Episode 74: Austin Akers- International Election Observer and Communications Strategist

Austin is the co-Founder of Interscribe Global Communications Agency, which helps leaders navigate the complex intersection of politics and communications. He’s also an international election observer who's spent the last decade working across emerging democracies. His experience has taken him from observing elections in Albania and Georgia to working with global NGOs, think tanks, and advocacy groups on strategic communications challenges.

According to Austin, what drives his work are things he has witnessed repeatedly: democracy's biggest threats today aren't just rigged elections or authoritarian overreach, they're disinformation campaigns and the systematic erosion of trust in institutions. He has seen elections fail not because of ballot stuffing, but because credible voices couldn't effectively communicate their findings while bad actors dominated the narrative space.

Episode 73: Alison Rehill-Erguven the CEO of Cenomi Centers, the Largest Real Estate Mall Developer In Saudi Arabia

Alison is the CEO of Cenomi Centers. What Emaar is to Dubai, what Westfield is to London, or Simon Property Group is to the US, Cenomi Centers is to Saudi Arabia.

She brings over 25 years of extensive leadership experience across shopping malls and retail real estate globally. Leading the strategic growth and transformation of Cenomi Centers' portfolio, Alison oversees development, operations, marketing, and asset management functions. Prior to joining Cenomi, Alison was the CEO of Pradera Retail Asia, later integrated into Brookfield Asset Management, where she also served as Acting Head of Commercial Real Estate for Brookfield Properties China. She previously held leadership roles in Europe and Turkey and began her career in the United States with Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties.

In this episode Alison talks about what drives her, what she studies most about malls she walks into, the Saudi consumer, and the character trait that’s needed to be the CEO of a mall developer.

Episode 72: Inga Rubenstein: From Modeling To Ardent Art Connoisseur

Russian born, Inga Rubenstein is also American. She’s St. Petersburg, turned New York City, turned fashion model, turned ardent art connoisseur. I first met Inga in Florence, Italy by chance and have admired her style, and the way she holds herself in a reserved manner. In this episode we talk about her life in Russia, modeling, NY, art, and her philanthropic work.

Episode 71: Mary Senkowska On The Importance Of Having Confidence In Business & Creating Leadership Programs For Executives

Mary Senkowska is an international entrepreneur, executive coach, and single mother who has built her career bridging continents and cultures. As the founder of Creative Brain, she has spent eight years developing leadership programs for executives across 90+ nationalities, from her bases in the Netherlands, Malaysia, New York and now Poland. Mary's work focuses on the intersection of emotional intelligence and high-performance leadership, helping executives navigate uncertainty.

Episode 70: Sebastian Norena Opens Up About His Journey In Creating Impactful Luxury Experiences That Resonate

Sebastian Norena is a hospitality executive born and raised in Colombia, yet he has called the US home for a while now. He worked his way up from entry-level positions to management, corporate, and executive roles with Nikki Beach Worldwide and the Butter Group in New York City. His body of work includes experience in both major cities and international markets to generate successful and impactful brand messaging and revenue, that drive initiatives for his portfolio of clients. Working with the likes of Richie Akiva to produce experiences at Coachella, Paris Fashion Week, the Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Art Basel Miami, amfAR Gala after parties, and Rihanna’s Fenty NYFW and PFW official after parties. Industry leaders seek out Sebastian, asking him to spearhead their projects and consult on a variety of branding and event-based projects, which led to the birth of his company KIP Hospitality, where he has worked with Mercedes Benz and the Academy Awards, scouting the talent for their events, bringing celebrities such as Mase, Guy Gerber, Paris Hilton, and Wycliff. Sebastian’s experiences and those he’s a part of resonate with consumers, media, and attendees and in turn, create long term returns and retention.

Episode 69: Pierre Houssney On The Ministry Needs In Lebanon

Pierre Houssney is a Lebanese-American who grew up in the US, between cross cultural ministry between Muslims and international students. But, today he calls Beirut home. Pierre has been in full time ministry with Horizons International (a mission organization founded by his father Georges) since 2006. While growing up he spent summers doing outreach in Lebanon, and spent a gap year doing ministry in Beirut.

Today, Pierre leads a team of nationals and missionaries, running centers of evangelism and discipleship throughout Lebanon, as well as a school for refugee children and the Middle East Center for World Missions.

I met Pierre in 2018 when I moved to Beirut and started serving with Horizons. I observed first hand is leadership, in finding solutions and bringing people together for the common mission of uplifting and sharing Jesus. In this episode we discuss the current need in Lebanon and how Horizons is responding to that need.

Episode 68: Matthew A. Swift- The CEO & Co-Founder of Concordia On Creating A Network Of World Leaders That Insight Change

Matthew A. Swift is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of Concordia. Matthew has grown Concordia into the leading nonpartisan global affairs membership organization dedicated to forming innovative cross-sector partnerships that address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time, which bridge the divide between business, government, and non-profits to find market-based solutions to critical challenges. Matthew has led conversations with preeminent world figures from U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden; President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; former President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe; The Carlyle Group Inc. Co-Founder David Rubenstein; former White House Advisor Ivanka Trump; her husband Jared Kishner; and Uber (NYSE: UBER) CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. Concordia’s summits have been held in New York City, Miami, Bogotá, Athens, Madrid, London, Porto, and Guyana.

Episode 67: Alessandro Sugar and Andrea Fabrizii On Bringing Italian and French Composed Works of Art Alive In Hollywood Films

During this year’s Cannes Film Festival, I met Alessandro Sugar and Andrea Fabrizii- as well as Alessandro’s siblings. Both Alessandro and Andrea are part of CAM Sugar, a catalogue that represents Italian and French soundtracks, with over 2,000 original scores. Music in their catalogue are found in Oscar winning films like La Dolce Vita, Il Postino, Mondo Cane, 8 ½, Amarcord, and more. Major international producers and directors pick and choose from the CAM Sugar archive with hundreds of samples and synchronizations from movies to fashion campaigns. Who can forget Jack Black in The Holiday, opposite Kate Winslet, where his character composed a song inspired by the late great Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Or, Quentin Tarantino introducing America to the film genre “spaghetti western,” in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. This is the space that Andrea and Alessandro work in, they bring French and Italian composed works of art alive in films. And works by Italian and French composers from Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Riz Ortolani, and Alain Goraguer are in their library.

 At 24, Alessandro is head of CAM Sugar label, connecting the catalogue with the contemporary, through sync, sampling, and curations. He collaborates with a young team focused on bringing CAM Sugar's music to new audiences. Andrea is a gold digger for vinyl’s, tapes, and forgotten stories; as well as a musician, producer, communicator, and one of Italy’s leading Italian experts in the field of cinema and soundtracks. Doing A&R for the CAM Sugar label, Andrea oversees the editing and sound restoration of archival music, ensuring the renowned sonic quality of their releases. Also, a DJ, Andrea includes the works of Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Stefano Torossi, and others, which he highlights in his mixes for the CAM Sound System that’s performed at international festivals, listening sessions, clubs, and radio stations.

Episode 66: Vickie Samushonga Explains Why Fashion Should Be Looking at India

With a dual calling in fashion and the ministry, Zimbabwean born Vickie Samushonga works with fashion designers between Africa and India, connecting designers with manufacturers, fashion weeks, and exhibitions. When I sat down with Vickie, I didn’t think the conversation to be this engaging. She gave more than I was expecting. A woman who is able to tie her faith into her work, and have an impact in both areas is fascinating. She opens up about her journey in both fields, what African designers need most, and what India offers the fashion industry.

Episode 65: Yi-Hwa Hanna Shares Her Thoughts On The State Of Media

Yi-Hwa Hanna is an author and editor of a Middle East edition of a leading global travel magazine brand, based in Dubai. Her words have been published in a range of top-tier international and regional publications over the past 20 years, including Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Business Traveller, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Etihad Inflight, and many others. She’s also an award-winning writer having won the 2023 Emirates LitFest Writing Prize. Her writing knowledge spans from lifestyle, fashion, beauty, technology, and business. In this episode she talks about her journey in media, how to navigate through the rough media climate, and the ways to pitch to an editor.

Episode 64: Hollywood Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo On Why Doing Films On Violence Against Women Is her Passion

Shohreh Aghdashloo is an Emmy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated actr ess. Originally from Iran, she is not banned from her native country. Her prolific work on stage and screen has been lauded for decades in both her native Iran and worldwide, especially in her adopted home, the United States. American audiences know her best from her Oscar-nominated performance in House Of Sand And Fog and her Emmy-winning role in HBO’s acclaimed “House Of Saddam.” But I know Shohreh from her 2008 film The Stoning of Soraya M.

As a diverse talent and voice-over artist, Shohreh has moved between television, film, and theatre with much ease. Shohreh has an iconic voice, and has voiced characters for the video games Mass Effect, Destiny and animated TV series like Arcane. She also has narrated audiobooks like "The Bible of Clay" by Julia Navarro, "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini. You may have seen her on Law & Order: SVU, Will & Grace, or in Star Trek: Beyond, X-Men - The Last Stand, and The Lake House.

In this episode Shohreh and I talk about her newest film Still Smiling, a film about domestic violence- a topic that she’s passionate about, we talk about her early life in Iran, and what she’s working on.

Episode 63: Tessy Antony de Nassau- Veteran, Mother, Former Princess, and Business Woman

Photo Credit: Tessy Antony de Nassau /Instagram

Tessy Antony de Nassau is a Wife, Mother, Social Entrepreneur, Business Woman, Philanthropist, Military Veteran, Public Speaker, Activist, and Co-Founder of a fashion brand.

Wearing many hats, Tessy actively promotes a number of issues, including global health and women’s rights. She is passionate about pushing her different agendas to benefit the Sustainable Development Goals and has committed her time and energy to furthering the work of organizations in which she believes in. If you follow Tessy’s life, you see that everything she has done or is doing, she was prepped to do. Her work in the Luxembourg military, and being a former member of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg where she was styled as princess prepared her for her activism, private sector, and NGO work. Quite egalitarian in how she carries herself, Tessy makes the effort to be amongst the people, helping when and where she can.

In this episode, she opens up on her journey of growing up in Luxembourg, of her military service, her sweet moment of being a princess- though I’d argue she still is in spirit and soul, and what she has been up to. 

Episode 62: Rebecca George- Knowing You’re Not Too Late In A Hurry-Up World

Rebecca is the founder of Radical Radiance® - a podcast community where listeners are equipped to blend what they love with Jesus, who makes them shine. She is a podcaster, speaker, and author whose greatest joy in life is discipling others to pursue their passions in a way that builds the Kingdom. In her new book “It’s Not Too Late,” Rebecca unpacks how to deal with the experience of longing, whether that be for a spouse or a child, for a healing in a broken relationship, or for a clearer direction in our calling. Because of this waiting, we can fall into resentment about what we lack—or we can see our unmet desires as an invitation to draw closer to a trustworthy God.

In her free time, you can find her running outside, writing, or trying a new recipe with 90s country playing in the background. You can connect with her on IG at @rebeccageorgeauthor or at radicalradiance.live

Episode 61: Keni Silva Opens Up About Her Book "Divorce As An Opportunity "

Keni is a multi-talented media personality, philanthropist, film industry investor, woman empowerment activist and speaker, model, entrepreneur and certified divorce coach. She was just honored by Orange County in California during Women’s History Month in March. When she’s not walking red carpets like Cannes, Venice, LACMA, or being featured for her fashion sensibility for Vogue, WWD, Daily Mail, and others, she’s helping others. She sits on the board of the Children's Oncology Support Fund, and supports Baby2Baby, Amfar, and Visionary Women.

We talk about her new book “Divorce As An Opportunity," a comprehensive guidebook empowering women to navigate divorce successfully and challenging the traditional narratives surrounding separation.

Episode 60: Nelson L. Schuman- From Banking to Inner Healing Ministry

Nelson L. Schuman is an author, teacher, speaker, founder and president of Restored To Freedom located near Dallas, TX. Before he did what, he does now, Nelson was successful in the banking world. But through family challenges, God guided him into full time ministry: helping people get free from soul wounds.

Nelson’s focus is the restoration of lives and marriages, specifically helping people get healed from their past soul wounds and delivered from demonic strongholds. He has helped thousands around the world, and has seen many healed from physical infirmities.

He has 13 books available on Amazon including his best-selling book Freedom From Soul Wounds and Demons. He has trained over 500 people in 15 countries under his Restored to Freedom ministry to do soul wound healings and deliverances. His Facebook Soul Wound Healing and Demon Deliverance group helps people worldwide to receive support when they have been hurt by people.  You can also visit his TikTok page,  You Tube channel and watch his monthly deliverance sessions as well as hear personal testimonies and his daily teachings.

Episode 59: Eliza Huie on Equipping People to Engage With Trauma

As a licensed clinical professional counselor with advanced specialized training in trauma care, Eliza has just published a new book. She opens up on why it’s important to have understanding and empathy in the area of trauma, when engaging with people.

Today, an increasing number of people will be exposed to a traumatic situation in their lifetime. From natural disasters and violent crime to wars and personal loss, the research shows that more than two-thirds of the population will experience a traumatic event by the time they are 16 years old. The invisible and deep wounds left by these events can be difficult to identify and easy to misunderstand.
Eliza Huie, a licensed clinical professional counselor with advanced specialized training in trauma care, and she just wrote a new book Trauma Aware: A Christian’s Guide to Providing Help and Care. In this insightful book, she guides readers to become trauma-aware helpers by equipping them with tools to recognize the signs of trauma and offer compassionate, lasting help to survivors.  
We chat about her work in equipping and training church leaders in how to deal with trauma, she explains how to deal with friends that may have trauma, and she outlines examples of trauma in the Bible. Enjoy this podcast episode with Eliza.

Episode 58: Sara Murad- A Network Media Presenter and Perfumer

Photo courtesy of Sara Murad/ Instagram

Since 2013, Sara Murad has been a media presenter in the Middle East. She’s a Senior TV Presenter on MBC 1 and a founder of her own fragrance brand, By Sara Murad. Her work has taken her around the world, capturing stories and meeting people. You can often find Sara sitting front row at fashion weeks, at Formula 1 in Jeddah, or hosting some of the Middle East’s biggest events. Originally from Saudi Arabia, Sara is very proud of her heritage, and she aspires to show her country to the world.

One way she introduces Saudi Arabia to the world is through her brand. Growing up around the unique scents of Oud and Musk, inspired her first fragrance: Black Oud. The brand isn’t just a scent but an experience, it’s a bridge between the timeless traditions of the past and the bold spirit of the present with a clear vision of the future.

Episode 57: Drew Baldridge “Nashville Kind Of Gave Up On Me, I had 4 Failed Singles”

The Country Music singer opens up about his turnaround career as an independent artist at C2C Music Festival in London

So, it’s the C2C Music Festival that happens every year between London, Dublin, and Glasgow. It’s the largest Country Music festival outside of the US. You might know his songs ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter’ and ‘Tough People.’ But before these songs became hits, Drew thought he had failed in Country Music. He faced quite a few setbacks, one being 4 failed number 1 hits another being he couldn’t get a record label to put out his music, but Drew believed in himself and created his own record label and self-released ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter’, which reached number 1. This path in his music journey is an inspiration to anyone who believes that dreams can come true. The RIAA GOLD-certified viral hit has garnered over 1.1 billion streams and impressions across all platforms, making history as the highest-charting self-funded song ever on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. This led to him partnering with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville/Stoney Creek for his new single, “Tough People.” In addition to his singles successes, Drew has been a part of writing over 500 songs for other Country artists from Bailey Zimmerman, LOCASH, and Chase Matthew, and he’s currently on tour with Cody Johnson’s Leather Deluxe Tour and will join Bailey Zimmerman’s New Country Tour later this year.

Episode 56: Aurore Gautier- Celebrity Makeup Artist Shares Her Journey

Aurore is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Of Italian heritage, she lived in France for many years, and now calls Portugal home. In the middle for the autumn-winter 2025 women’s Paris Fashion Week season, I sat down with Aurore to talk about her journey as a celebrity makeup artist. She’s self-taught, kind, and inspiring.

Episode 55: Mary Marantz- Author, Speaker, Podcaster Talks Her Book “Underestimated”

Photo Credit: Justin Marantz

Mary Marantz is the bestselling author of Dirt and Underestimated, as well as the host of the popular podcast The Mary Marantz Show. She grew up in a trailer in rural West Virginia and was the first in her family to go to college before going on to Yale for law school. Her work has been featured on CNN, MSN, Business Insider, Bustle, Thrive Global, Southern Living, Hallmark Home & Family and more. She and her husband Justin live in an 1880s fixer-upper by the sea in New Haven, Connecticut, with their two very fluffy golden retrievers, Goodspeed and Atticus.

In this episode we talk about Underestimated, and dive into topics around the book. Listen as Mary unpacks themes of what it means to be crippled by fear, but when we overcome, we are often underestimated by those around us. Learn more about Mary at MaryMarantz.com.