Leadership Variations: Unfiltered
Season 1: Cracking the Code – From Underestimated to Undeniable spotlights senior women in STEM who’ve broken barriers and redefined success. If you’re a woman in science, tech, engineering, or math—or you lead teams in these fields—this series offers real stories, bold leadership, and hard-won insight you won’t hear anywhere else. These candid conversations go beyond inspiration—they offer career insight, leadership lessons, and visibility strategies for STEM women leaders navigating executive paths.
Each episode features unfiltered stories from women who’ve risen to executive roles in industries that weren’t built for them. We unpack how they navigated bias, burnout, reinvention, and visibility—without apology and without a playbook.
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered is a limited-series podcast exposing the messier side of leadership—the parts no one talks about, but every leader lives. Each series explores a different high-stakes topic: rising without apology as a woman in STEM, redefining success after burnout or reinvention, busting leadership myths that don’t hold up in the real world, making bold talent decisions without a clear playbook, and leading when the politics are real—but the guidance is vague.
If you’re leading through complexity, developing leaders others overlook, or navigating visibility at the top—this podcast is for you.
Hosted by Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto—a leadership strategist and executive coach with 25+ years of experience advising senior leaders and developing talent in high-growth and Fortune 100 companies
Learn more at www.leadershipvariations.com
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered
Cracking the Code: From Underestimated to Undeniable with Biliana Veleva-Rotse, Amicus Therapeutics
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In this episode of Leadership Variations: Unfiltered, host Amy Bladen Shatto, PhD, PCC, BCC sits down with Dr. Biliana Veleva-Rotse, Global Medical Director for Fabry Disease at Amicus Therapeutics, to unpack what leadership really looks like for women in STEM who rise without the recognition they deserve.
Biliana shares her non-linear path from neuroscience PhD and academic research to global leadership in biotech—revealing how credibility, influence, and impact are built without positional power, perfectionism, or having all the answers.
Together, Amy and Biliana explore:
- Why being the smartest person in the room can actually limit leadership
- How trust, vulnerability, and cross-functional thinking unlock innovation
- The hidden cost of “earning the right to speak” as a woman in STEM
- How inclusive leadership becomes a strategic advantage—not a soft skill
- What it truly takes to move from underestimated to undeniable
This conversation is essential listening for senior women in STEM, biotech leaders, medical affairs professionals, and executives navigating technical-to-leadership transitions.
🎧 If you’ve ever felt you needed one more credential before claiming your seat at the table, this episode is for you.
🎧 Available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms
📌 Subscribe for unfiltered conversations on leadership, credibility, and real behavior change
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Highlight Chapters:
00:40 – About Biliana
02:20 – Leadership Beyond the Resume
04:50 – The Myth of the Clear Leadership Path
06:30 – Leaving Academia
08:55 – Credibility in Male-Dominated Spaces
11:40 – Subject Matter Expert vs. Leader
15:30 – Trust as a Leadership Accelerator
16:20 – Leadership at Home
17:50 – The Career Identity Crisis
23:50 – The Undeniable Take
#LeadershipVariationsUnfiltered #WomenInSTEM #WomenInLeadership
Watch & Subscribe
🎥 Watch this conversation and explore more Unfiltered leadership content: www.youtube.com/@leadershipvariations
Work with Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto
📈 Tired of being underestimated? Partner with a coach who specializes in helping leaders in STEM break barriers and accelerate impact. Book a consultation → https://calendly.com/abladenshatto/30min
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About the Host
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered is hosted by Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto, PhD, PCC, BCC — an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist with over 25 years of experience helping organizations make faster, smarter leadership decisions. She specializes in science-based assessment, executive coaching, and leadership development strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.