Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

This week’s episode has our host feeling a tad out of his element while interviewing three powerhouse professionals about Women, Work, and Wholeness. So, he takes the more polite approach rather than a pushy one. Chris Boehlke, who put the “Bo” in Bospar as the PR agency’s principal, shares wisdom gleaned from her years in the communications industry and explains how “wholeness” is not all about multitasking but focusing on self-care in addition to the well-being of others. She recounted when job interviewers asked women if they planned to have kids, potentially hindering their ability to travel for business, and how far we’ve come today with considerations for working moms. She had these women in mind when co-founding an entirely remote PR agency in pre-pandemic times. She’s joined by Jane King, Founder of LilaMax Media (named after her children) and business journalist of over two decades, who can be seen reporting live from the NASDAQ. Jane, who wakes up at an astonishingly early hour daily, discusses the importance of focusing on excellence rather than perfection, planning, enjoying weekends, and having dinners together as a family. She surprises the panel by disclosing the amenity she has unbelievable constant access to but still can’t seem to make time for. Johanna Lucas, who hails from Genentech and is now executive director of talent acquisition at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, joins the panel. She discusses caring and being attentive to one’s mind, body and spirit simultaneously, rather than having to play catchup when one of those is neglected for another. She also responds to Chris’s thoughts on the importance of self-care for women to feel whole. Listen to our host be humbled as he’s told, “We know more about being women than you do!”

Vanessa Yanez joins the show this week. An accomplished communications leader whose experience in the industry and passion for social justice and women’s issues has likely made her the most tireless PR professional historically, she’s also a mom of teen daughters. Yanez is president of PRSA Silicon Valley and was named a 2021 Woman of Influence Honoree. She also oversees content for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Yanez says she is at her best when providing real business value based on a unique perspective grounded in the agency, corporate, and start-up experience. Her award-winning marketing and communications expertise fuels her passion for supporting businesses with corporate communications initiatives, global project rollouts, and various mutually beneficial partnerships. In addition to all she’s able to accomplish in a single business day, she somehow gets 8 hours of sleep each night! Plus, she’s up, and productive by 6 am and exercises daily.  In this episode, she cops to having owned five gym memberships at one point during the pandemic. “How does she do it all?” has become a cliched query in 2022 - Just ask Yanez! She’ll shoot that question down quickly for you. 

According to Gartner, end-user spending on cloud computing is set for a 21% hike this year with total spending set to exceed $480 billion. So it’s no surprise that global companies - like yours and ours - are becoming increasingly reliant on the cloud. But like any technology, the cloud isnot immune to downtime, so more dependency means that businesses need more ways to mitigate potential losses including revenue, customers and productivity.This is exactly the problem that Neta Rozy, alongside her two co-founders, set out to solve when they built Parametrix, the first-ever insurance company focusing on cloud downtime.As CTO, Neta tells me why downtime insurance is not the same thing as cyber insurance, what struggles they faced in getting the company started, and the complexity of the math involved in determining policy pricing.

Mega Jewell is VP of social media at Bospar. Her career took her from TV journalist to datascientist to entrepreneur and now here helping companies put their best selves forward onsocial.Mega talks about her personal journey and lessons learned along the way. She also gets intothe differences among the various platforms, how companies can best utilize them (or screwup), and how the game has changed over the last few years.

Next Pathway transforms businesses to the cloud and their CEO leads the way with purpose and integrity. After starting and selling a couple businesses, and again seeing massive growth with his latest endeavour, Next Pathway's Chetan Mathur talks about what he’s learned about finding the right waves to ride and taking the time to truly understand what businesses are looking for when it comes to technology partners and platforms. 

Adam Ritchie walks us through his journey as Founder and Principal of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction in this episode of Politely Pushy.  Adam discusses Invention in PR, and how to avoid falling on the F Side of the Useful/Frivolous divide. 

Public Relations veteran Robin Beaman joins Eric to tell the tales of her career in PR and entertainment. Robin talks about her time managing communications at BET and as the Manager of Public Relations of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Listen to the full episode to see how her experience led to Robin founding Beaman Incorporated, her full-service communications agency. 

Anish Srivastava joins Eric on the latest episode of Politely Pushy. Anish is the Founder and CEO of Telocity, a venture group that believes that thoughtfully designed, technology-based tools can create more accessible and equitable ways of improving the mental health and well-being of young people. Anish talks about why he is passionate about kids' mental health, and how parents can balance screen time with mental well being. 

Career Communicator Steve Swasey joins Eric on this episode of Politely Pushy. Steve  talks about the challenges of the 24-hour news cycle, why it is more important than ever to live by HIT - Humility, Integrity and Trust - and how HIT can help brands navigate a crisis. 

Chairman, CEO and Founder of 9th Gear Technologies Maryanne Morrow joins Eric on the latest episode of Politely Pushy. Maryanne discusses her extensive background in fintech, the future of blockchain, and 9th Gear's recent Global Open Finance Challenge win!