Behind The CEO

Meet the singer, activist and artist Thérèse Sayarath from France. Through her songs, Thérèse wants to contribute to the construction of another image of the French "universality", one that includes all the people. Born in a Parisian suburb from Asian parents, she refuses to be put into a box: she sees herself as a rainbow. The encounter between the sun and the rain. Visible but uncatchable. In co...

Meet the Safaa Nait-Charif from the UK, a disability activist, content creator and aspiring producer, with a huge passion for storytelling. Safaa has a keen interest in bringing to life multifaceted stories that challenge the mainstream narratives and stereotypes surrounding disability and Islam. During the first lockdown, Safaa explored new formats to share her daily life and break some stereotyp...

Meet the activist Sara Mardini, a Syrian refugee, but most importantly an humanitarian activist, a swimmer and a human rights defender. In 2015 she was hailed as a hero along with her sister Yusra after saving 18 people from drowning on the hazardous journey from Turkey to the Greek islands. Back to Greece as a volunteer, she has been accused of people smuggling and she risks facing up to 25 years...

Meet Corinne Semedo from Luxembourg, a professional dancer, a social worker in psychiatry and the CEO of Heal Confidance. In 2013, she became the first Black woman to ever participate and win a title at Miss Luxembourg. Corinne unveils the discrimination she faced behind the scenes and how this award came with lots of struggles and pressure that impacted her mental health. In conversation with Cor...

Meet Samya Hafsaoui from the Netherlands, a journalist, presenter and writer. As a journalist, she writes for Vogue and Glamor, among others, and she presented ‘De Taxi Terug‘, a web column in which she accompanied a table guest to their next destination and interviewed them. She also made the series Female Virals on YouTube. She is also the author of “36 questions (and lots of coffee)”, a book wi...

Meet Inès Leonarduzzi from France, the CEO and Founder of Digital for the Planet, which aims to develop digital sustainability and inclusive economy through durable and low-carbon technology. She coined the term “digital ecology” and works along with researchers and scientific experts to bridge sustainability and digitalisation. Named by Forbes as one of the 92 women who are disrupting technology...

Meet Adelaide Damoah RWA FRSA from the UK, a painter and performance artist of Ghanaian descent who uses her body as a “living paintbrush”, the starting point for much of her work. Through arts, she addresses feminism, colonialism, religion and spirituality. As a descendant of Ghanaian parents, Adelaide Damoah has always had a particular interest in colonial history and knew that eventually she wo...

Meet Sara Lou from Belgium, a YouTuber and Digital Marketing Strategist. Along with her two sisters, she is part of the “Molem Sisters” collective from Molenbeek, which aims to share positive narratives from this Brussels municipality. In 2019, she did the cover of the song ‘Balance ton quoi’ by Belgian singer Angèle, echoing the #MeToo Movement, to denounce the Islamophobia experienced by veiled...

Meet inspiring Fatima Zaman , peace activist and advocate at the Kofi Annan Foundation. After witnessing the London 7/7 Bombings, Fatima has dedicated her activism toward building peace, security and overcoming extreme violence in conflict. Having served as an Official to the UK Government, her work involved advising Government Ministers and the late 7th Secretary General of the United Nations, Ko...

Meet Giada Zhang from Italy, a female CEO at the head of a family business called Mulan. At only 23 years old, Giada is a successful entrepreneur and she was recognised a Forbes 30 under 30. Her company is the first to distribute oriental food prepared in Italy to a large scale in supermarkets and restaurants. In conversation with Giada, she recalled her childhood in Italy, what it means to be an...

Meet Rebecca Korang from Germany, a performing artist, dancer and choreographer based in Berlin. Together with theatre maker Grace Holme, she initiated a community dance theatre project called 'Utopia Now Theater'. Since 2019 Rebecca Korang is curating the art exhibition at African Food Festival Berlin, aiming to build a growing network among artists from Africa and the African Diaspora in Berlin...

Meet Evin Incir from Sweden, a newly elected Member of the European Parliament. Kurdish descent, she recalled her early years in Sweden, growing up in a suburb of the city of Gothenburg and engaging in politics at a very young age. Becoming an MEP at the 2019 European Elections was for Evin a dream that came true. She has since been serving on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Aff...

Meet the mind behind a million visitors website, Hanan Challouki from Belgium! She is the managing partner of the creative agency Allyens and the original founder of the online platform Mvslim.com. Focused on inclusive communication, she spends her time developing strategies and campaigns for companies like Brussels Airport, BNP Paribas and Unilever. She's also listed as one of the Forbes 30 under...

Meet Gena-mour Barrett from the UK, a journalist and Editorial Creative Manager at Netflix UK, where she curates the Netflix IX interview series. As a freelancer, she has bylines at Elle, The Guardian, Refinery 29 and BBC Newsbeat. She was listed as one of 2019’s 30 Under 30 for Media and Marketing in Europe by Forbes and she was a recipient of the 2018 Roxane Gay fellowship for a woman of colour...

Meet Linh Lan Dao , a French TV Journalist for Franceinfo télévision. She works at the fact-checking TV program “Vrai ou Fake” and she uses arts to explain the news on the Youtube channel “Draw my news”. Following the broadcast of a TV show by two French humorists Kev Adams and Gad Elmaleh, she denounced prejudice and racism targeting Asians in a video that made 2.5 million views. She is committed...

Meet Míriam Hatibi from Spain, an activist against racism and islamophobia and the author of “Look Me in the Eye” and “Leila”. Miriam also contributes to the opinion sections of different publications, where she promotes a visible media presence for people of diverse origins, particularly women.   Following the August 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Míriam vehemently condemned te...

Meet Bellamy from Italy, a model, a blogger, a founder and an activist. Bellamy was born and raised in Italy in a half Ugandan and half Sudanese family. Her interests range from fashion and skin care to international politics. She becomes increasingly passionate about socio-cultural issues with a focus on the experience of the black body in different countries and while doing some research on this...

Meet Ines Seddiki from France, founder of Ghett’up. She is a French-Moroccan young activist and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professional living in the banlieues of Paris. In the 80s, her parents immigrated to France to pursue ideals of liberty and equality. From a very young age, Inés faced injustice and this motivated her to take action. Since 2016, her NGO Ghett’up has impacted more th...