Aliyah Allie leads X, Bigly Labs, the innovation engine inside Dis-Chem. Before that, she was a management consultant at McKinsey. Before that, she was interviewing child soldiers at 12 years old.
Qaanitah Hunter sits down with Aliyah for a conversation that goes far beyond the CV. They talk about their childhoods, how she built a career nobody handed her, right down to making up her own job title.
There’s a parallel in both their mothers selling food, samosas and koesisters, to raise their families.
This episode is about what that teaches you, and the distance between where you start and where you end up.
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00:00 Introduction to Alia Ali
2:08 Problem solving and career
5:31 Early career and training
9:25 Professionalism and background
12:30 Navigating corporate life
17:08 The role of family and money
20:19 Reflections on struggle
25:40 Drives and responsibility
29:33 Parenting and privilege
35:15 Developing grit in others
37:47 Innovation at Bigly Labs
40:36 Transitioning to leadership
44:02 Fearless leadership
48:05 Future and final thoughts
