In this latest episode, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with Johanna “Jo” Korhonen. Jo’s one of those people who shows up exactly as she is — loud, funny, open-hearted — and that’s what makes this conversation so special.
We talked about her winding path from wanting to be a history teacher, to falling (a little by accident) into telesales, and then building a career in global tech sales. Jo shares why she loves the rollercoaster of sales, the thrill of the chase, and that magic moment when you stop being “the pushy rep” and become a trusted partner.
What I love most about Jo is her honesty — about the highs, the lows, and what it really means to be a woman leading in sales. She’s passionate about opening doors for more women to step into this world, and she leaves us with one of her favorite reminders: “you can always re-choose your choice.”
We hope you enjoy the chat as much as we did!
Johanna Korhonen is currently Chief Sales Officer at Dear Lucy On her awesome LinkedIn Profile, she says:
Hi my name is Johanna but since you’re here, you might as well call me Jo 👋
As a stellar sales leader I’ve been turning "no" into "not yet" for ten years.
I’ve been leading and scaling teams of international software sales professionals in Helsinki and Dublin. Data-driven growth is the name of my game and fine-tuning sales analytics my forte.
In a nutshell: I eat numbers for lunch, brunch and dinner.
When I’m not breaking records and making quotas, you’ll find me doing yoga, meditating, training my dog, scrolling memes, drinking gin, and taking care of my carefully curated collection of dresses. 👗
If any of the above is of interest to you, feel free to connect with me. Don’t be shy, I know I won’t be.
You can connect with Jo on LinkedIn here
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, run, sauna and cold dip, walk along her local beach, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Upon realising it's been 15 years since I started in the IT industry, I've done a lot of reflecting lately- and naturally, this led to an idea for a brief solo episode
In this episode, I share the winding path that led me from music teaching into my first tech sales role. What began with countless interviews, rejection, and self-doubt became a story of resilience, opportunity, and alignment- one of my biggest life lessons to date.
You’ll hear:
How a background in music shaped my confidence and drive.
The setbacks and lessons that came with early interview rejections.
Why resilience and persistence are often the real differentiators in a career pivot.
The moment clicked — it alland how “lucky number eight” changed my life.
Why not being everyone’s cup of tea is more than okay.
It's my hope that someone out there is going through a job search or career pivot journey, hears this and knows that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There certainly was for me.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
EPISODE 19!
I finally had the pleasure of sitting down with Dani Burns for our 19th episode of Holding Space for Unicorns.
Dani a product and business leader with a passion for building thoughtful products, high performing teams, and mentoring others.
During our chat, we touched on the following topics:
A career doesn't have to have a linear path to be great – From welding to product leadership, Dani’s journey has been all about following her curiosity.
Passion is a compass – Let what excites you guide your next step. For Dani, that meant pivoting from M&A to product strategy.
Mentorship matters – Be brave enough to ask. People are often more than willing to share their time and wisdom.
Unmask to lead – Dani shares how shedding corporate armour helped her lead with authenticity, empathy, and strength.
Redefining success – She doesn’t aim to be “special” — just real. Her philopsophy- If she can do it, others can too.
Dani is currently Head of Product at Uptick and you can connect with her on Linkedin here
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Today’s guest is no stranger to transformation and impact. With a career spanning over 18 years, Pamela Moodley is a seasoned data and information management consultant who’s helped some of the world’s biggest names — BHP, IBM, Deloitte — harness the power of data across industries.
Currently serving as Data Director at Slalom, Pam leads the Data Strategy & Intelligence capability, helping organizations turn vision into action, and data into clarity. Pam brings not just technical expertise, but also a talent for collaboration, change leadership, and a genuine passion for using data and AI to drive smarter decisions.
And when she’s not shaping data strategies, she’s just as dedicated at home — as a proud mother of two young boys and wife to Nimit.
I met Pam at a recent @Her Tech Circle event and I'm so thrilled she said yes to being a part of this! We hope you enjoy the chat.
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
It feels about the right time for another solo episode- but the right time to share about something that is very raw and close to my heart. I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 39. I prefer to call myself a Sparklebrain.. i know my brain is wired a bit differently to others, and have learned that this is so, so fine.
I wanted to share an honest account of my diagnosis, what I was like as a kid, and the a-ha moment that changed it all. And how I navigate working life and mum life.
I share this because I always wanted to and have always been encouraged to- and felt a sudden burst of energy this morning to record this short episode.
I share because I know there are people out there like me who have wondered sometimes why they are, the way they are. And how they can embark on a journey to be the best version of themselves. So if this is you- I'm sending you a big hug.
I would love to chat with anyone who has questions, or just wants to connect over their experiences!
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach, and head to theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Our final guest for 2024, Caity Randall, is a voice that we must hear more of. There hasn't been a time that I've spoken with a guest on this podcast where I've had goosebumps from something powerful that they shared... but Caity brings many of these moments to the conversation.
During this special episode, we discuss:
Caity's experience in running her own business to challenge traditional practices and drive social impact
The challenges of a late ADHD diagnosis and turning it into a strength
The importance of promoting awareness on topics like online safety and sextortion
(Caity has written an amazing book for young people on this topic- link in Caity's bio!)
Challenging stereotypes and advocating for diversity and visibility.
I know I say this a lot- but this is a very special episode, and one I am incredibly proud of. We hope you enjoy and can take something away from listening to our chat.
About Caity Randall
Caity Randall is the founder of Sustainabil.IT and the charitable initiative 'Technology Taking Action'. As the senior fellow with the CSFI (Cyber Warfare Collaborator) for the ANZ region, she has built a reputation as a visionary in cybersecurity, IT consulting, and social procurement. With expertise in utilising a threat informed defence approach to cyber security strategies, she is heavily involved in the cyber threat intelligence world.
Beyond her business achievements, Caity is passionate about leaving a positive legacy through community outreach and educational initiatives. She has authored The Shadow World, a bestselling children’s book on digital awareness and cyber security, underlining her dedication to education and outreach.
Driven by a strong belief in giving back to the community, Caity ensures her business practices incorporate social returns on investments, holding organisations accountable for their CSR commitments in ways that benefit all stakeholders.
You can connect with Caity here on Linkedin
You can learn more about Caity's book The Shadow World, here
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 14 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, write, sing, walk along her local bea, dance, and chat
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Joining me for this episode is the magnificent Bree Barsanti.
Bree is an incredible human being. A mother, daughter, sister, friend and currently, a Senior Solutions Consultant at Nintex.
Bree has had a number of career transitions over the years, from being an opera singer (something very dear to my heart), to being a project manager, sales rep and business owner. Her interest lies in continuous improvement and helping organisations to succeed and be empowered.
During our chat, we discuss:
* How her determination to solve problems led her into tech, where she took on major responsibilities, like transforming a business with cloud solutions.
*The importance of continuous improvment in both work and personal life
*Her desire for the future of tech to improve work/life balance, reducing time managing data so people can spend more time doing things they love.
Bree brings so much passion and conviction to this conversation and I'm so excited for the world to hear her voice!
About Bree Barsanti
From Bree, "I love tech and the freedom it provides for real work life balance! I’m lucky to do what I do to make this achievable for businesses and the people behind them"
Bree is a continuous improvement and process expert, a leader and a change maker.
You can connect with Bree on Linkedin
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 14 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, write, sing, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
In this episode, I sit down with Payal Tiwari- a tech executive, board member and advocate for family violence initiatives. Payal is wise, generous and ambitious- and I know that her story will inspire others.
We discuss:
I was so honoured to have Payal as a guest on the podcast, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.
About Payal Tiwari
Payal has over 15 years of experience in management consulting, customer success, IT strategy, account management, and transformation, working with leading organisations (Wipro, Pegasystems, Deloitte, Citrix, EY and Accenture) across various sectors and geographies. Currently, she is at MUFG as their Client Technology Partner.
Payal also leverages her professional skills and passion for women and children-focused causes to advise various boards and agencies on family violence prevention and reforms. Currently serving as a Board Director at Refuge Victoria and a Strategic Advisor at other Family Violence Agencies, her role is to shape initiatives and strategies for combating family violence with a focus on multicultural communities. With over three and a half years dedicated to advocacy and reform in this sector, her expertise lies in delivering tailored support services and guiding Family Violence delivery models for Prevention, Crisis and recovery.
Her mission is to make an impact that matters and inspire others to do the same.
You can connect with Payal on Linkedin
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 14 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
This is short little episode where I get a little vulnerable- but I know this is where the magic is.
In this solo episode, I share a a few reflections on the benefits of a recent career break, and what I learned in my sales career about literally taking a pause.
It's been a little while since my last episode, but I'm back and can't wait to introduce some inspiring women to you.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia.
Her tech career spans 14 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Coming to you today with a different kind of episode, a collaboration with another kick arse woman in technology, Hannah Young- who also recently started her own podcast called POV: You’re in Tech
Starting out in the world of technology as a marketing coordinator, Hannah made the switch to sales when working for a small tech startup, despite saying she’d never work in sales! And she hasn’t looked back since. Starting out as an AE, before moving into an outbound BDR role at Aircall, she has spent time generating leads and pipeline, and then managing the sales cycle from beginning to end during her time at Liven.
Han is an ambassador for Earlywork, an Australian startup helping individuals prepare for jobs in the world of tech- and freelances helping organisations and individuals with powerful visual decks.
So excited to get cracking with this latest episode- we hope you enjoy!
You can connect with Han on LinkedIn, and I've also included a link to her fabulous podcast in the notes above.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and a sales professional, who is about to begin a new chapter in her sales career (all to be revealed after Easter!). Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
When I started at Supermetrics, I was fortunate to spend 4 days of 1:1 time with Noora in Melbourne, which was one of the highlights of my career in recent memory. Noora, along with being an incredible sales leader, is the most successful salesperson that Supermetrics has ever had to date. From putting herself forward for a role that there wasn’t headcount for just yet, to spending hours on end practicing her English, Noora’s tenacity and her ambition are just some of the qualities that so many admire about her.
During our chat, we cover the following topics (and much more!)
*The power of manifestation, goals and changing your mindset
*How the small things in life are actually the big things, and bringing appreciation into every day
*That persistence, hard work and resilience are the perfect combination to achieve your goals.
I’m thrilled to welcome one of my role models, Noora Laitinen, to the conversation!
About Noora Laitinen
Originally from Finland, she’s been calling Singapore home for the past 1.5 years- she moved there with her dog, to set up the JAPAC Sales team for the Finnish Martech Company, Supermetrics. She is currently Senior Sales Manager for the JAPAC region.
During her 5 year tenure, the business has grown from 7M ARR to almost 60M ARR and the sales team has grown from 5 people to 120 people. It has enabled amazing career growth opportunities as well as tons of valuable learnings for her.
She love building things from scratch - you get to be creative and bold, and the progress is clear to see and measure...and you will never have a quiet or boring day.
Connect with Noora on LinkedIn
An insightful interview with Noora with the APAC Women in Tech Sales initiative run by Salient Group.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and a sales professional. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Ten episodes already! Not sure how that happened, but I have loved every minute of putting this podcast together.
And I’m doing something a little different to kick off the new year and to stay true to the purpose of this podcast. I want to use this podcast as a platform for kick-arse women in technology to share their triumphs and challenges, their career journeys, their words of wisdom and what truly inspires them in work and life. But I also feel inspired at times to use my voice in the hope that it might be able to spark a little flame inside someone else, or support them in their own journey.
This week’s episode is a mini one, and the topic is something that’s very close to my heart. A reflection on the lessons I’ve learned, and will be taking with me into 2024, as a working mother. It’s not a conversation this week, but a solo episode (getting me a little out of my comfort zone! I’m here for it!)
Whilst sharing of my personal experience is largely focused on my profession, it’s not unique to technology sales whatsoever.
I share in the hope that even one person will feel seen, and confident to take some different approaches in the new year as a working parent, or indeed when they return to work from parental leave.
Did this resonate? Would you like to hear more solo episodes on different topics in the future. All feedback is welcome!
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and a sales professional. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Happy New Year! Can you feel the energy shift? I am personally really excited for 2024. And I'm thrilled to kick off the year with a very special guest on the podcast, the incredible Heather Bell.
This is a really special episode. A former VP of sales, Heather is a sales coach, mentor, and facilitator of the Top Software Sales Performer Program for Women. Her specialisation is working with women in sales roles who may have significant financial goals , but may need support with confidence, or an area of their sales skill, in order to get there.
During the conversation, we discuss-
*Why introverts and specifically, female introverts, are the best sellers.
*How a layoff can actually be a gift, propelling you into fulfilling your true purposes and a journey in entrepreneurship.
*A 2024 Prediction- LinkedIn and Social Selling will be crucial to the success of sellers. No more “spray and pray” emails! Look out world! And- you don’t have to have 10,000 followers or post daily to see results. Just take that first step!
*The impact of creating community on the success of women. And how this is crucial to Heather’s coaching program and
*The importance of being yourself and removing that tough exterior. We are not machines, it’s ok to be an emotional person, it’s part of being human.
And that's the half of it!
I'm so grateful to Heather for her contribution and we hope you enjoy our chat on the first episode for 2024 of "Holding Space for Unicorns"
About Heather Bell
A sales professional of 25+ years in the industry, Heather worked her way up to be a VP of Sales and Channel Sales for large companies.
Along the way, Heather made President's Club every year it was available to her, sold into every single market globally, and had multi-6 figures and 7-figure earning years.
Despite this crazy success, she struggled with confidence and self-esteem as a seller, mental health issues, alcoholism, and questioning her ability in sales.
She never felt like she had a system she could rely on so she always worried she just "got lucky".
She finally figured it out and developed a system to work on her craft as a seller while making sure she hit her personal goals EVERY YEAR - all while getting her life and mental health back.
Her mission is to help other women get to their personal income goals so they can live a life that makes them happy and give themselves choices outside of sales.
She wants to use her passion and energy to help women hit not just their quota, but their dream income to help them learn to feel confident in their craft and to build an income that lets them make choices around being happy instead of being stressed out.
Connect with Heather on Linkedin and view her website at https://thisisheatherbell.com/
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and a sales professional. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
On the latest episode of Holding Space for Unicorns, I have the great pleasure in chatting with Lisa Collins. Lisa is such a wonderful conversationalist and time just passed so quickly during our recording!
Lisa is a Director of Experience Platforms at Accenture, where she works alongside executives who are reinventing their marketing, commerce, loyalty, sales and service capabilities in order to drive innovation and profitable business growth.
Lisa has lived and worked across five continents, and has experience from some of the largest SaaS vendors globally, including Adobe and Oracle. Lisa is an industry commentator and speaker on topics spanning digital innovation, transformation and marketing.
Some of the topics that got us excited were:
I’m so grateful to Lisa for spending time with me on the podcast today, and I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a real treat to listen to her insights. Her enthusiasm is infectious!
You can connect with Lisa on LinkedIn here.
About your host, Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
My special guest on this episode of Holding Space for Unicorns is Monique Ly
Born in Adelaide in the 80’s to hard-working and humble Chinese-Vietnamese parents, Monique Ly’s life has been vibrant, full of family and friends and enriching experiences in art, design, travel and technology. Monique’s warmth and genuine passion for people, connection and delivering exceptional customer service has served her well in her career, where she is currently a Customer Success Team Lead at Lucid Software
The conversation during this episode was really special.
We discussed and reflected on
We hope you enjoy this chat with the treasure that is Monique Ly.
About Monique Ly
Monique is a Senior Customer Success Manager whose career in technology has spanned the last 8 years,
Prior to that she worked in many other industries which helped pave the way to being the individual she is today.
Starting her professional life in the design world, she then moved to the technology industry, working closely with customers where she finds passion in working with companies of different industries to enable them to find success in how they work everyday.
Today she is a working at Lucid Software as a Team lead, helping customers see and build the future.
Living by the motto, "We can never get time back, but we can always make money" she spends her time travelling, boxing and sharing all her free time with the family and friends making memories.
You can connect with Monique on LinkedIn
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach or participate in a silent disco there, and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
Megha Bhattacharya caught my attention from the moment she spoke on a mutual Zoom call. Her sense of humour, her ambition and her personal power are all qualities I admire.
Originally hailing from India and now calling Amsterdam home, Megha has the attributes of a life long learner and has a fascinating story to share.
Currently serving as a Senior Solutions Engineer at HubSpot, Megha continues to work with clients across Benelux & Nordics helping them drive growth using innovative technologies. Her passion for leveraging technology to empower businesses and enhance customer experiences has been evident throughout her career.
Throughout our conversation we talk about:
And of course, a multitude of other topics as two women who are called to leave the industry better than when they entered it.
We hope you enjoy Episode 6 of Holding Space for Unicorns with the remarkable Megha.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram.
About Megha Bhattacharya
Megha's journey spans continents, as she grew up near Mumbai, India, and then ventured to Singapore at the age of 18 to pursue her studies. With a background in computer engineering, Megha embarked on a remarkable career path that has seen her excel in various customer-facing roles within the tech industry. From her early days with startups in Singapore to her experience working with renowned companies like Tableau and OutSystems, Megha's expertise and versatility have been honed through diverse experiences.
Megha's international exposure extends beyond Singapore, as she has also worked in Dubai and most recently made the move to the enchanting city of Amsterdam. This global perspective has undeniably shaped her approach to living life to the fullest and has enriched her ability to connect with individuals and businesses from various cultural backgrounds.
Currently serving as a Senior Solutions Engineer at HubSpot, Megha continues to work with clients across Benelux & Nordics helping them drive growth using technologies like HubSpot. Her passion for leveraging technology to empower businesses and enhance customer experiences has been evident throughout her career.
Lucky us- Digital transformation expert and business leader Rebecca Haly is my special guest on Episode 5 of Holding Space for Unicorns.
And when you listen to Rebecca share more about her career, her values and the “A-ha!” moments, you’ll agree that she brings something different and unique, a refreshing perspective, to this conversation.
When Rebecca and I got to talking, I realised how much we had in common, and that some of her lightbulb moments were similar to my own - and no doubt, so many others out there who are driven by learning, growth and freedom.
During our chat, we discuss:
*The value of Will and Skill when hiring, coaching and build teams, vs talent and complacency
*The ethics of AI. Whose responsibility is it to decide what they are and uphold them?
*Mentors, coaches, and building a personal boardroom.
We hope you enjoy the episode- I was absolutely delighted to have Rebecca join us. Please let us know if something resonated with you!
About Rebecca Haly
Rebecca is a digital transformation expert and business leader, who has carved out her career in helping customers digitise their business practices in functions of Advertising, Marketing, Data & Analytics and Commerce.
Most recently in her role at Salesforce , she led a team of Technical Architects and specialised in technology platforms of CDP, Marketing Automation, Personalisation, eCommerce and Analytics.
Rebecca is a certified Change Management practitioner with PROSCI and a big believer in the framework of People, Process and Technology to drive transformation. She has a passion for leading teams and developing careers, and always looks for ways for her own self improvement.
Her interest in technology has led to writing a number of articles around the cross section of culture and technology, particularly the impact technology has on society. Ethics in AI and algorithms is of particular interest and forms the basis of many discussions to drive education about the ethical use of AI.
Rebecca is also a leader in Diversity and Inclusion initiatives with her work as President for Salesforce Women’s Network ASEAN, and as an #IamRemarkable facilitator.
She’s is a Volunteer with Salvation Society Nepal -supporting women and young girls rehabilitate into their community after being impacted by human trafficking.
Rebecca is the eternal optimist and values freedom, financial stability, variety, adventure and great food! Her love of cooking always sees her entertaining friends and she loves enjoying a glass of wine on the balcony.
You can connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn.
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Her tech career spans 13 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global organisations where she has grown and thrived. Alicia loves working in high growth organisations in scaling teams, and helping customers solve their business challenges with best in class technologies.
Prior to working in technology sales, Alicia graduated with a Master of Music from Monash University, performed with Victorian Opera in their chorus and taught Vocal Studies at several independent schools in Melbourne.
Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach and head to the theatre.
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram
“Go for it, just follow your instincts”- words of advice from my inspirational guest on today’s podcast, Pearl Tang.
Pearl's family is from Hong Kong, but she has spent her life in Melbourne, a city that has her heart (though Pearl is an enthusiastic traveller, and loves exploring and immersing herself in new cultures)
A business transformation executive who has over 20 years of experience under her belt, Pearl is passionate about building and creating, working with her customers to enable them to build products that their customers will love.
Pearl has worked with some of the largest enterprises across Asia Pacific, having been employed by one of the big 4 for much of her career. She is currently at AWS as a Senior Innovation Advisory Consultant.
We discuss:
-Pearl’s career journey and her passion for customer innovation
-The importance of curiosity. Always be asking questions
-Her excitement about the endless possibilities for technology, including the use of AI in industries like Healthcare, where it can make a huge difference to practicioner productivity but more importantly, patient care
-The engagement of a mentor for a different stage or your career or life.
This conversation was one of my favourites to date, and I hope you find Pearl’s contributions as valuable as I did.
Additional resources provided by Pearl
Smith College 2023 Commencement Speech by Girls Who Code Founder, Reshma Saujani- Because Imposter Syndrome isn't a syndrome at all, it's a scheme
Financial services organisations implementing cloud training programs for women to upskill
About Pearl Tang
Pearl is a business executive with 20 years’ experience and has worked across business and tech. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) / Bachelor of Info Systems.
She joined the Big 4 when she graduated and worked mainly in Management Consulting across large business transformation programs, usually as a Program Director or Program Manager. She’s now at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where she is focused on new product development and innovation.
Her day job is all about helping customers figure out what new products or services to build that their customers will love; and then helping them get to build. She is a foodie, avid traveler and cyclist – getting outdoors whenever she gets the chance.
You can connect with Pearl on Linkedin
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach and head to the theatre. Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram
When I think about the future, and I have conversations with women like the incredible Arzoo Shah, gosh I'm excited. The energy that Arzoo brings to this episode is BRIGHT!!
I met Arzoo for a lunch in a Melbourne cafe to discuss recording, and as we talked about the challenges and opportunities in our careers, I knew that this would be a special chat.
As a woman of colour, who has experienced unconscious bias in some challenging and sometimes unfair environments, Arzoo has not let those experiences get in her way. They have shaped her into the person she is today. We discuss our passions, starting a new business, learning from failures, the importance of emotional intelligence and leading with empathy. Arzoo is wise, strong and ambitious.
I LOVED this conversation with Arzoo, and I hope you will too.
About Arzoo Shah
Currently a sales account manager at leading IT services organisation JDS, Arzoo is a customer focused individual with experience across a number of different areas of technology. Arzoo loves travel and has lived and worked in many different cities, but is grateful to call Melbourne home.
You can connect with Arzoo on LinkedIn
About Alicia Payne
Alicia is a mother of two young children and sales account executive for Finnish marketing analytics unicorn, Supermetrics. Connection is one of her greatest values and her passion is empowering others to find their voice through the sharing of stories, hence the creation of this podcast. When not working, mothering or interviewing inspiring women, Alicia loves to read, travel, walk along her local beach and head to the theatre. Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn and at @holdingspaceforunicorns on Instagram