Giovanna Jagger is the Co-Founder and Head of Business Development at WokenUp. She works closely with the CEO Simon Puleston Jones and her team to ensure that the company delivers its promise to partners and communities to create a platform that will help them advance the causes they care about. Giovanna considers her role as rich and enriching. She is fully involved in the operational aspect of the business and supports its mission by leading growth as Head of Business Development. Along with her team, she is designing processes and frameworks that help scale the network up to ensure that there is a level of accountancy in the work they are doing in line with the UN SDG’s. The last decade has shown that social media can be misused. In response, WokenUp is providing a different environment placing the spotlight on causes and initiatives doing good with all the available resources. Driving the Leadership Purpose Speaking on leadership, Giovanna says that over 60% of women do not apply for roles in leadership because they do not see another woman who has gone before them. This speaks about diversity and equality at the board level. For Giovanna, it all started with her maternal grandmother who was a real powerful presence in her life. Her mother and sister have also influenced how she works with others and how she sees herself professionally. Giovanna gravitates towards leadership and courage. Over the last 20 years, these two determining factors have enabled her to advance her career and have the time, freedom and space to progress and contribute in any way she can. Her husband has provided her with her support and is her biggest encourager. Professionally, Giovanna has always taken every opportunity given to her to learn and is proud of how far she has come. Through the support and mentorship Giovanna has received, she has learnt to recognise her areas of strength and has focused on developing those. By the time Giovanna turned 40, she knew her focus would be legacy and purpose, which also meant to re- assessing her priorities. She asserts that if she could pass on a simple advice to others, she would say to turn the noise down, focus and remember why they have started.
