Gemma McCall

Job:

CEO and co-founder

Company:

Culture Shift

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Culture Shift – an impact software developer that exists to lead positive change in organisational culture. Our online reporting platform, which is now used by 80+ UK universities, amongst other organisations including the NHS, gives organisations insights needed to monitor and prevent bullying and harassment.

I am...

Passionate

Resilient

Purpose-driven

The skills I use most in my job...

Leadership and mentoring

Strategic planning

Problem solving

Communication

Empathy

The most interesting thing I've worked on in my career so far...

It has to be seeing Culture Shift flourish and continue to grow, while giving students and employees the confidence to speak up about problematic behaviour they’ve experienced. Also, in 2020 we raised £1.35m in VC funding, followed by a further £1.5m in 2021, which was a huge milestone for me!

What inspired me into digital and tech...

My motivation behind setting up Culture Shift, and moving into the tech for good space, was facing maternity discrimination at work during my preganancies. For this reason, I’ve made it my mission to empower leaders to create positive, lasting change within their organisations by putting positive culture front of mind.

My educational background is...

From a young age I wanted to be an actress so, after finishing my A-Levels, I went to theatre school. Sadly, I hated it so dropped out and moved to Manchester where I started my first ‘proper’ job selling advertising – this is where my love for all things digital started!

What advice I'd give to girls thinking about a career in digital and tech...

Don’t let your educational background restrict you. If you have a passion for something, then make sure you pursue it. The tech industry is surrounded by misinformation about having to have a technical background to be able to succeed, but that isn’t always the case.