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Episode Description:

This is the very first episode of the series, Women Leading Together, the one where we explore how women lead as a team in communities, companies or at home across different sectors, geographies and specialisms. In this episode Julia is joined by Iliana Montauk who shares the story of her partnership with Laila Abudahi, detailing how they’ve harnessed their distinct approach to leading to build a social impact startup. Iliana and Laila approach leadership differently, Iliana focuses on emotional nuance, and Laila on directness and efficiency. Even then they’ve learned to appreciate each other’s strengths. Together, they’ve faced challenges with resilience, unity and a fierce commitment to their mission.

“There have been times when people have tried to divide us, and we’re like a fierce lioness when that happens. We are each other’s biggest defenders,” says Iliana.

Tune in to hear how two leaders with contrasting approach to leading work together to drive growth, support their team, and uphold shared values in a demanding geography.

About the Guests

Illiana Montauk

Iliana Montauk is the founder of Manara, a social impact startup dedicated to unlocking human potential by upskilling tech talent in emerging markets. With a focus on preparing computer scientists from the Middle East for global opportunities, Iliana has led Manara to achieve remarkable outcomes, including a 71% referral-to-hire rate at Google. Under her leadership, participants have experienced transformative career advancements, such as one individual increasing their salary from $16,000 to $100,000 in just four months, all while working remotely from Palestine.

Iliana’s commitment to making a difference is further highlighted by her previous accomplishments, including bootstrapping Gaza’s first startup accelerator during wartime and managing talent at Upwork, the world’s largest talent marketplace. Her determination to create opportunities in challenging environments reflects her vision for a more inclusive and equitable future.

About the Host

Julia Middleton

Julia Middleton is the host of the Women Emerging podcast and a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in” as well as two previous books: “Leading beyond Authority” and “Cultural Intelligence”. She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to find their own approach to leading.

In 2020, Julia launched Women Emerging and in 2022 she lead an expedition of 24 women to find ‘an approach to leading that resonates with women’. She now leads expeditions with women all over the world based on 4Es methodology, discovered in the first expedition.

Prior to that, Julia was founder and, for over thirty years, Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world.
Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the boards of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World and Equality Now, which operates globally, and on the Advisory Councils of Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan.

Born in London and brought up in New York, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and lots of grandchildren.