Savvy Women Podcasts

"Good governance is invisible, but you can feel a spring in the step of an organisation that is well governed." My guest on this podcast is Bonnie Anley. She was appointed Chair of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners in Derry in 2014. The port reported pre-tax profits of more than £2m in late 2017, and it indirectly supports 1,000 jobs and 20,000 farms. With so much experience under her belt, Bonnie has a refreshingly practical view of "women on boards": this can be a tired theme, but not so with Bonnie, who provides amazing insights into what it takes to become a valuable board member.

Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive of Women In Business Northern Ireland, talks about the importance of women business networks, making a network association sustainable, and international expansion.

The minute you start to build a business, you're out of your comfort zone. Fight your instinct to go back to it. My guest on this podcast is Maeve Kneafsey. She is the co-founder of CloudKPI, a company that provides startups with easy to read metrics for finance, marketing and sales. This gives startups an edge when they need to gather very precise data to give to potentially interested investors. She and her co-founder Brenda Jordan were recently selected to take part in the prestigious Women's Startup Lab in California.

Having that wider picture where you have a view of where you should be going gives you resilience. My guest on this podcast is Aisling Curtis, commercial director at Microsoft Ireland. Her mission is to help Microsoft's client businesses gain competitive advantage using technology. Aisling takes us on a fascinating journey of discovery - into the near future. Her insights into the digital transformation make for thought-provoking listening: if you are running a traditional business, it's going to be completely transformed or disrupted in the next few years. Do you have a plan?

The glass being half-full is real, and the glass being half-empty is also real: what matters is your perspective. My guest on this podcast is Charlene Mercieca, who created and runs the Soap Café shop and beauty salon in Sliema, Malta. Charlene started her business because she was passionate about organic cosmetics that would help her own skin conditions. She trained as a herbalist and found that all-natural soaps were a great way of incorporating fresh organic herbs into her care routine, because soap preserves herbs longer. One thing led to another, and Soap Café now sells lotions, sunblock, make-up and loose-leaf tea, all organic, all handmade in Charlene's shop. Her commitment to "cosmetics with a conscience" is awe-inspiring.

A manager has two jobs: take the heat out of situations and nip things in the bud. My guest on this podcast is Caroline McEnery, the founder and Managing Director of The HR Suite, an HR consultancy service. Caroline developped The HR Suite because she was hearing time and time again from business owners that HR was one of the biggest, thorniest challenges to the growth of their business. She recently published her book, The Art of Asking the Right Questions - A People Manager's Toolkit, as a guide to address the everyday situations that can make or break a team.

You should never sit still and never be complacent about your business. Go out and look under the bonnet, work shifts, so that you know what's going on on the ground. My guest on this podcast is Peaches Kemp, who revolutionised the Dublin food scene with her sister Domini. Passion permeates every last detail of their businesses: from the artfully presented, ultra-fresh, highest quality food, to the interview process (does this person share your standards?) and continuing to work shifts after 17 years in business... to perhaps opening a small café in retirement?

"Very successful people are in the moment. They honour themselves and the world enough not to project an ego out." My guest on this podcast is Mary Ann Pierce, CEO and Founder of MAP Digital. Mary Ann has been in a fast-evolving business for the last 20 years. And when I say "fast-evolving"... Her company brings the internet to conferences. Over the last 20 years she has seen everything from the birth of the internet right down to social media bursting onto the stage. She has has to keep her business model cutting edge and constantly reinvent her offering. How did she do that?

When you say 'I'm giving up, that's it, I'm out of here, see you later.' But no, no no no no, you have to come back! Imagine finding your passion in something that is not just difficult, but incredibly difficult. Imagine that what you love doing the most is something that requires tremendous effort, discipline and sacrifice. And still, the only thing that matters to you is that you love doing it, period. Ashleigh reminds us that enjoying the process isn't optional when you go after your dreams: it doesn't have to be a long hard slog, even when it's hard.

I felt very lucky that I was born when I was born because I ended up being able to experience this incredible revolution. My guest on this podcast is Barbara Messing, CMO of TripAdvisor, the indispensable resource on all things travel. Barbara has a refreshing and uplifting take on personal ambition and makes it very clear that it's crucial to remember that ambition goes together with having fun and being a superb team member.