Choosing Impact Over the Established Path with Marisa Kamall

If you’ve reached a point in your career where success alone no longer feels like enough, this is a conversation for you. Marisa Kamall spent almost two decades in banking, including ten years and six different roles at HSBC across the UK, Europe, Brazil and the UAE, ultimately becoming Regional COO for the UAE and Middle East. But as her career progressed, so did her desire to use her experience to create a different kind of impact. In this episode, Marisa shares her experience of leaving a successful corporate career in search of something more meaningful, and the journey that followed. After leaving banking, Marisa explored executive coaching, joined a startup and built a technology product before eventually founding Gaia, a women’s leadership community designed to create the confidence, connection and sense of belonging she knew could make a difference to women’s careers. Marisa also discusses themes of belonging, identity and what happens when the desire to make a greater impact becomes stronger than the security of staying on a well-established path. 📌 TAKE OUR FREE QUIZ ➡️ How ready are you for independence? https://talentandtruth.beehiiv.com/es-lead... Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:38 Meet Marisa: from HSBC to founding GAIA 00:02:29 Earning a seat at tables not built for you 00:09:19 What success looked like vs how it felt 00:12:09 The three signs it was time to leave 00:20:28 Never working for another organisation again 00:22:39 Letting go of the "I used to be" identity 00:25:39 Ambition or proving yourself? 00:31:16 Coaching, a startup and finding GAIA 00:36:29 Why she isn't scared: options over assets 00:41:26 Inside GAIA: confidence and boundaries 00:45:11 You are enough: advice to her former Self Connect with Marisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisakamall/ GAIA: www.gaiarises.com About Marisa Marisa Kamall is the founder of GAIA, a women’s leadership community and leadership development platform based in Dubai and online. Before founding GAIA, Marisa spent almost two decades in finance and banking, including ten years at HSBC. Her international career took her across the UK, Europe, Brazil and the UAE and spanned compliance, risk, product management, finance, performance management and group strategy. She ultimately served as Regional COO for the UAE and Middle East. After leaving banking, Marisa trained as an executive coach and explored several different paths before founding GAIA, through which she now works to help women build confidence, strengthen boundaries and progress as leaders - both through its community and leadership programmes within organisations. About Independent Executive Independent Executive is a podcast for accomplished executives who want to build a career with more independence, choice and ownership. Hosted by Executive Strategist Sabine Kühn, each episode features a candid conversation with an executive who has left corporate life to build something of their own. Subscribe wherever you listen: Spotify 🎧 - https://open.spotify.com/show/6px2hXvIKj9e... Apple Podcasts 🎧 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inde... YouTube 🖥️ -    / @independentexecutive   Follow the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentexecu... LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/independe... Connect with Sabine: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-kuhn/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabinek___/ Work with Talent & Truth: https://talentandtruth.beehiiv.com/executi...