WiST Fireside Chat Webinar “Culture Matters”

DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) focused webinar featuring CEO’s and leaders in the business who are walking the walk in terms of changing their ratio and building inclusive cultures. Moderator: Marilou McFarlane (She/Her), WiST Founder & CEO. Panelists: Alysse Soll (She/Her), CEO Advisory at Underdog Venture Team; Alex Miles (He/Him), CEO/Founder of Breakthru; Jarvis Sam (He/Him), Founder/CEO, The Rainbow Disruption.

Organiser: ASTN & WiST

Date: Wednesday 22 March 2023
Time: 9am-10am (AEDT)
Venue: Online Event
WiST Fireside Chat Webinar  “Culture Matters”

Big Picture

More than ever, managers at all levels, as well as their employees, care about working in a culture of inclusivity, where everyone feels like they belong and have equitable access to growth opportunities. The best employees today have a lot of options. For younger job seekers, DEI focus and initiatives aren’t a preference, they are a requirement. 

Why This Matters

Beyond social justice, more diverse teams generate more revenue and higher profits. 

Our informal conversation meets your people where they are. We will address and allow for discussion around: 

  • What employees seek today, more than ever
  • The difference in inherent and acquired diversity 
  • The business case for diversity 
  • What is an inclusive culture
  • Recognising and addressing unconscious bias
  • Specific steps to creating a more inclusive culture and climate at all levels
  • Resources for further learning and development

Moderator: 

Marilou McFarlane (She/Her) - WiST Founder + CEO
Marilou McFarlane is an experienced founder and leader in the sports tech industry, dedicated to creating equitable opportunities and establishing a level playing field for all. She is the founder+CEO of Women in Sports Tech (WiST), former CMO/CRO of Mustard, CEO of Edufii (CoachNow), and president of STATSports in North America. She specialises in innovative sports performance technologies, building high-performance teams and inclusive cultures, and leading expansive startup growth.

With the mission to empower growth opportunities for women and employers in the sports tech business, Marilou founded WiST as a non-profit organisation in 2017. WiST develops and delivers innovative programs, original content, and a global community that provides tangible value for women and employers. They have provided 75 grants to college and grad students through their flagship WiST Fellowship program and work with more than 30 corporate partners, including Nike, the NBA, IBM Sports, Stats Perform, Comcast NBCU, Catapult and the USOPC.
 
Marilou is a former University of North Carolina Division 1 cross-country athlete and proud mom of two Tar Heel women’s soccer captains who went on to play professionally. Both experiences inspired her to create WiST to change the ratio and build inclusive cultures in the exploding sports tech business.

Panellists:

Alysse Soll (She/Her) - CEO, underdog venture team
Alysse Soll is the CEO of underdog advisory, the investment arm of underdog venture team, a venture studio. In this role, she leads underdog’s efforts in sourcing, investing, advising, and fundraising for startups across the sports ecosystem, with a mission to support female and BIPOC founders.

Alex Miles (He/Him) - CEO/Founder, Breakthru
Alex Miles is the CEO/Founder of Breakthru, an earn platform for youth backed by investors such as Goodwater, Techstars, and 37 Angels. He is a former professional rugby player from Australia with over 12 years of experience in marketing and tech. Alex sits on the board for Women in Sports Tech and was coaching a high school girls’ rugby team in Harlem New York when Breakthru was founded.

Jarvis Sam (He/Him) - CEO/Founder, The Rainbow Disruption

Jarvis Sam is the CEO and Founder of the multi-services DEI firm The Rainbow Disruption and the former Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Nike Inc. He was recently named Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Sports class of 2021 as well as Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. In his previous role, he oversaw a team focused on driving diverse representation, inclusive leadership and social justice education, professional development, and the ecosystem of promoting and creating a culture of belonging inside and outside of Nike. Prior to being named CDEIO at Nike, Jarvis held various roles focused on acquiring new talent capabilities for the company and driving large programs, partnerships and initiatives aimed at impacting representation and accelerating the flow of Nike’s diverse talent pipelines. Jarvis collaborated closely with key stakeholders and partner organizations, internally and externally to facilitate and measure effective workplace diversity and inclusion models. Additionally, he led Nike’s candidate experience and talent attraction/employer branding efforts - driving best-in-class approaches and strategies to amplify the company’s employment voice and obsess the candidate. 

Register here. Zoom details will be sent before the webinar.