The Dangerous Women Podcast

Sophy Norris

Our podcast claims the “Dangerous Woman” mantle, one incredible, dangerous woman at a time! The Dangerous Women Collective™ is a community of professional women where achievement is celebrated, mutual support is unquestioned, and women’s contribution to economic, social, and technical progress is championed. The Dangerous Women Collective™ podcast is the public voice of our community. It’s a forum to hold in-depth conversations with brilliant women who have a strong story to share about how they have navigated the world of work and life and what we can do together to lift one another up. And Dangerous Women know as well as anyone that we live in an increasingly fractured and targeted world, and how important it is to protect ourselves on and offline. That’s why we are honoured to announce ESET as our new sponsor. As one of the world’s leading cybersecurity brands and Europe’s top vendor, trusted by over half a million businesses worldwide, we know we are in safe hands! We will be...

  1. 16m ago

    Series 5, Episode 7 - "Positive Deviant." Sophy Norris in conversation with Nonie White, Positive Psychology Practicioner

    In this Episode, we are channelling positivity, something we could all do with in such a chaotic world.   Nonie White, former documentary Director, turned Founder, turned ICF ACC Executive Coach and accredited Positive Psychology Practitioner. She is a BAFTA-nominated storyteller who works with the science of flourishing to help ambitious entrepreneurs step into their next level of leadership and impact. Her clients are award-winning founders scaling service, tech, and product-based businesses. And Nonie helps ambitious - dangerous women - lead powerfully, calmly, and sustainably by building unshakeable performance, confidence and leadership from who they are at their best.  She has co-authored the Forbes-featured report, The True Cost of Female Entrepreneurship, the result of interviews with hundreds of women, and that showcases patterns that lead to burnout or breakthrough. What separates those who thrive is not more strategy. It is deeper self-knowledge and stronger internal foundations.   In this podcast our host Sophy speaks to Nonie about what drives her, how positive psychology has helped her, and how this evidence-based practice helps the leaders she coaches. They discuss some of the biggest issues facing entrepreneurial women as we ride this period of immense business transition, including: Getting to know ourselves better and how that shapes our lives and taking the appropriate action.Understanding what makes us thrive. Radically putting ourselves as the centre of our own livesIf psychology is getting us to 0% (even) then positive psychology is getting us to +5%Understanding who we are at our best and not performing a version of ourselves.Just knowing our character strengths means we perform 9% better, and if act on then we can perform 18% better.Entrepreneurship is one of the most challenging things we can do, and when we are women, which comes with a new set of challenges.It is important to experience joy at work, and to know we do not have to be our thoughts. Successful female entrepreneurs rewrite the rules and do things differently. They flourish despite the challenges, and they get better results. These are the Positive Deviants. And there is an emerging blueprint to do things differently (The True Cost of Female Entrepreneurship is linked below) Links: Nonie White LinkedInSophy Norris LinkedInThe Alligator Pi Agency LinkedInNonie's Website Nonie's Leadership TestVIA Institute Character StrengthsThe True Cost of Female Entrepreneurship Martin SeligmanBarbara FredricksonEmmie Faust LinkedIn

    1h 6m
  2. May 13

    Series 5, Episode 6 - "Human Flirtations". Sophy Norris in conversation with Monica Chadha, Strategic Advisor, Board Member, Coach, Speaker

    In this Episode, Sophy talks to a woman who defines the meaning of a portfolio career, a carefully crafted series of roles and services that enable her to share her expertise, support and lift those she works with and lean into the industries she is passionate about. Monica Chadha's story is one of grabbing opportunities, following instincts, harnessing mentorship and sometimes stepping into the unknown. This is a woman who knows her value and shares it. Today, she is the Chair of a PwC Advisory Board; sits on the Advisory Board for the 30% Club, a Non-Executive Director of the British Film Institute; and a Senior Advisor to Digital Entertainment Group International (DEGI); British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE); and the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC). She is a member of the British Screen Forum and a voting member of BAFTA.  Of course, she didn’t begin with such an illustrious portfolio, but she did start making waves early on.  She started her career at Technicolor Distribution in supply chain management and was appointed to the Board of the British Video Association aged 24. She became Production Director of Prism Leisure Corporation PLC aged 25. Since then, she has held several roles including CEO of MyMovies.Net; Non-Executive Director of Obviously Creative; Chair of the British Independent Film Awards Advisory Board; a member of the BAFTA Digital Communications Board; Advisor to Marlow Film Studios; a member of the Bias in AI Research Group at Durham University; and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for AI; and Vice Chair of Queen Mary University of London. Monica is a faculty member of the Financial Times Board Director Programme and a confidential thinking partner and coach for senior executives. In 2019, she was named as one of the top 50 Women to Watch in the UK Female FTSE Board Report.  It's an impressive list, daunting even.  But, as you will hear as you listen to this podcast, Monica is anything but daunting. She is fun, mischievous, insightful and generous.  She shares her experiences and wisdom widely, and there is much to learn from her discussions with Sophy.   Just some of the MANY takeaways include: Managing success at a young age, and how people respond to that success, "the most important relationship is the one with yourself."  The importance of turning confrontations into conversations.  Understanding that what is dangerous for some feels safe for others.  Knowing what your values are early on and being able to articulate them.  The crucial power of relationships, of holding on to them, and letting go of them and the absolute importance of egalitarianism (aka human flirtations). You are the CEO of your own career. Curate your own personal boardroom of advisors, and know the expanse of your network, and who to tap into for different scenarios and advice.  Remembering that leadership needs a phenomenal network.  Hope is harvesting opportunities and seeing possibilities everywhere.  Sometimes we have to manage the difficult stuff, so understanding how is key.  Why humour is a superpower.  Always be careful what you say yes to and remember to think about what you want your exit to look like. Progress is a series of tiny wins built on years of experience. Remember that!  LINKS: Monica Chadha LinkedIn Sophy Norris LinkedIn The Dangerous Women Collective LinkedIn The Alligator Pi Agency LinkedIn

    58 min
  3. Apr 29

    Series 5, Episode 5 - "The Motherhood Penalty". Sophy Norris in conversation with Maike Currie, VP of Personal Finance at PensionBee, Author and Award-Winning Financial Commentator

    In this episode we are talking money, or at least how we, as women, need to become more financially literate and future-focused. We are, as we all know, living longer, sometimes much longer, lives. I suspect many of us are preparing for financial security until we are 85, but the truth is, many of us will live well past that. What happens then? These are the sort of questions the smarter amongst us are preparing for now. Which is why our host Sophy Norris is speaking to an expert on personal finance, and pensions in particular, and someone who happens to be pretty dangerous! Maike Currie is an author, award-winning financial commentator, and advocate for improving women’s financial resilience. With more than two decades of experience in markets, money, investments, and pensions, she has held senior roles across the investment industry. She is a familiar voice in the media, regularly appearing on TV, radio and in national newspapers to explain what’s happening in the economy - and what it means for your money.  In particular, Maike specialises in helping women take control of their financial futures, with a particular focus on pensions, investing and closing the gender wealth gap. She is also a working mother with two children, an expat living far from home and like so many of us, juggles work and life!  Sophy and Maike discuss all of this and more in an educational episode.   Just some of the areas they cover include:  The importance of women taking control of their own finances; it empowers us and enables us to make our own choices  Women can create wealth; we just need to get comfortable talking about it , especially as we live longer! Investment has been, and still is, male-dominated - there is no female Warren Buffett  The Gender Pay Gap remains at 18%, while the Gender Pension Gap is 37%. On average, women have £100,000 less in their pension pots than men.  And this is thanks to the career breaks women find they have to take How genders think about wealth differs: women think about what they have to share, whereas men think about how it defines them  The insidious nature of the "pink tax"  Women are far more likely to inherit 2x, once from parents and once from partners, so it is to our advantage to take control, even when it means moving outside our comfort zone, or into what can feel awkward  The power of global citizenship, and the broader perspective it gives us  Financial education and literacy should start as early as 7, once a child knows they can spend, and must be baked into school  Links: Maike Currie LinkedIn PensionBee UK Sophy Norris LinkedIn The Alligator Pi Agency LinkedIn Romi Savova LinkedIn The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel Untamed by Glennon Doyle

    58 min
  4. Apr 15

    Series 5, Episode 4 - "Curiosity, Reflection and Kindness." Sophy Norris in conversation with Birthe Mester, Organisational Culture Expert and Founder of Culture Dividend

    In this week's Episode, our host Sophy Norris speaks to Birthe Mester, board advisor and award-winning organisational development and culture change expert. She is also a thought leader, facilitator, conference speaker, accredited mediator and coach with a 30-year cross sector track record and deep expertise in transforming performance, engagement and culture of complex global organisations. As with so many dangerous women, Birthe’s career has been expansive. Before launching her current business Culture Dividend, she was a Senior leader at Deutsche Bank for 15 years, working closely with the board and leadership team on the employee effectiveness agenda. Responsible for embedding significant enterprise wide behavioural and culture change in a sustainable manner and in line with strategic and commercial objectives as well as corporate values. We have talked on this podcast before about riding the transformation wave, and how exhausting battling every wave can be, finding a way to skim across the crests seems to be the trick, Culture change is part of our everyday lives now, whether it is complex, matrixed, enterprise organisations, or the solo worker finding a fresh path and everything in between, and Birthe and Sophy explore this across their conversation. In this Episode we cover:  How dangerousness in the eye of the beholder Not pleasing everyone all the time, the power of difficult questions and the importance of inconvenient truths  Knowledge is power, but so is experience  Why businesses, like leopards, don't change their spots; the DNA is always there. But it is possible to adapt DNA to modern thinking  Meeting people where they are; listen; channel everyday behaviours to push change  If you want to survive as an organisation, diversity of thought is key  Culture is linked to performance, and performance is critical  Businesses that engender trust have more accountable and more collaborative employees Increading the size of the pie is more important than increasing the slice  Think penguins and flamingos - corporate change is not one size fits all  Links:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/birthemester/ culture-dividend.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophy-norris/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-alligator-pi-agency/ Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kayhneman Brian Eno - Oblique Strategies

    1h 7m
  5. Mar 25

    Series 5, Episode 3 - "Early, Ugly and Often". Sophy Norris in conversation with Sarah Thomas PhD, Group CMO and EVP Capgemini

    This week's guest is Sarah Thomas PhD, Chief Marketing Officer and EVP of Consultancy giant Capgemini. Sarah is an experienced B2B marketing and communications leader with a passion for innovation, creativity, and technology. She has spent her marketing career in global roles within the business services and technology sector.  Before her role at Capgemini, Sarah led the Brand-led Employee Experience practice for award-winning brand consulting, design and experience agency, Landor and spent a significant part of her career at Accenture, where she held senior Marketing and Communications leadership roles, including Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for the Accenture Operations business. Sarah has a scientific background, gaining a PhD in molecular biology at Warwick Uni, becoming a virologist, and specialising in the HIV virus in the 90s, at the height of the epidemic, and fear. It is unsurprising that Sarah is a passionate advocate for STEM education for girls and is a champion for growing the next generation of innovators. In this episode, we cover what it means to become and be a leader, and how to craft our own careers.  Areas we discuss include:  The importance of leaving every door open as we work our way up our careers Perusing our passions and leaning into intuition to discover what is right for us  Proactively running towards something, instead of running away  Why speed is as vital as perfection, "good enough" is so important  Don't be all things to all people Learning by doing and curating mentorships Being curious, rolling our sleeves up, owning our careers  Support  bold decision-making and always have your team's back  Why a low boredom threshold is a good thing  Telling people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear  Why hiring for mindset is important, and defines an ambitious career Why it's so important to be inspired, and the flywheel of work and hobbies Work should be fun The power of cheerleading Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsarahthomas/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophy-norris/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/capgemini/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-alligator-pi-agency https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryambanikarim/  TED Talk - Life's an obstacle course - here's how to navigate it https://www.themessypartspodcast.com/ Instagram - @nickd_rebelcoach

    1h 4m
  6. Series 5, Episode 2 - "Unconventionality." Sophy Norris in conversation with Michelle McCann PhD. Senior Advisor, CMO, Author and visiting scholar at Queen's University Belfast.

    Mar 11

    Series 5, Episode 2 - "Unconventionality." Sophy Norris in conversation with Michelle McCann PhD. Senior Advisor, CMO, Author and visiting scholar at Queen's University Belfast.

    In our latest Episode, Sophy Norris interviews a dangerous woman who has done that most dangerous of things; she has followed the opportunities.  So much so that she now has a dual career as a marketer and a published historian.   Michelle McCann PHD has an Irish/American heritage and has lived in the UK for over thirty years. She has created a dual portfolio: on the one hand, a senior advisor and CMO; on the other, a passionate academic and visiting scholar at Queen's University Belfast.  From a marketing point of view, Michelle is a B2B Marketing/Propolis Expert and Senior Advisor at M&A advisory company Collingwood. She specialises in delivering innovative and tailored GTM solutions to founder-led and PE-backed companies with ambitious growth targets and focuses on driving value by building award-winning, high-performing teams. She has worked for enterprise businesses in the US, Ireland, and the UK. Michelle is also an accomplished professional historian and published author, specialising in nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish social and political history, with expertise in topics ranging from death investigation and the Great Famine to gender studies and the Irish Civil War. As an enthusiastic speaker, she shares her knowledge on diverse subjects, including administrative history, art history, innovation, and Irish estate life and management. Her published works, Melancholy Madness, published in 2003 and The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78, released in 2023, unite Michelle’s passion for Irish social history, rigorous research, and storytelling. In this Episode Sophy and Michelle discuss how to take the road less travelled, crafting a career that works for each of us individually, and the power of being unconventional.  Amongst other things, they discuss: The importance of chosing place, where is right for us personally?  How following your passion should mean making the right choices Starting over and reinvention Finding our tribes The well-being a hybrid/dual career can bring  Spending time outside work differently How not to say in our lanes  Why telling the truth is the hallmark of a dangerous woman Seeing it through to the end:  "I can do this. I have got to make this work"  The skill of getting agreement and buy-in Living in an ageist world  Trying everything and doing it for the joy  Remembering that underneath it all, we are all just naked humans  Taking the gang on your journey  Why being a contrarian is so important    Links and References Michelle McCann LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mimccann/ Sophy Norris LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophy-norris/ The Alligator Pi Agency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-alligator-pi-agency/ Collingwood LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/collingwood-advisory-ltd/ Melancholy Madness (A Coroners Casebook) by Michelle McCann: https://bit.ly/3MUR40B The Irish Coroner: Death, Murder and Politics in Co. Monaghan by Michelle McCann  https://bit.ly/40RqzfE  The Rest Is Entertainment: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRestIsEntertainment Olwen Perdue, Queen's University Belfast: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/olwen-purdue/

    1h 5m
  7. SERIES 5 LAUNCH.  ”Dumbo’s Feather.”  Sophy Norris in coversation with Alev Scott, journalist and author of Cash Cow

    Feb 25

    SERIES 5 LAUNCH. ”Dumbo’s Feather.” Sophy Norris in coversation with Alev Scott, journalist and author of Cash Cow

    Welcome to Episode One of Series Five; you are listening to The Dangerous Women Collective, hosted by Sophy Norris. The launch guest of this Series is the mightyvAlev Scott, a writer whose journalism has graced The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian, and New Statesman. Following her Turkish heritage, Alev became a journalist in Istanbul, where she covered politics and cultural change, which culminated in a ban from Turkey in 2017. After this seismic change, Alev found a new life in marriage and motherhood, but the call of investigative reporting never left her. An abundance of breast milk was the initial inspiration for her latest book Cash Cow. In Cash Cow, published 26 February 2026, Alev lifts the lid on the booming global fertility market—egg freezing, surrogacy, breastmilk—and the complex web of profits, ethics, and human stories behind it. Her reporting blends undercover work with first‑hand accounts, bringing us close to a surrogate of twelve children, an international embryo courier, and the people who profit—and pay the price—from this industry. Alev and Sophy explore what it takes to tell these stories with honesty, courage, and nuance, and what motherhood, career, and risk Alev must navigate in the pursuit of truth. Highlights include: The bravery and naivety of youth when it comes to breaking barriers and exploring new territory Responding to shock, managing a shift in energy and a change in purpose Being dangerous, even if unknowingly and how those feelings manifest The complexity of motherhood, and letting (or not wanting to let) our children follow in our own footsteps The struggles and benefits of pivoting in life and the importance of curiosity The importance of balance in keeping an open mind, and why starting conversations is key Using femininity to our advantage Dumbo's Feather Lifting the lid on an industry we know, but don't know, exists The uncomfortable reality of market forces defining female fertility The uncomfortable sexualisation of fertility Ottoman Odyssey - Amazon Cash Cow - Amazon The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn LinkedIn - Sophy Norris Alev Scott

    1 hr
  8. SERIES FINALE ”Say Yes Before You Can Say No.” Sophy Norris in conversation with Emma McClarkin, OBE.  CEO of the British Beer & Pub Associaiton

    Feb 4

    SERIES FINALE ”Say Yes Before You Can Say No.” Sophy Norris in conversation with Emma McClarkin, OBE. CEO of the British Beer & Pub Associaiton

    In the Series 4 Finale, Sophy Norris speaks to a true trailblazer, a woman unafraid to work in the worlds seen as typically male: politics, rugby and the great British pub. Emma McClarkin is the current Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BPPA), a role she has had since 2019. A passionate beer and pub lover, Emma is the voice for the beer and pub sector, leading them through the pandemic and interfacing with Government and stakeholders to secure vital grant support and economic stimulus to aid the Sector's recovery. Before joining the BBPA, Emma served as a Member of the European Parliament for 10 years and as a true beer lover, she also served as Vice President of the European Parliament Beer Club. Before that, she was the Government Relations Executive for the RFU. Outside of work, Emma is a big fan of music and sport, closely following rugby, football, and cricket – as well as watching them in her local pub! In this Episode, Sophy and Emma discuss: The importance of grabbing the opportunities in front of you and being open to them at all times Why the pub is the nation's living room, a national treasure. 80% of Brits see it as their sanctuary, and it needs preserving Why leaders are natural risk takers The power women have as natural communicators That boards are made better when there is strong female representation, and why investing in women is good for business Why being Queen Bee is not how you advance as a woman, rather it is important to create pathways for those travelling with you Hospitality needs to be showcased as a brilliant career option, and more women are needed at the C-suite level How important it is to listen to our gut and follow our instincts Our only competition should be with the best version of ourselves Dressing for success and empowering ourselves Managing grief at work and being open to help Why we need quality in politics to move beyond the Punch and Judy Show of today The Rest Is Entertainment | The Rest Is Entertainment BBPA Academy | BBPA Stroud Brewery The Fresh Standard Brew Co – Beers from The Five Valleys Open to all 2025 | BBPA Long Live the Local | BBPA Home | BBPA LinkedIn - Emma McClarkin The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn LinkedIn - Sophy Norris

    58 min

About

Our podcast claims the “Dangerous Woman” mantle, one incredible, dangerous woman at a time! The Dangerous Women Collective™ is a community of professional women where achievement is celebrated, mutual support is unquestioned, and women’s contribution to economic, social, and technical progress is championed. The Dangerous Women Collective™ podcast is the public voice of our community. It’s a forum to hold in-depth conversations with brilliant women who have a strong story to share about how they have navigated the world of work and life and what we can do together to lift one another up. And Dangerous Women know as well as anyone that we live in an increasingly fractured and targeted world, and how important it is to protect ourselves on and offline. That’s why we are honoured to announce ESET as our new sponsor. As one of the world’s leading cybersecurity brands and Europe’s top vendor, trusted by over half a million businesses worldwide, we know we are in safe hands! We will be...