IWD 2023 - Embed Celebrates the Guts, Grit & Glory of Women In Action

Overcoming Fear to Pursue Your Passions​

Renee Welsh, CEO of Embed 

There are many factors that contribute to a successful business: from turning your passion into an idea to creating a plan to build it from the ground up. It's a daunting task fraught with obstacles, risks, and challenges.

As a young entrepreneur, how do you channel your fears into purposeful action? Or how do you go about setting goals every day? 

Here to enlighten us on this topic is Renee Welsh, CEO of Embed, an integrated cloud-based business platform for the family entertainment space.

Named not only as one of the top 30 Australian Female Entrepreneurs in the Tourism Awards, Renee was also one of 10 Tech Innovators at Phocuswright in the U.S., amongst many accolades under her belt.  

With all the insights that you'll gain from this serial entrepreneur, find out how she lives by the mantra, "Great things never come from comfort zones," which resonates as her daily motivation. 

Channelling Your Inner Boss Babe

Sara Paz, CMO of Embed

Channelling your inner boss babe is about embracing your strengths, style, creativity, and everything that’s unique about you to create a life you love.

In this inspiring segment, Sara shares her core definition of “a boss babe” and the systems, habits, and the very ethos of how she channels that spirit into creating the life she wants and why that’s so important for all of us.

She lets us in on a day in her highly charged life: from how she starts her morning with an energising workout, her inclusion of superfoods in her diet, to the way she assembles her team for maximum productivity, we see how this amazing boss babe balances her work and life with the ultimate grit, grace, and style.  

Sara reminds us that “You have one life and life is what you make it; you get to choose to make it count. How will you make it count? If that sounds cliché or trite, then consider the following sobering question: if your life is your message, what will your message be?”

Navigating Stress Without Emotional Eating

Amanda Lim, Fitness & Nutrition Coach

Many of us turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or self-reward.

And when we do, we tend to reach for that pint of ice cream, a bag of potato chips, or that greasy burger we crave so much–usually after a stressful day at work.

In this segment, Coach Amanda Lim covers the three approaches she teaches her clients when they are triggered to eat emotionally, like curbing holiday cravings, staying on track with "tethering," and having the power to say, "Not today, Satan!"   

Hear it from this certified health coach, nutritionist, and mother and Founder of Lifting Women. With 17 years of experience, Amanda has transformed over 1000 individuals in weight loss, pre and postpartum fitness, nutritional planning, and behavioural change.  

Owning & Operating Your Own Business in a Male-Dominated Industry

Anja Manke, CEO & Co-founder, Planet Arcade

Even in our modern, progressive societies, women in male-dominated industries still face challenges such as lack of support and expression, the feeling of incompetence, and mistreatment.

This actually makes owning and operating your own business in a male-dominated industry even more empowering, as you will be able to set your own company culture, values, and standards as a boss. 

However, there are still challenges to be faced. That’s why we have Anja Manke, CEO and Co-founder of Planet Arcade in Germany to share with us her experiences as a successful business owner in the FEC industry.

In this segment, she emphasises the importance of having self-confidence and a strong will to show that you know what you are doing, and say what you have to–especially when your female voice gets drowned. 

Anja’s advice to young or aspiring entrepreneurs is: "Believe in yourself and your goals, and surround yourself with a good network of people with more experience in the business, especially when you are at the beginning of doing something new." 

The Post-COVID Workplace

Belinda Avery, Chief HR, Embed

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global workforce shed millions of people. And as offices everywhere shuttered, many others found themselves rapidly adjusting to working from home. For the first time, companies were in a situation that required them to seriously re-evaluate their approach to working spaces – physical and virtual.

In this segment, we hear how Belinda Avery, Head of HR at Embed, took on the challenge of empowering workers during this unprecedented time. As an expert in talent management, coaching, and organisational development, she has always understood that people are the backbone of any industry. 

Belinda walks us through Embed’s partnership with I Am Here, a programme that provides mental health and well-being resources for employees, many of whom needed support after months of isolation. Once people started returning to work, she wanted to ensure that the resources and insights gained during that period would not be lost.

After working remotely for such a long time, some people yearned to return to office, while others were intent on staying at home. Either way, Belinda realised that what employees were really asking for was flexibility. "Whether it’s through a fluidly designed workspace or flexible working hours, balance is essential for the functionality of any company," she says. This major shift in mindset might seem daunting, but really, you just need to listen to the workforce!

Discovering the Entrepreneur In You

Beth Standlee, CEO of TrainerTainment 
Author, People Buy From People | Party Professor, RePlay Magazine

Whether you are starting your own company or operating multiple organisations, there are certain skills and traits you need to become a successful entrepreneur. However, no entrepreneur is strictly “ALL BUSINESS”.

Hear it from Beth Standlee, CEO of TrainerTainment, and a true icon in the FEC space. Discover how this self-made boss trains and coaches owners, operators, and CEOs,  as well as transforms companies and teams with her business, books, articles, ThinkTank Thursdays, and keynotes.   

In this moving segment, you will find yourself laughing and crying at Beth’s heartwarming story–from making mistakes when setting up her company to getting her Mrs. degree and writing her book, “People Buy From People” which touches on saleswomanship and achieving financial freedom.

Her inspiring story encapsulates the fact that everything in life: personal to professional is intertwined and unpredictable. Find out how Beth manages to navigate through an unexpected personal loss during the pandemic, and how she’s using her years of experience in sales and leadership to work on her next book.

The Art of Leading Diverse Teams

Rupal Shah Hollenbeck, President, Check Point Software Technologies

If you are envisioning a global leadership role in your future, it is key to know how to create cultural competence and the ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from cultures and belief systems different from your own.

In this segment, Rupal Shah Hollenbeck, President of Check Point Software Technologies, speaks to Embed on the very day her promotion to President is announced. With 28-years of global leadership experience (working overseas) at high-tech juggernauts like Oracle and Intel, Rupal has mastered the art of leading diverse teams. In this segment Rupal talks about Check Point Software's perfect gender parity (with 50% females on the Exec Team, including the CTO), and her leadership principles for driving accelerated growth, the A & B team, the tools she uses and the gift of learning from mistakes. 

The Art of Living
Valerie Brandt, Interior & Jewellery Designer

What does it mean when we say the art of living well? Is it about having your life in balance? Or finding that beautiful place where all the elements of your life feel like they are in harmony with each other?

We might pour all our energy into work, but in doing so, we neglect our well-being, which often results in burnout. 

What are the ways of finding the right balance of work and passion projects, family and your own wellbeing? And how do we live a richer, more fulfilling life? 

Here with us to shed some light on the topic is interior and jewellery designer, Valerie Brandt.

In this segment, Valerie shares her experiences about the virtues of wearing opportunity goggles (how to see opportunities in front of you), how following your curiosity leads from one opportunity to another, and the power of word-of-mouth. 

She also expounds on the power of asking “Am I doing what I really want to do?” And reminds us to "be brave and just go for it, because life goes by so fast!”