Spotting opportunities that others overlook is one of the most valuable skills in venture capital, and today’s guest, Rohini Chakravarthy, excels at this. Her passion for the field is driven by the chance to collaborate with extraordinary individuals who are eager to innovate and break new ground. Rohini began her journey at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, a prestigious university in Chennai, where she was one of only 10 women among 280 students in her electronics class. This...

Silicon Valley often celebrates the meteoric rise of young entrepreneurs, but Ivy Nguyen, Principal at Autotech Ventures, believes that valuable and rewarding experiences can be found at any stage of our careers. Ivy's journey is shaped by her family's history: her parents arrived in the U.S. as refugees from Vietnam, taking on blue-collar jobs to support their family. She became the first in her family to attend college, a milestone that surprised her parents. Upon arriving at Stanford, Ivy...

Venture Capital revolves around risk and reward. How can we learn from this field and become more comfortable with uncertainty in our lives and careers? Rashmi Gopinath, General Partner at B Capital, suggests that we can begin by avoiding setting unattainably high standards for ourselves. Rashmi was born and raised in India before moving to the US. She worked in operations at Oracle and GE Healthcare before transitioning to venture capital. Her passion for cutting-edge technology eventually...

Making career decisions driven by fear can lead us astray. Instead, we need to be courageous and persistent, seizing new opportunities as they arise. This is the wisdom shared by today's guest, Jaimee Michaud, Head of Portfolio Digital at Advent International, a global private equity investment firm. Jaimee's journey began when she moved from Seoul to the United States as a high school student, boldly embracing a new culture and language. Quickly recognized for her mathematical prowess, she...

Running a global company is hard. But, it does give you an incredible opportunity to bring on board a diverse group of talent that can help shape your vision. This is something that today’s guest Bianca Anghelina is incredibly passionate about.  Bianca co-founded the business development app Aily Labs hailed as the ‘Apple of AI’ in 2020 after she saw how hard it was for organizations to integrate AI across their entire workflow. She reflects that she has received conflicting advice from many...

As your career evolves, so may your definition of success. For Boel Ferguson, success now means mentoring young executives and entrepreneurs navigating their path. Boel began her career without a clear focus, eventually finding her way into the media industry, where she enjoyed a career spanning over three decades. During her tenure at Disney, Boel witnessed and embraced significant changes, including the digital revolution. Today, Boel is involved in various initiatives aimed at helping...

In this special episode, we’re taking you back to Season 2 for Suchi’s conversation with May Habib, CEO and Founder of Writer, an enterprise AI platform. May Habib has been a CEO for the past decade and always knew she wanted to build a company. As she juggles family and work, May acknowledges that her incredible support system allows her to thrive. May is truly a global citizen. She was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to Canada when she was little. She went on to study in the USA and...

In this special episode, we’re taking you back to Season 1 for Andrea Gallego’s conversation with Alaina Percival, CEO and co-founder of Women Who Code—the largest and most active community for technical women worldwide.  Alaina shares her career path; she’s run niche products for Puma in Germany, led developer outreach for a technical recruiting company in San Francisco, and taught herself to code.  As the CEO of Women Who Code, she works to inspire women to thrive in the tech industry. ...

As an entrepreneur, you sometimes have to go against the grain and defy expectations. But how can you keep yourself motivated? For Jennifer Smith, founder and CEO of Scribe, it’s the pride of building an amazing product that keeps her going through the difficult moments.  When Jennifer first started her career in consulting, she had no idea that one day she would end up in tech. As she flew across the country and worked at multiple organizations, she saw a gap in the market for a tool that...

Imposter syndrome, or self-doubt, is something that we all experience in our lives and careers. But how can we turn this often negative experience into a positive one? Natasha Vernier believes you can make it your superpower and has used it to build her own business. Natasha is the co-founder and CEO of Cable, a financial crime compliance platform. Before founding Cable in 2020, Natasha was the Head of Financial Security at Monzo, the fastest-growing bank in UK history. In that role, she was...

Many expert women decide to take the plunge into entrepreneurship - but what are the realities of this decision? For today’s guest, Molly He, CEO and co-founder of Element Biosciences, it was never her dream, but something she saw as a means of pushing the groundbreaking scientific work she was doing forward. Molly grew up in an economically disadvantaged village in rural China. She studied hard while at the same time developing her skills as a professional sprinter. At the end of high...

This week on In Her Element, we're bringing you Fintech Files, a podcast from BCG Platinion. A show where we delve deep into the dynamic landscape of Fintech, NeoBanks, and the Digital Banking world, sparking insightful conversations with industry disruptors from around the globe. In this episode, we ask the question: “How many globally lack access to banking?” Astonishingly, one in three. In this insightful conversation, Vera Futorjanski, former Head of Communications at Rocket Internet and...

In this special episode, we’re taking you back to Season 2 for Suchi’s conversation with Professor Anjana Sursala, Professor of Responsible AI at Michigan State University - Eli Broad College of Business In this episode, she talks about her journey to becoming one of the leaders in her field, her work advocating for more inclusive AI models, and how she successfully juggled family and work during the pandemic. Anjana’s story is truly remarkable. After suffering financial hardship, Anjana’s...

Leadership puts you in the spotlight. Others will scrutinize everything you do, and you must challenge yourself to remain honest and authentic throughout. This is something that today’s guest, Emily Miner, learned by trial and error. Emily is Vice President of Partner Science and Business Operations at Starbucks Coffee Company. She started her career in the academic world as an anthropologist. However, an early career experience switched her on to the idea of large data sets being a force for...

A career in technology isn’t usually associated with flexibility. But Sharon Mandell, CIO of Juniper Networks has managed to carve out an incredible career that has allowed her to also spend time with her family. But how did she do this? Sharon almost became a professional ballet dancer but switched suddenly to a degree in computer science. Her father might not have been happy, but it was the start of a career that took her across several high-profile organizations and roles. Her advice to...

Adi Zolotov began her career in astrophysics as an academic but decided to broaden her horizons by transitioning to the private sector. In her current role as managing director and partner at BCG X, Adi focuses on building AI and digital solutions that unlock value and insights in aerospace, defense, and the public sector.  There have been many times in Adi’s career where she has been the only woman in the room. However, when faced with this situation now, she focuses on bringing her wealth...

We need more allies at all levels in tech. But what does allyship mean if you’re in a leadership role? Sometimes it’s about being honest and vulnerable. Bhavesh Dayalji is the CEO at Kensho Technologies, an artificial intelligence solutions provider. Bhavesh also has a second role - Chief AI Officer at S&P Global. So how does he balance all of this with his family life? Bhavesh says that it’s hard. The truth is, very few people find the right balance for them. But he’s learning and...

In this episode, we're excited to introduce our new co-host, Kamila Rakhimova, managing director, and partner at BCG. Kamila takes us on a journey from her native Tajikistan to the USA and through a career that she has mapped out on her terms. Every few years, Kamila gets the itch to try something new. Back in her home country, her proficiency in English and her qualifications in international relations made her an asset in her field. She quickly discovered that microfinance could have a...

Our confidence levels can change over time. They can also be influenced by "life events": the stuff that happens outside of our career that we have no control over. Despite her years of experience, today’s guest, Deanna Lanier, CSO of Icertis, doesn’t feel confident all the time. Deanna began her career in technology in sales. When she moved into a leadership role, she would often find that she was the only woman in the room. This can be an isolating experience for anyone, and Deanna...

In this special holiday episode, we’re taking you back to Season 2 for Corin Lines’ conversation with Dr Erin Young, Research Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute. 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...

What do you do when you don’t have a big-picture goal in mind? You ‘micro-optimize’ and follow your passions wherever they take you. Cat Miller has built an amazing career off the back of micro-optimizations and now works as the CTO of Flatiron Health. Cat began her technology journey at MIT. One of her modules centered around AI and how it can be used to problem-solve. Throughout her career, Cat never knew exactly what she wanted to do, but was always comfortable following her interests to...

Sometimes we doubt ourselves, and forget to trust what our inner voice is telling us. Charlotte Degot wishes she had begun listening to hers earlier in her career, but believes the journey to this understanding takes time. Charlotte is the CEO and founder of CO2 AI, an AI platform that helps the world's largest organizations successfully manage their end-to-end net-zero journeys.  She started her career at BCG and rose to the level of managing director. When she discovered the boundless...

If you raise your hand, what's the worst that can happen? You'll either get a yes or a no. Naba Banerjee is Airbnb’s Head of Trust and Safety, and she has made it her mission to raise her hand and put herself forward for all the opportunities she can. Naba was born and raised in India and has a father who encouraged her to apply for an engineering course as soon as she was able. Naba moved to the US after her graduation and began working for Walmart in various roles. At Airbnb, Naba is best...

We’re back for Season 3 of In Her Ellement, a podcast from BCG! We’re going to be doing something a little different this time. We’re spending a little time at the start of Season 3 talking to women leaders at the forefront of the AI revolution. Join AI and digital expert Suchi Srinivasan and product lead Corin Lines for more meaningful and vulnerable conversations with women leaders and allies in who live AI in business, digital, and technology.  Episode 1 of In Her Ellement Season 3 is out...