks like (and does not), and the impact, and starting point, or redundancy. Bobby shares practical and inspirational advice, and tells some pretty compelling stories on the way. Topics we touch on include:

• Matching a personal brand to the expectations of the board, and the power of being our own self, and what we think people expect of us

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Sometimes being dangerous is about longevity. About deeply understanding an industry, the space you fill, and the power you have to transform. Our Episode 2 guest exemplifies this kind of Dangerous Woman. Robin Wiener is President of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), where she has worked for over 30 years. She is known as a passionate and visionary leader who advocates for the economic, environmental, and social benefits of recycling

Her organisation represents more than 1,700 companies in the U.S. and around the world that produce high-quality recycled materials, supplying manufacturing industries and helping to make the supply chain more sustainable and resilient. Whether it is the cars we drive in and the bridges we drive over, the wires that bring electricity into our homes and offices, the bottles we drink from, or the boxes that carry consumer goods and food into our households, it is the recycled materials industry that is responsible for so many of the everyday items and infrastructure that we all depend upon. It is impossible to go a day – or even an hour – without using a product made at least in part of recycled materials.

We use these words deliberately because they tell such a strong story. This is not the language of manufacturing, but of the everyday, and Robin has been instrumental in helping the recycling industry tell this new tale.

Indeed, Robin has led -as all dangerous women do – fearlessly from the front to transform the reputation of her industry on more than one occasion. Under her leadership, ReMA has expanded its reach and effectiveness within the United States and globally, fostering a culture of collaboration, safety, compliance and innovation.

Like so many Dangerous Women, Robin shares her knowledge expansively and generously. In this Episode, we discuss:

• Being a woman in a man's world, and embracing the power of being the only woman in the room

• BIR - Home of BIR

In this Series 4 opening Episode, our host Sophy Norris speaks to Roxy Pryor, the visionary founder & CEO of Superoom. This rapidly scaling startup sells clinical-grade, organic functional mushrooms focused on boosting wellness and performance.

In 2019, Roxy’s copper IUD led to full-blown copper toxicity, triggering cystic acne, weight gain, panic attacks, depression, and chronic exhaustion. Despite months of doctor visits and endless prescriptions, it was her discovery of functional mushrooms that sparked her true recovery and ultimately Superoom’s mission.

Roxy leads the company with a clear mission: to empower people to proactively manage their health using clinically validated, ultra-potent functional mushroom formulas, sourced from Finland’s pristine forests. Her fusion of scientific knowledge, business acumen, and personal passion sets Superoom apart as a leader in wellness and longevity.

Since launching earlier this summer, the Superoom word is spreading, sales are strong, and the business is going from strength to strength. The power of clinical-grade functional mushrooms is out there.

We discuss a lot in this Episode, from health, passion and purpose, a clear vision, the power of preparedness, and the benefits of functional mushrooms. You will hear:

• How to transform a passion into a business

And of course, so much more!

• The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn

• The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn

In this “Transformation Together” special, our host Sophy Norris interviews 11 incredible women about what they think about the rapid transformation marketing leaders face today, how we and our teams ride the waves of change, and who leaders turn to help ride that change (spoiler alert: communities like Dangerous Women and Propolis are part of the solution).

Their answers are candid, illuminating, and thought-provoking as we discuss the impact of AI, what transformation feels like, the importance of strong foundations and a clear north star, and the new skills to flex and pivot (a word you will hear a lot) across a daily changing landscape.

I was lucky enough to interview two of our Dangerous Women live at the Leaders Forum event last month (September 2025), and we will open and close our podcast with Shane Redding and Toni Allen. We have then captured the best answers from the other nine interviews to share with you in snippets.

The nine fantastically Dangerous Women are:

1. Corinne Gladstone, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Relations for Aptia

2. Renaye Edwards, co-founder and MD of B2B marketing agency Radish

3. Orla Murphy, marketing leader, ABM specialist and founder of MavenB2B

4. Jennifer Montague, fellow podcast host and Senior GTM Leader for Verdane

5. Maria Montague, CMO of Grant Thornton UK

6. Sophie Marshall, Marketing Alliances and Partner Director at Cloud Direct

7. Maya Price, Global Head, Field Marketing Event Management for SAP

8. Kate Sinclaire, Partner, Business Development and Marketing LCO

9. Julie Berriff, UK marketing ESET (who also sponsors our main podcast!)

It is a mega episode, so it might be worth making a coffee and getting comfortable as you listen to the wisdom and insights from 11 marketing leaders (or break it up into bite-sized chunks!).

Thank you to Propolis and the IET for all your support.

• The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn