FORMER CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER & TREASURER, UPWORK GLOBAL INC.

Junko Swain has taken two companies public and served as Upwork’s chief accounting officer (CAO), she wants to help develop the next generation of talent.

Junko made the decision to emigrate to the United States on her own. The first-generation American left Japan because of what she saw as a limitation on her career ambitions after working in the fashion industry there. “I think most women were expected to serve tea, get married, and quit,” Swain explains. “I really wanted to see what I could and what I was capable of.” Swain would cross the Pacific, study accounting, earn her CPA, and see if she were up to the task.

Thus far, Swain’s accomplishments include helping two companies go public, the top of the mountain for any chief accounting officer—and she’s done it twice. Swain spent five years at eBay in the early 2000s. In those five years, the company jumped from $1.2 billion to $8 billion in net revenues, requiring exponential internal growth and stretching by the company’s finance team.

The CAO says she is passionate about helping develop talent because of the opportunities she was presented early in her career at her former employer. She says that if she sees motivated talent, she’s going to get involved. “This doesn’t come down to race or background or orientation,” Swain says. “I want to provide an equal opportunity to help lift up whoever wants to get to the next level.

(Excerpt:https://profilemagazine.com/2021/junko-swain-upwork/)

EXECUTIVE COACH & FACILITATOR, UNNATI UNLIMITED, PVT. LTD.

Neeru Gupta has facilitated many large and small experiential program and workshops with cross-cultural teams in diverse geographies. She has worked with UN Organizations, Development Sectors, Telkom, IT, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and Hospitality industries in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, and Japan.

Having worked in diverse roles, as an entrepreneur and part of a fast-paced consulting industry, Neeru understands the demands, complexities and problems executives are faced in today's ever-changing business environments. Her experience in the corporate realm allows her to leverage her real world insight and hands on executive experience with her clients. Neeru stands apart for her insightful, intuitive and action-oriented approach.

She balances her pragmatism with her natural flair for bringing creativity and innovation to her process. She enables success and quick results through accountability and has coached her clients to make significant stride. She is passionate about working with women, helping them overcome gender conditioning, balancing power equations and building powerful networks to enable their true self-empowerment. Through her work she also helps participants deal with trauma, abuse and PSTD.

Her Expertise Include

• Facilitating experiential learning programs

• Leadership assessment and development

• Visioning and goal setting

• Entrepreneurship Consulting- Content design and development

STRATEGIC THINKING EXPERT, SLOAN INTERNATIONAL

Dr. Julia Sloan is principal of Sloan International Inc., a New York-based executive development firm specializing in strategic thinking for organizations operation in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. In addition to seven of the top-10 most innovative companies, her client base consists of major corporations representing finance, technology, manufacturing, consumer products, petroleum, and international agencies.

In addition to working with corporations, Julia consults for the UN Secretariat and UN Peacekeeping Operations in more than 30 field missions, the UN Logistics Base, UN Staff College, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. She served as an advisor to the Afghan women delegates in the first Constitutional　Convention in 2003 and has been instrumental in supporting the efforts of rising business leaders in war-torn countries of Sudan, Iraq, and Kosovo.

Julia also teaches at Columbia University and has lectured at some of the premier academic institutions including: MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University (US); Bejing University (China); Tokyo University, Keio University (Japan); and India Institute of Management (India). A leading authority on the cognitive aspect of strategic thinking, Julia is widely recognized for her pioneering work on the application of complex cognitive theory to everyday global strategy practice. She is the author of the definitive book, Learning to Think Strategically, 4th ed., 2020 (Routledge), which was awarded Best Business Book of the Year by the Financial Times. Julia is a contributing author to Democratic Practices as Learning Opportunities, 2008, and Women as Global Leaders, 2013.