Member only Expert Zooms
(Please email leodcwomeninbusiness@gmail.com for information).
Friday 11th September 11.00-11.45: The Art of Not Answering
Speaker: Gill Baronetti
The Power of Asking Better Questions
How often do we rush to give advice, solve the problem or tell someone what they should do - when a good question might achieve so much more?
Whether you’re leading a team, working with colleagues, parenting teenagers or navigating relationships, asking rather than telling can change the quality of the conversation - and unlock creativity, insight, learning and ownership.
In this interactive session, you’ll explore why we’re so quick to jump in with answers, and discover how stepping back and asking better questions can help others think for themselves, take responsibility and find their own way forward.
You’ll walk away with:
- A practical questioning framework you can use immediately - at work and at home
- A better understanding of when to tell, when to ask and when to challenge
- Simple ways to use questions to create greater ownership, insight and responsibility
Come with a problem you’re trying to solve for someone else. Leave with a question that might help them solve it themselves.
Expert Profile: Gill Baronetti
As a leadership and relational intelligence coach and trainer with over 20 years’ experience across IT, financial services, leadership and Agile transformation, Gill Baronetti is convinced of one thing: people - more than process, technology or strategy - are at the heart of every successful team, change and organisation.
She’s the creator of People Powered Leadership® (PPL), a leadership approach built around the human and relational skills behind high performance. The Art of Not Answering is one of its core modules.
It’s for anyone who has ever found themselves carrying too much for the team - solving problems, giving answers, chasing people, stepping in and fixing things - only to wonder why everyone keeps coming back to them.
Gill explores what happens when leaders shift from being the person with all the answers to becoming the person who helps others find their own answers. Because sometimes, the most powerful thing a leader can do is not answer - but ask a better question.
Her take? Empowering people and creating ownership doesn’t have to be difficult. With the right mindset and a few simple tools, leaders can stop doing everyone else’s thinking, unlock the capability around them and create teams that take greater ownership, responsibility and action.
www.leadergility.co https://www.linkedin.com/in/gill-baronetti/
Friday 2nd October 11.00-11.45: Lumps, bumps, mammograms and more.
Speaker: Elaine Campbell, Lactation Mentor
www.elainecampbell.ie
This National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, join us for a friendly, practical chat about what to look for, what can affect your risk, how to check your breasts, HRT and breast health, mammograms, and when it’s worth getting something checked. No scare tactics, just useful information.
Friday 9th October 11.00-11.45: AI, GDPR and Your Customer Data: A Simple Guide for SMEs
Speaker: Gita Cherry P
www.pndar.com
Most small businesses now use AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, Copilot and AI chatbots. This session focuses on the data side that many owners find confusing: what customer and employee data is suitable (and less suitable) to use with AI, and how to stay on the right side of GDPR and the EU AI Act without the jargon.In this 30 minute session, you will:
- See where customer and employee data typically touches AI in an SME (marketing, bookings, support).
- Learn simple do’s and don’ts for using names, emails, transactions and other personal data with common AI tools.
- Understand basic consent and privacy‑notice issues in plain language, including what to tell customers when you use AI.
- Get a practical AI & Customer Data Decision Workbook (Excel) that helps you map your AI tools, highlight GDPR/AI Act hotspots, and generate a tailored action list for your business.
By the end, you’ll have a clear view of your AI data risks and concrete next steps you can implement immediately.
Bio:
Gita Cherry is the founder of PNDAR, a privacy, data governance and responsible‑AI practice based in Dublin. With over 15 years of experience in major tech and media companies like Google, Meta, TikTok, and OMD, she combines in-depth industry knowledge with practical tools, including digital templates, on-demand courses, live training, and consultancy. She holds Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), AI Governance Professional (AIGP), PMP and is a certified DPO, and focuses on turning complex rules into simple, workable processes for non‑technical teams. In this session, she will share a straightforward Excel workbook that owners can use immediately to reduce risk and build trust with customers.
www.pndar.com
Friday 23rd October 11.00-11.45: Operating a business in a Smart City
Speaker: Viktoria Roy
Outline:
- What is a Smart City? Toronto Sidewalk Labs, Dubai, Barcelona and Dublin as different models of what “smart” can mean
- Where is your business inside that system? A jewellery designer, marketer, artist, technology company or property user all interact with buildings, infrastructure, mobility, digital services, regulation, customers, public space and city data. What role does your business play in producing, using or being affected by city intelligence?
- How does a Smart City know what it knows?
- DAO-Narrative: what human reality is absent from the bird’s-eye view?
- What are the traps and opportunities for local businesses?
Bio:
Viktoria Roy is a built-environment and Smart City specialist with 16 years’ experience connecting buildings, information, technology and people. She works at the point where complex systems meet real life, exploring how better data, digital tools and human intelligence can improve decisions across businesses, assets and cities. She is currently developing DAO-Narrative, an initiative exploring how citizen and business experience can become meaningful input into the systems shaping our cities.
Friday 6th November 11.00-11.45 - Social Engineering: A Cybersecurity Threat Hiding in Plain Sight
Speaker: Tsholo Rantao, Founder, Ante
Overview:
The session will explore how cybercriminals exploit human trust to target businesses through phishing, impersonation, fraudulent payment requests and emerging AI-enabled threats. I will explain how social engineering works, identify common vulnerabilities in everyday business activities and understand the potential financial, operational and reputational impact of cyberattacks.
The session will provide practical tips to help business owners recognise suspicious activity, protect sensitive information and strengthen their organisation’s cybersecurity resilience.
Bio:
Tsholo Rantao is a Dublin-based cybersecurity and data protection professional with over eight years of experience in technology risk, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance consulting. Having worked with leading professional services firms, including PwC and EY, she brings experience in helping organisations identify, manage and mitigate technology and information security risks.
She is the founder of Ante, an emerging cybersecurity technology platform focused on helping businesses identify, assess and strengthen their resilience against social-engineering threats.Tsholo is passionate about making cybersecurity accessible, practical and relevant to businesses of all sizes, empowering entrepreneurs to protect their businesses in an increasingly digital world.
