Shaped By

In this episode we are joined by Philippa Roberts, author, advertising expert, and business owner. Philippa went to Murray Edwards College, New Hall, to study History in 1985. Once she graduated she embarked on a career in advertising and communications, becoming the Client Services Director at both DDB (now known as Adam and Eve) and Ogilvy. However, during her years working at these agencies, she repeatedly noticed that despite the fact that in most developed markets women are invariably the most valuable consumer audience, they were often perceived in ways that were tired or inaccurate. Determined to do something about it, Philippa left her role to set up a research company called Pretty Little Head with her colleague, Jane Cunningham, with the specific intention to help the marketing world better understand women. 15 years later and with three books under their belts, the duo have been described as the pioneers of marketing to women.

In this episode we are joined by Warsha Kalé, a competition lawyer with over 20 years of experience in her field. Warsha began studying English and Law at Murray Edwards College, New Hall, in 1990. She went on to be admitted to practice as a solicitor in 2000 and following that she became a qualified barrister in the UK and has been admitted to the New York Bar. We were lucky enough to speak to Warsha at a turning point in her career, as she has recently taken on a completely new role as Senior Global Competition Editor at Thomson Reuters.

In this episode, we are joined by Josina Kamerling. Originally wanting to be a barrister, Josina studied Law and Modern Languages at Murray Edwards College, New Hall, in the 1980s. However, she realised that the law wasn't for her and went on to have an incredibly varied career, disrupting any kind of traditional career path. From beginning in investment banking, she went into fashion journalism, then back into banking where she stayed for 10 years, becoming a director at ING, before leaving again for a role at the European Parliament. All of this came before landing her current position as the Head of Regulatory Outreach for the CFA Institute, which she says is the sum of all her experiences and her dream role. Josina challenges any preconceived ideas about what the trajectory of a career should look like.

For the second episode of Shaped By, we are joined by Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Angie graduated from Murray Edwards College, New Hall, with a BA in Classics in 1983 and a PhD in Ancient Philosophy in 1989. She has since held academic positions at the universities of Cambridge, Warwick, and Sheffield. Alongside this she has published widely, she contributes regularly to radio and TV shows, and she sits on numerous boards and committees, including as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

This episode’s guest is Serena Nik-Zainal. Serena matriculated in Medicine at Murray Edwards College, New Hall, in 1995. Since then, she has undertaken numerous research posts in cancer research for which she was awarded the prestigious Dr Josef Steiner Cancer Research award in 2019. This was originally also known as the 'Nobel Prize for Cancer Research' and she is the first female scientist to win the award. Thanks to her research, mutations in cancer tumours can be analysed using new bioinformatic methods, which enables new approaches to targeted therapies. Last September, she was elected as an Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, New Hall, which makes her the perfect guest to begin this series.

Hello and welcome to the podcast Shaped By. Shaped By is an interview series brought to you by Murray Edwards College, New Hall, at the University of Cambridge. In each episode we will interview a member of our alumnae, exploring the experiences which have shaped them to become the women they are today.

This series is produced by Molly Gibson-Mee, Lexie Hoskins, and Eliza Gergely.