The Better Heroes podcast: exceptional human stories on social impact

Neurodiversity is an asset in the workplace but employers haven’t always been ready for it. Research shows that when neurodiverse people are properly supported, they come up with more novel ideas and better serve customers.

Supportive technology has changed the game in this regard. Things like AI, can help people focus on their strengths while filling in the gaps where they might have a weakness.

One of our guests today is Martin McKay. He is the co-founder and CEO of Texthelp – a company that provides digital tools to those who need a little more help understanding and communicating in the workplace. In recognition of his work, Martin was EY Ireland’s Entrepreneur of the year.

Our other guest is Gillian Hinde, EY Global Corporate Responsibility Leader. Gill and the EY Ripples team have a goal to impact 1 billion lives by 2030! 

Learn more about Martin here. Learn more about Gillian here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Despite the uncertainty of new technology and conversations about the negative impacts of AI, today’s Better Heroes believe whole-heartedly in its positive uses. Rami Amin is the Director of Innovation and Digital Partnerships at Visa. He spearheads AI initiatives, and digital partnerships, with governments, to help financial ecosystems. Sophie Sirtaine is the CEO of CGAP which stands for the Consultative Group, to Assist the Poor. CGAP is an international partnership housed by the World Bank Group.

They explain how AI can help advance us to a world where our financial institutions and products are inclusive to all. If our governments work together with the private sectors, then the digital transformation we see today can build a better and more inclusive tomorrow.

Learn more about Sophie here. Learn more about Rami here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

In order to best prepare students for the workforce, artificial intelligence (AI) should be taught and used in schools. Some countries and some states are way ahead of others when it comes to how they approach teaching AI.

That’s where public, private and government partnerships come in to level the playing field. Today’s guests are embracing AI and preparing current and future generations to work with it. Pat Yongpradit is the Chief Academic Officer for Code.org and leader of TeachAI, an initiative to guide education leaders and policymakers in transforming education in an age of AI. Jay Persaud is EY Global Emerging Technology Ecosystem Leader. He works with new tech like AI and helps prepare his colleagues for the future of work.

Learn more about Pat here. Learn more about Jay here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Have you ever heard of the Zulu word, Ubuntu? It means ‘I am because we are.” The term alludes to having a collective vision, goal and effort as a community rather than an individualistic outlook.

Both of today’s Better Heroes are living, breathing examples of how this collective effort can help us live more sustainably by changing our consumption habits. While they have different approaches their goal is the same: To improve sustainability and make a difference in the world.

Umazi Mvurya is the youngest leader of the Leadership Council of Kaya Duruma, a forest sanctuary in the Kenyan coast. She calls herself an artivist and uses her art to create sustainable solutions in  indigenous African communities.

Tom Simmons is the founder and CEO of The Supplant Company. Supplant creates sustainable sugar substitutes from agricultural byproducts that would usually go to waste. Learn more about Umazi here. Learn more about Tom here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Volunteering seems like a normal everyday activity. Planting trees, cooking at a soup kitchen or picking up trash are all great examples. But what if we could amplify the impact of these activities?

In Singapore, at least 31 organizations including EY and CitiBank, have joined together to get more people to volunteer more often. It’s called Project V - as in volunteer. This episode’s better heroes got involved with Project V in the name of corporate volunteerism and they’ve learned that volunteering has benefits far beyond the work a person does in one day. Tibor Pandi is the Citi Country Officer and Banking Head for Singapore. Learn more about Tibor here. Nam Soon Liew is EY Asean Regional Managing Partner. Learn more about Nam Soon here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How do you find and build meaningful partnerships when you’re working across borders, and in unfamiliar communities?

Today’s Better Heroes have the answer. Peter Awin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cowtribe, a digital platform distributing animal vaccines across Ghana’s villages. Malte Pielhau is a Director at EY Germany and Christian Bausch is Associate Director at Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement.

On the show, we talked about how financial investments for social causes and transformative initiatives like Cowtribe are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fruitful partnerships. A real collaboration requires understanding and respect between all parties.

Learn more about Peter here. Learn more about Christian here. Learn more about Malte here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How many world-changing ideas are out there that just need a little bit of funding to get off the ground?

Thanks to this episode's better heroes, one idea is getting off the ground that could change the way we feed the world!

Cilia Indahl is the CEO of EQT Foundation. Her group makes impact investments and paves the way for other investors to support groundbreaking startups.

Chee Hoe is the CEO and co-founder of Qarbotech. He’s one of the entrepreneurs in which EQT has invested. Qarbotech makes a photosynthesis enhancer.

Learn more about Chee Hoe here. Learn more about Cilia here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

AI is the buzziest of the buzzwords right now. Almost everyday we hear about the risks and the benefits, we hear about how AI is the future, and we try our best to understand how it’ll affect our industry and our jobs. But today’s Better Heroes aren’t just concerned with the current applications for AI and the current industry, they’re preparing future generations of AI programmers and users. 

Beatriz Sanz Sáiz is EY Global Data and AI Leader. Bea and her team led the recent launch of EY.ai - a unifying platform. With EY.ai, you get a partner that understands your business and industry, brings together a holistic ecosystem, and can seamlessly connect AI capabilities to help you drive AI-enabled business transformation.

Tara Chklovski is CEO and founder of Technovation. The nonprofit teaches young women and girls about technology by having them build mobile apps that solve problems in their own communities.

Learn more about Beatriz here. Learn more about Tara here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How do we activate and motivate millions of people across the globe to adopt daily healthy habits? And is there a way for these healthy habits to have a net positive impact on our communities as a whole?

Today’s Better Hero is Eduardo della Maggiora. 

Eduardo is the co-founder and CEO of Betterfly. Imagine the worlds of insurance, benefits and purpose in one place, but personalized and gamified. The platform motivates both employees and policyholders to develop healthy habits. And it was created to provide two huge things that people care about: financial protection and the opportunity to make an impact in the world, through donations to different social causes.

Learn more about Eduardo here

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Ordinary office supplies can have a value far beyond their cost and everyday use. Big organizations have whole teams tasked with procurement - the purchasing of items necessary for them to do business. If those teams take into account the social impact of the items they buy the process becomes social procurement.

The tea in your office kitchen is a great example. If it’s from NEMI Teas, it’s not just providing you with your afternoon pick me up it’s also helping a refugee find a job and integrate into society. Pranav Chopra is the founder of NEMI Teas and one of today’s Better Heroes.

Our other guests are Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility at SAP, and Theresa Harrison, EY Global Environmental Social Governance Services Leader. Both EY and SAP have signed up to the Social Enterprise UK ‘Buy Social Corporate Challenge’ – which is a group of high-profile businesses aiming to collectively spend £1 billion with social enterprises through their procurement in the UK.

Learn more about Alexandra here. Learn more about Theresa here. Learn more about Pranav and NEMI Teas here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Minority businesses aren't just underestimated, they're woefully underfunded. At the current pace, in the US, it will take 333 years for a minority-owned business to achieve revenue parity to their non-minority counterparts! But we can significantly reduce that timeline with support and collaboration. Ethel Torres is the CEO at National Drug Source, a pharmaceutical distribution platform that's providing safer and more secure healthcare around the world. Nit Reeder is EY Americas Markets Communications and Enablement Leader and EY Entrepreneurs Access Network Program Director. They're kicking off season 2 of Better Heroes by sharing more about why access and community matter. 

Learn more about National Drug Source here and about Nit here. 

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What is the value of an elephant? Or of a whale, a monkey, or a wolf? What if we could create a living- based value system that accounts for the services animals provide to their environment?

This episode’s Better Hero is Walid Al Saqqaf, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Rebalance Earth. Walid’s goal is to change the way we value wildlife. His company is placing a value on the natural services provided by animals so that they’re worth far more living than dead.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How can entrepreneurship solve the world’s toughest problems? How can public and private enterprises come together to support impactful entrepreneurs? How can we create more job opportunities and economic prosperity around the globe?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Édgar Sánchez, EY Colombia Country Managing Partner and Talent Leader, Latin America North, and Camila Escallón, Corporate Affairs and Communications Senior Manager in the Andean Region at Unilever. Led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and EY, TRANSFORM is a program that unites corporates, donors, investors and academics to support visionary impact enterprises.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What do you do if you live in a rural community where jobs are scarce? Is migration to a bigger city a sufficient solution? How can we develop local economies?

This episode’s Better Hero is Sebastian Salinas, Founder and Executive Director at Balloon Latam. His goal is to work alongside rural community members to teach entrepreneurship and economic development.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What makes a product economically and environmentally sustainable? What is a regenerative economy? What role do local artisans play in regenerative economies? How can we ensure local artisans are compensated fairly for their labor? We’ll unpack all those questions and more in this episode.

This episode’s Better Hero is Neelam Chhiber, Co-Founder and Managing Trustee at Industree Foundation and Co-Founder and Managing Director at Mother Earth. Her goal is to support local artisans in achieving economic prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Can we solve global hunger? Is there enough food on earth to support a growing population? How will climate change impact our food supply?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Rob Dongoski and Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How much food gets thrown away every day? Is there another option for food waste other than a landfill? How can we turn leftovers into something incredible?

This episode’s Better Hero is Travin Singh, Founder and CEO at CRUST Group. Travin’s goal is to reduce food waste by upcycling surplus ingredients like bread, and waste like fruit peels into beer and non-alcoholic beverages.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What is the impact of a tractor? How does access to these machines improve education, decrease child labor and increase food security? What does it mean to be an entrepreneur with purpose?

This episode’s Better Hero is Jehiel Oliver, founder and CEO of Hello Tractor. His goal is to help marginalized farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa access tractors and improve their lives.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Why is action on diversity, equity and inclusion important? What is EY doing to further equity both globally and locally? What can we all do to create a more equitable and just world?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Julie Linn Teigland, EY EMEIA Area Managing Partner, and Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Why is translation important? What role does it play in an increasingly globalized world? Why is diversity among translators critical?

This episode’s Better Hero is Nour Al Hassan, Founder and CEO of Tarjama. Her goal is to use technology and translation to empower women. 

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Do you know your rights and how to use them? What if there was an app that could teach you what your rights are and how to exercise them?

This episode’s Better Hero is Wa’il Ashshowwaf, CEO and Co-Founder at REYETS. His goal is to create equity through education.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.