What's the fundamental difference between brand and branding? How do you grow a direct-to-consumer brand? And what can business leaders do to always stay close to their customer?

Suze Dowling is a seasoned brand builder, investor, founder, and DTC operator, with over a decade of experience in creating, growing, investing in, and acquiring brands.

Moving across the world to New York via Sydney, Suze's brand career has been characterised by intentional risk-taking and bringing authenticity to her work. Now as Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Pattern Brands, a modern award-winning consumer goods portfolio that's raised over $50 million, she's focused on prioritising her customer and supporting other entrepreneurs and brand professionals to flourish.

In this conversation, Suze mentions Gin Lane creative agency, Flamingo Estate, and Ana Gonzalez Herrera - Founder of Glow by Hormone University.

You can follow Suze on Substack and Instagram as @thedtcoperator.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - and if you're looking for your next opportunity, or building a team and want to find out more after hearing about their brilliant work here, you can visit their website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\⁠⁠⁠

Or, contact Madeleine Barnes directly:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/⁠⁠

You can be part of the global Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠⁠

• LinkedIn - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠⁠⁠

• Substack - ⁠⁠

https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠⁠/

How do you build authentic worlds for brands using design? What does it take to lead your own studio? And why are cross-cultural influences so important in brand design?

In this enlightening conversation, Asmah Mansur-Williams shares her inspirational story into brand design - from following her personal creative passions at a young age to co-founding her own international design practice, The Black Pepper Studio. She reflects on her journey into the world of brand, and is generous with her advice for aspiring designers and entrepreneurs.

From Lagos to London to Toronto, Asmah shares the multitude of influences that continue to shape her design philosophy and values, helping to build beautiful worlds for lifestyle brands by drawing on cross-cultural references. She highlights Shini Park, Lotta Nieminen, and her studio Co-Founder Nkenna Amadi as personal influences. The brands Asmah spotlights are Clue Perfumery, Merrachi, 39BC, and the magazines Kinfolk and Serial.

You can explore Asmah's incredible work at https://www.theblackpepperstudio.com/, and find her on LinkedIn and Instagram as @asmahmwilliams.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - and if you're looking for your next opportunity, or building a team and want to find out more after hearing about their brilliant work here, you can visit their website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\⁠⁠⁠.

Or, contact Madeleine Barnes directly:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/⁠⁠

You can be part of the global Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠⁠

• LinkedIn - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠⁠⁠

• Substack - ⁠⁠

https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠⁠/

How do you shape a career in beauty and fragrance branding? What skills does it take to be a successful leader? And just how much has the beauty industry changed over the past two decades?

Hania Flannery joins us in this conversation to answer all things beauty branding. Hania has forged an A-list career in beauty, fragrance, and cosmetics, working for the likes of Sephora, Coty Prestige, and GHD.

She now leads brand campaigns at Medik8 and independently consults as a fractional CMO, and in this episode she shares a wealth of advice with Tami and Victoria on how she's worked up to where she is - with celebrity encounters and valuable life lessons along the way.

In this conversation, Hania mentions Coty Inc. colleague Liz Garrett, and GHD colleague Sebastian Lazell - and not forgetting her sister, Nadine! She also shouts out Elizabeth Day - How to Fail, and Georgie Coleridge Cole - Sheer Luxe.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - and if you're looking for your next opportunity, or building a team and want to find out more after hearing about their brilliant work here, you can visit their website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\⁠⁠⁠.

Or, contact Madeleine Barnes directly:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/⁠⁠

You can be part of the global Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠⁠⁠
• Substack - ⁠⁠⁠https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠⁠

What does brand culture look like on either side of the Atlantic? Why can squiggly brand careers help you to be a better strategist? And how do you navigate ethical dilemmas in branding?

After entering brand from corporate America, journalism, and even a British rock band, Ellen Kellogg and Mia Clarke first met at agency Blue Dog, and have grown brands together ever since. From Founding maternal wear brand Nyssa to co-consulting on brand strategy, and running their cutting-edge Substack commentary On Brand, Ellen & Mia have collaborated on both sides of the Atlantic to build a unique brand portfolio.

As the experts in looking laterally and spotting brand trends before they hit the mainstream, they share which brands are killing it, and give their advice on balancing your personal values with a brand's ones.

Dive in to Ellen and Mia's brilliant Substack publication On Brand: https://weareonbrand.substack.com/

They also shout out adaptive fashion brand Unhidden https://unhiddenclothing.com/; Malbon Golf https://malbon.com/; and After School by Casey Lewis https://afterschool.substack.com/, as well as co-founders Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - and if you're looking for your next opportunity, or building a team and want to find out more after hearing about their brilliant work here, you can visit their website: ⁠⁠https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\⁠⁠.

Or, contact Madeleine Barnes directly on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/⁠

If you're not already, you can be part of the global Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠⁠
• LinkedIn - ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠⁠
• Substack - ⁠⁠https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠⁠

What skills best suit working in brand recruitment? How can women build their personal brand to speak to their values? And what does a flexible career actually look like?

Madeleine Barnes is Practice Group Head, Digital, Marketing & Creative at Robert Half. Whether you're a candidate looking to make a career move in brand, an employer aiming to build out an impactful team, or interested in a role in recruitment yourself - Maddy shares her insights as an experienced brand and marketing recruitment consultant.

With a specialism placing fractional and contract talent, Maddy shares her expertise on building a flexible brand career that works for you, and sheds light on the matchmaking role a consultancy plays in effective recruitment. With Tami and Victoria, she also discusses employer branding, and what she's learned from building up her own personal brand.

Maddy also shouts out Tee Twyford, her leadership development coach and Founder of Hustle + Hush.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - and if you're looking for your next opportunity, or building a team and want to find out more after hearing about their brilliant work here, you can visit their website: ⁠⁠https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\⁠⁠.

Or, contact Maddy directly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/⁠

Join the Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠⁠
• LinkedIn - ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠⁠
• Substack - ⁠⁠https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠⁠

Why is a robust strategy so critical to good branding? What role does AI play when forming a strategy? And why are influencers the next big brand builders?

Sandra Habib, New York-based brand strategist, fractional CMO, and executive advisor, joins Tami and Victoria to share the expert lessons of a quant brand strategist.

They dive in to a range of topics, including the skills key to a successful career in brand strategy, why the best brands are the ones that don’t perform like their industry, and why your social content and advertising strategy is *not* your brand.

Sandra also shouts out two incredible brand leaders that have defined her approach to strategy - Lynne Field and Brook-Lynne Howard.

Join the Women in Brand community - follow us to get involved:

• Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/womeninbrand/⁠
• LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-brand/⁠
• Substack - ⁠https://womeninbrand.substack.com⁠

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Robert Half - where talent meets opportunity. Whether you're looking for your next bold move or building a team that inspires, Robert Half can connect you with what’s next. 

• Visit Robert Half’s website - https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en\
• Connect with Madeleine Barnes, Practice Group Head, Digital, Marketing & Creative - https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinebarnesmarketingrecruitment/

Closing out the first season of the Women in Brand podcast, Victoria Montgomery takes to the hot seat in the second of our special Founder episodes.

In conversation with Tami, Victoria dives into how she found the world of brand, and the experiences that have helped shape her understanding. She reflects on the values and soft skills that she's honed to approach brand in a unique way, and shares advice for women looking to find their own brand voice - from the lessons she's learned taking a leap into the brand unknown herself.

She discusses why diversity of perspective is critical for brand innovation, and why spaces like Women in Brand are intrinsic for supporting, celebrating, and empowering women to pursue their potential.

Victoria also spotlights women that have most inspired her. She talks about mentoring from Claire Berthet and Rebecca Sinclair, collaboration with WIB team member and previous pod guest Mimi Hayton, and recently meeting brand managers Rebecca Angle and Imogen Cowley.

Victoria also references the Style-Ish and How to Fail podcasts, Thrive by Arianna Huffington, Tommy Hilfiger and Alba Larsen.

• Read the Substack from Victoria that Tami shouts out, Inclusivity in Brand Leadership: https://womeninbrand.substack.com/p/when-you-are-young-they-assume-you-know-nothing

Thank you for tuning in to season 1 of the Women in Brand podcast - keep your ears open for season 2 coming very soon! A big thank you to our podcast partner for this season, Next Level Recruitment. Get in touch on their website: https://www.nextlevelrecruitment.co.uk/contact/

In this special edition of the podcast, our network's Founder, Tamira Hamden, is in the interview seat. Speaking with Co-Founder Victoria Montgomery, Tami shares her career journey through to Founding Women in Brand.

Tami speaks about the greatest influences on her life, career, and mindset as a brand strategist, along with the achievements - and learnings - her experiences have given her. She reflects on her background as a half-Palestinian woman, and how both her personality and principles have shaped her branding outlook.

Tami also spotlights the people that have inspired her brand career - including learning from Marty Nuemeier, Robert Jones, Debbie Millman, and Daniel Lee. She also shouts out some of the supporters, speakers, and friends of Women in Brand that are intrinsic to the network: Claire Berthet, Mimi Hayton, Emma Lindsay, Olivia Kibble, Nhoon Ahmed, Tamara de Jong, Iona Ratcliffe, Rachel Allison, Elle Davidson, and Kesha Tansey.

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A big thank you to our season 1 podcast partner, Next Level Recruitment, who you can get in touch with via their website: https://www.nextlevelrecruitment.co.uk/

From working at the biggest brands like Disney, Warner Bros., and PUMA, to founding her own platform and community Unmtchd, Oana Leonte is the ultimate expert on building brands with a lasting legacy.

In this episode of the Women in Brand podcast, hosts Victoria and Tami sit down with Oana to discuss her journey into brand and marketing, her personal learnings as an executive brand leader, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with a career. Oana shares her honest experiences working with iconic brands, and talks about the need for brands to create a positive lasting impact in society - and what she's doing at Unmtchd to help brand founders do just that.

Together, they also discuss the entrepreneurial future of brand careers, and why it's so important that people, especially women, are supported and empowered to take their career into their own hands if the workplace construct doesn't suit them.

Oana draws on her current brand influences, referencing GAP inc., as well as designer Zach Posen, brand marketer Jo Bird, and business entrepreneur Emma Grede.

Tami also references research released in February 2025 by Pregnant then Screwed, which you can read here: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/74000-women-a-year-lose-their-jobs-for-getting-pregnant-or-for-taking-maternity-leave/

Find out more about Unmtched: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theunmtchd/

And save Oana's Unmtchd podcast as your next listen after this one! https://open.spotify.com/show/1TT3WIq0fUSnGSs4wVwK3Q

Thank you so much to Oana for joining us for this episode, and to our season 1 podcast partner, Next Level Recruitment, who you can get in touch with on their website: https://www.nextlevelrecruitment.co.uk/

In this episode of the Women in Brand Podcast, hosts Tami and Victoria are joined by Silvia Matias. An award-winning Independent Designer, NON-OFF Studio Founder, and Creative Director, Silvia has achieved a celebrated career in design that's taken her across Europe and enabled her to collaborate with the very best in brand design.

Silvia speaks candidly about the influences that have defined her personal design identity: how branding found her, balancing creativity and business in the design industry, and the realities that female designers face - but also how the industry is evolving for the better in her eyes.

Explore some of Silvia's exceptional design work: https://silviamatias.com/

A huge thank you to Silvia for joining us for this episode, and to our season one podcast partner, Next Level Recruitment, who you can get in touch with on their website: https://www.nextlevelrecruitment.co.uk/