Celebrating Inspiring Men and Women this International Women's Day
This week, we're celebrating men and women who inspire us. We've sat down with them to hear about what motivates them, the challenges they've faced and what they hope for the future. We're also going behind the scenes with some of our inspiring people this week, to see their day-to-day lives. Check out our Instagram Stories on @liveonw to see they're up to. Happy International Women's Day!

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Esther Pilgerstorfer, Head of Production at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I started off as a Runner on Watchdog and Food and Drink, making endless cups of tea for Anthony Worrall-Thompson. My first full time role, was for a small TV company, where I gained masses of experience in a short space of time. From there, I moved to MTV, working in the commercial ops team. From MTV, I moved to Disney, as a Production Coordinator on Disney Channel UK. After a year, I took a Production Supervisor role at Disney, where I produced short form series for Pixar, Disney Land Paris and Walt Disney records. Following that, I did a short stint in an agency as Production Manager across the NBCU and Discovery accounts. My husband's job then took to us to Singapore for two years, the first six months of which I worked as a Production Manager for IMG on live outside broadcast golf shows and although I loved travelling South East Asia for the events, golf wasn't really for me, so I quickly moved to a Production Manager role at BBC Worldwide, working across their Asian and Indian channels.
We moved home in 2012, when I joined UKTV as a Producer and in May 2015, I was promoted to Head of Production.2. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
My 80 year old Aunt, she's incredibly independent, tech savvy (having taken herself on a computer course a couple of years back) and has a real lust for life. She recently flew over from New Zealand, on her own to spend Christmas with us all. I hope I?m still as interested in the world in fifty year's time as she is now.
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
I'd love to have a coffee (or ideally, a glass of wine), with Dame Stephanie Shirley, who is a British information technology pioneer, businesswoman and philanthropist. Dame Shirley, founded a software company in the sixties to support working mothers, giving them opportunities that at that time, were not available for women.
Her company became a huge success, working on programming Concorde's black box flight recorder, amongst other large contracts. She's a really interesting women, who I'd love to spend some time with.4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I'd say the biggest challenge I've faced was a few years back, whilst working at MTV. I was at a bit of a crossroads in my career and had found myself working in the commercial side of TV, which just didn't feel right. I took a year off to go travelling and when I came back, made the call to start again, going back into production, which meant taking a pay cut and moving a few rungs back on the ladder, but I don't regret it all.
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
In an ideal world, we'd still be in Europe, Trump will have long gone and I'll be working remotely from a beach in Thailand. If only one of these has happened, I'll be happy.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
From a work perspective, don't ever cut corners, it will come back to bite you and take risks, it's good to push yourself out of your comfort zone. From a personal perspective, fortune favours the brave.
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Zoe Clapp, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at UKTV Media
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I did a degree in PR & Journalism at London College of Fashion while working at a communications agency called Exposure http://europe.exposure.net/. They do brand comms for companies like Nike, Levis and Coca-Cola.
I started doing work experience and worked up to manage their boardsports division which was amazing fun ? I worked with lots of great athletes, artists, surf and skateboard brands. That was the first time I was exposed to the world of foreign press trips and big brand launches for companies like Nike and the World Cup of Skateboarding, and I loved helping out on sponsorship with brands like Playstation and Nintendo.
After a few years there I wanted to spread my wings and I freelanced for lots of interesting clients. My first client was an art exhibition with Banksy. I also worked for Warner Music placing album launches and for Extreme Sports Channel. A day there would be doing anything from organizing a press trip skydiving with the red devils to selecting, recruiting and working with a great team of sponsored athletes such as Olympic Gold-medalist Jenny Jones and British surf champ, Gabe Davies.
When I turned 25, I decided I wanted to work in TV, and as part of a team. So I answered an advert in The Guardian to come and work at UKTV as a ?Lifestyle Press Officer?.
2. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
You can't make me choose just one, there are so many!
My mum is an especially amazing lady. She left school aged 12 to care for her mother during the second world war, then spent her adult life fostering and caring for children who needed a home. Over her life, she looked after more than 60 children, of which I was one, while my dad worked as an NHS nurse. She is very special.
I could also have said any one of hundreds of people I work with every day. I?m most frequently inspired by the amazing women in my team who find time to get qualifications alongside work, or run amazing social feeds, or who are great parents, or athletes.
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
Cocktails with Lady Gaga would probably be fun.
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I've had loads of challenges. I started out my life in London living in a hostel because I couldn't afford anything better, and working on my own was tough at first too, wondering if I would get a flow of regular clients, but they came.
Most days the biggest challenge is just having the grit to get done everything you need to do to be working at your best. But when I compare what I do to what my parents did, nothing seems very difficult at all.
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
For my son to do well at school and to have good friends; and for me to stay happy, challenged and fulfilled, and to enter my forties without some having had some awful, mid-life crisis (but how would anyone know).
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that ratio.
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Charlie Guy, Assistant Brand Manager for W
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I joined UKTV three and a half years ago as an apprentice. I had places at two universities and the grades to attend, but decided it wasn't what I wanted to do and started looking for jobs that interested me. I applied to lots of different companies, but when came across an advert for a TV apprentice I knew that was the one I really wanted. I had no experience whatsoever, but I'd always wanted to work in television so I jumped at the opportunity when I was later offered the job! I spent a year experiencing all the various elements of the TV business, trying to learn as much as I could while deciphering the mountain of jargon I experienced when I first joined (I spent months looking for the dogs and slugs everyone was talking about before I realized they were acronyms?).
Since joining, I progressed first to Marketing Assistant and then to Assistant Brand Manager, now leading multiple advertising campaigns and managing the channel brands on a day-to-day basis. I absolutely love my job and I feel lucky to have it (almost) every day, especially when I see some other people my age who went to university and are struggling to get jobs in their field.
2. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
Hands down my mum. She gave up her successful career in fashion to have kids and then raised my younger sister and I as a single mother, which I definitely never made it easy for her! She works harder than anyone I know, is always going out of her way to help people and never ever has anything but a smile on her face (unless you've just let a firework off in your bedroom as I learnt to my peril).
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
I'd love to talk with Shonda Rhimes. She's changed the TV landscape with her production company ShondaLand, which created so many iconic shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Muder. She's a prolific writer and write and produce stories that entertain millions of people across the globe for years at a time.
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I think one of the biggest challenges I faced earlier in my career was my age. It's easy for people underestimate your abilities and the value of your ideas when they find out your're only 18 or 19 and there were a few times when I struggled to get myself taken seriously, but once you get start to establish people saw past it.
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
In terms of my career I hope to be managing bigger and better campaigns and be working at a higher level, but I also hope to find time to go to Canada and complete my Ski instructor qualification as skiing's been a passion of mine from a young age.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
The first piece came from my Grandmother when I was very young. I think I was moaning about not being invited to a birthday party of someone I hadn't been nice to (what did I expect would happen?) and she told me to ?Treat others as you'd want to be treated?. I think this is really important advice, even moreso in work as TV is a small world and you never know where the runner you were mean to might show up next.
The second one came from my secondary school tutor. He took it as a personal challenge to get me through school and always seemed to find a way to motivate me despite my overwhelming laziness and general apathy for education. He would say it whenever I complained about how difficult something was and as infuriating as I found it at the time, it's stuck with me ever since. It's a really simple and smart way to think about hard work because it really equates the pay off with the effort you put in.
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Lizzie Woodman, Lifestyle Blogger and Writer
Lizzie Woodman is a lifestyle blogger and writer. In her twenties, she swapped London for a simpler life in Cambridgeshire and took the unfashionable step of having children young. Eight years on, as a mother to two energetic boys, life is always a bit chaotic. But no matter how many plates are spinning, she always stops to look for the happiness that can be found in everyday things ? whether it's a cup of coffee or a pretty flower. Her writing and photography reflects this simple outlook on life.
1. Who is the most inspiring woman in your life?
My mother. She combined a career with bringing up her children, embracing the new opportunities open to women in the 1970s and 80s. She had to make compromises, but she didn't complain and we never felt short-changed. Whenever I have doubts about juggling motherhood and work I always consult her. I think that her generation of women have a unique perspective. I've lost count of the number of times I've needed her to help me look at my own life.
2. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
The historian and curator Lucy Worsley. I have a bit of a girl-crush on her ? not just because I love her clothes, but because I deeply admire the way that she lives and breathes her career. She's at the top of her game and always appears to be fully immersed in her (fascinating) job. I?m always stretching myself between my different roles ? mother, blogger, writer, wife ? and I'd love to have that focused, single-minded approach to work. Really immersing myself in it, rather than flitting around madly from one thing to another. I'd love to chat with her and see if a bit of her infectious enthusiasm and focus could rub off on me. Or maybe, she feels a bit like me: stretched thin and racing from task to task. I'd love to find out.
3. What the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I made the unfashionable decision to have children first and forge my career afterwards. While my friends were building careers as teachers, doctors and professionals, I chose to have children young. I thought I was being terribly clever doing it this way round ? get a degree, have children, then be free to pursue a career later. The reality is a little different. I spent six years focussing solely on my children ? that was my career. Once they started school, it wasn't as simple as just choosing a career path and getting going. You're not quite the same person you were and it's hard to focus on one thing at the expense of other people. The school day is shorter than you think. A conventional career path requires a lot of help from other people, and can lead to feelings of guilt and insecurity. I've overcome this challenge by starting to forge a more unconventional career where I earn my money through blogging and freelance writing.
4. What's the best bit of advice you've ever received?
I've received so much advice over the years ? some of which I've taken to heart, and some of which I've tossed away. What's stuck with me? It's a simple message. My mother used to say it to me as child, and my husband still says it now. Take things one step a time. Trying to look at the big picture all the time will drive you crazy. Focus instead on creating opportunities to take little steps towards your goals. Make those steps happen, one by one. You're much less likely to become overwhelmed and before you know it you'll arrive where you want to be.
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Steve Whyte, Senior Compliance Officer at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
My career started off by accident rather than design. A speculative letter to Pearson TV got me a job as a runner, making coffee and fetching sandwiches for editors and promo producers. At last, my 4 years at Uni were paying off!
From there, it was a case of taking any role that came up to move up from that initial runner rung!
That happened to be Quality Control and tape checking, which in turn led to me being a Compliance Editor at Pearson, bleeping language and blurring rude bits on programmes for the old Flextech channels such as Bravo and Living.
Redundancy has played a large role in my career progression so far, and the first time this happened was when Flextech's contract with Pearson ended, and they left to go to Red Bee.
Flextech were leading the way in the industry and were combining Compliance Viewing and the Compliance Editor roles, so after a brief spell freelancing I joined the team at Flextech, which had since become Virgin Media TV.
I started as a Viewer but was quickly promoted to a Senior member of the department, ahead of people who had been there a lot longer than me.
That was a huge moment in my career ? probably the biggest. My manager showed a massive amount of faith in me, to promote me ahead of others with more experience, and I will be forever grateful for that. Redundancy followed again, and after a brief stint at Sky I got a call from a former colleague who was now at UKTV, and I jumped at the chance. I've been with UKTV for 6 years now, and I've loved every minute. Recently, I was promoted to one of the Senior Advisors in the team and I?m enjoying my new role.
2. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
Again, there are probably a multitude of obvious or clichéd answers to this question, so I?m deliberately going to go for someone a bit different.
I?m a huge fan of the Alien films and I've always loved the character of Ripley. I think what Sigourney Weaver did with that role was amazing for women in cinema and paved the way for more strong, female roles. I have no doubt that Sigourney had a lot of power to dictate how the character developed and I remember reading a story about her negotiating her fee for Alien 3. The script called for all the cast members to have shaved heads, and apparently Sigourney turned to the producers and said ?Well if you want me to shave all my hair off, I?m going to need a hell of a lot more money!? Yeah!
So I'd love to have a coffee with Sigourney and ask her about Ripley and whether she felt she had a responsibility with the character to rise above all the 80's action heroes such as Arnie and Sly and Bruce. The fact that I always had a crush on her is completely irrelevant, you understand?
3. What do you hope for in the next five years?
I?m a parent of two young kids, so my focus is on raising them and enjoying their formative years. In five years? time they will be 12 and 8 and as Aerosmith fondly say, I don't want to miss a thing as I know it will pass so quickly. Health and happiness for all too, obviously.
4. What's the best advice you've ever received?
My A-level results weren't great, so I only had the choice of two universities to go to. Neither one really appealed to me, but I felt a certain pressure to choose one ? that's what you do after collage isn't it, you go to Uni?
I remember speaking to my Dad about it, I was crying as I didn't know what to do. And he just told me that if I didn't want to go, then don't.
It seems so simple, doesn't it? Neither course was right for me - but I just needed to hear someone say it.
So I went back to college part time to do an A-level in Photography & Film [aced it!] and also got a part time job to earn some cash. A year later I got my top Uni choice and the rest is history.
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Jaspal Damani, Senior Lawyer at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I qualified as a solicitor in 2003 at a niche music law firm. In 2004, after short term roles at a major record company and national magazine publisher, I made the permanent move ?in-house? when I joined the international entertainment company FremantleMedia. I spent 8½ years working across programme acquisitions, distribution and ancillary licensing.
Some of the programmes I worked on included the Idols, X Factor & Got Talent formats which all became huge international successes. I joined UKTV in 2013 as maternity cover and was made permanent in 2014. As Senior Commissioning Lawyer, I work closely with the wonderful commissioning team on UKTV Originals.2. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
Obviously my mum! She has encouraged me at every stage in my life and she's made sure that I had opportunities that she never did. But there are so many inspiring women out there! I have many friends who are also mums and I admire all women who balance their family life with work. One particularly inspiring ex-colleague of mine had breast cancer very young soon after her second child. I admire the way she handled that whole experience ? she showed so much strength & positivity and I?m so happy to see her happy and healthy today with a flourishing career!
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
Michelle Obama. Maybe an obvious choice but I have a lot of admiration for her and plenty of questions I'd like to ask!
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
Very early on in my career, quite soon after I had qualified, the law firm where I qualified couldn't keep me on. I was unsure about my next step and didn't know whether it would be easy to find a new role. I wasn't even sure whether I should stick with law. I decided to carry out contract work ?in house? to make sure it was for me ? and after short term roles at a record company and magazine publisher, I knew that working in house was something I wanted to pursue. I interviewed at FremantleMedia and even though I didn't have a strong TV background, I was offered the role and I haven't looked back since!
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
I want to continue to develop myself ? and help develop others. I think it's important to be able to give that opportunity to people starting out their careers. I know I have had the benefit of people giving me a chance and it has paid off for them & me! I'd like to be able to offer the same opportunity I've had to others.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Always aim high, and with enough desire you will get to where you want. I have had set backs along the way, but I've never given up. I've been lucky to have managers who have encouraged me at different stages of my career & that's been massively important. Never be afraid to ask questions either. If you are being supported by the right people, they won't judge you for checking you've understood something correctly!
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Richard Watsham, Director of Commissioning at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I started out as a (fairly rubbish) actor, studying drama and film. After university and a year of poorly paid and unfulfilling temp work I moved to London to try to get work in film. 150 letters (yes, pre-email I?m afraid) and only three responses later, I'd run out of money and needed a job. I sat down with the phone book and started calling post production companies one by one. Eventually I ended up falling into TV as a runner and from there I worked my way up to series producer and director making shows like House of Tiny Tearaways and Dating in the Dark before moving over to commission for the pay channel Bravo. When Sky bought and closed the channel in 2010 (not my fault I promise), I came to work at UKTV.
2. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I've worked for some brilliant, inspirational people but I've also worked for some awful people and found myself in very difficult situations both in corporate environments and as a programme maker. I always tried to overcome both in the same way - through sheer bloody mindedness and determination mixed with politeness. I kept my head down and waited for opportunities to arise either to change their minds and behaviour or to change my situation.
3. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
This isn't a cop out but born out of genuine respect and admiration ? my wife. She's as determined as I am but she always makes me see myself, whatever is around me and any difficult situation I might find myself in from a different perspective. Having someone there to challenge you in that way every single day is a powerful thing.
4. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
Lee Miller, one of the very first female war photographers and an exceptional fine artist too. We create TV in the hope that it has some impact on those who watch, hopefully positive, sometimes moving, sometimes funny, entertaining or informative. She created single images, just individual frames, which had the power to change the way we feel about humanity. I'd like to understand what drove her to take such extraordinary risks and to understand the impact that what she saw and experienced had on her later life.
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
To keep learning and keep doing new things. There have always been a lot of things I wanted to achieve and I've done barely any of them so far.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Simple - make friends. My working life has been all about relationships, especially in an industry where there's little formal training. You learn through experience, sometimes bitter experience, and when you screw up there are only two responses from those above you. They either like you and trust you not to do it again or they fire you. I prefer the first one!
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Rohini Sarkar, Research and Insights Manager at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
After graduating from UCL with a degree in History I joined a graduate scheme at a company called dunnhumby. Dunnhumby owned the analytics and research behind the Tesco Clubcard. I worked there for 3.5 years and worked across a great variety of projects and clients such as The Times, Warnerbros, Sony Pictures, Microsoft etc. I developed a real interest in media and how people consume TV and film content and from there on I was keen to move into TV audience research. I applied for the job at UKTV when I came across it on Linkedin and have never looked back!
2 . Who is the most inspiring woman in my life
My course leader on my masters course, Elena Moschini. She has a wealth of experience in digital and is very highly regarded in the field. As a woman in digital this a great feat. She not only has taught and run the MA in Digital Media course for the last 15 years, but has also worked on a variety of high profile digital projects and products as well. How she manages to do all this is beyond me!
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
It would probably be Anne Frank. I read her diary countless times when I was a teenager and her story really inspired me. What she and her family endured like millions of others at that time was staggering but she never lost her spirit which was truly amazing.
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
Challenging the business to think about digital as part of our strategy, not as an add on. On Demand TV has expanded rapidly and traditional broadcasters have had to bring digital in house very swiftly. To be part of this is exciting but also a challenge to make it happen in the right way
5. What do you hope for in the next 5 years?
I'd like to finish my masters and be playing a bigger role in the growth and development of an on-demand TV service. I?m hugely passionate about this area of TV and I'd like to remain in it. I think it's a fascinating time for TV so to play a role in how an on-demand service matures and evolves is really exciting.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Always ask for help. I've worked with some great people who have all had a wealth of experience and have been very willing to help me learn and improve. The best advice that has served me well has been to go ahead and ask for advice when you need it!
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Sinead Greenaway, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I started my career at Kiss FM in 1990, just one month after it had launched as a legal radio station. I was on a break from my degree?.and never looked back! We had a lot of fun but also worked terrifically hard and it was the sort of business where I would find myself doing anything from my official day job in traffic and accounts through to running the ?listener holiday to Ibiza? or even the music research. Kiss FM is also where I met my husband so my time there holds lots of special memories.
I went on to spend many happy years in commercial radio leading operational and technology teams across the U.K. both as part of the launch team for the hugely successful sales division, Emap on Air, and working with the radio station teams as the Group Operations Director for Emap Performance (now Bauer Media).
In 2005, I jumped ship to television and joined Flextech/ ids as the Commercial Operations Associate Director and what was later to become Virgin Media Television (VMTV) as the Operations and Technology Director. We achieved a great deal during my time at VMTV, notably for becoming the first end-to-end digital broadcaster in the U.K. I worked with some incredible people, several of whom I am lucky enough to work alongside today.
In 2009, I headed North for a truly epic adventure and became the Chief Executive of The Studios, MediaCityUK (now Dock10). We successfully launched the business, built and led the teams delivering production and media services to both the BBC and other independent production companies. It was a start-up business unlike any other and The Studios produced hundreds of iconic shows spanning everything from Match of the Day to Blue Peter and Mr Tumble.
My most important life changing event happened whilst I was in the North West and that was becoming mother to my wonderful daughter Lucy. It prompted a return to London and a new professional adventure as Managing Director of The Lighthouse Company, a boutique consultancy and search business. It was through this role that I reconnected with some former colleagues at UKTV and I was delighted to join the team in 2015.
As Chief Technology and Operations Officer (CTOO), I look after all the technical and operational aspects of UKTV. Since joining UKTV in March 2015, I have been part of the team responsible for leading a significant and successful technology refresh spanning business systems, digital app development and driving the company's live and data strategy programmes.
Although my spare time is scarce, (Lucy keeps me very busy), I am a huge theatre fan and am very proud to be a Non-Executive Director at the wonderful Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
2. Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
My daughter. She may only be four and it might sound trite but I am totally driven to do my best for her. Lucy has completely changed my approach to all aspects of my life and I feel that it is an important for me to make both the time we are together as well as the time we are apart count. I want her to be proud of her mummy and so it is absolutely true to say that she inspires me to be better and to be a positive role model for her.
3. If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
My mum. I lost her in 2005. I think she would be very proud of me.
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I often struggle to think about this question as a single event. I have always successfully weathered external challenges and it would be fair to say I have experienced a book's worth of these. Battling with the internal dialogue that informs confidence is my personal demon and one that is not exclusive to but certainly seems more prevalent in women.
A mix of working for great leaders, with great coaches and mentors and having smart supportive friends has really helped me to vanquish that pesky little voice of self-doubt. At the start of my career, I would strive for perfection and worry about what people might think if I didn't achieve it, I now love all the bumps on the road ? they remind me that we are moving fast.
5. What do you hope for in the next five years?
Primarily I want to be a great mum, wife, sister, friend, workmate and CTOO and to enjoy all of those things as much as possible.
Thinking specifically about UKTV, I want to continue to be part of a team that does great work. We want to keep pushing the boundaries of possibility in technology terms to give our viewers the very best experience.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Two pieces of advice have stayed with me over the years ? 'do what you say you are going to do?or negotiate? and ?figure out what you want and find a way to ask for it? (so often easier said than done).
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Helen Nightingale, Commissioning Editor for UKTV
1. What's been your career journey so far?
I trained as a Stage Manager at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, but by the end of the course I knew I wanted to work in TV and not theatre. I was so lucky and got some amazing jobs straight out of drama school and one of those led to me becoming a stage manager on a children's Saturday morning tv show.
I did that for about 6 months and as soon as a researcher position at that company opened up I applied, got it and then I was off. I have done all the jobs in telly; researcher, AP then on to Producer/Director, then Series Producer and Exec. I've done live gallery producing, worked in pure factual, entertainment and music shows. I've always said yes to jobs if the project sounded exciting. You can't work this hard unless it inspires you!
2.Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
My mum is amazing. Her own mother wasn't around and she was in an orphanage for some of her childhood because her father was in the merchant navy and couldn't look after my mother and her older sister on his own.
When she married my Dad, he was in the Marines and then the Foreign Office and we moved to a different country every two years. She had to pack everything up, including my sister and me; and set up a new home every time, in a strange country where she didn't know anyone or even speak the language. It must have been really daunting for her. But she took it all in her stride and we always had a home and security wherever we were in the world. I really admire her resilience and strength.
Outside of family, I hugely admire Katie Piper, to come through that horrific attack stronger; and to become a positive role model to other women is so inspirational.
3.If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
I really admire those amazing, strong and funny women in TV right now so I would love to sit down with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to find out how they've infiltrated the male-dominated world of Hollywood. I?m so lucky in my job because I get to work with amazing women all the time.
4. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I accepted a job once because it was with a big name talent and was a series on a channel that I hadn't worked on before. It never felt quite right but I pushed on and talked myself into the job even though I wasn't really the right person for the role. Inevitably it all unravelled and I became incredibly unhappy at work and at home. I made it worse by refusing to give up (it's my motto: never, ever, ever, ever give up!) and I nearly made myself ill with the stress.
Eventually I realised I wasn't giving up ? or wimping out - but being kind to myself by removing myself from a toxic situation. But it wasn't smooth sailing after that, I found myself unemployed for the first time since I graduated and the whole situation had a very negative affect on my self esteem making it even harder to pick up the phone and hustle for work. It didn't last long, in this small world that we work in, someone found out that I was available and within two weeks I was back working for another company doing a gorgeous job right in my sweet spot! What I learned from that experience was don't just take a gig because it looks good on your cv, take a job that you know you'll be good at and will enjoy. We spend so much time at work, being miserable just isn't worth it.5.What do you hope for in the next five years?
I hope to continue doing more great work, learning along the way and continuing to love what I do. I'd love to have a bit more time around the outside to write ? not a book but at least a blog ? about some of the things that I am passionate about. I want to improve my work/life balance even more so that I can get a bit more time for myself, to write or relax , and spend more time with my family.
6.What's the best advice you've ever received?
Do the job you love and you'll never work a day in your life! It's not entirely true, of course, but it is great doing something you love and that you feel passionate about every day and then getting paid for it! And, my second best bit of advice? Never eat yellow snow?..
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Uli Schulz, Social Media Consultant and Founder of The Social Hunter
Ulrike Schulz (or Uli) is a social media consultant, entrepreneur, and blogger. She founded The Social Hunter last year and advises small businesses and start-ups on all things social media. She also runs Instagram workshops regularly. If she's not helping other businesses with social media she takes care of her newest endeavour: Secrets of Green, an online marketplace for urbanists. As a creative outlet, she runs a blog called Found Some Paper where she writes about art, design, and creativity.
1.Who's the most inspiring woman in your life?
It would be crazy to just choose one woman in my life? I have many inspiring women I admire for different reasons. I admire my mum for being selfless, understanding, for fighting for our family, for being kind and loving to everyone. She's an inspiration for how I want to live my life. I admire Yayoi Kusama as an artist. She has created amazing art which inspires me visually and emotionally. I?m currently reading her biography. I admire Jessica Alba because she's beautiful, inside and outside, she is a successful entrepreneur and she has an amazing way to communicate her business. She is not your usual celebrity. There are many more but these three women popped into my mind immediately.
2.If you could sit down with any influential woman (living or passed) for a coffee, who would it be and why?
Shonda Rhimes. I love her TV series (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to get away with murder, etc.). She has created these popular series with women as main characters. I love the story lines and emotional suspense, the relationships and struggles of the characters in her shows. Just brilliant! She has also written a couple of books. Talking to such a powerful woman must be thrilling.
3.What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
I don't think I ever had a huge challenge (yet) but there were many smaller challenges I had to tackle. One of them was to move to another country and find a job in a language I didn't feel comfortable with. I remember my English was very basic and I felt so bad that I couldn't express my real personality because I didn't have all the vocabulary in my head. It sounds very small but at that time it was such a big challenge for me. Of course, the solution was simple. By spending more time in the country, talking to people and reading books in English I could overcome this at some point. Ask me in a couple of months again because I?m about to face the next challenge in my career. I?m launching a new online marketplace this month and I?m sure this is going to be one hell of a challenge.
4.What do you hope for in the next five years?
I want to make my new business a success but I also want to have children and be a mum. I can't wait to face another challenge in my life: being a parent and having a successful business. I know it's going to be hard but I?m also convinced that everything is possible and I'd love to show people. Fingers crossed!
5.What's the best advice you've ever received?
I can't remember who gave me these tips but there are two things which stuck with me and I try to live up to them every day. First, work hard but still enjoy your life. Don't take yourself too serious. Second, meet people and network a lot. You never know what can happen when connecting with a person.