Norma Taki is a partner at PwC, has over 21 years of experience with the firm and leads their Retail and Consumer Markets Practice across the Middle East. She has executed numerous financial due diligence deals and valuation projects across various retail sectors, from fashion to F&B to manufacturing. She also has extensive experience in financial due diligence in the Healthcare, Education and Telco sectors. On top of her day job, Norma leads PwC ME’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative.

We talked about the fundamentals of corporate life, and the way women’s challenges change over time as you rise in the pyramid and become more senior. We discussed managing the Imposter Syndrome and navigating the sensitivities of self-promotion. We talked about mentorship and sponsorship, the myth of women “opting out” and the role of a D&I leader. Finally, we got technical as I wanted to learn from the ultimate industry expert what the retail trends are globally and how they compare in the Middle East.

There are so many quotes I could pull out, but I’ll restrict it to these two:

• On celebrating one’s successes: “I will share why I’m proud we won this project”.
• On the Imposter Syndrome: “you’re in year 1, I’m in year 35 – if at year 35 I don’t have the success that I do – then I’ve failed.”

You can find Norma on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Please do get in touch with the team at When Women Win and let us know what you think of this episode or the show in general. You can reach us via Instagram, LinkedIn – or the web contact form.

Thank you!