What does success really cost, and who gets to define it?

In this episode of Roots, Routes & Real Talk, we sit down with Belinda Brown, a senior finance leader whose career spans Deloitte, L’Oréal, Diageo, and most recently Chief Financial Officer of Sephora UK. From growing up as a working-class immigrant in Northern Ireland to navigating global boardrooms, Belinda shares the reality behind the titles.

We talk candidly about ambition, social mobility, grief, motherhood, and what it means to lead when you are often the only one in the room. Belinda reflects on pivotal moments including loss, divorce, and career turning points, and why success without alignment can be deeply costly.

This episode explores:

• Rising from bursaries and scholarships to senior global leadership

• The truth about resilience, privilege, and access

• Why “bringing your whole self to work” is more complicated than it sounds

• Leadership, culture, and the loneliness that can come with the top

• Choosing courage over comfort, again and again

Honest, thoughtful, and unapologetically real, this conversation is for anyone questioning the path they are on, redefining success, or building a career without a roadmap.

Listen now and take what resonates.

Follow Belinda @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/belinda-l-brown/

In this second episode of Roots, Routes & Real Talk, we sit down with Omar L. Harris for a candid conversation about leadership, identity, and the long road of figuring things out.

Omar is a leadership coach, author, and Founder of Intent Consulting. He is a Gallup Certified Coach and J.E.D.I. Leadership Expert with over 20 years of experience building high performance organizations across four continents.

In this episode, Omar reflects on career detours, rebuilding after loss, and why leadership should stretch you without drowning you. We explore servant leadership not as a buzzword, but as a daily discipline rooted in humility, culture, and care for people.

If your career has ever felt uncertain or nonlinear, this conversation is for you.

Hosted by Hewan Wole and Serufusa Sekidde

Learn more at OmarLHarris.com

Check out Omar's latest book, Hire the Write W.H.O.M: https://amzn.eu/d/9QoqpKU

Roots, Routes & Real Talk (R3T) kicks off with Hewan and Serufusa interviewing each other about why this podcast exists and what keeps them grounded. They unpack the meaning behind Roots, Routes & Real Talk, share laughs, and open up about purpose, identity, and the stories that shaped them. Honest, funny, and refreshingly real.

Hosted by Serufusa Sekidde and Hewan Wole.

Produced by Nil Oztas.

🎵 Listen to Serufusa’s music on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0k8D17tcrMwvxqp9tdG7mZ?si=3rhxH7RzTc6o1tz0PlC4mQ

💼 Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Serufusa Sekidde – https://www.linkedin.com/in/serufusasekidde
Hewan Wole – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hewanwole
Follow our page – https://www.linkedin.com/company/roots-routes-real-talk

📱 Find us on Instagram and TikTok: @rootsroutesrealtalk
📧 Email us: rootsroutesrealtalk@gmail.com

#RootsRoutesRealTalk #R3TPodcast #Storytelling #Authenticity #Leadership #Growth