Episode SummaryStephanie Akkaoui Hughes, CEO of AKKA Architects, Speaker, Author, and Career Coach explains why she wants more people to embrace uncertainty and how crucial good facilitation is when it comes to aligning motivations to plan for the future. With 'Architecting Interactions' she walks the talk with her team at AKKA and highlights the usage of spaces to foster human interaction and asking the right questions when developing architecture for future generations. She is guided by the three qualities of Sustainability (physical, assimilative, anticipatory), which she elaborates in this episode and gives beautiful examples of their application. What we talk aboutIn our episode Stephanie tells me about her upbringing in Beirut, having lived through the last years of the Civil War, and what shaped her idea of good architecture.How her vision of Architecting Interactions shapes her work at AKKA and why taking into consideration the three qualities of Sustainability is so crucial.Applying Systems Thinking, asking the right questions, and guiding teams with the right kind of leadership and facilitation through creative workshops to envision a sustainable future.About Stephanie Akkaoui HughesAs founder of AKKA Architects and Workspace Consultant, Stephanie focuses her work on fostering interactions and sustained innovation in public and private workspaces.Born in Lebanon, Stephanie studied at the American University of Beirut, where she graduated with high honors in Architecture. Soon after, she accepted the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)'s offer to join them in Rotterdam. During her five years at OMA, worked closely with Rem Koolhaas and built extensive experience in large-scale architectural and urban projects. After 5 years at OMA, she founded AKKA Architects, an architecture firm specialising in creating spaces that foster human interactions. AKKA is driven by the vision of Architecting Interaction©, which explores how space can be designed as a strategic tool to drive meaningful interactions between people, foster employee engagement, well-being and meaning at work.Stephanie is regularly invited to speak and lead workshops at universities, conferences, summits and events around the world. Resources mentionedAgents of Innovation Program by AKKA ArchitectsSmart Workspace Design Summit in Amsterdam by Fleming EventsImpact Hub AmsterdamStephanie's book «Architecting Interaction – How to Innovate through Interactions»TEDx Speech of Stephanie Akkaoui HughesConnect with Stephanie Akkaoui HughesWebsite of AKKA Architects Instagram of AKKA ArchitectsLinkedIn Profile of AKKA Architects

Episode SummaryLukas Steiner cycled from Zurich (Switzerland) to Cape Town (South Africa). 333 days, 18’578 kilometres and 1’147 hours in the saddle later Lukas has a lot of stories to share! Not only about his trip’s statistical data he kept track of (visit www.lukas-steiner.com for more!) but about key insights for anyone who wants to take the jump and learn how to embrace uncertainty. What we talk aboutIn our episode Lukas tells me about being exposed to raw nature, experiencing 20 different countries along the way and the people he met who create positive impact for the wildlife and the communities on site.What an adventurer’s mindset lets you accomplish when it comes to being creative, taking risks, and overcoming adversity. Reflecting on your own ego and reframing the concept of failureAbout Lukas SteinerLukas Steiner (*1993) holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen and is in the process of completing a double-degree in International Management, Organization & Culture. Prior to that he travelled through Mongolia riding a horse and rode a motorbike on a trip through India. Lukas is fond of statistics and kept track of many interesting metrics about his cycling journey across the African continent: Watch his TEDx talk on Youtube or read his blog on lukas-steiner.com for more details! Lukas currently seeks adventure and magic in and around Switzerland.Resources mentionedStatistics on Lukas' Cycling Trip through AfricaLukas Steiner TEDx TalkGreen Ethiopia FoundationKatadyn BeFree Portable Water FilterConnect with Lukas SteinerLukas Steiner's WebsiteLukas Steiner on InstagramMore episodes like thisThank you for joining the Naturally Innovative Podcast! Don't miss out on new episode releases on Instagram.If you enjoyed this episode please share, subscribe and review it, so more people can find this podcast and be inspired by the stories my guests shared!For any kind of feedback, feel free to connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn! 

Episode SummaryI had shared Pascal's story many times before this Podcast came into being because I found how he goes about fighting one of the honeybee's major threats with his team at Vatorex, so engaging. After giving you an overview about Vatorex's journey and their product range and technology suite, Pascal and I talk about Entrepreneurship and the potential for the Internet of Bees towards a more sustainable future. What we talk aboutHarnessing decades of beekeeper know-how and new technology to fight the varroa mite infestations and save honeybees in an eco-friendly and automated way.A sauna for bees or how their thermo heat treatment works and why it outperforms chemical treatments.The next steps along  Vatorex ' journey to make the product and technology suite more robust to meet commercial beekeeper's needs.About Pascal Brunner & VatorexFounded in 2016 by Pascal and Willi Brunner, Vatorex combines more than 50 years of beekeeping experience with an innovative outlook on the role of beekeeping in our natural world. Pascal Brunner, CEO and Co-Founder of Vatorex is an entrepreneur, musician & sports lover. He wants to be a superhero so he started saving bees.Resources mentionedStart Summit, St. GallenVatorex on the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Program Vatorex  receiving the Innosuisse certificateConnect with VatorexVatorex WebsiteVatorex on InstagramMore episodes like thisThank you for joining the Naturally Innovative Podcast! Don't miss out on new episode releases on Instagram.If you enjoyed this episode please share, subscribe and review it, so more people can find this podcast and be inspired by the stories my guests shared!For any kind of feedback, feel free to connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn! 

Welcome to The Naturally Innovative Podcast – Inspiring Conversations with Responsible Leaders.In this episode I introduce you to the Naturally Innovative Podcast and the overarching idea behind it. I will also talk about myself, my experience with the Podcast's key topics and what motivates me for this exciting project.What I talk about00:34 What Naturally Innovative is all about 01:18 The topics I'll cover throughout the episodes01:34 Who to expect as guests on my Podcast and how I define 'responsible leaders'02:34 What I want to achieve with this Podcast03:12 My passion for the key topics on this Podcast and about myself and my professional background09:15 My motivation for this Podcast and why I chose to start PodcastingConnect with mevia LinkedInvia InstagramThank you for joining the Naturally Innovative Podcast! Don't miss out on new episode releases on Instagram.If you enjoyed this episode please share, subscribe and review it, so more people can find this podcast and be inspired by the stories my guests shared!