The Brand is Female
by The Brand is Female
Hosted by Eva Hartling, The Brand is Female Podcast delves into the narratives of women entrepreneurs, leaders, and trailblazers redefining limits within their respective fields. Our featured guests unveil their unique business odysseys and personal encounters with each episode, igniting inspiration for fellow women as they navigate their journeys toward advancement and achievement. Presented by TD Women in Enterprise.
Episodes
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Building for growth: turning changing consumer preferences into opportunity with Jane Stoller and Lindsay Gill
Recorded live in Vancouver as part of The Brand is Female Conversation Series, this episode brings together Jane Stoller, Co-Founder and CEO of Glimmer Wine, and Lindsay Gill, Partner, Strategy & Transactions, EY-Parthenon, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to grow a business,...
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Growing brands customers come back to, with Janet Zuccarini and Paige Cey
Recorded live in Toronto before an audience, this episode brings together two founders building consumer brands in different categories: Janet Zuccarini, founder and CEO of Gusto 54 Restaurant Group, and Paige Cey, co-founder and co-CEO of Benny. Over three decades, Janet has built and evolved…
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À la table des transactions: les femmes qui font leur place
THIS WEEK, WE’RE AIRING AN EPISODE IN FRENCH. Qu’est-ce qui fait réussir une transaction? Au-delà de l’expertise financière et juridique, la confiance, le jugement et la capacité de comprendre les personnes autour de la table jouent un rôle déterminant. Dans cet épisode spécial, présenté par le...
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Women at the deal table: careers, influence and the human side of M&A
In Canada, women make up more than half of the workforce at banking and financial services employers, yet hold fewer than four in ten senior management roles, according to the most recent data. What helps women advance in finance, and how are they shaping the mergers and acquisitions that…
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Bâtir une entreprise à impact avec Next Chance et The Unscented Company [FR]
THIS WEEK, WE ARE AIRING A CONVERSATION IN FRENCH ON THE BRAND IS FEMALE. Comment transformer des textiles destinés à être jetés en une entreprise capable de grandir sans perdre de vue sa mission? Pour inaugurer cette minisérie de The Brand is Female réalisée en collaboration avec The Unscented...
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Ahead of the AI Curve: Catherine Lunardi on Building GenAIz
Catherine Lunardi founded GenAIz in 2016, long before generative AI entered the mainstream. After years of implementing technology in the life-sciences industry, she saw how valuable information was often trapped in disconnected systems or abandoned along with unsuccessful projects. She set out…
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Our best episodes from 2026: what it really takes to turn ambition into action, with astronaut Aisha Bowe (Copy)
Today we are re-airing a season favourite: our conversation with former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and citizen astronaut Aisha Bowe. Aisha has built a career defined by bold decisions—and even bolder execution. She’s also, as you’ll hear, not opposed to naming a few favourite…
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Our best episodes from 2026: Navigating power, impact, and a decade in politics as a woman, with Mélanie Joly
As we get ready for a new season launching this September, we are re-airing some of our (and your) favourite episodes of 2026. This week: Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly. Mélanie Joly has held some of the most demanding roles in Canadian federal politics — from Minister of Canadian…
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What does it take to become the first? With Concordia University Chancellor Dr. Gina Cody
What does it take to become the first? In this bonus live episode of The Brand is Female, Eva Hartling sits down with Dr. Gina Cody, engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Chancellor of Concordia University, and the first woman in Canada to earn a PhD in Building Engineering. Recorded live at…
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Purpose and profit can coexist, live with Carla Guerrera and Kirsten Toppang Telford
Purpose and profit are often framed as competing priorities. But what if the most successful businesses are built by refusing to choose between them? Recorded live in Vancouver last week during The Brand is Female Conversations Series, this episode brings together two leaders who are redefining...
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Women and money, with Trauma of Money's Chantel Chapman
In one of our favourite episodes of the season, Eva Hartling speaks with Chantel Chapman, founder of the Trauma of Money Institute, to explore the deeper forces that shape our relationship with money. After starting her career in finance and working as a financial literacy educator, Chantel...
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Health first, with Rawcology Founders Megan & Tara Tomulka
What does it really take to scale a food brand when your standards make everything harder? In this re-aired episode, Eva sits down with Tara and Megan, the founders behind Canadian functional food company Rawcology. What started in a family kitchen with a dehydrator and a mission to remove...
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Why longevity is the new luxury, with Ecksand's Erica Bianchini
What does it take to break into one of the most closed, traditional industries in the world—and do it on your own terms? In this episode, host Eva Hartling sits down with Erica Bianchini, co-founder and creative director of Ecksand, to unpack how she built a fine jewelry brand from…
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More than a game: building culture, leadership, and the future of women’s rugby, with head coach Jocelyn Barrieau
At a time when women’s sports are reaching new heights, Canada’s women’s rugby program is emerging as one of the most compelling stories in the game. In this episode, Eva Hartling sits down with Jocelyn Barrieau, head coach of Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team, to explore the evolution of the...
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From doubt to orbit: what it really takes to turn ambition into action, with astronaut Aisha Bowe
Former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and citizen astronaut Aisha Bowe has built a career defined by bold decisions—and even bolder execution. She’s also, as you’ll hear, not opposed to naming a few favourite [fictional] aliens along the way. From discovering her passion for math in…
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More than a last name: what it really takes to carve your own path in the trades, with Sherry Holmes
Sherry Holmes grew up on construction sites with her dad, Mike Holmes — one of Canada's most recognized names in the trades. But becoming a builder in her own right wasn't a given. In fact, she fought it for years. In this episode, Sherry opens up about the winding road that led her to...
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Aging on your own terms: the truth about medical aesthetics, skin health, and longevity, with Dr. Nathalie Gabra
Dr. Nathalie Gabra is an otolaryngologist, head and neck surgeon, and Dermapure practitioner who brings a deeply medical lens to aesthetic medicine. But before the treatments and the protocols, she grew up watching her father and grandfather operate, and knew from a young age that surgery was her...
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Navigating power, impact, and a decade in politics as a woman, with Mélanie Joly
Mélanie Joly has held some of the most demanding roles in Canadian federal politics — from Minister of Canadian Heritage to Minister of Foreign Affairs to her current role as Minister of Industry. But before any of that, she was a 34-year-old who founded her own political party and ran for mayor…
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Objectif : diversité, avec Sophie Larivière-Mantha de l'Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
This week’s episode is exceptionally airing in French! ….. Sophie Larivière-Mantha voulait programmer des robots — et c'est un stage de cégep qui l'a redirigée vers le génie. Depuis, elle n'a jamais programmé un seul robot professionnellement… mais elle dirige aujourd'hui l'Ordre des ingénieurs…
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Building Canada's Art Biennial from scratch, with Patrizia Libralato
Patrizia Libralato is the founder and Executive Director of the Toronto Biennial of Art — Canada's first and only international art biennial. What started as a bold idea in 2014 has grown into a free, 90-day contemporary art event that draws audiences from across the country and puts Canadian...
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Breaking the silence around women and money, with Trauma of Money's Chantel Chapman
In recognition of Women’s Month, Eva Hartling speaks with Chantel Chapman, founder of the Trauma of Money Institute, to explore the deeper forces that shape our relationship with money. After starting her career in finance and working as a financial literacy educator, Chantel realized that...
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Building a brand while remaining true to your values, with Rawcology Founders
What does it really take to scale a food brand when your standards make everything harder? In this episode, Eva sits down with Tara and Megan, the founders behind Canadian functional food company Rawcology. What started in a family kitchen with a dehydrator and a mission to remove inflammatory...
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Where hormonal health meets advocacy, with Coven Women Health (re-airing)
Canada is facing a women’s health crisis: three in four women over 40 experience menopausal symptoms that disrupt their daily lives — yet access to care is inconsistent, fragmented, and often out of reach. In this episode of The Brand is Female, originally recorded during World Menopause Month…
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Purpose, New Chapters, Imposter Syndrome — plus a live conversation feat. Carlyn Loncaric
Hi! Eva here. This episode is a little different. In the first part, I take you behind the scenes of my work and share what has always driven me — an obsession with precision when it comes to messaging, thought leadership, and reputation. I talk about why I’m launching Hartling Communications as…
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Building women’s professional sports in Canada, with Calgary Wild FC CEO Lara Murphy
This conversation originally aired on Women Are Players Too, where it quickly became our most popular episode of the season. Recorded at the end of the Northern Super League’s inaugural season, this episode captures a defining moment for women’s professional sports in Canada, when the scale of…
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Part 2 -Transforming retail in Canada, with BonLook Founder and former CEO Sophie Boulanger
This is part 2 of last week’s conversation. To kick off the year, host Eva Hartling sits down with Sophie Boulanger — founder and former CEO of BonLook; advisor and investor — for a season-opening conversation about what retail transformation really means in 2026. Because this is not the year for...
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Transforming retail in Canada, with BonLook Founder and former CEO Sophie Boulanger
To kick off the first episode of the year, host Eva Hartling sits down with Sophie Boulanger — founder and former CEO of BonLook; advisor and investor — for a season-opening conversation about what retail transformation really means in 2026. Because this is not the year for surface-level change....
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Fixing the scale-up challenge for women-led businesses, with TD’s Julie Dimitri
What does it really take to help women entrepreneurs scale in Canada — and where are we still falling short? In this episode, Eva Hartling sits down with Julie Dimitri, National Manager, Women in Enterprise at TD, for an in-depth conversation on the realities women founders face when navigating...
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Purpose, Profit & Comfortable Shoes; with Poppy Barley's Kendall Barber
In this special live episode recorded at the Poppy Barley boutique in Calgary, host Eva Hartling sits down with co-founder Kendall Barber for an unfiltered conversation about building — and sustaining — one of Canada’s most beloved women-founded footwear brands. Kendall shares the real story…
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The slipper revolution is women-led; with Mave & Chez
For more than a decade, best friends and business partners Dani Kagan and Victoria Marshman have been building community and empowering women through entrepreneurship. From their early days as co-founders of City MOGULS and Stratus Events — connecting thousands of entrepreneurs and raising over...
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Une conversation avec quatre femmes ayant du génie
En collaboration avec Gestion FÉRIQUE, nous présentons une édition spéciale de la série « Les femmes ont du génie », enregistrée en direct à Montréal devant public. Animée par Eva Hartling, cette table ronde réunit quatre ingénieures d’exception : Hélène Brisebois, ingénieure associée,...
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L’intelligence artificielle au service de l’humain : avec Selwa Rafi de KEPLR
Scientifique et entrepreneure, Selwa Rafi, Ph.D. est la fondatrice et cheffe de la direction de KEPLR Intelligence, une entreprise montréalaise spécialisée en science des données et en intelligence artificielle appliquée à la compréhension du comportement humain dans des environnements complexes…
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De l’ingénierie au leadership : avec Maud Cohen de Polytechnique Montréal
Maud Cohen est la première femme à diriger Polytechnique Montréal depuis sa création en 1873 — une étape marquante pour le milieu universitaire et de l’ingénierie au Québec. Forte d’un parcours ancré dans l’innovation, la rigueur et le leadership humain, Maud a dirigé plusieurs grandes...
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Challenging ageism in beauty and entrepreneurship, with Graydon Moffat
October is World Menopause Month — and it’s time to challenge one of the most persistent myths in our culture: that women’s careers, beauty, and relevance come with an expiration date. Graydon Moffat, founder of Graydon Skincare, has made it her mission to defy that idea. She’s spoken openly…
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Where hormonal health meets advocacy, with Coven Women Health's Founders
Canada is facing a women’s health crisis: three in four women over 40 experience menopausal symptoms that disrupt their daily lives — yet access to care is inconsistent, fragmented, and often out of reach. In this episode of The Brand is Female, highlighting World Menopause Month, Eva Hartling...
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Where creativity and sustainability meet, with Birch Babe CEO Kelsey Irvine
Kelsey Irvine is part of the mother/two-daughters trio behind Birch Babe, a Canadian skincare brand that's making waves in the natural beauty industry. Kelsey's career is a blend of creativity, commitment to sustainability, and a keen eye for storytelling. With a background in commercial...
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The former social worker changing how we drink, with Oddbird’s Moa Gürbüzer
What does it take to challenge centuries of tradition and shift an entire culture’s relationship with alcohol? In this episode, I sit down with Moa Gürbüzer, a former social worker and family therapist who saw firsthand how alcohol harms families and communities. Rather than staying in the…
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Making the pause work, with The Gathering's Mandy Balak
What do you get when a childhood CEO dream, a boring date night, and a refusal to settle for burnout collide? You get Mandy Balak’s playbook for building brands, leading communities, and living life on purpose. In this episode, Mandy—entrepreneur, coach, and President of The Gathering—shares how...
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Designing a brand that does good, daily; with evolvetogether’s Cynthia Sakai
In this episode of The Brand is Female, Eva Hartling sits down with Cynthia Sakai, founder of evolvetogether, the elevated personal care brand that took the world by storm with its mission-driven, design-forward essentials. Launched at the start of the pandemic with a medical-grade face mask that...
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Making bug spray sexy with Bite's Jaime Hackett and Erin Prohaska
When avid outdoor adventurers Jaime Hackett and Erin Prohaska couldn’t find a bug spray that actually worked and felt good on their skin, they decided to create their own. That’s how Bite was born — a Toronto-based brand on a mission to make bug protection clean, non-toxic, and enjoyable to use.…
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Making space for Indigenous voices in beauty with Cheekbone’s Jenn Harper
Jenn Harper is the Founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, a brand rewriting the rules of the beauty industry — and redefining what it means to lead with purpose. In this episode of The Brand is Female, Jenn shares the incredible journey that took her from working in food service and sales to...
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Revolutionizing Period Care with Sara Jónsdóttir, Founder & CEO of Revol Cares
In this episode, Eva sits down with Sara Jonsdottir, Founder and CEO of Revol Cares—a company leading the charge in reimagining period care with medically recognized, toxin-free leakproof underwear. Sara shares her journey from identifying critical gaps in women’s health and sustainability to...
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A founder takes on drink spiking, with WiSP's Liat Kaplan
Today’s conversation is one we wish we didn’t have to have—but it’s one we absolutely must. In this episode, host Eva Hartling is joined by Liat Kaplan, founder and CEO of WiSP, a device she created to address a disturbing and all-too-common issue: drink spiking. Drink spiking is more widespread...
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The Diva Cup Legacy, with Carinne Chambers-Saini
This conversation features a true pioneer in the period care space. Carinne Chambers-Saini is the Founder and CEO of DIVA, the company behind the Original DIVA Cup. What started over 20 years ago as a mother-daughter mission to bring a better, more sustainable alternative to pads and tampons has...
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Fixing the bra industry for women, with DOUBL’s Founders
In this episode, host Eva Hartling sits down with Jessica Bosman and Bryn Davis Williams, co-founders of DOUBL, a company that’s reimagining how bras are made and sold. The duo met at university and bonded over their shared passion for entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation. Noticing how…
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"No one tells artists they're entrepreneurs too," with Caroline Monnet
Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist of Anishinaabe and French ancestry, based in Montreal. She has carved out her own path as an artist and filmmaker, building a practice rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary expression. Her work explores identity, community, and the...
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Revolutionizing Reproductive Health, with Reya Health’s Dallas Barnes
Dallas Barnes is on a mission to transform reproductive health for individuals with ovaries. As the founder and CEO of Reya Health, a digital platform offering personalized birth control support, Dallas is helping users navigate contraception with confidence and clarity. In this episode, she…
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Building better healthcare tools for women, with Ekvi’s Cathrine Delp
Cathrine Delp is the Founder and CEO of Ekvi, and a rising force in Norway’s emerging femtech ecosystem. Norway is part of a growing wave of innovation in women's health, with more founders and startups stepping up to tackle challenges ranging from menstrual health to menopause and beyond. While...
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What it takes to lead in a male-dominated industry, with the founders of ward99 architects
In this episode, we're exploring the intersection of design, community, and sustainability with two inspiring women who are reshaping the built environment. Tina Ranieri-D’Ovidio and Hagit Waisman are the founding Principals of ward99 architects, a firm known for creating award-winning public...
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What female founders need to know about the future of their business, with Allison Dent
Allison Dent is an M&A and financial expert who’s passionate about helping all entrepreneurs — women included —- take control of their financial futures. We all know that starting and running a business takes vision, resilience, and a lot of hard work—but what about planning for the long-term?...
About this show
Hosted by Eva Hartling, The Brand is Female Podcast delves into the narratives of women entrepreneurs, leaders, and trailblazers redefining limits within their respective fields. Our featured guests unveil their unique business odysseys and personal encounters with each episode, igniting inspiration for fellow women as they navigate their journeys toward advancement and achievement. Presented by TD Women in Enterprise.
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