What if the best career decision isn’t the one that looks perfect on paper, but the one that simply feels right?

In this episode, I sit down with Gauri Wankhade, a technical account management leader on a global solutions engineering team at Uber, who has built her career across India, the U.S., and Amsterdam — moving from software engineering into customer-facing technical roles and now people leadership. Today, she works at the intersection of technology, business, and customers, helping strategic partners solve complex technical problems while developing and leading her team. 

Gauri started her career as a software engineer, but eventually realized that sitting behind a computer all day wasn’t what gave her energy. She wanted more people, creativity, and interaction — a realization that led her into technical consulting and eventually technical account management. She knew she had found the right path when one thing disappeared: the Monday blues. 

We talk about how she found her niche between technology, strategy, and people, why she makes many of her biggest career decisions by following her gut instead of overthinking the “right” career path, and how asking questions — even when you’re afraid they might sound stupid — can actually become a source of confidence. 

Gauri also shares what she has learned as an international woman in tech, how living and working across India, the U.S., and Amsterdam shaped her perspective, and why she believes your differences can become an advantage rather than something you need to overcome. 

We also get into her transition from individual contributor to manager, the challenge of adapting your leadership style to different people, and her ambition to continue growing into more strategic leadership roles. 

At the heart of Gauri’s story is a simple piece of advice:

Go for what you like. Your job is going to be half your life — you might as well make it fun. 

If you’re trying to figure out whether your current path actually fits you — or wondering if you’re allowed to choose a career because it gives you energy rather than because it looks impressive — this episode is for you.

In this episode, I sit down with Lesley Li, a strategic partnerships leader in the fintech industry, whose nonlinear career has taken her across computer science, finance, impact work, fintech, and strategic partnerships.

We talk about why she believes “humans are humans, not gods,” how she navigates high-stakes rooms without putting others on a pedestal, why authenticity matters more than pretending to know everything, and how career pivots helped her discover what she is actually good at. 

Lesley also shares her perspective on taking leaps of faith, building a sense of self-worth that doesn’t depend on one company or title, getting comfortable with failure, and turning the international student experience into a source of resilience. 

Beyond Lesley's day-to-day work, Lesley was selected as an instructor for the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), where she has educated more than 300 professionals across payments, fraud prevention, and e-commerce. She has also been invited to serve as a judge for innovation and entrepreneurship programs affiliated with Yale University, Harvard-affiliated initiatives, and Johns Hopkins University.

If you’ve ever questioned whether you belong in the room, or you are trying to build up your leadership presence in a new space — this episode is for you.

What if you could experiment your way into a career that truly feels aligned?

In the very first episode of What If, Kate sits down with Victoria Lyu, a healthcare professional and international student from China who is currently pursuing a dual MBA and MS in Biomedical Science at the University of Chicago.

Victoria’s path has taken her from consulting and finance to healthcare strategy, and is now building the next chapter of her career at Oliver Wyman's Health & Life Sciences Practice.

Instead of following one fixed career track, she treated each step as an experiment — testing different roles, reflecting on what gave her purpose, and getting clearer on the kind of impact she wanted to make.

In this conversation, Kate and Victoria talk about career pivots, grad school, women’s health, and life as an international student. Victoria reflects on how being an international student has shaped her adaptability, broadened her worldview, and strengthened her ability to navigate different cultural and professional environments. Victoria also shares why she chose a dual MBA/MS and how she is building a career in healthcare that feels personally meaningful.

Sometimes, the biggest “what if” is giving yourself permission to explore.