December 1, 2024 • 53 mins
Discover the inspiring journey of Polina Branco, CEO of Two Point O Collective, as she shares her unique life story from growing up under communism in Southeastern Europe to leading a thriving creative agency in Bermuda. With compelling anecdotes from her childhood in diverse countries like Iraq and Cuba, Polina’s narrative is a testament to the power of education and resilience. This episode promises a rich tapestry of insights into how her early experiences have shaped her worldview, leadership style, and personal philosophy, offering valuable lessons on love, happiness, and contentment.
Explore the responsibilities of leadership through the lens of Polina’s personal experiences, especially during challenging times like the economic impacts of COVID-19. She candidly discusses the transformative rebranding of Two Point O Collective and how her move to Bermuda led to meeting her husband and forming a life-changing partnership. Polina’s reflections on leadership, resilience, and personal growth provide a nuanced understanding of the profound connections that shape both personal and professional journeys.
The conversation also highlights the struggles and triumphs of women in leadership roles, particularly in board positions. Polina shares her journey to becoming a board director and the hurdles women face, especially in Bermuda, due to historical gender biases. We discuss the importance of building a personal brand, advocating for diversity and inclusion, and supporting local businesses. Polina’s insights are aimed at empowering women to break barriers, foster meaningful change, and embrace the balance between career and personal growth. Join us for an episode filled with empowering stories and strategies for genuinely impactful leadership.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm a hustler baby.
It's time for Hustle Herpodcast.
I'm your host, deshae Caines.
Hustle Her is all aboutinspiring women through real
life experiences that havehelped to mold and develop not
only me of motivation, a bit oftough love and some actionable
(00:26):
takeaways to be the best.
You, girl, you are in the rightplace.
Hey guys, this episode isbrought to you by Scudamart.
At Scudamart, you can buy, sellor rent a bike with them.
Make sure you head over totheir Hamilton location on
Church Street or their Pagetlocation on Lover's Lane.
Visit them on wwwscootermartbm,hey guys, and welcome back to
(00:49):
Hustle Her Podcast.
Thank you for spending sometime with me today.
We want to give a big shout outto our season sponsors, 59
Front and Brown and Company.
We also want to shout outScootermart Bermuda.
If you guys have any cycleneeds, make sure you head over
to scootermartbm for all of yourcycle care needs.
So super excited about myepisode today.
I've had the honor ofinterviewing my guests before,
(01:10):
but we were audio only and thenwe made the decision to wait and
do this again when we weredoing video and we finally been
able to come together and sitdown and have this lovely
conversation.
She is the CEO of 2.0Collective, the lovely Miss
Paulina Branco.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I'm great, yes, I'm so glad that we're here.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Me too.
Yes, it's been a long timecoming, it is.
It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Everything happens for a reason, and this is when
we were meant to do this.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Absolutely, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, it's so crazy.
I was seeing someone the otherday.
I think it was my mom.
She's like.
I thought you interviewedPaulina before and I was like I
did, but then, literally liketwo months later, I moved to
video and I was like I wouldmuch rather do this on video
than to have this on audio only.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So you know a lot has changed.
Yeah, it's been four years, soa lot of my answers then might
be different.
You know we all grow and andchange, so I'm curious to see
what comes out of today.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, all right.
So let's jump in, let's getsome people to get to know you a
little bit better, and thenwe'll get right into it.
All right.
So rapid, few rapid fires.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I'm happiest when when I am with good people
around me and the pace is slow.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, love that.
When you get on a plane andyou're settled and the plane is
about to take off, what do youdo?
What's your go-to?
I look outside.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I love looking at the clouds.
When I was little, I used tothink that whatever troubles I
had down here on earth, theywere gone when I was up in the
clouds, and I've been travelingon planes ever since I was very,
very little.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
So it's a bit of meditation for me.
Okay, looking at the cloudsLove that.
Okay, tell me about yourskincare routine, because the
skin looks phenomenal, so whatdo you do to maintain it?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's actually very simple.
I use Pestle and Mortar, thebrand, and then some good old
tinted SPF Love that Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It's been hot lately.
I can't.
The full face of makeup is onlyon recording days, so I totally
get it all right.
What does love feel like?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
calm, tranquility.
I don't like using the termhappiness.
I feel like it's very overusedand I I feel that it puts so
much pressure on us toconstantly chase that happiness.
You know, be be happy, look forhappiness.
So for me it's content, it'sthat feeling of calm and
satisfaction and feelingcomfortable in my own skin.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All right.
And who was your celebritycrush growing up or now?
If that's okay, Sorry, Mike.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Celebrity crush growing up, see, I was raised in
communism, so the celebritiesyou know and the ones that I
know probably are a bitdifferent.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So I had some Latin American singers, but one not
per se a crush, but somebodythat I felt was absolutely
gorgeous was Shakira Okay, inher very, very early years, when
she had long dark hair andhenna, and she was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Love that.
Okay, all right.
So you mentioned growing up incommunism.
So tell me about young Paulina.
What were you like as a child?
Where are you originally from?
Where did you grow up?
Fill me in.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
So that is one of my favorite questions, and my
husband will probably chucklebecause it's a little game I
play when people meet me andthey're trying to place me and
they say, where are you from?
And I go, well, where do youthink I'm from?
So I get placed in Argentinaand Montreal, in Spain, in
Colombia, all around the world.
And that's for a reason,because I'm a bit of a mix.
(04:44):
So I was born in SoutheasternEurope, in Bulgaria, so that's
my DNA makeup.
My father was an engineer, sohe took us around the world a
bit.
So I was raised in Iraq when Iwas very little and then in Cuba
, is where most of my teenageyears were, and this now,
(05:05):
officially, is the place I'velived the longest, really In
Bermuda.
How long has that?
been 20 years, wow.
Okay, so Bermuda is homethrough and through Lovely.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So how would you say your parents?
What did your parents instillin you that you still hold on to
today?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So again I'm going to refer to that communist
upbringing.
It's very different.
Um pride, pride and education,pride and knowledge, um
self-confidence.
My mom, very early on, um shewould spend her last money to
pay for my education and therewas no such thing as public, as
(05:41):
private schools or anything likethat, but um I had private
tutors and almost everything Icould think of.
So education was really, reallybig and um unconditional love.
Really, um from my dad, a senseof curiosity and travel and
disruption, I would say, and notaccepting the status quo and
kind of going through thebarriers.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, okay.
So were there any early signsthat you can remember where you
feel like you were destined forleadership, or did that come
later in life?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I think later in life , when I was little, I actually
wanted to be an actress.
Acting was always I wouldimpersonate family members and
celebrities when I was littleand there was a sense of
playfulness in acting that Iloved and I would have loved to
have done as a career choice,and business really was the
(06:36):
logical choice.
It was a stable career choiceand profession.
So that's how I ended up inthere.
Leadership I say I've builtmyself as a leader versus I have
always been a leader.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
If that makes sense, yeah, okay, that's good, yeah,
that.
I think sometimes that'snothing wrong with that.
Like, sometimes, you know,growing up some girls are like
oh, you're bossy, so you shouldbe this, that and the other.
So I think building yourselfinto a leader is also really
cool as well, because you'veactively worked on that, which
is, I think, more important.
But do you think that therewere any key moments as a child
(07:10):
or earlier in your career thatshaped, I guess, the leader that
you are today?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So I think, going back, I really loved seeing the
strength in people and seeingwhere they were good at what
they did and bringing that outin them.
So I guess leadership really isrooted in that, isn't it?
It's finding the strength andtalents in people that they may
(07:39):
not even see themselves.
So I think that shapes me inthe leader who I, that I am
today.
I don't I see myself as a um,as an enthusiastic leader versus
, uh, the parenting figure typeof leadership.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, and we spoke about that when we were talking
in pre and I'm going to get tothat in a little while, but I
think that's one of the mostfascinating things about how you
lead it.
I love your way of thinkingaround that, but you've had a
pretty diverse career, you know,leading up to where you are
right now various leadershiproles, strategy, operations,
finance.
How would you describe yourleadership style and how has it
(08:16):
evolved over the years?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So early on before I was a leader and I was studying
leaders, I saw this verypatriarchal style leadership.
Do as you're told, don't think,just repeat my steps.
And I couldn't relate to thatand in fact I left a specific
career choice because of that,because that just wasn't me.
(08:39):
So now I find myself moreinspiring inside conversations
and then leading from that andseeing organically how it
happens.
But I don't feel that I have tomotivate people.
I feel that I just have to holdspace for them and let them
(09:03):
blossom.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Right.
What does holding space foryour employees look like?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Hold space for my team.
I'm not a big fan on the wordemployees because it assumes
this hierarchical structure thatI'm not a big fan of.
I think we all have jobs to do,really, and they're just
different.
Yeah, and that's all that it is.
And how I hold space with themis invite and celebrate
(09:33):
differences.
I feel we talk a lot aboutbeing tolerant, but tolerant is
not the same as celebrating.
Yeah, right, so invitingsomeone to the table is a
fantastic start, but celebratingthat they think different than
me is really, really powerful,and I celebrate that.
And I always say we'recolleagues before anything, and
(09:55):
brainstorming is a huge part ofthe job for us.
So inspiring them to be betteris letting them inspire me in
the same space.
So holding space really isknowing that is letting them
know that they're safe, nomatter what they say and no
matter what idea they bring tothe table.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
No, I love that because a lot of times and to
your point earlier around, thekind of patriarchal way that we
were all kind of taught to beleaders, you know in school
growing up, but then also howmost our first interactions with
leaders were like that.
I love that you've pivoted theway that you now lead your team,
because it sounds like you leadthe way that you wanted to be
led when you were in on aparticular team in the past.
(10:37):
And I love people who pivot inthe way that they, I guess,
shepherd in their teams andallow people to essentially just
do what they're good at, asopposed to trying to fit
everyone in a box, becausethat's not really what we want
when we think of cohesive teams.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
That's exactly right.
And I have a colleague, afemale colleague, and we had
this honest conversation earlyon and she was saying to me you
know, early in my career I wasmade feel that I need to be
something else to be successful.
And she says but I realizedthat's not me and that will
never be me a certaincharacteristics of what was
perceived to be a good teamplayer, and that was very
(11:17):
powerful to me.
First of all, I was so happythat she felt comfortable in
sharing this with me and then,since then, I she feel
comfortable in sharing this withme.
And then, since then I I findstrength in that, in in what
she's actually good at, and Isaid, okay, well, let's find a
way to apply your strengthinstead of looking for something
that it doesn't come natural toyou, you don't want to develop
into, uh.
(11:37):
So now I very much appreciatewhat she's actually strong at,
instead of saying, well, youshould be strong at something
else.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah no, I agree with you.
Yeah, I love that.
I'm a firm believer in theGallup Strength Assessment.
I don't know if you've everdone it before.
I did it years ago for thefirst time and it's basically
that concept of leading from aperson's strengths as opposed to
pushing them to do somethingthat they're just not naturally
strong in, and it's a phenomenalway to lead.
It doesn't work for everybody,but it is a really good
(12:06):
foundation for, you know,working with people's strengths.
So absolutely love that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Though I will add something about leadership that
just came to me, as one thingthat I tend to do with my team
is I prop them up constantly andI tell them you underestimate
how you present yourself, andthey're so humble, and I think I
spent most of my leadershiptime in telling the world how
amazingly talented they are,because I think they don't say
(12:32):
it enough.
So that really is my job is toshow the world and to let the
world see how amazing this teamis.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah, no, definitely.
So I guess, what otherqualities would you say make a
good leader other than some ofthe things that we've spoken
about already?
Like, what would you say makesan effective leader in today's
business environment,considering COVID, considering
everything we've been through,especially since the last time
we had this conversation, whatwould those qualities be?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Having your back, no matter what.
Yeah, there, there is this.
This term that I learned earlyon called it says feeling up, so
it's it's allowing or holdingspace for the team to feel
comfortable, to come to theleader, no matter what happens,
whether it's a good thing or abad thing, right, and as leaders
(13:23):
, we mostly hear about the badthings.
That's what hits our desksright.
When things are going well, wekind of everything is Just going
ahead.
I lost my train of thought,okay.
What was the question you weresaying about.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
We were talking about effective leadership and what
are some of those traits?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Having someone's back .
And also I tend to say when wedo a great job, we all celebrate
, we celebrate the team.
If something goes wrong,effectively I'm the leader, so I
need to own that and I stand atthe front of that.
So I'll have my team alwaysstand behind me and I'll take
the hit.
Yeah, definitely when somethinggoes wrong.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah, and it happens right.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Absolutely it happens .
Speaker 1 (14:10):
But protecting your team is also so important and as
an entrepreneur, because oneit's your business, right, In
terms of like your baby, likethat, but you need people to
help you execute those things.
But when people attack, Ialways judge.
Well, yeah, judge a leader ontheir leadership skills and how
they handle those types ofsituations, Because throwing
your team under the bus doesnothing for you, right?
(14:31):
And I don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
That's probably, for me, the worst quality in a
leader.
Actually, I find that reallysad, yeah, um, I think if you
have the job of a leader, itcomes with a certain
responsibility, and that is oneof them.
Yeah is no one's left behindand have their back um that's
the job.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
So tell me a bit.
So the last time we spoke, Ithink you had just come into the
role of CEO for 2.0 Collective.
You just recently changed thename.
That was easily five years ago,so walk me through the journey
of 2.0.
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So I came into back then AAC and P-TEX in the very
hot moment of August of 2020.
In the very hot moment ofAugust of 2020.
So I came in kind of doing alittle bit of an audit and then
started officially in Septemberand it was a really tough time.
I mean, you'll remember.
We all remember what COVID didto our economy in Bermuda, and
(15:30):
especially to local businesses,and we're still recovering from
that.
All of us are.
Yeah, definitely so.
In September of 2020, I walkedinto furloughs redundancies Um,
I had to walk through a lot ofthat, that challenge that was.
That was really really tough asa first time CEO and as an
empath.
Um, walking my team throughfurloughs and redundancies was
(15:54):
difficult.
It was a tough thing to gothrough redundancies was
difficult.
It was a tough thing to gothrough, yeah, and ultimately,
everyone affected as a humanbeing right.
So every decision we make in ourbusiness affects people and
their and their lives.
Yeah, that was tough.
Rebranding AAC into 2.0Collective was an interesting
journey.
It didn't happen overnight.
(16:14):
Uh, it was a process that tookabout a year, uh, from start to
finish, and really it was theindustry who who needed us to
rebrand.
Uh, when I started with AAC, um, certain clients would say, uh,
we think you need to rebrand,you need to look at what's next
for this agency.
So it was an interesting story.
(16:35):
When I started with AAC, I usedto tell the team this is now AAC
2.0.
It's the next version of theagency, so it's the next version
of all of us.
And when it came time torebrand, we were thinking of a
new name.
And one of my colleagues saidwell, you already named the
agency.
It's 2.0.
And it signifies a lot to us's2.0.
And it signifies a lot to usand 2.0 collective is a very
(16:58):
important addition.
2.0 really signifies us beingbetter and competing with
ourselves from the day before.
Yeah, uh, it's that constantstrive for improvement, for for
learning.
And collective is is that itgoes back to this lack of
hierarchy, right and uh, or, inpractice, yeah, um, and it's a
(17:19):
collective of minds.
Our tagline is a coterie ofcreative thinkers, and that's
that's how we like seeingourselves love that.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So I think the first time I ever met you was I used
to work with your husband,michael branko um, and I think
you were pregnant with yourfirst daughter at the time.
The first time I met you thenokay how old is she now?
11 and a half.
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That half is important when you're that age
right insistence that I say ahalf, so she's 11 and a half.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yes, and that's so crazy.
That was 11 and a half yearsago a little more than that,
because you've been pregnant atthe time.
But so you mentioned earlierthat you've been in Bermuda for
20 years.
Walk me through what broughtyou to Bermuda work.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So I came for a job, uh, here it was really a one
year engagement and I thought Iwould just do a year and then go
up to Canada.
My family was in Canada and itjust as Bermuda does, you know,
it stole my heart, yeah.
And in the second year I metMichael.
Yeah, just by coincidence, andthe rest is history really.
(18:24):
But I never really thought thatthis would be my forever home.
It was just, it was a job.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yeah, how did you?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
and Mike meet At a party, really the very
old-fashioned way, believe it ornot.
There was no um, there was notechnology involved.
Uh, we just really hit it offas friends.
We were friends for a whilebefore we became a couple and
that really is to this day, isquite important in our
relationship.
He's my favorite person and, tothis day, is who I call,
(18:51):
whether something bad happens orgood happens, or I'm being
nerdy and um, he really kind ofchecks me, um for sure.
So he, he makes me a betterperson and that, to me, is the
litmus test.
You asked about love earlier, Ithink.
For me, in a partnership, inthe romantic partnership, my
litmus test is does he or shemake me a better human being?
(19:13):
And that holds true with mike.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Absolutely.
I love that, um, when youhonestly working with mike and
when he used to lead our team ifwhenever he mentioned your name
, he lit up like a christmastree and we used to talk about
it all the time and it says it'snot anything new, but it you
could truly feel it.
He was like so smitten by you,like he was so proud of you
because I think you had justcompleted an mba or something
(19:36):
like that and he was or ithappened previously but he was
most proud of how smart you are,like your brain, like he really
was.
I've never forgotten that I wasactually talking to one of my
former co-workers and we weretalking about that.
That was telling me I was goingto interview with you and we
spoke about it at that time too.
So I love that you said that,because it reigned true even
when you weren't around.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Oh, he's so sweet.
I joke around that he's like mymarketing department.
So whenever I have a crisis ofself-confidence, I just need to
talk to him and you know he, um,he always says I'm smarter than
him, which I don't.
I don't know that.
That's true.
He's the one doing the PhDright now.
So what's Mike's doing?
Another degree?
He's doing another degree.
So how I explain it is that andyou'll know what I mean is he
(20:20):
has so much brain power andthat's called of his that there
was just a lot of space in there, that he still has a lot of
capacity.
So it was the most naturalthing in the world is for him to
go in and do a PhD.
So that's.
She started this weekend, wow.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
That's amazing.
I'm not surprised, right.
Yeah, I'm like shocked because,yeah, another thing, but
definitely not a surprise at all.
So you guys have two girls nowwe do yes, and tell me about
them.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So we have Madison, who you remember from my first
pregnancy, who's 11 and a half.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And then Isabella, member from my first pregnancy,
who's 11 and a half, yeah.
And then isabella yeah, she'sthe little one.
Um, she's the funny, the funnybunny of the family.
She's a walking comedy show.
Yeah, um, she is nine and ahalf again the halves are very
important.
Um, they're absolutely amazing,yeah, as I think every mom
would say about yes.
Yes, that's fine.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
But I guess when we start talking about this, you
know and a lot of people hatethe term work-life balance or
balance or whatever you want tocall it but as a CEO and a mom
and a wife, how, like how?
Because you've got this hugejob and you sit on boards which
we'll get to in a little whileand you know you have your
holding space for colleagues,and how do you balance the
(21:39):
demands of leading a companywith the responsibilities of
family life?
Speaker 2 (21:44):
You know what, if I'm being honest, I don't know that
, I do Not every day, and mygirlfriends hear about that and
Michael does.
So there's this old saying thatwomen can do it all Absolutely,
just not at the very same time.
Yeah, and I really I I wouldlove society to stop saying that
(22:04):
women are super humans and thatwe're heroes and that we're
superheroes, because we reallyare not.
Yeah, we just do what needsneeds to get done.
So I think in my case.
So balance comes from myvillage, my tribe around me that
support me and keep me honestand accountable.
And then I have my, my rituals,my meditations.
(22:26):
Um, slowing down is reallyimportant to me.
And then, uh, recalibratingevery now and again.
I did a pretty significantrecalibrating exercise in July
of this year and I remapped ofwhat is what is important to me
and this coming year, especiallywith Michael's DBA.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Yeah, and what is a recalibration?
What does that look like foryou?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Um, so this is where the nerd of me is going to come
out, okay.
So in June of this year it justfelt overwhelming.
Both girls had started danceand I didn't realize how hugely
stressful the month of June is.
Oh yeah, for dancing, oh mygosh.
So I'm sending a virtual hug toall the moms out there and the
dads out there who have dancers,because June it really is
(23:14):
something else.
So I now know I need to takevacation for that.
So in June I said, okay,something is just not working.
There is not enough of me toget all of this done.
So I said you know what?
I will spreadsheet this.
So I sat down and I wrote allmy commitments.
I wrote all my board work andmy full-time job and my
parenting and my sleep and I didthe total of the hours for the
(23:39):
whole month and then I dividedit by a day and before I even
got into me time couple time,friends time I was at a negative
0.3 per day.
Hours, hours, wow, 0.3 negativehours per day.
So I had no space for me time,I had no space for friends, I
(23:59):
had no space for dating myhusband, none of that.
So when that stares you back inthe face, it becomes very clear
and obvious that this is notsustainable.
Yeah Right.
So I knew there was a sprint tofinish June, and then I knew
something needed to happen.
So I took a week off that Ihaven't done in a very, very
long time.
Michael was the only one whoknew that I took the week off
(24:22):
and I spent that week on my own.
So I would drive the kids tocamp and then I would come home
I would meditate, I would go fora walk and I would sit and look
at the water and reallyquestion of what matters to me
right now and what would Irecalibrate.
So then I did a bit of anexercise again in that Excel
spreadsheet of I graded what'simportant to my career, what's
(24:45):
important to me, and had to stepdown from some things this
coming year, so that was areally important exercise.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
So that was a really important exercise, and I would
I would invite every one of us,every woman out there, to if you
feel that you're of that um,what that looks like.
And I'm probably in a deficitas well, and I don't even have
children, right, so it's it'scrazy to think of what that
might look like, but I'm verycurious to see what that is too,
because most of us work innumbers or in some form of
accountability to somethingevery single day, but we don't
(25:38):
do that with ourselves.
So, looking at it at that fromthat standpoint and I don't
think that's nerdy, I think it'ssmart.
It's a smart way to look at it,because otherwise, how would
you know that you're running ata negative three hour deficit
every day and you need to makechanges?
Because what then happens ifyou don't do?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
that.
That's exactly it.
What then happens if you don'tdo that?
That's exactly it.
What happens if you don't dothat?
And I started catching myself.
I couldn't sleep as wellanymore.
My I was forgetting things.
So I said, okay, somethingreally needs to change.
Uh, for me, but also for ourkids, for me to support michael
in this new program, and reallyfor my mental health as well.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Definitely.
Do you ever feel guilty, though, with letting things go Like?
I know sometimes because ofthis whole, women can do it.
All this superpower, all thethings that you know?
You said you would like forpeople to stop saying about us.
Do you ever feel like man?
You know, maybe I could try tofind time to still do that, you
know, because I'm passionateabout it, or it's something that
(26:37):
I want to do, or was it justthe right thing to do for you
right now?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
100%.
I think a lot of women canrelate.
I know you can relate.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I know we all can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
There is a degree of FOMO of you're missing out.
And then there is what if mycareer suffers because I let go
of a board?
What?
What if my friendships sufferbecause I don't see my friend or
I don't hear from her or him?
as often yeah, there is 100.
That feeling of guilt, I think,especially mothers, we are, we,
(27:11):
we take a bath of guilt everynight when we go to bed of what
could we have done better, right.
And then I think, in thatmoment, you, I turned to my
trusted circle and I do a, anaudit check with them.
Am I doing the right thing?
What do you think?
And then I think the biggesttest is once I let it go, does
(27:34):
it feel like a weight has comeoff my shoulders?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And that is, that's's huge, and you just know yeah,
definitely, it's a telltaleright, like when you feel like
the weight has been lifted, inparticular.
So you mentioned about yourmental health and balancing that
and physical health, like inaddition to obviously the
balance to be spoken aboutbefore like how do you take care
of your mental health andphysical health as a ceo mom,
wife and all of that?
Speaker 2 (28:00):
mental health.
I recently went back intomeditation, which I think is
very underrated, and meditationis amazing.
Yeah, I would love to say thatI meditate on my own, without
the help of a, of an app, butthat I'm not there yet.
Yeah, I have meditatedthroughout my life, doing yoga
and this, and that, uh, I hadlet it go for a while and I
(28:22):
picked it back up in june.
I said something.
I need a little bit of help.
So I've gone back intomeditation and I use headway uh,
no, sorry, headspace um, andit's been working really, really
well.
Some things come up that areuncomfortable, but, generally
speaking, you go into this roleof an observer of emotions and
(28:45):
feelings which makes it easierUm mental health as well as just
conversations with people.
I trust my sister, michael, myclosest friends.
You know there are friends thatyour soul feels at home with oh
yeah, I know.
And those friends, man, when youfind those friends, never let
them go.
And just having an afternoon Ihave a very dear friend of mine
(29:09):
and we spent an afternoon on aboat and we had the privilege of
having an hour to the two of usand at the end we were crying
and we were hugging and it wascleansing.
It was not bad, it was anamazing, amazing time.
So that really filled my bucket.
My sister is an amazingsounding board.
(29:31):
She actually calls me out whenI'm starting to not sound like
myself.
She says I think you needsomething.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Those people are important as well.
Those people are very importantas well.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Physical health is a bit tough, I have to say it's
really tough.
So I have periods of time whenI'm very disciplined and I go to
the gym and I work out everyday, and periods, like right now
, where just I don't have enoughhours in the day.
So I'm still trying to figurethat one out.
Yeah, um, so I try to do what Ican in healthy eating.
Um, I try to prepare my meals.
(30:03):
I take my meals to work with me.
I unless it's for a meeting, Ikind of sit at my desk and work
through lunch.
So I love seeing what's in myfood if that makes sense, so I
love making my own food yeah, I,I enjoy cooking.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I just hate the cleanup aspect of it and we live
alone.
It's also so much easier tojust get something quickly like
pay for it, but I'm trying to bebetter with the cooking again.
I think that's super important,but I like that, the thought of
.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
I like to see what's in my food, so this is a good
way to look at it and you knowthere is, um, there was this
mexican film, I think it'scalled hot water hot water for
chocolate, I think it's called,and they were saying that, uh,
when you cook and you sprinkle alittle bit of love, and it goes
a long way.
So the food we eat and thethoughts we put into our food
(30:52):
really reflects on the way wefeel after we eat it.
That that's fair.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Yeah, no, I like that , yeah, for sure.
Okay, I want to go back alittle bit, because we've
mentioned about your boards andthat you sit on a ton of boards,
or did, and then you'vereflected since then, like your
involvement with the boards thatyou're on, like how do you
approach leadership in thoseboards?
But then I do want to take astep back before we get there,
(31:17):
about how you got into boards,because I think a lot of times
people are not sure how peopleget on boards and I think we
still do have a significantunderrepresentation of women on
boards.
So I do want to start there andI know I just threw a lot at
you and I apologize, but mythought process changed in the
middle of that question.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
This is very, very rich question and we could do an
entire podcast just on thattopic.
So, you have to kind of bring meback to earth because I have,
I'm very passionate about thistopic and I'm still in on my
journey in my board work.
That's, my long-term goal is toto be a professional ned.
So how I be, how I got involvedinto boards, was that when I
(31:58):
was in Fireminds what 10 yearsago?
I was logically on theexecutive board and our chair at
the time, vicky, said to me Isee something in you.
You have a very uniquestrategic way of thinking and
you disrupt in a veryinteresting way.
You challenge the status quo,and that's very helpful on a
(32:21):
board.
Most people thought that ourboard was not functional because
we were a family business, butin fact actually it's all the
opposite, because we were themasters of our own destiny.
If we took it as a joke, thenwe wouldn't get anywhere right.
So we actually had to be veryserious about it.
So she really ignited thatcuriosity and she said I think
(32:42):
you can do more with this.
So she then introduced me tothis program to Institute of
Directors, which sounded soconvoluted at the beginning, and
I'm more than happy to talk toanyone about it.
So open invite.
If you're interested in this,you know, find me on LinkedIn
more than happy to talk about it.
So open invite.
If you're interested in this,you know, find me on LinkedIn
more than happy to talk about it.
And there's three levels inInstitute of Directors.
The first one is for elementsand for exams.
(33:05):
The second one is the diplomaand then the third one is
becoming a certified boarddirector once you have a
portfolio of boards.
So, because I love studying,that sounded really interesting
to me, so I went and sat throughthe courses, did the exams I
think a year, so it was a bit ofan overachiever there and then
(33:26):
after that, that really umopened my appetite for board
work and I loved the strategicthinking of it and the tactical
thinking of it.
And then I discovered howdifficult it is to get on a
board, especially for womenwomen.
(33:53):
So, um, the board landscape inBermuda is known, so we it.
It's a challenge for newlycertified directors to to be
welcomed on boards.
Is is not an easy task.
So it is, uh, building yourbrand.
You mentioned that earlier.
Um, it is having this publicpersona speaking at conferences,
being on panels and reallyshowing the industry what you're
made of.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And I always say, when I'm approached about a
board, I always say what kind ofboard director I am and I will
challenge, I will challenge thestatus quo, I will ask the
questions and that is the typeof director I'm on.
So if, um, if a company islooking for a yes person, that's
not me, uh, but if you'relooking for someone who wants
(34:34):
the best for the business, then,um, through this, this
challenging uh approach, thenthat's, that's my way and I'm
still it's.
It's a journey, uh, it reallyis.
I've been doing board work forthe last seven years.
I still have a long way to goto where I want to be.
I'm very lucky to have amazingmentors in the industry who help
(34:56):
me with advice.
I'm very appreciative of theiradvice and I'm still working on
it.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
Why do you think it's so difficult for women to get
on boards?
Because I don't think that's aparticularly a Bermuda problem.
I think that that's just aproblem around the world, but so
not specifically to Bermuda.
Yes, but why do you think it'sa bit of a still a challenge?
Speaker 2 (35:17):
So I'll start a bit far answering the question.
So one of my favorite books isSapiens by Yuval Harari, and I
was listening to it driving here.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
So this kind of goes ventures into the whole
discussion of DEI you know, umsociety as we know it has been
built with these biases right,and there is racial bias and
there's gender bias.
So, to answer your questionspecifically is um there was
this, um historical bias towardsthe female gender, that we are
(35:48):
less prepared, we're lessdecisive.
Well, what happens if we upsether and she cries or periods?
Speaker 1 (35:53):
on, or she's on, that type of demand which is just a
terrible thing to say.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yep, so I think historically there is that
history of bias and then, well,but she doesn't have enough
experience.
But how would she get enoughexperience if she doesn't have a
chance to be on a board?
So it's this perpetual cycleright Of there have not been
women on boards there.
Therefore there are less womenon boards.
If that makes sense, yeah, itmakes total sense.
So those amazing, strong womenwho break that glass ceiling and
(36:22):
end up on boards, they arethose strong voices to then
recruit more of us on theseboards.
And that's what I do as well.
If I'm on a strong board, I tryto recruit more women so that
we break that notion that womenare emotional and that you know
we're called the B word because,we are, um we're more we lean
(36:45):
in Right, um, so so we're.
it's still a journey.
So, to answer your question,why?
I think it's a, it's a mix,it's a historical kind of
development of bias, uh, genderbias, and then just the status
quo with the comfort right, um Ithink that's it.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Yeah, definitely no, I totally agree with you and I
know we've had offlineconversations around diversity
and the big part of DEI beingthat equity element of it, and I
think obviously we could godown a rabbit hole with that as
well.
But it's, it's definitelysomething that has significant,
I guess, recourse when we thinkabout boards, when we think
(37:28):
about women in leadership,because if we think about the
amount of women in CEO positionsin Bermuda, it's more than it
is in other places in the world,but it still has a significant
way to go, and all the pointsthat you made around why not?
Are still so prevalent, and youwould be your.
It's almost laughable, becauseit's like it's 2024, like you
know what I mean.
How are we still havingconversations around?
(37:49):
Oh, she's too emotional or what.
Like we're dealing with it rightnow with kamala harrison and
the um you know race for thepresident of the united states.
Like what happens if she's onher cycle and there's a war that
breaks.
Like she's gonna send us intowar.
It's like people are reallymaking these outlandish comments
about women in 2024 and it justis like what planet am I on
(38:10):
that?
These are still things that are, you know, being discussed as
opposed to her education or thework that she's done in the past
.
Um, I don't know why we stillthink this way when it comes to
women, as if we just wake up andjust flow by the seat of our
pants every single day.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
It's just right it's amazing to me.
And then add on to well, she'sthe default parent.
So what happens if her child issick and she needs to go home
instead of being in a boardmeeting?
And then you show up as a womanin the boardroom and if you are
, if you have a strong opinion,they're like whoa, what happened
to you today?
Are you okay?
You know um it, we just havework to do.
(38:52):
You still have so much work todo.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
I know I think about it.
Um, I had a meeting this weekand my default kind of response
with my ceo, who's my directmanager, is if I do anything
that is slight that could betaken the wrong way in any way,
shape or form, I inform him ofit immediately.
I'm like hey, I was on a call,um, things were a little hairy.
(39:13):
Um, I did not, wasn't?
You know?
You know me now and we'veworked together long enough that
he's aware of, you know theconnotations around calling
black women or black peopleperiod aggressive, and you know
things like that.
So I would say, you know Iinform him of these things.
One so someone does saysomething to him.
He's not, you know, blindsidedby it, but he also knows my work
ethic now and he can alsodefend me in those positions as
(39:36):
well.
But it it's.
It's such a interesting topicto kind of go back and forth
with, because half of how myselfas a woman, yourself as a woman
, have to go into responding topeople, we have to think before
we can just say what it is thatwe want to say.
(39:57):
We have to worry about howwe're saying it, how we're
postured.
Cannot be too emotional, has tobe as logical as possible.
Speak with all the facts beforeyou're taken seriously, and
then it still can be taken outof context just because you're a
woman that's right.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
But then if you have a strong opinion, sometimes
that's a bad thing because thenyou're trouble, yep, so you're
doomed if you do, you doomed ifyou don't.
I'm lucky that I'm on someboards.
I'm a proud member of ypo, uh,and I sit on regional boards and
local boards and, lucky andlucky for me, um, at YPO, we, or
the organization really umappreciates leaders and people
(40:34):
who lean in and have a strongopinion.
So, um, I have learned in thoseenvironments how to weigh in um
, um in a balanced way, Isuppose, and how to fight for
what's right.
So I'm lucky I'm lucky therebut again, the work continues.
Honestly, the shay it's, it,it's.
(40:56):
We have a long to go.
We have come a long way rightfrom 100 years ago yeah, for
sure um, I mean gosh, I waslistening to sapiens in the car
and they were talking aboutsexual assault and how, even 50
years ago, there were countrieswhere if a husband sexual
assaults his wife, that'sactually not illegal, and I just
(41:18):
I was blown away, right.
So we've come a long way and westill have work to do, and I
think the important part is, aswomen, to support each other and
not take for granted what wehave.
Yeah, so I talk a lot, a lotabout privilege and how to use
that for empowerment, and that'show I use my privileges to to
use that to bring you knowothers with me who may not have
(41:43):
the opportunities no, absolutely, and I think that's so
important.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I love that because you said that earlier as well,
and it was something that I'mglad you brought it back up,
because a lot of times and I saythis in different settings when
it comes to diversity, butwe'll use it in the gender
setting at this point but youknow, we're constantly still
breaking these glass ceilings,right, like I feel like every
time we turn, it's the first inthis or the first in that, when
(42:12):
it comes to first female to dothis, that, and the other right,
and sometimes we had ageneration of women and I think
it's gotten a lot better now whokind of coveted those positions
because it's like, oh my god,hey, I'm the only woman, there
can't be two.
You know what I mean, and thatsense could be said in, you know
, racially as well, depending onthe environment that you're in.
And so I love the fact that youare so open to reaching down
and or not down, or cross, orwherever it is to bring along
another woman with you, becausewhat you don't want to do is
(42:32):
leave a board and go intoanother board and then they
replace you with a man and thenyou're starting.
It's starting all over againand then the next woman is
breaking the ceiling that youalready broke, um, just because
someone didn't extend a hand tobring on another female into
that particular board.
So I commend you for it,because one it it takes a
(42:53):
significant amount ofself-awareness and confidence to
know that bringing on someoneelse is not going to affect your
position, and it also showscourage and you know, just a lot
of empathy to like.
You know, I don't want anyoneto have to go through what I had
to go through.
I totally commend that,definitely.
So you spoke about personalbranding and I always I kind of
(43:13):
hate the term, but it is what itis Right and so, like as a mom,
as a CEO, like how do youbalance the demands, I guess,
when I guess not demands, buthow do you brand yourself as
both a business leader, a rolemodel for your girls and other
women in leadership?
Like how, how do you work onthat branding?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
So personal branding is an interesting one.
I spoke at a B2C conference andthey asked me to speak about
personal branding.
So part of what I said was that, wanted or not, we all have a
personal brand.
Yeah.
So we may say, oh no, I don'thave a personal brand, I don't
need a personal brand.
But everything is a personalbrand.
How you say hello to someone isa personal brand.
(43:56):
Whether you hug them or you, oryou shake their hand, or
whether or how you address them.
How you sign your emails, howyou open your emails right.
Whether you start emails withdear XYZ and you say you know, I
hope your weekend is awonderful one before you start
your emails All of those thingsare personal branding, right.
(44:20):
How you speak of people thatare not in the room, that's
personal branding as well ofyours, right?
That speaks volumes.
So personal branding is not onlyprofessional personal branding.
It's who you are as a person,and the consistency of that,
right?
Um is the consistency of being,um, you know, caring for people
(44:42):
on the job and off the job,right?
So for me, personal branding um, I guess what's important to me
is empathy Um, that will alwaysbe important to me.
Curiosity on understanding yourpoint of view.
I'm so curious aboutdifferences.
Genuinely, I think if we wereall the same, the world would be
so boring.
So understanding how you seethe world is is super important
(45:06):
to me.
Um, and then, being fair asmuch as possible, right, and I'm
not delusional to say that Ialways know what's fair, because
there is always seven versionsof the truth and I may not see a
perspective that you see, right, but even the quest for
fairness is is, for me, is onthe right path.
(45:26):
Right, and also, I am sometimesa bit hard on myself when I do a
self audit at the end of theday, of what I could have done
better.
Yeah, and ultimately, I amlearning to give myself grace
and to be kind to myself and tosay we're all learning, we're
all building ourselves, andpersonal branding is a journey,
right?
(45:46):
Though, if you ask me, personalbranding with my girls versus
personal branding in theboardroom, I have had to build a
personal brand in the boardroom, and I think I'm known for
being a strong voice on theboards, because, quite frankly,
if you're a female on a boardand you don't have a strong
voice, more than likely youwon't have a voice.
(46:08):
Yeah, so that's just how it is.
Yeah, with our girls I tend tohave a little bit of that
traditional discipline,obviously nothing physical, but
just really drawing theboundaries on what's healthy and
in behaviors and what's notwhat's healthy and in behaviors
and what's not.
(46:29):
And then, with my friends, Ilove to think that I make their
souls feel at home.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (46:34):
And I guess not being judgy is a huge one as well.
Yeah, just being open-minded,definitely.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
No, I get that and I definitely appreciate it,
because sometimes and I lovewhat you said about just being a
good person right Like you canfocus so much on what you want
people to perceive about you,but if you're not just a good
person like that doesn't matter.
You know what I mean.
So I love that you you saidthat around just being good or
you know whole or whatever thatlooks like to you because if
(47:01):
you're just authenticallyyourself and you're just who you
are in different spaces and Iguess holding back for certain
certain places and where you areis important as well, because
not everyone should get you intotal at all times, like you've
got to reserve some things foryour private life but I can
totally appreciate, um, justbeing a good person, because
some people that's difficult.
(47:22):
It's difficult to be a goodperson for some people.
So, yeah, just being good is isdefinitely really important.
Um, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
I think part of what I think of I've made a personal
part of my personal brand lately, especially since covid is
standing up for the localbusinesses.
Um, me being part of a localbusiness community, I'm really
passionate about standing up forall of us and saying, in this
(47:50):
quest for keeping business onthe island, a lot of
international business sendsbusiness off island that we are
more than capable and happy totake care of on the island, and
it's a big passion of mine is toadvocate for all of us, not
just 2.0, not just for ptex, butfor all of us on the island who
provide amazing services.
(48:12):
Is to tell the ib communitywe're here and we're where
there's a lot of talentedbusinesses that can take care of
you in the best possible way.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, so that's also part of my personal branding,
(48:42):
but they still miss that, thatBermuda piece, right, they don't
always get it.
So engaging with the localcompany is so important because
you're getting you know, you'regetting good work number one but
you're also getting theauthenticity of someone actually
being here as well, which isreally important.
Exactly, yeah, definitely.
So I mean, it's so crazy, Ialways say this, but time flies
by really quickly, and so I justwant to make sure we're getting
(49:04):
to everything.
But I guess, what would youleave, I guess, in final
thoughts, right?
Um, like, what would you leaveto those, to those people who
are listening, women inparticular, who are balancing
the demands of their career,family, personal growth, growth
excuse me, what advice, I guess,would you give them?
Or what would you leave withthem, um, in terms of what it
(49:26):
will take to maintain andachieve success in those areas?
What advice would you give tothose women?
Build your spreadsheet,definitely.
Well, you're gonna have topatent that spreadsheet, I am
more than happy to share.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
It's really not complicated, but yeah um, really
take a look at your life andassess what really is important
in a in the most honest way.
Keep the people who make yoursoul feel at home close.
And at our age, at my age, Ican't have 20 people like that.
(49:59):
I don't have time anymore, butthose few, select few that I
feel at home with I, keep themclose.
Give yourself grace is such ahuge one.
I mean, how many evenings, howmany nights I lay in bed and I
think, gosh, I could have donesuch a better job at parenting
and I lost my cool with thegirls and I have tears in my
eyes and then I have to kind ofhug the little Polina and be
(50:22):
like it's okay, you know, youdid the best you could and we
can try again tomorrow.
Yeah, right, and slow down.
There People are asking me howthe summer went and I say
deliciously slow and I just, Iabsolutely love a slower pace
and this conversation is a greatexample to just slow down and
(50:43):
um and smell those flowers notmetaphorically, I mean, I make
myself actually smell theflowers.
Right, yeah, um.
Meditate, whatever that meansto you, whether you're reading a
book or watching a show or dowhat, what you need to do and
then think of who you want to be, not for how you want who you
(51:05):
are to affect your job, but likewhat matters to you, what
values are important to you.
Right, yeah, um, and then therest will come.
So don't serve the the how tosay your, your business
acquaintances or yourprofessional goals.
Bring it back to basics andthink of who you want to be, and
then the rest will just takecare of itself.
(51:25):
And an open invite to.
If you want to have a cup ofcoffee with me, I'm more than
happy to Next to our office at aRook Island.
I'm always open to meeting withsomeone new, exchanging ideas
and just being inspired orinspiring if I'm lucky enough.
So always up for a cup ofcoffee, I love that.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
Okay, and then, finally, my final question to
all of my guests is what do youwant to be remembered for?
Obviously a very long time fromnow.
When someone mentions PaulinaBranco and the effect that you
had on them or any situation,what would you want them to say
about you?
What does that memory look likefor you?
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Is that saying?
People don't remember what yousaid, but the way you made them
feel, and I hope that a handfulof people remember that their
soul was at home with me.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
I love that.
Well, thank you so much.
I really appreciate youspending some time with me today
, and if anyone wants to get incontact with you or 2.0
Collective for any of yourservices, what's the best way to
do that?
Speaker 2 (52:28):
So 2.0 Collective dot com.
Find me on LinkedIn Branco isthe easiest way.
Find us on Facebook.
We have an Instagram.
We have LinkedIn.
We would love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Thank you so much.
I never asked you about theservices for 2.0.
So if you wanted to say thatnow, just in case anyone's
interested 2.0 Collective is acreative agency.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
We like to say we love being creative.
We are a full servicesmarketing agency.
What we love doing is beingcreative and thinking outside
the box.
So we do marketing campaigns,we do logo design any creative
works and we love any creativeprojects.
Okay, perfect.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
All right, well, thank you again.
Thank you for having meAbsolutely Well, guys, we just
had a great conversation withthe amazing Paulina Branco, who
is the CEO of 2.0 Collectivehere in Bermuda.
If you have any questions forher, like she said, please reach
out to her on LinkedIn, paulinaBranco.
You can find her there, and ifyou want to learn more about 2.0
Collective and the servicesthat they provide, make sure you
head over to their website,2.0collectivecom.
(53:29):
Thank you for spending sometime with me today and again, a
special shout out to oursponsors, 59 Front Brown Company
and Scudamard.
As always, guys, thanks forwatching Hustle Her Podcast.
I'm a hustler baby.
It's time for Hustle Herpodcast.
I'm your host, deshae Caines.
Hustle Her is all aboutinspiring women through real
life experiences that havehelped to mold and develop not
only me of motivation, a bit oftough love and some actionable
(00:26):
takeaways to be the best.
You, girl, you are in the rightplace.
Hey guys, this episode isbrought to you by Scudamart.
At Scudamart, you can buy, sellor rent a bike with them.
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Visit them on wwwscootermartbm,hey guys, and welcome back to
(00:49):
Hustle Her Podcast.
Thank you for spending sometime with me today.
We want to give a big shout outto our season sponsors, 59
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So super excited about myepisode today.
I've had the honor ofinterviewing my guests before,
(01:10):
but we were audio only and thenwe made the decision to wait and
do this again when we weredoing video and we finally been
able to come together and sitdown and have this lovely
conversation.
She is the CEO of 2.0Collective, the lovely Miss
Paulina Branco.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I'm great, yes, I'm so glad that we're here.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Me too.
Yes, it's been a long timecoming, it is.
It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Everything happens for a reason, and this is when
we were meant to do this.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Absolutely, I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, it's so crazy.
I was seeing someone the otherday.
I think it was my mom.
She's like.
I thought you interviewedPaulina before and I was like I
did, but then, literally liketwo months later, I moved to
video and I was like I wouldmuch rather do this on video
than to have this on audio only.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So you know a lot has changed.
Yeah, it's been four years, soa lot of my answers then might
be different.
You know we all grow and andchange, so I'm curious to see
what comes out of today.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, all right.
So let's jump in, let's getsome people to get to know you a
little bit better, and thenwe'll get right into it.
All right.
So rapid, few rapid fires.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I'm happiest when when I am with good people
around me and the pace is slow.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, love that.
When you get on a plane andyou're settled and the plane is
about to take off, what do youdo?
What's your go-to?
I look outside.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I love looking at the clouds.
When I was little, I used tothink that whatever troubles I
had down here on earth, theywere gone when I was up in the
clouds, and I've been travelingon planes ever since I was very,
very little.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
So it's a bit of meditation for me.
Okay, looking at the cloudsLove that.
Okay, tell me about yourskincare routine, because the
skin looks phenomenal, so whatdo you do to maintain it?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's actually very simple.
I use Pestle and Mortar, thebrand, and then some good old
tinted SPF Love that Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It's been hot lately.
I can't.
The full face of makeup is onlyon recording days, so I totally
get it all right.
What does love feel like?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
calm, tranquility.
I don't like using the termhappiness.
I feel like it's very overusedand I I feel that it puts so
much pressure on us toconstantly chase that happiness.
You know, be be happy, look forhappiness.
So for me it's content, it'sthat feeling of calm and
satisfaction and feelingcomfortable in my own skin.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
All right.
And who was your celebritycrush growing up or now?
If that's okay, Sorry, Mike.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Celebrity crush growing up, see, I was raised in
communism, so the celebritiesyou know and the ones that I
know probably are a bitdifferent.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So I had some Latin American singers, but one not
per se a crush, but somebodythat I felt was absolutely
gorgeous was Shakira Okay, inher very, very early years, when
she had long dark hair andhenna, and she was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Love that.
Okay, all right.
So you mentioned growing up incommunism.
So tell me about young Paulina.
What were you like as a child?
Where are you originally from?
Where did you grow up?
Fill me in.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
So that is one of my favorite questions, and my
husband will probably chucklebecause it's a little game I
play when people meet me andthey're trying to place me and
they say, where are you from?
And I go, well, where do youthink I'm from?
So I get placed in Argentinaand Montreal, in Spain, in
Colombia, all around the world.
And that's for a reason,because I'm a bit of a mix.
(04:44):
So I was born in SoutheasternEurope, in Bulgaria, so that's
my DNA makeup.
My father was an engineer, sohe took us around the world a
bit.
So I was raised in Iraq when Iwas very little and then in Cuba
, is where most of my teenageyears were, and this now,
(05:05):
officially, is the place I'velived the longest, really In
Bermuda.
How long has that?
been 20 years, wow.
Okay, so Bermuda is homethrough and through Lovely.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So how would you say your parents?
What did your parents instillin you that you still hold on to
today?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So again I'm going to refer to that communist
upbringing.
It's very different.
Um pride, pride and education,pride and knowledge, um
self-confidence.
My mom, very early on, um shewould spend her last money to
pay for my education and therewas no such thing as public, as
(05:41):
private schools or anything likethat, but um I had private
tutors and almost everything Icould think of.
So education was really, reallybig and um unconditional love.
Really, um from my dad, a senseof curiosity and travel and
disruption, I would say, and notaccepting the status quo and
kind of going through thebarriers.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, okay.
So were there any early signsthat you can remember where you
feel like you were destined forleadership, or did that come
later in life?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I think later in life , when I was little, I actually
wanted to be an actress.
Acting was always I wouldimpersonate family members and
celebrities when I was littleand there was a sense of
playfulness in acting that Iloved and I would have loved to
have done as a career choice,and business really was the
(06:36):
logical choice.
It was a stable career choiceand profession.
So that's how I ended up inthere.
Leadership I say I've builtmyself as a leader versus I have
always been a leader.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
If that makes sense, yeah, okay, that's good, yeah,
that.
I think sometimes that'snothing wrong with that.
Like, sometimes, you know,growing up some girls are like
oh, you're bossy, so you shouldbe this, that and the other.
So I think building yourselfinto a leader is also really
cool as well, because you'veactively worked on that, which
is, I think, more important.
But do you think that therewere any key moments as a child
(07:10):
or earlier in your career thatshaped, I guess, the leader that
you are today?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So I think, going back, I really loved seeing the
strength in people and seeingwhere they were good at what
they did and bringing that outin them.
So I guess leadership really isrooted in that, isn't it?
It's finding the strength andtalents in people that they may
(07:39):
not even see themselves.
So I think that shapes me inthe leader who I, that I am
today.
I don't I see myself as a um,as an enthusiastic leader versus
, uh, the parenting figure typeof leadership.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, and we spoke about that when we were talking
in pre and I'm going to get tothat in a little while, but I
think that's one of the mostfascinating things about how you
lead it.
I love your way of thinkingaround that, but you've had a
pretty diverse career, you know,leading up to where you are
right now various leadershiproles, strategy, operations,
finance.
How would you describe yourleadership style and how has it
(08:16):
evolved over the years?
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So early on before I was a leader and I was studying
leaders, I saw this verypatriarchal style leadership.
Do as you're told, don't think,just repeat my steps.
And I couldn't relate to thatand in fact I left a specific
career choice because of that,because that just wasn't me.
(08:39):
So now I find myself moreinspiring inside conversations
and then leading from that andseeing organically how it
happens.
But I don't feel that I have tomotivate people.
I feel that I just have to holdspace for them and let them
(09:03):
blossom.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Right.
What does holding space foryour employees look like?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Hold space for my team.
I'm not a big fan on the wordemployees because it assumes
this hierarchical structure thatI'm not a big fan of.
I think we all have jobs to do,really, and they're just
different.
Yeah, and that's all that it is.
And how I hold space with themis invite and celebrate
(09:33):
differences.
I feel we talk a lot aboutbeing tolerant, but tolerant is
not the same as celebrating.
Yeah, right, so invitingsomeone to the table is a
fantastic start, but celebratingthat they think different than
me is really, really powerful,and I celebrate that.
And I always say we'recolleagues before anything, and
(09:55):
brainstorming is a huge part ofthe job for us.
So inspiring them to be betteris letting them inspire me in
the same space.
So holding space really isknowing that is letting them
know that they're safe, nomatter what they say and no
matter what idea they bring tothe table.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
No, I love that because a lot of times and to
your point earlier around, thekind of patriarchal way that we
were all kind of taught to beleaders, you know in school
growing up, but then also howmost our first interactions with
leaders were like that.
I love that you've pivoted theway that you now lead your team,
because it sounds like you leadthe way that you wanted to be
led when you were in on aparticular team in the past.
(10:37):
And I love people who pivot inthe way that they, I guess,
shepherd in their teams andallow people to essentially just
do what they're good at, asopposed to trying to fit
everyone in a box, becausethat's not really what we want
when we think of cohesive teams.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
That's exactly right.
And I have a colleague, afemale colleague, and we had
this honest conversation earlyon and she was saying to me you
know, early in my career I wasmade feel that I need to be
something else to be successful.
And she says but I realizedthat's not me and that will
never be me a certaincharacteristics of what was
perceived to be a good teamplayer, and that was very
(11:17):
powerful to me.
First of all, I was so happythat she felt comfortable in
sharing this with me and then,since then, I she feel
comfortable in sharing this withme.
And then, since then I I findstrength in that, in in what
she's actually good at, and Isaid, okay, well, let's find a
way to apply your strengthinstead of looking for something
that it doesn't come natural toyou, you don't want to develop
into, uh.
(11:37):
So now I very much appreciatewhat she's actually strong at,
instead of saying, well, youshould be strong at something
else.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah no, I agree with you.
Yeah, I love that.
I'm a firm believer in theGallup Strength Assessment.
I don't know if you've everdone it before.
I did it years ago for thefirst time and it's basically
that concept of leading from aperson's strengths as opposed to
pushing them to do somethingthat they're just not naturally
strong in, and it's a phenomenalway to lead.
It doesn't work for everybody,but it is a really good
(12:06):
foundation for, you know,working with people's strengths.
So absolutely love that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Though I will add something about leadership that
just came to me, as one thingthat I tend to do with my team
is I prop them up constantly andI tell them you underestimate
how you present yourself, andthey're so humble, and I think I
spent most of my leadershiptime in telling the world how
amazingly talented they are,because I think they don't say
(12:32):
it enough.
So that really is my job is toshow the world and to let the
world see how amazing this teamis.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah, no, definitely.
So I guess, what otherqualities would you say make a
good leader other than some ofthe things that we've spoken
about already?
Like, what would you say makesan effective leader in today's
business environment,considering COVID, considering
everything we've been through,especially since the last time
we had this conversation, whatwould those qualities be?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Having your back, no matter what.
Yeah, there, there is this.
This term that I learned earlyon called it says feeling up, so
it's it's allowing or holdingspace for the team to feel
comfortable, to come to theleader, no matter what happens,
whether it's a good thing or abad thing, right, and as leaders
(13:23):
, we mostly hear about the badthings.
That's what hits our desksright.
When things are going well, wekind of everything is Just going
ahead.
I lost my train of thought,okay.
What was the question you weresaying about.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
We were talking about effective leadership and what
are some of those traits?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Having someone's back .
And also I tend to say when wedo a great job, we all celebrate
, we celebrate the team.
If something goes wrong,effectively I'm the leader, so I
need to own that and I stand atthe front of that.
So I'll have my team alwaysstand behind me and I'll take
the hit.
Yeah, definitely when somethinggoes wrong.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah, and it happens right.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Absolutely it happens .
Speaker 1 (14:10):
But protecting your team is also so important and as
an entrepreneur, because oneit's your business, right, In
terms of like your baby, likethat, but you need people to
help you execute those things.
But when people attack, Ialways judge.
Well, yeah, judge a leader ontheir leadership skills and how
they handle those types ofsituations, Because throwing
your team under the bus doesnothing for you, right?
(14:31):
And I don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
That's probably, for me, the worst quality in a
leader.
Actually, I find that reallysad, yeah, um, I think if you
have the job of a leader, itcomes with a certain
responsibility, and that is oneof them.
Yeah is no one's left behindand have their back um that's
the job.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
So tell me a bit.
So the last time we spoke, Ithink you had just come into the
role of CEO for 2.0 Collective.
You just recently changed thename.
That was easily five years ago,so walk me through the journey
of 2.0.
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So I came into back then AAC and P-TEX in the very
hot moment of August of 2020.
In the very hot moment ofAugust of 2020.
So I came in kind of doing alittle bit of an audit and then
started officially in Septemberand it was a really tough time.
I mean, you'll remember.
We all remember what COVID didto our economy in Bermuda, and
(15:30):
especially to local businesses,and we're still recovering from
that.
All of us are.
Yeah, definitely so.
In September of 2020, I walkedinto furloughs redundancies Um,
I had to walk through a lot ofthat, that challenge that was.
That was really really tough asa first time CEO and as an
empath.
Um, walking my team throughfurloughs and redundancies was
(15:54):
difficult.
It was a tough thing to gothrough redundancies was
difficult.
It was a tough thing to gothrough, yeah, and ultimately,
everyone affected as a humanbeing right.
So every decision we make in ourbusiness affects people and
their and their lives.
Yeah, that was tough.
Rebranding AAC into 2.0Collective was an interesting
journey.
It didn't happen overnight.
(16:14):
Uh, it was a process that tookabout a year, uh, from start to
finish, and really it was theindustry who who needed us to
rebrand.
Uh, when I started with AAC, um, certain clients would say, uh,
we think you need to rebrand,you need to look at what's next
for this agency.
So it was an interesting story.
(16:35):
When I started with AAC, I usedto tell the team this is now AAC
2.0.
It's the next version of theagency, so it's the next version
of all of us.
And when it came time torebrand, we were thinking of a
new name.
And one of my colleagues saidwell, you already named the
agency.
It's 2.0.
And it signifies a lot to us's2.0.
And it signifies a lot to usand 2.0 collective is a very
(16:58):
important addition.
2.0 really signifies us beingbetter and competing with
ourselves from the day before.
Yeah, uh, it's that constantstrive for improvement, for for
learning.
And collective is is that itgoes back to this lack of
hierarchy, right and uh, or, inpractice, yeah, um, and it's a
(17:19):
collective of minds.
Our tagline is a coterie ofcreative thinkers, and that's
that's how we like seeingourselves love that.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So I think the first time I ever met you was I used
to work with your husband,michael branko um, and I think
you were pregnant with yourfirst daughter at the time.
The first time I met you thenokay how old is she now?
11 and a half.
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That half is important when you're that age
right insistence that I say ahalf, so she's 11 and a half.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yes, and that's so crazy.
That was 11 and a half yearsago a little more than that,
because you've been pregnant atthe time.
But so you mentioned earlierthat you've been in Bermuda for
20 years.
Walk me through what broughtyou to Bermuda work.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So I came for a job, uh, here it was really a one
year engagement and I thought Iwould just do a year and then go
up to Canada.
My family was in Canada and itjust as Bermuda does, you know,
it stole my heart, yeah.
And in the second year I metMichael.
Yeah, just by coincidence, andthe rest is history really.
(18:24):
But I never really thought thatthis would be my forever home.
It was just, it was a job.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yeah, how did you?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
and Mike meet At a party, really the very
old-fashioned way, believe it ornot.
There was no um, there was notechnology involved.
Uh, we just really hit it offas friends.
We were friends for a whilebefore we became a couple and
that really is to this day, isquite important in our
relationship.
He's my favorite person and, tothis day, is who I call,
(18:51):
whether something bad happens orgood happens, or I'm being
nerdy and um, he really kind ofchecks me, um for sure.
So he, he makes me a betterperson and that, to me, is the
litmus test.
You asked about love earlier, Ithink.
For me, in a partnership, inthe romantic partnership, my
litmus test is does he or shemake me a better human being?
(19:13):
And that holds true with mike.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Absolutely.
I love that, um, when youhonestly working with mike and
when he used to lead our team ifwhenever he mentioned your name
, he lit up like a christmastree and we used to talk about
it all the time and it says it'snot anything new, but it you
could truly feel it.
He was like so smitten by you,like he was so proud of you
because I think you had justcompleted an mba or something
(19:36):
like that and he was or ithappened previously but he was
most proud of how smart you are,like your brain, like he really
was.
I've never forgotten that I wasactually talking to one of my
former co-workers and we weretalking about that.
That was telling me I was goingto interview with you and we
spoke about it at that time too.
So I love that you said that,because it reigned true even
when you weren't around.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Oh, he's so sweet.
I joke around that he's like mymarketing department.
So whenever I have a crisis ofself-confidence, I just need to
talk to him and you know he, um,he always says I'm smarter than
him, which I don't.
I don't know that.
That's true.
He's the one doing the PhDright now.
So what's Mike's doing?
Another degree?
He's doing another degree.
So how I explain it is that andyou'll know what I mean is he
(20:20):
has so much brain power andthat's called of his that there
was just a lot of space in there, that he still has a lot of
capacity.
So it was the most naturalthing in the world is for him to
go in and do a PhD.
So that's.
She started this weekend, wow.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
That's amazing.
I'm not surprised, right.
Yeah, I'm like shocked because,yeah, another thing, but
definitely not a surprise at all.
So you guys have two girls nowwe do yes, and tell me about
them.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So we have Madison, who you remember from my first
pregnancy, who's 11 and a half.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And then Isabella, member from my first pregnancy,
who's 11 and a half, yeah.
And then isabella yeah, she'sthe little one.
Um, she's the funny, the funnybunny of the family.
She's a walking comedy show.
Yeah, um, she is nine and ahalf again the halves are very
important.
Um, they're absolutely amazing,yeah, as I think every mom
would say about yes.
Yes, that's fine.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
But I guess when we start talking about this, you
know and a lot of people hatethe term work-life balance or
balance or whatever you want tocall it but as a CEO and a mom
and a wife, how, like how?
Because you've got this hugejob and you sit on boards which
we'll get to in a little whileand you know you have your
holding space for colleagues,and how do you balance the
(21:39):
demands of leading a companywith the responsibilities of
family life?
Speaker 2 (21:44):
You know what, if I'm being honest, I don't know that
, I do Not every day, and mygirlfriends hear about that and
Michael does.
So there's this old saying thatwomen can do it all Absolutely,
just not at the very same time.
Yeah, and I really I I wouldlove society to stop saying that
(22:04):
women are super humans and thatwe're heroes and that we're
superheroes, because we reallyare not.
Yeah, we just do what needsneeds to get done.
So I think in my case.
So balance comes from myvillage, my tribe around me that
support me and keep me honestand accountable.
And then I have my, my rituals,my meditations.
(22:26):
Um, slowing down is reallyimportant to me.
And then, uh, recalibratingevery now and again.
I did a pretty significantrecalibrating exercise in July
of this year and I remapped ofwhat is what is important to me
and this coming year, especiallywith Michael's DBA.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Yeah, and what is a recalibration?
What does that look like foryou?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Um, so this is where the nerd of me is going to come
out, okay.
So in June of this year it justfelt overwhelming.
Both girls had started danceand I didn't realize how hugely
stressful the month of June is.
Oh yeah, for dancing, oh mygosh.
So I'm sending a virtual hug toall the moms out there and the
dads out there who have dancers,because June it really is
(23:14):
something else.
So I now know I need to takevacation for that.
So in June I said, okay,something is just not working.
There is not enough of me toget all of this done.
So I said you know what?
I will spreadsheet this.
So I sat down and I wrote allmy commitments.
I wrote all my board work andmy full-time job and my
parenting and my sleep and I didthe total of the hours for the
(23:39):
whole month and then I dividedit by a day and before I even
got into me time couple time,friends time I was at a negative
0.3 per day.
Hours, hours, wow, 0.3 negativehours per day.
So I had no space for me time,I had no space for friends, I
(23:59):
had no space for dating myhusband, none of that.
So when that stares you back inthe face, it becomes very clear
and obvious that this is notsustainable.
Yeah Right.
So I knew there was a sprint tofinish June, and then I knew
something needed to happen.
So I took a week off that Ihaven't done in a very, very
long time.
Michael was the only one whoknew that I took the week off
(24:22):
and I spent that week on my own.
So I would drive the kids tocamp and then I would come home
I would meditate, I would go fora walk and I would sit and look
at the water and reallyquestion of what matters to me
right now and what would Irecalibrate.
So then I did a bit of anexercise again in that Excel
spreadsheet of I graded what'simportant to my career, what's
(24:45):
important to me, and had to stepdown from some things this
coming year, so that was areally important exercise.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
So that was a really important exercise, and I would
I would invite every one of us,every woman out there, to if you
feel that you're of that um,what that looks like.
And I'm probably in a deficitas well, and I don't even have
children, right, so it's it'scrazy to think of what that
might look like, but I'm verycurious to see what that is too,
because most of us work innumbers or in some form of
accountability to somethingevery single day, but we don't
(25:38):
do that with ourselves.
So, looking at it at that fromthat standpoint and I don't
think that's nerdy, I think it'ssmart.
It's a smart way to look at it,because otherwise, how would
you know that you're running ata negative three hour deficit
every day and you need to makechanges?
Because what then happens ifyou don't do?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
that.
That's exactly it.
What then happens if you don'tdo that?
That's exactly it.
What happens if you don't dothat?
And I started catching myself.
I couldn't sleep as wellanymore.
My I was forgetting things.
So I said, okay, somethingreally needs to change.
Uh, for me, but also for ourkids, for me to support michael
in this new program, and reallyfor my mental health as well.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Definitely.
Do you ever feel guilty, though, with letting things go Like?
I know sometimes because ofthis whole, women can do it.
All this superpower, all thethings that you know?
You said you would like forpeople to stop saying about us.
Do you ever feel like man?
You know, maybe I could try tofind time to still do that, you
know, because I'm passionateabout it, or it's something that
(26:37):
I want to do, or was it justthe right thing to do for you
right now?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
100%.
I think a lot of women canrelate.
I know you can relate.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I know we all can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
There is a degree of FOMO of you're missing out.
And then there is what if mycareer suffers because I let go
of a board?
What?
What if my friendships sufferbecause I don't see my friend or
I don't hear from her or him?
as often yeah, there is 100.
That feeling of guilt, I think,especially mothers, we are, we,
(27:11):
we take a bath of guilt everynight when we go to bed of what
could we have done better, right.
And then I think, in thatmoment, you, I turned to my
trusted circle and I do a, anaudit check with them.
Am I doing the right thing?
What do you think?
And then I think the biggesttest is once I let it go, does
(27:34):
it feel like a weight has comeoff my shoulders?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And that is, that's's huge, and you just know yeah,
definitely, it's a telltaleright, like when you feel like
the weight has been lifted, inparticular.
So you mentioned about yourmental health and balancing that
and physical health, like inaddition to obviously the
balance to be spoken aboutbefore like how do you take care
of your mental health andphysical health as a ceo mom,
wife and all of that?
Speaker 2 (28:00):
mental health.
I recently went back intomeditation, which I think is
very underrated, and meditationis amazing.
Yeah, I would love to say thatI meditate on my own, without
the help of a, of an app, butthat I'm not there yet.
Yeah, I have meditatedthroughout my life, doing yoga
and this, and that, uh, I hadlet it go for a while and I
(28:22):
picked it back up in june.
I said something.
I need a little bit of help.
So I've gone back intomeditation and I use headway uh,
no, sorry, headspace um, andit's been working really, really
well.
Some things come up that areuncomfortable, but, generally
speaking, you go into this roleof an observer of emotions and
(28:45):
feelings which makes it easierUm mental health as well as just
conversations with people.
I trust my sister, michael, myclosest friends.
You know there are friends thatyour soul feels at home with oh
yeah, I know.
And those friends, man, when youfind those friends, never let
them go.
And just having an afternoon Ihave a very dear friend of mine
(29:09):
and we spent an afternoon on aboat and we had the privilege of
having an hour to the two of usand at the end we were crying
and we were hugging and it wascleansing.
It was not bad, it was anamazing, amazing time.
So that really filled my bucket.
My sister is an amazingsounding board.
(29:31):
She actually calls me out whenI'm starting to not sound like
myself.
She says I think you needsomething.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Those people are important as well.
Those people are very importantas well.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Physical health is a bit tough, I have to say it's
really tough.
So I have periods of time whenI'm very disciplined and I go to
the gym and I work out everyday, and periods, like right now
, where just I don't have enoughhours in the day.
So I'm still trying to figurethat one out.
Yeah, um, so I try to do what Ican in healthy eating.
Um, I try to prepare my meals.
(30:03):
I take my meals to work with me.
I unless it's for a meeting, Ikind of sit at my desk and work
through lunch.
So I love seeing what's in myfood if that makes sense, so I
love making my own food yeah, I,I enjoy cooking.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I just hate the cleanup aspect of it and we live
alone.
It's also so much easier tojust get something quickly like
pay for it, but I'm trying to bebetter with the cooking again.
I think that's super important,but I like that, the thought of
.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
I like to see what's in my food, so this is a good
way to look at it and you knowthere is, um, there was this
mexican film, I think it'scalled hot water hot water for
chocolate, I think it's called,and they were saying that, uh,
when you cook and you sprinkle alittle bit of love, and it goes
a long way.
So the food we eat and thethoughts we put into our food
(30:52):
really reflects on the way wefeel after we eat it.
That that's fair.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Yeah, no, I like that , yeah, for sure.
Okay, I want to go back alittle bit, because we've
mentioned about your boards andthat you sit on a ton of boards,
or did, and then you'vereflected since then, like your
involvement with the boards thatyou're on, like how do you
approach leadership in thoseboards?
But then I do want to take astep back before we get there,
(31:17):
about how you got into boards,because I think a lot of times
people are not sure how peopleget on boards and I think we
still do have a significantunderrepresentation of women on
boards.
So I do want to start there andI know I just threw a lot at
you and I apologize, but mythought process changed in the
middle of that question.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
This is very, very rich question and we could do an
entire podcast just on thattopic.
So, you have to kind of bring meback to earth because I have,
I'm very passionate about thistopic and I'm still in on my
journey in my board work.
That's, my long-term goal is toto be a professional ned.
So how I be, how I got involvedinto boards, was that when I
(31:58):
was in Fireminds what 10 yearsago?
I was logically on theexecutive board and our chair at
the time, vicky, said to me Isee something in you.
You have a very uniquestrategic way of thinking and
you disrupt in a veryinteresting way.
You challenge the status quo,and that's very helpful on a
(32:21):
board.
Most people thought that ourboard was not functional because
we were a family business, butin fact actually it's all the
opposite, because we were themasters of our own destiny.
If we took it as a joke, thenwe wouldn't get anywhere right.
So we actually had to be veryserious about it.
So she really ignited thatcuriosity and she said I think
(32:42):
you can do more with this.
So she then introduced me tothis program to Institute of
Directors, which sounded soconvoluted at the beginning, and
I'm more than happy to talk toanyone about it.
So open invite.
If you're interested in this,you know, find me on LinkedIn
more than happy to talk about it.
So open invite.
If you're interested in this,you know, find me on LinkedIn
more than happy to talk about it.
And there's three levels inInstitute of Directors.
The first one is for elementsand for exams.
(33:05):
The second one is the diplomaand then the third one is
becoming a certified boarddirector once you have a
portfolio of boards.
So, because I love studying,that sounded really interesting
to me, so I went and sat throughthe courses, did the exams I
think a year, so it was a bit ofan overachiever there and then
(33:26):
after that, that really umopened my appetite for board
work and I loved the strategicthinking of it and the tactical
thinking of it.
And then I discovered howdifficult it is to get on a
board, especially for womenwomen.
(33:53):
So, um, the board landscape inBermuda is known, so we it.
It's a challenge for newlycertified directors to to be
welcomed on boards.
Is is not an easy task.
So it is, uh, building yourbrand.
You mentioned that earlier.
Um, it is having this publicpersona speaking at conferences,
being on panels and reallyshowing the industry what you're
made of.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And I always say, when I'm approached about a
board, I always say what kind ofboard director I am and I will
challenge, I will challenge thestatus quo, I will ask the
questions and that is the typeof director I'm on.
So if, um, if a company islooking for a yes person, that's
not me, uh, but if you'relooking for someone who wants
(34:34):
the best for the business, then,um, through this, this
challenging uh approach, thenthat's, that's my way and I'm
still it's.
It's a journey, uh, it reallyis.
I've been doing board work forthe last seven years.
I still have a long way to goto where I want to be.
I'm very lucky to have amazingmentors in the industry who help
(34:56):
me with advice.
I'm very appreciative of theiradvice and I'm still working on
it.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
Why do you think it's so difficult for women to get
on boards?
Because I don't think that's aparticularly a Bermuda problem.
I think that that's just aproblem around the world, but so
not specifically to Bermuda.
Yes, but why do you think it'sa bit of a still a challenge?
Speaker 2 (35:17):
So I'll start a bit far answering the question.
So one of my favorite books isSapiens by Yuval Harari, and I
was listening to it driving here.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
So this kind of goes ventures into the whole
discussion of DEI you know, umsociety as we know it has been
built with these biases right,and there is racial bias and
there's gender bias.
So, to answer your questionspecifically is um there was
this, um historical bias towardsthe female gender, that we are
(35:48):
less prepared, we're lessdecisive.
Well, what happens if we upsether and she cries or periods?
Speaker 1 (35:53):
on, or she's on, that type of demand which is just a
terrible thing to say.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yep, so I think historically there is that
history of bias and then, well,but she doesn't have enough
experience.
But how would she get enoughexperience if she doesn't have a
chance to be on a board?
So it's this perpetual cycleright Of there have not been
women on boards there.
Therefore there are less womenon boards.
If that makes sense, yeah, itmakes total sense.
So those amazing, strong womenwho break that glass ceiling and
(36:22):
end up on boards, they arethose strong voices to then
recruit more of us on theseboards.
And that's what I do as well.
If I'm on a strong board, I tryto recruit more women so that
we break that notion that womenare emotional and that you know
we're called the B word because,we are, um we're more we lean
(36:45):
in Right, um, so so we're.
it's still a journey.
So, to answer your question,why?
I think it's a, it's a mix,it's a historical kind of
development of bias, uh, genderbias, and then just the status
quo with the comfort right, um Ithink that's it.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Yeah, definitely no, I totally agree with you and I
know we've had offlineconversations around diversity
and the big part of DEI beingthat equity element of it, and I
think obviously we could godown a rabbit hole with that as
well.
But it's, it's definitelysomething that has significant,
I guess, recourse when we thinkabout boards, when we think
(37:28):
about women in leadership,because if we think about the
amount of women in CEO positionsin Bermuda, it's more than it
is in other places in the world,but it still has a significant
way to go, and all the pointsthat you made around why not?
Are still so prevalent, and youwould be your.
It's almost laughable, becauseit's like it's 2024, like you
know what I mean.
How are we still havingconversations around?
(37:49):
Oh, she's too emotional or what.
Like we're dealing with it rightnow with kamala harrison and
the um you know race for thepresident of the united states.
Like what happens if she's onher cycle and there's a war that
breaks.
Like she's gonna send us intowar.
It's like people are reallymaking these outlandish comments
about women in 2024 and it justis like what planet am I on
(38:10):
that?
These are still things that are, you know, being discussed as
opposed to her education or thework that she's done in the past
.
Um, I don't know why we stillthink this way when it comes to
women, as if we just wake up andjust flow by the seat of our
pants every single day.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
It's just right it's amazing to me.
And then add on to well, she'sthe default parent.
So what happens if her child issick and she needs to go home
instead of being in a boardmeeting?
And then you show up as a womanin the boardroom and if you are
, if you have a strong opinion,they're like whoa, what happened
to you today?
Are you okay?
You know um it, we just havework to do.
(38:52):
You still have so much work todo.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
I know I think about it.
Um, I had a meeting this weekand my default kind of response
with my ceo, who's my directmanager, is if I do anything
that is slight that could betaken the wrong way in any way,
shape or form, I inform him ofit immediately.
I'm like hey, I was on a call,um, things were a little hairy.
(39:13):
Um, I did not, wasn't?
You know?
You know me now and we'veworked together long enough that
he's aware of, you know theconnotations around calling
black women or black peopleperiod aggressive, and you know
things like that.
So I would say, you know Iinform him of these things.
One so someone does saysomething to him.
He's not, you know, blindsidedby it, but he also knows my work
ethic now and he can alsodefend me in those positions as
(39:36):
well.
But it it's.
It's such a interesting topicto kind of go back and forth
with, because half of how myselfas a woman, yourself as a woman
, have to go into responding topeople, we have to think before
we can just say what it is thatwe want to say.
(39:57):
We have to worry about howwe're saying it, how we're
postured.
Cannot be too emotional, has tobe as logical as possible.
Speak with all the facts beforeyou're taken seriously, and
then it still can be taken outof context just because you're a
woman that's right.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
But then if you have a strong opinion, sometimes
that's a bad thing because thenyou're trouble, yep, so you're
doomed if you do, you doomed ifyou don't.
I'm lucky that I'm on someboards.
I'm a proud member of ypo, uh,and I sit on regional boards and
local boards and, lucky andlucky for me, um, at YPO, we, or
the organization really umappreciates leaders and people
(40:34):
who lean in and have a strongopinion.
So, um, I have learned in thoseenvironments how to weigh in um
, um in a balanced way, Isuppose, and how to fight for
what's right.
So I'm lucky I'm lucky therebut again, the work continues.
Honestly, the shay it's, it,it's.
(40:56):
We have a long to go.
We have come a long way rightfrom 100 years ago yeah, for
sure um, I mean gosh, I waslistening to sapiens in the car
and they were talking aboutsexual assault and how, even 50
years ago, there were countrieswhere if a husband sexual
assaults his wife, that'sactually not illegal, and I just
(41:18):
I was blown away, right.
So we've come a long way and westill have work to do, and I
think the important part is, aswomen, to support each other and
not take for granted what wehave.
Yeah, so I talk a lot, a lotabout privilege and how to use
that for empowerment, and that'show I use my privileges to to
use that to bring you knowothers with me who may not have
(41:43):
the opportunities no, absolutely, and I think that's so
important.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I love that because you said that earlier as well,
and it was something that I'mglad you brought it back up,
because a lot of times and I saythis in different settings when
it comes to diversity, butwe'll use it in the gender
setting at this point but youknow, we're constantly still
breaking these glass ceilings,right, like I feel like every
time we turn, it's the first inthis or the first in that, when
(42:12):
it comes to first female to dothis, that, and the other right,
and sometimes we had ageneration of women and I think
it's gotten a lot better now whokind of coveted those positions
because it's like, oh my god,hey, I'm the only woman, there
can't be two.
You know what I mean, and thatsense could be said in, you know
, racially as well, depending onthe environment that you're in.
And so I love the fact that youare so open to reaching down
and or not down, or cross, orwherever it is to bring along
another woman with you, becausewhat you don't want to do is
(42:32):
leave a board and go intoanother board and then they
replace you with a man and thenyou're starting.
It's starting all over againand then the next woman is
breaking the ceiling that youalready broke, um, just because
someone didn't extend a hand tobring on another female into
that particular board.
So I commend you for it,because one it it takes a
(42:53):
significant amount ofself-awareness and confidence to
know that bringing on someoneelse is not going to affect your
position, and it also showscourage and you know, just a lot
of empathy to like.
You know, I don't want anyoneto have to go through what I had
to go through.
I totally commend that,definitely.
So you spoke about personalbranding and I always I kind of
(43:13):
hate the term, but it is what itis Right and so, like as a mom,
as a CEO, like how do youbalance the demands, I guess,
when I guess not demands, buthow do you brand yourself as
both a business leader, a rolemodel for your girls and other
women in leadership?
Like how, how do you work onthat branding?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
So personal branding is an interesting one.
I spoke at a B2C conference andthey asked me to speak about
personal branding.
So part of what I said was that, wanted or not, we all have a
personal brand.
Yeah.
So we may say, oh no, I don'thave a personal brand, I don't
need a personal brand.
But everything is a personalbrand.
How you say hello to someone isa personal brand.
(43:56):
Whether you hug them or you, oryou shake their hand, or
whether or how you address them.
How you sign your emails, howyou open your emails right.
Whether you start emails withdear XYZ and you say you know, I
hope your weekend is awonderful one before you start
your emails All of those thingsare personal branding, right.
(44:20):
How you speak of people thatare not in the room, that's
personal branding as well ofyours, right?
That speaks volumes.
So personal branding is not onlyprofessional personal branding.
It's who you are as a person,and the consistency of that,
right?
Um is the consistency of being,um, you know, caring for people
(44:42):
on the job and off the job,right?
So for me, personal branding um, I guess what's important to me
is empathy Um, that will alwaysbe important to me.
Curiosity on understanding yourpoint of view.
I'm so curious aboutdifferences.
Genuinely, I think if we wereall the same, the world would be
so boring.
So understanding how you seethe world is is super important
(45:06):
to me.
Um, and then, being fair asmuch as possible, right, and I'm
not delusional to say that Ialways know what's fair, because
there is always seven versionsof the truth and I may not see a
perspective that you see, right, but even the quest for
fairness is is, for me, is onthe right path.
(45:26):
Right, and also, I am sometimesa bit hard on myself when I do a
self audit at the end of theday, of what I could have done
better.
Yeah, and ultimately, I amlearning to give myself grace
and to be kind to myself and tosay we're all learning, we're
all building ourselves, andpersonal branding is a journey,
right?
(45:46):
Though, if you ask me, personalbranding with my girls versus
personal branding in theboardroom, I have had to build a
personal brand in the boardroom, and I think I'm known for
being a strong voice on theboards, because, quite frankly,
if you're a female on a boardand you don't have a strong
voice, more than likely youwon't have a voice.
(46:08):
Yeah, so that's just how it is.
Yeah, with our girls I tend tohave a little bit of that
traditional discipline,obviously nothing physical, but
just really drawing theboundaries on what's healthy and
in behaviors and what's notwhat's healthy and in behaviors
and what's not.
(46:29):
And then, with my friends, Ilove to think that I make their
souls feel at home.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (46:34):
And I guess not being judgy is a huge one as well.
Yeah, just being open-minded,definitely.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
No, I get that and I definitely appreciate it,
because sometimes and I lovewhat you said about just being a
good person right Like you canfocus so much on what you want
people to perceive about you,but if you're not just a good
person like that doesn't matter.
You know what I mean.
So I love that you you saidthat around just being good or
you know whole or whatever thatlooks like to you because if
(47:01):
you're just authenticallyyourself and you're just who you
are in different spaces and Iguess holding back for certain
certain places and where you areis important as well, because
not everyone should get you intotal at all times, like you've
got to reserve some things foryour private life but I can
totally appreciate, um, justbeing a good person, because
some people that's difficult.
(47:22):
It's difficult to be a goodperson for some people.
So, yeah, just being good is isdefinitely really important.
Um, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
I think part of what I think of I've made a personal
part of my personal brand lately, especially since covid is
standing up for the localbusinesses.
Um, me being part of a localbusiness community, I'm really
passionate about standing up forall of us and saying, in this
(47:50):
quest for keeping business onthe island, a lot of
international business sendsbusiness off island that we are
more than capable and happy totake care of on the island, and
it's a big passion of mine is toadvocate for all of us, not
just 2.0, not just for ptex, butfor all of us on the island who
provide amazing services.
(48:12):
Is to tell the ib communitywe're here and we're where
there's a lot of talentedbusinesses that can take care of
you in the best possible way.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, so that's also part of my personal branding,
(48:42):
but they still miss that, thatBermuda piece, right, they don't
always get it.
So engaging with the localcompany is so important because
you're getting you know, you'regetting good work number one but
you're also getting theauthenticity of someone actually
being here as well, which isreally important.
Exactly, yeah, definitely.
So I mean, it's so crazy, Ialways say this, but time flies
by really quickly, and so I justwant to make sure we're getting
(49:04):
to everything.
But I guess, what would youleave, I guess, in final
thoughts, right?
Um, like, what would you leaveto those, to those people who
are listening, women inparticular, who are balancing
the demands of their career,family, personal growth, growth
excuse me, what advice, I guess,would you give them?
Or what would you leave withthem, um, in terms of what it
(49:26):
will take to maintain andachieve success in those areas?
What advice would you give tothose women?
Build your spreadsheet,definitely.
Well, you're gonna have topatent that spreadsheet, I am
more than happy to share.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
It's really not complicated, but yeah um, really
take a look at your life andassess what really is important
in a in the most honest way.
Keep the people who make yoursoul feel at home close.
And at our age, at my age, Ican't have 20 people like that.
(49:59):
I don't have time anymore, butthose few, select few that I
feel at home with I, keep themclose.
Give yourself grace is such ahuge one.
I mean, how many evenings, howmany nights I lay in bed and I
think, gosh, I could have donesuch a better job at parenting
and I lost my cool with thegirls and I have tears in my
eyes and then I have to kind ofhug the little Polina and be
(50:22):
like it's okay, you know, youdid the best you could and we
can try again tomorrow.
Yeah, right, and slow down.
There People are asking me howthe summer went and I say
deliciously slow and I just, Iabsolutely love a slower pace
and this conversation is a greatexample to just slow down and
(50:43):
um and smell those flowers notmetaphorically, I mean, I make
myself actually smell theflowers.
Right, yeah, um.
Meditate, whatever that meansto you, whether you're reading a
book or watching a show or dowhat, what you need to do and
then think of who you want to be, not for how you want who you
(51:05):
are to affect your job, but likewhat matters to you, what
values are important to you.
Right, yeah, um, and then therest will come.
So don't serve the the how tosay your, your business
acquaintances or yourprofessional goals.
Bring it back to basics andthink of who you want to be, and
then the rest will just takecare of itself.
(51:25):
And an open invite to.
If you want to have a cup ofcoffee with me, I'm more than
happy to Next to our office at aRook Island.
I'm always open to meeting withsomeone new, exchanging ideas
and just being inspired orinspiring if I'm lucky enough.
So always up for a cup ofcoffee, I love that.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
Okay, and then, finally, my final question to
all of my guests is what do youwant to be remembered for?
Obviously a very long time fromnow.
When someone mentions PaulinaBranco and the effect that you
had on them or any situation,what would you want them to say
about you?
What does that memory look likefor you?
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Is that saying?
People don't remember what yousaid, but the way you made them
feel, and I hope that a handfulof people remember that their
soul was at home with me.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
I love that.
Well, thank you so much.
I really appreciate youspending some time with me today
, and if anyone wants to get incontact with you or 2.0
Collective for any of yourservices, what's the best way to
do that?
Speaker 2 (52:28):
So 2.0 Collective dot com.
Find me on LinkedIn Branco isthe easiest way.
Find us on Facebook.
We have an Instagram.
We have LinkedIn.
We would love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Thank you so much.
I never asked you about theservices for 2.0.
So if you wanted to say thatnow, just in case anyone's
interested 2.0 Collective is acreative agency.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
We like to say we love being creative.
We are a full servicesmarketing agency.
What we love doing is beingcreative and thinking outside
the box.
So we do marketing campaigns,we do logo design any creative
works and we love any creativeprojects.
Okay, perfect.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
All right, well, thank you again.
Thank you for having meAbsolutely Well, guys, we just
had a great conversation withthe amazing Paulina Branco, who
is the CEO of 2.0 Collectivehere in Bermuda.
If you have any questions forher, like she said, please reach
out to her on LinkedIn, paulinaBranco.
You can find her there, and ifyou want to learn more about 2.0
Collective and the servicesthat they provide, make sure you
head over to their website,2.0collectivecom.
(53:29):
Thank you for spending sometime with me today and again, a
special shout out to oursponsors, 59 Front Brown Company
and Scudamard.
As always, guys, thanks forwatching Hustle Her Podcast.
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