Corner Office Breakdowns

In this episode, Ambika sits down with Elaine Ling Hering, author of “Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent and Live More Fully.”  Together, they dive into the dynamics of silence, voice, power, and leadership. Elaine shares her journey and insights on how silence can stifle or empower us. They unpack the nuanced […]

Ambika sits down with Sahaj Kaur Kohli, MAEd, LGPC, founder of @browngirltherapy and author of “But What Will People Say” to discuss (as her book's subtitle so perfectly articulates), navigating mental health, identity, love, and family between cultures. This episode centers South Asian experiences, but topics apply to intersectional multicultural and immigrant experiences.  Show Notes00:24 The […]

In this episode of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks with  Melissa Goldstein and Natalia Rachlin, the co-founders of Mother Tongue Magazine, who sought to fill a gap in maternal narratives in media. They discuss the magazine's mission to include diverse, authentic stories of motherhood, transforming the genre into one that resonates deeply and universally, regardless of one's direct experience […]

Guest: Sarita Walsh  Being Coach, Sarita Walsh joins Ambika to explore our cultural relationship with money. Our simultaneous fascination and distaste of wealth and the wealthy, and how we can stop and/or start connecting our worth with how much we're worth.

Guest: Lisa Marchiano Exploring the intersection of career and vocation with Lisa Marchiano in our new podcast episode. A thought-provoking discussion that challenges the way we view our professional lives and personal callings. Industry leaders, professionals, and dreamers—this conversation is for you. Listen now.

Join Ambika Gautam Pai for a live recording of Corner Office Breakdowns, a podcast that reconciles humanity and the workplace, part of the Advertising Week podcast network. As a mom of two, a first-generation South Asian American and the Chief Strategy Officer advertising agency, Mekanism, Ambika Gautam Pai is an experienced feeler and expert at […]

Ambika reflects on the decision to leave her job as Chief Strategy Officer.

In Corner Office Breakdown's season one finale (!!!), Ambika speaks toAmber Rae. Amber is an international best-selling author, writingmentor & story doula who believes in the healing power of the writtenword. She helps people find the stories within and then shepherds theminto existence by teaching that belonging, acceptance, and connectioncome from allowing ourselves to be fully seen, […]

In the ninth episode of “Corner Office Breakdowns,” Ambika talks to Anushay Hossain, the author of “The Pain Gap” and a feminist policy analyst who has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, and more. They start by discussing the healthcare field and its limited understanding of women's bodies and then shift to the idea that dismissing […]

In episode 8 of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika partners up with Amani Duncan, a highly awarded executive who has worked across beauty/fashion, media, advertising, music/entertainment, and manufacturing. Together, they unpack how and why the idea of “ego” has become so negative. They reframe ego as critical to both achieving progress and fulfilling corporate America's commitment to a […]

In episode seven of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks to Alfa Demmellash, the CEO of Rising Tide Capital, in what she says is one of the most goose-bump-inducing, profound, heart-wrenching, and inspiring conversations of her lifetime. Alfa breaks down the topic of privilege – not in the sense of race or wealth – the privilege of being […]

In Episode Six of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks with Erin Gallagher, the CEO and Founder of Ella, and the creator of the global #hypewoman movement, about the double-edged sword of external validation. Why do so many of us yearn for it? When is it a powerful accelerator versus a detrimental detractor? And how can we seek it out […]

In episode five of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks to Bryan Lattimore (he/him), a father, husband, serial entrepreneur, investor, and creator, about the emerging generation of dads – those who work, and parent, and home-make, and love their role deeply – to figure out how we can support them during this unprecedented time, too. 

In episode four of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks to Carol Fabrizio about Big-G-Grief and Little-g-grief. Why are we expected to power through rather than feel it? How astonishingly ordinary and simultaneously impactful it is, and how to create the space for it to breathe in our interpersonal and professional relationship. 

In episode four of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks to Lindsey Wehking, the head of investigative research at Nonfiction Research, about their research study with TWILL called “The Invisible Weight.” The discussion dives deep into the intersectional experience of pregnancy in America. From the healthcare system to the emotional experience of mothers across demographics. Ultimately, the podcast […]

In the second episode of Corner Office Breakdowns, Ambika speaks to Neha O'Rourke, an award-winning Career & Energy Coach, Speaker and Founder of Somewhere In Between Coaching. Neha left her career in advertising after a period of intense burnout, and has been spending time understanding what causes it, and how to get out of it […]

I was always taught to choose a job based on the manager. And because I'm an ambitious woman, I always wanted to work for an ambitious woman. But as my life started to dimensionalize (marriage, family, wanting to define my own way of “leading”), I realized that often, ambitious women have gotten where they are […]