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Nisreen Shocair, Serial CEO: Leading Teams, Loyal Customers & IVF

March 16, 2020 Comments Off on Nisreen Shocair, Serial CEO: Leading Teams, Loyal Customers & IVF


Nisreen Shocair has held various positions within the music, entertainment and retail industries at Virgin, Sony Music, and others. While she’s worked in the United States, UK & Germany, she’s spent the last 12 years in Dubai, managing brands across 10 countries in the Middle East North Africa region.  Nisreen was instrumental in turning around the Virgin brand in the Middle East and making it a youth-focused destination, reflecting the regional demographic. She’s received many awards for many different reasons, from the likes of Forbes, Arabian Business, Wharton and others.

Nisreen is a CEO 3 times over, and now runs the Middle East arm of YOOX-Net a Porter, the world’s leading online luxury fashion retailer.

During this rich and diverse episode, we talked about the turn-around success story – how she rescued Virgin Megastores, at a time when CD sales were dying. We talked about customer loyalty and how to foster it. We went deep into team dynamics and how to build a tight, loyal team. We dived into IVF and touched on adoption and surrogacy. We discussed obstacles in the work place and what great managers do to retain talent. We talked about returnships, bringing women back after many years out of the workforce, and ways to support all employees at difficult times in their life.

My favorite quote of the episode was: “you don’t need to compromise financials for humanity or sustainability. You can do both.” It seems very apt to our current troubled times.

Nisreen’s book recommendation is Cheap, a book about the detrimental effects of low-cost manufacturing and buying habits. You can find Nisreen on LinkedIn – please do reach out to her with any questions on IVF, adoption or surrogacy.

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We would love to hear from you! Please drop us a note or take this 1-minute survey to propose topics or guests you’d like to see on future shows.  Thank you!

Blockchain 101 – Plus Entrepreneurship & Zebras

March 9, 2020 Comments Off on Blockchain 101 – Plus Entrepreneurship & Zebras

This episode is for people who have felt intimidated or excluded by Blockchain conversations and want to understand the basics. We also get into the reality of entrepreneurship. A huge thanks to the Australian Government for supporting When Women Win.

Leanne Kemp is the Founder and CEO of Everledger, a company that uses Blockchain technology to track high-value assets such as diamonds and art. Leanne is recognised internationally as an innovator and leader in the technology sector. A serial entrepreneur, in 2018 Leanne was appointed the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur to develop the state’s startup ecosystem, attract investment and support job creation. She is the first woman entrepreneur to hold this post.

Leanne is an expert advisor to the World Economic Forum and the IBM Blockchain Platform Board of Advisors. She has won many awards including Australia’s Innovator of the Year – twice.

We discussed the basics of Blockchain and how the ledger enables traceability, so acting as a weapon against opacity. We talked about Leanne’s own journey as an entrepreneur, and how Queensland is working to foster an environment of innovation and cooperation. I was amazed by their focus on mental health, and how the Govt has created a Mental Health Toolkit for entrepreneurs.

My favorite quote of the episode was one that captured a huge advantage of the Blockchain: “In future, you’ll be able to check social media posts & news articles and know whether it is fake news”. I look forward to that! I also loved Leanne’s take on start-ups: “we don’t like [to talk about] unicorns but we like to talk about zebras”.

You can find Leanne on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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This episode has been brought to you by the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR) – an entity within Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade. CAAR supports projects which enhance Australia’s economic, cultural and social relations with the Arab world. Gender equality is one of their focus areas, along with innovation, culture, education & sports. We are grateful for their support.

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Please drop us a note or take this 1-minute survey to propose topics or guests you’d like to see on future shows. Thank you!

Carla Harris: Navigating Wall Street Through Sponsorship & Authenticity

March 2, 2020 Comments Off on Carla Harris: Navigating Wall Street Through Sponsorship & Authenticity


Carla Harris is a gospel singer who has sold out 5 concerts in Carnegie Hall. She is also a Vice Chair and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, the global investment bank – and is responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance revenue generation across the firm. Over her 30 year career, Carla has worked across numerous industries and executed many IPOs, from UPS to Martha Stewart Living.

In August 2013, Carla was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. She is the past Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and of The Executive Leadership Council, and currently sits on several NGO boards. Carla is the author of two books, Strategize to Win (2014) and of Expect to Win (2009), and has been named on lists like:

  • “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”
  • “Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance”
  • “Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street”

We talked about the obstacles Carla faced rising through Corporate and how she overcame them – lots of practical tips here! We discussed how to identify and approach a sponsor, and how to be one yourself. We talked about owning one’s power and voice, and how one must always speak up for themselves and others.

My favorite quotes of the episode were:

  • “Nobody can be you the way that you can be you”, and
  • “I demonstrated that I was listening – and everybody values being heard”

You can find Carla on social media at @carlaspearls or at her website www.carlaspearls.com . A huge thank you to the 2020 Global Women’s Forum Dubai for making this interview possible.

We would love to hear from you! Please drop us a note or take this 1-minute survey to propose topics or guests you’d like to see on future shows.  Thank you!

Kristalina Georgieva: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

February 24, 2020 Comments Off on Kristalina Georgieva: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

How did a woman born into communist Bulgaria rise to lead one of the most powerful institutions on earth? This is the question I asked Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and the first person from an emerging-market economy to head the world’s crisis lender with its $1 trillion in resources.

I had the pleasure of spending time with Kristalina at the 2020 Global Women’s Forum Dubai, and we delved into her personal story, the forks in the road and the choices she made that led to this role. I asked Kristalina for advice to women on the rise, as well as the key takeaways from the IMF’s recent report on the power of diversity.

Prior to the IMF, Kristalina was the CEO of the World Bank for two years, before which she served as European Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, overseeing the EU’s €161 billion budget and 33,000 staff. In that capacity, she was deeply involved in efforts to address the Euro Area debt crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis. From 2010-2014, Kristalina was Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, managing one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid budgets – during our chat, she referred to this experience as a formative one. In 2010, she was named “European of the Year” for her leadership in the EU’s humanitarian response to crises.

My favorite quotes of the episode were:

  • “We gain nothing from anxiety… And a smile opens more doors than a shout”
  • “I saw what real tragedy is, and I saw how people who have nothing can be generous and kind and supportive to each other… I learn from them”

We did not talk about books, but Kristalina did recommend a movie called Bridge of Spies. We ended our chat with a call to action: the IMF is looking to hire women from the MENA Region with a strong background in economic policy… “Don’t be shy; please apply!”

You can find Kristalina on Twitter and LinkedIn. A huge thank you to the 2020 Global Women’s Forum Dubai, where this episode was recorded.

The team at When Women Win would love to hear from you… Please drop us a note or take this 1-minute survey to propose topics or guests you’d like to see on future shows.  Thank you!

Elissa Freiha: An Entrepreneurial Pivot That Brought Success To Purpose

February 10, 2020 Comments Off on Elissa Freiha: An Entrepreneurial Pivot That Brought Success To Purpose

Elissa Freiha is an entrepreneur, investor, public speaker and women’s rights advocate. At the age of 24 she started an angel investment network – and when the business tanked, she pivoted Womena towards an accelerator that promotes female inclusion in the Middle East’s tech start-up sector.

As a prominent speaker on women’s involvement in entrepreneurship and active angel investor with over 30 investments between North America and MENA, Elissa has been frequently recognized in various media outlets, appearing on BBC’s 30 under 30, Arabian Business’ “100 World’s Most Influential Arabs”, “Entrepreneur of the year 2019” by One Young World, and the 2020 Forbes Middle East list of power business women.

This episode explores two main themes… The first is the entrepreneurial pivot (what it looks like, why pivot, how pivot, what are key success factors)? For those of you who aren’t sure what a pivot is, it’s when somebody starts a business and it is NOT going well (ie most start-ups), and instead of shutting down, they change tack and test a new business model. Successful turn-arounds are great to learn from, whether you’re an entrepreneur, aspiring entrepreneur or investor. The second theme? We took on the patriarchy – of course!

My favorite quote of the episode was: “What’s interesting about success is, when it’s perceived it often manifests.” And Elissa’s book recommendation was The Greater Freedom by Alya Mooro.

You can find Elissa on Twitter and Instagram.

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!

Prof Deborah Kolb: How to Negotiate Better at Work

February 4, 2020 Comments Off on Prof Deborah Kolb: How to Negotiate Better at Work

Professor Deborah Kolb teaches Negotiations at Harvard Law School. She is an authority on gender issues in negotiation and leadership, and has written many books on the subjects. Her most recent book, Negotiating at Work: Turn Small Wins into Big Gains , was named by Time.com as one of the best negotiation books of 2015.  It offers practical advice for initiating and managing your own workplace negotiations in order to get the jobs you want, create new opportunities, and manage a balanced life.

During our chat, Deborah talked about the 4 pillars of negotiations. We delved into key concepts like “the Glass Cliff” and how to handle it, “invisible work” and how to make sure it counts, the power of silence and the value of “yes, AND”. Deborah shared highly relatable stories to illustrate her many points, and also some tips on how to deal with resistance.

My favorite quote of the episode was “I always used to think that if someone asked you to do something, your answer was either a yes or a no…”

You can find Deborah at her website deborahmkolb.com and on LinkedIn.

We’d love to hear from you… Please drop us a note or take this 1-minute survey to propose topics or guests you’d like to see on future shows.  Thank you!

Dame Helena Morrissey: Corporate Warrior & Mother of 9

January 27, 2020 Comments Off on Dame Helena Morrissey: Corporate Warrior & Mother of 9


Dame Helena Morrissey spent 15 years as CEO of Newton Investment Management, taking its assets under management from £20bn to £50bn.  She joined Legal and General Investment Management in 2017, leading a drive to engage the nation to invest more, with a particular focus on improving women’s financial well-being. She has recently left LGIM to explore more ways to impact the world.

Helena is globally renowned for her work on gender equality. In 2010, she founded the 30% Club, a campaign for gender-balanced boards. Since then, the representation of women on FTSE100 boards has risen from 12.5% to 32% and the number of all-male FTSE350 boards has fallen from 173 to just three. Helena has been named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, and was the Financial Times’ 2017 ‘Person of the Year’.

Her husband Richard is a stay at home father and they have nine children, six girls and three boys aged from 10 to 27 and one grandson. Helena’s first book ‘A Good Time to be a Girl’ was named one of Forbes’ five most empowering books for women in 2018.

We talked about how Helena navigated the corporate world right to the top – and how she managed it with 9 children. She shared tips on leadership, networking and how to pick yourself up after a bad day. We discussed company culture – and how the wrong one can stunt your career. To thrive, you need an environment conducive to finding allies. We talked about how managers are frustrated by a lack of progress on gender parity – and various ways that listeners can break through the fatigue and keep others engaged.

My favorite quote of the episode was “Actions speak louder than words, but results speak louder than actions”. YES!!!! Helena’s book recommendation was: In Extremis: The Life of Marie Colvin and you can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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. You can reach us any time via Instagram, LinkedIn or the web contact form. Thank you!

Nadine Mezher: Owning Your Financial Independence

December 16, 2019 Comments Off on Nadine Mezher: Owning Your Financial Independence

Most women on earth will have to make financial decisions on their own at some point in their life, due to divorce or longer life expectancy. We therefore need to educate, enable and embolden ourselves – as well as our children – so that we can all own our financial independence. This episode is for people who want to learn about investing cheaply and/ or people thinking of entrepreneurship.

Nadine Mezher is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of award-winning Fintech start-up Sarwa, the first automated investment advisory platform in the Middle East – one that’s accessible from all over the planet. Sarwa is trying to make investing more accessible to the masses, through low minimum investment amounts and extremely low fees. Like other robo-advisory platforms, they’re democratising investing. And there is clearly demand: just 2 years into its existence, Sarwa has won loads of competitions and raised 3 rounds of funding…

Nadine co-founded Sarwa after years of being a retail consultant to large public and private sector clients. Prior to that, she was in fashion management and marketing across various industries. Nadine was named MENA Achieving Women 2019 by Entrepreneur Middle East Magazine.

What did we talk about? Initially, it was trees… I know it sounds weird, but this bit is going to interest & surprise you. It takes us a few minutes to get into investing: the mistakes that people typically make, and how we can avoid them using the 4 rules of investing. She had some data to back up what I knew anecdotally: that most everyday “financial advisors” underperform the market. We discussed her experience as an entrepreneur and the challenges she faces every day, both in business and as a mom. And finally, we talked about the ingredients of success as well as the failures along the way.

My favorite quotes of the episode were:

  • “You only incur the loss when you pull out of the market”
  • “I’m not someone who thinks that there’s one career path per person”
  • “Failure is part of the learning process for me”

You can find Nadine on LinkedIn or at www.sarwa.co.

As mentioned on the show, we’d like to highlight some young women-owned start-ups over the 2019 Christmas holidays… Please email producer@rananawas.com between December 16th & 23rd a 30-50 second video telling us about your business. Two videos will be selected per week – four in total. Please keep the video snappy – and if you’d like some help creating it, check out my new YouTube video on crafting a badass Elevator Pitch.

Do keep an eye on our social media platforms as some changes are planned for 2020! If you enjoy the podcast and are an iTunes user, dropping us a rating and review would be the best Christmas present ever 😊

The team here wishes you a glorious festive season – you need it and deserve it. We’ll be back on air on Monday January 6th. Happy Holidays!

Norma Taki, Partner at PwC: Winning in the Corporate World

December 9, 2019 Comments Off on Norma Taki, Partner at PwC: Winning in the Corporate World

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!

Arlan Hamilton: Built a Venture Capital Fund While Homeless

December 2, 2019 Comments Off on Arlan Hamilton: Built a Venture Capital Fund While Homeless


This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2019 Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival, an incredible get-together that’s been running for 3 years… Each of those 3 years, I’ve been invited to do a When Women Win interview live on stage. It’s when I first met the Melltoo founders, a hilarious husband/ wife entrepreneurial team; where I interviewed Donna Benton – one of Dubai’s most successful entrepreneurs EVER, and this year’s guest was a remarkable human who flew over from Los Angeles to join us…

Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders from underrepresented groups.

Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now invested nearly $7m into 130 startups led by underestimated founders. Arlan has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, and was recently named on Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 list.

We talked about Arlan’s journey, from sleeping rough to building a multi-million dollar fund. We discussed the underrepresented founders she invests in and what she has learnt from them; advice for entrepreneurs and investors; and the two factors she has found that often differentiate the more successful start-ups from the rest. We talked about looking after yourself as well as others, and how to cope with the immense stress of having others – families – relying on you. We talked about Arlan’s podcast “Your First Million”, her upcoming book “It’s About Damn Time”, the meaning of failure and the impact of success.

There were so many fantastic quotes – here are just two:

  • “Investors should invest in start-ups led by people who have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder”
  • “The seed doesn’t see the petal”

Arlan had two book recommendations: her own book which is available on pre-order, to be released in May 2020 😊 “It’s About Damn Time”, and The Memo by Minda Harts.

You can find Arlan on Twitter and Instagram @arlanwashere.

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!

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When Women Win is a weekly podcast where boss ladies and female role models from around the world share their inspirational stories and practical tools and strategies for success. The podcast is currently the most listened to podcast in the Middle East.