By Business & Finance 
Hannah Wrixon is co-founder and CEO of KELLA, a private, exclusive global network and community platform designed for senior and executive women.
By Héloïse Chaudot
In one sentence, how would you define success?
For me, success shows up in the feedback we receive from KELLA members, when women tell us they have secured investment, stepped onto boards, or simply felt seen and supported.
It is also in the bigger picture: when the stats start swinging in favour of more equality at the senior leadership level, and when businesses finally realise that gender balance is not a fluffy “nice to have” but a driver of growth. The evidence is there: companies with 30%+ women in senior leadership are 39% more profitable globally, so success is when that fact becomes common sense, not a revelation.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best advice I have given to myself is to know where you want to go and let the journey there be what it needs to be. Leadership, entrepreneurship, and life in general rarely follow a straight line.
There are setbacks, surprises, and opportunities you could not have planned for. Having clarity about the destination makes it easier to embrace the twists and turns without losing sight of what matters most.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
We are all motivated by our mission to change the face of leadership by driving balance at the top. That is not just an abstract vision; it is grounded in hard data. Companies with gender-balanced leadership are more resilient, more innovative, and nearly 40% more likely to outperform their peers.
Every project we take on, every event we host, every woman we support is another step towards that transformation. That sense of purpose, combined with the knowledge that what we are doing has real, measurable impact, is what keeps both me and the team energised.
How do you relax?
If I am honest, I work. Is that bad? I genuinely love what I do, and I get huge energy from it. Building KELLA does not feel like a job; it feels like a mission and a privilege.
The joy for me also comes in the people around it, the conversations, the breakthroughs, and even the challenges. Work is where I thrive, and I have stopped apologising for that.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
KELLA will be the leading global network for women in leadership, not just a membership platform or an event series, but an ecosystem that meets women where they are and supports them to where they want to be.
My aspiration is that KELLA becomes the default for ambitious women at every stage of leadership and the trusted partner for companies serious about building balanced teams. In time, I see us shaping the corporate landscape on a global scale, changing boardrooms, shifting cultures, and proving that when women lead, businesses and economies thrive.
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