Leading Women in Tech Podcast

What does it really take to lead in a male-dominated industry — and build an AI-driven company grounded in trust, ethics, and human impact? In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I'm joined by Shelley Copsey, CEO & Co-Founder of FYLD — a fast-growing, AI-powered platform transforming how frontline teams in infrastructure and utilities make decisions, stay safe, and improve productivity in real time. Shelley brings over 20 years of experience at the intersection of physical infrastructure, digital innovation, AI strategy, and human transformation, and she shares powerful insights on navigating self-doubt, being underestimated, scaling ethically with AI, and leading teams through rapid change. If you're a woman in tech, an aspiring executive, or a leader navigating AI transformation, this conversation will elevate how you think about leadership, trust, and impact.   In This Episode, You'll Learn: ⏹  How Shelley went from underestimated early-career consultant to award-winning CEO ⏹  Why traditional male leadership role models don't work for women — and how she found her own executive presence ⏹  The mindset that helped her secure a CEO role during the height of COVID ⏹  How she builds trust as a CEO — and why hiring with a "presumption of trust" changes everything ⏹  What ethical AI looks like in high-stakes environments (safety, field operations, human risk) ⏹  Why leaders must reimagine every role in the AI era (customer success, operations, engineering & beyond) ⏹  How to bring teams along when they resist AI ⏹  What self-doubt looks like at the CEO level — and how Shelley manages it with clarity and compassion ⏹  The best leadership advice she's ever received (and the worst!)   **Useful links** ⏹  Connect with today's guest, Shelley:      ⏹  Web: https://fyld.ai/       ⏹  Shelley's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleycopsey/    This episode was supported by Shelley Copsey, CEO of FYLD. Thank you Shelley for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!  

Most leaders start the year with good intentions — but by February, meetings, emergencies, and team issues take over. And suddenly, your career is something that just happens to you. In this solo episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis walks you step-by-step through how to create your 2026 Leadership Roadmap — a clear, strategic plan to move your career forward intentionally, not reactively. This episode is for you if:     •    You're working hard but not seeing progression     •    You feel overworked, under-recognised, or invisible     •    You're ready for promotion but not being tapped     •    You want to stop reacting and start leading strategically You'll learn:     •    Why "trying harder" doesn't create career acceleration     •    How senior leaders actually plan their growth     •    The difference between productivity goals and leadership goals     •    How to define your 2026 North Star     •    The key visibility, influence, and strategic gaps holding you back     •    A simple 5-pillar leadership roadmap framework     •    Why subtraction and boundaries are essential for leadership growth     •    How to turn your roadmap into a quarterly, sustainable plan This episode bridges mindset → action, helping you design a year that supports the leader you're becoming — not the role you've outgrown. 🎯 If you want support turning this roadmap into real momentum, you can book a discovery call at tonicollis.com/lets-chat    #LeadershipRoadmap #WomenInTech #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerPlanning #WomenInLeadership #ExecutivePresence #PromotionReady #LeadershipGrowth #StrategicLeadership #LeadingWomenInTech #ToniCollis  

In today's episode, we're going deep into one of the most urgent leadership topics of 2025: cybersecurity, AI risk, and the new era of digital trust. This is no longer a technical issue — it's a leadership issue. I'm joined by Karen Kaukol, Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, a global leader in identity, security, and trust. Karen brings decades of experience across global payments, financial services, and technology, including senior leadership roles at First Data and Graebel Relocation.  Karen has a unique superpower: she translates complex cybersecurity and AI challenges into clear, actionable insight for business leaders. Together, we explore: ⏹   How AI is reshaping cybersecurity — fast ⏹   Why trust is now the #1 competitive advantage for every company ⏹   What leaders (not just CISOs) must understand about AI agents inside their systems ⏹   The new expectations boards have around cybersecurity risk ⏹   Why high performers need to adopt AI tools, not avoid them ⏹   How marketing and communications are being transformed by AI ⏹   How to build a culture of trust, resilience, and cross-functional alignment ⏹   What it really means to lead through a cybersecurity crisis If you're a senior leader or aspiring executive — especially a woman in tech — this episode will help you build literacy in AI governance, cybersecurity strategy, digital trust, and leadership communication in an environment where the stakes have never been higher. About Karen Kaukol Karen Kaukol is the Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, leading global marketing, brand, and strategy across a company at the forefront of identity, trust, and security innovation. She previously served as CMO at Graebel Relocation and spent 17 years at First Data (now Fiserv) in senior global marketing leadership roles. She holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.   Connect with Karen and Entrust: ⏹    https://www.entrust.com/  ⏹    https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenkaukol/ This episode was sponsored by our guest, Karen Kaukol. Thank you Karen for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If you're ending the year exhausted, mentally overloaded, or stuck in a spiral of self-doubt… this episode is your reset. In today's conversation, we're breaking down the inner critic, the mental load of leadership, and why high-performing women struggle most with overthinking, decision paralysis, and confidence dips at this time of year. You'll learn self-coaching techniques for leaders, practical executive mindset tools, and the exact thought-reframing strategies I use with my clients to help them create clarity before burnout makes the decisions for them. Because you don't need more confidence going into 2026 — you need more clarity. And this episode will help you build it.   What You'll Learn in This Episode ⏹  Why your inner critic gets louder during year-end cycles ⏹  How burnout affects clarity, decision making, and self-trust ⏹  The neuroscience behind overthinking (and how to interrupt it) ⏹  Self-coaching techniques for leaders you can use right away ⏹  Thought reframing for executives: how to shift fear-based thoughts ⏹  The Neutral Question Reset ⏹  The Thought Ladder Reframe ⏹  The Executive Decision Filter ⏹  How to create decision-making clarity at leadership levels ⏹  The mindset shifts required to lead with confidence in 2026 ⏹  Why clarity → confidence (not the other way around) ⏹  How to prepare your leadership thinking before planning next year   ​​Free Leadership Resources Say It Like a Leader Scripts → tonicollis.com/sayitlikealeader  Promotion Readiness Scorecard → tonicollis.com/scorecard  Self-Coaching Toolkit (coming soon!) Connect With Toni LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tonicollis Website: tonicollis.com  

Career stagnation isn't caused by a lack of talent — it's caused by the wrong strategy. If you're a high-performing woman in tech who's STILL feeling stuck (despite delivering more than everyone around you), this episode is going to hit home. In today's conversation, Master Executive Coach Dr. Toni Collis breaks down why you're overperforming but overlooked, why hard work stops working at senior levels, and how brilliant women end up trapped in career stagnation even when they're doing everything "right." You'll learn: ✨ Why you're not getting promoted (even with exceptional performance) ✨ The 4 hidden barriers behind feeling stuck at work ✨ How overperformance creates the Invisible Leader trap ✨ Why leadership visibility matters more than output ✨ The difference between proving your value vs positioning yourself as a leader ✨ The 5 strategic levers that actually get women promoted ✨ How to know if you've outgrown your leadership strategy ✨ What to do next if you're ready to break your career plateau If you've been Googling things like "why am I not getting promoted?", "career plateau," or "how to get noticed at work," this episode will give you the clarity and direction you've been missing. If This Episode Spoke to You… You're not stuck because you're not good enough. You're stuck because you've outgrown your old strategy. And that means you're closer to your next level than you think. Make sure you're here next week for our special pre-2026 Episode — Silencing the Inner Critic: Rewiring Your Mindset for 2026 Confidence. We'll dive into how to shift your self-talk, build unshakeable confidence, and finally stop overthinking your way out of the opportunities you deserve.