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Could open source be the key to building trustworthy AI?

Nithya is Director of Amazon’s Open Source Program Office and also Chair of the Linux Foundation. With more than 30 years of experience in enterprise software, she’s helped shape how businesses approach open source across the tech industry.

In this episode, we talk about the growing importance of open source in AI development, what motivates companies like Amazon to open source their tools, and how these decisions impact innovation. Nithya also shares a personal story about the role of CEO of the family—and what that taught her about leadership.

[01:26] The Evolution of Open Source

[03:52] Amazon’s Commitment to Open Source

[09:04] Open Source, Trust, and AI

[13:05] The Role of Dads

[18:49] CEO of the Family

[25:13] Reflections

Links:

Nithya Ruff on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

What makes a great manager in today’s workplace? And how can AI help companies develop better leaders?

Elise Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, a startup using AI-powered immersive learning to train leaders at some of the world’s biggest companies. Praxis is shaping the future of workplace learning with clients like Google, Amazon, and Accenture.

In this episode, Elise shares how her time at IBM Watson influenced her career, what she’s learned about effective leadership in today’s workplace, and her perspective on the evolving future of DEI initiatives. Elise was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her work on enterprise technology.

[01:55] Kamila’s Mindset Shift with Praxis Labs

[03:42] Adapting Leadership Training for the Modern Workplace

[06:44] Navigating Generational Shifts

[09:12] Green Flags for Job Seekers

[10:44] People Don’t Leave Companies, They Leave Managers

[13:28] The Future of DEI work

[18:02] Finding the Right Co-Founder

[21:40] Reflections

Links:

Elise Smith on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Here at In Her Ellement, we celebrate women leaders in business and tech all year long—not just on International Women’s Day. 

That’s why we’re excited to share an episode from our friends at Fintech Files, featuring insights from two women driving change in the fintech industry.

In this special episode of Fintech Files, Cynthia Salicrup and Sandra Carrillo, partners at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) share how they built successful careers in sustainability and ESG. They also explore the challenges and opportunities in sustainable finance, the critical role banks and fintechs play in advancing sustainability, and how global disparities shape sustainability agendas. 

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out Fintech Files for more insightful discussions like this. Just search for it on your favorite podcast app. 

We will be back in two weeks with another inspiring conversation on In Her Ellement. See you then!

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move?

With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently.

In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. 

[01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career

[04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths

[05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves

[11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets

[15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo

[19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment

[20:03] Reflections

Links:

Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Ipsos report on the future of parenting

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Marina Gerner is an award-winning financial journalist and author. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Commerce & Culture at NYU Stern. In her new book, The Vagina Business, she explores the innovations shaping women’s health and the forces that have held the field back.

In this episode, Marina shares some of the biggest success stories in health tech, as well as the innovations that have personally impacted her. She also explains how to navigate this rapidly growing space—and how to avoid what she calls “scam-tech.”

Over her career, Marina has reported on health, technology, and finance for leading publications, bringing a critical lens to the intersection of business and innovation.

[03:44] Women’s Heart Health and the Smart Bra

[05:28] Birth Innovations

[08:29] Challenges in Femtech Funding

[14:36] Misinformation in Women’s Health

[16:49] Adoption Barriers and Consumer Habits

[19:28] Marina’s In Her Ellement Moment

[21:44] Reflections

Links:

Marina Gerner's newsletter

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

The $32 Trillion Opportunity in Women-Focused Products and Services

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

What does it take to drive meaningful change in venture capital?

Pam Kostka is an executive in residence at Magnify Ventures, a VC firm focused on transforming the care economy. She was also the founding CEO of All Raise, an organization dedicated to increasing representation of female and non-binary founders and investors.

In this episode, Pam talks about why she thinks women are reaching a tipping point in the startup ecosystem. Plus, she discusses the impact of AI and demographic shifts on innovation, as well as what networking and your kitchen cabinet have in common.

Over her 30-year career, Pam has led multiple companies and she currently holds an advisory role at several organizations.

[01:41] The Importance of Health Tech and the Care Economy

[02:36] Demographic Shifts and Their Impact on Work

[05:51] Innovation from Lived Experiences

[08:51] Tipping Point in Startups and Venture Capital

[16:58] Networking and Your Kitchen Cabinet

[20:57] The Power of Saying No

[24:44] Pam's In Her Ellement Moment

[26:42] Reflections

Links:

Pam Kostka on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Rynaa Chagti on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Rynaa Chagti is a student and BCG X Co-op. She grew up in Dubai. She is currently studying business and design at Northeastern University, where she is the public relations coordinator for IDEA, the university’s student-led venture capital accelerator. She is passionate about building a career that does not box her into one role or title and rather one that reflects who she is authentically. 

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

What would a career pivot reveal about your greatest strength? 

Zoe Samuel is a Venture Partner at Starshot Capital, where she supports climate-focused startups. Zoe traveled a unique path to get here, moving from a career as a writer and producer to becoming a co-founder at Anthropocene, Google’s largest internal climate solutions community. Today, she supports and invests in early-stage founders, helping them build startups aimed at reducing global emissions.

In this episode, Zoe shares her perspective on how any job can be a “climate job,” and on the unique opportunities women can find in climate. She also reflects on some of the lessons that have served her well during her career in both the entertainment and tech sectors.

Links:

Zoe Samuel on LinkedIn

A growing climate tech market

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

People want to feel supported and safe at work – and inspired to innovate. What can people working at large corporations do to create this kind of environment?

Saskia Mureau is the Director of Customer Digital at the Port of Rotterdam where she is harnessing digital systems to reduce emissions. She is passionate about creating inclusive workplaces where psychological safety and collaboration drive meaningful change.

In this episode, Kamila sits down with Suchi to talk about why she chose to work at large corporations rather than startups. Saskia also reflects on her personal experiences, including navigating IVF while at work, and discusses how organizations can foster environments where employees feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work.

Links:

Saskia Mureau on Linkedin

WHO infertility research

BCG 2024 report on psychological safety in the workplace

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Join us for this special episode from Season 3 with Molly He, CEO and Co-founder of Element Biosciences.

Many expert women decide to take the plunge into entrepreneurship - but what are the realities of this decision? For Molly He, it was never her dream, but something she saw as a means of pushing the groundbreaking scientific work she was doing forward.

Molly grew up in an economically disadvantaged village in rural China. She studied hard while at the same time developing her skills as a professional sprinter. At the end of high school, she decided to take a leap of faith and move to the US. In retrospect, Molly acknowledges that this was a courageous thing to do and that she used this courage and optimism throughout her career. 

Links:

Molly He on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Join us for this throwback episode from Season 3 with Jaimee Michaud, Head of Portfolio Digital at Advent International, a global private equity firm. 

Making career decisions driven by fear can lead us astray. Instead, we need to be courageous and persistent, seizing new opportunities as they arise. This is the wisdom shared by today's guest, Jaimee Michaud.

Jaimee's journey began when she moved from Seoul to the United States as a high school student, boldly embracing a new culture and language. She built a successful career in investment banking before transitioning to Shutterfly, where a trusted general manager saw her potential for a data-focused role. Despite her lack of coding skills, he believed her experience and attitude would ensure her success.

Jaimee acknowledges that balancing career and personal commitments is challenging and rarely goes as planned. She emphasizes that making small, mindful decisions daily is more impactful than striving for perfection.

Links:

Jamiee Michaud on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Jumana Alnahdi on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Young professionals are increasingly seeking meaning in their careers—but what does that look like in practice? 

Pia Heidenmark Cook, former Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA, believes finding purpose in any type of work is possible. However, she acknowledges that working in fields as impactful as sustainability can sometimes lead to burnout.

In this episode, Suchi sits down with Pia to discuss staying positive and motivated in her field. They also explore how leaders can support their teams in finding meaning at work while maintaining a healthy balance with life at home.

Pia advises a diverse range of organizations—from healthcare to hospitality— on sustainability. In 2024, she co-authored Embedding Sustainability: How to Drive Organizational Transformation, a practical guide on integrating sustainability into an organization’s core operations.

Links:

Pia Heidenmark Cook on LinkedIn

Embedding Sustainability: How to Drive Organizational Transformation

Why young people worldwide want and need ‘meaningful work’

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

Jumana Alnahdi on LinkedIn

About In Her Ellement: 

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Jumana Alnahdi is a student and BCG X Co-op. She is originally from Bahrain—a small island in the Middle East.  She came to the U.S. to study at Northeastern University, and while navigating a new culture far from home, Jumana leaned on the power of women’s communities and support systems to overcome challenges and find belonging. Jumana is passionate about highlighting the impact of young women in innovation.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.