Business & Entrepreneurship

A list of all the episodes you will find in the So This Is My Why podcast that features people with an entrepreneurial background, including show notes, links and other episodes that you might find interesting.

Chrissy Hill - General Counsel, Parity Technologies Web3; COO & GC at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change; Director, Compliance at Barclays Capital

Ep 109: From a £1.75 billion purchase of Lehman Brothers to Tony Blair & Web3 | Chrissy Hill (General Counsel, Parity Technologies)

Chrissy Hill is the General Counsel of Parity Technologies, the former COO & GC at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and former Director of Compliance at Barclays Capital, where she was involved in the £1.75 billion of Lehman Brother (US).

Ep 109: From a £1.75 billion purchase of Lehman Brothers to Tony Blair & Web3 | Chrissy Hill (General Counsel, Parity Technologies) Read More »

Michelle Toh - writer reporter CNN Fortune Magazine award-winning

Ep 107: The Story Behind the Story – How a CNN Reporter Built Her Career | Michelle Toh (Writer & Reporter, CNN)

Michelle Toh is an award-winning writer and reporter for CNN Business, based at the network’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. She covers business and tech across APAC, writing breaking news, features and analysis about companies, startups and banks in the region.

Ep 107: The Story Behind the Story – How a CNN Reporter Built Her Career | Michelle Toh (Writer & Reporter, CNN) Read More »

Xav Desmet - Head of Digital Natives, Startups and Unicorns for Asia at Zoom; former Strategic Account Director at Microsoft and co-founder of Some Sweet Moments in France

Ep 106: WTF? This is the best secret to unhappiness | Xav Desmet, Head of Digital Natives, Startups & Unicorns for Asia @ Zoom

Xav Desmet is the Head of Digital Natives, Startups and Unicorns for Asia at Zoom. Before that, Xav was a management consultant and startup founder in France then Australia.

Ep 106: WTF? This is the best secret to unhappiness | Xav Desmet, Head of Digital Natives, Startups & Unicorns for Asia @ Zoom Read More »

Nicole Levinson - Chief Marketing Officer of Audo, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and Partnerships for Playboy Club, New York; Vice President of Marketing, North America for LVMH

Ep 103: Building a Non-Linear Career Through Christie’s, Playboy, LVMH & Audo | Nicole Levinson (CMO, audo)

Nicole Levinson is the Chief Marketing Officer of Audo, the game changing career building destination powered by AI and gamification. She is on a mission to help change lives for today’s young adults by creating the clearest motivating path to upskill and reskill.

Nicole is globally-recognized for her marketing and communications expertise spanning over 20 years of building iconic brands with a focus on lifestyle, hospitality, beauty, fashion, spirits, arts and automotive. Nicole has led innovation and change for such iconic brands as Marriott, LVMH, BlackBerry, Mercedes Benz, Warner Bros., Diet Pepsi and Bacardi and brand work on Art Basel, Veuve Clicquot and various start-up businesses.

Her expertise in digital marketing, traditional event marketing and public relations combined with years as a COO, allow her to tap into data and operational values that tell stories, bind teams together, create cult product status and drive top line growth.

Nicole has served as the Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and Partnerships for Playboy Club, New York, which included the oversight of the relaunch and repositioning of The Playboy Club during one of the most complex moments of the 20th Century, Me Too movement. Nicole successfully pivoted the Club to represent “Entertainment for ALL” versus the heritage of “Entertainment for Men” through very targeted communications, partnerships, events, digital and social marketing. With the advent of technology 20 years ago, Nicole’s marketing approach has always been to seamlessly embrace technology to enhance the customer experience. She is the master of the creative tool box: Partnerships, Communications, Events and Influencer/Celebrity marketing.

She has also held senior roles leading marketing, strategy and events as Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and Partnerships for Cachet Hotels and Resorts, an Asian hospitality brand; Chief Operating Officer for Hospitality House; Senior Vice President Marketing and Business Development for Fitz & Co; Vice President of Marketing, North America for LVMH and; Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Harrison and Shriftman.

Nicole also has a specialty in arts and culture having run Marketing and Business Development for both Sotheby’s and Christies earlier in her career, bringing her deep relationships in the multi-million dollar art and auction communities which today are also focused on social impact.

Nicole is a frequently invited speaker and panelist on brand building and female empowerment topics in career, advancement and mentorship. Recent engagements include Brand Innovator at Pepsi HQ, Columbia Business School’s Women In Business and CMO Insider Summit in Naples, FL.

Ep 103: Building a Non-Linear Career Through Christie’s, Playboy, LVMH & Audo | Nicole Levinson (CMO, audo) Read More »

Francine Ballard - BFF founding member, founder of Metagolden Web3 phygital luxury high fashion

Ep 98: From Devil Wears Prada to Web3 High Fashion?! | Francine Ballard (Founder, Metagolden)

Francine Ballard is the Houston-based founder of Metagolden, a modern brand for a modern consumer who values physical and digital status equally. A web3 emporium showcasing the finest phygital (physical and digital assets sold together) collectibles by way of collaborations between luxury labels, artists and digital influencers/creators.

Ballard worked in fashion publishing for many years at Time Inc (InStyle), Conde Nast (Lucky magazine) and most recently as style editor at PaperCity magazine working with fashion and jewelry brands Hermès, Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier among others before transitioning to the technology space.

An avid crypto investor, in 2021 she entered the blockchain space with a line of fine, 18k gold jewelry tied to NFTs. Since then, the company has expanded via partnerships with THEORY, Kwiat Diamonds, Decentraland, Moda Operandi and Fred Segal, successful NFT projects with artists Ashley Longshore, Jonathan Seliger and editorial features in ELLE and Architectural Digest.

Her next collection- HW3 (House of Web3) will be a community-owned, operated and financed fashion house with the best and brightest from both worlds (Web3 and IRL) rooted in forward thinking operatives of ideation, collaboration and innovation. As one of the first female-led blockchain brands and a founding member of the BFF, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Paris Hilton and founders Brit Morin and Jaime Schmidt, Ballard has become a web3 thought leader and expert, paving the way for women and female-led projects in the space.

Ep 98: From Devil Wears Prada to Web3 High Fashion?! | Francine Ballard (Founder, Metagolden) Read More »

Jeremy Au Chief of Staff, Head of Strategic Projects at Monk's Hill Ventures Singapore, startup founder, podcaster at BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

Ep 97: From Vaccine Research to Head of Strategic Projects in Asia | Jeremy Au (Chief of Staff & Head of Strategic Projects, Monk’s Hill Ventures + Podcaster, BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast)

Jeremy Au is the Head of Strategic Projects & Chief of Staff at Monk’s Hill Ventures and podcast at the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast.

Ep 97: From Vaccine Research to Head of Strategic Projects in Asia | Jeremy Au (Chief of Staff & Head of Strategic Projects, Monk’s Hill Ventures + Podcaster, BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast) Read More »