Meet some of Trapeze’s fabulous female employees this #IWD2024

This International Women’s Day we asked a few of the fabulous women working at Trapeze to choose one of these words – mentorship, leadership or innovation and reflect on how it connects to their career.

Please enjoy getting to know them better. We know we did!

Emilie Franklin  

Senior Legal Counsel
It is so important to assist women in the industry, to help them develop and grow, and to make sure they aren’t lost. Support and development encourage good people to remain in our industry.  

I’ve been mentoring two other women working within CSI in legal roles, mainly for career direction and recognising opportunities, so they can make empowered decisions and have confidence in their career choices.  

One I met at Quadrants in London – she faced workplace challenges, I had the experience to encourage her to step outside her comfort zone. The other I met at Modaxo Move in San Diego, she wanted advice on managing her team and how to have the have the hard conversations. We also talk about how about tech solutions can streamline her role.  

I value these opportunities to be a mentor to other women since I never had that female perspective to support me during my earlier career. From a leadership perspective I have pushed hard within the ELT to prioritise initiatives including maternity leave. 

Janelle Peady 

Senior HR Adviser
The word that resonates with me is ‘leadership’. I wake up everyday and feel proud to work for an organisation where our culture is underpinned by Leaders who foster an environment where I feel empowered, heard, and supported.  

Since joining Modaxo ANZ 2 years ago, I have experienced the critical role our leaders play in creating opportunities that support professional growth, meaningful work, and a sense of belonging.  

Our leaders place a strong emphasis on building a culture of continuous learning and development and it’s been a joy to celebrate the success of our team members who have advanced internally because of this. I see that our leaders are true to their commitment of nurturing and retaining talent and it’s a pleasure to get to support this vision in the work that I do. 

Amrutha Vraghav 

Team Lead Dev / Principal Software Engineer
My journey began over a decade ago as a software developer. Initially, I wasn’t overly ambitious; my primary goal was financial independence. Over time, I progressed to a senior software developer role, although I remained in that position for an extended period. Despite internal advancements within the organization my focus shifted to motherhood, balancing parental responsibilities with my professional duties. Throughout this time, I predominantly worked for large organizations, until I joined TTG. 

 Transitioning to a smaller organization initially raised doubts, and thoughts of leaving crossed my mind. However, the strong team dynamics and my comfort zone kept me rooted. Following TTG’s acquisition, changes ensued, coinciding with my children’s increased independence, allowing me to devote more energy to my career.  

Recognizing an opportunity for leadership, I embarked on this path with the unwavering support and mentorship of my manager. While I have much to learn, I am confident in my journey towards becoming a capable leader. 

Discovering newfound confidence led me to pursue another passion—dance. Together with my dancing partner, I established a dance studio business, where we aim to empower women, particularly working mothers, to overcome stage fright and express themselves through dance. 

On this Women’s Day, I encourage every woman to explore their passions and pursue what brings them joy. Each individual possesses unique talents, and while some may readily identify theirs, others may need to delve deeper to uncover their true calling. To all women, I wish you a Happy Women’s Day and urge you to embrace your strength and potential. 

More power to you all! 

Niki Contese 

Senior Graphic Designer
Earlier in my career I had one really great director, she really nourished my talents and I’m still grateful for that.  

But on International Women’s Day I want to recognise and celebrate all the single parents, the mums working full time while raising their children. For them, excelling in the work life and in their second job – parenting – becomes second nature and it’s certainly not easy.  

For these amazing women, it’s not just about the job they do, it’s as much about why they do it – for their kids.  

Nikita Sangwan 

Group Financial Controller
In most organisations, I have always seen leadership roles as generally associated only with people management, traditional workflow management and held only senior management levels. 

But my perception was fundamentally challenged when I joined Trapeze and I noted an entirely different perspective of leadership. I was excited to see how we all can be leaders in our roles and areas of expertise and can create a ripple effect throughout the organisation’s culture. It also brought back my learnings about the leadership concept and its basic definition in all the business management books that I read in school.  

The incredible emphasis on leadership and inspiring people’s thought processes, decisions and actions in our organisation has helped me focus on my key strengths. We have so many influential leaders in our organisation with their unique perspectives and adversity. I have been able to learn many unique leadership styles from my peers and colleagues.  

It is such a great experience to work with such a diversity of great leaders around us and inspiring each other with their unique ability.