Why WOW Exists

People often ask me why I started WOW. The answer depends on how much time we have.

The short version is that I wanted to create the kind of space I wished existed for me.

The longer version starts on a tube journey home from London.

I remember sitting quietly after a long day. Like many women, I was juggling a demanding career, family, relationships, and a head full of questions about what came next. As I looked up, I saw an advertisement for Sri Lanka. Something about it sparked an idea.

What if you could bring inspiring leaders together in such a beautiful place? I wondered what ideas would spark - what magic would be created just because we gathered. No agenda. Just being present.

What if they could step away from the noise of everyday life long enough to think, reflect, dream, and connect? What if similarly minded and valued strangers connected?

That thought stayed with me.

At the time, I didn't know this would eventually become WOW. I simply knew that many women were carrying a lot and doing it largely on their own.

Over the years, I have coached women across industries, cultures, age groups and continents. Some were CEOs. Some were start up founders. Some were educators. Some were navigating major life transitions. On the surface their stories looked very different.

Underneath, I noticed something striking. Many of them felt alone.

Not because they lacked people around them, but because they lacked spaces where they could bring their authentic selves. Spaces where they could think out loud. Spaces where they could admit uncertainty without fear of judgement. Spaces where they could be ambitious and vulnerable at the same time.

Many had spent years looking after everyone else. Very few had someone looking after them.

That is why WOW exists.

WOW is not simply a coaching programme. It is not just a retreat. It is not networking.It is not professional development.

It is a strategic pause.

A chance to step out of the rush of everyday life and ask some important questions. What matters most to me now? What do I want more of? What do I want less of? What am I ready to leave behind? What am I being called towards?

These questions sound simple. They rarely are.

Finding the answers becomes easier when you are surrounded by thoughtful women who are asking similar questions.

One of the things I love most about WOW is that the women who join often arrive thinking they need coaching. They leave with coaching, yes.

But they also leave with something they didn't know they were missing. Community. Sisterhood. Connection.

A group of women who genuinely want to see them succeed.

The science tells us that strong social connections improve wellbeing, resilience, and performance. My experience tells me something else.

Women are often stronger together than they realise. When one woman shares her story, another finds courage. When one woman takes a risk, another sees new possibilities. When one woman succeeds, it expands what others believe is possible for themselves.

The world doesn't need women to shrink their ambitions. It needs more women willing to step into them. It needs women who stay in the running. Women who lead. Women who create. Women who challenge. Women who support one another along the way.

That is what WOW is about.

Creating spaces where women can reconnect with themselves, connect with each other, and find the courage to take the next step.

The idea that came to me on the London tube all those years ago has grown into a global community of remarkable women.

And we're only just getting started.