Welcome to episode #22 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Annie Gichuru, a leading Racial Equity Coach & Consultant for online entrepreneurs. Annie has helped many prominent online business leaders build intentionally inclusive businesses – the most notable of which is her partnership with The Beautiful You Coaching Academy, where she supports trainees and emerging coaches as a DEI trainer. Annie is deeply passionate about representation through a racial justice lens, and combines her experience as an internationally certified life coach, her love of storytelling, and her extensive Human Resources career to deliver her transformational online program REPRESENTED. Annie has called Australia home for more than 20 years, having relocated from Kenya as an international student.

Welcome to episode #21 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Tess Palmyre, the founder of Brandable, an independent and WOC-owned agency that champions inclusion in brand strategy, communications and design. Tess works with purpose-led brands to centre DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in their marketing and communications, and has a clear mission to build inclusive brands, from the inside out. In her work, she advocates for genuine representation and equity for underrepresented groups. Recent clients include Foodbank WA, Volunteering WA, P&N Bank, Valued Lives, and Ember Connect. Tess is also an educator, a musician, and an executive committee member of WAMA (WA Marketing Association) as their DEI lead.

A proud Seychelles-born, Creole woman of colour, Tess has spent most of her life living on Noongar Country and is the foster mum to two young Noongar djookian (sisters). In her spare time (ha), she listens to jazz records and reads dystopian fiction.

Welcome to episode #20 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Karen Marie Johnston, award-winning trauma and nervous system-informed coach, certified social worker and supervisor. Karen hails from the United Kingdom where she has worked with a range of charities and public sector organisations, with an emphasis on working with marginalised and underserved communities. She has dedicated the past 20 years of her life to helping women recover from addiction and mental health challenges, as well as supporting those working in and looking to exit the sex industry to heal and build a positive relationship with themselves.

Welcome to episode #19 of The Though Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Byron Morrison, a mindset and performance coach who specialises in helping first time CEOs take control and become more effective in their role. Over the last decade, Byron has worked with clients in 16 countries, written 4 best-selling books and been featured in publications such as USA Today, Success Magazine, Forbes, Deadline, The New York Times and many more. Byron’s unique approach uses a hybrid blend of mindset, leadership, high performance and emotion control to help leaders perform at their best.

Welcome to episode #18 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview the one and only Shelly Horton. A journalist, TV presenter and sought-after MC, Shelly’s opinion can be heard nationally a number of times each week with regular segments on Channel Nine’s Today, Today Extra and on 9Honey. Shelly hosts Talking Honey, He Said She Said and is the host of Nine’s official Married at First Sight podcast. Shelly’s previous career highlights include 11 years reporting for ABC Radio and TV, eight years as a presenter on Channel Seven, six years as a journalist at The Sun Herald and five years as the South Pacific correspondent for Entertainment Tonight USA.

Shelly owns her own media training and speaker training company, Shellshocked Media. She teaches people how to shine on camera and how to build their confidence. Shelly runs Speak with Impact workshops and helps people find their inner Beyoncé.

Welcome to episode #17 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Marion Fulker, CEO, board director, researcher, speaker and writer. Marion is the Chair of Perth Zoo and a Director of Infrastructure Australia. She also runs a coaching and mentoring practice and writes opinion pieces on economic and societal issues for WA Business News. Driven by the need for evidence-based policy and reform, Marion has overseen the creation of more than 160 pieces of research to help shape Perth's future.

Known for leading the Filling the Pool study, which provided a roadmap of 31 interlocking recommendations to advance women’s participation and progression in the workforce, Marion is a champion for gender equality. Sharing her personal story of being a domestic violence survivor in 2018 as part of the government’s 16 Days to End Domestic Violence Campaign, Marion is an advocate of the need to end this scourge on society. Marion is also a former Telstra Businesswoman of the Year winner, an inductee into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame and was named as Australia’s 100 Women of Influence by the AFR and Westpac.

Welcome to episode #16 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Dr Nathan Jones, a TEDx speaker and the director and founder of the Mood Institute, a social enterprise that delivers innovative, evidence-based emotional skills training to organisations. He is a PhD candidate in Emotion Science at the University of Adelaide, where he developed and validated a new data-driven approach to understanding and measuring emotion using intuitive visual cues. With over 21 years of experience as a course presenter and voiceover artist for leading national and international companies, Nathan has shared his insights on stages including the World Congress on Positive Psychology, Mumbrella360, the QUT Leadership Coaching Conference and more, and has been featured in media outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, Sky News Breakfast, ABC Radio, and The Age.

Welcome to episode #15 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Edwin Smith, Head Honcho at The Social Sandwich – a social media agency focusing on organic social. Edwin has worked in social media for over a decade, which is like a century in social media years. He spent five years working at Channel 10, managing the social media for some of Australia’s biggest shows including Australian Survivor, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, and 10 Sport. Edwin now helps businesses make the most out of their organic social media content on channels including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapshot and Twitter (X).

Welcome to episode #14 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Meg Coffey, an internationally recognised social media and digital marketing strategist, hailing from Texas and now proudly based in Australia. Known as the 'Texstralian,' Meg is the founder of State of Social, Australia's largest social media conference, and #SMPerth, a go-to source for the latest news and a vibrant community in the digital space. Meg's expertise extends far beyond the hospitality and tourism sectors she works with through her agency Coffey & Tea. She specialises in transforming the fear of social media into confidence and excitement about leveraging technology for tangible results. Meg actively contributes to the digital marketing community as a sought-after speaker, lecturer, and panelist. Her thought leadership has led to judging industry awards and being recognised as one of Australia's Top 50 Small Business Leaders in 2017. Notably, Meg was also a finalist for Campaign Brief's prestigious Ad Person of the Year award in 2021 and 2023. You can catch Meg sharing her insights on esteemed media platforms such as Masters of Spin and Download this Show as well as Triple M Radio, Channel 7 and various programs across Australia.

Welcome to episode #13 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Ellie Swift, a Business Mentor for high-performing women who are ready to build soul-led, intentional and profitable online businesses. Using her signature Swift Marketing Method, Ellie helps coaches, creatives & consultants connect with their customers, shine online, and create life-changing results (for both themselves & their clients). Ellie spent a decade working in marketing in London, Sydney, and Perth, achieving her goal of Head of Marketing Strategy by the age of 28 before making the transition into her business. She has built a 7-figure business in 3 years and has supported her clients as they’ve built 6, multi 6 and 7-figure businesses, created six and multi-five figure launches, tripled their income and completely transformed their businesses (and lives!) through both mindset and marketing. Ellie’s mission is to support soul-led women to experience the lives they dream of through entrepreneurship.

Our top five lessons from Season 1 of The Thought Leader Show when it comes to building your personal brand as a thought leader

Welcome to episode #12 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

This is the final ep of Season 1 of the show, and it’s a little different! In this ep, Andrés and I chat through five key learnings from our guests on the season about building a personal brand as a thought leader, and the overarching themes that came out of the conversations that can support YOU as well. We hope you’ve loved Season 1, and we can’t wait to be back in a few months for Season 2, where we’ll be interviewing further incredible thought leaders to get their learnings and takeaways from their own journeys to support you on your thought leadership journey too.

Welcome to episode #11 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Trevor Young, a content and digital communications strategist, coach and mentor who helps solopreneurs and service-based business owners unlock their potential through the power of PR, content and digital communications and grow their level of influence and impact in the world. Trevor is also the author of the book Content Marketing for PR: How to build brand visibility, influence and trust in today’s social age.

Welcome to episode #10 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Dr Kristy Goodwin, a speaker, author, research and media commentator. Having personally experienced how our always-on digital culture is compromising people’s wellbeing and is counter to optimal and sustainable performance, Dr Kristy is helping to decode the neurobiology of peak performance in the digital age. She is the author of Dear Digital, We need to talk and shares realistic, research-based micro-habits that people can apply to tame their digital habits and thrive in the digital world.

Welcome to episode #8 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

In this ep, we interview Carolyn Cummins, Commercial Property Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. Carolyn has been in her role for the past 28 years and is a well-respected journalist in the property community. Prior to the Herald, she worked as a Senior Producer at Channel Nine Sydney on their Business Sunday and Business Today programs, did a stint as a stockbroker and was a companies and sharemarket reporter at The Australian Financial Review. Carolyn has built her personal brand over a number of years with a focus on relationship building, helping her get the scoop and report on the latest industry stories.

Welcome to episode #7 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

Today’s episode is a little different! In today’s ep, Bec interviews Andrés about his personal brand and career journey. Andrés is the General Manager, Strategy & Operations, at leading content agency Storyation, part-time podcaster, lover of all things cats, mega F1 nerd and the world’s biggest fan of baked goods. Andrés has been working in PR and marketing for the past 15 years, including as Global Content Editor at Tourism Australia. Previously, Andrés interviewed Bec about how she grew a personal brand to build a corporate career and then a thriving business – you can check out the ep here.

Welcome to episode #4 of The Thought Leader Show, hosted by Bec Sands and Andrés López-Varela. This ep is available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy it, we would love it if you could please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends.

Today’s podcast episode is a little different. In this ep, Andrés interviews Bec about how she built her personal brand first for a career and then for business, and why it’s so important to her.