Fiftyfaces Focus - Inspiring Women in Tech and Beyond

Madeleine Dassule is Partner & Co-Head, Technology at Wellington Management.  She previously was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the area of equity trading technology.  She holds a number of Board roles including being a member of the Board of Finos and Boston City Singers. 

Our conversation starts with her upbringing in France, and her path to study math at Columbia College. We discuss the French approach to education - the concept of "peut mieux faire" - can do better/can try harder, and how this influenced her to push herself, but also hold out standards for the industry. 

We move then to her career trajectory and the unexpected twists and turns that led to such a fulfilling position at Wellington.  We talk about what is on her mind as tech leader today - the importance of scale, of using technology as a way to enable people to flourish.  We talk about the importance of cybersecurity, of continuous improvement and of growing a tech stack that is fit for purpose.

Madeleine has always placed a high priority on career development and mentorship, and we pose the fundamental question as to whether the wisdom that we internalized - as a certain generation - is necessarily the wisdom that we wish to pass to future generations.  She reveals the lessons that frank and honest feedback has taught her, and suggests how we should all give and receive feedback ourselves. 

April Rinne is a “change navigator,” speaker, investor, and adventurer whose work and travels in more than 100 countries have given her a front-row seat to a world in flux. In this podcast episode, April brings us real tools to help any executive or individual manage constant change and uncertainty, and we ask April to apply her navigation tools and insights to each of the 4 previous guests in our Women in Tech series. In April’s words, from her best-selling book, Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change, “to thrive in this world in flux, we need to radically reshape our relationship to uncertainty and flip the script.” In this conversation, April helps us figure out how we can do just that. 

April is ranked one of the 50 leading female futurists in the world by Forbes and is a Harvard Law School graduate, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, a Fulbright Scholar, a member of the Silicon Guild and Thinkers50 Radar, and the author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change. April is a trusted advisor to well-known startups, companies, financial institutions, nonprofits, think tanks, and governments worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, AnyRoad, and Unsettled as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, and Italy to India. Earlier in life she was a global development executive, an international microfinance lawyer, and a hiking guide. As a certified yoga teacher, she can often be found upside-down, doing handstands around the world.

Fiona McDonnell is a mother, wife and the author of the book “Two Mirrors and a Cheetah: Think Differently, Own Your Career & Succeed by Being Yourself.” Fiona is also a tech industry leader, currently an executive at Booking.com, and formerly at Amazon and many well known consumer good companies. Fiona has had an amazing business career spanning 30 years, and she shares the hard earned wisdom from this invaluable experience on the importance of having self-awareness and how to achieve this to really thrive in one’s career in the fast-paced, rapidly changing environment of tech and beyond.

Fiona has a professional track record in driving change, delivering growth and profitability as well as developing people, in the Online Retail and Consumer Goods industries. Her experience in the consumer products industry, growing house hold names including Kellogg’s, Kraft Jacobs Suchard, Nike and  McCormick (Schwartz, Thai Kitchen, and Kamis) and as a Director at Amazon. She was the Executive Sponsor for Diversity within Amazon UK businesses, and chair of the  Women in Innovation Advisory Committee. Additionally she was Amazon's UK spokesperson from 2018. What  sets Fiona apart from other leaders is her clarity of thought, her  ability to share her energy and passion and the commitment to keep it 'fun' without compromising performance.

Fiona  holds a masters degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge  University and she earned her MBA from INSEAD Business School in both  France and Singapore.

Find out more at https://fionamcdonnell.com/

As Head of Diversity & Culture at Yahoo, Inc., Alicin leads Yahoo’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts globally, in addition to building upon Yahoo’s passionate and positive team culture. Alicin discusses how to enhance belonging within the corporate culture and shares her insights on the value of Feminine Leadership and the need for high EQ in corporate leaders, something already practiced by her CEO.  

For over 25 years, Reidy Williamson has led Culture, Purpose and DEI for top companies. She previously served as Chief Inclusion Officer at Endeavor, leading inclusion strategies globally across multiple businesses. Prior to Endeavor, she was Managing Principal for The Raben Group, a national public policy and communications strategy firm, where she developed the DEI practice. Reidy Williamson also spent 13 years at Viacom and MTV Networks, launching the company’s efforts in corporate responsibility, diversity and inclusion, and public affairs, while managing their growth. 

Reidy Williamson’s passion extends beyond the corporate environment and into her community. She is on the board of March on Washington Film Festival, the Diversity Advisory Council Chair for Operation Homefront, and sits on the board of She Should Run.

Katie is the Founder and General Partner of Moxxie Ventures. Katie brings us insights from her rich background of experience in and board seats at large media and tech firms, finance and government. She shares her insights and offers tools to thrive from her breadth of experience and current interactions with founders, investors and entrepreneurs.   

Prior to Moxxie, Katie served in numerous executive operating roles at Twitter, Google, Yahoo, and Color. She has led teams in marketing, comms, recruiting, product and media. In addition to working in Silicon Valley, Katie served in the (Obama) White House and State Department and began her career as a banker at JP Morgan Chase. 

Katie sits on the Board of Vivendi, a French multinational media company headquartered in Paris, Yahoo and previously served on the Board of Time Inc.  Katie started her venture career as a Founding Partner of #Angels and has invested in 50 early-stage companies including Airtable, Cameo, Carta, Coinbase, Literati, Modern Fertility, Shape Security and Threads.

Jessica is a principal in Deloitte Consulting LLP and lead for Consulting’s Ecosystems & Alliances practice, with a constant focus on the next big thing- which she shares with us today as our first guest on the Women in Tech Series. Jessica also shares her insights from attending the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

In her more than 25 years at Deloitte, Jessica has helped clients navigate large-scale, strategic transformations that enable market growth and build dynamic brands. Jessica oversees strategic collaborations with companies that innovate and shape the world, including top tech companies, academic institutions, and organizations dedicated to equity and inclusion. With a constant focus on the next big thing, Jessica specializes in strategic transformation, growth strategy, and global mergers & acquisitions. Jessica is also a member of the US Consulting Management Committee.

Prior to her current role, Jessica led and oversaw major transformations in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry as the national consulting leader for Deloitte’s TMT practice. Jessica is Recognized as one of the Top 25 Consultants by Consulting Magazine and as one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business by San Francisco Business Times. 

Jessica’s deep experience in relationship-building and a passion for connecting people is key to her success, and she explains how her pioneering attitude and always being curious has been her strength in growing her career. 

Our global Women in Tech series is an exciting collaboration between Fiftyfaces Productions and Monumental Me, an organization committed to wellness including resilience, mental fitness and strength designed to help you thrive in life and your career. It also hosts The Mindshare Podcast. In this first series of the collaboration, host Liana Slater talks to four senior female tech executives about what drove their success, how the tech industry is changing and advice they wish they had learned sooner.  

 

Our first podcast is with Jessica Kosmowski, a Managing Principal at Deloitte, where we start by discussing the most exciting tech trends surrounding us today and Jessica reflects on how she has treated not being well represented as a senior woman in tech. 

We hear then from the venture capital investor Katie Jacobs Stanton. Katie is the founder and general partner of Moxxie Ventures, She talks about areas that excite her today- particularly climate tech and healthcare, and shares the tips she believes will get more women the skills they need to get funded by investors like her.  She talks about hiring talent, and the imposter syndrome that is felt universally.

Our next guest, Alicin Reidy Williamson, also believes in networks.  She is the chief diversity and culture officer for Yahoo.  She describes the importance of having a personal board of directors, but also believes in the importance of strong leadership, of a very particular kind - feminist leadership. Alicin also believes in creating a culture of belonging, and she gave an example of what that means. 

 

Our final guest in the series, Fiona McDonnell, a tech executive of Booking.com describes what it is to have full self awareness and how we can learn it. She discusses her recent book, and reflects on what it was that stopped her from bringing her whole self to work. 

 

You can follow our series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  You can find all of our content on the Fiftyfaces Hub - fiftyfaceshub.com, and this series is featured on the Monumental Me website at www.monumentalme.com/podcast. 

Maram Hussein at the time of recording was Investor Communication Lead at Vintage Investment Partners and a Board Member at Kav Mashvean. She started her career as a tax researcher, moving to an auditor role before assuming her current role. In recent months she established an initiative to integrate more Arabs in the Venture Capital, Investment Banks and Consulting firms. She now lives in California.

Our conversation starts with Maram's university study in finance and accounting and the obstacles she encountered when applying for a first position in accounting and auditing roles.  She eventually was successful, and describes how challenging it was to find peers, mentors and role models in the industry who had a similar lived experience to herself, an Arab living in Israel. 

Maram discusses the break that saw her find a fulfilling role in venture capital and the awakening she experienced when she realized that she could do something to contribute to the social capital of other Arabs seeking to break into the field.  She established an affinity and networking group designed to provide a network, leads and other coaching to young people seeking to enter the industry.

Maram's motto -  is you don't hire for skills you hire for attitude, you can always teach the skills, and reflects on the resilience she learned from her mother, one of her original role models. 

In 2023 we are taking our Inspiring Israeli Women in Tech Fiftyfaces Focus Series to the next level.  We are going global.  In this mini-series we give you a taste of the kind of stories and concepts that we will be bringing together - comparing and contrasting experiences around the world. 

In this series we hear from Maram Hussein about what it was like to be one of the only Arab Women in her tech career, and how she had to look hard for mentors and to build a network.  This experience taught her to change the playing field for the next generation - to create an affinity group and networking opportunities to ensure that mentorship and best practice could do its usual work.

We move then to the Bay Area, where we hear from Ashwini Asokan, founder of Mad Street Den about the transformative power of AI, and why it is more than "Brains, Bots and Bullshit" (the title of a successful video talk she provided). She talks about the importance of blending AI with an understanding of human behavior, through her study of anthropology, and stresses why humanizing AI will be the way of the future.

Finally in this mini-series we hear from Ahryun Moon about her experience founding a scheduling company and what it is like to be one half of a Couple-Preneur.  She speaks openly and honestly about the "Female Founder Discount" and how affects everything from company valuations to the ultimate success of that company because of the negative economics that it can create.

We will continue this series in 2023 with an exciting new collaboration.  Watch this space in 2023.  

Ashwini Asokan is the founder and CEO of Mad Street Den, an Artificial Intelligence company, powering Retail, Education, Healthcare, Media, Finance & more with its image recognition platforms, Vue.ai and Blox.ai. Headquartered in the Bay Area, California, the company has offices around the globe. She previously worked at Intel, where she led IXR’s Mobile Portfolio, which explored the future of mobile technology and designed compelling mobile experiences that people will love.

While at Intel Ashwini spent time working on the Mobile Portfolio where she combined teams comprising designers, anthropologists and software engineers.  We talk about the importance of including anthropologists to understand the sometimes varied use case of technology, and we explore what insights this can provide.

We move then to talk about a video in which Ashwini refers to AI as “Brains, Bots and Bullshit” and dissect what this in fact means, and what can be done to improve how AI is used and developed in the future. You can find this video here:

Mind the product talk

https://www.mindtheproduct.com/need-product-people-save-ai/

And an video about Ashwini’s entrepreneurial journey here:
NatGeo video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJlrH1sD7u0

As an entrepreneur who has worked through capital raising, Ashwini has a host of insights into the playing field for capital and some of its shortcomings. We look at the steps she took to shore up her own business venture and how her training in the arts taught her the choreography needed to stay the course. We examine the importance of the social sciences, of learning how to “fail up”, build muscle and stay the course, particularly as a woman in the competitive field of tech.  Finally, we look at the importance of eating protein, in more ways than one.