Kate Smailes (Managing Partner, Havas Blvd & Chief Client Officer) takes us on her deeply personal IVF journey, sharing the raw reality of six pregnancies, multiple miscarriages, and finally welcoming twin girls. She reveals how Havas has transformed their HR policies, introducing miscarriage and fertility leave, and the profound impact this had.

Kate candidly discusses the mental load of returning to work with young twins, the challenges of daycare sickness, and her shift to a more empathetic leadership style. She advocates for open workplace conversations, building your "village," and crucial industry support for parents, including benefits like egg freezing. This is one emotional and important episode about what life is like when the journey to parenthood doesn’t fit in a neat box.

The Village 

It Takes A Village is hosted by Lauren Thornborough and Lou Wilson

Senior Producer Tina Matolov

Audio Editor and Sound Design Thom Lion

Recorded at the Mamamia studios

Kate Smailes (Managing Partner, Havas Blvd &amp; Chief Client Officer) takes us on her deeply personal IVF journey, sharing the raw reality of six pregnancies, multiple miscarriages, and finally welcoming twin girls. She reveals how Havas has transformed their HR policies, introducing miscarriage and fertility leave, and the profound impact this had.
Kate candidly discusses the mental load of returning to work with young twins, the challenges of daycare sickness, and her shift to a more empathetic leadership style. She advocates for open workplace conversations, building your "village," and crucial industry support for parents, including benefits like egg freezing. This is one emotional and important episode about what life is like when the journey to parenthood doesn&rsquo;t fit in a neat box.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-village-working-parents/posts/?feedView=all">The Village&nbsp;</a>
It Takes A Village is hosted by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-thornborough-3ba36412/?originalSubdomain=au">Lauren Thornborough</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-wilson-31110a44/?originalSubdomain=au">Lou Wilson</a>
Senior Producer Tina Matolov
Audio Editor and Sound Design Thom Lion
Recorded at the Mamamia studios

It Takes a Village: Unfiltered conversations with working parents in Australia's media and marketing industries. Hosts Lauren Thornborough & Lou Wilson, alongside industry guests, explore every facet of the parenting journey, from navigating newborn fog to teenage curveballs, single parenting, and all the realities in between. This warm, human "people podcast" isn't just about babies or burnout; it's about ambition, identity, and connection.

It Takes a Village: Unfiltered conversations with working parents in Australia's media and marketing industries. Hosts Lauren Thornborough &amp; Lou Wilson, alongside industry guests, explore every facet of the parenting journey, from navigating newborn fog to teenage curveballs, single parenting, and all the realities in between. This warm, human "people podcast" isn't just about babies or burnout; it's about ambition, identity, and connection.

It Takes A Village

   Ep 3: "If It's Not Okay, It's Not The End": Kate Smaile's Story of Resilience, Loss, and Becoming a Better Leader

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/3ea926be-9be7-482a-8ac3-a44f016e43d1/clips/7ac3592d-32f2-412d-8e36-b4080033014f/transcript