Emily Hill | Leading sustainable lives for sustainable growth
Emily comes across as a very calm, measured, and humble CEO – one that does not feel that we need unnecessary pressure. She is committed to connecting with employees and organically growing their business in sustainable ways. She attributes a lot of stability in her childhood to the resilience of her mother who always worked full time, did a PhD part-time and travelled around the world sharing her research. Consequently, Emily always had a strong belief in herself. She feels lucky that being a woman in tech never got in her way. In the early days, Emily was very much a ‘number two’ – a supporter to her husband as they grew their software development business, Ghyston. She focused on bringing up their 3 children and worked part-time in the business. But a time came when her husband had an opportunity outside of Ghyston. Emily decided to step up to the CEO role but she was determined to do it her own way moving from 3-3.5 days a week! Indeed, she wants her employees to have a sustainable lifestyle, one that enables sustainable growth in business too. She is now 4 days a week and I would say, it feels central to her success. You will take away: How to run a ‘dinner forum’ to gain participation from employees How to balance as a part-time CEO The company holiday and blending work and life outside of work Leading with flexibility Profit-sharing with employees