The Emotionally Intelligent Leader brings together visionary women founders and executives to explore how emotional intelligence shapes modern leadership, decision-making, and authentic connection in the AI era.
This event is thoughtfully crafted with women in mind, aiming to provide a space where women can connect, share, and grow together.
🎤 Our Panel will explore:
➢ What emotional intelligence truly means — and how to apply it in high-pressure environments
➢ How empathy, presence, and self-awareness help leaders make better decisions and build trust
➢ Why EQ is the most valuable leadership skill in the age of automation
➢ The balance between data, intuition, and human connection
➢ Real stories of how emotionally intelligent leadership transforms teams, culture, and growth
Practical tools to strengthen your emotional intelligence and self-awareness
Insightful perspectives from women leaders mastering EQ in business and life
Deeper understanding of how to lead calmly and confidently through complexity
Meaningful conversations and connections with like-minded women founders and executives
Melissa is a co-founder and CEO of performance bag brand, Dagne Dover. Melissa came up with the idea for Dagne while leading the turn-around at Coach's first UK/EU location in 2009, where she saw the opportunity for a culturally-relevant, digitally-native bag brand that paired performance materials with smart design. Today, Melissa is always thinking about ways to live smarter and better – through the products and services we use – to the workplace policies that push our society forward. Melissa and her co-founders are passionate about setting a new standard of leadership, company culture, and workplace norms in hopes of creating a better society. Melissa is a graduate of New York University (BA) and The Wharton School of Business (MBA).
Yana is a Stanford-certified leadership expert and founder of MAIN CHARACTER, a next-generation school developing emotionally intelligent teen leaders. With over a decade of experience collaborating with faculty from Stanford, Harvard, and HEC Paris, she has helped design leadership programs and advised entrepreneurs across Africa and Asia through Stanford Seed on scaling with purpose.
Previously, Yana founded CAPS, one of Eastern Europe’s leading schools for leadership development, and now co-hosts the Mastery Talks podcast, where she interviews Ivy League professors on translating cutting-edge research into real-world leadership. Her work bridges business, education, and technology—shaping how leaders grow in the age of AI with empathy, clarity, and courage.
Daniella is the founder and creative director of her namesake footwear brand, launched in 2018 to redefine how women experience beauty and comfort in shoes.
Born in Johannesburg and educated at USC, she built her career in digital marketing with brands like rag & bone, Shopbop, and ShopStyle before channeling that expertise into her own label. A former dancer who struggled with foot issues, Daniella set out to merge luxury design with comfort and purpose.
Crafted in small batches by artisans in Italy and Brazil, her collections feature glove-like fits, sculptural detailing, and soft leathers — blending elegance, movement, and sustainability. Celebrated by press such as Vogue, Forbes, and Marie Claire, and by loyal clients, Daniella’s work continues to prove that true luxury empowers women through both beauty and well-being.
Lesya is the founder of A-Players, a boutique talent firm behind hires for startups across YC and a16z portfolios — including several unicorns. Her team built a proprietary system to identify true A-Players, used by founders for hiring and by VCs for early-stage investing. She also leads a community of 700+ founders and VCs who believe you can build massive success while driving positive impact.
Julia is a brand strategist and creative entrepreneur with over a decade of experience leading branding, marketing, and communications across Fortune 500 companies in Europe and the U.S. She is a Founder & CEO of Aliiiens: Brand Venture Lab where she and her team helps trendsetting companies grow, scale, and stand out through bold strategy and next-generation brand building.
Julia is also the founder of ALL EYES ON US, a community for creative women entrepreneurs who were never meant to play small — bringing together self-made, ambitious women — like you — to connect, grow, and build with purpose.