EP35: Women in AI: Beth Curtis-Clarke on Leadership, Mentorship, and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

From Email Marketing to AI Strategy

Beth's career began, somewhat unexpectedly, as an account manager in email marketing. What captured her early on wasn't the technology itself, but the storytelling behind it — the human journey from opening an email to acting on it. That instinct for translating complex technology into relatable, human terms has stayed with her throughout her career, and now defines her approach to AI strategy: making a notoriously complex field genuinely accessible.

For Beth, AI isn't just about data and technology — it's about creating more inclusive, authentic, and impactful ways of working and connecting with people. She's especially drawn to what she calls the "dynamite" of AI: the human-in-the-loop dynamic, where innovation and human connection intersect.

Why Mentorship Matters — On Both Sides

Beth speaks warmly about the mentors who shaped her journey — describing the most valuable ones not as people with all the answers, but as those who delivered honest, sometimes difficult feedback with genuine kindness. That experience reshaped her own understanding of mentorship: rather than needing to "know everything," she sees it as an act of listening, witnessing, and helping someone see their situation from a different angle. Mentoring others, she notes, has become a powerful reminder of her own worth and progress.

Turning Failure Into Fuel

Asked about her biggest career challenges, Beth is disarmingly candid. She shares the story of starting her own business roughly a decade ago and failing to secure a single client — a experience she now describes with genuine pride, not embarrassment, crediting it with teaching her resilience and eventually leading, through a connection made during that period, to her next career opportunity.

She's equally open about facing imposter syndrome — including being the only female director in the room around 15 years ago, and the difficulty of navigating environments where recognition wasn't evenly distributed. Over time, she learned to advocate for her own work and visibility, crediting a diverse group of allies who actively amplified her voice when she felt unheard.

Confronting Public Speaking Anxiety

In one of the conversation's most personal moments, Beth describes a period when public speaking caused genuine physical and mental distress, to the point of seeking hypnotherapy to work through it. Her breakthrough came from leaning directly into the discomfort — deliberately standing on stage before a talk and allowing herself to feel the nerves fully, rather than suppressing them. Today, she describes those same nerves as a source of energy she genuinely enjoys.

The Ongoing Challenge of Sustaining Energy

Beth is honest that one challenge remains a work in progress: protecting her own energy and setting boundaries, particularly in a career she genuinely loves. She acknowledges the role privilege and opportunity have played alongside hard work, and is actively working on recharging deliberately rather than running on constant enthusiasm.

Building a Legacy Through Honesty, Not Just Wins

Looking ahead, Beth is clear that her ambition isn't simply about personal achievement — it's about ensuring women in AI leadership become the norm, not the exception. She believes sharing failures is often more inspiring and useful to others than showcasing only successes, and sees real systemic impact emerging from the accumulation of individually small, honestly shared stories — each one chipping away at existing barriers.

Advice for Women Entering AI

Beth's core advice for women considering a career in AI centres on connection: actively seeking out other women in the field, both for practical guidance and genuine inspiration. She's candid that breaking into AI can feel intimidating given how underrepresented women remain in the industry — making supportive networks especially valuable.

Her second key piece of advice: don't be discouraged by job specifications that don't perfectly match your existing experience. AI, in her view, is fundamentally about curiosity, pragmatism, creativity, and authentic perspective — meaning transferable skills matter far more than ticking every listed requirement, particularly given how broad and fast-evolving the industry is.