The Okana Podcast

Sam Downie, Managing Director of Mates in Mind, discusses her journey in mental health and the charity's initiatives aimed at improving workplace mental health. Mates in Mind is a UK based organisation dedicated to improving mental health across high risk sectors. Sam emphasises the importance of understanding resilience, the challenges of cultural change in organizations, and the need for support...

In this insightful podcast, Faye Bowser, Vice President Higher Education Vertical at Siemens discusses the evolving challenges and opportunities facing global universities. Drawing from her 23 years at Siemens, she explores key themes such as post-COVID learning shifts, financial pressures, the rise of AI and the urgent need for sustainable campus operations.  Faye highlights the importance of dat...

Stephanie Newman is the Chief Project Engineer for Trent Fleet Engines at Rolls-Royce, she is responsible for managing product safety across the fleet and leads a team of talented engineering managers.  Stephanie has to date had an incredible career journey, from aspiring astronaut to becoming an engineer with her own aircraft pilot’s licence!  In this podcast Stephanie shares with Dr Graham Kelly...

Adler Enoksen has worked on some of the most advanced, complex and detailed infrastructure and engineering projects in Norway, including the Follo Line and the Rogfast tunnel.  As Director for Hydropower Plants and Caverns at Implenia Norway, Adler has a background as an engineering geologist and a specialism in substructure construction.  In this Okana podcast, host Dr Graham Kelly delves into Ad...

Zineb is a qualified Architect, BIM Professional and Trainer with a deep seated passion for the growth of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and new technologies driving a digital culture across the built environment. As the Founder of BIMPATH, Zineb’s focus has been on providing international consultancy and training in digital construction technologies, contributing to the advancement of BIM pr...

Jacqueline Chinwe Stephen is a Global Future Energy Leader for the World Energy Council, dedicated to driving change in energy, sustainability and social impact. With a background in Oil and Gas Management and a Master’s in Offshore and Ocean Technology with Subsea Engineering from Cranfield University, Jacqueline is currently Associate Director – Energy and Natural Resources, Turner & Townsen...

Chris Paton is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and saw active service for over 18 years. One of his senior roles was Head of Strategy in Afghanistan to the David Cameron Government, where he was responsible for the extraction of all UK combat troops and their equipment from Afghanistan from 2010-2012.  Chris shares his experiences as a former marine and how he transitioned from th...

Humanitarian psychologist, Sakshi Bansal is a strategy consultant and sustainability advisor for Arup and the recipient of The Diana Award – the highest civilian award for humanitarian work across the globe. She is also the world’s first UNESCO Kindness Leader based on her work as the founder of Project LEAP, a social service project with over 300 volunteers based in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, pan A...

Joseph Michael Daniels is a world leading sustainability technologist, innovator and entrepreneur. Having built the first net zero connected buildings across four continents and raising £40 million upon founding Etopia, Joseph is pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As he talks with Dr Graham Kelly, Joseph is very candid about his earlier years and becoming homeless at the age of 15, which...

Helena was listed as one of the top 100 most influential women in the engineering sector and in 2019 named one of the most influential women in engineering by the Financial Times.  Helena is currently leading on net zero for AECOM across Europe and India and tells podcast host, Dr Graham Kelly, why it is important for organisations to develop their decarbonisation pathways and what operational pre...

If we all took a moment to consider how to re-use materials rather than recycle we would be one step closer to repairing our planet.  These are the sentiments of Duncan Baker Brown, a practicing architect, academic, environmental activist and author of ‘The Re-Use Atlas: a designer’s guide towards a circular economy’.  Duncan founded his practice BakerBrown, a research-led architectural practice a...

Futurist and award-winning inventor Sally Dominguez has a dual background in Architecture and Entrepreneurship, she is a faculty member at Singularity University and coaches business leaders in Moonshot Thinking, 10X strategy, and sustainable transformation.  Famed for saying that innovation is her touchstone to helping others activate their creative confidence, host Dr Graham Kelly asks Sally wha...

The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom (UK) belonging to the British monarch. It is one of the largest property managers in the UK, administering property worth £15.6 billion. In this first episode of the new Okana Podcast, host, Okana Managing Director Dr Graham Kelly invited Judith Everett, Executive Director of Purpose, Sustainability and Stakeholder for th...