Ambition, On Her Terms
Schedule
Wed May 20 2026 at 06:30 pm to 08:30 pm
UTC+04:00Location
The Strand Restaurant | Dubai, DU
About this Event
Event Overview
What does it mean to lead when you're also a mother?
For too long, ambition and motherhood have been framed as competing forces - a trade-off, a compromise, an either/or. The women reshaping leadership today are refusing that framing. They're not fitting into old molds; they're expanding what leadership is about.
Join us for an evening that brings together women who are redefining what ambition looks like - through a keynote, research insights from the UAE, and facilitated table conversations that turn thinking into honest dialogue.
It's an evening of real conversations, honest stories, and deepening community connections.
Programme
Keynote : Women lead when mothers lead: the future of leadership is mother-inclusive by Dr. Mariana Missakian
Insights from the UAE : Ambition, redefined: what UAE mothers are telling us about what ambition actually means by Constanze Munz & Anushka Kalyanpur De Luca
Facilitated table conversations Small-group discussions designed to turn insight into dialogue. Facilitated by Sanita Pukite, DR. Mariana Missakian, Constanze Munz, Anushka Kalyanpur De Luca and Alexandra Galani.
Event moderated by Sanita Pukite (GEMBA’24) and Daria Boiko ( EMBADS’24)- INSEAD NAA UAE & LBS Women in Business Club Leads.
Networking Space to continue the conversation.
About the Speakers
Dr. Mariana Missakian is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and founder of The UNMUTE Project. Her work leads the conversations that matter on mothers, leadership, and inclusion - shifting the narrative from mother-friendly to mother-inclusive, one story, one policy, and one mother at a time.
Constanze Munz is a change-maker, researcher, and founder of Both And. A platform exploring motherhood and ambition. After 20+ years across the commercial and human sides of global organisations, she turned that same lens on motherhood after becoming a mother in Dubai, founding Both And on the belief that career and family don't have to be an either/or choice.
Anushka Kalyanpur De Luca is a public health specialist, entrepreneur, and researcher whose work sits at the intersection of care, ambition, and the systems that support or fail both. After fifteen years working in global health and gender across fragile and crisis settings, she founded Nannies & More in Dubai — a childcare and early parenthood support company built on the conviction that care is not a luxury, but the infrastructure that enables parents to show up fully, for their families and for their own ambitions.
Together, Anushka and Constanze lead ongoing research which found that 70% of women said their ambition stayed the same or increased after motherhood. Their work has driven media coverage, a growing public conversation, and a podcast, Motherhood in Motion, where they explore how women navigate the shifting roles, identities, and seasons that come with becoming a mother and what it looks like to build a life that holds both.
Who this evening is for
Women leaders and mothers navigating ambition on their own terms. Partners, allies, HR leaders, and organisational change-makers who want to understand what mother-inclusive leadership actually looks like. Anyone who believes workplaces and leadership itself can be built differently.
Book your ticket below. Places are limited to keep the conversation intimate.
Where is it happening?
The Strand Restaurant, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
EUR 24.85 to EUR 33.19
