In Her Ellement

How do you use your leadership position to help women thrive? Today on In Her Ellement we’re welcoming our first-ever male guest - Christoph Schweizer, CEO of BCG. Christoph is vocal about how leaders have a responsibility to speak out and advocate for women in the workforce.Christoph has worked at BCG for over twenty-five years, rising up through the ranks from a  summer internship to become CEO in 2021. Throughout his time at BCG, Christoph has advocated for higher representation of women in the workforce and has mentored and sponsored several women colleagues to help them realize their potential.For the past three years, Christoph was recognized as a HERoes Advocate Executive Role Model by INvolve People for his work with Women@BCG related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

How can we have the courage to tackle problems that seem insurmountable? Mariana Vasconcelos is the founder of Agrosmart, an agricultural startup that helps farmers use data to become more sustainable and thrive.Mariana grew up in a farming family and decided to try and find solutions for the types of issues that her father faced every day. From there she used her technology and leadership skills to found Agrosmart, a groundbreaking organization that charts a route to a brighter future for farmers. She’s open and honest about how nervous she feels when faced with the responsibility she’s taken on. However, she acknowledges that she has strong support networks that keep her afloat every day. Mariana encourages those who feel overwhelmed by the world’s problems to ask the question: who will rise to the challenge if not you?Alongside founding Agrosmart, Mariana has been selected as one of the WEF’s Young Glocal Leaders. She’s also made it onto Forbes 30 under 30 and Bloomberg’s Most Influential People in Latin America lists.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

How do you carve out a way to follow your passions in your own way? Dr. Erin Young has followed her professional interests across disciplines, and the world. As a Research Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute in the UK, Erin co-leads the Women in Data Science and AI project, examining AI and gender bias.Starting her career officially as a cabaret dancer in school, Erin went on to study classical Greek and Latin at Cambridge University. From there, she moved on to a range of organizations including The United Nations (IIEP-UNESCO) in Paris, Kantar in London, and Thomson Reuters in New York City. She has also flourished in her academic career and completed a Ph.D. in the socio-technical practices of interdisciplinary research and development projects building new technologies in 2019.The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The Women in Data Science and AI project seeks to help policymakers and key stakeholders take action to tackle the inherent bias present in AI. Erin is passionate about making AI more equitable and admits that she’s both “excited and terrified” at the prospects of its future.She believes strongly that the only consistency in life is change, and that, by preparing yourself, you can succeed in any career. She also rejects the idea of a ‘non-tech background’, and thinks that we’re looking at the idea of a multi-faceted, multidisciplinary skillset in the wrong way.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

How can being part of support groups at work help you advocate for yourself? Kathleen Noreau is Head of Strategic Partnerships in the Consumer, Health & Energy Industries at the World Economic Forum. At The WEF, she co-founded the Women’s Inclusion Network, a group that promotes collective learning opportunities and advocates for its members.Kathleen began her career as a lawyer but realized that she wanted to make a change. After speaking with a career coach, she figured out that she loved working with clients and enjoyed problem-solving. This took her to Bloomberg, where she used her legal background to help them to develop a research platform designed for lawyers. At the WEF, Kathleen spends her time building relationships with partners, helping them to innovate and digitize.As well as bringing in guest speakers, The Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) has also managed to advocate for extended parental leave, now on par with Switzerland.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

How do you get comfortable with taking risks? Kavitha Prasad is VP and GM of Datacenter, AI, and Cloud Execution and Strategy at Intel Corporation. Throughout her career, she's made it her mission to push herself out of her comfort zone, explore new technologies, and above all, grow.Kavitha describes her career as a "jungle gym" where she’s been able to follow her interests and passions. Starting out as a digital design engineer, she went on to work with a wide range of new technologies. From mixed-signal verification (analog to digital) to Intel’s groundbreaking Sandy Bridge Servers, Kavitha has never shied away from a challenge. Kavitha is an avid lifelong student, who believes that “as long as you’re learning, you’re always succeeding”.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

How do you find your balance? Connie Gao started at BCG as a generalist but transitioned into her Principal of Data Science role because she missed working with tech. Connie is a thoughtful leader who is candid about her work/life boundaries and encourages her team to be clear about their own.Connie joined BCG after completing her Ph.D. at MIT. During her studies, she had the opportunity to learn Python and work with a range of different software. This experience energized her and eventually led her to her current role. Connie reflects that people in minority groups are often asked to do extra work as the face of company diversity. She also believes that male allies are often the ones responsible for lifting women up to the top in more senior roles.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business. 

Dr. Kate Darling is a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, an ‘anti-disciplinary’ institute that works across technology, media, science, art, and design. Kate has had to work hard to be recognized as an expert in the field of human-robot interaction and now challenges herself to pass on power and opportunity to others whenever she can.Kate began her journey in law school, where she found herself fascinated by the ethical and legal implications of human-robot interaction. She now dedicates her life to exploring this field through a multidisciplinary lens. Kate uses her platform to not only speak, write and educate but to also advocate for others. She manifests this allyship through challenging uninclusive work practices and by putting others forward for speaking engagements who might not normally get the chance. As she puts it, she likes to be the “squeaky wheel” demanding change.Kate is also the author of The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

When opportunity comes knocking, will you be ready to grasp it? Isabelle Mauro is the Director General of the GSOA, which is recognized as the representative body for satellite operators globally. Isabelle is a passionate advocate of technological access and inclusion for women and girls around the world.Previously, Isabelle spent seven years at the World Economic Forum or WEF, where she acted as Head of Information, Communications & Technology Industries. In this role, she spent her time advancing the digital inclusion and digital transformation agenda. She also does this through her work with Women In Tech, an organization that seeks to equip women and girls with the skills they need to succeed in STEM. Isabelle had a formative moment early in her career when she saw how women in Bangladesh were using mobile phones to help their communities and even create businesses. Having originally worked in European politics, this was a big career change that took her all over the world. Isabelle took the plunge and moved to New York from London to take on her role at the WEF. This change allowed her to explore a new side of herself and encouraged her to meet new people and try a whole host of new things.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.

Being different can be challenging, but it also gives you a unique perspective. Farah Ali is VP of Technology Growth Strategy at Electronic Arts, a pioneering video games company. Farah is passionate about diversity in games, both within the workforce and through its characters.Farah is originally from Pakistan and came over to the U.S. to pursue a masters in electrical and electronic engineering. She sees the U.S. as her second home but found adapting to the culture difficult at first. During her childhood, Farah would play games with her brother, relishing in the escapism that they afforded her. She now channels that passion into her work at EA. She believes that working in video games is a great option for people who are both creative and technically competent. Farah also works with Girls Who Code and co-founded Pakistani Women In Computing, organizations that help women and girls forward their careers in tech.Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business. 

 Interested in the not-for-profit sector? Isabella De Mattia is the Acting Vice President of Business Operations & Analytics at the International Rescue Committee, an organization set up by Albert Einstien to help people affected by humanitarian crises. Isabella grew up in Italy but has lived and worked all over the world.Isabella has always been hungry to explore new things and find out what her passions are. She’s a life-long learner and spent her time at university trying a number of different subjects out. She started off her career in banking but moved on to consulting, after, as a self-proclaimed extrovert, she realized that she wanted to work more closely with people. Eventually, her love for people-focused work and her interest in doing good in the world led her to her role in the not-for-profit space. In Isabella’s role at the IRC, she and her team use analytics to help the organization further its humanitarian goals. Join us every episode with hosts Suchi Srinivasan & Corin Lines from BCG to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, technology, and business.