Iona Kelliher

At 33, Iona became Managing Director at Edurio, a 40-person edtech company, transitioning from startup to scale-up without losing the friendly, community-first culture that got us here. 

There are four ways she is doing this. As an individual, she leads with curiosity and authenticity, and I’m told this is paving the way for other colleagues - particularly, women - to believe they can do the same. For the company, she is helping us forge a path from a founder-led business reliant on individual brilliance, to a systems-led organisation that can thrive beyond any particular individual. Sector-wide, she works with executive leaders to improve their craft, helping them listen better to their people and enjoy the strategic advantages that brings. Finally, she keeps a clear focus on setting - and achieving - realistic but ambitious goals, ensuring that she deliver commercially for the companies she works for, on time and within budget.

Her role as a generalist who trusts experts to be experts has helped us achieve this - she doesn’t stand in people’s way, she wants the best idea to win, and she wants people to continuously improve their craft for the good of their career and their company.