Welcome to our Women Leaders Spotlight blog series, part of our Changing the Conversation initiative. This series reflects our founding commitment to advancing women in leadership by moving beyond identifying barriers to focusing on solutions—supporting women in their careers while also influencing organizational practices and policymaking.

Can you start by introducing yourself and describing your work at Social Hospitality?

My work revolves around the world of digital marketing and communications. I specialize in helping businesses and individuals establish strong online presences, connect with their target audiences, and build meaningful relationships online. Whether it’s through social media, email marketing, content creation, or website optimization, I’m passionate about crafting compelling narratives and strategies that resonate with people.

In our work with clients, we provide onboarding coaching with every new hire made through our search practice. It’s a differentiator in our business, and we have seen firsthand how impactful early days coaching can be to long-term success in a position. One essential part of our coaching is the delivery of behavioral and communication assessments and debriefs.

Spotlight on Women Leaders Series

Celebrating women leaders across industries and advancing the conversation on leadership—reflecting CFW Careers’ expertise in retained executive search, global executive search, and professional coaching.

To start, can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your work at HerAIgency, especially in the context of supporting women leaders?

I’m Jenna, founder of HerAIgency. We help female founders and women-led teams bring AI into their businesses in a way that is both approachable and powerful. My work is rooted in making AI practical: building AI Brand Managers that serve as the single source of truth for a company, designing conversational AI that actually sounds human, and setting up systems that save time instead of adding complexity.

Welcome to our HR Leaders in Focus blog series, where we feature conversations with HR executives shaping the future of work. These leaders share strategies, lessons learned, and insights on the evolving role HR plays in driving organizational success across industries.

Today, we’re talking with Nathalie Rodriguez, who is a 3x first-in-seat Founding Talent and HR Leader at Cambio.ai. Nathalie currently supports Cambio’s post series A growth, overseeing all things talent, hiring, and people ops. 

Welcome to our Women Leaders Spotlight blog series, part of our Changing the Conversation initiative. This series reflects our founding commitment to advancing women in leadership by moving beyond identifying barriers to focusing on solutions—supporting women in their careers while also influencing organizational practices and policymaking.

Can you start by introducing yourself and describing your work at The Mom Pact?

I’m Molly McCartan, Founder and CEO of The Mom Pact. I built The Mom Pact because I lived what so many women face: trying to advance a career in systems that were never designed for working mothers. I navigated two maternity leaves and people were constantly asking why my career was so important to me. I kept wondering: why is it always framed as one or the other? I watched talented, ambitious women step back or leave altogether, not because they lacked ability or drive, but because they lacked support.

When people hear “retained recruiter,” they often picture executive searches with long timelines and high fees–typically a type of search used only for the most senior level positions. But the reality is that retained search is practical for and relevant to companies at many stages of growth. Retained search isn’t just for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and retained search isn’t just for C-level roles. Rather, retained search offers a focused approach to hiring when the stakes are high and the right person matters. Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions about retained recruiters.

As organizations navigate an ever-evolving work environment, several critical trends are emerging that will shape the workplace of the future. From mental health to leadership development, companies are focusing on holistic approaches that address both the needs of employees and the sustainability of their operations. In our executive coaching practice, we’ve found each of the following to be trends impacting the leaders we work with and the companies they are working to shape every day. From everything we’re hearing, we’ve also formulated some predictions about where these conversations are heading as we barrel towards 2025.

Once in a while, we look back and find that advice we doled out years ago can feel even more relevant today; hence, the throwback blog post. Recently, upon witnessing some intense red flags in a management approach, I was reminded of this gem, which takes a reverse psychology approach to catalyzing insight for managers: What might you be doing wrong? And how can you take meaningful lessons from the absolute worst example of what a manager can be? Read on for five key ways to be an absolutely terrible, horrible, no good, very bad manager.

Are you gearing up to join a new team? 

At CFW Careers, we believe that fostering strong connections with your future colleagues is essential for success in any role. Whether you're preparing for an upcoming interview or planning to integrate into a new team, asking the right questions can help you gain valuable insights into team dynamics, company culture, and role expectations.

My grandfather was a jack-of-all-trades — a farmer, woodworker, horse breeder/trainer, and an all-around hobbyist. His career didn't fit neatly into any one category because he was always learning something new. I remember doing my high school geometry homework at his kitchen table when he peeked over my shoulder and asked, "How are you calculating those angles?" After I showed him, he said, "Follow me." Seeing an opportunity, he brought me into his woodworking shop to look at a partially built horse-drawn snow sleigh.

Through the years, James O’Donnell, co-founder of Integrev, a technology consulting firm, has been our candidate, our client and an advisor to our firm. We’ve not only represented and served him, we’ve learned from him, most of all because he not only knew a lot (about business, about management, about leadership), but, perhaps most importantly, he knew what he didn’t know and shared that growth mindset with us. Here, his lessons learned about the importance of (the right kind of) feedback.

In the fast-paced startup world of B2B SaaS, success hinges on collaboration. When marketing and sales work together seamlessly, growth follows. But when the teams aren’t aligned? The sales team misses its targets, revenue goals become unattainable, and the blame game of finger-pointing begins.

Life and work go together. Sometimes life takes your work in an unexpected direction. Or vice versa. And with this, every individual has a unique career story. And yet, we’ve often had hiring managers say things like: 

When it comes to building a strong team, assessing candidates' soft skills is just as important as evaluating their technical abilities. Soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving, are critical for success in today's dynamic workplace.

Navigating the complexities of leadership can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Whether you're a seasoned executive or a rising star in your organization, there may come a time when you find yourself in need of some extra support to reach your full potential. In our leadership coaching practice, there are a handful of challenges that come up over and over again in our intro calls with leaders.

Whether you’re fresh out of college or you’ve been in the workforce for 20 years, determining your next career move can be intimidating. At CFW Careers, we are in touch with individuals at every stage of their career, and we understand your plight. Cynnie King, President of CFW Careers, weighed in with a five-step process.