Women CEO's Candid Conversations - a Volante Masterclass

​About the session

​This Volante Masterclass brings together experienced women CEOs for a candid, unscripted conversation about what they genuinely wish they had known earlier in their leadership journeys.

​Loosely anchored in the themes behind "21 Things I Wish I'd Known as a CEO", this is not a checklist or a keynote. It is an honest, practical conversation about the realities of carrying the CEO role over time, including pressure uncertainty, boards, teams, trade-offs, and leadership longevity.

​While grounded in women's leadership experience, the session is designed for anyone in senior leadership seeking clarity, realism, and perspective.

​What we will explore

• ​What surprised them most about being a CEO

• ​The hardest leadership lessons and what they had to unlearn

• ​How pressure and responsibility evolve over time

• ​What they have learned they must protect to
  remain ettective

• ​What they would tell themselves in the first six
  months ot the role

​This is not a panel of success stories. It is a grounded conversation about leadership reality.

​Who should attend

• ​CEOs and executive directors

• ​Founders and senior leaders stepping into bigger roles

• ​Leaders navigating scale, transition or sustained uncertainty

• ​Board member seeking deeper insight into the CEO experience

​What you will leave with

• ​Language for leadership experiences that are common but rarely named

• ​Practical insight into how experienced CEOs sustain effectiveness.

• ​Perspective grounded in lived experience

• ​Greater confidence navigating the role with realism and intention

​Format

• ​Moderated CEO conversation

• ​Optional breakout discussions hosted by individual CEOs

• ​Live audience questions

• ​Plenary recording shared after the session