The ABC's to Becoming Highly Sought After

In this episode, I interview Zaheera Soomar. Zaheera is an academic scholar, the Global Head of Education & Skills, the founder of Bizzscholar and Zaheera Soomar Advisor. She has more than 17 years of experience leading on business strategy, organizational change, responsible business practice and innovation and large-scale transformation across multiple industries. From partnering with start-up/early-stage firms to working with companies like Bain and Company, she has experience working in over 20 countries while providing guidance to various C-Suite and Government Leaders across multiple regions and sectors. Zaheera was awarded a Mandela Washington fellowship in 2015, and has published a number of peer-reviewed articles, op-ed pieces, white papers articles, and blogs. Zaheera is currently pursuing her Doctorate through Haskayne Business School focused on Responsible Business Practice and the Future of Work. She is a wife and mother of 3 children and is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion and tackling poverty and inequality. She is an advocate for positive change in these areas and sits on a selection of boards and advisory committees focused on women’s empowerment, homelessness, disaster management, and education.

My guest, Samiksha Khanna is currently COO at Uberflip and is one of the founding members of The Big Push and Project Fabulous (by Fuel the vision). She has a background in Finance and Operations, working in tech companies over the last 20 years and has experience working internationally focusing on designing and implementing business operations, developing policies that promote company culture and vision and establishing go-to-market plans. Fun fact about Samiksha, she loves to travel and has been since she was two and will continue doing so until she’s 102. During the winter, you’ll find her skiing and has when the weather is nice, you’ll find her at a golf course honing in on her golfing skills. To find more information about her side hustles, click the links below: https://www.thebigpush.ca/ https://fuelthevision.ca/  You can connect with Samiksha, here: linkedin.com/in/samikshakhanna

In this episode, I interview Sophia Jacob, president of Sophia J Events. Sophia is an award-winning experienced event planner and marketing strategist with specialties in fundraising for non-profit organizations and brand promotion for small businesses. In addition, Sophia has also successfully started numerous networks including: The Ottawa Opportunities Network Black Ottawa Business Network and  The Canadian Women of Colour Leadership Network (CWCLN) which is led by Women of Colour who want to see more Women of Colour & non-binary people reflected in leadership roles including Board of Director positions and C-suite positions. Hoping to connect with Sophia? Reach out to her through the links below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-jacob-9a458027/ https://www.instagram.com/canadianwomenofcolour/ https://twitter.com/_CWCLN/status/1391796677317730309

In this episode, I interview entrepreneur and Director, Marketing and Communications, Sabine Soumare. Just over a decade ago, Sabine immigrated from France to Canada. With only two pieces of luggage in hand, she progressed from volunteer to manager. And years later, is an Entrepreneur,  Director, Marketing and Communications, volunteers and more. To follow Sabine's work, connect with her LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-soumare-1a276849

In this episode, I interview Dr. Melanie Peacock. Melanie is a professor, the first woman of colour and the first female to be nominated as faculty president in 28 years, and an HR consultant. Tune in if you'd like to hear how she navigated through challenges experiences as a "first", traits she's noticed in highly sought-after candidates along with tips and tricks she adopts to stay on top of her game! You can connect with Dr. Melanie Peacock at: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drmelaniepeacock-cphr-doublem Twitter: https://twitter.com/doublempeacock

Currently, finding your next role or planning your next steps towards a leadership role?  Then tune in to this episode as I interview Tasleen Jessani, a Canadian woman of colour who transitioned from an individual contributor role into a management role because she was hand-selected by a VP of one of the largest Canadian insurance companies.   She talks about the challenges encountered as a first-time leader and she shares her insights to becoming a highly sought-after candidate.  If you’d like to keep with Tasleem and connect with her, you can’t find her on  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coach-tasleem  Website: https://www.rubikscoaching.com

Curious as to how this podcast could benefit you? Tune in to my welcome message where I talk about what I touch on and how I'll be publishing one episode on the first of each month. Hoping to connect? You can reach me at my personal website: angelanguyen.ca or Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelanguyenkhaan