From captivating photography to inspiring videos, Jonathan spends his time crafting narratives that bridge hearts and minds. In this episode, we discover how he transforms empathy and compassion into powerful tools for creative expression, in both his personal life as an artist as well as guiding businesses to authentically connect with their audiences. His childhood challenges shaped his deep-seated belief in fostering welcoming spaces where everyone feels connected. This conversation...

Our guest today is committed to enhancing people's lives by empowering them to recognize their inherent greatness. Mark Paulson is the President of People First Operations Inc., helping leaders understand their people's strengths, motivations, and goals, and then aligning them with processes that fit their needs and abilities. From an early age, Mark has always had an insatiable curiosity, often taking things apart to find out how they work. He went on to apply this same kind of...

As a highly accomplished technologist and social impact advocate, Maria is actually most proud of the fact that she’s indeed, a super mom! From automating her workflow to learning new ways to engage her children, Maria describes how her work as Chile and Argentina’s national technology officer at Microsoft has created a new love and appreciation for tech in our lives. In this episode, we unpack Maria’s stellar career from saving lives in the Public Sector to helping corporations and...

The world as we know it is at a tipping point in this fourth Industrial Revolution, and today’s guest has a front seat in building strategic partnerships in the world of work and technology to move us towards this bright future.  Michael Liley is the Senior Managing Director at Sand Technologies, an organization that is at the core of the tech services market equipped with young,  experienced talent that is focused on solving enterprise-level challenges with advanced AI and data solutions....

When Jason was young, he was enamored with the idea of creating wildly imaginative comics. As an artist and storyteller, he has evolved into a branding and storytelling powerhouse who turns everyday brands into high converting businesses that are “binge-worthy” through narrative design. In this episode we unpack his work at the helm of his agency JHT Design Studios alongside his lifelong passion to use creative fiction to help young Christians walk in and better understand their faith via...

Are you creating meaningful change, inspiring hope and breathing life into the world through the stories you share? Today's conversation sets sail from the island of Mauritius on a special graduation morning. Our guest, Julie Gichuru, challenges us to think deeply about the "why" behind the stories we tell about ourselves and the communities around us. Julie is an Afro-optimist, mother, wife, and the Chief Public Affairs & Communications Officer at Mastercard Foundation. In this...

Joining us with a rich tapestry of experience and exposure, this week's guest joins us in the boardroom from the world of strategy consulting and venture capital with a radical view of how Africans can build businesses that make a difference.  Kristin Wilson spent her early professional life studying modern thought & literature, African studies, and neuroscience at leading institutions like Oxford, Princeton, and Stanford and led a tangentially different career in management consulting...

Storytelling, when used effectively can be an incredible tool to catapult your career and business through relationships. No one embodies this idea quite like John Hill, who turned a passion for language, ideas and people into a massively successful career and life as a tech evangelist at LinkedIn and now Techstars. The concept of telling the stories, ideas and values of a business to global audiences to boost adoption is now widely known as evangelism, but when John started his career in...

Navigating the career space can be a daunting task, especially when you’re a creative charting an unconventional path through life. In today’s episode, we speak with Sam Wells, founder of Tern Heads- a career development platform for emerging creatives looking for their first jobs or clients in the creative industry. Sam has worked in the creative industry for over 16 years, leveraging the power of community to support young people struggling to understand and showcase their full creative...

In our first episode of the year, we take a trip to the United Kingdom where Jonathan Chippindale leverages tech and data to shape consumer perception and adoption of our favorite fashion brands. With a fascinating childhood rooted in adventure and curiosity, Johnathan turned a fascination with style and culture into a valuable asset in the world of business that has helped brands like Luis Vuitton, Richemont and Tommy Hilfiger to win the hearts and minds of an entire generation of...

Jasiel didn’t always know he would find himself in the startup world, but after an early career on Wall Street, he realized the need to rethink how we support and invest in Africa’s most exciting entrepreneurs.  Hailing from Ghana, Jasiel is the Africa Investment Officer at Accion Venture Lab where he leads the growth of a dynamic portfolio of finance technology startups. In this episode, we uncover Jasiel’s unconventional journey into the venture capital industry, and his fascinating...

In this week’s episode, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Nicole Glaros, a seasoned entrepreneur and dedicated business mentor.  Nicole's unique perspective is profoundly shaped by her early childhood experiences, which instilled in her strong beliefs about independence, wealth creation, and the essence of entrepreneurship. Her remarkable journey began in college when she founded her first company. Despite her lack of a traditional business background, she achieved resounding...

Armed with a heart for learning and development and an entrepreneurial spirit, Allie Danziger has been shaping the school-to-work transition for thousands of graduates across the USA.  In this episode, we unpack how her unique upbringing and early work experience opened her eyes up to the challenges and opportunities facing young professionals globally and the incredible solutions that she birthed as a result. From scaling her skills training startup and getting acquired by the nation’s...

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Wendy Mubaiwa moved to the UK in her teens.  After her studies, she embarked on an unconventional career path that eventually led to an exciting journey in the startup world. With entrepreneurial parents as role models, she was drawn into the world of entrepreneurship from a young age. Today, Wendy’s passion and expertise shine as she serves as a Venture Partner at esya, a venture studio and venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs to create, invest,...

In this captivating episode, Nanjero takes us on a journey through his career at the crossroads of sports, entertainment, and technology. As a passionate enabler and General Manager at Sol Generation, he shares his mission of nurturing talent within these dynamic industries. Drawing from his diverse educational experiences across different countries and his exposure to varied cultures, Nanjero discusses the pivotal role that travel and mentorship have played in shaping his journey. He...

With a fundamental belief in people and their ability to do good, Isaac Kwaku takes us on a fascinating journey through his life’s mission to create a prosperous Africa built by us, for us.  At the cutting edge of research, economic development and investment advisory at Botho Emerging Markets Group and Amahoro Coalition, this week's guest shares a remarkable new model to approach how we as Africans see ourselves and the problems around us: Afro-Optimism.  In this episode, we take a walk...

Is it possible to do well while doing good in Africa?  This week in the Boardroom, we spoke to Ebenezer Asante, the Senior Vice President for Markets at MTN Group, whose leadership and business philosophy left us speechless. Hailing from Ghana and with a footprint of impact and success across the continent, Ebenezer firmly believes that it is possible to prioritize ethics and integrity while simultaneously delivering stellar profits and business growth!  In this episode, we unpack the...

From growing up in rural Kenya to standing at the forefront of building and using cutting-edge technologies over the past 20 years- Joseph Makokha joins us in the Boardroom this week to unpack a life and career unlike no other. Joseph currently holds a Ph.D. and Master's degree from Stanford University and practices research and engineering at the intersection of people and technology.  In research, he studies the role of Artificial intelligence (AI) in creative, high-performing teams. As...

While at the helm of a fast-growing and thriving pan-African healthcare company, failure was a far-fetched concept to Steven Adjei. Until it wasn’t.  After scaling into unknown territories and encountering multiple crippling setbacks, years of work and hard-earned capital went down the drain. In this episode, we sat down with Steven to unpack the realities of scaling profitable businesses in Africa, his renewed relationship with failure and the incredible multi-million-dollar comeback he was...

Hailing from the gold coast, and currently breaking barriers in Britain, this week's guest, Akosua Bame, is an accomplished management consultant with a very specific skillset: Reviving dying corporations through mindset transformation.  After 20 years of success in her craft, Akosua has pioneered a unique and trademarked approach to catalyzing change that starts with the mind of an individual. In our conversation, we use her Mindset Revolution™  Concept and HEARD ™ approach to unpack the...

In this episode of Founders Friday- Yuri, Sean and Boniface are back in the Boardroom like they never left! With a heated battle between Twitter and the new kid on the block; Threads, the trio discusses the facts, figures and factors behind the latest social media spectacle. We also dig into the underlying trends surrounding big tech and the race to capture as much data as possible. Should we be weary of platforms like Worldcoin, Meta and Twitter (now called X)? Join the founders for a...

This week in the Boardroom, we had a fascinating conversation with Ilya Strebulaev, the Unicorn Whisperer. Over his 20-year career at the center of Silicon Valley’s startup gold rush, he has turned the art of investing in startups through Venture Capital and Private Equity, into a science.  He is a tenured Professor of Finance and Private Equity at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a leading authority on venture capital, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In this episode, we dug deep...

In this week's episode, we dive into a conversation on the extraordinary life and work of Ahva Sadeghi, a changemaker leading the evolution of digital talent pipelines as a social entrepreneur, economist and C.E.O of Symba.  Through deep reflections on culture and identity, Ahva shares childhood experiences, pivotal moments in her early career, and the fascinating evolution of her identity through the lens of her life’s work. We discover the inspiring journey that led Ahva to co-found an...

Forever on the move, forever setting trends, forever doing that which they say cannot be done, G-Money is a man that lives up to his motto.  As a UK-born, Jamaican-rooted and Kenyan-bred international DJ, radio host and events extraordinaire, Gmoney has a lifetime of experience building communities around the prevailing sounds of a generation.  In this episode, we explore how a multicultural upbringing and a life of travel have shaped and birthed the media personality we know today as...