Strategy Bites Anika Stokes

Leah Balter has most recently been the Chief Transformation Officer and CIO at Bunnings. Having worked her way up through McKinsey to Associate Principal level, Leah left McKinsey to pursue a career in Industry when she became pregnant.

 

Leah talks about her journey, being a mum of 4 whilst holding down a C-Suite role, and she gives her best advice to the community from whence she came on how to think about their careers in Strategy and beyond.

Olya Rudenko is currently the CEO of Cars24. Born and raised in Russia, she vowed to make a better life for herself in Australia.

Olya is a McKinsey Alumni with Private Equity background prior to joining Management Consulting and has now led teams in multiple tech firms across Australia. She talks about how to navigate your career should you want to go through the tech and startup space. 

Mailys Pauletto, ex Roland Berger consultant, has purposefully designed her current lifestyle and currently, she has a dual career.

Mailys is a contract or interim Strategy consultant which allows
her to also follow her passion as a holistic breathwork coach and yogi, running retreats and classes to teach others about her practice.

Mailys talks to me about the pros and cons of being a contract
management consultant vs having a corporate career or career in management consulting, as she has now experienced all three pathways.

 

Website (Mailys' events page)

https://www.mailyspauletto.com/

 

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/maypauletto/

 

Podcast:

https://www.oneyoufeed.net/connecting-to-what-matters/

Wendy is a Managing Director of Pollination and she was previously a Managing Director and Partner in BCG's Sydney office.  At BCG, Wendy worked in Financial Services & Insurance and also led BCG's Social Impact, Climate and Sustainability work in Australia and New Zealand. 

Wendy talks to me about working in ESG and what types of projects she was doing at BCG and now at Pollination. She has always been passionate about working on Social Impact, Climate and Sustainability projects and gives some great advice to other consultants wanting to focus their careers in this space.

Aliza Knox was the first Female partner at BCG in Asia and has been dubbed a “kick-ass woman slaying the world of tech”.

Aliza was also listed as a Top 100 Women in Tech (Singapore, 2021), has been named the IT Woman of the Year (Asia, 2020), honored as the AWA Singapore International Business Woman of the Year (2015), elected to Chief Executive Women (Australia, 2016) and featured in the book Women on Board—Making a Real Difference.

Aliza speaks to me about her amazing career journey from BCG to Tech and now to her roles on multiple boards. We talk about mentorship, women in leadership, having a career whilst having a family, and Aliza gives some amazing advice to other up and coming, driven consultants.

Aliza is also a best selling Author and her book “ Don’t quit your day job” was written as a way to mentor the masses.

 

Link to book : https://www.amazon.com.au/Dont-Quit-Your-Day-Job/dp/0730396592

Link to Aliza’s book recommendation : Radical Candor by Kim Scott https://www.amazon.com.au/Radical-Candor-Revised-Updated-Saying/dp/1529038340/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19E46FX6XOQP7&keywords=radical+candor+by+kim+scott&qid=1693784068&s=books&sprefix=radical+candor%2Cstripbooks%2C312&sr=1-1

I speak to Anna about her decision to leave Bain in order to found Start-up sensation Lyka, which has gone from strength to strength and is now a leading supplier of human grade pet food in Australia. We discuss the challenges of growing a business at speed and the highs and lows of being a start-up founder. This is a must listen to for any consultant who has an idea for a business but are yet to act on it.