The emPOWER Breakfast Podcast With CEO Melissa Robertson Is Out
The latest episode of The emPOWER Breakfast podcast, hosted by Athene Parker, is now live and features a refreshingly frank and energising conversation with Melissa Robertson, CEO, director of the Women’s Sport Trust and director of Menopause Mandate.
Melissa has built a remarkable career across three decades in advertising and communications, from her early years at Grey London, through leadership roles at Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy and as co-founder of the creative agency Now, to her time as CEO of Dark Horses. Alongside this, she has been fearless in championing gender equality and creating real change from within our industry.
In this episode, Melissa speaks candidly about her experience of perimenopause, and how she managed debilitating symptoms while running an agency. It was here that she wrote the open source Menopause Policy, now widely adopted by organisations across the UK. Today, through her role with Menopause Mandate, she continues to push for better education, workplace support and healthcare for women at this stage of life.
The conversation takes us through defining career moments, the courage it takes to lead with empathy, and even back to the entrepreneurial schoolgirl who would become the leader she is today. Woven throughout is a trip down a musical memory lane that adds a personal and relatable note to her story.
It is an honest and important conversation for our industry, shining a light on the impact of menopause on working life, and the steps we can all take to create more supportive, human-centred workplaces.
The full emPOWER Breakfast Podcast Series Two, Episode Two with Melissa Robertson is out now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, subscribe, and please leave comments and feedback.
A huge thank you to our podcast sponsors String & Tins, and to our brilliant all-female production team: producer Esi Jonuzi and engineer Livy Wicks, who also composed our beautiful theme music.
