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News STEAM x CYL: Entrepreneurs in STEAM 15.03.2019

What have Snapchat, Spotify, Kings College Hospital and Forbes Fintech all got in common? Answer: we were extremely lucky that they were all represented by inspiring senior female executives at our Entrepreneurial Panel Event on female leadership in business, tech and science.

Madhvi Mavadiya, reporter and Forbes Fintech contributor, was in the Chair with Claire Valoti, VP International at Snapchat, Kayee Cheung, VP Global Head of Investment and Commercial Development at Spotify, and Céline Filippi, Head of Quality and Stem Cell Research at King’s College Hospital.

Students and parents heard first-hand about key moments in their careers when they had to deal with failure and show resilience – such as Céline’s work in research which can see months, if not years, of work on projects without a break-through. As Claire commented, ‘it’s how you deal with challenges that shapes you’; employers are looking to recruit ‘owners not renters’ that is, people who really care about their business as though it was their own.  Kayee, who studied chemistry, talked about how she enjoyed listening to music during her studies and the importance of transferable skills and competencies.

There were many messages that resonated with the Godolphin and Latymer audience including ‘life is a journey’, and ‘study hard but don’t lose sight of the bigger picture’. Girls were reassured that ‘it is OK not to know what you want to do; you’ve got a long time to work it out!’. And most of all they were reminded of the importance of putting their happiness first, as that in turn will bring success.

Tremendous thanks to our generous sponsor and supporter, OakNorth, who made the whole event possible.