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

In this, our penultimate Episode of Series 4, our host Sophy Norris speaks to the, quite simply, inspirational Ama Frimpong: self-confessed tinkerer, creator, engineer, fixer, representor and mother (plus so much we have missed out).

Ama is Head of Product Development at 52 North Health, where she leads development across the company’s portfolio of healthcare solutions, including Neutrocheck® developed to help cancer patients avoid sepsis. She is also a multi-award-winning biomedical engineer, named the 2022 Young Woman Engineer of the Year by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering (Inventors and Innovators). With expertise spanning medical device development and global health innovation, Ama has contributed to the design, safety, and commercialisation of technologies addressing critical gaps in healthcare.

She is also an active advocate for diversity in STEM, herself growing up between the UK and Ghana (where her parents were born), working with organisations such as the IET, Women’s Engineering Society, and Bridges for Enterprise to support and equip the next generation of innovators. And she has achieved all this by the age of 35, and as the mother of two young girls.

Always passionate about creating and building things, and in the medical profession (her mother was a nurse), Ama has brilliantly combined these loves, and works tirelessly to spread this word to other women (and men) of colour – letting them know engineering is a dynamic and viable pathway.

Sophy and Ama cover so much in this Episode including being the child of immigrants, raising her own children, a relentless persuit of career goals, representation, and leaning in (and out) of the village she has created around her family. Highlights include:

1. The power and problems of growing up in two very different countries
2. Why conciously and relentlessly following the opportunties, following serendipity but with thoughtfullness and care can be career defining
3. Manifesting what you crave to make it happen, being tenaciously open to the journey
4. Why you must not let the environment control you, but you must control yourself
5. The impact of representation and advocacy, especially for women in engineering and even more so for women of colour in engineering
6. Why is it so crucial to see "other people like me"
7. And conversley how corrosive and undermining token representation is
8. Why simply being "the best" when you are a person of colour is not enough, and how important it is to stand on the shoulders of the representors before you
9. Taking setbacks is an important part of your journey and your future
10. Curating your own village, leaning in on them when needed. And understanding when you are at commitment overload so you can dial up and down on key priorities
11. And curating a network of mentors to unlock the widest range of opportunities and growth paths, and knowing when to respectfully step back from mentorships that no longer serve their purpose.

• Patricia Obo-Nai -

Our first podcast of 2026 is a candid conversation about being a woman in a highly corporate environment and the importance of sharing our life experiences so that we can all learn from them.

In this Episode our host Sophy Norris speaks to former lawyer and GC, and now first-time author, Natalie Abou-Alwan.

Natalie is a London-based lawyer with over 25 years of experience across leading City and Wall Street firms, multi-national giants such as JPMorgan, Chase Bank and BP p.l.c., as well as smaller businesses. She is recognised in the Legal500 GC Powerlist as a Rising Star. She is a respected voice in the international energy sector, and beyond her legal work, Natalie has served as a charity trustee and adviser, and actively mentors professionals across a diverse range of backgrounds.

Natalie also has a passion for arts and creativity in all their forms, a passion which has recently been realised in the publication of her first book – How to Navigate Your Career Like a Legend. More than a book, it is a companion to anyone seeking to make their mark in the corporate world, peppered with practical advice, stories from Natalie’s own career and her own illustrations.

This fascinating conversation covers:

• Being fuelled by negative feedback and experience, and why learning from challenging times is so impactful
• Recognising there is only so much we can control, so stop worrying about the rest of it!
• Why drive and success includes working hard, and why our biggest competitor is ourselves
• Putting oversleves in other people's shoes is a woman's superpower
• The importance of finding balance in our working lives, fuelling our passions and finding windows of joy
• How we dress and look can boost confidence and resilience
• Managing tricky advances in the workplace, and understanding who has your back
• And having the clarity to see that difficult situations are often not about you, but about the other person/people involved
• The importance of self-compassion, of having time to manage outside forces at work, but put them on the clock, and move forward
• Why networking can feel like a loaded word, but it is not cheating; it is helping you grow
• And how networking needs to be supported in the workplace, at all levels and across all diversities
• Managing toxic workplaces, taking power back and not giving it away

• Home - lollipop mentoring
• Look Good Feel Better
• Smart Works
• The Dangerous Women Collective | LinkedIn
• LinkedIn - Sophy Norris
• LinkedIn - Natalie Abou-Alwan
• How to Navigate Your Career Like A Legend on Amazon