Official Title:
Founder of GAIA
Away from the usual, my bio is:
“Recovering Banker” turned advocate for women who want more than a seat at the table — they want to reshape the table entirely. I spent two decades climbing the ranks to Managing Director in a FTSE 100 bank, leading thousands of people across continents. But it wasn’t until I burned out, became a mother, and felt lost outside the corporate world that I realised leadership is more than strategy and targets — it’s connection, courage, and community. I founded GAIA to give women what I never had — a safe space to grow stronger, lead boldly, and rise together.
If I were to nominate anyone on this list it would be, and why:
Anyone who lifts others while climbing themselves. The ones who use their power to create space for others, not just fill it for themselves.
Some of the reasons I should not be on this list are:
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t always get it right. I’m still learning, growing, and figuring it out like everyone else. And I believe true leadership is about being honest about that.
My lowest point of my career was / the highest point of my career was:
My lowest was sitting in a hospital bed with pneumonia and postnatal depression, two weeks after giving birth, only to be told my role was changing — with no real support for what I’d just survived.
My highest was walking away from that same organisation, starting over, and building something that now supports women around the world to do leadership differently.
What I learned from either:
That your title and your pay cheque are meaningless if you lose yourself along the way. That real strength is knowing when to let go of something that looks successful on paper but doesn’t feel right in your heart.
If there’s one thing on my bucket list I want to do, it would be:
Bring GAIA to 100,000 women globally — creating a ripple effect of stronger leadership, better workplaces, and more equitable societies.
