THE SLOW DOWN

Grace Williams grew up in Buckinghamshire, the eldest of three, watching her father build a career in banking through long hours - an early blueprint that welded success to hard work. She followed a version of that blueprint into law, training as an arbitration lawyer and measuring her days by billable hours and how late she stayed at her desk. At 21, on the eve of her first legal internship, she...

Adot Gak is a Sudanese-American supermodel, writer and former contributing editor at The Standard, named BFA Model of the Year, who has walked for Rick Owens, Vetements, Richard Quinn and Tony Ward, and fronted campaigns for SKIMS and Alexander Wang. Born in Sudan, Adot's family fled to Egypt when she was four; at nine, she witnessed a violent police attack on a group of Sudanese refugees in a...

Laurence Stoffel grew up in the Swiss mountains. A shy, dreamy child who liked to observe the actions of adults, she went on to study industrial design at ECAL, one of Switzerland's most competitive art schools, talking her way back in after being rejected on her first attempt. Her early career took her from a Munich furniture studio to Freitag, the Swiss bag brand and eventually to a design r...

Gina Martin is a multi award-winning gender equality advocate, writer and facilitator. At 25, after a man took photos up her skirt at a music festival and police told her nothing could be done because she was wearing underwear, Gina launched the 18-month campaign that led to the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, making upskirting a criminal offence in England and Wales — all while working full-time a...

Justine Palefsky grew up in San Francisco, raised by open-minded, community-oriented parents who treated their home as a shared asset and took her to Burning Man. That ethos of hospitality, gifting and non-transactional exchange became the foundation for everything that followed. After studying cognitive neuroscience at Brown, she moved into customer experience roles at OpenDoor and Homebound. Whe...

After being adopted, Andrew Missingham became a drummer and musical director on gold-certified UK records, then spent three years running British Council music programmes across 43 countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, then lead arts programming at the ICA. He later moved into data and strategy, becoming a Chief Data & Insights Officer and AI adoption pioneer for clients includi...

June Angelides MBE believes that what is meant for you will find you — but only if you make the space to let it. Growing up in Lagos, she arrived in the UK and built a career in finance that, on paper, made sense. It wasn't until her second maternity leave — when she found herself the first woman at Silicon Valley Bank's UK office to take mat leave, confronting a company with no infrastruc...

Rollo Skinner is a British artist, author and botanical set designer (clients include: Gucci, Barbour, Mulberry, and renowned fashion photographer Tim Walker) whose work is rooted in a deep love of the natural world. Based between Dorset and London, Rollo feels most at home amongst the trees in the woods by his family farmhouse, dreaming up stories and new creations with Ben (the family sheepdog w...

Award-winning psychologist Dr. Lalitaa Suglani unpacks why the most capable people in the room are often the most anxious — and how to stop performing wellness and start feeling it. A conversation about burnout, workaholism,  inner child work, and what real success actually looks like. Dr. Lalitaa is a renowned speaker, somatic practitioner, and the author of High Functioning Anxiety — a book that...

Sex, Death, Comedy: Enter the nuanced world of Shannon Murphy Shannon Murphy is the director of 2019 debut hit Babyteeth (94% on rotten tomatoes at last check). I was moved to tears many times by the film and have since gone on to watch other things she has directed including Killing Eve, her episode of which was nominated for 3 EMMYs, Dave which is literally one of my favourite TV series and Dyin...

I’ve been obsessed with Eugene’s insightful and razor sharp cultural analysis reels on Instagram and Tiktok - along with literally millions of others who watch them.  Eugene Healey is a strategist whose insights help brands, individuals and organisations make sense of the soup that is culture, consumerism, taste, aesthetics and social media. He is also a gifted keynote speaker and original thinker...

Only having big goals can set us up to fail.  In her new book, neuroscientist and ex- Google executive Anne-Laure Le Cunff explores the transformative nature of living a more experimental life; turning uncertainty into curiosity, and carving a path of self-discovery. The book is a current best-seller and her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Financial Times, WIRED, and more. She is...

Arizona Muse has graced more than 40 international Vogue covers and starred in campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic houses: Prada, Chanel, Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, Chopard, Chloé… . She is one of the most recognisable faces in modern fashion. But the part of Arizona’s story that moves me most is her becoming a climate activist, educator and founder of DIRT — a...

Ben Branson is the founder of Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit that pioneered a movement of non-alcoholic drinks. In under 4 years Seedlip shot to success - being stocked in over 8000 bars and in homes across 35 countries before being sold in a multi-million pound deal. But what did this rapid success mean for Ben? Ben who is open about his autism and adhd diagnosis. Ben w...

Katri Josling doesn’t have a job title, awards, or even an active social media account - she’s a housewife. But she’s also a constant learner - whether it’s completing a new boating license, a culinary chemistry course to create the most amazing meals, learning her fourth language, going skitouring in Svalbad or training her two giant Rhodesian Ridgebacks. She was a consultant with a UCL degree in...

Chloë is best known for her leadership in the creator economy as the founder and CEO of SHFT, a talent agency she grew into a multi-award-winning, 6-figure business while advocating for fairness, inclusivity, and integrity across the industry. In 2024 she was recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her impact in influencer marketing and entrepreneurship. Last year, Chloë chose to exit her co...

Stefanie Sword-Williams is an award-winning founder, speaker and author of the book  F*ck Being Humble : Why self-promotion isn’t a dirty word . A global mission, movement and training consultancy inspiring individuals to be unapologetically proud of their achievements and overcome the fear of self-promotion. She has spoken at the offices of Apple, Netflix, Unilever, Nike, Google, L’oreal and Micr...

Karimah Hassan is a British-Yemeni artist, writer and performer whose practice spans large- scale painting, spoken word, and socially-driven storytelling. Trained as an architect but called to storytelling, she paints large-scale portraits that vibrate with colour, emotion, and spirit. Her work has been exhibited across London, New York, Toronto, and the Middle East, with collectors ranging from V...

New member of the prestigious NatGeo Explorers: listen to Alice Aedy share her journey and mission on climate and social justice storytelling. Saving the planet is now, in part, a communications challenge and Alice Aedy has risen to the occasion. Alice Aedy is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and co-founder of Earthrise Studio — a creative agency focused on climate and social justice storyte...

Sarah Langford is a former criminal barrister turned regenerative farming advocate, writer, and mother of two. After years in the courtroom, she traded legal briefs for muddy boots, returning to her family’s land to learn how to heal both soil and society. Her acclaimed book Rooted weaves personal experience with the future of sustainable farming in Britain and has become a rallying cry for a more...

‘In my mind, people didn’t change the world by becoming a parent at 22’ - but that’s exactly where Catherine found herself while at drama school and working for the UN.  Catherine Joy White is an award-winning actor, author, filmmaker, gender advisor and Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. Her debut 2023 book This Thread of Gold   reclaims the narratives of extraordinary Black...

‘I want my GP to be happy. I don’t want them overworked and unhealthy - but that seems like a weird notion in our society.' This was the thought that sent Dr Monika Sharma down a road of discovery, backlash and ultimately personal fulfilment.  Dr. Monika Sharma is a London-based NHS General Practitioner (GP) and certified Level 3 Personal Trainer with a passion for holistic health and well-bei...

From Freuds, to Bumble to Headspace to CLUE: Louise Troen’s non-linear career journey from PR to mission-driven tech, equity and body autonomy is one you have to hear. Louise Troen is the CMO of Clue - the female-founded cycle and fertility tracker, with over 100 million downloads to date. Previously, Louise was VP of Marketing at Bumble and Headspace where she led international growth, Global bra...

Meet solo female founder Valentina Milanova. Creator of the Diagnostic Tampon and the CBD Tampon. After years of hard work in an underfunded industry - Valentina shares her experience and desire to 'de-glamorize' the founder experience.  She is the founder and CEO of Daye, a gynae health, research and development company seeking to close the gender health gap with proprietary medical and diagnosti...

I have something unusual for you today. An interview with me!  I was interviewed on Asim Amin’s podcast Immigrants Building Companies. It was an opportunity to really reflect on my immigrant experience and what it offered me: the good, bad and ugly. I also share my full career journey, my burnout experience and my turning point for a desire to re-define success for myself. Asim Amin is a wonderful...