In this episode of Win/Win: Women in Innovation, Zoia Kozakov sits down with Meghan, Founder and CEO of Duckbill, to explore what it looks like to bet on a problem you've been thinking about for twenty years — and finally have the technology to solve it. Meghan shares how her path from Uber to Oscar Health to founding her own AI-native startup was driven less by a plan and more by a set of principles: do hard things, work with people who challenge you, and build something that makes the world a little better than you found it.

Listen for advice on:

• Why you should give yourself the promotion before anyone else does
• How to de-risk a leap of faith without waiting for the perfect moment
• Why humans in the loop isn't a compromise — it's the whole strategy
• What it really means to build a product that levels the playing field for women

Learn more:

• Zoia Kozakov (Host): http://www.linkedin.com/in/zoia
• Meghan (Guest): https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanvjoyce/details/experience/
• Women in Innovation: http://www.womeninnovation.co
• Audio Editor: Samantha Gattsek

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Win/Win: Women in Innovation, Zoia Kozakov sits down with Niamh Martin, Managing Director UK at Convene Hospitality Group, to explore what it looks like to lead at the intersection of hospitality, innovation, and scale. Niamh oversees 12 venues, nearly 600 people, and the entire UK operation of a company that has grown from a single premium meeting venue into a global hospitality group with 40 locations across nine cities. She shares how falling into restaurants by accident over 20 years ago turned out to be the best leadership education she never planned for — and how a question she kept asking ("why aren't we doing this?") led to one of the most in-demand large-scale event experiences in the UK.

Listen for advice on:

• Why you can't build something meaningful alone — and what that actually looks like in practice
• How to make a career move when you weren't even looking for one
• What happens when you borrow an idea from one industry and ask why it doesn't exist in yours
• The difference between being the best person in the room and being responsible for the room

Learn more:

• Zoia Kozakov (Host): http://www.linkedin.com/in/zoia
• Niamh Martin (Guest): https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamh-martin-26252a30/
• Women in Innovation: http://www.womeninnovation.co
• Audio Editor: Samantha Gattsek

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Win/Win: Women in Innovation, Zoia Kozakov sits down with Zerlina "Zee" Jackson, VP of Experience & Design Strategy at New York Life Insurance, to explore what it looks like to build something genuinely new inside one of the oldest institutions in America. Zee shares how a childhood spent counting back change in her grandmother's garage store in Bessemer, Alabama, shaped her belief that innovation isn't just about building products — it's about building possibility. From launching New York Life's first Design Center of Excellence to navigating a promotion, a newborn, a cross-country move, and a pandemic all at once, this conversation is about what it really takes to lead with both ambition and humanity.

Listen for advice on:

• The four foundational skills that will serve you in any seat, any industry
• Why the best innovation happens when you don't wait for a blueprint
• How to drive real change inside a 180-year-old company without losing what makes it great
• What it means to build a team that shows up for each other — and why that's the whole point

Learn more:

• Zoia Kozakov (Host): http://www.linkedin.com/in/zoia
• Zerlina Jackson (Guest): https://www.linkedin.com/in/zjackson/
• Women in Innovation: http://www.womeninnovation.co
• Audio Editor: Samantha Gattsek

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.