How do senior leaders actually land a seat on a corporate board - and what does board-ready really mean?

In this episode of Driving Impact: The Top 5% Method, we sit down with Gail to unpack her journey from banking and retail to technology leadership - and ultimately to serving on the board of a $5B NASDAQ-listed company.

Gail shares candid insights into how board appointments really happen, why personal brand and visibility matter more than people think, and how executive leaders can intentionally prepare themselves for board service long before headhunters come calling.

We explore the crucial difference between being executive-ready and board-ready, what boards actually look for beyond titles, and why nonprofit and pre-IPO board experience can be a powerful stepping stone. Gail also demystifies board committees, governance, and the financial realities of public company boards - insights rarely discussed openly.

To close, Gail steps into the Hot Seat for a rapid-fire conversation on success, leadership, career acceleration, and the habits that separate the top 5% from the rest.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why there is no “corporate ladder” - and what careers really look like
• How board seats are sourced (and why visibility matters)
• The difference between a résumé and a board bio
• What boards actually value: impact, judgment, and pattern recognition
• Audit committees, governance, and financial fluency
• When leaders should start thinking about board service
• The role of nonprofits, advisory boards, and pre-IPO companies
• How ambitious professionals can intentionally become board-ready

If you’re a senior leader, executive, or ambitious professional thinking about long-term career leverage, governance, and influence - this episode is a must-listen.

Follow Gail on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gailmoodybyrd

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Danielle shares her journey from being the first in her family to attend college, to planning weddings for celebrities and high-profile clients, to expanding her brand into lifestyle, product launches, and future venture opportunities. Along the way, she opens up about navigating grief, burnout, and major life transitions - including walking away from Los Angeles and embracing a radically different way of living.

This conversation dives into resilience, reinvention, and the power of audacity - especially for founders who are ready to challenge traditional paths and create success on their own terms.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Danielle turned a wedding planning business into a multi-faceted lifestyle brand
• What celebrity weddings really teach you about leadership and crisis management
• Why “rock bottom” can become the most powerful catalyst for growth
• The mindset shift from small business owner to founder
• Letting go of hustle culture and redefining success
• The role of wellness, boundaries, and self-trust in long-term sustainability
• Why thinking big, living boldly, and making it happen still matters

Connect with Danielle on Instagram: @itsdanielleleilani

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Invitation: Join the upcoming Masterclass on Tuesday February 3rd @ 11am PDT/ 2pm EST:

https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-webinar

Follow us online:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/top5percentmethod/
• Follow us on all podcasting channels. Comment + Watch the video on Spotify.
• Accelerate your career in 2026. Explore the methods: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/
• Apply now: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-accelerator-waitlist
• Join the high performance tribe in my FREE newsletter: https://www.top5method.com/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

04:34 Lunching Up and Down: Building Relationships

08:38 The Importance of Networking in Sales

15:44 The Power of the Mother Hive

20:15 Auditing Relationships for Personal Growth

24:58 Breaking Through Personal Barriers

25:11 Networking Strategies for Success

32:43 The Importance of Being Good at Your Job

38:54 Motherhood as a Career Amplifier

All copyrights belong to @ Driving Impact LLC

Invitation: Join the upcoming Masterclass on Tuesday February 3rd @ 11am PDT/ 2pm EST:

https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-webinar

Follow us online:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/top5percentmethod/
• Follow us on all podcasting channels. Comment + Watch the video on Spotify.
• Accelerate your career in 2026. Explore the methods: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/
• Apply now: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-accelerator-waitlist
• Join the high performance tribe in my FREE newsletter: https://www.top5method.com/

Chapters

00:00 Unleashing Your Voice: The Journey Begins

02:50 From Corporate Secret to Global Creator

05:36 Building Brand Authority in a Changing World

05:46 Podcast Intro & Outro.mp4

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Follow us on all podcasting channels. Comment + Watch the video on Spotify.

Follow us online:

• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/top5percentmethod/
• Accelerate your career in 2026: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/
• Apply now: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-accelerator-waitlist
• Join the high performance tribe in my FREE newsletter: https://www.top5method.com
• Sign-up for the upcoming masterclasses: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-webinar

Chapters

00:00 Kickoff to Career Acceleration

00:48 My promise to you

01:09 Get the Best of the East and the West

01:32 We are getting back on the saddle

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What does it really take to be in the top 5% of leaders - without burning yourself out or armouring up?

In this episode of Driving Impact: The Top 5% Method, Katheline Jean-Pierre sits down with Victoria Pelletier - “turnaround queen”, transformation executive, and former “Iron Maiden” - to unpack what healthy resilience looks like in real life, and how to lead as a whole human in an AI-driven world.

Born to a drug-addicted teenage mother, adopted into a low-income family, and carrying decades of unprocessed trauma, Victoria became a COO at 24 and a CEO at 41. In this conversation, she shares how she moved from rigid armour to authentic, vulnerable leadership - and why that shift unlocked deeper trust, better teams, and bigger business results.

We also dive into how organizations can implement AI in a way that actually works for people, not just for the slide deck.

In this episode, we cover:

• Healthy resilience vs. protective armour - why “toughing it out” eventually breaks you
• How Victoria carried her “Iron Maiden” persona for decades - and what finally cracked it
• Becoming COO at 24 and leading a 6,000-person organization without a traditional path
• Why confidence is often mistaken for competence (and how she backs it up with execution)
• Building high-performing teams and earning the nickname “turnaround queen”
• Values-driven leadership: saying no to performative DEI and misaligned work
• Whole-human leadership - bringing your full lived experience into the way you lead
• How to balance high expectations with genuine care, trust, and vulnerability
• The 3 A’s of AI transformation: Alignment, Adoption & Ability
• Why AI success is 70% people and process, not just algorithms and tooling
• What Victoria learned from horrible leaders (and how not to lead)
• The biggest lie about success - and how she defines it now
• What the top 5% achievers do that the other 95% don’t
• The one lesson every founder needs to hear about not doing it all themselves

Connect with Victoria Pelletier via her website: victoria-pelletier.com

Subscribe for more conversations with top 5% leaders who are building careers, companies, and cultures that truly drive impact.

If this episode resonated, hit like, share it with a leader or founder who needs to hear it, and drop your favourite insight in the comments.

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Follow us online:

• Accelerate your career in 2026. This is your sign to join us soon. We start on January 21st, 2026: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/
• Apply now: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/career-accelerator-waitlist
• Join the high performance tribe in my FREE newsletter: https://www.top5method.com/

SUMMARY:

Bianca Nepales shares her journey from being a public school teacher to becoming the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Lionsgate. She discusses the power of storytelling in influencing change, her role in promoting diversity in the entertainment industry, and her personal rituals for staying grounded and authentic. Bianca emphasizes the importance of mentorship, taking risks, and understanding the rules to rewrite them. She also shares her vision for using AI to democratize storytelling and empower diverse voices.

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Follow us on all podcasting channels.

Comment + Watch the video on Spotify (coming soon).

Follow us online:

• Apply to Launch a side business, accelerate your career or develop your personal brand: https://www.top5percentmethod.com/
• Join the 28,000 high performance tribe in my FREE newsletter: https://www.top5method.com/

In this Thanksgiving-week episode, Katheline introduces Part 1 of her framework for designing a wildly different 2026: the Calendar Audit. Rather than relying on memory, she argues your calendar tells the truth about how you actually spend your time. By reviewing month-by-month and categorizing hours across work, side projects, relationships, health, learning, and reactive versus strategic tasks, you'll uncover the gap between your stated values and reality. Katheline shares her own example: she claimed health was a priority but her calendar showed only 3 hours monthly—far below what she'd previously committed. The audit isn't about judgment; it's the data foundation needed to intentionally redesign how you spend your time in 2026.

00:00 Thanksgiving Reflections and Career Reinvention 01:19 The Importance of a Calendar Audit 02:09 Redesigning Your Career: A New Approach 02:39 Podcast Intro & Outro.mp4

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