The Okana Podcast

Sam Downie, Managing Director of Mates in Mind, discusses her journey in mental health and the charity's initiatives aimed at improving workplace mental health. Mates in Mind is a UK based organisation dedicated to improving mental health across high risk sectors. Sam emphasises the importance of understanding resilience, the challenges of cultural change in organizations, and the need for supportive environments that foster mental wellbeing. The discussion also highlights the role of leadership and peer support in driving effective change within organisations.

In this insightful podcast, Faye Bowser, Vice President Higher Education Vertical at Siemens discusses the evolving challenges and opportunities facing global universities. Drawing from her 23 years at Siemens, she explores key themes such as post-COVID learning shifts, financial pressures, the rise of AI and the urgent need for sustainable campus operations. Faye highlights the importance of data driven decision making, smart infrastructure and digital twins in transforming campuses into more efficient, student focused environments. With over two decades of experience in the smart infrastructure and energy sector, Faye oversees the development and implementation of innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of higher education institutions.

Stephanie Newman is the Chief Project Engineer for Trent Fleet Engines at Rolls-Royce, she is responsible for managing product safety across the fleet and leads a team of talented engineering managers. Stephanie has to date had an incredible career journey, from aspiring astronaut to becoming an engineer with her own aircraft pilot’s licence! In this podcast Stephanie shares with Dr Graham Kelly not just her career wins but what fuelled her passion for engineering and what were her early ambitions that led her to Rolls Royce.  

Adler Enoksen has worked on some of the most advanced, complex and detailed infrastructure and engineering projects in Norway, including the Follo Line and the Rogfast tunnel. As Director for Hydropower Plants and Caverns at Implenia Norway, Adler has a background as an engineering geologist and a specialism in substructure construction. In this Okana podcast, host Dr Graham Kelly delves into Adler’s fascinating career (to the envy of many engineers around the world) and vast knowledge to understand how he leads successful, large complex projects for both the Norwegian Government and private sector clients.  The conversation also leans towards risk and safety and how these are measure, monitored and managed, and what parts data and digital play from the planning stage through to breaking ground.  

Zineb is a qualified Architect, BIM Professional and Trainer with a deep seated passion for the growth of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and new technologies driving a digital culture across the built environment.As the Founder of BIMPATH, Zineb’s focus has been on providing international consultancy and training in digital construction technologies, contributing to the advancement of BIM practices. In this conversation with Dr Graham Kelly, Zineb discusses the current maturity level and the future direction of BIM in Morocco and throughout Africa. Together with demand in the region for bigger projects that require bigger thinking in the wake of the preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2030 and the introduction of the National Strategy: Digital Morocco 2030. Despite her passions for digital progress, Zineb firmly believes that BIM and transformation go beyond technology, they require strategic thinking, collaboration and education – all human centric enablers. Meaning technological progression can not take place without people! 

Jacqueline Chinwe Stephen is a Global Future Energy Leader for the World Energy Council, dedicated to driving change in energy, sustainability and social impact. With a background in Oil and Gas Management and a Master’s in Offshore and Ocean Technology with Subsea Engineering from Cranfield University, Jacqueline is currently Associate Director – Energy and Natural Resources, Turner & Townsend.The Okana Podcast Host, Dr Graham Kelly invites Jacqueline to discuss what strategies, or indeed urgent actions, need to be implemented in the UK to address the Energy Trilemma and how can we better facilitate positive, sustainable change across emerging markets.

Chris Paton is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and saw active service for over 18 years. One of his senior roles was Head of Strategy in Afghanistan to the David Cameron Government, where he was responsible for the extraction of all UK combat troops and their equipment from Afghanistan from 2010-2012. Chris shares his experiences as a former marine and how he transitioned from the military to running a successful consultancy, advising Fortune 500 and FTSE 250 global giants on their performance and leadership, plus his views on passing on key principles to others to strengthen trust in relationships.Chris also shares his thoughts with host Dr Graham Kelly on his people first approach and how to manage micro cultures within organisations.

Helena was listed as one of the top 100 most influential women in the engineering sector and in 2019 named one of the most influential women in engineering by the Financial Times. Helena is currently leading on net zero for AECOM across Europe and India and tells podcast host, Dr Graham Kelly, why it is important for organisations to develop their decarbonisation pathways and what operational pressures this can create for a business. Graham asked Helena, when it comes to decarbonisation strategies where would you say as an industry, we are getting it right and just as importantly where are we not getting it right?  The conversation then goes deep into the understanding and responsibilities of sustainability within the built environment and how to prioritise what needs to be addressed first in the decarbonisation journey.

Joseph Michael Daniels is a world leading sustainability technologist, innovator and entrepreneur. Having built the first net zero connected buildings across four continents and raising £40 million upon founding Etopia, Joseph is pushing the boundaries of what is possible.As he talks with Dr Graham Kelly, Joseph is very candid about his earlier years and becoming homeless at the age of 15, which was a key driver in his ambitions to succeed. Joseph shares his thought processes on seeing things through a data driven perspective and how data is a nucleus for change. The pair look beyond the traditional understanding of what is construction and how data is an enabler for digital twins in a very organic way – whilst unwrapping what is a digital twin and how it is a core element that allows us to create new ecosystems.

Humanitarian psychologist, Sakshi Bansal is a strategy consultant and sustainability advisor for Arup and the recipient of The Diana Award – the highest civilian award for humanitarian work across the globe.She is also the world’s first UNESCO Kindness Leader based on her work as the founder of Project LEAP, a social service project with over 300 volunteers based in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, pan Africa and throughout Australasia, who deliver capability development training to climate activists and sustainability leaders around the world. Sakshi discusses global ambitions for sustainability, people and the planet, and how big corporations are adopting a shift in mindset to embrace the benefits of working more sustainably by mobilising their investments to support ESG goals in emerging markets.

If we all took a moment to consider how to re-use materials rather than recycle we would be one step closer to repairing our planet. These are the sentiments of Duncan Baker Brown, a practicing architect, academic, environmental activist and author of ‘The Re-Use Atlas: a designer’s guide towards a circular economy’. Duncan founded his practice BakerBrown, a research-led architectural practice and circular economy consultancy, to address the huge demands presented by the climate and ecological emergency. During this podcast, Duncan talks to host, Dr Graham Kelly about his passions for sustainability and his drive to transform the design process to utilise existing building materials rather than sourcing new ones through a re-use economy.  

Futurist and award-winning inventor Sally Dominguez has a dual background in Architecture and Entrepreneurship, she is a faculty member at Singularity University and coaches business leaders in Moonshot Thinking, 10X strategy, and sustainable transformation. Famed for saying that innovation is her touchstone to helping others activate their creative confidence, host Dr Graham Kelly asks Sally what drives her to empower others to improve their confidence and explain more about her 10x Mindset approach. The pair talk about continuous growth and productive optimism, personal and professional resilience and one of Sally’s favourite hot topics, AI. When asked for her AI future predictions, Sally responds: “I encourage people to let go of knowledge, move outside of what they know into the realm of possibility. I like to put power into the hands of the people. I like people generating their own power and sharing it. I like that all the people on this planet have say about their future.”

The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom (UK) belonging to the British monarch. It is one of the largest property managers in the UK, administering property worth £15.6 billion.In this first episode of the new Okana Podcast, host, Okana Managing Director Dr Graham Kelly invited Judith Everett, Executive Director of Purpose, Sustainability and Stakeholder for the Crown Estate, to talk about its commitment to sustainability and why it is placing an emphasis on net zero and biodiversity.When asked what good looks like for the Crown Estate, Judith replied: “What good looks like is that we have this phrase of “everything is connected”. We really want people to be thinking of connected systems and how working in systems, and being part of those in a way that we can help drive change for a bigger dynamic flourishing ecosystem”.